In Isaiah 29:13, the Lord berated Israel for their false religiosity: "Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men." Consider especially the last phrase. Their fear of the Lord was taught to them by the precept of men. The idea is of men taking the fear of the Lord (the key to godliness according to numerous scriptures) and remolding it according to his own precept; that is, he reforms the concept of godliness according to his earthly ideas of what it should be and not according to the direct teaching of God's word. This manmade godliness fills our churches today. God and His word are no longer the authority for godly living. Lifestyle is determined by the popular consensus of modern cultural opinions. We must get back to the fear of the Lord as taught by the Spirit of God through the word of God if we are ever to return to the faith once delivered to the saints.
Women are developing a taste for violence in their entertainment. Less and less are women put off by violence in their novels and movies. According to a frontpage article in today's Wall Street Journal, women are increasingly drawn to thriller novels where the hero is an assassin or a revenge killer. Women now make up 60% of the audience for the gory "CSI" television franchise that has three different series. Movie houses are also noticing that women make up an increasing percentage of the viewers at recent horror/terror films. Women are losing their squeamish nature when it comes to violence. One of the signs of the days of Noah was that "the earth was filled with violence" (Genesis 6:11). Jesus told us that "as it was in the days of Noe [Noah], so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man" (Luke 17:26).
Today's Wall Street Journal reports some of the recent actions of the Presbyterian Church (USA). In 2004, the Presbyterian Church decided "to initiate a process of phased, selective divestment in multinational corporations operating in Israel." That is, they decided to boycott Israel. On the other hand, the pro-Palestinian stance of the Presbyterian leadership has been astounding. In the fall of 2004, senior church leaders met with and praised Hezbollah, the Lebanese terrorist organization responsible for the death of thousands, some of them Americans. The church funds pro-Palestinian committees and wrote "congratulatory letters to the terrorist leaders of Hamas on their recent election victory." Further, they verbally attack Israel and "blame the U.S. and capitalism in general for most of the world's catastrophes." God told Abraham four thousand years ago concerning him and his descendants: "I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee" (Genesis 12:3). Is it any wonder that the Presbyterian Church (USA) is suffering from "declining membership and dwindling financial support?"
An editorial in today's Wall Street Journal reports on the growth of Anti-Semitism (hatred toward the Jewish people) in the Western world. It should come as no surprise that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the leader of Iran, calls for the "destruction of Israel." But such hatred is getting much closer to home. The Nowegian writer Jostein Gaarder declared in Aftenpost, Norway's leading newspaper, "There is no turning back. It is time to learn a new lesson: We do no longer recognize the state of Israel... The time of trouble shall soon be over... The state of Israel does not exist."
An article in the September 15, 2006, edition of "Forward" tells of the sweet challah bread that is on every Rosh Hashanah table throughout the Jewish world. Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year and it is equivalent to the Feast of the Trumpets in the Bible (Leviticus 23:23-25). Challah is a sweet bread especially made for the occasion to symbolize the desire for a sweet and good year. It is usually baked in a round or spiral shape. This roundness is used to symbolize the round crowns of the righteous and the cycle of the year. Since a circle has no end, it also indicates the desire for a long life.
