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Yes, that story is in Exodus 4:24-25. Moses had not circumcised his younger son. He was about to go into the confrontation with Pharaoh and his sorcerer priests. ANY loophole that Satan could site, to claim an advantage over Moses he would exploit. The LORD was showing Moses that his life, and that of his family was on the line in this confrontation. Dark forces were involved, NOT just simple (maybe not important) rules. Apparently Zipporah (who was Midianite) had not wanted to see her baby "hurt". But when she saw the danger they were in, she took the knife herself and circumcised her little boy. Moses lost that honor, just as he lost the honor of leading Israel across the Jordan. (Small insights into Moses heart.) Circumcision of the male foreskin, was a "blood sacrifice" - rather than sacrificing the firstborn son (as was done in some Canaanite rituals of worship). Such "blood sacrifice" was "changed" with "the priesthood". It foreshadowed the "circumcision of the heart" by Christ Himself - our High Priest. It also foreshadowed the "circumcision of the flesh" by which believers will be "changed in a moment" to receive the new "spiritual body" (not flesh). Ezekiel 44:9 “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel.’” I used to wonder what this verse meant. Are we going back to physical circumcision? But then I realized that Christ will circumcise BOTH flesh and heart, and we will serve Him as “priests of God and of Christ”. Zechariah said it a different way. “There will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts” (Zech. 14:21). Paul wrote a great deal about circumcision. Galatians 5:2 “Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.” Galatians 5:3 “And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.” In the days of Paul, circumcision was only one step in the conversion of a Gentile to Judaism. Circumcision was performed after the man had received at least two years of instruction, and finally had taken an oath to keep ALL of the written Law as well as the Oral Law (traditions) added by the Pharisees. Galatians 5:6 “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.” He never wrote such things about the Sabbath of the 7th Day.

Just read through Isa 22 again. Trying to figure out what point you are making. The LORD God said he would "throw you away violently" to the chief steward Shebna, because he used royal funds to build himself a luxurious sepulcher monument. Then Eliakim was called to that job. He is given "the keys to the "house of David". Then he also would "be cut down and fall" v.25. The "keys" to the storehouses of the king involved his job/position. It's not talking about executing people, or sparing their lives. I've always read the verse about binding and loosing, as being about binding demons and loosing human beings from the control or harassment of demons. When I command demons to depart in the name of Jesus Christ, the angels in the heavenly realm force the evil ones to depart. Peter was not the only Apostle to command demons. And believers today have been given the same authority over the enemy.

The "keys" of David's physical kingdom, are not quite the same as "the keys of hell and of death". Yes - it is a metaphor for authority over. I can buy that. I still say that Christ is the only one with the authority over death, and sheol (the abode of the dead - both righteous and wicked).

I know that traditional Jews say that Sabbath observance is only for the circumcised. They believe that only the physically circumcised are Israelites. But Paul uses the Olive Tree of Romans 11, to show that believers are "grafted in" to the olive tree (which represents Israel), and unbelievers (in Christ) are "broken off" from that tree. That is why "all Israel will be saved". Salvation is only in Christ. In the earth made new, "all Israel" ("circumcised" in flesh and in heart) will come before the LORD to worship Him - on the Sabbath.

Healed every one ? Acts 5:16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.

I like your point Joe. The definition of sin is "transgression of the law" - to knowingly rebel against the will of God. How could God the Father "rebel against" His OWN will. That would make no sense. God's Son - on the other hand, had his own separate will. He was a separate being, therefore He could have knowingly refused the will of His Father. On the night He was betrayed, Jesus prayed fervently, asking to be released from crucifixion. He prayed, "nevertheless not My will, but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42). Why use those words, there was only one will? John 5:30 "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me." John 6:38 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me." Why not say something like "Our will" if they really had the same will?

Amen! Revelation 1:17-18 "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. " Revelation 3:7 "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write,`These things says He who is holy, He who is true, "He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens": Opens what? Answer: the grave/death John 5:26 "For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself," Only Jesus can release from death. "In Him was life" (John 1:4). John 5:25 "Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live." Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.

Are you getting this idea that Peter was singularly named the head of the church from the following passage? "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matt. 16:18-20) If so, notice a couple of things Jesus said "I tell you that you are Peter". The Greek work used for Peter was "Petro", which means a small stone. The He said "on this rock I will build my church". The Greek word used there for rock is "petra", which means a huge immoveable rock; like the Rock of Gibraltar. In this, Jesus was referring to Himself - the Chief Cornerstone. Another acceptable translation for the phrases "will be bound" and "will be loosed"is "will have been bound" and "will have been loosed". Using this translation, the verse seems to say that whatever pronouncements are made in heaven will have already been communicated to the Apostles by the Spirit. When Jesus allegedly gave Peter the keys to the Kingdom, could it be that Jesus was giving the keys to all His disciples? In the context of the chapter, Jesus and Peter were indeed with all the disciples at the time. Jesus had to entrust the Kingdom to some human representatives on earth, since He was leaving. It is also possible that, although Peter appears to have been the spokesman for (aka loudmouth of) the apostles, James could have been made the head of the church in Jerusalem (hence - the entire Christian Church) so Peter could go on missions. Christianity wasn't even legal in the Roman Empire until the 4th Century. How long could Peter have possibly been a pope in Rome; in a society mostly hostile to Christians?

5 Things You Probably Didn't Know About David Berkowitz On August 10th, 1977, the police arrested David Berkowitz, better known as the "Son of Sam," the man who killed six people and wounded seven more, claiming he was acting on orders delivered from a dog. Here are 5 things you didn't know about the serial killer who terrified the residents of New York... Berkowitz Picked Out His Own Nickname The media or police often give nicknames to serial killers such as John Wayne Gacy, who was called The Killer Clown, but David Berkowitz gave himself his own nickname. At the beginning of his murders, the media was calling him the .44 Killer or the .44 Caliber Killer, which referred to the weapon he used to commit these horrible crimes. Berkowitz first referred to himself as the Son of Sam in a letter he mailed to the New York Police Department, and sections were released to the public, so the media began calling him by the name he had chosen for himself. The Son of Sam Murdered Six People and Injured Others The first people targeted by Berkowitz was an unknown female and 15-year-old Michelle Forman. He stabbed both victims, and eventually shot them with a .44 caliber revolver made by Charter Arms. He went on to murder Donna Lauria, age 18; Christine Freund, 26; Virginia Voskerichain, 19; Valentina Suriani, 18; Alexander Esau, 20; and Stacy Moskowitz, 20. In addition, he injured seven persons, most of whom were with one of the other victims at the time. A Car Led Police to the Killer Berkowitz shot a minimum of four people after he mailed the letter to police to taunt them, and investigators thought he was connected in some way to a police department because he held his gun the way a policeman would. However, a woman contacted authorities to tell them about someone who had looked at her strangely near one of the murder scenes. One vehicle spotted at the murder scene was a 1970 Ford Galaxie that connected police to Berkowitz. Ammo and weapons were found in his car, along with additional proof that he was the Son of Sam. He Said the Neighbor’s Dog Made Him Do It Berkowitz was taken into custody by New York City police homicide detectives in front of his Yonkers apartment building, and he was subsequently indicted for eight shooting incidents.During questioning, Berkowitz claimed that his neighbor's dog was one of the reasons that he killed, stating that the dog demanded the blood of pretty young girls. He said that the "Sam" mentioned in his first letter was his former neighbor Sam Carr. Berkowitz claimed that Carr's black labrador retriever "Harvey" was possessed by an ancient demon and that it issued irresistible commands that Berkowitz must kill people. Despite his explanation, Berkowitz was found mentally competent to stand trial. Berkowitz Was Given Six Life Sentences Berkowitz is incarcerated at Sullivan Correctional Facility, where he has become an Evangelical, changing his nickname from Son of Sam to Son of Hope. Although New York state law mandates that he be given a parole hearing every two years, he sometimes does not attend and has never asked to be released. ps:Can you imagine if he had access or bought a assault type weapon???

According to Catholic tradition there was a pope. If there was a Pope, it would have been Pope James - Jesus' brother as he appeared to make many of the decisions. and He was in Jerusalem - not Rome. There is no biblical record of Peter ever being in Rome. If he were, why didn't Paul tell Peter "hello" in his epistle to the Romans? He extends greetings to about 20 people in Romans 16; and Pope Peter I is not among them. Seems pretty rude for an apostle not to extend a greeting to his boss.

I disagree with that. I don't ever see a record of God punishing a group of people just because they weren't circumcised. I see plenty of examples of Him punishing people who didn't keep the Sabbath. As far as circumcision goes: "Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace." (Gal. 5:2-4) I think that the Bible gives us a choice - to be under the Law (striving to earn our salvation through total compliance to the terms and conditions spelled out in the Bible), or to be under grace - living under the cover of Christ's righteousness, forgiveness and grace. "For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. "(Romans 6:14) I am not saying the law of grace is a license to sin; rather grace is not only the forgiveness of sin, it is the power to be free from the slavery of sin.