Day 2

Read the Bible in 90 days.....
Day two summary

Day 2: Genesis 18-29.

Genesis 18
Abraham saw 3 visitors standing nearby. Two of the visitors were angels and the other is God.  He immediately got up and asked for some water to be brought to wash their feet, and some food to refresh them. They accepted. Abraham instructed Sarah to make cakes. He chose a choice calf and ordered a servant to prepare it. He also obtained milk and butter. This along with the meat of the choice calf was served to the visitors.

They told Abraham that he would return at about the same time next year and by that time, Sarah will have a son. Sarah overheard what God said and she laughed because she and her husband, Abraham, had already been old and beyond the child bearing age. God reminded them that nothing is impossible in him.
God revealed to Abraham that the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah has been great. Abraham asks God if he will destroy the righteous along with the wicked, and pleads to save them.

Genesis 19

The two angels arrived at Sodom. Lot invited them into his house to wash their feet, feed them, and stay for the night. Before they went to bed, the men of the city of Sodom gathered around Lot and asked him to bring out the two angels so that they could have sex with them. Lot told them not to harm the two angels, and offered them his two daughters. They refused and attempted to break down the door. The angels struck the men outside with blindness so that they didn’t know where the door was.

The angels told Lot to get all of his relatives out of Sodom before they destroy the city. The two men pledged to marry his two daughters refused to leave. Lot took his wife and 2 daughters out of the city. They were instructed not to look back and to flee to the mountains. Lot’s wife looked back and she was turned into a pillar of salt. God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah by raining down burning sulfur.
Lot and his two daughters settled in a cave in the mountains. The daughters made their father drunk with wine and slept with him to conceive. They wanted to preserve the family line. The older daughter had a son called Moab and the younger daughter had a son called Ben-Ammi.

Genesis 20 

Abraham moved to the region between Kadesh and Shur in the Negev. He lived in Gerar for a while. Abraham told everyone that Sarah was his sister. King Abimelech of Gerar did not know that Sarah was Abraham’s wife and he took her.

One night, God spoke to Abimelech in a dream. He told him that the woman he had taken, Sarah, is a married woman. Abimelech appealed to God and said he was innocent because Abraham said she is his sister and he didn’t know about it. God knew he did it with a clear conscience. Therefore, he had kept him from sleeping with her. God commanded Abimelech to return Sarah to Abraham otherwise he and all he own would die.

Abimelech called in Abraham and rebuked him for deceiving him that Sarah is his sister so that he took her. Abraham replied that he was afraid of being killed so he did not say Sarah was his wife. After that, Abim'elech took sheep, oxen, menservants, and womenservants to Abraham. He also gave Abraham 1,000 shekels to cover the offense against Sarah.  Abraham prayed to God for Abimelech and his wife and slave girls’ wombs are opened again.

Genesis 21


Sarah bore a son, as God had promised. Abraham named the baby boy Isaac. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born to him. Sarah despised the son of Hagar, Ishmael, and she bade Abraham to send them away. Abraham felt distressed because Ishmael was his son but God instructed him to do what Sarah told him to do. God promised to make Ishmael into a nation because he was Abraham’s son.
    Abraham gave some food and a skin of water to Hagar and sent her and Ishmael away. Hagar went wandering around the desert of Beersheba. It happened that the water in the skin was finished so Hagar put the boy under a bush, because she couldn’t stand seeing her son die. An angel called out from heaven and told Hagar that God will make her son into a great nation. God opened Hagar’s eyes and let her see a well of water. She filled the skin with water and gave it to the boy. When the boy grew up, Hagar found wife for him from Egypt.
    One day, Abimelech and Phicol, his commander went to Abraham and asked him to swear an oath by God that he will be kind to him, his children and his descendants. Abimelech did this because he had seen that God was with him in everything he did. Abraham agreed and he took an oath. Later, Abraham complained to Abimelech that his servants had seized the well. Abraham gave sheep and cattle to Abimelech and they made a treaty. Abraham set aside 7 ewe lambs to serve as witness that he dug the well. The place where the two swore an oath is Beersheba. Abimelech and Phicol returned to Philistines. Abraham grew a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called on God.

Genesis 22

Genesis 22
God tested Abraham’s love for him. He instructed Abraham to travel to Moriah to offer his son, Isaac as a burnt offering.  Abraham built an altar. He arranged wood on the altar he built, and tied up his son and put above the wood. As he was about the kill his son, an angel called out his name and told him not to kill the boy. He had proved that he fears and obeys the Lord. Abraham saw a ram that was caught in a thicket and he offered it as a burnt sacrifice. Abraham named the place ‘Jehovahjireh’, which means God provides. The angel called out to Abraham another time and assured him that God would bless him and make his descendants numerous. He told Abraham that his descendants would take the land of Canaan by conquering the inhabitants, and through him, all nations will be blessed because Abraham obeyed God.

Someone informed Abraham that his brother, Nahor, whose wife was Milcah had 8 sons including Huz, Buz, Kemuel, Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel. Bethuel was the father of Rebekah, Isaac’s wife. Nahor also had 4 children by his concubine, Reumah including Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah. 

Genesis 23

    Sarah died at the age of 127 years. She died in Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, in Canaan. When she died, Abraham mourned for her. He asked the Hittites to sell him a property to be used as a burial site for his wife, Sarah. The children of Heth replied that he could bury his wife in the choicest tomb. Abraham bowed down and requested them to tell Ephron, the son of Zohar on his behalf to sell the cave of Machpelah to him to be used as a burial site.
     Ephron, the Hittite dwelt among the children of Heth. He declared that he would give him the field and the cave of Machpelah that is in it. But Abraham said he wanted to pay for the field. Abraham weighed out the price according to the term of Ephron, the Hittites and the field including the cave of Machpelah that is in it are deeded to him. Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of Machpelah.

Genesis 24

    When Abraham was old, he called the chief servant of his household and had him swear that he would get a wife for his son, Isaac, from among his own relatives instead of from among the Canaanite’s women. He swore the oath by placing his hand under Abraham’s thigh.
    The servant brought goods and set out with 10 camels. He came to a well outside the town at evening, a time when woman come to draw water. While at the well, he prayed to God to guide him to the woman whom he choose to be wife for Isaac, Abraham’s son. Rebekah came carrying the jar on her shoulder before the servant finished praying. The servant asked Rebekah for a drink and she let down the jar to give him a drink and water the camels. At this, the servant knew that Rebekah was the one God had chosen to be the wife of Isaac. The servant took out a gold nose ring that weigh 1 beka and 2 gold bracelets weigh 10 shekels. He asked Rebekah whose daughter she was and if there was room at her father’s house for him and the camels. Rebekah replied that she is the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor and Milcah and told the servant that there was plenty of rooms for him and the camels. The servant recounted that the purpose of his journey was to get a wife for his master's son, and how God led him to find Rebekah as the chosen wife for him.
    The servant gave gold jewelry, silver jewelry and clothes to Rebekah. He also gave expensive gifts to Laban (Rebekah's brother) and Rebekah’s mother. With their blessings, he journeyed with Rebekah to return to his master, Abraham. Isaac married Rebekah and was comforted about the loss of her mother.

Genesis 25

Abraham married a woman called Keturah. Keturah gave birth to several children including Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. The sons of Jokshan were Sheba, and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. The sons of Midian were Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. Abraham gave his sons gifts and sent them away to the land of the east. He died when he was 175 years old. He left all his possessions to his son, Isaac. He was buried alongside his wife, Sarah, by his sons Isaac and Ishmael in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre. Isaac lived nearby to Beer Lahai Roi after Abraham died.
    Ishmael had 12 sons including Nebajoth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 12 princes according to their nations. Ishmael died when he was 137 years old. Isaac married Rebekah when he was 40 years old. Rebekah was barren so Isaac prayed to God for her to be pregnant. Rebekah conceived twins. The twins jostled each other in Rebekah’s womb before they were born. Rebekah asked God why did this happen and God answered that there are two nations her womb. He said the younger will be greater than the older. Later, Rebekah gave birth to twins sons. The older baby is hairy so he was named Esau. The younger came out grabbing onto the heel of Esau. Therefore, the younger was named Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when the twins were born.
    Esau like the outdoors but Jacob like to stay in the tents. Esau was a skillful hunter. It happened that Jacob was cooking some red stew and Esau was famished having coming back from hunting. He asked Jacob to give him some stew but Jacob required him to sell his birthright to him first. Esau disregarded his birthright and sold it to Jacob for some stew.

Genesis 26

    There was a famine and Isaac went to live in Gerar.   God appeared to Isaac and instructed him not to go to Egypt. He promised to bless Isaac with descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. When Isaac stayed in Gerar, he told others that Rebekah is his sister because he was afraid the people would kill him in order to take her for she is beautiful.
     One day Abimelech saw Isaac caressing his wife while looking down from the window. Abimelech called Isaac and rebuked him from lying that Rebekah was his sister because someone could have slept her and brought this wrong upon the whole community.  Abimelech gave an order that anyone who molest Isaac or his wife will be put to death.
    Isaac grew crops and reaped 100 fold that year and he ecame very wealthy. This caused the Philistines to envy him and they filled the wells dug by his father’s servants with earth so that they stopped up. Abimelech asked Isaac to move away because he felt that he had become too powerful. Isaac then moved to the Valley of Gerar. He opened up the wells that were stopped up by the Philistines and gave them the same names.
     Isaac went to Beersheba. The LORD appeared to him and reconfirmed his covenant with him that he would bless him and make his descendants numerous. Isaac built an altar and called on God’s name.
     Abimelech came to Isaac with his friend, Ahuzzath, and Phicol the commander, to make a peace treaty with him. Isaac gave a feast for them and they left peacefully the next morning. The servants of Isaac found another well and call it Shebah. The town is called Beersheba. Esau married a Hittite woman in Canaan when he was 40 years old. His wives were Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

Genesis 27

 Isaac had become old and he could no longer see. He called in Esau and asked him to hunt for a game and then prepare it for him so that he can bless him before his death. When Rebekah overheard this, she instructed her son Jacob to bring her 2 choice young goats so that she can prepare it in the way Isaac likes it and bless Jacob. Jacob argued that his father will know that he is tricking him and get a curse instead of a blessing because his brother Esau is hairy and he has smooth skin. Rebekah told Jacob to do what she said and let the curse fall on her. Jacob did as his mother told him. After Rebekah prepared the food, Rebekah put the best clothes of Esau on Jacob. She put goatskins to cover Jacob’s hands and the smooth part of the neck. Rebekah handed the meat and bread to Jacob and he brought it to his father, Isaac.
    When Jacob called his father, his father asked who it was. He lied and said he was Esau, the firstborn who had came to serve him the game. Isaac asked how he did hunt the game so fast and Jacob replied that God had given him success. Isaac asked Jacob to come near so that he could know whether he was Esau. Isaac said that the voice he heard is of Jacob but the hands are like those of Esau.
     Isaac did not recognize that it was Jacob and he asked whether he was really Esau. Jacob replied he was. After Isaac had eaten the game, he asked his son to come near to kiss him. When Jacob came near to kiss him, he caught the smell of Esau’s clothes and he blessed him. Isaac blessed Jacob that he will be greater than his brothers and other nations; those who curse him will be cursed and those who bless him will be blessed.
     When Esau came back from hunting, he prepared the game and brought it to the father. His father trembled and said he had already eaten the meal. Esau knew Jacob had stolen away his blessing and he cried. He asked his father to bless him. He blessed him that his descendants will indeed be servant to his brother but they will break off from their yoke when they grow restless. Esau held a grudge on Jacob because he stole his blessing. He planned to kill Jacob after his father's death. When Rebekah was told about this, she instructed Jacob to flee to his brother Laban in Haran. Rebekah told Isaac of her disgust against the Hittite women and did not want Jacob to marry a Hittite wife like Esau did.

Genesis 28

 Before Jacob went to Haran, Isaac instructed him to marry a wife from the daughters of Rebekah’s brother, Laban, who live in Paddan-aram. Rebekah’s father is Bethuel. He blessed him that he will increase in numbers until a community of people is developed. When Esau found out that his parents despised Canaanite women, he went to marry Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, who was Nebaioth’s sister.

Jacob stopped at a place after the sunset to rest. He took a stone and put it under his head as pillow. While lying down on the stone, he dreamed of a stairway that reached into heaven. Angels were ascending and descending on the stairway. He saw God standing on the stairway. God told him that he will bless him and give him and his descendants the land on which they are lying, and He would give him as many descendants as the dust of the earth. People will be blessed through him and his descendants. God promised to watch over him and bring him back. He promised not to leave him until what he promised had been accomplished.  After that, Jacob vowed that the Lord would be his God and he would give him tithes of all he had, if God would watch over him and supply him with food and clothes and let him return to the house of his father.

 Genesis 29

Jacob finally arrived at the land that belonged to the eastern people. When he saw the shepherds, he asked them where they were from and they replied they were from Haran. Jacob asked them if they were acquainted with Laban, the grandson of Nahor and asked them about his well being. They replied that he was well and Jacob asked them to water the flocks and send them back to the pasture. As they were talking, Rachel came with the sheep of her father. Jacob went over to Rachel and gave her a kiss. He wept aloud. Jacob told Rachel that he was son of Rebekah, her father’s sister so a relative to him. Laban hurried out to meet Jacob when he heard about it and brought him to his home.
    After 1 week of staying at Laban’s house, Laban told Jacob to name his wages. Laban had two daughters. The older was Leah and the younger was Rachel. Jacob told him that he would work 7 years for him in exchange for Rachel as his wife. After 7 years, Jacob asked Laban to give Rachel as his wife. Laban gathered everyone and held a feast. At the end of the festivity, he gave Leah to him as his wife. He gave Zilpah to as maidservant for Leah. Jacob lay with Leah but he didn’t know until the next morning.
When the next morning comes, he was shocked and he complained about it to Laban. Laban gave an excuse that it was the custom for the older daughter to marry first instead of the younger daughter. He said he will give Rachel to him as wife if he works for him for another 7 years. So Jacob agreed to work for another 7 years, to marry Rachel. At the end of the 7 years, he married Rachel. Laban gave Bilhah as maidservant to Rachel.
    God saw that Jacob loved Rachel and not Leah, and Rachel was barren. At this time, Leah had 4 sons including Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah.

      

Day 1

Read the Bible in 90 days.....
Day one summary.

Gen 1:  God created the heavens, the earth and everything that lives. He created man in his own image, blessed them, and gave them dominion over everything on the earth.

Gen 2:  The first sabbath. God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. He planted a garden in E'den and there he put the man he created from the dust of the ground. The Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.God took a rib from Adam and created a woman.

Gen 3:  The serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. The woman ate of the tree and also gave to her husband and he did eat. Unto the woman God said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. To Adam, God said, cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life, Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.The earth became cursed, and God sent Adam and Eve out of the garden.

Gen 4:  Cain and Abel are the first born to Adam and Eve. Cain slew Abel. The Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him kill him, and then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord to the land of Nod. Cain begat E'noch. Adam and Eve begot Seth.
 
Gen 5: The generations of Adam are: Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech and Noah. Noah's sons were Shem, Ham and Japheth.

Gen 6: God saw that the wickedness of man was great and evil continually, and it grieved him. God decided to destroy all flesh and living things on earth with a flood of water. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord and God formed a covenant with Noah. He told Noah to build an ark to be saved from the flood.

Gen 7: As commanded by the Lord, Noah and his family went into the ark with (seven each) clean and (two each) unclean beasts, and (seven each) fowl of the air, to keep seed alive upon the earth of each creature. It rained for forty days and forty nights and the earth was covered. The water prevailed on the earth for 150 days. Every living substance was destroyed, except for Noah and they that were with him in the ark.

Gen 8: The flood abated. The ark rested in the 7ᵗʰ month on the 17ᵗʰ day, upon the mountains of Ar'arat. Noah sent out a raven and two doves to see if there was any dry land. When the earth was dry God called them all out of the ark. Noah built an altar, and offered burnt offerings to the Lord.

Gen 9: God blessed Noah and his sons, and set the rainbow as a token of the covenant  that he would never flood the earth again. Noah got drunk and Ham saw his nakedness. Noah cursed Ham's son Ca'naan to be a servant of servants.

Gen 10: The families and generations of Noah are written. The lands were divided into nations, by these families. Cush begat Nimrod and the beginning of his kingdom was Babel.

Gen 11: The whole earth was of one language and one speech. They began building a city and a great tower to reach into heaven for themselves. The Lord confused their languages so they could not understand each other, and scattered them abroad. The generations of Shem include Te'rah. Te'rah begat Abram who married Sarai,  Na'hor, and Ha'ran (father of Lot).

Gen 12: God told Abram to leave his father's house and country and go to a land where he would make him a great nation, bless him and make his name great. In Egypt Abram lied about Sarai, saying she was his sister, and Pharaoh was cursed.

Gen 13: Abram and Sarai left Egypt and went south with his nephew Lot. The land was not able to bear all the wealth of cattle, and flocks and herds and tents of Abram and Lot. They separated and Abram dwelled in the land of Ca'naan and Lot went to Sodom, where the men were wicked and sinners before the Lord.  The LORD promised Abram the land, and Abram moved to the plain of Ma'mre, in He'bron and built an alter unto the LORD.

Gen 14: The kings went to war. Lot was taken captive. Abram and his servants rescued Lot. King Melchizedek of Salem (the priest of the most high God) blessed Abram and Abram gave him tithes of everything.

Gen 15: The Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying Unto thy seed I have given this land. Abram was promised an heir and many descendants. He was told that they would be enslaved but would then return with great substance.

Gen 16:  Sarai was barren. Sarai told Abram to have children with Hagar, her Egyptian handmaid. Hagar conceived and became proud and despised Sarai. Sarai mistreated Hagar and Hagar ran away, but an angel sent her back. Hagar's son was named Ishmael.

Gen 17: God made a covenant with Abram saying that every manchild shall be circumcised, and that this  covenant shall be in your flesh for everlasting. God renamed him Abraham and renamed Sarai - Sarah. God promised them a son to be named Isaac. All the males were circumcised.

           

Read the Bible in 90 days

I have challenged myself to read the Bible in 90 days. I thought about the "read the Bible in a year," route, but decided to get it done in 90 days. I may be wrong, but I am thinking I will do more "studying," after the 90 days. That is, once I have at least read through the Bible, then I can go back and do more in depth studying. I will keep notes and questions as I go through this first reading, so that I can return to them when I have more time.  I am guessing this will take an hour a day. ?? We'll see. This is not intended to be a "Bible Study," they say, but is a "reading curriculum." I hope I don't get side tracked (and go to researching and studying) before I finish reading once through.

I bought this "challenge kit."  I do not like that they use the NIV, and that they even admit they modified it! Really? Why?  A modified Bible version?   I feel like their website attempts to pressure you into using (purchasing) their "modified" version, too. I read about this in someone's blog. It linked to  here .  I will be using my King James version.  Here is some of their information....

The Bible in 90 Days Bible

Who needs this Bible:
Each participant in The Bible in 90 Days program, or anyone who wants to read the Bible from cover to cover.
We selected this Bible for the curriculum and worked with Zondervan to modify it  because it is a very good reading Bible. Its benefits include:

• NIV translation (very readable; contemporary language, yet a rigorous translation)
• Large print
• Minimum number of footnotes
• Thin and portable
• Start and end markers for each day’s reading
• Read just 12 pages a day to finish entire Bible in 90 days

 This Bible is strongly recommended for anyone who desires to successfully read the Bible from cover to cover in 90 days. Even if you already own a Bible, this Bible is the one you need for this reading and will greatly increase your chances for success. Here is why.

What is The Bible in 90 Days?

The Bible in 90 Days is a Bible reading curriculum which helps people read attentively the entire Bible — from cover to cover — in 90 days. Churches across denominations, prisons, drug rehabilitation missions, corporate Bible studies and neighborhood small groups have all used the curriculum successfully to help people read the entire Bible. Small towns have even  invited their citizens to do this curriculum. Groups have ranged from 2 people to 1,000 people spanning 49 states and 20 countries.
Online communities have also used a modified version of the curriculum by integrating blog posts, email groups, Facebook groups,  Twitter chats and the #B90Days Twitter stream to encourage thousands to read the entire Bible together in just 90 days.

What ISN’T The Bible in 90 Days?

1. The Bible in 90 Days is NOT a speed-read through the Bible. Rather, it’s akin to reading the Bible like a novel.
2. It is NOT a Bible study.

How did the Bible in 90 Days begin?

The Bible in 90 Days program was developed by Ted Cooper in Houston, Texas, when, after being happily agnostic for 43 years, Ted decided to read the entire Bible, cover to cover. His life was forever changed by that experience, just as tens of thousands of lives have been changed by that decision and what came from it.
Click to read more about the History of Bible in 90 Days in Ted Cooper’s words.

So, there you have it. That is the information I have, and this is my plan. Keep me in your prayers, please. 

I ordered a "used" challenge kit from Amazon for only $35. that is suppose to be in very good condition. I hope to get it in the mail in a few days. In the mean time, I plan to begin with Genesis on October 1st.  I think I am also going to use my King James Bible on CD and follow along.




The bookmark I can print out and use to check off my progress.....  

        








                                                                                          

                 

Seven Deadly SIns

The Biblical Basis for The Seven Deadly Sins

The Bible includes lists of sins, though none align exactly with the traditional "seven deadly" sins.
Proverbs 6
¹⁶ These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
¹⁷ A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸ An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
¹⁹ A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
Galatians 5
¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
²⁰ Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
²¹ Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Here are examples of Bible passages for each of the seven deadly sins:

• Examples Bible passages on lust: Gen. 3:6, Job 31:9, Prv. 6:24-25, Matt. 5:28, 1 Cor. 9:27, 1 Tim. 6:9
• Examples Bible passages on gluttony: Ex. 16:20-21, Num. 11:32-33, Luke 12:19-20, Rom. 13:13-14
• Examples Bible passages on greed: Ex. 20:17, Neh. 5:7, Job 20:15, 31:24, Matt. 16:26, 1 Cor. 5:11
• Examples Bible passages on sloth: Prv. 6:6, 10:4-5, Matt. 25:27, Rom. 12:11, 2 Thess. 3:10, Heb. 6:12
• Examples Bible passages on wrath: Ps. 37:8, Prv. 6:34, 14:17, Matt. 5:22, 2 Cor. 12:20, Eph. 4:26
• Examples Bible passages on envy: Ps. 37:1, 49:16, 73:3, Rom. 1:29, 1 Cor. 13:4, 1 Tim. 6:4-5
• Examples Bible passages on pride: Deut. 8:17, 1 Sam. 2:3, Prv. 8:13, 11:2, Matt. 20:26, Luke 18:14

source

The History of The Seven Deadly Sins
"The Seven Deadly Sins" can be traced back to the 4th century A.D. when a monk named Evagrius Ponticus generated his own sin list, likely stemming from problems he saw in his own day (behaviors which undoubtedly were, and still are, present in other times and places). [1]

According to Sacred Origins of Profound Things, by Charles Panati, Greek monastic theologian Evagrius of Pontus first drew up a list of eight offenses and wicked human passions:. They were, in order of increasing seriousness: gluttony, lust (fornication/prostitution), avarice (extreme  greed for wealth or material gain), sadness (ie envy - sadness at another's good fortune), anger-wrath, acedia (dejection, gloominess, depression), vainglory, and boasting (ie verbal proclamation of inner pride). Evagrius saw the escalating severity as representing increasing fixation with the self, with pride as the most egregious of the sins. Acedia (from the Greek "akedia," or "not to care") denoted "spiritual sloth."

In the late 6th century, Pope Gregory the Great reduced the list to seven items, folding vainglory into pride, acedia into sadness, and adding envy. His ranking of the Sins' seriousness was based on the degree from which they offended against love. It was, from most serious to least: pride, envy, anger, sadness, avarice (greed), gluttony, and lust. [2] Later theologians, including St. Thomas Aquinas, would contradict the notion that the seriousness of the sins could be ranked in this way. The term "covetousness" has historically been used interchangeably with "avarice" in accounts of the Deadly Sins. In the seventeenth century, the Church replaced the vague sin of "sadness" with sloth.

Gregory’s list and its order was cemented into Roman Catholic tradition for centuries to come when the Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) used them in his epic tale, The Divine Comedy.

Sources
[1.] Evagrio Pontico,Gli Otto Spiriti Malvagi, trans., Felice Comello, Pratiche Editrice, Parma, 1990, p.11-12.
[2.]  Introduction to Paulist Press edition of John Climacus: The Ladder of Divine Ascent by Kallistos Ware, p. 63

What happens when we die?

Death is nearly as old as life itself on this planet, and its roots are from even earlier. The Bible records the origin of death on earth and also the events that happened elsewhere that allowed for death to exist in the first place. The Scriptures are perfectly clear that death is an abnormality and was never meant to exist at all.

To understand why everyone on this planet is subject to the strange mystery of death, we must first travel elsewhere in the universe, to a place the Bible calls heaven.

Heaven is where God dwells. It is the headquarters of the universe. Long before there was life on earth, there was life in heaven. The Bible tells us that creatures we know as angels existed there. There were many angels, “ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands and thousands” of them, a number so high they are essentially “innumerable” (Revelation 5:11; Hebrews 12:22). These beings lived in perfect harmony with each other. They served God and each other. There was no death. God’s perfect creatures were made to live forever, living ever more abundantly as time went on.

But something went wrong in this heavenly paradise. The Bible tells us of one of these angels who was “perfect in [his] ways from the day [he was] created, till iniquity was found in [him]” (Ezekiel 28:15). In other words, the seed of sin festered in this angel’s heart until it finally erupted into a full rebellion.

Unfortunately, this was no ordinary angel. He was the “anointed cherub who covers;” he ministered “on the holy mountain of God,” walking “back and forth in the midst of fiery stones” (Ezekiel 28:14). He had the highest position of all the angels, ministering directly to God. As such, there was no one in heaven with more power, authority, or influence than this angel, except for God Himself.

What was the nature of this angel’s sin? The Bible says: “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor” (Ezekiel 28:17). His sin was pride. As a perfect creature made by God, his beauty was remarkable and his wisdom was splendid. However, rather than give glory to God for these gifts, he became proud because of them. He saw them not as gifts but as self-earned attributes.

The Bible gives more details still. This angel’s name was Lucifer, we’re told in Isaiah 14:12. He became so prideful that he began to covet the worship the other angels gave to God. He desired to usurp the throne of God and take His place. The Bible declares of Lucifer,

“¹³ For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:¹⁴ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.'"
 (Isaiah 14:13, 14).

Because Lucifer could not declare open rebellion against God without help, he gathered the support of many of the other angels and, eventually, a “war broke out in heaven” (Revelation 12:7). Lucifer, now renamed Satan (the accuser) because of his rebellion, lost this war, and he and his followers were banished. “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Revelation 12:9).

And so this sinful angel came to earth. We can reasonably infer from the Bible that this drama occurred before God created life on earth, because Satan was already present on the earth at the beginning. God gave the first man and the first woman free reign to explore, to do and eat anything they desired in their original, perfect home … except for a single thing. God made one tree off-limits to them as a test of their loyalty, and Satan was ready to do what was necessary to make them fail that test.

Let’s stop for a moment to consider something important: Why did God not destroy Satan in the beginning? That would have prevented him from coming to Earth and spared all of us from sin and death. Why did God permit Satan to live when the rest of us must die? This question is of the greatest significance, and it gets right to the heart of who God is and why we should learn about Him.

The Bible tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). The Bible also says that love is not provoked but rejoices in the truth (1 Corinthians 13:4-6). Just as we are free to make our own decisions each day, so too are the angels. Satan accused God of being unfair, of hoarding to Himself power and worship that rightly belonged to others including Satan himself. If God destroyed Satan immediately as a result of his rebellion, the remaining angels would see that God was easily provoked and might be afraid of Him. They might serve Him out of fear and not love. In order for God to demonstrate the truth about His character of love, He must allow Satan’s rebellion to reveal its own results. God wants His angels and people to serve Him because His way is righteous, just, and leads to life, happiness, and prosperity—not out of fear of destruction if they rebel. When Satan’s rebellion in heaven and on earth reveals that its results are death, disease, destruction, heartache, divorce, starvation, torture, war, homicide, suicide, genocide, and “all kinds of evil,” all created beings will see for themselves that God deserves our worship and is, truly, love (1 Timothy 6:10).

 Satan chose earth to continue his rebellion and determined to cause the first man and woman to disobey God’s only prohibition. Genesis 2:16 records God’s instruction to the man regarding this boundary. It says,

“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’”

The instruction was plain. Eating from the forbidden tree would result in death. Death did not exist at that time, and would not have ever existed on earth if the man and woman had obeyed this simple command.

We must ask ourselves why the penalty for this small infraction was so severe. The answer is simple. The Bible is clear that God “alone has immortality” and that “the gift of God is eternal life” (1 Timothy 6:16; Romans 6:23). So, immortality can only exist through a connection with God. If that connection is severed, immortality ceases and death ensues. The Bible uses the word “sin” to describe this separation from God; though it is used to label specific actions that are contrary to God’s will, such as adultery and murder, God sees sin as a much bigger problem because it severs His children from Himself and makes them subject to death. Sin is a state of being apart from God. Therefore, even a small act of rebellion separates the sinner from God and results in death.

Satan succeeded in tricking the first woman into disobeying God, and she in turn caused the man to disobey as well. Taking the form of a talking serpent (which would baffle and amaze just about anybody, wouldn’t it?), Satan claimed that disobeying God would not result in death, but would instead give them powers and understanding beyond what they currently possessed. The Bible records this deception in Genesis 3:1–5, which reads:

“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, “You shall not eat of every tree of the garden”?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, “You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.”’ Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’”

Satan told the woman that her disobedience would cause her to be like God. This, we remember, was Lucifer’s original sin. Like Lucifer, the woman fell victim to this temptation and ate the forbidden fruit. Genesis 3:6 tells us, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”

Since the man and the woman had sinned, they now knew the nature of evil. God is good; God is love. To be separate from goodness and love is to be joined with badness and evil. Evil cannot inherit immortality, for God alone is immortal and God is not evil. God declares, in Genesis 3:22, 23,

“‘Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever’— therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.”

The man and woman eventually had children, and every person ever born is ultimately descended from this original pair. Everyone born since that time has been subject to death.

This sad tale has affected everyone who has ever lived. Through no fault of our own, we were born into a world that is separated from the God who created it, and as such we all must face the day we must eventually die. But there is hope! The same God who made mankind “in His own image” cares too much to allow us to die in despair (Genesis 1:27). Through Jesus Christ, we have the hope of immortality restored to us.

 Humanity cannot overcome death by itself. The Bible tells us plainly that “the wages of sin is death,” so death is the penalty we all must pay (Romans 6:23). But God chose to pay our ultimate penalty for us. Jesus Christ, who is God in human flesh, lived a life free from sin yet died anyway. He took the sins of the entire world upon Himself and suffered our consequence so we might live eternally according to His righteousness. The mystery of salvation is greater even than the mystery of death, yet the truth of the matter is that God loves each person so much that He chose to impart eternal life to sinners even though they don’t deserve it, and the only thing He asks in return is faith that He has done this remarkable thing.

To all who understand this, God freely imparts the promise of eternal life in paradise, where they will never be subject to death again. The Bible declares triumphantly, “Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54). The mystery of death will become the memory of death, and its horror will disappear from reality forever.

Until that time, however, we must live with the reality of death, and there has been much confusion and misunderstanding over the issue. Even Christian churches throughout time have stumbled over this topic. We believe, however, that a thorough and honest study of the Scriptures reveals the true nature of death and the beauty of God’s solution to it.

So what, exactly, happens when we die? Heaven? Hell? Reincarnation? Nothing?

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me,” and also, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live” (John 14:6; John 11:25). Because of these bold claims, followers of Jesus’ teachings have often claimed to know the “truth about death,” claiming the Bible as their authority on the matter.

Yet how can this approach be foolproof when the “truth about death” varies even between Christian churches? How can we be confident in our Bible study technique so that we are also confident in the result it yields?

The answer lies in the Bible itself, offering a prescription for finding God’s truth:

“Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little” (Isaiah 28:9, 10).

In other words, a mature study of God’s message (one that contains more than just the “milk” of the Scriptures) demands that each passage about a subject must be compared to every other passage on the subject in the Bible. If we fail to do this, we might look at only part of the message and declare it to be the entire truth. Worse yet, we might misunderstand the message and declare blatant falsehood as truth.

So let’s begin at the beginning and see if the message we find there remains consistent as the rest of the Bible unfolds.

The first chapter of Genesis says that the heavens and the Earth were all created by God as He spoke them into existence.

“Then God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear’; and it was so” (Genesis 1:9).

 God’s words create matter and energy. He is so powerful that He must merely say something for it to become reality.

Yet the Bible tells us that God did not speak mankind into existence. Rather, He molded the first man with His own hands. “The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). God cares for mankind so much that He used His own hands to make man perfect. Then, because the body must be animated to become alive, God breathed the “breath of life” into the body, and the man lived.

It is important to recognize this formula for life. The body without the breath is not alive; neither is the breath alive without a body. Only when the two elements are joined together does life occur. When we look at the same passage in the King James translation, it says, “Man became a living soul.” The word “soul” has been used to describe an intangible part of the human that is separate from the body and lives on after death, but the Bible defines a “soul” as the combination of a body and the breath, or spirit, from God. A person does not HAVE a soul; a person IS a soul, according to the Word of God.

Life, then, comes from God as a gift. The Old Testament patriarch Job understood this when he said, “As long as my breath is in me, And the breath of God in my nostrils,” he would not commit sin (Job 27:3). He knew that the breath inside of him was truly the breath from God.

The author of the book of Ecclesiastes, most likely King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, demonstrated this equation in reverse. He wrote, describing death, “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7).

Therefore, we acknowledge that there is an invisible, intangible part of human life that exists apart from the body. However, the Bible tells us that it is not an immortal human soul, but rather a spirit from God. God lends us a part of Himself while we are alive, but that part returns to God when we die because it was always on loan from God to begin with.

The Bible records this same truth in the Christian era. The apostle James declares that “the body without the spirit is dead,” and thus recognizes that life is a combination of those two elements and ceases to exist when they are separated.

This concept is easy to understand when we consider the elements of artificial light. We create light by starting with a light bulb and adding an electric current to it. The product of those two elements is light. When we break the bulb or stop the electricity, the light ceases to exist. The light, like our lives, cannot exist in the absence of either of the two components that make it up.

This teaching obviously differs from what most Christian churches teach. While we respect their views and their faith, we encourage every person to take an honest look at what the Scriptures say about the subject of death. Not only is its formula for life clear, as we’ve demonstrated, but it has an abundance to say about the human experience after death as well. Consider these few thoughts on the matter:

“The dead do not praise the LORD, Nor any who go down into silence” (Psalm 115:17).

This tells us that death brings silence, and not praise, for God. Wouldn’t you praise God if you were in His presence in heaven?

“[A man’s] spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish” (Psalm 146:4).

Our plans do not continue beyond the grave because death means the cessation of life. Life stops at death.

“For in death there is no remembrance of [God]; In the grave who will give You thanks?” (Psalm 6:5).

How can we not remember God if we are with Him each day?

“For Sheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth” (Isaiah 38:18).

Death holds no thanks, praise, or hope for God.

“Yet he shall be brought to the grave, And a vigil kept over the tomb” (Job 21:32).

The dead go to the grave and stay there.

“For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; Nevermore will they have a share In anything done under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6).

This speaks for itself, doesn’t it?

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).

The Bible is overwhelmingly clear that death means death. When we die, we return to the same state of consciousness we had before we were born: none.

It is understandable why pagan religions and cultures often immortalize their dead and why this doctrine crept into both the Jewish and, eventually, Christian religions over time. The grief that survivors must endure after a loved one dies can be unbearable, and the thought of this loved one in a perfect paradise looking down upon the survivors can bring a sense of relief and comfort. If this were the story the Bible gave us, we would believe it. However, the Bible tells us plainly that death means a loss of consciousness and a loss of life.

Though this understanding highlights how horrible death really is, it also should alleviate our fears about it. No matter how painful a method of death is, no matter how many unresolved issues you leave behind, no matter how scared of the dark you are, at the moment of death you will cease to be aware of anything, even your own death. Just as you can never tell the moment you fall asleep, so too is death. There is nothing to fear, because there is nothing at all.

 Consider the alternative for a moment. If you could actually look down upon the remaining earthlings from your divine heavenly paradise, you would see that the people you love continue to struggle, get sick, and die. You would witness their lies and their hurts. You would see the secret things they never wanted you to see when you were alive. If they rebel against God, you would know ahead of time that they would not join you in heaven. It is hard to imagine paradise including those things.

Also consider that the idea that death brings an immediate reward that includes greater knowledge and abilities than you had before is the same lie that Satan told the first woman to get her to rebel against God in the garden of Eden! He told her, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4, 5). The devil made sin, which leads to death, seem like an attractive thing; death seemed like a reward. The devil has been telling this lie since the beginning. He has told the same story all throughout time.

Another Bible text confirms that the dead go to sleep when they die, but it also gives a hint as to how God will eventually correct this problem. Consider Job 14:10–12:

“But man dies and is laid away; Indeed he breathes his last And where is he? As water disappears from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dries up, So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, They will not awake Nor be roused from their sleep.”

This text tells us that a man’s death is like a river drying up and promises that the sleep of death will not be disturbed until “the heavens are no more.” Did you know that the Bible talks about a time when the heavens will, indeed, be no more?

At that time, the dead will be roused from their sleep. God loves His children too much to allow them to die forever. Jesus Christ makes a promise to everyone who will believe it and accept it regarding the time when the dead will wake up. He says:

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1–3).

So Christ tells us that when He returns to Earth, He will raise the dead and bring them to heaven with Him, so everyone can be together in a land with no more death. The Bible describes Christ’s return by saying, “The stars of heaven fell to the earth, and the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up” (Revelation 6:13, 14). The heavens, as we know them, will be no more, and life will never be the same again.

Death might be a sleep of unconsciousness, but it is only temporary. For those who trust in God to keep His promises, eternal life without death awaits.

Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate, came to earth to live a sinless life and die bearing the sins of every man, woman, and child throughout time, thus redeeming the fallen race from the plague of death and offering eternal life to anyone who is willing to accept it. But how, exactly, will this solution come about? Christ lived nearly two millennia ago, and we are still living in a world with death and sin.

Clearly, the controversy is not over yet … but it will be soon. Jesus Christ promised to return and told us about many signs in the world that act as indicators that His return is drawing near. Every single one of those signs is being fulfilled in today’s world.

 But what do we have to look forward to when Jesus comes back?

We find an amazing Bible promise in 1 Thessalonians 4:16. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.”

When Jesus returns, everyone will know it. It will not be a secret. God’s voice is so loud that even the dead hear it (John 5:28). Just as God’s voice created the earth and all that is in it in the first place, His voice recreates life for the dead throughout time who hoped for a better life in heaven someday. The “dead in Christ” will come out of their graves into eternal life without end.

The promise continues in verse 17, saying, “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

God’s people who remain alive until the moment Christ returns are not left out of this amazing event. They will join the risen dead to meet Jesus in the air and will enjoy eternal life without ever experiencing death. We hope to be part of that group. We hope you are too.

But what will this new life be like? Will we exist as spirit beings, playing harps on clouds for eternity? Or does God have something else in store?

First Corinthians 15:51, 52, describes the great resurrection day by saying,

“We shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

The new body we will receive at Christ’s return will not be the same as the one we have now. The author continues his description in verse 53: “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

The new body will not be subject to corruption. It will never die. It will not grow old, diseased, or decrepit. We will live forever in the presence of God in bodies that reflect His goodness and glory. Never again will our bodies be separated from the breath of life. Never again will our souls die.

Much more can be said about the resurrection body and a life without death, but that is a topic for another time.

We know from the Bible that death is an abnormality. It was never part of God’s plan; it exists due to rebellion against God; death is the cessation of life, and it holds nothing but silence and unconsciousness; God paid the ultimate price for sin and death in the person of Jesus Christ; and one day … soon … all who accept God’s free gift of eternal life will be changed and will never experience death again.

Jesus paid the price for you to receive eternal life without death, but you have the power to accept or reject that gift. It is our sincere hope that you accept that gift today and set your heart on the life to come, when death, disease, and all misery will be things of the past. We hope to see you in heaven someday. Won’t you join us? Won’t you make a decision for God today?

source: truthaboutdeath.com