JOEL 2 GENERATION

To most Protestant Evangelicals surprise, Queen Esther does mention the Name of God and prays in the Book of Esther .  Unfortunately, not following the right textual families for our Old Testaments today, has left many Christians (and Jews) in the dark. For such a time as this... To READ Queen Esther's Prayer LINK https://keto4christians.wordpress.com/2024/03/09/lent-2024-day-22-purim-surprises-part-2/

On my other blog, I entitled this blog post "Purim Surprises - Part 1" because what you will read should surprise you. If you are like me, you were told that God is not mentioned in the Book of Esther.  And so it was shocking when I discovered that the Septuagint (LXX), which was the Bible of the Early Christians and for all Jews until the Rabbis re-translated the Hebrew Bible in the 2nd Century AD into 3 new Greek translations, actually has God's Name multiple times in the Book of Esther. As to why the Rabbis would have tampered with the Hebrew Bible, we may never know. We know the Rabbis made changes to Messianic prophecies, to references to the Gentiles coming to the Lord and that they also altered the chronology in Genesis to remove 1500 years. All of that was to counter the Messianic claims of Jesus and a growing Christian movement that was effective in winning Jews to Christ. But why tamper with the Book of Esther ? Surely a mystery.  Thankfully God has preserved fo...

Today is a milestone. Day 20 of the 40-Day Lenten Fast. It marks the 1/2 way mark. It is time to consider where we've been and refocus upon where we are going. To be honest, it can and does get a bit monotonous in a long fast. Some days seem great. Others not so great.  As with anything in our Christian lives though, let us reflect. Let us reconsider. Let us evaluate.  That is what I am doing on Day 20! Read here: LINK https://keto4christians.wordpress.com/2024/03/07/lent-2024-day-20-1-2-the-way-there-a-day-of-reflection/

Fasting should be a time of theological reflection and that has been the case the past couple of days. I am eternally indebted to the work of the late Dr. Michael Heiser, whose books UNLOCKED for me the meaning and message of the Old Testament. And yes, I can confidently say that before his work, I greatly misunderstood much of what I was reading in the first part of my Bible! If you have not read Dr. Michael Heiser, I would recommend reading his books in the following order: 1. SUPERNATURAL - What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World and Why It Matters 2. THE UNSEEN REALM - Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible 3. REVERSING HERMON - Enoch, the Watchers & the Forgotten Mission of Jesus 4. ANGELS - What the Bible Really Says about God's Heavenly Host 5. DEMONS - What the Bible Really Says about the Powers of Darkness To read my blog post today: LINK https://keto4christians.wordpress.com/2024/03/06/lent-2024-day-19-theological-thoughts/

Yesterday I responded to a Christian leader who was disparaging fasting as something that he believes actually stirs up the flesh and carnal desires in people rather than serves to suppress them.  Today, I quote a Christian leader who contends just the opposite. And they know each other ironically.  As for the consensus view throughout Jewish and Christian history, the latter voice wins hands down. To read: LINK https://keto4christians.wordpress.com/2024/03/05/lent-2024-day-18-fasting-for-freedom/

If only I had a dollar for every time someone has asked me? Isn't fasting something extreme? Isn't it dangerous?  Have extremists throughout history used fasting? Yes.  Haven't some cults been into lots of fasting? Yes. Hasn't it been misused/abused by certain Christians/Christian groups? Yes. BUT I'LL ADD ANOTHER QUESTION: Haven't most Christians throughout history never fasted at all, ever? Yes. Today, my blog post is a short response to a recent Christian leader who effectively was disparaging the practice of fasting, due to the way it can be misused. LINK https://keto4christians.wordpress.com/2024/03/04/lent-2024-day-16-isnt-fasting-extreme/