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Psalm 119:34
Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart.
The most astonishing realization in all the brain and Bible research is the way that scripture fits into the circuitry of the human mind. Understanding how the brain stores and processes our emotions, rewards, values, and habits has provided invaluable insight in the search for biblical truths. If the Bible is really God breathed, then this is exactly what one would expect to find. The first five books of the Old Testament are known as the "Torah" or Moses' law in Hebrew; in Christianity they are referred to as the "Pentateuch". These Laws are more than just rules and commandments, but rather a way of life. A way of treating, respecting and even loving one another. A way of feeding, raising, teaching and disciplining our children. A way of conducting business and balancing work verse leisure. A way of governing people and administrating justice. Most people have no idea that the Bible is the root of all justice on the earth. Our modern court system is even based on the biblical system setup by Moses in 1400 BC. It establishes the first hierarchical court system with upper and lower level courts just like we have today.
Deuteronomy 16:18-20
Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes in every town the Lord your God is giving you, and they shall judge the people fairly. Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the innocent. Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.
Exodus 18:25-27
He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.
Ezekiel 44:24
“In any dispute, the priests are to serve as judges and decide it according to my ordinances. They are to keep my laws and my decrees for all my appointed festivals, and they are to keep my Sabbaths holy.
So here we see an entire legal system established with a full set of laws by which to govern the people along with the penalties that come from breaking them. Most people today have no idea that the Bible contains these instructions because they are not taught by modern priests, but the founders of America saw things differently. John Davenport, who founded New Haven Connecticut in 1638 used Biblical law to shape their entire colony. He wanted to inspire its inhabitants to lead godly lives.
"Davenport’s ideas did much to shape the town and colony of New Haven. The first settlers pledged themselves to direct all their affairs according to the Scriptures." - Connecticut History.org
Through brain research we can now see how Biblical laws are more powerful than civil and criminal laws for maintaining order and peace. Biblical law was designed for the benefit of all people, not just lawyers and others who profit from crime. When Biblical laws are studied and memorized through meditation, they are in effect, "installed" into the reward system of the human mind. When this happens they form an instinctive spirit (see The Spirit) which produces dopamine when laws are followed and the fear that is required to inhibit dopamine production when one is tempted by the world to break them. (see dopamine breaking systems).
Ezekiel 36:27
And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Biblical laws span all aspects of a person's life, keeping them off the path to temptation which leads to bad decision making. When Biblical laws are followed, society, family and marriage all stay in balance which leads to good health, happiness and prosperity without the need for extensive government to maintain order. Criminal law protects people from criminals, Biblical law protects people from becoming criminals.
Proverbs 4:23-27
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.
Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
So Biblical law creates less criminals requiring less government and all the other public safety employees required to maintain order. This results in far less taxes on the people leading to a better quality of life, ie the pursuit of happiness. It's a natural process for people who are put in charge of laws to change them for their own financial benefits or the benefit of their "Craft" or the craft of the people or businesses who bribe them. John Adams, in a letter to Benjamin Rush on 21 December 1809, wrote:
"There is so much King Craft, Priest Craft, Gentlemens Craft, Peoples Craft, Doctors Craft, Lawyers Craft, Merchants Craft, Tradesmens Craft, Labourers Craft and Devils Craft in the world" -John Adams
Dead Sea Scrolls, Little Genesis Chapter:1
they will persecute those who seek the law, and they will abrogate and change everything so as to work evil before My eyes.
Building the government on Biblical law through the moral teaching of Jesus Christ was so important to the founding fathers of America, that they left many warnings to help us preserve it. John Jay, the first justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, who was appointed by George Washington, had this to say about the value of Biblical law in our society.
"No human society has ever been able to maintain both order and freedom, both cohesiveness and liberty apart from the moral precepts of the Christian Religion. Should our Republic ever forget this fundamental precept of governance, we will then, be surely doomed." - John Jay
So, based on the actual design of our brain's reward system, we can now see that teaching Christian morality and Biblical law to children builds a wall of protection inside the child's mind, blocking dopamine production which protects them from being lured into sexual immorality, drugs, jealousy, dissensions, factions, debt, crime and other worldly temptations.
Proverbs 22:6
Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.
This is why many state governments today, under the influence of the rich, have removed God from their schools. They are hiding their main adgenda of controlling your children by luring them into all kinds of coveting and addictive behavior for the sake of profits (worshiping the god of money).
Micah 7:3
Both hands are skilled in doing evil; the ruler demands gifts, the judge accepts bribes, the powerful dictate what they desire— they all conspire together.
Through brain research we can see how moral laws and values are actually wired into our brain circuitry to form a protective spirit— it's real. Break the laws and the wrong circuits get wired in, leading to habits that produce the chemicals for depression, ADHD, addiction, stress, anxiety, worry, confusion, inflammation and even cancers and death. When you study scripture you see that Biblical laws were designed to protect us against these poor health outcomes by the circuitry that is formed inside us when we know them. Trust and love the laws and the right connections are made, leading to a path of peace, hope, love, confidence, contentment, long life and prosperity. In fact, after a tremendous effort in research I can now attest that the Bible was written primarily for the purpose of preserving and teaching this law as a benefit to mankind.
1 Kings 2:3
Observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this
so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go
Joshua 1:8
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Deuteronomy 10:13
observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
1 Corinthians 7:35
I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.
The Bible was also written to stand as an everlasting witness against us. Meaning that it's us, not God, who are responsible for all the calamity that happens on the Earth. Since we were created with free will, calamity and disasters come when we disregard these laws and ignore the warnings.
Proverbs 1:26-30
I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when
calamity overtakes you— when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when
disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble
overwhelm you. “Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they
will look for me but will not find me, since they hated knowledge and
did not choose to fear the Lord. Since they would not accept my advice
and spurned my rebuke...but whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be at ease, without fear of harm.
Here is one of the most important verses in the New Testament that your priest will likely never tell you.
Matthew 5:18-20
For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Without this moral law we are all cursed— anxiously trying to live in accordance to the standards of the world. A world that wants to control us and profit from us by tempting us to live according to our sinful nature and hiding all knowledge of God. This is the reason why there is so much ADHD in the world today. Without the fear of God a child's mind cannot build the circuitry required to controls their behavior naturally without drugs. I have researched these circuits and they are real.
Deuteronomy 11:28
the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.
Now, how can anyone be obedient to laws they have never been taught? How can anyone fear God if we are taught that we evolved? How can anyone stop coveting if they don't know the Law?
Romans 7:7
I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet. But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting”
This is spiritual blindness and reason the rich are removing God from our schools. Not to separate church and state as they claim, no, it's because good Christians don't covet. How can the rich get richer if they can't tempt us into purchasing things we don't need. As a man who struggled to raise two boys in this new world of technology, I was fooled into following our new "experts"— experts who recently appeared— experts the world taught us to "believe in".
Deuteronomy 32:17
They sacrificed to false gods, which are not God— gods they had not
known, gods that recently appeared, gods your ancestors did not fear.
If only my wife and I raised our children according to God's law instead of trusting in society's new god, Dr Spock. Oh how I could have saved my family so much suffering.
Isaiah 2:22
Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils. Why hold them in esteem?
Romans 6:17
But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.
Thanks be to God that finally this 4000 year old Biblical mystery can now be easily proven by understanding the design of the reward system in the human brain. Thanks be to God that we can finally throw out this lie called Evolution. I am confident that with our new understanding of the brain, combined with the old knowledge found in scripture, we can now train minds to break addictions and eliminate behavioral problems without the use of drugs. In fact, recent studies have now identified some of these learned brain circuits and how they are linked to depression and other changes in mood. (See Study finds link between brain activity and depressed mood). Since the brain wiring is ever changing, old brain patterns can be replaced with new patterns forming a "new spirit" through a Biblical process called enlightenment and repentance.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
In neuroscience this change is referred to as "extinction" and fear networks have been shown to exhibit a powerful control of behavior. While bad fear networks can lead to anxiety and depression, good fear networks can actually be protective against harmful behaviors.
"Fear is a highly adaptive form of learning that prevents us from returning to a place where we were harmed"
-NMDA receptors and fear extinction: implications for cognitive behavioral therapy -Michael Davis, PhD, Emory University
Deuteronomy 5:29 (NIV)
"Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!"
Deuteronomy 31:12-13 (NIV)
"Assemble the people—men, women and children, and the foreigners residing in your towns—so they can listen and
learn to fear the Lord your God and follow carefully all the words of this law. Their children, who do not know this law, must hear it and
learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live "
Isaiah 33:5-6 (NIV)
The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness. He will be the sure foundation for your times,
a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.
How can this one book that most religions claim to follow, not lead us to the same understanding? That all Christians and Jews together must "fear the Lord" and obey his laws, which the prophet Isaiah refers to as a "treasure" leading to a "sure foundation". So we see that it appears that it's one thing to know the scripture and the Law, but yet another to be able to really understand how to teach it. Understanding this hypocrisy that overcomes the clergy is what the New Testament and Christ's teaching is all about. Since priests and other teachers of the law receive rewards in the form of donations, their own reward system can be tempted to say things that people "want to hear" so they can build a bigger following. Yet, many false teachers will say that after Christ came we no longer are required to fear God. Brain research however, and even Christ's own words below, prove that is a lie.
Matthew 10:28 (NIV)
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Luke 12:5 (NIV)
But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
Unfortunately, because of these false teachers, many who call themselves Christians and Jews have been walking in total darkness, blind to the truth and suffering in their lives. When you finally understand the intelligence found in this one book, the history behind it's preservation, and the real history of the United States of America (not the filtered lies in your textbooks), you will see that it was this uncovering of biblical truth, that led to the forming, independence, government, and the subsequent rising of a great nation. Preserving this biblical knowledge is the main reason why the founders of America created Harvard College and other colleges. The founders of Harvard recorded their reasons for establishing this center of learning:
"After God had carried us safe to New England and we had builded our houses, provided necessaries for our livelihood, reared convenient places for God's worship, and settled the civil government: One of the next things we longed for and looked after was to advance learning and perpetuate it to posterity; dreading to leave an illiterate ministry to the churches, when our present ministers shall lie in the dust."
-Harvard Divinity School Website
Is this the Bible that you know, the Bible you may have never read, the Bible you may have never understood, the Bible you may have never loved: until now? It's time to understand the scriptures again, the way our founders knew them, the way that Christ taught them, the way they actually work in our mind. Enjoy the journey back.
Luke 24:45
Then he opened their minds so they could
understand the Scriptures.
These are the famous words in Luke that identify the purpose of the Messiah or the Christ, which was to teach and liberate people from their oppressors. Their oppressors were the Pharisees or Teachers of the Law who Christ referred to as "hypocrites!".
Matthew 23:23
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your
(income). But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
Jeremiah 23:16-18
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise me,
‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’ And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’ But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to see or to hear his word?
Amos 2:4
The people of Judah have rejected the Lord’s Teachings and haven’t kept his laws. They have been led astray by false teachings, the same ones their ancestors followed.
Ezekiel 7:26
Disaster comes upon disaster; rumor follows rumor. They seek a vision from the prophet, while the law perishes from the priest and counsel from the elders.
Habakkuk 1:4
Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice is perverted.
Jeremiah 8:8
How can you say, “We are wise, for we have the law of the Lord,”
when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely?
Zephaniah 3:4
Her prophets are unprincipled; they are treacherous people.
Her priests profane the sanctuary and do violence to the law.
So here we see that Christ, Amos, Habakkuk, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Zephaniah acknowledge that it is the "teachers of the law" who have led the people astray, because they neglected the matters of the Law which were of greater consequence: justice and mercy and faithfulness (or in Hebrew mishpat, chesed, and emunah). This lack of understanding is what leads people into a state of oppression, only they are not aware of it because it was hidden from them. So Christ, a servant of the Lord, leads a rebellion against the Pharisees in order to teach the Jews the truth found in the Law; the Law that was given through Moses, the Law they were not following.
Deuteronomy 4:5,6,8
See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this
great nation is a
wise and understanding people.
And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?
So what are these biblical laws and how do they work in our mind? How do they affect our behavior? How do they affect our relationships? How do they affect society? Certainly they must still be a requirement for Jews and Christians to follow since Christ sacrificed his life to teach them.
Matthew 5:17-18
“Do not think that I have come to abolish Moses’ Teachings (the Law) or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will
by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."
Matthew 7:21
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Judged by the Law
We have all heard of the day of judgment. So by what standard will we be judged?
The Bible makes it very clear, you will be judged by this Law.
Ezekiel 44:24
In any dispute, the priests are to serve as judges and decide it according to my ordinances.
They are to keep my laws and my decrees for all my appointed festivals, and they are to keep my Sabbaths holy.
Romans 2:12-13
All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and
all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is
those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.
James 2:12
Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law
Now one may think that they will not be judged by any laws which the priest has hidden from them. They may think that they are safe as long as they don't hear them.
Jeremiah 7:9-11
“‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.
According to the Bible the responsibility of teaching these Laws belongs to the parents and Apostle Paul makes it clear that anyone who sins apart from the Law will also perish.
Deuteronomy 32:46
and he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this law.
So why has the priest hidden the Law from you? Many priest even say it's OK to sin, we are born sinners, and Christ died for your sins.
Micah 3:11
Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her
prophets tell fortunes for money.
Yet they look for the Lord’s support and say, “Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us.”
Now that we covered all the reasons why we don't know about the Law, let's discover what we are missing and why we want to study the Law and teach it to our children.
Psalm 119:165
Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.
Isaiah 24:5
The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws,
violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant.
I can honestly say that I had no idea how incredibly educational the Bible was and how much the Founding Fathers of America relied on it. The wisdom I have learned from studying the Bible surpasses every book I have ever read. It really opens your eyes to see the world differently. I was once blind but now I can see what was oppressing my family for 30 years, but now we have overcome it. So I love the Law, there is no doubt about the power the Law give to bring peace into our lives. The Law gives us the power to overcome the thinking of the world. Here is what John Adams, the second President of the United States and propably the most important figure in America's push for independence had to say about the Bible. Remember that John Adams has a law degree from Harvard.
John Adams letter to Abigail Smith,
20 April 1763
This is better Reasoning than any I learned at College. Patience my Dear! Learn to conquer your Appetites and Passions! Know thyself, came down from Heaven, and
the Government of ones own soul requires greater Parts and Virtues than the Management of Kingdoms, and the Conquest of the disorderly rebellious Principles in our Nature, is more glorious than the Acquisition of Universal Dominion.
The Beauty of Virtue, The Love of ones Country, a sense of Liberty, a Feeling for our Fellow Men, are Ideas that the Brains of Men now a Days can not contemplate: It is a better Way to substitute in the Place of them, The Beauty of a Girl Lady, the Love of Cards and Horse Races, a Taste in Dress, Music and Dancing, The Feeling of a pretty Girl or Fellow and a genteel Delicacy and Complaisance to all who have Power to abuse us.
John Adams diary
feb 22, 1756
"Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! What a Utopia; what a Paradise would this region be!
John Adams diary, 8/1/1761
"A Man who can read will find in his Bible
rules and observations that will enlarge his range of thought, and
enable him the better to judge who has and who has not that Integrity of Heart, and that
Compass of Knowledge and Understanding, which
form the Statesman."
Knowledge and understanding, that's what the Bible is all about. Why didn't my priest teach me these things? Has your priest also become a hypocrite according to Christ? How would you know if you don't read your Bible.
John Adams diary 7, 21 March - 18 October 1761
August 8/1/1761
No Priest nor Pope has any Right to say what I shall believe, and I will not believe one Word they say, if I think it is not founded in Reason and in Revelation. Now
how can I judge what My Bible justifies unless I can read my Bible.
According to the Bible, the path to our happiness and our peace starts with this law. Not by the waving our hands in the air, praying on beads, resting in the spirit, or though the worship of statues. The Bible specifically warns us not to do those things. It's no wonder that the priest hides the law. The Law gives us wisdom and understanding, a path to follow outside the church, a path that leads to peace. Not just our own personal peace, but the peace in our marriage, our family, our communities, and even our nations. When you understand how the mind works, you can see how this law works in our prefrontal cortex to create our peace by turning off the amygdala, our fear and anxiety sensor. This sensor controls our hypothalamus that produces all the hormones that our body needs to keep us in good health. If we can all just assume the responsibility to follow the same law and not let anyone, any religion or any politics divide us, then we become like-minded and share the same joy. This is a law that brings equity (fairness) to all people, regardless of national origin, color, race, sex or age.
Psalm 67:4
May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples with equity
and guide the nations of the earth.
Even John Adams and the Founding Fathers of America knew this over 200 years ago, and there have been many great leaders after him who have followed the same path. So where can we find this biblical law, this wisdom that leads to our peace? Who can we trust to help us to understand it and how do we know it comes from our Creator and not just some acient men?
One of the first obstacles I had to overcome in understanding the Bible was my doubts about the intelligence of the ancient men who wrote it. What level of education did they have that we could learn from them? But after a few years of casually reading the Bible, I began to see the wisdom I was gaining from the scripture and how it was helping my family. Then I discovered this verse which states that the Lord could speak to Moses through the ark of the covenant. This changed everything for me and allowed me to trust the words I was reading.
Numbers 7:89
“When Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the atonement cover on the ark of the covenant law. In this way the Lord spoke to him.
I have read the Bible with the understanding that the most intelligent engineer was actually speaking to the head priest. His specific instructions were to write down his commands in a book to teach the next generation his laws. Laws that reflect the understanding of how our brain actually works. Laws that will guide people to grow into a great and prosperous nation when they are followed. Laws that will lead to the destruction of a nation when they are ignored. And so the Lord instructed Moses to write these things down as a testament against the people, for future generations, so that after they (or their ancestors) have suffered they will turn back and trust again in the Law.
Isaiah 30:8-9
Go now, write it on a tablet for them,
inscribe it on a scroll,
that for the days to come
it may be an everlasting witness.
For these are rebellious people, deceitful children,
children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.
If you know anything about engineers, we are methodical and patient thinkers. So when I read the Bible, I read the same passage in three or more translations just to make sure I fully understand it. After all, it was translated from the old Hebrew and Greek writings, so there is a human element in each translation. To help with this potential for misinterpretation, I also have this great gift of understanding the circuitry of the mind, which helps me greatly in understanding the purpose of the text. This is an enormous help, which no man before me can possibly lay claim to. That is why I recommend that you ask yourself this question:
Why would this man spend six years of his life wiring up the brain, only to give his research away for free?
Why would he sacrifice his own company and spend his own money to create this site for people he doesn't even know?
Unless, of course, he was convinced through all his research that this high-tech brain of ours was designed by someone of much greater intelligence than us.
Someone who has the understanding to bring peace and salvation to our lives.
Someone who wants him to share what he has learned.
For it is written..
Jeremiah 3:15
And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with
knowledge and understanding.
I hope you are hungry because there is a lot to digest here.
For starters, I have discovered in my research that the New Testament is actually based completely on the laws, prophecies and teaching of the Old Testament. By understanding the Old Testament one can see that the intelligence of the Apostle Paul from 40 AD (from his Old Testament interpretation in his New Testament letters) was no different than men of today. In fact, in many ways Paul shows greater wisdom then the priests of today in his interpretation of the Old Testament, especially the Book of Isaiah. One who does not know the Old Testament would have no understanding of where Paul's reasoning comes from, but I have become like-minded with Paul in all my research.
And the Apostle Paul follows with this point in 2 Timothy (before the New Testament was even written).
2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
So I will draw upon both books in my writing and even prove that it was Christ's intentions all along not to change any of Moses' laws, but rather to fulfill them by being the living example of these laws at work in a human.
John 1:1,14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
Christ said that the Lord's spirit was in him and that he was "the truth" and "the way" and you will see that "the way" of the Lord is the following of all his commands without succumbing to the temptations of the world.
Ezekiel 36:25-27
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Isaiah 59:21
“As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.
And here Christ tells us that his disciples "in the kingdom of heaven" have become the true teachers of the law, not the hypocrites, the false teachers, that we will read about later. But Teachers who can heal the sick by the understanding of the scriptures.
Matthew 13:52
He said to them, “Therefore every
teacher of the law who
has become a
disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
Matthew 12:28
But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
As an engineer, who built guidance systems and led the design department for a large defense contractor, I am totally blown away by the advanced technology I have meticulously diagramed; in this guidance system we call: the human mind. Understanding how the brain works leads to the understanding of how the law works in the brain. Understanding how the law works leads to the understanding of how sin works. Understanding how the law and sin battle for control in the brain, leads to the understanding of how peace is achieved. It is with this new understanding that I am now putting all my trust in these words found in the Book of Isaiah Chapter 2:
Isaiah 2:3-4 “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
To understand how a universal Law can lead to peace, one must finally understand of the biblical concept of "sin", since sin leads to bitterness, division and even war. We can now apply our new understanding of the brain to finally discover the truth about sin, where it lives and how it spreads. Before we start, we must first determine what "sin" actually is because most religions don't even explain it. Next, we will look at the brain to see where sin is stored and how it operates in our mind.
Genesis 4:6-7
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?
If you do what is
right,
will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right,
sin is crouching outside your door
ready to attack. It wants to
control you, but you must rule over it.”
Now just like a computer virus, sin appears to be hiding; working in the background of our mind. It's ready to attack; it wants to take over your reward system and control your desires. To survive, just like that virus, it needs to spread to (attack) others before you detect it, otherwise we could wipe it out completely. Sin works in a cycle where the afflicted unknowingly tempt and afflict others, which is why we are still dealing with sin today. Once we understand this pattern and see where sin is hiding, we can end this cycle of sin and destroy the devil's work. So what actually is sin? And how do we recognize it?
Romans 7:7-8
I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead.
Here the Apostle Paul teaches us that "sin" is the breaking of the "law". If we apply the concept of sin to driving a car, we could say it is sinful to drive over the speed limit. So if we know the law says the speed limit is 65 and we are driving 75, then we know we are "sinning". Like Paul says, he didn't know he was sinning because he didn't know there was a "law".
The Doctrine of "Free Will" vs "Predestination" or Both?
Genesis 4:6-7 is the doctrine of "free will" that many religions say does not exist in the Bible. The Lord says to Cain, "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?" The word "if" clearly means you have a choice to "do" what is "right". Prior to this verse, both Cain and Abel had the "free will" to make an offering to the Lord, Abel's offering was accepted, Cain's was not. But the Lord gave Cain a choice to repent and correct his offering. Instead, Cain chose to kill his brother instead of simply repenting and doing what is right. This eventually leads to the flood that destroys all of Cain's decedents. So we see the evidence that one man's sinful behavior predestined his children into a cursed way of life. But this concept of free will vs predestination becomes even more clear in this choice that the Lord gives to his people.
Deuteronomy 11:26-28
“See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God,
So yes, you do have "free will", and yes there also is predestination. You have the "free will" to choose a way of life predestined for a blessing or predestined for a curse. Predestined for heaven or predestined for hell. It's a choice! Once we wire up a behavior to our reward center as "good", now we will be drawn to continue this behavior unless we learn otherwise. So parents predestine their children to seek the rewards that they believe are right. But do they understand the consequences of their guidance? So why do people choose to continue to to pursue a life of sin when they do have the "free will" to change? Is it not because their religion keep them in the dark? They don't understand how easy it really is to change, here is where the brain maps help to "open our minds" so we can understand the scripture and how Christ could heal by faith alone.
Luke 24:45
Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
Once man understands that the Lord gives them this choice, they can repent the sins of their ancestors and choose a different path. By opening our minds we can see this choice at work and finally show how sin deceives us; by producing dopamine in the brain to hijack our reward system. A predestination to a life of affliction and suffering.
Sin activates our facial expression recognition system, our mirror neurons and even our nudity processing system to send its signal through the brain into our hypothalamus. These networks are important to our social awareness; in our sharing of love and emotion; and even our sharing of fear and disgust. But we can be fooled by those who use their knowledge of this subconscious system to gain control of weak-minded people. Because we are untrained in this awareness, we can be easily deceived. The sinners appear to be having fun, their facial expressions are drawing us in, they even use their flesh to attract us. Their deceptive signals are working in our subconscious networks, telling us that something is desirable or not. We covet what they have, we trust them and we are lured right into the trap, sin feels good, it has mastered us. We are no longer free, but like a drug addiction, we have become slaves to our sin. The warnings about the facial expression network and about flattery are found throughout scripture.
Proverbs 6:20-25
My son, keep your father’s command
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
Bind them always on your heart;
fasten them around your neck.
When you walk, they will guide you;
when you sleep, they will watch over you;
when you awake, they will speak to you.
For this command is a lamp,
this teaching is a light,
and correction and instruction
are the way to life,
keeping you from your neighbor’s wife,
from the smooth talk of a wayward woman.
Do not lust in your heart after her beauty
or let her captivate (catch) you with her eyes.
Proverbs 4:25-27
Let your eyes look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you.
Give careful thought to the paths for your feet
and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil.
Psalm 1:1-2
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
John 8:34
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
When we don't recognize we are being controlled by sin, the Bible tells us that "we are blind" or we are "walking in darkness". The Lord knows it's going to lead us into trouble. So if we continue in our sinful ways, we are warned that a time will come when we may find ourselves stressed out, overworked, drinking more, spending more, quarreling more, eating more, and even relying on medication. Our body begins to ache from inflammation, anxiety is weighing down our heart, our relationships are failing, and we are constantly worried about our health. Our pride may prevent us from recognizing our mistakes, then we spread our bitterness, embittering our children, and we don't know why. It's humbling when we don't know what happened to us and we grow hungry for answers.
Deuteronomy 8:3
"He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord."
The word of the Lord is his law. The law he instructed Moses to write down and teach, to protect us from the control of sin. The same law Jeremiah spoke about when introducing the new covenant. The same law Jesus said not to change or break. The same law the Apostle Paul speaks about in the New Testament book of Hebrews.
Jeremiah 31:33 Old Testament and Hebrews 10:16 New
“This is the covenant I will make with the them
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
Proverbs 4:20-22 My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.
Sin and law battle for control in our mind in a region called our reward system. Sin and law are enemies. It's a war between evil vs good, wickedness vs righteousness, the flesh vs the spirit, the darkness vs the light, the temptations of the world vs morality, Satan vs God, and the engineer who designed this high-tech system knows exactly how it works. By looking at all the brain maps on this site (see The Brain), hopefully you will conclude, like I have, that this wonderfully complex brain, which is more complex than 34,500 quad core i7 microprocessors, was engineered by someone who knows exactly how it works. Who gave humans free will, a prefrontal cortex, and who knows how we influence each other and how sin can spread for generations upon generations. As history shows us, unrecognized sin can destroy a great nation.
Genesis 15:16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
Exodus 20:5-6 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 unfailing love (Hebrew word is "chesed") to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
What Causes Wanting or Lusting
The reward system of our brain works by releasing dopamine in a region of the brain called the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA).
The VTA is the same region that
fires during drug addictions, sex drive and orgasm, so you can see how powerful this feedback system can be in controlling our behavior.
By understanding the circuits that make the VTA fire and inhibit it, we can understand how sin and law can control our behavior.
Brain circuits can either excite a neuron and cause it to fire, or
inhibit a neuron and block it from firing. Various
neurotransmitters like dopamine can greatly enhance the firing.
Others like GABA decrease firing. Signals that begin the firing of
the circuits start with inputs from our senses. Our visual data passes from the Occipital Lobe (where we see) to the Temporal Lobe (where we identify). While this visual data is passing through, it's being filtered by shape to different regions for processing.
Through this high-tech image processing system faces go to the
fusiform gyrus, places and scenes to the
parahippicampal gyrus, objects to the inferior temporal cortex and so on. The final recognition stage of objects and faces is stored in the
Perirhinal Cortex.
This is where all viewpoints (profile, front view) and even the sound of
one's voice converge to identify that unique someone or something. The
perirhinal cortex then passes this (who or what) data forward to the Orbital Frontal Cortex (OFC) where the reward and emotional value of the person or object is stored. Then up to the Pre Frontal Cortex (PFC), which matures after age 20, where our executive control can regulate the response of the stimuli based on our stored moral values of sin and law. Basically, is this OK or Not?
If it's a "yes", then the signal passes to the
Nucleus Accumbens
(NAC), which coordinates with the dopamine from the VTA. The
NAC also inhibits
the
Ventral Pallidum (VP) which is the regulator of the VTA so you are "addicted" to what you see.
But to make this initial circuit, our facial expression and nudity
processing networks, found in the
Superior Temporal Sulcus
(STS), connect in the background and fire the VTA to produce dopamine
and set up your acceptance of "sinful" or "lawful" rewards.
Ventral Tegmental Area: Reward system
Wikipedia
The medium spiny neurons of the NAC are much more responsive to this increase in dopamine
if there is coincident excitatory input from the telencephalic structures such as the
amygdala and orbital-medial prefrontal cortex
This subconscious network is the secret behind the power that commercials use to control our "wants" and "behavior"; and also how infants first learn emotion and good/bad behavior through the facial expressions of their parents. Remember from the home page how the nudity processing system works. In males, neuroscience experiments show that nude or partially nude images of female body parts, are the most highly reactive areas of recognition and increase as clothing decreases. These visual responses occur in the back of the brain prior to any decision making circuitry in the Pre Frontal Cortex. They fire the VTA to produce dopamine and also release oxytocin into the spinal fluid of males only. Only the PFC can inhibit the male from initiating sexual behavior at this point.
Moreover, the N170 amplitude increased linearly as the amount of clothing decreased from full clothing via swimsuits to nude bodies. Strikingly, the N170 response to nude bodies was even greater than that to faces, and the N170 amplitude to bodies was independent of whether the face of the bodies was visible or not -The Naked Truth
So by using smiling faces, partial nudity, flattery, and bad advice, humans can be lured into poor behavior choices, especially if they don't have the power of the law preinstalled in their PFC. To make matters worse, some stimuli like nudity release chemicals into the spinal fluid that takes over 6 hours to filter out. This effect is different in males than females. In females as soon as the sexual stimulus is removed the effect begins to stop. Today, with the advent of TV, cell phones, and Internet, sin is no longer right outside your door waiting to attack, it's in our houses, it's in our children's pockets, it's hanging on our walls- but we can master sin (evil/Satan) once we know how to recognize it! With our understanding of the brain we can finally destroy the devil's work.
What Prevents that Wanting Feeling
So we see how the facial expression network uses dopamine to build our rewards, our "wants". Now there is also another network in place that controls rewards, a network that wires up our negative rewards or what we see as punishment. If you are afraid or disgusted by something, or if you observe fear or disgust in the facial expressions of others, then the PFC fires the Amygdala and the Rostromedial Tegmental (RMT) that puts on the breaks and stops the release of dopamine. A secondary system that wires up punishments starts with the Lateral Habenula (LHb). The habenula inhibits the VTA directly plus recruits the inhibiting power of the RTM to really shut down the VTA.
A major inhibitor of VTA activity is the lateral habenula (LHb). This epithalamic structure is able to almost completely suppress dopamine release, either directly or via the rostromedial tegmental nucleus (RMTg) - VTA-projecting neurons in the lateral habenula of the rat
The habenula also inhibits and another dopamine region called the substantia nigra (SN) which enables muscle control from the cerebellum. This stops habitual behavior. In animals the habenula is activated directly from smells and can instantly turn off all motor control and cause (freezing). So if you fear the Lord, you will be protected by the RMT and the HA and will not be drawn into sinful behavior. But instead will be drawn into following the righteous acts of the law, that will give you your dopamine. If you have suffered through a painful experience the HA will remember the sensory inputs related to the experience and produce a phobia or fear. This is the network at play in the biblical Furnace of Affliction, that we will discuss later, and the reason that correctly disiplining children with the rod can he highly effective in controling sinful behavior. Especially since children do not have a highly functioning PFC till their teen years. But be careful because through your reward system you can be programmed by others to not want something that is actually good (according to the law) and instead want something that is actually evil. That is why it is written:
Isaiah 5:20
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,
who put darkness for light and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
Matthew 23:27-28 (ESV)
“Woe to you, scribes (Torah scholars (TLV) or teachers of the law (NIV)) and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness (you are lawlessly against the Torah (OJB).
2 Samuel 14:17
“And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king secure my inheritance, for my lord the king is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil. May the Lord your God be with you.’”
Proverbs 13:24
Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.
Those who do these things miswire a person's reward system leading them down a road of suffering. When society loses the understanding of God's laws, the people no longer know what is good and what is evil. This is how the rich and wicked control the people and make them their "working" slaves. They have to free them from the control of God's laws first by taking away all knowledge of God starting when they are children. The prophecy about the birth of the Messiah (anointed one) focuses on his ability to discern the evil from the good and later teach others the "truth" to set them free.
Isaiah 7:14-15
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey when he
knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.
When we wire up our reward system to love the law, because we trust the Lord's promise, we now become slaves to the law, slaves to righteousness. This is the mercy of the Lord in action, we no longer have any desire for the things that once controlled us. We are no longer being tempted into sin, but rather we receive the same dopamine by following the law by our new spirit we are slaves to righteousness.
Romans 6:17-18
But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and
have become slaves to righteousness.
1 John 2:26-27
I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit.
Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom
Deuteronomy 8:6
So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways
and by fearing him.
Psalm 111:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
Welcome to the "Age of Understanding". Now that we finally understand the mystery of the fear of the Lord, why it is necessary to keep us on the right path, now we need to find that path and walk in it. We need to know the law and what we should be programming ourselves and families to "want" (good) and "hate" (evil). Society ("the world"/"Satan") tries to convince us that we "need" certain things, they use our pride to control us and they profit from our hard work. But while our "wants" may be making others rich and powerful, are they leading us into peace or suffering? Are they hurting others in the process? And if "my way" has lead to suffering, are you spreading that bitterness on the innocent? Have we really been fooled by "the world" and is there still time to fix it? The Bible calls this processing of thinking "enlightenment" or "light", and the brain can rewire (relearn) and break the old circuits that once controlled you. This is how addictions and sin are overcome and how I believe many biblical healings occurred. When the brain becomes wired so that the Law of the Lord is your reward, the Prefrontal Cortex takes over and the "wanting" feeling stops. Fear of breaking the law is what fires the basolateral Amygdala(BLA) and activates the Ventral Pallidum (VP) to turn off the dopamine from the VTA.
Inhibitory GABAergic neurons of the VPvm project to mediodorsal thalamus, lateral hypothalamus, and ventral tegmental area, and this VP subregion helps discriminate the appropriate conditions to acquire natural rewards or drugs of abuse, consume preferred foods, and perform working memory tasks. -The ventral pallidum: Subregion-specific functional anatomy and roles in motivated behaviors
Once the dopamine is inhibited towards sinful behavior, peace is the outcome and you finally have the wisdom to overcome sin. The circuits that once ruled the body by the "flesh" have died, your "eyes are open", you are no longer "blind" to your affliction, you are back in control and the Lord is now your God because you know his law and fear him. You are no longer following the "other gods" of the world.
Romans 8:12-13
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
Just reading the law is not going to fix the "wanting" problem. In order to make new circuits, meditation is required. Remember the new covenant, “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts" does not come just from reading but also through memorization, understanding and trusting. Singing songs is a form of meditation because you can remember the lyrics, so it is in your mind and on your lips. In order to create and strengthen new pathways in our mind, we must meditate on the words and laws we want to follow. This is a key component of Buddhism and has been shown by neuroscience to work effectively in changing thinking patterns. Neuroscience has a term for this process called Hebbian theory: essentially "Cells that fire together, wire together". Meditation builds these circuits.
How Drugs Cause Addiction
Understanding the brain circuits allows us to see the effect that drugs
have on these brain regions. By witnessing the effects of
drugs on humans, we can see how powerful certain brain regions are at
controlling our behavior. The way that drugs cause addiction is by
simply
inhibiting the Ventral Pallidum (VP) . This turns of the LHb and
turns on the VTA so the NA and LH are flooded with dopamine. The
look of the drug and the behavior in taking it are recorded in the
cerebellum as habits to assist in repeating the behavior. The
feeling from the drug is activated in the Laterial Hypothalamus (LH)
Effect of Alcohol on Decision Making
Understanding the brain circuits help us to visualize what is going on
in our minds and how we are controlled by sin or law. Humans store their
beliefs in the prefrontal cortex and those beliefs can inhibit the
effect of sensory inputs to control our behavior. Animals do not have
the large prefrontal cortex like humans so they are driven completely by
sensory input. When humans consume alcohol it works to inhibit the
control of the prefrontal cortex while the function of the orbital
cortex remains in tact. From a behavior perspective alcohol makes humans
react more animals in their decision making, especially when they are intoxicated.
ALCOHOL AND THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX
VIII
Ethanol inhibits spike firing of PFC neurons. Acute ethanol administration in humans has been shown to cause deficits in executive activities that are thought to require the PFC. For example, performance in a spatial recognition task and a planning task was decreased in social drinkers while inebriated and acute EtOH has been shown to cause poorer decision making using a gambling task to assess PFC function
Praise be to the Lord our God, whose law was given to protect us in this way. With our new understanding of the brain we can now see how the "Holy Spirit" is formed in a human. This is the Holy Spirit at work in you, protecting you from the very desire to sin; sin that leads to the destruction of our family, the destruction of our love, and even to our spiritual death. If you want to live by the Lord's spirit, you have to understand the scripture and meditate on the biblical laws. You have to install them in your prefrontal cortex and love them in your heart. This will wire up your prefrontal cortex in such a way that you will always have joy in your life. Your heart will desire to follow the law, which leads to dopamine, which leads to love, to peace and happiness and supresses all vanity and pride. This leads to proper function of your hypothalamus, which leads to lower blood pressure, less stress, less pain, less inflamation, less anxiety and better sleep and immune function. And confidence in the Lord's promise of everlasting life. You will no longer be dead in your sin. Who doesn't want these things. It is such a beautiful law when you finally read it, a law that America's founding fathers trusted in, a law that I delight in because it has made me a better man and brought happiness to my marriage.
Joshua 1:7-9
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips;
meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged,
for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
By putting this law into your mind, your prefrontal cortex, you will overcome the desires of the flesh and finally understand the healing power of Christ and the miracles of the New Testament.
Acts 10:37-38
you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil,
for God was with him.
It is in this way that God is with us, when we meditate on his Laws and put them in our heart.
after you have finished reading this section see "The Servant" for the process of repenting and changing your thoughts.
So then, do you think sin is OK as some religions claim because they claim that "Christ died for your sins" and "we are all sinners"? Does that idea make any sense now when we see how the brain reward system works and understand Christ's mission: to separate the evil from the good and teach the Law?
Original sin: also called ancestral sin, is the Christian doctrine of humanity's state of sin resulting from the fall of man, stemming from Adam and Eve's rebellion in Eden, namely the sin of disobedience in consuming from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (see Wikipedia)
The concept of original sin was first alluded to in the 2nd century by Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons. Other churches such as Augustine also developed the doctrine, seeing it as based on the New Testament teaching of Paul the Apostle.
Romans 5:12-21
Sin came into the world through one person (Adam), and
death came through sin. So death spread to everyone, because everyone sinned. Sin was in the world before there were any laws. But no record of sin can be kept when there are no laws. Yet, death ruled from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin in the same way Adam did when he disobeyed. Adam is an image of the one who would come.
So here the Apostle Paul is telling us that sin spreads and leads to death. With our new understanding of the brain and how sin hijacks the reward system, we can now visualize this concept of original sin and see how it works and spreads. Because sin works like a computer virus, if we can quarantine it and recognize it, we can stop it from spreading. The Old Testament stonings were meant to show us how sin spreads from person to person and, back at that time, had to be killed off to stop the spread. But through the teaching of Christ, we have learned a new way to destroy sin: through repentance. We must remember that the Apostle Paul did not have access to the ark of the covenant and was not speaking with the Lord as the prophets did in the past. (see Numbers 7:89 above) Paul was an intelligent man who is interpreting the Old Testament in his writings, based on the new understanding that he learned from Christ. As Christ says:
Luke 24:44-47
He (Christ) said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the law of Moses (Torah), the Prophets and the Psalms.(the Old Testament)”
Then he opened their minds so they could understand
the Scriptures.
So here is the key point about Christ's teaching; that the people of his time had the scriptures, but they didn't understand them. Their minds were closed; this is a form of stubborness.
Jeremiah 11:8
But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they
followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them
all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but
that they did not keep.
Now this idea of original sin comes from Adam and Eve, so let's look at the scripture Paul is speaking of ourselves to see if we can understand Paul's thinking and if he is telling us that we should be baptizing infants to prevent the spreading of death (sin).
Genesis 3:17-19
To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life. It will produce
thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.
Because of Adam's sin, resulting from a choice he made (which he later refuses to repent and instead blames his wife and even God for providing him with the woman in the first place), his spiritual death would later spread to his children, Cain and Abel. As a result Cain killed Abel. So Adam's original sin, that spread to his children, created the thorns and thistles of his cursed life which will cause him to return to the ground in death, unless...
Genesis 3:22
Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also
of the tree of life and
eat, and
live forever.
So we can see that Adam's original sin did lead to the spreading of a curse that caused death, but the Lord did give him an antidote that would prevent death. That antidote does not speak about baptizing infants with water, but rather eating from the "tree of life".
We will study this concept further in the "tree of life" section under "The Way". For now I will say that you should keep your mind open to another understanding. Yes, we grow up in a world full of sin and that sin spreads to our children; predestining them to a life of stress and unhappiness, a life of vanity, and a life without godly love. But baptizing an infant with water doesn't help them to eat from the "tree of life", which is the only way to prevent death the Lord gives in the original story. The only way back to the truth, which is the foundation of our faith. So let's make this journey to discover this "tree of life", which I will hint to now "has nothing to do with apples". As the Lord tells Ezekiel here that the one who sins is the one who will die. The son doesn't share the original sin of his father if he turns from sin and does what is right.
Ezekiel 18:19-23
The One Who Sins Will Die
“Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right and
has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The
righteousness of the righteous
will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.
“But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die. None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live. Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?
Ezekiel 18:29-32 Repent and Live!
Yet the Israelites say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Are my ways unjust, people of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?
“Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord.
Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and
get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord.
Repent and live!
So we see now clearly that we need to REPENT and be righteous and then we will live. Original sin is a curse because we grow up in a world full of sinners who are stubborn and refuse to repent. So they fail to teach the law to their children to protect them from sin. However, if the child's parents would repent and turn to the law, then they can protect that child from their ancestor's original sin. We are baptizing the wrong people.
Luke 24:44-47
He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the law of Moses (Torah), the Prophets and the Psalms.”
Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,
and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Everlasting life does not come from the baptizing of infants which Christ
never mentioned once in all the
gospels. But through the baptism of repentance which requires a
decision and an adult mind with a developed prefrontal cortex. Not that baptizing infants will hurt them
as we discussed in great detail in the chapter called The Way. For now, you need to learn what sin really is by reading the law below
and find out why our choices are leading to our suffering.
We can finally overcome our life of sin and death by:
1. Recognizing
sin by knowing the law
2. Overcoming sin with Christ's teaching of
repentance for the forgiveness of sin
3. Having faith in the law
The Apostle Paul
really nails it down here in Colossians.
Colossians 2:8-14(GWT)
Be careful not to let anyone rob you of this faith through a shallow and misleading philosophy. Such a person follows human traditions and the world’s way of doing things rather than following Christ.
All of God lives in Christ’s body, and God has made you complete in Christ. Christ is in charge of every ruler and authority. In him you were also circumcised. It was
not a circumcision performed by human hands. But it was
a removal of the corrupt nature in the circumcision performed by Christ. This happened when you were placed in the tomb with Christ through baptism.
In baptism you were also brought back to life with Christ
through faith in the power of God, who brought him back to life.
You were once dead because of your failures and your uncircumcised corrupt nature. But God made you alive with Christ
when he forgave all our failures. He did this
by erasing the charges that were brought against us
by the written laws God had established.
Baptizing an infant with water (like circumcision) is something that is done with human hands. Baptizing with repentance is something that is done in the mind that changes behavior. Brothers and sisters, how can any of this apply to infants?
Jeremiah 4:4
Be circumcised by the Lord,
and get rid of the foreskins of your hearts,
people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem.
If you don’t, my fury will flare up like a fire.
It will burn, and no one will be able to put it out,
because of the evil you do.
Deuteronomy 10:16
Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stiffnecked any longer.
Have you ever wondered why you are suffering or have suffered in your life? Ever thought to yourself, if there is a God, why would he make me suffer like this? Have you ever had a friend or relative who went to church each week, or even each day, but had many hardships in their life? Have you ever been divorced? Do you struggle to find happiness each day? Have you ever been angry at God for your suffering? Well, I'm sorry to tell you that the Lord is more righteous than all of us. He already knew we would blame him for all the calamity in our lives. So this is what The Lord told his servants to tell us, so we can't blame him for doing it "Our Way". I learned these lessons the hard way, but I am very fortunate that my suffering led me to search out and discover my mistakes. I realized that I trusted "the world" including the scientists, doctors, psychiatrists, and priests and "the world" deceived me. But I am thankful because now I have this great understanding that I hope to share with you. It's changed my life for the better and my wife and children's lives too.
Isaiah 59:1-2
"Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.
But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear"
Jeremiah 9:13
The Lord said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them;
They have not obeyed me or followed my law. Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts;
as their ancestors taught them.”
Deuteronomy 28:28
"The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind."
Isaiah 30:8-16
Go now, write it on a tablet for them,
inscribe it on a scroll,
that for the days to come
it may be an everlasting witness.
For these are rebellious people, deceitful children,
children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.
They say to the seers,
“See no more visions!”
and to the prophets,
“Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,
prophesy illusions.
Leave this way,
get off this path,
and stop confronting us
with the Holy One of Israel!”
Therefore this is what the Holy One of Israel says:
“Because you have rejected this message,
relied on oppression
and depended on deceit,
this sin will become for you
like a high wall, cracked and bulging,
that collapses suddenly, in an instant.
It will break in pieces like pottery,
shattered so mercilessly
that among its pieces not a fragment will be found
for taking coals from a hearth
or scooping water out of a cistern.”
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.
You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’
Isaiah 50:4-11
Who among you fears the lord and obeys the word of his servant? Let the one who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the lord and rely on their God. But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment."
The Furnace of Affliction (sermon on affliction)
When "my way" is not working it will always lead to suffering. Maybe not in the current generation of the initial sinner but eventually through the suffering of their children and or grandchildren. That is why it is so important to have knowledge of the law as it will help get us back on the right path. This process of learning from one's mistakes, or learning the hard way, produces a refinment in behavior and leads us back to the Lord.
Isaiah 48:1-6
(full)
You who take oaths in the name of the Lord
and invoke the God of Israel— but
not in truth or righteousness; you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city and claim to rely on the God of Israel—the Lord Almighty is his name: I foretold the former things long ago,
my mouth announced them and I made them known;
then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
For I knew how stubborn you were;
your neck muscles were iron,
your forehead was bronze.
Therefore I told you these things long ago; before they happened I announced them to you
so that you could not say,
‘My images brought them about;
my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’
You have heard these things; look at them all.
Will you not admit them?
Well do I know how treacherous you are;
you were called a rebel from birth.
For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath;
for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,
so as not to destroy you completely.
See, I have refined you, though not as silver;
I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this.
How can I let myself be defamed?
Isaiah 48:17
“I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you,
who directs you in the way you should go.
If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river,
your well-being like the waves of the sea.
Jeremiah 7:4-11
Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!”
If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner,
the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm,
then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors forever and ever.
But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.
You steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury,
and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things?
Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you?
But I have been watching! declares the Lord.
Micah 2:1-3
Woe to those who plan iniquity,
to those who plot evil on their beds!
At morning’s light they carry it out
because it is in their power to do it.
They covet fields and seize them,
and houses, and take them.
They defraud people of their homes,
they rob them of their inheritance.
Therefore, the Lord says:
“I am planning disaster against this family,
from which you cannot save yourselves.
You will no longer walk proudly,
for it will be a time of calamity.”
The Book of Jubilees
(found with the Dead Sea Scrolls and one of my favorite books with great detail left out of the book of Genesis)
The Lord said to Moses: 'Incline thine heart to every word which I shall speak
to thee on this mount, and write them in a book in order that their
generations may see how I have not forsaken them for all the evil which
they have wrought in transgressing the covenant which I establish
between Me and thee for their generations this day on Mount Sinai. And
thus it will come to pass when all these things come upon them, that
they will recognize that I am more righteous than they in all their
judgments and in all their actions, and they will recognize that I have
been truly with them. And do thou write for thyself all these words
which I declare unto, thee this day, for I know their rebellion and
their stiff neck, before I bring them into the land of which I sware to
their fathers, to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob, saying: ' Unto your
seed will I give a land flowing with milk and honey. And they will eat
and be satisfied, and they will turn to strange gods, to (gods) which
cannot deliver them from aught of their tribulation: and this witness
shall be heard for a witness against them. For they will forget all My
commandments, (even) all that I command them, and they will walk after
the Gentiles, and after their uncleanness, and after their shame, and
will serve their gods, and these will prove unto them an offence and a
tribulation and an affliction and a snare. And many will perish and they
will be taken captive, and will fall into the hands of the enemy,
because they have forsaken My ordinances and My commandments, and the
festivals of My covenant, and My Sabbaths, and My holy place which I
have hallowed for Myself in their midst, and My tabernacle, and My
sanctuary, which I have hallowed for Myself in the midst of the land,
that I should set my name upon it, and that it should dwell (there).
And they will sacrifice their children to demons, and to all the works
of the error of their hearts. And I will send witnesses unto them, that
I may witness against them, but they will not hear, and will slay the
witnesses also, and they will persecute those who seek the law, and they
will abrogate and change everything so as to work evil before My eyes.
And I will hide My face from them, and I will deliver them into the hand
of the Gentiles for captivity, and for a prey, and for devouring, and I
will remove them from the midst of the land, and I will scatter them
amongst the Gentiles. And they will forget all My law and all My
commandments and all My judgments and will go astray as to new moons, and
Sabbath, and festivals, and jubilees, and ordinances, and festivals, and jubilees, and ordinances.
And after this they will turn to Me from amongst the Gentiles with all their heart and with all their soul and with all their strength,
and I shall gather them from amongst all the Gentiles, and they will seek Me, so that I shall be found of them, when they seek Me with all
their heart and with all their soul. And I shall disclose to them abounding peace with righteousness,
and I shall remove them the plant of uprightness, with all My heart and with all My soul, and they will be for a blessing and not for a curse,
and they will be the head and not the tail. And I shall build My sanctuary in their midst, and I shall dwell with them,
and I shall be their God and they will be My people in truth and righteousness. And I shall not forsake them nor fail them;
for I am the Lord their God." And Moses fell on his face and prayed and said, "O Lord my God, do not forsake Thy people and Thy inheritance,
so that they should wander in the error of their hearts, and do not deliver them into the hands of their enemies, the Gentiles,
lest they should rule over them and cause them to sin against Thee. Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be lifted up upon Thy people, and
create in them an upright spirit, and let not the spirit of Belial rule over them to accuse them before Thee,
and to ensnare them from all the paths of righteousness, so that they may perish from before Thy face.
But they are Thy people and Thy inheritance, which Thou hast delivered with Thy great power
from the hands of the Egyptians: create in them a clean heart and a holy Spirit,
and let them not be ensnared in their sins from henceforth until eternity." And the Lord said unto Moses:
"I know their contrariness and their thoughts and their stiffneckedness,
and they will not be obedient till they confess their own sin and the sin of their fathers.
And after this they will turn to Me in all uprightness and with all (their) heart and with all (their) soul,
and I shall circumcise the foreskin of their heart and the foreskin of the heart of their seed (children),
and I shall create in them a holy spirit, and I shall cleanse them so that they shall not turn away from
Me from that day unto eternity. And their souls will cleave to Me and to all My commandments,
and they will fulfil My commandments, and I shall be their Father and they will be My children.
And they will all be called children of the living God, and every angel and every spirit will know,
yea, they will know that these are My children, and that I am their Father in uprightness and righteousness, and that I love them.
And do thou write down for thyself all these words which I declare unto thee on this mountain,
the first and the last, which shall come to pass in all the divisions of the days in the law and in the testimony
and in the weeks and the jubilees unto eternity, until I descend and dwell with them throughout eternity."
Deuteronomy 4:9
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen
or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
Proverbs 21:30
There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.
Proverbs 8:13
To fear the Lord is to hate evil;
I hate pride and arrogance,
evil behavior and perverse speech.
Isaiah 2:17
The arrogance of man will be brought low
and human pride humbled;
Isaiah 2:17 "The arrogance of man will be brought low and human pride humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day, and the idols will totally disappear"
Job 33:15-18
In a dream, in a vision of the night,
he may speak in their ears
and terrify them with warnings,
to turn them from wrongdoing
and keep them from pride,
to preserve them from the pit.
Proverbs 16:18-19
Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall.
It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor
than to divide the spoil with the proud.
Daniel 9:4-14
I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:
“Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled;
we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.
“Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you. The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.
“Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.
All the research I have done on the brain has shown me clearly that our attitudes and behaviors control our hypothalamus which controls our pituitary gland,
which controls our hormones, which controls our health.
Pride and arrogance are two character traits that greatly effect our health and the Bible speaks of them repeatedly. A popular Bible word for arrogance is "haughty".
Here are some passages that link arrogance with future health issues.
Mark 7:20-23
He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them.
For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, pride, arrogance and folly.
All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
Isaiah 13:11
I will punish the world for its evil,
the wicked for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty
and will humble the pride of the ruthless.
This next piece of scripture may even explain the rise in breast cancer as it appears that an unbalance of the hormones estrogen and progesterone, both produced by the hypothalamus, effect tumor growth (see Progesterone and bc) . Brain research clearly shows that our behavior can influence our hypothalamus.
Isaiah 3:16-24
The Lord says,
“The women of Zion are haughty,
walking along with outstretched necks,
flirting with their eyes,
strutting along with swaying hips,
with ornaments jingling on their ankles.
Therefore the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion;
the Lord will make their scalps bald.”
In that day the Lord will snatch away their finery: the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces, the earrings and bracelets and veils, the headdresses and anklets and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, the signet rings and nose rings, the fine robes and the capes and cloaks, the purses and mirrors, and the linen garments and tiaras and shawls.
Instead of fragrance there will be a stench;
instead of a sash, a rope;
instead of well-dressed hair, baldness;
instead of fine clothing, sackcloth;
instead of beauty, branding.
Ezekiel 23:30-35
I have brought this upon you, because you played the whore with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.
You have gone the way of your sister; therefore I will give her cup into your hand.
Thus says the Lord God: “You shall drink your sister's cup that is deep and large;
you shall be laughed at and held in derision,
for it contains much; you will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow.
A cup of horror and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria;
And you shall drink it and drain, and its shards you shall scrape, and you shall tear off your breasts,
for I have spoken, declares the Lord God. Therefore thus says the Lord God:
Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you yourself must bear the consequences of your lewdness and whoring.”
Jeremiah 11:8
But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed
the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all the
curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did
not keep.
2 Chronicles 36:16
But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.
Proverbs 3:12
because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
as a father the son he delights in
1 Corinthians 10 1,5-6 Learn from
What Happened in the Time of Moses (Old Testament)
I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that all our ancestors who left Egypt were under the cloud, and they all went through the sea. They were all united with Moses by baptism in the cloud and in the sea.
Yet, God was not pleased with most of them, so their dead bodies were scattered over the desert.
These things have become examples for us so that we won’t desire what is evil, as they did.
OK, do you still want to blame the Lord for your suffering? Even if our suffering eventually leads us back to his Law and the promise of everlasting life?
Deuteronomy 4:29-31
But if you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him. For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.
Proverbs 1:24-33
But since you refuse to listen when I call
and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand,
since you disregard all my advice
and do not accept my rebuke,
I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you;
I will mock when calamity overtakes you—
when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,
when distress and trouble overwhelm you.
“Then they will call to me but I will not answer;
they will look for me but will not find me,
since they hated knowledge
and did not choose to fear the Lord.
Since they would not accept my advice
and spurned my rebuke,
they will eat the fruit of their ways
and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.
For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
but whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be at ease, without fear of harm.”
1 Corinthians 11:32
Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.
Isaiah 30:20-21
Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Who am I that you should trust me as a teacher of the Lord's Law? That's a very good question and one you should be asking. According to scripture, there are very serious consequences for misleading others that I am well aware of. For example...
Isaiah 5:20
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil. Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit,
Malachi 2:7-8
“For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth. But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi (the Levites),” says the Lord Almighty.
Matthew 18:7
Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!
Luke 17:2
"It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble."
After reading these warnings it would seem best to keep one's opinions to yourself. However, according to scripture, there are even worse penalties for those who understand the law and choose not to teach or correct others.
Proverbs 3:27-28
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to act.
Do not say to your neighbor,
“Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”—
when you already have it with you.
Leviticus 19:17
“Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt."
Ezekiel 3:16-19
I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so
hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked
person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to
dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked
person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their
blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their
wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you
will have saved yourself.
Now after six years of reading the Bible while wiring up the brain, I knew that I had a great understanding of scripture and how it works in our mind. I can understand how the brain's reward system worked from an engineering perspective, how our spirit was formed and how sin can act like a virus and control you. This new understanding allowed me to heal myself and to recognize how generations of sin was affecting my family. But was I authorized to teach others? After all, the signs that led me to do all this research were a miracle in the first place, and now I'm realizing that I am one of the only engineers/programmers who could possibly understand the wiring and its programmability of the brain. Today's electronics are mainly software driven, not hardware driven as it was when I worked in the aerospace industry. And the brain is not software driven, it's a hardware driven system, so today's engineers are not as experienced with a hardware driven system as I am. So all these coincidences are playing over in my mind and I began questioning my mother, whose father was a Jew, about my Jewish heritage. My mother always told me that I was not a Jew but she finally admitted that, ever since the Holocaust, she told me that because she was afraid that I would be killed. So I was raised as a Catholic under my Italian father's religion. (Interestingly that's what happened to Moses; he was not raised as a Jew so his mind wasn't filled with false teaching. Also very interesting is that the names of Moses' two sons are on my great grandparents tombstone.) I have now traced my grandfather's ancestors and discovered I am a Levite. This really blew my mind because, according to scripture, the Levites were the only people given the authority to teach the law and minister in the Lord's house. So now, it appears, the Lord has given me authority to teach his law!
Psalm 40:8
I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.”
Nehemiah 8:7
The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there.
Of all the understandings in the Bible, none is more important then the Law of the Lord. When you study the Bible, you recognize that the purpose of this great book was to protect the Law so that it would remain accurate, then it can be used to teach future generations. The examples found in scripture show us how this Law works in our minds. How the Law protects people from debt and oppression, from pride and greed, from sexuality immorality. How it leads to a life of love and family, which builds up a nation of undivided followers, which leads that nation in peace and prosperity. The Law specifically prevents the spreading of bitterness and clears the mind of the unhealthy feelings of grudges and revenge. It teaches children moral rules which programs their prefrontal cortex with connections that turn off dopamine, which protects them from the lure of sinful living, from a lifestyle that eventually leads to oppression, slavery and depression. This is not the form of slavery you might understand, but a slavery established by the free will of coveting, which unknowingly spreads through society through the behaviors of others. This form of slavery is established by the innermost circuits of the brain, through the release of dopamine in the brain's reward system. The same system that creates drug addictions and obsessive behavior. Let's learn how it works.
Remember that in Hebrew the biblical law is referred to as the "Torah" which means instruction and offers a way of life for those who follow it; while in Christianity they use the word "Pentateuch" which means first five books of the Old Testament.
When you read the English translations of the Bible, the translators often use the word "Law" in place of the Hebrew "Torah", so don't think that the word "law" means simply "rules" but rather "a way of life" for example: In the first covenant the Lord made with the Israelites, which he gave through his servant Moses, the covenant part of the Law was etched in tablets of stone so it could not be changed, and the rest was written in the scrolls that made up the "Torah". Then this book was protected from change by order that it be keep with the Ark of the Covenant which prevented anyone other than the high priest, from going near it. The Ark was built to the blueprint given to Moses and possessed electrical properties that caused anyone going near it, without protective clothing and training, to die. The properties of the Ark and the laws of engineering that could finally demonstrate how it worked will be discussed in a later section.
Deuteronomy 31:26
“Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. There it will remain as a witness against you.
Leviticus 16:2
The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die. For I will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.
Then, as a matter of tradition, this law was commanded to be read every seven years, so it was fresh in the minds of every generation.
Deuteronomy 31:10-13 Old Testament
Then Moses commanded them: “At the end of every seven years, in the year for canceling debts, during the Festival of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose, you shall read this law before them in their hearing. Assemble the people—men, women and children, and the foreigners residing in your towns—so they can listen and learn to fear the Lord your God and follow carefully all the words of this law.
Their children, who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live."
The Law protects us from the traps of greed, pride, envy, and coveting that can bring great stress into our lives and the lives of our children. It is by these sins that people can be controlled by others. So the Law prevents the rich from controlling and oppressing the poor. When the Israelites followed the Law, they prospered, then they turned away from the Law and did as they pleased; they were oppressed, and even died. So it is clear that in order for rulers, or the rich, or religions, or the media, to control people, they must first hide this Law from their minds. The Bible teaches us that there was nothing special about the Israelites that the Lord chose them to demonstrate the power of his Law.
Deuteronomy 9:5-9
It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land;
but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish
what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Understand then, that it is not because of your righteousness
that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.
It was simply because a man named Abraham was tested, so the Lord knew he would follow every command in his Law.
Genesis 15:6
Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Genesis 18:19
For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing
what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”
Genesis 22:18
and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
Everything recorded in Biblical history is preserved to glorify this Law in the sight of all nations, not just Israel. It was the Lords plan all along to establish his Law for all nations, but he had to start somewhere, that somewhere was Israel.
Isaiah 42:1
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.
Isaiah 42:6
“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles
Israel is the example, the light for the Gentiles. They paid the biggest price whenever they broke the Law so that all nations would understand and be blessed, especially America. This is the understanding that led to America's independence and first government. This book of Law will forever remain as a witness against any nation when their greed and sinful lifestyle leads to their own destruction. And it will remain as a road map for future generations to repent the sins of their ancestors and turn back.
Jeremiah 6:18-19
Therefore hear, you nations; you who are witnesses, observe what will happen to them.
Hear, you earth: I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes,
because they have not listened to my words and have rejected my law.
2 Kings 17:13-14
The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: “Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.”
But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God.
Jeremiah 8:8-9
“How can you say, ‘We are wise,
and the law of the Lord is with us’?
But behold, the lying pen of the scribes
has made it into a lie.
The wise men shall be put to shame;
they have rejected the word of the Lord,
so what kind of wisdom do they have?
The Ways of the Surrounding Nations Corrupted Israel
While the first covenant was written on tablets of stone and books, it was
eventually corrupted by priests and abandoned primarily by following the ways of the people in the
surrounding nations. The Israelites were warned not to intermarry with them,
because the
ways of their spouse would influence them away from the strictness
of God's Law. What they didn't realize was that generations later
their nation would collapse, leading to the Babylonian invasion and
Exile.
Ezekiel 11:12
And you will know that I am the Lord, for you have not followed my decrees or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you.”
Deuteronomy 7:3-4
Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you.
The New Covenant is Established
While the first covenant was written on tablets of stone, it wasn't
in Israel's hearts so they became corrupted and broke the covenant which led to
all the curses that the covenant predicted. Then a new covenant was
established, one that
was more protective than the first covenant. Many are taught
in Christianity that this new covenant removes the Law requirement
of the first covenant, but that is completely untrue, the new covenant actually
strengthens it. Here is the wording of
the new covenant, quoted by the Apostle Paul in the New Testament,
which he quotes from Jeremiah in the Old Testament.
Jeremiah 31:31-33
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.
It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,”
declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
Hebrews 10:16
“This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
and write them on their minds,”
Hebrews 10:16 (Orthodox Jewish Bible)
"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days," says the L-rd, "I will put
my Torah in the mind of them and I will inscribe it on their heart" ).
So in the new covenant the law is still written down, but this time the requirement is that it must be written in your heart, you must love the Law, not just know it. And the requirements of following the Law of Moses are also backed up by Christ.
Matthew 5:18 New Testament
For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Today this same process of decay is happening in America, a nation that once followed the Law of the Lord that the Pilgrims brought to this country, which was sworn to be followed on oath by the founding fathers in actual government documents. The Law that the Pilgrims understood would protect their children and lead the nation to prosperity; the Law that establishes justice and righteous behavior, the Law that prevents greed from oppressing it's citizens, the Law that history has witnessed to be true.
"the propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained." -Washington's Inaugural Address of 1789
Today American children have had their God removed from their schools and are now being oppressed with high student loans, outsourcing of jobs, high taxes, insurances, phone contract, and more. All because America stopped following the biblical laws and let greed and coveting go unchecked. Companies are even using knowledge of the brain to hack the minds of the people to control them for greed. Something I realized long before this 60 minutes special.(see Brain Hacking). So who is responsible?
Isaiah 3:12
The LORD takes his place in court; he rises to judge the people. The LORD enters into judgment against the elders and leaders
of his people: “It is you who have ruined my vineyard; the plunder from the poor is in your houses."
Also understand that history shows that the Israelites had severe punishments for breaking the law. This was a hard service and intended to show how evil spreads if left unchecked since it could destroy an entire nation. So there is the Law and then the punishment for breaking the Law; they are two different things. According to the Bible, the Gentiles never were under the burden of the punishment, but the Israelites and possibly the Muslims were. The burden of the punishment of the law was lifted going from the Old Testament to the New, but the Law was never changed although many have been taught that it has.
Isaiah 40:1-5
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.
A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
The Law works simply because it's how the brain is designed and how people are designed to work and live together -peacefully without oppressing one another. Surely, the one who designed the brain would know. As a Catholic, I was denied the knowledge of the Law and was led to believe that it was the mass that was important. But in church, I would look around and see a church full of unrepentant sinners. I never heard the word "LAW" even mentioned in my church.
Jeremiah 8:10-11 From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. “Peace, peace,” they say, when there is no peace.
Isaiah 29:13
The Lord says:
“These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught.
Deuteronomy 12:8
"Never worship in the way that it’s being done here today, where everyone does whatever he considers right."
Isaiah 28:7-10
Priests and prophets stagger from beer
and are befuddled with wine;
they stagger when seeing visions, they stumble when rendering decisions.
All the tables are covered with vomit and there is not a spot without filth.
“Who is it he is trying to teach? To whom is he explaining his message?
To children weaned from their milk, to those just taken from the breast?
For it is: Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that;
a little here, a little there.” Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues
God will speak to this people.
Now, after wiring up the brain and seeing the engineering behind it, followed by years of Bible reading, I realize that the priests were not guiding me correctly, and this was affecting my marriage and my family. I also understand why the Pilgrims fled to America (see Pilgrims) because they didn't feel the Pope was following the law. And why Martin Luther (a lawyer) felt the same way. The complexity of the design of the brain helped me to see the importance of the law at work in our mind. I consider it "The User's Guide for the Brain" and how the Lord forms our spirit.
Zechariah 12:1
The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person.
It is important to understand how the law is designed to protect us. It is a benefit for society and our health in general. For example, if you are willing to work 7 days a week, 12 hours a day, you raise the bar for all and make life more difficult. Just look at what is happening in NYC, interns now being forced to work 12 hr days. Also consider what feminism did to the United States. By women working outside the home, families generated more income (and more taxes for your government) which caused real estate prices to soar. Now families are worse off than 50 years ago when they were able to survive on one income. And our children are being forced to go to daycare and that is causing developmental issues with their Orbital and Prefrontal Lobes. Families are more stressed, college tuition has soared and now many of our children graduate college and start their lives in debt. All the warnings that this would happen are found in scripture.
Proverbs 22:7
The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is
a slave to the lender"
The lender is our Government and so according to scripture, because we stopped following the law, our children are becoming slaves to our government.
But with repentance and understanding, we can turn back.
See, the Law is good because it removes our stress, gives our children a better upbringing, creates peace in our homes and communities
and prevents us from oppression.
And one last thing. It puts us on a path to eternal life (for those like this engineer who believes that with this level of technology in us, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE).
This is why the Lord says...
Isaiah 42:21
It pleased the Lord for the sake of his righteousness
to make his law great and glorious.
So here is the Law of the Lord, that Moses was instructed to read..
Deuteronomy 6:5
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Leviticus 19:1-37
Be holy because I, the lord your God, am holy.
Each of you must respect your mother and father
You must observe my Sabbaths (Do no work or shopping one day a week)
Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves.
(including athletes, teachers, hollywood stars, scientists, and statues)
When you make an offering to the lord, make it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf.
Leave some food for the poor and the foreigner.
Do not steal.
Do not lie.
Do not deceive one another.
Do not swear falsely by my name.
Do not defraud or rob your neighbor.
Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.
Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,
but fear your God. I am the lord. "
Do not pervert justice.
Do not show partiality to the poor.
Do not show favoritism to the great.
Judge your neighbor fairly..
Do not go about spreading slander among your people.
Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor's life.
Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.
Do not seek revenge (The Lord will Repay)
or bear a grudge but love your neighbor as yourself.
I am the Lord.
And here is more proof that Christ did not come to remove the law, but to fulfill the law. These laws are not part of the Ten Commandments and we see proof that Christ read and knew the laws and decrees as well as the commandments.
Matthew 22:35-39 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.
These are the decrees, they are more abstact and I believe are related to the design of the brain and the built-in recognition systems that we don't yet understand. You just have to have faith that they are important.
Keep my decrees.
Do not mate different kinds of animals.
Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.
Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.(more on this topic later)
Don't eat fruit off a tree younger than 5 years old.
Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. (i.e., don't eat the blood of an animal)
Do not practice divination or seek omens.
Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head (Mohawk*)
Do not clip off the edges of your beard
(Goatee*)
Do not cut your bodies for the dead.*
Do not put tattoo marks on yourselves.*
*These images are likely recognized in the STS as part of the facial expression network and have an automatic subconscious effect just like other facial expressions. Also note that people with face blindness can recognize, and even be upset, with people by their hairstyles. So these face distractions can possibly effect the proper feeling from face recognition.
(more laws)
Do not make your daughter whore or prostitute, (or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness).
Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary.
Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritualists, for you will be defiled by them.
Stand up in the presence of the aged.
Show respect for the elderly.
Do not mistreat a foreigner residing in your land.
Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity.
Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the Lord.
Leviticus 26:18-19
‘If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over.
I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze.
Proverbs 7:21-26
Warning against the Adulterous Woman
With persuasive words she led him astray;
she seduced him with her smooth talk.
All at once he followed her
like an ox going to the slaughter,
like a deer stepping into a noose, till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life. Now then, my sons, listen to me; pay attention to what I say. Do not let your heart turn to her ways
or stray into her paths. Many are the victims she has brought down.
Titus 2:2-7
Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.
Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good.
1 Timothy 2:9-10
I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.
(keep in mind that if a women (especially if married) dresses in a way that makes other men lust after her, she is guity of making her neighbor stumble into sin and therefore breaks the law)
Proverbs 23:20-21
Do not join those who drink too much wine
or gorge themselves on meat,
for drunkards and gluttons become poor,
and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
The Ten Commandments Exodus 20
And God spoke all these words:
“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.
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
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 animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.
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.
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long 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.”
Exodus 23: Laws of Justice and Mercy
“Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.
“Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, 3 and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit.
“If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. 5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.
“Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. 7 Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.
“Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.
“Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.
Deuteronomy 16:18-20
Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes in every town the Lord your God is giving you, and they shall judge the people fairly.
Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the innocent.
Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.
Laws About Borrowing and Lending Money
Deuteronomy 15:1-3
The Year for Canceling Debts
At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people, because the Lord’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed. You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your fellow Israelite owes you.
This is one of my favorite laws. Just imagine the peace we could have if loans were limited to only seven years instead of thirty. Real estate prices would have stayed low which would have prevented the greedy bankers from oppressing the people. Imagine how careful bankers would be in lending money since after seven years, if the borrower couldn't pay back the loan, it was cancelled. The financial crisis of 2007–08 would have been averted. Today young couples are crippled with college debt, unaffordable real estate prices and extra expenses like health insurance, cell phone and internet fees, etc. This all comes from oppression from laws that enable the rich instead of protecting the needy.
Deuteronomy 15:5-6
If only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today. For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you.
At the end of FY 2017 the total government debt in the United States, including federal, state, and local, is expected to be $23.2 trillion. So who is smarter the Lord who put a guidance system in your head, or the elected officials who take bribes and tell you that you evolved so you don't read the Bible.
Sabbath Laws
“For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, 11 but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
“Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.
“Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.
The Three Annual Festivals
“Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.
“Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt.
“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.
“Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field.
“Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.
“Three times a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord.
“Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.
These laws are removed in the New Covenant that removed sacrifices and offerings.
“Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast.
“The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning.
“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
Biblical Advice #1. Do not marry an atheist or anyone who follows the world
The advice from the Bible tells us to marry someone who knows the Lord's law and submits to it. (this doesn't mean someone who goes to church and then does whatever they think is right) We are warned not to marry someone who follows "other gods", which are the ways of society. For example, someone who strives for riches, prestigious jobs, advanced college degrees (which lead to debt, a form of slavery), a big home, a fancy car, as these things come from pride not God. So the first law of marriage is to choose the right person for the right reasons.
Deuteronomy 7:3-4
Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,
for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods,
and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you.
If you marry for money, income potential, or physical attraction, and not love, by design you will be the one feeling lonely and unloved. When a husband and wife marry for love and follow the same law, they become ONE (not equals). There will always be peace and love in a godly marriage because the Lord designed the brain to release Oxytocin when there is "real love". Oxytocin creates lasting bonds, improves trust, leads to good health with less anxiety and stress. This is a gift from God, it can't be bought, it must be experienced. The biblical advice for marriage is first to marry someone who knows the Lord or who is willing to follow his law (that person will prosper, don't worry), and marry for love.
Biblical Advice #2, Marry for love not money
1 Corinthians 13:1-7
If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.
If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.
If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast;
it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way;
it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing,
but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends.
Biblical Advice #3, Marry a man worthy of respect and a woman who will respect her husband and has a pure heart
Titus 2:2
Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.
1 Peter 3:1-2
Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives,
when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.
Esther 1:20
Then when the king’s edict is proclaimed throughout all his vast realm, all the
women will respect their husbands, from the least to the greatest.”
Ephesians 5:22-33
Wives, make yourselves accountable to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.
Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish,
but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies.
He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body,
but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church—
for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,
and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.
However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the
wife must respect her husband.
Biblical Advice #4, Marry someone who has inner beauty
1 Peter 3:3-4
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.
Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
A state marriage certificate is not the same as a biblical marriage covenant. Here are some biblical marriage covenant laws.
Deuteronomy 24:1
If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her,
he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house.
(No
lawyers, just sign a piece of paper.)
Leviticus 20:10
“If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor —both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death."
(Today the adulteress can live in her
ex-husband's house with the adulterer while the ex-husband (victim) is forced to pay for it and the adulterer lives there for free.)
Malachi 2:16
“The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,” says the Lord Almighty.
So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.
Biblical marriage not support withholding your body from your spouse, which may leave them vulnerable to sexual temptation and infidelity.
Proverbs 5:18-19
May you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
A loving doe, a graceful deer—
may her breasts satisfy you always,
may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
1 Corinthians 7:2-4
But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
Biblical marriage not allow outsiders to interfere or try to separate the couple
Matthew 19:4-6
“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’
and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,
and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
(it is sinful to turn someone away from their spouse, tell that to your in-laws)
Biblical marriage assigns the husband the responsibility to guide his wife in the way of the Lord, to keep her holy and blameless. The Apostle Paul warns against women teaching men the scriptures because of what the law says.
1 Corinthians 14:34-35
Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.
He appears to be referring to law from the Adam and Eve story where the Lord says:
Genesis 3:16 (OJB)
To the woman he said, “I will greatly multiply your pain and your childbearing;
in pain you shalt will bring forth children; and your desire (longing) will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.”
The fact that Eve did eat from "the tree" that the Lord told her not to eat from "or you will surely die" shows how easily she was deceived. Could she have possibly been given a more dire warning from a more respected individual? (see "the tree of life" in [The Way] to understand that the fruit from these trees was not real food but rather words of advice). Now let's look at some brain theory to help understand why, it appears, that this law was written. The facial recognition system is where the subconscious transfer of emotion occurs. Studies show that these systems respond differently in men and woman, most likely by design so that a woman can give better care to her children.
Women Outperform Men When Identifying Emotions
and
Women process multisensory emotion expressions more efficiently than men
"The study found that women were superior in completing assessments and responded
quicker when emotions (identified as fear or disgust) were portrayed by a
female rather than a male
actor.
Compared to men, women were faster at processing facial and multisensory expressions."
Now this certainly makes sense for raising children so yes, the woman is better equipped in reading emotional signals, that's her strength for child raising. However, the same strength becomes her weakness as far a deception is concerned. As deceivers use facial expressions to sway their victims into believing and trusting them and the test involved "actors" not people experiencing real fear or disgust. The result therefore should say that woman were more easily deceived by actors who used emotions than men were. So in the case of deception (acting) a woman's superiority becomes her inferiority as proven by the study. Another interesting observation from the study was that the woman actors were better than the men at deceiving both the men and women with their expressions.
Women process multisensory emotion expressions more efficiently than men pg 5
"Beyond the effect of woman superiority in emotional expression processing, we also observed that, irrespective of the gender of the observer, performance is better when women express the emotion. This result could be related to what we observed in our control study showing that emotions expressed by an actress were judged as being more intense than emotions expressed by an actor."
So because the test was run by actors, the title could really be "Women are deceived by emotion expression faster than men and they are also better at deceiving". Therefore this next piece of scripture has merit based on the findings of modern neuroscience.
1 Timothy 2:12-14
I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a sinner.
So a woman would be wise to trust her husband in these situations. But he did say that the older women should be teaching the younger women.
Titus 2:3-5
Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
Biblical marriage warns men not to be fooled by adulterous woman. Now in a similar way that women are deceived by facial expression in regard to coventing, fear and disgust, men are deceived by facial expression in regard to sexual cues by women. (see The Naked Truth)
Proverbs 5:3-15
For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,
and her speech is smoother than oil;
but in the end she is bitter as gall,
sharp as a double-edged sword.
Her feet go down to death;
her steps lead straight to the grave.
She gives no thought to the way of life;
her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.
Now then, my sons, listen to me;
do not turn aside from what I say.
Keep to a path far from her,
do not go near the door of her house,
lest you lose your honor to others
and your dignity[a] to one who is cruel,
lest strangers feast on your wealth
and your toil enrich the house of another.
At the end of your life you will groan,
when your flesh and body are spent.
You will say, “How I hated discipline!
How my heart spurned correction!
I would not obey my teachers
or turn my ear to my instructors.
And I was soon in serious trouble”
This is why together a husband and wife are stronger when they become one, not equals.
Warnings For Men and Women
Warnings For Men: Don't marry a loose, or quarrelsome women, even if she is physically beautiful unless she repents and turns back to the law.
Proverbs 21:19
Better to live in a desert
than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife.
Proverbs 14:1
The wise woman builds her house,
but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.
Proverbs 27:15-16
A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping of a leaky roof in a rainstorm; restraining her is like restraining the wind
or grasping oil with the hand
1 Timothy 3:11
In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect,
not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.
Warnings for Women: Find a man who does not have a temper, is worthy of respect and knows the law. He must not be a drunkard or a glutton. He should be humble and not full of pride.
Titus 2:2
Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.
Ephesians 5:33
The man: must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife
must respect her husband.
Proverbs 23:20-22
Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat,
for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty
Proverbs 15:25
The Lord tears down the house of the proud
(so you don't want to be in it at the time)
If you choose to marry a man you don't "respect" you will be breaking the law. So don't marry just for money or physical attraction, but find a man who knows the law and is sound in his faith. This will be your peace.
In Conclusion
To receive the Lord's promise of a blessed marriage, married couples must read scripture together to and have the
same law in
their hearts and minds:
If you can't find anyone who suitable, try to find someone who is at least
willing to repent, then read, learn and work at it together. If you are still married, it's not too late to bring this law into your marriage. It can change your marriage and end all quarreling, creating peace in your home.
Now that we can finally agree and "see" and "repent" our mistakes, we can be confident that our life will be better if we can just trust in the law and not follow the "experts" or ways of the world. It will also be a blessing to your children.
Leviticus 18
Unlawful Sexual Relations
The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the Lord your God. You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.
You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God.
Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord.
No one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations.
Do not dishonor your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not have relations with her.
Do not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; that would dishonor your father.
Do not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.
Do not have sexual relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter; that would dishonor you.
Do not have sexual relations with the daughter of your father’s wife, born to your father; she is your sister.
Do not have sexual relations with your father’s sister; she is your father’s close relative.
Do not have sexual relations with your mother’s sister, because she is your mother’s close relative.
Do not dishonor your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt.
Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; do not have relations with her.
Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would dishonor your brother.
Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. Do not have sexual relations with either her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness.
Do not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.
Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period.
Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife and defile yourself with her.
Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to other gods, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.
Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.
Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion.
Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled.
Matthew 12:33-37
“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.
For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Proverbs 12:18
"The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."
Proverbs 21:23
"Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity."
Proverbs 15:4
"The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit."
Proverbs 17:20
"One whose heart is corrupt does not prosper; one whose tongue is perverse falls into trouble."
Proverbs 15:1-2
"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly."
Proverbs 18:21-22
"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the lord."
Psalm 141:3-5
"Set a guard over my mouth, lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat their delicacies. Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness; let him rebuke me—that is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it, for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers."
Psalm 52:2-4
"You who practice deceit, your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor. You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth. You love every harmful word, you deceitful tongue!"
Proverbs 10:31-32
"From the mouth of the righteous comes the fruit of wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be silenced. The lips of the righteous know what finds favor, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse."
Psalm 34:12-16
"Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry; but the face of the lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth."
Psalm 15:1-3
"lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others;"
James 3:3-10
"When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one's life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be."
1 Peter 3:8-12
"Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
Leviticus 11
Clean and Unclean Food
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud.
Leviticus 11:9
Clean and Unclean Water Creatures
“These you can eat from all creatures that are in the water: Any creatures in the water that have both fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams, you may eat.
Leviticus 11:13-19
“These are the birds you are to regard as unclean and not eat because they are unclean: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, the red kite, any kind of black kite, any kind of raven, the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.
Deuteronomy 30:15-19
See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.
Now choose life, so that you and your children may live
Deuteronomy 11:26-28
Today I’m giving you the choice of a blessing or a curse.
You’ll be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I’m giving you today. You’ll be
cursed if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God
(like Adam), if you turn from
the way I’m commanding you to live today.
This one piece of scripture puts into question the concept of Predestination or religious predeterminism. Here the Lord gives us a clear choice the free will of obeying his ways and a promise of a blessed life if you accept, or a promise of a cursed life if you reject his advice and follow your own way or the way of other gods. It could not be more clear than this. So choose LIFE!
Deuteronomy 8:1-20
"Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the lord promised on oath to your ancestors. Remember how the lord your God led you all
the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the lord.
.. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son,
so the lord your God disciplines you.
Observe the commands of the lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him.
For the lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing...
When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the lord your God for the good land he has given you.
Be careful that you do not forget the lord your God, failing to observe his
commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day.
Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. If you ever forget the lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them,
I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. Like the nations the lord destroyed before you, so
you will be destroyed for not obeying the
lord your God."
It's up to each of us to choose our path. Unless, of course, your religion has hidden this warning from you and you were led down another path. "The Lord is a loving god" they say, in order to take away your fear, the fear that would keep you and your children on the right path, a path predestined for a blessed life. I can guarantee this truth now that I have a great understanding of how the brain works. We all need fear to overcome the temptations of the world. Fear works just like a collision avoidance system we see in cars. It subconsciously stops you from a dangerious situation. From a path that the Lord promises will predestine you and your children to a life of suffering. When we are blind to the Lord's way and then finally find it, our eyes have been opened and we can now see. We've been enlightened. We have the "good news"! Is your religion leading to this understanding?
Exodus 32:8
They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf
(false god) and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said,
‘These are your gods.
So, if the Lord is our God then we follow his way. Otherwise we are following other Gods and we don't realize it. Let's consider an example from today's times. Feminism, for instance, is a path that young women and men can follow because it is a set of choices one can make. It generally leads young women to college, to persue advanced degrees and often leads to promiscuity, quarrelsomeness, debt from school loans for master's degrees, vanity, getting married later in life, working outside the home, daycare for their children, etc. All these behaviors stem from trusting in the belief that this lifestyle choice is going to lead them to a prosperious life. A belief in which both woman and the men who marry them are trusting in. So is this lifestyle working to create peace for those who believe in it? Well, from the last section we learned that one in four women over the age of fifty now need antidepressants, many of their children need ADHD medication, autism is on the rise, and men need Viagra. According to the CDC, the sales of prescription pain killers has quadrupled since 1999. So is it possible that the Lord's path would have produced more joy, less stress, more love, more children and better overall health? Here are some of the curses the Lord speaks of if we don't follow his path. (which he says is "for your own good")
Deuteronomy 28:20-22, 28
The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. The Lord will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. The Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and
inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew.
The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. At midday you will grope about like a blind person in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.
Deuteronomy 31:24-27
After Moses finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end, he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord: “Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. There it will remain as a witness against you. For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are.
Psalm 94:12
Blessed is the one you discipline, Lord, the one you teach from your law;
Jeremiah 5:4-5
I thought, “These are only the poor;
they are foolish,
for they do not know
the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God.
So I will go to the leaders
and speak to them;
surely they know the way of the Lord,
the requirements of their God.”
But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke
and torn off the bonds.
This section may very well cover the most important topic that we can hope to resolve through our new understanding of the brain. That is the question of
"how can there be one Bible with one God, the same God that both Jews, Christians
and even Muslims claim to follow, but yet the interpretation of this one book has led to the formation of hundreds to thousands of different religions, some with completely different viewpoints? (see
complete list). Clearly 99% of them are WRONG.
In fact, according to a BBC News article published in Feb of 2004, religion is often cited as a key factor in the conflicts that lead to war. The BBC actually commissioned a "War Audit" to research the influence religion played on past wars. According to the article:
So why is religion a factor in war at all when all the main faiths have little time for violence and advocate peace? Because, it is suggested, leaders use differences over faith as a way of sowing hatred and mobilising support for political wars. As the American civil war leader Abraham Lincoln put it almost 150 years ago: "The will of God prevails. "In great contests, each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, but one must be wrong. "God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time."
The Apostle Paul, in his attempt to unify the Gentiles in a common faith in Christ and God, had this to say about divisions in belief:
Philippians 2:1-2
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit,
if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
And, so too in the Old Testament the Lord's will for his people was an undivided heart.
Ezekiel 11:19-20 NIV, ESV, OJB(Orthodox Jewish Bible)
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.
Then they will follow my decrees (decrees-NIV, statues-ESV, chukkot-OJB) and be careful to keep my laws (laws-NIV, rules-ESV, mishpatim-OJB).
They will be my people, and I will be their God.
So we can see in both of these verses, both Old and New, that the way for humans to be "undivided" and "like-minded" was to share a common spirit. The only way for that to happen is that they have to agree to obey the same laws. The Declaration of Independence also calls all citizens to be united in one law.
it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them.
It couldn't be more clear. To be united people must agree on the same laws. Paul said that being like-minded meant being united with Christ by having the "SAME LOVE", whereas in Ezekiel, the Lord tells us that being undivided meant being united with God by the following of "the same decrees and laws." So on the surface, these two scriptures appear to be at odds. The Old Testament that the Jews follow says to Obey the Law. The New Testament that the Christians claim to follow says "Have the Same Love". So which is right? We must realize that there have been over two thousands years of fighting and division over this one discrepancy. But when you study the New Testament you understand what biblical "Love" really means:
-1 John 5:3
"To love God means that we obey his commandments. Obeying his commandments isn’t difficult"
And where does Jesus and John get this concept of "Love" from? Well, the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament.
Exodus 20:5-6
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.
So here we see that it is written for both Jews and Christians to be called to be "like-minded" by faith in the same laws. Yet the doctrines taught through the interpretations of their own teachers lead people astray. In fact there are many warnings in scripture that were given to prepare us for false preachers and dividers.
Jude 17-19
But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
Matthew 24:11
many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
Matthew 5:18-20
For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
It's time to end the bitterness and once again share the same Spirit. Let's get to the heart of the matter and end the root of all this evil and confusion. It stems from misinterpretation of the New Testament book of Galatians where the Apostle Paul says:
Galatians 2:15-16
“We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
Do you see the problem here? In the NIV translation of this passage, Paul seems to say, at first glance, that we don't need to follow the law, just to have faith in Jesus Christ. Now, interestingly the Orthodox Jewish Bible translates the word "Works" as chukim. According to the Old Testament, the Torah Law consisted of three, mishpatim, edot and chukim, (see Torah) where Mishpatim means Judgments, Edod means Testimonies, and Chukim means statutes.
Deuteronomy 6:1 (NIV)
These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life
vs (in Hebrew)
Deuteronomy 6 Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)
Now these are the mitzvot, the chukkim, and the mishpatim, which Hashem Eloheichem commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in ha’aretz whither ye go to possess it:
That thou mightest fear Hashem Eloheicha, to be shomer over all His chukkim and His mitzvot, which I command thee, thou, and thy ben, and thy ben’s ben, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.
Deuteronomy 6:1 (ASV)
Now this is the commandment, the statutes, and the ordinances
So in actuality, Paul is referring to only the Chukim
(decrees or statutes) in this passage although almost all of Christianity has misinterpreted this to mean they
don't have to follow the Lord's Law and seldom teach it.
So what is the Chukim?
(see
Chukim or Mishpatim)
Chukim are rules that we can't understand without advanced education of our brain and body, we just have to trust that it's best if we follow them. For instance, maybe pork was forbidden because if not cooked right you get trichinosis and die because pigs eat dead animals with worms in them, or
also because it is know to cause inflamation.
Naturopathic Doctor, Jessica K. Black ND writes, "Arachidonic Acid production is the first step in promoting inflammation." A key dietary step for reducing joint inflammation is reducing your intake of arachadonic acid-containing foods like pork and domesticated beef. (see lifestrong)
We really don't know what part of the Chukim Paul is speaking of, but my feeling is that it is likely foods and sacrafices/offerings because they are mentioned in other parts of the New Testament. Here are some other examples of Chukim with possible reasons for these decrees: Most people do not understand how sexual sins effect them (our reward system wires in the face of the person who produces the pleasure and they become like a drug addiction), or why a man shouldn't have sex with a women during her period (maybe because having an orgasm while looking a blood can create a desire for seeing blood), or why we shouldn't have a goatee or mohawk or tattoos (because it influences others and may be part of our facial recognition system), or why it's dangerous just to associate with sinners (because we can learn their way by our mirror neurons like the Pilgrims learned in Holland).
Here is another example of a verse that has suffered through translation
Ephesians 2:11-16 (NIV)
Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has
destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by
setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household
This may sound like Paul is saying that Christ abolished the entire law and so because we don't understand the: the commands, decrees and laws are the mitzvot, the chukkim, and the mishpatim. Paul again is only speaking of the chok which is from the chukkim or decrees. This means that there are millions of blinded Christians who are stuck in a life of sin because they don't know the law that tells them what sin is.
Ephesians 2:15 (ESV) by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace
Ephesians 2:15 (OJB) By annulling the chok (decree, law) of mishpatim in ordinances that the Shnaym He might create in Himself into Adam Chadash Echad (One New Humanity)
Ephesians 2:15 (ASV) having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; that he might create in himself of the two one new man, so making peace
Here is another example that shows what Paul is referring to when he used the word "Works" or "Chukim".
Colossians 2:20-22
Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you are still living in the world (or belong to the world), do you submit to its rules:
“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings (or chunkim in OJB).
So we see here that it's obvious that Paul never did away with the commandments and the law, just the decrees (statutes) about foods, sacrifices and the like.
And because this is such an important understanding, one that separates Christians from Christians and even Christians from Jews, here in Daniel chapter 9 Daniel is repenting the sins of his people that led their judgement and exile.
Daniel 9:5 (NIV)
we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws.
Daniel 9:5 (OJB)
We have sinned, and we have committed iniquity, and we have done wickedly, and we have rebelled, even by departing from Thy mitzvot and from Thy mishpatim;
Also, you can see it another way too.
If we have to follow a law, but in our heart we are only following this law because we fear the punishment, then we are not justified by following the law this way. Since without the "fear",
our nature would be to break the law. But the Lord wants us to love the law, meditate on the law, and have the law in our heart. And this therefore is the Spirit, the law at work in our heart.
This is where the brain research finally shows its fruit. In the brain, the law is installed in the prefrontal cortex through meditation, then following the law is our reward and breaking it is our punishment.
These neurons grow through meditation till they connect our reward system in such a way that it controls the release of dopamine when the law is followed. You are now a slave to Righteous, you have the Holy Spirit.
If you don't know the law you will fill your prefrontal cortex with the laws of this world and you will be a slave to the world and fall into its way of sin. Your god will not be the Lord, it will be the gods of this world.
The truth is finally revealed. We need to love the law like King David loved the law and like Christ loved the law.
In Christ's own words:
Matthew 23:23 (NIV)
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the
more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness.
Matthew 23:23 (OBJ)
Oy to you, Sofrim and Perushim, tzevuim, for you give maasros (tithe) of mint and dill and cumin, and you have neglected the matters of the Torah of greater consequence:
mishpat, chesed, and emunah. These things it was necessary to do and those [others] not to neglect.
Matthew 5:17-19
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven,
but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
I don't think Paul would want to be called "THE LEAST IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN". Again, the key words about the law are practices and teaches these commands. It's not enough just to know them or to follow them out of fear. You have to love them enough to practice and teach to be justified. Through Paul's faith in Christ, he believed what Christ told him about the father and the law and he makes it crystal clear here in Romans.
Romans 3:28-31
For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,
since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
So, if any preacher tells you that you are saved by faith alone, find another preacher. But first help those who are also trapped into this false teaching.
Jeremiah 8:8-9
“How can you say, ‘We are wise,
and the law of the Lord is with us’?
But behold, the lying pen of the scribes
has made it into a lie.
The wise men shall be put to shame;
they have rejected the word of the Lord,
so what kind of wisdom do they have?
1 John 3:4-7
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
Jude 4
For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality.
Beware of False Teachers or Blind Guides
I recommend you do your own research as this is a very important part of your faith. Here is an example of a site that is part of the problem. (Word of God Today) and (Preparing for Eternity). This is part of the simple minded thinking that has turned religion into worthless beliefs for making profits. In Preparing for Eternity they say that "the Royal law" JAMES 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: is part of the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments says do not to covent anything that belongs to your neighbor. The command to love your neighbor as youself comes from Leviticus 19 under various laws.
Leviticus 19:18
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
Matthew 22:35-39 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.
So don't be fooled by the blind guides who water down your faith in order to profit from you. The only way we can stop sinning is to know the law and to fear the Lord.
Romans 7:12-13
So the laws in Moses’ Teachings are holy, and the commandment is holy, right, and good. Now, did something good cause my death? That’s unthinkable! Rather, my death was caused by sin so that sin would be recognized for what it is. Through a commandment sin became more sinful than ever.
1 John 3:4-7
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.
No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
Paul also said this about the promise of God.
Galatians 3:18-28
For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
And the Old Testament show us that in order to get the "Promise" we must follow Abraham's example and keep the way of the Lord and do what is right and just.
Genesis 18:19
For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”
And again Paul tells us that righteousness is not obtained by following the law but we must "faithfully follow the Law".
Galatians 2:21
I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
Ezekiel 18:9
He follows my decrees and faithfully keeps my laws. That man is righteous; he will surely live, declares the Sovereign Lord.
It's time for all nations to follow the law! I have experienced how the law can change and heal us. When I first understood that the law forbids "holding a grudge", I found this difficult to accept. But over time, the more I learned and meditated on the laws, a time came when I realized that all my grudges were gone. Now I love the law and I have a great sense of peace because of it. Once we realize that everyone who hurts us, does so because they were not taught the law "Do not seek revenge but love your neighbor as yourself."
Romans 7:7-23 :
The Law and Sin
What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.
Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
So now I see the power of the law to bring us peace which leads to good health. This is why I went to Zion on the eve of the Day of Atonement and posted this Law in hope that one day this scripture will come true. It's time we all become "like-minded" and follow the same law!
Isaiah 2:3-4
The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
Isaiah 52:7
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
Deuteronomy 31:9-13
Then Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. And Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”
Because we have free will, a Prefrontal Cortex, we have the ability to choose our path in life. Essentially, we set our own Evil vs Good network in our Prefrontal Cortex based on what we believe is good; we wire up connections between the things our senses recognize in our Orbital Frontal Lobe to connections in our Amygdala and Nucleus Accumbens. In the ACC (Anterior Cingulate Cortex) the Prefrontal Cortex (spirit) can inhibit our sensory (flesh) network. Based on what we have set, we become slaves to what we believe in. The good news is that we can modify these connections if we have TRUST in the changes we want to make. The Apostle Paul says this very well here:
Romans 8:4-6
he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires
(Orbital Frontal); but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires
(Pre Frontal).
The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law
This shows the intelligence of Paul, a man who lived 2000 years ago and was trained with the Old and New Testament.
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"It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's temple shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall stream to it." - Isaiah 2:2
