Babylon SOP
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Ephesians 6:11 ESV
Schemes – It’s too bad we don’t transliterate this word. Then we might see that it is far closer to home than we imagine. The word is methodeias. You might see “methods” in this word, and that would steer you away from “schemes” which we usually associate with nefarious activities toward customary ways of doing things (Standard Operating Procedure). While Paul certainly has the evil wiles of the Devil in mind, perhaps we are inclined to think of those ways as gross immorality, socially repugnant actions rather than the subtle undermining of God’s instructions, even if that undermining appears in the form of noble and charitable efforts.
But behind even this nuance is another level that we need to see. The word methodeias comes from the combination of meta and hodeuo (to travel + with). But here’s the rest of the story. Methodeias is not found in Greek literature prior to its use in the New Testament and in the New Testament it is used only Ephesians. What does this tell us? Paul probably made it up. He wanted to communicate something and there was no Greek word to describe it. So he made up a word – a word that suggests traveling along a road together, operating according to a standard procedure, handling according to plan – and then he set this word in a context where it can only mean acting in deliberate opposition to God’s way. The “schemes” of the devil aren’t ones that knock us off our feet with their boldness. They subtly convince us that this is how things are usually done. They seduce us into going along with the norm. They are traditions devoid of God.
Are the wheels turning? All this time you thought that all you had to do was stay away from gratuitous violence, sexual immorality and selfish pride. You thought that as long as you didn’t get angry, kept your speech in check, didn’t drink (or smoke), didn’t carouse or fight, you were in the clear. After all, what we need to avoid are the “works of the flesh,” right? But what might Paul be implying with a word like methodeias, a word about practicing what is taken as normal behavior but is really subtle rebellion? When you’re in combat, it’s easy to identify the fire from the enemy on the other side of the barricade. You can see the tracer bullets coming at you. But how do you identify an enemy that looks just like you, talks just like you, walks just like you and goes to your church, your office and your school? How do you find an enemy that matches your point of view?
The whole armor of God is certainly useful for defending the follower against the obvious onslaught of heresy, idolatry and paganism, but is it useful for distinguishing the enemy inside the gates? Frankly, not if it is doctrine alone. The enemy often knows the doctrine better than the believer. But what the enemy cannot do is practice life with God according to God’s instructions. That requires distinctive identification with YHWH. That requires a different SOP. You’ve noticed, haven’t you?
Topical Index: schemes, methodeias, Ephesians 6:11
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Ephesians 6:11 ESV”
Hmmm
The first I read Ephesians was back in college and I thought Paul
Was suffering from some form of paranoia
According to Judaism 101
The idea that “the devil made me do it” is not in line with the majority of thought in Judaism.
Rashi explains that we are like G-d in that we have the ability to understand and discern.
Rambam elaborates that by using our intellect, we are able to perceive things without the use of our physical senses, an ability that makes us like G-d, who perceives without having physical senses.
Although it has been said that Satan and the yetzer hara are one and the same, this is more often understood as meaning that Satan is merely a personification of our own selfish desires, rather than that our selfish desires are caused by some external force.
Be as Wise as a Serpent and as harmless as a Dove!
Hi Mikie!
A very cool friend of mine told me about this movie. i think you’ll like it a lot seeing as to how you like movies and all. Check it out.
The Freedom Movie 2: WARNING!! THIS VIDEO HAS BEEN DEBUGGED!! I CAN’T GUARANTEE WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF YOU WATCH IT… but i sure can hope and pray.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MKEv8E3gUY
Hi Jeanette
Yeah, I’m a big believer in what a Yogi I knew once referred to as the “3H club”
Healthy, Happy, and Holy
Hi Jeanette,
Speaking of movies, I think “Waking Life”is a very good one
It is a kind of animation overlaid with a lot of modern philosophical conversation
It also incorporates some conversation on the ideas of my favorite science fiction writer
Which I think are fun
So Philip K. Dick had this theory…
that time was an illusion and that we were all actually in A.D.
And the reason that he had written this book…
was that he had somehow momentarily punctured through this illusion,
this veil of time.
And what he had seen was what was going on in the Book of Acts.
And he was really into Gnosticism.
and this idea that this demiurge, or demon,
had created this illusion of time to make us forget…
that Christ was about to return…
and the kingdom of God was about to arrive…
and that we’re all in A.D. and there’s someone trying to make us forget,
you know, that–you know, that God is imminent.
And that’s what time is. That’s what all of history is,
this kind of continuous, you know, daydream or distraction.
And so I read that, and I was like, “Well, that’s weird. “
Hi Mikie! You know, i’ve heard and read of cases wherein some folks began to study scripture – i mean REALLY STUDY, and came to the conclusion that there is no God. One of the “case studies” (smh) IS a preacher who decided to stay on because that’s how he earned his daily bread. The other teaches seminary somewhere. had a cousin in that school.
i thought about that a lot as i began to dig higher, and i can understand how it could be! they lacked this simple element: FAITH.
Think: mustard seed.
Off to the races!
Shalom (WITH A GREAT BIG HUG)
“they lacked this simple element: FAITH.”
Hi Jeanette,
I think you hit the “nail on the head” as they say
For example, the WatchTower folks who used to come to my door
Their ideas have always seemed a bit too weird to me
But I think they are very kind, loving, people of great FAITH
I think faith comes from accepting God’s will and I pray for that
But I’m not very good at it
I tend to see consequences to actions in others very quickly
And it causes me Anxiety, which is opposite of Faith, but could be fear of the Lord
I was always very attracted to the atheist philosopher Jean Paul Sartre
The main focus of Sartre’s early work was on our freedom and responsibility
And how most of us are irresponsible and live in “bad faith”
We escape into illusions because we are afraid of Authenticity
The “truth hurts” as they say
Sartre’s first very famous book was called Being and Nothingness
For me, we have “being” in the world, but God is Nothingness
I do however have faith in books, especially the Bible
Which I believe is God’s Word
BTW My two favorite books by Philip K. Dick
Are Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (Androids are man-made humans)
It was loosely translated into Bladerunner (which was not a bad movie with Harrison Ford)
And Ubik (which critic Lev Grossman described as “a deeply unsettling existential horror story”)
I would describe Ubik as a paranoid’s view of God, and a kind of satire on Man
Hi Mikie! We must not read the same Bible, LOL…… In mine, Our Father found a friend, laughed, talked to people, liked the pleasing aroma of wine….i could go on.
Know what? He does have a great sense of humor. i keep him laughing a lot (when i’m not being impetuous).
Nothingness = blotted out. The one unpardonable sin? dissin’ His Sweet and Holy Spirit. That one doesn’t get forgiven.
Father, open our eyes.
Your sister,
jeanette
Hi jeanette,
I did not mean to imply that I share Philip K. Dick’s worldview
He may well have been completely insane
But Dick’s science fiction form and content was very interesting and fun to read
In the 1970’s when I read about Dick’s Android’s I had never heard of them
Now some 40 years later, Google has named their mobile phone “the Android”
And they are basically Ubik uitous
At around the same time I read Hawthorne’s Blithedale Romance for the first time
For Hawthorne, the only unpardonable sin was a violation of the Human Heart
BTW here is a link to the Hammurabi Code, it is fairly complicated, to say the least
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Hammurabi
God Morning!
Sorry Skip. Haven’t read the post yet, but i was having a conversation with me, myself and i, and i got to wondering about something i haven’t drawn any conclusion about yet. i decided to see if you know anything about it before i ask The Sweet and Holy Spirit (uh oh.)
What was the Code of Hammurabi about? Do you have any idea? SEE! i can be a great student!
Peace out,
jeanette
Thanks Jeanette,
WOA :)!!!
Shalom
WOW!!!!!
Hi Connie!!! Turn that WOW into WOA sister girl! WE ARE ONE = WAO. sounds just the same. time to get rid of the semantics.
Your Sister,
jeanette
p.s. Wonder what would happen if we added an H up in the WAO mix? just askin.
“WE ARE ONE = WAO Wonder what would happen if we added an H up in the WAO mix”
HMMM You could become one of the (O’)HARA clan; as in the (D)EVIL impulse 🙂
No Mikie. It’s Whoa – as in, STOP.
Selah
Connie, wait til i tell you about a fleegle of eagles girl!!!!!
~ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand .. ~ (Ephesians 6.11)
“Know thine enemy.” Be an informed citizen of the country where you now reside. ~ Our citizenship, however, is in Heaven, and it is from there that we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus, the Messiah ~ (Philippians 3.20) Yes, we are “resident aliens.” Strangers. Pilgrims. Twice-born people living in a once-born world. One foot “in the world”- the other in Heavenly places..- OR..”This is (still) my Father’s world- though fallen, and corrupted by Sin and the Fall of man, full of spiritually (and sometimes willingly!) deaf, blind and dead people, – all who are not “in Christ.”
And we are today, “ambassadors for Christ”- ~ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God ~ (2 Corinthians 5.20) What is an “ambassador?” We are His representatives, Him who is our Savior,- the LORD Jesus who is the Messiah, (and yes, soon coming King). This King will return again (soon) for His own, (for the rapture of the Bride-His beloved, His chosen,- “us.” Are we ready for the trumpet blast? When will this happen? ~ ~ In an hour that you think not ~ Another surprise visit! That’s okay, – no one expected a King to be born in a barn either!
Our three enemies are these. ~ The world. The flesh. And the devil (hasatan). Where to start? If we are to do ~ all things decently and in order, ~ (1 Corinthians 14.40), we will start by defining (in high definition?) what exactly is “the world” (what do the scriptures say?) ~ For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world ~ (1 John 2.16) “For all that is in the world.. ” Shall we review?
What is “the lust of the flesh” (lust is “an inordinate craving, a strong, all-consuming desire- not always “bad”- for the Spirit that lives within us (the Ruach HaKodesh- the Holy Breath) lusteth to envy! Our God is a jealous God, -no doubt about it! -and He wants our “focused attention!” But meanwhile, -back on planet earth- Most of us (and most assuredly) are “distracted sheep.” ~ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before Him He (the Captain of our salvation) endured the cross, scorning its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God ~ (Hebrews 12.1-2) The “good news?” tHis work is done. Finished. Final. Full. And Calvary covers it all. Total victory over all His enemies, -(and ours!)
When did the Messiah conquer the world? At Calvary. When did our Christ conquer the flesh? At Calvary. When did our LORD Jesus thoroughly defeat Death and him who had (as in “used to have”) dominion over death? At Calvary. When was Sin (and the dominion/authority of Sin) defeated? At Calvary.
Please “know (and remember) this”..
we do not pray “for victory..” – We (now) pray- “from victory.”
Christ fought the battle and friends (Shoutin’ time!!)- He won- “At Calvary.” Is this (he inquired), “Good News?” Is this the gospel of The Messiah? Did The Messiah, the LORD Jesus (who is the) Christ, die for our sins and in our stead? And can I get a witness? lol! Thank you sweet Holy Spirit, for Your heavenly “amen!” (John 10.27)
~ But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic— ~ (Mark 2.10)
Now, (easily distracted sheep), while this is still “fresh” – “Who,” has authority on earth to forgive sins? -the Son of man. And “who” is the Son of man? – Answer? – the very same One who is the Son of God! Son of God AND Son of man! -The word (logos) made flesh- and the One (we) wiliingly, knowingly crucified on the tslav, the execution stake of Calvary.
And after all. After all we put Him through (the details of His death are all written for us to review and to remember) what was His final prayer (and did He ever pray any prayer that was not answered?) ~ “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” ~ Amen to that!- To this very day, we (still) have no (full) idea of “Who” it was we crucified on that day- on the Day of Atonement, and during the week of Passover.
When Abraham said to his only begotten and greatly beloved son, Isaac-
~ God will provide Himself the Lamb..,~ centuries later, and on the Day of Atonement, did not this shadow became substance? -And the Perfect, propitiating Passover Lamb was slain.
I cannot (for the life of me) understand why anyone, anywhere, would despise or reject or willingly-knowingly say,- “We will not have this Man to reign over us..” Is it because we do not know Him? Or have we not heard the “good news?” Or have we all become “gospel hardened?”
Christ died for our sins. Is this not “good news?” Ten lepers were healed of this dreadful disease, yet only one returned to give thanks. Have we become as the nine? -Or will we be as “the one?”
Today, ~ May the high praises of God be in our mouths, and a two-edged sword in our hand~ (Psalm 149.6)
Until His return. Amen.
Wand’ring afar from the dwellings of men,
Hear the sad cry of the lepers, the ten;
Jesus have mercy! brings healing divine,
One came to worship, but where are the nine?
Where are the nine?
Where are the nine?
Were there not ten cleansed?
Where are the nine?
Loudly the stranger sang praise to the LORD,
Knowing the cure had been wrought by His word,
Gratefully owning the Healer divine;
Jesus says tenderly, Where are the nine?
Who is this Nazarene? Pharisees say;
Is He the Christ? Tell us plainly, we pray.
Multitudes follow Him seeking a sign,
Show them His mighty works—where are the nine?
Jesus on trial today we can see,
Thousands deridingly ask, Who is He?
How they’re rejecting Him, your LORD and mine!
Bring in the witnesses—where are the nine?
That is a long post in a single block of letters, Carl. I like to separate the ideas by paragraphs. Most people just glance and skim anyway.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before Him He (the Captain of our salvation) endured the cross, scorning its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”
Any every one in that great cloud of witnesses, whether one be Jewish, Christian or Muslim thinks of themselves as being that perfect Ambassador of God, the example all others should follow.
One of the enduring Truths of Jesus is his observation everyone is righteous in their own eyes. Few stop to think they might have a log in their own eye as they want to remove the splinter from their brother’s eye.
“has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will eat with him, and he with me.
To HIM THAT OVERCOMES, will I grant to SIT WITH ME IN MY THRONE, even as I ALSO OVERCAME, and AM set down WITH MY FATHER IN HIS THRONE.
He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Revelation 3
Mother Teresa had some good thoughts I reprinted in the article, ‘ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE – MOTHER TERESA & PRINCESS DIANA’ in the June 2011 Archive.
http://ray032.com/2011/06/12/all-you-need-is-love/
I think her understanding by this saying is perfectly True according to the Spirit;
“You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; it was never between you and them anyway.
Ray Joseph I am not one to say much on here as I feel very little amongst the scholars of the word so I will continue the pattern.
BUT I must say that love is NEVER enough.
Love without truth is sentimentality .
There is still only one way to the Father and that is through HIS only begotten son.
I saw no evidence anywhere in the Word that this has changed.
Unless one is BORN OF GOD, there is no way anyone will enter into the Kingdom no matter how much love they have.
This is my understanding according to what I see in the Word.
Thanks Skip for allowing us space to let our understanding be heard.
Blessings
Dear Carl, I hope you were not offended by my reply to your comment. I assure you, none was intended. I did pick out that one paragraph which you separate with ~ to expand a little further.
I just wanted to point out not only does Jesus sit on the right hand of the Throne of God, but He sits in the Throne of God with God, and invites us all to sit there with Him according to Revelation 3:21, IF we Overcome as He did. This was put out for discussion.
I am in full agreement with the sentiment, Thanks Skip for allowing us space to let our understanding be heard.
Blessings
And thanks, Carol, for reminding us that not only scholars have insights. “Born of God” goes all the way back to Abraham (at least) and Yeshua reminds Nicodemus of that fact. All do come to the Father through him, but, of course, WHEN they come is entirely a different matter.
I watch Charles Price from The Toronto’s People’s Church every Sunday as must see. I see the Spirit of Christ in me in him and it is pure joy to listen to him. His style is so different than John Hagee who sometimes seems to be no more than sloganeering.
He’s been talking about Nehemiah and rebuilding the Walls of Jerusalem as a task “born of God,” as being symbolic for rebuilding the People of God in an unbelieving world.
To confirm your point we should keep an open mind on all of the vision of God since “not only scholars have insights,” it is written;
But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Greeks foolishness;
But to them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
And base things of the world, and things which are despised, has God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
That no flesh should glory in his presence.
But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
That, according as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the Lord.
1 Corinthians: 23:31
Haven’t really tracked with the rest of the dialogue in response to this entry, and truly, as a spirit-filled Christian, I think I am coming from a different mindset than many in the Hebraic community. Just wanted to say, Skip, this commentary is a direct hit on the issues that have captured the attention on many in the Christian community…the error and half-truths in the church. The churches that preach a PART of the counsel of God and leave the issue of sin unaddressed. On the other hand, there are many climbing on the doctrinal purity bandwagon, who are suspicious of anything “spirit-led” or “spirit-filled”, to the point of saying that if it is not written about explicitly in the bible, you should reject it as phony. If Jesus Himself were to show up in their room one night, these folks would reason away the experience as a hallucination or a reaction to some bad Chinese food they had had that evening.
All to say, the bible is clear that we have to be armed with both the weapons of the Spirit (the sword) and of Truth (the belt). Only with both types of weaponry in place will be able to stand against the enemy’s schemes.
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24
For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. Matthew 24:24
All roads lead to somewhere. Ask God for guidance and direction and FOLLOW closely behind.
Would you rather have a guide for the perplexed OR would you rather allow God to guide you?
Microcosm or Macrocosm?
His Handmaiden,
jeanette