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Oside's favorite military Chaplain is Ed Handley. Come meet him Sunday aboard U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton! @MCIWPendletonCA
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We’ve all heard the David and Goliath story taught or preached where you’re David and you’re supposed to take out the Goliaths in your life.
Find your five smooth stones. Maybe they represent courage, faith, prayer, perseverance, and trust. Arm yourself with these spiritual weapons, face your giants, and unleash the David within you.
Here's an idea. Can we find a deep pit somewhere, dump in all those moralistic readings of this narrative, pour gasoline over them, and toss in a match?
We have a remarkable ability to place ourselves at the center of biblical stories, don't we? We identify with the hero, turn his weapons into our weapons, his courage into our courage, and his victory into our victory. In other words, make it all about us.
But David and Goliath is not a story about what great things we can do. It foreshadows what great things God has done for us in Jesus Christ.
Goliath is the archenemy of the people of God. He is an icon of sin, death, and the devil, all those forces arrayed against us that dwarf us and that we are powerless to defeat. Even his "armor of scales” (1 Sam. 17:5) is suggestive of Goliath's serpent-like appearance.
So what does God do?
He raises up an unexpected warrior: young David. He is a type and foreshadowing of the Son of David.
David marches onto the battlefield with the simple weaponry of a sling and five stones. He takes down the foe and then, with the foe’s own weapon, chops off his head (1 Sam. 17:49–51).
The Son of David likewise marches onto the battlefield of this world with the unexpected weaponry of obedience, suffering, humiliation, crucifixion and resurrection. And by these means, he takes down sin, death, and the devil.
In fact, just as David uses Goliath’s own sword to chop off Goliath’s head, Jesus uses the weapon of death itself to chop off the head of death.
He dies, and in dying he kills death (cf. Gen. 3:15).
That is the Christ-centered, typological reading of David and Goliath. It is not a story about our battles, our weapons, or our victories. It is good news about Christ’s battle, Christ’s cross, and Christ’s victory for us.
You are not the one who faces down the giant. Jesus is.
And his victory is yours.
Tearing down strongholds: Several biblical passages directly contradict the core claims and methods of the so called “May 15th Prophecy” (Leon Davis’s 2007 private revelation and later applications equating the Bible with the Great Pyramid and stars, claiming 100% accuracy on specific modern political figures and events, and detailing an Antichrist rising from Iraq/Iran via a Hidden Imam figure who starts the final seven years through an Oslo-related deal).
The below verses emphasize Scripture’s sufficiency, the need to test claims against the completed Word, the unknowability of specific end-time timings, and the general (not hyper-specific modern) character of biblical descriptions of the beast. The “May 15th Prophecy” framework elevates private revelation and extra-biblical sources in ways these texts prohibit.
**On the sufficiency and closed nature of Scripture (against adding Pyramid/stars or private revelations as co-equal sources):**
- 2 Timothy 3:16–17 — “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
- Jude 3 — Contends for “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.”
- Revelation 22:18–19 — Warns against adding to or taking away from the words of the prophecy of the book.
- Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32 — Do not add to or subtract from God’s commands.
**On testing prophecy and rejecting false prophets (against claims of ongoing, infallible private words about current events):**
- Deuteronomy 18:21–22 — A prophet whose word does not come true is not from the Lord.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:20–21 — Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.
- Matthew 7:15–20 — Beware of false prophets; you will recognize them by their fruits.
- 2 Peter 2:1 — False prophets will secretly bring in destructive heresies.
- 1 John 4:1 — Test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
**Against date-setting, knowing “the times,” or detailed speculative timelines for the end:**
- Matthew 24:36 — “Concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”
- Mark 13:32–33 — No one knows the day or hour; stay awake.
- Acts 1:7 — “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.”
- Matthew 24:4–5, 23–26 — Jesus warns against being led astray by those saying “I am the Christ” or claiming “here is the Christ” / “there he is.”
**On the nature of the end-times beast/Antichrist (against highly specific modern geopolitical identifications not found in Scripture):**
- Daniel 7:8, 23–25; 9:27; 11:36–45 — Describe the little horn/prince in general terms of rising power, blasphemy, a covenant with many, and opposition to God, without naming contemporary nations, Islamic figures, or prior historical possessions.
- Revelation 13:1–18; 17:8–14 — Portray the beast rising from the sea (nations), empowered by the dragon, receiving worship, and ruling for a limited time, without the precise national origin or “Hidden Imam” details claimed.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3–12 — The man of lawlessness is revealed in his own time, opposes God, and is restrained until then; deception is a key feature.
**Against divination, astrology, or non-biblical sources of “timing”:**
- Deuteronomy 18:10–12 — Condemns those who practice divination, interpret omens, or consult mediums/sorcerers.
- Isaiah 47:13–14 — Rebukes reliance on astrologers and stargazers who cannot save.
The LORD's people compare ourselves against Christ alone, not other, revealing our utter need for Him.
biblehub.com/q/What_does_Gal…
GOD assigns a higher value to sorrow than we realize. Grief and mourning is the prevailing reality of our fallen world. Recognizing it produces Godly sorrow and provides the contrast that prepares us for the lasting joy He promises. biblegateway.com/passage/?se…
**What does the Bible teach about talking with fools? **
The Bible’s main teaching on this is in Proverbs, which treats “the fool” as someone closed to correction and more interested in airing opinions than gaining understanding. Its advice is cautious rather than absolute: do not waste instruction on them, and be careful how you engage.
Several passages say the same thing in different ways:
- Proverbs 23:9: “Do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words.”
- Proverbs 14:7: “Stay away from a fool, for you will not find knowledge on their lips.”
- Proverbs 18:2: “Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions.”
- Proverbs 26:4–5 is the most famous pair, and it is deliberately two-sided: “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.” The point is situational judgment—sometimes silence keeps you from being dragged into the same pattern; sometimes a brief reply is needed so the folly is not left unchallenged.
Related warnings appear elsewhere. Ecclesiastes 10:12–14 contrasts the gracious words of the wise with the multiplying, self-destructive talk of the fool. In the New Testament, Matthew 7:6 (“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs”) is often read in the same spirit: do not keep offering what is valuable to people who will only trample it. Titus 3:9–10 tells believers to avoid foolish controversies and, after a warning or two, to have nothing more to do with a divisive person.
Taken together, the texts do not forbid all speech with foolish people. They warn against prolonged argument, correction that will only be mocked, and becoming like the person you are answering. The repeated counsel is discernment: know when to walk away, and when a short answer is enough.
