ARE YOU BEING DECEIVED?

No one wants to believe they are deceived. No one wants to believe they could ever be deceived. Because of this fact, many are deceived and don’t even have a clue. There’s a song that says “them that don’t know, don’t know they don’t know.” Do you get it? If you don’t know something, then you’re not aware that you don’t know it. If a person is deceived they don’t know they are deceived.

With so many different denominations and religious movements teaching so many different doctrines, it’s difficult to know what the truth is. Difficult, but not impossible. There are those who study the Bible to understand for themselves what it teaches, then there are those who don’t. Those who don’t have set themselves up to be deceived.

In the book of Acts, Paul, and Silas went to the city of Berea and went into the synagogue of the Jews. The Bible says the people of Berea received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures DAILY, to see if what they were being taught was true.

If you don’t want to be deceived concerning the Bible, then you need to read and study it for yourself. Even then you have to be careful and allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you to the truth. We can deceive ourselves if we don’t understand a few things first.

We put ourselves into everything we do in life. It’s impossible not to. Have you ever heard the expression, “Wherever You Go, There You Are?” Well, that’s true. Whatever we do, whatever we say, or write, comes from what we have seen, heard, or experienced. It’s no different when it comes to studying the Bible.

When we read something, we understand it based on how we think, and what we have learned. Even our understanding of word definitions color our thought process. That’s one reason there are so many different variations of the same doctrines and so many different denominations.

When reading the Bible there are several things we need in order to understand it properly. One is a desire to know the truth and understand God’s word. Another is a realization that this book was written a long time ago, in a place, and about a place far away from where most of us live today. We also need to understand that there are words and phrases in the Bible that mean something different now than when they were written.

I recommend you have a Strong’s Concordance when studying the Bible. It will help you understand what certain words meant when they were written and what words the English words were translated from. I also recommend the Free computer program called e-Sword which has the Strong’s Concordance integrated and a ton of other helpful tools. e-Sword is now available for iPhones and iPads as well.

The Bible usually interprets itself, and the King James Version has a built-in dictionary that shows you the meanings of many words and phrases right in the text. The more familiar you become with the Bible, the better you’ll understand it, so read it every day.

We should always come to the Bible as little children, with humble, teachable spirits, and be willing to change our beliefs when we realize that they are different from God’s Truth. We should always pray and ask God to guide us in our understanding of scripture. Who better to help us understand the word of God than the One who inspired the men who wrote it? (2 Peter 1:21)

You must put away all preconceived ideas. This may sound radical, but try this the next time you pick up your Bible. Pray first and ask God to show you the truth, and keep you from being deceived. Then, forget everything you think you know about the Bible. Forget all you’ve heard and all you’ve been taught about the Bible. Forget what your denomination teaches, and read the Bible like it’s a brand new book you’re reading for the first time. Only then will you begin to understand the truth of God’s word. If everyone will do this, the Bible will finally become to us the book that God intended it to be from the beginning, and we will join the ranks of those who make up the true church scattered throughout the entire world. The ones who know the truth, and have been made free by it.

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© 2016 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
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6 DAYS OF CREATION OR 6000 YEARS?

“In the beginning, GOD created the heaven and the earth.” That’s the introduction line to the creation story from Genesis, the first book in the Holy Bible. In the article titled *IN THE BEGINNING, we saw what the Bible means by “In The Beginning.” It refers to the time when God created our solar system, with the sun, the moon, the stars, and all the planets, including the earth, and everything in it. In the article called *IS THE BIBLE REALLY GOD’S WORD? We also established that the Bible really was prepared for us by God, and has been preserved for us for about six thousand years. The men who wrote the Bible were inspired to do so by the Holy Spirit of God, and he inspired them with what to write (2 Timothy 3:16 & 2 Peter 1:21).

For this study, we’ll look at the Six Days of Creation. There are several beliefs about the beginning of our world. You’ve probably heard all of them that I have, but only one of them can be true. I believe God created everything just like the Bible says, so I reject the Evolution Theory, and that’s all it is; a theory. If you believe in Evolution, please stay with me. I want you to see that the Bible can be trusted, and so can God. By the way, I once believed in Evolution, but God led me to the truth through his word.

The strange thing is, I believed in God as well as evolution, and I saw no conflict with believing in both. Then, I started studying the Bible, and it all made perfect sense. Today, many Christians, who love God, are embracing Evolution as a possible way for our world to have become populated. This lessens God’s role and really makes him just another god among many. Some have embraced the teaching that each day of the creation week lasted a thousand years. Others believe the six days were just extended periods of time, which could have been millions of years. Neither group believes these were six literal, twenty-four-hour days. These beliefs and teachings are destroying people’s faith in God and the Bible, and it’s being done from within the church as well as from without.

How do we fix this problem? Well, I truly believe the main problem is that people don’t read and study the Bible. Some may listen to a preacher speak once or twice a week, but never study to see if what they’re being told is true or not. This is happening more and more. The solution is for everyone to grab a Bible, and start reading and studying so we can all understand for ourselves what God has to say to us in his Holy Book.

The Apostle Paul said the people who lived in the town of Berea studied the scriptures daily to see if what they were being taught was true (Acts 17:11). That’s exactly what all of us need to be doing today. It’s the only way to avoid being deceived.

Using less than ten references from the Bible, we’ll see that the creation week WAS six literal days, and NOT six thousand years, or any extended period of time.

2 Peter 3:7-9
7. But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.
9. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Psalms 90:2-4
2. Before the mountains were brought forth, or before you ever had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.
3. You turn man to destruction; and say Return, you children of men.
4. For a thousand years in your sight are only as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

Neither of these scriptures says a thousand years IS a day.
The “thousand years are AS one day” simply means God is not restrained by time. God is everlasting, and has always existed and always will. In his scope of time, a thousand years is only a moment. That’s what these verses mean. The following verses show that the six days of creation week WERE literal 24-hour days.

Genesis 1:1
1. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.
2. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4. And God saw the light, and saw that it was good: and God separated the light from the darkness.
5. And God called the light Day, and he called the darkness, Night. And the evening and the morning was the first day.

8. ….And the evening and the morning was the second day.
13. And the evening and the morning was the third day.
19. And the evening and the morning was the fourth day.
23. And the evening and the morning was the fifth day.
31. And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning was the sixth day.

Evening and Morning = Night and Day = A literal day.

The next verses give even more proof.

Exodus 20:8-11
8. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work:
10. But the Seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God: in it, you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor the stranger that is within your gates:
11. Because in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything that is in them, and he rested the Seventh day: Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Exodus 31:16-18
16. Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
17. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: because in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the Seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

When we obey God and keep the Sabbath every week, we’re not celebrating to commemorate the fact that God created everything in 6,000 years. No, these verses tell us that he created the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything that is in them, in six literal days. Then he rested on the Seventh-day. This is where the seven-day week comes from. So we see from the Bible that God created the heavens and the earth, actually our solar system, in six literal days.

*IN THE BEGINNING

*IS THE BIBLE REALLY GOD’S WORD?

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My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2014 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @  https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6