Tag: #Food

1 Corinthians 8 – Fake Food : Take Care with Your Liberty.

1 Now about food sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge [concerning this]. Knowledge [alone] makes [people self-righteously] arrogant, but love [that unselfishly seeks the best for others] builds up and encourages others to grow [in wisdom].

2 If anyone imagines that he knows and understands anything [of divine matters, without love], he has not yet known as he ought to know.

3 But if anyone loves God [with awe-filled reverence, obedience and gratitude], he is known by Him [as His very own and is greatly loved].

4 In this matter, then, of eating food offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world [it has no real existence], and that there is no God but one.

5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords,

6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, [a]who is the source of all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things [that have been created], and we [believers exist and have life and have been redeemed] through Him.

7 However, not all [believers] have this knowledge. But some, being accustomed [throughout their lives] to [thinking of] the idol until now [as real and living], still eat food [b]as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and because their conscience is weak, it is defiled (guilty, ashamed).

8 Now food will not commend us to God nor bring us close to Him; we are no worse off if we do not eat, nor are we better if we do eat.

9 Only be careful that this liberty of yours [this power to choose] does not somehow become a stumbling block [that is, a temptation to sin] to the weak [in conscience].

10 For if someone sees you, a person having [c]knowledge, [d]eating in an idol’s temple, then if he is weak, will he not be encouraged to eat things sacrificed to idols [and violate his own convictions]?

11 For through your knowledge (spiritual maturity) this weak man is ruined [that is, he suffers in his spiritual life], the brother for whom Christ died.

12 And when you sin against the brothers and sisters in this way and wound their weak conscience [by confusing them], you sin against Christ.

13 Therefore, if [my eating a certain] food causes my brother to stumble (sin), I will not eat [such] meat ever again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.

Footnotes:
👉 1 Corinthians 8:6 Lit from whom are all things.
👉 1 Corinthians 8:7 In Paul’s viewpoint, meat sold at the market place (even if it had been used in idol worship) was permissible food because a pagan sacrifice was meaningless, and the meat itself could not be contaminated by any such ritual (cf Mark 7:19). Some who had accepted Christ worried that they were violating their new faith if they ate any meat without knowing its origin first-hand.
👉 1 Corinthians 8:10 I.e. the knowledge that no harm can come from eating the meat, since in reality the sacrifice is meaningless (see note v 7).
👉 1 Corinthians 8:10 Lit reclining, i.e. the position in which people dined.

The Hill: Hegseth announces annual testosterone screenings for service members

by Ellen Mitchell – 07/15/26 1:21 PM ET

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday announced a new effort to annually screen service members’ testosterone levels and offer testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), framing it as a way to keep troops on the “leading edge of lethality.”

The screening, added as part of warfighters’ periodic health assessment, will affect troops age 30 and older, though those younger than 30 can voluntarily choose to get the test, Hegseth said in a video message posted to the social platform X.

“While we invest heavily in our weapon systems, platforms and gear, our most decisive tactical advantage will always be the individual warfighter,” Hegseth said. “We have a sacred duty to maintain that advantage, which is why we must constantly look for new ways to optimize your performance, your resilience and your long-term health.”

The Pentagon chief authorized the new screening program to ensure troops “have the right testosterone levels to operate at [their] absolute best because it’s well-established science that as we age, testosterone levels often naturally drop,” he said.

Should treatment be recommended following the test, service members have the choice to receive TRT.

“This initiative it’s not about artificial enhancement; it’s about restoring and optimizing your natural capabilities, protecting your longevity, ensuring you have the biological foundation required to sustain and fight,” according to Hegseth. “We owe our warriors the absolute best medical care in the world. And this program delivers on that obligation.”

Added to the video, Hegseth wrote: “The High-T Department of War.”

Traditional masculinity has been a fixture of the Trump administration. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in January declared that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz had reviewed President Trump’s medical records and found that he had “the highest testosterone levels that he’s ever seen for an individual over 70.”

And in April, the Food and Drug Administration moved to expand access to TRT after decades of recommending it only be prescribed to men with medical issues affecting testosterone production.

Hegseth, a former National Guard member and Fox News host, has imposed new, stricter fitness standards on the U.S. military that will require everyone to meet a “male standard.” He also has sought to highlight troops’ ​health by frequently working out with service members.

Last September, in a speech addressing several hundred high-ranking officials in Quantico, Va., Hegseth said he didn’t want to see overweight troops or “fat generals and admirals.”

Roughly 5.6 percent of men between 30 and 79 years old have testosterone deficiency, which can cause muscle loss, fatigue, weight gain and sexual dysfunction. It also is linked to other serious health conditions including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and depression.

“By addressing these health markers early, we’re keeping you on the leading edge of lethality and giving you the same level of support that you give this nation the absolute best,” Hegseth said.

FOX Business: Taco Bell investigated as lettuce emerges as possible source of cyclosporiasis outbreak

By Kristen Altus
FOX Business

Federal and state agencies reportedly reviewing whether Taco Bell contributed to Michigan’s largest-ever parasite outbreak

One of America’s most popular fast-food chains is under scrutiny as federal and state health officials investigate whether Taco Bell locations may be connected to a rapidly growing cyclosporiasis outbreak.

Federal and state health agencies are investigating whether Taco Bell locations may have contributed to a widespread outbreak of cyclosporiasis, a gastrointestinal illness caused by a microscopic parasite, according to two anonymous sources familiar with the investigation who spoke to The Washington Post.

In recent days, multiple local and national news outlets reported that signs appeared at Detroit-area Taco Bell restaurants notifying customers that the locations could not serve lettuce, cilantro onions, pico de gallo or guacamole because of “a national recall.”

In an email statement to Fox News Digital, Taco Bell Corp. said: “The health and safety of our guests is our top priority. Public health officials have not confirmed a link to Taco Bell or any specific ingredient, supplier, restaurant or retailer. While authorities continue their broader review, Taco Bell has voluntarily and temporarily removed limited ingredients at select restaurants as a precautionary measure. We will continue to closely monitor the situation and follow the guidance of public health authorities.”

Neither the U.S. Food and Drug Administration nor the Department of Health and Human Services immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The FDA has not announced a recall involving Taco Bell, and its website does not include any public notice mentioning Taco Bell in connection with the outbreak.

Cyclosporiasis cases are rising across America, with more than 2,600 cases reported in Michigan. This is the largest outbreak of its kind in Michigan’s history and one of the country’s largest in years, according to the Associated Press.

A press release from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said Monday: “While the investigation is ongoing, current results point to lettuce or salad greens as a potential source for this outbreak, although other food items cannot be completely ruled out. No specific type of produce, grower or supplier has been identified as the source.”

The parasitic infection can cause weeks of watery, “explosive” diarrhea. The source of the outbreak has not been identified, and no deaths have been reported.

Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky. Yum! Brands also owns KFC, Pizza Hut and The Habit Burger & Grill.

Taco Bell operates more than 8,700 locations worldwide, according to its website, and serves more than 40 million customers each week in the United States.

The Vigilant Fox: German report sidesteps COVID vaccine adverse events.

July 14, 2026

According to STIKO’s report, severe COVID-19 cases during pregnancy are now rare and healthy pregnant women now face a risk that’s comparable to that of healthy women of the same age group.

STIKO continues to recommend COVID-19 vaccination, however, for pregnant women with diabetes, hypertension, immune deficiency, significant chronic disease or pregnancy-related complications.

Sterz suggested the new policy should have been recommended from the beginning of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

“Why was this not the strategy from the very beginning? Vaccination of pregnant women with an unknown, not properly evaluated vaccine was a criminal medical act,” Sterz said.

Sterz cited the “Pfizer documents,” released in 2024 and analyzed by independent researchers. The documents cited vaccine-related deaths, serious adverse events among pregnant women and irreversible harm to reproductive health in the clinical trial data of the original Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 shot.

STIKO’s report does not address adverse events related to COVID-19 vaccination — for pregnant women or any other population group. This despite continuing questions about the safety of the mRNA vaccine technology, which some scientists have said puts people at risk, and calls for their suspension.

Walach suggested that safety concerns likely underlie STIKO’s new guidance, even if those concerns are not spelled out in its report.

“I think it is becoming more and more obvious that the mRNA shots are problematic. Without specifically acknowledging this, this perception likely underlies this recommendation,” Walach said. “There have been multiple calls for the STIKO to change their policy. It seems they have caved in,” Walach said.

An October 2024 survey conducted in Germany found that 1 in 6 respondents reported experiencing side effects after receiving a COVID-19 shot.

Internal RKI documents released by an anonymous whistleblower in July 2024 showed that the organization overlooked COVID-19 vaccine safety concerns, seeking to skip Phase 3 trials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and to release the product “straight into broad application.”

The documents also showed that widespread vaccination of children and other pandemic-era policies weren’t based on rational or scientific considerations but on political factors.

Walach said STIKO’s guidance does not go far enough and that it should instead “express a wholesale recommendation to not use mRNA for any vaccine.”

Last month, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) committee unanimously voted to recommend approval of Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine for the 50-64 and 65-plus age groups. Full FDA approval is pending.
–

American Farmers Forced to Destroy Crops, Sell Livestock amid Water Restrictions

American farmers are being forced to destroy their own crops and sell off their livestock due to widespread water restrictions.

The thinning of U.S. farms is, in turn, driving up food prices and adding to the overall economic downturn that Americans have been increasingly struggling with for the past two years.

Water restrictions amid drought conditions have put the production of beef, dairy, wheat, vegetable, fruits, and nuts at serious risk, according to a survey from the American Farm Bureau Federation.

As Slay News has previously reported, farmers have been reporting that water cutbacks are turning their land into dust.

Read More

The Four Horsemen in the Book of Revelation

The Four Horsemen correspond with the first four seals opened by the Lamb as He opens the scroll of judgment in heaven (see Revelation 5). When the Lamb opens the first seal, one of the living creatures before the heavenly throne says to John, in a voice like thunder, “Come!” (Revelation 6:1). John then records what he sees: “I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest” (Revelation 6:2).

The first Horseman likely refers to the Antichrist. He is the false imitator of the true Christ, who is also associated with a white horse (Revelation 19:11–16). At the beginning of the tribulation, the Antichrist will be given authority (“a crown”), and he will wage war (“a bow”), conquering all who oppose him. This description agrees with Daniel’s vision of the “little horn” that rises to power and is bent on conquest: “This horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them” (Daniel 7:21; cf. Revelation 13:7).

When the Lamb opens the second seal, the second living creature says, “Come!” (Revelation 6:3). John looks and dutifully records what he sees: “Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword” (Revelation 6:4). The second Horseman refers to terrible warfare that will break out in the end times. Those wars will include the Antichrist’s rise to power, which requires the downfall of three other kings (Daniel 7:8), and possibly the Battle of Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 38—39).

The Lamb then opens the third seal, and the third living creature invites John to “Come!” (Revelation 6:5). The third Horseman then appears: “There before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!’” (Revelation 6:5–6). The third Horseman of the Apocalypse portrays a great famine that will take place. Food is scarce, and prices are inflated beyond reason. The command to spare the oil and the wine seems to signify that the luxuries (oil and wine) will still be available during the famine, but the staples will not.

When the Lamb breaks open the fourth seal, the fourth living creature says, “Come!” (Revelation 6:7). John says, “I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth” (Revelation 6:8). The fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse is symbolic of death and devastation. The horse’s pale color (in the original language, it’s literally “pale green” or “yellowish green”) denotes sickliness and biliousness. The fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse will bring further warfare and terrible famines along with awful plagues, diseases, and attacks by wild animals. A fourth of the world’s population will die.

What is most amazing, or perhaps terrifying, is that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are just precursors of even worse judgments that come later in the tribulation (Revelation chapters 8—9 and 16). For all the horror brought by the Four Horsemen, there is much more to come.

The Seven Seals in the Book of Revelation

The prelude to the opening of the seven seals in John’s vision is a search for someone worthy to open the heavenly scroll in Revelation 5. John writes, “I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals” (Revelation 5:1). This scroll contains the judgments of God; the fact that it is written on both sides indicates the extensive nature of the judgment pending. A mighty angel cries out, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” (verse 2). No one was found worthy of breaking the seals and opening the scroll, a fact that causes John to mourn (verse 3–4). If the scroll could not be opened, then wickedness would not be judged and evil would continue to infect the earth.

As John is weeping over the unopened scroll and its unbroken seven seals, he receives good news: “The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals” (Revelation 5:5). “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne. . . . He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne” (verses 6–7). This is a picture of Jesus Christ, the Lamb who was slain who is also the Lion of judgment. Jesus is the only one worthy to judge the world (cf. John 5:22). As He takes the scroll to open the seals and pronounce judgment on the unbelieving world, the beings in heaven glorify Him with a new song:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. . . .
Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!” (verses 9 and 12).

Amid the worship due to Him, the Lamb begins to open the seals (Revelation 6:1). With each seal opened, the scroll is able to be unrolled a little more, revealing bit by bit the judgments God has in store during the tribulation period. The first four of the seven seals release what are known as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, because the judgments appear symbolically as a horse and rider bringing devastation in their wake.

The first seal. The first seal introduces the Antichrist (Revelation 6:1–2). From the biblical description, we gather several details: he rides a white horse, which speaks of peace; at the beginning of the tribulation, the Antichrist will come under the pretense of bringing peace to the world (cf. Daniel 9:27). He is given a crown, which indicates that the Antichrist will exercise great authority (cf. Daniel 7:24–25). He holds a bow, which shows his true intentions, and he advances “as a conqueror bent on conquest” (Revelation 6:2).

The second seal. When the Lamb opens the second seal, great warfare breaks out on the earth (Revelation 6:3–4). This is symbolized by a rider with a large sword on a fiery red horse.

The third seal. The breaking of the third of the seven seals causes famine (Revelation 6:5–6). The rider that John sees is riding a black horse and “holding a pair of scales in his hand.” Then John hears a declaration that people will have to work all day to earn just a little food.

The fourth seal. The fourth seal is opened, and John sees a pale horse. “Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him” (Revelation 6:7–8). The result of this fourth seal is that one fourth of the earth’s population are killed “by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.”

The fifth seal. The scroll’s fifth seal reveals those who will be martyred for their faith in Christ during the tribulation (Revelation 6:9–11; cf. Matthew 24:9). The souls of these martyrs are pictured as dwelling under the altar in heaven. God hears their cries for justice, and He gives each of them a white robe. The martyrs are told to wait “until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.” God promises to avenge them, but the time was not yet (cf. Romans 12:19).

The sixth seal. When the Lamb of God opens the sixth seal, a devastating earthquake occurs, causing massive upheaval and terrible devastation—along with unusual astronomical phenomena: the sun turns black, and the moon turns blood-red, and “the heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place” (Revelation 6:12–14). Survivors of the sixth seal, regardless of their social position, take refuge in caves and cry out to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (verses 16–17).

After the opening of the sixth of the seven seals is an interlude in the book of Revelation. John describes the 144,000 Jews who will be protected during the tribulation (Revelation 7:1–8). Then, in heaven, he sees “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (verse 9). These people wear white robes, hold palm branches, and shout:
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb” (verse 10).
John is told who this white-clad multitude is: “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (verse 14). They are given the promise that
“‘Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’
nor any scorching heat. . . .
‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes’” (verses 16–17; cf. Isaiah 25:8; 49:10).

The seventh seal. When the Lamb opens the seventh seal, “there was silence in heaven for about half an hour” (Revelation 8:1). The judgments that lead up to the close of the tribulation are now visible in the scroll and are so severe that a solemn silence falls upon all of heaven. The seventh seal obviously introduces the next series of judgments, for John immediately sees seven angels who are handed seven trumpets ready to sound (verse 2). An eighth angel takes a censer and burns “much incense” in it, representing the prayers of God’s people (verses 3–4). The angel then took the same censer, “filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake” (verse 5).

Once the seven seal judgments are finished, the next part of the tribulation, featuring the seven trumpet judgments, is ready to begin.

Letter to the church in Thyatira

In Revelation 2:18-29 Jesus sends His message to the church of Thyatira. Thyatira was a wealthy town on the Lycus River in the Roman province of Asia (modern-day Turkey).

The message was from the Lord Jesus Christ through an angel (or “messenger”): “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write . . .” (Revelation 2:18). This was not John’s message to the Thyatiran believers; it was a message from the Lord. The description at the end of verse 18 verifies the author of this message is Jesus Christ: “The words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.” This description removes any doubt of the identity of the One giving the message.

After identifying Himself, Jesus affirms the church’s positive actions: “I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first” (Revelation 2:19). Five qualities are listed: 1) love, 2) faith, 3) service, 4), patient endurance, and 5) greater works.

Next, Jesus notes their sin: “Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols” (Revelation 2:20). Apparently, a false prophetess was leading believers into compromise. The church was engaging in sexual immorality and dabbling in idolatry. It is possible that “Jezebel” was her real name, but it is more likely the name was a metaphorical reference to the Jezebel of the Old Testament—another idolatrous woman who opposed God’s ways. Rather than rebuke this false teacher and send her out of the church, the believers in Thyatira were allowing her to continue her deception.

Jesus pronounces judgment on this “Jezebel” and calls the church of Thyatira to repent of their sin: “I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead” (Revelation 2:22-23).

Then Jesus encourages those who had remained faithful: “Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets (I will not impose any other burden on you): Only hold on to what you have until I come” (Revelation 2:24-25). The faithful believers did not fall into Satan’s trap, and they only needed to remain faithful until Christ’s return.

Jesus lists His promises to the believers in Thyatira: “To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—‘He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give him the morning star” (Revelation 2:26-28). These blessings would include 1) authority over the nations, 2) victory over all enemies, and 3) the morning star. This morning star is Jesus Himself, as Revelation 22:16 reveals. Jesus will give Himself to His church, and they will fellowship together forever.

Letter to the church in Pergamum

Revelation 2:12-17 continues with the third of seven messages to the churches of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) during the apostle John’s time. Each of these messages includes a specific word to a specific church, but there are also lessons applicable to the lives of believers today. This third letter is to the believers in Pergamum (or Pergamos), which was a beautiful and art-filled city in the province of Asia built along two tributaries of the Caicus River. Pergamum was a center for the worship of Dionysus, Zeus, and other pagan gods.

The message to the Pergamene church was from the Lord Jesus Christ, specifically addressed to the “angel” (or “messenger”) of the church: “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword’” (Revelation 2:12). This was not John’s message to the believers at Pergamum; it was a message from Jesus Christ. The depiction of Jesus holding a sharp, two-edged sword refers to the Lord’s readiness to bring judgment (cf. Revelation 1:16).

First, Jesus affirms the church’s positive actions: “I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives” (Revelation 2:13). The Pergamene believers lived in a difficult place, surrounded by pagan influences, yet they held fast to Christ’s name and did not deny Him during difficult times.

One Christian in Pergamum named Antipas is mentioned as a “faithful witness.” Church tradition says that Antipas was a physician suspected of secretly propagating Christianity. The Aesculapians (members of the medical guild) accused Antipas of disloyalty to Caesar. Upon being condemned to death, Antipas was placed inside a copper bull, which was then heated over a fire until it was red-hot.

The church was not perfect, however, and Jesus took note of their sin: “Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans” (Revelation 2:14-15). The “teaching of Balaam” is explained in the context, as Christians were eating food that had been sacrificed to idols (religious compromise) and committing sexual immorality (moral compromise). The original Balaam’s deceitful work is described in Numbers 25:1-3 and Numbers 31:15-16. The Nicolaitans are mentioned only in this letter and in the letter to the Ephesian church (Revelation 2:6). They were likely a group similar to those who held the teachings of Balaam, though the exact nature of their doctrine and practice is unknown.

Jesus then issues a clarion call to repent of their sin: “Repent therefore!” (Revelation 2:16). Our Lord hates religious and moral compromise. He calls His people to live differently.

Jesus notes the judgment that would take place if the church of Pergamum did not repent: “I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth” (Revelation 2:16b). The Nicolaitans and those who were teaching Balaam’s error would be destroyed, along with their followers, from the congregation at Pergamum. Jesus desires purity among His people, and we have a responsibility to remove false teachers from the church.

Jesus makes a final promise to the believers in Pergamum: “To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it” (Revelation 2:17). The three blessings are hidden manna, a white stone, and a new name. The precise explanation of these three items is disputed; however, all three blessings must concern the believer’s victorious reign with Christ, consistent with the blessings bestowed on the other six churches of Revelation 2–3. The “hidden manna” is likely an allusion to the manna hidden in the Ark of the Covenant, representative of God’s faithful presence and sustenance. The “white stone” could be a reference to the stones used for entrance into temple events in ancient times or to one of the stones on the high priest’s breastplate (Exodus 28:21), although the exact meaning of the stone is uncertain.

Despite the persistence of the ASE… She avoids the placement of her children. Testimony

John 4:1-42
Amplified Bible

Jesus Goes to Galilee

1 So when the Lord learned that the Pharisees had been told that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John

2 (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were),

3 He left Judea and returned again to Galilee.

4 Now [a]He had to go through [b]Samaria.

5 So He arrived at a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the tract of land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph;

6 and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, tired as He was from His journey, sat down by the well. It was then about the sixth hour (noon).
*
The Samaritan Woman
*
7 Then a woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink”—

8 For His disciples had gone off into the city to buy food—

9 The Samaritan woman asked Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me, a [c]Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (For Jews have nothing to do with Samaritans.)

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew [about] God’s gift [of eternal life], and who it is who says, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him [instead], and He would have given you living water (eternal life).”

11 She said to Him, “Sir, [d]You have nothing to draw with [no bucket and rope] and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water?

12 Are You greater than our father [e]Jacob, who gave us the well, and who used to drink from it himself, and his sons and his cattle also?”

13 Jesus answered her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again.

14 But whoever drinks the water that I give him will never be thirsty again. But the water that I give him will become in him a spring of water [satisfying his thirst for God] welling up [continually flowing, bubbling within him] to eternal life.”

15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not get thirsty nor [have to continually] come all the way here to draw.”

16 At this, Jesus said, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

17 The woman answered, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I do not have a husband’;

18 for you have had five husbands, and the man you are now living with is not your [f]husband. You have said this truthfully.”

19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I see that You are a prophet.

20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one ought to worship is in Jerusalem [at the temple].”

21 Jesus replied, “Woman, believe Me, a time is coming [when God’s kingdom comes] when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

22 You [Samaritans] do not know what you worship; we [Jews] do know what we worship, for salvation is from the Jews.

23 But a time is coming and is already here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit [from the heart, the inner self] and in truth; for the Father seeks such people to be His worshipers.

24 God is spirit [the Source of life, yet invisible to mankind], and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ—the Anointed); when that One comes, He will tell us everything [we need to know].”

26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you, am He (the Messiah).”

27 Just then His disciples came, and they were surprised to find Him talking with a woman. However, no one said, “What are You asking about?” or, “Why are You talking to her?”

28 Then the woman left her water jar, and went into the city and began telling the people,

29 “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done! Can this be the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)?”

30 So the people left the city and were coming to Him.

31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus [to have a meal], saying, “Rabbi (Teacher), eat.”

32 But He told them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”

33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him something to eat?”

34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to completely finish His work.

35 Do you not say, ‘It is still four months until the harvest comes?’ Look, I say to you, raise your eyes and look at the fields and see, they are white for harvest.

36 Already the reaper is receiving his wages and he is gathering fruit for eternal life; so that he who plants and he who reaps may rejoice together.

37 For in this case the saying is true, ‘One [person] sows and another reaps.’

38 I sent you to reap [a crop] for which you have not worked. Others have worked and you have been privileged to reap the results of their work.”
*
The Samaritans
*
39 Now many Samaritans from that city believed in Him and trusted Him [as Savior] because of what the woman said when she testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.”

40 So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they asked Him to remain with them; and He stayed there two days.

41 Many more believed in Him [with a deep, abiding trust] because of His word [His personal message to them];

42 and they told the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; for [now] we have heard Him for ourselves and know [with confident assurance] that this One is truly the Savior of [all] the world.”
*
Footnotes
*
(a) John 4:4 Jesus went through Samaria to show that He is the Savior of all people.

(b) John 4:4 Samaria was centrally located between Judea (south) and Galilee (north). The Jews despised Samaritans because they were Jews who had intermarried with non-Jews and followed a heretical religion. Most Jews traveled out of their way to avoid Samaria.

(c) John 4:9 The Jews considered Samaritan women ceremonially unclean.

(d) John 4:11 The woman’s response is due to the fact that “living water” was the normal description for running water. She probably thought that Jesus was referring to the underground water source that fed the well.

(e) John 4:12 Jacob (renamed Israel in Gen 32:28) was the son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham and father of the twelve sons who established the twelve tribes of Israel.

(f) John 4:18 God does not regard cohabitation as marriage. Marriage is a binding, legal covenant between a man and a woman.