“But the men [the two Angels] put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.” Genesis 19:10-11, KJV
“And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.” Genesis 19:15-17, KJV
“The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.” Psalm 34:7, KJV
“The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.” Psalm 68:17, KJV
“And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of the LORD’S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.” Joshua 5:13-15, KJV
“And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:16-18, KJV
“There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.” Psalm 91:10-12, KJV
“Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.” Psalm 105:15, KJV
“And when they [the wise men] were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him . . . But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life.” Matthew 2:13, 19-20, KJV
“But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea . . . Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 18:6, 10, KJV
“Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison. But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.” Acts 5:17-20, KJV
“And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.” Acts 12:6-11, KJV
“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Hebrews 13:2, KJV
“And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.” Mark 9:35, KJV
“But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.” Mark 10:31, KJV
“And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.” Mark 10:44, KJV
“And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.” Luke 14:7-10, KJV
Now here is the perfect picture of some of the high and mighty officials of organized religion . . . just like the Scribes and Pharisees of old:
“And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: Which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.” Mark 12:38-40, KJV
“Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets.” Luke 11:43, KJV
“Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts; Which devour widows’ houses, and for a shew make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation.” Luke 20:46-47, KJV
“But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question. And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.” Acts 23:6-8, KJV
“The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.” Matthew 22:23-33, KJV
“Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man’s brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed. And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise. And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also. In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife. And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God? For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven. And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.” Mark 12:18-27, KJV
“Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him, Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man’s brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died without children. And the second took her to wife, and he died childless. And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also: and they left no children, and died. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she? for seven had her to wife. And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.” Luke 20:27-38, KJV
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I was motivated to write the following short commentary due to a comment which someone posted on Facebook under one of my graphics. This person and I have been Facebook “friends” for not quite seven years according to the “See Friendship” section of their timeline. Their comment was posted under the following graphic:
For the record, the reason why I placed the word “friends” in quotes in the previous paragraph is because I had to go to this particular person’s timeline in order to determine if we were even friends, because I obviously don’t even remember or recognize their name. Sound familiar?
“Why don’t you remember them?”, you may ask. Well, because the truth is that this person has rarely — if ever — engaged with me and the BBB ministry in any meaningful way — meaning likes, comments, shares or personal chats — in the almost seven years that we have been Facebook friends. In fact, just to make sure that my facts were right, before writing this commentary, I checked this person’s timeline as far back as November of 2018 — or eleven months ago — and since that time — and probably a lot earlier — they had not shared a single one of my graphics. Neither had they commented anywhere on my Facebook timeline, Facebook page, or in the BBB public group. And we most certainly have never had any private chats during this time, if ever.
As I have mentioned before, the only people who I remember on Facebook — or on any other social networks for that matter — are those whose names I see frequently on my timeline, on my Facebook page or in the BBB group. I suspect that the same situation occurs with most Facebook users; particularly if one happens to have thousands of friends, as I do.
In other words, whether it is on Facebook or on some other social network, we all carry a lot of dead weight around on our friends list. That is, people who we know very little to nothing about, and who we can’t even remember, precisely because they never make an appearance and engage with us. They are in fact complete strangers to us, and just a faceless name on our friends list.
So I am motivated to ask: What is the point of two people calling themselves “friends” on Facebook or anywhere else, if there is little or no engagement of any kind? In my view, it is similar to two people getting married, and then they each have their own bedroom, and engage in very little interaction, sexual or otherwise. Worse yet would be if they each live in their own house. Such a relationship is surely doomed to eventual failure. Sadly, this is a relationship in name only; just like many lukewarm Christians have with Jesus.
But what irked me the most about this person’s comment, is the fact that when they finally did pop their head out of the ditch, so-to-speak, it was to make a low jab with a criticizing, condescending comment. What they said was the following:
“So a person who wants to be a new friend has to measure up to your stature. Hmmm, sounds like a person has to climb a pedestal to be a friend.”
Apparently, this person made this comment all because I ask people to get to know me first before sending me a friend request. I simply ask them to not make a hasty decision, and to make sure that that they want to be friends with me. It seems like a very reasonable and fair request to me, don’t you think?
The fact that this person would even make the pedestal comment, suggests that they did not even take the time to read the whole text comment which I included above the graphic in question. Or if they did read it, they certainly didn’t understand it. So in response to this person’s critical jab, allow me to state the following:
No, there is no pedestal to climb. I simply look for quality friendships on Facebook. Unlike some people, I don’t just blindly approve every single friend request that appears under my “Friend Requests” menu. My goal is not to bloat my friends list in an effort to impress people with how many friends I have. As I explained in the text message that was included with the graphic, I actually take the time to visit each and every person’s timeline or page in order to vet them first, as we all should be doing. As Jesus taught, we are to be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
It is precisely when people fail to vet each friend request, and instead just let every person through the door, that riff-raff, troublemakers and scammers sneak onto their friends list, which could later lead to problems. So, because I do take the time to do this with each and every person who sends me a friend request, yes, it does indeed irk me when only minutes after I approve their friend request, for reasons which remain unknown to me, they turn around and unfriend me, thus wasting my time.
That is the point of the particular graphic which this person commented on; which they would have known, had they taken the time to read and understand the whole text comment which is included with the graphic.
To reiterate, friends, don’t just approve every friend request that you see under your “Friend Requests” menu. Take the time to vet them first. If you don’t, you are asking for trouble. Allow me to give you one quick example. I can’t tell you how many times I have gone to a timeline to check out a person, only to be confronted with “My nude photos here”, followed by a link, at the very top of their timeline. My friends, that is the kind of people you may be adding to your friends list, if you just blindly approve every name you see under the “Friend Requests” menu.
Now, imagine if one of your own friends goes and visits that same page, because they see that you are friends with that person. It might leave you a bit embarrassed, and they may even question their friendship with you as well. So do yourself a favor. Take the time to check out all potential new friends first, or you may end up paying later.
“For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.” Psalm 139:13-16, KJV
“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5, KJV
“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Romans 8:29, KJV
“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will . . . In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:” Ephesians 1:4-5, 11, KJV
