Girt about the Paps

Re 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps <3149> with a golden girdle.

"Paps" is a translation of a word in the NT which always refers to the breasts of a nursing woman. In addition to the text just quoted, it is used two other times in the NT:

Lu 11:27 And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps <3149> which thou hast sucked.

Lu 23:29 For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps <3149> which never gave suck.

The Greek words which describe the breasts of Christ and the breasts of angels in Revelation are completely different. The angels are described using a word that "stethoscope" is based upon. The breasts of Christ use a word that "masticate" is based upon

Re 15:6 And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts <4738> girded with golden girdles.

<4738> is used several times in the NT:

Lu 18:13 "But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast <4738>, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’

Lu 23:48 And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts <4738>.

Joh 13:25 He, leaning back thus on Jesus’ bosom <4738>, *said to Him, "Lord, who is it?"

In the epistle of John, the apostle rests upon the chest of Christ. In Revelation, Jesus has a golden belt around nursing breasts.

Breasts are said to comfort and delight in Isaiah 66:

10 Be joyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who love her; Be exceedingly glad with her, all you who mourn over her,
11 That you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts <07699>, That you may suck and be delighted with her bountiful bosom .

Scripture says Zion, and those who turn from transgression in Jacob will:

Suck the milk of nations And suck the breast <07699> of kings; Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob (Is. 60:16).

Repairer of the Temple: Josiah

Josiah spent several years cleansing the land and the house of the Lord (2 Chron. 34 3-8). After cleansing the house, Josiah set about to repair and restore it (2 Chron. 34:8,10). During the restoration process, a copy of the book of the law was discovered in the temple (2Kings 22:8). Its contents were shared with Josiah. He responded with an even greater purge of the temple. The uncleanness of which he purged the temple is listed as follows (2 Kings 23):

4 ¶ Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the doorkeepers, to bring out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel.

5 He did away with the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah and in the surrounding area of Jerusalem, also those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and to the moon and to the constellations and to all the host of heaven.

6 He brought out the Asherah from the house of the LORD outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and ground it to dust, and threw its dust on the graves of the common people.

7 He also broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes which were in the house of the LORD, where the women were weaving hangings for the Asherah.

11 He did away with the horses which the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the official, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.

12 The altars which were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, the king broke down; and he smashed them there and threw their dust into the brook Kidron.

The purging of the land and the house of the Lord was followed by a Passover celebration:

21 Then the king commanded all the people saying, "Celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God as it is written in this book of the covenant (2 Kings 23).

Cleanser of the Temple: Hezekiah

Hezekiah's work cleansing the temple is set forth in 2 Chronicles 29:

3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them.
4 He brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them into the square on the east.
5 Then he said to them, "Listen to me, O Levites. Consecrate yourselves now, and consecrate <06942>the house of the LORD, the God of your fathers, and carry the uncleanness out from the holy place.

15 They assembled their brothers, consecrated <06942> themselves, and went in to cleanse <02891> the house of the LORD, according to the commandment of the king by the words of the LORD.
16 So the priests went in to the inner part of the house of the LORD to cleanse <02891> it, and every unclean thing which they found in the temple of the LORD they brought out to the court of the house of the LORD. Then the Levites received it to carry out to the Kidron valley.
17 Now they began the consecration <06942> on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they entered the porch of the LORD. Then they consecrated <06942> the house of the LORD in eight days, and finished on the sixteenth day of the first month.
18 Then they went in to King Hezekiah and said, "We have cleansed <02981> the whole house of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering with all of its utensils, and the table of showbread with all of its utensils.
19 "Moreover, all the utensils which King Ahaz had discarded during his reign in his unfaithfulness, we have prepared and consecrated <06942>; and behold, they are before the altar of the LORD."

The terms consecrate and cleanse are used interchangably. "Consecrate" is often translated as "sanctify" or "hallow." The temple was being cleansed or set apart for holy purposes.

Following the cleansing and dedication of the temple, the passover was observed (See chapter 30 of 2 Chronicles).

Like Passions

The following verses use a word which describes the similar nature human beings share with each other. Elijah was a man with passions like us. Paul and Barnabas were men with passions like us. This word is not used with reference to Jesus and humanity.

Ac 14:15 and saying, "Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same <3663> nature <3663> as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, WHO MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM.

Jas 5:17 Elijah was a man with a nature <3663> like <3663> ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.

The word "likeness" does describe the nature of Jesus, in passages such as Romans 8:3 and Philippians 2:7:

Ro 8:3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness <3667> of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,

Php 2:7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness <3667> of men.

Notice the parallelism which exists between the expressions "likeness of sinful flesh" and "likeness of men". When Romans says Jesus was sent in the likeness of sinful flesh, it is really saying Jesus was sent in the likeness of men and vice versa.

Abraham and the Gospel/ Justification

8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU."

The justification of the Gentiles, by faith, was the gospel Abraham learned. In verses 9-12 that follow, Paul sets forth the difference between justification by faith and justification by works. He then concludes by explaining that Christ's death on the cross secured the blessing of Abraham for the Gentiles. The "blessing of Abraham" is justification by faith, as explained in verse 8 above .

13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE"—
14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

The Gospel and Death

Three passages in the NT mention the abolition or destruction of death. One tells us death has been abolished. Another tells us death will be abolished. The third tells us that Jesus, through his death, destroyed death. Life and immortality have been brought to light through the gospel.

1Co 15:26 The last enemy that will be abolished <2673> is death <2288>.

2Ti 1:10 but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished <2673> death <2288> and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

Heb 2:14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death <2288> He might render <2673> powerless <2673> him who had the power of death <2288>, that is, the devil,

The Cleansing of the Sanctuary

The expression, "cleansing of the sanctuary" is used one time in the Bible, Ezekiel 45:18-20:

18 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, "In the first month, on the first of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish and cleanse <02398> the sanctuary.
19 "The priest shall take some of the blood from the sin offering and put it on the door posts of the house, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar and on the posts of the gate of the inner court.
20 "Thus you shall do on the seventh day of the month for everyone who goes astray or is naive; so you shall make atonement for the house.

Notice that the cleansing of the house is described as making an atonement for the house.

Reference to the cleansing of the altar is also made in the following two passages. These passage recount the ritual associated with the consecration of Aaron and his sons as priests:

Ex 29:36 "Each day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement, and you shall purify <02398> the altar when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to consecrate it.

Le 8:15 Next Moses slaughtered it and took the blood and with his finger put some of it around on the horns of the altar, and purified <02398> the altar. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it, to make atonement for it.

In the case above, as in Ezekiel, the cleansing is also described as making an atonement for [the altar]. Leviticus also describes the purification as consecrating the altar.

There are only two passages in the entire OT in which the words "cleanse" and "sanctuary" are used together. One passage is quoted above. The other follows:

Nu 19:20 ‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify <02398> himself from uncleanness <02398>, that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary <04720> of the LORD; the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, he is unclean.

This passage concerns the ritual involving the ashes of the red heifer. Those ashes, mixed with running water, were used to cleanse those who had contact with a corpse. The person who does not submit to the ritual cleansing shall be cut off because he has "defiled the sanctuary."

The Cross and the Gospel

17 ¶ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void (1 Cor. 1).

The preaching of the cross is the preaching of the gospel.

23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness,24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (1Cor.1). While verse 17 says Paul was sent to preach the gospel, verse 23 says he preached Christ crucified, the power and wisdom of God.

1 ¶ And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God (1 Cor.2).

Paul's testified of Christ and him crucified. That was his message and preaching to the Corinthians.

Paul became quite explicit in explaining to the Corinthians what his message was:

1 ¶ Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand,
2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve (1Cor. 15).

The Gospel in Romans

Paul introduces the gospel in the opening verses of Romans:

1 ¶ Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures,
3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,
4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,

The gospel is about Jesus, a descendant of David and the Son of God as well. The gospel was promised in the OT, through the prophets.

This message about Jesus Christ, son of David and son of God has the power to save those who believe:

15 So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
16 ¶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

The Gospel and the Poor

The gospel is defined by numerous texts in the NT. One of the earliest key texts is found in Matthew 11:

2 Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples
3 and said to Him, "Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?"
4 Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see:
5 the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.
6 "And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me."

One would expect that the text would say, "the poor are made rich," to correspond with the blind seeing, deaf hearing, lame walking. Jesus says that the poor have the gospel preached to them. This is the way that God enriches the poor, through the preaching of the gospel.

As James said, "God has chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which God has prepared for those who love him (James 2:5).

Methodology

As a student of Scripture, it is my desire to remain as true to the text as possible. The safest way to do that is to allow the Bible to explain itself. There are few skills required to accomplish this goal. One is to recognize key texts. Another is to find them. A key text is a text that illuminates the subject in question. For example, the Bible tells us to preach the gospel to every creature (Mk. 16:15). That particular text does not explain just what the gospel is, however. For an explanation of the gospel, we must discover a text such as this:

1 ¶ Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand,
2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve (1 Cor. 15).

Another example is the word "redemption." The meaning of "redemption" is defined by the following text:
Eph 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.

This passage clearly explains "redemption" to be the forgiveness of sins.

The Online Bible is a most effective tool for finding key texts. I own a large collection of lexicons and concordances. The Online Bible is comparable to that large and expensive collection in almost every way, when it comes to finding key texts. It is also faster and much more convenient.

The Online Bible incorporates the Strong's numbering system. Each word in the Bible is assigned a number. The numbers are then used to search Scripture for all occurences of the word. Because the New Testament and the Old Testament are in different languages, it is necessary to find the number of the Greek word in the NT and the number of the Hebrew word in the OT. Sometimes, in the blog entries, you may notice the word number like this <2097>.

In the case of "tidings" or "gospel," the NT number is 2097 or 2098. The OT word for "tidings" is usually 01319. OT entries have a zero in front of them <01319> . Many Greek and Hebrew words are translated with different English words. The words 2097/2098, for example, are translated by English words such as gospel, good tiding, and glad tidings in the KJV. That is the beauty of the numbering system. Since you are searching on the basis of the Hebrew or Greek, every place a word is used will appear, regardless of how the word was translated into English.

The Online Bible also includes versions of the NASB and KJV which utilize the Strong's numbering system.