Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 61

 

Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 61

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Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - TWO TRUTHS

TWO TRUTHS

The Bible tells us much about our lives and destiny but it doesn’t, and can’t, tell everything. Much of what isn’t told, however, can be supported by what we find outside of Scripture. For example, we are told this about the serpent after the deception:

…Because you have done this,

You are cursed more than all cattle,

…On your belly you shall go,

And you shall eat dust 

All the days of your life.

And I will put enmity 

Between you and the woman, 

And between your seed and her Seed;

He shall bruise your head,

And you shall bruise His heel. 

(Genesis 3:14-15)

The Biblical serpent is often felt to be represented by a snake and is also symbolic of Satan. As well, the Seed of the woman refers to Christ who is often referred to as the Lamb of God.

…Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 

(John 1:29)

And looking at Jesus…he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” 

(John 1:36)

So, we have Satan (represented as a snake) who tends to destroy, in opposition to Christ (represented as a lamb) who preserves and saves.

It’s interesting that in our time the venom of a snake bite, usually inflicted on a lower extremity, and which may often be fatal, can in many cases be neutralized by a timely injection of an anti-venom serum. And in many cases as well, this anti-venom serum is made from the antibodies (blood) of a lamb. The saving effect of the blood of Christ against the wiles of Satan in the spiritual realm is mirrored in the physical of today’s world.

It also states in Genesis:

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground… 

(Genesis 2:7)

Man was formed by God and maintains that form by means of his skeletal and fibrous structure which prevents him from just becoming an amorphous blob. One of the main proteins that comprises this structure is a glycoprotein called Laminin; a protein that forms a foundational part of the extracellular matrix and basement membranes of animal tissue. It is unique in that the molecular structure of the protein is in the form of a cross.

 

We are saved by the blood of a lamb against the destructive venom of the serpent and we are literally built on and formed by the cross. 

Two truths - certainly something to think about.  

*Picture credit: Retrieved from an instagram account, creator unknown.

 

Pastor Matthew Trott Nov 8, 2026 - The Secret Place

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Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 60

 

Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 60

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Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - PILLAR OF SALT

PILLAR OF SALT

Many are familiar with the story in the Old Testament concerning Lot and his family. Just before the destruction of Sodom, angels escorted Lot and his family outside of the city and gave these instructions:

…take your wife and your two daughters who are here…

Escape for your life! 

Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain.

Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah…

But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. 

(Genesis 19:15,17,24,26) 

So Lot’s wife, whose name we do not know, was turned into a pillar of salt. Was this an allegory or a true event? The historian Josephus has written this. 

But Lot’s wife continually turning back to view the city as she went from it, 

and being too nicely inquisitive what would become of it, 

though God had forbidden her so to do, 

was changed into a pillar of salt; 

for I have seen it, and it remains at this day.*

In addition, Clement of Rome and Irenaeus, both church fathers, have mentioned it as well. This does not prove the story but certainly indicates that the Jewish people gave it considerable credence.

But why a pillar of salt? Could it be because the area around Sodom was a salt plain and even the Dead Sea was at that time called the Salt Sea? Zephaniah mentioned:

…like Sodom, 

Overrun with weeds and saltpits,

And a perpetual desolation. 

(Zephaniah 2:9)

All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim 

(that is the Salt Sea). 

(Genesis 14:3)

In addition, salt was used (and still is used) as a long term preservative. Also, it was a means of covenant as well as a type of curse.

The whole land is brimstone, salt and burning…

like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah… 

(Deuteronomy 29:23)

So Abimelech…demolished the city and sowed it with salt. 

(Judges 9:45)

…Cursed is the man who trusts in man 

And makes flesh his strength…

For he shall be like a shrub in the desert…

In a salt land which is not inhabited. 

(Jeremiah 17:5-6)

So, as salt was used as a mark of cursing and ruin, it was also used as a mark of permanence and loyalty. For example, salt was also needed with offerings.

…with all your offerings you shall offer salt 

…the salt of the covenant of your God… 

(Leviticus 2:13)

All the heave offerings the holy things, 

which the children of Israel offer to the Lord…

is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord 

with you and your descendants with you. 

(Numbers 18:19)

… [The Lord] gave dominion over Israel to David forever…

by covenant of salt[.] 

(2 Chronicles 13:5)

And a pillar was always meant to be a sign, a monument from which to learn and to remember; whereas a grave is only to recognize a death. Therefore, a pillar of salt could point to a remembrance of how the disobedience of God can lead to an eternity of permanent desolation. Genesis 19 tells how Lot and his family were reluctant to leave Sodom and how they had to be hurried along. Lot’s wife was apparently the most reluctant and looked back despite God’s instruction not to. As Luke reminds us:

…[I]n the days of Lot: 

They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 

but on the day Lot went out of Sodom 

it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 

Even so it will be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 

…he who is on the housetop…let him not come down… 

the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. 

Remember Lot’s wife.

Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, 

and whoever loses his life will preserve it. 

(Luke 17:28-33)

Lot’s wife lost her life because she was reluctant to leave behind her previous life. How many of us are in the same situation?

It certainly does give one something to think about.

* Josephus:  Antiquities of the Jews, Book 1, Chapter 11:4 

  

Pastor Jasmine Trott - Nov. 1, 2026

 

Pastor Jasmine Trott - Nov. 1, 2026


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Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 59

Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 59

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