God reveals through His written Word, the Bible, that He “…desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Furthermore, God backs up His desire in that He has established a way for all of mankind to be offered the opportunity for salvation. Jesus explained how this would be possible:

“‘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’” (John 3:16).

On the Day of Pentecost, following the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Apostle Peter spoke to those assembled, saying:

“‘…Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call’” (Acts 2:38-39).

It is an interesting phenomenon which has been observed over the years, that many of those who have been considered Church members leave the Church of God in a rather sudden manner, and that they immediately turn to the wrong things and behavior patterns which they rejected, while “in” the Church. This abrupt rejection of the Truth can be stunning and confusing if we don’t understand why this is happening.

There are certainly numerous reasons which we could address. In this Q&A, we want to focus on the more obvious ones. But first, we want to show from the Bible that such conduct is indeed prophesied. It happened already in the days of the apostle Paul and before, and it has continued to happen ever since, while it will be finding its climax in the days just ahead of us.

In Exodus 20:1-17 God spoke the Ten Commandments, and the 5th Commandment reads as follows: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your (your)  God is giving you.” This is repeated in Deuteronomy 5:16.

The Church of God has long taught that the first four Commandments show us that we must love God first and foremost, followed by the love that we must have for other people which is defined in the last six Commandments. We further read in Ephesians 6:1-3: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  ‘Honor your father and mother,’ which is the first commandment with promise: ‘that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.’”

By so doing this sets a pattern for life which can only be of great benefit to the growing child.

In the book of James, chapter 1 and verses 2-3, we read: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”

In Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible we read that to count it all joy is to “regard it as a thing to rejoice in; a matter which should afford you happiness. You are not to consider it as a punishment, a curse, or a calamity, but as a fit subject of felicitation (an expression of such joy or acknowledgment).”

Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible observes: “Count it all joy … Did not Christ say, ‘Blessed are ye when men shall persecute you … rejoice and be exceeding glad’? (Matthew 5:11,12). This is exactly the thought of James here.”

First of all, let us get some definitions.

WikiDiff gives the following explanation of these terms:

“As adverbs the difference between willingly and willfully is that willingly is of one’s own free will; freely and spontaneously while willfully is in a willful manner. It often means ‘purposely disobeying; purposely being contrary; purposely doing something wrong’.”

As we will see, this definition is close, but not close enough. Every day, true Christians wrestle against sin and the pulls of the flesh and Ephesians 6:12 also gives further information about our struggles: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

In the first part, we began with explaining as to why we are quoting New Testament writings primarily from the New King James Bible (the modernized rendition of the old King James Bible or Authorized Version). These renditions are both based on Greek manuscripts commonly referred to as the Textus Receptus. We also explained that basically two more sets of Greek manuscripts exist—the Alexandrian text and the Majority Text. Many feel that greater emphasis should be placed on especially the Alexandrian text, as the copies we have are allegedly older than those used for the Textus Receptus.

The Church of God has, for many decades, concluded for important reasons that the manuscripts based on the Textus Receptus are most reliable.

First, we need to understand that we have today about 5,000 Greek manuscripts, but no original copies. Almost 4,500 of these are based on the Byzantine text [the Textus Receptus], stemming from the fourth and fifth century A.D. They are pretty much consistent. Whatever differences exist are in spelling or wording.

As a standard, we commonly use the New King James Version of the Bible, which presents current English usage along with some modified points of translation as compared to the Authorized or King James Version of the Bible (1611 edition and 1769 revision). In some instances, we may refer to other translations for better clarity of a particular word or verse in the Bible. Our ultimate goal for Bible translations we use is to convey the most accurate meaning of the truest translations available to us.

Quoting from the 1996 edition of the New King James Bible (Holman Bible Publishers):

“There is more manuscript support for the New Testament than for any other body of ancient literature. Over five thousand Greek, eight thousand Latin, and many more manuscripts in other languages attest the integrity of the New Testament. There is only one basic New Testament used by Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Orthodox, by conservatives and liberals. Minor variations in hand copying have appeared through the centuries, before mechanical printing began about A.D. 1450” (Preface, page v)…

The Jewish Publication Society of America, in its 1917 version of the Bible, translates Ezekiel 14:3, 4 by using the expression “idols in their minds” and “idols in his mind”. This seems to be the only translation which renders it this way, while others use the word “heart” rather than “mind,” saying in verse 3: “…these men have set up their idols in their hearts.” The Hebrew word used here can be translated either as “heart” or “mind,” depending on the context. So, the question that needs to be answered is, what is an idol? Is it only an image of something that is made to be worshipped, or can it be more than this?

The second commandment states that we must not make a carved image, a likeness of anything in heaven above, or in the earth or in the water under the earth to bow down to them or serve them (compare Deuteronomy 5:8-9). This refers clearly to some kind of physical idol or image.

That is an interesting enquiry.

In a previous Q&A (in Update No. 281, dated 16th February 2007), we answered the question about whether or not to answer a fool and quoted Proverbs 26:4-5 which states: “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Lest you also be like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own eyes.”

In that Q&A, we stated: “To answer the fool’s specific allegation or even accusation would end up in a meaningless discussion. In such a case, both parties would end up being foolish or behaving foolishly. Luke 20:1-8 gives us one example. When Christ was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the Pharisees confronted Christ and asked Him: ‘Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?’ (compare verse 2). Christ understood the wrong motives and intentions of the Pharisees. He did not answer their question. Rather, He asked them a question that He knew was impossible for them to answer without condemning themselves (compare verses 3 and 4). As Christ expected, the Pharisees refused to answer the question. As a consequence, Christ stated that He would not answer their question either, and the discussion ended (compare verses 7 and 8).”

The usage of hyssop and its references in the Bible are mostly in the Old Testament, but it is also used a few times in the New Testament. Its symbolism is of interest as to how God commanded it to be used and its later involvement at the time of Christ’s death. The Old and the New Testament are woven together. People who claim that the Old Testament is no longer valid are mistaken and refuse to see how both Testaments are needed.

In 1 Kings 4:33, we find that King Solomon mentioned that hyssop liked to grow out of walls, indicating hearty plants which were able to grow in rough spots. Many people feel that the plant being referenced is Origanum syriacum. This plant has longish stems that are woody at the base with white flowers. It is widely used today to make teas, and also to make a spice called za’ater, which can be added to breads, cheese and salads.