Fags

In the beginning God forgot to set His alarm clock, so the Earth had to wait to be created. In the later beginning of that beginningful day, God finally got around to creating things. God first created Adam and Eve but they both died in the coldness and darkness of space, so God scrapped that plan. God then created the Heavens and the Earths but the two Earths collided so He only created one. He also created the stars except He created them too close and they all gravitated towards each other, thus imploding into a super black hole that God Himself almost got pulled into. “Dammit!,” God said angrily. As soon as He said His thunderous non-audible loud curse word , the black hole was sent to a place that was damned, immediately, and that’s how hell was created. Eventually God became a little upset with His creation and instead just created an unstable singularity that formed 13 billion years ago that would spawn a universe that would eventually evolve life and conscious life at that.

In the process of evolution, came about Adam and Eve and 2,000 other humans but we won’t mention them. God decided not to intervene anymore since He thought maybe He could only do one thing right and that was to just allow evolution to take its course. He already killed Adam and Eve once. He didn’t want to do it again. Adam incidentally had no attraction to Eve. Instead, he got it on quite frequently with Steve. Thus creating the later distorted history of Adam and Steve that homophobes continuously historically get wrong.

Anyway, Adam and Steve did not begat anything and lived in peace and harmony alone in the garden with whatever animals they decided to arbitrarily name. Eve prayed for a child and never got one because prayer doesn’t actually work. She eventually figured this out and met up with the other 2,000 humans and had kids with a couple of them. For some reason or another, only Eve mating with a guy named Larry created a series of begats that scribes scribed about. Larry begat Enoch, Enoch begat Octavian, Octavian begat …. hmmm…Octavian is not a particularly Jewish name but you get the point. Anyway, 50 begats later and there were more people and because people are diverse culturally in a larger population, those cultural diversions are more noticeable. Thus some groups of people had their own negative views of other groups of people. But out of all of these people came Noah. Everyone just did not seem to have the upstanding moral fortitude of Noah. Noah was like the only guy who did not eat animals. His wife and children, who have no names, would sometimes eat animals but they at least knew the error of their ways. Anyway, Noah believed based on the animal entrails that day that a great flood would occur at some point. But he didn’t really have to use animal entrails, you see, Noah and the now 40,000 other humans lived in a flood plain that flooded yearly. It didn’t flood too high but it was still annoying since it would dampen your feet. So he went ahead and built an ark and lived in it with his wife and children.

The townspeople were actually pretty amazed by the size of the unnecessary thing. They thought it had to be inspired by something more radical than mere animal entrails. “It must’ve been something like a guy that creates planets or something that inspired Noah, duh! It couldn’t have been some stupid animal entrails that led him to create something as impractically stupid but still incredibly fascinating as that ark! Duh!”

So Noah went along with their nonsense, saying, “yeah, it was some planet-making guy that inspired me”. He also thought about bringing some animals into the arc to turn it into some kind of floating house zoo. He put as many animals into the ark as he could.

Turned out the ark was a success. Noah became a multi-thousandaire overnight. Everyone wanted to see that stupid ark and look at the animals. Unfortunately Noah’s success would turn out to be a success in a completely unexpected way.

It began to rain, and rain, and it wouldn’t stop raining. It rained so much that it was like a 500 year flood event. Noah and his wife and children were safe in the ark and so were the animals. But, you know, the people weren’t so safe. Noah tried to convince them to get on but they didn’t want to. Unknown to Noah, the other humans knew a friend named Carl just down the street who also built an ark but it did not stink like animal shit. So, they got on that one instead. Poor Noah, if only he had known they survived. Instead, he assumed that they had all died. He also assumed that the world had flooded for no apparent reason at all and that it was 40 days and 40 nights but that just sounded good because 40 seemed mystical to him. The real time of the flood was actually less than 40 hours.

Anyway, some people one day decided to build a tower and it did not work because it was structurally unsound. It fell immediately when they built the first layer. Not wanting to sound so unsuccessful, the tower builders claimed it was 40 layers tall. When other people confronted the tower builders about the tower not being as tall as they claimed it to be, the tower builders just started claiming they could not understand the other people, “Blah blah blah, I can’t hear you! I don’t know what you’re talking about!” This perplexed the other people making the other people actually believe that the tower builders couldn’t understand them because the falling tower must have caused them to speak different languages and this obviously must’ve been true. I mean, the tower builders can’t understand them. Logically, they must be speaking another language. So maybe this is a sign from some planet-maker that they shouldn’t build large towers (even if they weren’t really that large) because coorperation of that magnitude is actually just an illusion and it’s actually really deep down non-cooperation. So any cooperation must mean non-cooperation. Thus people should not cooperate. Maybe there should also be a lack of common ideals and use of reason too. As a result, wars were invented that day. And it’s been like that ever since.

So later, at some time, there were some laws set down. Like don’t lie with other people that don’t seem aesthetically pleasing. Also, let’s confuse aesthetics with morality and say that you shouldn’t morally lie with other people who are not aesthetically pleasing. Like don’t lie with your sister, gross! Don’t lie with your uncle, gross! Don’t lie with an octopus, gross! Don’t lie with a man if you just happen to be a man…wow that seems somewhat pleasing to us…I mean… gross! Don’t cut your beard, gross! And so grossness was the basis of morality at that time and remains that way today. Good times. Also justice came in the form of killing someone with stones. Good times!

So there was a town, you know Sodom and a town Gomorra, and some kind of perpetrated vice happened there. Sodom and Gomorra were then destroyed. It’s not really important how and why, just that at this point the actual deistic God was wondering why this particular point is so well documented Biblically, you know? Boring!

Anyway, there was this man named Moses and he saw to his surprise a burning bush talking to him one day.

The bush said, “lead your people free from that sinister Pharaoh.”

Moses said, “what’s wrong with Pharaoh, he’s a perfectly decent man?”

“Moses! Do not question me! You know I always have to provide a sound answer to the best of my ability!,” said the bush.

“No, I did not know that, I just met you, burning bush.”

“Oh, I see. Well, anyway, I don’t necessarily have time to answer that one but, the reason Pharaoh is bad is because he has terrible fiscal policy. He doesn’t have enough money to spend on his projects, so he just prints more money off, thus not applying a sound fiscal policy, do you understand?!”

Moses just sighed and said, “Yes, you are right. No one can live under an administration that just spends, runs out of money, and so simply just prints off more money to spend. It’s ridiculous because it just creates situations of inflation.”

The bush says to Moses, “anyway, you must let your people go!”

“Who are my people!?” wonders Moses.

“Um….the slaves?”

“What?! The slaves. There is only two of them, and they’re actually indentured servants, working to become citizens of Egypt through the work for amnesty program. What about the middle class? Won’t they be pretty badly hurt by the rising inflation and possible collapse of the housing market?”

“Everyone will be hurt by the inflation,” said the burning bush.

“So, why am I not taking the middle class too?,” asked Moses.

“Okay, take the fucking middle class with you too!” the bush thunderously yelled.

“By the way, this burning bush thing is too weird, I think I’m going to tell them that you are a planet-maker. Is that okay?”

The bush thought about it, “hmm, what is a planet maker?”

“A planet maker,” said Moses, “is the latest theory. Basically, we exist on a planet right? Well, that planet had to get there somehow.

Well…it came about by something that makes planets. And the theory also suggests that the thing that made planets probably looks similar to the culture who thought up such a theory and is certainly a man or something with a penis. Yes. It’s gotta have a penis. It would be quite odd for it not to. And the penis is probably pretty big in relation to the rest of it.”

“Well,” the bush said, “I do like being thought of as having a big penis. So yes, please call me a planet-maker!”

So Moses went to Egypt and freed the two indentured servants and the middle class. Pharaoh put up no fight. He decided that he wanted to do something else for a living, so he became what he always wanted to be, a rock collector.

The Red Sea was pretty low that day and for no apparent reason people began to claim that Moses had parted it but Moses said, “yeah, kinda, my feet are displacing the low amount of water that makes up this crappy sea and in a sense you could say that that’s parting it.” And, this made Moses kind of superstitious in his thinking. Moses thought to himself, “earlier today I saw what I think was more frogs and locusts than usual. Maybe the bush sent those.”

In actuality, Moses saw frogs and locusts all the time, he just seemed to be paying more close attention due to everything seeming of much more spiritual significance after that encounter with the burning bush.

In fact, when you really think about it. The bush really hadn’t actually been talking to Moses. For one thing, the bush just happened to be on fire from a lightning storm. And you see, civilization during that time had not invented INTROSPECTION yet. Moses was actually the first one to have developed this ability. Not knowing what introspection was, he mistakened his own thoughts for the burning bush’s.

Anyway, so Moses introspects some more in his confusing way of doing so, and finds to his astonishment that there are 10 commandments. The 10 commandments are not actually that important but they seemed to be a step up from grossness morality that seemed to plague everyone that day and still to this day. You know, honor your father and your mother. Stuff like that. Except there ought to be exceptions but maybe exceptions were assumed. We’ll never know since Moses never wrote that down. I mean, seriously, you don’t want to honor your father or mother if they’re not good parents and they’re not trying to be. Seriously.

So anyway, some Jews were speculating one day that clearly the planet-maker had to have at least one child to be absolutely perfect. However, the planet-maker had to be perfect enough to also not have a planet-maker wife because let’s face it, this man has to be too good for even a woman. However he could not be too good for sex. He still had to impregnate somebody.

That somebody was Mary. She was actually impregnated by Joseph but Joseph felt like he was man enough to make planets. This is what happens to all guys under the influence of testosterone and mead: They think they can actually make planets. So he started saying quirky things like, “I Joseph the planet-maker, hereby impregnate Mary!”

Some stupid nitwits overheard this sexual episode, and believed, for no apparent reason, that the planet-maker himself was impregnating Mary. But instead of hearing the name Joseph, they actually thought they heard the name Jehovah, which was actually forbidden not because it had any reference to any deity or meant anything in Hebrew but it was actually a swear word. So they thought, “wow, this planet-maker has an obscenity for a name. We dare not speak its name except by whisper!” So the planet-maker’s name was now Jehovah. Anyway, some day, probably December 25th + or – two weeks, Joseph and Mary’s son was born. His name was Jesus the Christ, for absolutely no apparent reason.

Jesus was not like normal children. Jesus was actually very bright. He invented the first pair of shoes that could float a person above water. He also invented modern day morality. He thought people just needed to respect each other and not hate each other over things that just seem gross. Jesus really hated grossness morality. It was just plain awful. To dispel grossness morality, Jesus hung out with some of the most gross people alive and continued to say that these people were good! Now, you must understand, these people were absolutely gross and disgusting. Even with our super advanced morality of today, it’s hard not to fall into the grossness morality and think, “that’s just wrong!”

Jesus was an amazing psychologist. He created his own psychology that he named demon psychology, so that people could understand it better in their own terms. In this psychology, whenever he’d spend years psychoanalyzing someone and the patient finally got better, he’d say, “those demons are now casted out!” When these stories of his psychoanalysis were written down, the whole psychoanalytic procedure was not written down. That seemed very boring to the ancients. So they just summed it up. Thus Jesus was portrayed as casting out demons in a matter of a few seconds, instead of over the course of a month through semi-modern practices of psychology. This didn’t make Jesus very happy that his work was summed up this way, but he just shrugged and said, “well, there’s an idiot born everyday. All you can do is turn the other cheek.”

Jesus was a little impatient with the stupidity around him so he got himself 11 people to educate about rules of morality and psychology with some annoying guy tagging along. These 11 idiots never seemed to understand anything Jesus was trying to tell him. But the 11 idiots knew there was something special about Jesus, but they were always wrong about what made him special. Eventually they concluded that he was some kind of son of planet-maker/son of man thing. It seemed to stick.

Anyway, Jesus married Mary Magdalene, who was a very beautiful and successful business owner. Jesus and Mary did not have kids, instead, they adopted, thus ending any possible stupid speculation about his blood line and all that crap.

So, how did the story about Jesus winding up on the cross occur? Well, that was another guy named Jesus who looked quite similar just trying to steal the real Jesus’ thunder. People got tired of his crap so they nailed him to a cross.

Later there was this guy named Saul, who actually never took up the name Paul. That was just another guy the scribes confused Saul with. You see Saul was just a merciless killer. Perhaps the confusion over Paul and Saul has to do with the fact that Paul killed Saul out of self-defense. But anyway, Paul was a good planet-maker believer, although he seemed to not understand anything Jesus said at all, for one thing wrongly believing Jesus to be the son of a planet-maker and clearly confusing him with the other Jesus that got crucified. Paul also erroneously believed that the planet was not developed through some cosmogenic evolution, which clearly if he had just reasoned a little further he would have understood. Paul was after all, capable of good empirical reasoning.

Probably one of the short comings of Paul is his problem with homosexuality. What Paul did not seem to realize is that homosexuals were only evil during his time. That was the only point in history in which homosexuals were morally evil. There was some kind of odd virus that attacked homosexual men in a such a way, given their genetic structure, that would actually make them evil in heart but not necessarily evil in deed. But later, this virus went away and homosexuals were their benevolent selves again. The same as they had always been. Scientists used to think homosexuals were a separate group of people, but they’re just like you and me, but just gay. In fact, homosexual thoughts are actually quite common among people who are quite heterosexual. Or even among non-sexual things like rocks. Homosexual thoughts are probably most prominent in beings known as homophobes. Homophobes’ main task is the attempt to always try to block these homosexual thoughts through thoughts (usually in the form of hate of homosexuals) that always seem to relate back to the thoughts which they’re trying to block, a very unfortunate process to find yourself in. If you find yourself in this nonsense thought process, please do yourself a favor and act on your homosexual thoughts with a consenting male over the age of 18 immediately. Make sure you let your wife know before hand.

Anyway, given this unfortunate environment Paul found himself in, he derived very wrong conclusions. I mean, the water table for some reason or another was filled with whiskey and not with normal water. Thus the whiskey was clearly infiltrating Paul’s otherwise brilliant brain. So Paul could only come to some of the most nonsense conclusions. For one thing Paul thought Jesus would return, that there was a set of churches that must control what people believe, and that these people would be called Christians. The sad thing is, the Christians wouldn’t be practicing psychology and developing better forms of morality. They’d just be believing that Jesus, son of the planet-maker, was also the planet-maker Himself, thus creating 2000 years of theology trying to justify that terrible erroneous belief.

Moving on to John the Revelator. John the Relevator is known specifically because of the book of Revelation, which he wrote. Before John became a prophet he was a retrodictor. That means, he used to predict past occurrences based on present circumstances. This career did not work out for him so well because he was such a terrible retrodictor. He’d go up to random people and tell them, based on the sadness you are now feeling, something tragic must have befell you at an earlier time. But the people would respond, “no actually, we just suffer from a chemical imbalance brought on by genetics, actually. We just need our serotonin re-uptake inhibitors that the Lord planet-making Jesus created for us and some cognitive behavioral therapy of course, duh!” So John the Retrodictor became John the Predictor or John the Revelator. This seemed to be a more appropriate course of action since no one could really see into the future, except if they actually observed law-like properties of matter through scientific experiment. John found that he actually wasn’t a very good predictor. He’d say, “and the sun will rise at noon time tomorrow!” And of course it wouldn’t happen. So John just knew he had to hit the whiskey, and so he did. And after that, he wrote the entire book of Revelations. And it seemed to work, because the Church accepted it.

And that’s how everything happened. All the other stuff is merely accidental to the story of the Bible.

That concludes the story.

Genesis 18:16-33 recounts a conversation between God and Abraham wherein the latter pleaded on behalf of a den of iniquity called Sodom. Abraham’s nephew, Lot, lived there and he did not want Lot’s town to be wiped from the map by the wrath of God. So Abraham asked whether God would destroy Sodom if there were fifty righteous people in it. God said he would spare Sodom for the fifty. Less than confident fifty could be found, Abraham asked whether God would spare Sodom for forty-five righteous souls. God said he would. Abraham, who must have had a grasp of Sodom’s nefarious ways, felt compelled to get the number even lower. He asked whether God would spare Sodom for the sake of forty godly citizens. Yes. What about thirty? Yes. Twenty? Yes. Even as few as…ten? Yes, God would spare Sodom for the sake of ten, should they be found. Notice, God did not insist that the righteous had to outnumber the wicked. God did not insist the number of good had to equal the number of evil. God would have spared a host of people for an extreme minority of ten.

As the story unfolds, only four make it out of Sodom alive, including Lot, his wife, and their two daughters (Lot’s wife quickly perishes when she later looks back, disregarding God’s warning). Think of it. It would have taken only six more people, combined with Lot’s family, to spare the entire city from death by fire and brimstone. Military might could not have saved Sodom. Unbridled patriotism could not have saved Sodom. But righteousness, on the part of only six more people, could have saved Sodom. Alas, the six did not exist.

Solomon wrote, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Prov. 14:34, ESV). The United States has been here over two centuries, in which time God has blessed us to an historically unprecedented extent. To our shame, America has, in the last 100 years, become increasingly skeptical in outlook, materialistic in lifestyle, and wicked in practice. We have lived to see God removed from the classroom, hedonism glorified, and the Bible vilified. Surely the blood of countless aborted (i.e. murdered) American children calls to God, as did the blood of Abel (Gen. 4:10). We have turned all the way from denouncing homosexual perversion to embracing its practitioners, allowing them to have a societal influence out of all proportion to their true numbers. In many cases, we have even tried to sanction the evil with legislation. Imagine it. God obliterated Sodom for its sin—not the least of which was homosexuality—and now our own country seems bent on making sure that same kind of people are coddled, protected, endorsed, and unoffended.

And yet, America still stands. Why? It is not due to our military prowess. It is not because of our highly touted diversity. And it is not because of our much vaunted attitude of toleration. America stands because God allows her to stand (Dan. 4:25; John 19:11). And it may well be that God allows her to stand because of the righteous people (i.e. true Christians) who are still here.

Christians are the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13), and righteousness exalts a nation. If Sodom is any indication, the number of faithful Christians in the land may be a huge factor in God’s determining the country’s fate. Will the United States continue for 500 years? Will it end tomorrow? It may hinge on the Lord’s church. A sobering thought, is it not? There seems to come a time when a people’s sins are so numerous God considers them to be full, or complete (cf. Gen. 15:16), after which that people is destined to ruin. It falls on our shoulders to be the preserving influence for righteousness, which, in turn, will lift up this nation. Is there a ratio of saints to sinners in America that, even now, God is keeping his eye on? For our souls’ sake, as well as the country’s, we had better fall on the right side of that equation.

What about patriotism? Like many, after the September 11 attacks, I flew an American flag on my car for months, till countless miles of wind had whipped it to tatters, but that is not true patriotism. Patriotism is loving your country and wanting the best for it. With that in mind, the most patriotic thing you can do (not to mention the most important) is to become and remain a Christian. The destiny of your soul depends on it. The future of America may too.

Deception, Damnation, and Deliverance

2 Peter 2:1-11

There are many false teachers and teachings going on in the world today.  One of which is the one of “Faith” or faith in a “Higher power” or “Higher being” than ourselves.  I don’t want to play down the power of genuine faith, however, it must be faith in someone; not just faith.  The object of faith [genuine faith] is not open to one’s own understanding; it must be subject to the Scriptures.

On Friday October 09, 2009 a man by the name of Mitch Albom appeared on FOX & FRIENDS on the Fox News Channel speaking of his book, “Have A Little Faith”.  In the interview he left me with the impression that and with great assumption that all will be well for those who have “Faith”; without directing it in any certain direction.  My understanding from the interview was, “If one has ‘faith’ heaven is assured”.

This is the “Privily” or “Secret”, sneaky appearance of the “damnable heresies” Peter warns us of her in chapter 2 of 2 Peter.

I.  AS THERE WERE FALSE PROPHETS IN THE TIME OF THE INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURES – THERE HAS BEEN AND WILL BE FALSE TEACHERS IN THE CHURCH (vv. 1-3).

A.  They will bring in by deceptive means heresies that dishonor Jesus Christ.

1. Belittling the cross and the blood.
2. Denying the deity and power of Christ.

B.  They will bring in destruction to the people who will follow them.

1. What we believe affects the lives we live.
2. Even to the merchandising for profit of people following them (v. 3).

II.  THERE WILL BE CERTAIN JUDGMENT FOR THOSE WHO LURE PEOPLE AWAY FROM THE TRUTH OF JESUS CHRIST (vv. 4-7).

A.  God judged the angels who rebelled.

1. Cast them out of heaven (Revelation 12:7-9;  Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-17).
2. Reserved unto everlasting judgment.

B.  God judged the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha for their wickedness.

C.  In these judgments He spared the godly.

1. Noah built and ark at God’s command having “Found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8).
2. Lot, called “Just” was vexed by the unrighteousness around him and was delivered (Genesis 19:15-16).

III.  THE LORD CERTAINLY KNOWS HOW TO DELIVER THE GODLY “OUT OF TEMPTATIONS” (vv. 8-10).

A.  The godly are the “righteous” in and through Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).

1. Though Lot had a godly influence (Abraham) he had chosen to live among the ungodly (Genesis 13:10).
2. He was also prayed for by Abraham, and given opportunity to leave by his being taken captive at one time (Genesis 14:1-16).
3. He was evidently drawn by lusts and influenced by affluence and the seeming beauties of the world.

B.  We, as Christians, are called, commanded “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world…” (1 John 2:15).

1. “The world” is ‘Cosmos’ or “Orderly arrangement”.
2. Holding it as a “treasure” to be gripped tightly.

C.  Noah was delivered due to God’s favor – grace – so too with Lot.

1. All the righteous are delivered by grace – God’s divine favor.
2. Certainly not due to anything we have done.

IV.  THE BELIEVER SUBMITS TO THE ORDINANCES OF CHRIST; NOT MISAPPROPRIATED BOLDNESS OF THE FALSE TEACHERS (v. 11).

A.  We are told, by Scripture to respect and obey those who are in authority over us (Romans 13:1-4; Hebrews 13:7, 17; Jude 9).

B.  We can with boldness, through Jesus Christ, approach “The throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16), and with reverence and fear of God.

C.  Submit to Christ as Lord and Savior.

-Tim A. Blankenship

ZEPHANIAH

CHAPTER 1
1 The word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah“the Lord is my secret” the son of Cushi“Ethiopians; blackness”, the son of Gedaliah“God is my greatness”, the son of Amariah“the Lord says; the integrity of the Lord”, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah“the Lord burns; the fire of the Lord” the son of Amon“faithful; true”, king of Judah“the praise of the Lord; confession”.
2 I will utterly consume all [things] from off the land, saith the LORD.
3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.
4 I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah“the praise of the Lord; confession”, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem“vision of peace”; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal“master; lord” from this place, [and] the name of the Chemarims“black ones” with the priests;
5 And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship [and] that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham“Malchom, their king; their counselor”;
6 And them that are turned back from the LORD; and [those] that have not sought the LORD, nor enquired for him.
7 Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD [is] at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.
8 And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD’S sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.
9 In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.
10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, [that there shall be] the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills.
11 Howl, ye inhabitants of Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off.
12 And it shall come to pass at that time, [that] I will search Jerusalem“vision of peace” with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil.
13 Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit [them]; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.
14 The great day of the LORD [is] near, [it is] near, and hasteth greatly, [even] the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
15 That day [is] a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.
17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

CHAPTER 2
1 Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;
2 Before the decree bring forth, [before] the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’S anger come upon you.
3 Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger.
4 ¶ For Gaza“strong; a goat” shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod“effusion; inclination; theft” at the noon day, and Ekron“barrenness; torn away” shall be rooted up.
5 Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites“who cut or tear away”! the word of the LORD [is] against you; O Canaan“merchant; trader; or that humbles and subdues”, the land of the Philistines“those who dwell in villages”, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.
6 And the sea coast shall be dwellings [and] cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.
7 And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah“the praise of the Lord; confession”; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the LORD their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity.
8 ¶ I have heard the reproach of Moab“of his father”, and the revilings of the children of Ammon“a people; the son of my people”, whereby they have reproached my people, and magnified [themselves] against their border.
9 Therefore [as] I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel“who prevails with God”, Surely Moab“of his father” shall be as Sodom“their secret; their cement”, and the children of Ammon“a people; the son of my people” as Gomorrah“rebellious people”, [even] the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.
10 This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified [themselves] against the people of the LORD of hosts.
11 The LORD [will be] terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and [men] shall worship him, every one from his place, [even] all the isles of the heathen.
12 ¶ Ye Ethiopians also, ye [shall be] slain by my sword.
13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria“country of Assur or Ashur”; and will make Nineveh“handsome; agreeable” a desolation, [and] dry like a wilderness.
14 And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; [their] voice shall sing in the windows; desolation [shall be] in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work.
15 This [is] the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I [am], and [there is] none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, [and] wag his hand.

CHAPTER 3
1 Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!
2 She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God.
3 Her princes within her [are] roaring lions; her judges [are] evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.
4 Her prophets [are] light [and] treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.
5 The just LORD [is] in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.
6 I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant.
7 I said, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them: but they rose early, [and] corrupted all their doings.
8 ¶ Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination [is] to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, [even] all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.
9 For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent.
10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia“blackness; heat” my suppliants, [even] the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering.
11 In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain.
12 I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD.
13 The remnant of Israel“who prevails with God” shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make [them] afraid.
14 ¶ Sing, O daughter of Zion“monument; raised up; sepulcher”; shout, O Israel“who prevails with God”; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem“vision of peace”.
15 The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel“who prevails with God”, [even] the LORD, [is] in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.
16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem“vision of peace”, Fear thou not: [and to] Zion“monument; raised up; sepulcher”, Let not thine hands be slack.
17 The LORD thy God in the midst of thee [is] mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
18 I will gather [them that are] sorrowful for the solemn assembly, [who] are of thee, [to whom] the reproach of it [was] a burden.
19 Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame.
20 At that time will I bring you [again], even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD.

Habakkuk (OT)	Habakkuk 3 (OT)	Zephaniah 1 (OT)	Haggai (OT)

THE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH

CHAPTER 1
1 How doth the city sit solitary, [that was] full of people! [how] is she become as a widow! she [that was] great among the nations, [and] princess among the provinces, [how] is she become tributary!
2 She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears [are] on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort [her]: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies.
3 Judah“the praise of the Lord; confession” is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits.
4 The ways of Zion“monument; raised up; sepulcher” do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she [is] in bitterness.
5 Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the LORD hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy.
6 And from the daughter of Zion“monument; raised up; sepulcher” all her beauty is departed: her princes are become like harts [that] find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the pursuer.
7 Jerusalem“vision of peace” remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old, when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and none did help her: the adversaries saw her, [and] did mock at her sabbaths.
8 Jerusalem“vision of peace” hath grievously sinned; therefore she is removed: all that honoured her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness: yea, she sigheth, and turneth backward.
9 Her filthiness [is] in her skirts; she remembereth not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter. O LORD, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified [himself].
10 The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her pleasant things: for she hath seen [that] the heathen entered into her sanctuary, whom thou didst command [that] they should not enter into thy congregation.
11 All her people sigh, they seek bread; they have given their pleasant things for meat to relieve the soul: see, O LORD, and consider; for I am become vile.
12 ¶ [Is it] nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted [me] in the day of his fierce anger.
13 From above hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them: he hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back: he hath made me desolate [and] faint all the day.
14 The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand: they are wreathed, [and] come up upon my neck: he hath made my strength to fall, the Lord hath delivered me into [their] hands, [from whom] I am not able to rise up.
15 The Lord hath trodden under foot all my mighty [men] in the midst of me: he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the Lord hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah“the praise of the Lord; confession”, [as] in a winepress.
16 For these [things] I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me: my children are desolate, because the enemy prevailed.
17 Zion“monument; raised up; sepulcher” spreadeth forth her hands, [and there is] none to comfort her: the LORD hath commanded concerning Jacob“that supplants, undermines; the heel”, [that] his adversaries [should be] round about him: Jerusalem“vision of peace” is as a menstruous woman among them.
18 ¶ The LORD is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment: hear, I pray you, all people, and behold my sorrow: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity.
19 I called for my lovers, [but] they deceived me: my priests and mine elders gave up the ghost in the city, while they sought their meat to relieve their souls.
20 Behold, O LORD; for I [am] in distress: my bowels are troubled; mine heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: abroad the sword bereaveth, at home [there is] as death.
21 They have heard that I sigh: [there is] none to comfort me: all mine enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that thou hast done [it]: thou wilt bring the day [that] thou hast called, and they shall be like unto me.
22 Let all their wickedness come before thee; and do unto them, as thou hast done unto me for all my transgressions: for my sighs [are] many, and my heart [is] faint.

CHAPTER 2
1 How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion“monument; raised up; sepulcher” with a cloud in his anger, [and] cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel“who prevails with God”, and remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger!
2 The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob“that supplants, undermines; the heel”, and hath not pitied: he hath thrown down in his wrath the strong holds of the daughter of Judah“the praise of the Lord; confession”; he hath brought [them] down to the ground: he hath polluted the kingdom and the princes thereof.
3 He hath cut off in [his] fierce anger all the horn of Israel“who prevails with God”: he hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy, and he burned against Jacob“that supplants, undermines; the heel” like a flaming fire, [which] devoureth round about.
4 He hath bent his bow like an enemy: he stood with his right hand as an adversary, and slew all [that were] pleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion“monument; raised up; sepulcher”: he poured out his fury like fire.
5 The Lord was as an enemy: he hath swallowed up Israel“who prevails with God”, he hath swallowed up all her palaces: he hath destroyed his strong holds, and hath increased in the daughter of Judah“the praise of the Lord; confession” mourning and lamentation.
6 And he hath violently taken away his tabernacle, as [if it were of] a garden: he hath destroyed his places of the assembly: the LORD hath caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion“monument; raised up; sepulcher”, and hath despised in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest.
7 The Lord hath cast off his altar, he hath abhorred his sanctuary, he hath given up into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces; they have made a noise in the house of the LORD, as in the day of a solemn feast.
8 The LORD hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion“monument; raised up; sepulcher”: he hath stretched out a line, he hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying: therefore he made the rampart and the wall to lament; they languished together.
9 Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes [are] among the Gentiles: the law [is] no [more]; her prophets also find no vision from the LORD.
10 The elders of the daughter of Zion“monument; raised up; sepulcher” sit upon the ground, [and] keep silence: they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth: the virgins of Jerusalem“vision of peace” hang down their heads to the ground.
11 Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city.
12 They say to their mothers, Where [is] corn and wine? when they swooned as the wounded in the streets of the city, when their soul was poured out into their mothers’ bosom.
13 What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem“vision of peace”? what shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion“monument; raised up; sepulcher”? for thy breach [is] great like the sea: who can heal thee?
14 Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.
15 All that pass by clap [their] hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem“vision of peace”, [saying, Is] this the city that [men] call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?
16 All thine enemies have opened their mouth against thee: they hiss and gnash the teeth: they say, We have swallowed [her] up: certainly this [is] the day that we looked for; we have found, we have seen [it].
17 The LORD hath done [that] which he had devised; he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old: he hath thrown down, and hath not pitied: and he hath caused [thine] enemy to rejoice over thee, he hath set up the horn of thine adversaries.
18 Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion“monument; raised up; sepulcher”, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease.
19 Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street.
20 ¶ Behold, O LORD, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, [and] children of a span long? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?
21 The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword; thou hast slain [them] in the day of thine anger; thou hast killed, [and] not pitied.
22 Thou hast called as in a solemn day my terrors round about, so that in the day of the LORD’S anger none escaped nor remained: those that I have swaddled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed.

CHAPTER 3
1 I [am] the man [that] hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.
2 He hath led me, and brought [me into] darkness, but not [into] light.
3 Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand [against me] all the day.
4 My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones.
5 He hath builded against me, and compassed [me] with gall and travail.
6 He hath set me in dark places, as [they that be] dead of old.
7 He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.
8 Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.
9 He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked.
10 He [was] unto me [as] a bear lying in wait, [and as] a lion in secret places.
11 He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate.
12 He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.
13 He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.
14 I was a derision to all my people; [and] their song all the day.
15 He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.
16 He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes.
17 And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity.
18 And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD:
19 Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.
20 My soul hath [them] still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.
21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
22 ¶ [It is of] the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
23 [They are] new every morning: great [is] thy faithfulness.
24 The LORD [is] my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
25 The LORD [is] good unto them that wait for him, to the soul [that] seeketh him.
26 [It is] good that [a man] should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
27 [It is] good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.
28 He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne [it] upon him.
29 He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.
30 He giveth [his] cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproach.
31 For the Lord will not cast off for ever:
32 But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.
33 For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.
34 To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth,
35 To turn aside the right of a man before the face of the most High,
36 To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not.
37 ¶ Who [is] he [that] saith, and it cometh to pass, [when] the Lord commandeth [it] not?
38 Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?
39 Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
40 Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD.
41 Let us lift up our heart with [our] hands unto God in the heavens.
42 We have transgressed and have rebelled: thou hast not pardoned.
43 Thou hast covered with anger, and persecuted us: thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied.
44 Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that [our] prayer should not pass through.
45 Thou hast made us [as] the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people.
46 All our enemies have opened their mouths against us.
47 Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction.
48 Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission,
50 Till the LORD look down, and behold from heaven.
51 Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city.
52 Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause.
53 They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me.
54 Waters flowed over mine head; [then] I said, I am cut off.
55 ¶ I called upon thy name, O LORD, out of the low dungeon.
56 Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.
57 Thou drewest near in the day [that] I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not.
58 O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life.
59 O LORD, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause.
60 Thou hast seen all their vengeance [and] all their imaginations against me.
61 Thou hast heard their reproach, O LORD, [and] all their imaginations against me;
62 The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day.
63 Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I [am] their musick.
64 ¶ Render unto them a recompence, O LORD, according to the work of their hands.
65 Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them.
66 Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the LORD.

CHAPTER 4
1 How is the gold become dim! [how] is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion“monument; raised up; sepulcher”, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!
3 Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people [is become] cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, [and] no man breaketh [it] unto them.
5 They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets: they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills.
6 For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom“their secret; their cement”, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her.
7 Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing [was] of sapphire:
8 Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick.
9 [They that be] slain with the sword are better than [they that be] slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for [want of] the fruits of the field.
10 The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children: they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 The LORD hath accomplished his fury; he hath poured out his fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion“monument; raised up; sepulcher”, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof.
12 The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem“vision of peace”.
13 ¶ For the sins of her prophets, [and] the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her,
14 They have wandered [as] blind [men] in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments.
15 They cried unto them, Depart ye; [it is] unclean; depart, depart, touch not: when they fled away and wandered, they said among the heathen, They shall no more sojourn [there].
16 The anger of the LORD hath divided them; he will no more regard them: they respected not the persons of the priests, they favoured not the elders.
17 As for us, our eyes as yet failed for our vain help: in our watching we have watched for a nation [that] could not save [us].
18 They hunt our steps, that we cannot go in our streets: our end is near, our days are fulfilled; for our end is come.
19 Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.
20 The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen.
21 ¶ Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom“red, earthy; of blood”, that dwellest in the land of Uz“counsel; words”; the cup also shall pass through unto thee: thou shalt be drunken, and shalt make thyself naked.
22 ¶ The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion“monument; raised up; sepulcher”; he will no more carry thee away into captivity: he will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom“red, earthy; of blood”; he will discover thy sins.

CHAPTER 5
1 Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach.
2 Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens.
3 We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers [are] as widows.
4 We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto us.
5 Our necks [are] under persecution: we labour, [and] have no rest.
6 We have given the hand [to] the Egyptians, [and to] the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread.
7 Our fathers have sinned, [and are] not; and we have borne their iniquities.
8 Servants have ruled over us: [there is] none that doth deliver [us] out of their hand.
9 We gat our bread with [the peril of] our lives because of the sword of the wilderness.
10 Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine.
11 They ravished the women in Zion“monument; raised up; sepulcher”, [and] the maids in the cities of Judah“the praise of the Lord; confession”.
12 Princes are hanged up by their hand: the faces of elders were not honoured.
13 They took the young men to grind, and the children fell under the wood.
14 The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their musick.
15 The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning.
16 The crown is fallen [from] our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned!
17 For this our heart is faint; for these [things] our eyes are dim.
18 Because of the mountain of Zion“monument; raised up; sepulcher”, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it.
19 Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation.
20 Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, [and] forsake us so long time?
21 Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.
22 But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us.

Jeremiah (OT)	Jeremiah 52 (OT)	Lamentations 1 (OT)	Ezekiel (OT)

Idag så hade man på P3 på allas vårt SR (Snusk Radion) ett rent ut sagt fruktansvärt program: sex timmar sex. Och jag måste säga att jag aldrig tidigare hört något vedervärdigare än detta snuskprogram. De två timmar som jag lyssnade på programmet, Christers sexshow, så nämnde man säkerligen vartenda snusk och könsord som finns i hela den svenska vokabulären – flera gånger! Det hela var inget annat än ett skandalöst tilltag från vår svenska sex och snusk radio (SR). Visst kan jag förstå att man vill ha radioprogram som tar upp sex och samliv, men att ägna sex timmar på raken åt saken – på dagtid och på en av våra två stora radiokanaler – är rent ut sagt kriminellt. Program av dennna typ borde, om man vill sända dem, ligga på P1 på kvällstid efter klockan 9.

Att man på Snusk Radion (SR) inte bryr sig det minsta om att barn och minderåriga kanske lyssnar på alla dessa snuskhistorier, och det var mycket av den varan, och rått dessutom, förvånar inte mig det minsta, eftersom dagens fruktansvärda P3 sändningar inte var något annat än nästa steg i bestialiseringen av det svenska folket. Och då P3 är de ungas kanal så inser vi kanske vilka det var man ville åt speciellt? Idag så fick tveklöst tusentals svenska barn under tio års ålder höra ord som knulla, fitta och kuk (ber om ursäkt för att använda dessa ord (första gången jag gör så på bloggen)) för första gången. Är det bara jag som anser att detta kanske inte är lämplig radiounderhållning för barn?

Hade man tex i England, eller något annat civiliserat västland, sänt blott fem minuter sex och snusk av samma kaliber som Snusk Radion (SR) gjorde idag, så hade garanterat huvuden rullat. Tveklöst. Samtliga inblandade i produktionen hade troligen blivit av med jobben omedelbums samt portade från den nationella radion för tid och evighet. Här i Sverige så verkar ingen ens rynka på näsan. Snart så kommer man kanske ha speciella sexrum på våra högstadier där 13 åringarna kan gå och ha sex med klasskompisarna på långrasten.

Det var bara ungefär ett år sedan som den engelske TV-profilen och storstjärnan Jonathan Ross på radio sent en lördagskväll busringde hem till skådespelaren Andrew Sachs och pratade lite snusk (på skoj) om dennes barnbarn, något som så när kom att kosta honom hela hans radio och TV-karriär. Ross blev dessutom avstängd från BBC i tre månader utan lön, och han gick nyligen även miste om ett av BBCs toppjobb som morgonvärd för landets största radioprogram. Det hela gick faktiskt ända upp till parlamentet, och tom Gordon Brown förfärade sig över Ross tilltag.

Kanske kan folk i Sverige nu lite bättre förstå vad det är som pågår med vårt gamla fina Sveriges Radio? SR har nu förvandlats till Sex och Snusk Radion. Och värre lär det bli framöver. Var så säkra. Det är barnen man vill åt. Det är dem man vill fördärva och försnuska från så tidig ålder som möjligt. Det kallas bestialisering och är ett av våra ägares mest effektiva vapen mot oss. Genom att göra oss mer lika djur så kan man nämligen lättare hålla oss i bojor. I vilket fall som helst så borde hela SR (Snusk Radion) nu polisanmälas. SR (Snusk Radion) har ingen rätt att utsätta vanliga svenskar för renodlat sex och snusk och radioporr på blanka eftermiddagen på en av våra stora radiokanaler.

Jag börjar mer och mer tro att Sverige är det nya Sodom, för på den moraliska fronten så sjunker vi som nation allt djupare ner i fördärvet för varje dag som går. Alla som rest utomlands känner till att man där ofta ser på Sverige som ett syndens näste. Idag så fick vi ytterligare ett bevis på att så är fallet. Fy fan. Att våra ägare vill göra ett nytt Sodom av Sverige är inte omöjligt, för ju mer omoraliskt vi lever, desto lättare blir det för Bryssel, och dem som kontrollerar EU (den internationella bankeliten), att kontrollera allas vårt kära hemland, Sverige.

Today’s Reading:  Genesis 19-21

Gen. 19.  Judgment falls on Sodom and other cities in the valley

Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. And he said, “Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” And they said, “No, but we will spend the night in the open square.” But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. ~ Gen. 19:1-3

Lot must have realized right away that these men were special in some way, and perhaps he even knew that they were angels; nevertheless, he feared for them because of the evil in Sodom. He treated them with the utmost respect, care, and consideration.

Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.” ~ Gen. 19:4-5

Puritan-influenced thought has historically condemned the men of Sodom because of their sexual orientation.  While it is true that the Word clearly states that God is against same-sex relationships, His Word also shows that these people in Sodom had much bigger problems. They had no sense or sensibility; no subtlety or self-control. Their words were brutally violent, and directed toward visitors to the city, whom should have been received with hospitality and kindness. Notice what the Word says about Sodom in the book of Ezekiel:

“As I live,” says the Lord GOD, “neither your sister Sodom nor her daughters have done as you and your daughters have done. Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit. ~ Ezekiel 16:48

And what does Paul say in Romans?

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. ~ Romans 1:18-32

The people of Sodom and the cities in the surrounding valley had chosen evil over good, and as a result their lives were totally consumed by “all unrighteousness”. These passages in Ezekiel and Romans should give all believers food for thought. When we are overflowing with riches and luxury, yet do not reach out to help those in need; arrogant and proud of our possessions, our accomplishments, and our success, yet blind to the millions who are hungry, hurting, or unhealthy around the globe… we are as guilty as the citizens of Sodom. When we boast; when we are disobedient to our parents; when we are unforgiving (or any of the behaviors mentioned above)… we are behaving like those who hate God and have completely turned their back on Him.  Let’s think about that.  I need to think hard about that.

So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, and said, “Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.” And they said, “Stand back!” Then they said, “This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them.” So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door. But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. ~ Gen. 19:6-10

Lot attempts to reason with the unruly mob outside his home, but they turn his pleas into opportunities to criticize him. This is so like the world today, isn’t it?  That’s why you can’t win souls by telling people how wicked they are. You can’t influence them for good when you’ve been acting as if you are better than they are. And God knows the truth: Without Jesus, we are all wicked sinners, and our righteousness is no better than used toilet paper. Even with Jesus, we continually fall down into the gutter, and have to run back to the Cross for His gracious forgiveness.

Then the men (angels) said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city—take them out of this place! For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.” So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking. ~ Gen. 19:12-14

If there was any doubt in Lot’s mind, it should be gone, since the angels have now told him outright who they are, why they are there, and Who sent them. But when he tries to convince his married daughters and their husbands, his pleas fall on deaf ears. God isn’t real to them, so they think that Lot is a crazy old fool — good for a laugh, anyway.

When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.” ~ Gen. 19:15-17

Even though the time of judgment was imminent, Lot lingered. Was he thinking about the daughters he had to leave behind? Or was he worrying about the important business deals he had to abandon, his costly slaves and animals in Sodom, or the collection of fine furnishings in his home? But the angels literally took hold of Lot and his family and physically pulled them outside the city. The words of the angel reveal that Lot and each person in his family had reached a crossroads. They had to make a choice. In essence, the angel was telling them that to save their spiritual lives, they had to be willing to relinquish everything that belonged to this earthly life. Let’s compare this to the words of our Lord.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ~ Matthew 16:24-26

Then Lot said to them, “Please, no, my lords! Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.” ~ Gen. 19:18-20

Poor Lot still does not get the big picture, and he reveals his lack of faith in his fearful words; but God is merciful and patient with him.

And he (the angel) said to him, “See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. ~ Gen. 19:21-22

The name “Zoar” means “small, little”, and this city was spared only because of Lot’s request.

The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. ~ Gen. 19:23-26

After being so merciful, why did God punish Lot’s wife just for looking back? It seems like such a natural, curious thing to do; yet, her action must have revealed where her heart was and therefore, what her choice was.

I wonder what she was thinking…  

Did I lock the doors?  …I forgot to tell the servants what vegetables to serve for dinner…   The goat was marinated and ready to roast, and the mayor himself was coming to dine…  Whatever will he think of our sudden departure…   I should have brought the shawl my mother gave me…   And my jewelry!   If only I had brought a supply of nuts and dates, a little honey and wine…   And my lovely new indigo gown with the golden trim…   

“He who desires to save his life shall lose it.”

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Gen. 20.  Another look at the marriage relationship

And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” ~ Gen. 20:1-3

What kind of a man allows his wife to be taken by another man just to save his own skin?  What if he never saw her again?  Was he OKAY with that?  And to me, it seems that Abraham, when he acted in fear, was demonstrating a lack of faith in God’s promises — the promise of a son who would produce innumerable descendants (one of whom would be the Messiah), and the promise of resurrection after his temporary sojourn in this life.

But Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, “Lord, will You slay a righteous nation also? Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.” ~ Gen. 20:4-5

Abimelech referred to the evil cities that were destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah when he asked God, “Will you destroy another city also?”, so even though he lived a distance away, in “the South”, he was aware of what had happened and why.  God does not contradict Abimelech’s statement that his nation is “righteous”.

And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.” ~ Gen. 20: 6-7

God testifies to the integrity and innocence of Abimelech; but isn’t it interesting that God says that He withheld Abimelech from sinning against Him? In the Lord’s Prayer when we say “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”, do our words indicate that we relinquish our own rebellious choices and want Him to withhold us from sinning against him? May it be so!

Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelech said, “See, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody.” Thus she was rebuked. ~ Gen. 20:14-16

I didn’t really get what this passage was saying, why such a huge payment had to be made and how that rebuked Sarah, so I looked it up in some other versions. This translation is much more clear:

NLT: And he said to Sarah, “Look, I am giving your ‘brother’ 1,000 pieces of silver in the presence of all these witnesses. This is to compensate you for any wrong I may have done to you. This will settle any claim against me, and your reputation is cleared.”

Still odd, since I don’t really know the customs and beliefs of that time so many millenia ago; but evidently that was the right response.

So Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children; for the LORD had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife. ~ Gen. 20:17-18

This is evidence of God’s faithfulness, of his close relationship with Abraham, and his care and concern for Abraham’s family. Why was God so concerned that no other man lay with Sarah, specifically? Read on…
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Gen. 21. The birth of Isaac and the expulsion of Ishmael

And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him—whom Sarah bore to him—Isaac. Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. ~ Gen. 21:1-4

God demonstrated His faithfulness and His ability to do the impossible. Then, in obedience, they named the child Isaac and had him circumcised as instructed, for he was the child of promise, the one through whom the Messiah would be born. And looking on, Hagar, who had already produced a son for Abraham, must have felt slighted, rejected, and wronged. It may have been hard for her to remember that she was not the wife, but merely a servant.

So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.” And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son. But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called. Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.” ~ Gen. 21:8-13

Abraham was not happy about the strife between Sarah and Hagar. Perhaps he was willing to let both boys inherit, even though Isaac was given a special destiny by God. But God knew that the strife would continue; so he told Abraham that he had to send Ishmael away. This must have been heartbreaking for Abraham, but he was learning to obey God in all things.

So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, “Let me not see the death of the boy.” So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept. ~ Gen. 21:14-16

Perhaps Hagar did not know of God’s promise regarding Ishmael, because she honestly thought that the two of them were bound to die there in the Wilderness. Life as a servant was probably looking pretty good right about then; but God had other plans for her and the boy.

And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.”
Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt. ~ Gen. 21:17-21

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Isn’t it funny how we rely so on our human senses, when so much is going on that we are unable to detect?  There was a well of life-giving water there; but she was not able to see it until God opened her eyes.  What blessings are all around us, right under our noses, yet we wail and cry out to God to bless us? What solutions to problems has God already provided, but we fail to notice because we are too busy complaining about the status quo?