Another interesting example is found in the third chapter of
the Book of Acts, where Peter heals a lame man who is asking
for alms near the temple in Jerusalem. Peter plainly tells
the man that he has no money, and then proceeds to heal the
man by the Power of God. Even though Peter obviously has no
money, does he ask the lame man for a financial gift before
he is willing to heal him? Of course not, as we see here:

"And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried,
whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is
called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the
temple; Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the
temple asked an alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him
with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto them,
expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said,
Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee:
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and
immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And
he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into
the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. And all
the people saw him walking and praising God: And they knew
that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of
the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement
at that which had happened unto him."
Acts 3:2-10, KJV

It is plain to see then that Biblical truth, and the Power
and the Spirit of God, cannot, and should not, be bought or
sold for profit. In my view, there is no difference between
what these money-making Bible hucksters are doing today, and
what the moneychangers and temple merchants did almost two
thousand years ago. Whether you sell doves in the temple, or
exchange coins so that people can pay their tithes, or sell
books, magazines, tapes or videos which purportedly contain
the truth of God's Word, it is all the same selfish spirit of
worldly commercialism. It is making a worldly business out of
God's Divine Business of winning lost souls to His Kingdom.

On a related note, it may interest you to know that the word
"publish" is mentioned eighteen times in the Authorized King
James version of the Holy Bible. The word "publisheth" is
also mentioned four times. In every instance, these words
are not referring to writing and selling books, but rather
to verbally proclaiming or declaring something. Following
are a few examples which may be familiar to you:

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that
bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth
good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith
unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!"
Isaiah 52:7, KJV

"And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is
written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the
gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"
Romans 10:15, KJV

Notice how the Apostle Paul substitutes the word "preach" in
order to show the true meaning of the word "publish", as it
was used by the Prophet Isaiah. When Jesus told His Disciples
in Mark 16:15 to "Go ye into all the world and preach the
Gospel to every creature", that is exactly what He meant: Go
preach, or verbally publish, the Good News. Of course, thanks
to the Lord's foresight, He gave His followers the wisdom to
eventually write down everything so that future generations
of Christians could be spiritually edified by their accounts
and teachings. However, when the holy men and Prophets of the
Bible did write their various parchments, books, Gospels and
Epistles, they did not go around selling them for a profit.
They freely distributed them to the Body of Believers. It was
probably very similar to a free courier system, to maintain
communication between the early Believers. Their intent was
to exalt the Lord, and to instruct, strengthen and edify the
Church; that is, the worldwide Body of Believers. It wasn't
to earn a profit like so many of these money-making Bible
hucksters do today.

Imagine if the original writers of the Bible had only sold
their works to those who could afford them. Would the truth
of the Bible be as widely dispersed as it is today? Probably
not. It would probably be similar to when the Roman Catholic
Church intentionally kept the Bible in Latin, and out of the
hands of ordinary people, so that they could dictate what it
meant, and thus maintain control over the consciences of the
masses. Is it any wonder then that today the Roman Catholic
Church has compromised with the secular world, and continues
to be one of the largest and richest commercial enterprises?
Sadly, many other denominations have quickly followed in the
steps of the Roman Catholic Church, and are equally guilty of
the very same things. In our modern day, these money-minded
Christians don't even realize that they have fulfilled one of
the very things that Jesus warned us against when He said:

"And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the
mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may
receive you into everlasting habitations."
Luke 16:9, KJV

Nowadays, some materialistic Christians claim that the Lord
came to give us the abundant life. The Southern Baptists are
particularly notorious for promoting this false belief. They
will quote all of their favorite verses in their attempts to
justify their selfish lifestyle, but they have gotten it all
wrong. Jesus was not talking about physical abundance, but
rather spiritual abundance; that is, being rich in Spirit.
In fact, if we turn to the Sermon on the Mount, we find the
following verses:

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth
and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and
steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not
break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also."
Matthew 6:19-21, KJV

So tell me; who has really misinterpreted the Scriptures?
Those verses certainly don't talk about an abundant life in
the flesh as these material-minded Christians like to claim.
Only a few verses later, Jesus made it even more clear what
He meant when He said the following:

"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the
one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one,
and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
Matthew 6:24, KJV

That word "mammon" is derived from the Greek "mammonas", and
is referring to accumulating physical wealth. As Jesus also
stated in several of the Gospels:

". . . Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly
enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you,
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,
than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God . . .
And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or
sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or
lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and
shall inherit everlasting life."
Matthew 19:23-24, 29, KJV

". . . Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches
to enter into the kingdom of God!"
Mark 10:24b, KJV

"So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all
that he hath, he cannot be my disciple."
Luke 14:33, KJV

The Apostle James likewise had some rather harsh words for
the rich people of the world. In the fifth chapter of his
Epistle he wrote the following:

"Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries
that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and
your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is
cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against
you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have
heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire
of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is
of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them
which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of
sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been
wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of
slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he
doth not resist you. Be patient therefore, brethren, unto
the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for
the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for
it, until he receive the early and latter rain."
James 5:1-7, KJV

Why did the Lord teach such difficult things? Quite simply,
because He fully knows and understands the heart of man; and
He realizes that the vast majority of wealthy people are not
willing, or capable, of giving up their riches. They prefer
the riches and power of this current temporal world, and not
the spiritual rewards and riches of God's Eternal Kingdom. I
have often said that we should never forget that such people
are in business to make as much money as they possibly can,
and at whatever the cost; because they are married to their
money. Furthermore, as the Apostle Paul tells us, the love
of money is the root of all evil. Why are there so many wars
and other evils in the world? In many cases, after we clear
away all of the lies and deceptions that are put in place by
worldly governments, we discover that it is all about money
and profit. Paul wrote:

"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while
some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and
pierced themselves through with many sorrows."
1 Timothy 6:10, KJV


Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23
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