You may remember the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, which is ironically written about a
future where books are not allowed. In this story, the firemen burn books and
the possessions of those who are found to have books. One fireman hides some of
the books that he finds when burning down the homes of others; but he is caught
and is then commanded to burn down his own house. In the end, the fireman
escapes to the countryside where he finds exiled people living and memorizing
books, specifically for the purpose of being able to rewrite them when society
is ready to read books again. Will there ever be a time that books would be
burned again, like in Germany in 1933, or in China in 1966? What if there was a
ban on Christian books and materials, what would we do? Today, Christianity is
growing amazingly fast in China. What we see in China did not take place
because of a plethora of Bibles, but instead because there was a lack of
bibles. Why is that? Are there people peddling fear regarding Christian
literature being banned? How can closed countries have so many people receiving
Jesus as Lord if they don’t have Bibles? Let’s explore.
We know from history that the earliest physical writings (not
including the gospel written in the stars) regarding Yahweh were written by
Enoch. Enoch was the first to author instructions from Yahweh for humans to
follow. While some people condemn the few writings of Enoch that we have, and
attempt to dissuade people from reading these texts, these few books were
re-written as part of the scribing that Ptolemy commissioned for the Library of
Alexandria (300 BCE). These writings were also found in the caves at Qumran,
telling us that these were books well known through the years of Greek rule,
into the years of Roman rule. In a review of the biblical time line, from
pre-flood to our modern time, that puts these writings as the longest lasting
religious books since the time of Adam, or about 4,000 years. Yet from those
writings to the time of Moses, people had to rely on something else for the
fine tuning of their walk with the Lord. What did Shem and Eber teach? What did
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob do? They went to school.
Jasher 16:11 And Adonizedek king of Jerusalem, the same was
Shem, went out with his men to meet Abram and his people, with bread and wine,
and they remained together in the valley of Melech. 12 And Adonizedek blessed
Abram, and Abram gave him a tenth from all that he had brought from the spoil
of his enemies, for Adonizedek was a priest before God.
Adonizedek, Lord of the Zedeks’ (Ha-sidic’’s) from the
valley of Melech (peace), is the
priest before God that Abraham lived with until he was nearly 40 years old.
Abraham lived with Noah and Shem so that Nimrod would not kill him. Abraham
financed Shem’s school by giving a tenth of the spoils to him. Then Abraham
sends Isaac to learn from Shem. He uses the idea of sending Isaac to Shem so
that he could take Isaac up on Moriah, and when they come down, Isaac spends
three years learning with Shem and Eber until Eliezer brings Rebekah to Canaan.
http://musingsofawinsomeheart.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-god-who-walks-with-man-melchizedek.html http://musingsofawinsomeheart.blogspot.com/2016/01/prophet-school-miracle-power-called-out.html
Jasher 23:5 My son Isaac is grown up and he has not for
some time studied the service of his God, now tomorrow I will go and bring him
to Shem, and Eber his son, and there he will learn the ways of the Lord, for
they will teach him to know the Lord as well as to know that when he prayeth
continually before the Lord, he will answer him, therefore there he will know
the way of serving the Lord his God.
Jasher 24:17 And when the days of their mourning passed by
Abraham sent away his son Isaac, and he went to the house of Shem and Eber, to
learn the ways of the Lord and his instructions, and Abraham remained there
three years.
Abraham grew up with Shem and Noah, learning about the Lord
from them. When he left their house Abraham had to learn to walk with Yahweh on
his own. Then Isaac was sent to learn from Shem and Eber. What we see is that
Rebekah seemed to be spiritual as well, consulting with Shem and Eber regarding
her barrenness, and then again later regarding her twins that were fighting in
her womb. Isaac sent Jacob to learn from Shem.
Jasher 28:18 At that time Isaac sent his younger son Jacob
to the house of Shem and Eber, and he learned the instructions of the Lord, and
Jacob remained in the house of Shem and Eber for thirty-two years, and Esau his
brother did not go, for he was not willing to go, and he remained in his
father's house in the land of Canaan.
Notice that Jacob was there thirty-two years, serving in
tents, or dwelling in tents as the Bible says. Once again, after Jacob left the
school, he had to learn to walk with Yahweh on his own. By Jacob’s later years
we see him prophesying over his children. This quick look at Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob shows us that, with very little written material, these patriarchs
developed their personal relationship with Yahweh. Noah prophesied that Japheth’s
heirs would dwell in the tents of Shem. What did that mean? It meant that
Shem’s tents were spiritual dwellings (where Jacob dwelt) for worship and
learning, and Japheth’s heirs would also partake in that learning and worship
in the tabernacles of Shem.
Genesis 9:27G4115May
God widen G3588 G2316 G3588 G*to
Japheth, G2532and G2730let
him dwell G1722in G3588the G4638tents G3588 G*of
Shem, G2532and G1096let
Canaan become G* G3816their
servant. G1473
σκήνωμα skēnōma skay'-no-mah From G4637;
an encampment, that is, (figuratively) the Temple (as
God’s residence), the body (as a tenement for the soul) KJV
Usage: tabernacle.
Shem is the head of the order of the Priests and Prophets
that did not partake in the bondage in Egypt, or in the Exodus, or in the forty
years of wandering in the wilderness. The order of the Zedeks was established
in the land of Jebus (later known as Jerusalem) and continued there until David
attempted to merge the Zedeks with the tabernacle. Solomon attempted to do the
same once the Temple was built, but what we see is that Schools of the Prophets
were established in several different areas of Israel, keeping the Prophets separate
from the defilements taking place in the temple. Enoch, Noah, Shem, Eber,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did not live under Mosaic Law. They did not have the
written tablets and commands. Jacob’s heirs were the ones that were given the
tablets and commands, not the former Patriarchs. Moses wrote several books
(some not included in the canon of our Bible), for the people to remember
history. Once the laws were written they were then amended for society. When we
look at the Book of Leviticus we can recognize that there was repetitions of
both laws and instructions. Theologians believe that this was because there
were several copies of the laws merged into one book. After Moses’ death,
someone started documenting history and wrote more books. But what if there were
no more books regarding history and God? Paul gives us the answer, and it is
not unlike the ways of the Patriarchs.
2 Cor 3:1-3 Does it sound like we're patting ourselves on the back, insisting on our credentials, asserting our authority? Well, we're not. Neither do we need letters of endorsement, either to you or from you. 2 You yourselves are all the endorsement we need. Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. 3 Christ himself wrote it — not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives — and we publish it. (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
It might be, that we or our future generations will have to
live with the letters written by Jesus Christ, carved into our lives by the
Holy Spirit. Let’s look at some of these ideas more closely.
2 Corinthians 3:1G756Do we
begin G3825again G1438to
commend ourselves, G4921 G1508unless
G5535we
need, G5613as G5100some, G4956of
introductory G1992letters
G4314to G1473you, G2228or G1537[2from
G14733you G49561introductory letters]?
2G3588 G1992[3our
letter G1473 G14731You G1510.2.52are] G1449being
written G1722in G3588 G2588our
hearts, G1473 G1097being
known G2532and G314being
read G5259by G3956all G444men;
3G5319being
manifested G3754that G1510.2.5you
are G1992[2letter
G55471Christ's]
G1247served
G5259by G1473us, G1449having
been written G3756not G3188with ink,
G235but G4151by
spirit G2316of the living
God; G2198 G3756not G1722on G4109tablets
G3035of
stones, G235but G1722on G4109[2tablets
G25883of the heart
G45601fleshly].
5319 LSJ Gloss:nφανερόω to make manifest
Dodson: φανερόω I make clear, visible, or manifest I make
clear (visible, manifest), make known.
φανερόω phaneroō fan-er-o'-o From G5318;
to render apparent (literally or figuratively) KJV
Usage: appear, manifestly declare, (make) manifest (forth), shew (self).
5547 Χριστός Christos khris-tos' From G5548; anointed,
that is, the Messiah, an epithet of Jesus KJV Usage: Christ.
1247 διακονέω diakoneō dee-ak-on-eh'-o From G1249;
to be an attendant, that is, wait upon (menially
or as a host, friend or [figuratively] teacher); technically to act as a
Christian deacon KJV Usage: (ad-) minister (unto), serve, use
the office of a deacon
1449 ἐγγράφω eggraphō eng-graf'-o From G1722 and G1125; to
“engrave”, that is, inscribe KJV Usage: write (in).
4109 πλάξ plax plax From G4111;
a moulding board, that is, flat surface
(“plate”, or tablet, literally or figuratively) KJV Usage: table.
2588 καρδία kardia kar-dee'-ah Prolonged
from a primary κάρ kar (Latin cor , “heart”);
the heart, that is, (figuratively) the thoughts or feelings (mind);
also (by analogy) the middle KJV Usage: (+ broken-) heart (-ed).
4560 σάρκινος sarkinos sar'-kee-nos From G4561; similar to flesh,
that is, (by analogy) soft KJV Usage: fleshly.
Being visible, you are Christs’ engraved message,
ministered and served from us (Paul), engraved by the Holy Spirit of the Living
God, not on plates of stone but plates of the flesh of the kardia. The flesh of
the heart is where the letters and books of Christ are written. Not written
with ink but with the Holy Spirit. Not tattooed on the outside flesh but
engraved into the heart, the very center of our being. Remember, we have the
mind of the heart and the mind of the head, or technically the brain of the
heart and the brain of the head.
The letters and books we have now can be written in the
intelligence center of our heart. This is the Holy Spirit’s work, making us
living walking books for Christ. Abraham may not have had Enoch’s books, but he
walked a life that honored Yahweh, and others followed Abraham. Isaac may have
gone to school to learn about Yahweh and worship to Him, but he didn’t have a
group of letters, laws, commands, or inspirations to read and reread every day.
Jacob may have spent thirty two years with Shem and Eber, in the meeting places
of God, but he probably didn’t have any written letters from Shem and Eber when
he went to Laban’s house. The point here is that even if we have schools and
books, we still have to have the Spirit of the Living God write these letters
on our hearts. The books are nice, the letters are great, the instructions are
helpful, and the inspirations are uplifting, but the engraving of the letters
must exist on our hearts so that others can read us! Yes people are reading
you, whether you believe it or not, and what they read when they look at you is
your manifested service to humanity, believers or non-believers.
The question we should ponder is ‘what are people reading
when they see me?’ Could people read Jesus on us even if there was no Bible in
our hand? Could people read love and compassion from our heart instead of anger
and bitterness? When people look at us do they read fear? Do they read
superstition? Do they read impatience? Or do they read that ‘Jesus died for me
and I am not shaken by anything.’ Do they read worship to God from a pure
heart? Do they read mercy and longsuffering? I guess we should wonder what
people read when they read our Facebook timeline or Twitter feed as well.
Since the Holy Spirit is engraving letters on our heart,
one person’s letter might be different than another person’s letter. One person
may have more letters than another. What if we are all different? That is
exactly the hindrance of the printed letters. The Bible tells people in one
place to cover their heads, then tells others not to cover their heads,
cultural differences may not be observed in a letter or book. What the Holy
Spirit writes on each of our hearts is between us and Him, not between us and
everyone who disagrees or agrees with what He engraved in our heart. We each
have the opportunity to be written on by the Holy Spirit, and to be read by the
world. If there were no Christian books or materials, the Holy Spirit would
continue to simply write in us. Shouldn’t our “book” be better than those
written two thousand years ago? Let’s read this in the Amplified.
2 Cor 3:1-3 ARE WE starting to commend ourselves again? Or
we do not, like some [false teachers], need written credentials or letters of
recommendation to you or from you, [do we]? 2 [No] you yourselves are our
letter of recommendation (our credentials), written in your hearts, to be known
(perceived, recognized) and read by everybody. 3 You show and make obvious that
you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, not written with ink but with
[the] Spirit of [the] living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of
human hearts. [Ex 24:12; 31:18; 32:15,16; Jer 31:33.] AMP
In the end of the book Fahrenheit
451 a nuclear war kills everyone except those who lived in the countryside.
What would that be like, if the majority of people were gone as well as those
who destroyed books? Could the Holy Spirit inspire people to write physical
books again? Certainly.
2 Peter 1:21 For no prophecy ever originated because some
man willed it [to do so — it never came by human impulse], but men spoke from
God who were borne along (moved and impelled) by the Holy Spirit. AMP
2 Peter 1:21G3756For
not G1063 G2307by
will G444of man
G5342was [2borne
G42183at
some time or other G43941prophecy],
G235but G5259by G4151[2spirit
G391holy] G5342being
borne G2980[5spoke
G35881the G392holy G23164of God
G4443men]
There are holy people hearing from God today. There are
Prophets who are speaking for God today. There are plenty of people who can
write or record what a person is speaking from God. Therefore books could be
written for that generation. It is the Holy Spirits job to do the engraving in
our hearts, and ours to be readable by the world, and if the time came for more
holy books to be written, then the Holy Spirit will bear along people who will
speak and write. Jeremiah did just that.
Jer 30:1-3 THE WORD that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2
Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Write all the words that I have spoken
to you in a book. 3 For, note well, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I
will release from captivity My people Israel and Judah, says the Lord, and I
will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they
will possess it. AMP
Yet in the future kingdom there will be no need for schools
and books to learn about the Lord.
Jer 31:33-34 But this is the covenant which I will make
with the house of Israel: After those days, says the Lord, I will put My law
within them, and on their hearts will I write it; and I will be their God, and
they will be My people. 34 And they will no more teach each man his neighbor
and each man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they will all know Me
[recognize, understand, and be acquainted with Me], from the least of them to
the greatest, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will
[seriously] remember their sin no more. [Heb 8:8-12; 10:16,17.] AMP
Yahweh will write his precepts in their minds and hearts.
Let’s look at this.
Jeremiah 31:33G3754For G3778this G3588 G1242is my
covenant G1473 G3739which G1303I
shall ordain G3588with G3624the house
G*of
Israel G3326after G3588 G2250those
days, G1565 G5346says G2962the lord;
G1325I will
put G3551my
laws G1473 G1519into G3588 G1271their
mind, G1473 G2532and G1909[3upon
G25884their
hearts G1473 G11251I will
write G14732them];
G2532and G1510.8.1I will
be G1473to
them G1519for G2316God, G2532and G1473they G1510.8.6will
be G1473to me G1519for G2992a
people.
3551 νόμος nomos nom'-os From a
primary word νέμω nemō (to parcel out, especially food or grazing to
animals); law(through the idea of prescriptive usage),
generally (regulation), specifically (of Moses [including the volume];
also of the Gospel), or figuratively (a principle) KJV Usage: law.
1271 διάνοια dianoia dee-an'-oy-ah From G1223 and G3563; deep thought,
properly the faculty (mind or its disposition), by
implication its exercise KJV Usage: imagination, mind, understanding.
2588 καρδία kardia kar-dee'-ah Prolonged
from a primary κάρ kar (Latin cor , “heart”);
the heart, that is, (figuratively) the thoughts or feelings (mind);
also (by analogy) the middle KJV Usage: (+ broken-) heart (-ed).
1125 γράφω graphō graf'-o A primary
verb; to “grave”, especially to write; figuratively to describe
KJV Usage: describe, write (-ing, -ten).
We can see the difference between the Septuagint and the
NA27; the Septuagint uses the word mind.
Yahweh will write ideas, ordinances, and the gospel on people’s hearts in the
Millennial Kingdom. So if we consider this, today there may be Jewish people
who reject Jesus as the Christ and therefore the Holy Spirit is not writing on
their hearts, but during the Millennial Kingdom the Jews will have Yahweh’s
words written inside them just like we do. This shows that engraving His words
into the human heart is a benefit that we have and that others will have as
well. This is a desired state, not for only a “special few”, but for all those
who believe on Jesus as Lord.
The problem we see with written words in letters and books
is that over the years people have altered things they didn’t like. Some have
made judgements about written books, like the books we have from Enoch, and
have told others not to read them. Those who have altered the words of the Holy
Spirit have changed truth for everyone for years to come. We can see the
benefit of engraving words in our hearts, as no human can erase them. Let’s read
Jeremiah’s words again in the Septuagint. We should notice that the Masoretic
alterations are due to the rejection of the Prophets of Shem, the Zedeks.
Instead they “sided” with the Levites, even with all the defilements in the
temple and the compromise of allowing a non-Aaronite in the temple as High
Priest, exposing themselves, as Jesus said, as impostors. http://musingsofawinsomeheart.blogspot.com/2016/09/blood-of-righteous-abel-righteous-to.html
Jeremiah 31 in the Masoretic Text is really Jeremiah 38 in
the older Septuagint. If we read the Septuagint version of Jeremiah rather than
the Masoretic Text (which the TR and NA27 are written from) we will note some
very interesting prophecies.
Jeremiah 38:31 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of
Juda: 32 not according to the covenant which I made with their
fathers in the day when I took hold of their hand to bring them out of the land
of Egypt; for they abode not in my covenant, and I disregarded them, saith the
Lord. 33 For this is my covenant which I will make with the house of
Israel; after those days, saith the Lord, I will surely put my laws into their
mind, and write them on their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they
shall be to me a people. 34 And they shall not at all teach every one
his fellow citizen, and every one his brother, saying, Know
the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of
them: for I will be merciful to their iniquities, and their sins I will
remember no more. 35 Thus saith the Lord, who gives the sun for a
light by day, the moon and the stars for a light by night, and makes a
roaring in the sea, so that the waves thereof roar; the Lord Almighty is his
name: 36 if these ordinances cease from before me, saith the Lord,
then shall the family of Israel cease to be a nation before me forever.
37 Though the sky should be raised to a greater height,
saith the Lord, and though the ground of the earth should be sunk lower beneath,
yet I will not cast off the family of Israel, saith the Lord, for all that they
have done.
38 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when the
city shall be built to the Lord from the tower of Anameel to the gate of the
corner. 39 And the measurement of it shall proceed in front of them
as far as the hills of Gareb, and it shall be compassed with a circular wall of
choice stones. 40 And all the Asaremoth even to Nachal Kedron, as far
as the corner of the horse-gate eastward, shall be holiness to the Lord; and it
shall not fail any more, and shall not be destroyed forever.
Jeremiah gives us a wonderful prophecy, written as the Lord
instructed. If this book was destroyed or altered forever, it would not change
the future. The plans of the Lord are not subject to our fallibility to keep
them preserved in writing. This is why it is essential for us to know what is
written in our heart.
Another alteration in Jeremiah shows up in Chapter 17. The
first five verses seem to have been added in the Masoretic Text. They imply
that Jeremiah wrote that “Judah’s sin was written in their heart, and on the
horns of the altar”. Since that is added, it would seem they were trying to
imply that sin is written in the heart, but the Septuagint does not say that
sin is written in the heart. The Holy Spirit does not write sin into one’s
heart. The devil does not have the ability to write sin into one’s heart. A
person may be sinful and do sinful things from their own heart, but it is not
written, engraved, or scribed in the heart.
Ecclesiasticus in
Greek means “preacher”; the Book of Ecclesiasticus is written by someone named “Jesus
(Joshua) son of Sirach of Jerusalem”. The King James Version is slightly
different from the Douay-Rheims version, but the ideas are the same, Jesus, son
of Sirach wrote this book, pouring forth wisdom from his heart.
Ecclus 50:27-29 Jesus the son of Sirach of Jerusalem hath
written in this book the instruction of understanding and knowledge, who out of
his heart poured forth wisdom.28 Blessed is he that shall be exercised in these
things; and he that layeth them up in his heart shall become wise.29 For if he
do them, he shall be strong to all things: for the light of the Lord leadeth
him, who giveth wisdom to the godly. Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever.
Amen, Amen. [A Prayer of Jesus the son of Sirach.]KJV
Ecclus 50:29-31 Jesus the son of Sirach, of Jerusalem, hath
written in this book the doctrine of wisdom and instruction, who renewed wisdom
from his heart.30 Blessed is he that is conversant in these good things: and he
that layeth them up in his heart, shall be wise always.31 For if he do them, he
shall be strong to do all things: because the light of God guideth his steps.
Douay-Rheims
Wisdom, the Spirit of Wisdom, engraves in our hearts and
people pour out what has been written for others. This is how we can and should
learn to live. Allowing the Holy Spirit’s words to pour out of our hearts for
others to read. We are the living books. We are the living Word of God. If
there were ever to come a time when Christian books and writings were no longer
available to us, we could still live as Christian
books (living epistles) because the Holy Spirit engraved knowledge and
wisdom and understanding in our hearts. So no matter what our future holds, if
there are Bibles and Christian books or no Bibles and Christian books, we are
the living books. Just like closed countries that reject Jesus and the Bible,
the Holy Spirit works at carving words into people’s hearts, and they become
saved, spirit filled believers, and all hell can’t stop them from entering
Heaven.
