Today, I tuned into Inspiration TV, a Christian network. The pastor who was American, was speaking at a London church to truly devout followers of Christ.

The programme called Camp Meeting was rather interesting,as he preached of receiving God’s blessings.

Nothing wrong with that.

However, as the sermon ended he included a sales pitch which can only be described as Satanic. He told the faithful that blessings from Our Lord had to be bought for the outrageous price of $1011 or £625! He even insisted that credit cards were welcome.

After this blatant blasphemy, he claimed to heal those who
were afflicted in the name of Jesus, as long as they paid the required sum.

Such evil practices were popular among monks and the clergy during
the Middle-Ages. This is the 21st century.

Such activities must be looked upon with deep suspicion.

God’s blessings are free. There is NO CHARGE.

The following simple prayer guide will prove this eternal truth.

“Heavenly Father, bless my children so that their lives will
follow the arrow of truth and honesty. Bless my friends and family so that they may be healed. Finally, bless this sinner, so that I may sin no more. Amen."

Amen!!!

AMEN!!!!

Amen. One thing Jesus didn't like was his house made into a den of thieves.

And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible
And said It is written ... - This is written in Isaiah 56:7. The first part of this verse only is quoted from Isaiah. The rest - "but ye have made it a den of thieves" - was added by Jesus, denoting their abuse of the temple. Thieves and robbers live in dens and caves. Judea was then much infested with them. In their dens thieves devise and practice iniquity. These buyers and sellers imitated them. They made the temple a place of gain; they cheated and defrauded; they took advantage of the poor, and, by their being under a necessity of purchasing these articles for sacrifice, they "robbed" them by selling what they had at an enormous price.

The following reasons may be given why this company of buyers and sellers obeyed Christ:

1. They were overawed by his authority, and struck with the consciousness that he had a right to command,

2. Their own consciences reproved them; they knew they were guilty, and they dared make no resistance.

3. The people generally were then on the side of Jesus, believing him to be the Messiah.

4. It had always been the belief of the Jews that a "prophet" had a right to change, regulate, and order the various affairs relating to external worship. They supposed Jesus to be such, and they did not dare to resist him.

Mark and Luke add, that in consequence of this, the scribes and chief priests attempted to put him to death, Mark 11:18-19; Luke 19:47-48. This they did from "envy," Matthew 27:18. He drew off the people from them, and they envied and hated him. They were "restrained," then, for the fear of the people; and this was the reason why they plotted "secretly" to put him to death, and why they afterward so gladly heard the proposals of the traitor, Matthew 26:14-15.

Clarke's Commentary on the Bible
My house shall be called the house of prayer - This is taken from Isaiah 56:7.

But ye have made it a den of thieves - This is taken from Jeremiah 7:11.

Our Lord alludes here to those dens and caves in Judea, in which the public robbers either hid or kept themselves fortified.

They who are placed in the Church of Christ to serve souls, and do it not, and they who enjoy the revenues of the Church, and neglect the service of it, are thieves and robbers in more senses than one.

Our Lord is represented here as purifying his temple; and this we may judge he did in reference to his true temple, the Church, to show that nothing that was worldly or unholy should have any place among his followers, or in that heart in which he should condescend to dwell. It is marvellous that these interested, vile men did not raise a mob against him: but it is probable they were overawed by the Divine power, or, seeing the multitudes on the side of Christ, they were afraid to molest him. I knew a case something similar to this, which did not succeed so well. A very pious clergyman of my acquaintance, observing a woman keeping a public standing to sell nuts, gingerbread, etc., at the very porch of his Church, on the Lord's day, "desired her to remove thence, and not defile the house of God, while she profaned the Sabbath of the Lord." She paid no attention to him. He warned her the next Sabbath, but still to no purpose. Going in one Lord's day to preach, and finding her still in the very entrance, with her stall, he overthrew the stall, and scattered the stuff into the street. He was shortly after summoned to appear before the royal court, which, to its eternal reproach, condemned the action, and fined the man of God in a considerable sum of money!

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
And said unto them, it is written,.... In Isaiah 56:7.

My house shall be called the house of prayer. These are the, words of God, calling the temple his house, which was built according to the plan he gave; and was the place of his worship, and where he dwelt, and vouchsafed his presence to his people; and signifying, that in time to come, it should be an house of prayer; not for the Jews only, but for the Gentiles also: "for all people", as it is expressed by the prophet, and cited by Mark; and particularly this part of it, in which were the money changers and sellers of doves; for that was the court of the Gentiles, where they were admitted to pray, and perform other parts of worship. These words are rightly applied by Christ to the temple; nor can the Jews themselves deny it; for their own Targum paraphrases it thus, , "the house of my sanctuary shall be called an house of prayer"; or shall be one; for the meaning is not that it should go by such a name, but should be for such use, and not for buying and selling, and merchandise, to which use the Jews now put it: hence it follows,

but ye have made it a den of thieves. These are the words of Christ, affirming what is complained of in Jeremiah 7:11 and applying it to the present case, on account of the wicked merchandise, unlawful gain, avarice and extortion, of the priests and other officers of the temple, who had a considerable share in these things; and to whom the temple was, and by them used, as a den is to and by thieves and robbers, where they shelter themselves; for these persons robbed both God and man, and the temple was a sanctuary to them: here they screened themselves, and, under the appearance of religion and devotion, devoured widows' houses, plundered persons of their substance, and were full of extortion and excess.

Vincent's Word Studies
Thieves (λῃστῶν)

Rev., correctly, robbers. See on Matthew 26:55; and Luke 10:30.

Geneva Study Bible
And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

People's New Testament
21:13 It is written. In Isa 56:7.

A house of prayer. A place of sacred worship.

A den of thieves. A cave or den of robbers. The language indicates that it was a corrupt and fraudulent traffic, which a corrupt and fraudulent priesthood had permitted to encroach on the worship of God. It is a desecration of religious institutions to use them for worldly gain.

Wesley's Notes
21:13 A den of thieves - A proverbial expression, for a harbour of wicked men. Isa 56:7; Jer 7:11.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
21:12-17 Christ found some of the courts of the temple turned into a market for cattle and things used in the sacrifices, and partly occupied by the money-changers. Our Lord drove them from the place, as he had done at his entering upon his ministry, Joh 2:13-17. His works testified of him more than the hosannas; and his healing in the temple was the fulfilling the promise, that the glory of the latter house should be greater than the glory of the former. If Christ came now into many parts of his visible church, how many secret evils he would discover and cleanse! And how many things daily practised under the cloak of religion, would he show to be more suitable to a den of thieves than to a house of prayer!

Could not agree more Rainbow Trout. As you noted, I was pretty annoyed by the heathen's moral depravity!

You are so right,tudoravenger!

This reminds me of the episode in Acts8 with Simon the Sorcerer...
who "bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one"
...and later tried to purchase the Holy Spirit.

to Mingle2 Christian Singles Forum!!!

It is easy to see why Christ was so upset with the money-changers when you understand that it was King David's idea for the temple and his son, King Solomon actually went about building the temple. When you look at the lineage of Christ from Adam to Christ it was not just an offence to Christ but to his whole genealogy.


THE GENEALOGY
OF
JESUS CHRIST

The genealogy of Jesus Christ has been a topic for discussion for many years. Matthew gives one account of the lineage of Christ while Luke gives another. The two accounts are different. Does this mean that there is a contradiction within the Bible? If there is a contradiction, does that indicate that the Bible is not the inspired word of God? If the Bible is not inspired by God, then the Bible is truly myth.

The purpose of this article is to prove that the two accounts of Christ's genealogy are not a contradiction at all, rather both accounts are totally accurate. This also leads to the Bible indeed being the inspired word of God, and therefore not myth.


Matthew's Account: Let's first begin by looking at Matthew's account of the lineage of Christ. Matthew, who was also called Levi, was one of the original twelve apostles. Matthew was a publican, a Jew who collected taxes for the Roman government. Therefore, he was despised by the Jewish people.

Matthew's gospel, however, was written for the Jewish people. Matthew tries to convince the Jews that Jesus Christ was indeed the royal son of David. Seven times in the Matthew's Gospel we see where the statement "son of David" is used (1:1, 9:27, 12:23, 15:22, 20:30, 21:9, 22:42). Only in Matthew does Christ speak of "The throne of his glory" (19:28, 25:31). And only in Matthew is Jerusalem referred to as "the holy city" (4:5). Therefore, Matthew spends a great deal of time trying to convince the Jewish people that Jesus Christ was indeed the "King of the Jews" (27:29, 27:37).

Matthew begins with Abraham, the "Father" of the Jewish nation, then follows the line through David the King. Each individual that Matthew lists is of royal lineage. This gives evidence of the royal blood line of Jesus.

As Matthew continues to follow the line from David to Christ, Matthew traces the lineage through Jesus' earthly father, Joseph. This, too, indicates that Matthew is writing to the Jewish people. During first century times, if a Jewish man adopted a son, that son receives the father's lineage. Therefore, according to Jewish tradition, Jesus would be given the genealogy of his adopted father.


Luke's Account: Luke was known as the "Beloved Physician." He was a follower and companion of Paul. Luke's gospel was written primarily for the Greeks or Gentiles. This is identified through Paul, who first took his message to the Jews, and when the Jews rejected him, went to the Greeks. Luke's gospel emphasizes the perfect humanity of Christ. Tracing Christ's lineage all the way back to Adam, Luke lets the Greeks know that Christ's sacrifice is for all of mankind, not simply for the Jews.

Luke's gospel, being written for the Greeks, would not be as interested in the royal lineage of Christ, rather his true earthly lineage. In Luke's account of the genealogy of Christ, it is my opinion, that Luke traces Christ's ancestry through his mother, Mary. I say this because Luke only mentions Joseph to identify who Christ was. "As was supposed the son of Joseph," (3:23). The genealogy of Luke and the genealogy of Matthew agree exactly with the line between Abraham and David. From David to Mary in Luke, or from David to Joseph in Matthew, the lineage changes. Only three times do the two different accounts mention the same names, Shealtiel, Zerubbabel, and possibly Matthat (Matthan in Matthew). This can be explained very easily. Mary and Joseph were first cousins.

Only in the twentieth century has this become a form of taboo. We even had a President who married a cousin. The ancient Egyptians were so tied to keeping the royal blood line pure that the Pharaoh King could only marry his sister or at the least first cousin to produce a pure blood line to the throne.

We are born with two genealogies, one from our father and the other from our mother. It stands to reason that if Luke traces through Mary, and Matthew through Joseph, then Christ will have two different genealogies. If my theory is correct, and the account of Matthew traces through Joseph, and Luke traces through Mary, the combined accounts may read like this:

The Genealogy of Christ
Luke 3:23-38 and Matthew 1:1-17
God who was the father of Adam, who was the father of Seth, who was the father of Enos, who was the father of Cainan, who was the father of Mahalalel, who was the father of Jared, who was the father of Enoch, who was the father of Methuselah, who was the father of Lamech, who was the father of Noah, who was the father of Shem, who was the father of Arpachshad, who was the father of Cainan, who was the father of Shelah, who was the father of Eder, who was the father of Peleg, who was the father of Reu, who was the father of Serug, who was the father of Nahor, who was the father of Terah, who was the father of Abraham.

Abraham begot Isaac; and Isaac begot Jacob; and Jacob begot Judah and his brethren; and Judah begot Perez and Zerah of Tamar; and Perez begot Hezron; and Hezron begot Ram; and Ram begot Ammin'adab; and Amminadab begot Nahshon; and Nahshon begot Salmon; and Salmon begot Boaz of Rahab; and Boaz begot Obed of Ruth; and Obed begot Jesse; and Jesse begot David, the king; and David, the king, begot Solomon of her that had been the wife of Uriah; and Solomon begot Rehoboam; and Rehoboam begot Abijah; and Abijah begot Asa; and Asa begot Jehoshaphat; and Jehoshaphat begot Joram; and Joram begot Uzziah; and Uzziah begot Jotham; and Jotham begot Ahaz; and Ahaz begot Hezekiah; and Hezekiah begot Manasseh; and Manasseh begot Amon; and Amon begot Josiah; and Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon and after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel; and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel; and Zerubbabel begot Abiud; and Abiud begot Eliakim; and Eliakim begot Azor; and Azor begot Sadoc; and Sadoc begot Achim; and Achim begot Eliud; and Eliud begot Eleazar and Eleazar begot Matthan; and Matthan begot Jacob; and Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

Jesus being the son of Joseph, [the husband of Mary, who was the daughter of] Heli, who was the son of Matthat, who was the son of Levi, who was the son of Melchi, who was the son of Jannai, who was the son of Joseph, who was the son of Mattathias, who was the son of Amos, who was the son of Nahum, who was the son of Esli, who was the son of Naggai, who was the son of Maath, who was the son of Mattathias, who was the son of Semein, who was the son of Josech, who was the son of Joda, who was the son of Joanan, who was the son of Rhesa, who was the son of Zerubbabel, who was the son of Shealtie, who was the son of Neri, who was the son of Melchi, who was the son of Addi, who was the son of Cosam, who was the son of Elmadam, who was the son or Er, who was the son of Joshua, who was the son of Eliezer, who was the son of Jorim, who was the son of Matthat, who was the son of Levi, who was the son of Simeon, who was the son of Judas, who was the son of Joseph, who was the son of Jonam, who was the son of Eliakim, who was the son of Melea, who was the son of Menna, who was the son of Mattatha, who was the son of David, the king.

So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.


Conclusion: From the creation to the end of time, as we seek to learn more about the Bible, more about God and more about ourselves, we will eventually determine that the Bible is indeed the true inspired word of God. We will learn that the Bible does not have contradictions, and that the Bible is not myth. We will stand before God, knowing the power and purity of his presence. God's word is what we build our faith upon, and his word will never fail.


For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then, face to face; now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love. (I Corinthians 13:12-13)

Matthew 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

When we become joint heirs with Christ it easy to see why the defiling of the temple would upset you as we are part of that same genealogy.

1 Corinthians 3:16

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

The seventh Commandment definitely refers to my previous entry.

"Do not use my name for evil purposes, for I, the Lord your God, will punish anyone who misuses my name."

Definitely Zenith like.

The quality goes in before the name goes on.