Frankincense and Your Nose

Real (majority-text) Bible Christianity has been roundly accused of brainwashing and mind-control, and from those accusations, we should not shrink.  The battle of good and evil has always been the war waged for the mind—the ground between our ears.  It is the Biblical principle of putting on the mind of Christ.  II Corinthians 10:3-5:

3  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

4  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

The children of God are cleansed (Ephesians 5:26-27) “with the washing of water by the word.”  This cleansing is the daily application of the Word of God to a believer’s mind—brainwashing.

God’s accusers are obviously blind to the reality that their leader, Satan, is a master of brainwashing and mind-control, and the vast majority of the world’s population is held captive by him.  His efforts are like a constant dripping—or should I say torrent—of babel commanding man’s attention.  The fear mongers on the daily newscasts, the lust peddlers, the false purveyors of hope, and others are as the very bottomless pit.  The obvious mass communication vehicles Satan has harnessed to channel his vile thoughts to control the minds of men are the television, internet, radio, print publications, billboards, and more.  For example, the average American sits mesmerized in front of the television for several hours a day being instructed when to laugh, when to cry, when to experience fear, when to lust, what to think, what to wear, and so on.  It’s a type of hypnotic mind-control.  The minds of men are programed for political and social correctness, how to view sexuality, homosexuality, child-rearing, entertainment, careers, all by the electronic media, which is manipulated by the enemy of our spirit-man.  Satan is a master of brainwashing, but you can turn him off.  You can turn to the single source, the word of the living God, and have your mind washed clean from the vanity of this existence.  Change the channel while there is still time.  Click onto “Further With Jesus” for easy instructions and immediate, same-day entry into the Kingdom of God.  NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.

GOD SAID, Exodus 30:34-38:

34  And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight:

35  And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy:

36  And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.

37  And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD.

38  Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.

GOD SAID, Leviticus 2:1-2:

1  And when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon:

2  And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons the priests: and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD:

GOD SAID, Leviticus 24:7-9:

7  And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

8  Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.

9  And it shall be Aaron's and his sons'; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute.

GOD SAID, Matthew 2:11:

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

MAN SAID: There is no science in the Bible, only hand-me-down stories passed on from generation to generation.

Now THE RECORD.  The subjects in the “GodSaidManSaid” category of this website, listed on the navigation bar on your left, declare a particular commandment or insight made by God, then shows man’s rejection of it, and the consequences humanity has endured as a result of its disobedience.  When God places His imprimatur on anything, wise men and women stand up and take notice.  This category surely removes all doubt as to whether or not God is, or whether He authored the Scriptures.  The God of the Bible is the God of Creation, the God of love and salvation, and also the God of a terrible soon-coming judgment.

Whether it’s His instruction concerning using whole milk, butter, eggs, salt, olive oil, honey, whole grains, clean and unclean creatures, or his commandments concerning witchcraft, homosexuality, divorce, capital punishment, abortion, alcohol consumption, and so much more, He is always perfectly accurate.  Thousands of years before modern science had begun to understand the reasons why, God said so, and not just once or twice, but literally at least hundreds of times.  There are presently 390 features on GodSaidManSaid that declare the impeccable, inerrant truth of God’s Word.  This number grows by one, God willing, every Thursday evening.  No reasonable person can resist this mountain of testimony.

Years ago a salesman came to my office on business.  In casual conversation, the name of God came up.  The salesman informed me that he was an agnostic.  He wanted proof.  I explained that he had raised that question in a place where the proof for which he was searching was readily available.  Indeed, finding such a place was very rare.  I handed him the original GodSaidManSaid “Proof Series” (which was then available in our Resource Center on compact disc and cassette).  I asked him to listen to the series between sales calls.  A few days later, he was calling on the phone concerning the Proof Series.  He said he’d listened and had a couple of bones to pick with me.  At that instant, God gave me a word of knowledge, so I said to the man, “The real truth is that all the loopholes have been closed and you’re not willing to pay the price of salvation.”  There was a slight pause before he answered, “That’s the truth.”  He surrendered his life to Christ.  The loopholes are closed. 

On GodSaidManSaid, there are two features, “Smell” and “Nose and Smell,” which deal with similar findings that we’ll review this week.  The nose and the sense of smell are central to life.  Genesis 2:7 reads:

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

The centrality of smell to life is highlighted in the GodSaidManSaid feature article, “Smell.”  A few astonishing excerpts follow:

In an article written by John Travis, titled, “Dialing Up An Embryo,” in Science News, the following findings were outlined by biologist William Dreyer concerning olfactory receptors, which of course are essential to the sense of smell:

In the Aug. 4 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (PNAS), Dreyer lays out the provocative idea that cell surface proteins in the nose that detect odors also help assemble embryos.  He asserts that these olfactory receptors and related proteins act as identifiers that help cells to find their intended neighbors in a developing embryo, much like the last few digits of a telephone number help identify the person’s phone.

Last year, Dreyer plunged into genomics, a fledgling field that employs computers to survey the flood of data on newly isolated genes.  He began to examine databases of expressed sequence tags (ESTs), which represent fragments of genes that are active in cells.  Searching through large EST databases, Dreyer found that ESTs from the liver, lung, prostate, eye, kidney, heart, testes, and other tissues match olfactory receptor genes.  His survey, supported by several studies from other research groups, suggests that all tissues make at least a few olfactory receptors.

“What are they there for?  They’re not there to smell the roses,” contends Dreyer. “They’re there for the receptor gradients that pull all types of cells together.”  [End of quotes]

In the article “Nose and Smell,” we find direct linkage between odors, smell, and airborne illnesses.  A few paragraphs follow:

Concern abounds in regard to airborne illnesses, especially in the hospitals, doctors’ waiting rooms, and emergency rooms, and also in the general community with its sneezing and coughing.  Could God’s aromatic directives (which do not mask odors but actually consume them) be a secret preventive measure?  The following excerpt is from the July 22, 2007 release found on Mercola.com:

Headline: “Researcher Discovers Anti‑Viral Properties of Cinnamon, With a Hint From the Bible.”

Professor Michael Ovadia, a spiritual scientist from Tel Aviv University, has signed a research and license deal on his patent‑pending cinnamon extract, which has potent anti‑viral properties.

He received the hunch for his breakthrough research while listening to a reading from the Old Testament.  The passage explains how the High Priests would prepare a holy oil, which they applied to their bodies before making a ritual animal sacrifice.  Ovadia had a hunch that this oil, which was prepared with cinnamon and other spices, was in fact a means of preventing the spread of infection to other people.

However, the cinnamon extract Ovadia has created is not equivalent to eating regular cinnamon.  It is extracted from a special variety of cinnamon – coumarin and cinnamon aldehyde, which are byproducts of cinnamon “juice.”

Dr. Ovadia’s cinnamon extract has several potential uses, including:

• Disinfecting the air against the Avian flu in airports

• Being used as an alternative to the flu vaccine

• Immunizing chicken embyros against the Newcastle disease virus

• Using it in air conditioning systems in hospitals to prevent the spread of infectious diseases

Studies on the Avian Flu H9, the Sendai virus, HIV and Herpes Simplex 1 have also achieved positive results.  The extract has been found to both neutralize viruses, as well as immunize against them.  [End of quote]

God gives direct commandments, as you’ve read above, dealing with the sense of smell.  The Creator, of course, knew all the time.  Again from the article, “Smell:”

Essential oils such as those used in God’s holy anointing oil, when diffused and inhaled, are billed as the best air filtration systems the world has to offer.  They will...

1.  Purify, by removing metallic particles and toxins from the air.

2.  Increase atmospheric oxygen.

3.  Increase ozone and negative ions in the house, which inhibit bacteria growth.

4.  Destroy odors from mold, cigarettes, and animals.

5.  Fill the air with a fresh, herbal aromatic scent.

And now from the editors of Prevention, under the heading, “Positive Living and Health:”

Clinical studies suggest that certain essences are valuable as antidepressants, others as natural relaxants.  And recent studies at Yale University and Warwick University, London, have shown that just inhaling the aroma of spiced apple pie, or the seashore, can be as relaxing as some stress‑reduction techniques.  [End of quote]

Imagine!  The amazing sense of smell!  In the September 2008 issue of Discover, the following was found under the heading, “Smell Your Way To Happiness:”

A team of Israeli and U.S. scientists recently isolated a compound from Boswellia tree resin (best known as frankincense) and injected it into mice.  The chemical soothed mice that were placed in anxiety-inducing situations—such as having to tread water for prolonged periods.  “It seems to have similar effects as an antidepressant and antianxiety drug,” says Arieh Moussaieff, a pharmacologist from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who led the study.  Further investigation revealed that the compound, named incensole acetate, can regulate the flow of ions in and out of neurons in a manner similar to the way antidepressant drugs work.  This incense chemical may be the key to a new class of antidepressants and shed light on the molecular workings of the brain and emotion.  [End of quote]

The headline read, “Smell Your Way To Happiness.”

We see frankincense as a key ingredient of the perfume God says is most holy.  We see it as a memorial before God.  We see it placed atop the holy bread the Levite priests ate, and as a gift to the Christ child.  Science has just begun to understand what God, the Creator of all, knew from the start and declared thousands of years ago.  What loopholes?

GOD SAID, Exodus 30:34-38:

34  And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight:

35  And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy:

36  And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.

37  And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD.

38  Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.

GOD SAID, Leviticus 2:1-2:

1  And when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon:

2  And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons the priests: and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD:

GOD SAID, Leviticus 24:7-9:

7  And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

8  Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.

9  And it shall be Aaron's and his sons'; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute.

GOD SAID, Matthew 2:11: