Archives For Discipleship

From nearly the very beginning of human existence, God’s dealings with humans have instructed them to accept His wisdom in setting boundaries for them about acceptable sources of wisdom (Gen. 2:17 compared with Genesis 3:6). Rejecting God’s wisdom and righteousness, Eve foolishly and sinfully sought wisdom (“a tree to be desired to make one wise” [Gen. 3:6]) by a forbidden means from a forbidden source of wisdom that God sovereignly had put off-limits to her.

She was deceived into doing so by the work of an evil, supernatural, non-human spirit being (Gen. 3:13; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14) of whom Eve had no knowledge. In fact, she had no capability of knowing what really was taking place and took place that led to her transgressing against God.

We must learn from Eve’s horrific and tragic foolishness and sinfulness. As finite, corporeal beings, we as humans apart from divine revelation are utterly incapable of understanding how things of the spirit world work.

We therefore are simply no match for evil, supernatural, non-human spirit beings who incomparably surpass us in so many ways. Our only place of safety is to exalt God’s wisdom and righteousness in His demanding that we utterly reject all wisdom from forbidden sources of wisdom that is demonic.

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

Revelation 18 Study Guide

April 18, 2025

I have studied Revelation 18 intensively at various times in the past ten years or so. The following study guide displays some of the ways that I have recently examined the passage.

In the guide, the superscripts after a word on its first occurrence in the passage show that the word (or a closely related word) occurs more than once in the passage. For example, the first occurrence of “angel” in the passage is in the first verse, and the only other occurrence is in verse 21: “another angel21.”

The different font colors have the following significance:

(1) Orange refers to heaven, heavenly beings, God’s actions, and God’s people

(2) Red refers to Babylon

(3) Purple refers to demons or demonic activities

(4) Green refers to the various groups of unrighteous people spoken of in the passage

(5) Blue refers to words concerning sin

(6) Pink refers to future tense verbs (in the English translation) as shown by the repeated occurrences of “shall.”

The words that I have underlined bring out additionally the repeated occurrences of certain selected words or phrases.

Revelation 18

1 And after these things I saw another angel21 come down from heaven,4, 5, 20
having great power; and the earth3, 9, 11, 23 was lightened with his glory.

2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice,4, 22, 23 saying,4,10,18,19, 21
Babylon10, 21 the great10, 16, 18, 19, 21 is fallen, is fallen,
and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit,
and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird
.
3 For all nations23 have drunk of the wine13 of the wrath of her3(2x), 4(3x), 5(2x), 6(4x), 7(2x), 8(2x), 9(4x), 10, 11, 15(2x), 18, 19, 20(2x), 24 fornication,3,9
and the kings9 of the earth have committed fornication9 with her,
and the merchants11, 15, 17, 23 of the earth are waxed rich15 through the abundance of her delicacies.

 4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying,
Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins,5
and that ye receive not of her plagues.8
5 For her sins have reached unto heaven,
and God8, 20 hath remembered her iniquities.

6 Reward her even as she7, 8, 19 rewarded you,
and double6(2x) unto her double according to her works:
in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously9,
so much torment10, 15 and sorrow7 give her:
for she saith in her heart,
I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day,
death, and mourning,11 and famine;
and she shall be utterly burned with fire:9,18
for strong is the Lord God who judgeth10, 20 her.

9 And the kings of the earth,
who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her,
shall bewail her, and lament for her,
when they shall see the smoke18 of her burning,18
10 Standing afar off for the fear15 of her torment, saying,
Alas, alas,16, 19 that great city10, 16, 18, 19, 21 Babylon, that mighty city!
for in one hour17 is thy14, 23(2x) judgment come.

11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep15, 19 and mourn over her;
for no man buyeth their merchandise12 any more:22

12 The merchandise of gold,16 and silver, and precious stones,16 and of pearls,16
and fine linen,16 and purple,16 and silk, and scarlet,16
and all thyine wood,12
and all manner vessels of ivory,
and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense,
and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat,
and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots,
and slaves, and souls of men.

14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee,14, 22, 23
and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee,
and thou shalt find them no more at all.21, 22(4x), 25

15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich19 by her,
shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,19
16 And saying, Alas, alas, that great city,
that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet,
and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
17 For in one hour19 so great riches is come to nought.

And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships,19 and sailors,
and as many as trade by sea,19, 21 stood afar off,
18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying,
What city is like unto this great city!
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying,
Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness!
for in one hour is she made desolate.

20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets;24
for God hath avenged you on her.

21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone,22 and cast it into the sea, saying,
Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down,
and shall be found no more at all.

22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters,
shall be heard no more at all in thee;
and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee;
and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee;
and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee:

for thy merchants were the great men of the earth;
for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

Last year on August 19, I began singing through the Psalms word-by-word. I did not use any written music or musical accompaniment to do so.

I freely varied my pitches, rhythm, tempo, and volume with which I sang the words of the Psalms. My goal was to not allow any such considerations to hinder or stop me from singing through each Psalm.

I also did not allow any other predetermined musicological considerations to limit my singing, such as using words that rhyme or singing the whole Psalm in the same key. I did so because such things almost certainly were not part of the singing of the Psalms as they were sung by those to whom God first gave the Psalms.

Because of its length, I broke up Psalm 119 by singing each 8-verse section on successive days. In the future, I may try to sing through the whole Psalm at one time.

On March 15 of this year, I finished my first time singing through every word of the book of Psalms! I praise and thank God for directing me to sing through His perfect hymnal and for granting me grace to finish doing so!

As God directs, I intend to sing through the book of Psalms word-for-word many more times in whatever years of life God sees fit to allow me to have in the future. I hope to do so both in English and in Spanish in the years to come.

Psalm 104:33 I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

Psalm 146:2 While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.

Salmo 104:33 A Jehová cantaré en mi vida; A mi Dios cantaré salmos mientras viva.

Salmo 146:2 Alabaré a Jehová en mi vida; Cantaré salmos a mi Dios mientras viva.

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

I have been studying Romans 14 a lot lately. Recently, I got the idea of using pie charts to help us better understand and apply the teaching of Romans 14 about key differing viewpoints among Christians to the key issue of how many “genres” of instrumental music are acceptable to God for use in corporate worship.

The charts in this post are possible representations of the differing viewpoints that Paul addresses in this chapter. I am not claiming that the details of these charts are necessarily exactly in keeping with what the passage reveals because it seems that there are some uncertainties about the specifics of his teaching.

Eat All Things or Eat Herbs?

The first differing viewpoint that Paul presents concerns what Christians believe that they may eat:

Romans 14:1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. 2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.

Many seem to understand this teaching by Paul to mean what the following diagrams show:

Romans 14:2a For one believeth that he may eat all things:

Romans 14:2b another, who is weak, eateth herbs.

They hold that what Paul says indicates that some believe that they should partake of all things while others who are “weak in the faith” believe that they should only partake of a specified subset of all things that the others believe that they may eat.

A careful comparison of this teaching by Paul with other revelation in Scripture, however, shows that this understanding is faulty. Neither the ones who eat “all things” nor those who eat (only) “herbs,” in reality, eat the following:

Plant and animal products that are poisonous to humans, such as poisonous berries and mushrooms (cf. the inability to eat poisonous stew [2 Kings 4:40]);

Human flesh (Deut. 28:57), eating blood (Lev. 17:10; Acts 15:20), or eating “things strangled (Acts 15:20);

Things known to have been offered to idols (Rev. 2:14
);

Things that God did not create for humans to eat (thorns and thistles [Gen. 3:18]; grass [Ps. 104:14; Dan. 4]).

Taking into account these things that strong believers do not eat shows us that the correct understanding of “eat all things” in Romans 14:2 is the following:

Application

Romans 14:2 does not teach that strong believers eat all things in the sense that they eat all plant and animal products without any exceptions. There are many plant and animal products that are unfit for human consumption as foodstuffs—not consuming those things does not mean that one is “weak in the faith” (Rom. 14:1).

Many believers use Paul’s teaching in Romans 14:2 about strong believers eating “all things” to claim that teaching supports holding that all “genres” of instrumental music are acceptable to God for strong believers to use in corporate worship. Romans 14:2 does not support holding that viewpoint about the use of all “genres” of instrumental music in corporate worship because Romans 14:2 does not teach that strong believers eat all plant and animal products without exception.

Using Romans 14:2 as support for believing that believers who reject the use of certain “genres” of instrumental music in corporate worship are “weak in the faith” is a misinterpretation and misapplication of Scripture. A proper understanding of the teaching of Romans 14:1-2 and a proper application of that teaching shows that it is not true that Scripture supports holding that the use of all “genres” of instrumental music in corporate worship is acceptable to God.

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

I started a new discussion thread on Sharper Iron recently: “What Does Romans 14 Teach about Foods, Days, and Worship Music?” If you are interested in learning more about this subject, I encourage you to follow the discussion on Sharper Iron.

Below is my opening post in that thread.

I have been studying Romans 14 a lot lately. In this thread, I am interested in intensively exegetical and theological discussion about what Romans 14 teaches about foods, days, and worship music.

Paul begins his teaching by saying the following:

Romans 14:1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. 2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.

Paul speaks of some who believe that they may “eat all things,” but others who are “weak in the faith” eat herbs. A sound handling of this teaching requires careful, thorough, biblical probing of this teaching.

When Paul says that some believe that they may eat all things, what is Paul actually teaching? To begin to answer this question properly, it is necessary to point out what Paul is not teaching.

When Paul says that some believe that may eat all things, he is not teaching that those who are not weak in the faith believe that they may eat all plant and animal substances whatever they may be, including even things that are known to be poisonous or otherwise unfit for human consumption as foods.

The teaching of Romans 14:1-2 does not show that Christians who do not eat plant and animal substances that are poisonous, etc. for human consumption are weak in the faith. Being strong “in the faith” does not entail that you believe that you may partake even of poisonous berries, mushrooms, etc.

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

Comparing Psalms 1:1-3 closely to Romans 12:2 profoundly teaches us vital truths about the right approach to worship and music:

Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. Romans 12:2a And be not conformed to this world:
Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. Romans 12:2b but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
Psalm 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Romans 12:2c that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The Spirit is the Author of both passages. Seeing how closely these passages correlate and keeping in mind that the Spirit began His perfect Book on music (the Psalms) in the manner that He has, we must understand that both Psalms 1:1-3 and Romans 12:2 teach us the same foundational truths about the right approach to worship and music!

We cannot have a right approach to worship and music apart from our first stopping being conformed to the world through walking in its counsels about worship and music. Categorical rejection of worship practices and music that are ungodly because they are worldly has everything to do with pleasing God with acceptable music for corporate worship!


“Worldliness is demonically energized, creaturely, lust-driven, arrogant enmity and opposition to God.”

See also: Would the Psalmists Approve of CCM?

Resources That Provide Answers to Key Issues Concerning CCM

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

Satan and his demons exist—they are real. They are incorrigibly evil.

Satan and his demons are spirit beings in ways that humans as spirit beings are not and never will be.

Satan and his demons have experienced realities that no humans on their own have ever experienced or will ever experience. They have knowledge that no humans on their own have ever had or will ever have. They have powers, abilities, and capabilities that no humans on their own have ever had or will ever have.

Because of all these truths about Satan and his demons, evil that is the result of direct or indirect demonic activity is of a supernatural character that other forms of evil are not.

Occult activities, therefore, are supernatural evil activities that are of a distinctively different character than other evil activities.

In keeping with all the preceding points, we must not approach music that is of the occult in the same ways that we approach other music. The supernaturally evil aspects of such music require us to categorically reject all music that is distinctively of the occult.

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

I praise God that I was able to read the entire Bible in 2024! God has now graciously allowed and empowered me to read through the Bible at least once every year for all 35 years of my Christian life!

In addition, I read through Isaiah, Daniel, and the entire NT twice. I also read through the Psalms once and sang through every word of Psalms 1-100!

The books that I read through more than twice in 2024 were Ephesians (6x), Colossians (5x), James (4x), and Jude (3x).

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for giving us your perfect Word and for giving me the freedom to freely read it again and again, year after year!

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

Earlier this year, I decided to do something that I had never done before. I was going to sing through the entire book of Psalms word-for-word.

This project has been an interesting experience. Without using any hymnbooks or music, I began singing through each Psalm.

I tried to sing every word of each Psalm as best as I could without any concern for whether I was following any specific musicological principles or guidelines of singing. I tried to vary how I sang the verses in a way that seemed to me to fit what each verse said.

This morning, I made it through Psalm 100! As God directs, I intend to continue singing through the Psalms until I finish the book.

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

Throughout the world contemporary Christian music has captured countless churches, absorbing them into the domain of semi-charismatic, worldly evangelicalism. Sometimes the preaching has largely remained sound, but for how long now that the worship ethos of such churches has so dramatically changed? Whether its victims realise it or not, the contemporary worship movement is the instrument of the hour to pull down both the conduct and the doctrinal walls of Zion. How the arch-enemy of the churches of Christ and of human souls will be straining to speed on such a catastrophe! . . .

Even the partial adoption of contemporary worship will inevitably constitute a bridge to the total acceptance of ‘Christian’ rock culture. Composers and writers of ‘sounder’ modern genre songs say themselves that their primary aim is to draw conservative churches into the fold of Christian rock, and also to hasten ecumenical advance.

—Peter Masters, “Worship or Entertainment?,” 95-96

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.