Count to Pentecost #3

Deficient Weeks vs Complete Weeks

Fred R. Coulter—April 28, 1990

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There is a paper that was written by William F. Dankenbring, Astounding New Truth. We will critique that a little later. We also have five more years of the perpetual Hebrew Calendar and we will go through different exercises on those.

{transcriber's note: chart not available, please refer to booklet: How to Count to Pentecost (truthofgod.org)}

Before we get into it and the reason that I'm going through this, is because this is really setting the Churches of God on fire, as far as a lot of things going through the Church. So many are just not able to understand:

• where the problems are
• why the Truth is right

You've got to know both. You have to know both. You cannot understand what is in error unless you know what is correct. You can't understand what is correct unless you thoroughly go through it.

14 Rules for Bible Study {truthofGod.org}

• Begin with Scriptures that are easy to understand.
• Let the Bible interpret and prove the Bible.
• Understand the context—the verses before and after, the chapters before and after…and should harmonize with the rest of the Bible
• Try to understand the original language—Hebrew and Greek.
• What does the Scripture clearly say?
• What does the Scripture not say?
• To whom was the book written?
• Who wrote it?
• Who said it?
• Understand the historical timeframe
• Base your study on the Scriptural knowledge you already have.
• Do not allow personal assumptions or preconceived ideas to influence your understanding and conclusions.
• Do not form conclusions based on partial facts.
• Opinions don't necessarily count
  • past knowledge
  • opinions
  • faulty conclusions

Let's add one more to it: Bible study aids are not final authority when in conflict with the Bible! The reason I added that was because you will see in this paper that we are told that such a fine authoritative dictionary of the Bible tells us... If that's in direct contradiction to the clear Scriptures, then the authority doesn't mean anything.
The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version is properly and accurately translated. For those who do a lot of Bible study, I've gone into the Hebrew in great detail, which I won't burden you down with today, because some of the translations from the Hebrew would be no different. I've gone into the Hebrew in this Hebrew interlinear, McGill's Interlinear and also I've gone into it in Roshe's Interlinear. In each case, it is very, very evident that the only places in the entire Old Testament that the Hebrew word for Sabbath, 'Shabbat,' was translated week or weeks, is in Lev. 23. No other place in the entirety of the Bible in the Hebrew, did any of the translators, translate 'Shabbat,' as week. Let's review the words again.

'Shabbat' is Sabbath. Roshe makes it a little slick when he translates 'Sha-bath.' He calls it 'the rest day.'

Leviticus 23:7: "On the first day you shall have a Holy convocation…." Notice that nowhere in the context in Lev. 23, does it call the first day a Sabbath, though later it has been referred to as a Sabbath, right here it is referred to as "…a Holy convocation…."

"'…You shall not do any servile work therein, but you shall offer a fire offering to the LORD seven days. In the seventh day is a Holy convocation. You shall do no servile work therein.' And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, "When you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap the harvest of it, then you shall bring the premier sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD to be accepted for you. On the next day… [morrow KJV) …after the Sabbath…" (vs 7-11). This word means the weekly Sabbath and is so in the Hebrew.

The Septuagint does not use the same word, here for Sabbath, which would be 'sabbaton' or it would be 'tou sabbata,' but it uses first day, which is 'en hemera.' That is a complete interpretation. That is not a translation.

• What is the difference between a translation and an interpretation?
• translation: you must bring the exact same meaning from one language to another
  • interpretation: you put your own meaning on it, regardless of the original language
• Why would this be the weekly Sabbath instead of one of the two Holy Days, which could also be called Sabbaths?

But here in Lev. 23 they are called Holy convocations.

• So you can count properly and you have the right place to begin, which means you will have the right place to end!
• What is another reason why this is called 'the Sabbath'? It falls within that time period!
• What is an unusual feature that you have during the Days of Unleavened Bread? The reason this is called 'the Sabbath,' is to eliminate any confusion that it could be either one of the two Holy Days!
• Why is that? You can't have whole weeks to count it!

But if you have a week where you can conceivably have three Sabbaths, there would be a lot of confusion! Therefore, in this instance the first Holy Day is not called a Sabbath, here, and the seventh Holy Day is not called a Sabbath.

[transcriber's note: counting from handout not available; refer to booklet How to Count Pentecost]

I didn't address this last time on the Hebrew calendar, but what do we have here that is obviously and conspicuously wrong? There are two things. I barely mentioned it last week but I want to emphasize it. What is obviously and specifically wrong with the way that the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Passover are listed here? Not that the numbers of the month are wrong, because the days of the month are not wrong by numbered days. But what do we have that is specifically wrong by Jewish interpretation? It starts on the 15th! They have completely ignored and wiped out the Passover on the 14th. What else did they do that is specifically wrong concerning the Feast of Unleavened Bread? They ended it at the end of the 22nd! Instead of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread running from the 14th through the 21st, a total of 8 days, they have it running from the 15th to the 22nd, a total of 8 days.

We know that the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, according to Lev. 23 is the 15th of the 1st month! That is a Holy Day. The last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a Holy Day. What I want you to do is count each day: 15th thru the 21st, seven days. The 21st is the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The 15th is a Holy Day, which is the first day and the 21st is a Holy Day, which is the seventh day. During this seven days of Unleavened Bread we have a weekly Sabbath, which is the 17th in this particular year.

What is very interesting about the seven days of Unleavened Bread? I don't think that it's really occurred to anybody. There are two things that are very obvious about the seven Days of Unleavened Bread, but are so obvious that no one ever looks at it:

• How many days are there for the Days of Unleavened Bread? Seven!
• How many days are there in a week? Seven!
• Have you ever heard of 'the week' of Unleavened Bread? No!
• Isn't that interesting?
• Why is that interesting?
• Why is that important?

It shows that the Bible does not count a deficient week as a week, but it counts the seven days as seven days, which are parts of two weeks! That's why that's very important, because this helps us when we are counting toward Pentecost. We are told in Deut. 16 that we are to have seven complete weeks.

We derive from this, by the way of counting Pentecost, that a week in the Bible is from the first day through the seventh day of a week—a complete week. Any period that is seven days, is not automatically a week just because it's seven days. That's why the Feast of Tabernacles is not called the 'Week of Tabernacles.' It is called the Feast of Tabernacles, being seven days.

Feast of Tabernacles: the 15th of the 7th month and is called 'Sukkoth.' Nothing was changed on that. Notice again, you have parts of two weeks to cover the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles, plus the one day for the Last Great Day. Again, notice what the Jews did with this. You count the days. They have nine days. They added a day after the Last Great Day. Nothing like trying to out do God a little bit!

Again, it is very stunning that in the Bible, we are never told 'the week' of Unleavened Bread. We are never told 'the week' of Tabernacles. We are told the 'seven days' of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Tabernacles as being seven days. That's important! It is possible that every once in a while these will fall within a week.

Let's go back to the first month, Nisan, where we blocked off the 15th, 17th, and 21st. If the 15th and 21st were called Sabbaths in the same way and with the same force by God, as the Sabbath, 'Shabbat,' you would have really no end to arguments. Then you would have three from which to choose and guess what? The three different ways of counting to Pentecost are:

• from the first day
• from the Sabbath
• from the last day

That's why when God originally inspired it, here in Lev. 23, He said, 'the Sabbath,' very clearly. We'll get into some substantiating things on that.
Let's go through and count the proper way of counting for the year 1989:

• Which day is the Sabbath during the Days of Unleavened Bread? The 17th!
• What is the day after that? That is the 18th and that is the first day of the week!

That is the day that the wave sheaf was offered. Let's read what we are to count.

Leviticus 23:15: "And you shall count to you beginning with the next day after the Sabbath…"—'m mchrth shabbat.' That means, beginning with the day after the Sabbath. It is the Sabbath; it is not any other day.

"…beginning with the day… [on/from/including that day] …that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete" (v 15). The word for Sabbaths is the plural of 'shabbat.' It is not the plural of weeks!

Some people say it is permissible to translate 'shabbat' as weeks, but nowhere outside of two instances in Lev. 23, is 'shabbat' ever translated weeks. Never! Why should it be here unless there is an interpretation added.

"…seven Sabbaths shall be complete." Let's begin with day 18. Let's count the days for the week. We know it's seven; the first Sabbath is the 24th.

I want you to also notice something very important in counting. Notice that the first day is the 18th. Notice the regular Sabbath, is the 24th. If you did subtraction, how many days would come up with? Twenty-four minus eighteen and you come up to six! Whenever you subtract, you lose a day. Let me just review this again if that lost you. The first Sabbath is the 24th day of the first month. What is the first day of that week? The first day of that week is the 18th! Under that 24 that you wrote down, put 18. Then, you subtract and you have how many days? Six!

So, with a sleight of hand, I just proved that there are only six days in a week. Wrong! That's how cleverly these things can be done! So, when you are supposed to count, you always include the day you're on. Otherwise, you're subtracting and you come up a day short.

The same way as I used an example in part two of this series: If you work from Monday to Friday and your check only paid you from Tuesday through Friday, you would be eight hours short. You would notice that instantly—wouldn't you? Yes! Why can't people notice that instantly when they're counting toward Pentecost? It's not just the complicated things that can cause confusion, it's the simple things, which if misapplied cause problems.

I took a week's vacation time when I was pastoring the Church in Salt Lake City and I wanted to earn a little money, because I had a little project at home I wanted to do. So, one of the Church members, being a meat cutter said, 'Why don't you come and work for me and I will pay you $40 a day for cutting meat.' That sounded like a deal. So, I learned how to cut meat. I know how to cut a beef. I know how to break it out and do the whole thing. After seven days, I'm not exactly proficient, but at least I know what I'm doing. One of my jobs was to clean up the floor of this butcher shop. It hadn't been cleaned in a long, long time:

• What do they do in butcher shops when it's a little greasy? They throw down some sawdust!
• What happens with grease? It gets the dirt and it gets all together!
• What happens when that is on cement? It goes gush, right into the pores of the cement!

Wanting to do a 'jolly good job,' because I appreciated being able to make the extra money, I decided that I should leave it really, really clean. I was cleaning the floor and what's one of the things you put on the floor to get it clean? It's cement, but it doesn't make any difference. You can put it on the floor. Bleach! So, I swept out all of the sawdust and got that all out and I took three bottles of bleach and I dumped it all over. I had rubber boots on and I was really in my 'grubby goo grubbies.' I had this squeegee to clean it and broom to clean it and a brush. I was going to town and guess what? Bleach didn't really do it! Bleach, though it will get rid of dirt, is not a good grease-cutter.

So, here was this box of trisodium phosphate. It says, 'Good grease-cutter. Never use with Clorox or Purex.' Simple instruction! I read it! Did I follow it? I did not follow it! So, I went with this trisodium phosphate and here's a nice thick layer of bleach on the floor and I took that trisodium phosphate and I sprinkled it around and got in there and started working. That trisodium phosphate started going into chlorine gas. That's why they said, 'Don't mix it, stupid!' Simple instructions, which if not followed leads to complications. I could have fallen over dead. Chlorine gas is what they used in WWI .

I ran out, got my breath and I thought, 'Why didn't you follow the instructions? Now what on earth are you going to do?' All over the floor. It's working good though. It's bubbling and boiling and fuming and cutting. Pretty soon, where's all this stuff floating. I had to gather my wits about me and I took a great deep breath, ran back in, opened this window, opened that window, opened the other door, opened another door and ran out and got some more fresh air. I let it kind of air out and I took turns of about a minute of going in with the brush and the squeegee, hitting that thing and cleaning it out. I finally got it out. But you see, I could have lost my life because I didn't read and follow the simple directions. I read it, but I didn't follow it!

It's the same way here, with counting for Pentecost. It is simple if you do exactly what it says! It is complicated if you don't do exactly what it says. We had our first checkpoint as 'beginning on the day after the Sabbath you count seven weeks.' We come to the:

• 24th—first week
• 1st—second week
• 8th—third week
• 15th—fourth week
• 22nd—fifth week
• 29th—sixth week
• 7th—seventh week

We have seven complete weeks. Let's go back and read the rest of the simple directions.

Leviticus 23:15: "And you shall count to you beginning with the next day after the Sabbath, beginning with the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete. Even unto the day after the seventh Sabbath you shall number fifty days…" (vs 15-16). We've got these checkpoints:

• "…beginning with the next day after the [weekly] Sabbath…"
• "…seven Sabbaths shall be complete…."
• "…unto the day after the seventh Sabbath'—not week. That word for 'seventh Sabbath…"—Hebrew: the Sabbath, the seventh.

So, there is no doubt that in the year 1989 Pentecost fell on the 8th of June.

Now let's go back, since we know how to count the right way and 'mix a little trisodium phosphate in the chlorine' and see what we come up with. Here is the incorrect way to count.

The Jews have a tradition. What did we learn about traditions with the Passover? Traditions do not establish Biblical doctrine! Their tradition is that the sheaf of the wave offering was waved on the 16th, which is the day after the first Holy Day.

You will see the 6th of Sivan, which is called 'Shavuot'—that is 50 days. That part is a proper counting. They do have 50 days in their improper calculation. Let's go back to the 16th:

• What is the next day? The 17th!
• What day is that? That is the Sabbath!
• When you count seven Sabbaths, that is the first Sabbath.
• How many days in that week? Two days, 16th and 17th!

When you double-check it by counting seven Sabbaths, there are your seven Sabbaths. You will notice that it is one week ahead of the proper way to count. Why? Because they started counting from the wrong day and the very next day, on the second day, was a Sabbath! So, it's wrong.

Now, let's go to the day after the 7th Sabbath, the way they counted it, which is after the 6th Sabbath, the way it should be counted. You come to the 1st of Sivan, rather than the 6th of Sivan. When you count from the first Holy Day instead of the weekly Sabbath, you may be wrong! I won't say always, because in the year 1988 the 16th of Nisan falls on the first day of the week.

The 15th is a regular Sabbath and the 21st, the last Holy Day, is on a Friday. In this Feast of Unleavened Bread, there are how many Sabbaths. Two! There are two Holy Days, but the first Holy Day is a combined weekly Sabbath and first Holy Day. Any time there is a combined weekly Sabbath and first Holy Day, the Jewish traditional method of counting—on the 'day after' the first Holy Day—is correct; but only when the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread—the 15th day of the 1st month—falls on the regular weekly Sabbath!

It's easier to follow when you have something to look at. Can you imagine trying to follow this without something to read?

{transcriber's note: again note calendar charts in the following ways}:

• Faithful Version Bible
• Count to Pentecost booklet
• truthofgod.org

Why was it never explained before? Normally, if you would get this in a large congregation you would have it all thrown to you in a bunch of 'mish-mash' with nothing to study or follow. You would be told of the dastardly deeds of this hieratic spreading these things and you would have to say, 'by church authority, I must accept what they say.' Now you know why! If someone comes to you and says, 'Boy, look what I got!' You can say, 'Come into my parlor and look what I've got.'

For the year 1988, let's count our seven weeks again. This time it will fall on the 6th of Sivan. The traditional Pharisaical way of counting Pentecost is not always wrong. It is correct when the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread falls on a weekly Sabbath, because that is the 15th of the first month. Then the 16th of the 1st month falls on the 1st day of the week and they count properly then.

Let's look at 1990 again:

• the Sabbath, the 19th
• the last Holy Day, the 21st
• wave sheaf was to be offered, the 20th
• then you count the weeks

Pentecost falls on the 10th of Sivan. In part two I said the 10th of June, but that was incorrect. It is the 3rd of June. All you have to do is go over and look at June 3rd; that's when Pentecost is.

(go to the next track)

Again, I want to emphasize that the traditional Pharisaical way of counting Pentecost in the year 1990 is incorrect, because their first day of counting begins with the 16th. So, their first Sabbath is back a week.

I would have to conclude that if Pentecost would always fall on the same day of the month, there would be no reason to count. Every other day that is fixed by a numbered month and numbered day, God specifically states. We know that:

• the 14th day of the 1st month is the Passover
• the 15th day of the 1st month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the first Holy Day
• the 21st of the 1st month is the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a Holy Day
• the 1st day of the 7th month is the Feast of Trumpets
• the 10th day of the 7th month is Atonement
• the 15th day of the 7th month is the Feast of Tabernacles
• the 22nd, the Last Great Day, is a solemn assembly and in the Hebrew it is 'shabbat sabbaton,' which means a Sabbath of sabbathizing.

If it was to be on the 6th of Sivan, God would have said very clearly, 'And in the 3rd month on the 6th day of the 3rd month is the Feast of Weeks.'

Year 1991—the traditional Pharisaical way is correct. Why is it correct? Because the 16th of Nisan falls on the 1st day of the week! Whenever the 16th of Nisan falls on the 1st day of the week, the Pharisaical way of counting to Pentecost is correct. It falls on a Sunday.

Year 1992—we have the 16th is on the 1st day of the week. That means that they are keeping Pentecost on the correct day; 1st day of the week, seven complete weeks. Notice all the way through, they also celebrate the 7th of Sivan. So, they've got to add another day to be a little better than God.

Year 1993—the weekly Sabbath is the 19th of the 1st month. The day after the weekly Sabbath is the 20th. The reason for these extra years is so that you can see the similarity as you go through a period of 10 years, you will find the same thing reoccurring. Therefore, they are off in calculating their Pentecost because it should fall on the 10th of Sivan, the 10th of the 3rd month. Pentecost fell on May 30th; that would be the correct Pentecost.
I want you to count the correct way and the incorrect way. The correct way would bring Pentecost on the 10th of Sivan or the 30th of May. The incorrect way, counting the Pharisaical way, beginning from the 16th, your first Sabbath would be the 19th and your 7th Sabbath would be the 2nd of Sivan and in order to have Pentecost on 'the day after the seventh Sabbath,' you would be a week short. You can't get 50 days within that time period. That's why there is the check of 50 days. Remember, seven Sabbaths, seven complete weeks plus one day, or 50. That should bring it complete every time.

You count from 'the day after the Sabbath,' not from the Sabbath. 'From the day after the Sabbath,' which in 1993, brings you to Nisan 20. You don't count from the Sabbath, but from 'the day (morrow) after the Sabbath.'

Year 1994—I went through and reviewed it because there is one other problem that occurs, which is a year in which these things happen very rarely. Sometimes they will occur a couple of time in a row. Sometimes they will occur once every once in a while.

This Feast of Unleavened Bread is different than the others because the first Holy Day is on a Sunday. That becomes the Wave Sheaf Offering Day, and I will explain why: When you have the first Holy Day on a Sunday, the last Holy Day falls on a Sabbath, the regular weekly Sabbath. The 14th of Nisan, which is the Passover, which is on the regular Sabbath.

I'm going to explain to you why the Wave Sheaf Offering is done, in this case, on the first Holy Day (Sunday). The reason is the last Holy Day is on the Sabbath. You have no regular Sabbath during the Days of Unleavened Bread! You have one, which is the last Holy Day and the regular Sabbath, the 21st. The day after that then is outside the Feast of Unleavened Bread! The Feast of Unleavened Bread is already finished.

Why would it be waved on the first Holy Day in this rare instance? Because the Passover falls on a Sabbath! The Passover lamb has been sacrificed. The Wave Sheaf Offering should come—you can add one more rule—on the first day during the Days of Unleavened Bread, when the first Holy Day is on a Sunday; so that the sacrifice of Christ falls within the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread, not after the Days of Unleavened Bread.

The reason you count, in this case, using the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is because it's the first day of the week. It is waved on that day because the Passover lamb was sacrificed on the weekly Sabbath. The Passover lamb is the starting point for it in the rare instance where the entire week of the Feast of Unleavened Bread runs from the first day of the week to the last day of the week—the seventh day.

If it were waved on the 22nd, then you would have the sacrifice of Christ being accepted after the Days of Unleavened Bread rather than during the Days of Unleavened Bread. That is why Jesus was not crucified in a year when the Passover fell on a regular Sabbath.

The 5th of Sivan, being the 15th of May, is the Feast of Pentecost. In this case, everything is the tightest that it can be. You can't have anything shorter than this for the total number of days from Passover to Pentecost. You will notice that Pentecost is very early; this is a common year.

I would love to give a class on calendar calculation some time, because I think if you ever took it, ever went through it—it's really not difficult—and could ever master that, you would feel a great sense of accomplishment.

The months: Tishri, Heshvan, Kislev, Tibeth, Shebat, Adar.

Year 1995—the months again: Tishri, Heshvan, Kislev, Tibeth, Shebat, Adar 1, Adar 2. Whenever there is a leap year, the second Adar, Adar 2, is added.

• What does that do to the time of keeping the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread?
• Have you ever wondered why in some years it's early and some years it's late?

I'll tell you why. There's still all the Feast days, but that extra month we added on right there, you see it right before your very eyes is Adar 2. This a leap year with the added 30 days. That's what it is.

How does that work for the crops? It works just fine because I've never seen it out of season! Whenever you have a leap year or a common year, you will find that the seasons are right on.

• Have you ever heard of an Indian summer?
• Have you ever heard of a late spring?
• Why do we have an early summer, a late spring or a late fall? It's because the way that God has calculated time, He's accounted for that!

On a Hebrew calendar, what's going to happen to those who are born in Adar 2? The same thing that happens to every one today who is born on February 29th! You can't keep your birthday unless there's a 29th of February or you can't keep your birthday on a Hebrew calendar unless there's Adar 2.

The sacred calendar is figured in a 19-year time-cycle. There is such a thing, it is true it does exist, only it's been misapplied in prophecy. It is for calendar calculation! In the 19-year time-cycle, these following years are leap years, being approximately 385 days: 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, 19. All the rest are common years with approximately 353/4/5 days.

Why do I say that? Let's come back to 1995. Everything is late in 1995 in relationship to the other things that we have. The correct way and the Pharisaical way of calculating Pentecost are the same, because Nisan 16 falls on a Sunday. Notice, and you see something very rare that happens here: The same numbered days in April are the same numbered days in the first month of Nisan. April 16th is also Nisan 16. It very rarely happens, but it does.

The Feast runs until Friday, the 21st of April. That is late. In the year 1994 we find that the Feast runs until the 2nd of April. The reason being that from one year to the next is because there is that Adar 2 put in there. Now you know why it will vary.

That's why the seasons vary. God created the seasons. That's why Passover varies. That's why Pentecost will vary. So, in 1995 we have it very late.

Year 1996—Passover drops back 10 to 11 days. Passover is on the 4th of April.

So much for the calendar! Brethren, if you can understand this, I don't expect you necessarily to understand it the first time through. At least you can know that you're going to be challenged when you come to Sabbath services, which is fine. You wouldn't want to come and hear just whatever you knew that you were going to hear. I realize that it's been a little trying, a little tedious, but this arms you with the correct knowledge! After all, if it can be read I see no reason why it cannot be taught. That way, you're going to be on guard against anyone coming and saying that Pentecost is on a different day.

Believe it or not, if you've understood all of this up to this point, or at least you think you have grasped it and you think you can go home and practice and work through it, that's fine. Believe me, we are through the most difficult part. There is nothing hard to understand from here on out. That's a relief. Even though we've had to get into a few peripheral areas, which are not necessarily in the Bible, it reflects upon the Bible.

2-Timothy 2:14: "See that they remain mindful of these things, earnestly charging them in the sight of the Lord not to argue over words…" Isn't that what we are doing with Pentecost? Shabbat? Shabua?

"…that are not profitable in any way, but which lead to the subverting of those who hear" (v 14). I bet they were going through some of those things then. If there were Pharisees around, they had to be going through it.

Verse 15--we're admonished: "Diligently study to show yourself approved unto… [the rabbi, the minister, the congregation, NO!]: …God… [that's what we are supposed to do] …a workman who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of the Truth." That's what we're doing. We are 'rightly dividing the Word of the Truth.' You need to be armed with that same information.

Verse 16: "But avoid profane and vain babblings because they will only give rise to more ungodliness." It always does. Why? Because people become disillusioned!

It is so absolutely clear that the biggest reason why people get disillusioned with God, they say, is not because of God, but because of men who say they represent God! When there are all these vain janglings and strifes and 'I've got a new idea, an astounding new truth,' and all this sort of thing. Then people get turned off with it and it leads to more ungodliness.

Verse 17: "And their words will eat away at the body like gangrene… [because it will put doubts in your mind and you won't know if it's correct] …of whom are Hymeneus and Philetus, who have gone astray from the Truth… [here's what they were dealing with]: …claiming that the resurrection has already taken place…" (vs 17-18). Isn't that something? 'There isn't going to be any more resurrection, folks! It's all over with.'

"…and are destroying the faith of some. Nevertheless, the foundation of God stands firm…" (vs 18-19)—in spite of all men. If anyone out there is feeling that they're getting disillusioned with God because of men and arguments of men, remember this:

Verse 19: "Nevertheless, the foundation of God stands firm, having this seal: 'The Lord knows those who are His,' and, 'Let everyone who calls upon the name of Christ depart from unrighteousness.'"

That's why we have to know these things, though they get a little technical. God is always greater than the false prophet! God is always greater than the heretic, because His Truth can never be denied!

If we get into it and it gets a little technical and you got through the toughest part, you're to be congratulated, because now it's going to be easier next time.

All Scripture from The Holy Bible In Its Original Order, A Faithful Version
Scriptural References:

• Leviticus 23:7-11, 15-16
• 2-Timothy 2:14-19

Scripture referenced, not quoted: Deuteronomy 16

Also referenced:
Books:

• McGill's Interlinear
• Roshe's Interlinear
• The Septuagint Bible

Booklet: Count to Pentecost by Fred R. Coulter
Articles: Astounding New Truth by William F. Dankenbring

FRC: nfs
Transcribed: 09/26/16
Proofed: 9/30/16