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Did the Matthew Bible Teach That the Earth is Flat?

Posted on by Posted in History MB

Did the 1537 Matthew Bible teach that the earth is flat? Or did it teach that the world is round? In fact, both the phrases “flat earth” and “round world” occur in the Matthew Bible (as well as in other early English Bibles). See the following examples from the Old Testament:

2 Samuel 11:11 Uriah said unto David: the ark and Israel and Judah dwell in pavilions, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord lie in tents upon the flat earth: and should I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife?

1 Samuel 2:8 The pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he hath set the round world upon them.

Do these verses show that the Bible contradicted itself about the shape of the earth? No, not at all. The Matthew Bible never intended to say that the planet earth is flat, but did say that the world is round, by which was meant round as a globe. This point needs to be made, because it seems that the flat-earth movement is growing among Christians, and they believe the falsehood that the early Bibles said the earth is flat.

Recently, a fellow contacted me to share his research proving that the earth is flat. Through simplistic literalism, such as construing the pillars of 1 Samuel 2:8 as literal pillars, he has also concluded that the flat earth is stationary in space, not circling around the sun. Flat-earthers think that the early English Bibles taught these great truths, but the information was removed from later versions “for political reasons.”

But, as will be seen, the reverse is true: it is the truth about the round world which was removed from later versions.

The flat-earther sent me a link to a video talk with the image shown below from a 16th-century printing of 2 Samuel 11:11. The caption, which is not entirely visible, suggests that the circled words (“flatt erthe”) were “erased” from the text in order to conceal the great, now-lost truth that the earth is flat:

Flat-earthers believe in error that the Bible’s teaching about the flat earth was “erased” from early bibles.

The same flat-earther sent me a long meme with a list of Bible verses which, he claimed, support his beliefs:

Terrible bible exegesis to prove that the Bible says the earth is flat.

Experience proves that there can be no discussing the issues with flat-earthers. However, the rest of us should know what the early English Bibles actually said.

Summary of my conclusions

Before discussion, below is a summary of my conclusions:

1. The Matthew Bible did NOT teach that the earth is flat. The phrase “flat earth” in 2 Samuel 11:11 simply refers to the flat ground where Joab and his army were encamped; that is, ground that was flat as opposed to hilly or mountainous. It was not saying that our planet is flat as opposed to round. Many later Bibles put “open fields” here. This was not to hide the truth about the shape of the earth, but was a simple translation.

2. The Matthew Bible gave the full sense of the Hebrew noun tay-bale wherever it used the phrase “round world,” and thus showed that the earth is spherical or globular in shape. According to many authorities, tay-bale implies a spherical shape. (I realize the earth is not a perfect sphere, but is slightly flattened at the poles.)

3. Flat-earthers rely upon false histories (not to mention false science) to buttress their error. They accept a myth that is common among both Christians and non-Christians, whether or not they are flat-earthers, that the ancients believed the world was flat. They also think the Christian Church taught this for centuries, which is another myth. History shows that the Greeks confirmed millennia ago, through astronomical observation, that the world is a spherical orb, and many Christians of antiquity, including Bede and Thomas Aquinas, held to this view. Further, the Oxford English Dictionary shows an Anglo-Saxon quotation from 1300 which says the earth is “round as an apple” (seen below). The idea that the world is round was not new to the translators (or the readers) of the Matthew Bible.

A great discussion of what the ancients really believed is by Jonathan Sarfati in his article “Flat Earth Myth,” linked at the end of this blog post. Mr. Sarfati is a Jewish Christian and a director of the Institute for Creation Research.

The “flat earth” of 2 Samuel 11:11

To understand how “earth” was used in the Matthew Bible, we need to know that in the 16th century, people sometimes said “earth” where now we would say “ground.” See the following example from 1 Samuel 5:3 (note, “Dagon” mentioned in this verse was an idol set up in a pagan temple):

1 Samuel 5:3 And when [the people] of Ashdod were up in the morning, behold, Dagon lay [face-down] upon the earth before the ark of the Lord. And they took Dagon and set him in his place again.

Now we would say, “Dagon was lying face-down on the ground.” In the very next verse, in the same context, Tyndale used the word “ground,” which shows that this was indeed the sense:

1 Samuel 5:4 And when they were up early in the next morning, behold, Dagon lay [face-down] upon the ground before the ark of the Lord.

Below is a further example, this one from 2 Samuel. Here King David had just received news that all his sons were dead (though in fact only Amnon was dead):

2 Samuel 13:31 Then the king arose and tare his garments, and lay along on the earth.

This means, of course, that he lay along on the ground.

The sense “ground” was also the meaning at 2 Samuel 11:11, where the Matthew Bible had “flat earth.” It was describing the terrain where the army of Joab was encamped. The Hebrew word translated “ground” in this verse was saw-deh, which means “spread out,” just as any expanse of flat land appears spread out. See below how much more meaningful the verse is when updated to “ground.” In addition, I updated “flat” to “open,” as other Bibles have here. Also shown for comparison is the KJV rendering:

2 Samuel 11:11

1537 Matthew Bible Uriah said unto David: the ark and Israel and Judah dwell in pavilions: and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord lie in tents upon the flat earth: and should I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife?

Update, New Matthew Bible Uriah said to David, The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord lie in tents on the open ground, and should I then go into my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife?

1611 KJV  And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife?

The adjective “flat” in verse 11 translates the Hebrew paw-neem, which literally means “face.” Now we would better say “open” because the point was that, as flat land, it was open and unsheltered. Uriah was saying that he would not go to the shelter of his own home while his fellow soldiers lay in tents outside on wide open ground.

But to the chief point, Uriah was certainly not saying in 2 Samuel 11:11 that Joab’s army lay in tents on a flat planet. That would be an irrelevant detail, and ridiculous.

“Round world” in the Matthew Bible and other early English Bibles

Some say the phrase “round world” does not in itself prove anything either for or against the flat-earthers, because both a flat disc and a sphere can be described as “round.” True, but the evidence is convincing that “round world” in the early English Bibles indicated a spherical shape. As mentioned, the English people had for many centuries known that the earth is a sphere, as are also other heavenly bodies. Below, from the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), are three sample quotations from ancient writings:

c1300   Ase an Appel þe eorþe is round. [= As an apple, the earth is round.]

1400 (▸a1325)  In þe sune…Es a thing a[nd] thre thinges sere; A bodi rond, and hete and light. [= In the sun…is a thing and three things sure; a body round, and heat and light.]

1475 (▸1392)  Heuene ys round in þe maner of a round spere in þe myddis of whiche hangiþ þe erþe. [= Heaven is round in the manner of a round sphere, in the midst of which hangs the earth.][1]

As mentioned, the Mathew Bible was not alone in describing the world as “round.” See the other two Reformation Bibles, Myles Coverdale’s of 1535 and the 1540 Great Bible:

1535 Coverdale, Psalm 18:15 The springs of waters were seen, and the foundations of the round world were discovered [uncovered] at thy chiding (O Lord) – at the blasting and breath of thy displeasure.

1540 Great Bible, Jeremiah 51:15 Yea, even the Lord of hosts, that with his power made the earth – with his wisdom prepared the round world, and with his discretion spread out the heavens.

We might ask, when was the adjective “round” removed from the verses we have seen? The removal first came in the 1560 Geneva Bible revision. I say “revision” because the Geneva Old Testament was not an original translation, but was actually a revision of the Great Bible.[2] Therefore, the editors must have intentionally removed the adjective “round” in the course of their reviews. Where I spot-checked the 1568 Bishops’ Bible, I saw that it had followed the Geneva version, even though the bishops were also working from the Great Bible (or, were supposed to be working from it). Therefore, they also must have intentionally removed “round.” Then the KJV, in its turn, also omitted it everywhere.

And so, it was actually the teaching about the round world that was erased from the Bible. I wonder how the flat-earthers would answer this, if they actually read the old Bibles and discovered the truth?

The Hebrew

In every instance where I found “round world” in the Matthew Bible, it was translating the Hebrew noun tay-bale (Strong’s #8398). Tay-bale is defined as follows in the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT):

TWOT 835h תֵּבֵל têbêl, tay-bale’; world: First, the noun is employed to represent the global mass called earth, including the atmosphere or heavens (cf. Ps.89:12 [or 89:11]; II Sam 22:16; et al.). … In several passages the sense of têbêl as the globular earth in combination with its inhabitants is clearly observed.

We see that, according to TWOT, the idea that the earth is globe-shaped (“globular”) is implicit in the Hebrew. Strong and Gesenius indicate the same. Therefore, the question is not so much why “round world” is in the early Bibles, but why was it removed? In certain verses, the answer is that the revisers re-interpreted tay-bale to apply it to the inhabitants of the earth, and not to planet earth. (I discuss this in my paper, The Round World in the Matthew Bible, linked at the end.) This is another meaning of tay-bale, as TWOT indicates. However, this does not explain every change.

Perhaps, in those verses that relate to planet earth herself, the revisers did not agree on the meaning of the Hebrew. Some scholars say tay-bale does not indicate anything about the shape of the earth. I corresponded with a modern Hebraist who wrote to me (also mentioning the Latin in his argument),

The fact is, in some passages, TBL [tay-bale] is referring to the inhabitants of the world, and in others, it’s talking about the physical earth. But it’s never talking about the shape of the planet. Orbis or orbis terrarum was a common Latin word or phrase for the whole world. Lexicons explain that the ancients viewed the world as a “circular plane or disc.” The word orbis itself can mean ring or circle. I’ve never seen an indication of it meaning sphere.

However, since this scholar’s opinion, and that of the lexicons he uses, disagrees with other authorities, it cannot be definitive. Further, both he and his lexicons premise their limited definition of tay-bale on the myth that the ancients held to a flat earth. They seem to think that since the ancients believed the world was flat, therefore their language could not have contemplated a spherical earth. But since this premise is false, their conclusion is doubtful, and their definition of the Hebrew could, as a consequence, be incomplete. Furthermore, I have read authorities who say the Latin word orbis may indicate a sphere, contrary to this scholar’s statement. Therefore, I do not have confidence in his opinion.

When it comes to understanding the ancient languages, one must choose thoughtfully who to trust, because there is always disagreement. Further, Satan never rests from his work of confusing, obscuring, suppressing, and changing meanings. In many things, the early Reformers and original translators – William Tyndale, Myles Coverdale, and Martin Luther, whom God raised up to open his word to the world – prove most trustworthy.

As a final example, see Psalm 96:

Psalm 96:10 Tell it out among the heathen, that the Lord is king: and that it is he which [who] hath made the round world so fast, that it cannot be moved.

Concerning this psalm, flat-earthers think that the round world being “unmoveable” means it is stationary in space. They misunderstand the figurative speech, which concerns the stability of God’s creation under his almighty control.

Finally, I note also that the other Hebrew noun in the Old Testament which was sometimes translated “world” “or “earth” is eh-rets (Strong’s #776). Jonathan Sarfati wrote that eh-rets also implies “ball-shaped” (see page 6 of his article “Flat Earth Myth,” linked below). I was also interested to learn from a former Muslim that the Koran says the earth is egg shaped, not flat. The Koran draws from the Hebrew Old Testament, and Mohammed was informed, at least in some small part, by the Jews of his time. Perhaps they taught him that the Hebrew indicates the world has a spherical shape.

In conclusion, the first English translators, when they spoke of “the round world,” were capturing the full sense of the Hebrew noun tay-bale, in which the sense of roundness is implicit just as it is in our noun “globe.” Further, the knowledge of the shape of the earth was not new to them or to their audience any more than it would have been new to the ancient Israelites who read the Hebrew scriptures. It also makes sense that God’s word should convey this truth.

Therefore, the truth about what the old Bibles said is the opposite of what the flat-earthers claim: it was in fact clear teaching that the world is round which was removed from the Bible. And the irony is that this omission serves their purpose: it renders the Bible silent about the shape of the earth, so that they can then fill the silence with their false “proofs” that the Bible says the earth is flat.

Ruth Magnusson Davis, 2023

* * * * *

A deeper look at the issues, and a comparison with other Bibles to see what they did with some of the other “round world” verses, is in my paper posted on Academia.edu: The “Round World” in the Matthew Bible.

Here is the link to Jonathan Sarfati’s article Flat Earth Myth. In it, he shows what the ancients taught and believed about the shape of the earth.

[1] These quotations are from the online Oxford English Dictionary under “Round, adjective,” definition 2, accessed March 28, 2023. The definition is: “Having the form of a sphere; shaped like a ball, spherical; (also) more or less spherical in shape; globular.” The OED is only accessible to subscribers or through some libraries.

[2] The sources of the Geneva Bible are discussed in Part 2 of The Story of the Matthew Bible. There is also lots of information about other changes that later revisers made to the Bible in both parts 1 and 2 of The Story. The Matthew Bible (MB) formed the base of and was revised for the 1539 Great Bible, and then went on to be overlaid with more and more revisions in the Geneva Bible (GNV), Bishops’ Bible, and King James Version.

KWs Does the Bible teach that the earth is flat? Did the early bibles say that the earth is flat?

Principal Matters: Angels Part 2

Posted on by Posted in Principal Matters A
Researched and prepared by Ruth Magnusson Davis

This post belongs to the series “Principal Matters from the 1537 Matthew Bible.” The purpose of the series is:

(1) To get to know the Table of Principal Matters in the Matthew Bible.
(2) To learn through bible studies from the Reformation.

“As the bees diligently do gather together sweet flowers, to make by natural craft the sweet honey, so have I done with the principal topics contained in the bible.”

So began John Rogers’ introduction to the Table of Principal Matters in the 1537 Matthew Bible. This Table was a concordance set at the front of the book which set out bible topics in alphabetical order. Under each topic were short headings with bible verses for further study. This Principal Matters Series follows the topics in the order of the Table. It also sets out the bible verses in full, taken from the Matthew Bible.

Topic: Angels, continued

In Part 1 of Angels, we saw that the angels assist before God, minister to people, rebuke sinners, and comfort the afflicted. This part 2 now concludes the topic:

(5) Angels teach things unknown. There is the example of the angel that taught Elijah what he should say to the servants of Ahaziah:

2 Kings 1:3-4 The angel of the Lord spoke to Elijah the Tishbite: Up, and go to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you go to ask through Beelzebub, the god of Ekron?

Also the example of Daniel:

Daniel 9:21-23 While I was yet speaking in my prayer, behold, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen before in the vision, came flying to me and touched me, at about the offering-time of the evening. He informed me and spoke to me: O Daniel, said he, I have now come to make you understand it. For as soon as you began to make your prayer, it was so devised; and therefore I have come to show you. And why? Because you are a man greatly beloved. Therefore, ponder the matter well, so that you may learn to understand the vision … [etc]

Also of Joseph:

Matthew 1:20 While he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph son of David, fear not to take unto you Mary your wife. For that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 2:13 When they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and remain there till I bring you word. For Herod will seek the child to kill him.

Also of Cornelius:

Acts 10:3-6 The same man saw in a vision clearly, about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of God coming in to him and saying to him, Cornelius! When he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? He said to him, Your prayers and your alms have come up into remembrance before God. And now, send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, named also Peter. He lodges with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.

Also of Zacharias:

Luke 1:11-13 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was startled, and fear came on him. And the angel said to him, Fear not, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard. And your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. [etc]

Also of Mary:

Luke 1:26-31 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel went in to her and said, Hail, thou full of grace! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women. When she saw him, she was bewildered at his words, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this could be. And the angel said to her, Fear not, Mary, for you have found grace with God.  Lo, you shall conceive in your womb, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Jesus.

(6) By the angels, God scourges people.

2 Samuel 24:15-16 For the Lord sent a pestilence in Israel from the morning to the end of the time appointed. And 70,000 of the people between Dan and Beersheba died. And when the angel stretched out his hand against Jerusalem to have destroyed it, the Lord had grief about doing that harm, and said to the angel that was destroying the people, It is sufficient; let your hand cease.

2 Kings 19:35 And the very same night the angel of the Lord went out and smote in the camp of the Assyrians 185,000 men. And when they were up early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

Acts 12:21-23 And upon a day appointed, Herod arrayed himself in royal apparel, and sat in his seat and made a speech to them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man! And immediately the angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the honour. And he was eaten by worms and gave up the spirit.

The angel speaks to Joseph. An engraving by A. A. Morel.

~~End~~

Notices:

– New Testament Scriptures are from the October Testament, the New Testament of the New Matthew Bible. Old Testament Scriptures and Apocryphal writings are taken directly from the Matthew Bible, with obsolete English gently updated, roughly as they will appear in the complete New Matthew Bible.

– Click here for information about the New Matthew Bible Project, our project to gently update the 1537 Matthew Bible.

– Sample scriptures from the New Matthew Bible are here.

– To find former topics, go to the main blog page, and under the category “Principal Matters Series” look for the subcategory with the right letter. For example, for “Abrogation,” look under Principal Matters Series/Principal Matters A/Abrogation. (Also, a few topics are linked at the end.)

– See Angels Part 1 here

Principal Matters: Angels Part 1

Posted on by Posted in Principal Matters A
Researched and prepared by Ruth Magnusson Davis

This post belongs to the series “Principal Matters from the 1537 Matthew Bible.” The purpose of the series is:

(1) To get to know the Table of Principal Matters in the Matthew Bible.
(2) To learn through bible studies from the Reformation.

“As the bees diligently do gather together sweet flowers, to make by natural craft the sweet honey, so have I done with the principal topics contained in the bible.”

So began John Rogers’ introduction to the Table of Principal Matters in the 1537 Matthew Bible. This Table was a concordance set at the front of the book which set out bible topics in alphabetical order. Under each topic were short headings with bible verses for further study. This Principal Matters Series follows the topics in the order of the Table. It also sets out the bible verses in full, taken from the Matthew Bible.

Topic: Angels

Under this topic there were some typesetting errors in the Table of Principal Matters, including the very first entry, which referred to Job xxv.a. However, Job 25 did not refer to angels, so I used Job 1, which did discuss angels and had some notes. (I confess that at times I was concerned that a note asserted more than anyone should claim to know about angels.) I also added Isaiah 5:5 under the 2nd entry, for the information in the verse and note.

* * * * *

(1) The angels assist before God.

Job 1:6 Now upon a time, when the servants of God came and stood before the Lord, Satan came also among them.

  Note a: By the servants of God here understand … angels by whom he orders the course and works of the world.

  Note b: Came and stood before the Lord: Do not think that God sometimes appears to the angels and sometimes not, for the good angels do always see the face of God. Neither does God commune with the angels or with the devil with bodily speech, but the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures speaks many things to us according to our senses, and uses a manner of speaking familiar to us, attributing appearances, speaking, enquiring, and answering to God and to angels. Which thing man only observes to the intent that we may thereby more easily perceive his meaning. The communing of the angels here is no other thing than to give accounts of the offices enjoined them, which they give, knowing that God sees with what trust they did it; and to give thanks and wait for their reward.

Matthew 18:10 See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I say to you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.

Job 38:7 [This verse is in the context of the creation of the world and the heavens. God said to Job…] Where were you when the morning stars praised me together, and all the children of God rejoiced triumphantly?

  Note a: … he was praised by the angels, who here are called the children of God.

Unidentifiable scripture citations: Job.xxv.a, Dan vii.c.

(2) The angels minister to people.

Psalm 104:4 You make your angels spirits, and your ministers flames of fire.

Hebrews 1:13-14 To which of the angels did he say at any time, Sit on my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for the sakes of those who will be heirs of salvation?

Isaiah 5:5 I shall tell you what I will do with my vineyard: I will take the hedge from it, that it may perish, and will break down the wall, that it may be trodden underfoot.

  Note a: By the hedge and wall is figured the custody of angels, by whom the people of God (who are called the vineyard of the Lord) were compassed about and defended.

(3) Also, angels rebuke sinners.

Judges 2:1-2 And the angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, I brought you out of Egypt, and have brought you into the land that I swore to your fathers. And I said that I would never break my covenant with you, but you were to have made no league with the inhabiters of this land; you were to have broken down their altars. But you have not obeyed my voice.

(4) Angels comfort the afflicted.

Genesis 21:17-19 Then God heard the voice of the child. And the angel of God called Hagar out of heaven and said to her, What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the child where he lies. Arise and lift up the lad, and take him in your hand; for I will make of him a great people. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the bottle with water and gave the boy a drink.

Luke 22:41-43 And [Jesus] went apart by himself, about a stone’s throw from them, and kneeled down and prayed, saying, Father, if you will, withdraw this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be fulfilled. And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, comforting him.

Daniel 6:21-22 Daniel said to the king, O King, God save thy life forever! My God has sent his angel, who has shut the lions’ mouths so that they could not hurt me.

The German painting is entitled Schutzengel (Guardian Angel). It is by Bernhard Plockhorst from the late 19th century and depicts a guardian angel watching over two children.

~~End~~

Notices:

– New Testament Scriptures are from the October Testament, the New Testament of the New Matthew Bible. Old Testament Scriptures and Apocryphal writings are taken directly from the Matthew Bible, with obsolete English gently updated, roughly as they will appear in the complete New Matthew Bible.

– Click here for information about the New Matthew Bible Project, our project to gently update the 1537 Matthew Bible.

– Sample scriptures from the New Matthew Bible are here.

– To find former topics, go to the main blog page, and under the category “Principal Matters Series” look for the subcategory with the right letter. For example, for “Abrogation,” look under Principal Matters Series/Principal Matters A/Abrogation. (Also, a few topics are linked at the end.)

Principal Matters: Affliction

Posted on by Posted in Principal Matters A
Researched and prepared by Ruth Magnusson Davis

This post belongs to the series “Principal Matters from the 1537 Matthew Bible.” The purpose of the series is:

(1) To get to know the Table of Principal Matters in the Matthew Bible.
(2) To learn through bible studies from the Reformation.

“As the bees diligently do gather together sweet flowers, to make by natural craft the sweet honey, so have I done with the principal topics contained in the bible.”

So began John Rogers’ introduction to the Table of Principal Matters in the 1537 Matthew Bible. This Table was a concordance set at the front of the book which set out bible topics in alphabetical order. Under each topic were short headings with bible verses for further study. This Principal Matters Series follows the topics in the order of the Table. It also sets out the bible verses in full, taken from the Matthew Bible.

Topic: Affliction

(1) Affliction, after the manner of the scripture, is called heat, trial by fire, and a burning furnace.

1 Peter 4:12-13 Dearly beloveds, be not troubled in this heat that has now come among you to try you, as if some strange thing had happened to you. But rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ’s passions, so that when his glory appears, you may be merry and glad.

Psalm 17:3 You have proved and visited my heart in the night season. You have tried me in the fire and have found no wickedness in me, for I utterly purposed that my mouth should not offend.

Psalm 66:10-12 For you, O God, have proved us; you have tried us as silver is tried. You have brought us into captivity, and laid trouble upon our loins. You have suffered men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you have brought us out and refreshed us.

(2)  God threatens to send afflictions to those who have trust in any other than in him only. And therefore, he forgave the children of Israel when they forsook their idolatry.

Deuteronomy 31:16-17 And the Lord said to Moses, Behold, you must sleep with your fathers. But this people will go a-whoring after strange gods, the gods of the land into which they are going, and will forsake me and break the covenant that I have made with them. And then my wrath will wax hot against them, and I will forsake them and will hide my face from them,b and they shall be consumed. And when much adversity and tribulation is come upon them, then they will say, Because our God is not among us, these tribulations have come upon us.

Joshua 24:19-10 But Joshua said to the people, You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God, and cannot bear your transgression and sin. But when you have forsaken the Lord and have served strange gods, he will turn and do you evil and consume you, after he has done you good.

Judges 10:13-16 [The Lord said] you have forsaken me, and you serve strange gods. Therefore, I will help you no more. But go and cry to the gods that you have chosen, and let them save you in the time of your tribulation! But the children of Israel said to the Lord, We have sinned. Do with us whatever you please, only deliver us at this time. And they put away the strange gods from them and served the Lord. And the misery of Israel grieved his soul.

(3)  We ought to succour those who are afflicted.

Ecclesiasticus 7:32-36 Reach out your hand to the poor, that God may bless you with abundance. Be liberal to all people living, yet let not but do good even to those that are dead. Let not those who weep be without comfort, but mourn with such as mourn. Let it not grieve you to visit the sick, for that will make you to be beloved. Whatever you take in hand, remember the end, and you will never do amiss.

~~End~~

Notices:

– New Testament Scriptures are from the October Testament, the New Testament of the New Matthew Bible. Old Testament Scriptures and Apocryphal writings are taken directly from the Matthew Bible, with obsolete English gently updated roughly as it will be in the complete New Matthew Bible.

– Click here for information about the New Matthew Bible Project, our project to gently update the 1537 Matthew Bible.

– Sample scriptures from the New Matthew Bible are here.

– To find former topics, go to the main blog page, and under the category “Principal Matters Series” look for the subcategory with the right letter. For example, for “Abrogation,” look under Principal Matters Series/Principal Matters A/Abrogation. (Also, a few topics are linked at the end.)

– Some of the recent posts in this series are 5 posts on the topic of adultery. The first post is here:  Adultery 1

What Does Matthew 24:28 Mean about Eagles and a Dead Body?

Posted on by Posted in MB

– The meaning of Matthew 24:28 according to the ancients
– Back in time: About emblems and emblem books
– The emblem painting of Matthew 24:28
– Further back in time: What Chrysostom, Cranmer, and Jewel said

Matthew 24:28 a call to Holy Communion? So said the ancients.

What does Matthew 24:28 mean? Who are the eagles, and who or what does the dead body represent? See the verse:

For as the lightning comes out of the east and shines to the west, so will the coming of the Son of man be. For wherever the dead body is, there will the eagles resort.

It will seem strange to people nowadays, but for many centuries it was taught in the church that the eagles represent believers, while the dead body represents the body of our Lord, wounded and dead on the cross for us. According to this interpretation, verse 28 is a call to, and a picture of, Holy Communion: the eagles, or believers, soar in flights of faith when they gather at Holy Communion to remember the Body and Blood of the Lord, the crucified Christ. Therefore, as verse 26 says, these eagles do not go out to the desert to find Christ, nor to secret places. Nor do they flock to places where false prophets are working their miracles, as it is said. No, but they go to where he is openly shown in Holy Communion, which is the sacrament and remembrance that he ordained, the Sacrament of his Body and Blood. This is where he is shown and known.

Here are the verses in fuller context:

Matthew 24:23-28, New Matthew Bible: 23Then if anyone says to you, See, here is Christ! or, There is Christ! – believe it not. 24For false christs and false prophets will arise, and will do great miracles and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, the very elect should be deceived. 25Take heed, I have told you beforehand. 26So if they say to you, Behold, he is in the desert! go not forth; or, Behold, he is in the secret places! believe it not. 27For as the lightning comes out of the east and shines to the west, so will the coming of the Son of man be. 28For wherever the dead body is, there will the eagles resort.

In partaking of Holy Communion, the eagles find and commune with their Lord; there they remember his atoning death, look upon his saving wounds, and receive of his Body and Blood. There they, as priests of the New Covenant, partake of the altar and are nourished up to holiness and eternal life in the body. And as lightning shines from the east to the west, illuminating all upon whom it lights, so comes the Son of man by the Spirit in his fashion, from the east to the west, wherever the body is shown. I recently heard a bishop put it well: The Eucharist is the presence of the Lord in this world.

The idea that the meaning of Matthew 24:28 concerns the Eucharist (or Holy Communion, the Table of the Lord, etc.) may seem strange, because this teaching is now lost and forgotten. Moreover, if we read modern Bibles, we could never understand Matthew 24:28 as a call to Holy Communion because they use unfitting terms. Some refer not to eagles, but to “carrion vultures,” which is pejorative imagery. The Message Bible by Eugene Peterson even refers to a “rotting carcass” where these vultures gather, rather than simply to a dead body. Since the New Testament expressly says that Jesus’ dead body did not see corruption (Acts 2:27, 2:31, 13:35), there is no way Peterson’s rendering could lead the mind to the holy mysteries: there could be no holy gathering at a sacrament of the “rotting carcass” of the Lord.

I believe modern Bible translators are misled by the word “carcass,” which was used in older Bibles to refer to the dead body of the Lord.  Formerly, “carcass” was a neutral term, whereas now it also is pejorative. But I won’t discuss here how modern translations have changed the meaning and tone of Matthew 24:28 because I already reviewed the changes in my 2013 paper here on Academia.edu (linked again at the end of this paper).

I am writing about this topic now again, a decade later, because I recently received an email from a Danish minister, Pastor Poul Asger Beck, after he read my 2013 paper. He told me that there is an old colour painting on the wall of his church, called an emblem painting (shown later), which pictorially links Matthew 24:28 to Holy Communion. Pastor Beck was doing research relating to this painting in connection with a book he has written (1), and that was how he found my paper. He kindly sent some materials to me, and I am excited to share them here.

About emblems and emblem books

I had never heard of emblems or emblem paintings before. Now I know that emblems are allegorical paintings or sketches. As well as emblem paintings that hang on the walls of churches, there are also emblem books. These books are collections of emblems together with explanatory texts, typically morals or poems. Emblem books were popular in the 16th and 17th centuries for devotions and meditations.

Although emblems are, to the best of my knowledge, little known in Canada or the USA, they were widely known throughout Europe. They were apparently the highest fashion for church decoration around the 18th century under Pietism. (Pietism began as a 17th century movement in the German Lutheran Church. Its purpose was to infuse new life into dry Protestantism. It spread to other countries, but took different forms over time.)

Pastor Beck told me that there are emblem paintings hanging on the walls of about sixty churches in Denmark, and they can still be found in churches in other European countries. The cover of his new book (below) features images of several such emblems:

Emblems that answer the question, What Does Matthew 24:28 Mean?

Shown below now is the colourful emblem painting that hangs on the wall of Pastor Beck’s church, and which relates to Matthew 24:28. It was painted in 1705 by Christen Pedersen Lyngbye (1645-1715), who in turn was inspired by the emblem work of a man named Daniel Cramer. The Latin words Sic Alor, writ large in the sky of the painting, mean “Here I feed,” or “So I feed”:

Late 17th or early 18th century painting by Christen Lyngbye, illustrating Matthew 24:28.

Lyngbye’s painting shows a believer as an eagle with a heart-shaped body. To me, this signifies a believer’s love for the Lord, and also that his or her “flight” in Holy Communion is a spiritual one, where heart and soul ascend in faith. The eagle-believer, in remembrance, looks in his mind’s eye upon the Lord’s dead body, which is shown as a pierced hand, foot, and heart, representing the spiritual food of Holy Communion. This is why it is called the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of the Lord.

The next item Pastor Beck sent me is the image, shown below, of pages 172-173 from an emblem book called Emblemata Sacra, (or Emblematum Sacrorum) by the aforementioned Daniel Cramer (1568-1637). Cramer himself illustrated the book. He has been identified as a German Lutheran. Some say he had ties with the Rosicrucian movement; I do not know if this is true, but it does not matter since he was only illustrating an interpretation of Matthew 24:28 that long predated him.

Cramer’s emblem again shows the heart-eagle and the Lord’s pierced hands, feet, and heart. A common denominator of Cramer’s emblems was this mystic heart, represented in different situations as soaring on wings, or chained, or nailed to a cross, etc. The words Sic Alor (“Here I feed”) are again seen here, printed prominently above the emblem:

Pages from the 17th century emblem book of Daniel Cramer, with his emblem illustrating the meaning of Matthew 24:28.

The large-print French verse on the page facing Cramer’s emblem says “Où sera le corps mort, là aussi s’assembleront les aigles.” In English this is, “Where the dead body is, there also will the eagles gather.”

Below this, another line in the old French poetry says, “Mon cœur ailé de foi, tes plaies doucement va succant et s’en paist, pour non plus s’effrayer” (partially updated). I tentatively translate this, “My heart, on wings of faith, goes to gently suck and feed upon your wounds, no more to fear.”

Daniel Cramer got his inspiration for this emblem from the ancients. To go further back in time, to see the ancient sources he drew from, below are a few short quotations from leading men of the church.

John Chrysostom on the meaning of Matthew 24:28

John Chrysostom

John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) was a noted early Church father, known for liturgical reforms in the Greek Church, especially relating to Holy Communion. He was made Archbishop of Constantinople in about 397 AD. He spoke, taught, preached, and wrote in Greek, and studied the New Testament scriptures in their original tongue.

Chrysostom clearly referred Matthew 24:28 to Holy Communion; that is, to our Lord who was slain for us to take away our sins, and to  believers at the Communion Table, who, as soaring eagles, remember his death. Chrysostom wrote very eloquently:

For it is to this that the fearful and tremendous sacrifice leads us, warning us above all things to approach it with one mind and fervent love, and thereby become as eagles, so to mount up to the very heaven – nay, even beyond the heaven. “For wheresoever the carcase is,” saith he, “there also will be the eagles,” (Mat.xxiv.28), calling his body a “carcase” by reason of his death. For if he had not fallen, we would not have risen again. But he calls us eagles, implying that the person who draws near to this Body must be on high, and have nothing in common with the earth, nor wind himself downwards and creep along; but he must ever be soaring heavenwards, and look on the Sun of Righteousness, and have the eye of his mind quick-sighted. For eagles, not daws, have a right to this Table. (2)

Thomas Cranmer

Thomas Cranmer was a foremost English Reformer. As Archbishop of Canterbury under Henry VIII and Edward VI, he gave the Reformation Church of England her heavenly liturgy for Holy Communion in the Book of Common Prayer. Cranmer was a martyr for the faith, burned alive by Bloody Queen Mary in 1556.

Archbishop Cranmer often quoted from Chrysostom, including where he touched on the meaning of Matthew 24:28 in his homily, The Worthy Receiving of the Sacrament:

Thou must carefully search out and understand what good things are provided for thy soul, whither thou art come [to Holy Communion] – not to feed thy senses and belly to corruption, but thy inward man to immortality and life; nor to consider the earthly creatures [the bread and wine] which thou seest, but the heavenly graces which thy faith beholdeth. For this table is not, saith Chrysostom, for chattering jayes, but for eagles, who fly there where the dead body lies. (3)

Again we see this emphasis upon a true, earnest flight of faith, to appreciate the Lord’s self-offering upon the cross for his eagles.

John Jewel

Bishop John Jewel of the early Reformation Church of England also referred to the high flight of eagle-believers who partake of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of the Lord. He wrote:

For Christ himself altogether is so offered and given us in these mysteries that we may certainly know we be flesh of his flesh and bone of his bones, and that Christ continueth in us and we in him. And therefore, in celebrating these mysteries, the people are to good purpose exhorted, before they come to receive the Holy Communion, to lift up their hearts and to direct their minds to heavenward; because he is there by whom we must be full fed and live. Cyril saith, when we come to receive these mysteries, all gross imaginations must quite be banished. The Council of Nicea, as it is alleged by some in Greek, plainly forbiddeth us to be basely affectioned or bent toward the bread and wine which are set before us. And, as Chrysostom very aptly writeth, we say that “the body of Christ is the dead [body], and we ourselves must be the eagles”: meaning thereby that we must fly on high if we will come unto the body of Christ.” (4)

Conclusion

The ancient understanding of the meaning of Matthew 24:28 was meaningful and reverent, and it saddens me that it has been lost. I myself, since I first learned about it so many years ago, consciously practice this ascent of the eagles when I approach the holy sacrament.

To make an aside, I noticed when I was working on the New Testament that the parallel eagle-and-dead-body passage in Luke 17:37 is not apparently adaptable to the same interpretation. This is the only difficulty with it of which I am aware. Chrysostom and Cranmer did not, that I have ever seen, link the Luke passage with Holy Communion. But whatever the explanation (I won’t speculate here), I know that they were more advanced than I in their understanding. Further, they were uniquely chosen and gifted by God to give us the liturgy of the sacrament. Therefore, even if my heart was not instinctively drawn to their teaching on Matthew 24:28, I would defer to them. They knew the Scriptures. And they taught seriously and thoughtfully about the sacrament, and knew its blessings.

To close with a little more fruit from Cranmer’s pen:

We must be sure we understand that in the Supper of the Lord there is no vain ceremony. It is not just a bare sign. It is not an empty figure of something that is absent. As Scripture says, it is the Table of the Lord, the Bread and Cup of the Lord, the memory of Christ, the annunciation of his death, and the Communion of the Body and Blood of the Lord, in a marvellous embodiment and realization which, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, is wrought through faith in the souls of the faithful. By it not only do their souls live to eternal life, but they trust confidently to gain for their bodies a resurrection to immortality.

This result, and the union which is between the body and the Head (that is, the true believers and Christ), the ancient catholic fathers both experienced themselves and commended to their people. Some of them were not afraid to call this Supper the “salve of immortality” and “sovereign preservative against death.” Others called it a “deifical Communion” – that is, a communion that makes us to be holy like God. Others called it the sweet food of the Saviour, and the pledge of eternal health; also the defence of the faith, the hope of the resurrection; others still, the food of immortality, the healthful grace and conservation for eternal life…

All these things both the Holy Scripture and godly men have correctly attributed to this celestial banquet and feast…Here the faithful may see, hear, and know the mercies of God sealed, Christ’s satisfaction for us confirmed, the remission of sin established.  Here they may experience the tranquillity of conscience, the increase of faith, the strengthening of hope, the spreading abroad of brotherly kindness, with many other sundry graces of God. (5)

Amen and amen.

* * * *

Ruth Magnusson Davis, March 2023

For more history from a different perspective, including an etymological study of “carcass” as it was used in older Bibles, my 2013 research paper is here on Academia.edu.

This ancient understanding of Matthew 24:28 is not the only interpretation that has been lost today. Another is the correct understanding of  “Christ was made sin for us.” This is a Hebrew idiom which is not understood today. The meaning is that Christ was made a sin offering for us, as Augustine, William Tyndale, John Rogers, and other learned men have explained. I blogged on this topic here.

Another lost understanding concerns the-prohecy-of-daniel-927/

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(1) The book Pastor Poul Beck has written is called (English translation) Riddles of the Heart: The Emblems in Vroue Church Described and Illustrated. It is due to be published in May 2023. It includes colour photos and descriptions of the Vroue church’s forty-one emblems, and the emblems from Daniel Cramer’s Emblemata Sacra with the accompanying poems and biblical texts.

(2) Chrysostom, St. John, Homily XXIV on 1 Cor.x.13, Homilies on the Epistles of St. Paul to the Corinthians. Translator not identified. Editor Paul A. Boer, Sr. Original publisher Wm. B. Erdmanns Publishing Company, date not provided, (Facsimile publisher Veritas Splendor Publications, 2012), p. 266. [English minimally updated.]

(3) Cranmer, Thomas, “The Worthy Receiving of the Sacrament,” contained in Homilies (first published 1547, republished Oxford City Press, 2010), p. 368. William Tyndale called Cranmer “a holy man.”

(4) Jewel, John, An Apology of the Church of England, c. 1561, Editor John E. Booty (First published 1963, republished by Church Publishing Incorporated, New York, 2010), pp. 34-35.

(5) Cranmer, Thomas, excerpts from his homilies on common prayer and the sacraments, updated and published here: Thomas-Cranmer-on-Common-Prayer-and-the-Sacraments. See page 6. The updated homily is the joint work of editors Rev. Stanley F. Sinclair and this author.

Key words: What does Matthew 24:28 mean? The meaning of Matthew 24:28

Principal Matters: Adultery Part 5

Posted on by Posted in Principal Matters A

Researched and prepared by Ruth Magnusson Davis

This post belongs to the series “Principal Matters from the 1537 Matthew Bible.” The purpose of the series is:

(1) To get to know the Table of Principal Matters in the Matthew Bible.
(2) To learn through Bible studies from the Reformation.

“As the bees diligently do gather together sweet flowers, to make by natural craft the sweet honey, so have I done with the principal topics contained in the Bible.”

So began John Rogers’ introduction to the Table of Principal Matters in the 1537 Matthew Bible. This Table was a concordance at the front of the book. It set out bible topics in alphabetical order. Under each topic were short headings, with bible verses for further study.

This Principal Matters series follows the topics in the order of the Table and sets out the bible verses in full, taken from the Matthew Bible and gently updated as needed.

Topic: Adultery

This is the fifth and final part under the topic “Adultery” in John Rogers’ Table of Principal Matters of the Matthew Bible. It begins with the 12th heading and ends with the 15th.

Under the 12th heading, the scripture reference is mysterious to me. The heading reads, “One ought to beware of adulterers.” It might mean, in modern English, “One ought to be aware of adulterers,” but either way, the meaning is nearly the same. The scripture reference is “Deut.v.b,” or Deuteronomy 5.b. There were no verse numbers in the earliest English Bibles, so scripture references were by letters assigned to whole sections of a chapter (a,b,c, etc.). (Sometimes this makes it difficult to pinpoint the exact verse or verses intended.)

Deuteronomy 5 contains the Ten Commandments, and the only references to adultery are in verses 18 and 21: “Thou shalt not break wedlock (commit adultery),” and “Thou shalt not lust after thy neighbour’s wife.” But what do these verses have to do with being wary (or being aware) of adulterers? Is the idea to look out for others who might lust after your wife? However, the main point of the Ten Commandments is to direct one’s own, personal conduct. Or does it suggest that adulterers (unless repentant) show that they despise God’s laws, and are generally not to be trusted?

But perhaps the reference to chapter ‘v’ or ‘5’ was a mistake? Such errors were not uncommon. To doublecheck, I compared the 1535 French Bible of Pierre Olivetan. People who have read Part One of The Story of the Matthew Bible will know that Rogers and Olivetan had the same Table of Principal Matters in their bibles. However, Olivetan shows the same heading and scripture reference at the 12th heading. In the old French spelling, he had “On se doivt informer des adulteres. Deutero.v.b.” (Note, there were no accent marks in old French.)

All things considered, I must keep the Bible verses from Deuteronomy 5.b, although it is difficult to understand how they relate to the heading. (This would be a good question for bible study groups to explore.)

And now, to see the last part of the topic “Adultery” in John Rogers’ (and Pierre Olivetan’s) pioneering work. It has been a marvellous gathering together of bible verses and teachings on this subject:

Adultery (cont’d)

(12) One ought to beware of adulterers.

Deuteronomy 5:18 You shall not break wedlock.

and 5:21 You shall not lust after your neighbour’s wife.

(13) God witnesses against adulterers.

Malachi 3:5 I will come and punish you, and I myself will be a swift witness against the witches, against the adulterers …

(14) A special sacrifice for the suspicion of adultery.

Numbers 5:11-31 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: If any man’s wife goes aside and trespasses against him, in that another man lies with her carnally, and the thing is hidden from the eyes of her husband and it has not come to light that she is defiled (for there is no witness against her, inasmuch as she was not taken in the act), but the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he is jealous over his wife, and she is defiled – or perhaps the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he is jealous over his wife but she is yet undefiled – then let her husband bring her to the priest. And he shall bring an offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; but he shall pour no oil on it nor put frankincense on it, for it is an offering of jealousy and an offering that reminds of sin.

And let the priest bring her and set her before the Lord. And let him take holy water in an earthen vessel, and take some of the dust that is in the floor of the habitation and put it into the water. And the priest shall set the wife before the Lord, uncover her head, and put in her hands the offering to remind her, which is the jealousy offering. And the priest shall have bitter and cursing water in his hand. And he shall adjure her and say to her, If no man has lain with you, and you have not gone aside from your husband and defiled yourself, then this bitter cursing water will not hurt you. But if you have gone aside from your husband and are defiled, and some other man has lain with you besides your husband (and let the priest put her under oath with the invocation of the curse and say to her), may the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people, so that the Lord makes your thigh rot and your belly to swell:– so go this bitter cursing water into your bowels, so that your belly swells and your thigh rots.

And the wife shall say, Amen, Amen.

And the priest shall write this curse in a bill and wash it out in the bitter water, and shall give the wife some of the bitter cursing water to drink. When the cursing water is in her and is bitter, then let the priest take the jealousy offering out of the wife’s hand, wave it for a food offering before the Lord, and bring it to the altar. And he shall take a handful of the reminder offering and burn it upon the altar, and then make her drink the water. And when he has made her drink the water, if she is defiled and has trespassed against her husband, then the cursing water will go into her and be so bitter that her belly will swell and her thigh will rot, and she will be a curse among her people. And if she is not defiled but is clean, then she will have no harm, but will be able to conceive.

This is the law for jealousy, when a wife goes aside from her husband and is defiled, or when the spirit of jealousy comes upon a man and he is jealous over his wife. Then he shall bring her before the Lord and the priest shall administer all this law concerning her; and the man shall be guiltless, and the wife shall bear her sin.

(15) One may leave his wife for the cause of adultery

Matthew 19:9 I say therefore to you, whoever puts away his wife (unless it be for fornication) and marries another, breaks wedlock. And whoever marries her who is divorced, commits adultery.

~~End of all five parts of the topic “Adultery” in the Matthew Bible~~

Called the Sotah Ritual by the Hebrews, a wife suspected of infidelity is made to drink the bitter cursing water. This 18th-century illustration is by Jan Luyken.

Notices:

– New Testament Scriptures are from the October Testament, the New Testament of the New Matthew Bible. The Old Testament Scriptures and Apocryphal writings are taken directly from the Matthew Bible, with obsolete English gently updated.

– Information about the New Matthew Bible Project is here.

– Sample scriptures from the New Matthew Bible are here.

– To find former topics, on the main blog page look for “Categories” and search under “Principal Matters Series” for the subcategory with the appropriate letter. For example, for “Abomination,” look under Principal Matters Series/ Principal Matters A/Abomination.

Principal Matters: Adultery Part 4

Posted on by Posted in Principal Matters A

Researched and prepared by Ruth Magnusson Davis

This post belongs to the series “Principal Matters from the 1537 Matthew Bible.” The purpose of the series is:

(1) To get to know the Table of Principal Matters in the Matthew Bible.
(2) To learn through Bible studies from the Reformation.

“As the bees diligently do gather together sweet flowers, to make by natural craft the sweet honey, so have I done with the principal topics contained in the Bible.”

So began John Rogers’ introduction to the Table of Principal Matters in the 1537 Matthew Bible. This Table was a concordance at the front of the book. It set out bible topics in alphabetical order. Under each topic were short headings, with bible verses for further study.

This Principal Matters series follows the topics in the order of the Table and sets out the bible verses in full, taken from the Matthew Bible, and gently updated as needed.

Topic: Adultery

The topic of adultery in the Table of Principal Matters was long, so I have divided it into 5 separate posts, this being Part 4.

Under the topic of adultery, Rogers drew twice from the Apocryphal writings. The first he drew from was the one-chapter book of Susanna, which we saw in Part 2. Here he drew from Ecclesiasticus (also known as “Sirach”), which is one of my favourites. Note, the Apocryphal books of the Matthew Bible were often quite different from later versions, so sometimes I had to improvise the verse numbering.

In the last post (Part 3) we saw how two heathen kings took Abraham’s wife Sarah into their houses, but once they learned that she was married, they sent her back to Abraham. These stories were given under heading 8, concerning how God punishes adultery. We saw there how God lifted punishment from the heathen rulers when they restored Sarah to her husband.

However, in this Part we see how the Israelite ruler King David not only committed adultery, but added murder to his sin in order to escape detection; and though he repented, punishment was never lifted from his house for the rest of his life. Sin always has consequences in this life, although for the saved the eternal consequences are remitted for the next life. At the end of this post, I added bible verses that deal with David’s punishment.

This part also covers King Herod, who took and married Herodias, his own brother’s wife. Herodias was angry at John the Baptist because he openly rebuked this egregious adultery, and so arranged for him to be beheaded.

And now, on to Part 4, which begins with the 10th heading under “Adultery” from the Table of Principal Matters in the 1537 Matthew Bible.

Adultery (cont’d)

(10) Adultery is the cause of procuring another man’s death.

2 Samuel 11:2-17 It chanced in an evening that David arose from his couch and walked upon the roof of the king’s palace, and from the roof saw a very beautiful woman washing herself. And he sent to inquire what woman it was. And it was answered him that she was Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, and wife to Uriah the Hittite.

And David sent messengers to fetch her; and she came to him, and he lay with her. And she was straightaway purified from her uncleanness, and returned to her house. And when the woman perceived that she had conceived, she sent and told David, and said, I am with child.

Then David sent a message to Joab [the commander of his army], directing him to send to him Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. And when Uriah had come to him, he asked how Joab was doing, how the people fared, and how the war prospered. And David said moreover to Uriah, Go down to your house, and wash your feet.

And Uriah departed out of the king’s palace, and there followed him a service from the king’s table. But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s palace with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.

Then they told David, saying, Uriah did not go down to his house. Then David said to Uriah, Seeing that you have come from journeying, why do you not go down to your house? And Uriah said to David, The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in pavilions, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord live in tents upon the flat ground; and should I then go down into my house to eat, drink, and lie with my wife? By your life, and as sure as my soul lives, I will not do that thing. Then David said to Uriah, Tarry here this day also, and tomorrow I will let you depart.

And so Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next day. And David called him, and he ate and drank before him, and he made him drunk. And in the evening, Uriah went out to lie on his couch with the servants of the lord, and did not go down to his house. Therefore, on the next day David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by Uriah. And he wrote in the letter, saying, Put Uriah in the forefront of the battle, where it is most fierce, and get back from him, so that he may be smitten to death.

And as Joab besieged the city, he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew that strong men were.  And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And there were certain men smitten among the people and among the servants of David, and Uriah the Hittite died also.

Loyal and faithful, Uriah the Hittite lies dead, slain by his king.

~~~

Matthew 14:3-10 [King] Herod had seized John [the Baptist], and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. For John said to him, It is not lawful for you to have her. But when Herod would have put him to death, he feared the people, because they counted John as a prophet.

But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod; whereupon he promised with an oath that he would give her whatever she would ask. And she, being first instructed by her mother, said, Give me here the head of John the Baptist on a platter.

And the king sorrowed. Nevertheless, because of his oath, and because of the people who were sitting also at the table, he commanded it to be given her. And he sent and beheaded John in the prison.

This gruesome image depicts the head of John the Baptist on a platter, after he was beheaded by King Herod.

~~~

See also Mark 6:14-29 (a parallel account of the adultery of Herod and Herodias, and how Herodias procured the death of John the Baptist.)

(11) Adultery defames the person.

Proverbs 6:29 Whoever goes in to his neighbour’s wife and touches her, cannot be guiltless.

Ecclesiasticus 23:18 & 21 A man who breaks wedlock, and who regards not his soul but says, Tush, who sees me? I am compassed about with darkness, the walls conceal me; nobody sees me; whom need I fear; the Most High will not remember my sins! – He understands not that his eyes see all things. For all such fear of men drives away the fear of God from him; for he fears only the eyes of men, and considers not that the eyes of the Lord are clearer than the sun, beholding all the ways of men and the ground of the deep, and looking even to men’s hearts in secret places. …

The same man shall be openly punished in the streets of the city, and shall be chased abroad like a young horse foal. And when he is least thinking upon it, he will be taken. Thus shall he be put to shame before everyone, because he would not understand the fear of the Lord.

Ecclesiasticus 23:22-26 And thus shall it go also with every wife who leaves her husband and gets inheritance by a strange marriage. First, she has been unfaithful to the law of the Most High. Secondly, she has forsaken her own husband. Thirdly, she has played the whore in adultery, and gotten her children by another man. She shall be brought out of the congregation, and her children shall be looked upon. Her children shall not take root, and as for fruit, her branches shall bring forth none. A shameful report shall she leave behind her, and her dishonour will not be put out.

And they that remain shall know that there is nothing better than the fear of God, and there is nothing sweeter than to take heed to the commandments of the Lord. It is a great honour to follow the Lord, for long life shall be received from him.

~~ ~~~ ~~

This 1611 painting is by Pieter Lastman. It depicts King David handing his loyal servant Uriah the Hittite the letter that directs Joab to make sure Uriah is killed in battle.

Here I (Ruth) add a section on the punishment that came on King David and his house due to his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband Uriah. Note, as it was said above under heading 11, David was brought to open dishonour. Contrariwise, how sweet it would have been, had he heeded God’s commandments. Also, as it was said, David sought to hide from the eyes of man, and forgot that the eyes of God see all things.

The story of David’s grievous sins continues with Nathan the prophet going to the king’s palace to rebuke him, and to open his eyes to his sin. The prophet conveyed God’s message to him:

2 Samuel 12:7-15 Thus says the Lord God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and delivered you out of the hands of Saul. And I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom; and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if that had been too little, I would have given you so much more. Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do wickedness in his sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword and taken his wife as your wife, and have slain him by the sword of the children of Ammon.

Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because (says the Lord) you have despised me and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will stir up evil against you, even from your own house; and will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbour, who will sleep with them in the sight of the sun. And you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and in the open sunlight.

Then David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan answered David, The Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because in doing this deed you have given the enemies of the Lord cause to rail, the child that is born to you will surely die.

And indeed, it came to pass that the child died, and that the sword never departed from David’s house. It reminds me of the proverb: he who rewards evil for good, evil shall never depart from his house (Proverbs 17:13).

The prophet Nathan rebukes David of his sin.

Notices:

– New Testament Scriptures are from the October Testament, the New Testament of the New Matthew Bible. The Old Testament Scriptures and Apocryphal writings are taken directly from the Matthew Bible, with obsolete English gently updated.

– Information about the New Matthew Bible Project is here.

– Sample scriptures from the New Matthew Bible are here.

– To find former topics, on the main blog page search under “Categories/ Principal Matters Series” for the subcategory with the appropriate letter. For example, for “Abomination,” look under Principal Matters Series/ Principal Matters A/Abomination.

– The preceding topics in this series are:
Adultery Part 1
Adultery 2 (Susanna)
Adultery Part 3

Principal Matters: Adultery Part 3

Posted on by Posted in Principal Matters A

Researched and prepared by Ruth Magnusson Davis

This post belongs to the series “Principal Matters from the 1537 Matthew Bible.” The purpose of the series is:

(1) To get to know the Table of Principal Matters in the Matthew Bible.
(2) To learn through Bible studies from the Reformation.

“As the bees diligently do gather together sweet flowers, to make by natural craft the sweet honey, so have I done with the principal topics contained in the Bible.”

So began John Rogers’ introduction to the Table of Principal Matters in the 1537 Matthew Bible. This Table was a concordance at the front of the book. It set out bible topics in alphabetical order. Under each topic were short headings, with bible verses for further study.

This Principal Matters series follows the topics in the order of the Table. It also sets out the bible verses in full, taken from the Matthew Bible and gently updated as needed.

Topic: Adultery

The topic of adultery in the Table of Principal Matters was long, with 15 headings. Some of the scriptures are also quite long. Therefore, I have divided this topic into five separate posts, of which this is the third. Headings 1-5 are in the previous two posts, and here we cover headings 6-9.

I noticed a curious thing under heading 8. This heading reads “Those who have minds only to commit adultery are punished.” The scripture verses given are in Genesis chapters 12 and 20. These chapters respectively tell the stories of Pharaoh and King Abimelech, two heathen rulers who took Abraham’s wife Sarah into their houses. (Sarah was called Sarai in chapter 12.) Their intent was to have her as their wife or concubine. However, both men were unaware that Sarah was married to Abraham (called Abram in chapter 12), because he lied and said that she was his sister.

These rulers had conceived a lust for Sarah, and no doubt this was carnal and fleshly. However, strictly speaking they did not have adultery in their minds. Indeed, both men returned Sarah to Abraham immediately once they learned that she was his wife – and, fortunately, without having violated her. It was clear from their conduct that they shrank from adultery and feared God. While punishment came passingly upon them and their houses so long as they held Sarah, perhaps as a kind of forewarning, it was lifted when they restored her to her husband.

If no adulterous deed was in fact committed by these two rulers, but only contemplated without knowledge of Sarah’s married state, and yet God punished them, what will be the punishment of those who knowingly practise adultery?

Another curious thing is that no reference is made under heading 8 to another ruler who did knowingly commit adultery and was sore punished: King David, who lay with Uriah’s wife Bathsheba. In my next post are some scriptures where the Table of Principal Matters used David’s story to illustrate how adultery may lead to murder. King David had Bathsheba’s husband Uriah killed (though Uriah was a good and honourable man) in order to avoid detection. Then God afflicted King David and his house for the rest of his life, even though he repented of his double sins.

A final note: the word ‘fornication’ in the Scriptures may include adultery and any form of sexual immorality. It needs to be broadly understood in biblical context.

Adultery (continued)

(6) He who looks upon his neighbour’s wife, lusting after her, has already committed adultery with her.

Matthew 5:27-28 You have heard how it was said to the people of the old time, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that whosoever looks on a wife, lusting after her, has committed adultery with her already in his heart.

(7) Many are adulterers.

Ezekiel 22:11 Every man has dealt shamefully with his neighbour’s wife, and abominably defiles his daughter-in-law.

Jeremiah 23:10 … the land is full of adulterers, for which it is destroyed, and mourns; and the pleasant pastures of the desert are dried up.

Hosea 4:11-12 Whoredom, wine, and drunkenness take the heart away. My people ask counsel at their wooden gods; their staff must inform them. For a whorish mind has deceived them, so that they commit fornication against their God.

2 Peter 2:13-14 They count it pleasure to live deliciously for a season. Spots they are, and vileness, living at pleasure, and in deceptive ways feasting with you, having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease to sin, beguiling unstable souls.

(8) Those who have minds only to commit adultery are punished.

Genesis 12:14-19 As soon as he came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw [Sarai], that she was very fair. And Pharaoh’s lords saw her also, and praised her to Pharaoh. So it came about that she was taken into Pharaoh’s house, who treated Abram well for her sake, so that he had sheep, oxen, and he-donkeys, menservants, maidservants, she-donkeys, and camels.

But God plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, Why have you dealt thus with me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say that she was your sister, and cause me to take her as my wife? But now, lo, there is your wife. Take her, and be walking.

~~~

Genesis 20:2-7, 14, 17-18 Abraham said of Sarah his wife that she was his sister. Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent and fetched Sarah away. And God came to Abimelech by night in a dream and said to him, See, you are but a dead man because of the woman that you have taken away, for she is a man’s wife.

But Abimelech had not yet come near her, and therefore said, Lord, would you slay righteous people? Did he not say to me that she was his sister? Yea, and did she herself not say that he was her brother? With a pure heart and innocent hands I have done this.

And God said to him in a dream, I knew well that you did it in the pureness of your heart, and therefore I kept you so that you would not sin against me; neither did I suffer you to come near her. Now therefore, deliver to the man his wife again. And let him pray for you so that you may live. But if you do not deliver her back, be sure that you shall die, with all that you have. …

Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, menservants and womenservants, and gave them to Abraham, and delivered Sarah his wife to him again. … And so Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they bore children. For the Lord had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

(9) Adulterers have no part in the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Be not deceived. For neither fornicators, nor worshippers of images, nor whoremongers, nor effeminates, nor abusers of themselves with the male sex,  nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor cursed speakers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

Hebrews 13:4 Let wedlock be had in honour in all points, and let the bedchamber be undefiled. For whorekeepers and adulterers God will judge.

“Abram’s Counsel to Sarai.” This painting by James Tissot (1836-1902) depicts Abram counseling Sarai to tell people that she is his sister, from Genesis 12.

~~ End Part 3, Adultery ~~

Notices:

– New Testament Scriptures are from the October Testament, the New Testament of the New Matthew Bible. The Old Testament Scriptures and Apocryphal writings are taken directly from the Matthew Bible, with obsolete English gently updated.

– Information about the New Matthew Bible Project is here.

– Sample scriptures from the New Matthew Bible are here.

– To find former topics, on the main blog page search under “Categories/Principal Matters Series” for the subcategory with the appropriate letter. For example, for “Abomination,” look under Principal Matters Series/ Principal Matters A/Abomination.

– The preceding topics in this series are:
Adultery Part 1
Adultery Part 2 (The Story of Susanna)

The Santa Claus Lie: Merry Santamas Ho Ho Ho

Posted on by Posted in Ruth's Picks

I wrote elsewhere about the Santa Claus lie in 2012, after hearing non-stop songs of praise, and even love, to Santa on secular adult radio during Christmas. Now this year I’ve noticed them again: “Santa baby, hurry down the chimney tonight!” “It’s the most wonderful time of the year, ho ho ho!”

In many respects now, Santa really is a counterfeit Jesus at Christmas. For example, besides songs of praise to him, people now (at least, where I live) rarely decorate their homes with nativity scenes, but with Santa scenes. I heard someone say that this is the “Santa Season.” I heard a personal testimony about a woman who, in her suffering, is comforted by thoughts of Santa. So sad, to think of such “tidings of comfort”! Then again, a man said he was looking forward to watching his favourite old Christmas story on film: “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.” Never mind that Christ conquered the devil! I have heard talk about the miracle of Santa, and never mind the miracle of the Incarnation of the Son of God. Then there is the intense focus of the promise of Santa to come: “Santa Claus is coming to town!” This mimics, and, as far as the world is concerned has quite replaced, the traditional Christmas focus on Christ who is to come.

The Christmas Advent season in the Church’s liturgical calendar is not only a time to remember Christ’s birth and first coming, or his first advent. It is also a time of preparation for his second or next advent, which will be as Judge at the Last Day. But in the popular consciousness, the preparation for Santa’s next advent counterfeits and has displaced all thought of Christ. From a popular Santa song:

Who comes around on a special night? Santa comes around on a special night … Who very soon will come our way? Santa very soon will come our way … Must be Santa, Must be Santa, Must be Santa, Santa Claus. (From the song Must be Santa)

Perhaps we should rename the season “Santamas”! As far as the world is concerned now, Santa is the reason for the season.

Santa comes in the sky with a shout, Ho Ho Ho!

The promise of Santa’s advent is a lie simply because no one named Santa exists or is coming. I realize that some people will say that the Santa story is only a fun and harmless fairy tale. However, Santa is not usually presented to children as a fairy tale figure, but rather as someone real, someone in whom they should believe. But, people will say, believing in Santa motivates children to be good. Consider the following well-known lyrics:

You better watch out, you better not cry, I’m telling you why … He’s making a list, he’s checking it twice … He’s gonna find out who’s naughty or nice … He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake … He knows when you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake!  (From the song Santa Claus is Coming to Town)

But the gospel of Jesus, and believing on him, was meant to teach children to be good. Here it has been replaced by the gospel of Santa – and this in the very season set aside to remember Christ. This song also reveals another way that Santa counterfeits the Lord: both are all-seeing, and both know when you’ve been good or bad.

The fact that the gospel of Santa is given in the season named for Christ makes it pernicious: the jolly fat man has usurped Christ in popular lore and in nighttime children’s stories. Is Santa’s eagerly awaited advent from the North Pole really just a harmless story to teach children at Christmas? From a Santa preacher:

Santa Claus songs – some are very familiar! Have fun with them. Teach them to your children! The lyrics are right here for you! Sing a song of Christmas fun! Santa always makes me smile! Ho!Ho!Ho! Laugh a little and sing a lot! Your children will treasure the memories of singing with you. Sing as if nobody’s listening! Sing for the pure joy of singing! Have fun! (From the website squidoo.com/santa-songs, 2012)

Should we set children’s little hearts a-blaze with the joyful hope of Santa’s coming? But by this means, an infinitely worthy hope has been exchanged for a “fun” but vain one.

The Santa Claus lie has consequences

I remember how betrayed I felt on the day when, as a child, a boy at school told me that there was no such person as Santa. He mocked me for believing the Santa Claus lie. It rocked me: What! My parents had lied to me? When, as they had taught me to do, I wrote down my prayers for good things in a letter to Santa, burned it in the fireplace, and watched it go up the chimney to the North Pole in drafts of smoke, I was deceived? When I lay in bed on Christmas Eve listening for hoof beats on the roof, I was waiting for something that never could or would happen? When my sister and I watched the sky for the lights of a passing sleigh, we were living a lie?

Children write letters to Santa and send them up the chimney to the North Pole in drafts of smoke (as they believe).

It was a bad shock to me. I had always trusted that my parents told me the truth, but my trust was shaken. When I got home from school that day, I looked around, and in the back of a closet found evidences of the lie: the usual Santa goodies stuffed in a box. Just to be sure (what should I believe?), on Christmas Eve, when Santa was supposed to come, I kept myself awake, and saw my father creep into the room and put a stocking on the end of my bed. I can still see it in my mind’s eye: at the same I both loved him and mourned the lie. (I still love him and mourn the lie when I remember it now.) I wondered if I should tell my younger siblings the truth, but if I did this, was I betraying Mum and Dad? I also wondered about telling my parents that I knew their secret. I did not want to participate in the lie by pretending that I still believed in Santa.

The plain fact is, there is no Santa Claus, and if you preach Santa to your children, you are lying to them. I hope no Christian parent does this. We are not to love and make lies (Revelation 21:27, 22:15). As Augustine said, we are not given a tongue and the gift of speech to fabricate falsehoods. At the very least, if they do not avoid the fiction entirely, parents should be upfront about the fact that there is no real Santa Claus. My parent did not do this; they erred. I forgive them. I know they did it of love. But still, the lie hurt me.

Lies have consequences, especially for an earnest and truthful child. But for all children, lying to them teaches them that lies are okay — and worse yet, to love lies. Further, this lie destroys the real meaning of Christmas and snuffs out the gospel of the Son of God.

The s-a-t-a-n anagram

And what about the eerie santa/satan anagram? Anagrams, or letters inverted to make new words, are said to be employed under Satanic influence. (Karl Marx made Oulanem out of Emmanuel.) The name Satan, with the inversion of a few letters, is easily altered to Santa.

How much should we make of this? I don’t know. I have not taken time to research it, except to check the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). The OED says only that the word “Santa” arose in the USA in the 18th century. It gave no other etymological information, and did not mention any link with Saint Nicholas. But in any case, it matters not who Saint Nicholas was, but what Santa has become. The OED ominously noted that Santa is “now virtually synonymous with Father Christmas.” Thus, since the 18th century, God the Father has been replaced by Father Christmas. And indeed, I heard a song on the radio titled “I believe in Father Christmas.” I looked up the lyrics to this song, and it was written by one Greg Lake in the 1950s,  with the deliberate intention to put Father Christmas for the Lord:

They sold me a dream of Christmas
They sold me a silent night
And they told me a fairy story
Till I believed in the Israelite.
And I believed in father ChristmasAnd I looked to the sky with excited eyesTill I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawnAnd I saw him and through his disguise

This song concludes with, “Hallelujah, Noel, be it heaven or hell, The Christmas we get we deserve.” The lyrics are confused and somewhat bitter.

This song was followed by another with the lyrics “You can say there’s no such thing as Santa, but as for me and Grandpa, we believe.” It put me in mind of that day in 1998 when I believed on the Lord Jesus, and was filled with the Holy Spirit, and stood up and said, “I believe!” And how blessed I am to believe — though now I receive mockery of a different sort. Regardless, my trust will never be shaken.

The rising up of Santa as the Father of Christmas – or rather, Father of Santamas – is due partly, of course, to the fact that we live in a post-Christian age. But this was hastened and abetted by the casting aside of the Church Calendar. First the Puritans rejected the Calendar. (They even, during their revolutionary parliament in England, outlawed any and all observance of Christmas, while at the same time they expressly set aside holidays for secular recreation! Maybe next Christmas I will blog on that.) Other breakaway groups also rejected the Calendar. However, the Calendar was good to help us live life with a daily consciousness of the gospel, and to hold before us the various seasons and remembrances of Christ and the New Covenant.

How badly have things progressed? I recently learned from a Facebook post that Disney staged an event that played on the Santa/Satan anagram, and which exhorted people to love Satan. I was told this was deliberate, but I doubt it:

A Disney production. Changing the letters in ‘Santa’ makes ‘Satan.’

Even if it was a mistake, this highlights the eerie Santa-Satan anagram.

Of course, loving Satan is obviously an atrocious thing to teach children. But still, loving Santa, while a less obvious evil, is a pernicious counterfeit for loving Jesus. Santa has indeed become a ubiquitous, counterfeit Lord and Father of Christmas, who should be loved, obeyed, remembered, sung to, and eagerly awaited. But who would want to fill our songs, our nighttime stories, our minds and hearts, with a loving, fatherly figure to replace Jesus, and to usurp the place of God the Father who sent him? Satan/Santa, of course.

Merry Santamas, ho ho ho!

Eleven Satanic counterfeits

Below are eleven Satan/Santa counterfeits in the gospel of Santa. There are more; for example, we might compare Santa’s reindeer, who carry him around to world, with the apostles who carried the message of Christ around the world. But for starters:

1. The Lord is all-seeing and all-knowing (Psalm 147:5) and is high in heaven (Eph 4:10).
— Santa is all-seeing and all-knowing, and high in the North Pole.

2. Jesus can walk through walls and upon water, and he ascended up to heaven in the air. (Luke 24:36, M’t 14:26, Eph 4:10).
— Santa has supernatural powers to move through obstacles: he goes down chimneys, and through walls in homes that have no chimney. He can also fly in the air.

3. Jesus is God, and is therefore everywhere at once.
— Santa is everywhere at once all around the world on Christmas Eve.

4. In the past, children were taught about, and to believe in, Jesus.
— Children today are taught about and believe in Santa.

5. God is Father to Christ, for whom Christmas was named.
— Santa is “Father Christmas.”

6. God’s children make their prayers and requests to him, whom they cannot see.
— Children make their requests to Santa, whom they cannot see.

7. Believers everywhere anticipate the advent of Christ.
— Children everywhere anticipate the advent of Santa.

8. Christ is exalted in Christianity.
— Santa is exalted in pop culture.

9. The faithful sing songs and melodies to the Lord (Eph 5:19).
— People sing to Santa.

10. Christ will come again and descend from the sky (Rev 1:7).
— Santa will come again and descend from the sky.

11. The Lord knows who has been good and who has been bad, and will reward accordingly.
— Santa knows who has been good and who has been bad, and gives gifts accordingly.

Thus several points on the counterfeit gospel of Santa. But one thing that is missing from the Santa gospel is any serious concept of judgement for being bad, whereas the Bible warns in grave terms that Jesus as Judge will reward each according to his deeds (M’t 16:27; Ro 2:6; Rev 20:13 and 22:12). But never mind, and ho ho ho!

The Santa idol

It is not an exaggeration to say that Santa is something of a modern-day idol or image:

Santa Claus is one of my favorite heroes! He reminds us all of the joy of giving! (“Joan 4”, an adult, commenting on the website squidoo.com/santa-songs, 2012)

I love Santa songs. When I was a kid (5-6) we had to sing a song to Santa, and I was worried that Santa maybe didn’t like my song… so Mom, to calm me down, told me all kinds of stories about Santa who loved all the kids and all the songs in the world. (Comment from “Michey,” an adult, ibid.)

In the last song we see another soft counterfeit: the good news of Santa is that Santa so loves the children of the world that… etc. But the Gospel of John tells us that God so loves the world, he sent his only Son (John 3:16). Also, Jesus showed a special love for children, saying that his disciples should allow them come to him, for the kingdom of heaven is made of such (Matthew 19:14). But if children are taught about Santa instead of about Christ, they cannot come to him.

Santa with children.

 

Jesus with children.

We know that Satan desires to destroy the knowledge of Christ and the true worship. Therefore, he is happy to see anyone or anything besides Christ put in his stead. In praising Santa, adults praise an idol, even if Santa is just a fun and atheistic idol to them. I say “atheistic” because adults do not believe Santa is real, nor call him a god in so many words. But for children, Santa is real. The gospel of Santa fills their minds and hearts, and teaches them to lift up their thoughts to this image:

In the United Kingdom children write letters to Santa, or Father Christmas … Santa, Santa, high in the sky (from learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org, 2012)

My parents were Irish, so when they taught us to write letters to Santa, they were following this tradition of the UK.

Satan, the father of lies, is worshiped through lies. Since the 18th century the Santa lie, a secular gospel, has displaced the true gospel at Christmas time: everywhere is the promise of Santa! Therefore, the jolly Father Christmas is not as benign a figure as we might think. Innocent children are beguiled and look forward to his coming again with gifts in his hand. Meanwhile, they do not learn of God’s son Jesus, by whom only we can know the true Father, and who brings the true gifts in his hand to those who believe on him, and who is coming again:

… in whom even now, though you see him not, yet you do believe, and rejoice with joy inexpressible and glorious, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:8-9)

Principal Matters: Adultery (2), Susanna

Posted on by Posted in Principal Matters A

Researched and prepared by Ruth Magnusson Davis

This post belongs to the series “Principal Matters from the 1537 Matthew Bible.” The purpose of the series is:

(1) To get to know the Table of Principal Matters in the Matthew Bible.
(2) To learn through bible studies from the Reformation.

“As the bees diligently do gather together sweet flowers, to make by natural craft the sweet honey, so have I done with the principal topics contained in the Bible.”

So began John Rogers’ introduction to the Table of Principal Matters in the 1537 Matthew Bible. This Table was a concordance at the front of the book. It set out bible topics in alphabetical order. Under each topic were short headings, with bible verses for further study.

This Principal Matters series follows the topics in the order of the Table. It also sets out in full the bible verses under each entry, taken from the Matthew Bible.

Topic: Adultery (Part 2)

The topic of adultery in the Table of Principal Matters was long, so I have divided it into several shorter posts. This post deals with only one entry. It concerns the story of Susanna, from the apocryphal book named after that woman. Susanna, a beautiful and godly wife, was targeted by some very evil men who were elders and judges in Israel.

People who have a facsimile of the 1537 Matthew Bible might notice that the Bible verse cited under this heading in the Table of Principal Matters was Daniel xiii.c (Daniel 13:22-23). This is because, in the Latin Vulgate Bible, the story of Susanna was the 13th chapter in the book of Daniel. However, in Reformation Bibles the 13th chapter was extracted from Daniel, re-named “Susanna,” and put with the Apocryphal books. Therefore, in modern Bibles, Daniel has only 12 chapters. (It is not until we reach the end of “Susanna” that we learn why it was originally included in the book of Daniel.)

Susanna’s story will be of interest simply because it will be new to many, the Apocryphal books having fallen into disuse after the 17th century. I have given the entire chapter, both because the story is now unknown and because it is an instructive account of the lusts and evil contrivances of man. It shows the worst kinds of sins that evil lusts may lead to, and God’s wrath against such sins. A bible study question would be to identify the incremental sins that arose here from fleshly desire, and to consider the necessity of cutting off all evil roots of lust and affection, which grow into deadly plants.

Adultery (continued)

(5) Susanna would rather die than commit adultery.

Susanna (first draft, updated for the New Matthew Bible):

There dwelt a man in Babylon called Joacim. He took a wife whose name was Susanna, the daughter of Chelcias. She was a very fair woman, and such a one as feared God. Her father and her mother also were godly people, and had taught their daughter according to the law of Moses. Now Joacim her husband was a great, rich man, and had a beautiful orchard adjoining his house. And the Jews commonly resorted to him because he was a man of reputation among them.

That same year, there were appointed two judges, men such as the Lord speaks of: All the wickedness of Babylon comes from the elders; that is, from the judges who seem to rule the people. These men came often to Joacim’s house, and all such people has had anything to do with the law came there to them.

Now when the people returned again in the afternoons, Susanna would go into her husband’s orchard to walk. The elders seeing this – that she went in daily and walked – burned with lust for her. Yea, they were almost out of their wits, and cast down their eyes so that they would not see heaven nor remember that God is a righteous judge. For they were both wounded with the love of her. Neither one told the other of his affliction, and for shame they did not tell her of their inordinate lust, that they desired to have to do with her. Yet they laid wait for her ardently from day to day, so that they might (at the least) have a sight of her.

And the one said to the other, Up, let us go home; for it is time for the mid-day meal. So they went their ways from her. When they returned again, they came across each other. Asking why between themselves, the one told the other of his wicked lust. Then they appointed a time when they might catch Susanna alone.

It happened also that they spied out a convenient time, when she went forth to walk (as her manner was) and no one was with her except two maids. And she was thinking to wash herself in the garden, for it was a hot season. And there was not one person there except the two elders, who had hidden themselves to watch her.

So she said to her maids, Go and fetch me oil and soap, and shut the orchard door so that I may wash myself.

And they did as she bid them and shut the orchard door, and went out themselves at a back door, to fetch the things that she had said. But Susanna did not know that the elders lay there hidden within.

Now, when the maids had gone out, the two elders got up and ran upon Susanna, saying, Now the orchard doors are shut, so that no one can see us! We are in love with you. Therefore, consent to us, and lie with us. If you will not, we will bring a testimony against you, that there was a young fellow with you, and that is why you sent your maids away from you.

Susanna groaned and said, Alas, I am in trouble on every side! If I follow your mind, it will be my death, and if I do not consent to you, I cannot escape your hands. Well, it is better for me to fall into your hands without doing this deed than to sin in the sight of the Lord.

And with that, she cried out with a loud voice. The elders also cried out against her. Then someone ran to the orchard door and forced it open. And when the servants of the house heard the cry in the orchard, they rushed in at the back door to see what the matter was. And when the elders told them, the servants were greatly ashamed, because there was never such a report made of Susanna.

On the next day, the people assembled to Joacim her husband. And the two elders came also, full of mischievous imaginations against Susanna, to bring her to death. And they spoke thus before the people: Send for Susanna the daughter of Chelcias, Joacim’s wife!

And immediately they sent for her. So she came with her father and mother, her children, and all her kindred. Now, Susanna was a refined person, and marvellously fair of face. Therefore the wicked men said to take off the cloths from her face (for she was covered), so that at the least they could be satisfied by her beauty. Then her friends – yea, and all who knew her – began to weep.

These two elders stood up in the midst of the people, and laid their hands upon Susanna’s head. She was weeping and looking up towards heaven, for her heart had a sure trust in the Lord. And the elders said, As we were walking in the orchard alone, this woman came in with her two maids, whom she sent away from her and barred the orchard doors. With that, a young fellow who was hidden there came out to her and lay with her. As for us, we stood in a corner of the orchard. And when we saw this wickedness, we ran to her and perceived that they had meddled together. But we could not hold him, for he was stronger than we. Thus he opened the door and got away. Now, when we seized this woman, we asked her who this young fellow was. But she would not tell us. This is the matter, and we are witnesses of the same.

The common people believed the two men because they were the elders and judges of the people, and so they condemned her to death. Susanna cried out with a loud voice and said, O Everlasting God, searcher of secrets, you know all things before they come to pass! You know that they have borne false witness against me! And behold, I must die, although I never did any such things as these men have maliciously invented against me.

And the Lord heard her voice. For when she was led forth to death, the Lord raised up the spirit of a young child whose name was Daniel, who cried with a loud voice, I am clean from this blood!

Then all the people turned towards him and said, What do these words mean, which you have spoken?

Daniel stood in the midst of them and said, Are you such fools, O ye children of Israel, that you cannot discern? You have here condemned a daughter of Israel to death, and know not the truth of it! Go and sit in judgment again, for they have spoken false witness against her.

And so the people turned back in all haste. And the elders (that is, the principal heads) said to him, Come and sit down here among us, and make known to us this matter, seeing God has given you as great honour as an elder.

And Daniel said to them, Put these two apart one from another, and then I will hear them.

When they were put apart one from another, he called one of them and said to him, O thou old, cankered villain, who has practiced your wickedness for so long! The evil deeds that you have done before are now come to light. For you have given false judgments; you have oppressed the innocent and let the guilty go free, whereas yet the Lord says, The innocent and righteous, see that you slay not. Well then, if you saw her, tell me: under what tree did you see them talking together?

He answered, Under a mulberry tree.

And Daniel said, Very well now, your lie is upon your own head. Lo, the messenger of the Lord has received the sentence from him, to cut you in two.

Then he put him aside and called for the other, and said to him, O thou seed of Canaan, but not of Judah! Beauty has deceived you, and lust has subverted your heart. Thus have you dealt before with the daughters of Israel; and they (for fear) consented to you. But the daughter of Judah would not abide your wickedness. Now tell me then, under what tree did you catch them speaking together?

He answered, Under a pomegranate tree.

Then said Daniel to him, Very well, now your lie is also upon your head. The messenger of the Lord stands waiting with the sword to cut you in two, and to slay you both.

With that, all the whole multitude gave a great shout and praised God, who always delivers those who put their trust in him. And they came upon the two elders (whom Daniel had convicted with their own mouth, that they had given false witness) and dealt with them as they would have done with their neighbouress. Yea, they did according to the law of Moses, and put them to death. Thus the innocent blood was saved that same day.

Then Chelcias and his wife praised God for their daughter Susanna, with Joacim her husband and all the kindred, that there was no dishonour found in her.

From that day forth, Daniel was had in great reputation in the sight of the people.

This 1603 painting by Domenchino is one of many artists’ renderings of the two elders accosting Susanna in the garden.

~~The end of the story of Susanna~~

Notices:

– Information about the New Matthew Bible Project is here.

– Sample scriptures from the New Matthew Bible are here.

– To find former topics, on the main blog page search under “Principal Matters Series” for the subcategory with the appropriate letter. For example, for “Abomination,” look under Principal Matters Series/ Principal Matters A/Abomination.

– The preceding topics in this series include  Adam and Adultery Part 1.