In my previous article [“Just Like Peter – Part 1”] I wrote about my Peter-like experience of God’s quick intervention as a young child.  In this present article I will recount a similar experience I had several years later.

This happened when I was doing a masteral course in anthropology at my alma mater – the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman Quezon City. After finishing my bachelor’s degree in sociology there, I decided to proceed to graduate studies in this related field.

What drove me to take it up was my curiosity to discover where the Filipino and related races may have originated from, centuries before what our history books detail.  In fact, I wanted to find out where, in the Bible, our race may be alluded to. This, after I had read eye-opening literature from the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) about the origin of races. I thought that anthropology might provide more clues.

While enrolled, to augment my funds, I also worked as a research assistant in UP’s Community Development Research Council (UPCDRC). I chose to study some aspects of the community next-door to the campus – barrio Cruz-na-Ligas, a popular and convenient research target by UP and other college students or researchers.

At this time, I had become converted from Protestant UCCP (United Church of Christ in the Philippines) to WCG [see: “About the Author”]. As such, I became a devout keeper of the seventh-day Sabbath, which is the 24-hour period from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.

As it happened, I was ordered by the council to make a progress report on my research, which I hoped I could also somehow use for my graduate course. The meeting for this was scheduled on a Friday, about mid-afternoon. I had not disclosed to the council my Sabbath observance, and I hoped my report would be over before sunset that day. The council convened in a room in the College of Education Building.  The elderly council chairman, however, arrived late for the meeting, so we started just minutes before sunset!

As you can imagine, I was in a quandary when I began my report. I was fidgeting in my shoes as I observed my watch and the wall clock ticking to about six o’clock! Noticing my unease, some council member asked why I was apparently unfocused in my reporting. I had to confess to the council then that I was a devout observer of the seventh-day Sabbath, and my religious duty did not want me to violate it.  I then asked to be allowed to leave, with my report unfinished.

One council member, my former psychology professor, told me, “You are in a fix!” I was made to choose between my job and my religion.  I wholeheartedly chose my religion! I learned later that the council had terminated my employment for unsatisfactory performance.

I left the meeting in a huff.  It was well past sunset, and I had violated God’s holy Sabbath day! Guilt and remorse overtook me and, with great pain in heart, I went out to a nearby open field behind the University Library.  And there I wept bitterly for having disobeyed my God and Savior, my King!

A lifeline is dropped

As a WCG member, I related my story to then director of the WCG Regional Office [formerly called “Ambassador College Agency” to cloak the office’s religious nature], Arthur W. Docken, who was also pastor of the WCG Manila congregation, which I attended. When I told him about how I “wept bitterly,” he said, “Just like Peter!” – my inspiration for this article duo. [That’s about the time when the disciple/apostle Peter had denied his Lord three times, and then a rooster crowed as Jesus predicted. Then Peter went outside and there wept bitterly (see especially Luke 22:54-62).]

I told Mr. Docken that I was fired from my job as researcher, because my Sabbath-observance kept me from finishing my report to the council and for not showing a satisfactory performance. Sensing my earnest desire to repent and obey God, he then thought of a way I could have some money for my personal upkeep. Having learned that I was a researcher, he offered for me to write a research paper on any worthwhile subject I was keenly interested in, and the church would pay me for it.

Immediately I volunteered to research on the possible Biblical origin of the Filipino and related races. I had to start almost from scratch, and happily the University Library had some historical books and other “antiquities” literature to help.

As a result, I wrote a several-paged paper that suggested the possible origins of the Filipino and related races as traceable to a people that I “stumbled” upon, and who are mentioned once only, vaguely, in the prophecy of Jeremiah 51:27, which lists a certain kingdom of Minni. I believe, though, that God inspired me in this research, as I had prayed!

So, I focused my studies on this kingdom.  By some coincidence, Hasting’s history book devoted some comments on this kingdom, which was also called Mannai. It was originally located somewhere around the Middle East area.

I took a cue from Ambassador College history professor Dr. Herman L. Hoeh, who had traced the origin of the human races through names of places and people which could indicate some possible connection.

An interesting detail in Hasting’s history about the Minni/Mannai caught my attention: that kingdom was populous but a weak one, often conquered and subjugated by larger and more powerful kingdoms.

This led me to conclude that perhaps the people of Minni/Mannai may have later dispersed to other parts of the world, such as Asia-Pacific and the Americas, where we find people who have been subject to being conquered and colonized by more powerful European nations.  How like the Philippines!

I noticed that in the Philippines there are several places and personal names that bear the prefix “Man-” or “Min-” – Manila, Mandaluyong, Mandaue, Manticao, Mandurriao, Manay (!), Mindoro, Mindanao, etc.; and tribal names – Manobo, Mandaya. Also, many family names – Manubay, Manalo, Manapat, Manlulu, Maninang, Manansala, Mancebo, Manalili, Manangan, etc.

In other places there are Mandalay (Burma/Myanmar), Manchuria (Asia), Mangolore (India), Manhattan, Minnesota, Minneapolis (USA), Manitoba (Canada), Isle of Man, Manchester (Britain), Mandan Indians (North and Latin America).  Could there be other similar places? These are places where the original inhabitants were later colonized by the US or the UK, Spain, or even China.

That the Filipinos are probably related to the Indians of the Americas, could explain why the Spanish colonists, condescendingly, called the Filipinos “indios.” Interestingly, Mr. Docken related that, when he and his family first set foot in the country his second daughter saw Filipinos for the first time at the airport, and in her child’s innocence and candor, she remarked, “Look at all those Indians!” The “Minni/Mannai” connection of both races may be a clue!

I found a connection between Jeremiah 51:27 and Joel 3:10, where weak nations will be counted among the hordes that will descend upon the end-time world superpower soon to arise in Europe (symbolically called “Babylon”) in a climactic battle that will bring all the world’s armies to “the valley of decision” (Verse 14).  This is the end-time battle (often called “Armageddon” but correctly “The Battle of that Great Day of God Almighty,” Revelation 16:14), whose ground will be Jerusalem and environs (Revelation 16:14-16; 14:14-16; Zechariah 14:2).  Revelation 9:4-6 connects with Revelation 16:12 to show that the “kings [or kingdoms] from the east and their armies would add up to 200 million strong and will kill a third of mankind, shortly before Christ returns to earth in great power and glory (Revelation 19:11-16,19).

Is it a mere coincidence that less-developed countries tend to have higher birth rates and larger populations? It is therefore possible that these countries would contribute a considerable share of soldiers to that horde from the east?  Of course, there are the billion-some population China and India, along with Russia—all from the east — that can offer technical/material leadership to these soldiers to battle against the end-time “Babylon” – a political-religious colossus that will soon hold much of the world in its sway. [See: https://www.herbert-armstrong.org, click ENTER HERE, select “Books & Booklets” and scroll down to the booklet titled “Who Is the Beast?’.]

In any case, I submitted my paper to our headquarters at Ambassador College in Pasadena, California, USA, for Dr. Hoeh to comment on it. But I never heard from him about it at all, and he is now dead.

Nevertheless, my paper made a positive impression on Mr. Docken, who commented that “You have a good command of English.” I credit that to my family genes and influence — my mom was a teacher of English grammar and literature; my dad was a lawyer (and a good writer as well), and both graduated from the original UP in Manila.

Mr. Docken then included me on the payroll of the WCG office, starting as a reader of mail coming from the audience of the church’s radio and TV program “The World Tomorrow” and readers of the PLAIN TRUTH Magazine and our other free literature who requested further literature, or had questions about the WCG’s teachings, sending their requests to our Mailing Department or to the Letter Answering Department (LAD).

After a few months, because of my English proficiency and apt understanding, Mr. Docken elevated me to the LAD, which was later changed to PCD (Personal Correspondence Department). In the next several years I was the PCD’s mainstay, with Mr. Docken and his successors standing by to see to it that I wrote according to church doctrines in reply to those who queried.

I found my job as “personal correspondent” for the WCG office very fulfilling! I received letters of appreciation and thanks from those I helped with their questions, Biblical or general.

Not known nor expected by me, but more important, I was being prepared by God to later become a writer and editor of WCG’s local publications, and eventually to be ordained an elder, a preaching elder and, later, pastor.  My work, aided by my college education and mental ability, and (not the least) God’s Holy Spirit, gave me years of deeper and broader understanding of humanity, our world, and spiritual matters.

All these were essential in preparing me for my ultimate work and ministry as writer and editor of this website you are logged on to this minute!

I believe that in all these, my “Just Like Peter” experiences were a vital catalyst!

 

Pedro R, Meléndez, Jr.
18062025/02082025

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My name is Pedro, which I got from my father, who was Pedro, Senior. Of course, Pedro is the Spanish (also Filipino) for the English Peter, the Latin Petrus, the Italian Pietro, the French Pierre, and the Russian Pitr or Petr. In more cases than one, I have vivid memories of incidences early and later in my 80+-some years of life where I experienced some divine intervention like what happened to Jesus Christ’s chief apostle Simon Peter, as recorded in Matthew 14:22-33 (NKJV, throughout):

Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitude away. And when He had sent the multitude away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray.

Now when evening came, He was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea [Lake of Galilee or Gennesaret], tossed by the waves, for the wind was contraryNow in the fourth watch of the night [about 10:00 pm] Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.

But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”
And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
So He said, “Come!” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the sea to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!

And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him,
“O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

The impulsive Peter was gung-ho about walking on water as Jesus miraculously did. But his faith faded as soon as he observed the boisterous wind [and the tempestuous waves too]. Then he began to sink, and cried out to Jesus to help. Instantly Jesus saved him, but not without a loving rebuke.

My own Peter-like experience happened when I was about 5 or 6 years old. No, I didn’t walk on water! Rather, this is what happened.

Growing up in a Protestant family, I enjoyed not only the fellowship and Sunday school of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) in Cagayan de Oro City (CdO) on the southern island of Mindanao. I had lived there since 1946 up till I graduated from college. I have since lived around far-away Metro Manila, on the country’s largest northern island Luzon.

So then, it was a church outing, where I went along with my family and many church friends. The place chosen was a seaside beach in a barangay or barrio called Baloy.  As I was to find out, the beach there was very much unlike that of a barrio closer from home, Lapasan, where the sandy beach extended to over 50 meters from the shore, and we kids could merrily wade and romp in water from leg-deep to waist-deep. On the other hand, Baloy beach was what Visayans would call “cantilado” – cantilevered. From the shore or bank the seawater suddenly dropped off to a depth anywhere from chest-deep to well above the head.

I don’t know why our church leaders had chosen Baloy over other beaches. They should have known the peril its beach presented to young children and non-swimmers, like I was then. They, apparently, had not considered it and did not post lifeguards in case anyone came into trouble with the sea.

So, there I was, a no-swimmer – like the proverbial Clementine’s lover – daring to go it alone into the Baloy waters. My family members and others were seemingly too engrossed in their own activities to notice me. Totally clueless about the nature of Baloy beach being unlike that of Lapasan, which I frequented as a kid, I jumped into the water.  Alas, to my great shock, my feet did not land on sand! Instead, I sank deep until the water was well above my head!  I panicked and was flailing, and I swallowed quite a bit of seawater! I felt like I was going to drown and die. Immediately I thought a loud cry (no voice, with water in my mouth), “God, save me!”

I am sure God heard my unvoiced cry for help [what an awesome God we have!], and He quickly sent a strong wave! It pushed me close to shore, and I clambered up and out to safety.

Such a child’s prayer of faith was to be exercised shortly later. I was still in elementary grade when, for the first time, I heard the alarming news that a fire was raging in the heart of the then town. Though our rented home was quite some distance, it was close enough for us to see the threatening flame and billowing smoke. I suddenly tugged at my younger sister and brother, and told them, “Let’s pray!” We went down on our knees and, with a child’s true faith, I prayed to God to save us from the fire.

After a few minutes, we saw that the fire had been put out, thanks to the Municipal Fire Department’s quick response.  And, of course, thanks to God’s response to our simple prayer!

I guess, the moral here is for government officials or private owners to be careful to post signs or notices about possible dangers in places like Baloy beach. And they should provide lifeguards on the watch for possible accidents, and trained first-aiders and emergency facilities.  And parents, too – keep a watchful eye on your kids! And to kids, and even older children, consider going with a swimming buddy who can help you in case of trouble in the water (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).

But, in any case, let’s never forget to call the best “911 rescue center” – the heavens, where the living and Almighty God and Savior is ever ready, willing and able to send timely help to those who cry out earnestly and humbly to Him! Hallelujah, Amen!

 

Pedro R. Meléndez, Jr.
19062025/02082025

 

 

In my previous article [“Holy, Holy, Holy!”] I alluded to the 1960s movie about the love life of the classical piano music composer Franz Liszt, “Song Without End.”

Aficionados of great classical music claim that the excellent quality of classical music makes it “immortal” – music without end. Music that people enjoy decades, even centuries, after the composer has died.

But can any piece of music composed by man really survive until eternity? Revelation 4:8 describes a vision of angelic beings [seraphim] saying a praise to the Lord God Almighty, “Holy, Holy, Holy!” “without resting day and night.” The prolonged sound of the words may well turn out to be a song, one we might call “immortal” – “song without end.”

A great British poet said, “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” Beautiful music is one such thing.  And how it comes to be composed is a mystery of some sort. For a while, men thought that some spiritual “muse” or goddess of music inspired composers to create their music.

Exodus 31:1-11 records how God put wisdom in the hearts of all gifted artisans to design and execute works which God desired to be made for His tabernacle and later, His temple.  Could God have put similar wisdom in the appointed singers and musicians in His temple (2 Chronicles 5:12-13)?

Let’s take the case of the time-honored oratorio “The Messiah,” made by German composer Georg Frederic Handel. The oratorio is of such an excellent quality that choral groups all over the world perform it year after year.  The appeal is not only due to the majestic music but also the lyrics. Someone remarked that it must have taken God’s Spirit to inspire the lyricist to put together the passages of the Holy Bible that pertain to the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Could it be possible that God would preserve this oratorio for all eternity – to be enjoyed by the divine family of God forever?

What about the other great oratorios – Felix Mendelssohn’s “The Elijah” and “Saint Paul,” and Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Saint Matthew’s Passion?”

Whatever the truth may be, one thing is for sure: God’s word abides forever (Isaiah 40:6-8; 1 Peter 1:25). And, being a part of God’s word, the Book of Psalms – songs of praise to the LORD God Almighty – will surely remain and endure forever.  When their composers — Israel’s King David and the temple choirmasters – are resurrected, they can show us how these psalms or songs were sung originally.  Wouldn’t it be exciting to hear these magnificent “oldies?”

God will also inspire new songs to be sung in His praise, as He did when He laid the foundation of the earth and “the morning stars [symbolic of angels, Revelation 1:20] sang together, and all the sons of God [angels individually created but not begotten, Hebrews 1:4-6] shouted for joy” (Job 38:4-7). A joyous or joyful sound, a shout– even “noise!” (Psalms 66:1; 81:1;1-2; 98:4-5; 100:1, KJV) – is often musical, a form of song.

Revelation 14:3 says that the redeemed 144,000 of the twelve tribes of Israel (Revelation 7:3-6) will sing a “new song” before the [Father’s] throne, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders.

Isaiah 35:10 says, “And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads, they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”  This verse, in part, must have inspired the song [for Tenor] “Then Shall the Righteous Shine Forth” in Mendelssohn’s “The Elijah.”

Many in the Book of Psalms, in fact, has God commanding, or His people/creation vowing, to sing to Him or about Him songs, new and old, for who He is and what He has done.  See: Psalms 31, 66-69, 71, 84, 89, 92, 95-96, 98, 100, 105-106, 138, 147, and 149.

This does not mean that the immortal children of God will have nothing to do for all eternity but sing God’s praises.  There will be much work to do in order to finish the “project” of beautifying the whole vast universe – God’s plan to “plant the heavens” (Isaiah 51:16) – when God will “make all things new” (Revelation 21:5).  But because of the “everlasting joy” in the minds and hearts of God’s divine family, there will always be divine music for all to enjoy. One goal people strive for is to make working so enjoyable that it would look and feel not like a task or chore but like playing or having fun!  “Whistle While You Work” is a song that may well say it.

What a joyful future awaits in God’s everlasting kingdom, where there are “pleasures forevermore” in God’s right hand (Psalm 16:11)!

 

Pedro R. Meléndez, Jr.
24052025/28062025

 

 

 

 

As one born into a Protestant or evangelical family [see: “About the Author”], I grew up singing the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy!” at church. With it I also grew up believing in a “God in three Persons, Blessed Trinity” – one “Holy” each for the Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit [or the Holy Ghost, as some ancient benediction calls it, or “Him” as trinitarians refer to that Spirit].

The hymn claims to reflect Revelation 4:8, which records a vision of “four living creatures, each having six wings [angelic beings called “seraphim,” Isaiah 6:2], saying “Holy, Holy, Holy” of the “Lord God Almighty” or the “Lord of Hosts.”

Thus, the three “Holies” have come to be associated with and believed in and taught by mainstream “Christianity” as the “three-in-one” or “triune” God.

Since I became a member of the Worldwide Church of God, I no longer believe in the Trinity. I have discussed lengthily the matter of the trinity in my article “The Trinity Doctrine Reconsidered,” which would I encourage you to read and study, if you have not already done so.  There just is no real proof in the Bible that God is a trinity!

Going back to Revelation 4:9, we will see clearly what the three “Holies” really refer to: “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come!”

This is the real “Song Without End” [the title of a 1960s movie about the music of the well-loved composer Franz Liszt].  As the same verse says, the seraphim “do not rest day or night” saying their praise, which they may as well have sung without end.

What makes the Lord God Almighty three times “Holy” is that He was, and is, and is to come – the three dimensions of time: yesterday, today and tomorrow – past, present, and future.

Revelation 1:10; 22:12 shows Jesus Christ declaring Himself to be “the Alpha and the Omega” [the beginning and end of the Greek alphabet, as in the English A and Z]. Revelation 1:17-18 continues: “I am the first and the last.  I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore.”   This echoes Isaiah 41:4: “I, the LORD, am the first, and with the last I am He.”

Hebrews 12:9 says: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Malachi 3:6 speaks about God’s enduring mercies: “For I am the LORD, I do not change.” [See: “What Does God Mean – ‘I Do Not Change?’”]

Thus, the “three-ness” of God does not concern His supposed “three-in-one” nature or personhood as trinitarians believe and teach. Rather, it describes God’s eternal nature.  As the Jewish-inspired hymn says in praise of the God of Abraham: “Who was, and is, and is to be, and still the same.”  It is He who is “Holy, Holy, Holy!”

 

Pedro R. Melendez, Jr.
24052024/01062024

 

 

 

 

 

 

If, like me, you grew up as a teenager in the decade of the 1950s, you would likely remember
or sang by heart the song titled “Devoted to You,” popularized by the American singing duo, The Everly Brothers.

Like many other syrupy love sings, this one promises the loved one:

Darling, you can count on me
Till the sun dries up the sea;
Until then I’ll always be
Devoted to you.

I’ll be yours through endless time;
I’ll adore your charm sublime.
It can’t die because I’m so
Devoted to you.

I’ll never leave you; I’ll never lie.
I’ll never be untrue.
I’ll never give you a reason to cry;
I’d be unhappy if you were blue.

Through the years my love will grow;
Like a river it will flow.
It can’t die because I’m so
Devoted to you.

The songwriter talks about “endless time” and a love that “can’t die.”  But if we do a reality check, we know there really is no such thing as a human “endless love,” as a more recent song promotes. Another, a vintage love song from the 1960s, picturesquely describes this one’s love that would last “until the twelfth of [the imaginary month] Never.” Yet another song or movie waxes confident about his love for his sweetheart that’s “From Here to Eternity” or “I’ll Be Loving you Eternally.”

However, the Holy Scriptures (The Holy Bible) expressly says: “…it is appointed for [all] men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).  And that is because “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  And “…the wages [consequence] of sin is death” (Romans 6:23, echoing Ezekiel 18:4).

Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 reveals the truth about the fate of man’s love: “For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing.  And they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten, also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun.” [See: “What Happens to Man After Death?”]

This being the case, a man who claims to have an “endless love” or a love that “can’t die” is actually claiming to be like God, or be God, who alone has love without end. God alone is eternal, having neither beginning nor end of life, immortal and invisible (Hebrews 7:3; 1 Timothy 1:17).

1 John 4:16 famously says, “God is love.” And the apostle Paul affirms that this kind of love [Greek, agape] abides and “never fails” (|1 Corinthians 13:13, 8).  The word “fails” is related to the Spanish “fallecir” (meaning to “fade away” or die). God’s love alone never fades away — never dies! As Psalm 136 repeatedly affirms, God’s mercy [a basic aspect of God’s love] “endures for ever.” [See: “The Four Dimensions of Christ’s Love.”]

Because of God’s unfailing, enduring love and mercy – His reversal of the death penalty that our sin justly deserves, through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice of His blood on Calvary’s cross as our ransom or redemption – we have the promise of everlasting life at Christ’s soon return (John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:22-23, 51-55; Romans 6:22, latter half). [See: “The Ransomed of the LORD.”]

This is the “endless love” of God that we should celebrate in joyful songs of praise and thanksgiving – not the love that humans claim for themselves as endless.  Elevating human love to God’s level of endless love is actually a form of idolatry!

It is that kind of idolatrous human love as portrayed in the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg’s love song “Ich Liebe Dich” [English, “I Love You”]:

Light of my life whose image my heart holdeth,
Thou at whose feet I worship and adore….
I love thee, dear; I love thee, dear.
I love thee now, and through eternity!

I am not saying that we can’t rightly sing love songs! There are valid love songs; we just need to be selective and discerning.  After all, the Bible preserves Israel’s King Solomon’s love song [“canticle”], in the Old Testament. As someone said, it’s just as wrong to sing a lie as to tell a lie!

Yes, we can tell our loved one that we are “devoted to you,” but as the wedding vow says, it’s a love that lasts only “till death do us part” (Romans 7:1-3).

And although as Christians we have the promise of everlasting life through the resurrection [or change, as in the case of living saints of God (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17)], Christ declared that “…in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of God in heaven (Matthew 22:30).

Thus, God’s word clearly tells us that no human [marital or romantic] love is endless. But we are certainly exhorted to love others as ourselves while our earthly lives remain (Matthew 24:39; Ephesians 5:25-33).

When we are made perfect through our resurrection to immortality (1 John 3:9), we can truly and faultlessly sing to God that we are “Devoted to You” through endless time – through all eternity! Revelation 21 and 22 describe the wonderful endless, everlasting love and marriage between the “Bridegroom,” Jesus Christ [the “Lamb of God”], and the “Bride” – the glorified, immortal members of the Church of God – in the perfect “Holy City,” the “New Jerusalem” of the new Heaven and new Earth – forever and ever.  Amen!

 

Pedro R. Meléndez, Jr.
21052024/31052025

 

 

This past week, April 11-19, members of the Church of God around the world observed the festivals of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

The celebration is a carry-over from the ancient festivals which the Jews and other children of Israel kept, as commanded by the LORD God through His servant Moses (Leviticus 23:4-8).  This was to commemorate an important part in the history of the Israelite nation – their deliverance and salvation from their heavy bondage as strangers and slaves in Egypt, ruled by its cruel king Pharaoh.

Exodus 12 details the preparation, sacrifice, and the eating of the Passover lamb.  God commanded that some of the blood of that lamb was to be daubed on the lintel and doorposts of the Israelites’ homes. That same night the Israelites were to remain in their homes as God’s death angel went through all the land of Egypt to slay the firstborn of man and beast of the Egyptians. The angel was to spare (or “pass over,” thus the name of the festival) the homes of the Israelites on whose doors was the blood of the lamb.

Because of the slaughter of all of Egypt’s firstborn, the Pharaoh finally agreed to let the people of Israel go out to where God commanded them to go. The next evening the Israelites moved out with their family and possessions out of Egypt, with the LORD God leading and accompanying them with His almighty power.

Exodus 12-14 details God’s awesome, miraculous salvation of the families of Israel through the famous “Exodus” through the Red Sea.

The apostle Paul, having been thoroughly instructed in this Jewish celebration, and understanding that the lamb slaughtered on the Passover pictured the eventual sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary as the “lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29, 35), wrote to the members of the Church of God at Corinth:

For indeed Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us.  Therefore, let us keep the feast [of Unleavened Bread], not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1 Corinthians 5: 6).

Paul understood that sin [malice and wickedness] is symbolically like Egypt which enslaves us (Romans 6:20 – “servants of sin” here being translated from the Greek doulos, meaning “slave”).

Leaven of malice and wickedness

Paul had just addressed a serious problem among the Corinthian brethren.  A member had been committing sexual immorality with his “father’s wife” (Verse 1) – actually the man’s mother-in-law! Paul censured the brethren for their failure to reprimand or discipline the erring member, and their being “puffed up” about it (Verse 2) – they tolerated and even boasted about the happening.

Paul strongly urged them to put away their erring brother from their fellowship, so that he might realize the weight of his sin and repent (Verses 4-5).

Paul then explained why it was necessary to put away [in church language, “disfellowship” or “excommunicate”] the sinning brother.  “Do you not know that a little leaven leavens up the whole lump” (Verse 6)?  If they did not take steps to disfellowship the erring brother, his sin would be taken lightly by the other brethren, and this could cause them to be careless about sinning in their own lives.  Just like the effect of leaven on a lump of dough!

Paul and Jude describe the way sin creeps into men, and even into the Church of God — like leaven!  “And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage) to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you” (Galatians 2:4-5).  “For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of God into lewdness [a form of lawlessness] and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 4).

It was with the same subtlety [or stealth] that Satan, masquerading as a serpent, got Adam and Eve to commit the first human sin at the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2-3). [See: “Your Eyes Will Be Opened!”]. Eve was caught unaware that she was being tricked by the devil with his doubting question: “Has God indeed said ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’” (Genesis 3:1)?  This was contrary to what God had told Adam [and what Adam, told Eve, too], “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, BUT of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17; compare with Genesis 3:2). [See: The Deceitfulness of Sin.]

The apostle Peter admonishes us: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). He counsels us: “Resist him, steadfast in the faith. Knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world” (Verse 9).

Therefore, we should pray for ourselves with Peter: “But may the God of grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you” (Verse 10).

The apostle James also admonishes us: “Therefore submit to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God [in prayer] and He will draw near to you” (James 4:7).

For many years, it was my practice [as it was with other Worldwide Church of God members] during the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread, to check the ingredients of food (like biscuits or crackers) to see if there was any leavening in them before I bought and ate then during that period. As God commanded, we were careful to remove all leavening and leavened products from our homes, as leaven symbolized sin during this festival. I believe this exercise trained us to examine every decision we made to see that it did not violae God’s law.

Paul charges us: “Test [KJV, “Prove”] all things, hold fast what is good. Abstain from any form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22).  Likewise, the apostle John: “Beloved, do no t believe every spirit, but test the spirits [thoughts, ideas put forth to us], whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

We cannot properly test the spirits unless we are guided by God’s Holy Spirit in understanding God’s word (1 Corinthians 2:11-12). [See: God’s Spirit and Obedience.] Isaiah 8:20 should guide our testing: “To the law and to the testimony [prophecy, Revelation 19:10]. If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light [truth] in them.”

Paul rightly charges: “Therefore let us keep the feast [of Unleavened Bread, showing that it is for Christians, not just Jews, to keep!] … with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:8).

We are to be sincere – whole-hearted – in seeking and obeying and living by [as bread or food, Matthew 4:4] every word of God – His truth (John 17:17), and His law (Psalm 119:142).

But why is the kingdom of God likened to leaven?

It might confuse some to think that, if the Bible looks at leaven as a type or sin, why did Jesus, in a parable, compare the kingdom of God to a woman taking three measures of meal or flour and working each one with leavening (Matthew 13:33)?  He even warned His disciples about “the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Matthew 16:11), and meant it to be their false doctrine (Matthew 16:11-2), their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1)?

To understand this seeming contradiction, we have to look at another of Christ’s parables comparing the kingdom to: the parable of the “mustard seed” (Matthew 13:31-32). Here Jesus explains that, like the littlest of seeds, the kingdom of God starts small and gradually grows until it covers the whole world – just like a little leaven leavens a whole lump of dough.

This website has been set up to help visitors and readers to have their eyes and hearts opened to understanding and living by God’s word and truth [see: About Pool of Siloam]. We hope and pray that through the articles here (now more than 150) you will grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18)!

God bless you all!

 

Pedro R. Meléndez, Jr.
20042025/25042025

 

 

 

 

 The apostle Paul wrote: “For to be carnally-minded is death, but to be spiritually-minded is life and peace” (Romans 6:6). In Verse 7 Paul explained why: “Because the carnal mind is enmity against [hostile to] God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.”

But just what, really, is the “carnal” mind?  The word “carnal” is related to the Spanish word “carne” – meaning flesh or meat. We human beings are made up of “meat” – flesh, plus bones, hair and nails, as are most animals, some of which may have scales instead of skin or hair.

Because God created us human beings with flesh, does this explain why we have a “carnal” mind, as Paul mentioned?

The Greek philosophers and Gnostics falsely and wrongly believe that the fleshly part of man is intrinsically bad or evil, and the good part of man is his “soul,” which is released at death, to continue to exist forever as an “immortal soul.” [See: “Is There Ever Any Good in Man?“and “What Happens to Man After Death?”]

The creation account in Genesis 1 assures us that, after God had created man and the animals – cattle, beasts and creeping things (Verses 24-30) – He declared them all indeed “very good” (Verses 31). Genesis 2:25, 18 shows God creating woman to be a suitable help for the first man, Adam, who named her Eve (Genesis 3:20).  Genesis 2:24 shows God ordaining marriage between the man and the woman as a means for them to “be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28). God describes marriage this way: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. And they [two] shall become one flesh.”

The sex act: becoming “one flesh”

In the sex act between a married couple [husband and wife], the two persons join their sex parts [flesh!] as God designed them, to express mutual joy and pleasure in their love embrace. God’s word clearly declares that a husband or his wife does not have authority over his or her own body, but the partner does. Paul was inspired to write: “The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does.  And like-wise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does” (1 Corinthians 7:4).

Much more, then, does a man not have authority over the body of a woman who is not his duly married or legal wife.  If a man does have sex with a woman while both are unmarried, this is called the sin of “fornication.”  If a married man has sex with a woman [married or single] who is not his wife, the sin is called “adultery” – forbidden in God’s seventh commandment (Exodus 20:14).  In his example of a man who has sex with a harlot [prostitute], Paul declared that “he who is joined [in the sexual act] to a harlot is one body [or one flesh] with her. For ‘the two,’ He [God] says,’ shall become one flesh’” (1 Corinthians 6:16).

It stands to reason, then, that if a man commits a sex act with another man [married or not], this is a horrible sin [clearly forbidden in Leviticus 18:27; 20:13 and condemned in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Romans 1:24-27; Jude 7; and Revelation 21:8; 22:15 9 (here “dogs” refers to sodomites)] that also results in both men thereby becoming “one flesh” as their bodily parts are joined together. But it is becoming “one flesh” contrary to God’s design for the sexes, as the Bible verses above proscribe.

The homosexual mind especially “carnal”

While all sin [the transgression of God’s law, 1 John 3:4, especially KJV] is enmity against or hostile to God’s law and therefore comes from a “carnal” mind, the sin of homosexuals is particularly carnal!  Many LGBTQ+ community members deny that God condemns the homosexual act, although God’s law or word clearly declares it a sin and an “abomination” or hateful thing [see Bible references above].

A religious broadcaster once joked about the homosexual’s or gay’s “favorite food.”  He said, “mince [men’s] meat!”  Homosexuals are often obsessed with other men’s bodies, especially their sex parts – their flesh or “meat.”

While a homosexual may not have actual sex with another man, he may indulge in vicarious such sex through viewing gay pornography.  And there is a whole stack of this on the internet – reader, beware!

Jesus explained the spiritual principle of adultery as not being just the actual, physical act, but also the “lust” or the desiring of it in one’s mind or heart (Matthew 5:27-28). This principle applies to homosexual desires and lusts – a person who indulges in them is guilty of having actually, physically committed the sex acts themselves. Paul was inspired to write that “Covetousness … is idolatry (Colossians 3:5). Homosexuals have made idols of men and their sex parts!

Neuro-scientists or expert in brain studies have pointed out the addictive effect of same-sex attraction (SSA) and viewing gay or even “straight” [heterosexual] pornography. The pleasurable experience involved here brings out certain biochemicals in the brain [such as dopamine] that reinforce the behavior, so that one becomes a virtual “slave” to it –it becomes his idol!

Actually, most if not all sin is accompanied by momentary pleasure (Hebrews 11:24-28). [See: “The Deceitfulness of Sin.”]  Paul prophesied that, in the last days –our times today! – perilous times will come.  Men shall, among others, be “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” “(2 Timothy 3:1, 4).

Then Paul explained: “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slave whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness” (Romans 6:15) – and everlasting life!

The oppressive nature of sin – its addictive influence and force – is such that the subjugation or bondage sets up “strongholds” – STRONG HOLDS! – in the mind and thoughts of the sinner (2 Corinthians 10:4).

Antidote to the carnal mind

Paul wrote: “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace …. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.  Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.  And if Christ is in you, the body is dead [the fleshly pulls become weak, even powerless], but the Spirit is life because of righteousness [obedience to God’s commandments (Psalm 119:172; Luke 1:6)] …therefore, brethren, we are debtors – not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh [carnally], you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:6, 9-10, 12-14).

Thus, the all-important antidote to the carnal mind and sin is the Spirit of God and of Christ!  How do we receive it?  Acts 2:38 gives the “formula.” [See: “God’s Spirit and Obedience,” “The Higher Law of the Spirit” and “Freed From Bondage.”]

Paul wrote: “For though we walk in the flesh [we remain as sin-prone mortals now], we do not war according to the flesh.  For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal [they are spiritual!] but mighty [powerful] in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-6).

Where the battle is

The battle starts in the mind and finishes in the body. Our thoughts are the battleground!

As the above Scripture verse says, need to “bring every thought into captivity” to obey Christ and His word. We need to capture and submit every wrong, sinful thought to Christ, so He can redirect it conform to His holy, righteous thoughts. As Isaiah 55:8-9 says: “’For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the LORD! ‘For as the heavens are higher them the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’” The apostle Peter reiterated what God had  long commanded His people or children: “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind [as in getting ready to walk where God leads], be sober [mind in control], and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be Holy, For I Am Holy”(1 Peter 1:13-15).

Like a good soldier or sentinel, we need to guard what thoughts we allow our minds to entertain or dwell on.  No, it’s not a matter of sheer human will! This won’t work, because relying on the resources of our carnal mind alone won’t work.  As Paul explained, the carnal mind is not subject to God’s law nor indeed can be! As true disciples of Christ, we have His Spirit in us to help us have the power of self-control (Galatians 5:22-23) – control over our thoughts! We will be defended by the “full armor of God” (Ephesians 6:14-18).

We will be empowered to fulfill Paul’s admonition: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue, and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8).

Paul echoed what Psalm 1:1-2 has long taught: “Blessed [happy] is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly [we get plenty of this in the advice columns of carnal “teachers” in the print and electronic media], nor stands in the path of sinners [avoid their company], nor sits in the seat of the scornful [like spending hours seated before a TV, desktop, laptop, tablet or i-phone watching programs that despise God’s law and way of life; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.”

Psalm 1:3 shines a bright light on Galatians 5:22 [about the nine-faceted “fruit of the Spirit] – “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water [symbolic of God’s Spirit, John 7:38-39], that brings forth fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper.”

James 1:14-15 shows how the lack of self-control leads to sin: “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.  Then when the desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death.”

The key, then, is to capture the desire while it is still forming in our mind and heart, before it becomes full grown and cannot be controlled – leading us to sin and death!  It is then that we can ask God to “deliver us from evil [or the evil one – Satan] (Matthew 6:13). And He will!

That is how we are able to control our carnal mind. “Not by [human] might nor by [human] power, but by My [God’s] Spirit” (Zechariah 4:6).

And let’s not be confused about what it means by there being no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Yes, once we are forgiven of our sins through faith in Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary, we are no longer condemned for those forgiven sins. But, if after this we continue to harbor wicked thoughts in our mind and heart, we come under condemnation by God’s law (and hopefully our conscience) until we repent and ask for God’s forgiveness.

The love of God through Christ does not mean we should no longer have the fear of God.  Again Paul urged that we should “Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness” (Romans 11:22). To understand more about this important issue on overcoming our carnal mind, see: “Can We Fear and Love God at the Same Time?”

For more knowledge about overcoming our carnal nature and mind, see: “Breaking Down Our ‘Walls of Jericho,’” “The Rainbow Connection,” “The Conversion Therapy Controversy,” “Should Everyone Be Allowed to Be Who They Are?” and “Does God Require Us to Do the Impossible?”

 

Pedro R. Meléndez, Jr.
21032025/29032025  

 

 

 

 

 

In my recent article [see: “Are You Zealous for the Fear of the LORD All the Day?”], I referred to the website set up by a distinguished American scientist who, for now, goes by the name “Adon” [https://thehighestofthemountains.com].

I was greatly amazed by how this American mechanical engineer and former aerospace engineer who is also a neuro-scientist and computer engineering expert disproved the theory of evolution – proving it to be a big lie – by his complex scientific explanations. By mapping out the complex circuitries of the human brain, Adon proved that intelligent mankind could not have existed by some mindless evolution, but by deliberate design and execution by a supremely intelligent divine Engineer!

While Adon goes on to explain other matters of the Bible from his expert scientific viewpoint, it struck me that everything we’ve wondered about life seems to be capable of being understood and explained by science!

But can it – really?

For example, I got the sense from Adon that we can construct and develop our own human “spirit.”  But what does God’s word, the Holy Bible, say?

Job 52:8 and 1 Corinthians both affirm that “there is a spirit in man.”  And Ecclesiastes 12:7 clarifies that God gave mankind their individual spirit, which at death returns to God as its Maker and Giver.

The Bible does not specify when or at what stage of human development each individual human being receives his unique spirit from God.  Herbert W. Armstrong (HWA), the late founder and Pastor General of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG), proposed that the spirit of a man comes to him at his first draw of breath at birth, just as Adam became a living soul or being when God breathed the breath of life into his nostrils (Genesis 2|:7).

However, one can justly ask: “Is not a human baby, while still in its mother’s womb, already a living human being even though it has not yet breathed through its own lungs? Otherwise, how can anti-abortionists call abortion a murder of infants?

A human fetus in its mother’s womb is already a human being, and we must assume that the baby already has its own spirit as its brain develops.  Studies have shown that human fetuses are already sentient – they can respond or react to temperature changes, trauma such as poking, sounds, etc.

Some parents make it a point to speak lovingly to their fetal baby as if it were already a fully born child, in order to calm the baby.  Some parents even play classical music for the unborn baby to listen to, in hopes that the child will eventually grow up appreciating this kind of music.  Which demonstrates that a human fetus already has enough ability to absorb some “knowledge” (such as the sounds of classical music) to be able to appreciate it later, after birth.

Life itself is a miracle!  Scientists might explain it in terms of chemistry, physics or biology, but they cannot explain how life really begins, or what – who – causes human life to exist?  Indeed, the mystery of life!

That mystery can only make sense if there is a Designer/Creator God behind all life on our planet – human, animal and plant. Adon amply explains this through his vast scientific knowledge and research.

But what about our human spirit?  While we did not create it in ourselves, we can do things to enhance our spirit – through self-study or training such us by tutors or in schools.  God also imparts spiritual “gifts” to human spirits as He sees fit (1 Corinthians 12).

Divine miracles unexplainable by science

Besides the miracle of God creating Adam and Eve and, by His mere word or command God also creating ALL other things on earth and our atmosphere (Genesis 1-3), the LORD or God of Israel delivered the people of Israel from their bondage and slavery in the land of Egypt through miracles and wonders and brought them to their Promised Land (accounts in the books of Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges).

The history of the people of Israel (the rest of the Old Testament) is punctuated by God’s miraculous interventions to save His people from their own folly and sin and from their enemies.

In the New Testament we find plenty of scientifically unexplainable miracles done by Jesus Christ and His apostles. Jesus Himself was born through a miracle of a virgin conceiving without the participation of a human father (Luke 1:26-80).

• • • When the wine at a wedding party in Cana ran out, Jesus turned plain water into superior-quality wine (John 2:1-10).
    • Jesus calmed the stormy winds and sea by His mere command (Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-42; 7:24-37; Luke 8:22-25).  He also walked on water like on dry land, as did Peter for a moment (Matthew 14:22-33).
    • Without any medication or surgical procedures, Jesus healed all manner of diseases brought to Him (Matthew 4:23-25; 15:30-31; Mark 7:31-37; Luke 4:40 -41).
    • With just a few pieces of bread and fish, Jesus fed thousands of people more than once (Matthew 14:13-21; 15:32-38; Mark 6:30-44; 8:1-10).
    • Jesus raised people back to life from the dead: the son of a widow at Nain (Luke 7:11-17); the daughter of a synagogue ruler (Matthew 9:18-28; Mark 5:21-43; Luke 8:40-56); Lazarus, brother of Jesus’ friends Mary and Martha (John 11:1-44).
    • Jesus Himself resurrected from the dead three days after His crucifixion (Matthew 27:62-28:1-10; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-10). He then ascended to heaven (Acts 1:9-11).
    • Through Peter, a lame man was healed (Acts 3:1-10).
    • Through Paul God healed many diseases (Acts 19:11-12).

When Christ returns from heaven to this earth, many signs and wonders will occur as detailed in the book of Revelation (6-11;14-22), and mentioned by the Old Testament prophets (Isaiah 13; Joel 2:1-11; Zechariah 14).

Does the human spirit live forever?

Adon believes and teaches that, as such, the human spirit lives forever, that it cannot or will not be destroyed. He did say that the spirit of a righteous man lives forever, but if we examine the testimony of the holy Scriptures, the same does not apply to unrepentant, wicked people.

Hebrews 12:23 mentions “the spirits of just men made perfect” who are counted worthy to become part of the “general assembly and church of the firstborn who are “registered in heaven” (Verse 23, first part) – those who will have a place in the New Heavens (Revelation 21:1-5).  On the other hand, unjust (unrighteous) men – those who persist on doing evil and not repenting of it will be cast into a “lake of fire” at the end of the Day of Judgment – never to have another chance to be resurrected to life ever again, having died the “second death” (Revelation 21:8). God will use the spirit of true Christians and children of God who have died as some kind of blueprint or template to resurrect them to everlasting life at Christ’s return, or at the end of the judgment period after the millennial rule of Christ (Revelation 20:5, 11-12).  It stands to reason that the spirit of incorrigibly wicked people will need to be destroyed, along with their body and soul in hell-fire (Matthew 10:28).

The Bible does not teach that man has an “immortal soul.”  Ezekiel 18:20 plainly says that “The soul who sins shall die.”  [See:  “What Happens to Man After Death?”]

Isaiah 45:5, 6, 21; 6:9 repeatedly affirms that the LORD God exists, and there is none other God besides Him. He alone is worthy of the highest glory, honor, worship and praise (Revelation 4:11)!

 

Pedro R. Meléndez, Jr.
20022025/28022025

 

 

Ezekiel 14:4, 7 is about God condemning the nation of Israel for every one of them setting up “idols in his heart.”  We might contrast these to “idols in the arts,” idols which can be seen or touched – idols which men, we, can craft with our hands using wood, stone, metal, concrete, ceramic, glass, or plastic, etc.

Just what is an idol?

The first two of the Ten Commandments which God gave to His nation Israel at Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:3-4) forbid them – and us as well – to have ”other gods” before the LORD God, and to make a carved image [idol] in the likeness of any created thing [heavenly body, animal, plant, or man] then to bow down to, worship or serve it in place of the Creator God, who identifies Himself as One who brought the whole house of Israel from their hard bondage in Egypt through His wonders and miracles (Exodus 12-15) into the Promised Land.

These idols “in the arts,” as we may call these images, are material, physical objects that we can destroy by cutting them down with some powerful tool, by dissolving them in a strong acid or alkali, burning or torching them or throwing them into the depths of the ocean.

By comparison, idols “in the heart” cannot always be seen or touched physically, but are just as real as, if not more powerful, than idols that we can see or touch. Thus, these former are more difficult to put away.

What is an idol “in the [our] heart”?

 Anything that we value more highly than God and His Word – including His laws and commandments – is or becomes an “idol.”  This could be our human intellect, our own ideas about the reality of our universe and our earth, of what is right and what is wrong [good or evil], etc., as opposed to God’s, as revealed in His Word, the Holy Bible.

Thus, some have made an “idol” of the idea or theory of a Godless evolution to explain the existence of the natural order of life on this our planet earth.  [See:  https://www.herbert-armstrong.org, click ENTER HERE, select “Books & Booklets,” and scroll down to the booklets titled “Some Fishy Stories,” “A Theory for the Birds,” “A Whale of a Tale,” and “Does God Exist?”] The apostle Paul wrote about the dire result of rejecting the existence of God on one’s moral life (Romans 1:18-32).

Paul also “hit the nail on the head” when he wrote, “covetousness is idolatry” (Galatians 3:6). This explains how we can set up “idols in the heart!” The tenth of God’s Ten Commandments” commands us not to “covet” anything that belongs to our neighbor [fellow man], whether man, beast, or property (Exodus 29:17).

What does it mean to “covet?”  The meaning of this word has often been obscured by our modern use such as in our saying, “We covet your prayers” when we mean we “desire” or would like to have, or request.

Jesus made it plain  and vivid what it means to “covet” when He said: “You have heard it said to those of old ‘You shall not commit adultery’ [the seventh of God’s Ten Commandments, Exodus 20:14].  But I say to you that whoever looks on a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28).

To “lust” for, in this case, is to strongly desire to perform an intimate act such as is appropriate only between a man and his lawful wife – in plain language, sex. When sex is alluded to, God’s word includes prohibition against sex between a man and another man, a woman and another woman, a man or woman and a close relative or a beast (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13,14-21; Romans 1:26-27). [See: The Rainbow Connection.]

In ancient times people worshiped sex idols – carved or painted images of naked men and women (singly or in various sexual postures), structures that symbolized the male sex organ or the phallus. Today there may no longer be such idols, but more such images – in fact, “live” in many cases — can be readily seen through the “media” – social, print, graphic or electronic. Pornography in its various shades is a multi-billion-dollar business “industry!” It has become a modern plague!

These graphic images have such a strong neurochemical bond in people’s minds that they have become “idols in the heart!” They are much, much more difficult to put away than material, physical idols! It’s a case akin to, but much worse than, drug addiction!

Idols in the heart are not all about sex.  They also include wealth or any highly esteemed material possession [Jesus called it the god “Mammon” (Matthew 6:24)]. And why do we call celebrities our “idols?”

What’s the way out of this dilemma?

The above-cited article gives some clues.   See also: The Conversion Therapy Controversy, Should Everyone Be Allowed to Be Who They Are?  Are You Zealous for the Fear of God All the Day?  The Higher Law of the Spirit, and Breaking Down Our “Walls of Jericho.” In addition, I just recently discovered an inspirational song that can serve as a powerful battle prayer-song for those struggling to change their lives.  The song can be accessed through Google: Bradley Steele – Same Ol Same Ol (Lyrics Video). One especially striking line of this song goes: “Same ol memories stuck on replay.”

God help us put away all idols, especially those in our hearts! Failing to do so will guarantee our everlasting destruction (Revelation 21:8)!

 

Pedro R. Meléndez, Jr.
26022025/31012025

 

Proverbs 23:13 exhorts: “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but be zealous for the fear of the LORD all the day.”

The unnamed writer of Psalm 119, who expresses his day-long love for the law of God (Verse 97), describes himself as God’s servant who is “devoted to fearing You” [God or the LORD] (Verse 38).

For a long time many “Christian” preachers and teachers have taught that Jesus Christ came to bring a message of hope and love, not a message of fear.  They would often base their belief on their understanding of 1 John 4:18 – “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.  But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”  And the Bible verse they love and promote and have memorized is John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

So, where does that leave the people who are zealous for and devoted to the fear of the LORD?

Israel’s third king Solomon [after Saul and David] is presumed to have written the above-quoted proverb. I might add that it was while Solomon remained faithful to the God of Israel that he was zealous for the fear of the LORD all the day, and did not let his heart envy sinners.  For a while he thus remained faithful and obedient to God and His laws.  He understood, as we should, that “the fear of the LORD” leads one to depart from evil (Proverbs 16:6), and to do good or what is right, according to the law of God.

But, sadly, the royal history of Israel records that King Solomon later forsook the God of Israel.  And why?  Because he allowed himself to be swayed by his many foreign wives into worshiping their idols.  In fact, he built temples or worship places for their idols or gods and sacrificed to them.  As a result, the kingdom of Israel became torn.  The greater bulk of Israel (ten tribes) broke away from the “house of David.” Thus, in the days of Solomon’s son Rehoboam, the split-up left him and the rest of Solomon’s descendants with just the tribe of Judah, plus the tribe of Levi and a portion of the tribes of Benjamin and Simeon (1 Kings 11:9-13; 12:1-20). [See: God’s Kingdom and Israel.]

Quoting Psalm 36:1, the apostle Paul wrote about the people of his day, as he well might have written about our present time: “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 13:18).  It is mighty significant that God’s word specifies where the fear of God is located: “before their eyes.”  Neuroscientists have discovered that the frontal lobe of the brain is where our memories are stored, and our reasoning and decision-making take place. [See: thehighestofthemountains.com, article “Engineered for Human Life.”]

The American author of the said website, a mechanical and former spacecraft engineer and a neuroscientist and expert computer scientist going by the name “Adon,” presents some rather technical explanations about the biochemical factors that go into having the fear of God that help to suppress sinful thoughts or desires, such as looking at pornography or fantasizing about illicit sexual acts.

Psalm 86:11 ought to be our prayer too: “Unite my heart to fear Thy [God’s] name.” Then, let’s claim God’s promise: “God takes pleasure in them that fear Him” (Psalm 147:11). “The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life”(Proverbs 14:27).  “The LORD pities them that fear Him” (Psalm 103:11). “And  His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation” (Luke 1:50).  “By humility and fear of the LORD are riches and honor and life” (Proverbs 22:4). “But in every nation whoever fears Him [God] and works righteousness is accepted of Him” (Acts 10:35).

To help you understand better how the fear and love of God work together, see: Can We Fear and Love God at the Same Time? and The Four Dimensions of Christ’s Love.

May God help all of us to be zealous for and devoted to the fear of the LORD all the day!

 

Pedro R. Meléndez, Jr.
20122024/21122024