THE INTERESTING
INFORMATION CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
CONFIRMING
BIBLICAL TRUTH
AUGUST 8, 2018
SECTION 1 – INTERESTTING
INFORMATION WEEKLY ARTILCLES
SECTION 2 – SUMMARIES/BOOK
REVIEWS/SPECIAL ARTICLES/CHRISTIAN LINKS
SECTION
III – CONTACT
INTERESTING INFORMATION 8/8/2018
The following material is provided for
information purposes only. Any
conclusions or opinions formed should be based on the principles as outlined in
Acts 17:11. The material is intended for
use as a witnessing tool and to keep you informed so you will not be unaware
(Luke 21:34) of what is happening according to Scripture.
C
DOUBLE
CLICK OR COPY TO BROWSER
URL-GOD’S MESSAGE IN THE
STARS
http://www.returntogod.com/Science/stars.htm
URL- THE DAY THE LIGHTS GO OUT AND THE TRUCKS STOP
RUNNING
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-day-the-lights-go-out-and-the-trucks-stop-running
CHRISTIAN
MUSIC VIDEO
HIS GRACE IS SUFFICIENT
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: “It was my sin and your sin that put Jesus on the cross” – Our Daily Bread
INTERESTING ARTICLES
·
God’s Prophetic Word to
this Nation
·
The center of the world
·
Three Hebrew words that
show us what it means to be a Christian
·
How God used a 6-year
old girl to lead a hardened Muslim to Christ
·
4 in 10 LGBT Americans
identify as “Christian”
·
Fearfully and
wonderfully made
·
THE HIGH COST OF SIN
·
‘S
INTERESTING ARTICLES……
GOD'S PROPHETIC WORD TO THIS NATION
(Excerpt)
By Rev Nolan J Harkness
Koenig’s
Int’l News – Aug. 3, 2018 -- On July 24, 2016, ironically, two years
before the writing of this article, God gave the following prophetic word for
me to give to our church in upstate New York. I remember very clearly that when
the prophecy came forth, I realized that while it was being released at that
time in a local church, it was designed by God to be heard at some future time
by the whole nation. For reasons only God knows, He has not released me to
share it publically beyond our church until now. May we hear the heart of the
Lord as well as the Word of the Lord in the Prophecy.
It should not be viewed as a condemning blow from a harsh taskmaster, but as a
beckoning plea from a loving father, calling His children unto Himself. May the
words bless and speak to your heart.
“For this is what the Lord says. Enter
into my presence. Enter into my rest, says God, for in me you shall find peace.
For there shall be wars and rumors of
wars, but do not let your heart be troubled. For the Great Bald Eagle does not
seek me as she once did. And her flag flies at half-staff across her land, mourning
the loss of her loved ones.
For she does not seek me
as she did.
The Great Bald Eagle is reaping what she
has sown. For she no longer prays as she used to. She does not seek me like she did in the days
of her forefathers, who sought me earnestly with all their hearts, when the
nation was built on prayer and the leading of my Holy Spirit.
But the Great Bald Eagle Leans now on
the schools of higher learning and the intellect of man and she no longer leans
on my direction.
So she is reaping from what she has
sown, and no longer sees the need for me, says God, for there has never been as
much sin in the world since the beginning of time and they do not realize that
they are reaping what they have sown.
Because she has sown death, she is
reaping death. If she would sow righteousness, she would reap righteousness.
But
I say unto you, seek my face and lean on my Spirit and be
thou faithful unto death and I will give you a Crown of Life!”
The
Spirit of God in this word recognizes we are living in troubled times. As is
predicted by the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 24:6, there are wars and rumors
of wars all around us. For the past couple of years our nation dealt with the
threat of war with North Korea, and as that threat dissipated, it didn't take
long for talk of war with Iran to be developed. God knows and sees all.
We must remember that God once spoke through a donkey to the
Prophet Balaam in Numbers 22:28. If this small town boy from rural Pennsylvania
can be used as God's mouthpiece then to Him be all the Glory! I only know I am
a man of prayer who continues to seek God with all his heart and that through
the years God has revealed many things to me. One of my favorite verses is
Jeremiah 33:3 (KJV) "Call on the Lord and He will show you great and
mighty things that you know not!"
Israel365 – Jul. 27, 2018 -- God tells Ezekiel that He has set
Jerusalem at the center of the world, with the rest of the countries around it.
In medieval times, Jerusalem was literally thought of as the center of the
world, and maps were drawn to reflect that understanding. Jerusalem remains the religious and
spiritual center of the world as it says in Isaiah 2:3 "For instruction
shall come forth from Zion the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem." Indeed the major monotheistic religions of the world consider
Jerusalem to be their holy city!
3 HEBREW WORDS THAT SHOW US WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A CHRISTIAN
Charisma News
– Jul. 1, 2018 -- Yasha, aliyah
and kavode. These three Hebrew words play a
huge role in understanding not only the Bible, but also the kind of holiness
God calls us to. Jonathan Cahn takes you back to the basics and shows how these
Hebrew words shed light on what it means to be a Christian.
Yasha - "The Lord is my strength and
song, and He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him; my
father's God, and I will exalt Him" (Ex. 15:2).
The word yasha
is, as Cahn writes, "the answer to everything." Yasha
means to rescue, to defend, to preserve, to save, to attain victory, and to
heal.
Whether we realize it or not, we spend
our lives seeking yasha. We crave security and
freedom. We seek to have our needs met.
The good news is,
God meets our needs. From yasha comes the
Hebrew word yeshua which means salvation. It
is written in the Hebrew Scriptures: "God has become my yeshua." He has become our salvation. Our Savior.
"In other words, God would become
our help, our defense, our preserving, our freedom, our victory, our salvation.
God would become the answer to our greatest and deepest needs," Cahn
writes.
When the name Yeshua
is translated into Greek, it becomes Iesous
which, when translated into English, becomes Jesus. Jesus especially is our Yeshua. He is our salvation, our rescue and our freedom
from ourselves.
Aliyah - "Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path" (Ps. 119:105).
You have an aliyah
to make. Aliyah means the going
up. The ascent. The journey to Jerusalem is called the
aliyah because the city is set on a mountain.
When Jesus traveled to the Holy City, He made an aliyah.
When the Jewish people returned to the Land of Israel after their exile, the
return was called the Aliyah. Going to the Promised Land was known as
making Aliyah or the upward journey.
We as Christ-followers are also called
to make aliyah. But the journey is not literal. It's
spiritual. As the spiritual children of Israel, our lives should be an upward
journey that glorifies God. Like climbing a mountain, we are to always choose
the higher path. When faced with choices, we choose the one that brings about
spiritual growth and glorifies God. We make our entire life the Aliyah.
Kavode - "Thus says the Lord: Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. Where then is the
house that you could build for Me? And where is the
place of My rest?" (Is. 66:1).
Kavode has two meanings: weight and glory.
When we read in the Bible that Heaven is God's throne, we understand that it's
where God's weight and glory rests. The earth is just a footstool. God rests
His feet on it but not His full weight.
In turn, we are to do the same. We are
called to "set [our] affection on things above" and "not on
things on earth" (Col. 3:2). We rest our weight on the earth lightly.
"The earth is just a footstool. It
isn't the place on which you can rest all your weight or your well-being. Its
possessions are only footstool problems. And its glory is only a footstool
glory."
HOW GOD USED A 6-YEAR-OLD GIRL TO LEAD
THIS HARDENED MUSLIM TO CHRIST (Excerpt)
Charisma News
– Jul. 31, 2018 -- Six-year-old Abby unzipped her Barbie backpack with a
twinkle in her eye. Pulling out her Case for Christ for Kids book, she
gripped it firmly and thrust it before Omar's face, barely reaching up to his
chest, inquiring, "Omar, do you know about Jesus?"
A bright white
grin flashed across Omar's dark Somalian face as he folded his six-foot frame
and got down on his knees to take the book from Abby's little hands. "No,
Abby, I don't. You can tell me about him, then?"
I stared
incredulously at this scene, looking back and forth at my wife, Melissa, our
brave young daughter, and this kind man who had been taught his whole life that
Christians were his enemy. Our family had been ministering to them for nearly a
year, and I been fervently praying for a chance to share the gospel with Omar
and his family. Little did I know that Jesus would use my precocious young
daughter to open the door.
Steve
admittedly fell into refugee ministry by accident. He and Melissa sought out
places they could take their three children ages 10 and under and go serve
people in need. Surprisingly, they found one dead end after another as most
agencies did not allow children to participate in service until their teen
years. Then he stumbled across Lutheran Social Services and its refugee
ministry. Their first family they were matched with was Omar's. He and his wife
had children similar ages to those of Steve and Melissa, and a new ministry for
the Hubler family began.
Within a
year's time, Steve and Melissa would be working with seven different churches
and over 300 volunteers, adopting and caring for refugee families all across
Maricopa County, Arizona, in 2014. The gospel was being shared, families were
becoming assimilated, Muslim families reported Jesus appearing to them in
dreams, and God worked mightily, even bringing refugees from many different
countries together for church celebrations.
Staci, a
volunteer under Steve's ministry, shares the miraculous story of her children
hosting a lemonade stand in their neighborhood to raise money to take their
refugee family to the zoo. A patron of the stand approached them with a card
from her Christian Farsi-speaking church. Within a week, their Muslim refugee
family attended this church and heard the gospel!
4 IN 10 LGBT AMERICANS IDENTIFY AS
CHRISTIAN, SIMILAR NUMBER UNAFFILIATED
The Christian
Post – June 18, 2018 -- Approximately four out of ten LGBT Americans identify
as religiously unaffiliated, roughly equaling the percentage that identify as
Christian, according to a new survey.
A poll
conducted May 24 to June 1 by BuzzFeed News and
Whitman Insight Strategies of 880 LGBT Americans, whose findings were
released last week, found that 39 percent of respondents did not have a
religious affiliation.
By comparison,
41 percent identified as either Catholic or Protestant, 8 percent identified as
some "other" religion, 4 percent identified as Jewish, 3 percent
identified as Buddhist, and 1 percent identified as Muslim.
Marilyn Paarlberg, the executive director at the LGBT organization
Room for All, told Newsweek in an interview published Sunday that she was
surprised by the fact that a plurality of respondents identified with a
religious affiliation. Buzzfeed and WIS' findings echo a 2013 survey by Pew
Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends, which found the LGBT
community's rate of religious disaffiliation to be twice the general
population.
"That is
very surprising to me because in my experience working with the LGBTQ community
in the church is that many of them have either left a long time ago or were
exiled," said Paarlberg.
Based off of a
survey of 1,197 self-identified LGBT individuals aged 18 and above conducted
April 2013, Pew found that 48 percent of LGBT Americans considered themselves
without a religious affiliation, compared to 20 percent of the general public.
"Lesbians,
gay men, bisexuals and transgender adults are, on the whole, less religious
than the general public," stated Pew in a 2013 press release.
"LGBT
adults who do have a religious affiliation generally attend worship services
less frequently and attach less importance to religion in their lives than do
religiously affiliated adults in the general public."
FEARFULLY
AND WONDERFULLY MADE
Psalm 139:13-16
“For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me
in my mother’s womb. I will praise
thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:
marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee,
when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts
of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect;
and in thy book all my members were written, which in
continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.”
Creation Moments – Aug. 3, 2018 -- One of the most famous
and beautiful passages in the Bible, concerning unborn children, is found in
Psalm 139.
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together
in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden
from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of
the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written,
every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none
of them. (Psalm 139:13-16)
God formed the “inward parts” or internal organs. He
formed the “covering” or skin. And He formed the “frame” – the bones. None of
these developments was hidden from God. They were all put together by Him for
His glory. These verses tell us that the days were already formed for him
before the baby had seen any of them. Therefore, this Scripture is telling us
that the baby inside his mother’s womb is human.
Previously, in a Creation Moment, we talked about the
baby being human because of the way he was put together. Psalm 139 has
expressed that same thought in a song of worship. We worship God for the
physical life He has given us and for the spiritual life that He has created.
Evidence today suggests that unborn babies react to external stimuli such as
light and sound; further confirmation of their unique life apart from the
mother.
THE HIGH COST OF SIN
Anyone who has
read through the book of Leviticus can’t help but notice the emphasis on
sacrifices. There were prescribed animals for different kinds of personal and
national offerings, as well as for occasions like the Sabbath and feasts. Why
did God require this? And why was He so specific about the details of worship?
There were
three lessons God was teaching Israel through His law.
• God is
holy and separate from sinful man.
• Sin is
costly, requiring a payment or sacrifice.
• There is
no forgiveness without the shedding of blood.
All the laws,
ceremonies, priests, and offerings in the Old Testament were a shadow of the
good things to come. None of the animal sacrifices could actually take away
sin. While serving as a reminder of sin, those offerings also pointed ahead to
the Lamb of God: Jesus Christ came to be the final sacrifice. He gave His life
at Calvary, bringing complete forgiveness for all sin.
We who live on
this side of the cross may be tempted to think too lightly of our sins because
we have never sacrificed an animal or seen blood flowing from the throat of an
innocent lamb because of our wrongdoing. Nor did we watch the crucifixion of
our Lord as He hung on the cross, bearing God’s judgment for our sins. The only
cost we actually see involves the consequences we suffer for our rebellion and
disobedience.
As difficult
and painful as it may be, let’s seriously consider what our sins cost the
Savior. If we allow our hearts to be broken, our worship and gratitude will
overflow, and we’ll respond by living a holy life.
In Touch
Ministry
PRIOR ISSUE
INTERESTING INFORMATION 8/1/2018
DOUBLE
CLICK OR COPY TO BROWSER
VIDEO - HIDDEN BIBLE CODES
REVEAL PAST EVENTS AND FUTURE EVENTS AFTER THEY HAPPEN)
(For further
details see Section II at Interestinginfo.org)
Roy Reinhold
URL-SECRET OF DEAD SEA
COPPER SCROLL UNLOCKED, REVEALING LOCATION OF LOST TEMPLE TREASURES
https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/85762/enigmatic-dead-sea-copper-scroll-reveals-true-locations-lost-temple-treasures/#TwLxBXD4MxL2CE1O.97
CHRISTIAN
MUSIC VIDEO
THANK
YOU LORD
(For the Trials
That Come My Way)
THOUGHT
FOR THE WEEK: “In
our lives, storms will come, whether we expect them or not” – Pastor Harold Hansen
INTERESTING ARTICLES
·
The role of the modern
State of Israel in Biblical Prophecy
·
Mary has “taken Jesus
place on the cross” as millions seek miracles in France
·
Archaeologist: We found
site of the wedding in Cana
·
Four powerful words:
“In the beginning God”
·
COMFORT IN JESUS
·
‘S
INTERESTING ARTICLES……
THE ROLE OF THE MODERN STATE OF ISRAEL
IN THE FULFILLMENT OF BIBLICAL PROPHECY
The Christian
Post – Jul. 29, 2018 -- When President Donald Trump moved the U.S. Embassy in
Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem many people of faith quickly recognized the
biblical significance of such a move. Trump, like King Cyrus before him,
fulfilled biblical prophecy, by recognizing that Jerusalem is the eternal
capital of the Jewish state and that the Jewish people deserve a righteous,
free and sovereign Israel.
However,
this was not the first time in the modern State of Israel's short 70 years that
it has played a role in the fulfillment of biblical prophecy. Many of the
miracles we are witnessing in Israel today were promised in the Bible long ago.
The
Ingathering of the Jewish Exiles from the Four Corners of the World
It
says in Ezekiel 34:13, "And I will bring them out from the peoples and
gather them."
This
month, for the first time Israel has overtaken America to become the world's
largest Jewish population center. The surge in the Jewish community is thought
to have been fueled by returning members of the diaspora.
In
addition, the total Jewish population has reached six million, which carries
added significance as this was the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust.
Spiritual
Partnership between Jews and Christians
The
State of Israel, however, was not born through Jewish toil alone. Rather, as
prophesied in Ezra 6:14 – "And according to the decree of Koresh, and Daryavesh, and Artachshasta king
of Paras" – the State of Israel was birthed out of a spiritual partnership
between Jews and non-Jews.
In
biblical times, it was Cyrus' edict that allowed the people of Israel to return
to the land of Israel and rebuild the Temple. In 1917, it was the British
government's Balfour Declaration that turned the tide for the Jews in exile.
Similarly, in 1948, when U.S. President Harry Truman recognized the State of
Israel, he said, "I am Cyrus." In the cases of Cyrus, Balfour, Truman
and now Trump, it was non-Jews serving as God's agents who facilitated the
return of the Jewish people to their land.
We
read in Isaiah 49:22, that the Lord will "beckon to the Nations, I will lift
up my banner to the Peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms and carry
your daughters on their hips." This prophecy is being fulfilled by the
unprecedented number of non-Jews who visit, support and pray for Israel.
The
Revitalization of the Hebrew Language
The
prophet Zephaniah describes how in the end of days all the nations of the world
will have "purity of speech." "For then I will make the peoples
pure of speech, so that they all invoke Hashem by name and serve Him with one
accord" (Zephaniah 3:9). We understand from Zephaniah that all the nations
of the world will study Hebrew to call out the name of God together in His holy
language.
Thanks
in large parts to the efforts of Eliezer Ben Yehuda (1858-1922), who decided that "in order to have our own land and
political life it is also necessary that we have our own language to hold us
together," Hebrew is the official language of the State of Israel.
In
recent years, there has been growing interest by Christian Zionists to learn
Hebrew, which is likely a step toward the redemption described by Zephaniah.
Moreover, there has been an outpouring of interest by Christians to learn Torah
from Jews.
Isaiah
chapter 2 describes that in the end of days, the nations will stream up to
Jerusalem for Torah "shall come forth from Zion, The word of Hashem from Jerusalem"
(Isaiah 2:3). Since the founding of the State of Israel — and even more so in
the last decade — the Bible is being used as a source of unity between Jews and
Christians, beginning to fulfill Isaiah's vision and the Jews' historic mandate
to be a light unto the nations. That's one of the reasons I created The
Israel Bible, so both Jews and non-Jews could study the Bible, read study
notes from leading Jewish Bible scholars, and see the vital connection between
the people of Israel and the land of Israel.
Rebirth of
the Physical Land of Israel
For
nearly two millennia, while the land of Israel switched hands between various
foreign powers, including the Romans, the Muslims and the Ottomans, the land
lay utterly desolate. But just as the prophet Isaiah predicted, "He hath
comforted all her waste places, and hath made her wilderness like Eden"
(51:3).
The
modern rebirth of the Jewish state in 1948 has brought with it an astounding
development of the land, to the point where once again the Jewish people can
claim a flourishing country all their own. The desert is literally blooming and
growing. And in the realms of technology and culture, Israel ranks among the
most advanced countries of the world.
Indeed,
we are witnessing the Lord comfort "all her waste places.
But Judea shall
be inhabited forever, And Jerusalem throughout the ages – (Joel
4:20 (The Israel Bible™)
Judah is Jacob's fourth son. When the land is divided amongst
the tribes of Israel, Judah receives the vast territory south of Jerusalem,
extending from the Dead Sea in the east to the Mediterranean in the west.
For centuries, this area has been known as the region of Judea. Though
many people seek to sever the bond between the Jewish people and Judea, the
biblical heartland of the Jewish People, through His prophet Joel, God promises
that Judah will exist forever.
MARY HAS 'TAKEN JESUS' PLACE ON THE
CROSS' AS MILLIONS SEEK MIRACLES IN FRANCE (Excerpt)
The Christian
Post – Jul. 25, 2018 -- As millions of people travel to Lourdes, France, every
year in search of divine healing, some evangelical missionaries are warning
that at the holy site venerated by Catholics, many are revering the Virgin
Mary more than Jesus Christ.
"For
followers of Jesus Christ, the atmosphere in Lourdes is dark and discouraging.
Christians know that it is 'the Lord who heals you' (Exodus 15:26). The
determination and expectation of 6 million pilgrims a year feels
overwhelming," Pioneers, a mission’s agency that is based in
Florida but has offices worldwide, said last week.
One Pioneers
member in Lourdes said: "In my town Mary takes Jesus' place on the cross.
People come from far and wide to bring honor to her, to ask her for healing, to
pray to her. This is all the locals of this rural town in the mountains know:
not Jesus, just millions of Catholic pilgrims from the whole world with their
Mary statues, rosaries, and holy water. What should church look like for people
who have been completely desensitized to the Gospel?"
As the article
explains, every year over 6 million people — Catholics and people of other
faiths — visit Lourdes where they believe Mary appeared in 1858 on several
occasions. The Vatican has declared the location a holy site for worshipers,
with many believing that a cave with a natural spring, where Mary is said to
have appeared, has healing properties.
It noted that
each year, 350,000 people bathe in the spring, while over 7,000 have asked the
Vatican to confirm their healings as a miracle. The Catholic Church has
authenticated 69 such miraculous healings in Lourdes.
"Masses
of hopeful people come from all walks of life to visit the grotto. Buddhists and Hindus, Catholics and superstitious are there.
The wealthy and poor are there. Young and old. Black and white. Western and eastern," Pioneers adds.
"They all
walk together — unified in their hope and expectation of healing. They fly,
drive, and walk far for their chance to be miraculously restored," the
missionary group ads.
The
missionaries said that they're looking to renovate a cafe in the center of
Lourdes as a way to offer visitors who come for Mary an encounter with Jesus
instead. They say that they are hoping that "those who seek the healing of
a physical infirmity, would instead receive
restoration for their souls."
The veneration of Mary continues to be one of the major points
of disagreement between evangelicals and Catholics.
ARCHAEOLOGIST: WE FOUND SITE OF WEDDING
IN CANA
Bible records it was where Jesus' 1st water-to-wine miracle
happened
WND – June 21,
2018 -- An archaeologist is suggesting that he has discovered the site of the
city of Cana where Jesus’ first miracle, the water-into-wine transformation,
happened, according to the Bible.
Aleteia, a site named “Best General Publisher” site by American Catholic
Press Association, reported on the announcement from Tom McCollough,
which was documented in the Biblical Archaeology Review.
“While we know
the wedding party took place in Cana, over the course of the last 2,000 years
we’ve lost track of exactly where the town was located,” the report said.
“There are several promising areas that researchers say could be Cana, but
archaeologist Tom McCollough believes he has
identified the most probable site of Jesus’ first miracle.”
The event
included the miraculous production of six stone jars of the “finest” wine, jars
that just moments before had contained water.
In
McCullough’s study, he cites the location of Khirbet Cana, the “ruins of Cana.”
“Khirbet Cana
is nine miles away from Nazareth. Excavations of the site, which began in 1998,
led to the discoveries of a Roman-period synagogue, several (Jewish ritual
baths), six Maccabean coins and an ostracon incised with Hebrew letters,” the
report said.
The result was
that the site was confirmed to have been a Jewish village in the range of 300
A.D.
Also found was
“a large network of underground Christian worship tunnels.” Those included
crosses on the walls and the names of those who visited, the report said.
The report
includes how investigators found in an area cave what “may be an altar: A
sarcophagus lid inscribed with Maltese-style crosses had been turned on its
side to serve as a kind of altar, its top edge worn smooth, perhaps by pilgrims
who placed their hands on it during prayer.”
Nearby were
found stone vessels, as well as space for another four.
“The presence
of six stone jars above an alter in a shrine
underneath a possible location of the Wedding at Cana strongly suggests that
the early Christians of the Byzantine era believed that this was the Cana from
the Gospels,” the report said.
The report did
concede the assumptions are just that, as “there have been no writings or
relics found in the area identifying the name of the settlement.”
FOUR POWERFUL WORDS: “IN THE BEGINNING,
GOD”
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God…”
Creation
Moments – Jul. 27, 2018 -- The first four words of the Bible are incredibly
important. “In the beginning, God…” These words boldly declare the truth about
how we should view the universe we live in. They tell us that there was a
beginning. There was a time when all the things that now are were not. And
before all that, before even time itself, was God.
The four words
refute all naturalistic explanations of the universe. They refute evolution
because they make clear that there was a planning intelligence behind the
universe rather than blind, random chance.
Yet the words
also refute a mere theistic intelligent design model because they reveal that
the Creator was not an impersonal, unknowable entity but has all the divine
attributes on which the remainder of the 66 books of the Bible will expand.
These four powerful words suggest that we should go on to learn more about this
wonderful God, Who has made all things well, and Who
takes the trouble to be mindful even of humans like us.
These four
powerful words refute atheism by boldly declaring that God does indeed exist.
As the title of one of Francis Schaeffer’s books puts it, “He is there, and He
is not silent”.
The four words
also refute agnosticism because the God Who Is There is someone that we can
know and learn more about.
The four words
also refute deism because the God who is declared to have created is described,
known, and knowable. He is not an abstract concept, but a reality.
Genesis is the
foundational book of the Bible. And these four powerful words are the
foundation phrase of Genesis.
COMFORT IN JESUS
What brings
you comfort when you are suffering or going through stressful times? Although
well-meaning friends may assure you that everything will be all right, the
person who truly comforts is the one who puts an arm around your shoulder and
says, “I’m familiar with the pain you are feeling, and I know it hurts.”
Jesus is that
kind of comforter for us. He came to earth as a human, experienced pain and
suffering, and faced temptation without giving in to sin. He comes alongside to
help us by being ...
Our Friend. “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life
for his friends” (John 15:13). Jesus isn’t a companion in word only;
He demonstrated that He is the best possible friend because He willingly went
to the cross to save us from our sins. He sacrificed Himself for us so we could
be with Him forever.
Our High Priest. He became the Mediator between holy God and sinful mankind by
offering His own blood as a sacrifice to reconcile us to the Father. Now we
have immediate access to God in time of need.
Our Intercessor. Jesus sits at the Father’s right hand, interceding for us. We
don’t always pray correctly, but what a comfort to know that the One who is
perfect speaks to the Father on our behalf.
On whom do you
lean during difficult times? Although people may disappoint us with quick-fix
responses to our hurt, Jesus Christ understands our pain and offers unlimited
compassion and help when we come to Him.
In Touch
Ministry
SECTION II - SPECIAL ARTICLES/ BOOK
REVIEWS
IN THIS
SECTION:
· WHAT HAPPENS
AFTER WE DIE? (WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS)
· WHAT’S IN A
NAME?
· "BOB
PIERCE - THIS ONE THING I DO" - A
BOOKREVIEW/SUMMARY
· "THE
HIDDEN CODES OF THE BIBLE" - A BOOK REVIEW/SUMMARY
· "SIGNS
OF THE TIME” - A BOOK REVIEW/SUMMARY
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER WE DIE?
By D.E. Davis
For Christians, we are told in Scripture in 2Cr 5:8 that to be
absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. For those who turn away
from God, we are told that they are eternally separated from God and go to a
place called Hell. Rev 14:11 says that
the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and
ever.
The question that everyone ponders is: What really happens after we
die? Do we just lay dormant until the Lord takes us to be with him or until
judgement is handed out at the Great White Throne as called out in Rev. 20:11?
Are we conscience? Do we feel, touch, think, recognize loved ones, know what is happening around us? All questions that we have
ask ourselves, no doubt, at some time in our life.
My own personal review of the Scriptures has led me to believe that
after we die, even though our body may be dead and buried, our Spirit is alive
and fully conscience. Chuck Missler likens this state
of conscienceness to the software that runs the
Computer; once the hardware goes, the software remains intact and available for
further applications.
There are two illustrations in the Bible that makes it clear as to
what happens after death, when we're in the spirit.
The first one is illustrated in the Luke account of Lazarus and the
rich man in Chapter 16. After death, Lazarus, a man of God, is escorted into
Abraham’s Bosom, a holding compartment in Hell for the Believers prior to the
Cross. The non-believing rich man was "buried" and went into a
separate compartment in Hell (Hades), apart from Abraham’s Bosom, where he was
in Torment according to Scripture. Both were in a Spirit state; yet by the
account, they could see each other and speak to each other.
The second account is in Revelation, where John is taken (in the
Spirit) to Heaven to see those things that shall come to pass prior to the
return of Jesus Christ to the Earth, or Second Coming (not the Rapture).
I had to conclude from the study, based on the following Scripture,
that all of the senses we have here on earth will be with us throughout
eternity, even unto death.
·
THE
ABILITY TO LOOK/SEE - Luke 16:23;Rev. 1:12;4:1,4; 5:1,2; 6:1,2,8,9; 7:1,2; 8:2;
9:1,17; 10:1,5; 13:1,2,3;14:1,6; 15:1,2; 16:13; 17:3,6; 18:1; 19:11,17,19;
20:1,4,11,12; 21:1,2,22; 22:8
·
THE
ABILITY TO HEAR - Rev. 1:10; 4:1; 5:11; 6:1,3,5,6,7; 7:4; 9:13,16; 10:4,8;
12:10; 14:2,13; 16:1,5,7; 18:4; 19:1,6; 21: 3; 22:8
·
THE
ABILITY TO BEHOLD ( to obtain knowledge of: understand: perceive) - Rev.
5:6,11; 6:5,8,12; 7:9; 8:13; 13:11
·
THE
ABILITY TO REASON - Luke 16:30
·
THE
ABILITY TO CRY (even though there will be no more crying in Heaven) - Rev.
5:4,5; Luke 16:24
·
THE
ABILITY TO SPEAK - Rev. 5:13; 10:9; 21:6,15; Luke 16:24, 29,30,31
·
THE
ABILITY TO FEEL/TOUCH - Luke 16:23, 24,25
·
THE
ABILITY TO REMEMBER - Luke 16:25
·
THE
ABILITY TO WONDER - Rev. 17:6
·
THE
ABILITY TO WRITE - Rev. 1:11; 10:4; 19:9
·
THE
ABILITY TO QUESTION - Rev. 7:13
·
THE
ABILITY TO TAKE (THE BOOK/ROD) - Rev. 10:8,9,10
·
THE
ABILITY TO FALL (ON KNEES) - Rev. 19:10; 22:8
·
THE
ABILITY TO STAND - Rev. 13:1
·
THE
ABILITY TO WORSHIP - Rev. 19:10; 22:8
·
THE
ABILITY TO PERFORM TASKS - Rev. 11:1
God has promised in 1 Thess 4:16 and 1
Cor. 15:52,53 that one day, we shall be reunited with Him in body and will be
transformed and conformed to Him - in the twinkling of an eye. We are also told
in Scripture that we shall see Him face to face- see the Lamb that was slain
for you and me. We know by His Word, that we will Praise Him, Worship Him and
Rule with Him.
One thing in the study that I found extremely fascinating was the
difference in treatment between Lazarus and the non-believing rich man.
Scripture says that Lazarus was escorted to Heaven by an Angel, but there is no
indication in Scripture about how the rich man arrived at Hell. Could it be
that God had a specific purpose why He chose not to tell us in Scripture?
Finally, knowing that others may have varying interpretations of
these Scriptures, I strongly urge you to review the Scriptures yourselves to determine
what you find as the truth according to God’s Word.
WHAT’S IN
A NAME?
For those who
wish you had some other name because you don't like the name you were given,
you had better think twice. It is most
likely that the name your parents picked out for you was not their choice but
God's choice. Let’ s
face it, the word of the Lord is true.
That's why in Eph. 1:4, God proclaimed that He had chosen us from before
the very beginning of the world.
If you follow
the Genealogy of Adam in Genesis, Chapter 5 (*) you will receive an insight
into what importance God put in names - It's an exciting message:
Genealogy Meaning
Adam Man
Seth Appointed
Enosh Mortal
Kenan Sorrow
Mahalalel The
blessed God
Jared Shall
come down
Enoch Teaching
Methuselah His
Death shall bring
Lamech The Despairing
Noah Rest,
Comfort
Now let us look
at God’s Plan for Redemption:
"Man (is)
appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that)
His death shall bring (the) despairing rest."
Let us now look
at the Genealogy of Abraham (*):
Genealogy Meaning
Abraham Predestination
Isaac Called
Jacob Justified
Joseph Glorified
(*) Source:
Chuck Missler’s Briefing package: “A Walk Thru the
Bible”
WELL YOU SAY!
BUT THAT WAS ALL OLD TESTAMENT AND WOULDN'T BE APPLICABLE FOR TODAY - WOULD IT?
Well, let us see.................. As a Christian, did God not choose you by name at the same time he chose Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph - before the very foundation of the world? If God had a purpose for their name, would you expect anything less for your name since He chose you at the same time?
As a Christian,
You ought to thank God daily that you, by your given name, was written in the
Lamb's book of life before the very foundation of the world and that you will
be a partaker in all the promises of Rev
21:27.
Within the last
couple of years, researchers have found many startling discoveries through the
use of super computers, specifically, hidden codes that God supernaturally
placed within the Hebrew text of the Bible.
Over 2000 years ago, the names of historical and current leader’s names
were placed in the Bible. Such names as Adolph Hitler, Eichmann, Arafat, Peres,
Rabin, Rabin's murderer Amir, Ben-Zion Netanyahu, Saddan
Hussein, George Bush, Schwarzkoph, Peter Arnet (CNN), Timithy McVeigh,
Bill Clinton.
Do you think
that God would limit His calling out to just those who had a highly visible
historical impact on this world? There
is no doubt that He had a purpose in doing this, if nothing else, just to get
your attention that He is the Creator; that He alone knows the beginning from
the end.
It is my firm
belief that as we advance further with our computer technology and peel back
the layers of the Hebrew text of the scriptures, we will make many more
startling and exciting discoveries. One
being that God has written each and every one of our names in His Word.
HERE IS WHAT GOD
SAID: Isaiah 66:22 "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will
make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so
shall your seed and your name remain."
BOOK REVIEW by D. E. Davis (September 1997)
BOB
PIERCE -"THIS ONE THING I DO"
By Franklin Graham with Jeanette Lockerbie
It is amazing the worlds that open up to an individual, once the
Power of the Holy Spirit comes upon him. Just three years ago, where once I was
blind to Missions, to all the inspired men and women God has called to service
and the multitude of people all over the world who have been saved,
new worlds are ever opening to me to see how awesome the power of God is in our
Christian lives.
Such was the power and strength of faith Bob Pierce had in our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is
difficult for me to even attempt to assess where God has put Bob along
with other past great men of the faith, but from what I read about his life
with Christ, he certainly had his eyes focused on Jesus! I personally feel inadequate and humbled to
even put in words, my thoughts about this man.
Bob was a man Blessed by God. I feel sad that I never had an opportunity to
know him, but look forward to meeting him one day in heaven.
If ever there was a verse of scripture that represented Bob Pierce,
it had to be the title of this book as taken from Philippians 3:13,14
".......this one thing I do,....I press toward the mark for the prize of
the high calling of God in Jesus Christ."
Bob was raised in Los Angeles and at the age of 12, gave his life
to Christ and was baptized in the Nazarene Church. "God simply called me
to give my heart to Jesus, and I followed Him." He died in 1978 of leukemia but lived his
life for Christ in between in between those dates as if Christ was coming
tomorrow and he still had to witness to the whole world before dawn broke. Throughout his career, he dedicated his life
mainly to Missions and over the years was responsible for founding such World
re-noun programs as "World Vision", an organization dedicated to
meeting the emergency needs in crisis areas such as Korea after the Korean war. During that time
of need, he established
a Korean Orphanage, serving over 30 thousand Korean war
orphans. Bob was also responsible for
starting the World re-noun Korean Orphan's Choir. As an outgrowth of "World Vision"
he founded "World Medical Mission" which covered all emergency
medical needs in countries all over the world which had no medical
facilities. He was also founder of
"Samaritan's Purse" and organization dedicated to funding World
emergency need, no matter where they were.
These organizations are still meeting the needs of those in crisis
today.
If his work through these organizations was not enough, he became a
United Nations War Correspondent during World War II; was Co-founder for
"Youth for Christ"; and became a Motion Picture producer/Radio
program host, author and a lecturer, but first and last, he always considered
himself an evangelist! Even though Bob knew that he was "extraordinarily
gifted by God, he was never impressed with himself - he considered himself just
an earthly vessel, available at all times for the exclusive use of the
Lord".
In his own words, he had "many flaws, failings but had
abundant faith in God who lives and cares about people."
If I had to pick four areas of the Christian life that I feel truly
represented Bob Pierce, they would be 1) Unwavering Faith, 2) Compassion for
others, 3) Obedience to God and 4) Commitment to accomplish the Will of God in
his life.
From the Beginning, Bob knew his calling was for Missions to the
Asian Countries. His first mission led
him through Hawaii to Hong Kong and eventually to China. Getting to China was his first big test of
faith - he had no money, even for the first leg to Hawaii. Bob held the opinion that God knows ones
needs already and if He has called you to a task, He will provide and enable
you - just move out! He did just that and went to the L.A. airport that day
without any money in his pocket. His
faith paid off as God provided the funding for each leg of his trip just at the
moment he needed it. This was the norm rather than the
exception throughout his career as an evangelist. What ever
it was, where ever it was, if God called, Bob would act no matter what the
circumstance......he knew that God would always provide.....and He did!
Bob had a compassion for the spiritually and physically suffering
of the world. "He was the friend of
the little people, the forgotten, the hurting, the maimed, the unheard and the
unsung". Bob's theme was "Let
my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God". It was
Bob's personal belief that "wherever you find men and women who really
love Jesus Christ, you find the compassion of Christ spilling out of them to
meet human need." Over the years World Vision, Samaritan's Purse and other
organizations like them; one in particular, Mission Aviation Fellowship Pilots
(MAF), who flew Missionaries around the world in crisis situations, helped so
many helpless and needy men, women and children. They knew first hand the
healing power of God.
Bob dared it all to be obedient to the Lord's call. Once he had in focus the mission that God
wanted him to accomplish, he followed in Faith to bring the unsaved to
Christ. It was his opinion that " If you are an ambassador, act like one!"- no matter where you are. Bob would bring to memory how other
great men of Faith were obedient even in the face of death. During World War II, a young South Korean
Pastor, Mr. Im was mistaken for a North Korean
Communist and imprisoned. During his
internment, he would go around camp singing "Jesus Loves Me" and
other Christian songs. He not only
uplifted and inspired other fellow Christian prisoners to come together, he brought many more to Christ. Together he and another prisoner, Chaplain Voelkel, established a Bible Study where over 6,000
prisoners finished a six month Bible Study.
Six Hundred (600) of those finishing the Bible Study became pastors and came back to Korea
to preach the Gospel. In another
instance, he related how a Korean school teacher was put to death in front of
his students because of his faith and obedience to the Lord.
To be an ambassador for the Lord "is one of the greatest
things that could ever have happened to anyone - to let God put a fish hook
into you so deep that there is no way of ever getting off the hook."
"Bob did one thing all
of his life, and that was to lead people to the foot of the Cross where they
would put their faith in a risen Lord Jesus Christ. He lived every minute completely amazed that
God could use him. No matter how much he
was able to do in how many places, it was never enough." This was the kind of commitment Bob made to
Jesus; "to commit yourself, give yourself away to God irrevocably, forever. Say to Him, go ahead and burn me up. Spend
me. Eat me up. Use me for you
Glory." And that's exactly what he did.
Being a man of God was not always easy for Bob and he paid a high
price. In one measure or another he had
to forsake his wife, his family, his Mother and Father, his brothers and
sisters and other worldly possessions to follow Jesus. He not only lost his health, he lost his
Daughter, Sharon, to death.
Committing your life to Christ in a Godless society is never easy;
many times you feel like you may be the only one putting your life, your self image, your social acceptance on the line. As Bob came to realize, ". Someone has to go and pay that humiliating
price of literally letting your ego be stomped on- not just pushed in and
suppressed, but laid out there for people to stomp on. We need to do this by the grace of God with
love and patience: sow the seed on rocky soil, nurture it, and maybe never be
applauded."
Committing your life to Christ really comes down to this; What really matters
to you in Life?
On his death bed in the City of Hope, Bob left us this one message
- "I don't care what you have attempted. What you have succeeded at, or
what has been your work in Christ's name while you are here on earth - only one
thing matters when you have reached the last step before you go to stand before
Christ:
- Did you tell men and women who Jesus is?
- Did you bring them to some comprehension of His redeeming love?
- Did you make it plain to them that He alone can pay their way to
heaven throughout His atoning death on the cross?"
Such was the life of a man of God, Bob Pierce.
HIDDEN CODES OF THE BIBLE
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACT 17:11 - Exhorts you to daily review the scriptures
to see if what is being said is true
References: Grant
R. Jeffrey - "The Signature of God"- RECOMMENDED READING
Other reading: "The Hebrew Factor" by Yacov
Rambsel
Prepared
by D. E. Davis
Daniel 12: 4 - "But thou, O Daniel, shut
up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to
and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."
Here is undeniable proof, the third in the
series, that every word, every letter and every punctuation in Bible text was
put their by the inspiration of God. It gives new meaning to the words
"increase knowledge". It's
just one of the many signs, and without a doubt, the most exciting revelation
that God said he would reveal to man in the "end time". As you will see, God has put his signature
throughout the Bible, has revealed History before it ever happened, all through
hidden codes that were supernaturally placed into text which was written over
2,000 years ago; which could only be found with today's computer technological
advances. The codes are found in what
scholars call "Equidistant Letter Sequences" or ESL. That is, each sequential letter in an encoded
word or phrase was found the same distance apart numerically; The exact interval designed by God.
Actually, the discovery of hidden codes in
scripture dates back to before WWI and it was not until 1988 that the use of computers were able to detect a significant amount of
coding in scripture. Since then, the
research that Grant Jeffrey and others have done has just exploded and new
discoveries are happening every day.
Here is a summary of what has been found and
outlined in Grant's book, referenced above.
It is my understanding that he is in the process of writing another book
to tell what he has found subsequent to "The Signature of God".
Luke 21:15 - " For I will give you a
mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay
(refute) nor resist."
Proverbs 25:2 - "It is the glory of God
to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter."
What follows is what most of the human race
would find hard to believe. It
unfathomable to think that the Hebrew Bible, containing 304,805 Hebrew letters,
written by 40 individuals could contain hidden messages that if one letter was
taken out of the text, one word was removed, the hidden message could not be
revealed......yet the message has been sustained for over 2,000 years and has
been revealed to man just as Jesus said it would be. Jesus has actually placed His name and other
messages about Himself into text which proves he is the creator of all; King of
Kings and Lord of Lords.
GOD'S
SIGNATURE
God has personally signed scriptures
throughout the Old and New Testaments in various ways. For example in the Old Testament, he has
encoded his name, Jesus, in the following scripture:
God has also encoded unbelievable detail
about many of the things we read about and which touch our lives daily. For example, he outlines:
PLACES
AND THINGS
·
Gen. 2: 4-10 - The key word "Eden" was
spelled out sixteen (16) times in the span of 379 Hebrew letters. The letters were all equidistant from each
other.
·Gen. 2
- In this chapter which deals with the garden of Eden, scientists found
encoded in the Hebrew text, Twenty-five (25) names of trees that were in the
Garden
of Eden.
·
Gen. 1:1 - Starting with the first appearance of the
Hebrew letter "Tav", the word
"Torah" was found every 50th letter.
·
Ex. 1: 1 - Again, starting with the first appearance of
the letter "Tav" and counting every 50th
letter, the word "Torah" was spelled. Num./Deut.
- In the book of Numbers the word "Torah" was found spelled backwards
every 50th letter. In the book of
Deuteronomy, "Torah" was found again spelled backwards, but this time
every forty-ninth (49) letter.
NAMES
AND EVENTS
·
Holocaust
·
Deut. 10: 17-22 - Beginning with the second to last
appearance of the Hebrew letter "bet" in this passage, they found
every Thirteenth (13) letter, the phrase "b'yam marah Auschwitz" which means "in the bitter sea
of Auschwitz." Also encoded in
this passage were the names of the other Nazi Concentration camp, "Belsen".
·
Deut. 33:21 - Beginning with the letter (resh) that appeared in the Hebrew word "Yisreal," and counting every twenty-second (22) letter
from the left to right they found the phrase "re'tzach
alm" discribing the
Holocaust, which when translated, means "a people cry murder,
slaughter."
·
Adolph Hitler
·
Deut. 10: 17-22 - The word "Hitler" spelled
out in Hebrew was found every twenty-second (22) letter.
·
Deut. 33:16 - Beginning with the first appearance of the
Hebrew letter "mem" and every two hundred and forty-sixth (246) letter
from left to right you find that the coded letters spelled out the phrase,
"Melek Natzim,"
which translates as the "king of the Nazis."
·
Eichmann
·
Deut. 32:52 - Beginning with the appearance of the first
letter (aleph) and counting from left to right every six hundred and seventy
(670) letters, the name "Aik'man" is
spelled, which is the Hebrew form of the name "Eichmann."
·
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat
·
"Sadat occurred together with the name of the
leader of the Moslem Brotherhood
assassinating team that killed him.......it contained the year of his
assassination, 1981, and the words
"president," "gunfire," "shot'" and
'Murder".
·
Desert Storm
·
Beginning in Gen. 1:7 and continuing through the rest of
Genesis, Grant Jeffrey indicated at the Prophesy Conference in Irvine,Ca. on 27 Sept. 1996 that
they had recently found information in hidden code in scripture relating to
Desert Storm. I believe more details
will be available in Grant's next book.
·
The French Revolution
·
Gen. 39,41 - "Another
passage in the Book of Genesis revealed a cluster of encoded words that deals
with the French Revolution. The
following words are clustered ogether" "Mapecha HaSarfatit" which
spells "the French Revolution" in Hebrew, "Louis," the name
of the French king, and the word "Beit (house of Bourbon,") his royal
dynasty. In the same cluster were the
following words: "Hamarseilles" (the name of the French anthem) and the
word "Bastillia" (the infamous French
prison for political prisoners........"
OTHER
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
·
Word pairs - "In their initial experiment,
.......the scientists arbitrarily chose three hundred (300) Hebrew
word-pairs that were logically related in meaning, such as hammer and anvil, or
tree and leaf, or man and woman." ".....the researchers were astonished
to find that every single word-pair had been located in Genesis in close
proximity to each other."
·
King David's Ancestors
·
Gen. 28 - " Every one of the five Hebrew names of
these ancestor of King
David (Pharez, Zerah,
Boaz, Obed, Jesse) were found encoded at forty-nine (49) letter intervals,
hidden within the text of Genesis 38".
·
Famous Jewish Rabbi - "The Jewish people celebrate the
memory of their famous sages by commemorating their date of death. Incredibly, the computer program found every
single one of the sixty-six names of these famous rabbis embedded in the text
of Genesis paired at significantly close proximity with their actual date of
birth or their date of death."
IS
THE HEBREW BIBLE UNIQUE TO GOD' S INSPIRED EMBEDDED CODES?
Grant points out that "The researchers
attempted to reproduce these results by running the computer program on other
religious Hebrew texts outside the Bible, including the Samaritan Pentateuch.
.......the researchers could not detect word pairs in the Samaritan Pentateuch
or any other Hebrew text outside the Bible.
In fact, an exhaustive analysis reveals that no other Hebrew text
outside the Old testament contains these mysterious
codes, not even the Hebrew apocryphal books written during the four hundred years
before the birth of Christ"
A
WORD OF CAUTION
"No one can search the Torah using these
codes to foretell future events. The
reason is that it is impossible to extract the encoded information unless you
already know what the future facts are."
"The prophet Isaiah warned against false prophets and declared that
only God can Prophesy
future events accurately
(Isa. 46: 9,10).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Computer tapes are now available so
that anyone with a computer can personally verify the existence of these codes
beneath the text of the Scriptures.
As Christians, we can stand firm in the word and shout for joy. God has given us "the words and the wisdom that none of our adversaries will be able to refute or contradict", no matter how much they try!
PRAISE
THE LORD!
SIGNS OF THE TIME
References: Grant
R. Jeffrey - "The Signature of God"- RECOMMENDED READING
Prepared by D. E. Davis
June 10, 1997
Prelude
How do we know that Jesus is the one true God when there
are so many religions, cultures and cults that claim that they serve the one
true god? How about Buddha, Allah?
Scripture says that God alone knows the beginning from the
end. The way that God establishes His
authority is through Biblical Prophesy. There are over 500 prophesies that were
prophesied over 2,000 years ago that have all come to pass. There are still some Old Testament that have
yet have to be fulfilled (Daniel Ezekiel), but there has never been an event
prophesied that has not come to pass in it’s time.
100% accuracy tells us that the God of the Bible is the only true God. No one else in the history of the world,
living or dead, can make this claim.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Matthew 24:3, just before Jesus' ascension
into heaven, the disciples of Jesus ask Him what would be the sign of His
second coming. Over the centuries
various groups have attempted to guess when Christ would return to the earth to
claim His inheritance as promised throughout scripture. As we know, no one has been right yet!. God clearly states
in Matthew 24:36 that no man, not even the angels, know the day or the time
when Christ will return. Only God the Father knows.
This summary is
clearly not another attempt to forecast this event. This summary does, however, attempt to
provide an awareness of what is happening around you so that you will not be
caught unaware. (Ref. Luke 21:34 and Matthew. 24:42).
ACT
17:11- Exhorts you to daily review the scriptures to see if what is being said
is true.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------THE
SIGNS OF THE TIME-------------------
Grant Jeffrey has done a wonderful job of
providing critical information about events that are happening in this
generation that all Christians need to know;
Events that were prophesied over 2,500 years ago. Approximately 90% of the material contained
herein was extracted and summarized from Grant's book. I highly recommend reading this book as it
contains so much more that you will want to know.
THE
REBIRTH OF ISRAEL
The rebirth of Israel was prophesied in
several scriptures throughout the Bible.
Isaiah 66: 8 predicted that Israel would be born again in
"one" day. Ezekiel 4:3-6 and Levitcus
26:18 foretold the exact number of days that it would take Israel to
re-establish themselves as a nation in the last days. ( The
exact calculation can be found in Grant Jeffrey's book referenced above). On
May 14, 1948, the Jews proclaimed their independence of the reborn state of
Israel.....The exact day that was predicted over twenty-five (25) centuries
ago.......No other ancient nation ever ceased to exist for a period of
centuries and then returned to take its place on the stage of world
history."
PRESENT
ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT
In Psalms 83:2-8, God inspired King David to
predict that upon Israel's rebirth as a nation it would be immediately
surrounded by their enemies. The modern
names of those nations named in scripture include Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia
and Syria....the nations that have now joined the Palestinians in their attempt
to destroy Israel.
In Gen. 12: 3, God has promised to punish those
nations that come against Israel.
"I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth
be blessed."
RESTORATION
OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE
When Israel was captured by Nebuchadnezzar in
approx. 562 B.C., Israel was no longer allowed to speak the Hebrew language,
but had to learn the language of the Chaldeans.
The Lord predicted, however, through Zephaniah 3:9, that he would
restore a pure language to Israel so that they may "serve him with one consent".
It was in the early part of this Century that the Hebrew language was
revived from the dead language. Today,
Hebrew is a living language to over 5 million Israelis.
THE
FERTILITY OF ISRAEL
In Isaiah 27:6; 35:7 and Joel 2:23, the Lord
prophesied through these prophets that the deserted, unproductive, barren land
of Israel would once again become productive in the last days and that Israel
would experience tremendous increases of rain.
Ever since Israel has returned to the land, they have flourished in the
land and now supply over 90 percent of the citrus fruit consumed in
Europe. Rainfall has increased by more
than "10 percent every decade for the last century and Israel has planted
in excess of two hundred (200) million trees and transformed the complete
environment of the Promised Land."
According to the United Nations, Israel is now "the most
agriculturally efficient land on earth."
THE
UNWALLED CITY
Ezekiel 38:11 speaks of the future invasion
of Gog and Magog (Russia) saying "And thou shalt say, I will go up to the
land of un-walled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell
safely, all of them dwelling without walls and having neither bars nor
gates". Grant explains that "even army bases and Israel's settlements
in the West Bank and Gaza have no walls today.........How could Ezekiel have
known twenty-five centuries ago that the development of modern weapons such as
bombs, airplanes and missiles, would have made walls and gates irrelevant for
defensive purposes in the last days. In
the ancient past even small villages as well as cities depended on walls for
defense against invading armies."
PLANS
FOR REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE
Revelations 11:1, 2 foretells of Israel
rebuilding the Temple in the last days.
There is much controversy between the Israelis and the Muslim's because
the Dome of the Rock (Al-Aqsa Mosque) it is believed, sits on the very spot
where the Temple is suppose to be built. In recent years, however, aerial Infra-red
photography shows that this may not be the case. Ezekiel 44:14-18, tell about the sacred
vessels and linen robes that must be used in the Temple. "The Temple Institute in Jerusalem has
already prepared over 75 of the objects, vessels, and linen garments required
for future Temple service.......over 500 men from the tribe of Levi have
already been trained to fulfill the duties of Temple worship and
sacrifice."
Update:
Just recently in the Washington Post on May
28, 1997, it was reported that a 10 month old heifer named "Melody" is the
first red heifer to be born in Israel in over 2,000 years. "In ancient times, the ashes of a red
heifer were mixed with spring water to purify high priests before they entered
the Temple."
THE
REBUILDING OF BABYLON
We know that the old city of Babylon (now
called Iraq) will be built again in the end times because Isaiah 13:6, 19
foretells of its destruction. In Isaiah
34:8-10 it is prophesied that the rebuilt City of Babylon will burn for ever.
"As unlikely as it seems, the Iraqi
government of Saddam Hussein has spent over one billion dollars rebuilding the
ancient city of Babylon and intends that it will become the center of their
future renewed Babylonian Empire.
Interestingly, the whole city of Babylon was built over an underground
lake of asphalt and oil."
THE
ANOINTING OIL
The prophet Daniel prophesied in Dan. 9:24
that the when Jesus returns, that the most Holy of Holies will be anointed with
the anointing oil. "One of the five
ingredients, afars' mon, was
thought lost forever, when the Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70 and the only two
groves of afars'mon trees in existence were burned
to the ground. Incredibly, several years ago, archeologists
in Israel found a clay flask buried near the Dead Sea caves filled with the
ancient oil of anointing. Scientists
confirmed that the oil is two thousand years old and is composed of the precise
ingredients described in Exodus 30:25,26."
PESTILENCE/FAMINES/EARTHQUAKES
Matthew 24:7 prophesied that in the last days
"For nation shall rise against nation and Kingdom against Kingdom: and
there shall be famines, and pestilence, and earthquakes, in divers (various)
places." Grand Jeffrey writes
regarding these matters:
·
Pestilence - In 1991, the Central Intelligence Agency
produced a report which "concluded that up to 75% of the population of
Africa living in the area south of the Sahara Desert may become infected with
AIDS over the next 12 years. This will
mean the death by AIDS of over three hundred million people in Africa alone. In July 1991, the South African Medical
Journal reported that a staggering 47% of black male and female blood donors
tested positive for AIDS during 1989."
In Nov. 1996, the
Associated Press reported that "Sexually transmitted diseases are
diagnosed 12 million times a year in the United States - including a staggering
3 million cases among teen-agers".
·
Famine - The
United Nations today "claim that over thirty million in Africa are now at
risk of dying from the most devastating famine in this century. The UN estimates that one billion people are
in danger of starvation while another billion lack proper nutrition. North American food reserves (grain and corn)
are at the lowest level in sixty years."
·
Major killer earthquakes – “Major Killer earthquakes
(7.2 or greater on the Richter scale) occurred
only once per decade throughout history until our century. However, since A. D. 1900, the growth in
major earthquakes has been
relentless. From 1900 to
1949 it averaged three major quakes per decade.
From 1949 the increase became awesome with 9 killer quakes in the
1950's; 13 in the 1960's; 56 in the 1970's and an amazing 74 major quakes in
the 1980's. Finally, in the 1990's, at
the present rate, we will experience 125 major killer quakes in this
decade."
WORLD
WIDE COMMUNICATION
In Revelation 11:9,10,
it is prophesied that during the tribulation period, the antichrist will have
the two witnesses that God sent killed and their bodies will lay in the street
for three and a half days while the whole world watches.
Did not the whole world watch Desert Storm on
CNN television? With all the
technological advances in telecommunications, including the recent opening of
the World Wide Net to our computer industry, any event happening in any part of
the world can now be viewed while it is happening. The prophesy of the two witnesses could literally be fulfilled
today. This could not have happened just
10 or 15 years ago.
INCREASED
KNOWLEDGE AND TRAVEL
Daniel 12:4 prophesies how much knowledge and
travel will increase in the end time. "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the
words, and seal the Book, even to the time of the end: Many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall
be increased."
Today, it is estimated that "Human
knowledge is growing so quickly that it literally doubles every twenty-four
months." With the discovery
through the use of modern "Super" computers by Grant Jeffrey and
other researchers of the hidden codes that God supernaturally designed into the
original Hebrew text of the Torah describing not only the history of the world
in advance, but also verifying his Authority through His personal signature
throughout his scripture, we realize that God chose this generation to reveal
this unique aspect about himself.
It is also amazing that in this century, we
have gone from horses to cars, from cars to supersonic spacecraft; not only can
we now travel the world in a matter of hours, but in the case of the U.S. Space
Shuttle Discovery, we can now travel at speeds in excess of eighteen thousand
miles per hour.
REVIVAL
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Daniel 2:40-44 predicts that the old Roman
Empire will be revived in the end times into a ten Nation alliance. We currently see the foundation being laid
today through the European Economic Community. "In 1957, six (6) Countries
signed the Treaty of Rome laying the foundation for the future United States of
Europe.............Since then the Maastricht Treaty consolidated the fifteen
(15) Nations of the European Union into the worlds
first superstate." All it will take is the re-shuffling and/or
the consolidation of Nations to bring this prophesy to
a literal fulfillment.
ODDS
THAT THESE PROPHECIES WERE FULFILLED BY CHANCE IN THIS GENERATION
"In the Bible there are several types of
generations. One generation is defined
as the length of life of the average person - seventy or eighty years. However, a generation of governing is usually
defined as forty years,...........During the last two
thousand years since the days of Christ, there were fifty such forty-year
generations. Therefore, the odds are one
chance in fifty that any one of these specific prophecies happened by chance in
our generation rather than some other generation."
"The odds that more than one event
happening in our life time are:
"Another way of looking at this is that
the chance that the prophets of the Bible correctly guessed these prophecies is
also one in 97,500 trillion............in other words, it is simply impossible
that men alone could
have written the Bible
without the supernatural assistance and inspiration of God."
Matthew 24:32-35 - "Now learn a parable
of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth
forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see
all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This
generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my
words shall not pass away."
Luke 21:28 - "And when these things
begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your
redemption draweth nigh."
ANTI-CHRIST
TO BE REVEALED
As of today, no one knows who the Anti-Christ
is, but we do know what God has told us about him:
Many people try to spiritualize or say the
events prophesied in the Bible are just symbolic. Any doubt about how God handles these
prophetic events should have been erased on May 14,1948. God is literally fulfilling scriptural
prophesy before our very eyes. Can we
expect anything less for those few remaining prophesies for which He has
promised the world; 1) the removal of the one who restrains the man of
lawlessness/Sin (the rapture of the Church), 2) His second coming to take
possession of His inheritance, 3) The millennial kingdom and 4) the new heaven and new earth.
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Ezekiel 33:6 - "But if the watchman see
the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the
sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his
iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand."
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