Does the Bible condone slavery?

There is a tendency to look at slavery as something of the past. But it is estimated that there are today over 27 million people in the world who are subject to slavery: forced labor, sex trade, inheritable property, etc. As those who have been redeemed from the slavery of sin, followers of Jesus Christ should be the foremost champions of ending human slavery in the world today. The question arises, though, why does the Bible not speak out strongly against slavery? Why does the Bible, in fact, seem to support the practice of human slavery?

The Bible does not specifically condemn the practice of slavery. It gives instructions on how slaves should be treated (Deuteronomy 15:12-15; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 4:1), but does not outlaw slavery altogether. Many see this as the Bible condoning all forms of slavery. What many fail to understand is that slavery in biblical times was very different from the slavery that was practiced in the past few centuries in many parts of the world. The slavery in the Bible was not based exclusively on race. People were not enslaved because of their nationality or the color of their skin. In Bible times, slavery was more a matter of social status. People sold themselves as slaves when they could not pay their debts or provide for their families. In New Testament times, sometimes doctors, lawyers, and even politicians were slaves of someone else. Some people actually chose to be slaves so as to have all their needs provided for by their masters.

The slavery of the past few centuries was often based exclusively on skin color. In the United States, many black people were considered slaves because of their nationality; many slave owners truly believed black people to be inferior human beings. The Bible most definitely does condemn race-based slavery. Consider the slavery the Hebrews experienced when they were in Egypt. The Hebrews were slaves, not by choice, but because they were Hebrews (Exodus 13:14). The plagues God poured out on Egypt demonstrate how God feels about racial slavery (Exodus 7-11). So, yes, the Bible does condemn some forms of slavery. At the same time, the Bible does seem to allow for other forms. The key issue is that the slavery the Bible allowed for in no way resembled the racial slavery that plagued our world in the past few centuries.

In addition, both the Old and New Testaments condemn the practice of “man-stealing” which is what happened in Africa in the 19th century. Africans were rounded up by slave-hunters, who sold them to slave-traders, who brought them to the New World to work on plantations and farms. This practice is abhorrent to God. In fact, the penalty for such a crime in the Mosaic Law was death: “Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or still has him when he is caught must be put to death” (Exodus 21:16). Similarly, in the New Testament, slave-traders are listed among those who are “ungodly and sinful” and are in the same category as those who kill their fathers or mothers, murderers, adulterers and perverts, and liars and perjurers (1 Timothy 1:8-10).

Another crucial point is that the purpose of the Bible is to point the way to salvation, not to reform society. The Bible often approaches issues from the inside out. If a person experiences the love, mercy, and grace of God by receiving His salvation, God will reform his soul, changing the way he thinks and acts. A person who has experienced God’s gift of salvation and freedom from the slavery of sin, as God reforms his soul, will realize that enslaving another human being is wrong. A person who has truly experienced God’s grace will in turn be gracious towards others. That would be the Bible’s prescription for ending slavery.

Activate your Five Spiritual Senses

The language of the heart is transmitted through our Five Spiritual Senses. Let me unpack that for you a little bit:

The heart is the meeting place with God. If we have placed our faith in Jesus (in His death, burial, and resurrection), then He actually lives in our hearts by His Spirit. 

However, to be led by the Holy Spirit, we have to cultivate an awareness of His presence. We do this by understanding the dynamics of the language of the heart... because, the Spirit of God speaks to our hearts (John 16:13). 

The language of the heart is intuitive (its what we might call “right brained” perception). It resonates and is illuminated with words, music, art, imagination, dance... and the like. It’s a spiritual language that is transmitted through our Five Spiritual Senses.

In the same way that we have five natural senses, the ability to see, hear, taste, smell, and feel, we actually have Five Spiritual Senses… with corresponding spiritual capacities to perceive.

Jesus said that God is seeking after encounters with man (men and women). But He said that, because God is Spirit, we must worship (encounter) Him in Spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). And, the Apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesians, in his letter to the Ephesians... he prayed that they would “know” (encounter) God, through the portal of having the eyes of their hearts enlightened (Eph. 1:18).

Let me illustrate this dynamic of activating our Five Spiritual Senses. Our Five Spiritual Senses are like an invisible doorway that opens to God’s very presence. What we need to do, is simply “turn the knob” and open the door to initiate an encounter with Him. We “turn the knob,” by asking God to illuminate (activate) our Five Spiritual Senses. In faith, we trust that He will do just that. When we “turn the knob,” if you could imagine this in your mind (in your heart)... when we turn the knob, He grabs the same knob on His side of the door, and pulls the door wide open. His Holy Spirit, living inside of us, will illuminate our capacity to perceive (sense) Him... through our Five Spiritual Senses. The result is that we become consciously aware of Him (at all times), and we meet with Him face-to-face, in “the secret place” (Matt. 6:6). 

God is longing to meet with us (John 4:23). He is knocking on the door of our hearts… wanting us to open up the door and have a meal with Him (Rev. 3:20).

In our teaching called Five Smooth Stones, using the story of David and Goliath as a backdrop, we lead you through five specific prayers to activate your Five Spiritual Senses.

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How to Forgive Yourself

Forgiving yourself can be much harder than forgiving someone else. When you're carrying around a sense of blame for something that has happened in the past, this bundle of negativity burrowing deep into yourself can cause a never-ending, pervasive sense of unhappiness. Forgiving yourself is an important act of moving forward and releasing yourself from the past. It's also a way of protecting your health and general well-being. Here are some suggestions on how to forgive yourself.

Practice self-acceptance. You don't need forgiveness for being you. 

Forgiving yourself is about targeting the specific things that you feel bad about, not about the person you are. As a forgiveness technique, self-acceptance allows you to acknowledge that you're a good person, faults and all. It doesn't mean that you ignore the faults or stop trying to improve yourself but it does mean that you value yourself above those elements and cease to allow your faults to halt your progression in life.

Love yourself and give yourself permission to heal.
Laugh more; it'll give you more freedom to stop taking it all so seriously.

2Understand the importance of forgiveness. Living in a state of being unable to forgive requires a lot of energy. You are constantly chewed up by fear of your vulnerability, burning with anger with the source of pain, and living with the constancy ofsadness, hurt, and blame. This energy deserves to be put to better use, so that your creativity and abilities are fed, not your negativity. Forgiveness also allows you to live in the present instead of the past, which means that you can move into the future with a renewed sense of purpose focused on change, improvement, and building on experience rather than being held back by past hurts.

Some people are afraid to forgive themselves because they fear losing their sense of self that has been built on the back of anger, resentment, and vulnerability. In this case, ask yourself if that angry, easily hurt and reactive person is the identity you're keen to show the world and live with. Is the security of this mode of thinking worth the effort and harm it is causing you? It's better to have a small time of insecurity as you find your way again than to continue a lifetime bogged down in anger.

See forgiveness in a positive light. If you're bothered that forgiving suggests that you shouldn't experience strong feelings such as resentment and anger, try viewing it as the chance to feel strong positive feelings, such as joy, generosity, and faith in yourself. Switching it to thinking about what you'll gain rather than what you'll lose has the benefit of keeping you positive while minimizing the negative emotions.

3Take into account the challenges raised by not forgiving yourself. Not only do you allow yourself to remain stuck in the past, but not forgiving yourself takes a huge toll on your emotional and physical health. Inability to forgive is sourced from anger and resentment, two emotions that can wreak havoc with your health. Numerous studies have shown that people stuck in constant anger are more prone to disease and illness than people who can learn to forgive both themselves and others.[2]

Always remember that forgiving doesn't equate with forgetting. You're entitled to learn by experience and be guided by that experience. It's about leaving aside the resentment and self-inflicted berating that comes with remembering.

4Accept your emotions. Part of the struggle is often being unable to accept that you are experiencing such emotions as anger, fear, resentment, and vulnerability. Instead of trying to avoid facing these negative emotions, accept them as part of what is fueling your lack of self-forgiveness. A problem named is a problem ready to be tackled.

5Reflect on why you're trying to hold yourself to a higher standard than anyone else around you. Perfectionism can cause you to hold too high a standard for your own behavior, a standard that you wouldn't hold anyone else to. And if your perfectionism causes you to be too hard on yourself, you are caught in a situation where self-forgiveness is very hard to do because it seems like acceptance of a sub-standard you. Remove yourself from this vicious cycle of thinking by doing what Martha Beck called "welcoming imperfection". Beck claimed that "welcoming imperfection is the way to accomplish what perfectionism promises but never delivers." It allows you to accept that all human beings are imperfect, and you are human, and imperfect too.

If you are really struggling with perfectionism, consider counseling or therapy work to reduce its impact in your life. Read How to control perfectionism for more tips.

6Let go of other people's expectations for you. If you're stuck in a spiral of self-hate and never feeling good enough because of things that were once said to you, self-forgiveness is essential. You have no control over what other people do and say, and many things are said and done unconsciously, often motivated by the other person's own shortcomings.[3]Living your life in self-loathing because you don't feel you lived up to someone else's expectations is based on making too much of another person's mixed-up feelings. Forgive yourself for trying to live a life according to other's expectations and start making the changes needed to follow your own purpose instead.

For every person who has been hard on you, remember that someone was hard on them. Break the chain of harshness by being kind to yourself, not trying to live up to someone else's expectations for you.

Whenever someone criticizes you unfairly, realize that they have just made it that much harder for themselves if they make a mistake or fail to fulfill their own perfectionist ideas. Take this moment to remember where you've come from and why you no longer want to live that way.

7Stop punishing yourself. There is a frequent misunderstanding that forgiveness equates to forgetting or condoning. This misunderstanding can lead a person to feel that it is not right to forgive oneself because in the process of doing so, it's akin to an act of forgetting or condoning the past wrong. If this is the factor preventing you from forgiving yourself, keep in mind that forgiveness is a process ofmindfulness in which you continue to remember what happened and you do not condone something that was "wrong" as suddenly "right".[4]

It's perfectly fine to say: "I am not proud of what I've done (or how I've devalued myself) but I'm moving on for the sake of my health, my well-being, and those around me." Affirming this is healthy and allows you to break the cycle of self-harm you've fallen into because you openly acknowledge what was wrong and the intention to set it right from now on.

8Think about what will improve in your life if you can release yourself and how to bring this into fruition. As part of forgiving yourself, it's usually not enough to simply resolve to forgive yourself. Doing things to confirm the forgiveness process will help you to realize your self-forgiveness and to give you a new sense of purpose. Some of the things you might like to consider doing include:

Taking up meditation. Meditation is an ideal way to find inner quiet, spiritual, self-realization, and physical relaxation. It will allow you to take time out, to tune into and appreciate the moment, and to get in touch with your inner self. Done regularly, meditation will improve your well-being and sense of self.

Affirm your self-worth. Remind yourself regularly that you are a valued and beautiful person and say simply: "I forgive myself" or "I will no longer let anger eat away at me", whenever the negative thoughts reappear.

Keep a diary. Write down your journey to forgiveness. Having the writing space to share your thoughts and feelings with, one that nobody else will ever read, is a liberating and self-enlightening way to breaking through negative approaches to your life.

Seek therapy. If you've tried hard to get over anger, resentment, and other fearful, out-of-control emotions but you're still struggling, connect with a therapist who can help guide you through to a better state of being. If therapy's not your thing, at least find a friend or more to talk to, and who will help to affirm your worth.

If you have a faith, draw strength from its teachings to support you.

9See forgiveness as a journey, not a destination. If you're liable to thinking that you're unable to "get to" self-forgiveness, you may be sabotaging your chances of even starting the forgiveness journey. It helps to accept that forgiveness is an ongoing process and that you'll have your up days and your down days, as with most feelings and experiences in life. You may feel that you've reached a point of forgiveness, only to have something happen that causes you to feel it was all a wasted effort and that you're back to square one, angry and annoyed with yourself. The best approach is to let the slip-ups happen and see them as minor setbacks in an otherwise more forgiving self. In addition, realize that forgiveness has no timetable; instead, you can do your very best to prepare yourself for the process and to get it started:[5]

Self-forgive in gradual stages. Start with valuing yourself and making a resolution to stop letting the past continue to haunt the present and direct the person you are now.

Learn from what you've done in the past but value your whole self (see step above on practicing self-acceptance).
Enjoy positive experiences consciously and don't seek to downgrade them.

Be grateful for what you do have – great relationships, a home, a family, an education, abilities, interests, hobbies, pets, health, etc. Look for the good in your life.

Be self-compassionate. Shift your thoughts to more fulfilling, value-focused things when negative reproaches arise.
Apologize if others have been involved and you have not already done so, or you have not done so genuinely. Only do this when you have changed your negative outlook and if doing so will not harm that person.


How to forgive and love yourself.

Forgiving yourself and others does not mean that the past is forgotten. It means to forgive, however, the memory does remain. This is the same as the cycle of grief.

Whenever you feel guilt, follow the words of Les Brown, "Forgive yourself for your faults and mistakes and move on." This will help you whenever you make a mistake.

Think about how you have forgiven others in the past. Take the lessons from these experiences and apply them to your own situation; the reassuring aspect of this is that you know you have the ability to forgive, you just need to point that forgiveness in the right direction.

Life goes on so forgive and forget.

The more stress you hold inside of you, the more damage you do to yourself. Stress can sometimes lead you to releasing your anger out and harm yourself and others around you, but if you forgive yourself the anger will be gone and the bad stuff will be gone. The result is that you are more concentrated and better about the positive instead of the negative.

Your mistakes do not define you. Trust that you are a great person. Think about all the horrendous mistakes normal/good people have done and learned from. Your mistakes aren't even as bad!

Get a stress toy. When you start to feel guilty, play with your toy.

The person we are is the result of both good and bad things happening to us in life, as well as the good and bad things we have done. The manner in which we respond to negative events is as important as the way in which we respond to happy events. A person who is inclined to ruminate and make large of a negative event will be more prone to living in anger and resentment and expect future negativity than a person who sees bad things as isolated incidents that don't impinge on who they are as a whole.[6]

 Stay away from people who have a tendency to sabotage efforts at self-improvement. Most of the time these people are focused on salvaging their own insecurities and are threatened by seeing someone else making the effort to overcome negative pressure in their life. Accept that forgiving yourself will sometimes lose certain relationships where your negativity was a source of the other person wielding power over you. Ask yourself if you'd rather continue the unhappy relationship or move on as a whole, and renewed person able to connect with healthier people.

Don't force yourself to hang around people who bring back the past for you in a negative way; people who push your buttons, devalue or belittle you, and who are thoughtless about your vulnerabilities are best left behind.

Forgiveness is the hardest quality to shape and yet it is the most essential. In learning about your own ability to forgive both yourself and others, your personal growth will be great, and that's a reward worth the hard work forgiveness requires of you.

Avoid talking about your wrongdoings and how bad a person you are around other people. You will create this reality in their minds too. Get therapy to get this negative thinking out of your head and back into the Pandora's Box it came from.

You are God's Masterpiece

You are God’s own masterpiece. That means, you are not ordinary or average; you are one-of-a-kind original! When God created you, He went to great length to make you exactly the way He wanted you. You’re not meant to be like everyone else; God designed you the way you are for a purpose. Everything about you is unique and everything about you matters. You may feel like your life looks ordinary today, but when you understand your value-not only who you are, but also, whose you are-then you will love yourself more, and you will also love those people around you in a greater way. Realize that because you belong to Him, you are extremely valuable.

So many people today are living with priceless treasure inside, and they don’t even know it. Sometimes we have to explore what’s on the inside of us to really understand what we have. Don’t settle for living a mediocre existence. You are a masterpiece, created by the most famous Artist of all, but if you don’t understand your value, you’ll go on thinking, I’m just average; I’m not that talented; I’ve made so many mistakes. Don’t allow those negative thoughts to play in your memory box. Instead, every morning when you get out of bed, remind yourself, I am important. I am handpicked by God, and I am a person of extreme value and significance.

Remember, You are God’s special treasure, selected by Him and for Him. You are created in the image of Almighty God. He made you exactly the way He intended, and He equipped you with everything you need. You have the strength to stand strong in the midst of difficult situations, and the wisdom it takes to make good decisions. Understanding exactly whose you are, and how you fit-in God’s plan, creates such purpose, confidence and such identity. You are a person of destiny. You have an assignment and you are full of gifts, talents, encouragement and love. You have rich treasure inside you that people need. You have more in you that you realize, and you can accomplish more than you ever though possible. Dare to be bold and believe that you are a person of destiny because you can leave your mark on this generation. Understand you are important, and out of your importance, know that you are called to add value to the world around you. No matter where you are in life today, you have potential to increase, grow, to be strengthened, and to move forward. God created you for His good purpose, and know that beyond the shadow of a doubt, you are His masterpiece!

"CSI" MOUNT MORIAH: DID GOD ACTUALLY TELL ABRAHAM TO SLIT ISAAC'S THROAT AND BURN HIS CORPSE IN THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE?

"And He saith, `Take, I pray thee, thy son, thine only one, whom thou hast loved, even Isaac, and go for thyself unto the land of Moriah, and cause him to ascend there for a burnt-offering on one of the mountains of which I speak unto thee.'" Genesis 22:2 (Young's Literal Translation).

I want to answer that question by FIRST asking you two questions after you have read Jesus' statement in the New Testament passage below.

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me." Matthew 10:34-38.

Now, please answer these two questions about this passage:

1) IS JESUS SAYING THAT HE CAME TO BRING US A LITERAL- PHYSICAL SWORD TO GUT AND KILL ALL OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS WHO WE MAY BE IN DANGER OF LOVING MORE THAN WE DO GOD?

2) OR, IS JESUS SPEAKING OF A SPIRITUAL SWORD WHICH WILL SEVER ALL IDOLATROUS TIES TO RELATIONSHIPS WHICH WE HAVE WRONGLY PRIORITIZED BEFORE OUR LOVE FOR GOD?

I hope this is a no-brainer. Option 2 above is the obvious answer. Otherwise, patricide, fratricide and homicide would be rampant. Murder would be the mark of true Christians as they went about slicing, dicing and slaughtering their loved ones, all in the name of God.

No. Never. Jesus is obviously speaking metaphorically here. He is using the sword as a symbol of the Lord's inner workings in our hearts. The Holy Spirit CIRCUMCISES our heart by cutting away all the carnal connections and fleshly relationships which keep us from loving the Lord with all out heart, mind, soul and strength.

Do you know people who love their children more than God, their spouses more than God, their friends more than God? Sure, we all know many such others. Moreover, we ourselves have all idolized certain people and relationships over our love for God.

Now, if it's this obvious in this passage that Jesus wasn't speaking of a literal sword, why isn't it JUST as obvious that the "burnt-offering" God spoke of in Genesis 22:2 is likewise symbolic?

In other words, God saw that Abraham was in danger of idolizing his love for his only son Isaac above and before his love for God. God was exhorting Abraham to "symbolically," NOT "literally," offer his son Isaac on the ceremonial altar of God. But the deeper purpose was for Abraham to trust and release Isaac to God on the altar of his heart.

God was warning Abraham not to idolize Isaac, but rather to wholeheartedly offer Him INTO the Lord's hands. We do the same today when we symbolically "confirm" or "consecrate" or "commit" or "release" our children into the Lord's calling.

These external ceremonies reflect a greater inner dynamic--- we are fully trusting the Lord by committing our children to Him. We are prioritizing our faith, hope and love in the Lord as we yield to Him what we formerly loved most--- our children and family relationships.

In short, we are placing God on our heart-throne by trusting and thrusting our relationship with Him FIRST before all others and BEST above all others.

This was all God was trying to tell Abraham in Genesis 22:2, and all Jesus was trying to tell his listeners in Matthew 10:34-38. Same God, same message: LOVE GOD FIRST AND BEST OVER ALL YOUR EARTHLY RELATIONSHIPS.

Abraham, in his zeal, and without the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide him, interpreted God's exhortation hyper-literally. He went "too far" and was actually going to kill and burn Isaac, thinking that God would resurrect him. And God certainly could and would have done that.

But, God would never have a parent kill his own child--- never. That would violate His flawless character and loving nature. Instead, God had a "literal" angel stop Abraham's "literal" knife. If Abraham was hearing God's voice clearly and with perfect understanding, there would be no need for a "stand-by" emergency angel to stay his hand.

But Abraham was an Old Covenant believer and not yet in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit. God certainly appreciated Abraham's zeal, but He was not about to let a horrible act of violence to be done in His name by one who was called "the friend of God." Divine friends don't let earthly friends drive the Bible drunk with literalism. This angel kept Abraham from crashing into a homicidal mistake.

If God truly wanted Abraham to kill Isaac, the Lord would have simply let the knife fall. God most assuredly did not allow it, so God most assuredly did not will or want it to happen. Had Abraham had the indwelling Spirit, He would have known the Lord was speaking symbolically and metaphorically, just like Jesus did in Matthew 10:34-38.

One last point. What part did Satan play in spreading misinformation, disinformation, and deformation to this incident?

Satan's role in this event was surely to enable Abraham's zeal go "too far" in a "hyper-literal" interpretation of the Lord's word to him. Satan is always lurking near the surface of our thoughts, always trying to muddle the Lord's deeper and truer meanings by keeping us bound in literalistic interpretations of the divine impulses He sends us.

Remember, "the letter kills" (2 Corinthians 3:6). And here it almost killed Isaac. Satan used it in trying to urge Abraham to "literally" slit his own son's throat.

In fact, even though Genesis makes no mention of Satan, it is significant to note that other early Jewish sources do. Jubilees 17:16 actually attributes the initiative to kill Isaac to "Prince Mastema," a well-known name for Satan in this document, where he is acting in the role of a prosecutor.

Satan's role IS important to see here. The reason? Because of the importance of this whole episode as a foreshadowing of Christ's atonement at the cross. You see, if we believe that the heavenly Father is the party who "slit" Jesus' throat by offering His only begotten son at the cross, then we will subscribe to the cruel Penal Atonement Theory which sees the wrath of an angry God as the killer of Jesus.

But, if we believe that Jesus' life was a RANSOM for our sin paid TO Satan BY God, then we will subscribe to the Christus Victor Atonement Theory, also known as the Ransom Theory of the Atonement. This theory, which was the predominant view of the early Church, sees Satan, along with the principalities and powers which rule this fallen world, as the actual killers of Jesus.

These fallen demonic powers drove us to physically execute Jesus, while they themselves attempted to torture, corrupt and destroy His soul in Hell.

Under this view, Jesus willingly laid His noble head on Satan's chopping block as a payment for all OUR sin. Satan had legal access to capture and control us because of the access we have corporately given him. WE freely forfeited to Satan the dominion of this earth God originally gave us. This is why Paul called Satan the "god of this world" and Jesus called Satan "the prince of this world." Satan did indeed rule here because of the authority WE voluntarily handed over to him.

So, read this passage and choose your atonement theory carefully. It will ultimately determine what you REALLY think about the nature of God. You will either see Him as an angry and wrathful Father who killed Jesus because of His hatred for us, OR you will see God as a hero who gave Himself over to our captor in order to save us from ourselves and Satan.

The bottom line here is that Satan is the only killer in this Biblical event involving Abraham and Isaac. God, on the other hand, is the only hero. Isaac, as a type of Jesus to come, heroically entrusted himself to his Father's care and was willing to die for us in the process in order that we might be saved. God the Father likewise heroically intervened to save Jesus' soul from Hell. Peter preached of God's heroism in the important passage below:

"Ye men of Israel , hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: WHOM GOD HATH RAISED UP, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad ; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: BECAUSE THOU WILT NOT LEAVE MY SOUL IN HELL, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that HIS SOUL WAS NOT LEFT IN HELL neither his flesh did see corruption. THIS JESUS GOD HATH RAISED UP, whereof we all are witnesses." Acts 2:22-31"And He saith, `Take, I pray thee, thy son, thine only one, whom thou hast loved, even Isaac, and go for thyself unto the land of Moriah, and cause him to ascend there for a burnt-offering on one of the mountains of which I speak unto thee.'" Genesis 22:2 (Young's Literal Translation).

I want to answer that question by FIRST asking you two questions after you have read Jesus' statement in the New Testament passage below.

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me." Matthew 10:34-38.

Now, please answer these two questions about this passage:

1) IS JESUS SAYING THAT HE CAME TO BRING US A LITERAL- PHYSICAL SWORD TO GUT AND KILL ALL OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS WHO WE MAY BE IN DANGER OF LOVING MORE THAN WE DO GOD?

2) OR, IS JESUS SPEAKING OF A SPIRITUAL SWORD WHICH WILL SEVER ALL IDOLATROUS TIES TO RELATIONSHIPS WHICH WE HAVE WRONGLY PRIORITIZED BEFORE OUR LOVE FOR GOD?

I hope this is a no-brainer. Option 2 above is the obvious answer. Otherwise, patricide, fratricide and homicide would be rampant. Murder would be the mark of true Christians as they went about slicing, dicing and slaughtering their loved ones, all in the name of God.

No. Never. Jesus is obviously speaking metaphorically here. He is using the sword as a symbol of the Lord's inner workings in our hearts. The Holy Spirit CIRCUMCISES our heart by cutting away all the carnal connections and fleshly relationships which keep us from loving the Lord with all out heart, mind, soul and strength.

Do you know people who love their children more than God, their spouses more than God, their friends more than God? Sure, we all know many such others. Moreover, we ourselves have all idolized certain people and relationships over our love for God.

Now, if it's this obvious in this passage that Jesus wasn't speaking of a literal sword, why isn't it JUST as obvious that the "burnt-offering" God spoke of in Genesis 22:2 is likewise symbolic?

In other words, God saw that Abraham was in danger of idolizing his love for his only son Isaac above and before his love for God. God was exhorting Abraham to "symbolically," NOT "literally," offer his son Isaac on the ceremonial altar of God. But the deeper purpose was for Abraham to trust and release Isaac to God on the altar of his heart.

God was warning Abraham not to idolize Isaac, but rather to wholeheartedly offer Him INTO the Lord's hands. We do the same today when we symbolically "confirm" or "consecrate" or "commit" or "release" our children into the Lord's calling.

These external ceremonies reflect a greater inner dynamic--- we are fully trusting the Lord by committing our children to Him. We are prioritizing our faith, hope and love in the Lord as we yield to Him what we formerly loved most--- our children and family relationships.

In short, we are placing God on our heart-throne by trusting and thrusting our relationship with Him FIRST before all others and BEST above all others.

This was all God was trying to tell Abraham in Genesis 22:2, and all Jesus was trying to tell his listeners in Matthew 10:34-38. Same God, same message: LOVE GOD FIRST AND BEST OVER ALL YOUR EARTHLY RELATIONSHIPS.

Abraham, in his zeal, and without the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide him, interpreted God's exhortation hyper-literally. He went "too far" and was actually going to kill and burn Isaac, thinking that God would resurrect him. And God certainly could and would have done that.

But, God would never have a parent kill his own child--- never. That would violate His flawless character and loving nature. Instead, God had a "literal" angel stop Abraham's "literal" knife. If Abraham was hearing God's voice clearly and with perfect understanding, there would be no need for a "stand-by" emergency angel to stay his hand.

But Abraham was an Old Covenant believer and not yet in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit. God certainly appreciated Abraham's zeal, but He was not about to let a horrible act of violence to be done in His name by one who was called "the friend of God." Divine friends don't let earthly friends drive the Bible drunk with literalism. This angel kept Abraham from crashing into a homicidal mistake.

If God truly wanted Abraham to kill Isaac, the Lord would have simply let the knife fall. God most assuredly did not allow it, so God most assuredly did not will or want it to happen. Had Abraham had the indwelling Spirit, He would have known the Lord was speaking symbolically and metaphorically, just like Jesus did in Matthew 10:34-38.

One last point. What part did Satan play in spreading misinformation, disinformation, and deformation to this incident?

Satan's role in this event was surely to enable Abraham's zeal go "too far" in a "hyper-literal" interpretation of the Lord's word to him. Satan is always lurking near the surface of our thoughts, always trying to muddle the Lord's deeper and truer meanings by keeping us bound in literalistic interpretations of the divine impulses He sends us.

Remember, "the letter kills" (2 Corinthians 3:6). And here it almost killed Isaac. Satan used it in trying to urge Abraham to "literally" slit his own son's throat.

In fact, even though Genesis makes no mention of Satan, it is significant to note that other early Jewish sources do. Jubilees 17:16 actually attributes the initiative to kill Isaac to "Prince Mastema," a well-known name for Satan in this document, where he is acting in the role of a prosecutor.

Satan's role IS important to see here. The reason? Because of the importance of this whole episode as a foreshadowing of Christ's atonement at the cross. You see, if we believe that the heavenly Father is the party who "slit" Jesus' throat by offering His only begotten son at the cross, then we will subscribe to the cruel Penal Atonement Theory which sees the wrath of an angry God as the killer of Jesus.

But, if we believe that Jesus' life was a RANSOM for our sin paid TO Satan BY God, then we will subscribe to the Christus Victor Atonement Theory, also known as the Ransom Theory of the Atonement. This theory, which was the predominant view of the early Church, sees Satan, along with the principalities and powers which rule this fallen world, as the actual killers of Jesus.

These fallen demonic powers drove us to physically execute Jesus, while they themselves attempted to torture, corrupt and destroy His soul in Hell.

Under this view, Jesus willingly laid His noble head on Satan's chopping block as a payment for all OUR sin. Satan had legal access to capture and control us because of the access we have corporately given him. WE freely forfeited to Satan the dominion of this earth God originally gave us. This is why Paul called Satan the "god of this world" and Jesus called Satan "the prince of this world." Satan did indeed rule here because of the authority WE voluntarily handed over to him.

So, read this passage and choose your atonement theory carefully. It will ultimately determine what you REALLY think about the nature of God. You will either see Him as an angry and wrathful Father who killed Jesus because of His hatred for us, OR you will see God as a hero who gave Himself over to our captor in order to save us from ourselves and Satan.

The bottom line here is that Satan is the only killer in this Biblical event involving Abraham and Isaac. God, on the other hand, is the only hero. Isaac, as a type of Jesus to come, heroically entrusted himself to his Father's care and was willing to die for us in the process in order that we might be saved. God the Father likewise heroically intervened to save Jesus' soul from Hell. Peter preached of God's heroism in the important passage below:

"Ye men of Israel , hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: WHOM GOD HATH RAISED UP, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad ; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: BECAUSE THOU WILT NOT LEAVE MY SOUL IN HELL, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that HIS SOUL WAS NOT LEFT IN HELL neither his flesh did see corruption. THIS JESUS GOD HATH RAISED UP, whereof we all are witnesses." Acts 2:22-31

"CSI" JERUSALEM: WHO MURDERED ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA?

Were Ananias and Sapphira killed by the Holy Spirit as many claim (Acts 5:1-11)? Well, the passage doesn't even "literally" say that God killed them, so we have to look closer at the passage's subtext to do a fair CSI investigation as to the true cause of their deaths.

Peter asked Sapphira in the literal Greek of verse 9, "Why did the two of you agree to pressure the Spirit?" (Word Study Greek-English New Testament, Paul R. McReynolds, Tyndall, pp. 441 (1999). In other words, why did you two push away the protective presence of God? The implication is clear then that Satan, not God, is the culprit here. Satan "filled their hearts" to lie, then Ananias and Sapphira quenched away God's protective presence with their sin, then Satan filled the vacuum in their hearts with his oppressive condemnation, and they both died.

McReynolds' interlinear translation of 1 Corinthians 10:9 describes this same dynamic. "But not we might PRESSURE OUT the Christ, just as some of them PRESSURED and by the snakes were destroyed." Interlinear translations can be a little awkward to our ear, but they often give us the gold of better understanding Scripture texts.

Do you see what this Acts passage now describes? Ananias and Sapphira's rampant neglect and disbelief toward God, combined with their fear toward their circumstances, all combined to do the following. THEY PRESSURED OUT THE PROTECTIVE PRESENCE OF CHRIST AND WERE DESTROYED BY SATAN. And just how did Satan kill them? Below, we will see that Satan used his favorite weapons-- fear and condemnation-- to kill these two pathetic people.

But, how do we know God didn't kill them? Because Hebrews 2:14-15 says Satan has the power of death, not God. John 10:10 says Satan kills men, not God. 1 Corinthians 5:5 says Satan destroys the flesh of men, not God.

And actually, the passage doesn't say anybody actually killed them, but they themselves "gave up the ghost" (spirit) AFTER hearing Peter's words of condemnation. It may well be that they feared Peter's words so much that they just surrendered their will to live.

We all know, or have heard of, people who give up on life in despair, some gradually, others in an instant in time. Some "give up their spirit" because of a broken heart, or impending sickness or disaster. Perhaps they were so worried about their sin because it was one of the first of the church age, and they thought it was perhaps unforgivable.

In other words, it appears Annanias and Sapphira were condemned to death. But was this God's will? Was it God's best? Did Peter show them the same grace he himself received when he betrayed the Lord three times in one night? What if somebody in apostolic authority, James or John for instance, told Peter to essentially "drop dead" in the wake of his sin, might he also have given up the ghost?

Did Peter extend God's grace to them to NOT hold this sin to their account, as Jesus did, as the martyr Stephen did, or did he even try to minister repentance to them, to counsel them, to pray for them, to intercede for them, to lay hands on them to be forgiven and healed, or any of the other things Scripture and later Church practice advised?

What about this passage? "Brethren , if a man be overtaken in a fault , ye which are spiritual , restore such an one in the spirit of meekness ; considering thyself , lest thou also be tempted ." Galatians 6:1.

Why, in Jesus' name, was the space to repent NOT offered to Ananias and Sapphira in this situation by Peter?

Matthew 18:15-17 instructs us how to FIRST go privately to one caught up in a trespass, THEN to go with other witnesses if the private correction is not received by the person, and only THEN to bring public confrontation if the person remains unrepentant. And even then, the worse punishment is excommunication, NOT murder.

Do you see? God's way is to confront a sin WITH the goal of restoration and repentance of the sinner, NOT summary execution. Why wasn't this gracious dynamic followed?

Was the spirit of these merciful passages just cited above followed by Peter? No, Peter appeared to quickly and immediately condemn them, after which he basically just stepped out of the way and let the Devil have them. If lying to the Holy Spirit by holding back some of our resources REALLY mandated immediate Holy Ghost execution, then how many of us would still be standing? How many of us would not have been executed long ago? Perhaps the morale of this passage is more about Peter's mercy-deficit than it is about Annaias and Sapphira's faith-deficit.

Peter was not perfect. He had a well known quick trigger when it came to anger or frustration. He was quick to use the physical sword to cut an ear off an approaching soldier. He was also quick to use the verbal sword, such as when he told Simon the sorcerer to perish on the spot along with his money. Perhaps, Peter was also quick here to likewise thrust a murderous impulse here to Ananias and Sapphira.

If Paul had the guts to "withstand Peter to his face" (Galatians 2:11) for possible spiritual error, shouldn't we too have the guts if, of course, the Holy Spirit so leads?

But, didn't great fear come on the church in the wake of these deaths? It can be argued that the "great fear" that came on the church in the wake of this event, and the subsequent healing of the sick from Peter's cast shadow, came more from men wrongly, excessively and fearfully elevating Peter rather than through the exercising of pure faith in Christ.

If we, as part of a young and inexperienced church body, saw a revered leader such as Peter appear to instill such fear that people dropped dead, literally scared and condemned to death, then we too might start to idolize his "shadow." His presence, word and opinion might supplant or displace our faith in Jesus. We might turn Peter into an earthly Pope, kiss his ring, worship his shadow, etc. If people got legitimately healed from Peter's ministry, it was despite Peter's anger, not because of it.

And here is another thought. If the common interpretation is correct that God had Peter denounce Ananias and Sapphira to death for withholding truth and resources from the Holy Spirit, then Church history should be full of famous Christians who likewise verbally struck down and assassinated all the millions upon millions who have, at one time or another, withheld truth or resources from God ever since Ananias and Saphira. In fact, we should still be seeing people regularly executed as a normal part of Church meetings and discipline.

But, that is not the case.

So, again, when Peter appears a little too quick on the trigger to tell people to "drop dead" for their transgressions ( Sapphira and Simon in Acts 5 and 8), should we willing to withstand his actions if our conscience compels us?

Do we follow the Holy Ghost or Peter? Jesus or Peter? I honestly can't see Jesus telling anybody to drop dead on the spot. That ain't the way He rolled. Jesus might rattle their religious cage, but He never cursed someone to die on the spot. Be merciful seven times seventy, overcome evil with good, bless your enemy and pray for them that despitefully use you. Don't see "curse them to die or perish on the spot" on that list in Matthew 5:38-48.

And don't get me wrong, I love Peter, but are we to assume he was flawless in his every dealing? Paul sure didn't.

None of us are yet flawless in ministering the mercies of God. After telling Simon to "perish" along with his money, Simon asks Peter to pray for him that the things Peter spoke not happen to him. But, Scripture is silent as to whether Peter then prayed for him. I sure hope he did. I would definitely withstand Peter to his face if he didn't on that issue. Jesus is our model, not Peter.

These are all questions the Holy Spirit wants to minister to us. It is understandable that the infant Church might have less tolerance and patience than a more mature and experienced group of believers. I know when I was newly converted and freshly fervent in the Spirit, my tolerance level for others' unbelief was small. I would have been just as firm and ferocious as Peter. But, with time and maturity, and after suffering through many of my own grievous failures, my patience for people's shortcomings, sins, and failures has exponentially increased. I am not nearly as quick to pull the condemnation trigger as I used to be.

Paul had the courage to "withstand Peter to his face" when Peter was wrong (Galatians 2:11). Perhaps WE should "withstand Peter to his face" in this passage as well. But regardless, one thing is certain. God did not kill Ananias and Sapphira. Satan did. Satan was certainly working lies and crippling condemnation in their hearts, and possibly in the hardening Peter's heart toward them as well which kept him from ministering protective mercy. But, Satan was the true assassin here any way you look at it.

Here are two audio teachings I did on the Ananias and Sapphira issue. They are really worth a listen.