Why do bad things happen to "good" people?

Let's face it - Satan is free to roam on the earth at present and he has the freedom to meddle in people's lives (a good example of this was Job where YHUH gave Satan permission to test him with his earthly goods, flesh, etc). Read Job 1: 12-19. 

Previous to these verses YHUH describes Job in the following way :

“Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears YHUH and shuns evil.” (Job 1:8) 

Suffering is not always brought about by YHUH’s judgment, so we must be careful not to fall into simplistic thinking.

Although Job was a righteous man, he suffered the loss of family, finances and health. Job himself linked his suffering to fear, which perhaps indicates Satan's root of access. “What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.” (Job 3:25) His friends were convinced that he was guilty of secret sin and was, therefore, responsible for the suffering that came upon him. Job denied this, and YHUH eventually vindicated him. Job’s suffering actually came about because he was righteous. YHUH blessed him because of that righteousness, and Satan targeted his blessings thinking that they were the very reasons Job served YHUH. But even with everything stripped away from him, he still served YHUH and thus was vindicated at the end.

Sometimes the reasons behind a person's suffering are surprising.

In John 9, Yahushua (Jesus) came upon a man who had been blind since birth, and his disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2)

Yahushua said that neither were the cause. The man’s blindness was not due to anyone’s sin. The purpose of the blindness was to reveal the splendor of YHUH through healing by Messiah!

“This happened so that the work of YHUH might be displayed in his life.” (John 9:3)

If we jump to conclusions about the source of someone’s suffering, we risk losing an opportunity to pray for that person and to see the splendor of YHUH manifested before our very eyes.

Satan can cause catastrophes and illness often by manipulating people through their lusts to achieve a terrible outcomes. Even whilst people today are aware of population extremes causing climate change on the planet evil people will keep pushing for their lusts and will do nothing to save the planet - they're suicidal as Satan has blinded them. Time and chance may happen to all but the only difference between "good" and bad people is the following - YHUH's people are protected until such a time that it is their time to die according to YHUH's will. If it is your time you may go quickly in a car accident or you may die peacefully in bed - only YHUH knows this. People that are not YHUH's people can die at any time in any way with no protection from anything and they are completely in Satan's hands, his toys, if you will.  In a catastrophe then you cannot say it is YHUH's punishment for a certain country, group of people, etc. Some of YHUH's people and heathens may have been killed at the same time. As Eccl. 9:11 states "I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all."

Just as an aside, these catastrophes are always classified as "Acts of God" - what if they are "Acts of Satan"? Not only that, often people are heard shouting - why doesn't YHUH do something? YHUH has given every man free will and He never goes back on His own word - if He were to intervene directly it would skew things and the question would then be asked whether everybody then does have free will after all? Only to a point? Rather YHUH's people are encouraged to guide and help other people to make the correct righteous choices in life as YHUH wills us to do :

Deut 30:19  I call shamayim (heaven) and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

It's up to people to listen and truly follow if they want to be saved from this evil world to live eternally in YHUH's presence in the new world to come.

Read the following:

First article:

www.churches-of-christ.net/tracts/job115u.htm

There is another angle altogether as well:

carm.org/questions/other-questions/why-do-bad-things-happen-good-people

Further Biblical readings are as follows: 

James 1:13-15 and James 4:1-4 (man's complicity through friendship with the world).

Yahushua himself puts it this way in Luke 13: 1-5:

1There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

2 And Yahushua answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?

3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?

5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Here is another verse of interest:

Proverbs 11:8-9 The righteous person is rescued from trouble, and it falls on the wicked instead. With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbours, but through knowledge the righteous escape.

Passover - was Yahushua executed on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday? *Revised*

I was very confused about the above topic and have read numerous articles and watched various videos. Now I have a clearer understanding regarding the so-called discrepancies between the Passover execution account in John and the other three gospels Matthew, Mark and Luke.  Matthew, Mark and Luke make it clear that Yahushua celebrated YHUH's Passover with his Disciples as His last supper.  John, however, makes it clear that the Jews were to celebrate Passover the evening of Yahushua's death on the stake. Why the discrepancy?  Watch this :

Here's another lovely resource with a chart which you can download to refer to when explaining to others:

Who is committing adultery and who is not

I have had quite a heated debate about this in the past so I have read up on it a little - here is what I have found...

First article:
www.gotquestions.org/divorce-remarriage.html

Second article:
christianity.about.com/od/faqhelpdesk/a/divorceremarria.htm

The best example in the Bible about an adulterous relationship was of course King David and Bathsheba. They did not get divorced when YHUH told David he would be punished and there would be consequences - David repented and accepted the punishment of watching his first child with Bathsheba die. He truly repented, stayed with Bathsheba, and they then had Solomon, who, of course, was the wisest man of all and who built the Temple for YHUH as prophesied. Out of bad still came good according to YHUH's will. We are not to judge - only admonish and make people aware that there are consequences for sinful actions in YHUH's eyes.

The naked truth

We have all heard the saying "Parents, bring up your children in the ways of YHUH", or, as the Bible puts it:

Proverbs 22: 6: Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

What is "the way"?

Psalms 18:21 For I have kept the ways of YHUH, and have not wickedly departed from my Elohim.

Psalms 18:22 For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.

Psalms 18:23 I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.

This item is a painful one to write about as, in my personal experience, I know first-hand what can happen when your parents do not lead their home in the ways of YHUH.

For my topic let's start at the beginning, at Genesis in fact:

Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Gen 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Gen 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

Gen 3:11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

Gen 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did YHUH Elohim make coats of skins, and clothed them.

Right, so to sum up, after the original sin committed by Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden, nakedness was seen as shameful and YHUH covered man with clothing to cover their shame. This is a norm to be followed now in this sinful world. Everything in this present world is tainted by sin and temptation and the original Garden of Eden was lost through this.

Time and again throughout the Bible it is re-iterated that it is shameful to be naked (except in the case of marriage:

Heb_13:4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers YHUH will judge.

Mostly it is a shame though:

Gen 9:22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.

Gen 9:23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.

Gen 9:24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

Gen 9:25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

Gen 9:26 And he said, Blessed be YHUH Elohim of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

Gen 9:27 YHUH shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

Another example of punishment of nakedness:

Exo 32:25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)

Exo 32:26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on YHUH's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

Exo 32:27 And he said unto them, Thus saith YHUH Elohim of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.

Exo 32:28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.

And further, the actual laws set forth are as follows:

Lev 18:4 Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am YHUH your Elohim.

Lev 18:5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am YHUH.

Lev 18:6 None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am YHUH.

Lev 18:7 The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

Lev 18:8 The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.

Lev 18:9 The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.

Lev 18:10 The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness.

Lev 18:11 The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

Lev 18:12 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman.

Lev 18:13 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister: for she is thy mother's near kinswoman.

Lev 18:14 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt.

Lev 18:15 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

Lev 18:16 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness.

Lev 18:17 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness.

Lev 18:18 Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.

Lev 18:19 Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness.

Lev 18:20 Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her.

Lev 18:21 And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy Elohim: I am YHUH.

Lev 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

Lev 18:23 Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.

Lev 18:24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:

Lev 18:25 And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.

Lev 18:26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:

Lev 18:27 (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;)

Lev 18:28 That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.

Lev 18:29 For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people.

Lev 18:30 Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am YHUH your Elohim.

Lev 20:11 And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Lev 20:12 And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.

Lev 20:13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Lev 20:14 And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.

Lev 20:15 And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.

Lev 20:16 And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Lev 20:17 And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.

Lev 20:18 And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.

Lev 20:19 And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister, nor of thy father's sister: for he uncovereth his near kin: they shall bear their iniquity.

Lev 20:20 And if a man shall lie with his uncle's wife, he hath uncovered his uncle's nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.

Lev 20:21 And if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.

Lev 20:22 Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.

Lev 20:23 And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.

Lev 20:24 But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am YHUH your Elohim, which have separated you from other people.

Lev 20:25 Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.

Lev 20:26 And ye shall be holy unto me: for I YHUH am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.

Lev 20:27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

Now, a good instance from the Bible, which I can relate to in how I was brought up, is as follows:

Hab 2:15 Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!

Hab 2:16 Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the YHUH's right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory.

Both my parents were "disarmed" in our home through drink, this gave the devil free reign to do as he liked in our home, especially where we, the children, were concerned.

Everyone knows this is a sinful world and nudist colonists delude themselves when they pretend that this is not the case. The only time sin will vanish from this present Earth is when Yahushua returns and after YHUH destroys Satan and all his followers and creates a new Earth for the New Jerusalem.

What got me started thinking about the sin of nudity? Just recently I was told that my brother and sister-in-law feel totally comfortable being nude with their now six year old daughter when sharing bath and shower times. Some people may still say, what's the problem? Perhaps they are truly naive and believe that what they are doing is not wrong, that it's totally innocent.

Except for:

Lev 18:7 The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

My brother is inadvertently placing this sin upon my niece. We must recall that in Matthew Yahushua says:

Mat 18:6 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.

At six years old do you really think that that girl will have no recollection of seeing her father naked? I myself know that I have indelible images burnt into my mind from when I was a toddler - try as I might certain things are very hard to forget! 

Next, what does "inordinate affection" mean?

Eze 23:11 And when her sister Aholibah saw this, she was more corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than her sister in her whoredoms.

Col 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

Col 3:6 For which things' sake the wrath of YHUH cometh on the children of disobedience:

According to Webster's Collegiate Dictionary it is defined as follows:

Not ordered or kept within bounds; unregulated; unrestrained; hence, excessive; immoderate.

There are those fathers out there who, instead of just loving their daughters go a step further to almost crossing the boundary of being "in love" with them. It usually happens in cases where the marriage is taking strain and the daughter fills in the gap. The daughter is a natural object for affection, as, after all, she has her mother's traits in her (in some cases a great deal) and, often, the daughter has better or even more attractive qualities than her mother. If the wife goes through a period of being worn out by life's worries and responsibilities the husband may become distracted by the daughter who will appear to be a more "fun" and caring option. The problem comes in after the girl has reached puberty, when the touchy/feely aspect of the father-daughter relationship should be curtailed to an acceptable level. It may become confusing later on if a father continues seeking physical affection from the daughter if he is not receiving enough from his own wife. These are the kinds of relationships which lead to later conflict between the father and would-be suitors of their daughter. The daughter's husband will never be good enough because, quite frankly, they are not the father. What a confusion and trauma for the daughters later on in life!

 Of course this can be applied to mothers and sons too.

Something else for parents to be weary of is inordinate affection between siblings. Remember, nothing in this current world is innocent "for all have sinned and come short of the glory of YHUH" according to Romans 3:25.

But, to end off with, some positive aspects of nakedness :

Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

2Co 5:2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:

2Co 5:3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.

We are to be strengthened by Yahushua to become more spiritual, not of this world, and to be clothed with holy garments and not the filthy rags of this world. If we are truly righteous nothing will deter YHUH from showing His love towards us ;-) Also, there is a warning below for people who do not understand that nothing they do in this world can be hidden from YHUH.

Heb 4:12 For the word of YHUH is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Heb 4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Yahushua the Son of YHUH, let us hold fast our profession.

Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Yes, we can overcome through Yahushua's perfect example. Keep your garments clean and wait for Yahushua's return :-)

Rev 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

Should true followers of Yahushua vote?

I found a very good, comprehensive article on this here:

https://rcg.org/books/scv.html

You may want to also read further on their Sabbath section in the left-hand headings...

Should true followers of Yahushua go to war?

This item has long been overdue since I had one query on my blog last year about this very topic.  A good starting place is the following article - who can say it better than Origen in this case?

www.scrollpublishing.com/store/Origen-War.html

I have been reading many comments on other sites and it is all quite controversial and difficult to make a final decision about this one.  If America and England had not joined the Second World War where would it all have ended with regards to all the Jews in the world and what would have happened to all of us? (At the same time though, I must say that America themselves were shocked at how far they had to go with the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima etc. - the jury is still out about whether the invention of nuclear energy etc has been a good thing for humanity, look at the recent Japan disaster). A Christian can make a positive contribution in a war as well if they are Medics as they are allowed to treat all wounded from both sides.  All armies also have a Chaplain.

Perhaps it all boils down to making sure it is for the right motive? The Bible clearly states "Thou shalt not kill" and "He who lives by the sword dies by the sword".  At the same time though it says there is a time for peace and a time for war. If your motive is not pure however and you are going out of your way to enlist and kick the enemy's butt, with hatred in your heart, then you have lost your Christianity. But even if you are enlisted it is up to you to investigate fully the reasons behind the war and whether or not it fits in with Christian principles - if it is a war orchestrated for getting profits (arms deals, oil, political maneuvering for greater World power) then you cannot partake.  You are to refuse enlistment no matter what the punishment. If you find out while you are in it then get out at that point no matter what. Then truly repent.

The Second World War scenario was a tough one - Hitler wanted World dominion, what was to be done? We are not to hate, but then again, were we to let the whole World be taken over by a fanatic? Could it have been possible that YHUH would have turned the enemy on each other as he has done in the past in the Old Testament, thereby saving the rest of the World? We will never know as allied America and Britain stepped in.

Yahshua himself put it this way in Luke 3:14 "And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages."

I would love some input on this one...