Truth really can be stranger than fiction.
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La verdad puede ser más extraña que la ficción.
First Page - ¡Ya está en marcha! Todas las historias son verídicas, o están basadas en hechos reales. Lectura ilimitada por $4.99 / mes. No hay que descargar nada. Lea en su teléfono, tableta u ordenador.
Manna Minutes Podcast: Eye-opening Bible study in less than five minutes! Access all episodes here.
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Estudio bíblico que nos hace abrir los ojos en menos de cinco minutos! Acceda a todos los episodios aquí.
Manna Minutes Podcast auf Deutsch:
Augenöffnendes Bibelstudium in weniger als fünf Minuten! Alle Episoden finden Sie hier.
Was There A Curse On Helen's Romantic Life?
The Third Man by Angela Sheffield is based on a true story. Read chapter one now!
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¿Qué tiene que ver conmigo? por Teófila Gottfried
Lo que leemos en la Biblia tiene que ver con todos los seres humanos, sean cristianos o judíos, ateos o agnósticos, budistas, musulmanes o adherentes a alguna de las filosofías o nuevas religiones que surgen en el mundo. ¿Por qué? Ver mayor información sobre este interesante libro.
Scripture of The Day - St. John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Escritura del día - San Juan 14,6
Jesús le dijo: Yo soy el camino, y la verdad, y la vida; nadie viene al Padre, sino por mí.
Bibelstelle des Tages - Johannes 14,6
Jesus spricht zu ihm: Ich bin der Weg und die Wahrheit und das Leben; niemand kommt zum Vater, denn durch mich!
Was Not God Unfair to Harden Pharaoh's Heart?
An Unfair God Who Is A Respecter of Persons?
Among the many legitimate questions that arise when discussing the biblical book of Exodus is: Why would God harden Pharaoh's heart, so he would refuse to let His people go free? The Lord then severely punished the pharaoh who eventually went to his death pursuing the children of Israel across the "sea." Doesn't the Bible tell us in 2 Peter 3:9 that the Lord wants everyone to be saved? Indeed it does. Why then would the God harden pharaoh's heart? Could it be that God didn't really want the pharaoh of the Exodus--or any Egyptian pharaoh for that matter--to come to repentance and receive salvation? That thought should be destroyed when we read, "...God is no respecter of persons. But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness is accepted with him" (Acts 10:34-35).
But God Did Harden Pharaoh's Heart
Some might teach that God hardened Pharaoh's heart in response to pharaoh's decision to harden his own heart against God. However, the scripture of Exodus 4:21 is the first instance in which we read of Pharaoh's heart being hardened, and that hardening was performed by the Lord. We read, "And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand. But I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go."
Yes, if we continue reading, we see that Pharaoh continued to harden his own heart against the Lord. Nevertheless, we cannot help but ask the question of why God was the first to harden him. Wasn't God putting Pharaoh at a disadvantage spiritually by hardening his heart? Why would God ever do something like that? And if He dealt with Pharaoh like this, who's to say there aren't others whom God has, and will harden?
Pharaoh of Egypt Knew God And Indeed Hardened His Own Heart
The second chapter of the New Testament book of Romans reveals that everyone ever born knew God in one of three possible ways:
1. The conscience
2. The Law of Moses
3. Jesus Christ
The conscience is the lowest level of knowing God. Nevertheless, it is a God-given internal knowledge of right and wrong when it comes to how to treat others. There have been many pagans who worshiped idols, because idol worship was all they knew. However, they did not believe in being cruel to others. Abraham is one such example. He was a pagan who worshiped idols when God called him. But nowhere do we read of Abraham being cruel to others. Considering that the Bible openly revels the sins of God's servants, it is not logical to think that we wouldn't be told of cruelty at the hands of Abraham. Remember, God is no respecter of persons. King David's cruelty against Uriah was recorded. The wrong that Jacob did against his profane bother Esau was recorded. And more examples could be cited.
The fact that Pharaoh couldn't know God through the Law of Moses--because it hadn't been given yet--does not mean he didn't know the Lord through his conscience. He knew that the children of Israel were suffering horrific cruelty under his administration. Archaeologists have found the skeletons whose backs were literally broken under the weight they were forced to bear. Pharaoh didn't need a divine commandment to tell him he was wrong. He knew he was wrong, because his conscience told him. He knew he was causing great suffering. He knew he was cruel, yet he refused to listen to God through his conscience. In reality, Pharaoh indeed was the first to harden his own heart by refusing conviction by his God-given conscience.
We read, "For when the Gentiles (pagans), which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their CONSCIENCE also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another." (Romans 2:14-15).
The above scripture speaks of the Gentiles. Pharaoh was a Gentile...a heathen, a pagan, so the scripture applies to him. The scripture speaks of people doing things by nature. "By nature" refers to things God has put into the nature of everyone, among those things is a conscience. "Their conscience also bearing witness", and "their thoughts...accusing or excusing." Our thoughts, or the seat of our conscience, can accuse us. This is what's called a guilty conscience. We know when we're doing others wrong. However, we can choose to make excuses for the wrong we do. In other words, we can choose to "justify" our wrong, to resist our conscience, and end up with a seered conscience...a heart from which the conscience has gone away. First Timothy 4:2 lets us know there is such a thing as a seered conscience.
When we choose to ignore God through the conscience He put in us, we run the risk of Him responding with hardening our heart, because He will not strive with man forever (Genesis 6:3). The thought of God hardening our heart should be extremely disturbing, because who can resist what He does? We read, "He hath mercy on whom he will have mercy. And whom he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?" (Romans 9:18-19).
Again, scripture show us that God doesn't just pick on someone by hardening his heart. If a person's heart is hardened by God, that individual first hardened his own heart. We read, "What then? Israel hath not obatained that which he seeketh for. But the election hath obtained it, and the rest were BLINDED. (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling block, and a recompense unto them. Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see..." (Romans 11:7-10).
And why was this done to them? "Because of UNBELIEF they were broken off" (Romans 11:20). Pharaoh, like Israel, chose not to believe God. And when we choose not to believe, that is the same as choosing to harden our hearts, which in itself is disobedience. Pharaoh didn't believe God, so he refused to let Israel go. This is why we are warned directly by the Spirit of God as we read, "Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." (Hebrews 3:7-8)
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Understanding the Mysterious Power of Metamorphosis or Shape Shifting
Based on true events, The Third Man by Angela Sheffield, brings the Bible up close and personal as the characters face real issues of life: Betrayal, deceit, romance, bitterness, anger against God, hopelessness, will power, perplexity, triumph, unforgiveness, mental illness, and the "Alcohol made me do it" excuse. Read chapter one FREE now.
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