4 Misinterpreted Bible Verses/Concepts
A prayer request line & a gemstone to ease jealousy
"And I am confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ." -Philippians 1:6
Once saved, always saved is not true. Yet it’s been a part of mainstream Christian thought for a very long time. And yet, no verse actually states the concept, even though a number of beautiful verses like this one in Philippians can be construed as hinting at it. Or are they cautioning us not fall away?
Revelation 2 & 3 make clear that many who believe they are saved will have their lampstands removed for the 7 reasons listed, including lack of love, sin, and apathy: “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.” -Rev. 2:4-5
“I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” -Genesis 12:3
This verse is not about Israel, does not mention Israel, and cannot possibly be about any piece of land at all. God spoke this blessing over his servant Abraham (of the land of Ur of Chaldea in modern day Iraq) during his travels long before Israel existed. It applies only to Abraham, “the father of many nations,” and his many direct descendants all over the world, regardless of which man-made religion they follow today (none of which existed back then, including Judaism).
But I’m surprised at how many Christians are honestly afraid the verse means the US needs to keep supporting and funding whatever Israel does, criminal or not. We are never obligated to support, much less fund, bad things or sinful actions. People will be very surprised to find that this verse in fact obligates God’s people to bless every Arab nation, at the very least.
There is an argument that this verse covers every single person alive today, since we are all truly descendants of Noah who was descended from Abraham. (Even Native Americans have the flood story in their mythology.) That would be better foreign policy than the fuddy-duddy one we’re currently saddled with, for sure!
“No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, not even in the tenth generation. For they did not come to meet you with bread and water on your way when you came out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram Naharaim to pronounce a curse on you.” -Deuteronomy 23:3-6
No Ammonites or Moabites allowed, and later Ezra banned intermarrying with them, but the prohibition ends with Ruth, the Moabitess!
The common retort is wrong: “God said it, I believe it, that settles it” —it’s not true because God requires that we interpret all scripture in light of the entire bible, and take no verse out of its proper context within the whole. Perfect example: the prohibition against people from Ammonites and Moabites was given only for that time and place in the Book of Deuteronomy and the Book of Numbers goes into more detail about why. Then Ruth appears, demolishing the verse just like that. Although she was from Moab, God clearly called her to become the matriarch of the royal house of David. Prohibition over. Do you think this only applies to Moabites? All of the laws of Moses are only there for a given purpose, and once that purpose is fulfilled, they fall away, like the mountains and even our sun. The only eternal and unchanging thing is love, and Ruth had great love, so the rules didn’t apply to her. The miraculous thing is that all the gossipy neighbors recognized this and had no problem with God’s radical decision to honor Ruth!
My post on my favorite book of the whole bible, Ruth: https://lmoreno.substack.com/publish/post/146653359
"You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above, or on the earth beneath, or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments." -Exodus 20:4-6
The verse couldn’t be clearer; no depictions of any kind. But Catholics, who employ the finest artistic depictions as part of their outreach to the public, erased it and changed it to “Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain,” then reworked the rest of the 10 Commandments to make up for the gap, yet they claim they never did. (See the Protestant & Catholic 10 Commandments below.)
I observe that God commands us not to make images because for many people it’s a slippery slope into egotism, porn, illegal spying and before you know it, the unraveling of civilization itself.
Long ago, Christians used to sporadically try to follow the second commandment verbatim, but very few still try at all except for groups like some of the Amish. Today the commandment is mostly interpreted by Protestants to mean no religious statues of any kind, and especially no bowing down to statues, which Catholics claim they also do not do.
Historically, foll included no live depictions such as the theater. The Council in Trullo (692, in Constantinople) banned the theater, and early Christians like Clement of Alexandria (150-215 A.D.) and Tertullian (160-230 A.D.) wrote against the theater too. Mostly, only passion plays (depicting bible stories) were permitted in Medieval times. But in 1548, Paris banned passion plays, ostensibly fearing they could “trivialize or distort religious doctrine” or promote heresies. Famously, after Elizabeth I died in 1603 and James I (of the King James Bible) took the throne, Shakespeare wrote “Macbeth” about his Scottish ancestors because he feared the devout monarch might ban the theater. It finally happened when the Puritan-led parliament banned all theater (including passion plays) in 1642 and it remained banned under Cromwell until the restored monarch restored the theater in 1660. But the ban ultimately didn’t do much good. Restoration drama is bawdy with lots of physical humor and satire against sacrosanct institutions like marriage.
In contrast, religious Muslims and Jews (who also abide by Moses’ law) until very recently always used “kosher phones” with no cameras or screens, no statues, no TV/film or images of any kind exactly as scripture demands. But today so called “ultra orthodox” Jews actually kiss photos of their Messiah, the Lubavitch rabbi who died in 1994! They now even have camera phones! Why do they no longer follow the law of Moses, the only pillar of Judaism? No one asks this question.
Muslim culture was always better at banning all images, but not art, so artists are permitted to only create designs. But now their religious leaders also break Moses’ Law by permitting religious television broadcasts.
Clearly, the horse has left the barn on the 2nd Commandment. But this sin’s role in unraveling of civilization is only now ramping up, heaven help us:
Beware: Holograms Could be Anywhere
I remember reading about holograms in a 2005 NY Times obituary of one of the inventors of the hologram. He used to enjoy projecting dollar bills onto the floor for his grandchildren to grasp at — of course nothing was there! It’s just a life-like picture, like the aliens?
The 10 Commandments of the Bible
"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me."
"You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above, or on the earth beneath, or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments."
"You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name."
"Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.”
"Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”
"You shall not murder."
"You shall not commit adultery."
"You shall not steal."
"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor."
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
Catholic 10 Commandments
I am the Lord your God: You shall not have strange Gods before me.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.
Honor your father and mother.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.
Prayer Requests
My prayers go out for each of you, for your path, peace and that you would know God’s will for your life. Ark of Grace now has a prayer request line (by phone or email) during business hours (Eastern Time), M-F: https://arkofgrace.org/prayer-requests
Today’s gemstone helps ease jealousy:
