Good & Evil All Around Us

 After reading the news a few days back, I did a quick internet search to find out more about the Boogaloo movement. Along with links to items about this "movement" something came up about The Order of Nine Angles (ONA/O9A). (I actually kept reading it as "angels" for the first couple of minutes.)

Have you ever heard of these groups? I had not. And I tend to pay attention to a lot of podcasts and videos about conspiracy theories. I am fascinated with things that reinforce the truth that there's evil in our existence.

And let's talk about my flirtation with conspiracy theories.  I will do a brief history:

• I grew up in the Pentecostal "Holiness" denomination. We were called "Holy Rollers" and believed in speaking in tongues and "shouting" (Holy Ghost dancing). I left that denomination and had ever since considered myself a non-denominational Bible-believing Christian.
• I never bought the official JFK assassination story.
• My father joined the Freemasons and, for lots of personal reasons, I have problems with Freemasonry and all their affiliations.
• I have known people who belong to pagan religions. I have witnessed things that truly disturbed me.
• Some years ago, I heard a pastor breaking down the occult influences in Hip Hop, entertainment, and other media outreaches. I checked out much of what he talked about and... he wasn't exaggerating. By the way, the series is called The Truth Behind Hip Hop and there is also a book available.
• I remembered what the Ephesians 6:12 says:

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

• I pay attention to things the Bible says about coming out of and away from pagan practices. Many of these practices still exist.
• Satan told 4 lies in the Garden that are still being re-worded and told today.
• I realized that there were other Christians who recognized that we live surrounded by strange influences that get downplayed as being "conspiracy theories".
• I started watching videos and podcasts where others were discussing topics I found interesting.
• I listen to podcasts by people like Isaac Weishaupt of Conspiracy Theories and Unpopular Culture (because he too is a Christian) and Freeman Fly of the Freezone (not a Christian but very informative about culture). Weishaupt wrote an interesting book. 
• I now pay way more attention to the details in any movies, books, or movies I give time to. 

I cannot remember where I copied this from.
Pinterest, I think.

It's to the point that I can no longer just watch a movie or read a book or hear music without paying close attention. Any and everything in this world is so easily corrupted. 

So I am not surprised that in almost every social and political agenda, there is another power behind that agenda. Black Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter, environmental advocacy, education, healthcare... Every agenda is polluted with some kind of darkness.

What did surprise me is that I had not heard of the ONA/O9A. Once I realized who they are supposed to be, I realized that they are just another dark thing to use this chaotic time to market themselves to a wider audience. The ONA/O9A and the Boogaloo folk aren't original - not in their theme or goals. Charles Manson was probably an influence. He, after all, was on the race war wagon before most of these new thugs were born.

Anyway.

I am not sure what more to say. Maybe I just needed to rant about this. Maybe I just worry that not enough people - not enough Christians - are paying attention to the spiritual darkness that is creeping ever closer in around us. My thoughts just wandered to the memory of Art Bell. I don't think he was a conspiracy theorist any more than Jerry Springer likes to brawl and name-call. Art, may he be resting in peace,  liked being entertained by conspiracy theories and theorists. At least, that's my opinion. I only bring him up because of something he started talking about not too many years before he passed. He, like many of us, pick up where previous generations left on and wondered if we aren't living in times close to the end. He had a great name for this feeling of warning. He wrote and titled a book after it called "The Quickening".  

Peace

--Free

P.S.: This was kind of a rushed post so forgive me for any missing links or pieces of info.

Direct Links for Bible Study

 It dawned on me that sometimes it's hard to find your way back to a particular online resource. I use several things to help in my daily Bible reading and study but I had to save some links for myself because I couldn't always get to the right place when I needed to. I wanted to share these with any of you who are interested. 

Of course, all the links are courtesy of wonderful sites I have found useful so a big thanks to all of them. Here we go.

• To check various parallel Bibles here or...
• or here from Bible cc or...
• here at Bible Resources
• See a comprehensive list of online parallel Bibles
• Study the Hebrew Interlinear text or...
• ...the Greek Interlinear text
• Use Strong's Greek and Hebrew Concordance and Lexicon (either use the Lookup Strong's Number box at the center of the page above the Preface or go to top left of page to enter a Scripture reference or keyword and select the Bible version to view)
• Do an advanced Bible search on the Study Bible site
• Some Bible concordances
• Some very interesting resources for history relevant to believers.
• An ongoing list of Bible Q&As
• Ask questions at Got Questions. Just type in a question here. You can also ask from any search engine and just add "got questions" & it usually pulls up a link to the site. You can also check their New  Questions or click the Random button to... see a random question and answer. And don't forget that you can also donate to them. If just browsing, you can look at a category of their content.
• If you need to check the Thomas Chain Reference (by topic)
• See the Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words , Berry's New Testament Synonyms,  or Trench's New Testament Synonyms (don't ask me, it's the first I'm seeing these!)
• See a chart of the Bible books with brief descriptive headings for each. Also, the books are linked so you can navigate to them from the chart.
• Links to various Bible commentaries.
• Peruse various devotionals
• Check some Bible encyclopedias
• Additional resources, including Spanish language bibles.
• Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon
• New Testament Greek Lexicon
• Link list of classic Christian essays & other literature (including works by Bunyan). And a list of authors here.
• A site of lots of Bible history stuff - maps, timelines, etc.

Just wanted to say that I loved finding out the Dummies.com has a Bible page as a sort of cheat sheet reference.  I will be looking that over when I get the chance!

I added quite a few things to my original list. In doing so, I ran across some resources I am unfamiliar with. I will do a future post explaining (if I can) the usefulness of those resources. 

Also, I will be adding to this link list as I find more resources.

Peace

--Free

**BIBLE STUDY** Mandela Effect, Moses' "Horns" and Other Details I Missed

 There are a lot of benefits to studying the Bible regularly. I am fast learning that. Personally, I am getting some relief from my chronic depression and anxiety. Focusing on the Word of God is a reminder of His promises. That is pure medicine. But there are a lot of wider practical benefits. 

Have any of you been hearing about the Mandela Effect (ME) For some, it's thought of as a sort of false memory syndrome. For others (including myself) it will sometimes cause confusion and stress. Without getting into specifics, some examples of what the Mandela Effect affects changes/supposed changes in re:

• Song lyrics changed or parts omitted
• Names of people - spellings or variations, products, TV shows, and movies.
• Lines from popular movies and shows 
• Iconic emblems for vehicles 
• Dates of various events - Nelson Mandela's death being one of the most famous

It goes on and on. People remember Mandela's being much earlier than others remember it. The same goes for Billy Graham. In some cases, people who are alive are remembered as having died long ago.

I myself have gotten caught up in this confusion more than once. I remember very clearly certain things being one way when, obviously they are not - or at least no longer are that way. I don't want to send anyone down the rabbit hole of links to various ME but there are several out there. 

At first, I found the ME to be kind of curious and mildly amusing. Then one day, it touched close to home and I saw examples of where parts of the Bible were supposedly Mandela-effected. This is before I had started to seriously do any regular Bible study and I have to admit that I was shook. To my core.

The first 2 MEs that scared me were that one, Moses suddenly had horns and, two, the "lion and the lamb" lying down together was now "the wolf and the lamb". 

What?

For a couple of days, I walked around feeling very concerned and upset. Confusion, fear, anxiety. That really should have been a red flag to me but I was too busy being freaked out to stop and think clearly.

I called a few people and emailed a few people, telling them about these 2 strange things. They reacted much as I had:  with disbelief, then with confusion.

Eventually, it dawned on me that I was not as fully familiar with the Bible as I should be. Thankfully, I was familiar with warnings about who could be the source of my confusion. Bible Reasons sums it up like this:

Satan is the author of confusion.

Satan seeks to cause chaos, disorder, death, and destruction.

B.R. goes further, pointing out specific:

 1. 1 Corinthians 14:33 “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”

2. 1 Peter 5:8 “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

3. 2 Corinthians 2:11 “in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”

I always struggled with certain books of the Bible, wondering why I needed to read or study them. Well, what I ran across while studying chapters 33-35 in Exodus reaffirms that every word of the Bible is useful and details matter.

The reason that some artworks portray Moses with horns is because of the translation of certain words. If you check the Strong's Number H7160 you see this given for the word "shone" in Exodus 34:29

And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.

This is what the page looks like in the KJV+ of eSword:

Source: eSword's KJV+ Bible on my computer

 

Source 

I got the above image from the wonderful Study Bible site. Please do check out Study Bible where you can search Strong's from within the text. Truly a wonderful source.

By the way, I never did know before now how to use Strong's but there's a KJV with Strong's numbers included with the incredibly useful eSword I've told you about. I highly recommend learning to check Strong's just as much as you refer to commentaries. 

Once I figured out where the idea of horns came from, I was relieved. I should know better by now than to get so easily caught up in foolishness. Had I not been studying the Bible and if I had not been checking the underlying lexicon, I might still be confused and anxious.

Another way this round of Bible study is blessing me is with greater attention to detail. I have real problems with focus and concentration but I am keeping detailed notes of everything I learn as I read - especially when I start going deeper into commentaries, dictionaries, and word studies. 

One detail that I have picked up on is that many names in the Bible include God in them. The angels Michael and Gabriel, for example, both have "el" included. Micha-el and Gabri-el. I knew that but never knew that, if you get what I mean.

Chuck Missler once pointed out that when God changed Abram's and Sarai's names he added breath to them. Abraham and Sarah. I forgot to take notes on that one but it has something to do with the sound of the letter? I will find out and get back with better information.

My point is that there is so much detail and complexity to the Word of God. It's simple but deep. And I am learning that when I get anxious or confused, there is an answer in the Word. 

Not to beat you over the head with him, but something else Chuck Missler once said comes back to me now. He mentioned that when we find something in the Bible that we don't understand, we should make a note of it. When we get our answer or understanding, we will have something else to be thankful for. I

I am going to get back to my reading and, in the meantime, let's all remember our source of blessings.

Peace

--Free

SUMMARY of sources used here:

eSword Bible from which you can:  "study the Bible in an enjoyable and enriching manner. All Bibles, commentaries, dictionaries, … everything is just a click away!" (And, I would add, FREE)

Study Bible (online). As mentioned on their site, this is what you can use it for:

• Read and Search the Bible in Greek, Hebrew, English, Latin, and other parallel versions.
• Study online Hebrew and Greek interlinear translations and Bibles with Strong's Greek and Hebrew Lexicon numbers attached.
• Easily lookup 340,000 hyperlinked cross references in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
• View scripture in the original languages of Greek and Hebrew as well as ancient translations such as the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate.
• Compare the KJV with Old English, Wycliffe, Tyndale, Coverdale, Bishop's, Geneva, Doughy-Rheims, and American Standard Bibles.
• Find the meanings of Greek and Hebrew words in Strong's Lexicon, Thayer's Lexicon, Brown-Driver-Briggs' Lexicon, Vine's Expository Dictionary, Berry's New Testament Synonyms, and Trench's New Testament Synonyms.