| Hosea 4:1 & 6 says: "Listen to the word of the LORD. ... My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." | Jesus said: "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves" (Matthew 10:16 NASB). |
| THE ACTION OF ANGER |
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Chapter III
Ralph Waldo Emerson said: "Anger is an uncontrollable feeling that betrays what you are when you are not yourself. Anger is that powerful internal force that blows out the light of reason. Know this to be the enemy: it is anger." 1 What did Jesus say? In Matthew 5:21-22 (NASB) Jesus said: "You have heard that the ancients were told, 'You shall not commit murder' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' 2 But I say unto you that every one who is angry 3 with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever shall say to his brother, 'Raca' ['You good-for-nothing'], shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever shall say, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the hell of fire" "Jesus goes back of the murderous act and forbids the anger and the reproachful words that precede it and likely lead to it. He places the murderous heart on the level of actual murder." 4 In contrast, Satan would have us believe a lie. He would have us believe that Jesus said: "whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment." "Satan is the oldest liar in the records of eternity." Satan is the father of lies, and he continues to this day to distort the teachings of Jesus and to obscure the truth of that which Jesus said in Matthew 5:22. The King James Version (KJV) was translated in 1611 from a Greek text in which Matthew 5:22 contains an interpolation ("spurious added insertion") of the Greek adverb eikh; transliterated eike and translated: "without a cause." Consequently, The King James Version of Matthew 5:22 says that Jesus said: "That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment." The Greek text from which the King James Version was translated is a composite text entitled: "The Textus Receptus" and it is based on 12th, 13th and 15th century copies of copies of copies. As a result of this Greek adverb having been inserted and added to Matthew 5:22, in "The Textus Receptus," the devil's lie found its way in the year 1611 into the English translation known as The King James Version. But wait, in other English versions of "The New Testament," including the NASB, NIV, MSG, HCSB, RSV, NLV, NLT, CEV, NIRV, and the ASV, the English words "without a cause" are not found in Matthew 5:22. WHY? And the answer is: They are translations of the earliest Greek texts of the New Testament. The Greek adverb eikh, transliterated eike is not in the earliest Greek texts of Matthew 5:22. John Wesley (1703-1791) in Wesley's Notes on the Bible said: "Some copies add, without a cause--but this is utterly foreign to the whole scope and tenor of our Lord's discourse." Let us now consider what Jesus really said in Matthew 5:22 according to the following translations of the earliest of the original Greek texts of the Gospel of Matthew.
" I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother "idiot!' and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell "stupid!' at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill." (Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson.)
" But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Fool!' will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, 'You moron!' will be subject to hellfire." (Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.)
New Living Translation (NLT) "But I say, if you are angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the high council. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell." (Holy Bible. New Living Translation © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust.)
" But I say unto you, that every one who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of the hell of fire." (Copyright © 1901. Public Domain.)
1. The Fourfold Gospel or A Harmony of the Four Gospels 5 Matthew 5:21-24.21 . Ye have heard [Ex. xx. 13; Deut. v. 17. The common people, for the most part, knew the law only by its public reading, and hence the exposition of the scribes which accompanied the readings shared in their estimation the very authority of Scripture itself.] that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of [shall be liable to] the judgment;22 . But I say unto you, that every one who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca [an expression of contempt frequently used in rabbinical writings, but of uncertain derivation, so that it may mean "empty head" or "spit out;" i. e., heretic], shall be in danger of the council: and whosoever shall say, Thou fool ["'Thou impious wretch;' folly and impiety being equivalent with the Hebrews"--Bloomfield], shall be in danger of hell fire. [We have here three degrees of criminality or offence as to the sin of anger: 1. Silent rage; 2. Railing speech; 3. Bitter reproach (Ps. xiv. 1). With these are associated respectively three different degrees of punishment. The law of Moses provided for the appointment of judges (Deut. xvi. 18), and Josephus informs us that in each city there were seven judges appointed (Ant. iv. 8, 14). This tribunal was known as the judgment, and by it the case of the manslayer was determined. Compare Num. xxxv. 15, 24, 25 with Josh. xx. 4. And in determining his case this court might certify it for decision to the Sanhedrin, or they might themselves confine the man in one of the cities of refuge, or order him to be stoned to death. The second punishment would be the result of a trial before the Sanhedrin or council. This chief court of the Jews sat at Jerusalem (Deut. xvii. 8-13), and common men stood in great awe of it. The third punishment passes beyond the pale of human jurisdiction. It is the final punishment--being cast into hell. The Scripture word for hell is derived from the name of a place in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, called the valley of Hinnom. It was a deep, narrow valley, lying southeast of Jerusalem. The Greek word Gehenna (which we translate hell) is first found applied to it in the Septuagint translation of Josh. xviii. 16. (For the history of the valley, see the following passages of Scripture: Josh. xv. 8; II. Chron. xxviii. 3; xxxiii. 6; Jer. vii. 31; xix. 1-5; II. Kings xxiii. 1-14; II. Chron. xxxiv. 4, 5.) The only fire certainly known to have been kindled there was the fire in which children were sacrificed to the god Moloch. This worship was entirely destroyed by King Josiah, who polluted the entire valley so as to make it an unfit place even for heathen worship. Some commentators endeavor to make this third punishment a temporal one, and assert that fires were kept burning in the valley of Hinnom, and that as an extreme punishment the bodies of criminals were cast into those fires. But there is not the slightest authentic evidence that any fire was kept burning there; nor is there any evidence at all that casting a criminal into the fire was ever employed by the Jews as a punishment. It was the fire of idolatrous worship in the offering of human sacrifice which had given the valley its bad name. This caused it to be associated in the mind of the Jews with sin and suffering, and led to the application of its name, in the Greek form of it, to the place of final and eternal punishment. When the conception of such a place as hell was formed, it was necessary to give it a name, and there was no word in the Jewish language more appropriate for the purpose than the name of this hideous valley. It is often used in the New Testament, and always denotes the place of final punishment (Matt. x. 28; xviii. 9; xxiii. 33; Mark ix. 43). We should note that while sin has stages, God takes note of it from its very first germination in the heart, and that a man's soul is imperiled long before his feelings bear their fruitage of violence and murder.]23 . If therefore [having forbidden anger, Jesus now proceeds to lay down the course for reconciliation] thou art offering thy gift at the altar [that which was popularly esteemed the very highest act of worship], and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, 24. leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. [Reconciliation takes precedence of all other duties, even of offerings made to God. A very important teaching in these days, when men, by corrupt practices, by extortionate combinations, and by grinding the face of the poor, accumulate millions of dollars and then attempt to placate God by bestowing a little of their pocket change upon colleges and missionary societies. God hears and heeds the voice of the unreconciled brethren, and the gift is bestowed upon the altar in vain. The offering of unclean hands is an abomination. The lesson teaches us to be reconciled with all who bear grudges against us, and says nothing as to whether their reasons are sufficient or insufficient, just or unjust. "It is enough to say, I have naught against him, and so justify myself"--Stier.]"There was never an angry man that thought his anger unjust." 6 2. Wesley's Notes on the Bible by John Wesley 1703-1791. 7 Matthew 5:22-24. 22 . But I say unto you - Which of the prophets ever spake thus? Their language is, Thus saith the Lord. Who hath authority to use this language, but the one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Whosoever is angry with his brother - Some copies add, without a cause - But this is utterly foreign to the whole scope and tenor of our Lord's discourse. If he had only forbidden the being angry without a cause, there was no manner of need of that solemn declaration, I say unto you; for the scribes and Pharisees themselves said as much as this.23 . Thy brother hath aught against thee - On any of the preceding accounts: for any unkind thought or word: any that did not spring from love.24 . Leaving thy gift, go - For neither thy gift nor thy prayer will atone for thy want of love: but this will make them both an abomination before God.There is an old Chinese Proverb that says: The fastest horse cannot catch a word spoken in anger.3. The People's New Testament by Barton W. Johnson. 8 Matthew 5:21-25.21 . Ye have heard. Jesus now gives the law a new form to adapt it to his kingdom. It takes a new, a deeper, a more spiritual shape and meaning. By them of old time. In this case, Moses. See Ex. 20:13; Deut. 5:17. Thou shalt not kill. One of the ten commandments. Christ, the Divine Lawgiver, modifies it. In danger of the judgment. The civil courts. The law provided in every city a court of seven judges, who could sentence a criminal to death (Deut. 16:18).22 . But I say unto you. Jehovah had spoken the Decalogue to Israel. Christ assumes the right to amend it. Such a claim is based on a claim of divinity. Whosoever is angry with his brother. Jesus goes back of the murderous act, and forbids the anger and the reproachful words that precede it and are likely to lead to it. He places the murderous heart on the level of actual murder. Raca. An epithet of contempt; "empty head," or "spit out," that is, a heretic. The council. The Sanhedrim, the highest court of Israel. It corresponded to our Supreme Court, and had seventy members. Thou fool. The original implies a stupid, wicked fool. Of hell fire. The Greek is "the Gehenna of fire." The term Gehenna arose from the valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, where the Canaanites burned human sacrifices to Moloch. After the return of the Jews from the Captivity they made it a place of defilement, where the refuse of the city was thrown and burned. The name was applied to the place of future punishment by the Jews. The word is often used in the New Testament (Matt. 23:33; 5:29; 10:28; 18:9; Mark 9:43), and always denotes a place of future punishment.23 , 24. Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar. This springs immediately out of the modification of the law, Thou shalt not kill, which required that there should be no anger with a brother. If about to offer a gift on the altar, and the remembrance comes that a brother hath aught against thee, leave the gift, go and make it right with him, and then offer thy gift. This shows that one guilty of wrongs to his fellow-man cannot offer acceptable worship of God. 25. Agree with thine adversary quickly. By adversary is meant an opponent in a lawsuit who is supposed to have a just claim, in this case a creditor. Officer. The same as our sheriff. Under all the old laws debt could be punished with imprisonment.
A. TERTULLIAN (A.D. 145-220). As recorded in Volume III of The Ante-Nicene Fathers, page 685: "ON PRAYER," Chap. XI. . . . WHEN PRAYING THE FATHER, YOU ARE NOT TO BE ANGRY WITH A BROTHER. "That we may not be as far from the ears of God as we are from His precepts, the memory of His precepts paves for our prayers a way unto heaven; of which precepts the chief is, that we go not up unto God's altar before we compose whatever of discord or offence we have contracted with our brethren. For what sort of deed is it to approach the peace of God without peace? How will he appease his Father who is angry with his brother, when from the beginning 'all anger' is forbidden us? For even Joseph, when dismissing his brethren for the purpose of fetching their father, said, 'And be not angry in the way.' He warned us, to be sure, at that time (for elsewhere our Discipline is called 'the way'), that when set in 'the way' of prayer, we go not unto 'the Father' with anger. After that, the Lord, 'amplifying the Law,' openly adds the prohibition of anger against a brother to that of murder. Not even by an evil word does He permit it to be vented." 9 B. ORIGEN (A.D. 185-254): "The scripture, which tells us not to be angry at all, and which says in the thirty-seventh Psalm, 'Cease from anger, and forsake wrath,' and which commands us by the mouth of Paul to 'put off all these, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication, would not involve God in the same passion from which it would have us to be altogether free." 10 C. And, as previously stated, HERMAS said: "The Lord dwells in long-suffering but the devil in anger. ... How wicked is the action of anger, and in what way it overthrows the servants of God by its action, and turns them from righteousness. But it does not turn away those who are full of faith, nor does it act on them, for the power of the Lord is with them. It is the thoughtless and the doubting that it turns away. For as soon as it sees such men standing steadfast, it throws itself into their hearts, and for nothing at all the man or woman becomes embittered on account of occurrences in their daily life, as for instance on account of their food, or some superfluous word that has been uttered, or on account of some friend, or some gift or debt, or some such senseless affair. For all these things are foolish and empty and unprofitable to the - servants of God. . . . But anger is foolish, and fickle, and Senseless." 11
3. "Anger and Cancer: an analysis of the linkages." (Report dated October 23, 2000." College of Nursing, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-4180.)
5. "Life-threatening cardiovascular consequences of anger in patients with coronary heart disease. . . . Anger is the affective state most commonly associated with myocardial ischemia and life-threatening arrhythmias." (Report dated May 14, 1996. Institute for Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Deaconess Hospital, Harvard School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.) 6. "Impact of social support, cynical hostility and anger expression on progression of coronary atherosclerosis." (Report dated November 15, 2000. Medizinische Klinik der Universitat Miinchen-Innenstadt, Munich, Germany.)
Jesus said in Matthew 5:22 that every one, who is angry with his brother, is in danger. What Jesus literally said is: every one who being angry with his brother, liable shall be to the judgment (this is the same linguistic construction that He used in the case of murder in the previous verse). The English expression being angry translates the Greek participle orgizomenoV, transliterated orgizomenos. (For the Greek text of Matthew 5:22 with an interlinear English translation see the footnote.) 12 The English expression every one translates the Greek word paV transliterated pas. 13 And the English expression who translates the Greek article o transliterated ho 14 If we believe that Jesus knew the meaning of the words He employed, and that He used the appropriate words in Matthew 5:22 to convey the thoughts that He intended to convey, then we must believe that this refers to every one, whoever is angry with his brother. How could we believe otherwise? How can it be any plainer than that? This is a very serious matter indeed.
The Fourfold Gospel and The People's New Testament correctly say that Jesus forbids anger.
In Matthew 15:19-20 (NASB) Jesus said: "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man." Back of the first murderous act in the records of eternity, was the anger of man. Genesis 4:5-8 (NASB): "Cain became very angry. . . . Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him."
Chapter III
2. Do you agree or disagree with "The Peoples New Testament" commentary on Matthew 5:22 by Barton W. Stone that says: "Jesus goes back of the murderous act and forbids the anger and the reproachful words that precede it and likely lead to it. He places the murderous heart on the level of actual Murder?" 15
9. Don Colbert, M.D., in his book entitled Deadly Emotions, on page 9, said: "No person experiences an emotion just in his 'heart' or in his 'mind.' Rather, a person experiences an emotion in the form of chemical reactions in the body and in the brain. These chemical reactions occur at both the organ level - stomach, heart, large muscles, and so forth - and at the cellular Level." 16 Do you Agree or Disagree?
CHAPTER III FOOTNOTES: 1 Anger Quotes and Proverbs, Ralph Waldo Emerson (www.heartquotes.net/Anger). 2 New International Version (NIV): "But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. 3 The English word angry translates the Greek passive participle orgizomenoV -- transliterated orgizomenos; from orgizomai -- orgizomai. Regarding verbal characteristics, The Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar, Second Edition by William D. Mounce (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003), page 124, says: "If the subject receives the action of the verb, the verb is in the passive voice." A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament by H. E. Dana, Th.D. and Julius R. Mantey. Th.D, D.D. (New York, NY: The MacMillan Company, 1965), page 161, says: "The passive voice is that use of the verb which denotes the subject as receiving the action." 4 The People's New Testament by Barton W. Johnson (St. Louis, MO: Christian Publishing Company, 1891). 5 The Fourfold Gospel or A Harmony of the Four Gospels by J. W. McGarvey, LL.D. and Philip Y. Pendleton, A.B. (Cincinnati, OH: The Standard Publishing Company, Public Domain), pages 237-239. 6 Anger Quotes and Proverbs, Doc Childre and Howard Martin, Heartmath Solution (www.heartquotes.net/Anger). 7 Wesley's Notes on the Bible by John Wesley 1703-1791. (Christian Classics Ethereal Library. These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that is available on the Christian Classics Ethereal Library website, www.ccel.org.) 8 The People's New Testament by Barton W. Johnson (St. Louis, MO: Christian Publishing Company, 1891. These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that is available on the Christian Classics Ethereal Library website www.ccel.org). 9 The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume III (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Reprinted 1976).hing 10 The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Origen "Against Celsus," Book IV, CHAP. LXXII, Volume IV (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Reprinted May, 1976), page 529. 11 The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume II, Commandment V. CHAP. I and CHAP. II (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, reprinted February, 1975), Page 23. 12 Greek text of Matthew 5:22 with an interlinear English translation: paV o orgizomenoV tw adelfw autou enocoV estai th krisei.Everyone being angry with the brother of him liable shall be to the judgement
13 The Greek word paV, transliterated pas, means according to Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: "1; a. any, every one. b. any and every one, of every kind. c. the whole [all, Latin totus]." 14 The Greek article o, transliterated ho is translated "who." 15 Source, "The People's New Testament" commentary on Matthew 5:22.16 Deadly Emotions by Don Colbert, M.D. (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2003), page 9.
JESUS FORBIDS ANGER!
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