(Deuteronomy 4:2 [KJV]) 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.
(Proverbs 30:5, 6 [KJV]) Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
(Isaiah 28:10 [KJV])
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
(Isaiah 28:13 [KJV])
But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
(2 Peter 1:20 [KJV])
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
All of the studies, book or topical, found here, are done with research with mainly two things: The KING JAMES BIBLE and a plain old, 1828 Webster's Dictionary. Why? Outside of actually studying secular and Jewish history, archaeology, one needs nothing more. You do not need foreign, dead languages that no one speaks, lexicons, concordances or commentaries, because they differ not only with one another and with the KING JAMES BIBLE, but they create division, confusion, debate, and unbelief. We do not need them. That Word of God written and preserved for us in our own language is supposed to be enough, like the Old Testament was for the Jews, and the New Testament for the early Christians in Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish, German, etc. There are studies within as tangents on words, subjects found within the two testaments, as to broaden the scope of the study, to learn more, deeper truths. This is not an intellectual site with PhDs, theologians, and no worldly wisdom.. Check everything out, everything. Not just here, but with everything you read and see and hear. Be Bereans:
(Acts 17:11 [KJV])
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Always research for yourself, use all of the context, and never privately interpret!
Proper Scriptural Discernment
(Psalms 138:2 [KJV])
I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
DISCERN, v.t. s as z. [L., to separate or distinguish, Gr.]
To separate by the eye, or by the understanding. Hence,
To distinguish; to see the difference between two or more things; to discriminate; as, to discern the blossom-buds from the leaf-buds of plants. Discern thou what is
thine--Gen 31.
To make the difference. For nothing else discerns the virtue or the vice.
To discover; to see; to distinguish by the eye. I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding. Prov 7.
5. To discover by the intellect; to distinguish; hence, to have knowledge of; to judge. So is my lord the king to discern good and bad. 2 Sam 14. A wise mans heart discerneth time and judgment. Eccl 8.
DISCERN, v.i.
To see or understand the difference; to make distinction; as, to discern between good and evil, truth and falsehood.
To have judicial cognizance.
DISCERN: WHAT GOD SAYS
(Genesis 27:23 [KJV])
And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him.
(Genesis 31:32 [KJV])
With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.
(Genesis 38:25 [KJV])
When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff.
(2 Samuel 14:17 [KJV])
Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the LORD thy God will be with thee.
(2 Samuel 19:35 [KJV])
I am this day fourscore years old: and can I discern between good and evil? can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king?
(1 Kings 3:9 [KJV])
Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
(1 Kings 3:11 [KJV])
And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;
(1 Kings 20:41 [KJV])
And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.
(Ezra 3:13 [KJV]) So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.
(Job 4:16 [KJV])
It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,
(Job 6:30 [KJV])
Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse things?
(Proverbs 7:7 [KJV])
And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,
(Ecclesiastes 8:5 [KJV])
Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment.
(Ezekiel 44:23 [KJV])
And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
(Jonah 4:11 [KJV])
And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
(Malachi 3:18 [KJV])
Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
(Matthew 16:3 [KJV])
And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
(Luke 12:56 [KJV])
Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?
(1 Corinthians 2:14 [KJV])
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
(1 Corinthians 11:29 [KJV])
For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
(1 Corinthians 12:10 [KJV])
To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
(Hebrews 4:12 [KJV])
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
(Hebrews 5:14 [KJV])
But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Jacob the deceiver deceived Isaac because he could not discern. Thus, Israel was born through Jacob, not Esau (Edom)
Rachel later challenged Jacob to discern/discover the stolen idols
We are told to discern between good and bad, good and evil
Solomon was given wisdom to discern and was the wisest man
Eliphaz the Temanite was deceived by a devil for not being able to discern a dream/night vision
Solomon discerned a foolish youth who went in unto a harlot to his own destruction
Ecclesiastes say we are able, through wisdom, to discern judgment (matters of the heart) and time (current events in light of prophecy)
The people in Nineveh could not discern between their own two hands!
God said He will give Israel discernment on good and wicked one day
Jesus rebuked the Jew for not discerning the times of the Suffering Messiah, standing before them, from their own prophecies
People taking communion without confessing unconfessed sin are not discerning the LORD'S Body
An apostolic gift was discernment of spirits, angels or devils
The Word of God discerns our thoughts, intents, unspoken, unknown to others except God
(Matthew 22:29) Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
The church in America: "Let's just forget doctrinal divisions, shall we? It would be better if we stopped focusing on our disagreements so much and instead focused on the most important thing and that is God"
(Acts 14:12-19) And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker. Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people. Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein: Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. And with these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them. And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.
Yes it would, but you do not see the problem we have here in America. That will never happen on earth in our lifetime. We can focus on God all we want to, and should, but most Christians do not even read much of Scripture, do not know much of Scripture, do not WANT to know much of Scripture, and that Scripture tells us to focus on God-the God of Scripture. They listen to what people tell them what God said, not what God said, exercising no discernment, not being Bereans at all. It means they do not care what God says.
We need to always focus on God by focusing God's Word, without interpretation, with proper discernment, reading it, but not reading INTO it.
The average Christian in America focuses on
Book ABOUT God's Word and not God's Word
The opinion of the authors of those books
The opinion of "Well, the majority of Christians say-you are being divisive!!!!!!!!!" nonsense
What pastors say it says and means
Their own pre-conceived notions of what God's Word says
Verses out of context which are then twisted
Adding or subtracting from God's Word words that are not there
"The Greek!" "The Hebrew!" "The original language!" "The oldest and best manuscripts!
Feelings, senses and not objective facts and truth
Women teachers (OH NO! Did he REALLY say that? How dare he!! I am deeply offended!)
And, when settled on these and more, they convince themselves that they are right, the accept no truth, no doctrine, and blame us who only want to teach the Word of God for being unloving for giving them Scriptures.
Jesus spent a lot of time arguing with Pharisees, Paul a lot of time arguing and correcting with the Corinthians, sending pure doctrine to the Romans, arguing with the Jews in Jerusalem, arguing the Gentile pagans at Ephesus. He, with Barnabas, caused riots! All they did was point out error and paganism!
Sometimes we merely need to FOCUS ON and encounter error and falsehoods head on, no matter who says them and how uncomfortable they are. To protect others who may be deceived, to show that person their errors, to tell of they have a teachable spirit, etc. We simply cannot avoid it. We move on afterwards, but not until, we discern and point out errors, no matter if doctrine divides. You meet me and you will never think I am a mean person. UNTIL you spew lies that are not from Scripture and begin to argue when I point it out from Scripture only, in context. Then, to you, I will instantly become an ogre, a devil. I have taught many and ONLY ONLY ONLY the ones with an unteachable spirit tell me I am anything other than nice. The rest are taught, discipled and go on to teach.
The laissez faire attitude of Christians in America is rampant and pathetic. Go on the mission field where they simply want ONE set of Scriptures and can't get it. Where they get ONE copy of the Word of God in English or their language, tear out the pages to share, memorize it, have to hide it from the authorities or members of the religion of that land (Islam, Buddhism, paganism, etc.) to avoid persecution or even prosecution, Come back to America and see ten Scripture copies on shelves collecting dust. God is NOT pleased.
A PERFECT EXAMPLE: THE LAST DAYS
(Matthew 24:4 [KJV])
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
(Luke 21:8 [KJV])
And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.
(Matthew 16:3 [KJV])
And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
(Luke 12:56 [KJV])
Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?
(John 5:43 [KJV])
I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
(Luke 13:34, 35 [KJV])
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
(Luke 19:44 [KJV])
And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.
We do not need to worry about the future but, that does not even imply that we are not to watch what is going on
This is precisely what the enemy wants
This is precisely what Israel did and missed their own Messiah, ignoring the signs of the times when the Messiah would come, that He would be the Suffering Messiah
Ignoring speaking about prophecy is what caused Israel to miss their Messiah
DISCERNMENT IN AMERICA: TRUSTING MAN
Sitting in any study of the Word of God, in a hiome or a church building, one can hear things such as,
"Ya know, that word there in Mark chapter five where it says, "And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.", a famous author _________________ __________________________, says that that Greek word can also mean Jesus was angered, and we all know that Jesus got angry.
This sort of teaching is deadly and dangerous for many, many reasons, and very prevalent, popular in America.
The first Bible corrector, the serpent in the Garden, merely asked, "yea, hath God said?", is called creating doubt, something we should never do, it is what the serpent did, and is why we are where we are today. (Genesis 3:1). Do you see how that turned out?
God is not the author of confusion, mainstream authors are
The word "scholar" is a bad one in God's Word
(Malachi 2:12 [KJV])
The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts.
God is not the author of confusion, mainstream authors and self-proclaimed "scholars" are
Get into the mainstream, we float downstream
We are never to base our belief in God's Word in a person who does not believe God kept His Word to keep His Word forever (Psalm 12:6, 7)
Which Greek? Deliberately corrupted texts? Minority texts?
Alexandria? Or Egypt? Textus Receptus? Or the "LXX"?
There IS such a thing as a deliberately corrupted manuscript
There have been two "Words of God" since the Garden (The serpent adding to, Eve adding to the Word of God)
God speaks English, Greek, Hebrew, Chaldean, God invented languages in Babel, and God knows how to translate back and forth and preserve His Word. The enemy can easily deceive
as he easily deceived Eve in the Garden, simply by creating doubt, not even outright calling God a liar, making us doubt His Word
We do not speak Koine Greek, not even the Greeks do, in Greece. They speak Classical Greek-ask them!
Why would we need a foreign, dead language to tell us what the English says?
If there is one error or many, fix them all and hand us a perfect Bible that God said He would preserve (Psalm 12:6-7, Matthew 24:35, etc)
Where is this Word preserved today? In foreign, unused mss. found in Vatican trash cans, unused, in pristine condition?
Why not in a book, like it is IN the Word of God?
The scholars are wrong. Publishers and the enemy love Bible correctors who think they know more than God and His translators
Creating confusion further causes divisions
We are called to study, read, believe and teach God's Word, not recover it, question it, doubt it, cast doubt upon it, correct it
Either the scribes did their job or we are finished! Either the Jews went into Egypt against God's will (making that work null, void) or they did not, in which case we do not know
what God said.
(1 Chronicles 25:8)
And they cast lots, ward against ward, as well the small as the great, the teacher as the scholar.
(1 Corinthians 14:33 [KJV]) For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
(2 Corinthians 2:17 [KJV])
For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
