Watchman Magazine

As long as days come and go, breezes will refresh the ancient places along the shores of fertile Galilee and the ruins of old Capernaum, the city Jesus knew so well. Matthew 4:13, “And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali.” In the Bible this deep, freshwater, pear shaped lake was known by several other names as well: Lake Kinneret, Lake Gennesaret, and the Sea of Tiberias. A very unusual feature of Galilee is that it is 686 feet below the level of the Mediterranean Sea. Though not huge it is of respectable size in that it measures 13 miles from north to south and 7 miles from east to west with a total of 64 square miles of surface area. The Jordan River flows into Galilee from Syria and continues south from Galilee and is the main source of fresh water for the entire region. Bountiful farming and fishing have been the main reward for living in this very uncharacteristic area of the Middle East. Jesus Himself left Nazareth and settled in Capernaum (Matthew 4:13-17). Capernaum was even claimed by the Lord as “His own city” in Matthew 9:1.

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Caesarea Philippi was located in northern Palestine, on the southern slopes of Mount Hermon. This town was located near the most eastern source of the Jordan river. There has been a city in existence on this site since Old Testament days. In Joshua’s day, it was not know by the name “Caesarea Philippi,” but probably known as “BaalGad” (Josh. 11:16-19). In later years, the Greeks conquered this land, and the city became a center of worship to the Greek god Pan. Pan was the Greek god of forests, pastures, flocks, and shepherds; represented with the head, arms, and chest of a man, and the legs, ears and horns of a goat. In honor to their god, the Greeks named the city “Paneas.” After the Romans conquered the Greeks, Augustus Caesar gave the town to Herod the Great. Herod then built a marble temple and dedicated it to the Roman emperor in 20 BC. Herod’s son Philip enlarged the city, renaming it Caesarea, to honor Augustus. By the first century, this town was called Caesarea Philippi in order to distinguish it from the seaport and capital, Caesarea Martina. In medieval times (1120 AD) the Crusaders built a castle on a mountain spur about 1,150 feet above the Jordan’s primary source and called it “The Castle of Subeibeh.”

Caesarea Philippi is known today as Banias. In 1983, the Israeli Department of Antiquities began archaeological excavations. In their digs, they have found artifacts dating back to the early Roman period. Massive underground systems of vaulted Roman buildings have been discovered, as well as other amazing artifacts. The marble temple built by Herod has not yet been discovered, but three coins that picture the structure, along with numerous other coins depicting the worship of Pan, have been unearthed. Caesarea Philippi certainly played a part in the early history of the world.

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It is located west of the Dead Sea in Judah. It is mountainous. It is almost completely devoid of any vegetation. It boasts an annual rainfall of less than 2 inches. Still, it is the home of nomadic Bedouin families whose lifestyles remain almost unchanged over several thousand years. It is perhaps the most striking terrestrial feature of this small, but geographically varied land. It is the Wilderness of Judea. Seeing the land brings to sharp focus various events which transpired in Bible history. From the wanderings of the Israelites in similar rugged terrain, to the temptation of Jesus before he began his public ministry, the Wilderness holds a position of drama in Bible history.

During a trip to Israel in March of 1999, I had opportunity to travel by bus from Jerusalem, along the Dead Sea, all the way south to Massada. That day I had the opportunity to put my hand in the mineral saturated water of the Dead Sea. I ascended via cable car the face of the mountain upon which the ruins of Herod’s great fortress (Massada) sits. I had opportunity to see the caves of Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were stored by the sect of the Essenes, and eventually discovered (according to the most reliable sources) by a Bedouin shepherd boy in the 1940′s. I saw the ruins of Jericho, and traversed the “Jericho Road” on the way back to Jerusalem. All of these places impressed me deeply. However, I think the most impressive aspect of that day was the miles and miles of unending desolation that we traversed by bus. I looked at that landscape, and was able to understand better what our Lord must have gone through as He “was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1).

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Just the name conjurs up Biblical scenes to the mind and a desire to be there where God walked among men. Aside from being a prominent site in Biblical history, the Jordan river is truly a natural phenomenon. The word Jordan, from the Hebrew ha-yarden, most probably means descender or descending – and is it any wonder? The Jordan descends lower than any river in the world! The stream’s inception is in the hills of Mt. Hermon, which peaks at 9,100 ft. Descending to Lake Huleh in northern Palestine, the Jordan assumes an altitude of 230 feet. above sea level. During the next 11 miles, the river will drop 900 feet at a rate of over 80 feet per mile before emptying into the Sea of Galilee. The trip is not yet over as the Jordan descends yet another 600 feet over a course of 65 miles where it empties it’s contents into the Dead Sea at an altitude of 1290 feet below sea level. Though the distance by air between these two major lakes is but 65 miles, the river’s snaking path leads it on a course of 200 miles to the salty sea. Two of the Jordans’ greatest tributaries are the Yarmuk and the Jabbok which enter the river south of Galilee and from the east.

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“…Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.’ And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And immediately they left their nets and followed Him” (Mark. 1:14-18). So begins the remarkable, but short, life of Jesus in Galilee as he began the ministry which led to his crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and coronation as King of Kings.

Born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:4-7), just outside Jerusalem, Jesus was raised in Nazareth (after his sojourn in Egypt to escape Herod, Mt. 2:13-15, 23; Lk.2:39-40) and remained there until the time of his baptism. After the death of John, Jesus moved to Capernaum, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and began to preach the “good news” of the coming Kingdom.

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(Editors Note: When Watchman was transferred to the new format, it was deemed too time consuming to spend a great deal of effort making the pictures work correctly. So, in some browsers, the pictures may have some bleed over into the text. We apologize for this. Perhaps in the future we will be able to redo the pictures to fix this problem).

Several months ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Israel for a tour of the land. We truly traveled from “Dan to Beersheba,” and all points in between. We spent the first full day of our tour driving up the coast from the modern capital of Tel-Aviv. We visited Joppa, Caesarea, and looked over the countryside from the top of Mt. Carmel. We also traveled to the Jewish necropolis, (city of the dead), Beit-She’arim. We went to the ancient city of Akko (Acre), which was known as Ptolemais in the time of the Apostle Paul, who visited there (cf. Acts 21:7). Our first day ended at the Sea of Galilee, where we spent the night in Tiberias, on the western shore.

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Editor’s Note: With this issue of Watchman, we welcome aboard brother Jeff S. Smith as our Solid Food columnist. Jeff is a very talented writer, and a studious man. In my association with Jeff, I have been impressed with his logical mind, his strong spine, and his quiet good humor. While he is just now joining our magazine on a monthly basis, he has written several good articles for us in the past. We look forward to his more regular contributions! If you don’t know Jeff well, be sure to visit our page of Biographical Sketches to learn more of him and his work for the Wonsely Drive congregation in Austin, TX. Meanwhile, here is his first article under the byline “Solid Food.”

Solid FoodThe Hebrew writer was compelled to interrupt his explanation of the priesthood of Melchizedek to chastise his readers, whom he surmised would find such a subject beyond comprehension. The fault for this ignorance lay not in the writer, he asserted, but the reader, whose ability to grasp the scriptures had not grown properly. Although he had much to say about Melchizedek, he was hesitant to begin because his readers had “become dull of hearing” (Heb. 5:11).

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For the last several months, I have not made any contributions to the Watchman Magazine effort. Some of it was due to illness and most of the summer and early fall have been consumed with matters relevant to my recent move to Lafayette, Louisiana. I am thankful to God for the improvement in my health and for answering many prayers on my behalf. I am thankful to so many brethren who encouraged me with their kind words and their prayers throughout most of this year. I am especially grateful to Stan and Tom for their patience with me in allowing me to stay on the masthead of this great publication while not doing any of the work. There is much work yet to do, and I intend, with God’s help, to be a part of that work. Thank you.

Article: Ignorance and ApathyAll of us, I am sure, have heard the story of the two people discussing words. One fellow asks the other, “What is the difference between ignorance and apathy?” Since they had been discussing words for quite awhile, the other man responded in his frustration, “I don’t know, and, quite frankly, I don’t care!” Little did this second fellow realize that he had defined both words with eloquent simplicity and pointed application.In Paul’s writings to Timothy, he said many things that would prevent the evangelist from falling prey to either of these maladies. “Study to show yourself approved…” (2 Timothy 2:15). “O Timothy, guard what was committed to your trust…” (1 Timothy 6:20). “These things I write to you…that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church…” (1 Timothy 3:14-15). “Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:13).

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(1 Timoteo 3:1-7)

3:1 Si alguno anhela (Heb. 11:16) (busca; haciendo esfuerzo por obtener) obispado –

A. ¿Qué es el obispado? Episkope, visitación (1 Ped. 2:12). Episkopos, un supervisor (epi, sobre, skopeo, mirar o vigilar). Hech. 20:28; Fil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:2; Tito 1:7; 1 Ped. 2:25 (Cristo es llamado “el obispo de vuestras almas”).B. Los ancianos de una congregación son los obispos de esa congregación, Hech. 20:17, 28. Debe haber ancianos en cada congregación, Hech. 14:23; 11:30. Este es el orden establecido por Dios.

C. Los obispos son los líderes de una congregación; por eso, deben ser hombres fuertes y dedicados a Dios, como Moisés, Josué (1:7), y Samuel. “Velad, estad firmes en la fe; portaos varonilmente, y esforzaos” (1 Cor. 16:13). “Donde no hay dirección sabia, caerá el pueblo” (Prov. 11:14). La obra de los obispos es la “dirección sabia” de una congregación. Sin la “dirección sabia” la congregación — al igual que el gobierno, el hogar, la empresa, etc. — no funciona bien. Israel cayó por causa de sus pastores infieles (Ezeq. 34).

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Concerning current controversies over marriage issues, Romans 14 and fellowship, a brother recently wrote:

“I need your help and suggestions. The question is, how do we alert the sleeping faithful? After talking to some of my brethren and fellow preachers, it seems that most of them have the same attitude, ‘You are just yelling wolf’. It seems that they do not think that the battle is real, nor one that will threaten them or their congregations. I feel that this is a very foolish, “bury your head in the sand” attitude. I believe the sooner we can jump into the thick of the battle and make our stand for the truth, the better.

“I have met with some of the brethren where I labor. They seem to have the attitude that I can do some sermons on the issue, but that will be enough. I feel that we need to attack this false doctrine problem with a focused, multimedia action. That is to use any articles, sermons, studies and any other medium we can get our hands on. I hate the thought of standing by and seeing my brethren fall by the wayside.

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Satan wants you to stop spreading the gospel abroad. His desire is for you to become weary and discouraged with the glorious call of the great commission (Mark 16:15). He wants you to think it’s not worth it: it’s not worth the time; it’s not worth the money; it’s not worth the energy. The great deceiver of this world longs for you to believe the lie that the almighty gospel of Jesus Christ has lost its power to save (Rom. 1:16; Rev. 12:9). The devil wants you to adopt a “Why bother?” attitude concerning the subject of foreign evangelism.

Paul frequently faced times of difficulty, discouragement, and even suffering while he was preaching the gospel in foreign places (2 Cor. 11:23-33). But he never gave up on his mission to preach Christ and declare the whole counsel of God to a world rapidly hurling itself toward eternal destruction (1 Cor. 2:2; Acts 20:27). I certainly am no expert on endurance in foreign fields, but our brother Paul was. Let us learn from the faithful work of this one who refused to stop preaching abroad.

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[The Gospel Guardian, Vol. 19, No. 38, February 1, 1968]

“And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord…” (I Kings 18:17, 18) Ahab was infamously wicked, (I Kings 16:30) and Elijah refused to let him forget it. Thus, when Ahab saw Elijah he condemned him as a troublemaker, though the genuine cause of strife and confusion then, as now, was a forsaking of God’s commands. Christ rebuked the hypocritical traditions of the Jews and urged a return to his Father’s will. Those undeniably shown to be of their father, the devil, accused the harmless Lamb of God of offending them. (Matt. 15:12) Their rejection of God’s law for the teaching of men left them void of acceptance by the Spirit of God, and when this was manifest they labeled the world’s Truth-teller a troublemaker.

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In the third chapter of the book of Genesis, there is recorded for us the account of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, and the serpent who tempted Eve to sin. God had commanded that Adam and his wife could eat of any tree in the garden, except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 1:16,17). The serpent, through deceit and cunning, successfully tempted Eve to eat fruit from this tree, and she in turn gave some to Adam, who also ate (Genesis 3:1-6). Clearly, this was no ordinary serpent, since ordinary serpents can neither scheme nor speak. Moreover, God was so displeased with this serpent that He pronounced this curse upon it:

 

Because you have done this,
You are cursed more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And you shall eat dust
All the days of your life.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.
(Genesis 3:14,15) The first part of this curse may seem obvious: snakes slither on their bellies. The second part, however, is somewhat enigmatic: What does it mean that the serpent and the woman will be enemies, and their respective descendants as well? And when will this conflict take place, wherein the woman’s descendant is wounded on the heel by the serpent, but wounds the serpent in the head? The book of Genesis closes without ever resolving this matter. In fact, the entire Old Testament holds no account of this promise being fulfilled. Surely, this serpent could not have survived for thousands of years, that this conflict should take place after the close of the Old Testament – or could he?

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