The Bible Explained, part 26/40: Temptation

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-----<front cover text>

THE BIBLE EXPLAINED

A Guide to the Holy Bible
for Parents and Teenagers

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Where did you come from?
What is your purpose?
What happens when you die?

These questions--and more--are answered in 'The
Bible Explained', which is based on the teachings
of the Holy Bible. The Holy Bible is a collection
of ancient books which claim to be the word of the
one and only God. This one and only God claims to
be the sole creator, owner, and sustainer of all
things; he further claims to hold the one and only
key to eternal life. Are these claims true? Get
the facts and then decide for yourself.

This document is meant to be understood by everyone,
and is therefore written in plain, simple language,
avoiding complex religious jargon.

Understand the Bible like never before.

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Introduction
Quest for Truth
The Holy Bible
Origin and Destiny
The Big Picture: Good and Evil
The Story of Man
The Purpose of the Earth
The Standard and the Test
Work: The Key to Success and Life
Pyramid Society
Failure of Man
Male and Female
Family Relationships
Marriage and Family
Sexual Immorality
The Value of Life
Multiplication and Overpopulation
Racism
Creation and Evolution
Government
Politics
Justice
Words, Speech, and Censorship
Church Matters
Monotheism, Jews, and Christians
Temptation
The Nature of Evil
Life and Death of Satan
Reincarnation
The Rapture
The End Times
The Near Future
Preparing for the Future
Groups and Labels
Understanding Judgement
Preparing for Death
Conclusion
Appendix A: Questions and Answers
Appendix B: The Ten Commandments
Appendix C: Marriage

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TITLE: "The Bible Explained"
AUTHOR: "Arrant Knave"
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Temptation

To tempt is to "entice or incite a person to do a wrong or forbidden thing." [Oxford Dictionary] The concept of temptation requires the existence of right and wrong. The only one qualified to issue rights and wrongs over a thing is the owner of said thing; and the owner of said thing is the one who created it. Without a creator, the notion of right and wrong is null and void, since there is no legitimate authority to declare rights and wrongs, since there is no owner of anything, since there is no creator of anything.

Assumed Authority: In order to meaningfully discuss the matter of temptation, we need a qualified authority to determine right from wrong. We will assume the God of the Bible is the creator of all things and, therefore, the owner of all things and, therefore, the only authority qualified to decree rights and wrongs.

Source of Temptation: God himself does not tempt anyone, however, he does allow his adversary -- Satan the devil -- to test humans. (See the book of Job for an example.) God will not allow the devil to tempt you with more than you can bear; and with every temptation of the devil, God provides a way out: "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." [1 Corinthians 10:13]

Purpose of Temptation: The purpose of temptation is to test humans to determine their worthiness to receive life eternal: "Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him." [James 1:12] "We must through many tribulations (trials) enter the kingdom of God." [Acts 14:22] God tests all things because he desires a perfect and everlasting world -- eternity; if such a world is to be, nothing evil (destructive) can be permitted to enter therein: "Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie." [Revelation 22:14-15]

Angels and Demons: What are angels? What are demons? In the beginning, God created a certain number of spirit beings, called 'angels'; one third of these angels later rebelled against God -- and became known as 'demons'. Angels are faithful servants and messengers of God; demons do as they please. Angels are forbidden from interacting with humans -- except under the direction of God; when angels interact with humans, they do so in a covert and unobtrusive manner -- and the result is always positive. Those who interact with spirit beings -- referring to themselves as psychics, mediums, witches, sorcerers, spiritists, etc. -- are, in fact, interacting with demons (not angels or the spirits of the dead, since the dead are dormant). Such meddling with the spirit world is strictly forbidden by God: "Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God. And the person who turns after mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people. A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them." [Leviticus 19:31, 20:6, 20:27] (See Deuteronomy 18:9-14 for more detail.) Angels should never be worshipped; only God alone should be worshipped. Those who worship anyone or anything else are guilty of violating the first -- and greatest -- commandment: "You shall have no other gods besides Me." [Exodus 20:3]

Communicating with the Dead: It is impossible to communicate with the dead, since the dead are not aware of anything: "For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing." [Ecclesiastes 9:5] "For there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave (death state)." [Ecclesiastes 9:10] Some people find it difficult to accept the finality of death -- and the devil uses this fact to perpetuate his two great lies: "You will not surely die," and, "You will be like God." [Genesis 3:4-5] What about psychics and mediums who claim to communicate with the dead? It is possible for a demon to accompany a person throughout his entire life, then take possession of a medium and relay intimate details of that person's life. Unless they repent, every psychic and medium will die, for God has strictly forbidden interaction with the spirit realm: "When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God. For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the LORD your God has not appointed such for you." [Deuteronomy 18:9-14]

Spirit Possession: It is possible for a person to be possessed by a demon (fallen angel); however, a person cannot be possessed by God or his holy angels, since God has forbidden such interactions. On the other hand, demons are free to do as they please, for they willingly broke God's commandments and continue to do so in a bid to destroy mankind in order to preserve their own lives.

Magic: Magic is "the supposed art of influencing the course of events by the occult control of nature or of the spirits." [Oxford Dictionary] Those who practice magic are interacting with -- and utilizing the power of -- demons; angels are forbidden to participate in so-called magic. There are some who believe that there are two types of magic -- 'black magic' and 'white magic'; and that one is evil, while the other is good: this is false -- and a lie from the devil; all magic is of the dark side. Please bear in mind that spirit beings are older, wiser, and far superior to humans -- and can therefore deceive and manipulate us the same way an adult can deceive and manipulate an innocent and gullible child: "For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light." [2 Corinthians 11:14] Demons often pretend to be good, when they are in fact evil. If you are involved in magic and would like to get out, there is only one way out, for there is only one being greater than Satan.

Requesting Things From God: Please note that when you desire something of God, you must take the initiative: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." [Matthew 7:7-8] If God were to take the initiative, he would thereby encroach upon our freewill and consequently subject himself to judgement for interfering with our freewill, thereby leaving the universe without a judge, causing his plan to fail: therefore, it is incumbent upon man to take the initiative, since God will not permit himself to become subject to judgement, since that would destroy his plan. When you request something of God, you do not need to use sophisticated words or eloquent speech: Consider Peter's request: "Lord, save me!" [Matthew 14:30] All you need to do is take the initiative, for God knows what you need even before you ask: "For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him." [Matthew 6:8]

Drugs: The human brain is an exceptionally powerful tool; it is capable of great creation and great destruction. Nevertheless, the human brain is very delicate, and can be easily damaged. A damaged brain is less useful than a healthy one; and he who damages his brain will become a slave rather than a master -- as God intended. A very popular way to damage your brain is through the use of drugs. Why do people use drugs? The use of drugs is an attempt to escape reality. But you don't really escape reality; you merely deceive yourself -- by disabling your reality-recognition device: your brain. We are here to conquer the world, but one cannot conquer the world by avoiding it through various means of escape. Why do people seek to escape reality? Because they have an improper view of reality, being ignorant of their origin, purpose, and destiny.

Drug-Use: Drug-use is a trap which, by inhibiting the normal functions of the body, prevents users from achieving their greatest potential. The drug trade is comprised of three major players: Producers, Distributors, and Users. Persecuting Producers and Distributors is futile. Why? Because of a fundamental rule of supply-and-demand: where there is a demand, there will be suppliers. Thus, the only solution to drug-use is to eliminate the demand. To eliminate the demand, one must first understand the reason for drug-use. Why do people use drugs? To escape reality. Why do people want to escape reality? Because they do not understand the purpose of reality. To the unenlightened, reality seems harsh -- and it is human nature to avoid difficult circumstances, since humans tend to seek the path of least resistance. This escapism is caused by a spirit of hopelessness. What is hopelessness? Hopelessness is when one looks to the future and sees nothing desirable -- nothing worth living for. Why do people lose hope? Spiritually, loss of hope is caused by ignorance of the truth; materialistically, loss of hope is the product of poor decisions: after making a series of bad decisions, one finds himself straight-jacketed inside a cocoon of his own weaving, seemingly with no way out.

Escaping the Dark Side: If you find yourself lost in the dark side and feel that God cannot reach you, please consider the following scripture: "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me." [Psalm 139:7-10]

Love and Lust: The most beautiful thing is the spirit of God, which is love. The most desirable thing is love, and, consequently, humans, in their rashness to acquire love, tend to settle for an imitation -- rather than wait patiently for God to provide them with the genuine article via their perfect mate. The most notorious substitute for love is lust. What is love? What is lust? And how do I distinguish between the two? Consider the words of William Shakespeare:

 "What have you urg'd that I cannot reprove?
 The path is smooth that leadeth on to danger.
 I hate not love, but your device in love
 That lends embracements unto every stranger.
   You do it for increase: O strange excuse,
   When reason is the bawd to lust's abuse.
 Call it not love, for love to heaven is fled,
 Since sweating lust on earth usurp'd his name;
 Under whose simple semblance he hath fed
 Upon fresh beauty, blotting it with blame;
   Which the hot tyrant stains and soon bereaves,
   As caterpillars do the tender leaves.
 Love comforteth like sunshine after rain,
 But lust's effect is tempest after sun;
 Love's gentle spring doth always fresh remain,
 Lust's winter comes ere summer half be done;
   Love surfeits not, lust like a glutton dies;
   Love is all truth, lust full of forged lies."
 [Venus And Adonis, lines 787-804]

The Nature of Love and Lust: Lust is rash and greedy; love is patient and considerate. Lust seeks to possess and manipulate; love seeks to liberate and comfort. Lust gives sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies; love gives a wedding band and makes a lifelong covenant. Lust lives for the moment; love considers eternity in all things. Lust is crafty and deceitful; love is open and honest. In summary: love gives, lust takes; love is selfless, lust is selfish; love seeks to give, lust seeks to get.

Love Defined: Love is not a feeling; love is not an emotion; love is not empty words; love is action: "This is love, that we walk according to His commandments." [2 John 6] Love is defined by the Ten Commandments. He who keeps the Ten Commandments loves; he who does not keep the Ten Commandments does not love nor does he know God, for God is love. The works (physical manifestations) of love are defined in the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20:3-17); the spirit (attitude) of love is described in the 'love chapter' (1 Corinthians 13). "Without love, I am nothing." The man who does not possess love will not inherit life eternal. Love is so critical to life that God gave us his love twice: once in written form to Moses on the mountain, and once in flesh in the person of Jesus. He who rejects love, rejects life.

Purity of Virgins: If you choose to marry, marry a virgin. Why? Because virgins possess a certain characteristic which is essential to a long-term relationship: self-control. Those who marry as virgins are able to enjoy intimacy to its maximum potential, since, when they come together sexually, their minds are not polluted by memories of past sexual experiences: thus, they are able to give themselves fully and completely to each other. When a man and woman come together sexually -- apart from God's holy ordinance of marriage -- they violate each other's spirit. The devil uses the fascination of sex to tempt unstable souls to violate each other. Nevertheless, if you have yielded up your purity in ignorance of God's ordinance of marriage, know that God is able to heal all things, including the damaged spirit.

Teenage Instability: A person is most unstable during his teen years. If one is to make a life-
crippling decision, he may very well make it during his teen years. I would advise teens to avoid making any important decisions -- decisions which may bear lifelong consequences. Specifically, avoid sex and drugs (including alcohol and tobacco); do not associate with "friends" who may lead you away from the path which leads to life eternal; avoid tattoos and piercings; and never disrespect your parents. Furthermore, avoid any type of markings on or in your body, since your body is the temple of God: "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" [1 Corinthians 6:19] One should not deface the temple of God, but one should rather keep it pure and healthy: "You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD." [Leviticus 19:28]

Teenage Hopelessness: Teenage hopelessness is caused by a father's failure to inspire his children. When children are taught, through the theory of Evolution, that life has no purpose, is it any wonder that they grow disenchanted -- some even choosing to end their own lives? We deceitfully inspire our children with tales of Santa Claus and gifts, beholding their joy on Christmas Day; however, when the children are grown, they discover the truth -- and no lasting damage is done. By the same token, why not "deceive" our teenagers with "tales" of God and heaven in order to inspire them through those volatile teen years? And when they are older and more stable, they will pursue the truth for themselves. It may be argued that this approach is based on false hope; however, even false hope is better than no hope: Is illusion not preferable to despair?

Teenage Hopefulness: To those who can see, it is obvious that the world is going to hell in a handbasket. If this trend is to be reversed, it must start with teenagers. Why? Because teenagers possess energy and idealism, not yet being burdened with the cares of the world, not yet complacent with the status quo. In ancient times, God led his people Israel out of slavery in Egypt, intending to bring them into the land he promised their ancestors -- a land flowing with milk and honey (a foreshadow of the Millennium); on the way to the promised land, God tested his people and found them disobedient, so he led them in the wilderness for 40 years -- until the older generation was dead; he then led the younger generation into the promised land (a type of Millennium). Why? Because the adults were set in their evil ways, whereas the children were still malleable. Perhaps teenagers will consider the errors of the previous generation and seek to make amends, thereby fulfilling this prophecy: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." [Matthew 5:5] The meek are those who conquer the world, the flesh, and the devil through the diligent application of the word of God: "Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the LORD's anger." [Zephaniah 2:3]

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The above book is available for purchase at:

http://www.amazon.com

Search for:
TITLE: "The Bible Explained"
AUTHOR: "Arrant Knave"
ISBN-10: "1468197061"
ISBN-13: "9781468197068"

Or try this direct link:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Bible-Explained-Parents-Teenagers/dp/1468197061

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The above excerpt from 'The Bible Explained' is copyright
2010 by Arrant Knave. All rights reserved. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means without the
prior written permission of the publisher, except by a
reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be
printed in a newspaper, magazine, or journal.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are
taken from the New King James Version (R). Copyright (C)
1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights
reserved.

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