WHO IS JESUS?

WHO IS JESUS?

 

The world knows that 2,000 years ago a man named Jesus came from the town of Nazareth in what is now called Israel. He traveled about the region and gained a large following. After a few years, the religious leaders in Jerusalem falsely accused him of crimes and handed him over to the Roman authorities. They executed him by nailing him to a cross. A short time later, his followers preached in the name of Jesus Christ, whom they said rose from the dead. More and more followers were added to this movement which has become the Christian church of today.

These are the facts upon which even the greatest skeptic will agree. But there is so much more to Jesus than that. Where he came from, what he did on earth, what he can do for us now is all revealed in the Bible. This book contains the only record of Jesus and was written by the generation of people who heard him teach and saw his deeds. Here is what the Bible teaches us about Jesus Christ:

1. JESUS IS GOD.

John wrote about Him: In the beginning was the Word [poetic description of Jesus], and the Word was with God and the Word was God (John 1:1 ESV). He created the world and all that is in it (John 1:3). The religious leaders of his time understood that Jesus claimed to be God (John 5:17-18). Paul wrote that when Jesus died, the Father revealed to the entire world that He was God (Philippians 2:5-11).

2. JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD.

According to the Bible, “Son of God” means: (1) He is fully God. (2) He is one of three persons who together make up the One God. This concept is called the “Trinity.”

The religious leaders of Jesus’ time understood this concept: This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. (John 5:18 ESV)

3. JESUS BECAME HUMAN THROUGH THE VIRGIN BIRTH.

The eternal Son of God already existed in heaven (John 17:5). Through the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20), He was born as a human being, who was then named Jesus (Matthew 1:25). To demonstrate that Jesus was not a mere man (Colossians 2:9), God chose a virgin to give birth to Him (Luke 1:34-35).

4. JESUS CHRIST IS THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD.

Anytime we disobey God is called sin. The penalty for sin is death, but God in his love wants us to live. Therefore, he sent the promised Messiah (also called Christ) to save the world (John 1:41). The Son of God, Jesus Christ, came to earth to die in our place. Because He lived a life without sin, only He was qualified to pay for our sins by His death on a cross. He then demonstrated His power over death when He rose from the grave three days later. Only through Jesus can our sins can be forgiven and we can come to God (Acts 4:12). Jesus Christ is the Savior of everyone in the world (John 3:16).

5. JESUS PERFORMS MIRACLES.

All through his time on earth, Jesus performed miracles. He healed the sick (Matthew 8:16among many other instances), controlled the weather (Mark 4:39), multiplied food (Matthew 14:14-21), and provided money when needed (Matthew 17:24-27). Even after leaving the earth, He still does miracles in people’s lives (Acts 3:12-16).

6. JESUS CHANGES LIVES.

People who followed Jesus turned away from their sins. He cast seven demons out of Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:2) and she became a devoted follower who told others that Jesus had risen from the dead (John 20:16). Zaccheus, a tax collector, repaid people whom he cheated when collecting taxes and gave half of everything else to the poor (Luke 19:1-10). When followers were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, they were able to declare the message of Jesus, perform miracles, and live free from sin (Luke 10:1-20).

For nearly 2,000 years, Jesus Christ has been changing the lives of people all over the world. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV). He can change your life as well. Jesus will deliver you from sin’s addiction (Romans 6:22), renew your mind (Romans 12:2), and heal your hurts (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).

7. JESUS LIVES IN HEAVEN AT FATHER GOD’S RIGHT HAND.

After Jesus rose from the dead, He ascended to heaven to the place where he was before becoming human. From there he is able to hear our prayers (Romans 8:34).

8. JESUS WILL RETURN TO JUDGE ALL HUMANITY.

While he was still on this earth, Jesus said, Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man [a title Jesus used for Himself], and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Matthew 24:30 ESV). When Jesus returns, He will separate those who will live with Him forever in heaven from those who will be punished (Matthew 25:31-33).

9. JESUS CHRIST WILL RECEIVE YOU IF YOU COME TO HIM.

Jesus said, Whoever comes to me I will never cast out (John 6:37 ESV). This was why He came to earth—to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10 ESV). It does not matter what you have done, Jesus still wants you to come to Him. He said, I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32 ESV).

PRAY WITH ME NOW TO MAKE JESUS CHRIST YOUR SAVIOR AND YOUR FRIEND.

Bible verses related to The Trinity from the King James Version (KJV) by Relevance

 

- Sort By Book Order

 

John 10:30 - I and [my] Father are one.

Matthew 28:19 - Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

1 Corinthians 8:6 - But to us [there is but] one God, the Father, of whom [are] all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom [are] all things, and we by him.

2 Corinthians 13:14 - The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, [be] with you all. Amen. ([The second [epistle] to the Corinthians was written from Philippi, [a city] of Macedonia, by Titus and Lucas.])

Matthew 3:16-17 - And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:   (Read More...)

John 14:26 - But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

John 1:14 - And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

1 John 5:7-8 - For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.   (Read More...)

John 14:16-17 - And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;   (Read More...)

Colossians 2:9 - For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

Philippians 2:5-8 - Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  (Read More...)

Genesis 1:26 - And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

John 1:1-51 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.   (Read More...)

1 Peter 1:2 - Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

Ephesians 4:4-6 - [There is] one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;   (Read More...)

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 - Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, [is] God;   (Read More...)

John 10:30-36 - I and [my] Father are one.   (Read More...)

Genesis 3:22 - And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

Can you explain the Trinity?

Q: "What about the doctrine of the Trinity, the Holy Trinity?"

our A: You and I live in a three-dimensional world. All physical objects have a certain height, width, and depth. One person can look like someone else, or behave like someone else, or even sound like someone else. But a person cannot actually be the same as another person. They are distinct individuals.

God, however, lives without the limitations of a three-dimensional universe. He is spirit. And he is infinitely more complex than we are.

That is why Jesus the Son can be different from the Father. And, yet the same.

The Bible clearly speaks of: God the Son, God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit. But emphasizes that there is only ONE God.

If we were to use math, it would not be, 1+1+1=3. It would be 1x1x1=1. God is a triune God.

Thus the term: "Tri" meaning three, and "Unity" meaning one, Tri+Unity = Trinity. It is a way of acknowledging what the Bible reveals to us about God, that God is yet three "Persons" who have the same essence of deity. Some have tried to give human illustrations for the Trinity, such as H₂O being water, ice and steam (all different forms, but all are H₂O). Another illustration would be the sun. From it we receive light, heat and radiation. Three distinct aspects, but only one sun.

No illustration is going to be perfect.

But from the very beginning we see God as a Trinity. Notice the plural pronouns "us" and "our" in Genesis 1:26 -- Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

Though not a complete list, here is some other Scripture that shows God is one, in Trinity:

• "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!" (Deut. 6:4)
  
• "I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God." (Isa. 45:5)
  
• There is no God but one. (1Cor. 8:4)
  
• And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." (Matt. 3:16-17)
  
• "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 28:19)
  
• Jesus said: "I and the Father are one." (John 10:30)
  
• "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." (John 14:9)
  
• "He who beholds Me beholds the One who sent Me." (John 12:45)
  
• If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. (Rom. 8:9)
  
• "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 1:20)
  
• And the angel answered and said to her [Mary], "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35)
  
• [Jesus speaking to His disciples] "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you." ... "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him." (John 14:16-17, 23)

God's Blessing Game

God's Blessing Game - Commentary by Jack Kelley - https://gracethrufaith.com/topical-studies/holidays-and-holy-days/gods-blessing-game/

 

Every year at Thanksgiving I'm reminded of the holiday's origin, the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. It was the crowning event in Israel's cycle of fall feasts that also included Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It was a celebration of the harvest, of God's mercy in forgiving their sins for another year, and a remembrance of the time when He lived among them in the wilderness, setting them apart as His people.

 

When the Pilgrims had experienced their first successful harvest in the New World, they decided to give thanks for the Lord's provision, even though half of them had died in the year since their arrival. Inviting the neighboring natives to join them, they held a three-day celebration patterned after their knowledge of the Feast of Tabernacles.

 

Here's How It All Began

 

The Jews were about to enter the Promised Land. The Lord had Moses tell them that in the future they were to set aside a tithe (1/10th) of their production each year and bring it, along with all their other voluntary offerings, to the place He would choose for them to worship Him. They were to eat them there in a gigantic national feast. Think of it, 1/10th of all the lambs, goats and cattle born that year, 1/10th of the grain, vegetables and fruit from through out the land, breads and cakes and barrels of wine.

 

Each fall, after the harvest, everyone in Israel came to Jerusalem to celebrate. It was the biggest Thanksgiving dinner ever. The sounds of laughing and singing and the aroma of exotic foods  filled the air for a whole week as the people gave thanks to God for blessing them (Deut. 12:8-12, 17-19).

 

Every third year they gave their tithes to the Levites and stayed home. This assured that there was always enough to take care of the Levites (who were the teachers and doctors and lawyers and had no land to till) and all the widows and orphans, the indigent, and the aliens among them. Each year they celebrated His provision and the Lord blessed them with more so that their abundance grew. He commanded them to do this every year so that He could "bless them in all the works of their hands." (Deut. 14:22-29) By setting the Lord's share aside and then using it to give thanks to Him, they found that each year their blessing increased.

 

But after their return from the Babylonian captivity, the Lord caught them cheating Him. He warned them that they had put themselves under a curse because they weren't setting aside their tithes properly. They were giving the Lord their worst, not their best, and even this was being done resentfully as if it was a great burden. Because of this they were not being blessed but were working harder and harder for less and less. "Return to me and I'll return to you," He told them. "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse. Test me in this and see if I don't throw open the flood gates of Heaven and pour our so much blessing that you won't have room enough for it." (Malachi 1 & 3:7-10)

 

And that's always the way it is with the Lord. No hard feelings, no resentment, just return to Him and He'll return to you. All is forgiven, because His mercies are new every morning. We can always begin right where we are and He'll respond as if the past had never happened.

 

The Rules Of The Game

 

So by these two passages we learn the rules of what I call God's Blessing Game. We show our gratitude by giving God His due and He blesses us with more. We increase our giving and He increases His blessing, allowing us to give still more. And on it goes. But when we become stingy or resentful and try to short-change God, then the blessings are curtailed accordingly.

 

The Israelites proved beyond all doubt that by following the rules of the game they could win every time. And they demonstrated the futility of cheating. But is there any New Testament version of God's Blessing Game? Of course there is, because God is the same yesterday today and forever. Luke 6:38 tells us "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

 

Show a little gratitude and get a little blessing. Show a little more and the blessings increase. The more generous we become the more abundant our blessings will be. Paul gave us the ultimate outcome in 2 Cor. 9:11. You'll be made rich in every way so you can be generous on every occasion. Every time we feel moved to help someone out, we'll find the money's there to do it. And it will all result in thanksgiving to God.

 

Treasure In Heaven

 

Lots of people overlook the last half of this promise, and find that because they do it doesn't come true. The Lord didn't promise to make us rich so that we could have bigger houses and more cars, He promised to make us rich so that we could be more generous. As one commentator has put it, "God's blessings are not to increase our standard of living. but to increase our standard of giving."   We're supposed to be a distribution center for His blessings, not a warehouse.  The blessings we receive are supposed to flow through to others, not stop with us. The riches we store up are for Heaven, not Earth. Good thing too, because here they only last a little while, but there they last forever. (Matt. 6:19-20)

 

This is God's Blessing Game. It's a game that He developed and that everyone can win. The rules are clear and don't ever change. We establish the level of blessings we'll receive by the gratitude we express through our generosity toward others.  The Lord loves a cheerful giver and will reward us accordingly.

 

So the Pilgrims decided to take a lesson from the Israelites. They took the little they had and gave thanks, inviting the natives in their midst to join them to show their generosity. In return the Lord blessed them. And so it began. To one degree or another, it's been going on ever since and look how we've been blessed. Americans are the richest people on Earth.  If you don't believe that, try living somewhere else, anywhere else, for a while.

 

It's Our Little Secret

 

It's a testimony to God's understanding of the human condition that the Thanksgiving Holiday's roots have been obscured. You see, he longs to bless us but the rules of the game require an expression of gratitude on our part. By allowing Thanksgiving to be perceived as a secular holiday instead of a religious one, He can receive our thanks without risking the same demand that He be taken out of the loop as there is for Christmas. There's no public outcry by the pagans, no suits by the ACLU, and no attacks by other religions against its origin. Very few people are even aware of the Biblical roots of this "American" holiday. But being devout Christians, the Pilgrims knew Who they were thanking, and why. You and I do, too. It's our little secret. Ours and God's.

 

I pray that your Thanksgiving is a happy one, and that through out the holidays you'll remember the rules of God's Blessing Game and always play to win. 

In the Name of Jesus

In the Name of Jesus - By Pastor Mike Taylor - http://pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com/2016/11/in-name-of-jesus.html

 

6"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

7If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him." (John 14:6-7)

 

9"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11)

 

11"For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

12So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." (Romans 14:11-12)

 

Of all the names written or spoken of in all of man's history on this earth, none has caused as much division among men, than the glorious Name of JESUS Christ, my Lord. Jesus was a historical, real person who lived in the occupied land of Israel by Rome some 2000 years ago, and since His birth, life, death, and resurrection, the secular world has tried unsuccessfully to marginalize the blessed Name of this God/Man who came into the world for one reason, to die for your sins and mine.

 

The secular world has a real problem with the only sinless man that ever lived and established His Church on this earth on the Day of Pentecost in every believer that receives His Holy Spirit. I know this is a broad subject, so let me in a few words try and express why the Name of JESUS causes so much conflict in this world and makes unrepentant mankind angry just at the mention of His Name and why YOU need Him in your life.

 

Note that there are two monotheistic religions that dominate the so called "modern" earth we live on, that being Christianity and Islam. Christianity in all its forms, some true, some not so true, comprise nearly 2.2 billion or 31.5% of the population and Islam (totally untrue) 1.6 billion or 22.3% of the population according the numbers posted on Wikipedia. Since Jesus ascension into heaven, men have attempted to suppress the "faith once delivered" to our fathers, but if you say the name of Allah, there is not even a peep from the secular world and they promote it as a religion of "peace and love". Really?

 

The world and its leaders take great pains to forward this message about Islam even as the adherents of this so called "religion" murder and rape all who will not follow their beliefs and embrace the false god, Allah. Right off the bat, there is a clue that this "religion" is not about peace and love, as all men claim God is love. But understand that religion is not God. Religion is man's attempt to explain what they think God wants, or their attempt to make themselves acceptable to God. I"ve often said that religion would be a great thing, if man were not involved in it. Why? Because men pervert the message to their own self-interest and make a mockery of Who God really is.

 

You can make anything your religion. Any old god will do..just pick one and make it your focus of worship. The world is full of false religions or man's attempt to justify himself, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism, or about every "-ism" you can name or you can just make up one of your own to suit yourself. But its not about religion, as even the Lord Jesus emphasized when He met the Samarian woman at the well.

 

"Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe Me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. . . But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:21.23-24)

 

Jesus came to change all the religious traditions that had distorted the true worship of a Holy God and when on earth, although He was a God of love, His message did not promote "peace and love". He came not to bring peace, but a sword.'

 

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household." (Matthew 10:34-36)

 

Jesus railed at the established religion of His day when He blasted the religious authorities for their hypocrisy and their "traditions".

 

9"And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

10For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:

11But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban ( sacrifical offering: my explanation), that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.

12And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;

13Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.. (Mark 7:9-14)

 

27" Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

28Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity" (Matthew 23:27-28)

 

Followers of Jesus Christ are anything but a religion or traditions. It is a personal relationship with THE God that created the universe, based on the knowledge that all men are sinners are in need of a Savior.

 

But religion is a practice of trying to make yourself acceptable to God by your own endeavors by balancing the scales of good and evil by doing more good than evil. So when religious or political leaders use the phrase "peace and love" when they speak of Islam, they reveal they don't know what they are speaking of.

 

ISLAM IS HOLY???

 

During the present administration of the current POTUS, this "usurper in chief" has never failed to promote the "religion" of Islam. He can say that Islam is holy and the Koran is holy legitimizing "Allah" as holy and his "prophet" Mohammed as this "god's" messenger. Even with the belief of "separation of church and state" you will hear not a peep out of the ACLU.

 

All the organizations that battle Christianity and the mention of the very word "Jesus" in our schools and the Ten Commandment on any government property, promote Islam all day long without fear of lawsuits. Indeed, there exist in the American school system, MANDATORY curriculums that amount to immersion courses in Islam, complete with the taking of an Islamic name, studying the Koran, and practicing Islamic rituals. but goes bananas when they attempt to profess America "One nation under God". Why is that?

 

Well, the obvious answer to that question why Jesus and anything or anyone that mentions the God of the Bible producing a visceral response, is that Allah is nothing but a false god and its "religion" is nothing but a political movement. It doesn't really make much sense, when you realize that this false religion of Islam is promoting murder and mayhem all over the world, but you mention the name of Jesus and you get immediate revulsion that you even breathed His Name. Muslims worldwide are planning at this very moment their next murderous attack on the infidels that they hate so much for not bowing the knee to their hateful ideology.

 

But this so called POTUS, promotes Islam at every convenient moment he can, and he calls himself a "christian"? I think not.

 

Further, because Islam and its god is false, there is no threat from speaking or teaching about Islam...not to the world, and especially not to Satan as they are on the same side. Not so with the Name of Jesus, because Jesus is real and the True God of the Bible. To the secular world all the different gods are more or less the same, so who cares?

 

Except for Jesus. There is something about Jesus and they can't stand it.

 

JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY

 

True blood washed Christians are condemned by the political and secular world, because we make Jesus and the salvation He provides as exclusive. Since we know that is their reason, "I can identify with that condemnation on their part" because I concur with their assessment. Men don't like that Jesus as the only Way, and being so exclusive. They want to have many different ways to justify themselves. They push the idea, just like Oprah Winfrey did on her now cancelled show, when she expressed that there were many ways to come to God. She likened it to a hub with its many spokes on the wheel. Just as there are many spokes, or ways to come to the center of the hub, there are many ways to come to God, "Just be a good person" she quips.

 

Problem is with her analogy, is Jesus (for lack of a better explanation) is an exclusive way to God, or an "exclusive club". As the opening verse so aptly explains:

 

"....I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6b)

 

That's exclusive. There is no other way. No amount of good works, no belief in some other god or spoke in that wheel, no amount of giving to the church, no amount of confession before your priest, so exclusively there is NO other way, but Jesus.

 

The apostle John explained is so easily and completely when he wrote in his Gospel of John beginning with the 1st verses:

 

John 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.1:2  The same was in the beginning with God.1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." (John 1:1-5)

 

The root and the trunk of the born again doctrine found in the bible is found in John's Gospel and centers on chapter 3.  The other gospel writers do not expressly say it, but provide supporting evidence of this essential truth. In this gospel, John proclaimed the divinity of Jesus Christ, as Jesus talks of light, darkness, baptism, and the Temple of God in the first three chapters of the Gospel of John.  Symbolism is used to illustrate the spiritual with the physical. Many of the symbols Jesus uses are understood by the people Jesus spoke to.

 

Then came the Apostle to the point of the whole of your Bible, when he wrote what Jesus said to Nicodemus in John chapter 3:

 

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosover believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life"

God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but the world through Him, might be saved."

(John 3:16-17)

 

When Jesus proclaimed the spiritual truth in a physical way to the masses in the synagogue at Caperneum, some couldn't grasp what He was saying:John 6:54-58 

 

"Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides [or "lives," or "dwells," or "continues"] in Me [That is, He is saying that it is a life-giving substance.], and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven-not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever."

 

Thinking in physical terms, this idea repulsed most of the disciples and those who heard  and many left Him, as they didn't understand the spiritual application of the New Covenant of His death and resurrection and symbolized when we take the bread and the wine at the Lord's Supper and commemorating this act of total surrender for our redemption.

 

If you want to know the man, Jesus Christ, you need to start at the Gospel in the New Testament that proclaimed His divinity, His earthly ministry, and His death leading to His resurrection, as the first born of the dead. That Gospel is John. John uses the last days of Jesus ministry leading to the cross to illustrate who Jesus was, and what He did for all mankind. If you wish to understand how God the Son came down from glory and became a man with only one mission, to save mankind, then you must start at John and study the witnessed account of the life and ministry of Jesus the Christ up close and personal. Then read the surrounding gospels that support it, and read into the Pauline epistles of the man Paul, who met Jesus in His glorified state and how it changed his life.

 

COMPARE THIS WITH ISLAM

 

If you start dissecting the "religion" of Islam, you quickly discover that the basic concept is a "god of war", death and destruction. Led by an evil man who proclaimed this false god from all the polytheistic gods of the Arabian deserts and narrowed it down to one "feminine" moon goddess and made Allah male and a book of the Koran was written many years after Mohammed's death containing war verses of jihad, or holy war against infidels, or non-believers. Logically, if this "allah" is "holy" then how does one, being a mortal man come into his presence? By committing hideous acts of murder and conquest and becoming a abomination in front of other men? How does that logically compute? If "allah" is sinless and holy, then how does a murderer enter into his presence? Show me one place where this Allah was just, loving, or showed himself divine? Can't think of one? Neither can I, because there are none. Point being, Islam is not a true "religion", but a political ideology of evil men on a quest for domination of other men. What one entity that is described in your bible would compare to this description of Allah?

 

12"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

15Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

16They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;" (Isaiah 14:12-16)

 

8"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (1st Peter 5:8)

 

 

You see, Satan hates anything that belongs to God. He hates Jesus because He saves men because of their trust and faith in what Jesus did for them on a Roman cross. It was Satan's biggest victory, that became his greatest defeat.

 

7 "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

8Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." (1st Corinthians 2:7-8)

 

THERE IS COMING A DAY

 

For 2000 years, the Holy Spirit of God has been dealing with mankind, through all the false christs, all the false religions such as Islam and drawing a select remnant of the world's population to Him, those that heard the call of God and responded in human repentance and a broken and contrite heart, but as we see the world crumbling around us, that call for repentance during this Age of Grace we live in, will be cut off without warning.

 

51"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

53For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal mus tput on immortality.

54So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

55O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" (1st Corinthians 15:51-55)

 

These describe the coming of our Lord JESUS, the One true God that will come and remove His church from this earth. Then will begin the most horrible time that mankind will ever experience. I have talked about that seven years of the coming Tribulation repeatedly and I won't go over the ramifications of missing the trumpet call that Paul speaks of in the preceding verses in this message. I have numerous messages covering that subject, so go there to get an explanation of what those years will bring to sinful mankind.

 

But the Name of JESUS, one day will be Lord over all the earth. My God, my Savior will come again to reign and rule for 1000 years, but not before He crushes all rebellion upon this earth with just a spoken word, the bible calls the sword of His mouth.

 

The bible is most descriptive of what Jesus will do at that time:

 

11 "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

12His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

13And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

14And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. (sign of the saints, my explanation)

15And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

16And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

17And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;

18That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

19And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.

20And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

21And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." (Revelation 19:11-21)

 

My God, the blessed Name of Jesus in person will come and destroy all false religions, all evil men who have taken the "mark of the beast" that I spoke of in my last message, and destroy the two evil men who proclaimed a "false god" and his messenger, the false prophet. Just as the prophet Isaiah spoke of in the book that bears his name, the prophet wrote down what those who remain and are fortunate to escape alive through the coming Tribulation will proclaim:

 

20Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.

21Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.

22Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I amGod, and there is none else.

23I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear." (Isaiah 45:20-23)

 

9Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:10-11)

 

The two passage speak of the same glorious Person, Jesus Christ...one in the Old Testament and another in the New Testament, to God the Father's glory as God has proclaimed "JESUS" a Name above every name.

 

WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH THIS GOD/MAN, JESUS?

 

I have briefly shown you that Jesus is God, that all other religions are false, including Islam. In comparison, there is no other God. Make no mistake about it. Jesus is coming, and may come very soon. Will you continue to ignore the drawing of the Holy Spirit and reject the free offer of salvation to your own eventual destruction, or will you humble yourself and call out to the only Person who ever lived that can free you from the bondage of sin and the penalty of eternal death and separation from God Almighty? God calls all people, but only a few will submit willingly to the call of God to repentance and turn around from their evil ways and follow "the Way, the Truth and the Life" ...the glorious name of JESUS.

 

A Thief in the Night

A Thief in the Night - Alf Cengia - http://www.omegaletter.com/articles/articles.asp?ArticleID=8343

 

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the expression, like a thief in the night means: "secretly or unexpectedly and without being seen."

 

That sounds just about right to me as well.

 

After all, why do thieves break into houses at night? Well, they're unlikely to be spotted at that time. People are asleep or not paying close attention. You might eventually end up hearing or even seeing the thief if he makes too much noise. But the idea is that he comes unexpectedly.

 

The Apostle Paul used the term in context to the Day of the Lord in 1 Thess 5:2.

 

The thief in the night axiom is also linked to the pretribulational rapture and its imminent quality. It's the idea that Christ could come any time for His church.

 

One of the champions of imminence was Gerald Stanton (Kept from the Hour).

 

Non-pretribbers naturally disagree with Stanton's view that the rapture is imminent. They argue for "expectancy" rather than imminence. The idea of expectancy in the place of imminence has been promoted by posttribulationists such as George E. Ladd and Robert Gundry.

 

Doug Egsti's 36 page essay attempts responses to Stanton and other pretribulationists. He insists that some events need to occur before the rapture, although he doesn't get into the heart of the imminence verses. In one example, Egsti notes Arnold Fruchtenbaum's teaching that imminence is applicable only after 70 AD. Then he takes issue with the fact that Fruchtenbaum entertained the possibility that the seven churches of Revelation represented historical eras. How could the rapture then be imminent?

 

Alva McClain (who agrees with Fruchtenbaum regarding 70 AD) preempted this objection by pointing out that if these Historical Church Eras were a direct revelation, then the rapture couldn't occur at any time. But he added that there was no such revelation.

 

Another problem cited by Egsti is the fulfillment of the Great Commission. His colleagues often insist that the 144,000 in Revelation chapter 7 aren't evangelists. In other words the church must be still around to fulfill it. And yet Rosenthal wrote that:

 

"It is almost like a baton being passed between runners. The 144,000 must be sealed for protection to go through the Day of the Lord before the church can be caught up to the throne in heaven. God will not leave Himself without a people on the earth." ~ The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church page 185

 

In contrast, Van Kampen wrote:

 

"These 144,000 will become the firstfruits of unsaved Israel (Rev. 14:4), not saved until the rapture occurs - which is why they will not be raptured with the saints..." ~ The Rapture Question Answered p 155 (Emphasis mine)

 

That's rather convenient timing! One gets the feeling that all sorts of excuses have been formulated to keep the church on earth right up until the last moment. Interestingly, Rev 14:6has an angel preaching the Everlasting Gospel to those who dwell on the earth.

 

Non-pretribbers like to point out that the thief expression occurs in Matthew 24:43 and Revelation 16:15 (and elsewhere). They note that the former verse appears in the Olivet Discourse in context to Jesus' coming at the end of the tribulation. The latter verse appears during the 6th bowl judgment.

 

That being the case, how can anyone justify using the thief idiom for the pretrib rapture?

 

Robert Van Kampen (p 107) even advised his readers to find a pretribber and ask them why it is not permitted to set dates.  Almost everyone quotes Matt 24:36. The pretribber is then informed that v 36 is cited in context to the Second Coming verses earlier, so it cannot refer to the rapture.

 

In response to all this, we can make a number of observations:

 

That the Lord warns of coming as a thief at Rev 16:15 is a parenthetical statement warning readers of all periods. It does not mean Christ hasn't returned by then. The verse should be compared with 1 Thess 5:2-3 where Paul says the Day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night while they are saying peace and safety. There is no peace and safety at the 6th bowl, or after the 2nd seal for that matter.

 

In Matthew 24 Jesus prophesied certain events and gave signs leading up to His Second Coming. Yet at v36 He tells the disciples that no one knows the hour or the day of His return. How can this be?

 

Non-pretribbers argue that it is the time of the events leading up to the rapture which cannot be determined; hence the timing of the Second Coming is unknown. Once the Seven-Year Covenant has been confirmed and the Abomination of Desolation enacted, we can have firm parameters - but only then. In contrast, prewrathers will switch to imminency once the Great Tribulation is under way.

 

Pretribulationists note that at Matt 24:36 Jesus used the word but (peri de), which introduces a new subject or idea (Fruchtenbaum, Hart etc). While He responded to the disciples' Jewish concerns (the Temple and the end of the age etc), it was His prerogative to shift focus and add extra information.

 

In fact Jesus says something in vv37-38 which logically demands a different coming. How can the worst time in history (Matt 24:21-22) parallel a period of normalcy where people are eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage? He punctuates the point further by saying:

 

Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.  Mat 24:44

 

Yet didn't Jesus just give the disciples a set of signs to look for? Go take another look at 1Thess 5:2-3!

 

But that's not all.

 

Hosea 5:15 and Matt 23:39 suggest that Christ's premillennial return is contingent to Israel's seeking Him. If the Lord's coming relies on Israel's request, then He cannot return unexpectedly. Moreover, it rules out the scenarios argued by Rosenthal and Van Kampen (as noted earlier).

 

Given all this and considering verses which strongly imply imminence (Matt 24:42, 44, 50, 25:13; Mark 13:34-37), I believe it takes some special pleading to simply argue for expectancy.

 

Perhaps Jesus just means what He says - to be ready at all times because He could return for the church at any time!

 

"Ah! Think how would you like to be overtaken by the coming of the Saviour. Try your daily occupations - your daily state of feeling - your daily enjoyments - try them by this test: Am I doing as I would wish to do on the day of His coming? ~ Robert Murray M'Cheyne

 

Are you ready?