A dangerous bill targeting home education in the United Kingdom is advancing in the House of Lords.

H.L. 11, which calls for the strict oversight of English and Welsh homeschooling parents, passed its second reading in November and is now up for consideration in committee.

Introduced by Lord Clive Soley and first presented to parliament in June, the bill would require homeschooling parents to register with local authorities and to submit their children to regular educational, physical, and emotional assessments. This could include home visits and interviews with homeschooled children.

“H.L. 11 is an unacceptable and extreme solution to a non-existent problem, and is furthermore a violation of the fundamental premise that parents are the primary decision-makers regarding the education of their children,” said Home School Legal Defense Association Director of Global Outreach Mike Donnelly.

“The proposed scheme turns this timeless principle upside down by presuming parents are guilty of harming their children unless the government approves of their decision. No free society can accept this approach to education.”

He added, “A growing body of research globally is proving the efficacy of home education. Homeschooling produces academically advanced and responsible citizens who are politically tolerant of those with differing opinions—unlike the proponents of this bill who have said that they would like to require that all children be subjected to state-controlled education in public schools only.”

“Hiding” Children?

According to the BBC, Lord Soley is concerned that some homeschooled children “do not get the basic education necessary to cope in the modern world. He is also worried that abusive parents are now more aware of scrutiny, and home education can allow them to ‘hide’ the child.”

Numerous homeschooling advocates around the globe have denounced these concerns as inconsistent with the facts. They warn that a crackdown on homeschooling in the U.K. could influence other government to follow suit.

Greg Smith of Oxford Home Schooling told Breitbart.com the bill would end up treating parents like outlaws. Right now, the only occasion on which the state has the right to enter your home, he said, is &lduqo;if you’ve committed a crime.”

H.L. 11 would represent a dramatic step backwards for freedom and families. Government officials in the United Kingdom currently have no formal authority over home educators—the law simply states that children should go to school or be “educated otherwise.”

If the bill passes the House of Lords, it will then proceed to the House of Commons for consideration.

HSLDA stands united with our British friends in opposing H.L. 11. We intend to monitor the legislation and keep you informed of its progress.

Copyright © 2017, HSLDA-All rights reserved

As we look back at the awesome events that surrounded Jesus’ first coming as a baby born in Bethlehem, we are looking forward to the culmination of history, when our risen Savior and King of kings returns at the end of the age.

Every Christmas season is like a dress rehearsal for the awesome return of our King.  How we celebrate and honor the Lord for His first coming prepares us to receive Him in His second coming.

Isaiah 40 declares, “Prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; the glory of the Lord shall be revealed…” (verses 3-5).

In ancient days this was exactly what a region would do whenever a great ruler would come. Armies would go out to clear a pathway for the king.  When we look at the events surrounding Jesus’ first coming, we get a type for how we can prepare for the Ultimate King in our hearts.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.” Matthew 2:1-2.

On the night that Jesus was born, the heavens declared His glory.  From the angelic hosts that pierced the darkness above the shepherds watching their flocks, to the bright star that rose high into the heavens so that the nations could see His coming, God was saying, “I am accessible to the poorest of the poor and the richest of the rich. I have come, and My arms are wide open.”  God was considering all people from every nation on this day.  God had you in His heart, and He is still in the act of revealing His Son and His glory to the world.

Treasure Keepers

The Bible is living, active, and full of power.  It defines who and what we are. It is the mirror that reads us and transforms us into what God designed us to be. So when we want to discover what God defines as wisdom, we look not to scholars and universities, but to whom God calls wise.  The wise men were those who saw the glory and set out on a journey to find their King.

The wise men, or magi, who recognized the sign in the heavens, were most likely from a priestly caste in Persia who had been schooled in the wisdom and theology of Daniel. One of the traditional names passed down for them means “keeper of the treasure.”  While we do not know the specifics for certain, we do know that these men were true keepers of the treasure. They saw this glorious manifestation, and they took note.

Wherever Jesus is there are miracles and demonstrations of His glory.  We have seen an increase of miracles in this season.  With each miracle, there is a testimony that Jesus is alive and in our midst.  When something supernatural happens, wise people respond.  Like the wise men of old, they are people of faith, and when they see God move, they do too.  We are on a journey from glory to glory, and in seeking Him we are transformed.

Seek Him

So how do we set out on this journey?

1. Change Your Priorities: When the wise men saw the glory, they made a change.  They set everything aside to seek out the One whose glory they saw.  The journey to Bethlehem was costly, arduous, full of danger, and long. Basically, these men saw something of such great value in the glory that they laid aside everything, even at risk of their lives, to follow God.  “But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

2. Keep Following: “When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.  And going into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother and they fell down and worshiped Him.  Then, opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:10-11).

There is always that first moment when God reveals Himself, His plan, His love, His invitation to us.  Then, there’s the journey.  We get the first burst of light that gives us a sign and a direction, but there are days we will all go through where it seems the light is dim, or even nonexistent.  Wisdom will keep following God, even when our vision has grown dull.

It does not mean that God is not with us, it is simply a season were we walk out the sure Word of His promise in faith, and the leading of the Holy Spirit.  His Word and His Spirit will never lead us astray, and they will never contradict each other.  At the end of the journey, we will have great joy! “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:14)

3. Worship: “And going into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother and they fell down and worshiped Him.  Then, opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh” (Matthew 2:11).

When you have a revelation of God, your first response is worship.  He is awesome.  He is worthy.  His presence is the most wonderful place to be.  Even in the midst of great storms, His Shalom is there surrounding you.  And what do you bring to Him?  Your very best.

These wise men brought kingly gifts to the King of kings.  They were all costly elements that spoke of royalty and the priestly elements of worship.  When we see Jesus, our response is to give Him our best.  What is that? It is our life.  We offer ourselves to Him.  “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).

4. Transformation: “And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way” (Matthew 2:12).

In every generation there is light and darkness.  There is Christ and there is the spirit of antichrist.   And until the return of the Lord, there is always going to be a choice to make: Will we pay heed to Herod or to the Lord Jesus Christ?  Today we have Herod-voices speaking all around us.

It is the spirit that would strip our nation of her Judeo-Christian identity.  It is the spirit that would open our nation to sharia law.  It is the spirit that bans our military from displaying a cross on their chapel.  It’s the spirit of antichrist.  Wise men choose the Lord Jesus Christ and go a different way than that dictated by the spirit of Herod.

It is not just for us but for our children and children’s children that we unapologetically choose the wisdom of God and His Son. “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

True Wisdom

For the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”  Where is the wise?  Where is the scribe?  Where is the disputer of this age?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?  For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:18-24).

There are five times in this Scripture that the word “foolish” is used.  In the Greek, the root of the word is moros.  It is the word from which we got the word “moron.”  So, according to the Bible, denying the Cross is moronic thinking.  So how can we be wise?  How do we insure that our culture, our nation, our society does not become moronic?  We follow Jesus.

There is wisdom of this world, and then there is God-thinking.  And it doesn’t matter how many degrees you have, or how many letters come after your name, without God, even the most brilliant minds are foolish.  They might discover a lot of facts, but the conclusions they draw, whether it is on the nightly news, or in our universities, is going to be missing the revelation of the power and wisdom of God that comes through Jesus and the Cross.  It is the epicenter of glory, and it is the context through which all other events and facts in this life must be evaluated.

We are all invited to share in the wisdom of God.  Christ and His Cross are the power and wisdom of God.  From the most brilliant scholar to the poorest of the poor uneducated child in the bush of Africa, whoever calls on His name shall be saved.  It is simple enough for a child, and yet its depths are greater than any of us can ever fathom.  To the human pride it is offensive, because it values something that we can never do for ourselves.  But God has revealed His wisdom to us in His Son, and we choose to embrace His Cross and share its good news wherever we go.

The wise men from the East were wealthy, had great status, and worldly wisdom in their day and culture.  But when the King appeared, they had an epiphany, and they brought everything; they were under His authority, in a sense, as they went to offer themselves and their wealth to this newly born babe.  They understood true value. They recognized when the greatest treasure appeared. It was greater than any other.

This Christmas, may wise men still seek Jesus Christ.  As we prepare our homes, decorate our trees, and remember the night our King of Glory was born, may we choose the wisdom of the Cross and prepare the way for His glorious return.

Copyright © 2017,Dr. Sharon Stone and Greg Black Christian International Europe-All rights reserved

The prophet Daniel predicted Christ’s coming 500 years before it happened.  He saw the unfolding of human history and accurately predicted the fall of the Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman Empires that took place in the centuries that followed. The Scriptures tell us that Daniel’s intercession near the end of the seventy year-period of the Babylonian exile played an important part in the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy.

During the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede, the Babylonian king, Daniel learned from reading and studying the Word of God, as revealed by the prophet Jeremiah, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years (see Jeremiah 25:11–12; 29:10).

Daniel realized that this seventy-year period was coming to an end. So what did he do? He turned to the Lord God and pleaded with Him in prayer and fasting for his people (see Daniel 9:1-19). While he was praying, Daniel received a visitation from angel Gabriel. This remarkable encounter is recorded in Daniel 9:20-27

This prophecy has been a subject of different interpretations on the numbers, times, and events and many theories abound about the meaning of verses 26-27. Some believe that this prophecy was fulfilled in the past at the desecration of the Temple by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. However, Daniel is told that seventy sevens are decreed for Israel. The word seven means seven years not a week. So it’s not ‘seventy’ weeks but seventy sevens—which is, 490 years.

The Seventy Weeks of Daniel

The prophecy of the Seventy Weeks of Daniel is one of the most interesting, amazing, profound and detailed prophetic visions ever given to man. It predicted the general time period of the Messiah’s first advent.

The Jewish secular historian Flavius Josephus (c.AD 75) declared that Daniel was one of the greatest of the biblical prophets because he not only predicted future events accurately but also revealed the precise time when these prophecies would come to pass. The Jewish sages believed that only two of the great men in the Bible-Daniel and Jacob were given precise information about the mysterious “time of the end.”

The sages claimed, “These are two men to whom the end was revealed, and afterwards it was hidden from them.”  What is meant by the expression “seventy weeks”? Many Bible scholars believe that the time element here has to do with years rather than days of week. If this interpretation is followed, one week would be equivalent to seven years. Therefore the time period in this prophecy would extend through seventy “sevens” of years, amounting to a total of 490 years. The prophecy goes on to say that “after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off”.

Messiah Shall Be Cut Off

The Hebrew word “cut off” is the common word used in Mosaic Law, which simply means “to be killed.” The implication of the term is not just that the Messiah would be killed, but that He would die a penal death by execution.

Rabbi Nehumiah, who lived fifty years before the birth of Jesus, concluded on the basis of Daniel’s prophecy of the seventy weeks that the arrival of the promised Messiah could not be delayed longer than fifty years. The rabbis taught that a teacher should be at least thirty years of age (Numbers 4:3). Therefore, some scholars concluded that the Messiah would likely be born thirty to forty years before the date that Daniel had prophesied for the “cutting off” of the Messiah.

The same verse of chapter 9:26 goes on to tell us the Messiah would be cut off, “but not for Himself”. This means that His death would be substitutionary, i.e. on behalf of others. The Messiah’s death, predicted by Zechariah and Daniel, was confirmed by other prophets of Israel. Isaiah had declared:

By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who among them considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living [stricken to His death] for the transgression of my [Isaiah’s] people, to whom the stroke was due? (Isaiah 53:8 AMP).

This amazing prophecy declared that  after ‘7 sevens ‘and ‘62 sevens,’ meaning 483 years, the Messiah would one day come, and when He did, He was going to “be cut off” meaning He will die by crucifixion. A lot of the Jews could not accept a prophecy that foretold the death of the Messiah.

This prophecy of the seventy weeks indicates not only the precise time of Christ’s first coming but also His ministry.  The date of the beginning of John the Baptists’ ministry, when he was 30 years according to the Law-(Numbers 4:3), is clearly stated in Luke as being in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar (Luke 3:1-3).

Although, during the last ten years of Caesar Augustus’ reign, Tiberius was a joint ruler (co-regent), he only became Caesar on the death of Augustus in 14 AD. The fifteenth year of his reign would be 29 AD, the year in which Luke states that John the Baptist began his ministry. Jesus began His ministry when He was of age (again at least 30 years according to the Law –Luke 3:23), after being anointed by God. His ministry lasted three and half years from the age of about 30.

As the crucifixion took place at Passover, around April, it means that Christ began His three-and-a-half year ministry in October 29 AD, the year John the Baptist began his ministry. It therefore follows that Christ was crucified in April 33 AD.

We know that a command was given to Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls (Nehemiah 2:1-8) in the twentieth year of the rule of the Persian King Artaxerxes, which was 454 BC.  Mathematicians and theologians have done some complicated figuring to calculate the starting event that would lead to the general time period of the Messiah’s arrival.

Counting the prophesied 483 years (69 weeks) from this date, we come to the anointing of Jesus in October 29 AD, and we end up right at the time of Jesus’ death. The prophecy leaves no doubt that only Jesus of Nazareth could be the Messiah the Angel Gabriel was referring to. Jesus arrived precisely on time to fulfill the 70^th Week of Daniel’s prophecy.

What about the next verse Daniel 9:27?

There are a number of different theories as how this prophecy of Seventy Weeks may have been fulfilled, or not. Some Hebrew-speaking Messianic Jews seriously question whether the fulfillment of the Seventieth Week lies in the future. Having said that, I have an open mind on whether the fulfillment of Daniel 9:27 has already taken place, or whether it lies in the future. Some believe that Seventieth Week of Daniel was fulfilled by the death of the Messiah and the ratification of the New Covenant.

Herman Goldwag in his Notes on the Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks explains:

The exact timing of Christ’s coming; His mighty ministry to establish the New Covenant; His sending of the Holy Spirit to empower the believers and restrain transgression; His sealing up of sins and bringing in everlasting righteousness by His atonement for iniquity, in offering Himself as a Paschal Lamb; His fulfilling in Himself many prophecies concerning Him, even to His death on the cross, thereby putting a seal (guarantee) on the fulfillment of all the vision and prophecy, and the anointing of the Holy of Holies were all accomplished in His first advent. The foregoing therefore demonstrates how the whole of the 70-week period was fulfilled in one unbroken sequence.

However, it is important to note, though, that there is a broad consensus among Evangelical Christians concerning the first sixty-nine weeks, even though there are differences with regard to the detail of the timetable of its fulfillment. The difficulty arises from the fact that after two thousand years, or more, it is virtually impossible to prove beyond doubt the precise date when some of the key historical events related to this prophecy actually took place.

The Time Gap Interval

There appears to be a gap between the 69th week (verse 25) and the 70th week (verse 27) of the prophecy. Daniel clearly tells us that 69 weeks have already literally been fulfilled. As we seen the first 69 weeks of years with King Artaxerxes’ decree to rebuild Jerusalem, ended with the rejection of Jesus (a period of exactly 483 years).

The last week, or 70^th week, is seven years long, which brings us to the full 490 years prophesied by Daniel. However, that 70^th week has not taken place yet. We’re now in a gap of time known as the church age, and Daniel’s prophecy had to do with the nation of Israel.” That the 70th week is still in the future is clear in Daniel 9:27, which we’ve cited above.

This description in the passage is parallel to what 2 Thessalonians 2 and Revelation says about the future Antichrist, who will make a covenant with Israel for seven years (the unfulfilled seven years of Daniel 9), and he will break that covenant in the middle of that week, or the middle of the Tribulation, and desecrate the Temple (which is the abomination of desolation).

And when you study Daniel 11:36-45, the Antichrist is in view from this point in Daniel’s prophecy to the end of the Chapter 11. The details here do not correspond with the theory of Antiochus Epiphanes.

This is further verified and confirmed by the apostle John in Revelation 13:5: And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months which is three and a half years. This Antichrist that John writes about is similar to the combination of four beasts that Daniel saw centuries earlier in his vision.  In chapter 17, John also records a vision of a scarlet beast that had seven heads and ten horns (see Revelation 17:3).

Here is David Pawson’s observation of this passage:

There are details about chapter 9 of Daniel that we need to explore. Although he predicts the exact time for the coming of Christ, Daniel was told it would be a long time until the end of the sixty-ninth seven, when the king would come. But crucially, he left the seventieth ‘week’ out of these events. I believe that in the seventieth week he was looking right past the first coming, to the second coming.

So there was a huge gap in time between the sixty-ninth seven and the seventieth seven. Thus this ‘week’ equals a seven-year period that has not yet taken place, when the Antichrist will appear. According to the text, a pact will be enforced and a treaty with Israel will be under threat. During this time persecution will be especially fierce. Sacrifices will cease and the temple will be desecrated in the same manner as at the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, which implies that it must have been rebuilt at some point.

When the Antichrist confirms a seven year peace covenant with the nation of Israel, that’s what will begin the final 70th week of Daniel’s prophecy. So what is that gap of time? It’s the Church Age, from Pentecost up to now and until the trumpet of God sounds.

Then those who have departed this life in Christ will rise first. Then we, the living ones who remain on the earth, shall simultaneously be caught up along with [the resurrected dead] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so always (through the eternity of the eternities) we shall be with the Lord! Therefore comfort and encourage one another with these words (see 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).

Lord Clive Soley has introduced a bill in Britain’s House of Lords, H.L. 11, which would impose dramatic restrictions on English and Welsh parents who choose to educate their children at home.

If passed, Lord Soley’s bill would require these homeschooling parents to register with the local authorities, and to submit their children to regular educational, physical, and emotional assessments. The details and implementation of those assessments would be overseen by the Secretary of State.

This would completely rewrite British law on home education. Government officials in the United Kingdom currently have no formal authority over home educators—the law simply states that children should go to school or be “educated otherwise.”

H.L. 11 raises the specter of the infamous 2009 Badman report, which has often been cited by critics of homeschool freedom to support their demands for repressive regulations.

As we reported in 2009, Graham Badman’s “Report to the Secretary of State on the Review of Elective Home Education in England” proposed that homeschooling families be subjected to home visits by government officials. These officials would be empowered to question the children and determine whether the family’s home education program was suitable.

Homeschooling Autonomy at Risk

Fortunately, Lord Soley’s proposal is unlikely to become law any time soon. But many British home education leaders warn that the introduction of the legislation must be taken seriously.

On a Facebook page for those who oppose H.L. 11, support group leader Mike Woods wrote:

The consensus is that there is no cause for panic. The bill remains unlikely to proceed to law as it is a Private Member’s Bill brought by two Labour peers. It does not currently have the support of the government nor, apparently the Labour Party. Although [sic] a report that was issued on the morning of 4/7/17, by England’s Children’s Commissioner, about missing children, seems to have some relevance. It’s possible the bill was timed to coincide with the reports an attempt to have it adopted by the Government.

Woods also claimed that the legislation, if passed, “would mean an end to unschooling and autonomous education.” He explained that the bill would “fundamentally disrupt the relationship between parents and children” by requiring compulsory registration, mandatory visits by government officials including mandatory interviews with children and parents, mandatory testing of children, and supervised lessons.

Gill Robbins of the Christians in Education blog wrote that the bill “is part of the softening process, a piece in the jigsaw which is designed to remove a parent’s right to educate their child as they think best. And the consequences are likely to be far reaching.

Global Repercussions

As written, U.K. law leads the world in respecting the rights of families to educate their children at home without undue interference from the government. Passing H.L. 11 would be a dramatic step backwards for freedom and for families, with repercussions far beyond the U.K.

The global homeschooling movement is aware of this attack and will be working together to help British home educating families fight it.

Peter Stock, the president of HSLDA Canada, said he was concerned that a step backward in Britain could affect homeschoolers in Canada.

Lord Soley’s anti-parental rights bill is a ‘solution’ in search of a problem…..In the face of the overwhelming evidence that homeschooling promotes academic excellence, Lord Soley would strip parents of their authority and impose state control over home education, even imposing invasive home inspections. We look to Britain as the birthplace of our liberties: please do not allow this totalitarian measure to move forward.

Gerald Huebner, the chairman of the Board of HSLDA Canada, is concerned as well. As he put it:

Canadian home educators are very concerned about the proposed legislative changes to education laws in Britain. The move to force home educators to register and seek permission to educate their own children, along with intrusive assessments, is a clear infringement of the human rights of parents. Home educators around the world have seen the current British home education regulations as a model of government respecting parental human rights, but these proposed changes now threaten these human rights globally.

Russian homeschooling leader Irina Shamolina said that H.L. 11’s philosophy is unpleasantly close to that of the former Soviet Union, which she experienced as a child:

We in Russia are shocked by the totalitarian spirit of the approach the government of GB is taking in treating the natural right of the parents to raise and educate their children the way parents prefer to do it. The situation is taking place in the country which proclaims itself to be a model of a true democracy!

Polish homeschooling leader Marek Budajczak was also deeply critical of the U.K. proposal, saying:

There are two opposite political mentalities in Europe: the British one (inspiring citizens’ freedom) and the continental one (of Prussian origin). Changing legislation on home education in England and Wales would equate expelling fundamental parents’ rights in favor of statism. We in Poland know the destructive consequences of the last one. England shouldn’t become a secondary Europe; they should be faithful to their own political heritage.

I agree with Mr. Budajczak. Britain has a strong heritage of political freedom—and that includes the freedom of parents to raise and educate their children without undue interference from the government. It was the British legal philosopher John Locke (an influence on our own American system of government) who said that “nature grants instruction solely to parental power.

Britain needs to preserve that freedom for its parents, now more than ever. That’s why HSLDA is honored to stand with our British friends in opposing H.L. 11.

Copyright © 2018, HSLDA–All rights reserved.

On September 17, 1787 on the final day of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin was approached by a woman as he walked out of Independence Hall.

“Well Doctor, what have we got– a republic, or a monarchy?” she asked.

It was a burning question on everyone’s mind: what form of government would the Constitutional delegates establish for the new country?

Franklin didn’t hesitate. “A republic– if you can keep it.”

(The exchange was noted by Maryland delegate James McHenry and included in the Records of the Federal Convention of 1787.)

Franklin’s answer spoke volumes.

The Constitutional Convention had just ended, and it had been a bitter four months as the delegates fought and argued over every single word in the draft.

Factions had developed. Some delegates wanted a federal government with absolute power. Others wanted fewer guaranteed liberties for individuals.

Franklin knew that the representative government he had worked so hard to establish was incredibly fragile, and that it could easily slip away.

It was the same fight two years later when the 1st United States Congress fought over whether or not to establish a Bill of Rights.

As one delegate wrote, “Bill of Rights– useful, but not essential.”

Once again, after months of bitter arguments, Congress finally reached a compromise in September 1789, approving ten Constitutional amendments that guaranteed certain freedoms for the people.

More than two centuries later it’s clear that most of what they worked to achieve has completely changed.

The First Amendment, which ensures that Congress can make no law restricting freedom of speech, press, religion, and peaceable assembly, has become almost a punch line.

Ironically the greatest assault on Free Speech today doesn’t even come from government, but from university students who protest against any ideas they find offensive.

Violence on university campuses is now common as students come out of their Safe Spaces to physically obstruct and violently impede controversial speakers.

Any statement that doesn’t conform to their very narrow agenda is now considered hate speech.

And it’s the students themselves who want any sign of dissent banned, and more mandatory indoctrination of their newspeak ideology.

Then there’s the Second Amendment, which guarantees “the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

This one seems to be under fire on a regular basis, with mainstream media from Rolling Stone to Vanity Fair calling for its outright repeal.

The Third Amendment guarantees that no soldier shall be quartered in any home without the consent of the owner.

This seems almost a quaint, obsolete historical reference at this point given that the US military hasn’t had to be housed among the civilian population… ever.

So, OK, great. The Third Amendment is still in-tact.

Then there’s the Fourth Amendment, which ensures “the Right of the People to be secure in their houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.”

Forget it. The federal government spends tens of billions of dollars each year to illegally spy on EVERYONE, including Americans and American allies. This one is a total joke.

The Fifth Amendment is a big one.

It ensures that no one can be held to answer for a crime, including a felony, without grand jury indictment.

This protection died a few years ago when Barack Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, which authorized the military detention of US citizens on US soil, no due process required.

The Fifth Amendment also famously protects against self-incrimination, ensuring that an individual cannot be called as a witness against himself.

This provision is also gone, considering that legal precedent now exists for police to force you to give up your mobile phone or computer password.

The Sixth Amendment guarantees due process, that in a criminal trial, “the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury.”

This is now a complete farce given the widespread use of top-secret FISA courts, military detention facilities, and drone-strike assassinations.

The Seventh Amendment guarantees the right to a jury trial if there’s a dispute over property that exceeds $20.

Now, the $20 threshold might be a little bit outdated (not that there’s any inflation!)

But considering that the government has stolen billions of dollars worth property from Americans through Civil Asset Forfeiture in recent years, all without a trial, it seems the Seventh Amendment isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.

Then there’s the Eight Amendment, which protects against “cruel and unusual punishment.”

I thought about this one the other day when I was walking through the terminal at DFW International Airport.

A sign caught my eye that as prominently displayed on an emergency exit door, warning passers-by that opening the door was a violation of the law and subject to up to one year in prison.

I was dumbfounded. A year in prison for opening a door?

People go to jail and do hard time for smoking certain plants (but not others), failing to file tax forms, and a number of completely obscure and innocuous crimes.

There were four federal crimes when the Constitution was ratified. Today there are thousands. On any given day you and I probably commit several of them without even knowing. And each comes with absolutely insane penalties.

The reality is that you cannot even apply for a passport anymore in the Land of the Free without being threatened with fines and imprisonment.

Last were the Ninth and Tenth Amendments, which were supposed to limit the power of the federal government in favor of the states and the people.

Those went out the window a LONG time ago, especially after 9/11.

Look, don’t get me wrong: I’m not suggesting that America is some vicious, brutal dictatorship. It’s not.

But anyone who has the courage to be honest and objective can see the obvious decay.

Benjamin Franklin’s warning is coming true. And the trend is accelerating.

Copyright © 2017, Simon Black Founder, SovereignMan.com

When the Lord Jesus Christ asked His disciples, Who people say that the Son of Man is? Peter’s inspired confession of faith in Jesus was that He is the Christ, the Messiah-Son of the Living God (see Matthew 16:13-17).

The word ‘Son’ as applied to Jesus in relation to God, does not contain the physical meaning some assume it does. God is Spirit (John 4:24) and therefore ‘Son’ cannot refer to any physical relationship having taken place between God and Mary. John’s first chapter clearly speaks of the pre-existence of Jesus:

In the beginning before all time was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God. All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him not even one thing was made that has come into being…… 

And the Word (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we actually saw His glory, glory as belongs to the One and only begotten Son of the Father, (the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is) full of grace and truth (absolutely free of deception) (John 1:1-4;14 AMP; see also John 8:58).

And listen! You will become pregnant and will give birth to a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great (eminent) and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His forefather David, And He will reign over the house of Jacob throughout the ages; and of His reign there will be no end.

And Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I have no intimacy with any man as a husband? Then the angel said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [like a shining cloud]; and so the holy (pure, sinless) Thing (Offspring) which shall be born of you will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:31-35).

In coming to Mary, as above Scriptures indicate, the Holy Spirit ‘prepared a body’ for the Pre-Incarnate Son, and so Jesus was birthed through the then virgin Mary, having no need of a human father.  Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me (Hebrews 10:5).

The word ‘prepared’ is from Greek root ‘katartizo’ meaning ‘to repair,’ ‘adjust’ ‘mend’ and the picture we gain is of God repairing the DNA structure of an egg in the womb of Mary, prior top Christ’s birth. Jesus did not put on flesh as one puts on a suit. He took flesh to Himself and became man, whilst retaining His Deity. He was a man who did not need to die-the God-man, without even a hint of sin about Him.

Why did He call Himself the Son of Man? His DNA was made up of earthly chromosomes from his earthly mother and perfectly created chromosomes from His heavenly Father. Therefore, our Lord Jesus Christ was fully human and yet fully divine. Jesus did miracles not as the Son of God but as the Son of Man, filled with the Spirit.

Throughout His life He showed us both sides of His deity. His humanity is reflected in statements that He was weary, impatient, sorrowful, appreciative and loving. Seated tired and thirsty, on the side of the well in Samaria-that’s Man. Telling the Samaritan woman all about herself-that’s God. Lying and sleeping in a fishing boat during the storm, that’s Man. Standing up and stilling the waves-that’s God. Going for a rest in the hills about Capernaum- that’s Man. Feeding the five thousand-that’s God. Also the human side of Him was subject to temptation, remember temptation is not sin.

As he walked the streets of Palestine in those days, His features would no doubt have been clearly Jewish (from Mary), yet hidden within would have been a distinctive glow of heaven reflected in His knowledge and use of the Scriptures (from God, His Father).

The belief that Jesus was a literal Son of God (through intercourse) comes from erroneous teaching circulating between 570 CE-632 CE. It was never a view that Christians held, and Scripture shows that the Jews were not offended by the term ‘Son of God’ as if they thought it meant that God produced a Son. However, what did cause offense amongst many Jews was Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God in a unique sense. Both angles and believers are called ‘sons of God’ and Israel as a nation was called by God, ‘my Son.’

Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose (Genesis 6:1-2).

Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Israel is My son, My firstborn.  So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn (Exodus 4:22-23).

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them (Job 1:6).

The Uniqueness of Jesus’ Sonship

However, Jesus claimed to be the Son of God in a unique sense:

Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.  For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel ( John 5:19-20).

For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him (John 5:19-23).

Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the vine dressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance (Matthew 21:37-38).

The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son… (Matthew 22:2).

Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, ‘They will respect my son’ (Mark 12:6).

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).

In John 1:18 Jesus is spoken of as ‘God, the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side,’ and John 3:16 speaks of God’s ‘one and only Son’. Here, according to F.S Coplestone, in looking at the Greek, we find the words ‘one and only’ coming from the Greek word ‘monogenes,’ meaning ‘single of its kind only’ ‘only begotten’. The reason that John uses this particular word is because it implies that Jesus is not just a creature.

The word ‘monogones,’ is that of bringing about something which can only be the same as yourself. For example a man and a woman produce human children, and chicken produce eggs, which turn into chicken and so on. Hence John conveys the deity of Christ in the use of this word. We then combine this with John’s Jewish roots and find that the Semitic and oriental ideas of likeness, or sameness of nature, and equality of being, are always implied in the usage of the terms Father and Son.

The title ‘Son’ given to the Second Person of the Trinity is not given to signify temporal derivation from the Father, but to signify His obedience to the will of the Father in becoming incarnate in our humanity. In doing this, He is able to meet the claims of the Law and fulfill His purpose in redemption. The uniqueness of Jesus’ Sonship can also be seen from scriptures as Matthew 11:27:

All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

You remember how the angels said to the shepherds on the plains of Bethlehem:

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savoir, who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10-11).

Seven hundred years before Christ’s birth, you will find these words:  “I, even I, am the Lord, And besides Me there is no Savior (Isaiah 43:11).

Again, in the First Epistle of John (4:14) we read: “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.”

The Jews themselves claimed that God was their Father (John 8:41), on the basis of passages as Exodus 4:22 and Isaiah 1:2. Yet their desire to kill Jesus ‘for calling God His own Father’ shows that they understood Jesus to be claiming a totally different kind of Sonship (hence John 3:16): For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He even gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. His claim was to divine Sonship. Thus it was a claim to being equal with God.

In John 8:56-59 there is another instance of the Jews accusing Christ of claiming Deity after He said,  Your forefather Abraham was extremely happy at the hope and prospect of seeing My day (My incarnation); and he did see it and was delighted…. I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, ‘before Abraham was born, I AM,’ this being the name by which God made Himself known to the children of Israel (see Exodus 3:13-14).

The Divinity of Our Lord

Henry Parry Liddon, in his book, The Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ writes,

Our Lord says not:  “Before Abraham was, I was,” but “I AM.” He claims pre-existence indeed, but He does not merely claim pre-existence. He unveils a consciousness of Eternal Being. He speaks as if one to whom time has no effect, for whom it has no meaning. He is the “I AM” of ancient Israel. He knows no past, as He knows no future; He is the unbeginning, unending Being; He is the Eternal “NOW.” This is the plain sense of His language.

From what has been studied so far, it is easy to see that John knew exactly what he was saying when he called Jesus the Word or ‘Logos.’ Given the erroneous teaching which was being spread about, John was concerned to silence once and for all speculation concerning Jesus’ identity. That’s why he repeatedly indicated the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. In this way John identifies Jesus as the essence of God’s revelation as He lived in this world.

In contrast to the prophets, who repeatedly asserted “Thus says the Lord,” Jesus was unique in asserting ‘I AM’ in His messages. This is not just a personal claim. The phrase sounds so much like the name by which God revealed himself that using it directly led to assassination attempts and ultimate execution for Jesus (John 8: 58– 59; Mark 14: 62– 63). That it was intended to indicate shared divinity and equality with God is confirmed in Revelation by Father and Son claiming exactly the same titles: for example, ‘Alpha and Omega’ (1: 8 and 22: 13).

In Jesus we see the Word of God made flesh –the Pre-Incarnate Son limiting Himself, humbling Himself and coming in the likeness of Man so that we can have light and life instead of chaos and darkness. As Geoffrey Grogan writes:

He was one with us because divine power was channeled into His human life through the mediation of the Spirit (Luke 4:13 and Ephesians 3:20). He was unlike us because the true source of His power was His own divine being, while for us, the power of God is a gift of His grace, His favor, which we do not deserve (2 Corinthians 12). Incarnation (God becoming Man) is the key to the first, and indwelling (God living in man) the key to the second. This makes Him truly human and yet truly divine.

Jesus came as a man under the Law, whilst retaining His Deity, so that we could come out from under condemnation and exchange rags for riches. Through Jesus we turn away from sin, and towards a loving and benevolent God, and it is in Jesus that we see the love and compassion, and the power and life of God in action within the limitations of the flesh.

He was birthed into this world to save us. Mathew tells us, For that which was conceived in Mary was of (from out of) the Holy Spirit). “She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus the Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua, which means Savoir, for He will save His people from their sins (that is, prevent them from failing and missing the true end and scope of life, which is God)” (Matthew 1:21 AMP).

He did not think His riches were a treasure to be held on to; instead He limited Himself and lived for the Father, enabling us to enter into fellowship with God when we place our trust and faith in Him.

Ted Malloch has served on the executive board of the World Economic Forum. He’s held an ambassador-level post in the United Nations. He’s worked in international capital markets on Wall Street and held a senior position in the U.S. State Department.

So he understands globalism because he used to live and work among globalists. And during a recent appearance on The Alex Jones Show, he shed some light on how globalists operate.

“To some degree, I would say if you want to understand globalism, you need to get at the spiritual bearings, the spiritual underlying currents in globalism, which is not only relativistic, but it’s a divorce, a great divorce, from religion and from any notion that there is a God who exists or that you can know Him personally,” explained Malloch, author of “Davos, Aspen, and Yale: My Life Behind the Elite Curtain as a Global Sherpa.”

Noting the low percentage of western Europeans who follow any religious tradition anymore, he added, “They would like to move the rest of the world away from their traditional bearings, from their traditional cultures, from their traditional scriptures.”

The goal is to replace those traditions with whatever the globalists want people to believe.

“Who will be in charge then? Unelected bureaucrats who we call ‘experts’ – really aren’t that expert – who pull over on the rest of the population what they want to do,” Malloch said.

“And there’s no democracy left in the end, there’s no faith left in the end. There’s just one gray monolithic state.”

People are mistaken if they believe globalists want more diversity, according to Malloch. After all, if they liked diversity, they would embrace the differences between European countries. But they only want to homogenize Europe and make it “one color of gray,” in Malloch’s words.

The former globalist insider believes it’s important to teach schoolchildren about Western civilization, lest its memory be submerged.

“In the case of Europe, they’ve actually lost touch with their foundational ethos, their entire cultural ethos, the foundations of Western civilization, which is actually Greco-Roman, Judeo-Christian,” he lamented. “They’ve lost it….

“It’s the place where all innovation has been centered, where technology started, where we had the basis of economics, the foundation of law – all of these things were rooted in that Western culture, and we want to just wash our hands of it.”

Not only do globalists want to attack the pillars of Western civilization, but they are “radically against the family,” according to Malloch.

“There are now 17 leaders of European countries and the EU who have no children,” he revealed. “What does that tell you?”

However, Malloch sees hope on the horizon as nationalistic movements sprout up all across Europe.

“I think we see this movement in Europe now,” he said. “It’s very strong in eastern Europe, it’s obviously very strong in Britain. There are elements in every single European country. I think the European elections are proving this, will prove it next year in Italy. All these countries are moving back to their own nationhood…. The world is moving away from this New World Order back to an order that has more to do with states and has to do with national localities.”

Of course, Donald Trump’s election to the U.S. presidency signaled that many Americans were also tired of globalism and ready to return to America-first nationalism. Malloch explained the full meaning and implications of Trump’s historic victory in his book “Hired: An Insider’s Look at the Trump Victory.”

Malloch believes the world will shift even more radically towards nationalism in Trump’s eight years in office – and yes, he believes Trump will serve eight years.

“The whole world is changing to realign with the presidency of Donald Trump…. I think we’re in a new morning for America, but it’s going to be a bumpy ride, and the rest of the world is going to have to learn to live with President Trump.”

However, the globalists are not going down without a fight, Malloch warned. They are still major players on the world stage, with vast resources at their disposal. Malloch expects them to try to work through international organizations to achieve their goals, but given that Trump has pulled the U.S. out of many of these institutions, Malloch is hopeful the organizations will be defunded and delegitimized.

Nevertheless, the battle between globalism and national sovereignty will rage on, with no real end in sight.

This is an ongoing battle; this is something that’s going to last our lifetimes,” he said. “It’s not a short-term episode, so we have to be prepared to do that.”

Copyright 2017, WND-All rights reserved

I believe the concept of American exceptionalism and liberty was inspired by God. Unfortunately, I believe our younger generations are a target of an ungodly agenda and the education system is being used as a tool to support it. God has undoubtly shed his grace on America but it’s our responsibility to guard our children until they are able to stand on their own without the assistance of mom and dad.

Isabella Aquino

My own personal experience is a testament to this fact. When I was in the 7th grade there was an Evolutionist teacher who greatly bullied me. This Evolutionist teacher was spreading lies into naïve children that believed anything they were taught.

Children believe anything you tell them. It’s because they have that child-like faith. I knew what he was doing wasn’t right and every time I went into that classroom I knew it was wrong. I remember if anyone tried to question this teacher, they ended up looking like they were the idiot. He preached evolution and mocked any open dialogue. We were his clay in his sarcastic belittling and he used his position as teacher against us. He specifically targeted me because of my beliefs.

I decided to do something about it. I had already talked to my mom and they had a meeting with his boss and the teacher lied in the meeting to escape being fired. Now I called for a second meeting where I was in there. I’ll admit I was scared and I was a bit intimidated. He was my teacher. But that man just kept right on using his position and demeaning how feeble I was. He called my mom a bad parent to her face with me in the room and then said that I knew nothing.  Stories like mine sadly happen too often in our education system.

Parents watch out for this same thing working in the hands of teachers where you might of innocently mistaken school to be a comforting learning environment for your child.

Remember the Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego story?  The king proclaimed that anyone in his kingdom who didn’t bow down to the idol would be thrown into the fire. He used his position as king to intimidate them. But, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were not like the rest who just blended in and bowed down.

This is what they said (Daniel 3:16-17)“O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to answer you on this point. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up!”

Parents, the next generation is in the same position.

We have a choice. We can bow down and quiver under the king’s command or we can stand.

Young kids of my generation don’t let the position of them being in authority intimidate you. You are not tied to that. Respect them even if they don’t’ deserve respect but do not bow down to the idol of the culture. Do not bow down to this idol.

Ask yourself “Are you for God or for man? Are you for God’s approval or for people’s approval? Are you willing to look crazy even if the whole bows down?” Shadrach, Mechach, and Abendego refused to bow down to the king and it shined a light to others.

The decision is ours. We can blend in with the others. But, staying silent will only allow the anti-God culture to take more ground. May we have the courage to stand up. These students are future Einstein’s, lawyers, doctors, businessmen and world shakers. May our voices be heard and refuse to bow down to the knee of society. May my generation find its voice.

© 2017 Isabella Aquino, News With Views – All Rights Reserved

When people say they believe the Bible contains errors, it’s a good practice to ask them to name those errors so you can open a Bible and look at them together.

Sometimes they will raise old and easily answered questions such as “Where did Cain get his wife?” But usually they can’t name many supposed errors, if any at all. Often, they’ve taken as truth the word of other people that the Bible contains errors, without investigating for themselves.

When you take the time to talk about their concerns, you can demonstrate that you have investigated it for yourself, that you’ve done your homework, and are convinced that when God says all Scripture is “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16), He means that it is all accurate and reliable. Of course, if you haven’t actually done that, it’s time to start! Don’t be afraid, because God’s Word will hold up under your scrutiny. (It certainly has under mine!)

Remember, if someone asks a question you don’t know the answer to, it’s okay to say, “That’s a great question. Let me research it, and I’ll get back with you.” The Christian Research Institute gives this advice: “…rather than taking a fearful attitude when faced with an alleged biblical contradiction, we should view these occasions as opportunities to search and explore the Scriptures. One thing I can guarantee is this: your awe of the majesty of Scripture will deepen.”

Where Did Cain Get His Wife?

Let’s go back to Cain’s wife. She is referred to in Genesis 4:17 as the mother of Enoch. The typical claim is that Cain couldn’t have had a wife since only he and Abel were born to Adam and Eve.

This fails to recognize that Genesis 5:4 specifically tells us that Adam and Eve had other sons and daughters. Considering their long lifespans they likely had many childbearing years. But is there a problem since Genesis 4:17 precedes Genesis 5:4? Not at all. The narrative is not strictly sequential. It’s very common for books of history to talk about one person’s life, tracing out what they did for decades, then move back to deal with another of their contemporaries.

With Cain, the text of Genesis has fast-forwarded decades, and by then he likely had a number of sisters of marriageable age. He obviously married one of them, or if it was multiple decades later, possibly one of his nieces. If in those days no one had children by a close relative, the human race would have quickly become extinct.

The problem of Cain’s wife is no problem to anyone but the most superficial reader of Scripture (and to those who have heard others say it is a problem).

What about Other Supposed Errors?

There are many claims of various errors in the Bible; I’ll deal with just a couple.

Some say that since it groups bats with birds, the Bible falsely teaches that bats are a type of bird (Deuteronomy 14:11, 18). First, there was no scientific definition or established classification of a bird in that time. It makes perfect sense that bats could be grouped with birds due to the fact that both fly.

The inspired original manuscript, in reference to bats, used a Hebrew word meaning a kind of animal that can fly. Unfortunately, some English translations render the word as “bird.” When a bat is involved, a better English translation would be “flying animal.” Obviously, it’s not an error to categorize a bat as a flying animal!

Some critics claim attribution errors, such as in Matthew 27:9-10: “Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, ‘And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.’” This reference is actually found in Zechariah 11:13, not in the book of Jeremiah.

The answer to this lies in early Judaism’s understanding of the canon of the Old Testament. The standard Jewish practice was to group the prophets together, even as Jesus did in referring to “the Law and the Prophets” in Matthew 22:40. According to Jewish scholar Nahum Sarna, Jeremiah was once regarded as the first book of the prophets, before Isaiah.

He further explains “…in the Jewish way of labeling things you call a book by its first few words, and you call a collection of books by the first book in that collection.” So a learned Jewish exegetic would see nothing strange in Matthew’s attributing this fulfilled prophecy of the potter’s field to Jeremiah.

Was Jesus Wrong about the Mustard Seed?

Some claim that when Jesus said the mustard seed was the “smallest of all the seeds on earth” (Mark 4:31), He was mistaken, since there are smaller seeds.

According to botany experts, the seed of the black mustard variety was in fact the smallest garden-variety seed commonly used in Palestine—even the entire eastern world—at that time. It grew into a very large shrub. Jesus used it as an illustration twice, and both times was speaking proverbially with statements about faith (Matthew 17:14-20) and the Kingdom of God (Mark 4:30-34).

John Piper lends a helpful perspective by clarifying the proper definition of error for judging the reliability of any literature. Thus when Jesus said the Kingdom of God is “like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth” (Mark 4:31), His basic intention was “not in the least botanical…Jesus capitalized on the proverbial smallness of the mustard seed to make a perfect, inerrant point about the kingdom of God.”

Why Does All This Matter?

It matters because if we cannot trust the Bible—if we can’t rely on it to tell us the truth in everything it speaks to—then it cannot be, as 2 Timothy 3 says, “profitable” for us. We can’t correct ourselves with it if it’s sometimes incorrect.

And if it isn’t reliable in this and that area, why would I think it is correct about love, holiness, grace, justice, idolatry, greed, gossip, fornication, adultery, homosexuality, or even the Gospel itself? If the Bible cannot be trusted to tell us the truth in all things—big or small—how can it be trusted at all?

And if God considers truth so precious, and His Word so powerful, why would He claim to breathe out Scripture from His mouth (2 Timothy 3:16) and carry along the writers of Holy Scripture (2 Peter 1:21), and then fail to guard that Scripture against error?

In the early church, God’s Word, all of it, was viewed as the standard by which God’s people should evaluate any and all teachings. The Berean Christians were commended for measuring the apostle Paul’s words against the Old Testament Scriptures: “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11, NIV).

Unless the Bible were fully inspired, fully true, “examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were true” would be meaningless. We can’t take something containing untruths—with no objective way to decide what’s true and what isn’t—and use it to measure whether something else is untrue. If you had a tape measure you knew to be inaccurate, would you bother using it?

Ironically, without studying Scripture or researching the actual facts, countless believers embrace the claims of the Bible’s critics. Yet most of those critics’ claims are nothing new. The Bible has been criticized incessantly for the last 150 years, and long before that. The charges just haven’t stuck. “Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens” (Psalm 119:89).

I’m reminded of what the Huguenots said of the Bible and its critics: “Hammer away ye hostile hands; your hammers break, God’s Anvil stands.”

Read Randy’s longer article on inerrancy, Can We Trust the Bible? Is It Without Error? Also, see his devotional Truth: A Bigger View of God’s Word.

Copyright 2017, Randy Alcorn, Eternal Perspective Ministries-All rights reserved