Daily Devotional, Year 4: July 11: (Noble Bereans, Part 60: “Harold Camping vs. Fast Talking Preachers”)

By admin On November 18th, 2022

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Daily Devotional, Year 4: July 11

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Noble Bereans,

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Part 60:

“Harold Camping vs. Fast Talking Preachers”

To read part 1, click here…”September 2nd (Noble Bereans?)”

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“Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words?

There is more hope of a fool than of him”

Proverbs 29:20

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So, in this little series, the subject of those noble Bereans has been introduced.

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And today, it is still worthy of a little more exploration into another area of concern.

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Let’s look at the key Bible passage…

…“And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea:

who coming there, went into the synagogue of the Jews.

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica,

in that they received the word with all readiness of mind,

and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

Acts 17:10, 11

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St Paul Preaching in Athens (Raphael, 1515) Wikipedia US public domain

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AN OPEN-MINDED SPIRIT IN BEREA

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Okay, so those in Berea were more noble, because they:

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1. “Received the Word with all readiness of mind.”

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2. “And searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

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And so, the Bereans were ready to receive new teachings, which no doubt, conflicted with the supposed, “orthodox” teachings of that day.

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Thus, there was an open-mindedness which permeated their hearts, and a willingness to search the Scriptures daily, in hopes that these seemingly new teachings were indeed true!

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La Bible, Notre-Dame – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share-Alike License

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HAROLD CAMPING

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Harold Camping had a 52-year radio ministry.

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And his little radio station eventually was broadcast on many radio stations around the world.

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And each weekday, one could listen to his half-hour Bible study, plus his 90-minute call-in Bible talk show.

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Harold Camping on phone – Courtesy of Family Radio.org

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“But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in His law doth he meditate day and night”

Psalm 1:2

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Well, one evening Camping responded to a caller’s question, “How many hours do you personally study the Bible each day?”

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Camping answered by saying something to the effect, “Well, probably between 4 and 6 hours per day.”

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And also, Mr. Camping used to make the comment that he always regarded Bible study as if he was studying for a college exam.

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Harold-Camping – courtesy Family Radio

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IN A DAY OF FAST-TALKING PREACHERS

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In this age of Internet videos, there is a push to talk fast.

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And many YouTube producers are actually very good at talking fast.

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And those who make political and social videos actually maybe should talk fast.

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Unfortunately, many preachers are also fast talkers.

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But when it comes to the Bible, fast-talking can be a real detriment for the congregation to retain anything but perhaps a few high-points of the sermon or Bible study.

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Audience hands – cropped & altered – Wikimedia – Universal Public Domain

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HAROLD CAMPING’S STUDIES

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In contrast to today’s fast-talking speakers, was Harold Camping’s approach to Bible study. Just the opposite.

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Camping made very sure to go slow enough for his listeners to absorb the Bible verses he was covering.

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And it was not uncommon for his daily 25-minute Bible study to only cover several verses each study.

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TODAY’S PREACHING MOSTLY COMMENTARIES

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Much of today’s preaching is made up of perhaps, 80-90% personal commentary, and very little actually dissecting of each Bible verse, hardly giving time for parishioners to look up those few verses offered by the preacher/teacher.

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Announcer with microphone – svg – Wikimedia – Public-Domain

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“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”

2nd Timothy 2:15

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On the other hand, Camping would methodically go through each verse, often comparing with other related verses elsewhere in Scripture. Always giving listeners enough time to look up each verse.

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Or he might also go into the Greek or Hebrew on particular words in effort to get the true meaning of the more difficult passages in Scripture, of which there are many such difficult Bible passages.

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And for decades, Camping partnered with a Greek/Hebrew scholar, one Gabriel Otero, and would work together to rightly dissect those extremely difficult passages in Scripture.

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2.5-Year Jeremiah Study

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And in conclusion, the Reader is highly encouraged to follow along the daily Bible study through Jeremiah, or whatever else is being presented in each day’s devotional.

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The two-and-one-half-year Jeremiah study cracks open the many difficult passages which have never before been understood.

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THE READER IS ENCOURAGED TO LISTEN TO THE 20+ MINUTE AUDIO BIBLE STUDY ON JEREMIAH AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH DAY’S PAGE OF YEAR-1 & YEAR-2 DEVOTIONALS.

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HAROLD CAMPING’S ABILITY TO SEARCH OUT COMPARABLE VERSES IS UNLIKE ANY OF TODAY’S BIBLE TEACHERS…

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The Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.com – Public Domain

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TO READ “Noble Bereans?” PART 61, CLICK HERE…

June 14 (Noble Bereans? Part 61: “Ellen White On The Ministry of Healing” CONTINUED)

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Ellen G. White – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Help me to be an open-minded seeker of truth, even if it means giving up a very highly regarded Church opinion…

Pray for Our Nation sign – Wikimedia – Share-alike-lic.

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THE END

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TODAY’S FEATURED SIGN

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***CASTOR AND POLLUX = THE NARROW WAY…***

“And after three months

we departed in a ship of Alexandria,

which had wintered in the isle,

whose sign was Castor and Pollux.”

Acts 28:11

Most theologians interpret this verse to be speaking of two pagan gods known as Castor and Pollux.

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Beyond that, they are puzzled as to what significance do these twin gods have.

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Some believe these gods to be the patrons of safe ocean travel.

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Certainly, God would never want His people to board such a pagan ship!

They are twin-stars, and not twin-gods.

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They are the two bright stars of the constellation commonly known as Gemini.

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But as “Signs Of Heaven” points out, these two stars also happen to be the two brightest stars on Orion’s sickle.

And these two stars are also known as The Narrow Gate Stars.

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And if you explore this concept, you will see that Castor and Pollux possess great significance…

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate,

and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction,

and many there be which go in thereat:

Because strait is the gate,

and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life,

and few there be that find it.”

Matthew 7:13-14.

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Castor and Pollux represent this Biblical concept of the Narrow Way.

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ABOVE PICTURE: Revelation 12 Woman (Ursa Major) & wide (Auriga) and narrow gates (Gemini) – NOT FOR COMMERCIAL USES

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TOMORROW…

July 12 (A 3-Finger Judgment Day, Part 16: “The World’s Most Oppressed People-Group”)

Question Mark – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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20+ MINUTE AUDIO JEREMIAH STUDY

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ALL‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.

Signs Of Heaven