THE INTERESTING
INFORMATION CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
CONFIRMING
BIBLICAL TRUTH
July 17, 2019
SECTION 1 – INTERESTTING
INFORMATION WEEKLY ARTILCLES
SECTION 2 – SUMMARIES/BOOK
REVIEWS/SPECIAL ARTICLES/CHRISTIAN LINKS
SECTION
III – CONTACT
INTERESTING INFORMATION 7/17/2019
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.
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URL - FRANKLIN GRAHAM: CHRISTIANS SHOULD PREPARE FOR PERSECUTION
https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/mike-huckabee-lgbtq-rights-threat-012417094.html?soc_src=community
CHRISTIAN
MUSIC VIDEO
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: – “The
Bible gives us a picture of who we really are” – Our Daily Bread
INTERESTING ARTICLES
·
Should Christians ever
be politically correct?
·
1,700 year old
Christian letter uncovered- Oldest outside the Bible
·
Judge upholds ban on
“Dismemberment Abortion” in historical decision
·
Only 1 in 10 support
offering Bible classes in public school
·
Monkey talk‘
·
THE PICTURE OF BAPTISM
·
‘S
INTERESTING ARTICLES
SHOULD CHRISTIANS EVER BE POLITICALLY
CORRECT?
Christian
Headline News – Jul. 15, 2019 -- As Christians, we are taught throughout
Scripture to be loving, patient, kind, and humble. Does this translate into
also being politically correct? No.
We live in a
culture adulterated with false teachings even by some claiming to be
Christians.
Political
correctness is the worldly doctrine which purports to guide people to do what
is right toward their fellow man. The danger of this insidious social norm is
because it is not a sound doctrine; it is a mere humanistic morality not based
on God's word. Fundamentally flawed because it rejects God, it has become
prevalent and popular among all ages of those seeking to feel good about themselves without actually living out the love God has
taught. As such, it poses a clear danger to Christians who may be weak in their
faith and subject to intimidation by their peers.
Political
correctness is not mere dis-attachment from other people's choices,
it is a doctrine which when examined uses social repercussions to punish anyone
who doesn't accept their worldview of right and wrong. Its effect is to cause
confusion resulting in the bad being called good and the good being called bad.
It's the big lie saying you must accept everyone as being equal and good in the
name of fairness when we know that only before God does glory and grace reside.
Your esteem is
with God as his child not with the approval of people. A product of the world
and its darkness, this doctrine seeks to condone and defend all manner of evil
choices as if everything people do should be tolerated and respectfully
regarded. Political correctness is encouraged as the approach to every
political and social controversy.
We, believers, are not of this world, and we must evince God's will in all
things, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If
any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is
in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life, is not of the Father, but is of the world" John 2:15-16 ( KJV).
As Christians,
our highest goal is to follow what God has taught us, even if that means being
shunned or ridiculed by the pseudo-intellectuals and dominant social groups
surrounding us. We must not let the fear of not being accepted by peers and
acquaintances cause us to give tacit approval to that which we know to be
sinful. All opinions, beliefs, feelings, and activities are not
equal nor righteous before God. It is our Christian duty to be bold and
courageous in the midst of such darkness, sharing the truth as we understand
it.
We are told
that "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth
out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth
is not made perfect in love," 1 John:14:18 (KJV).
When you feel any type of emotional fear (perhaps of rejection or being
verbally ridiculed), it is a warning immediately that you are under spiritual
attack. It's in that moment that you choose to rely upon your heart which you
have filled with God's word versus listening to only your mind which can be
subject to fears of man. A feeling of fear for standing up for what you believe
is not a feeling emanating from God.
To combat this
fear, prepare yourself with prayer and by regularly meditating upon God's word.
Explore theological discussions online which focus on the issues and
controversies those around you are preoccupied with so that you are
well-grounded, strong, and capable. Because you have fortified your heart
beforehand, your mind is renewed and will then become the tool to express what
you believe.
Also, by
remembering to, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the
issues of life," Proverbs 4:23 (KJV), you will fortify yourself
against all such social pressure. You will not conform to gain social approval,
you will "...seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and
all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33 (KJV).
All the things which are important and truly matter are given to you by God.
Approval by those who reject God shouldn't be your goal in any situation. It is
a choice every Christian makes every day in many situations, to glorify your
Heavenly Father by your works and words or to seek worldly approval.
By being
willing to share what you believe is righteous based on your faith, or at the
very least having the strength not to give tacit agreement if not outright
approval by your reluctance to disagree with that which is spoken around you or
to even join in their activities to some degree, you will find yourself being
strengthened the more times you evince strength. The words you think you do not
have will come by the power of the Holy Spirit, for it is written, "For
the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say," Luke 12:12 ( KJV).
Jesus is our
example and, in my opinion, he was not at all politically correct. He didn't
mince words. He spoke boldly even as his words caused offense and anger. Jesus
didn't ignore sin nor condone it by remaining silent in order to fit in and not
cause a stir. He disrupted many people's political correctness of the day. He
scathingly identified the hypocrites and took a whip to the money-changers in
the temple. His love forgave but didn't condone wrongdoing. He loved all
regardless of what sin they had committed in the past while also teaching that
one must repent and "go, and sin no more," John 8:11 (KJV). He didn't care if his words of
truth might offend and upset those with false humanistic values.
Political
correctness is a evil
anti-God doctrine intended to shame and reject anyone who doesn't share their
acceptance of what God identifies as perversity and sin. It is a Christian's
duty to stand firm and courageously in their faith, becoming the light unto the
world God would have them be.
1,700-YEAR-OLD CHRISTIAN LETTER UNCOVERED
– OLDEST OUTSIDE OF THE BIBLE
Christian
Headline News – Jul. 15, 2019 -- A 1,700-year-old letter written by one
Christian to another has been unveiled by researchers from the University of
Basil, which is calling it the oldest Christian letter outside of copies of the
New Testament.
The letter
from a man named Arrianus to someone named Paulus
says Arrianus is “praying” for his brother. Arrianus discusses everyday matters, including local
politics (“city council” business) and food (“fish liver sauce”).
The
letter, known as papyrus P.Bas. 2.43, originated in
Egypt, according to a news release from the University of Basil. It was
dated to the 230s AD.
It ends with
the unique closing, “I pray that you fare well in the Lord.”
“The use of
this abbreviation – known as a nomen sacrum in this
context – leaves no doubt about the Christian beliefs of the letter writer,”
said Sabine Huebner, professor of ancient history at the University of Basel.
“It is an exclusively Christian formula that we are familiar with from New
Testament manuscripts.”
The name
“Paulus” also is significant, Huebner said.
“Paulus was an
extremely rare name at that time and we may deduce that the parents mentioned
in the letter were Christians and had named their son after the apostle as early
as 200 AD,” Huebner said.
The letter is
part of Huebner’s new monograph, Papyri and the Social World of the New
Testament.
The University
of Basil’s news release notes that the “earliest Christians in the Roman Empire
are usually portrayed as eccentrics who withdrew from the world and were
threatened by persecution.” The letter, though, “contains indications that in
the early third century, Christians were living outside the cities in the
Egyptian hinterland,” where “they held political leadership positions.”
Read the
translated letter below:
“Greetings,
my lord, my incomparable brother Paulus. I, Arrianus, salute you,
praying that all is as well as possible in your life.
“[Since] Menibios was going to you, I thought it necessary to salute
you as well as our lord father. Now, I remind you about the gymnasiarchy,
so that we are not troubled here. For Heracleides
would be unable to take care of it: he has been named to the city council. Find
thus an opportunity that you buy the two [–] arouras.
“But send me
the fish liver sauce too, whichever you think is good. Our lady mother is well
and salutes you as well as your wives and sweetest children and our brothers
and all our people. Salute our brothers [-]genes and Xydes. All our people salute you.
“I pray that
you fare well in the Lord.”
JUDGE UPHOLDS BAN ON ‘DISMEMBERMENT
ABORTION’ IN HISTORICAL DECISION
Christian
Headline News - Jul. 15, 2019 -- An Oklahoma state judge on Friday upheld the
state’s ban on a common late-term abortion procedure, making it the first time
a judge in the U.S. has reviewed such a law and not overturned it.
Oklahoma
County Judge Cindy Truong handed down her decision from the bench.
The lawsuit
was brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights and Tulsa Women’s Clinic, an
abortion clinic.
Truong upheld
a 2015 law that bans dilation and evacuation (D&E) abortion, a procedure
that involves the dilation of the cervix and the removal of the unborn baby by
literally pulling it apart, limb by limb – pulling out an arm, a leg, the head,
and so forth. Pro-life groups refer to the procedure as “dismemberment
abortion.”
Oklahoma
Attorney General Mike Hunter called Truong’s decision “a major victory for
basic human decency in Oklahoma.”
“Dismemberment
abortions are barbaric, brutal and subject unborn children to more cruelty than
we allow for death row inmates,” Hunter said. “It is unconscionable to think
that we would allow this practice to continue. Judge Truong is to be commended
for declaring this legislation constitutional.”
D&E
abortions were described in excruciating detail in the
movie Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer.
ONLY 1 IN 10 AMERICANS SUPPORT OFFERING
BIBLE LITERACY CLASSES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS (Excerpt)
The Christian
Post – Jul. 12, 2019 -- As bills in several states would require public schools
to offer Bible history classes, a new poll revealed that only about one in 10
Americans support the idea of Bible history electives.
A Hill-HarrisX poll of over 1,030 Americans released last week
found that just 12 percent of respondents believe that states should require
schools to offer new history classes that teach only about the Bible and no
other religious text.
The poll,
which has a 3.1-percentage-point margin of error, comes as bills in at least 10
states have been introduced this year that would require public schools to
offer Bible classes but would not allow for texts from atheists or other
religions to be offered as electives, according to Americans United for
Separation of Church and State.
Such classes
are already legally recognized in seven states, according to The Gospel
Coalition.
The new survey
found that 16 percent of respondents believe that states should require schools
to offer history classes that teach about all major religions, not just
Christianity and the Bible.
Seventeen
percent of respondents said that they think schools should offer history
classes that not only teach the history of all major religions but also the
history of atheism.
Nineteen
percent of respondents feel that schools should not offer history classes
focusing on “any religious books.” The poll also found that 18 percent of
respondents believe states should allow schools to decide whether or not to
offer history classes on religion or atheism.
Almost two out
of 10 respondents (17 percent) said they were “unsure” when answering the
question.
MONKEY TALK
I Samuel 2:3“‘Talk no more so very proudly; let no arrogance come
from your mouth, for the LORD is the God of knowledge; and by Him actions are
weighed.'”
Creation
Moments –July 8, 2019 -- Several years ago Koko the gorilla amazed scientists
and the public by apparently learning enough of the rudiments of English to
communicate simple thoughts. Now studies on wild vervet monkeys
suggest that Koko’s achievement might be nothing more than a normal, God-given
ability.
Anthropologists
from UCLA report that wild vervet monkey
communication shows much more language development than scientists ever
expected. It took years of study in the wild before anthropologists began to
hear subtle differences in the grunts and screeches offered by the monkeys.
They confirmed these differences by recording the different sounds and the
actions that went with the sounds. Then they analyzed the sounds electronically
and found that there was indeed a pattern of differences in the sounds that
corresponds to specific actions.
Anthropologists
then set up their sound equipment in the monkey’s home territory to test their
interpretation of the sounds. When the grunt researchers thought meant “open
plain” was played, monkey listeners looked out toward the open plain. Likewise,
when the “other group” grunt was played, the monkeys searched the open plain
even more carefully. The scientists had discovered that they had successfully
understood two other monkey phrases as well.
These vervet monkeys teach us that language is not the
evolutionary development of early humans, but a gift from God, the Author of
language.
THE PICTURE OF BAPTISM
You’ve
probably heard the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Although we
cannot negate the power of the gospel spoken in words, there is great benefit
in seeing salvation vividly acted out in the baptism of a new believer. When we
enter the waters of baptism, we are portraying several truths:
We are
proclaiming the gospel message—that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and raised to life on
the third day. Baptism serves as a reminder of what the Savior has done for us.
We are also
showing what has happened to us through salvation (Rom. 6:3-14). Plunging beneath the surface pictures
the death and burial of our old self with Christ. Being raised up out of the
water expresses our new life in Christ and our union with Him. As our heavenly
Father physically raised Jesus from the dead and gave Him life, He has done the
same for us spiritually. We are no longer the person we once were, because
Christ has broken the power of sin in our lives.
Baptism is
also a public declaration of our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and in our own future
bodily resurrection. It points to the truth that there is life beyond the
grave. Someday we, too, will receive a resurrected body and live forever with
Christ.
Baptism is a
commandment for all believers, not an option. As such, it is both an obligation
and an awesome privilege. Our unbelieving family and friends need to physically
see this truth in our life. Have you publicly identified yourself with Jesus
through the act of baptism?
In Touch
Ministry
PRIOR ISSUE
INTERESTING INFORMATION 7/10/2019
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- WHY WERE SOME BOOKS LEFT OUT OF THE BIBLE?
CHRISTIAN
MUSIC VIDEO
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: – “To
show His love, Jesus died for us: to show our love, we must live for Him!” – Our Daily Bread
INTERESTING ARTICLES
·
How Daniel’s 2,600 year
old prophecy prepares you for everyday Kingdom Living
·
David and Goliath
·
Abortion is the
“Dismembering of a living child”
·
School bosses forcing
Islamic indoctrination
·
Did Peter get it wrong?
·
WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?
·
‘S
INTERESTING ARTICLES
HOW DANIEL'S 2,600-YEAR-OLD PROPHECY
PREPARES YOU FOR EVERYDAY KINGDOM LIVING
Charisma News
– July 7, 2019-- The Lord has foreordained earthly kingdoms from before the
foundation of the world. He created the universe and all things therein. He establishes
and removes earthly kings. He determines the boundaries and appointed times of
all of the nations. Our King is in control, and His purposes will prevail.
"It is He
who changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives
wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who know understanding" (Dan.
2:21).
"He has
made from one blood every nation of men to live on the entire face of the
earth, having appointed fixed times and the boundaries of their
habitation" (Acts 17:26).
The story of
Daniel and Babylon King Nebuchadnezzar's forgotten dream exemplify these
principles. King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream which disturbed him, but he could
not remember it. He called all of his magicians, conjurers, sorcerers and
Chaldeans to tell him the dream and its interpretation, but they could not. In
anger, he told them that if they did not comply, they would be killed, but if
they told him his dream they would be promoted. Daniel found out about the
order and sent word that God would tell him the dream. After prayer, God showed
him the dream which he proceeded to tell King Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 2:1-30):
"But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets and makes known to King
Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of
your head upon your bed are these" (Dan. 2:28).
The king had
dreamed of a great statue. Its head was gold, its breast and arms were silver,
its belly and thighs were bronze, its legs were iron and its feet were partly
of iron and partly of clay. Then a stone, which was cut without hands, struck
the statue's feet and crushed them and the rest of the statue. The statue had
become like chaff. The winds came and blew all the chaff away. The stone became
a mountain and filled the whole earth (Dan. 2:31-35).
David
interpreted the dream for the king while giving full credit to God. The head of
gold was King Nebuchadnezzar. God had established his kingdom and rule. The
breast and arms of silver were a second kingdom (Medo-Persian) which would be inferior to the Babylonian
reign. The belly and thighs of bronze were a third
kingdom (Greek) which would rule the world. The legs or iron and feet of iron
and clay were a fourth kingdom (Roman), that would be
initially very strong but then would be a divided kingdom where parts were
brittle. The rock will be a kingdom that the God of heaven establishes that
will eventually destroy all of the other kingdoms (Dan. 2:36-45):
"You, O
king, are the king of kings. For the God of heaven has given
you a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory" (Dan. 2:37).
"In the
days of these kings the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never
be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left to another people, but it shall
break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand
forever" (Dan. 2:44).
Examination of
the prophecy leaves one in awe of our King. Daniel interpreted the dream in
roughly 600 B.C. In other words, he was taking about a Medo-Persian
empire about 60 years later, a Greek empire nearly 300 years later and a Roman
empire more than 500 years later. God truly knows the end from the beginning.
In addition,
the arrival of the Roman Empire, at that particular time in history, was
perfect for our Messiah to explain the kingdom of God to his followers. There
were few examples of an all-powerful kingdom. At that time, Rome was the most
powerful kingdom in history and controlled most of the known world.
Rome would
conquer an area, leave the residents there and send Roman citizens to
administer their acquired territory. Our citizenship is in heaven, but we are
called to bring our King's culture, laws, love, power and influence to earth.
We are called to make citizens of heaven until everyone has heard the gospel of
the kingdom. Those who chose to ignore Caesar where enemies
of Rome. Those who choose to ignore the rule of our King do so at their
peril.
Interpretation
of the dream also demonstrated that God answers prayers, that
He is sovereign over nations and individuals, that He is wiser and more knowledgeable
than everyone, that He cares for the lives of His servants, that He can use
even the heathen for His will and that He wants to show His plans and purposes
to us. All of the lessons are equally applicable today.
Daniel
prophesied 2,600 years ago that that the kingdom of God will be victorious. The
stone cut without hands is symbolic of the kingdom of God established by Jesus.
He has been and is rising up and tearing down earthly kingdoms, but the kingdom
of God will prevail:
"Jesus
said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone which the
builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing, and it
is marvelous in our eyes'?" (Matt. 21:42).
"Then comes the end when He will deliver up the kingdom to God the
Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He will reign until He has put all enemies under His feet"
(1 Cor. 15:24-25).
Let us
remember and apply the lessons of the forgotten dream to our lives and the
lives of those under our influence. After all, our citizenship is in heaven,
and we will prevail.
Israel365 - Feb. 12, 2018 -- David expresses that the battle against
Goliath and the Philistines is far more than a military affair. Goliath taunts
the entire Nation of Israel and thus the God of Israel. Defeating him is
therefore not just a military necessity, but also a spiritual imperative. An
attack on the Jewish People is always an attack on God Himself. David
understands this and is prepared to risk his life to defeat the evil Goliath in
order to defend the nation and God’s honor. God responds by providing young David
and the Children of Israel with a miraculous victory.
ABORTION IS THE “DISMEMBERING OF A
LIVING CHILD”
Christian
Headline News – June 28, 20119 -- The U.S. Supreme Court declined Friday to
revive Alabama’s ban on a specific grisly abortion procedure, but not before
Justice Clarence Thomas criticized the institution for its moral logic.
The case
involved a 2016 Alabama law prohibiting dilation and evacuation (D&E)
abortion -- a late-term procedure in which an unborn baby is torn apart limb by
limb, until the womb is empty. Pro-life critics, including Alabama Attorney
General Steve Marshall, have labeled it “dismemberment abortion.”
The U.S. 11th
Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the law, although two of the three judges
indicated they would have upheld the law but were bound by Supreme Court
precedent.
Thomas joined
his colleagues in affirming the circuit’s decision but said the Supreme Court
eventually must face the fallout from its past abortion decisions.
“The notion
that anything in the Constitution prevents States from passing laws prohibiting
the dismembering of a living child is implausible,” Thomas wrote.
He quoted the
circuit court’s decision in describing the procedure in excruciating detail:
“It bleeds to death as it is torn limb from limb. It can, however, survive for
a time while its limbs are being torn off. . . . At the end of the abortion --
after the larger pieces of the unborn child have been torn off with forceps and
the remaining pieces sucked out with a vacuum -- the abortionist is left with a
tray full of pieces.”
Thomas, who is
on record as opposing the Supreme Court’s pro-choice rulings, said the Alabama
case serves as a “stark reminder” that “our abortion jurisprudence has spiraled
out of control.” Under Supreme Court precedent, an abortion restriction is
unconstitutional if it places an “undue burden” on a pregnant woman.
“Earlier this
Term, we were confronted with lower court decisions requiring States to allow
abortions based solely on the race, sex, or disability of the child,” he wrote.
“… Today, we are confronted with decisions requiring States to allow abortion
via live dismemberment. None of these decisions is supported by the text of the
Constitution.
“Although this
case does not present the opportunity to address our demonstrably erroneous
‘undue burden’ standard, we cannot continue blinking the reality of what this
Court has wrought.”
Thomas was
nominated by President George H.W. Bush.
“Ordinarily,”
he wrote, “balancing moral concerns against the risks and costs of alternatives
is a quintessentially legislative function. But as the Court of Appeals
suggested, the undue-burden standard is an ‘aberration of constitutional law.’”
SCHOOL BOSSES FORCING ISLAMIC
INDOCTRINATION
'The jihad will march along and every citizen
in time will be affected by it'
WND – July 7,
2019 -- Top teachers in effectively are forcing Islamic indoctrination on
students in Britain, with a growing movement to strip parents of their legal
right to remove their children from objectionable religious classes.
Britain’s Independent newspaper reported a study showed that
while the law allows parents to remove their children from classes that violate
their faith, most headteachers believe parents should
be stopped from withdrawing children from religious education over Islam
lessons.
Christine
Douglass-Williams at the Shariah-watching Jihad Watch
noted that more than two in five school leaders and religious education
teachers in the U.K. have received requests for students to be withdrawn from
teaching about one particular religion.
“It is the only religion in the West of
which lobbies representing its adherents are screaming ‘racism’ and
‘Islamophobia’ at every turn in reply to any criticism,” she wrote. “It is the
only religion that is trying to curb Western free speech–the cornerstone of
democracy. It is the only religion that mandates the murder of adherents who
choose to leave it (apostates), the murder of gays, the
murder of blasphemers. It is the only religion that is ubiquitously persecuting
minorities globally and mandates the rape of infidel women. It is the only
religion that has a deep network of adherents engaged in jihad war against
disbelievers.”
The survey of
450 headteachers found 71 percent “believe a law
allowing parents to withdraw their children from RE is no longer required,
according to the study in the British Journal of Religious Education.”
Douglass-Williams
said parents who wish to withdraw their children from Islamic indoctrination
classes are not being “racist,” “prejudice” or “islamophobic.”
“They are
being prudent,” she said. “Jihad Watch has warned on numerous occasions that attacks on those on the front lines who warn about the
global jihad is only the beginning. The jihad will march along and every
citizen in time will be affected by it, unless it is resisted.”
One
participant in the survey said the students “that have been removed are the
ones that need to understand different cultures the most.”
In Thurrock, east of London, parents were preventing their
children from visiting mosques on school trips, the paper said.
“It does not
bode well for the future of people and communities living together,” Iman Atta,
director of the Islamic activist group Tell Mama, told the Independent.
IS AMERICA NEXT?
1 Peter 2:20-21 “For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for
your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when
ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with
God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us,
leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:”
Creation
Moments – June 13, 2019 -- In both of his epistles, the apostle Peter writes
about the Flood. In his first epistle, he wrote: “God’s patience waited in the
days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight
persons, were brought safely through water.” Peter goes on to compare the Flood
to baptism. The account of the Flood in Genesis shows that Noah and his family
were saved from the wrath of God on a sinful world by the Ark and, therefore,
waterproofed through that judgment. The ordinance of baptism is, therefore,
predicated on the historicity of the Flood and the necessity of it being a
worldwide Flood.
In 2 Peter 3,
the apostle refers to scoffers who believe that all processes have continued
from the beginning at the same rate as they proceed today. This is the
evolutionary principle that the present is the key to the past. Peter refutes
this argument by pointing out that the whole world was created by God and that
the whole world was deluged by Him. He writes that the scoffers have
deliberately ignored these two world events. The application is clear. Modern
evolutionists and deep time geologists are like Peter’s scoffers, interpreting
the world as a gradual development of slow processes over long eons of time.
Peter is clear that the biblical account of the Flood really happened, and, if
he were wrong, the whole of his teaching would fall apart.
WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?
In the 1990s
many Christians joined the trend of wearing small wristbands bearing the
letters W.W.J.D., which stood for the question “What Would Jesus Do?”
Although the fad has passed, the question is still valid. It’s designed to
prompt us to consider whether our words, actions, and attitudes are an accurate
reflection of the life of our Savior.
However,
before we can accurately assess whether we are doing what Jesus would, we need
to have a comprehensive understanding of what He said and did, as recorded in
Scripture. It’s easy to take a few verses and come away with a simplistic view
of the Lord. Most people are tempted to make Jesus into an image of what they
want Him to be instead of trying to see the whole picture. Yes, He responded to
people with love and compassion, but He also told them to stop sinning and
warned them about the dangers of hell.
If we truly
want to respond like Christ, it will take more than a reminder from a bracelet.
We must yearn to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the
flesh in regard to its lusts” (Rom. 13:14). This means we must learn who Christ
is through daily Scripture reading and pray for Him to transform our heart.
That will help purify our life from sin and align our thoughts and desires with
His.
Then, as we
not only show His compassion and concern for the lost but also warn them of the
danger they face by rejecting Him, some may be drawn to our Savior. And since
“the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10), we know our actions are in line with
what He would do.
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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