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Category Archives: Devotional / Misc

Does Christmas Really Need Christ?

23 Saturday Dec 2017

Posted by garybowers in Devotional / Misc

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The Irony of Christmas in an Increasingly Anti-Christian Culture

Whether Jesus Christ was born on December 25th or from mid-September through October, perhaps even on the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) as some Bible scholars propose, doesn’t really matter. The Son of God and God the Son came into this world on Christmas Day.

According to God’s prophet, Messiah would be born of a Virgin (Isaiah 7:14). Mary was that virgin, and Jesus was that child.

The prophet Micah pinpointed the exact place of Messiah’s birth—Bethlehem Ephrathah—for there were two towns in Israel named Bethlehem when Jesus was born. Yet Micah’s stunning prophecy encompassed more than just the place of Messiah’s birth and his divine origin from the ancient past. It also foretold of Messiah’s people, the Jews, returning to Israel even before their exile to Babylon and long before their second exile to the four corners of the earth in 70 A.D.

“But you O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past. The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies until the woman in labor gives birth. Then at last his fellow countrymen will return from exile to their own land (which began to take place in great numbers in 1948). And he will stand to lead his flock with the Lord’s strength, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. Then his people will live there undisturbed, for he will be highly honored around the world. And he will be the source of peace…” (Micah 5:2-5a, parenthesis mine).

Micah’s prophecy was sweeping in scope, from the time of Messiah Jesus’s birth to his Millennial Reign on earth, which is soon to come. When that happens, “Then the remnant left in Israel will take their place among the nations” (Verse 7). That remnant is already taking shape in our generation.

Has the name of Jesus, which the Scriptures say is the name of above all names, been “highly honored around the world?” Yes, but not like he will be revered upon his majestic return to the earth.

And, also no, as the name of Jesus Christ has been scorned more and more in our generation, as have believers who bear his name.

According to Messiah Jesus, there would be a time just before the (last days) Day of the Lord—set into motion by the imminent Rapture—when true believers in Christ, “…will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other… Sin will be rampant everywhere and the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:9-12).

Reliable statistics tell us that more Christians have been deprived of property and jobs, imprisoned, tortured, murdered, or forced to flee their homes in the 20th & 21st centuries than in all preceding centuries combined including the 1st century. This unparalleled brutality has been noticeable (documented) in at least 50 countries such as North Korea, China, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Sudan, Somalia, and Nigeria; and in several Middle East Muslim nations like Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia.

Although not (yet) in the form of physical cruelty, we’ve seen an alarming surge of anti-Christian legislation and hostility in our halls of government, our schools and universities, the military, and private businesses in the United States of America … supposedly the greatest sanctuary of liberty and individual rights on this planet.

Wrote the Jewish Apostle Paul: “You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!” (II Timothy 3:1-5).

Scoffing at God … nothing is sacred … loving pleasure rather than God.

Many unwittingly and some deliberately are preparing the way for a New Age; an utopian era that will nevertheless be established and led by an (the) Anti-Christ who, “…will have no respect … for any other god, for he will boast that he is greater than them all” (Daniel 11:37). He will satisfy their desire to, “…break their chains … and free ourselves from slavery to God” (Psalm 2:3).

They will embrace to the point of worship, “This man (who) will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them” (II Thessalonians 2:9-10).

The opposite of truth is untruth (lies).

“And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ. Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist” (I John 2:22).

This spirit of antichrist is facilitating the reappearance of The Antichrist (Nero). Among other things, it has begun to suppress and swap the true spirit of Christmas. Our humanistic, relativistic society has redefined Christmas, and relegated the Christ of Christmas to what is considered an irrelevant distant past.

Is the Christ of Christmas Relevant Any Longer?

Beginning some 50 years ago and accelerating in the last decade, nowhere are these prophetic end-times’ characteristics more exemplified than in the decline of the real meaning of and purpose for celebrating Christmas. Individuals, groups, businesses, and entire (so-called) Christian nations all over the globe are trivializing and even removing Christ from Christmas, both passively and actively.

Which, if you think about it, is preposterously perplexing. No different than saying that George Washington’s and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays have no relevancy to President’s Day in February. Or that the 4th of July Declaration of Independence has nothing whatsoever to do with the birth of a nation … the United States of America.

(Memorial Day: Should We Not Even Give A Passing Thought to the Brave Men and Women Who Died or Were Disabled While Serving the USA?)

What if your parents and other loved ones ignored the “you” of your birthday?

Here is an excerpt from Eye of Prophecy article, Merry Christmas … What’s It All About? Posted 12-20-14 (in italics, with non-italic words italicized in that article):

Historical figures, nations, and events other than Christ Jesus and Christmas have their own recognized anniversaries. Does anyone demand that observance of these special occasions be religiously generalized and socially or politically expanded to embrace other religious or national figures or events, so as not to be inclusive of just one person? So as not to offend those of other faiths or ideological persuasions?

Even an ordinary birthday or event merits the minimum consideration of that day belonging to an individual or a city or a nation and, therefore, acknowledged as such. What would you think if I refused to wish you a Happy Birthday because I didn’t want to offend someone else who wasn’t born on the same day, and who didn’t share the same enthusiasm for your birthday? Or who believed differently from you, or belonged to another race, or was left-handed? Ridiculous? Of course. It’s your special day. So Happy Birthday already! I mean that sincerely … unless it’s not your birthday!

Might we be more politically correct never to say Happy Thanksgiving? After all, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is much closer to Thanksgiving than it is to Christmas. Shouldn’t it be: Happy Thanksramadan?!

Perhaps we should no longer wish someone a Happy Valentine’s Day in case they take an exception to anyone who has a Saint in front of their name? It is Saint Valentine isn’t it? Might we say, “Happy Heart Day” or “Merry Chocolate?”

…It isn’t whether we use the word happy or merry. It’s that word, Christmas that causes all the fuss.

More than that: it’s the name Christ that gets so many people all up tight. That’s right … all it takes is a mention of his name. That is, unless it’s used as profanity … no problem then.

Why? Because His name is who he is (Yeshua in Hebrew, Jesus in Greek/English, both mean Savior), and a lot of folks just can’t handle that. They don’t want or need a Savior. Certainly not one who claims that he is the Son of God, that he alone is “The Way, The Truth, and The Life” (John 14:6). How exclusively narrow-minded can anyone be? The fact that he was born of a Virgin, performed amazing miracles, and then arose from the dead to validate his claim as Messiah who alone can redeem, can forgive sin; is an affront to those who maintain that self-enabled good works and innate self-worth is the only way to God.

…No other holiday causes anything close to the angst experienced and consternation expressed by the secular among us or those of another religion who take offense at hearing the very name of Jesus or even a special representation of his name—Christmas. What relevance does the birth of a Savior (no man-made religions have a Savior … did you know that?) any longer have to the last holiday of the year? In fact, the very name of Christ and Christmas is an embarrassment to many. It’s just not politically correct.

A Hallmark Christmas

Hallmark Cards is one of the largest corporations in the world. From this greeting card giant came the Hallmark Television Channel in 2001, having begun as the American Christian Television System in 1984; then changing to the Faith & Values Channel in 1993 and the Odyssey Network in 1996.

According to Wikipedia: “The Hallmark Channel is an American cable and satellite television network that is owned by Crown Media Holdings, which is owned by Hallmark Cards. The channel’s programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies and miniseries, original and acquired television series, and lifestyle programs. As of February, 2015, Hallmark Channel is available to approximately 85,439,000 pay television households (73.4% of households with television) in the United States.”

Subsequently the network created Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, a separate channel dedicated almost exclusively to movies especially Christmas films (shown year around), with the newest sister channel debuting just this year … Hallmark Drama.

For women between the ages of 25-54, the Hallmark Channel was the most watched network during the 4th quarter of 2016. Included in Hallmark’s archives are 136 Christmas films produced since the movie channel’s inception. With 33 new Christmas movies aired in a marathon that began in October, 2017 and continuing as this week’s Eye of Prophecy article is being posted.

According to Crown Media’s CEO Bill Abbott, summarizing Hallmark’s underlying philosophy and objectives especially through movies: “We are a place you can go and feel good.”

Although Hallmark is becoming progressively secularized (in contrast to its early beginning of Christian-oriented programming), it still purports to convey the virtues of family and faith.

But faith in what? In whom?

Faith in “feeling good.” Or faith in “the spirit of Christmas.” That phrase or something similar is emphasized in the majority of Hallmark’s Christmas movies, and is often the passionate pursuit of one or more of the characters; no matter what that spirit of Christmas means to them, as long as they find it. I say this first-hand, as I have watched about 15 of these movies over the past year. And in the four to five years before that, perhaps 7-8 Hallmark Christmas movies. I would assume they’re a cross-section representation of all their Christmas films.

So, what is the spirit of Christmas?

Is it just to feel good for a few days at the end of every year? Not that there’s anything wrong with feeling good. Unless it becomes an obsessive goal in life at all cost. A relentless quest to feel good, no matter the repercussions, can sometimes result in others feeling bad (hurting them). Particularly when such a pursuit excludes the very source of what is absolutely good and right and true and eternal—God who created us and who has given us so great (good) a salvation through His Son, Jesus.

Don’t get me wrong. The intent of today’s article is not to bash Hallmark Christmas movies; in general terms, they have improved considerably in the last 2-3 years (personal opinion). Especially with their scripts—as a writer, I appreciate and look for a well-written screen-play—with the acting, and with the plot. There is more substance and depth to (some of the) recent Hallmark movies, Christmas or otherwise.

However, Hallmark Christmas films have become so secularized (politically correct) that rarely do they mention the name of Jesus or Christ. And certainly not Jesus Christ in the same breath. Seldom do we hear the hallowed Christmas hymns and carols, excepting an occasional Joy to the World or Silent Night. But they are replete with secular Christmas songs that convey the sights of Frosty the Snowman, smells of Chestnuts Roasting by the Fire, and sounds of Jingle Bells.

What does the true meaning of Christmas—the real significance of the Savior’s birth—have to do with children getting their two front teeth at Christmas, or a reindeer running over grandma, or wanting a hippopotamus for Christmas (for only a hippopotamus will do)? For sure, these images are cute, warm, and fuzzy (except for poor grandma) and probably would make even the Grinch feel good about himself and others.

(If Ebenezer Scrooge Had Only Watched “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, I’m Sure He Would Have Changed His Ways Long Before Seeing the Ghosts of Christmas Past!)

And, would Christmas be Christmas without Santa Claus? I’ll let you answer that question for yourself. But remember, Santa Claus believes in Christmas! Which begs another question: Could Christmas survive without Santa?

Invariably, the “spirit of Christmas” entails one of the main characters in a Hallmark movie discovering the “meaning of Christmas” that they never knew or had lost somewhere along the way. That true meaning is normally found by someone who has been down on Christmas because of business, or family, or personal setbacks. Or meeting and falling in love with someone who loves Christmas for any number of feel good reasons. Or believing again or for the first time in the “miracles of Christmas.”

With the miracles unfolding in various ways such as: mysteriously arranging or reuniting the paths of star-crossed lovers; resolving otherwise irreconcilable disputes of family members or friends; or getting an impossible career promotion … all worthy of successful conflict-resolution storylines. Yet, omitting the very miracle of Christmas itself—the Virgin Birth of the child Jesus. And never mentioning the miracle of his Resurrection as the triumphant conclusion to why Jesus was born in the first place—to sacrifice his life for the sins of humanity, and to establish the everlasting Kingdom of God on earth in his Second Coming.

Hallmark Movies in a Broader Perspective

As indicated, this week’s article is not about denigrating Hallmark Christmas movies. To do so would be to focus on a symptom, not cause and origin. The problem is much more pervasive than a few secular-stained Christmas movies. In fact, I personally like some of the (more) recent Hallmark productions. Who doesn’t like a good story with a happy ending? It’s just that these stories are wrapped in disguise of the real Christmas spirit, discarding the Christ of Christmas who was gift-wrapped for us in God’s amazing grace.

One of my favorites is, Journey Back to Christmas (2016), starring Candace Cameron Bure, Oliver Hudson, and Tom Skerritt. Yet, even that Christmas miracle is based on a “Christmas comet” which mysteriously strikes Bure; catapulting her into the future where she encounters first, second, and third family generations of those she met during World War I. And then is reunited with her husband thought to be killed in the war, when the comet returns (now 71 years later) and transports her back to the present. The movie was skillfully written, produced, directed, and acted … one that will tug at the strings of your heart.

Obviously the primary purpose of a movie is entertainment. As a Christian, I certainly can and will remember the real reason why I love and honor Christmas, without Hallmark Christmas movies affecting that reverence for the birth of Christ, whether in a positive or negative way. There are two reason why I have watched more Christmas movies in the past few years: (1) For the entertainment, enhanced even more with a narrative that emphasizes morality and Judeo/Christian ethics. (2) To see what’s happening with and in those movies concerning the real meaning of Christmas.

Unfortunately, what I have noticed is that—unintentionally or intentionally (I would hope the former)—the portrayal of Christmas has tainted the message and purpose of Christmas itself. By and large, the movies present a (vague) “spirit of Christmas” as an end unto itself, without any need for the Christ of Christmas. Which is equivalent to redefining, or at the very least minimizing, what the spirit of Christmas is really all about.

The undermining end result is that the media’s “spirit of Christmas” is competing with and even contradicting the Christ of Christmas. Which is, sadly, a representation and repetitive reinforcement of what’s happening in America and all over the world in two ways, and not just at Christmas time: (1) an intense agnostic style attack on Christianity and the authority of the Bible as the Word of God; with increasing antagonism toward “born-again Christians” who have a personal relationship with the One Person who exclusively claims to be the Way, Truth, and Life, thereby, the ONLY way to God. (2) Or, a superficial show of religion—acting religious but denying the real power and authority of God by refusing to consider Christ as the exclusive source of salvation.

I think we would all agree on one thing: the immense influence of the entertainment media and also that of literature and journalism in our daily and seasonal lives. They reflect, but also restructure society’s attitudes, preferences, morality, and belief systems.

On the plus side, there are three things that Christmas movies and Christmas specials contain. All three of which are a bona fide reason to celebrate this joyous time of the year.

They are: (1) Lights/decorations; (2) Giving and receiving of presents; (3) Harmony and togetherness of family.

However, on the minus side: all three in our post-modern society are conspicuously empty of the real reason for the season—Christ Jesus himself.

*Note: Despite the modern-day emphasis of Christmas without Christ, there is still a sense of awe over the entire earth that something very special happened 2000 years ago. As for me, I never get tired of the Good News: from beginning to end—the birth, life, death, burial, resurrection, and soon to be glorious return of the greatest man to ever walk the earth.

“For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time” (I Timothy 2:5-6).

And when was that time? Might it have been Christmas Day!

The Honored Tradition of Christmas Lights

Beginning with an incidental what if: What would we call Christmas trees, or Christmas lights, or Christmas presents, or the holiday (Holy Day) itself if we deleted the name of Christ? Silly question … perhaps. Actually, many have devised an answer to those questions: Holiday trees, lights, and presents. If so, then are we really celebrating Christmas as Christmas?

The problem with that mentality is that we should then call all of our holidays by no other name than holiday. So New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, Resurrection Day (Easter), Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving should be dropped. Instead, we would number the holidays chronologically on the calendar and designate them as Holiday #1, #2, #3, and so on!

What do Christmas lights represent? I trust that you know the answer to that question; however, there are some who don’t. Or don’t want to know. Or, worse … don’t care.

Jesus the Christ (we just say Jesus Christ, but he is Jesus the Messiah) bears many wonderful names and titles, signifying who he is and what he has done for mankind. Such as:

He is the Good Sheppard and the Gate for the sheep … all of us who have been saved by believing and receiving him, the one who sacrificed his life for the sheep (John 10:7 & 11).

He is the Lord of all lords and King of all kings, who will soon return in power and great glory (Revelation 17:14 & Matthew 24:30).

He is the Living Word of God, who existed from the beginning with God for he is God the Son the second Person of the Trinity. Jesus himself said he is “I AM” … Yahweh, the Holy Name of God (John 1:1 & John 8:58).

And, in keeping with today’s theme: “Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, ‘I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life’” (John 8:12).

Jesus fulfilled all of the prophecies concerning the Messiah. Such as: “…the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined” (Matthew 4:16, quoting Isaiah 42:6: “…And you will be a light to guide the nations”).

When Christ first set foot in the rebuilt Temple, after God’s presence (glory) left Solomon’s Temple that was subsequently destroyed, he accomplished—temporarily, with final fulfillment upon his glorious return—another prophecy of the Messiah:

“Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you. Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you. All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance” (Isaiah 60:1-3).

Why else do we put up lights at Christmas time? The beautiful lights of Christmas illustrate the magnificent light of salvation that illuminates our minds and hearts through Messiah Jesus when we personally trust him for our salvation. Christmas lights brighten our homes and communities.

The Giving and Receiving of Presents

Can you think of anything about Christmas more treasured than the giving of gifts, then the receiving of those gifts by our loved ones? Especially the children. To watch their eyes light up as they brim with excitement, and eagerly unwrap their package. To listen to their squeals of delight or shouts of joy when they see what you have given them. To cherish their gratitude, “It’s what I’ve always wanted. Thank you Mom!” Or, “Thank you, Dad. You remembered.” Or a husband to his wife, “It’s not what I expected. It’s even better. I love you, honey.”

Christmas without lights and also without giving is like the 4th of July without fireworks. Or like Thanksgiving Day without giving thanks. Even if your only gift is wishing someone a Merry Christmas, it is as they say, “the thought that counts.” If all you can do is to revere the very reason for the season and whisper a prayer of gratitude, then that’s a sacrifice of (thanks) giving to God (Psalm 50:14).

Isn’t that what Christmas is all about? It is cherishing the greatest gift of all time. Born fully human and fully God; Christ freely gave his life to purchase our redemption, a complete pardon for all of our sins.

There are no conditions, except to simply accept that gift by believing and receiving Christ as our personal Savior. Do you know of anyone who receives a Christmas gift and then says, “I’m sorry, but I didn’t earn this gift. I can’t accept it.”

No one can do enough or be enough or even give enough to earn redemption. For it is Christ who willingly paid the price, doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.

“So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:21, italics for emphasis).

The Family

The time-honored celebration of Christmas reminds us of the brightest light to ever shine on this dark and dreary planet—Messiah Jesus. His light was snuffed out through the greatest sacrifice ever made by the highest price ever paid. But in three days, his glory shone brighter than ever; the resurrected Christ now seated at the right hand of the Father, awaiting the appointed time to return and make all things right in this wicked world. To brilliantly light up the world with righteousness, justice, and peace.

No matter the size of your immediate family or extended family or even if you are alone this Christmas and limited to calls or emails or Christmas cards; Christmas is for family, including a family of one. If all we do is pray for our loved ones, that is still the best gift of all.

Even if your parents or children have “disowned you” you are still a member of their family. Once born on this earth you can’t be unborn, no matter what you do or what is done to you.

So, too, with the family of God. Once you are born again, you cannot be unborn. You are an adopted child in God’s family with all the rights of God’s magnificent inheritance for his children.

“Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God’” (John 3:3).

“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).

Writes the Jewish Apostle Paul:

“God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him” (Ephesians 1:12-14).

Things to Ponder

Whether you put up Christmas lights or not, whether you give or receive a single present or not, whether you are with immediate or extended family or are all alone. The gift of God’s salvation shines as bright as ever, and gives birth in God’s family for simply believing and receiving God’s gracious gift of His Son. That is what Christmas (or any time of the year) is all about.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every true believer on earth and maybe even some unbelievers would open their Bible or at least get online and read one, two, or all of the following Christmas passages … the Greatest Story ever told. A story that began long before Jesus was born, one for cause to pause and ponder the core of Christmas.

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” (Isaiah 9:6-7).

To Joseph, the angel said: “…do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).

To Mary, the angel said: “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” (Luke 1:31-33).

To the shepherds guarding their sheep that night an angel suddenly appeared and said: “…Don’t be afraid … I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” (Luke 2:10-11).

He came to us as the light of the world, the greatest gift ever given … his precious blood and life for our sins. To give us the awesome privilege of birth in the family of God that leads to everlasting life.

Christ Jesus is the just for the unjust, the righteous for the unrighteous.

“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (II Corinthians 5:21).

Joy to the World, the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King.

Let every heart prepare Him room…

“For God so loved the world…” (Go ahead, finish the verse)

It’s all about JESUS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Freedom … What Does It Really Mean?

08 Saturday Jul 2017

Posted by garybowers in Devotional / Misc

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Bill of Rights

What Did You Do This Past Tuesday?

Tuesday? Oh, yea, it was the Fourth of July.

Yes, it was! America’s Independence Day.

Did you cook out, or have a picnic, or attend a parade or a family reunion? Did you take in some fireworks after dark? Did you watch football on television? I’m okay … just wanted to make sure you were celebrating the 4th, not the 1st (New Year’s Day)!

If all you did was not going to work … well, it is a holiday after all.

Hardly any American doesn’t know what the 4th of July is all about, for it was on that date in 1776 that the colonies declared their independence from England. A freedom that we had to fight for; self-government that would have remained an unfulfilled dream had we not been victorious in the Revolutionary War.

Shooting off fireworks on the Fourth of July is a tradition more closely connected to our second war with England, only three decades after the Revolutionary War ended?

In 1814, the third year of that bloody War of 1812, Francis Scott Key was so inspired by the oversized United States flag still flying majestically over Fort McHenry that he penned the words to a poem he called, Defence of Fort McHenry. Later, he adapted a tune sung mostly by the British (how ironic) to the lyrics. As they say, the rest is history. In 1931, the United States Congress passed a resolution (signed by President Herbert Hoover) officially declaring the song our national anthem … The Star Spangled Banner.

(The Original Flag That Flew Over Fort McHenry)

Did you know that many objected to the Star Bangled Banner becoming our national anthem? To this very day, some say that another song should replace it, because the lyrics glorify war. Former President Obama is one of those. He said: “And the anthem itself conveys a war-like message. You know, the bombs bursting in air and all. I like the song, I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing. If that were our anthem, then I might salute it.”

He was serious!

I won’t comment on Mr. Obama’s logic. My only observation to such an objection is to jiggle our memory regarding why Francis Scott Key authored such words as: “And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air…” For over twenty-four hours he had a front row seat (on a ship) to the relentless British bombardment of Fort McHenry and the heroism of the Americans to even stay in the fort, let alone repel the British attack.

What the Star Spangled Banner Is Really About

Francis Scott Key didn’t write the poem to glorify war. Right after, “the bombs bursting in air…” comes, “Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.”

There are four stanzas to The Star Spangled Banner, with the verses in the form of an (eight-line) octave or sonnet; each ending with, “O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!”

Obviously, whenever our national anthem is played, we sing only the first stanza.

To demonstrate that this poem/song is not about the glory of war, but about the necessary and justified right to fight in order to gain and maintain freedom inherently granted to every human being by God and to acknowledge God as the source of victory when the cause is right, here is the last verse.

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!

Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land

Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,

And this be out motto, “In God is our trust.”

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Others contend that the lyrics of the Star Spangled Banner are too difficult to remember and the melody too hard to sing … the musical range is one octave and one-fifth. For musically challenged people like me, whose range is maybe 1/5 of one octave (barely carrying a tune), I can relate to those opinions. That also includes the lyrics which most of the time I remember, yet from time to time stumble over what, for example, comes after, “Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight…”

Although favoring the fact that the Star Spangled Banner is still a thrilling song steeped in patriotic tradition, I wouldn’t mind too much if another song that stirs our heart and national pride could be America’s anthem. In fact, Hail Columbia and My Country, Tis of Thee, competed with Francis Scott Key’s song for the right to be called our national anthem.

America the Beautiful is a strong candidate. “Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountain majesties…”

My personal favorite is one of the simplest, yet most inspirational songs extolling God’s providential guidance alongside of our patriotic love for America. It was written by Jewish songwriter Irving Berlin in 1918 near the end of the First World I. (A few years after George M. Cohen wrote Over There).

(Irving Berlin)

It is none other than: God Bless America

I would venture to say that many Americans more easily remember the lyrics and music of God Bless America than the Star Spangled Banner. For Baby Boomers out there … just think of Kate Smith!

God bless America, land that I love. Stand beside her and guide her…

Guide her through what, with what? What comes next?

Thru the night with a light from above.

From where and to what does the light guide us?

From the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam.

How does it end?

God bless America, my home, sweet home. God bless America, my home, sweet home.

While we’re in the vein of our treasured musical heritage, why not Lee Greenwood’s more contemporary ballad, God Bless the USA? This moving song awakens our national pride and arouses our patriotic spirit. All the while acknowledging God as the source of our freedom and our brave military men and women defending that freedom to the death, if necessary.

Come on, and sing along:

And I’m proud to be an American,

Where at least I know I’m free.

And I won’t forget the men who died,

Who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,

Next to you and defend her still today.

‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,

God bless the USA.

I’m not sure about you; but I got a bit emotional just reading and writing down these songs. And why not? Most Americans get nostalgically nationalistic and lovingly loyal to the land of the free and home of the brave when hearing and singing our national anthem or other patriotic songs.

What Is The Ultimate Freedom?

Obviously, the main theme of this week’s article is not about our national anthem, or what it could be or should be. Rather, it’s about the very essence of those patriotic songs: freedom and what it really means to be free. Which begs the question: What, in the long run, is real freedom? Narrowing that down: Freedom from what? Freedom to do what?

Let’s begin with some of the concepts of free and freedom from Webster’s Dictionary:

Free: “Having the legal and political rights of a citizen; enjoying personal freedom; not subject to the control or domination of another; determined by the choice of the actor or by his wishes (actions); made, done, or given voluntarily or spontaneously…”

Freedom: “the quality or state of being free; the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action; liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another…”

Biblical truth gets right to the heart of freedom and what it ultimately means to be free. As much as we the people of the United States—and peoples in other nations who have even a measure of what we have in this country—enjoy our inalienable rights and constitutional privileges of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, absence of tyranny imposed by others is not necessarily what freedom is all about.

“Jesus said to the people who believed in him, ‘You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’

“But we are descendants of Abraham, they said. We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free?’

“Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free’” (John 8:31-36).

Notice that Jesus didn’t remind them that they were, in fact, subjects of the Roman Empire. Or had they forgotten that their ancestors had been exiled into slavery by Assyria and Babylon? To some extent, the Romans (as did the Babylonians, Persians, and Greeks during Israel’s captivity) allowed the Jews self-governing autonomy, but not nearly the independence they had during the glory years of Israel—as the most powerful and successful nation on the earth at that time. Were they in denial that the Romans had arbitrarily appointed the most important position in Judaism and in Judah itself—the High Priest? That the Jews no longer could impose capital punishment on even the most violent of criminals. Only the Roman governor could authorize execution. And there were other restrictions that the people wouldn’t remotely tolerate if they were, indeed, a free nation. Such as: excessively unfair Roman taxes. Talk about taxation without representation!

Jesus could have given them a history lesson why God withdrew his protection of Israel and allowed them to be subjugated by Gentile nations. Which could be summarily condensed into what God said—through Moses and subsequent prophets—would happen to them if they abandoned the Lord their God, and no longer trusted or acknowledged him as the very source of their existence and well-being … individually and as a nation.

He could have reminded them that God’s prophecy as far back as Moses had come to pass, which is why Israel still had not regained total freedom from the succession of Gentile domination since the northern kingdom of Israel was obliterated by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. He could have quoted any number of passages in the Scriptures. Such as:

“But Israel soon became fat and unruly; the people grew heavy, plump, and stuffed! Then they abandoned the God who had made them; they made light of the Rock of their salvation. They stirred up his jealousy by worshipping foreign gods; they provoked his fury with detestable deeds. They offered sacrifices to demons, which are not God, to gods they had not known before … You neglected the Rock who had fathered you; you forgot the God who had given you birth. The Lord saw this and drew back, provoked to anger by his own sons and daughters. He said, ‘I will abandon them; then see what becomes of them. For they are a twisted generation, children without integrity’” (Deuteronomy 32:15-20).

However, Jesus didn’t judge them or throw back into their faces all the reasons why they were in the condition they were in as Roman subjects. God’s final judgment would (officially at the Great White Throne judgement … See Revelation 20) come later at the appointed time and for what would be the definitive reason: Refusal of Jews and Gentiles alike to accept the New Covenant of Grace prophesied by Isaiah and Jeremiah; a covenant that commenced with and was sealed by the beaten body and shed blood of their Messiah.

Instead, Jesus went right to the heart of the matter: their slavery to sin. Even when the Lord delivered his people from Egyptian slavery, the first thing he did was to show his people that ultimate freedom was from themselves—their personal sins—through the redemptive shed blood of an innocent animal (Passover). Then he rescued them from physical bondage in Egypt.

As Messiah Jesus had told Nicodemus, one of the privileged religious members of the Sanhedrin:

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil” (John 3:16-19).

As the Saying Goes, “Freedom Is Never Free.”

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that come from a democratic representative republic or at least a parliamentary system of government has never been handed to any nation on the proverbial silver platter. The birth, growth, and preservation of freedom to worship, travel, vote, serve in government, and a host of other liberties bear a high price tag—the blood and lives of our soldiers and civilians.

Yet even this liberty is tarnished by political, social, economic, and racial issues that create deep division, troubling turmoil, debilitating distrust, and sometimes hatred that produces cold wars, hot wars, and civil strife. Even the best of democratic systems can only deal with the symptoms, not the cause of these ills, which the Bible unequivocally identifies as the woeful, unregenerate condition of the human heart.

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

The human heart needs to be set free of the sinful nature everyone is born with. A nature that innately generates the wrong things that people do, all of which are or lead to transgressions against our Creator God. A whole host of things like: pride, greed, envy, lies, lust, selfishness—that cause men, women, and children to insist on having their own way no matter if it harms someone else or infringes on and even eliminates the rights of others.

There is a remedy. There is a way of escape. There is a truth that will set us free. There is a life that can triumph over the darkness of physical and spiritual slavery engulfing the entire world.

“Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6).

However, the freedom that the Lord so freely gives to all who believe and receive Messiah Jesus, came at the highest price ever paid.

“So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins” (Ephesians 1:6-7, italics for emphasis).

Jesus died for our sins to free us from slavery to and the terrible penalty of those sins—eternal separation from God. He is the just for the unjust. The righteous for the unrighteous. The godly for the ungodly. The innocent for the guilty.

That is why Jesus didn’t come to earth the first time as the Messiah who would deliver his people from Gentile domination and oppression. That would come later, upon his glorious return to establish a Kingdom that monarchs and the common people have longed for, can only dream of, and have tried vainly to establish down through history. A Kingdom led by a truly benevolent and just King … Israel’s Messiah. And also Messiah to the Gentiles.

First, the human heart must be changed.

The Birth and Birthright of the USA and Israel

Long before the United States of America came into existence—a nation that has experienced unparalleled freedom—Israel enjoyed an unequaled independence during the time that her people and kings acknowledged and honored the Lord as their (the) only true and living God.

I’m talking about the freedom that was conceived in our Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights, which in principle and (more than any other nation) in practice gave birth to political and religious emancipation, national unity (agree to disagree), intrinsic individual equality, and genuine diversity and tolerance. As opposed to the phony tolerance and distorted diversity of so many in our secular society. Whose prejudice against our Judeo-Christian heritage is expressed cruelly in their intolerant and false accusations that Christians are divisive, just because we believe what the Bible says about salvation and morality is true.

The birth of the United States of America is remarkably similar to Israel’s beginning, in terms of our civil and spiritual dynamics and development.

Both nations were founded by men and woman who listened to, sought after, feared (honored, acknowledged, in awe of), worshipped, and gave credit to Almighty God for both personal and national freedom.

What is the one nation in the entire Middle East that flies the American flag, especially on Independence Day?

Easy answer: Israel.

Said Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu at a 4th of July celebration this past Tuesday in Herzliya, Israel:

“This is a great day because on the Fourth of July, all Israelis unite with our American brothers and sisters. It’s our celebration too. That’s because the history of our two countries is remarkably intertwined. The Founding Fathers of America were inspired by the Bible, and specifically by the book of Exodus, by the dream of building freedom in a new Promised Land. And as you stand in the Chamber of the American Congress, you see right across you the image of one man—Moses, with a quote from the Bible.”

(Please see Eye of Prophecy article entitled, America the Beautiful Is Getting Ugly, posted in July, 2016—also during Independence Day week. Among other things you’ll see an in-depth examination of some striking similarities between the birth and growth of the United States and Israel).

Said Michael Oren, former Israeli Ambassador to the United States and current member of the Israeli Knesset: “Other countries in the region don’t waive American flags, they burn them! Israel is the only country in the Middle East where the American embassy is in no danger of violent protestors and where it’s not uncommon to see both Israeli and American flags flying together.”

The Biblical and historical reason for Israel’s demise (before her miraculous rebirth as a nation in 1948 … part of God’s prophetic plan) was summarized in the passage quoted earlier from Deuteronomy. Once Israel became prosperous through abundant freedom given to her by God’s provision and protection (from drought and from her enemies), the people forgot about God. Then they took it one disastrous step further. They foolishly decided that God’s laws restricted instead of protected their liberties. They rebelled against the Lord and began to pursue the kind of faulty freedom that God clearly warns is a U-turn directly back to slavery.

What exactly is this (false and futile) freedom that guarantees bondage?

Among other places in Scripture the answer is succinctly summed up in the following passage:

“Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one (Messiah Jesus). ‘Let us break their chains,’ they cry, ‘and free ourselves from slavery to God’” (Psalm 2:1-3, parenthesis mine).

When a nation deliberately—especially through its leaders and by legislation—expels God out of mainstream society, then God will withdraw his protection and provisions. He will let them have and go their own way. He will give them what they want—a fake freedom that actually enslaves and imprisons.

History teaches that nations ruled by dictatorial despots and/or totalitarian regimes—whether by irreligious (right-wing) fascists or (left-wing) socialists or by man-made religions (false gods or beliefs) or ecclesiastical systems—began with and continued to boast in some form or another these very words we just read in Psalm 2.

Including, even, the Roman Catholic Church which corruptly dominated many European nations for hundreds of years between 500 A.D. and 1500 A. D, and still exerts inordinate influence over nations and peoples to this day. The ecclesiastic hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church set itself up as the Kingdom of God on earth. Among other deceptive deviations from Biblical salvation, popes, cardinals, bishops, and priests have denied that salvation is by faith and faith alone in Christ Jesus … “the Lord’s anointed One.”

As with Mormonism and other cults, their catechism and sacraments have added to and subtracted from Scripture, and are diametrically opposed to many Biblical truths including:

“…If the law (including good works) could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 3:21-22, italics for emphasis, parenthesis mine).

One of several absolute universal truths found in Scripture is:

However, even a nation founded on Biblical truths and principles can forfeit God’s blessings and protection (and risk God’s judgment) if the people decide to bite the hand that feeds them, and persist in their wish to, “free ourselves from slavery to God.”

Breaking the Chains from God Is Becoming Less Subtle

Not too long ago, a man by the name of Michael Tate Reed drove his vehicle onto the Arkansas statehouse lawn, crashing deliberately into a monument bearing the Ten Commandments, breaking the monument into pieces. He had done this once before in Oklahoma in 2014.

Well known author and talk-show host Michael Brown—a Messianic Jew—(please see Eye of Prophecy article, Messianic Jews … Who Are They? Published 4-25-15) wrote in a recent article, entitled, Ramming the Ten Commandments: A Prophetic Picture of America:

“It was the act of only one man … but it reflected the sentiments of a growing number of Americans: ‘We do not want the Ten Commandments in our midst, nor do we want the God of the Ten Commandments in our midst.’”

He went on to say:

“In that sense, the destructive act of this individual reflected the attitude of tens of millions of Americans. This is not simply a decreased interest in the Bible and the God of the Bible. This is outright rebellion. Enough with God’s laws and standards. Enough with His moral principles … We will do what we want to do, when we want to do it, and no law—or God—will tell us otherwise. The America we want must have no connection to its Judeo-Christian roots, no connection to the moral values of many of its Founders, no connection to the Scriptures which so influenced their thinking.

“We will worship created things more than the Creator, and we will be full of covetousness and greed. We want our idolatry. We will have sex with whomever we want to, whenever we want to, in any combination and sequence. And if we so desire, we will call these relationships ‘marriage’ and neither God nor man will tell us anything different. We want our adultery. We will kill our babies in the womb if we so choose, and anyone who defies our wishes will be trampled underfoot with derision and scorn. We want our murder. Yes, we will do want we want to do when we want to do it. We declare ourselves free.

Please see Eye of Prophecy article, One Nation Under (the wrath of) God, posted on, of all dates, 7-4-15; in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage. Here are the first two paragraphs of that article, in italics:

Have we slipped over the edge and fallen into the Abyss? Did we cross a line that should never be crossed? Is enough … enough? Did we tip the scales? Have we passed the point of no return? Have we gone too far? These are idiomatic expressions in the form of questions that demand a response to the dismal decision rendered by the United States Supreme Court to approve same-sex marriage. When, in fact, the very concept and institution of marriage bears a built-in natural and supernatural definition that needs no prefix or any other modifier or reason to define or otherwise explain it.

Marriage is between a man and a woman … period. Same-sex matrimony is not marriage … period. There is no such thing as same-sex marriage. In reality there’s also no such thing as “traditional” marriage. Is the institution of marriage a (long-standing) tradition? Of course it is: the most enduring custom of the human race. So much so, that we should never need to refer to it as traditional marriage. We do so only in rebuttal to those who claim that there is an alternative to conventional (conservative, orthodox, straight) marriage.

I’m compelled to quote the following passage because it expresses exactly what is happening in and to the land of the free and home of the brave:

“What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them with ropes made of lies, who drag wickedness behind them like a cart! … What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever” (Isaiah 5:18, 20-21).

In his article, Michael Brown quoted one of our founding fathers, Samuel Adams:

“A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy.”

He then concludes his article with:

“Michael (Tate) Reed not only represents that, ‘general dissolution of principles and manners.’ He articulates it in a full, frontal assault, thereby speaking for millions of Americans. We do best to quickly re-erect that Ten Commandments monument and, more importantly, recapture the life-giving beauty of God’s commandments in our own hearts and lives. That is the only hope of our nation.”

I wholeheartedly agree.

In the last part of the Eye of Prophecy article quoted above, I concluded with:

Like never before, the United States of America has defied God himself, by effectively saying that the Word of God is a lie. That has become the real battleground in this country … the absolute, timeless truth of God against the relativism of truth and morality in our post-modern culture.

“…For they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 5:24, NASB).

Will this be One Nation under God? Or will our country be One Nation under the Wrath of God?

The choice belongs to us.

And we believers should be reminded of our past, of what Christ has done for us:

“Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. But—‘When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit … Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life’” (Titus 3:3-7).

Summary

By far, the most common understanding of what it means to be free is the liberty that comes from removal of restraints imposed by one’s own government or another nation’s ruler who attempts to restrict and even deny individual rights.

But there’s a greater, longer-lasting (eternal) freedom that supersedes the rights and liberties legislated by even the best of governments. One that deals not just with the symptoms, but the very source of all the wrongs within and between people and nations.

Salvation is a personal matter between God and the individual. The Lord fully understands (everything) that, comparatively speaking, there are always more people in a city or state or nation that will not choose Biblical salvation (Messiah Jesus). That is their privilege. God gave us free will, and will allow us to choose … whether good or bad, life or death.

Listen to the words of Jesus:

Yet, the Lord also will bless and watch over a nation, “whose God is the Lord.”

What does that mean?

In the shortest, simplest answer possible: For the people (beginning with their leaders) to acknowledge God as the source of their very existence and blessings and liberties. To seek his counsel. To appreciate our freedom, standard of living, military power, democracy; but to ultimately trust in God to provide and protect. In God we trust. And remember to thank the Lord for who he is and what he has done. It’s really that simple.

Another universal precept written not only to believers in God and Messiah Jesus, but to Jews and Gentiles the world over:

“…the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

“For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!” (Isaiah 64:4).

When we fully grasp the Biblical concept of and emphasis on freedom, we’ll see that people can be truly free even if the state or nation in which they live is not a democracy or republic. It all depends on what an individual ultimately wants to be free of or from. And what they will do with that freedom. The only lasting liberty is found in God and the redemption (from spiritual slavery to the sins that cause physical slavery and oppression all over the world) he freely offers through His Son, Messiah Jesus. A spiritual freedom purchased with the physical blood of the Son of God. A liberating victory over the tyranny and chains of sin; a victory won when Messiah arose from the dead.

With the magnificent prize of eternal life in heaven free from the very presence of sin, sorrow, pain, and death!

Things to Ponder

The United States of America was born on the Fourth of July (1776). What a wonderful thing to have happened. Other than Israel during its glory years under King David and King Solomon, no other nation on earth has ever been so richly blessed by the Lord God.

But did you know that Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on the 4th of July, 1826, exactly 50 years after our Declaration of Independence. Then July 4, 1831, President James Monroe also died.

I wonder if these seemingly “coincidental” deaths of three United States Presidents on Independence Day might have been a symbolically solemn warning that the death of our independence can become a stark reality if we forget the Lord God’s birth and blessing of this great nation. Or worse: removing all evidence of God’s name and Word from the land of the free and the home of the brave.

“Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land” (II Chronicles 7:14).

God Bless America! And all peoples and nations whose God is the Lord.

What Is The Unpardonable Sin?

08 Saturday Apr 2017

Posted by garybowers in Devotional / Misc

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A Sin That Cannot Be Forgiven?

Why would or should the Son of God be born into this world for the specific purpose of dying for the human race? But he was and he did. This astounding historical fact is movingly expressed in the words of the song: “Amazing love how can it be, that thou my God should die for me.”

Christians reading this article would undoubtedly think or say, well, of course that’s why our Lord came to earth, to die for my sins, for the entire human race. That is as basic as it gets. And they would be right. The very foundation of the Christian faith is built on the death, burial, and resurrection of Messiah Jesus, as the Son of God and also the Son of Man. Scripture is replete with passages such as: “…Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said” (I Corinthians 15:3-4).

And, “He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins” (Ephesians 1:7).

The coming of Messiah through a Virgin Birth, where he would be born, and what he would do for Israel but also for the Gentiles was prophesied hundreds of years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

“But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6).

There are dozens of passages in the Bible where the word sin, sins, sinned, sinning, sinner, or sinful is found. Dozens more that clearly show there is a solution for the sin problem. We must acknowledge we are sinners, believe that the sinless Son of God Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins, then simply receive him as Personal Savior. Then, ALL of our sins are forgiven and we immediately have eternal life. Our bodies will be literally raised from the dead at the Rapture, with immediate transformation of the earthly bodies of those still alive at the Rapture.

Concerning the title of this week’s article: What Is the Unpardonable Sin? I could have changed the question to, “Is There an Unpardonable Sin?” That question could have been posed or juxtaposed in the Biblical context which clearly assures believers in Messiah Jesus that all of their sins have been forgiven, forever. That when Christians sin, their fellowship with the Lord is broken (interrupted) until the sin is confessed, but their salvation remains secure.

But I chose to go directly to the heart of the matter and, therefore, on the authority of Scripture provide clear-cut evidence as to what this unpardonable sin is. We’ll get to that by articles’ end. However, most unbelievers and even some Christians would challenge this answer with the rebuttal, “If the Bible clearly claims God’s grace can and will forgive all of our sins the moment we place our trust in Messiah’s redemptive death, burial, and resurrection, then how can there be a sin that the Lord won’t forgive.”

What Is Sin?

It’s abundantly clear throughout the Bible that sin is breaking God’s universal moral and spiritual laws. That when we transgress God’s immutable laws, we sin first and foremost against God.

King David fully grasped this truth. When he committed adultery with Bathsheba and ordered her husband Uriah killed to get him out of the way so David could have Bathsheba as his own, David knew that he had inflicted great harm to both Bathsheba and her husband. But he understood that his sin was ultimately against God. So he pleads with the Lord:

“Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:2-5).

The Apostle Paul then tells us (the whole world): “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23).

This verse makes two powerful statements: (1) Every single person who has ever lived (save one … Messiah Jesus) has sinned against God; (2) Sin, what some theologians call “missing the mark,” is falling short of God’s rightful (He is the Creator, we are his creation) expectations when he gave mankind (Adam and Eve) the capacity to choose right from wrong. To love and obey the Lord willingly, not through coercion; or to disobey him because they chose not to believe, obey, love, and serve him.

Paul quotes King David (Psalm 53) “No one is righteous—not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God … no one does good, not a single one” (Romans 3:10-12).

Then Paul explains the purpose of the Mosaic Law; that it was not the source of salvation—for no one could keep the Law in its entirety.

“Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.

“But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned…” (Romans 3:19-23).

Thus, we see that everyone from Adam and Eve to the 21st century (and beyond) have sinned against God. Although it only takes one sin, nearly all people have sinned many times … some of us in one day’s time alone! We sin because we were born sinners.

The chicken and the egg question (which came first) is indisputably answered in Scripture both in terms of creation and the fall of man from the perfectly moral and spiritual condition in which Adam and Eve were created. The chicken came first. The created existence of the chicken led to eggs produced by the chicken. Likewise, our sin nature produces many wrongs things that we think, say, and do. We all have laid a chicken coop full of sinful rotten eggs!

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

We all look forward to receiving compensation for the hard work we do. But physical death (and eternal death—if we die in our sins without Christ as Savior) is one paycheck none of us wants. According to the Bible, however, we have earned the wages of sin and we will get paid for it. Unless, that is, we receive “the free gift of God … through Christ Jesus…” This is our Creator’s solution to the sin problem, a free gift that cancels our sin debt. But like all gifts, we must receive it (by simple faith).

Not only was Messiah Jesus’s death on the cross the supreme once for all redemptive sacrifice, his atonement applies to ALL of our sins, even those we commit after we have accepted him as Personal Savior. If that were not true, then Christ would need to die again and again for all the wrong things that Christians do after being born again; in fact, for all those born after Christ arose from the dead in the 1st Century.

“Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God…” (I Peter 3:18)

If, then, all sins can be forgiven and have been forgiven for those who have placed their personal trust in the redemptive sacrifice of the Son of God, why does the Bible say there is one thing that cannot be pardoned?

Before we look at the answer to that perplexing question that troubles both believers and unbelievers alike, let’s look at how unbelievers (remember that true born-again believers in Jesus were once unbelievers) view sin and redemption.

Prevalent World-Views on Sin

Those Who Don’t Believe Sin Is Really (Ultimately) a Transgression against God, or in a Divine Penalty for Sin

As Scripture says, “Only fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God…’” (Psalm 53:1).

Then in the New Testament:

“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). The first and greatest reward is redemption and all of God’s marvelous promises that go with Biblical salvation.

When the Bible refers to God, with an upper case “G” or The LORD, it, of course, is always identifying God, himself. Even more obvious: the God of the Old Covenant and New Covenant Scriptures has revealed himself generally through nature and specifically through the Bible as the ONLY God. All of the names that God has given us to describe himself (like El Elyon, Most High God, or the sacred name of God, YHWH, translated in capital letters LORD throughout Scripture) are also the ONLY names of God. Right up front that excludes all other unnamed gods or those named, such as Allah. Hence, those whom God calls “fools” are many more than just atheists.

(Another Name of God in Scripture)

Down through the ages right up to the present time, most people on Planet Earth have believed in to the point of worship many (man-made) gods, many of which are deified parts of nature, e.g. stars, sun, moon, mountains, rivers, seas and the like. But also so-called gods of fertility, harvest, life, prosperity, and even death. And in our post-modern times: gods of pleasure, power, prestige, and money.

This includes most world religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Shintoism. Other than the Judeo-Christian faith, Islam is the only other monotheistic religion; however the Muslim god was selected by Muhammad from the pantheon of gods worshipped by Arabs before he decided that the moon-god Allah would be the god of Islam. This was done deliberately to copy, counterfeit, rival, and replace the God of the Bible. Whereas, the God of Scripture dogmatically declares that He is the only true and living God, and backs up this assertion with powerful prophecies that come to pass (all of them) and mighty miracles that no other god or religion can do or boast of. The greatest of which is the prophesied and fulfilled birth, life, death, and resurrection of Messiah Jesus.

Still others through cultic deviation from and twisting of Scripture (such as Mormonism or Catholicism), have distorted, falsified and replaced the Christian faith and true salvation with ecclesiastical creeds that directly contradict Biblical Christianity.

Virtually none of these religions or cults believe people sin because they were born sinners, i.e. their very nature. On the contrary, they think that all but the most evil of people (with even the concept of “evil” placed on a sliding scale) are inherently and innately “good.” That when people do something “wrong” it’s because they make a “mistake” in choice or judgment. Which is true. But according to God’s view as so very evident in Scripture, the wrong things we do is still sin directly against the Lord, no matter how we rationalize or what we call them.

Even those who profess that the wrong things they do is actual sin (against God), one way or another believe that God will overlook most if not all their sins by merely balancing the “good” things they do against the “bad.”

In short they do not believe the Bible when it says, for example:

To a man or woman, if you ask a Mormon or a Catholic (and other similar religions including some Protestant denominations) they will tell you there’s no way to know for sure if they’ll make it to heaven. The reason for this: so many people believe that they must do something to earn salvation. Yet, they never know if what they’ve done or think they’ve earned is enough for God to overlook their faults and allow them entrance into heaven. At the very best this is wishful thinking.

Personally, I refuse to risk or stake my eternal destiny on this kind of uncertainty. Especially, when the true and living God says he loves me enough to have sent his Son to die for my sins, and will pardon me forever if I simply believe and receive his Son. He also tells me that I can trust him beyond any doubt whatsoever that I will live forever with him in heaven.

Therefore, for me and my brothers and sisters in Christ, there is no such thing as an unpardonable sin!

(Stay with me, because this is not a contradiction to what was said earlier: yes, there is an unpardonable sin. We’ll soon see why and for whom).

Those Who Think Their Sins Are Too Many or Too Great for Even God to Forgive

Sadly, many hundreds of millions of unbelievers are living under a heavy conscience that the sheer number of their sins or perhaps one or two really horrible sins are too much for God to forgive. To them, these sins are unpardonable.

Let me repeat on the authority of Scripture: There is no sin—past, present, or future—that cannot be pardoned when we accept Messiah Jesus as Personal Savior, with two mighty but sometimes misunderstood Biblical truths: (1) For born-again believers that includes the unpardonable sin, because there is no such sin for those who have placed their trust in Christ Jesus before they die.

(2) For the unbeliever, the unpardonable sin is the one and only offense that will ultimately seal one’s eternal destiny in the Lake of Fire.

God’s Laws and Commandments

Through their world-view or belief system or through their conscience, hundreds of millions accept at least the morality of God’s Law through, for example, the Ten Commandments.

Unfortunately many reduce or equate violation of God’s laws to breach of civil laws of the city, state, or country in which they live. Most don’t think about or even care that the vast majority of laws originated directly or indirectly from God, himself, as first given to Moses and the Israelites.

Nations enforce laws by punishing those who break those laws. Such as: assault, theft, perjury, extortion, or fraud. There are literally hundreds of these laws all the way from murder to traffic tickets. Many of us rank these crimes on a sliding scale of severity, which we should but only in the context of Biblical principles that the punishment must fit the crime. Yet billions of people make the mistake of thinking that God also grades on a curve when it comes to sin. God does not view sin that way; when we break one of his laws, we break them all.

Thus, many people equate sinfulness to commission of crimes, both felonies and misdemeanors. Not just a few believe that if they don’t break the law, or if they do and it’s just a small infraction (like cheating on taxes), then they have an excellent chance of getting to heaven, for that reason alone.

Let’s look at the Ten Commandments. By and large, in the last generation or two, there are only three of these commandments that the world (even those in Judeo-Christian civilizations such as America, most of Europe, Canada, Australia, and a few other counties) actually consider to be sin. And mostly because they are “against the law.”

They are: “You must not murder” (Exodus 20:13). “You must not steal” (Verse 15). “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor” (Verse 16 … this refers primarily to lying under oath).

The other seven commandments are not considered by most unbelievers to be sin at all. Or if they do think infringement of these (and other commandments in Scripture not part of the Ten) as wrong, it’s only when they get caught.

The other commandments found in Exodus Chapter 20 are:

No other gods but the Lord God himself. (That means you, too, Allah).

No idols or images of “anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea … you must not worship them…” (Verses 4-5).

Using the name of God vainly, i.e. in a profane or even irreverent way.

Routinely failing to worship and honor and remember God on the Sabbath (whether Saturday or Sunday, does not matter in the Age of Grace).

Not honoring your father and mother, and all that entails.

“You must not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). If there are still laws in some countries against adultery, they are weakly enforced or not at all. Certainly not in the United States. So does that make adultery okay? Is it no longer a sin against God? Does it no longer have devastating consequences?

“You must not covet your neighbor’s house … wife … or anything else that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:17). That, too, is no longer considered as sin by the majority of people on this planet. We can lust after anything we want; even brag about it when the opportunity arises, and we do what we desire or get what we want by living out our fantasies. Coveting is greed, pure and simple. According to Scripture, greed is idolatry because we’re consumed with someone or something that will not only take the place of God, but cause us to do many other wrong things in the process.

Jesus said that there is only one way to God in order for God to pardon the penalty of our sins. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

And it was Jesus who also said there was one sin that God would not forgive.

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit … The Unpardonable Sin

Yet that act is one that is not considered sin by God until either one of two things transpires. (1) For all those who die without Christ as their Savior before and after the Rapture (2) For those who worship the Antichrist (Nero) and/or take the mark of his name during the Great Tribulation, which is soon to come.

“…Anyone who worships the beast and his statue or who accepts his mark on the forehead or on the hand must drink the wine of God’s anger … And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb … They will have no relief day or night, for they have worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name” (Revelation 14:9-11).

Said Jesus to the teachers of religious law, “I tell you the truth, all sin and blasphemy can be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This is a sin with eternal consequences” (Mark 3:28-29, italics for emphasis).

The italicized words emphatically assures us that ALL sin and blasphemy can be forgiven.

Scripture is equally clear that all of a person’s sins—past, present, and future—are forgiven only when that individual accepts Messiah Jesus as personal Savior. That is possible because God declares us “not guilty” when we place our faith in Jesus who died in our place to remove the penalty and guilt of all the wrong things we’ve done.

(Jesus Said These Words on the Cross Just Before He Died, They Mean “The Debt Has Been Paid … For Our Sins)

“Yet, God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty of our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood…” (Romans 3:24-25).

However, even some Christians have been troubled with Jesus’s words that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit could void their salvation with the eternal consequences … meaning hell instead of heaven. As said earlier in this article, that is not possible.

For two reasons: (1) once a person is saved by believing and receiving Christ as their Redeemer, his/her eternal destiny has been sealed forever. And no less than by the Holy Spirit!

“…and he (the Lord) has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us” (II Corinthians 2:22).

“Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God’” (John 3:3).

And, “Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again’” (John 3:6-7).

Jesus used the analogy of human birth to illustrate that a person must be reborn spiritually to inherit eternal life. With the parallel truth that a person can no more be unborn spiritually than they can be unborn physically.

(2) For reason number one, the unpardonable sin against the Holy Spirit can never be committed by a born-again believer in Messiah Jesus. That would be impossible, because anyone who has accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior did so by listening and yielding to the convictions of the Holy Spirit; the Third Person of the Great Triune God, who plants the seed of the Gospel (Jesus saves) in our mind, heart, and spirit that “gives birth to eternal life.”

To better understand what blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is, let’s look at its definition. Then we’ll examine exactly what the Holy Spirit does to and for unbelievers.

Blasphemy:

From Webster’s Dictionary: Blaspheme (verb), “to speak of or address with irreverence. Revile. Abuse. To utter blasphemy.”

Blasphemous (adjective): “impiously irreverent. Profane.”

Blasphemy (noun): The act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God. The act of claiming the attributes of deity. Irreverence toward something considered sacred or inviolable.”

Thus, all those who trivialize, ignore, demean, disregard or flatly refuse the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the only way to God and salvation, do so because they resist, rebuff, reject, and sometimes even ridicule the promptings of the Holy Spirit at a certain time or times in their lives. That is the blasphemy that Jesus is talking about.

Jesus Teaching about the Holy Spirit

In John Chapters 14 and 16, Jesus introduced the Holy Spirit to his disciples. Including the amazing fact of something that had never occurred before in the history of mankind: The Holy Spirit would be sent to dwell in them (and all believers). Some of his teaching relates to what the Holy Spirit would do for believers in Christ. But the following passages provide some perceptive insight regarding the work of the Holy Spirit to and for unbelievers, with the ultimate goal of saving as many as would believe in Messiah Jesus.

“He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you” (John 14:17).

Then a short time later Jesus told them what the Holy Spirit will, nonetheless, do for a world that “doesn’t recognize him.”

“And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refused to believe in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged” (John 16:8-11).

What the Holy Spirit does first and foremost is to convict the minds and hearts of unbelievers to fully understand that Messiah Jesus is their only hope for salvation. Beginning with realization that God loves them more than they’ll ever know, but that sin is a barrier between them and God, because God is Holy and Righteous and cannot tolerate sin. That it’s God’s righteousness freely given to us when we accept his Son, not self-righteousness (good works, self-virtue) that saves us from the coming judgment day of God.

Notice, however, the startling statement of Jesus concerning sin (singular not plural in this case, meaning one sin in particular). Messiah Jesus said that ultimately the overriding, all-encompassing, ultimate sin is the world’s (which means every individual, just as John 3:16 says that God so loved the world, and whosoever—each person—believes in Jesus shall not perish but have everlasting life) deliberate decision not to believe in him.

That is the Unpardonable Sin!

Earlier Jesus said this to the religious leaders of Israel: “That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I AM who I claim to be, you will die in your sins’” (John 8:24).

Thus, the unpardonable sin is that anyone would “die in their sins.” The reason: Refusal to believe and receive Jesus as Messiah, Son of God.

But it begins with “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit;” the One who stirs and “speaks to” to the heart and mind of individuals the world over of and through the absolute everlasting truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Thus, it’s not technically the many sins that we’ve all committed that will condemn us to eternal separation from God. The (Scriptural) reason I can say that is because the Bible is crystal clear that every person who has ever lived on this planet has sinned, some more than others, but God doesn’t keep a comparative count of how many sins or which ones are worse than others when it comes to salvation. Only when it comes to the sentencing at the final Great White Throne Judgment, which is already too late for those being sentenced, will there be different levels of punishment (as indicated in other parts of Scripture).

If you’ve been tried and convicted for murder and the sentence is death, but the President of the United States offers you a complete pardon with only one condition, wouldn’t you accept the pardon no matter the condition. But especially if the President told you that the condition was this: “Someone else has already taken your place and died for you. All I expect you to do is believe that and gratefully accept the fact that this person’s sacrifice has saved you.”

However, any similar analogy, including this one, doesn’t go far enough to totally explain Messiah Jesus’s redemptive sacrifice. The difference is that Jesus AROSE FROM THE DEAD. So we not only believe that fact; we also believe IN the One who made the sacrifice. He said he was/is God (the Son). He said he was/is Messiah. He said that he is the resurrection and the life. If anyone believes in him, they will live (forever) even when they die.

Thus, when a person rejects Jesus Christ as their only source of redemption, they do so by “blaspheming” the Holy Spirit.

I’m not saying (nor did Jesus) that people go around daily saying irreverent things about the Holy Spirit. In fact, unbelievers (the world) don’t know or even care about someone or something called the Holy Spirit. Nor (until one believes in Christ for salvation) does anyone really understand that the Holy Spirit is the Person of the Triune God that stirs their heart and mind to listen to the truth of the Gospel as found in the Bible. But they know enough to realize that they need to make a decision, one way or another. To believe or not to believe (In Christ): that is the question that everyone must answer in his/her lifetime.

God is so willing to forgive and pardon everyone for their sins … forever. But he cannot and will not issue this pardon to those who ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit by rejecting the redemption offered by Jesus’s sacrifice at Calvary. This (deliberate) decision is unpardonable.

Unpardonable because that is the ultimate (and only) sin by which they have condemned themselves to God’s final judgment and the imposed sentence of eternal separation from God. It is not failure to ask forgiveness of one or more sins throughout a person’s lifetime. Many people ask forgiveness from a person or even from God. Yet, asking for forgiveness does not guarantee a punched ticket to heaven.

Certainly, that’s what happens when someone says, yes, to Jesus and accepts what he did on the cross as the only way to be saved. We are forgiven … forever!

But the repentance that the Bible emphasizes is “changing our mind” (which is what repent means) about Jesus Christ as the Way, Truth, and Life. The Bible is talking about a one-time repentance in accepting the once for all sacrifice of Christ Jesus; the righteous for the unrighteous, the just for the unjust, the Godly for the ungodly.

Things to Ponder

The Bible absolutely assures that all born again believers in Christ have eternal life the moment we accept Jesus as our personal Savior. In many passages, the present-tense verb have (meaning right then and there) or has is used. Such as:

“I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life” (I John 5:13, italics for emphasis).

Not think, or hope, or wish that we will someday qualify for heaven. Rather, we can know beyond all doubt the moment we make that decision. Heaven is the place we one day will spend eternity with our glorious God, but eternal life begins the moment we choose Christ as Savior and Lord.

When believers sin, our confession (remorse) is not to reinstate our salvation, but to restore our fellowship with the Lord. (See I John 1:9)

Not so for unbelievers, as succinctly stated by the Apostle Peter in the very first Gospel message preached after Jesus ascended to heaven. Speaking to a large crowd (3,000 of them accepted Christ that very day), Peter said:

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified. Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brethren, what shall we do?’

“Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 2:36-38, NASB).

The context is crystal clear as to what they were to repent of: that they (we all) repent or change their mind as to who Jesus of Nazareth really was/is. None other than God’s Son who purchased redemption for all who would believe in him. Baptism would then be a physical demonstration of their spiritual union in Christ Jesus … just as a ring is evidence that someone is married.

Then forgiveness of sin (that precludes the unpardonable sin, because the Holy Spirit is given as a gift who would never leave the believer—see John 14:16—and, thereby, could not possibly be blasphemed) is a result of repentance.

How good is that!

Lazarus and Lazarus & The Sign of Jonah

14 Saturday Jan 2017

Posted by garybowers in Devotional / Misc

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Resurrection, Signs and Wonders

How Many Signs Does It Take?

“One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, ‘Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.’

“But Jesus replied, ‘Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights’” (Matthew 12:38-40).

His very birth changed the course of history and the measurement of time … from B.C. to A.D.

Jesus turned water into wine. He made the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak, and the lame to walk. He healed the deformed in an instant, and fed thousands of hungry people with a few loaves and fish. He cast out demons from many who were possessed, and even raised the dead. The religious leaders had personally witnessed or had first-hand accounts of these and many other of his miracles. Time and time again, he did the impossible. The evidence of Jesus’ incomparable divine power was overwhelming. Still, right then and there, they demanded that Jesus show them a miraculous sign to prove his authority.

The Pharisees and Sadducees had eyes to see but were blinded by their preconceived view that Messiah couldn’t be anyone other than whom they decided he would be and should be. They had ears to hear but were deafened by their shouts of programmed tirades against a man who spoke words of light and life to the people. A man who dared claim that he was the Son of God; that he came to fulfill the Law of Moses with a New Way to God through a New Covenant with God.

What kind of miraculous sign did they want? Would another sign convince all of them or just one or two of them? Would each have preferred a miracle of his choice? Would one more sign be enough?

What if Jesus had obliged them by calling down fire from heaven as Elijah twice had done? (With one of the two incidents resulting in the death of 100 soldiers who had come to arrest Elijah. See II Kings Chapter 1, and the other on Mount Carmel). Only this time the fire would have consumed all but one of the Pharisees? Would the survivor have believed in Jesus’s authority then?! If the one left behind had returned to his fellow Pharisees and told them what had happened, would they believe him? Or would they demand another miraculous sign just for themselves?

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Jesus knew all too well the rock-hard condition of their hearts. That was the real problem, not what they could or couldn’t see or hear. For it didn’t matter how many or how stupendous Jesus’s miracles were; their “evil, adulterous” hearts wouldn’t allow their eyes to see or ears to hear the truth that Jesus was their Messiah—the Son of God, the Son of David, the Son of Man.

Today’s Superficial Supernatural

What about planet Earth in the 21st century? Have we been desensitized to the miraculous, the Divine, by the countless books and movies that incessantly depict the supernatural as natural? That any number of fantasy super villains and super heroes can perform paranormal wonders whenever and however they choose, including return from the dead. Thereby, marginalizing actual (real-life) miracles to a ho-hum happening that barely merits a turn of our head, let alone a change of our heart.

So many in today’s world have dismissed out-of-hand the authenticity of the Bible as the very Word of the true and living God; despite the stunning evidence of countless miracles and fulfilled prophecies. If Scripture is not enough, then how many other supernatural signs would it take for people to believe in the God of the Bible? What more miraculous proof would they require before they believed and received Messiah Jesus as Lord and Savior?

How about you? Would you believe if just one of the ten plagues struck your neighborhood as God did with the Egyptians in Moses’ time? Or would it take all ten miracles to convince you … as it did with Pharaoh? Remember: The final miracle was the death of every firstborn son in Egypt.

If horrible malignant sores broke out suddenly on people the world over; if all the oceans, rivers, and lakes turned to blood and every salt and fresh water creature died; if a massive solar flare from the sun scorched people on the earth with one mighty blast; if the earth was plunged into the darkness of a subterranean cave; if a cataclysmic earthquake toppled mighty cities, flattened majestic mountains, and submerged entire islands, would you change your mind about Christ—who he is, what he has done for us, and what he will do? (See Revelation Chapter 16 … these are just five of twenty-one judgments during the Great Tribulation).

Or would you do what millions upon millions of people, determined to do their own thing and go their own way apart from their only hope of salvation, will do:

“…and they cursed the God of heaven for their pains and sores. But they did not repent of their evil deeds and turn to God” (Revelation 16:11). *Note: They didn’t just blame God for anything and everything, as millions have unjustifiably done through the ages; they actually cursed him.

There is no doubt that the vast majority of those left behind at the Rapture will fully comprehend that it is God who is delivering these judgments. Thus, it is not now nor will be then a matter of seeing miraculous signs that would/should cause them to believe. It is not a matter of the mind or eyes or ears; rather, it is a matter of the heart … the will. A heart that refuses to accept the obvious. That God will judge the world ultimately for one thing and one thing only: rejection of so great a salvation purchased by the highest price ever paid—the sacrificial substitutionary death of his Son, Jesus Christ. Just as Israel was disciplined for rejecting him as Messiah.

As he approached Jerusalem for the last time before the people crucified him, Jesus began to weep and uttered these heartbreaking words:

“How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. Before long you enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not accept your opportunity for salvation” (Luke 19:42-44, italics for emphasis).

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Less than 40 years later, the Romans pillaged Jerusalem, demolished the Temple, slaughtered six hundred thousand Jews, and exiled the survivors to the four corners of the earth.

No, Jesus did not condemn the Pharisees then and there nor did he come the first time to this earth to judge. In another (one of many) scene in which the Jewish religious leaders confronted him, Jesus said:

“But I have a greater witness that John (the Baptist)—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me … and you do not have his message in your hearts, because you do not believe me—the one he sent to you” (John 5:36,38).

Then Jesus spoke these extraordinary words: “Yet it isn’t I who will accuse you before the Father. Moses will accuse you! Yes, Moses, in whom you put your hopes. If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. But since you don’t believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?” (John 5:45-47).

Nor would he entertain them with a miraculous sign, except one—a miracle that he would do at the appointed time, on his terms; to accomplish his Father’s providential plan to save the human race. With no preconditions, no strings attached. With nothing else required of people except as Jesus said, “to believe me—the one he sent to you.”

So Yeshua gave them the sign of Jonah: his death, burial, and resurrection that had not yet taken place. Surely they would believe him then. What more evidence could anyone want or expect than someone returning from the dead?

Shouldn’t that be enough proof for you, for me, for the whole world?

Whether the answer is yes or no to this question, depends entirely on where our heart is when we hear the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as foretold by the prophets in the Old Testament; personified and carried out by Messiah Jesus as recorded in the Gospels; encapsulated in the tenets of the Christian faith through the New Testament epistles of Paul, Peter, James, and John.

Let’s see why, by looking at the only story that Jesus told that was not a parable, which is a story told to illustrate a moral and spiritual truth. A true story in which Jesus even named one of the two men. One in which Abraham, Moses, and the prophets also are mentioned. And a narrative that provides some fascinating features of life after death, not found anywhere else in Scripture.

Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 16:19-31)

The Narrative (Passage): “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury” (Verse 19).

Commentary: Unfortunately it is extremely difficult for the wealthy or powerful of the world to want anything to do with God … to see their need for personal redemption God’s way in order to live forever in heaven. Their version of heaven is fame and fortune while alive on earth.

Said Jesus: “In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” But Jesus then said concerning salvation: “What is impossible for people is possible with God” (Luke 18:25, 27).

The Lord used the more extreme example of the super-rich for ultimate contrast in this true story. However, even the less fortunate can love the pleasures of this world so much that they would forfeit their own souls in order to passionately pursue and personally possess whatever they think can satisfy them the most.

“If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it” (Luke 17:33, Words of Jesus).

Also, the Pharisees held the misguided opinion that wealth was always a sign of God’s favor or blessings. Thus, I’m sure that the religious leaders were startled, even dumbfounded, by this reversal of roles which weighed God’s divine long-term perspective of eternal values against the world’s short-term measure of success.

The Narrative: “At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores” (Verses 20-21).

Commentary: Jesus was not at all reluctant to use graphic language to illustrate and reinforce what he was saying. For example, he called the elite religious leaders: hypocrites, brood of vipers, blind leading the blind, whitewashed tombs (clean on the outside, defiled on the inside), and even sons of the devil. Here, in Godly empathy, he vividly described the plight of a poor, diseased man whose only hope for some measure of relief from pain and hunger on this earth was the generosity of a man who had more than enough for himself … the rich man.

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The Narrative: “Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side” (Verses 22-23).

Commentary: Most translations use the term, “Abraham’s bosom,” but it’s clear that the poor man went to be with Abraham. This story (passage) tells us where the souls of those who died before Jesus arose from the dead were transported (by angels). In the Old Testament, the place of the dead is called in the Hebrew, Sheol. In the New Testament Greek: Hades; which is commonly translated, Hell. All those who died before Jesus initiated the New Covenant by shedding his blood on the cross (dying) and sealing that Covenant with his magnificent resurrection, were taken to Abraham who was the Father or predecessor of all whose faith in the Lord was “counted as righteous(ness)” (Genesis 15:6).

Under the New Covenant, one’s faith must be more than just in God the Father. It now must be in God’s Son, Yeshua, whom God anointed as the Messiah (the Chosen One) to make people right with him.

“For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time” (I Timothy 2:5-6).

Surprisingly and also ironically, the place of the dead (for the unrighteous) was close enough for those sent there to see Abraham and all who had been declared righteous by the Lord. The rich man was so close, but oh so far. And he was in great torment.

The Narrative: “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’ But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is being comforted, and you are in anguish. And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there’” (Verses 24-26).

Commentary: Hades, which at the final judgment becomes part of the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20), is not where you want to be, certainly not forever. Jesus spoke more about hell than heaven, because he doesn’t want anyone to go there. “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise (the promise of his return), as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent” (II Peter 3:9, parenthesis mine).

As Scripture repeatedly tells us: God is Love, but God is also Holy. He cannot tolerate sin in his presence. That is something that unbelievers cannot or will not grasp. However, all those whose sin has not been forgiven and who have not been made right with God will get their wish; that God would leave them alone to do their own thing and go their own way. Sadly, this is what the majority of people down through the ages to this very day have done. Through indifference, neglect, or outright rejection they have spurned the message of the Gospel.

“…And that message is the very message about faith that we preach” (Romans 10:8).

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The second major difference between the rich man (in torment) and Lazarus (in comfort) was a great chasm, an impassable gulf that separated the righteous from the unrighteous, the saved from the unsaved, believers from the unbelievers. Never the two shall meet.

Return from the Dead! They’ll Believe Then, Won’t They?

The Narrative: “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment” (Verses 27-28).

Commentary: Here we learn more about the devastating results when we leave this earth without Messiah Jesus as our Savior. Once we die, there is no hope, no second chance for salvation. It’s crystal clear the rich man knew that, as he had no argument or made no plea to return to earth or even change his mind while in Hades. It was simply too late. He found himself in an afterlife, a reality that he had dismissed and ignored during his lifetime. His reward was whatever gratification his riches (or anything else in life) brought him while on earth. And his temporary reward was long gone along with all the fleeting pleasures he had pursued.

The Narrative: “But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote’” (Verse 29).

Commentary: Through a combination of his agony and remorse for snubbing God’s gift of redemption while on earth, the rich man pleaded with Abraham for Lazarus to return on his behalf and warn his brothers (that they must repent … change their mind about faith in God and his Messiah). To that all too belated request, Abraham gives the solemn reply that was just cited, in the same vein of what Jesus said to the Pharisees in the passage quoted earlier in today’s article.

Moses wrote about the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God made it clear to Moses that it was their faith by which God credited his righteousness to them. Through the prophets—especially Isaiah and Jeremiah—God declared that a New Covenant (of Grace) would complete and perfect the Old Covenant that the people could not and would not keep. This would be an unconditional covenant, a gift from God that required only one thing: Agreeing with God by personally believing in and trusting the finished work of Messiah … our sin debt paid in full as so wonderfully affirmed by the miracle of Messiah’s empty tomb.

It was Moses who first foretold of the One through whom God would be revealed in a person, a prophet superior to Moses, the Child of Promise greater than Abraham’s promised son Isaac. (See Eye of Prophecy articles, The Child of Promise Part I & Part II, published 8-23 & 8-30-14).

“Moses continued, The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him” (Deuteronomy 18:15).

Then God speaks in the first person about his prophet: “…I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him. I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet proclaims on my behalf” (Deuteronomy 18:18-19).

Do you remember who was with Jesus when he was transfigured on the mountain and the glory of his divine essence was brilliantly displayed to the astonishment of three of his disciples? Read with me the amazing account:

“About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem” (Luke 9:28-31).

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While still on the mountain, the disciples heard God’s voice (I’m sure his voice thundered as it did from Mt. Sinai when God spoke to Moses and the Israelites … see Exodus 20). God said:

“…This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him” (Luke 9:35).

Yes, the same Moses through whom God gave the Covenant of the Law. The same Elijah who represented the mighty prophets of the Old Testament proclaiming God’s truth about Israel’s glorious past, troubled present, and ominous but triumphant future, and especially about the coming Messiah. I’m convinced that these same prophets will be the two powerful witnesses during the Great Tribulation (Revelation 11).

(See Eye of Prophecy articles, The Two Witnesses, Part I, II, & III, posted 6-7, 6-14, & 6-21-14).

And what did God say about his Son? Precisely what he said to Moses and the Israelites about the Prophet of all prophets to come as we just read in Deuteronomy: “Listen to him.”

But Jesus told the Pharisees that if they wouldn’t listen to Moses and all the prophets who spoke of the coming Messiah, then neither would they listen to him.

Which is what Abraham told the rich man: “But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote’” (Luke 16:29).

Let’s pick it up again in that passage as part of today’s subject and emphasis concerning what it takes to acknowledge that the God of the Bible is God. And that Jesus of Nazareth is Messiah, the very Son of God.

Resuming the Narrative: “The rich man replied. ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’” (Luke 16:30).

Commentary: Surely, someone (Jesus) who had claimed that he existed before Abraham was even born (John 8), and proved that he was God by raising people from the dead, would be acknowledged as the Son of God. Certainly, a man who said that Moses and the prophets wrote about him, and a short time later would, himself, rise from the dead on his own (without any prophet’s intercession or intervention) to prove that he was who he said he was, would be believed by all the people … particularly the religious among them.

Or would they?

(Also, please see Eye of Prophecy article: There’s Resurrection; And There’s Resurrection! Posted 3-19-16).

The passage about the rich man and Lazarus concludes with:

“But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead’” (Luke 16:31).

Another Man Named Lazarus

Many know the story of Jesus raising Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, from the dead. However, before Jesus commanded Lazarus to come out of his tomb where Lazarus had been buried for four days, he told Martha (and the whole world), “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this Martha?” (John 11:25-26).

Lazarus raised

The sacred majestic name of God is, “I AM.” Jesus referred to himself by that very name (Yahweh).

That says it all. It says that the Triune God—Father, Son, and Spirit—is from everlasting to everlasting. It says that he predated and created the universe and all living things; he is separate from and supreme over his creation. It says that he: Was; Is; and Is To Come. It says that he is the First and the Last. He always has been and always will be.

Jesus didn’t just show people the right (only) way to God. He didn’t just preach the truth about a Holy and loving God and sinful man and salvation. He didn’t merely explain through parables and demonstrate through miracles what our life on this earth is all about and what must be done to inherit the Kingdom of God. Oh, he did all of these things and much more.

Above all, Jesus unequivocally declared (backed up by the greatest proof of all … his resurrection):

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

What Jesus is saying could be expressed like this:

“I AM.”

(The) Way.

Truth.

Life.

Or, like this: Jesus IS (the) Way. Jesus IS Truth. Jesus IS Life.

Jesus arose from the dead to validate God’s New Covenant with Jew and Gentile alike. Salvation is a free gift from God … by grace through faith in Messiah’s atoning sacrifice for our sins.

What more is needed before someone will believe and receive this gift? Is the resurrection of Christ Jesus not enough? If not, what is? What will it take to convince you and me and her and him, and them? The answer is transparently obvious: There is no greater proof than the resurrection. Thus, it’s not a matter of the evidence.

Instead, it is a matter of the heart. A question of preference. An issue of our way or God’s way. Which way have you chosen? To whom or what will you entrust your eternal destiny? A man-made religion? A philosophy? A government? A charismatic leader? Yourself?

As a result of Jesus spectacular raising of Lazarus from the grave, “Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen” (John 11:45).

But many did not, including the religious leaders who soon heard of what Jesus had done for Lazarus and his family. “So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death” (John 11:53).

Just a few days later, not only the religious leaders but many others shouted in Pilate’s courtyard, “Crucify him. Crucify him.”

And they did.

For sure, thousands did believe in Jesus while he was on this earth, and millions down through the ages. Praise God for that! But, tragically, many more have not believed including billions on this planet today, despite the greatest miracle of all—resurrection from the dead.

As Jesus said to those who doubted him, many of whom wanted to kill him because he claimed to be the Messiah:

“…why do you call it blasphemy when I say, ‘I am the Son of God?’ After all, the Father has set me apart and sent me into the world. Don’t believe me unless I carry out my Father’s work. But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you don’t believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father” (John 10:36-38).

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundational cornerstone of God’s remarkable redemption plan for the human race. Jesus would have been proven a fool, an imposter or worse, a maniac, for making statement after statement that he was sent by his Father from heaven to save a lost world; if, he hadn’t risen from the dead, just as he said he would.

“But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.

“The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, ‘Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day’” (Luke 24:1-7).

Then later in a captivating account of Jesus with two men on the road to Emmaus, after he arose from the dead:

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?’ Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:25-27).

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I’ve sometimes thought: If there was one time and place that I could have been with the Lord Jesus when he was on this earth, it would have been to walk closely behind him and the two men on their seven mile walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus!

I would listen to him! Would you? Have you?

For two reasons: (1) He’s no longer dead. He has risen! He has risen, indeed! (2) He explained all that Moses and the prophets wrote about him. It was undoubtedly the best Sunday school lesson of all time! Yes, it was the same day of his resurrection, Sunday, when Jesus went to Emmaus (Luke 24:13).

Things to Ponder

So you see, it’s a double-edged sword that so many people have fallen on when they say, No, to Jesus and so great a salvation that he purchased with his life’s blood.

By the authority of Scripture, I can say with a heavy heart: There are countless many in Hades this very moment who wished they had accepted the truth of Jesus’s resurrection from the dead, as eternal proof that he can and does save all who believe and receive him as personal Savior.

“For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost” (Luke 19:10, words of Jesus).

On one side of the sword they have not come to terms with the truth of the Scriptures, given directly by God through his prophets and apostles, backed up by powerful (fulfilled) prophecies and mighty miracles. On the other edge of the sword, they have denied the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ outright, or have disregarded its personal meaning for them … for all people.

Why? Why do so many dismiss the historical evidence that Jesus arose from the dead. That he is the Messiah, alive today at the right hand of God the Father … awaiting the appointed time to return to the earth as King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

The answer is sadly all too clear: They don’t want to believe.

It’s, “don’t bother me with the facts, because my life is my own. I’ll do with it as I please. If I want to find God, I’ll find him my way when I’m good and ready, for there are many paths to God.”

Really? Then why does God (the only true and living God of the Scriptures) declare in no uncertain prophetic terms (Old Testament) and fulfillment terms (New Testament) the following:

Old Testament: “I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet (Messiah who is Jesus) proclaims on my behalf” (Deuteronomy 18:19).

New Testament: “For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11-12).

Hallelujah to the Lamb of God!

Praise and honor and glory and power and majesty belong to the Lion from the Tribe of Judah!

The Incomparable Power and Authority of Jesus Christ

28 Saturday May 2016

Posted by garybowers in Devotional / Misc

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Tags

2nd coming, Miracles, Resurrection

Incomparable Power and Authority of Jesus Christ

Power: “Possession of control, authority, or influence over others; ability to act or produce an effect; physical might; mental or moral efficacy…” (Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary).

Authority: Power to influence or command thought, opinion, or behavior; freedom granted by one in authority; convincing force” (Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary).

Right or wrong, positive or negative … we’ve all been influenced, to some degree or another, by the authority of our mothers, fathers, teachers, clergy, coaches, and government officials.

Unfortunately, national and international leaders through the centuries have been mostly power-hungry tyrants; who often lead their people to a precarious pinnacle of peace and prosperity, only to plunge them to the depths of despair and destruction. Even the few benevolent rulers still had their limitations and human weaknesses. And, no matter how much morality, integrity, and capability that caring leaders possess, their good intentions are all too often compromised (if not ignored) by the people under their authority. There is, after all, an abundance of greed, envy, selfishness, and indiscriminate pursuit of pleasure and popularity within the best of societies.

Incomparable: “Eminent beyond comparison; matchless; not suitable for comparison” (Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary). Matchless: “Having no equal; peerless” (Webster’s).

When incomparable (utmost positive connotation of the word) is combined with power and authority, we get the best form of influence and inspiration imaginable, that one person can have on another.

The following paragraph is a quote from the Eye of Prophecy article, Kingdom of God, posted 1-17-15.

“Isn’t that what most people want? They want: law, order, equality, safety, peace. And they want someone who has the kind of authority to realize those dreams, but also someone who is kind and considerate with that authority. One who truly cares about people and what’s best for them; who can rule and judge with impartiality and kindness. A truly wise and benevolent King whose attributes perfectly reflect who and what he is: Love, Truth, Justice, Mercy.”

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Let’s take an up-close and personal look at five amazing things that only one man in history has done or can do. If you answer no or even maybe to each of the five questions alongside the five matchless achievements, I would respectfully challenge you to ask yourself the question, “Why not?” First, because you honestly owe it to yourself. Second, because it is literally a matter of eternal life or death. It’s that serious.

(*Note: “I don’t know,” is the same as, “No”)

If one man had the incomparable power and authority to:

Control and Command the Laws of Nature and Physics—Would You Listen to Him?

A Wedding in Israel:

“The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, ‘They have no more wine.’ … But his mother told the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Standing nearby were six stone water jars … each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ When the jars had been filled, he said, ‘Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.’ So the servants followed his instructions.

“When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. ‘A host always serves the best wine first,’ he said. ‘Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!’

“This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory…” (John 2:3-11).

This was the first of many miracles Jesus performed as proof of his power and authority … in this case over the laws of nature itself. No one has ever turned water into pure wine before or since; any more than anyone has successfully converted common elements like lead into gold (Alchemy).

The servants listened to Jesus and did exactly what he told them to do; knowing full well that Jesus was assuming a huge risk of embarrassment, ridicule, and future doubt of his divine credentials—who he was and what he could do—if the water remained as water.

A Stormy Sea:

“As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.’ So they took Jesus in the boat and started out … But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, ‘Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?’

“When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the water, ‘Silence! Be still!’ Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’

“The disciples were absolutely terrified, ‘Who is this man?’ they asked each other. ‘Even the wind and waves obey him!’” (Mark 4:35-41).

Jesus calms the storm

Why (how) would even the wind and waves listen to and obey Jesus? This is why:

“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth… Everything was created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:15-16).

Five Thousand Hungry Men … So Little Food:

“For there were about 5,000 men there. Jesus replied, ‘Tell them to sit down in groups of about fifty each.’ So the people all sat down. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers!” (Luke 9:14-17).

Five thousand men plus thousands more women and children, all who had listened intently to Jesus for some time were getting very hungry. Only five loaves and two fish were available. But the disciples listened to Jesus and the crowd listened to the disciples, and the rest is history. This is one of my all-time favorite miracles of Jesus that stretches my imagination to the breaking point. Not my belief, only my imagination!

Should you, would you also listen to him, when Jesus says, “Yes, I am the bread of life! … I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh” (John 6:48-51).

When Jesus was miraculously transfigured on the mountain revealing his divine glorified essence, not long before he gave his own body and blood as a redemptive sacrifice on the cross, God, the Father declared: “…This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him” (Matthew 17:5).

If one man had the incomparable power and authority to:

Dominate Demons and Defeat Incurable Diseases and Untreatable Deformities—Would You Follow Him?

A Demon-Possessed Man in a Synagogue:

“Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day. There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority. Once when he was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon—an evil spirit—began shouting at Jesus. ‘Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One sent from God!’

“Jesus cut him short, ‘Be quiet! Come out of this man,’ he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further. Amazed, the people exclaimed, ‘What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!’ The news about Jesus spread through every village in the entire region” (Luke 4:31-37).

Fallen angels (demons) know all too well who Jesus is and what power he has over Satan’s evil kingdom. But, of course, they would never follow him; as their choice had been made and their destiny had been sealed long before. Nor would Jesus allow them to even speak of him, for two main reasons: (1) Jesus commanded the demons to be silent to demonstrate his divine authority over them. (2) He wanted the crowds to acknowledge and follow him willingly because of his redemptive words of life and hope, attested to by his miracles. Not because of what any demon might say.

“Many were possessed by demons, and the demons came out at his command, shouting, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak” (Luke 4:41).

A Crippled Man by a Pool:

“Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, ‘Would you like to get well?’

‘I can’t sir,’ the sick man said, ‘for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.’

“Jesus told him, ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!’

“Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, ‘You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!’” (John 5:1-10).

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Astonishing! This was not the only time that Orthodox Jewish leaders criticized and trivialized an astounding miracle of healing that Jesus had performed, because of their technicality that Jesus healed someone on the Sabbath. In this case they considered both the healing and the healed man carrying his mat to be “work” which was a violation of the Sabbath. Although many people, even including some Pharisees, believed in Messiah Jesus and followed him, the majority did not.

They had already made up their minds that Jesus’s powerful words and demonstration of authority over all kinds of diseases and disabilities was a threat to their own authority. They would not listen to him, let alone follow him. They were, as Jesus told them, “Blind guides leading the blind” (Matthew 15:14).

Not so, with those who have been saved by Jesus, the light of the world. Once we were blind, but now we can see. And we follow him.

Said Jesus to the people who demanded to know if he was the Messiah: “…I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:25-27).

Two Blind Men Following Jesus:

“After Jesus left the girl’s home, two blind men followed along behind him, shouting, ‘Son of David, have mercy on us!’

“They went right into the house where he was staying, and Jesus asked them, ‘Do you believe I can make you see!’

‘Yes Lord,’ they told him, ‘we do.’

“Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘Because of your faith, it will happen.’ Then their eyes were opened, and they could see! Jesus sternly warned them. ‘Don’t tell anyone about this.’ But instead, they went out and spread his fame all over the region” (Matthew 9:27-31).

Astounding … Jesus miracle of making two blind men see, of course! But also their unwavering assurance that Jesus could and would heal them. They were so persistent in this confidence that they followed Jesus right into the very house where he was staying.

Notice, that Jesus told them not to tell anyone what he had done. Jesus had said this to others he had healed early in his magnificent ministry. Why? Because he wanted people to believe and follow him for who he was (Messiah), not just because of his miracles. That his ultimate purpose was that of spiritual healing, because of his great compassion and love for the human race that he created.

If one man had the incomparable power and authority to:

Forgive Sins, and Pardon the Eternal Penalty of Sin (Because of His Unconditional Love)—Would You Believe in Him?

A Paralyzed Man Lowered through the Roof of a House:

“When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, ‘My child, your sins are forgiven.’

“But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, ‘What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!’

“Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, ‘Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man, Your sins are forgiven, or Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.’ Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!’

“And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, ‘We’ve never seen anything like this before!’” (Mark 2:1-12).

You think!

Jesus performed countless miracles that had never been seen before. Incurable diseases, inoperable disabilities, irreversible blindness and deafness, and irrevocable death itself were no match for the matchless Son of David, Son of Man, and Son of God.

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By the very fact that Jesus had read their minds (what they were thinking), you would think that the religious leaders should have realized immediately that Jesus was no ordinary man. When Jesus asked them whether it was more difficult for him to tell the paralytic that his sins were forgiven or to instantly heal the man’s untreatable condition, he knew how they would react. They would affirm that it’s easy for anyone to say someone’s sins can be forgiven. Those are just words, and in this case words of blasphemy, for only God can forgive sins.

Which was exactly the point! By merely speaking the words, Jesus right in front of them told the crippled man to stand up and go home. Only God has that kind of power! And only God has the authority to forgive sins.

So, then, just who might Jesus be?

The paralyzed man and his four companions knew and believed Jesus was the Messiah. As did many in the crowd before and after what Jesus said and did.

What more or better proof did the religious leaders need? Sadly, they, like so many religious or irreligious leaders and their followers today, deny the authority and power Jesus has to forgive their sins—if they would only believe in him and his atoning sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary.

A Jewish High Council (Sanhedrin) Member Comes to Jesus at Night:

“There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. ‘Rabbi,’ he said, ‘we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.’

“Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:1-3).

Talk about getting to the point, to the real issues … Jesus often did that! After Jesus explained to Nicodemus what “born again” means, he said: “…But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life” (Verses 13-15).

As a Pharisee, Nicodemus would have known the history of the emblematic bronze snake during the wanderings of his ancestors in the wilderness, specifically their sins and rebellion against God. He also would have remembered and understood that simply looking at the bronze snake had healed them. He knew that the snakes represented their sins and punishment for sin (which has bitten everyone who has ever lived).

“So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died. Then the people came to Moses and cried out, ‘We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take away the snakes. So Moses prayed for the people. Then the Lord told him, ‘Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!’ So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to the pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed!” (Numbers 21:6-9).

When Jesus put all this together with perhaps the simplest yet most profound statement of God’s love and forgiveness and pardon of sin that immediately produces eternal life through Jesus, Nicodemus believed that Jesus was Messiah, the Son of God and the Son of Man. We know this because later we discover that Nicodemus had become a believer, albeit one that silently followed Jesus.

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Listen to the words of Jesus. Do you believe him when he says:

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son” (John 3:16-18).

A Passover Supper for Jesus and His Disciples:

In the final meal that Jesus shared with his disciples before his crucifixion, we read:

“As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, ‘Take this and eat it, for this is my body.’ And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, ‘Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many’” (Matthew 26:26-28).

Soon afterward, on their way to the Mount of Olives, Jesus said: “But after I have been raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there” (Verse 32). Once again, as the Son of God and God the Son, only Jesus could predict, then accomplish his stunning resurrection from the dead.

Shortly before he returned to heaven, Jesus made yet another bold statement confirming his divine dominion over the world—even greater authority than he possessed before his resurrection and glorification, when he was restricted by time and space here on this earth. Limited because he chose to strip himself of the absolute power that he shared with God his Father from the ancient past. Glory that he set aside to become a human being so that he could pay for the penalty of our sins.

“Jesus came and told his disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18, italics for emphasis).

Why does Jesus have the power and authority to forever pardon the penalty of our sins? I think you already know the answer. Because he paid the ultimate price demanded by God—a totally innocent, perfect (sinless) bodily sacrifice that only Jesus could offer.

Many Old Testament prophets wrote about the coming Messiah. Jesus literally fulfilled ALL of the Messianic prophecies. Writing of the Messiah, Isaiah says:

“See, my servant will prosper; he will be highly exalted. But many were amazed when they saw him. His fact was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man. And he will startle many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence…” (Isaiah 52:13-15).

This same mighty King must first suffer and die before he would be given ultimate power and authority over kings and kingdoms of the earth. Listen to Isaiah again:

“But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6).

That is why Messiah Jesus has power and authority to forgive us for all the wrong things we’ve done.

“He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (II Corinthians 5:21, NASB).

If one man had the incomparable power and authority to:

Abolish Death Itself and Grant Eternal Life through Resurrection From the Dead—Would You Trust Him?

Two Sisters Mourning over the Heartbreaking Death of Their Brother:

“When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days … many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss … Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died…’” (John 11:17-21).

“Jesus told her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ ‘Yes,’ Martha said, ‘he will rise when everyone else rises at the last day’” (Verses 23-24).

Martha knew something about the final resurrection, but she didn’t fully comprehend that bodily resurrection was possible only by and through Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind.

“Jesus told her, ‘I AM the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?’” (Verses 25-26, italics and capitalized for emphasis).

When Jesus put it that way, Martha understood what we all must grasp if we are going to be among those resurrected by the power and authority of Jesus Christ at the rapture. Whether dead or alive, all believers will be transformed with brand new (resurrected) bodies.

Martha accepted Jesus’s authority and she replied with these remarkable words of trust:

“Yes, Lord … I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God” (Verse 27).

Lazarus raised

Jesus then went to the tomb where Lazarus had been buried four days earlier and proceeded to do exactly what he said he would do and could do. With power and authority, “Jesus shouted, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in grave clothes, his face wrapped in a head cloth. Jesus told them, ‘Unwrap him and let him go!’” (Verses 43-44).

A Hill Called Golgotha (Place of the Skull):

“Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross. They divided his clothes and threw dice to decide who would get each piece. It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him … The people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. ‘Ha! Look at you now!’ they yelled at him. ‘You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Well then, save yourself and come down from the cross!’

“The leading priests and teachers of religious law also mocked Jesus. ‘He saved others,’ they scoffed, ‘but he can’t save himself! Let this Messiah, this King of Israel, come down from the cross so we can see it and believe him!’ Even the men who were crucified with Jesus ridiculed him” (Mark 15:24-32).

Everything Jesus said and did was remarkable. None more so than one of seven things he spoke while hanging on the cross.

“Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing’” (Luke 23:34).

What amazing grace and love for Jesus to say those words as he was dying an excruciating death on the cross.

Not only didn’t they fully realize what they were doing to Jesus (why Jesus was actually on the cross), they also couldn’t fathom the implications of what they were saying. Though the people said it sarcastically to mock him; indeed, Jesus saved and would save others … past, present, and future. They mockingly challenged him to come down from the cross; completely ignorant of the fact that had Jesus called a legion of angels to destroy his crucifiers and deliver him from the cross, he would not have the power and authority to resurrect believers (in him) from the dead. Jesus, himself, must first rise from the dead. And he couldn’t do that unless he completed the mission for which he came to this world.

“But very early on Sunday morning, the women went to the tomb … They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.

“The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, ‘Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!’” (Luke 24:1-6).

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From the Earth and Under the Earth, At a Time Soon to Come:

“We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words” (I Thessalonians 4:15-18).

Do you trust Jesus Christ—his incomparable power and authority—to do such a thing?

I certainly do. Because all of the Lord’s promises are true. They are absolutely trustworthy. Many prophecies have come to pass precisely as God said they would. Why shouldn’t this one, the glorious Rapture … described again by the Apostle Paul in another passage:

“But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It (the transformation, not the whole event of the Rapture) will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed …

“Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’” (I Corinthians 15:51-55).

Said Jesus to John: “…Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave” (Revelation 1:17-18).

If one man had the incomparable power and authority to:

Govern the Earth and Rule the Nations with Truth, Justice, and Peace—Would You Love, Honor, and Obey Him?

This is what will take place near the end of the Seven-Year Tribulation:

“And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30).

“…Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever” (Revelation 5:13).

“Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heaven, ‘It has come at last—salvation and power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ…” (Revelation 12:10).

“His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity…” (Isaiah 9:7).

“Look at my servant, whom I strengthen. He is my chosen one, who pleases me. I have put my Spirit upon him. He will bring justice to the nations” (Isaiah 42:1).

Things to Ponder

The evidence is irrefutable. Scripture is brimming with the prophetic and historical record of who Jesus is, what he has done, and what he will do.

Near the end of John’s Gospel, he writes: “The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name” (John 20:30-31, italics for emphasis).

Remember Jesus’s probing question to his disciples and Peter’s remarkable response:

“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’

‘Well,’ they replied, ‘some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.’

“Then he asked them, ‘But who do you say I am?’

“Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’” (Matthew 16:13-16).

WHO DO YOU SAY THAT JESUS IS?

The Bible says we must all answer that question. The answer will determine our eternal destiny

Salvation … “To The Jew First!”

26 Saturday Mar 2016

Posted by garybowers in Devotional / Misc

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Gospel, Messianic, Rabbis

Salvation Comes through the Jews

It never ceases to amaze me why so many Jews believe that Christianity is non-Jewish and/or exclusively a Gentile “religion.” But not only the Jews. Although far greater in number than Jews, proportionally even more Gentiles believe the same thing. At the very minimum, both Jew and Gentile forget or marginalize the fact that Jesus Christ was a Jew.

The historical evidence is clear: He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and given birth by a young Jewish woman. Although Mary was engaged to Joseph (both were descendants of King David from the tribe of Judah), they had not yet consummated their marriage; thus, the miraculous Virgin Birth of Jesus—the Son of God, Son of David, and Son of Man.

To be sure there are a good number of Jews who privately concede that the Christian faith came “through” the Jews; however, precious few have acknowledged publicly the Jewish heritage of Jesus. Or if they do, they consider him a traitor to Judaism as did many Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’s time. This despite awesome miracles Jesus performed, the greatest of which was his resurrection from the dead. In spite of Jesus’s 100% fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah and the indisputable evidence that Messiah would arrive before the (2nd) Temple would be destroyed (Daniel 9:25-26), they accused him of impersonating the Messiah.

When defending Judaism against Biblical Christianity, the majority of Jews equate Christians mostly with Roman Catholicism (which is not true Biblical Christianity) that persecuted Jews down through the centuries, spurred in large part by the erroneous and insidious doctrine of Replacement Theology. Thus, it is a painful reminder that Jesus was a Jew.

Unless it is with the negative connection of Jesus to “Christianity,” including the adversarial association with “Christian” persecution of Jews (which, indeed, is a grievous offense perpetrated by those who were and are Christian in name only), a striking example of how many Jews know so little of Jesus or his Jewish legacy is that of a former Jewish Rabbi whom I have met personally.

His name is Jonathan Bernis, born into an Orthodox Jewish family in the United States. His upbringing was such that he thought Christ was Jesus’s last name. He had no clue that Jesus was a Jew or that his name is a transliteration of the Hebrew name, Yeshua; or that Christ is from the Greek (Christos) which is a translation from the Hebrew word, Messiah. Later Jonathan became a Rabbi serving a Jewish congregation.

That is, until he experienced salvation (born again) through the risen Messiah, at which time he became a Messianic Rabbi and subsequently the leader of Jewish Voice Ministries International. This Messianic ministry has provided enormous medical aid to Jews in Russia, Ethiopia, India, and other places. More importantly, Jonathan and his staff have led thousands of Jews to personal faith in Messiah Jesus.

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(Jews for Jesus … Another Worldwide Messianic Ministry)

For the most part, those Rabbis and observant Jews who do acknowledge Jesus as Jewish often do so in the same context and with the same mindset of the Jews in Jesus’s time—not as the Messiah; but as a misguided man who attempted to usurp their authority and replace their traditions and the Mosaic Law with a cultic sect.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Ultimately, they accused him of blasphemy because he declared (truthfully and rightfully) to be the Messiah, the Son of God.

It was not Jesus’s intent to abolish the law (the universal moral truths as summarized in the Ten Commandments); rather he came to fulfil the law—meaning complete obedience that no other man or woman has ever achieved. He fulfilled the law not as an example for the Jews (or Gentiles) to also perfectly keep the Law of Moses. He did so because no one—past, present, or future—could keep the law in every point. Because he was sinless, Messiah Jesus was the only person qualified to complete the perfect, once for all sacrificial offering so vitally important and fundamentally necessary for God’s redemption of mankind. The Mosaic Law couldn’t do that because the sacrifices had to be repeated over and over. Thus, Jesus accomplished that part of the Law also, which meant that animal sacrifices are no longer necessary.

When speaking to the Samaritan (part Jew, part Gentile) women at the well, Jesus told her: “…salvation comes through the Jews” (John 4:22).

Just a few hours before his death and amazing resurrection, Christ Jesus confirmed his previous statement that he was, “the Way, Truth, and Life,” with these words:

“…This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you” (Luke 22:20).

Except from Messianic Jews, rarely do we see, hear, or read Jews saying much about the New Covenant and certainly not that Yeshua initiated that Covenant. In varying degrees and with different interpretations, they do believe that the New Covenant will commence when Messiah arrives. But they cannot or will not endorse the evidence that Jesus is the Messiah; that their (spiritual) salvation was available when Jesus arose from the dead … effected by personal belief in and invitation for Jesus to be their Savior. They are correct in their belief that their physical redemption (rescue) will be accomplished when Messiah arrives. For true believers including Messianic Jews, we believe that it will be Jesus’s return … The Second Coming.

The-New-Covenant

Instead, they still, as the Jewish Apostle Paul said in the first century, “…Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God” (Romans 10:3-4).

A Provocative Article

On March 22, 2016, the online site of Breaking Israel News posted an article entitled, Pity the Anti-Semites, written by Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cordoza; which, in turn, had been reprinted from the original, published in The Jerusalem Post.

It is an intriguing article, directed satirically toward those who harbor dislike, even hatred, toward the Jews. But with the utmost sincerity regarding the astounding achievements of Jews in the fields of medicine, agriculture, science, computer technology, and innovation in general.

The theme of the article is unmistakable, captured by his opening sentence; then repeated about half-way through his post:

“Every anti-Semite knows that the United States and Europe would not be what they are today without their Jews.”

Let’s look at some other excerpts from the article that satirically (as directed to anti-Semites), but also sincerely demonstrate that the world has benefited in so many ways from many things that have come from and through the Jews.

Part of what he says can be found in some form or another in several Eye of Prophecy articles, with the same (without the sarcasm, which works for his article) recognition of the amazing State of Israel and the astonishing contributions made by Jews. For me, personally, it stems from my love of Israel and the Jewish people; which also results in many of my articles and both of my books expressing a “tough love” compassion that the Jews will have eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to know that Yeshua is Messiah … how much he loves them.

Writes Rabbi Cordoza:

“The anti-Semitic world has a hard time with Jews, and we should feel some pity for all those who work relentlessly to give us a bad name. They boycott us in academia, journalism, European governments, the marketplace, and just in the streets of daily life. But let’s be honest.

“Aren’t they right? Are we not truly a nuisance? It’s not easy to live with Jews. We’re troublemakers and can be painfully irritating. There’s no escaping it.

“The trouble with us is that we are constantly breaking the rules. For thousands of years, we have survived powerful empires that did everything to try to destroy us—the Egyptians, the Romans, the Greeks, the Germans and others. In the 20th century, it looked as if they had finally succeeded. Six million of us were murdered in the Holocaust.

“Who would deny that this is highly irritating? And now they insist on boycotting us. But how can they? It would be suicide. Truly boycotting Jews, after all, would mean a lot more than banning a few Israeli products or universities. Anti-Semites would have to boycott many products on which their lives depend.”

Rabbi Cordoza then provides a partial list of Israeli/Jewish inventions, products, and services that, for example, “…have made major contributions toward healing people around the world and improving their quality of life. If not for these remarkable Jewish discoveries, most anti-Semites would be confined to bed with serious illnesses, and some would have died long ago.”

Things like: Multiple sclerosis, spinal injuries, paralysis, breathing problems, depression, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and DNA breakdown.

In the advanced arena of computer processing, Israelis have invented computer processor chips (Intel), USB stick, instant messaging, anti-virus software, cell phone, and voicemail. There is also the (now) world-famous cherry tomato. There are steel security doors and mobile air defense systems, such as the Iron Dome. The real-time road traffic data for drivers called Waze, is now universal. As is Rewalk, a bionic system to allow paraplegics to stand upright, walk, and climb stairs.

As phrased by Rabbi Cordoza, “All developed by Jews in this terrible, obnoxious country called Israel.” (Another cynical jab at anti-Semites).

He concludes that part of his article by stating:

“And let’s not forget that Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation and, in proportion to its population, has the largest number of start-up companies in the world. It has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies worldwide, apart from Silicon Valley. It ranks No. 2 in the world for venture capital funds, second only to the United States.

“Would you not feel even a little jealous! Is some pity for the anti-Semite not in place? …”

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An Amazing Exception

Immediately after the above quoted excerpt, Rabbi Cordoza makes this startling unexpected observation:

“And then there’s a Jew called Jesus.”

Before I quote what he said after that provocative lead in about a Jew named Jesus, I need to reiterate: Seldom does a non-Messianic Jew, particularly the observant among them (in this case a Rabbi), mention Jesus at all. If his name is dropped, it’s usually in a negative way with an antagonistic agenda.

Not so, with Rabbi Cordoza, although it’s quite evident that his reference to Jesus is within the context and purpose of his article, i.e. anti-Semites should remember that Jesus was a Jew. (Still is a Jew… my commentary!) With the intended inference and conclusion that Jews shouldn’t be treated so harshly for that reason alone, whether or not Jews believe Jesus is the Messiah.

After this provocative lead in, “And then there’s a Jew called Jesus,” Rabbi Cordoza comments:

“He is the most revered man in the entire West, worshipped by hundreds of millions as nothing less than the son of God. What non-Jewish kid could have ever pulled that off? It was this man who introduced some very important Jewish moral stuff to the Western world and it is these very same ethics and standards that are so irritating. Anti-Semites don’t spit on the Jews because they are Jesus killers, but because they are Jesus givers! And if that’s not enough, everyone knows that if Jesus were alive today, he would eat at kosher restaurants run by Jews with beards.”

At this point in the article, he repeats his opening sentence: “Every anti-Semite knows that the United States and Europe would not be what they are today without their Jews.”

I could spend most, if not all, of another entire article explaining why most of what the Rabbi said about Jesus and his impact is not entirely accurate; however, that is not the intent of today’s Eye of Prophecy post. Nevertheless, I will offer a couple of observations. Such as the fact that Jesus introduced a whole lot more than just, “Jewish moral stuff” and did so in Israel which is in the Middle East, not the West.

Moreover, as I’ve said several times in prior Eye of Prophecy articles including last week’s post: the majority of early Christians were Jews, not Gentiles. That Israel was the birthplace of Jesus and Biblical salvation.

In fact, most of what Jesus “introduced” was rejected by the Jewish religious leaders, such as healing a blind man on the Sabbath. With their hypocritical (Jesus’s words) hold to their traditions and impractical and inaccurate application of even the Mosaic Law, they deemed healing to be “work.” And that was forbidden, even if it meant miraculously restoring the sight of a man who had been blind from birth.

Here is a short excerpt from the marvelous account of Jesus supernaturally healing the blind man on the Sabbath, for which most of the Pharisees called him, “a sinner.”

In response to the blind man’s testimony of what happened, the religious leaders, “…cursed him and said, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.’

‘Why, that’s very strange!’ the man replied. ‘He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it’” (John 9:28-33).

Earlier in his interrogation by the Pharisees, in response to their first accusation that Jesus was a sinner (not from God) because he violated the Sabbath, the man exclaimed: “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!” (Verse 25).

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(Depiction of Jesus Healing a Man Born Blind)

A couple of comments: Echoing the man whom Jesus miraculously healed, how strange for the Pharisees to say they didn’t know from where Jesus came. Or their vehement denial that Jesus was the Messiah. When, in fact, the Pharisees and Sadducees believed that the Messiah would just appear out of nowhere. For the most part, that is the same prevalent belief among most Jews to this day.

Unless, that is, they (which unfortunately they don’t) accept their own prophet’s announcement that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, and born of a Virgin. (Micah and Isaiah, respectively). They wouldn’t even give Jesus the benefit of the doubt by confirming his place of birth as Bethlehem, not Nazareth. But then anyone who would consider healing on the Sabbath as work, and place infinitely more weight on that (erroneous, as it can’t be found in Scripture) technicality than in the supernaturally spectacular healing of a man born blind, wouldn’t want to be bothered with petty details of where Messiah would be born, even if it came directly from their Scriptures.

I say this only because of my love for the Jews. Like the Apostle Paul, I long for their individual and national redemption. Yet, in order to get their attention, it’s necessary to both comfort them (for all the horrible things that have been done to the Jews) and confront them for their unbelief. In that regard I and other Gentiles and Jews who have been saved by the powerful sacrificial death and resurrection of Messiah Jesus are doing nothing more than what Jesus did, and saying nothing more than what he said to Nicodemus, a Jewish member of the Sanhedrin:

“I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

As fully explained throughout the Gospels and the New Testament Epistles, being born again (from above) is possible only because of what God and His Son did for us; then simply believing that truth. Which is summed up by the most famous of all Bible verses:

“For God loved the world (Jew and Gentile alike) so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Back now to Rabbi Cordoza’s article and his highly unusual reference to Jesus (as a Jew), with this summary observation:

How much of the New Testament (especially the four Gospels account of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus) that the Rabbi has read is unknown … to me. Probably not much, if any, as non-Messianic Jews don’t believe IN Jesus (as Messiah). Consequently, they refuse to even read the New Testament. If they do read some or all of it, they dismiss and deny the historical record out-of-hand.

I hope and pray that someday soon Rabbi Cordoza and other Jewish Rabbis and Jews everywhere will realize that Jesus is who is said he is: Son of God, Son of David, Son of Man.

Nevertheless, I am impressed and delighted that Rabbi Cordoza would even mention Jesus, with his primary point that of the Jews giving us Jesus. Or putting it in the same way as today’s article began: Salvation (Jesus) came through the Jews.

Which is a historically accurate fact. Just read the genealogies found in Matthew and Luke for the ancestral lineage of Jesus of Nazareth.

But coming through the Jews is only the beginning. There’s more.

Not Just through the Jews, but TO the Jews.

Listen to Jesus’s instruction to his disciples early in his ministry: “…Don’t go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, but only to the people of Israel—God’s lost sheep. Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 10:6-7).

This command was given after Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount which spoke of the Kingdom of Heaven. Throughout his time on the earth, Christ spoke frequently about the Kingdom of God (on earth).

Why did Jesus instruct his disciples not to go to the Gentiles or Samaritans, when, he himself went out of his way to meet with the Samaritan woman at the well … for the express purpose of disclosing to her that he was the Messiah?

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In another scene, a Gentile woman from the region of Tyre and Sidon begged Jesus to heal her demon possessed daughter. Jesus replied: “…I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel” (Matthew 15:24).

The woman pleaded all the more: “…Lord, help me!” (Verse 25).

“Jesus responded, ‘It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs’” (Verse 26).

“She replied, ‘That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their master’s table’” (Verse 27).

Then Jesus did what we would fully expect him to say and do: “Dear woman … your faith is great. Your request is granted. And her daughter was instantly healed” (Verse 28).

Do you see what’s happening here? Jesus’s reference to Gentiles as “dogs” was not his opinion or belief. Rather it was the attitude and mindset of many Jews, particularly the religions leaders. Gentiles were outsiders … less likely to receive God’s blessings than dogs.

Yet, the Gentile woman’s humble pleading, persistence, and profound statement that even the dogs get some crumbs (from the table of the Jews) was an expression of great hope and trust in Jesus, whom she called, “Lord.” Jesus granted her request because his great love and impending sacrificial death was for all people, which is why he generously presented this same truth and promise to the Samaritan woman at the well.

However, God sent his Son to first proclaim TO the Jews that the Kingdom of Heaven would be established on earth in Israel, if they would only acknowledge and receive Yeshua as Messiah. God’s ultimate purpose was to establish his Kingdom of righteousness, justice, and peace on the earth through the people he chose to accomplish the marvelous reconciliation and restoration of the human race back to himself. Which is why Jesus instructed his disciples early on to preach the Kingdom of Heaven only to the Jews. Which is also why even his disciples were amazed that Jesus associated with Gentiles, let alone healed them.

God’s selection of Abraham, then the promised child of Isaac to be the progenitors of light and salvation to the Gentiles was the beginning of this magnificent plan. But before the Gentiles could be saved, the Jews must first do what they were chosen to do: obey, serve, and share God’s Word and glory to the whole world.

Sadly, ever so tragically, they did not. Which is why God took over and initiated the New Covenant spoken of by Jeremiah, one that Messiah Jesus would put into place. Had the Jews of Jesus’s time (as a nation) recognized and accepted him as the Messiah, right then and there the glorious Kingdom of God would have been established on the earth, which would have included deliverance from Roman oppression. The mighty Roman Empire would have been conquered by Christ himself, and the divine dynasty of King David would have been restored with Jesus (the Messiah) as its eternal King; promised by God when he established this covenant with King David some one thousand years earlier.

Kingdom of God verses chart

Alas, God’s people rejected their Messiah.

Listen to the heart-rending words of Jesus as he approached Jerusalem, not long before the religious leaders handed him over to the Romans to be crucified:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me … For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord’” (Matthew 23:37-39, italics for emphasis).

Or in Hebrew: Baruch haba beshem Adonai.

Later, the Apostle John would proclaim that Jesus was the Living Word of God, the Son of God, and Messiah.

Said John about Jesus and the Jews: “He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God” (John 1:10-13, italics for emphasis).

Although God and Jesus, as God the Son, knew far ahead of time that the Jews would reject Jesus as their Messiah, they nevertheless gave the Jews every opportunity to recognize (by means of powerful miracles and the most awesome truth taught by any man who has ever lived) who he was and why he was among them.

Tragically, they rejected Jesus; not only scorned, but killed for claiming that he was, “I AM,” the Son of God and God the Son.

The Lord, in his splendid plan for mankind, turned this horrible injustice into the greatest good and gift ever given to the human race … redemption and everlasting life.

To the Jew First, Then to the Gentile!

The devoutly fanatical Jewish Pharisee, Saul, who persecuted the followers of Jesus, was one of many 1st century Jews who experienced this wonderful salvation purchased at the highest price ever paid … the death of the Son of God in payment for sin and its penalty. But Saul (later named Paul) fully understood that God had not forgotten about his special possession, Israel.

God’s precious gift of redemption would still come through the Jews, specifically through the Jewish Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. But not just through, it would be first and foremost for and to the Jews.

Listen to Paul’s passionate and powerful proclamation of the Gospel:

“For I am not ashamed of the Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say: ‘It is through faith that a righteous person has life’” (Romans 1:16-17, quoting Habakkuk 2:4).

Why to the Jew first?

Jesus announced it first: He came explicitly to save the lost sheep of Israel. They had lost their way because they couldn’t and wouldn’t give up their self-righteousness by thinking they had merited God’s favor in trying to keep the Mosaic Law; which they obviously hadn’t kept in the past, nor in Jesus’s time … nor even today. When they rejected him and handed him over to the Romans to be crucified, he rose from the dead to seal the New Covenant and extend God’s salvation to all people, Jew and Gentile alike.

ToTheJewFirst

Then Paul (and Peter) and all of the apostles picked up where Jesus left off.

Not only was the Kingdom of Heaven unilaterally extended to the Jews; even after their rejection of the Kingdom’s Messiah King (Jesus) the New Covenant Gospel of Grace was presented to the Jews first. That offer stands to this very day.

Paul explains why:

“They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshipping him and receiving his wonderful promises. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen” (Romans 9:4-5).

That’s why the Jews are called, “The Chosen People.”

Actually, there was only one chosen to begin with … Abraham. God didn’t start with a complete race or ethnic group or nation of people. They weren’t actually chosen as a nation or even became a nation until God, through Moses, delivered them from Egypt. Yet it didn’t take long for the chosen people to rebel against the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Thus, the Lord told them more than once that he didn’t choose them because they were better or larger in numbers or more deserving than other peoples. He chose Abraham, who would then become the father of the Jewish race.

The Apostle Paul confirms several Old Testament verses regarding the reason God selected Abraham (therefore, his descendants through Isaac—not Esau), as repeated and confirmed by Paul:

“…This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purpose; he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works…” (Romans 9:11-12)

Not according to their good or bad works, applies to Abraham and his descendants, concerning God’s providential plan to bring redemption to the human race through his Son, Messiah Jesus. All Abraham could do was to believe God (which he did) and that faith was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). In other words, God called Abraham; yet Abraham didn’t become chosen until he placed his faith in God’s promise.

Not according to their good … works, applies to both Jews and Gentiles (the human race) in order to be saved from their sins and the penalty of sin … everlasting separation from God in the lake of fire. That’s because God’s way of salvation is available individually only when we put our complete trust in God’s promise. The sacrifice of Christ Jesus is all sufficient, the only way of redemption and eternal life.

Not by or through good works.

Things to Ponder

Returning to what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “…for salvation comes through the Jews” (John 4:22).

Notice that Jesus didn’t say, “From the Jews.” Rather, he said through the Jews. This is much more than a matter of semantics.

From and through can sometimes be used interchangeably, but it depends on the subject … on what is being referred to.

Among other definitions in Webster’s Dictionary, from means “a starting point.” However, that can’t be applied to the Jews (as the originator or beginning point of salvation) for two reasons: (1) Abraham was a “gentile” when he was selected by God to be the father of what would become the Jewish race. (2) Going back even farther, salvation originated with God; thus, comes from God.

One of (probably the main one) Webster’s definitions of through is: “used as a function word to indicate means, agency, or intermediary.”

Does salvation come from the Jews?

It does not!

It comes through the Jews.

So, what is the significance of this distinction? What difference does it make in our thinking or understanding?

Answer: All the difference in the world, especially to/for the Jews!

Salvation comes through the Jews, but it comes from God and God’s Son, Messiah Jesus.

The enormous implication of knowing this difference is that the means of getting right with God (righteousness) does not come from the Mosaic Law, nor from any other traditions or rules or regulations or rituals found in any of the world’s religions or any non-religious belief system.

Nor through or from good works or self-worth or good behavior.

Instead, salvation comes through our response of faith in Messiah Jesus (the Jewish descendant of King David from the tribe of Judah) that comes from Almighty God.

“For you have been delivered by grace through trusting, and even this is not your accomplishment, but God’s gift. You were not delivered by your own actions; therefore, no one should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, italics for emphasis, Complete Jewish Bible).

Can anything be clearer? Salvation comes by trusting in God’s gift of grace which is none other than the once for all redemptive sacrifice of God’s precious Son, Messiah Jesus.

This gift comes directly from God and God alone.

To the Jew first and also to the Gentile!

Age of Grace (Part III)

07 Saturday Feb 2015

Posted by garybowers in Devotional / Misc

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Grace Is Far Greater than the Law

Is there anything more alarming, more distressing than to be told that you or someone you love has cancer?

Fortunately, through modern technology, treatment has added a few months or years to the life of those diagnosed with this dreaded disease. Yet, sooner or later, many will succumb to this fearful mysterious ailment in which the body actually fights against itself by altering healthy cells; thereby tricking the immune system to ignore these transmuted cells as though they were a natural part of the body.

Spiritually, our heart and mind often operate the same way when we react to sin in our lives. Though the symptoms of the wrong we do are clearly manifested by the grievous consequences in our life and in the lives of those we’ve wronged through lying, stealing, gossiping, adultery, dishonesty and any number of transgressions; we often do our best (or worst) to deny what we’ve done or try to minimize the harm it has caused. Or, if we to some degree or another acknowledge that we were wrong, did wrong; we latch onto a moral set of principles or a religious set of rules that sometimes can soothe our conscience and give us a false sense of security. Only to time and time again do exactly what we didn’t want to do, or not do precisely what we knew was right to do.

Confusing? Inexplicable? Exasperating? Distressing? Sadly, yes and more.

Despite the valiant human struggle against incurable diseases, all too often the disease wins the battle. Just check the obituaries for a few days and see how many times you read something to the effect: “She passed away in the presence of her loving family after a courageous two-year battle with cancer.”

Likewise, despite the best defense we can muster against greed, selfishness, pride, and a host of other devastating and demoralizing spiritual ailments, the outcome is virtually inevitable: Sin wins, we lose.

For decades, the very best of our scientists, biologists, and doctors have fought a brave and competent war against terminal diseases. Billions of dollars have been spent on research, technology, drugs, and various medical cures; yet cancer and a host of other illnesses continue to ravage the human race.

But, what if you signed on to the Internet one morning or picked up your local newspaper. On the Front page of both news sources you read the incredible headlines: “WE HAVE IT! A PROVEN VACCINE TO PREVENT & CURE ALL CANCERS!

Upon further reading you discover that this vaccine is totally free and abundantly available to the whole world. That one dose is all-sufficient to eradicate cancer.

What would you do? Would you:

(A) Insist on paying for the vaccine? If so, how much? To answer that question, wouldn’t you need to come up with a dollar value for your life or the life of a loved one?

(B) Tell yourself and others that, “it’s too good to be true. I don’t believe it.” And keep saying this five, then ten years later (if you live that long) in spite of overwhelming evidence that thousands and thousands of people have been set free from cancer.

(C) Out of hand, reject this free global gift given by three wealthy and gracious benefactors whose enduring compassion for the suffering of mankind was equally matched with their ability to sacrificially pay for such an incredible cure. With your given reason that you preferred to “do your part” by continuing the chemo-therapy, radiation, or immunology treatments with a proud emphasis on, “no pain, no gain.”

(D) Or would you, with heartfelt gratitude that someone else could and would do all this for you, gladly accept this gracious gift? With an open mind receive the vaccine dose and immediately realize that you had been cured and would be protected against the inevitable death sentence imposed by this awful disease?

god_kept_me_greeneyesangel.jpg_480_480_0_64000_0_1_0

To Work for or to Rest in God’s Grace?

Our analogy is easy to grasp: Sin is cancer of the heart, soul, and mind. And, the only cure is God’s Grace given through His matchless Son’s death on the Cross and resurrection from the dead; administered by the Holy Spirit by believing and receiving this free pardon from the deserved penalty of sin, by substituting eternal separation from God with everlasting life in heaven. A COMPLETE CURE, with no booster shots needed! From three gracious and enormously wealthy benefactors: God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Listen to these life-giving words of God through the Apostle Paul: “But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) … So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God” (Ephesians 2:4-5, 7-8).

If you chose options A, B, or C, what do you think your family and friends might say? Something like, “How can you be so foolish,” Or even stronger language; “You fool.” Or if you made the obviously right choice (D), but then decided that (despite all evidence to the contrary) the vaccination alone wasn’t enough to keep you cured. So you begin to take all sorts of daily supplements—many of which produced debilitating side effects—just in case….

Which, as alluded to in last week’s article, is exactly why the Apostle Paul told the Galatian Christians, “How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort” (Galatians 3:3).

Then for those (unbelievers) who couldn’t and wouldn’t accept the awesome remedy—God’s free gift of Grace exhibited in and given through His Son, Jesus—for the horrible malady and consequences of sin, Paul says: “But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.’ So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, ‘It is through faith that a righteous person has life.’ This way of faith is very different from the way of the law, which says, ‘It is through obeying the law that a person has life.’” (Galatians 3:10-12).

Paul also explains, “…The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian” (Galatians 3:24-25). Guardian here incorporates the idea of complete acknowledgement of and unwavering obedience to everything the guardian says that the one guarded must do. Going back to what Jesus said concerning the law: “I have come to accomplish their purpose.” He’s emphasizing that he came to fulfill the purpose of the law. That purpose is explained in the verses just quoted … guardianship through instruction. Plus, the law was given to show us what sin really is, in all its ugliness, as stated earlier in this chapter. (Verse 19).

Absolutely, Jesus fulfilled the law. He did so because God demanded a perfect sacrifice. According to the Levitical sacrificial requirements, only an unblemished healthy animal (the best of the flock) could qualify as an innocent atonement for the people’s sins. Likewise, only the perfect Son of God would qualify as a substitutionary propitiation (a satisfactory appeasement to God) for the wrong things we’ve done, by virtue of his total absence from the disease and effects of sin. Messiah Jesus is the Just for the unjust, the Righteous for the unrighteous, and the Perfect for the imperfect.

Make no mistake: Sin is a disease that produces both spiritual and physical symptoms and consequences. Physical death is a certainty and spiritual death (eternal separation from God and heaven) is a given, unless God’s spiritual remedy through Christ is accepted at face value and received as it was meant to be given—freely by the Grace of God. Without adding any man-made supplements (rules and regulations) to this divine prescription!

Christ fulfilled the law so we wouldn’t have to, because we couldn’t; either to get saved, or to stay saved, or to earn his favor, or anything else that we try to obtain or attain through our merit, self-worth, good works, or whatever. God knew that we could never, ever in a thousand lifetimes completely keep the law. That’s why the Levitical sacrificial system was given—a preliminary instructional example of the ultimate atonement for sins through Messiah, himself.

“So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Is our obedience better than our sacrifices, as Scripture says? Yes, but only when we understand what obedience truly is. It is understanding that we obey not because we have to, not only because the Law requires it; but because we want to obey. We obey because we love the Lord, and we love him because he first loved us. But we also understand that we disobey … all too often. And then we even better understand why Jesus kept the entire law: to qualify as the absolute, perfect sacrifice for those who could never even come close to keeping (fulfilling) the law. That God’s pardon for sin cannot be earned or merited; instead, it is graciously given as a gift.

There is absolutely no condemnation whatsoever for those who are (born-again) in Christ Jesus, including condemnation for failure to keep/obey the law. (Romans 8:1). There’s no judgment, because God judged his Son, Jesus, in our place. Technically, it’s not our sins that will send us to hell; rather it’s rejecting the perfect sacrifice for those sins. That’s crystal clear in Scripture. The legalistic Galatians were giving people the impression that the law (and fulfilling it) was actually more important than God’s grace. In doing so, they were preaching a false gospel.

That doesn’t mean the law is invalid. It only means that when you add keeping of the law to salvation through faith in God’s grace, then you have a destructive hybrid that will send someone straight to hell. Millions of people down through the ages have tragically died in their sins because they wouldn’t let go of their system of good works as the means of obtaining a right relationship with God and/or maintaining that relationship until the day they died. The Law served its purpose as a temporary instructor for the Jews, because they were called out by God to be a special people to show God to the nations. When Christ came, he WAS the complete fulfillment of the Law. Today he is alive and well! He IS the living WORD of God (John 1:1). He IS the living LAW of God.

God doesn’t measure us by our performance. If he did, no one could possibly “measure up.” He relates to us exclusively through the life, death, and resurrection of his Son; then our faith to believe and receive that free gift which is exactly what the Grace of God and the Age of Grace is all about.

amazing-grace

Falling Away from Grace

Paul also told the Galatians that he, feared for them (Galatians 4:11). Meaning those who were trying to put the fear of God into others for not complying with legalistic rules and conduct, best be afraid for themselves of … as Paul said later, “falling away from God’s grace” (Galatians 5:4).

For sure, abusing and misusing God’s grace is wrong, i.e. deliberate, planned, willful sinning just because we know God will forgive when confessed, is totally wrong. But the falling away from God’s grace is a danger that Paul warned about to the legalistic Galatians. Falling from grace does not mean loss of salvation; rather, it means removing (departure from or abandoning) the Grace of God as the (only) source of salvation and Christian living, in favor of legalistic rules and behavior. The bad thing about legalistic believers and churches is that they mislead so many others who are on the bubble of whether to rely exclusively on the grace/mercy of God, or to take matters into their own hands and devise ways to “help God show his favor to them.”

The best thing any of us can possibly do is to say, “Lord, I can’t do this (meaning keep His law); please, you do it through me.” And, yes, that is possible only when we yield to Him, but that yielding is not a matter of keeping rules, whether imposed by the law or by ourselves or by others. By the very fact that we say that we can’t do this on our own, we are yielding to the grace of God that says he will do it through us. That’s the difference between Works and Grace. Works (trying through human effort to keep the law and striving to do well) says, “Thanks anyway, but I’ll do this myself, because it’s up to me to see that it’s done.” Grace says, “I’ve tried, but I can’t do it. Thank you, Lord, for doing it for me, all the way to the Cross. Your grace is sufficient to get me through this day, no matter what happens.” (And that also means if I mess up … disobey).

Once more, read what the Holy Spirit through Paul says, “You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years. I fear for you … I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles—free from those laws” (Galatians 4:10-12).

What an astounding statement! Paul is telling the legalistic Jews that the law no longer has any hold on him, that he was free from the law just like the Gentiles who made no effort whatsoever to keep the Jewish law in the first place. Thus, the only thing that would/could save the Gentiles and also condemn them if they refused, was believing in and accepting the Grace of God, which is the free gift of salvation. Paul implored the Jews to fully fathom the same thing—redemption was by grace through faith plus absolutely nothing else, as the exclusive way to right standing with God; and, by far, the very best means of living the Christian life.

The ceremonial observation of certain (holy) days was just one example of many that Paul could have used. In fact, he also talked about Galatian Jews who had demanded circumcision for the Gentiles in order to be saved or stay saved. In other letters he wrote (such as Romans), Paul talks about eating certain foods and drinking (wine). In other words, he includes all those things that moralizing people impose on themselves and others including the Law of Moses. Paul rebuts that by saying (referring to circumcision as just one example), that if the Galatians are going to insist on circumcision or anything else that they demand obedience to, then they better keep the entire law ALL THE TIME.

Listen to these strong words from Paul: “I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses” (Galatians 5:3). And if they couldn’t (which is obvious), then they should cease and desist from teaching others that they must continue keeping (fulfilling) the law in order to be righteous and stay righteous through their own effort or self-worth. We are not only saved by GRACE, we live by it every day.

Faith in Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice (just like Abraham had faith in God’s promise of Isaac, a precursor of the coming Messiah) is the NEW WAY, the new law if you will. In fact, Paul terms it, “the law of Christ.” The Law wasn’t given to the Jews through Moses until hundreds of years after Abraham died. Yet Abraham had been declared righteous (right standing with God) solely because of Abraham’s faith—not rote, ritualistic observance of any system of laws, rules, ordinances or any other man-made ideas of what it takes to please God. That even included the subsequent Law of Moses which clearly showed right from wrong. But which could not—because of everyone’s inability to consistently keep the law—save anyone from the power and penalty of sin.

That’s why the Bible frequently tells us that trust in the Lord is the one, essential way of pleasing God. Trusting the Lord IS obedience. Because it comes from the heart, not from an external, superficial sense of obligation to keep the law as a means to obtain God’s favor.

Of course, obedience is important; but because we, in fact, disobey, then how much obedience is necessary (in light of our frequent disobedience) in order to please God? Do you know how much, does anyone? But even a little faith (trusting the Lord) as small as a mustard seed can move mountains … obviously meaning that God will honor that faith and do great things for/through us.

Those who doubted or even disbelieved that Christ was the Son of God, but also some who were sincerely seeking to know if Jesus was the Messiah asked this question of Jesus: “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?” (John 6:28). Jesus’s reply was both simple and profound: “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent” (Verse 29, italics for emphasis). Years later, the Apostle John restated Jesus’s words: “And this is his (God’s) commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us” (I John 4:23).

Later, during one of the many times when the religious Pharisees tried to trap Jesus into saying or doing something that would violate the (their interpretation thereof) Law of Moses, Jesus was asked what was the most important commandment in the Law of Moses. “Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40, italics for emphasis).

Do you see what’s going on here with these phenomenal replies from Jesus as recorded by John and Matthew? He is explaining the very essence of what is required of every person who has ever lived: Belief in Messiah Yeshua that will produce a heart of love and gratitude for God and for our fellow human beings. (And in that order!)

Grace - God Saves Helpless Sinners

Things to Ponder

“Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest’” (Matthew 11:28).

Jesus wants us to stop working so hard for something that has already been freely offered to us … God’s grace poured out through Messiah’s redemptive ransom on the Cross.

We’ve already earned more than we ever bargained for. We’ve earned death itself.

“For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23a).

Do your good deed for today (and every day). “And what might that be,” you ask? Answer: Simply take God at his word and understand that: Good deeds are a Result of salvation, not a Requirement for salvation.

“…But the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23b).

As the beautiful old Christian song goes:

Grace, grace, God’s grace,

Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;

Grace, grace, God’s grace,

Grace that is greater than all our sin.

Said John Newton, the former slave-trader, who wrote the famous song, Amazing Grace: “I am a great sinner, but Christ is a great Savior.”

Age of Grace (Part II)

31 Saturday Jan 2015

Posted by garybowers in Devotional / Misc

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Tags

Legalism, New Covenant, Old Covenant, rituals

Grace versus Law

For parents out there who love their children, who would do just about anything to secure their child’s safety and freedom, what would you do if your twenty-one year old son ended up in a foreign prison of a totalitarian state for a first-time offense that he committed in a moment of youthful indiscretion? And even more heart-rending: a twelve-year prison sentence that should, by all rights, have been only a two-year penalty to fit the crime. Fill in the blanks with your answer(s) to such a tough question … such a difficult dilemma. Whatever your reaction, it’s likely that such emotions as embarrassment, sadness, disbelief, anxiety, and probably anguish would flood your mind and heart.

But what if, by what many might call a stroke of luck, government bureaucrats of that dictatorial country relented and reduced the sentence to five years? Then … what if, by what others would consider to be the grace of God, court officials in an act of unprecedented mercy commuted your son’s sentence by deporting him back to the United States, back to family and friends … back to you?!

Of course you would be thrilled and grateful for such an astonishing turn of events. But after all the preparations had been made for your son’s return home, what would be your response if you received a call from your son telling you that he preferred to remain in prison for the full twelve years? Because he didn’t think that his punishment (or the punishment for any crime) should be pardoned or forgiven. That he didn’t believe in mercy of any kind, particularly a gracious amnesty that would give him a second chance for a brand new start to life.

Now, take this illustration to another (lower) level: What if your son told you that after serving his full sentence, he intended to remain in this autocratic state that demanded complete capitulation, absolute adherence, and submissive surrender to its laws and leaders for the rest of his life? He wanted no part of the democratic freedom so cherished in the United States of America. That he preferred the idea of rule by force, of might makes right, of survival of the fittest and strongest. In short, rejection of the precept that every person has the God-given inalienable privilege to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. Moreover, if he ever felt like reclaiming his freedom in America, he would first need to earn that right of return by serving under this system of despotically overbearing regulations; heavy-handed even to those who managed to obey most of these suppressive laws in an oppressive country full of mindless, robot-like submission to domineering leaders who demanded perfect performance (obedience) from their subjects.

Perplexing? Incomprehensible? Shocking!

That’s exactly the Apostle Paul’s reaction to what had happened in some of the churches in Galatia. Especially the Jewish believers who, for all practical purpose, wanted to give back their heavenly citizenship rights, to give up their incredible freedom purchased with the life-blood of Jesus. Some had returned to the Law of Moses as a means to salvation; thereby, becoming imprisoned once again to the enslaving notion that human effort (good works) was the only way to merit a right relationship with God.

Paul’s greeting to the churches in Galatia begins with a solemn but joyful reminder of what Jesus had done for them: “Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen” (Galatians 1:4-5).

Then immediately Paul gets to the point of his grave concern over what had happened in the Church: “I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News, but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7). Who and what was twisting the truth of the Gospel? Why was Paul so upset that they were so soon turning away from God? The answer is found in the rest of the book of Galatians with a highlight summary found in the following verse:

“Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law” (Galatians 2:16).

Should anyone think that (if the good things they do outweigh the bad) they might be an exception to this universal Divine truth, read again the last sentence of this verse: For NO ONE will ever be made right with God by obeying the law! (Upper case letters, italics, and exclamation point for added emphasis).

A few years later, Paul conveyed to the church at Ephesus this same crucial truth—God’s grace through the sacrificial atonement of God’s Son was the exclusive source of redemption, not the unattainable requirements of the Law of Moses. This time the context was both Jew and Gentile being united as one new person in Christ, but the emphasis was the same:

“For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations….” (Ephesians 2:14-15, italics for emphasis).

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Fulfilling and (then) Ending the Law

Today, just as in Paul’s time, we see legalistic efforts to bend, shape, and contort the Grace of God into a massive maze of rulings and regulations and rituals that (1) cleverly contradict and deviously distort the very means of salvation; or (2) change the Holy Spirit led dynamics of living the Christian life with an inordinate impossible demand of keeping the Old Covenant as a means of staying saved or meriting God’s favor (Grace) for daily life and (hopeful) entrance to heaven at the time of death.

Religious requirements come in packages of all shapes and sizes. Including, but not limited to, organizational church-imposed and/or church-expected meritorious works through self-effort such as: Infant and adult baptism, church membership, mandatory tithes, completion of non-Biblical catechism curriculum, periodic sacrament observance, compulsory recital of prayers or excerpts from religious books, obligatory giving to the poor, forced observance of special holy days, requisite penance for transgressions, necessary hostility to those who believe differently (infidels), rote performance of required rituals, prescribed practice of non-Biblical church traditions, involuntary abstinence from certain foods and drinks, confirmed celibacy, and perfunctory performance of “righteous” deeds—most of which are dutifully defined by the ecclesiastical hierarchy of that religion that end up being nothing more than self-righteous exploits.

Over and over the apostle Paul tells us that the Grace of God not only saves us, but keeps us saved. That trying to keep the law to get saved or stay saved is not only impossible, but an affront to God. Oftentimes well-meaning Christians as well as not so well-meaning cults that are Christian in name only will twist and turn the words of Jesus to try to persuade their listeners that the Law of Moses, including the clerical priesthood, was never removed. Therefore, they contend that it is incumbent upon all who want to obtain and maintain a right standing with God and with their church to comply with the Law and regulatory church traditions in order to enter and remain in a “state of Grace.” Which means among other things that any unconfessed violations of the Law prior to one’s death could very well prevent that person from going to heaven. For example, that’s why Catholic priests administer last rites.

What exactly did Jesus mean when he said: “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17, NASB). The Greek word for fulfill is pleroo (pronounced play-ro’-o) which means: to complete, to consummate, to carry into effect, to accomplish the purpose of (the Law). How does this profound statement of truth from Christ match up with the above quoted passage from Ephesians Chapter 2, in which Paul, in no uncertain terms declares that Christ ended the system of law with its commandments and regulations?

Who’s right; Jesus or Paul? Of course that’s a senseless question because they’re both right, even though they’re saying what appears to be (at face value) opposite things. There are many verses in Scripture that are completely stand-alone verses, such as John 3:16. However, there are other passages that must be compared, Scripture with Scripture (the whole counsel of God), and not quoted independently as a means to defend a viewpoint or position that is wrong to begin with because of the very fact that the verse is used out of context or because it (if not adequately clarified and understood) might seemingly contradict another passage. The Bible never negates itself; so if there are two or more passages which seem to do just that, then they must be carefully analyzed, compared, and explained together as a whole. All cults are based on a handful of verses that, when not correlated to other Scripture, will distort the main tenets of the Bible (especially salvation) and create a whole new religion, which Paul calls a false gospel.

Without a properly balanced examination of the seemingly paradoxical fact that Jesus fulfilled the Law of Moses only to end the Law, three theological/spiritual errors will (many times have) result.

  • The misguided notion that God’s Grace—without an equal emphasis on and keeping of the Mosaic Law—is not enough to be born again (saved, redeemed).
  • The idea that we must continually keep the law to gain God’s favor after salvation.
  • That continuous good works (fulfilling the law) is necessary to keep God’s grace intact right up to the time of death, in order that one not lose or forfeit their salvation.

When Jesus said, “I came to fulfill the law,” the emphasis is on “I,” meaning Christ, himself. That it was He, and only He who could have fulfilled the law; which totally qualifies him as the only one who could make the once and for all sacrifice for our sins. He didn’t say or mean that he accomplished all points of the law in order that we, too, must strive to fulfill it. Just the opposite: He fulfilled it because we couldn’t. Christ said this to reinforce the fact that no human being could ever successfully keep the law either as a means of salvation or as a means to preserve that salvation. Once he achieved perfection with the law, there is no need for any of us to try or to keep trying to fulfill it ourselves, because we can’t … never could and never will. “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23).

Paul further reinforces what Jesus said and did: “For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God” (Romans 4:4). A commentary on that verse would be: Christ did all the work … now all we have to do is believe in him and what he did (before, during, and after the Cross).

In other words, Scripture tells us to stop focusing on (impossible or at least inconsistent) obedience to the law and focus on Jesus alone. Obedience will then come more naturally (actually supernaturally). For further clarification, notice that I, based on Scripture, didn’t say that we have no obligation to obey God’s moral and spiritual laws; rather the emphasis is how and why we obey the law. And it’s certainly not to earn salvation or merit God’s grace. Keep reading for more amplification.

What Christ is saying is that the law itself will never be abolished. “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” and the other commandments will always be God’s principled standard of conduct, but which no one can or ever will keep. (Break one law and you break them all is what Scripture clearly teaches). Of course the Ten Commandments are still a moral compass that is every bit as applicable today as it was when the law was given. But what about the hundreds of years before the law was given, going at least back to the time of Abraham? How were those folks made right with God, when there was no law? (See Romans Chapter 4 for the answer to that question).

According to Jesus and Paul, one of the most grievous most damaging sins were those of the Pharisees, whom Jesus called sons of the devil, sons of hell, hypocrites; and certain Jews (both believers and unbelievers) who Paul accused of combining Law with Grace, Why? Because not only did they consider themselves righteous by virtue of keeping the law, but they were making others “sons of hell” by telling them that the only way to gain God’s favor and forgiveness was by keeping the law of Moses. That’s why they crucified Christ, because he said he was the Messiah; because he told them that He was the only Way, Truth, and Life and that no one could come to the Father except through him. That’s why they rejected him; because to them the Mosaic Law was the only way to God. How dare someone say differently!

Jesus warned the Jewish leaders, “Moses, himself, will condemn you” (John 5:45). That statement is utterly astonishing! How or why would Moses condemn anyone for keeping the law? Answer: Because they placed the law above the only way of true righteousness—faith in Christ (and before Jesus came, faith in the promise of his coming). That is why the only people that Jesus ever truly censured were the (self) righteous religious teachers of the law.

On the contrary, those who acknowledged their inherent sin nature and the iniquities this sin nature innately (naturally) produced, those who reached out to Jesus for physical and spiritual healing; experienced salvation through and from a Savior who loved them and who longed to save them from their sins … from eternal judgment apart from God.

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What Actually Is Abolished? The Actual Purpose of the Law

What IS abolished is the keeping of the law or fulfillment of the law in order to be saved and to stay saved. In fact, that never existed in the first place … meaning salvation through the law. But neither is trying to live the Christian life ever successful or even recognized by the Lord through the self-effort of “fulfilling the law.” That’s why Paul told the believers in Galatia that they were “foolish.” (Galatians 3:1). He went on to challenge them, “Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the Law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? …why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?” (Verses 2-3).    Paul continues: “Why, then was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised….” (Galatians 3:19). The progenitor promised child was Abraham’s son, Isaac (not Ishmael); with Jesus Christ as the ultimate Child of Promise (to the whole world).

Therefore, Scripture is crystal clear that the law was temporary. It’s only purpose was to show just what sinners we are, so that we would stop trying to keep the law as a means of salvation or even as a means of trying to please God and keep in good standing with him after we’re saved.

Our good works are a RESULT of the free gift of salvation (God’s Grace). Not a requirement or the means of salvation. Our right standing with God is based on a RELATIONSHIP with him through his Son, Messiah Jesus. Not through any religion.

We can try all we want to satisfy the law or any rules and regulations that we impose on ourselves and others, and it will do us absolutely no good, whatsoever. In fact it only leads to total frustration and failure. Both secular humanism and clergy and laity alike in religious systems such as Mormonism, Catholicism, Jehovah Witnesses, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, but even some born-again Christians are constantly and in futility trying to: Work their way into or back into God’s favor.

Frankly, that’s an insult to God because it contradicts and replaces the only means of a right relationship with God … Jesus Christ. In fact, Paul tells us that when we make the law our main focus and falsely believe that keeping it will keep us in good standing with God, we are “crucifying Christ” all over again.

There’s more. Paul perceptively states: “But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law (Paul is referring to anyone who would say we were “guilty” if we discard the law). Would that mean that Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not! Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die” (Galatians 2:17-21, italics for emphasis).

Those who have a legalistic mindset, including some Christians, are those who live by a list of do(s) and don’t(s), including the law and other things they think must be followed. They (erroneously) believe that God’s favor is earned by good behavior. Conversely, true Christianity is expressed by those who love the Lord and live in gratitude for his free gift of grace and eternal life. By relying on the Holy Spirit who enables us, “…to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

To constantly tell or remind others that Christ came to fulfill the law but not to abolish it, without clarifying what that means or without explaining that both salvation and the Christian life, itself, is through grace and grace alone, is to confuse and mislead them. Cults do that all the time. They add to or subtract from the Bible. Or they take one or two verses and make an entire doctrine out of them, without comparing the passage with the whole counsel of Scripture.

It’s a deadly spiritual recipe … a mixture of Law and Grace.

Things to Ponder

If anyone was told that they would be granted a full pardon for their crimes (sins) against God, why would they want to stay in or return to the prison (of their sins)? Why would they throw away the key of Grace that opened the prison door of sin to set them free? How could they step back into a prison cell of a legalistic penal system that requires flawless performance and picture-perfect behavior in order to be released from a jail with four walls and a ceiling covered with do(s) and don’t(s) that no one could ever keep no matter how hard they try?

Stay tuned next week as we look at the third and final article on the Age of Grace.

Age of Grace (Part I)

24 Saturday Jan 2015

Posted by garybowers in Devotional / Misc

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Messiah Jesus, New Covenant

The New Covenant … A Much Better Way

The Golden Age of Israel and its kings was nearing an end. Soon after Solomon’s reign ended in 930 BC, the Jewish nation had split into two kingdoms, with the northern kingdom falling first to the mighty Assyrian Empire in 722 BC. Despite ominous warnings of destruction from the mouth of the weeping prophet, Jeremiah, the southern kingdom would also succumb to an even greater empire, Babylon.

Jeremiah’s prophecies foretold the disaster that would befall Judah if she continued on her evil path of disobedience; of decadence that often exceeded the wickedness of the Gentile nations for whom Israel was to bear the torch of God’s light and share the eternal word of the Sovereign God of the Universe. Time and time again, Jeremiah (and other prophets) uttered words of warning such as: “Your wickedness will bring its own punishment. Your turning from me will shame you. You will see what an evil, bitter thing it is to abandon the Lord your God and not to fear him. I, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!” (Jeremiah 2:19).

Yet like Isaiah, whose prophecies often spoke of the coming Messiah who would redeem, rescue, and then reestablish Israel as a beacon light to the nations; so, too, did Jeremiah offer hope and encouragement to God’s special possession, the Jews. But it came in the form of a most remarkable and unexpected prophecy; a promise that would forever change and ultimately replace the very foundation of their faith, of their individual and national relationship to Almighty God. This astounding prediction came just a few years before the 10-year series of Babylonian crusades against Judah, culminating in the ruthless defeat of Israel including the devastating destruction of Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple in 586 BC.

It was a promise that would be fulfilled in and accomplished by Messiah, himself. A promise that would divide time itself. One that would separate the Old from the New. One that would do what no one else could do but God himself: change stone into flesh … write God’s instructions of life, love, hope, and peace not just on stone tablets, but on the human heart. A promise that would produce so great a salvation unlike anything ever contemplated or even imagined. An unconditional gift that required nothing from those to whom the gift was given, except merely to believe it was true and receive the Gift-bearer, himself … none other than Messiah Jesus.

It would usher in a whole new epoch of mankind’s relationship to the Creator; an era that would see Divine righteousness imputed to Jew and Gentile alike, through God’s unconditional, unmerited, and unearned favor and mercy to the human race. It would be a new exciting incomparable: AGE OF GRACE.

Jeremiah vividly described how and through whom this New Covenant would be accomplished: “In those days and at that time I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. In that day Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this will be its name: ‘The Lord is Our Righteousness’” (Jeremiah 33:15-16).

Such a phenomenal plan! Such an astonishing agreement! How could such a thing be done—to eliminate the Old Covenant which required every person’s obedience to every one of God’s laws in order to achieve a right standing before God? Something which no one has ever been able to attain (on their own) or ever will achieve through self-effort. Jeremiah tells us that such a thing will be possible through, “a righteous descendant from King David.” Another prophet also explained how this would happen: “…my righteous servant (Messiah) will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins … because he exposed himself to death … He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels” (Isaiah 53:11-12).

A New Way … A New Covenant!

Less than a generation before Israel suffered (at that time) the greatest calamity ever experienced by a nation—indescribable personal torment and national distress, massive loss of life, and deportation of the survivors—here is what the prophet Jeremiah said God would do for Israel sometime after their return from Babylonian captivity:

“The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife, says the Lord. But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord. I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people … And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins” (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

Undoubtedly, many who heard or read these words from Jeremiah recalled the written words of Moses who reminded his people just a short time before Joshua led the Hebrews into the Promised Land: “The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Mount Sinai” (Deuteronomy 5:2). Then in verses six through twenty-one of that same chapter, Moses repeated the Ten Commandments to the congregation of Israel.

Equally certain is that some Jews at that time, particularly those who still followed the Lord to some extent or another, must have been stunned at this prophecy. It was amazing enough for Jeremiah to predict complete Babylonian conquest of Israel, demolition of the Temple, then exiled captivity in Babylon for exactly seventy years (all of which came to pass). That alone was beyond belief, even though Judah’s kings, priests, and common people knew all too well what had befallen the northern kingdom of Israel over one hundred years earlier. In near or complete denial, they simply couldn’t or wouldn’t accept the reality of God allowing a foreign pagan nation to destroy the Temple in which God’s very presence dwelled. However, by this time, they were too far gone in their own worship of pagan gods to realize that God had left the Temple (see the Book of Ezekiel).

But even those who yielded to the reality of it all—beginning with King Nebuchadnezzar’s first campaign against Israel in 605 BC (at which time the prophet Daniel was taken prisoner and deported to Babylon)—couldn’t remotely fathom a completely NEW COVENANT initiated by God to replace the Covenant of the Law given to them through Moses. Using today’s vernacular, it must have blown them away.

Most Jews to this very day still haven’t conceptualized the mind-boggling reality that God, himself, would replace the Mosaic Law with another Covenant that would fundamentally dissolve the twofold requirements of the old way: (1) self-merited keeping of God’s regulations, commands, and decrees; (2) the ongoing sacrificial offerings of animals to cover their ongoing sins.

Those who have half-way acknowledged the truth of Jeremiah’s astounding prophecy, believe that this New Covenant is still a future event—one that will take place only when Messiah comes. With this misunderstanding a direct result of not knowing or accepting both the clearly stated and implied Old Testament predictions that Messiah would first arrive as a servant (God’s once and for all sacrificial Lamb of Salvation); then return as the Lion from the Tribe of Judah to set up the eternal Kingdom of God on the earth.

Out with the Old, In with the New

In previous and subsequent chapters, Jeremiah frequently and explicitly explains exactly why God’s patience had finally run out. For example, in Jeremiah’s prayer to God he states: “Our ancestors came and conquered it (the Promised Land) and lived in it, but they refused to obey you or follow your word. They have not done anything you commanded. That is why you have sent this terrible disaster upon them” (Jeremiah 32:23).

A New Covenant would be made with Israel, one that would last forever. Why would God do something so drastic as to replace the Mosaic Covenant of Law which was the very foundation of Judaism? The answer is both sad and simple: Because the Jews deliberately chose not to obey and follow God. Although the Lord patiently waited for Israel to return to him over a period of several hundred years, they wouldn’t listen to the Lord their God.

Not only wouldn’t they obey, by this time in Israel’s history it was all too evident that they couldn’t keep the Law of Moses, not the way that really mattered to God. Literally, their heart was not in it.

Even those who somewhat consistently kept the Sabbath and observed the High Holy Days and Festivals and performed the necessary sacrificial offerings did so more out of ritual obligation that a deep heartfelt desire to please and honor the God of Israel. Consequently, their hearts became hard as stone. The prophet Isaiah appropriately accused the Israelites of paying lip service to God but refusing to honor him in/with their hearts. The Jews never came to terms with the real spirit of trusting and obeying God from a heart of gratitude instead of their superficial selfish (what’s in it for me) attitude.

Later, after the New Covenant was established, the Apostle Paul would reinforce what was already crystal clear through some 1500 hundred years of trying to keep the law. It simply couldn’t be done. The reason: “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23). The standard referred to by Paul was none other than the Mosaic Law in its’ entirety.

However, immediately following this profound universal exposure of man’s inherent sin nature and propensity to sin, Paul presents an incredible contrast, a wonderful God-initiated solution to what would otherwise be an unsolvable predicament: “Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins” (Verse 24).

The Law of Moses was a perfect representation of God’s expectations of the human race, but it could not save those who tried to keep the laws because of man’s gross imperfections. Because human beings possess an innate desire to merit (God’s) favor by good works and ritual, almost robot-like observance of God’s or man-made requirements, God gave them plenty of time to prove whether they would or wouldn’t, could or couldn’t do just that. Finally, God would step in and intervene with a New Covenant, a New Way that would solve the problem of sin and the separation from God caused by sin.

And so, a New Covenant between God and man would be introduced by Messiah. A relationship between God and man which would enable each and every person who personally believes in and accepts the Messiah of this New Covenant to become his/her own priest with direct access at any time, any place to God’s very presence. A new changed heart of flesh to replace a heart of stone.

As the prophet Ezekiel wrote during the Babylonian captivity of his people to amplify Jeremiah’s words that God would write his instructions on the hearts of his people: “And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God” (Ezekiel 11:19-20, italics for emphasis).

For you see, God desires love and respect from a grateful, willing heart; not unlike parents who want their child to respond and relate to them because the child longs to, not because the child has to. Only with this kind of response would the Jews (and now Gentiles, too) truly be God’s people.

Exactly What Is Grace?

Several passages in Scripture offer a specified or implied definition of Grace, which is: God’s unmerited favor. Even a secular source such as Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary recognizes the Biblical standard when it defines grace as: “unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification.”

This New Covenant of Grace took effect when Messiah Jesus was crucified on the cross and arose from the dead. Jesus announced that he was the mediator of the New Covenant when shortly before his crucifixion he told his disciples: “…This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you” (Luke 22:20). Then the Apostle Paul further attested to the advent of this tremendous New Covenant with these words to Timothy, “For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time” (I Timothy 2:5-6).

That “right time” was the first appearance of Messiah to his people and the whole world. “And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

As indicated, the majority of today’s Jews, indeed, for most Jews down through the past sixteen or seventeen centuries, do not yet believe this New Covenant is in place. Because they refuse to accept Jesus Christ as Messiah. But not all! Both amazing and ironic is the fact that for many years after Messiah Jesus’s mission was accomplished and he returned to heaven in preparation for his glorious return, nearly all Christians were Jews. Thousands upon thousands recognized that Jeremiah’s prophecy of this New Covenant was fulfilled in Christ Jesus … that he, in fact, was the long-awaited Messiah. They staked their very lives on him, because of the indisputable evidence that he has arisen from the grave.

Slowly, but inevitably, those who placed their trust in Christ were mostly Gentiles, as many Jewish believers were exiled from Israel and/or gradually reverted back to Orthodox Judaism, mixing the Law of Moses with the Grace of God; thereby, leading new generations of Jews back to the old system of keeping the law as a basis for salvation. Yet this was done without the Levitical sacrificial system, which was abolished when the Roman Legions destroyed the Temple in 70 AD. They ended up in complete denial that the Levitical sacrificial system had been replaced once and for all by the prophesied redemptive death of the Son of God, the Son of David, and the Son of Man—all titles and positions held by Jesus Christ.

Even more disastrous was the formation of the Roman Catholic Church and Roman Catholicism, the Holy Roman Empire that replaced the secular Roman Empire of the first four centuries. This was not, I repeat not, the true church. (Please see Eye of Prophecy articles on the Woman and the Beast, Part I through VI under the category of Antichrist). Beginning in the 4th century and carried out periodically to and beyond the Crusades, the Inquisitions, the Pogroms, the Holocaust, and other lesser known episodes during these Dark years, the Catholic Church persecuted and killed many Jews directly and by complicity. It’s no wonder that most Jews today want nothing to do with Jesus Christ, as they equate him with the horrors perpetrated on them by this organization that, itself, denies salvation exclusively through faith in God’s unmerited favor. Substituting Grace with a system of Church membership, baptism, and sacramental good works to achieve right standing with God.

God’s unique love for Israel (for salvation comes through the Jews) and his love for all peoples was unconditional. But this love turned out to be unrequited. The Jewish people broke the very covenant (time and again) that God gave them as the reasonable means of maintaining a right relationship with a holy God. God was willing to forgive their sins and trespasses if they followed the equally significant and mandatory need to offer animal sacrifices for those sins. All that was necessary was a genuine repentance (I’m sorry, Lord, for the wrong I’ve done) when those sacrifices were offered. But the people couldn’t and wouldn’t even do that. Their individual and collective heart was rock-hard, not a soft heart full of gratitude … willing to obey out of love and respect.

So, the Lord would replace the Mosaic Covenant of Law with a brand new Covenant of Grace which made it so much easier to gain and maintain a permanent pardon from and right standing with God. Keeping the Law of Moses could never be the means to salvation, for that was impossible to do in the first place. God would do for them (for us) what they could not do for themselves. He (not his unfaithful people) would provide and execute the ultimate, final sacrifice—God himself, through his Son, Messiah Jesus. This is the magnificent New Covenant of Grace … God’s free gift to the human race.

Modern-Day Rebirth of Israel and Resurgence of Grace

Listen to one of the most unlikely of Jews ever to yield to the New Covenant Gospel of Grace, the once diehard Jewish Pharisee, steeped in the Law of Moses, with a heart as hard as granite miraculously transformed into a heart of love and compassion for all unbelievers, especially for his own people.

“Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God” (Romans 10:1-4).

*Note: If someone else was able to, without sin, keep every commandment of God, able to fulfill every requirement necessary to achieve a right standing with God; furthermore, to die in the place of those sentenced to death because of terrible sins against God and people (all of us), wouldn’t you accept God’s pardon and receive Jesus as your substitute Savior if that’s all God wanted from you!?

Paul continues: “For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands. But faith’s way of getting right with God says …’The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.’ And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved” (Romans 10:5-10).

In the last 50 years or so, we have witnessed a phenomenal renaissance of the true Gospel of Christ reaching Jews all over the world; thousands of Jews responding to their Scriptures and recognizing that Jesus is truly their (the) Messiah. Though the greater numbers are still spiritually blind to the truth of God’s New Covenant of Grace, one day (very soon) all of Israel will believe in Christ. But only when they are on the brink of annihilation at the hands of a deadly coalition led by the Antichrist. Then, their partial blindness will give way to eyes fully opened to see, ears spiritually unplugged to hear, and hearts divinely softened to absorb the mighty love and power of Messiah Jesus.

It’s no mere coincidence that the miraculous rebirth of the nation of Israel, preceded by and followed even more substantially by return of millions of Jews to the Promised Land has given rise to an increasing number of spiritually reborn Jews throughout the world. Though the spiritual revival has not kept pace with the physical restitution, it will one day very soon catch up to the incredible rebirth of Israel. The spiritual restoration will match and exceed the physical rejuvenation of the land.

At that time the Age of Grace which is currently manifested as the Kingdom of Heaven in the hearts and minds of Jews and Gentiles alike will become the magnificent Kingdom of God on this earth. (See last week’s Eye of Prophecy article, Kingdom of God).

The following passage summarizes the now and then of it all: “Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy. For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone” (Romans 11:28-31).

What Paul means by God imprisoning everyone in disobedience is that God will allow anyone to remain in their prison of disobedience if that’s want they want. He will not forcefully overturn a person’s deliberate decision to remain under sin’s lock and key by refusing to accept God’s provision and pardon to escape this imprisonment. Moreover, the only means of escaping the death sentence that sin imposes is recognition of God’s Mercy and acceptance of God’s Grace by believing in their heart and confessing with their mouth that Jesus is both Savior and Lord.

On that great and glorious Day of the Lord, the day when Christ Jesus will rescue Israel from certain extinction at the hands of insurmountable forces (the end of the Great Tribulation), all of Israel will see and believe and shout as their ancestors shouted when they hailed Messiah riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. “Baruch haba, beshem Adonai.” Blessed is he (Jesus) who comes in the name of the Lord (Father God).

Summary

No observant Jew in today’s world, nor even many secular Jews will dispute their Scriptures, what we call the Old Testament (Covenant). This includes prophecies of the Messiah and the advent of a New Covenant as predicted by Jeremiah. In fact, even many non-observant Jews passionately anticipate and embrace the coming of Messiah, to bring them hope for a prosperous future and protection from their enemies.

But the New Covenant is here! It arrived over two thousand years ago! How could anyone with an open mind, with any objectivity at all deny the historical fact that Jesus claimed to be the Messiah. That he backed up this claim with incredible miracles, unmatched wisdom and teaching, unrivaled love and compassion by giving his very life for Israel and for the entire human race. Most of all … his astonishing resurrection from the dead.

All of these and more are a matter of historical record, based on eye-witness accounts. It’s as historically accurate and valid as any record of anyone who has ever lived or anything that has ever occurred. If one doesn’t believe the historicity of the Bible which has thousands more original manuscripts than any secular work in history, then no historical record is true—none whatsoever. Everything we’ve been told is a fable or a lie. Why should anyone believe that George Washington was our first United States President? Or any other documented historical event?

Furthermore, Jesus fulfilled all of the dozens of prophecies attributed to the Messiah of the Hebrew Scriptures. I repeat for emphasis: ALL OF THEM.

Yes, my friend: Jesus (the New Covenant) is alive and well! And Jesus is the cornerstone of that Covenant. Listen to the words of the Apostle Peter who was asked by whose authority he made a crippled man walk. Said Peter to the religious leaders: “Let me clearly state to all of you and to all people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:10-12).

Jesus gave us a New Way, a New Covenant, a New Hope. In fact, he IS the Way, the Covenant, and the Hope (of salvation and everlasting life). He is the express image of God. Through him God’s matchless Grace is freely given.

Things to Ponder

“You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion—how I violently persecuted God’s church. I did my best to destroy it. I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors. But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles….” (Written by the Jewish Apostle Paul, formerly called Saul … Galatians 1:13-16).

Hopefully you’ll have the time to read the Book of Galatians in preparation for next week’s Eye of Prophecy article. But if not, read the article anyway!

Merry Christmas … What’s It All About?

20 Saturday Dec 2014

Posted by garybowers in Devotional / Misc

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Happy Hanukkah, Holidays, Reason for Season

Merry Christmas … It’s Your Birthday, Jesus!

Jesus is the Reason for the Season. It hasn’t been all that long since this catchy saying found its way into the mainstream of American and global conscience, particularly with those who cherish the ultimate purpose to celebrate this remarkable time of the year. But why is it necessary to defend the honored time-tested tradition of keeping Christ as the very heart of Christmas; not only in what we believe, but nowadays even in what we say and how we say it?

What’s so wrong with Happy Holidays as the new standard salutation in a season that past generations have treasured for one reason and one reason only—the birth of Jesus Christ? What’s wrong is that the question itself is as rhetorical as any question can be. How can anything or anyone be so obvious? The very reason for such a season is, in fact, someone’s birthday. Not the birthday of an ordinary person like you or me. Not just a conspicuous person like a President, Prime Minister, Chancellor, King, or Queen. Nor esteemed scientific, social, economic, athletic, or film icons. And certainly not a religious figure like Mohammed or Buddha from man-made religions.

Not even a significant, momentous event such as the Jewish Maccabees amazing victory over the Seleucid Syrians in 167-166 BC, and the liberation of the 2nd Jewish Temple to include the equally astonishing eight-day burning of the Menorah candles with only one day’s supply of oil—which generated the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Pronounced and spelled properly as Chanukah (hard “ch” sound), the actual date set aside by the Jews was the 25th day of the month of Kislev. Some even call or consider it as a Jewish Christmas, which it is not … just ask any Jew who knows anything about Chanukah at all. But as significant as this special day in Jewish history was and still is, it does not compare to the astounding event of Christ’s birth that has impacted billions of people from every nation, race, and language all over the world.

In fact, if you examine other religions you will find, for the most part, they are indigenous to race and geographic areas in the world, i.e. Islam mostly for Arabs in the Middle East, Buddhism for Orientals, Hinduism for India, Judaism for Jews. Not so with Christianity. It is truly global.

Historical figures, nations, and events other than Christ Jesus and Christmas have their own recognized anniversaries. Does anyone demand that observance of these special occasions be religiously generalized and socially or politically expanded to embrace other religious or national figures or events, so as not to be inclusive of just one person? So as not to offend those of other faiths or ideological persuasions?

Even an ordinary birthday or event merits the minimum consideration of that day belonging to an individual or a city or a nation and, therefore, acknowledged as such. What would you think if I refused to wish you a Happy Birthday because I didn’t want to offend someone else who wasn’t born on the same day, and who didn’t share the same enthusiasm for your birthday? Or who believed differently from you, or belonged to another race, or was left-handed? Ridiculous? Of course. It’s your special day. So Happy Birthday already! I mean that sincerely … unless it’s not your birthday!

Should we no longer acknowledge President’s Day in February, because so many other American presidents were not born in that month? Or because some think it’s unfair to give preferential treatment to a United States President over common citizens?

Should we stop reveling in America’s birthday on the 4th of July in deference to those whose native country originated on a different day of the year; or someone who is from a nation that has never been democratically free? Or anyone who might take offense that Americans believe their independence and heritage is something to be proud of, to celebrate the very day when freedom began?

Might we be more politically correct never to say Happy Thanksgiving? After all, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is much closer to Thanksgiving than it is to Christmas. Shouldn’t it be: Happy Thanksramadan?!

Perhaps we should no longer wish someone a Happy Valentine’s Day in case they take an exception to anyone who has as Saint in front of their name? It is Saint Valentine isn’t it? Might we say, “Happy Heart Day” or “Merry Chocolate?”

Stay with me; you know what I’m saying. It isn’t whether we use the word happy or merry. It’s that word, Christmas that causes all the fuss. Shhh … not so loud.

More than that: it’s the name Christ that gets so many people all up tight. That’s right … all it takes is a mention of his name. That is, unless it’s used as profanity … no problem then. A person is compelled to say something meaningful when they hit their thumb with a hammer. Right?

Why? Because His name is who he is (Yeshua in Hebrew, Jesus in Greek/English, both mean Savior), and a lot of folks just can’t handle that. They don’t want or need a Savior. Certainly not one who claims that he is the Son of God, that he alone is “The Way, The Truth, and The Life” (John 14:6). How exclusively narrow-minded can anyone be? The fact that he was born of a Virgin, performed amazing miracles, and then arose from the dead to validate his claim as Messiah who alone can redeem, can forgive sin; is an affront to those who maintain that self-enabled good works and innate self-worth is the only way to God.

PC is the Password

It’s easy to see where we’re headed with this. No other holiday causes anything close to the angst experienced and consternation expressed by the secular among us or those of another religion who take offense at hearing the very name of Jesus or even a special representation of his name—Christmas. What relevance does the birth of a Savior (no man-made religions have a Savior … did you know that?) any longer have to the last holiday of the year? In fact, the very name of Christ and Christmas is an embarrassment to many. It’s just not politically correct.

So, for many PC folks out there, it’s not even Happy Holiday. Rather, it’s Happy Holidays. Plural, as in the first holiday is on par or a less than par lead-in to New Year’s celebration. According to those who dislike, even detest the name of Jesus Christ, or perhaps the less adamant who, nevertheless, don’t want to offend anyone else of a different religion, wouldn’t it be better just to omit any reference to Jesus Christ during Christmas? (Shhh … not so loud).

Do Muslims or non-Muslims whisper when they say Mohammed or Ramadan? Jews or non-Jews when they utter Moses or Hanukkah? Since whispering doesn’t fit with all the sights of Frosty the Snowman, smells of roasting chestnuts, and sounds of Jingle Bells, many simply change the real meaning of and reason for Christmas not necessarily by speaking softly and carrying a big peppermint stick. Rather, by replacing a simple but intensely meaningful, joyful, and hope-filled greeting with a ho-hum, humdrum, monotonous, “Happy Holidays.” We have no problem with Happy Valentine, but Merry Christmas creates real issues. (I know … not so loud).

Simple solution isn’t it: Just say Happy Holidays. And presto, no more infringement on all those who champion the cause of tolerance, of broad-mindedness, of acceptance. Oops … except for the Christians. But then, non-Christians have no obligation whatsoever to be tolerant of Christians. After all, aren’t Christians the most intolerant people ever to walk the face of the earth? They are so inconsiderate because they believe that Christ came to this earth to die for their sins, to save them from hell; that he arose from the dead to prove that he was telling the truth—that he is the majestic Son of God—that only he can bring light and peace to a dark and troubled world? That’s about as exclusively one-sided as you can get.

But no more narrow-minded than if someone discovered the one and only all-time cure for cancer, offered that cure to the whole world, then was shunned and rejected because that was the only cure offered. Both Scripture and human experience testifies to this fatal fact: Sin is a deadly cancer of the body, soul, and spirit?

Yet, the only way a tolerant person can be truly tolerant is to first be selectively intolerant of whoever or whatever they think is intolerant. Did you get that? If not, who can blame you? Because that is how intolerably unenlightened the logic is of those who contend (pretend) that tolerance should trump all other world views no matter that tolerance in the extreme leads only to intolerance. Meaning that if just one person or group of people disagrees with you; then for the sake of tolerance at all costs, you must make an exception and be intolerant of those dissenting views. If someone didn’t get that, then they’re not as tolerantly open-minded as they think.

What’s the use … I give up. I’m going to be PC and wish you a very Happ….

Wrong. Make that a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

For you see

It occurs to me

That we can make something else

Of this thing called PC.

Positively Christian!

And, Happy New Year! No problem with that one, huh?

A Birthday for All Time, For All People

We’re talking about the greatest birthday ever known. A birth that changed the very keeping of time. A day remembered and adored by more people, by far, than any other anniversary ever recorded. An amazing arrival and appearance in which God, himself, came in human form as Immanuel … God with us.

A child whose birth was prophesied hundreds of years before … exactly how he would be born (of a Virgin), where he would be born (Bethlehem), when he would be born (before the 2nd Temple would be destroyed), and how and why he would die. A birth accompanied by a guiding star and glorious angels. A name given to the child that means salvation itself. A life full of tremendous teachings, marvelous miracles; but also of suffering unto death … a death that would pay for the penalty of all the wrong things we’ve done, and give eternal life to all those who believe and receive this God-man. Above all, a mighty resurrection and ascension to heaven, from whence he came. And more: A soon to be glorious return of the Son of God, the Son of David, and the Son of Man.

It’s a true story. How long has it been since you’ve heard it? How long since you’ve read the greatest story ever told? It begins with:

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, wanted to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins’ Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Behold, the Virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel … God with us’” (Matthew 1:18-23, NASB, italics for emphasis).

Without Jesus, is there really any reason whatsoever to celebrate Christmas? Without Christ, what’s Christmas all about? Why bother to put Christmas lights on something once known as a Christmas tree? Why take the time to fight the crowds in order to do something as frustrating as Christmas shopping? Why on earth would anyone want to send greetings of good will and cheer on something as archaic as a Christmas card? Who is their right mind would be so cheeky as to sing irrelevant Christmas carols like Joy to the World, when Frosty the Snowman can accompany us all the way to our Holiday shopping spree and back. Who would take the time to wrap gifts for precious loved ones or sit around that Christmas tree and watch with love and joy while their children brimming with excitement open Christmas presents? Oh, many say, we can still do those things. And they would be right, but for all the wrong reasons. Because now it’s a holiday tree. Now we sing holiday songs. We give holiday gifts. We send holiday cards. We wish everyone Happy Holidays.

For that matter, what other religious figure is celebrated during the month of December, specifically December 25th? Do Muslims remember Mohammed or Jews revere Abraham or Moses during this time? Yet, strangely, people all over the world still give and receive gifts during Christmas time. Even atheists and agnostics! It’s the giving of gifts that most profoundly represents the essence of Christmas.

So, let me get this straight: It’s still (PC) appropriate to give and receive gifts, but don’t say Merry Christmas to the clerk who just wrapped the gifts you purchased for your children and your spouse. After the sale, be polite and wish her Happy Holidays; which is what she said to you after taking your money. And when opening the gifts under the Holiday tree, certainly don’t wish your child a Merry Christmas. He could get the wrong impression: that the gift opened might just represent and be in remembrance of the greatest gift of all time—God’s own son as a ransom for our redemption. We can still put up lights … preferably holiday lights. But no nativity scenes anywhere in public places. God forbid: Someone might be offended or get the wrong impression that this Holiday is truly holy… instead of just another holiday.

Sorry, did I say God forbid. How careless. You know what I meant to say: Would the man upstairs please overlook my outdated, irrelevant, presumptuous, intolerant notion that Christmas ever existed in the first place. Or if it did, it has no relevance whatsoever in today’s post-modern existential, expedient, politically correct society that tolerates anything and everything except one thing: The Name of Christ or anything or anyone that bears His name. Whatever is thought, said, or done: don’t say that name or anything that reminds the world who he is.

Why must Happy Holidays replace Merry Christmas? As indicated, the only other religious remembrance at this time of year is that of Hanukkah … with this year’s celebration beginning this past Tuesday, 12-16-14. So, why must everyone be politically correct and wish someone Happy Holidays? If I know a person is Jewish, then I’ll say Happy Hanukkah to them. If I don’t know or think they may not be Jewish, it’s Merry Christmas. If they are Jewish and say Happy Hanukkah, that’s fine with me. All is well! What’s the problem? No harm, no foul.

I happen to love Israel, love the Jewish people, and love the Jewish Savior who is Jewish through and through. But even if I didn’t, I have no problem with Happy Hanukkah. I do, however, have a problem with Happy Holidays. It’s more than just semantics. It’s a deliberate politically correct, socially expedient substitution for the very essence of my faith and the faith of millions of others who have trusted in what God’s Son did for us and the whole human race; starting with his miraculous birth (Christmas), culminating in his miraculous resurrection from the dead (Easter resurrection day).

For one thing, we have plenty of Happy Holidays throughout the year.

What’s so wrong with the one time of year that incorporates the very best of all those holidays into the most precious, powerful, and profitable sequence of events ever to hit the human race: The birth, life, death, and resurrection of Messiah Jesus.

Jesus is the Reason for Every Season!

New Year’s: An exciting time for all to contemplate a new start … to be better, to do better.

Jesus, himself, the giver of second chances, of a new beginning, a new life … everlasting. “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (II Corinthians 5:17). In the next to last chapter of the Bible, God said to John: “Look, I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:5).

Martin Luther King Day: A champion of racial equality, of equal opportunity for all.

In Christ, all are equal. There is absolutely no discrimination by Christ. Yes, his salvation is exclusive, because he is the only way to God and everlasting life (Acts 4:12). But he and his message are also unconditionally inclusive to ALL who believe and receive him. “For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26 & 28).

Valentine’s Day: Love makes the world go around. “Would you be my valentine?” we plead.

Concerning true everlasting love and life, we need only ask, “Jesus, would you be my Savior?”

God IS Love. “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

President’s Day: Recognition of the immense, lasting contributions made by two of America’s most prominent leaders, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

Jesus is the greatest trailblazer who ever lived; given to us as the perfect Christ-child. “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” (Isaiah 9:6-7).

He also is: “Lord of all lords and King of all kings” (Revelation 17:14). One day he will return in power and great glory.

St Patrick’s Day: When all is said and done, we really don’t need the luck of the Irish, do we? How lucky have they been anyway? Nothing derogatory here … just asking. I like the Irish and I love their music. We don’t need to wish someone, “Good luck.” Does that really work? Besides, St. Patrick’s claim to fame was that he led thousands of pagans to belief in Christ; therefore, it’s difficult to explain how such a revered life could result in such a wild modern-day celebration! Nevertheless, it is a time of jubilation.

For those who have been redeemed by Christ, we have every reason to rejoice. We have a sure hope in the Bible and in Christ. “…And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled” (Romans 15:4).

Memorial Day: Brave men and woman fought and gave their lives to help us preserve freedom from tyranny and oppression.

Christ gave his life to free us from sin which produces tyranny and cruelty and all that is wrong with the human race. “The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit” (Romans 8:3-4).

And so we remember what Christ said and did: “He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.’ After supper he took another cup of wine and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you’” (Luke 22:19-20, italics for emphasis).

Independence Day (4th of July): A constitutional body founded on the profound principle of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We salute a flag that symbolizes a vibrant government of the people, by the people, and for the people. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation indivisible, under God, with liberty and justice for all.

Even greater is the body of Christ, as Paul writes to the believers in Corinth: “The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit” (I Corinthians 12:12-13).

Christ has great power to change the world, one redeemed heart at a time. Listen to the Apostle Paul, “I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself” (Ephesians 1:19-23).

Labor Day: Each year we set aside this day to rest from our weary labor that provides for our families.

But Christ is our ultimate rest … a respite from the unnecessary struggle to gain salvation through good works. From the guilt of sin, from the uncertainty of death. “Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light’” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Armistice/Veterans Day: A great day when, at the time, the War to End All Wars ended. For a while there was peace on the earth. But mankind never could and never will be able to maintain peace on his own. History has proven that beyond any doubt.

Only Christ can bring such a peace. He authored the greatest treaty of all time: Reconciling man to God.

“That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. ‘Don’t be afraid!’ he said. ‘I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.’ Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased’” (Luke 2:8-14).

Thanksgiving: The Pilgrims and founding fathers were immensely grateful to God for his providence and provisions in sustaining them through troubled times of testing and trials.

Without Christ’s willingness to come to this world he created, take on human form, and then die for the horrible things that everyone has done (some more than others but God doesn’t grade on a curve), we all would be helpless and hopeless.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7, NASB, italics for emphasis).

Christmas: Ah, yes … Christmas. Not just a holiday. A true Holy Day.

And don’t forget Easter. For those who place their trust in Christ, that day represents the first day of the rest of their lives … life that goes on and on and on, ad infinitum. Unless Christ rose from the dead, there would be no hope of our resurrection from the grave. And a Merry Christmas—any kind of Christmas—would have no meaning at all.

Mother’s Day. Father’s Day. Pick a holiday … any other holiday not listed here. And you’ll find that Jesus can also be the reason for that season.

Things to Ponder

The word holiday is a secularized derivative of Holy Day. It’s true: Holy means set apart for a special purpose. But it also carries the distinct connotation of something Divine or Sacred. The 4th of July is a great holiday, but it’s not sacred as such. Not like Christmas. That is until the 20th and 21st century. For many, Christmas is just another holiday.

Santa Claus was the original (first) politically correct substitute for the real deal, Jesus Christ. But even Santa Claus believes in Christmas! “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.”

Think about it, and lighten up!

“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).

“But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved….” (Joel 2:32).

Now is the time for salvation. We all have a choice: Meet Christ now as Savior, or later as Judge.

What say you about Christ?

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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  • Antichrist’s Dreaded Arrival / First or Second Appearance?
  • Armageddon & Messiah’s Return … An Amazing Sequence of Events
  • Beginning of the End
  • Beware of the Bear!
  • Biblical Terms Not in the Bible … Are They Biblical?
  • Blood Moons
  • Blow the Trumpets … Messiah Will Come!
  • Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (of Israel)
  • BREXIT … What’s It All About?
  • Bring Back Our Boys
  • Build The Temple! Will Messiah Come?
  • Can A Murderer Be A Martyr?
  • Christ or Antichrist … who will it be?
  • Comparing A Phenomenal Prophecy in Leviticus With One in Zechariah
  • Conspiracy Theories … A New World Order
  • Countdown to Armageddon … End of the Fourth 400-Year Era
  • COVID-19 / Just Another Plague?
  • COVID-19 / Just Another Plague? (Part II)
  • Cunning Makeover of the Great City (Revelation 17)
  • Daniel’s 70 Prophetic Weeks & The Number Seventy!
  • Day of Infamy
  • Did God Really Appear to People? When & How?
  • Diplomacy With Israel Despite Anti-Semitism / A Puzzling Paradox
  • Divine Consequences of Iran’s Arrogance (Part I)
  • Divine Consequences of Iran’s Arrogance (Part II)
  • Does Christmas Really Need Christ?
  • Does God Really Have a Son? … Part I
  • Does God Really Have a Son? … Part II
  • Does Israel Belong To The State of Israel?
  • Does The Holy Spirit Restrain (the Man of) Lawlessness?
  • Don’t Seal The Book of Revelation!
  • Double Israel’s Trouble & Double Her Blessings!
  • End of the World Events … In Chronological Order!
  • Ethnic Cleansing of Jews … The Real Palestinian Agenda
  • Exposing Antichrist’s Identity … More Compelling Evidence (Part I)
  • Exposing Antichrist’s Identity … More Compelling Evidence (Part II)
  • Extraordinary Biblical Prophecies w/Predicted Times of Fulfillment (Part I)
  • Extraordinary Biblical Prophecies w/Predicted Times of Fulfillment (Part II)
  • Festival of Tabernacles … Part I
  • First Century Existence of Christ and Antichrist & Their 21st Century Return
  • Five Life-Changing Meals in the Bible
  • For or Against Israel?
  • For Such A Time As This
  • Fountain of Youth & Fountain of Life … Is There a Difference?
  • Four Locust Kingdoms!
  • Freedom … What Does It Really Mean?
  • Fulfilled Prophecy Proves We Can Trust The Bible
  • Gateway to the World
  • Giving Thanks … What is it all about
  • Global Obsession with Jerusalem … In Biblical Proportions!
  • Globalism or Populism … Which Will Antichrist Prefer?
  • God Is Great & Yet He’s So Good!
  • God Is in Control
  • God’s New Covenant with Israel … Minus the Temple (Part I)
  • God’s New Covenant with Israel … Minus the Temple (Part II)
  • Gog, Magog and Leviathan
  • Gog/Magog’s Prophetic Clock Is Ticking, Ticking….
  • Grace and Law … A Biblical Balance
  • Great Expectations for Messiah
  • Hanukkah & Christmas / Do They Have Anything in Common?
  • Hanukkah … The Festival Born of a Prophecy!
  • Happy New Year … Jerusalem Style!
  • Has Antichrist Already Died … How, When & Why
  • How and When Does The World End?
  • How the Rapture
  • Humiliating End of the Great City (Revelation 17)
  • Hurricane Harvey & A Year of Prophetic Milestones (2017)
  • Intriguing Comparisons Between Antiochus IV & Antichrist (Nero)
  • Israel Is Again The Head, Not the Tail (The Deal of the Century)
  • Is President Trump Wavering On “The Waiver”?
  • ISIS, Nero, and Rome
  • Israel Is Here To Stay … Forever!
  • Israel’s Annexation of Occupied Territory? We Must Define The Terms
  • Israel’s Controversial Nation-State Law
  • Israel’s Government in Limbo … Unprecedented!
  • Israeli Occupation … Fact or Myth?
  • Italy’s New Government / A Thorn in the EU’s Side
  • Jerusalem … A Capital Without a Country?
  • Jerusalem … City of Peace?
  • Jerusalem / City Above All Cities
  • Jerusalem’s Mysterious Eastern Gate … Making Headlines
  • Jesus’s Stunning Statements While on the Cross… A Summary of Salvation!
  • Jesus Is The Very Essence of Prophecy
  • Jewish Christian / Christian Jew … An Oxymoron?
  • Jewish Settlements in Judea/Samaria … Are They Illegal?
  • Jewish Sovereignty on Temple Mount (Part I)
  • Jewish Sovereignty on Temple Mount (Part II)
  • Jubilee and Messiah … They Go Together!
  • Judea/Samaria & Gaza Strip / Who Has Sovereignty?
  • Just How Imminent is Messiah’s Imminent Return?
  • King David’s Tomb
  • Kingdom of God
  • Las Vegas Massacre … A Broader Perspective
  • Lazarus and Lazarus & The Sign of Jonah
  • Let’s Celebrate … Forever!
  • Let’s Make a Deal
  • Light of The World (Sequel To: The Incomparable Power & Authority of Jesus Christ)
  • Look Up, Redemption Is Near … Part I
  • Look Up, Redemption Is Near … Part II
  • Major Earthquake in Israel … When & Where It Will Strike
  • Melchizedek … A Man of Mystery!
  • Merry Christmas … What’s It All About?
  • Messiah and the Jewish Festivals … An Extraordinary Connection!
  • Messiah’s Amazing Appearances Before He Was Born
  • Messiah’s Arrival … On Whose Authority?
  • Messiah’s Ascension & Coronation … Seen Long Before It Happened!
  • Messiah’s Millennial Reign … Incredible Changes on Earth
  • Messiah’s Number & Its Prophetic Value
  • Messiah’s Return & The Rapture (Same or Separate Events?)
  • Messianic Jews … Who Are They?
  • Modern Day Antichrist?
  • Moral Equivalency
  • More Palestinian Lies
  • More Than One Messiah?
  • Moses & Elijah vs. Antichrist & The False Prophet
  • Moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem … A Broken Promise?
  • NERO & The Remarkable Revival of His Name
  • O Jerusalem, Jerusalem!
  • Old & New Testament Saints … Is There a Difference?
  • One Global Language … Coming Soon! (Part I)
  • One Global Language … Coming Soon! (Part II)
  • One Hundred Forty-Four Thousand Messianic Jews … Part I
  • One Hundred Forty-Four Thousand Messianic Jews … Part II
  • One Nation Under (the wrath of) God
  • One World Government?
  • One World Religion?
  • Palestine or Israel? Which Is It? / Your Answer May Be In Jeopardy!
  • Palestinian Propaganda Is Pure Poison
  • Palestinian Refugees… Are They Really Refugees?
  • Palestinian Terrorism & UN Resolutions … Neither Will Defeat Israel
  • Palestinian Terror Tunnels & Poetic Justice
  • Passover & Messiah Are Inseparable!
  • Passover … an Enduring Legacy
  • Peace Between Israel and Judah … Then World Peace!
  • Peace on Earth … Is It Really Possible?
  • Peace or a Palestinian State … Which Will It Be?
  • Powerful Proof of Messiah’s Identity & Arrival in The First Century!
  • Preach the Gospel … But Not to the Jews!
  • Prince of Peace
  • Prophecy & A Jewish Holiday
  • Prophetic Fate of Israel’s Friends and Foes
  • Prophetic Implications of the Fires in Israel (Part I)
  • Prophetic Implications of the Fires in Israel (Part II)
  • Proportional Warfare
  • Reappearance of Satan, a Roman Emperor & Two Ancient Prophets … Bodily!
  • Reappearance of the Beast (Antichrist)
  • Reexamination of Messiah’s Imminent Return & The Omega Generation
  • Remember December (Kislev) … A Hidden Gem of Prophecy!
  • Removing Christ From Christmas … What Are The Consequences?
  • Replacement Theology (Part I)
  • Replacement Theology (Part II)
  • Resurrections / How Many Will There Be? One, Two, Or Could There Be Three?
  • Rome and Jerusalem … friends or foes?
  • Russia & Iran versus Israel
  • Russia’s Shocking Invasion of Ukraine … A Preview of Gog/Magog’s Attack on Israel?
  • Salvation … “To The Jew First!”
  • Satan in Bodily Form … When & Why (Part I)
  • Satan in Bodily Form … When & Why (Part II)
  • Scripture Says Everyone Will Die / But What About the Rapture?
  • Separation of Church and State … For or Against? (Part I)
  • Separation of Church and State … For or Against? (Part II)
  • Sequel to Stunning Catastrophes & Shocking Statistics of the Great Tribulation
  • Seven Essentials of The Rapture (Part I)
  • Seven Essentials of the Rapture (Part II)
  • Seven Times Seven (to the 4th power)! Part I
  • Seven Times Seven (to the 4th power)! Part II
  • Seven Times Seven (to the 4th power)! Part III
  • Seven Wonders of The Millennium
  • Seven Wonders of The Millennium (Part II)
  • Shameful Saga of the Great City (Revelation 17)
  • Shocking Statistics of the Great Tribulation
  • Significant Sets of Twos in the Bible
  • Six Million Reasons … To Trust the Bible
  • Soon Comes the Antichrist … Straight From the Abyss (Part I)
  • Soon Comes the Antichrist … Straight From the Abyss (Part II)
  • Spiritual Bodies … A Contradiction of Terms? (Part I)
  • Spiritual Bodies … A Contradiction of Terms? (Part II)
  • Stand Still & Watch God Fight for Israel!
  • Stunning Catastrophes of the Tribulation / Their Timing & Purpose
  • Sudden Appearance of Antichrist … Why So Different?
  • Sukkot … The Forever Festival!
  • Superhuman Bodies for Believers / How & Why?
  • Tell a Big Lie Long Enough….
  • Terror, Terror, Terror (Part II)
  • Terror, Terror, Terror! (Part I)
  • The “Right of Return” … For Palestinians or Jews?
  • The Ark of the Covenant … Part I
  • The Ark of the Covenant … Part II
  • The Balfour Declaration … Beginning of the Omega Generation (Part I)
  • The Balfour Declaration … Beginning of the Omega Generation (Part II)
  • The Beast and His Name
  • The Birth of a Nation
  • The Child of Promise (Part I)
  • The Child of Promise (Part II)
  • The Cross and the Torn Curtain (Part I)
  • The Cross and the Torn Curtain (Part II)
  • The End of the Age … how close are we?
  • The False Prophet (Part I)
  • The False Prophet (Part II)
  • The Final Treaty of Rome … Part I
  • The Final Treaty of Rome … Part II
  • The Gog/Magog Countdown Has Begun!
  • The Heart & Soul of Israel
  • The Incomparable Power and Authority of Jesus Christ
  • The Jewish Dichotomy In & Outside Israel
  • The Legacy of Temple Mount
  • The Legendary Return of Nero
  • The Liberation of Jerusalem
  • The Magnificent Millennial Reign of Believers with Messiah
  • The Most Panoramic Prophecy in the Bible (Part I)
  • The Most Panoramic Prophecy in the Bible (Part II)
  • The Most Significant End-Times Sign Of All
  • The Myth of Al Aqsa Mosque
  • The Number of the Beast
  • The Omega Generation
  • The Peace Treaty That Will Guarantee War
  • The Phenomenal Thousand Years/One Day Parallel
  • The Prince and the People That Destroyed the Jewish Temple / Who Were They?
  • The Prophetic Endgame of Gog/Magog
  • The Rapture / Before or After The Great Tribulation?
  • The Real Reason for Palestinian Terrorism
  • The Reign of Terror
  • The Remarkable Rebirth of a Nation
  • The Rest of the Story … Bibi’s Speech to the United Nations
  • The Right to Life?
  • The Russians Are Coming!
  • The Seal of Approval
  • The Second Exodus
  • The Seven Year Treaty
  • The Shout Heard Around the World
  • The Shroud of Turin … Real or Fake? / A Decisive Answer
  • The Shroud of Turin … Real or Fake? / A Decisive Answer (Part II)
  • The Terrible Trio of Gog and Magog
  • The Three Greatest Trials of All Time
  • The Tremendous Transfiguration of Believers!
  • The Two Witnesses (Part I)
  • The Two Witnesses (Part II)
  • The Two Witnesses (Part III)
  • The Vatican and Islam … A Perfect Match for Antichrist
  • The Virgin Birth of Messiah … How and Why?
  • The Whole Truth
  • The Woman and the Beast
  • The Woman and the Beast (Part II)
  • The Woman and the Beast (Part III)
  • The Woman and the Beast (Part IV)
  • The Woman and the Beast (Part V)
  • The Woman and the Beast (Part VI)
  • The Wonder Of It All … Birth of the Child!
  • The World Wants a Messiah … But It Needs (The) Messiah
  • There’s No Place Like Homs
  • There’s Resurrection; And There’s Resurrection!
  • Three … A Divine Number of God!
  • Times of & Fullness of the Gentiles … What Do They Mean?
  • To Be or Not To Be … in Heaven?
  • To Be Or Not To Be … In Heaven? (A Revisit)
  • Trump, Cyrus, and the Jewish Temple
  • Turmoil, Tragedy, & Terror in Israel (Part I … Turmoil)
  • Turmoil, Tragedy, & Terror in Israel (Part II … Tragedy)
  • Turmoil, Tragedy, & Terror in Israel (Part III … Terror)
  • Two-State Solution & The Seven-Year Treaty … Impossible?
  • Two Thirds of the Jews Killed … Past or Future?
  • U.S. President Agrees with God … Jerusalem Is Israel’s Capital!
  • Under the Radar
  • UNESCO / “Theatre of the Absurd” Against Israel
  • United Nations Downsizing of Israel (Resolution 2334)
  • Value of Prophecy
  • West Bank or Judea/Samaria? What’s In A Name?
  • What Is A Saint?
  • What Is Done To Israel Will Be Done In Return / The Iran Nuclear Deal
  • What Is Done to Israel Will Be Done in Return / Dangers of a Divided Jerusalem
  • What is Palestine & Who Is A Palestinian?
  • What is the Rapture?
  • What Is The Unpardonable Sin?
  • When the Rapture?
  • Where is Messiah … Is He Already Here?
  • Where Is The Temple? Part I
  • Where Is The Temple? Part II
  • Where is the Temple? Part III
  • Who is Messiah?
  • Who Is the Antichrist & How Will He Appear (Part I)
  • Who Is The Antichrist & How Will He Appear? (Part II)
  • Who the Rapture?
  • Whom Do You Most Want To See In Heaven?
  • Why the Rapture?
  • Why the Rapture? (A Revisit)
  • Why The World Idolizes Antichrist & How It Reacts To The Tribulation
  • Wiles of the Woman
  • Will All Children Be Taken in The Rapture?
  • Will Believers Go Through the Great Tribulation? (Part I)
  • Will Believers Go Through The Great Tribulation? (Part II)
  • Will There Still Be Unbelievers Throughout Eternity?
  • Yom Kippur / With Or Without Atonement?
  • Zechariah’s Dramatic Description of Antichrist’s Fatal Wounds

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