Day 309: Praying for the Dead (2024)
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Making father max mates and you're listening to the bible in a ear podcast, what we encounter god's voice and live life to the lens of scripture the bible in the year podcast is thought you by ascension using the great adventure bible title and will read all the way from genesis to revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds in a week IT into that story. Today IT is day three hundred and nine. We're reading the second book of maces chapter twelve, as well as wisdom chapter thirteen and forty forty and proper chapter twenty five.

Eleven through fourteen is always the bible translation that I am reading from is the revised standard version. The second catholic. I'm reading the great adventure bible from a sense, if you want to downtown your own bible in a year reading plan, you can visit a sensor press that comes flash bible in a year.

You can also subscribe to this podcast, receive daily episodes and daily updates, of course, unless you are listening on youtube, in which case you probably subscribe to essential presents IT stay three or nine. We're reading second mk of these chapter twelve wisdom, chapter thirteen and fourteen and proper chapter twenty five versus eleven through fourteen, the second book of the macy's chapter twelve incidents at japan. And Jamie, when this agreement had been reached, I say, has returned IT to the king and the jews went about their farming, but some of the governors in various places, Timothy and abonyi, the sun of ganas, as well as horny mous and demon on.

And in addition to these, nick nor the governor of cyprus, would not let them live quietly and in peace. And some of them in of japan did so unguided adede as this. They invited the jews who live among them, to embark with their wives and children on boats, which they had provided, as though there were no ill will to the jews.

And this was done by public vote of the city. And when they accepted, because they wished to live peaceably and suspected nothing, the men of job I took them out to see and rounded them, not less than two hundred. When judis heard of the cruelty visited on his county men, he gave orders to his men and, calling upon god at the righteous judge, attacked the murderer of his brother in. He set fire to the harbor by night and burned the boats and massacred those who were taken refuge there. Then, because the cyst gates were closed, he, without intending to come again and root out the whole community of japan.

But learning that the men in Jamie meant in the same way to wipe out the jews, were living among them, he attacked the people of Jamie by night and set fire to the harbor and the fleet so that the glow of the light was seen in jerusalem, thirty miles distant, the campaign in gilead, when the head gone more than a mile from there on their march against Timothy, not less than five thousand arabs with five hundred horseman attacked them. After a hard fight, judice and his men wanted the Victory by the help of god, the defeated no mad beg to juice to grant them pledges of friendship, promising to give him cattle and to help his people in all other ways. Judice, thinking that they might really be useful in many ways, agreed to make peece with them.

And after receiving his pledges, they departed to their tents. He also attacked a certain city, which was strongly fortified with earth works and walls and inhabited by all sorts of gentiles. Its name was gasping.

And those who were within, relying on the strength of the walls and on their supplier provisions, behaved most insulin tly towards judice and his men, rAiling at them and been blast feeling and saying unholy things. But judas and his men, calling upon the great sovereign, the world, who, without battering rams or engines of war over through jero in the days of Joshua, rushed furiously upon the walls. They took the city by the bill of god and slaughter untold numbers so that the adjoining lake, a quarter of a mile wide, appeared to be running over with blood.

Judy defeats tim at these army when they had gone ninety five miles from there. They came to Cherry's to the jews, were called to be honi. They did not find Timothy in that region, for he had by then departed from the region without accomplishing anything, though in one place he had left a very strong gerson, those cities and soa.

Peter, who were captains under methodius, marched out and destroyed those whom ultimately had left in the stronger, more than ten thousand and but mcb, as arranged ed, his army divisions set men in command of the divisions and haint afterimage y, who had with him one hundred and twenty thousand and two thousand five hundred days until I ether you learned the approach of judice. He sent off the women and the children, and also the baggage to a place called car name. For that place was hard to be sage and difficult to access because of the newness of all the approaches.

But when judicious first division appeared, terror and fear came over the enemy at the manifestation to them of him who sees all things. And they rushed off in flight. And we're swept on this way and that so that often they were injured by their own men and pierce by the points of their swords.

And you just press the pursuit with the almost bigger, putting the sinners to the sort and destroyed as many as thirty thousand men. Timothy himself fell into the hands of the sithee and social tor and their men with great guy. He begged them to let him go in safety because he helped the parents of most of them and the brothers of some, and no consideration would be shown them.

And when, with many words, he had confirmed his solemn promise to restore them unharmed, they let him go for the sake of saving their brothers. N judis wins other Victories, then due is marched against carnahan and the temple of t and slaughter twenty five thousand people. After the road in destruction of these, he marched also against everyone, a fortified city where I say, as dwelt with multitudes of people of all nationalities, stalled ward Young men took their standing by for the walls and made a vigorous ous defense.

And great stores of war engines and missiles were there. But the jews called upon the sovereign, who with power shares the light of his enemies. And they got the city into their hands and killed as many as twenty five thousand of those who are within IT setting up from there.

They hated to two setup is, which is seventy five miles from jerusalem. But when the juice who dwelt there bore witness to the goodwill which the people of south ops had shown them, and they're kind treatment of them in times of misfortune, they thanked to them and exported them to be well disposed to their race in the future. Also then they were up to jerusalem as the feast of weeks was close at hand.

Judy defeat, gorgeous after the feast called pentagon, they haven against gorgeous, the governor of dema. And he came out with three thousand inventory and four hundred seven when they joined battle. IT happened that a few of the juice fell, but he certainly silvius one of back in our men who was on horseback and was a strong man, caught hold of gorgeous and grasping his cloak, was dragged him off by main strength, wishing to take the excursive man alive when one of the three ation horseman brought down upon him and caught off his ARM so gorgeous escaped and reached to maria as as rss.

And his men had been fighting for a long time, and we're weary. Judice called upon the lord to show himself their ally and leader in the battle. In the language of their fathers.

He raised the battle cry with him. Then he charged against gorgeous as men when they were not expecting IT, and put them to flight prayers for those killed in battle. Then judd's assembled his army and went to the city of aldo. Long as the seventh day was coming on. They purified themselves according to the custom, and they kept the spot there on the next day, as by that time I had become necessary.

Judice and his man went to take up bodies of the fAllen and to bring them back to lie with their kids, men in the sepp kers of their fathers, then, under the tune ic of every one of the dead, they found a secret tokens of the idols of germania, which the law forbids the juice to wear. And IT became clear to all that this was why these men had fAllen. So they all blessed the ways of the lord, the righteous judge, who revealed the things that are hidden.

And they turned IT to prayer, begging that the sin which had been committed might be holy blood out, and the nobel judice exorcize people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those were fAllen. He also took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand dragons of silver, and sent IT to jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this, he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection, for if you were not expecting that those were fAllen, would rise again IT would have been superfusion and foolish to pray for the dead.

But if he was looking to the spending of reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, IT was a holy epes thought therefore he made a tome for the dead that they might be delivered from their son. The wisdom of salomon chapter thirteen, the foolishness of idolatry for all men who were ignorant of god were foolish by nature, and they were unable from the good things that are seen to know him who exists. Nor did they recognize the crafts man while paying he do his works.

But they supposed that either fire or wind or swift air or the circle of the stars or turbulent waters, or the luminaries of heaven or the god's that rule the world. If, through delight in the beauty of these things, men assume them to be god's, let them know how much Better than these is they are, lord for the author of beauty created them. And if men were amazed at their power and working, let them perceive from them how much more powerful is he who formed them for, from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a core responding perception of their creator.

Yet these men are little to be blamed for. Perhaps they go a strain while seeking god and desire to find him for as they live among his works, they keep searching, and they trust in what they see, because the things that are seen are beautiful. Yet again, not even they are to be excused for if they had the power to know so much that they could investigate the world, how did they fail to find sooner the lord of these things, but miserable with their hopes, set on dead things, are the men who give the name god to the works of men's hands, gold and silver, fashioned with skill and lightness, ssed of animals or a useless stone.

The work of an ancient hand, a skilled wood cutter, may saw down a tree, easy to handle, and skillfully strip off all its bark, and then with pleasing workmanship, and make a useful vessel that serves life needs and burn the cast off pieces of his work to prepare his food and need to fill but a cast off piece from among them, useful for nothing, a stick, crooked and full of nuts, he takes and carves with care in his leisure and shapes IT with skill gained. In italy. He forms IT like the image of a man, or makes IT like some worthless animal, giving IT a code of red paint and colleran its surface red and covering every blemish in IT with paint.

Then he makes for IT unmissed that befits IT and sets IT in the wall and fascinate there with iron. So he takes thought for IT that IT may not fall, because he knows that he cannot help itself. For IT is only an image.

And as need of help, when he praise about possessions in his marriage and children, he is not ashamed to address a for health. He appeals to a thing that is weak for life. He praised to a thing that is dead for aid.

He entreats a thing that is ugly, inexperienced for a prosperous journey, a thing that cannot take a step for money making and work and success with his hands. He asks strength of a thing whose hands have no strength, just to fourteen again when preparing to sail, and about the voyage of raging waves calls upon a piece of wood more fragile than the ship which Carry them. For IT was desire for gain that planned that vessel.

And wisdom was the craft's man who built IT. But IT is your providence of father that steers its course because you have given IT a path in the sea and a safe way through the waves, showing that you can save from every danger so that even if a man lacks skill, he may put to sea. IT is your will.

That works of your wisdom should not be without effect. Therefore, men trust their lives even to the smallest piece of wood. And passing through the billows on a raft, they come safely to land for even in the beginning, when arrogant giants were parishes, the hope of the world took refugee on a raft.

And guided by your hand left to the world, the seed of a new generation for blessed is the wood by which righteousness comes. But the idle made with hands is a cursed. And so is he who made IT because he did the work, and the parachute thing was named a god for equally hateful to god are the ungodliness his ungodliness for what was done? We'll be punished together with him who did IT.

Therefore, there will be a visitation also upon the heathman idles. Because though part of a god created, they became an abomination and became traps for the souls of men and a snail to the feet of the foolish. For the idea of making idols was the beginning of four n occasion, and the invention of them was the corruption of life, for neither have they existed from the beginning nor would they exist forever.

For through the vanity of men, they entered the world, and therefore their speedy end has been planned for a father consumed with grief at an untimely berea. Evey made an image of his child who had been suddenly taken from him, and he now honored as a god what was once a dead human being, and handed onto his dependence, secret rights and initiations. Then the ungodly custom, grown strong with time, was kept as a law, and that the command of monarch, grave and images were worshipped when men could not honor monarch in their presence.

Since they lived at a distance, they imagine their appearance far away and make the visible image of the king whom they honored, so that by their zeal they might flatter the absent one as the present. Then the ambition of the craft man impelled even those who did not know the king to intensify their worship, for he, perhaps wishing to please his ruler, skillfully forced the lightness est to take more beautiful form, and the multitude attracted by the charm of his work, now regarded as an object of worship, the one whom shortly before they had honored as a man. And this became a hidden trap for mankind, because men in bondage to misfortune or to royal authority be stored on objects of stone.

Or would the name that ought not to be shared afterward? IT was not enough for them to err about the knowledge of god, but they live in great strife due to ignorance. And they call such great evils peace for whether they killed children in their initiations or celebrate secret mysteries or hold frenzy rivals with strange customs.

They no longer keep either their lives or their marriages pure, but the either treacherously kill one another or brief one another by adult Terry and all is a raging riot of blood and murder, theft and the seat, corruption, fake lessons, tumut, perjury, confusion over what is good forgetfulness of favors, pollution of souls, sex perversion, disorder in marriage, adult Terry and the battery for the worship of idols not to be named is the beginning and cause and end of every evil for their worshippers, either rave in excitation or prophetic lies, or live unrighteously, or readily commit perjury for because they trust in lifelong idles they swear wickets odds and expect to suffer no harm. But just penalties will overtake them on two counts, because they thought wickedness of god in devoting themselves to idles, and because in the seat they saw unrighted sly through contempt for holiness. For IT is not the power of the things by which men swear, but the just penalty for those who sin that always pursues the transgression of the unretire.

The book of drivers chapter twenty five versus eleven through fourteen a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in the setting of silver, like a gold ring or an ornament of gold, is a wise reprover to a listening ear like the cold of snow in the time of harvest, is a faithful messenger to those who send him. He refreshes the spirit of his masters like clouds and win without rain is a man who posts of a gift he does not give. Father and having we give you praise, ed, and thank you so much for this day and thank you so much for bringing us to this new day, day three or nine.

We thank you for keeping us faithful. You are faithful even when we are not, even when we are fickle. You are faithful even when we are uncertain. You are the rock in the foundation. You are describe the cornerstone.

And so in your name, we asked you, please help us in our weakness, help us in our unsteadily, help us in every day to see you, the one true god, jesus Christ, whom you cent and the holy spirit to live by your power. And jesus named play him man, and the name of the father and the son of value spirit man. You guys, wow.

Okay, we have some wisdom in Solomon that's for darker. And we not only have wisdom and salmon, we have the wisdom of selling when IT comes to ideal try. And i'd love how we just lays the smash down on those who turn to idles talking about how yeah you know you burn up a pizza wood and you have some scraps leftover, but then you carve those rabs and make them into the shape of a human beings, the shape of an animal, and then you make a little niche, right?

A niche where everyone understand, how would you say that? Make a little niche in the wall, niche in the wall, and you protect that. You pretty IT all the side.

Now, a sudden, I love this. He's not ashamed to address a lifetime less thing. This is a chapter thirteen verses seventeen. And following for healthy y appeals to a thing that is weak for life.

He praised a thing that is dead for eighty and treats a thing that is uteri inexperience for a prosperous journey, a thing that cannot take a step from money making and work and success with his hands. He asks strength of a thing whose hands have no strength. And it's basically highlighting the insanity of turning to idols instead of turning to the living god.

In fact, one of the gifts that we hear in chapter to thirteen of wish salman, is that looking around the universe, looking around at creation, you should be able to perceive from the beauty of creation, the reality of god. You should be able to perceive in the beautiful of creation, the fact that here is god who exists and made all things. And if you think his works are beautiful, what would he look like? What would he be if the case works are are wise and intelligent and powerful, what must the creator of them be like? And yet what happens? IT says, you know, the worship, the creation rather than the creator.

And this is the temptation for almost every one of us, the temptation towards idolatry. We might not make a carbon and put IT in little special spot, but you, this is interesting in the square, being reminded again and again is that we rarely make idols out of bad things. We almost always make idles out of good things.

Dolcy really isn't taking evil, evil things and making them into guide. It's taking taking good things and making them absolute things is taking good things, making intreating them like they're ultimate things. And in that sense, we have ideologist hearts.

And that's when come to the lord, ask for his mercy to deliver us, make us wise and not foolish, not willing to live for something that is not worth living for. Speaking me of life in second, speaking of life is the same way. Speaking in second, back in this chapter twelve, we have a lot of destruction.

We have a lot of death. We have lot of war. We have a lot of violence. We also have a really big section in second map, chapter twelve, when IT comes to a really important orthodox easter, orthodox and catholic doctrine.

This was a doctor in, of all Christians, up to about the fifteen hundred plus, and it's the doctoring of praying for the dead. Know what we have here is here's judice. And they're having a battle. Went to the city of adou. M, and they have a battle, and people die, and they keep this habit.

The next day they go to collect the bodies of the dead, and they find on the bodies of the dead these emulates, right basically to, uh, the gods are idols, tokens of the idols in gamma, which the law for bids due to wear was very obviously. Oh, this is why those people have died. That's the conclusion that they had made.

So what is due to meccas? Do he takes up a collicott ay, we going to pray for these men. And he takes up a collection to send back to jerusalem two thousand drugless of silver to provide for a sin offering.

Now these praying for those who've already died, and he goes out to say, in doing this, he acted very well and honorably, taking into account the resurrection, for if you are not expecting that those what fAllen will rise again, IT would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. Now it's one of the things that we recognize this. Even in the early church, Christians were immediately offering up prayers for those who had died, even Christians who had died.

And it's interesting because we'd say, await if someone is in hell, if they're lost right then first not going to help them. If someone is already in heaven, what? They don't need any purse. So that would be superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead.

But from the beginnings of Christianity, there was this notion that, okay, if I die in friendship with god, and yet i'm not fully ready to regards presence, i'm attached this thing because my heart isn't be prepared. I mean, I can die in friendship with god and still not be ready at the depths of my heart to enter into guard's presence, that there is this process of purification that happens. And now a lot, lot of different approach dent nominations have that process of, or they have the doctor in that process of, purity ation.

IT might be instant in some formulations of people, that formulations of different to nominations. But the reality of IT is necessary, in fact, to see Lewis talks about this a lot. I'm talking about the doctor of progress ory. I wanted avoid the word, because sometimes is a lot of bags the word.

But we recognized here in second ages, after twelve, the word of god itself, talk up, praying for the dead again, which would be super for us if someone was in hell because it's useless and IT would be unnecessary if they were audio heaven because it's useful less. But if there is a process of purification that happens again, my body see as Lewis, he talks about this and says, of course, I believe in predatory. He says, imagine you arrive at the gates of heaven and even if the Angels and science said in lord and got themselves that come in and come in and celebrate, but you realized i'm kind of dressed in filthy rags.

I need to clean up and they might even say, we don't care about that here, just come in and experience joy. The person the soul might say that's wonderful. But even so, I would rather be cleaned up first.

There is an element where um we recognized this is with the captive doctor of parcels is that there are consequences to our sense, right and those consequences aren't just, you know, if I hurt someone, they're hurt if I if I A lie or gossip that relationships broken but some of the consequences of sin is that IT hurts my heart IT shapes me and in some ways I find myself unable to to love god as he deserves in fact, in one of the things we realized is heaven is what heaven has got himself. Heaven isn't just i'm walking on plane golf isn't just I get my puppy back, you know, whatever and know god blesses us, he loves us. And so sure, obviously, all creations going to be redeemed.

And so maybe there are golf courses. I don't know that's not that's that we're talking about now. But the reality is if someone says, well, will there be golf in in heaven? And someone is, well, if you need golf and having to be happy, then then it'll be golf in heaven.

Or will my dog be in heaven? If you need your dog and having to be happy, your dog be in heaven. But the reality, of course, is that for all those in heaven, they won't need golf to be happy.

They want to need their dog to be happy. why? Because all those in heaven find their hearts rests, find their hearts desire in god himself.

Because heaven is god himself. Yes, it's community things as well. Yes, it's all those others and having living in communion.

But ultimately, heaven has got himself. And I realized about my something, about my heart. My heart is I don't love god like that, like i'm not ready.

I love god and know I love god and the stuff of this world. I love god and, you know, IT not only I love god and the stuff of this world, I love god and I love my sin. I mean, that's just the reality for all of us, right?

I don't want to love my son. I don't like that, and I bragged about IT, but I love god and I love my sin. I love god and I love other things in god.

And sometimes has rivals, just like the book of wisdom talks about wisdom, asylum talks about got as rivals for my heart. And so what I realized is my heart needs to be purified. My heart needs to have be shaped in such a way that I love god above everything else. And that's what the process of purification is all about. That's what progress or is all about.

It's A A place, it's entry way to heaven is that whatever this processes, right, this process by which my heart right now beating in my chest, my love for the lord, that in this world is somehow by god's Chris in mercy is somehow purified, that got Grace and mercy so that I can love him the way he deserves. And that's, I don't think that's a contrary doctor into anything he write that that just that just makes sense. If you unite looking into our hearts, you would say, oh my gosh, I don't love god the way he deserves.

Something needs to change between me now and me and heaven. And that change, that shift, that thing we just call, we give you a name we call percent ory. Give a name we have called purpose. Anyway, this is a long day.

So I wanted to highlights, doctor, that maybe you strugling with maybe you've never heard before, maybe you didn't understand what IT was before, but hopefully make sense now and if if not um understand because we're all on our journey. We're all on the way. We're asking the lord to prefer hearts long day wow long day to day.

You guys, i'm prayed for you. Please pay for me, my us, by the mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow galles.