Archive for May, 2018

Jesus and Hell (Hades)

Wednesday, May 9th, 2018

Question from a reader:

When Jesus died on the cross and descended into hell (Hades), was He still suffering while there or did the suffering end when “it is finished”? 1 Peter 3:18-20 says He went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison, was He still in a state of suffering?

Thank you for your question. I found it quite challenging. It prompted me to do further study of 1 Peter 3:18-20, as well as related passages Ephesians 4:8-10, Acts 2:25-35, and Matthew 12:40, and various commentaries. As a result, I am not sure that we can be completely definitive in answering your question about when Christ’s suffering ended. However, I do think that the best clue we have is actually in 1 Peter 3:19, which says, “After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits.” Christ’s death occurred while He was still on the cross, and He was still dead when he was slain in the tomb. So, the period of time that we’re talking about is between that point and the point of His resurrection. Verse 19 above says that He proclaimed to the imprisoned spirits (in Hades), “after being made alive…” So, He was “made alive” before He descended into Hades. Therefore, I believe that it’s reasonable for us to assume that His suffering ended at the point of His death on the cross, and that He no longer suffered after His resurrection. In other words, I believe the chronology would look like this:

– Suffering on the cross – Death – suffering ended – Lain in the tomb – Resurrection (a glorified body) – Descent into Hades – Ascent into Heaven

Also, note that some Bible scholars would say that when Jesus died, his soul went to Hades for three days, but his spirit went to heaven.

Thanks,

Owen

What’s Worse than E. coli?

Wednesday, May 9th, 2018

On May 9th, 2018, CNN announced that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that 29 states have now reported E. coli illness connected to romaine lettuce. A total of 149 cases have been reported since the outbreak began in March. Of these, 64 people affected have been hospitalized; 17 have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a form of kidney failure that can be life-threatening, although most people recover in a few weeks; and, one person has died.  Symptoms of E. coli include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting. Most people recover in five to seven days with supportive treatment.

What could be worse than this deadly disease that has CNN and the CDC in an uproar? Well, legalized abortion is. We kill 926,000 innocent babies through legalized abortion every year. And, it’s all preventable.

Wasting Your Federal Tax Dollars

Wednesday, May 9th, 2018

OpenTheBooks.com reports:

The federal government doled out 560,771 grants in fiscal year 2016, totaling $583 billion. On average, each grant exceeded $1 million.

Research shows pork-barrel spending is bipartisan, as the top 50 grant-receiving districts are represented by 27 democrats and 23 republicans. The top 10 congressional districts are evenly split: 5 democrats and 5 republicans.

Consider just a few examples of taxpayer abuse:

  • Virtual Reality Platform to Teach Children in China How to Cross the Street – $183,750 from the Department of Health and Human Services funded a virtual reality platform in China to teach safe pedestrian techniques.
  • New Condom Design with More Lubrication – $200,601 in taxpayer money funded a new condom design that lowers the chance of breakage and increases “satisfaction between partners.”
  • Cigar Taste Test – $114,375 funded a study to determine whether cigar flavor affected its addictiveness.
  • Sex Ed for Prostitutes in California – $1.5 million funded “safer sex and needle” education for prostitutes in California even though prostitution is illegal in the state.
  • Space Racers: An Animated Children’s Cartoon – $2.5 million in NASA funding supported the production of two seasons of a children’s cartoon series about galactic adventures.

These grants flowed to state governments ($505 billion); higher education institutions ($35 billion); for profit organizations including Fortune 100 companies ($2.5 billion); nonprofit organizations ($19.8 billion); and more.

Fortune 100 companies received $3.2 billion in federal grants between fiscal year 2014 and 2016. Boeing can’t argue it needed $774 million in federal grants while reporting nearly $95 billion in 2016 annual revenue.

How can we rein in this insanity? The people must bring the heat, so the politicians see the light on fiscal restraint.

Read more here.