Category: Contemporary Church

Items pertaining to the church in our modern day.

Is it true, will it happen? Part 2

“God has accepted this challenge. He has predicted multitudes of events to happen in the future. They have come true exactly as predicted, even though in some cases thousands of years were involved for the fulfillment. God has proved that He is our supernatural God with all wisdom. We have no alternative but to believe.”

Yes, all of it will.

A significant fact for you to absorb, let me repeat that word, absorb; is the fact that over half of the Bible prophesies – over 500 of them have already been fulfilled. Literally fulfilled, and that in itself is overwhelming proof that it’s all true and the rest will come true as written.  This is evidence that should establish confidence beyond any intellectual question to the contrary.  When you read the prophecy take it literally because it literally will happen.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out. Don’t let anyone lead you astray by saying prophesy in non-literal and needs interpretation.  Forget about it… that thought is contradicted beyond any question due to the fact that so many hundreds of prophesies have already been fulfilled. (LITERALLY!)

If you are a believer, a child of God, that should be very important to you. Because over one-fourth of the Bible was written as prophecy.  This gives you a picture of the future and gives you the hope of a future in eternity with God. Without this hope for the future there would not be Christianity at all. And if you are not a believer and reading this.  Please get your life right with Jesus Christ before it’s too late. Because more half of the prophesies have already come true it should easily provide the basis for your understanding the rest will also come true. It should also justify the conclusion that the Bible is the inspired word of God and the prophecy is a revelation by God and is certain to come to pass. As we go through the book of Revelation, which is the last book of the Bible and it’s closing, it will reveal the power, righteousness, sovereignty of Jesus Christ and His wonderful grace for all those that come to Him in faith.

I said in the last post I would give you more proof.  What do the scientists say about this prophesy thing?   The scientists have developed detailed probability statistics and formulas to determine the likelihood these prophesies could have come true. This information will show that it is God and only God that could do it. And God said, “Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you.” (I Peter 3:15)

For some reference on scientific data my Pastor, Raymond Barnett, at The Time For Truth Ministries led me to a book dealing with prophetic accuracy called, Science Speaks, by Peter W. Stoner.

Bye the way, if you want some great Bible Preaching and teaching go to our the church website at http://www.timefortruth.com/ and join us for worship each Sunday in Amsterdam, NY.

It is written, “One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18)  Peter Stoner uses a well-known scientific principle of probability. The following information is taken directly from his book.

“If the chance of one thing happening is one in M, and the chance of another independent thing happening is one in N, then the chance that they shall both happen is one in M times N. The proof of this theory will be found in any college algebra text. In light of time and space.” I will not provide all his background calculations here but you can go to his book for reference.

Peter Stone looked at just 11 early prophesies that have come true.  The probability is listed as well.

The destruction of Tyre 1 in 7.5 x 107

Destruction of Samaria 1 in 4 x 104

Gaza forsaken and Ashkelon desolate 1 in 1.2 x 104

The fall of Jericho 1 in 2 x 105

The sealing of The Golden Gate 1 in 103

Zion Plowed 1 in 102

Jerusalem Enlarged 1 in 8 x 1010

Palestine becomes waste 1 in 2 x 105

Moab and Ammon 1 in 103

Edom desolation 1 in 104

Babylon destroyed 1 in 5 x 109

The probability of these eleven prophecies coming true, if written in human wisdom, is now found by multiplying all of these probabilities together, and the result is 1 in 5.76 x 1059

With those probabilities listed now look at the summary.  Peter stone says, “Suppose we had marked one of these silver dollars, and had stirred it into the whole pile before we had made them into balls the size of the sun. Then suppose we had blindfolded a man and told him to go over all of these great balls and pick up the dollar which he thinks is the right one. What chance would he have of finding the right one? It would be a very great task to look over this mass of dollars. If our blindfolded man were to travel sixty miles per hour, day and night, it would take him five years to go once around a star. This would give him a very poor chance to select what might be the marked dollar from that star, but this amount of time per star would take 500 billion years for each galaxy. Let us suppose our man were extremely speedy, able to look over all of the dollars contained in 100 billion stars each second (instead of 500 billion years), it would still take him about 3 x 109 years to look over the whole mass. This is one half the six billion years back to creation. It is absurd to think that he would have any conceivable chance of picking up the right dollar.  The chance of these eleven prophecies being written in human wisdom, and all coming true, is a similar chance to that which the blindfolded man had of finding the right dollar. But these prophecies, and many more, all came true. We can then draw only one conclusion, and that is that God inspired the writing of every one of these prophecies. What stronger proof can any man ask for the inspiration of the Bible?”

And this powerful statement made by Mr. Stone, “God has accepted this challenge. He has predicted multitudes of events to happen in the future. They have come true exactly as predicted, even though in some cases thousands of years were involved for the fulfillment. God has proved that He is our supernatural God with all wisdom. We have no alternative but to believe.”

WE HAVE NO ALTERNATIVE BUT TO BELIEVE.  That statement from a scientist. Believe it!

We will be looking at the prophesies of the “end times” and a “preparation” for the events to unfold.  Jesus tells us about the “beginning of sorrows.” “ “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.  And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” (Matthew 24: 5-8) Our current events seem to be building up for the future. The forecast is for “perilous times” ahead.

Can you possibly have any doubt the prophesies concerning apostasy are being fulfilled? Even our churches have been tainted with a moral relativism. Denominations are having a hard time defining marriage as being between one man and one woman.  Many religious leaders openly support homosexuality. The Bible is becoming subordinate in the modern church and they are trying to be more appealing.  And leaders can’t even discern between a male and a female today. These are definitely “spiritually perilous times.”

Pieces are falling into place for the “revived” Roman Empire which will hold power before Christ returns.  The formulation of the European Union, and the reunified Germany is certainly shining light on biblical prophecy. Let’s not forget that in 1948, Israel was recognized as a sovereign state. That was a direct fulfillment of Bible prophecy.  Jesus indicated to us that the signs would arise together when His return was drawing near. “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.” (Matthew 24: 33-34) Do you know that our generation is the very first to see every trend falling into place?  You do now.  Watch ye, and be ready.  Look at these for just a taste of the sign of the times:

  • We were told false Bible teachers would come. “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.” (2 Peter 2:1-2) Lots of people reject the Bible today because they heard it misrepresented by a false teacher.
  • We were told the false teachers would be money-hungry, smooth talkers. “And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” (2 Peter 2:3) A lot of TV evangelists twist the scriptures and market to the unwary.
  • The Gospel would be preached to all nations. “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matthew 24:14) The Bible has now been translated into over 2400 languages and covers over 90 percent of the world population.
  • Mankind will be capable of destroying all life. “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” (Matthew 24:21-22) When Jesus made that promise the only weapons were swords and spears. We are aware now that with nuclear and chemicals all flesh on the planet could be wiped out.
  • A global cry for peace. “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” (1 Thessalonians 5:3) There is a concerted global effort to have peace at any cost.
  • Ethnic conflicts would be prevalent. “Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” (Luke 21:10) Today more than ever we have ethnic groups fighting. Have you heard the word racist lately?
  • Jerusalem would be re-built on its own ruins.  “In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.” (Zechariah 12:6)
  • Israel which was divided in two kingdoms would be one united nation. (Ezekiel 37:22) And it is! Israel is one nation.
  • Asia would be capable of deploying a 200-million-man army. (Revelation 9:14-16) Today, according to the CIA, China alone has 281 million men ready for military service.
  • Great Earthquakes in places unforeseen. (Luke 21;11) And the seismic activity is ramping up around the world.
  • Men would be lovers of themselves. (2 Timothy 3:1-2) Can anyone say Facebook? Not much more explanation needed.
  • Youth will become increasingly rebellious. (2 Timothy 3:2-3) No comment necessary here either.
  • Humanity will become materialistic and lovers of pleasure. (2 Timothy 3:1-5) we have everything under the sun now to entertain and bring pleasure to the masses.
  • Homosexuality will be flaunted at the end of the age. (Luke 17:28-30) Today, the homosexual agenda is flaunted and forced upon our entire society.
  • Apostasy will occur just before the Antichrist is revealed. (2 Thessalonians 2:3) Experience based Christianity and other things have replace the Bible as the standard for saving faith and Christ’s exclusive claims are negated in the name of tolerance.
  • Some would depart from the faith. “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1)  In our generation there is an explosion of false doctrines luring folks away.
  • Men will sear their conscience so they can continue in sin. “Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.” (1 Timothy 4:2) There is sinning with knowledge as people ignore God’s moral law and violate their own conscience.
  • Sexual Immorality will be rampant. “How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.” (Jude 18) The availability of sexual products has exploded in our generation.
  • And what about the Ten Commandments no longer looked at as our moral code. With the words taken down from public places. “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”

And look what recently happened. The move of the U.S Embassy in Israel back to Jerusalem and recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

We are witnessing it now. The book of Revelation is beginning to unfold right before us. We haven’t seen anything yet, anything we are experiencing is the tip of the iceberg.  This pandemic we are in will not be the last. And more natural disasters will come.

Jesus said men will be gripped with fear when these signs occur. “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” (Luke 21:26) And others are to be looking up with hopeful expectations. “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” (Luke 21:28)

Are you fearful?

God will judge every one who breaks His laws. Look at the Ten Commandments. How many have you broken? Keep in mind that nothing is hidden from God’s eyes. But. Listen, God is longsuffering and He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) The good news is there is a way to be forgiven and get to heaven. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) And “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

Awaken from any spiritual slumber and be ready when the Lord returns “as a thief in the night.”

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” (Psalm 51: 1-2)

God will never let you down and everything He has promised will be fulfilled.

Come with me next post as we get back into the book of Revelation.

Until He comes,

The Tubthumper

 

Is it True? Will it really happen?

Jesus is telling everyone, don’t you worry, it will come true because I will be the one doing it. Let not your hearts be troubled.

All of the prophesy will be fulfilled.

It has come to me that you could be reading this as a new believer or maybe as currently unsaved and getting this information for the first time.

With that said I think it’s necessary to back up for a page or two and prepare you for what’s to come before I go into the next chapter of Revelation. Let’s start by establishing some background regarding the fulfillment of prophesy.

Let’s begin where Jesus is delivering the Sermon on the mount.  In Matthew Chapter 5 verses 17 and 18 he addresses His relationship to the scriptures.

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”  (Matthew 5:17-18) Jesus made the claim boldly that He personally was the fulfillment of God’s plan as revealed in the Law and through the prophets. He declared it in Luke 4: 21 as well.  “And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” Then again when John The Baptist sent two disciples to ask Jesus if he was, “the one that was to come.” “And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?” (Luke 7: 19). And Jesus replied, “Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.” (Luke 7: 22) We see the same in Matthew 11:5.   And we see it repeated several times by the savior himself, “I am the One, who came to fulfill the Scriptures.” God’s Holy Words of the Bible. You see… Jesus is telling everyone, don’t you worry, it will come true because I will be the one doing it. Let not your hearts be troubled.

Dear readers, our only hope is that Jesus our Lord comes to set up His Kingdom and rule among men. There will never be lasting universal peace and happiness until He comes.

Some today think there are many roads that lead to heaven. Some think being good gets you eternal life and some simply think everyone goes to heaven. If you have any of those thoughts you should heed the advice of the apostle Paul.  And know  the only way to heaven and eternal life with God is through Jesus Christ.  “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.  But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” (1 Thessalonians 5:3-6) He is saying that when the Lord comes, He will find multitudes that are unprepared for His return. And he is warning that, sudden destruction will strike the unprepared. Woe to those that are not ready. Do not be in that group.

These are the conditions that will exist when Christ appears. “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good. (II Timothy 3, 1 to 3) II Peter 3 starting at verse 3 we see there shall come scoffers. “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.  For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”  Verse 10 is clear, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” We need to be ready, for His coming will be when we least expect it. Now verse 14 exhorts us, “Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.” Then in verse 17 we are warned of being led away.  “Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.”

We have the choice, to accept or to reject the Lord Jesus. Many will reject him as they always have. Don’t be one of them.

The Millennium will begin when John’s vision is fulfilled. That happens later in Revelation when we will cover that event so stay with us. “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” (Rev. 20:1-6)

And that’s when The Lord’s Prayer gets answered, “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” (Matthew 6: 9-13)

Time waits for no person and God and the Bible are no respecters of persons.  The seconds and hours click by rapidly. Prophesy is coming true rapidly right before our eyes. Events for fulfillment before the Lord comes are almost complete and the birth pangs are getting closer. Are you expecting some major events? Are you thinking there will be a major and tremendous crisis?

There are four major things that must happen for His return, 1. The gospel of the Kingdom must be preached to all nations. We are close now. 2. There must come a great apostasy in the church. That has begun also. 3. Jews must return to Jerusalem. They are returning in droves as of late. 4. There must come great tribulation on earth. We are approaching that end. These are all being fulfilled right before our very eyes. There are hundreds of prophesies that have already come true and many, many more to be fulfilled.  So how do we know all of these prophesies will come true?  First, as mentioned above it’s because Jesus said he would fulfil them. Come with me next time and I’ll give you more reasons to never doubt. These prophesies will be fulfilled.

Click here to jump to the next post.

Until He comes,

The Tubthumper

Armageddon On Schedule, Setting the Stage – part 2

The key to understanding Revelation is in Verse 19.  There are three parts, the things John has seen, the things which are now, and the things which shall be hereafter. (The future)

Setting The Stage – part 2

The King is Coming…

“Behold He is coming” (Revelation 1: 7-8) It is another triplet. The imminent return of Christ is the theme of Revelation. “Behold He is coming with the clouds.” And now the triplet:

  1. And every eye will see Him
  2. Even those who pierced Him
  3. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him

He will not return like before. The lowly servant and humble shepherd. No, this time He will return as the king of kings, and the entire world will know it. He will return to judge and unbelieving world.

The words of the apostle Paul will be fulfilled, “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)

And we see the theme, Christ is both the beginning and the ending. In Him all things were created. (John 1:3) and in him all things will be consummated. (Revelation 21:6) The Lord is described as a savior who 1. “Is” (present tense), 2. “was” (past tense), and 3. “Is to come” (future tense). Another great triplet. As the eternal son of God, just like the Father, He always was, He is, and He always will be. The ever-present One. “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14)

And then we have the Victory.

“behold I am alive for evermore” (Revelation 1:9-20).  John was exiled to Patmos because of the word of God and testimony of Jesus Christ. There was no escape from that place. Then he met the risen savior face to face on that rocky deserted island. He heard the masters voice and turned to see who it was.  And as he turned, he saw seven golden lampstands. They were likely in the shape of a Jewish menorah. (Revelation 1:12) These lampstands were representative of the seven churches the book is addresses to. (1:20) In the center of the lampstands, he saw the son of man, dresses in high priestly garments. (floor length white robe with golden sash.) (Exodus 39)   “And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.” (1:16)   This mention of the seven stars in His right hand are likely the symbols of the leaders or pastors of the churches.  The main word here is messengers.  They are the messengers of God.

The description of Savior is in this pattern of seven symbolizing His Shekinah glory:

  1. Hair: white like white wool
  2. Eyes: flame of fire
  3. Feet: burnished bronze
  4. Voice: sound of many waters
  5. Right Hand: held seven stars
  6. Mouth: Sharp two-edged sword
  7. Face: shining like the sun

*Regarding the seven stars in the Savior’s right hand J. Vernon McGee writes, “Angels can be either human or divine- the word here is messenger. It could refer to a member of the angelic host of heaven; it could refer to a ruler or teacher of the congregation. Personally, I think that it refers to the local pastors, it is good to hear a pastor being called an angel-sometimes we are called other things.”

Chuck Smith writes, “Now it is always to me a very comforting, and yet an extremely exciting concept, to realize the place of the seven stars. They were being held in the right hand of Him. And how beautiful and comforting it is to realize that as a messenger to the church, your life is being held in the right hand of the Lord. I don’t know of anything more exciting than that and comforting than that. Another thing that is extremely exciting is where Jesus is. He is walking in the midst of the church or the churches, the seven golden candlesticks or the seven churches. So, Christ is walking in the midst of His church. You remember in the Gospels, Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name there will I be in the midst”(Matthew 18:20), His promised presence with His people. So, Jesus is here with us tonight. He has promised to be with His people wherever they have gathered in His name. And that is always just beautiful and comforting to realize the presence of Jesus.”

The description of the Savior introduces one of the most powerful symbols in the Apocalypse: the sword of His mouth. Ultimately it will be His word that will defeat the enemy. (Revelation 19:15, 21)

And he had in His right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword (Rev 1:16). The Bible says the Word of God is alive and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. So, His words are like a sharp two-edged sword, because they are “able to cut between the soul and the spirit. They are a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the hearts of man” (Hebrews 4:12).

Then John collapses at the Saviors feet. (Revelation 1:17) He cannot stand up on his own power as his strength is drained from seeing the Holy One.  All through Revelation we will see that approaching God is only allowed by permission of the blood of Christ. (Hebrews 10:19-20)

John laid there prostrate on the ground like a dead dog. The effect of Christ before him was paralyzing. It had been 60 years since he last saw Christ and he sees the Blessed Redeemer in all His blinding glory.  But then Johns loving Lord quickly performed a tender task and reached out and touched His disciple in need to strengthen him. “He laid His right hand upon me.” (Revelation 1:17) Jesus assured John, “I am alive.” (Revelation 1:18) Jesus also assured John that, “I have the keys of death and of Hades.”  There are five keys mentioned in the New Testament and our Lord and Savior carries them all.  The other four are:

The keys of the Kingdom. (Matthew 16;19), The key of knowledge. (Luke 11:52), The key of the Throne of David. (Revelation 3:7) and the Key to the bottomless pit. (Revelation 9:1; 20:1)

The Lord has come for his beloved servant and to unlock the mystery of the future and to unveil the events that would lead to Armageddon and the End Times.

Verse 19 -He commanded John to write those things which:

  1. “You have seen” (past)
  2. “Things which are” (present)
  3. “Things which shall take place after these things” (future)

The key to understanding Revelation is in Verse 19.  There are three parts, the things John has seen, the things which are now, and the things which shall be hereafter. (The future)

The Chuck Smith commentary said, “We are now living in the eras of chapters two and three, “the things which are”. The church continues to exist, and the testimony and the witness of the church, and the witness of Jesus concerning His church, which is even more important. So, there are three divisions of the book. It is important that you catch this, because if you don’t you are going to have a constantly confused and garbled view of the future. You will see the church in the midst of the tribulation and the one hundred and forty-four thousand-you’ll try to twist to be the church. There are all kinds of twisted and exaggerated concepts that have come from the book of Revelation, because people did not catch the key in this first chapter here.”

Hinson wrote, “Many have used that simple threefold designation to outline the entire book: past (Chapter 1), present (Chapters 2-3) and future (Chapters 4-22).  The chapter closes by uniting each of these elements. The Savior who died and rose again in the past is still alive and moving in His Church in the present and will come again in the future.  He has already triumphed, and so shall we!”

Amen!

Come with me next time as I begin looking into Chapter 2 of, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.”

The Tubthumper

Armageddon On Schedule, Setting the Stage – part 1

The Lord has come for his disciple.  The Lord has come with a vision of the future. A message of hope for His church. (For us believers!) What a glorious morning it was.

Setting the Stage – part 1

Welcome back to our walk through the book of Revelation.  I am in the material and I don’t want to stop. Looking to what’s next.  And with that said, the next two posts will cover Chapter 1.

Setting the stage for the great “unveiling.”

For the most part in the book of Revelation, there will be an angel or the Lord himself speaking to John and revealing to him the things that were being revealed to him by Jesus Christ.

Can you imagine things will get much worse than they are now? We are getting shocked daily by open public sinful behavior and expressions of blatant unbelief.  How much time can possibly be left before God say’s now is the time. And then, in the twinkling of an eye Christ returns like a thief in the night.  I am sensing the end is very near.

John has made it clear that he is a recorder. His job was to record and write the things that he had seen and heard.  And he said that we know the record I provide is true, the witness is true.

John was the last personal disciple still alive.  By this time all the rest of the apostles had all been martyred because of their faith in Jesus Christ. They had all been killed by the Roman government. John is the only one of the original disciples left, he is the last one. John is old now and probably is well into his nineties. It was now sixty-five years since the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. John has been and still is faithful. John had been with Jesus since the beginning. Now he is left alone to die in exile.  It is estimated that this was written in 96 AD, and it is estimated that John was approximately the same age as Jesus. That would make John around ninety-six years old.  He is in a little rocky crag out there in the Mediterranean, offshore a little bit from the area of Ephesus. He was exiled to the island of Patmos.

From Chuck Smith’s commentary we get, “According to Usibius in his book on church history, as he records the violent death of all of the other apostles, he says concerning John that there was the attempt to boil him in oil, but he survived the experience of being boiled in oil. So, they exiled him to the island of Patmos. God wasn’t through with John yet. God had one final word for man.  The book of Revelation needed to be written and John was the one that was eminently qualified to write the book. So, there on the island of Patmos, the aged John received this vision of the future.”

He (John) was in the spirit and worshiping the Lord on resurrection day. All the sudden a loud voice came out of the silence that announced, “I am the Alpha and the Omega… who is and who was and who is to come.” (Revelation 1:8) It was the savior!  The Lord had come to care for John and to take him home to glory. Amen.

Lots of things are unanswered in this book, however there are a number of things very clear from this first chapter,

  1. John was exiled on Patmos. (Which was the Alcatraz of that day.)
  2. Christ appeared to him at that place.
  3. The Revelation was given to John.
  4. It was then sent to the seven churches for each of them to read.

The Lord has come for his disciple.  The Lord has come with a vision of the future. A message of hope for His church. (For us believers!) What a glorious morning it was. The old testament prophesies were sealed up. (Daniel 12:9), but this prophesy was open and the Savior came to reveal the future (Revelation 22:10) What a glorious future to see.!

It would be impossible to understand the Apocalypse without familiarizing yourself with this first chapter.  It holds some key elements like:

The Title- The Revelation of Jesus Christ.  He is the author and it is His revelation (unveiling) of the future.  John is the recording stenographer, doing shorthand on everything he saw and heard.

The Testimony- All that he saw. John began with one of the many triplets we will see. In Revelation 1:2 we see the triplet, “Who bore witness to: 1. The Word of God, 2. And the testimony of Jesus Christ, 3. Even to all that he saw.  We get from this passage the Apocalypse is an eyewitness account. No second-hand information here. John has put his apostolic reputation on the fact that he actually saw and heard those things.

The terms- “Blessed is he” (Revelation 1:3) John uses another triple to introduce the first of seven beatitudes. “Blessed is: 1. He who reads, 2. And those who hear the words of prophesy, 3. And heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.”

The time- The time is near.”  No dates are set. There is no specific time indicated for fulfillment. The only indication is, “The time is near.”

John is identified three times. This is in keeping with the triplets. (Revelation 1:1, 4, 9) John did not know if he would ever see anyone again so he made absolutely sure the churches knew the book came from him. His greeting is “grace and peace.”  Always stated in that order. There is no peace apart from God’s grace.

Reference to the seven spirits is only found here. New Testament scholar Bruce Metzger notes, “John uses this expression to symbolize the plentitude and power of the Holy Spirit.”

And Jesus Christ is introduced with a double triplet, (Revelation 1:5) He is the:

1. Faithful witness

2. First-born of the dead

3. Ruler of the kings of the earth

John was sure to remind the churches who Jesus really is because of all the persecution.  He is the faithful martyr, risen savior, King of Kings. And John states what Jesus did for us:

  1. Loved us
  2. Released us
  3. Made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father.

Edward Hinson wrote, “These designations of the Savior remind us that we have both a heavenly and earthly destiny in Him. He is the King of the earth and we shall reign as kings with Him on the earth. (Revelation 5:10) From the very beginning the Apocalypse has an earthly focus. Premillennialists have always understood this, but other eschatological viewpoints have missed this altogether.  We are promised that we will rule with Him on earth, not just in a “spiritual” sense, but literally.”

Come with me in the next post for a look at John’s vision as he drops prostrate seeing the The Lord and the victory at hand,

God bless you’

The Tubthumper       Click here to jump to the next post.

Armageddon On Schedule

Humanity began in the garden and will end in the Eternal City. Beginning in tragedy we will end in triumph. In the beginning was man’s failure but, in the end, there will be exaltation. Between all this there stood a cross. And on that cross Jesus Christ changed our course and the course of humanity forever.

Hi everyone,

It has been a long time since I picked up the pen due to things life has dealt. But now the Lord is prompting me to write about the book of Revelation.  As we are living now in the year 2024 we are seeing prophesy come true before our eyes. Can it be much longer? Many things are still to happen but we are definitely experiencing the birth pangs of Armageddon.  Hearts are waxing cold and evil is ever-present.  It is time to look into the future.  I believe this project will enhance my understanding of Revelation and hopefully enhance yours too. My attempt will be to provide it as clear as I can in a simple way that is easy to understand.  So let us begin with the end in mind as Stephen Covey put it.

The New Testament has guided us Christians for well over a couple thousand years and it clearly shows Christ’s birth and resurrection.  At the end of the New Testament is the book of Revelation that shows us a wonderful picture of the return of our savior the Lord Jesus Christ.  The message of the Bible would be very incomplete without the New Testament.

The Old Testament shows us the message of the coming Messiah.  All through the Old Testament we see evidence of the one that will come to be the King of Israel and savior to all mankind, the savior of the world. When the old testament ends, the coming of the Messiah is an event still not fulfilled. We await the arrival of “The Lamb of God,” to come to us and take away the sins of the world. (John 1:29)

Revelation is the most significant book as it relates to prophesy, in the New Testament. It is the finale, the grand and spectacular conclusion to God’s written word and the event we all await.  All of us believers have cherished the book of Revelation, regardless of whether we completely and fully understand it. Why do we cherish it so, because it gives us hope?  It gives us hope of the future time when God will make “all things new.” (Revelation 21:5) And God said right in the verse to, “write these things because what He is saying is faithful and true.”  So even though in our frail human understanding and difficulty to believe such a dream can come true, He is saying believe it and trust it.

The book of Revelation is pretty fascinating and I am sure this will take me some time.  I do not know how long. I do not know how many posts it will take. I am sure it’s a big project for me.  I am excited to be getting started.  Revelation is a look at the end of the world. It is God’s revelation of the end-times. These posts and threads will lead us to Armageddon and beyond. Are you curious?  Do you want to know what happens next?  Follow along with me in the coming weeks and months.

God is revealing for us, the future before it actually happens. Revelation is a prophesy of future events. Hopefully I can keep it simple enough for you all to understand the messages God wants us all the hear. I will focus on the “big picture” and I will strive to not get bogged down in all the details.  Lots of people get drawn in and side-tracked by all the minute details. In my posts I will stay focused on the main message of the book.

There are Seven major points to consider:

  1. The letters to the seven churches.
  2. The seven seals.
  3. The Seven trumpets
  4. The seven bowls
  5. The seven symbolic figures
  6. The seven judgements
  7. The seven triumphs

When we look into the book of Revelation the curtain gets raised and the future is there for us all to view. Through seven visions and a lot of symbolic word and number illustrations, the entire climax of human history gets told in lucid detail.

The term, “Revelation,” means “uncover” or “unveil” or “reveal” everything that was hidden so we can now see it. The Greek term, apokalupsis is translated for us. And this is why the book is often referred to as the Apocalypse.  It is both apocalyptic and prophetic. The very last of the sixty-six books of the Bible bringing it all to a conclusion. The Apocalypse calls itself a “prophecy” of future events. (Revelation 1:3; 22:7, 10,18,19)   It is a final book of New Testament prophesy.  Prophetic visions of the future!

Bruce Metzger, a New Testament Scholar, tells us, “In order to become oriented with the book of Revelation one must take seriously what the author says happened. John tells us that he had a series of visions.  He says he ‘heard’ certain words and he ‘saw’ certain visions.”  Metzger adds, “Such accounts combine cognitive insight with emotional response. They invite the reader or listener to enter into the experience being recounted and to participate in it, triggering mental images of that which is described.”  We have the temptation to read about the future through our eyes of the present. Let’s not do that. There is no guarantee the end will come in our lifetime. What glory that would be though.

Events predicted in the Revelation come in symbolic language.  Many of the symbolic things come from the Old Testament passages. Such as tree of life, Lion of Judah, etc…  Some are also drawn from New Testament passages.  Some symbols have no biblical parallel and are left unexplained and still others are specifically explained and identified. There is a lot to consider.  We should move forward with a guarded caution and keen insight.

We are looking at the “book of the unveiling,” God meant for us to understand it. He gave us the promise, “Blessed is he who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophesy, and heed the things which are written in it.” (Revelation 1:3)

Revelation is very Unique.

The book is based around a series of threes and sevens. The over-reaching three is Past, Present and Future.

  1. Past: “the things which you have seen” (Chapter 1)
  2. Present: “the things which are” (Chapter 2)
  3. Future: “the things which shall take place after these things” (Chapters 4-22)

And the seven visions I mentioned earlier:

  1. Seven churches (1:9-3:22)
  2. Seven seals (4:1-8:1)
  3. Seven trumpets (8:2-11:19)
  4. Seven symbolic figures (12:1-14:20)
  5. Seven bowls (15:1-16:21)
  6. Seven judgments (17:1-19:10)
  7. Seven triumphs (19:11-22:5)

The use of symbolic numbers is found throughout the book. The most significant numbers found in the Apocalypse are:

Three- as in the number of the Trinity. Lots of threes and triplets in the book.

Four- this number is generally related to earth as in four seasons.

Six- this is the number of man, later the number of Anti-Christ 666.

Seven- this is the most significant number, many, many sevens we will see. Seven churches, seven spirits, seven lampstands, seven stars, seven lamps of fire, seven seals, seven horns, seven eyes, seven angels, seven trumpets, seven peals of thunder, seven thousand people, seven heads, seven diadems, seven angels, seven plagues, seven bowls, seven mountains, seven kings, seven beatitudes and seven “I ams” of Christ.  Twelve- this is the number of completeness, i.e.- the twelve tribes.

So, what is Revelation all about? 

It is in the title. It is the revelation of Jesus Christ, the things which must take place. Jesus Christ is the central theme of it all. He is the key to understanding the book. He is both the author and the subject of the book. The purpose is to reveal the future.  From David Jeremiah we get, “The word ‘revelation’ means the disclosure of that which was previously hidden or unknown. The book of Revelation tells us that Jesus is coming again, how He is coming, and what the condition of the world will be when He comes.”

The return of Christ, the risen savior.

Critics of prophecy have often referred to this as a book of doom and gloom. But it is not. It has both negative and positive implications.  For the unbeliever its negative. Sorry but – if you don’t believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah and savoir then you lose. For the believer its good news- our Savior is coming and we win!

The book of Revelation shows us a series of wide views which are then followed by more concise snapshots.  First, we get the big picture and then we get the details.  The pattern is generally, bad news-details to follow, or good news-details to follow.  With that said, things will not come to us in direct sequential order.

The basic Big Picture.

  1. The church will continue to grow.
  2. Satanic oppression will intensify.
  3. Israel will return to the Promised Land.
  4. The church will be raptured to heaven.
  5. The tribulation period and its judgements will follow.
  6. The marriage of Christ and the church will occur.
  7. The triumphal return of Jesus Christ.
  8. The Millennial Kingdom when Jesus will reign on earth for 1000 years.
  9. The final triumph and Satan cast into the lake of fire.
  10. The Eternal State- a new heaven and a new earth.

As we begin the journey through Revelation several things are very clear:

  1. John is looking into the future.
  2. He sees a pattern of events happening in heaven and on earth.
  3. The events he sees will involve some catastrophic judgments on earth.
  4. The judgments will result in the final triumph and the return of Christ with the establishment of His Kingdom. And the millennium.
  5. Then there is the Eternal State- a new heaven and a new earth.

Well friends, humanity began in the garden and will end in the Eternal City.

Beginning in tragedy we will end in triumph. In the beginning was man’s failure but, in the end, there will be exaltation. Between all this there stood a cross. And on that cross Jesus Christ changed our course and the course of humanity forever. Amen!  Hallelujah! What a Savior we have!

Praise the Lord.

Follow along with me and we will have a look to the glorious finish.

The Tubthumper     Click here to jump to the next post.

 

Here Comes the Judge Part 4

The Sentencing:   

DEATH!  YOU ARE SENTENCED TO DEATH

The Sentence: “For the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23, Gen 2:17)

Death – in Bible means (separation) Gen: 2:17 Man experienced the first death. (When Eve took of the tree of life it introduced death to mankind.)

Physical Death- separation of the person from the body.

Spiritual death- separation of the person from God.

Eternal separation of the un-repentant sinner to Hell.

And now there is an announcement in the court.

YOUR SENTENCE HAS BEEN PAID – YOU ARE FREE.     You can go free.  Your sentence has been paid by the judge.  The judge has taken your place.  Your offenses have been forgiven. The indictment is sealed.  

OH MY!!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME????   The Judge took my sentence.  How do I deserve that?  Could that be possible? 

Oh yes, it is so. Jesus was put to death on the cross for you.  He paid the price for your sins and the sins of all mankind.  

The Judge paid the sentence. Amazing!!! 

The Miracle “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) This is Justification, The Gift of God is Eternal Life.

The nature of this miracle, it is free… “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 3:24)– “Justified Freely”- without a cause. Because of his Holy grace.

The persons in the miracle, He for you. – God sent forth… “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” (Romans 3:25) This word PROPITIATION is very important. It’s a Biblical word that we don’t often use in our vocabulary.  It means that an atonement has been made through a sacrifice of blood.  A sacrifice of Christs blood and His death on the cross has saved us.

  1. Satan- fought it
  2. Father – wrought it (shaped, fashioned, hammered out)
  3. Holy Spirit- taught it                   1 – 3 is the Justification miracle.
  4. Son- bought it

See the trinity at work?

5. Rich Man (Nicodemus) – sought it

6. Thief on the cross- caught it

7. I’ve Got it!

Saved! Saved! Saved!

The source of the miracle (3:24,28)      Freely by His grace (v. 24)   By faith (v.28)   Without the deeds of the law (v. 28)

The scope of the miracle- “Unto All”- unlimited (Rom. 3:22,29- John 3:16) “For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in Him shall not parish but have everlasting life.”

The Bestowal of this miracle – limited (Rom. 3:22,26) Only to those that believe.

Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (v24) God does this freely because of His grace and love for me, I am an undeserving sinner and I have been made an heir of His glorious kingdom to spend eternity in His glorious presence in the fullness of joy and pleasure for evermore. Amen! 

If you have never, as of yet understood “Justification.”  Please understand it now.  Justification is a one-time act of God and an extremely important doctrine.  Sanctification is a continual process until you are taken to be with the Lord. We will talk Sanctification another time.  Understand this Justification by Faith Alone doctrine first.

Because man’s condition was totally ruined by sin, salvation is based on a truly remarkable principle.  We are justified freely by His grace.  Pay close attention to the words “justified,” “freely” and “grace,” those three words summarize how God meets ruined man’s needs.

“Justification is the legal and formal acquittal from guilt by God as the Judge, and the pronouncement of the believing sinner as righteous in His sight. This verb is in the present and continuous sense and shows a constant process of justification in the succession of all who believe and are justified.” Can you see the difference between being forgiven and being justified? When you are saved you can plead not guilty and your case is dismissed. The Lord Jesus has fully discharged all our obligations so there is no legal ground for charges to be pressed on us anymore. We have a perfect standing before God and are fully acceptable in His sight. And we are justified freely, he does not charge us anything. “By His grace.” Just to be clear… Grace is unmerited favor. It is getting something we do not deserve. How remarkable!!! 

I think it’s important to clarify this as well.

Salvation is free, but it is not cheap.  It cost God his only begotten son and it cost Jesus the agony of dying on the cross. The blood Christ shed for us is very precious.

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (1 Peter 1: 18-19) The cost of Calvary is far beyond any human comprehension. It is!   

The witnesses of this miracle. “Witnessed by the law and the prophets.” (Rom. 3:21) It is totally scriptural. “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27) “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise” (Heb. 11:39) “Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you.” (1 Pet. 1:10) – Prophesied of the grace.

The Legal accomplishments of the miracle – To reconcile God’s justice and God’s mercy by a mediator or bridge. We said it before, God set forth Christ to be a propitiation. (Romans 3:25) The sinner must be condemned, God wants to save the sinner.

The harmony between law and grace can be seen in the miracle. Do we need to keep the law? Yes, The Law cannot justify us but by following it but the Law can bring us to despair and cause us to take Gods alternative of committing ourselves to faith in Christ. “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” (Romans 3:31)

The Bible is not the record of man searching after God, but it’s the record of God searching after man.

The judge died for the defendants.

It’s a miracle- The just dying for the unjust.

The three major Imputations of the Bible.  Impute= add to     1. Adams sin was Imputed to the human race. 2.  My sin and yours was Imputed to Jesus Christ.  3. God’s Righteousness was Imputed to all Believers.

The miracle of Justification is that we are sinners and Christ died for us. We are justified with His blood.

Because of Justification we have Hope.  Our hope concerns the future. Something good in the future, something possible in the future- the coming again of Jesus Christ. That is our hope.

(Romans 5:6-11) “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.  And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.”

Back in the days of Moses the High Priest went to the Holy of Holies once a year.  Because of Justification we have access to the Throne of God immediately.  We don’t need to wait. I don’t need to provide a sacrifice.  My sacrifice was already offered by the savior Jesus Christ.

Let me be clear however,

Justification is only for “him which believeth in Jesus.”  I cannot say that strong enough.  Please hear me…

God justifies only those who believe in Jesus.  Everyone believes in something and everyone serves someone.  THE ONLY BELIEF THAT COUNTS WITH GOD IS BELIEF IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

I have the invitation. You have the invitation.  If you haven’t accepted it do it now.

Don’t ever forget the Judge paid your fine.  The Judge took your punishment.  It is the only Judge that will ever do that for you.  Enter the Kingdom. Tell Jesus you believe, you understand you are sinner and want to be saved by his grace.  Ask Him into your heart to save you from the chains of Hell.

God bless you all in the pursuit of Him,

The Tubthumper

Here Comes the Judge Part 3

The Defense 

We hear the Pagan Man’s defense.  – He thinks he should be acquitted on grounds of ignorance.

The Plea of ignorance is rendered and the plea gets refuted- because he has the gift of conscience, nature, etc.  Men seem to put human reasoning on the throne and place Devine revelation in the basement.  What a mistake.

“Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” (Romans 1:19-22)

We also hear the Moral Man’s defense. (Rom. 2: 1-16)  He makes a comparison- he is not as bad as the Pagan.

The plea gets rendered – the Moral man thinks he is a good person.

The plea is refuted- “Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.” (Romans 2:1)

The moral man underestimates the awesome knowledge of God.

The plea gets reviewed.  It is determined there is indifference to the forbearance and goodness of God. God’s forbearance is holding back his wrath, His goodness is His grace.

Religious Man’s defense.  (Rom. 2:17-3:8) He says, “I know the Law.” (I teach courses in religion.)

His plea gets rendered. His plea is refuted.

His plea is reviewed. (They don’t practice what they preach.)

The Jew had a National advantage but no spiritual advantage.  The Bottom Line- the Law could not save them, Circumcision could not save them and birthright could not save them.

Like so many people today in Christendom, they look at themselves like they belong to the church of Christ and they are heirs of Heaven simply because they were baptized at a baby. (A little sprinkle of water on the forehead.) And the Jew thinks that circumcision gave him a special status with God. A mere religious ordinance will not profit the soul without a vital and personal experience with Christ. It is circumcision of the heart that matters.

God see’s all—you cannot commit an undetected crime.

Smile because God loves you, but, Fear, for God will someday Judge you. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of God’s Wrath.

On to the trial of the Ages!

Back in the courthouse of Law.

The Charge- High Treason

The Defendants- Pagan Man, Moral Man and Religious Man

The detailed indictment:

The Jury- 4 members – Conscious Man, Deeds Man, Works Man and Law of God Man.

The Defense

Based on testimony from expert witnesses: A search was launched throughout Heaven and no man was found worthy.  None righteous, not one. As it is written “All have sinned and come short the Glory of God.”  No fear of God, “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:18)

None were righteous, none understood, none were seeking God.

Not even Mary was righteous, she was the very first to call Jesus Savior. (Luke 1:47)  She needed to be saved like all sinners. We all need the Savior!

The VERDICT: GUILTY, all are GUILTY!

Man’s Character is Sinful.

“They are all of them gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable; there is none that is doing good, no, not one” (Rom 3:12)

In other words they have chosen to go some other way than the way of God.

“There is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

Sin = Hamartia– (ham-ar-tee’-ah) TO MISS THE MARK– that which is done wrong, sin, an offense, a violation of the divine law in thought or in act.   Man misses the target.

Man murders his brother and mocks his God.  “their feet are swift to shed blood” You see murder was always in the heart of man.  Nothing new and killing is a heart problem and cannot be blamed on anything else.

Man originally was good but has gone bad since Adam.

Man’s conversation is sinful. 

And now Paul the court recorder is quoting from the Psalms. “Their throat is an open sepulcher, with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways: and the way of peace have they not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:13-18)

We see here God’s indictment – God is declaring that mans condition is apart from God.   Man has no connection to the Lord.

The sting of a vicious viper…

The stink from a tomb…

Cursing and bitterness…

“And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.

GUILTY!  GUILTY!  GUILTY! 

And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.” (Revelation 5)

MAN IS GUILTY AS CHARGED! 

 

Come back for the last post as the sentencing occurs.

We will see what the sentence is

And we will see the most amazing thing happen

In the “Trial of the Ages!”

God bless you all,

The Tubthumper

 

 

 

Here Comes the Judge, Part 2

The Court Proceeding

The Charge  

HIGH TREASON!  You are charged with High Treason against God.  A very serious charge… not against your country but against God! The Savior will be the judge.

It’s the Creator against His creatures. (Sinful) The defendants are the humans that God made and God the creator is the prosecution.

Jesus is the judge.  Not the Father, but the Lord Jesus. The Father entrusts Jesus to judge.  Whom He hath ordained & raised from the dead.

The defendants:

           Moral man- the heathen, they enthrone human reasoning and dethrone divine revelation.  Becoming consciously irreligious and consequently irrational. Basically it’s their darkened heart. He becomes conceited and foolish, or rather- very stupid.

           Pagan man- the hypocrite, thinks other people’s sins are worse than their own.  They compare themselves to others and think they are high and mighty.  They flatter themselves but foolishly are measuring themselves to the wrong standard. God’s standard of measurement is the Law and the sin of the hypocrite is that of being indignant at the shortcomings of others while being indulgent of his own. The hypocrite places himself on very thin ice. He faces the judgement of God himself.  “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds.” (Romans 2: 5-6)

            Religious man- the Hebrew, False religious systems enslave people both sensually and spiritually.  All were charged with High Treason. This is the man with a powerless religion. Mere orthodoxy in religion does not make a person more acceptable to God. Having access to an open Bible will greatly increase a person’s responsibility in the sight of God.  A persons access to the truth will increase their accountability to the truth. “For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.” (V.13) “The Truth shall set you free!”

Let’s review the detailed indictments: (V. 21-32)

First Indictment – (V.21) Ingratitude, not thankful for creation or redemption. And Pride, they had a heart problem.  Thankful people are not prideful and a lack of thanks leads to Apostacy.  Self-will and Pride both seem to be severe sins in the Bible. Lucifer and Adam had those traits. The Antidote for Pride is Thanksgiving.

Second Indictment– (V.22) An unsanctified philosophy, insolent fools- professing themselves as wise they became fools- morons. It’s a fool that says in his heart, there is no God. Let’s face it folks people are right now further away from God now than ever before. Man is self-sufficient. God is dead they say. But there is a reckoning coming.

Third Indictment– (V.23) They turned away from God and preferred idols. Man, birds, beasts and creeping things. They made God like man. They thought of God in terms of man.  They sought to bring God down to man’s level. It was man seeking to corrupt God.

Fourth Indictment– (V.24-27) Sexual Perversions, homosexuality, lesbianism, vile affections, everything under imagination… “God also gave them up to uncleanness [or filthiness] through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: for they changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever.” (Rom 1:24-25).

Fifth Indictment– (V.28-32) Incorrigibility, a reprobate mind, not convenient, depraved. “For this cause God gave them up to unnatural affections: for even their women did exchange the natural use for that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men doing that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was necessary. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are [unspeakable,] not convenient, [not proper]” (Rom 1:26-28)

  1. Fornication
  2. Wickedness- (Mentioned 360 times in the Bible.)
  3. Covetousness- (the one of the 10 Commandments impossible to keep)
  4. Maliciousness- (unusual cruelty)
  5. Envy- (unlawful desire of something or someone)
  6. Murder- (the only sin that can never be forgiven by the victim)
  7. Debate- (contention or strife)
  8. Deceit- (bait or snare)
  9. Malignity- (harbored hatred)
  10. Whisperers- (secret slander- “devil” means “to slander”
  11. Back Biters- (open slander)
  12. God haters.
  13. Despiteful- (insolence and insulting)
  14. Proud- (with a swagger)
  15. Boasters- (in word)
  16. Inventors of Evil- (torture and evil intentions)
  17. Disobedient to Parents- (The beginning of Anarchy)
  18. Without understanding- (Blindness of the heart and “darkened” Eph 4:18-19)
  19. Covenant breakers- (their word is worthless)
  20. Without natural affection- (without love)
  21. Implacable – (2 Tim. 3) (unforgiving, unsparing and unappeasable)
  22. Unmerciful

No one has an excuse. All are guilty before God.  As John said, man is “condemned already”, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18) 

The Jury

            Conscience of man (1:19) – Conscience is a goad but not always a guide. The conscience must be educated and monitored by the Word of God.

“Because that which may be known of God is manifested in them; for God hath shown it unto them.” (Rom 1:19) God has inscribed certain things into our hearts. We know what is right and we know what is wrong. God has shown it unto us. That’s what the word manifested means. We have Intellect- we know whether an action is right or wrong.  We have Sensibility – what would I like to do about it?

We have a Conscience- what should I do about it? The question is what shape is your conscience in?

An evil conscience, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Heb. 10:22)

A defiled conscience, “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.” (Titus 1:15) – “guilty”

A weak conscience, ” Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.” (1 Cor. 8) A bit immature- don’t have all the facts.

A good conscience, ” And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” (Acts 23:1) – This is what we want.

A seared conscience, “Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.” (1 Tim. 4:2)  This is the worst.

What a devastating day it will be when God calls into the light all the hidden works of darkness. We all have guilty secrets, things we have done which we should not have done and things we didn’t do that we should have done. Those secrets will not be overlooked or forgotten by God.  One day it will all be exposed.  “In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.” (Romans 2:16)

               The Will– what I am going to do about it.

The deeds of man- good deeds cannot save anyone. “Who will render to every man according to his deeds” (Rom 2:6)

“But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the Day of Judgment”. (Matt. 12:36)

“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20: 11-15)

The Works of God. The invisible God is revealed through His creation and the Heavens declare the Glory of God. (Rom. 1:19-20

The Law of God. “For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves.” (Rom. 2: 12-14)

We have seen the charge, looked at the  defendants, the indictments and the jury.

Join me next time as we look at the defense and continue in

the Trial of the Ages.

God bless you all,

The Tubthumper.

Here Comes the Judge, Part 1

The Trial of the Ages.

Please allow me to set the stage here.  We are about to witness a major trial and we are in the Court House. Can you see the Jury in your mind and the two attorneys about to argue the case?

We are in the courthouse of Law.

We have a trial in progress.

We need to introduce the Court Reporter.  It’s the Apostle Paul.  He comes with good credentials.

Paul declared the righteousness of God in these passages and it’s really what the book of Romans is all about.

  1. God is Righteous!
  2. God demands Righteousness!
  3. God provides Righteousness!

There must be a basis of righteousness in order for sin to be forgiven. If a judge wants to totally dismiss the charges against a guilty person he can but that’s not righteous.  So God can’t simply tell you, “You are forgiven.”  Not without that righteous basis. FOR GOD IS RIGHTEOUS!

For your sins to be forgiven there must be that Righteous Basis. And where is that basis found?  It is found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

The sinner was sentenced to death (SINFUL MAN) and God established that righteous basis because Jesus Christ became the substitute.  He took your sin upon Himself and He died in your place.  It’s trading the righteous for the unrighteous. You are forgiven! He took your place!  He died for you!

The righteousness of God is revealed from FAITH TO FAITH. As it is written,

“THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” Verse 17.

And then we also see the WRATH OF GOD… which we will look at during the trial.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” (Romans 1:18)

Let’s look quick at the very first verse in the book of Romans:

“Paul, a bond slave of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.” (Romans 1:1)

So he was a servant… a bondslave… Paul was not his own person after being called. WE ARE NOT OUR OWN PERSON- WE BELONG TO CHRIST- HE PURCHASED US.  We are debtors to everyone unsaved once we become a Saint and become separated unto the gospel.

He was called apostle.  He was DECLARED! HE WAS SENT FORTH! In order to be an Apostle you must have seen the Lord Jesus Christ.  Paul saw Jesus at least 7 times that we know of.  And God called him directly. Keep in mind this is now 25 years after Paul first came to Christ.  And he said, “Who art thou, Lord, that I may serve thee?” 25 years later he is still saying I am a bondslave!  I am an Apostle. He made his calling and his election sure. We should do the same… whatever it is that God calls us to do we should do. Nothing more nothing less. Whether it’s to be a greeter or bass guitar player or a preacher.  Whatever it is just do it.

My birth was no accident— Your birth was no accident— God desires to work the good works through his servants. (Bondslaves) He separated us unto the Gospel to do for Him…

Do you know the will of God for your life?  I want you to know that 90% of determining the will of God is being willing to DO-IT.  So just do it.

Separated unto the Gospel of God. – We are first separated from our mother’s womb and then separated from sin and the world to Christ as Paul is explaining.

Paul let us know in the written word the Gospel is not new and it’s still not new. (IF IT’S NEW IT AINT TRUE)

Paul presented the message of the Gospel right up front as he began to share the court record. Christ is the center of the Gospel message and Paul introduces Christ in a threefold way.

  1. He is the REVEALED ONE, the one “Promised Afore” (v.2), for the Gospel of God has its roots deep into the Old Testament.
  2. He is the REIGNING ONE, He is “Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.” (v.3) The New Testament opens and closes with Jesus referred to as the “Son of David.”
  3. He is the RESURRECTED ONE, the one “Declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of Holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” (v.4)

It is all about Christ’s Deity… Jesus was 100 % God, 100% Man, 100% of the time.   And Paul is making that clear.

Paul had complete confidence in the Gospel because of its sufficiency and its supremacy.  He wrote, “It is the power of God unto salvation.”

John Phillips in his commentary on Romans wrote, “The world does not need a better system of education, more social reform or new ideas in religion.  IT NEEDS THE GOSPEL! The Gospel message grips the mind, it stabs the conscience, it warms the heart, it saves the soul, and it sanctifies the life.  It can make drunken (or drugged) men sober, crooked men straight and profligate women pure. It is a message sufficient to transform the life of any who believe.”

“IT IS THE POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION “TO EVERYONE THAT BELIEVETH.”  Could anything be any simpler than that?  It is simple, trust in God’s Son, The Lord Jesus Christ, as your personal savior from sin. Simple as that!

The Just shall live by Faith.

The Gospel MUST be received by FAITH.

Habakkuk 2:4- The Just shall live by Faith.

Romans 1:17- The Just shall live by Faith.

Galations 3:11- The Just shall live by Faith.

Hebrews 10:38- The Just shall live by Faith.

THE COURT RECORD

Lets look at the COURT RECORD– First 3 Chapters of Romans.

If you look around, it’s even likely here within our group, there are two kinds of people throughout the world.

  • People that have been delivered from the Wrath of God because they have sought God’s righteousness.
  • Everyone else, whom the wrath of God abides upon.

Paul indicated that those that are called and delivered from the wrath of God are to be called Saints. (v.7) This is not some special class of people within the church, but it describes all that have trusted Christ as their savior.  It means, “One set apart for God.”

You are either a Saint or a Sinner. More appropriate is to say a sinning saint or just a sinner for no one is righteous, no not one.  I am a Saint, but… I am also a sinner.

J Vernon McGee used to say, “There are two kinds of People in the world, The Saints and The Aints” 

During this trial God’s righteousness will be revealed, but then God’s Wrath will also be revealed.  Throughout the New Testament we see both God’s Righteousness and God’s Wrath.

God’s Righteousness was/is revealed to man by Nature, Human Conscience and by Human History. There is no excuse for being unaware of God.

God’s Wrath was/is revealed by His Word, the Natural World, and by The Cross.

Paul lets us know that the bad news of human sin comes before the good news of salvation.  “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” (V. 18)

Paul said Gods wrath is revealed for three reasons: First it’s revealed because of human ungodliness, second because of human unrighteousness, and third because of human unbelief.

I think it important to give some clear definitions at this point:

Wrath of God: Please note God’s wrath is not due to Anger on His part, it is a reaction to unrighteousness. The wrath of God is His judgment regarding sin and is a standard that reveals His displeasure toward sin.

Ungodliness: Having the wrong attitude toward God and having spiritual failure.

Unrighteousness: The wrong conduct toward God and fellow man and moral failure.

Stay tuned for the “TRIAL OF THE AGES.”

 

Join me in the next post as we proceed on to the court record as the trial begins…

God bless you,

The Tubthumper

 

To Act or Not: Part 2

Actsgathering3Is it appropriate to attempt to be an “Acts Church” today by using the book of Acts as a guide?
Yes and No… let me explain. Certainly the ten points I outlined in the last post will be a great resource to follow and I support the use of them. In fact our churches won’t be too successful without doing those 10 things. So yes, I say we should follow the guide and do our best to carry it out. We need to keep in mind however the differences in culture and their community compared to ours. Without intense study of the culture in Jerusalem at that time in history it would be impossible to understand the vast differences. The response to leadership was different and some things done today were completely forbidden. There was also specific revelation occurring from God and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The early converts were praying like we can’t even imagine and God was responding. I believe this issue of prayer is one of our problems but that is another subject. ActsChurchThe early church was almost completely a made up of Jewish people before it spread to the Gentiles. (Officially in Acts 15) Our community is much more diverse. Things were done much different back then compared to now and the world mindset was different. I remember a guy saying to me, “Ok, that was the church for then but I want to experience our church for now.” We can be an Acts church but must modify for our contemporary times. It would be impossible to do everything exactly as the Apostles did in the early church.
Secondly I think there is more that God wants us to follow and the Bible provides it. I think if we add Ephesians to the Acts Church we have a winner of a blueprint to work from. We must not exclude the teachings of Timothy, Titus and others.
We know that the primary job of the Church is the ‘Great Commission’ of Matthew 28:16-20) which theoretically is a three part process. One is to make disciples, second is to baptize them, and third we must, “teach them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” The Church leaders must see to it that disciples are being made. It is their our principle responsibility.
How are disciples made? They are created through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Everyone does not do the same job in the process. Some disciple, some evangelize, some teach, etc… No need to feel guilt if you can’t do everything well. “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-12)
A major part of the blueprint for Church today is Ephesians 4:10-16. The main function of the church leaders is to equip the saints for the work of service. And every Christian is a saint, just call me Saint Frank. Church leaders are to be intimately involved in equipping each and every saint. The body of Christ is built up through the process of equipping. So the purpose of leaders is to equip Christians for ministry and not to replace them. The purpose of equipping members for service is so the body can be built up and the ‘Unity of the Body’ can only be achieved through every Christian ministering and supplying the body. When each individual is functioning properly the body builds itself up in love and unity. It will be self-perpetuating because God guaranteed it. The bottom line is that Churches will grow when we as Christians use our Spiritual Gifts in service to the body of Christ.
We need to be careful because looking at other churches through the ages and how other people are doing things has led to decline in Christianity. Churches that are dying are usually mired in tradition or off the path and unwilling to change. We need to be looking at scripture and reading scripture. We need to also be on our knees in prayer. God’s word has all the answers and it is not only in the book of Acts. Albeit Acts is a great place to be and I don’t want to diminish its importance.
The basic point we must remember is that with a guide or not, the church is built up on disciples that are willing to take up their cross and die for the Lord if need be. (Matthew 16:24)
I think I will close with a thought on this church leadership issue: We will all stand before God some day and answer to Him. Many Church Leaders will stand before God and be asked what they were told to do and if they completed it. Many won’t know what He is talking about and won’t be able to say they obeyed. He will ask if they warned the disciples about their accountability for their instructions in the Word. Not many leaders are reading the Word of God any more. The wrath of God will be visited upon disobedient disciples, and will be visited upon negligent church leaders because it is their responsibility to, “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” (Acts 20:28-30) Church leadership comes with an awesome responsibility. Woe to those who scatter my sheep.
Blessings for your day through Christ,

The Tubthumper

  1 Stephen Parker, Church Growth Crisis: The Decline of Christianity in America (Oklahoma City, OK: Forever Family Publications, 2011).

 

To Act or Not: Should we use the Acts Church as the guide?

church-model080211A lot of people these days believe the church should be trying to do exactly what the early church did in Acts. This is actually where all the small group craze came from.  Much of the church growth movement is keyed on this principle as well. So do I think mimicking the Acts Church is how we should do things? Yes and no… You see, the Bible has a lot of information on what God wants the Church to do. We have Acts but we also have Ephesians, Timothy, Titus and more. Let us look at this closer beginning with some points about Acts.

There is no question , the early church gave a good model. Acts 2:47 says, “Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” Some experts have estimated the church in Jerusalem had over 100,000 members. That is larger than many cities.

There are many important principles to follow for Church government. Here are ten examples:
1) Churches should rely on the Holy Spirit’s power. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) Church members should have the Lord Jesus controlling their lives. They must let the Holy Spirit take control. Leaning on the Holy Spirit is mostly what is needed.
2) Churches today must nurture a warm fellowship. “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common.” (Acts 2:42-44) With a warm, loving and inviting environment new Christians can be loved and grow in the word.
3) Church members must meet together to study the Bible. “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” (Acts 2:46-47) They used the temple courts and they met house to house. Both types of meetings occurred. So we must meet at church and we must break bread together and study in our homes.
4) Churches must expand the vision of God. He is in Control. “And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is.” (Acts 4:24) We already know the Church will survive and Satan is already defeated. Fear thou not because we have all the resources and strength we need. “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18) Christ will build His church!
5) Churches must harness the power of prayer like they did in Acts. From the beginning there has been a spiritual battle going on. Spiritual battles are fought on our knees. Jesus said, “This house will be a house of prayer.” Our Church is to be a house of prayer. In Acts it says, “they prayed” 48 times. Churches need to pray like they prayed in Acts. Churches need God’s power to make us different from the world. (Acts 1:3-4, 14)
6) Churches should be united, generous, loving, and charitable. Our church should be a giving church. The church in Acts was a giving church. “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold.” (Acts 4:32-34) We all need to be united and with one mind. Our church should be the place that the needy are cared for. We should learn how to sacrifice for others like the early church did. We should be a powerful testimony to our community. (Acts 2:44-45)
7) Churches must involve everyone in ministry. We find in Acts chapter 6 how this was done. The apostles found men that were specifically shaped and called for ministry. An example is ‘Greek men to minister to Greek widows.’ No one pastor can do everything. God and the Holy Spirit gifts the entire church. The Pastor feeds the flock through preaching and teaching. The rest is up to others. Our churches need to be able to help people discover their Spiritual gifts and then plug them in. The early church sent people out on mission is the community to add to the growth. Don’t allow people to come and just sit on the sidelines. Use the talents and gifts they bring. Not just any people can minister, however, as the position of Deacon is to be filled with men who are currently full of the Holy Spirit. Not one that was filled at one time, but one filled with the Holy Spirit now. Deacons can bless the body and they can bless the Elders by allowing the Elders to devote more time to the Bible and to prayer. Deacons are “hands on” – somewhat a “Buildings and Grounds” people. As they grow they could be appointed to Elder positions. God wants leaders full of the Holy Spirit, wisdom, unity, prayer and to stand in agreement. God raises these people up.
8) Churches need to read the Bible and be devoted to the word. It should be heard from the pulpit, it should be read, it should be memorized and it should be meditated on. The only thing that can change lives in our churches today is the Gospel and the Word of God. We need to be devoted to reading the Bible. (Acts 2:14-40)
9) Churches should love and worship with joy. In the early church they practiced Koinonia. What that means is they would fellowship with one another. They were committed to one another and loved one another. Our church members need to protect, care and help one another unlike the world. We also should celebrate Christ together. Church should be enjoyable and we should express our emotion in Church letting go and worshiping with joy. (Acts 2:42, 46-47)
10) Churches should be reaching out to the community for Jesus Christ. The early church reached people for Christ daily. “And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:40-41) Evangelism is commanded and we are told to be a witness throughout the world.

Can it work to try and mimic the Acts Church? In the next post I will give you my opinion and expand on what I think we should doing with our church structure.

To go part 2 just click HERE. 

In Christ,

The Tubthumper

 

_____________________________________________________

Steve Davis, Spiritual Leadership Examples from the Book of Acts., http://http:www.stevedavis.org/12%20examples%20from%20the%20book%20of%20Acts.html
Rick Warren, How to Have an Acts Church, http://www.christianpost.com/news/how-to-have-an-acts-church-42320/ (accessed May 1, 2014).

Hell Yes It’s Real, Conclusion

ItisuptoyouCONCLUSION

The Whole Counsel of God

The thought that God will punish eternally in Hell the lost sinners that do not repent and turn to Him is certainly not in style these days.  All Christians should be teaching the truth about Hell.  Hell holds a special place in the Biblical worldview and Hell stands for the opposite of what the contemporary secular worldview stands for. Hell is connected directly to the doctrine of God, and Jesus Christ the Son, the atonement for sin. Hell serves to give humanity a gauge of morality and points to the responsibility we have as God’s creatures to live in His image.  Hell is real and Hell is there for the punishment of the sins of mankind. It is understandable that so many people want to avoid the subject of Hell and to soften it.  Hell should be offensive to our moral senses. It should literally scare the “Hell” out of us. We should be sorrowful that someone we know will suffer the horror and our hearts should break.  Our hearts should be breaking because of the awfulness of sin that sends people to Hell. The very thought of sin should repulse us and help to keep us from that awful place.  Christians need to seek and to proclaim the whole counsel of God.  The whole counsel of God includes the doctrine of Hell and this doctrine needs to be proclaimed to all people, godly or worldly and both Christian and non-Christian.  The truth will set you free.[1]

The lost and unbelievers have a lot to fear and tremble about according to the words of Jesus Christ.  They may die now, in this age in great honor and leaving their family with great wealth. What about eternity?  It would be good to ponder what God can see because God looks upon the heart.  There will be the day when God will raise up the wicked, the lost, and the unbelievers to face Him in judgment.  When he completes the judgment and renders the sentence He will banish them out of His presence forever and to a place that Jesus compares to fire and to deep darkness like has never been experienced. Those lost unbelievers will watch as the saved go with God to their eternal reward. Those lost unbelievers will suffer with “weeping and gnashing of teeth” but it is too late then.  It is done.[2] The choice was made and the life that was lived was no trial run. It was the real deal.  And Hell is for real. 

Because death is real we can be sure Hell is real.  The only reason death comes to humans is because of sin. If Adam hadn’t fallen and there were no sin in the world there would not be any death. The testimony of the presence of physical death should be a testimony to all of us that the unseen reality of a “second death” as the Bible calls it in revelation 20:14, is a reality.  This reality is not going to disappear simply because our culture today wants to ignore it.  As Evans states, “Hell is the expression of God’s settled, external, unchanging wrath against sin. (Revelation 21:8; 22; 15)[3]

Thinking of Hell has the reaction of paralyzing some people.  I suppose that is why so many deny, ignore or oppose its existence.  They don’t want to carry on with life being constantly reminded of fire and brimstone and torment.  But, take notice; we really aren’t supposed to carry on as normal and like the rest of the world.  The reality of Hell and the urgency to do something so we won’t end up there is supposed to impassion us for the gospel.  “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences” (2 Corinthians 5:11) Hell could paralyze us or it can energize us and magnify the beautiful cross of Christ. Believe and live![4]

The Great Gulf between Heaven and Hell

There is a point in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus that should not be missed.  It is the vast amount of space (the gulf) between Heaven and Hell. Every person will go to one place or the other and once you are at your destination all the bridges are burned behind you.  There is no way then to go back.  No road or bridge between Heaven and hell.[5]  From the depths of Hell the condemned can see those in heaven and know the separation but not the other way around.  The Bible says in Heb. 9:27, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”  As said before, this life is not a trial run and there will be no second chance. An exhortation is appropriate to not procrastinate. Tomorrow may never come for you.

Francis Chan wrote, “We have become dangerously comfortable- believers ooze with wealth and let their addictions to comfort and security numb the radical urgency of the gospel.  What is encouraging is that there seems to be a growing number of American believers who recognize this and are making changes. I would love for Jesus to grace me with those words: You are worthy.  Wouldn’t you?”[6]

We cannot reject a clear teaching of Hell that Jesus so emphatically repeated in the scriptures. All Christians should be embracing the doctrine of Hell with the place it has in the biblical worldview.  The horror of hell should offend our moral senses. It is a tragedy that sin entered into the world and that we humans are continuously rebelling from God and the lost are rejecting the Savior.[7]

Derek Smith wrote, “As for me, I know for a fact that Hell is real. As if the Bible’s depiction of the existence of Hell weren’t enough to convince me (and it is), I also see incontrovertible proof of Hell’s existence all around me every day.”[8]

There is a place being prepared for the righteous called heaven.  It is real.  God is preparing the place.  There is place already made and reserved for the ungodly.  It is called Hell.  Hell is for real! TheEnd

Follow Christ, Believe and live, Hell is for real… 
 
Click to go to back to  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
Have a Godly day,
“The Tubthumper”

 

[1] Morgan and Peterson, Hell under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment, 239-40.

[2] Edward William Fudge, and Peterson, Two Views of Hell, 80.

[3] Evans, Tony Evans Speaks Out on Heaven and Hell, 16.

[4] Chan and Sprinkle, Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We Made Up, 148.

[5] Sproul, Unseen Realities, 84.

[6] Chan and Sprinkle, Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We Made Up, 124.

[7] Velarde, Is Hell Real?

[8] Smith, Hell Is Not as Hot as You Think: Why Everything You’ve Been Taught about Hell Is Likely Wrong, 538.

Hell Yes It’s Real, Part 5

images3JESUS SAID HELL IS FOR REAL

Christ is the Authority on the Subject

Based on the authority of Jesus Christ we have no choice but to believe that Hell is for real.  He descended there for three hours which were the darkest hours known to mankind to date. The place reserved for the lost is prepared. Jesus tells us more about Hell being for real than any other author or speaker.[1] Matthew 25: 31 -43 provides a representative example of how Christ spoke of Hell. 

Jesus knew about Hell first hand and spoke about it the most. Jonathan Edwards didn’t invent the concept of Hell.  John Wesley or Charles Spurgeon didn’t come up with it either. How about Thomas Aquinas or Augustine, did they invent it?  Maybe the reformers of the sixteenth century dreamed it up. No, it was not dreamed up by anyone at all.  It is a Biblical doctrine and pretty close to all that is learned about it comes from the lips of Jesus Christ. The early church took the concept of Hell very seriously and we should as well.  The church today should take the concept of Hell much more serious than they do because of the frequency that Jesus spoke about it.[2]

Jesus often used the images of fire and darkness to describe Hell. The parable of “The wheat and the tares” holds a very terrifying group of words by the Lord.  “As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 13:40-43).  We see the “weeping” while they are “cast into the fiery furnace”.  A few verses later it comes again, “So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,  And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth” Matthew 13:49-50).And again Jesus gives it to us, “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire” (Matthew 18:8-9).  Again we see Jesus using the images of darkness for a description of Hell, “And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:11-12).   Just before He died the words were told in another parable, “Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 22:13) and He did it again in another parable when he said, “And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30).  It is clear that Jesus is describing to us a Hell that is for real and a Hell that includes darkness, weeping, and gnashing of teeth which are all common Jewish ways to describe Hell. We need to remember this is real to our fellow humans, this is the real deal, and this stuff has real implications for real people that will have real destinies.  This is very important material to consider.  Now, the most alarming statement about the duration of Hell comes in Matthew 25 where He delivered the parable of the Sheep and the Goats.  It was about the rapture and the final judgment.  The sheep represented the believers in Christ and the Goats represented the unbelievers. Jesus divided them up in the two different groups according to how they have lived their lives.  If you have clothed the naked, fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty you went in the sheep group.  If you did none of these things you went with the goats cast into the everlasting fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels.[3]

Jesus told another parable in Matthew 13:48-50.  In a very large fishing net were caught all kinds of fish.  The fishermen emptied the nets and separated the good fish from the bad fish.  They discarded the bad fish for they had no value.  “That is another great image of the end of the age.  The angels will be separating the righteous from the wicked and the wicked will discarded into the fiery furnace, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt 13;29-50).[4]

In the book of Mark Jesus was talking about sinners getting thrown into hell (Mark 9:43-48) Mark quoted Isaiah’s picture of Hell. The place where worm does not die and fire is not quenched. That devouring worm is eating what is already dead and then helped by the unquenchable fire until nothing remains. Whatever is left lasts for all of eternity. (Mt. 25:46)[5] The choice is yours, do you want life or do you want the fiery punishment?

Jesus is Consistent with the Early Jews

The first-century Jews believed in Hell and had a clear view they described.  Jesus was a Jew.  If Jesus disagreed with the view of Hell provided by his fellow Jews He would have very clearly outlined his differences and place an argument against them.  Jesus was never afraid of going against a commonly held Jewish idea.  The views of Jesus stand in line with the first-century Jewish pictures of Hell.[6]

Hell is described consistently throughout the New Testament by Jesus and also by nearly all the writers God used to pen His words.  Judgment and punishment are consistent pictures drawn by all the writers. Destruction, death, exclusion, banishment, and separation are all words used to describe that awful place. The issue of fire and suffering are included in many of the descriptions, however the predominate and overriding theme is always destruction and punishment.  There are three main pictures of Hell that emerge out of the New Testament writings.  The nature of Hell is described clearly as punishment, destruction and banishment.[7] Hell shown as punishment affirms that sin is recognized by God as a crime. The destruction picture of Hell indicates that sin is a spiritual death and the banishment shows sin as alienating us from God.[8]  The sin is real, evil and wickedness are real, the crime is real, the punishment is real and Hell is for real.

The word gehenna, (translation “Hell”) was used in the Gospels twelve times.  The images of fire and darkness are there along with punishment and judgment.  Jesus believed just like the early Jews that hell was real and the wicked are headed to that a place of punishment.[9]

Join me next time as I bring this to a conclusion…  Click here to go to the next post.

Yes, Hell is for real!

Have a Godly day,

The “Tubthumper”

Click here to go to:  Part 1,     Part 2,     Part 3,      Part 4.

[1] Edward William Fudge, and Peterson, Two Views of Hell, 37.

[2] Sproul, Unseen Realities, 52.

[3] Chan and Sprinkle, Erasing Hell, 76-81.

[4] Edward William Fudge, and Peterson, Two Views of Hell, 40.

[5] Ibid., 44.

[6] Ibid., 73.

[7] Morgan and Peterson, Hell under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment, 142.

[8] Keller et al., IS HELL for Real or Does Everyone Go to Heaven, 605.

[9] Chan and Sprinkle, Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We Made Up, 74.

Hell Yes It’s Real, part 4

New Testament Doctrine of Hellcanstockphoto5818885

Three words are translated to “Hell” from the New Testament. Hades, Tartarus and Gehenna. Hades and Tartarus are Greek and the word Gehenna is the Greek form of the Hebrew words Gee and Hinnom which mean “the valley of Hinnom.”

Hades occurs eleven times and has a meaning of “grave” one time and “Hell” ten times. 2 Cor. 15: 55, ” O death, where is thy sting. O grave (hades) where is thy victory?” An example of a use where it takes the meaning of “Hell” is Rev. 6: 8, “And I looked, and behold a pale horse; and his name that sat on him was death, and Hell followed him.”

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus provides a good example of hades being used in the figurative sense of depravity, suffering and degradation. The word Tartarus was used only one time and was within the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Tartarus was the place of torment within Hades. It is the place where the rich man was located and was used figuratively. The word Gehanna shows up 12 times always being associated with “Hell”. It is found in the following scriptures: Matt. 5:22, 29, 30, 10:28, 18:9, 13:15, 33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5 and James 3:6. It is clear to see the word Gehanna, or Hell, within the New Testament represents anything repulsive, foul and evil with judgment of destruction.[1]

The majority of people today cannot quite grasp the Biblical teaching on the destiny of the lost. Someone you love could possibly end up in eternal punishment because of wickedness.  Now that is a thought and a place where even Christians with generally high views of Biblical inspiration cannot go.[2]

The bible teaches the existence of Heaven where we can end up in a state of joyous eternity and residing in the fellowship of God. It also teaches the presence of Hell which is presented as a state of anguished separation from God. Those decisions are made while you are in this life and once this life ends they become permanently fixed states.[3]

The very first description of Hell in revelation comes in Chapter 14 when John wrote about the final judgment. “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name” (Rev. 14:9-11).  This is another very terrifying section of God’s word as it is referring to “God’s wrath” and “God’s anger” all mentioned within the context of “tormented with fire and brimstone” forever and ever.  It does not get any more frightful than this. John sends all a very forceful warning of “Do not oppose God!” He goes on in revelation describing the torment and the lake of fire.[4]

In Revelation 20 and 21 the “Lake of fire” is described as the place where all who choose to turn from Jesus will go as a final destiny.  In Rev. 20: 11-15 the words are clear that the lake of fire is for punishment.  John tells us there will be two different places for believers and unbelievers.  “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie” (Rev. 22:14-15).   If these subjects have not dealt with their sins through the blood of Jesus in this life, “washed their robes”; their destiny will be chosen.  There will be no way to wash your robes when you are in the lake of fire.[5]

The doctrine of Hell is fully supported by the Bible and has been an accepted doctrine of the Christian church from the beginning. Many Scholars such as C.S. Lewis have come to the conclusion that scriptures also are supported by reason.

In the last part of Matthew 25 it says, “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matt. 25:44-46).  Think about what the Bible is always talking about.  Believe on Christ and be saved.  Believe and have everlasting life.  Be saved from what? It is important to connect with this fundamental issue.  If you believe and have a saving faith in Christ you are then saved from that awful and terrible place in outer darkness.  You will be saved from the wrath of God.  No one wants to experience the wrath of a just God visited upon who ever has been hostile toward Him. You should be seeing the reality of Hell in all this. The most frightful thing anyone could ever experience is the judgment of a holy God.[6]

Tony Evans wrote, “The Bible is clear that at the moment of death, our souls pass immediately into conscious existence in eternity, either in heaven or in hell.  A lot of people think there’s some kind of second chance after death.  God’s Word says nothing about an intermediate state of purgatory after death in which we have a second chance to get our act together, have our sins dealt with and then make it to heaven.”[7]

As mentioned before, this life is no trial run.  It is the only shot we have.  So let us all get our act together so as not to end up in that horrible place called Hell.  Yes, it is for real.

Come back for the next post as we look at what Jesus said about Hell.

  Click here to jump to the next post. Jump to part 1, part 2, part 3, Conclusion.

Have a Godly day,

“The Tubthumper”

 

 

[1] Velarde, Is Hell Real?

[2] David Horton and Ryan Horton, eds., The Portable Seminary (Bloomington, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2006), 166.

[3] Ibid., 194.

[4] Evans, Tony Evans Speaks Out on Heaven and Hell, 15.

[5] Chan and Sprinkle, Erasing Hell, 33.

[6] Sproul, Unseen Realities, 65.

[7] Evans, Tony Evans Speaks Out on Heaven and Hell, 8.

Hell Yes It’s Real, part 3

Choiceisyours

HUMAN RESPONSES TO HELL

God has always been a God of Life and love. All humans including you were made in His image. (Genesis 1:26-27) He has a high value on human lives and also respects our human ability to choose. God makes His efforts to reach us all and move us to choose His Son to follow and join Him. We all have our entire life to make that choice, however long or short that life may be. Many will reject the truth and choose a path different than what God would desire for them.

Hell is a subject that even the most faithful of humans tend to avoid.  It is an extremely unpopular subject. To think of being permanently separated from God is a much too permanent thought in a world like ours where almost nothing seems permanent. It seems too final.  Everyone seems to think there should be a second chance. But the Bible is clear that this is not a trial run we are in and this life is the only chance we have.  Each person only gets to live life once.  You can use the life you are given by serving God or you can use it rebelling against Him.  God can never be accused of sending people to Hell. People make the choice.  If a person says no to God then they choose to go to Hell.  He doesn’t want them to go there but it is the choice made.[1]

Modern folks are trying to revise the doctrine of hell and to remove the finality of everlasting punishment and one observer asked, “Could it be that the only result of attempts to air condition Hell, however well-meaning they are, will ensure that more and more people wind up there?” R. Albert Mohler,Jr. wrote, “Hell demands our attention in the present, and now confronts evangelicals with a critical test of theological and biblical integrity. Hell may be denied, but it will not disappear.”[2]

Biblical Picture of Reality

We have found in the Bible that Jesus gives us a picture of hell that is truly real. It is awful to say the least and it is forever.  He says it is everlasting. Jesus points out that people should do all they can to avoid it.  With so many people today doubting whether Hell and the anguish and torment it carries are forever and eternal, the teaching of Jesus and His emphasis on the everlasting duration of Hell needs to be highlighted brightly.[3]

The doctrine of Hell is truly an emotional and repulsive thought and everyone is troubled when thinking of someone else going there, let alone the thought of going there yourself.  But there was all this emphatic teaching of Jesus Christ and the authors of the New Testament that we learn from the Bible.  All of these teachers are adamant there will be judgment.  They are all insistent there will be separation because some people will be fortunate and end up in Heaven yet others will be cast into that place where they will exist in weeping and gnashing of teeth.[4]

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT HELL

When the Bible says something it is the truth.  God’s word is infallible.  Think about the simple fact that from the beginning of the Bible in Genesis God pronounced the penalty of death on man due to the sin of Adam. Since that time the life of a human being has been limited to a number of years focusing around seventy.  There is no need to assume anything and all you need to do is turn the pages and look at the evidence for yourself.  Research all the history you want and you will find no man, not one, since the fall of Adam has lived forever.  All have died or been taken up. (Like Enoch) No one has ever escaped that penalty that God declared so long ago in that death would be the penalty for sin.  At times in my profession people begin a sentence with, “If anything should happen to me…” and I always stop them to say, “It will, You will die, we both will die because it is the reality.” There have been billions and billions of people that have taken a step on this earth since then and every single one has tasted God’s penalty for sin which is death.  Could there be any better example of the accuracy, power and truth of god’s word?[5]

Old Testament Doctrine of Hell

When we see the word Hell in the Old Testament it will likely be some translation of the word ‘Sheol’. This term occurs sixty-four times with a rendering toward “Hell” thirty-two times, referencing “grave” twenty-nine times and with a rendering toward “pit” three times. With an examination of Hebrew Scripture the determination will be a primary meaning of (the place or state of the dead.). By substituting the word hell in the place of “grave” or “Sheol” you will be better able to understand the scriptural doctrine on the subject of Hell.

Later in the Old Testament there is a figurative meaning to the word “Sheol” and this time is representing calamity and degradation that comes from sin or the judgment of God. When seen in those scriptures it is plain to see that “Sheol” or “Hell” was used during times of suffering, depravity and mortification. There is a reference to this in Psalm 9: 17, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”[6]

 “The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.  Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.  Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.  The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.  Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee” (Psalm 116:3-7) “Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied” (Proverbs 27:20).

Several scriptures in the Old Testament lead us to a view of what will happen to the lost at the end when the world will end.  The wicked will become like chaff or husks of wheat blowing in the wind.   They will look like little pieces of broken pottery.  The wicked will be slain and will exist no more. The evil ones will be become like ashes under the feet of God’s people. In 1 Corinthians we get from Paul that the last enemy that gets destroyed is death itself. “For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” (1 Cor. 15:25-26).  The annihilation of death is described by John using the lake of fire picture in Revelation 20:14.  For all humans the lake of fire is the second death (Rev 20:14-15; 21:8).[7]

The work of Christ is previewed in Isaiah chapter 11 and this gets echoed in the New Testament.  This is about Jesus work of redemption and gospel ministry to the gentiles.  The judgment to come will provide freedom for some and for others there will be the punishment. Jesus will “strike the earth with the rod of His mouth; and with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked” (Is. 11:4) the clear message revealed here is the wicked will be ultimately destroyed.  Yes, Hell is for real. The wicked will not be able to hide or protect themselves when God does “arise”.  The evilness of their own sins will ignite and become a fire that “consumes” them (Is 33:10-11).  They will blaze as easily as “cut thornbushes” and burn so complete “as if to lime” (Is 33:12).  Can any metaphor describe destruction any better than this?[8]

In Isaiah 66 there is a clear picture of what the righteous will see after the wrath of God is poured forth.  The image is food for fire and maggots. “And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh” (Is. 66:24). So what the righteous see is corpses and carcasses.  God has executed His judgment and wrath with fire and sword. But the righteous will endure forever and worship God when the wicked are no longer alive. (Is 66:22-23)[9]

This is just a glimpse of what Hell is.. join me next time and have a look at what the New Testament says about Hell. 

Have a Godly day,Choiceisyours

“The Tubthumper”

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Click here to jump to the Conclusion.

Hell Yes it’s Real, part 2

HellheavensignWhat about the definition and description of Hell?

The Early Jews Believed

The first- century Jews vividly described hell and the descriptions they gave were the same as the ones provided by the New Testament authors and the images presented by Jesus.  They said all sinners would be blotted out of the book of life.  These sinners would cry and lament in an invisible wilderness and they would burn in the fire.  They described this place as being “completely dark.”  Although it was completely dark there was the flame of its fire burning brightly. They described Hell as being an “abyss…full of fire” and pictured all the wicked being “cast into this fiery abyss, and they were burned.”  Fire, darkness and lamenting were typical ways they described that place.  There is one thing that is very clear: First-century Jews knew that Hell was for real.  They believed in the “abyss” where its inhabitants were in pain.  They believed in Hell and knew Hell was for real.[1]

Hell is about judgment and eternal separation. All the words about Hell that come from Jesus are related to judgment.  When we think of the picture of Hell painted throughout the New Testament there are a number of things we need to understand.  One thing is that God is a just god. He is Holy and must judge according to His perfect righteousness. He is the Great High Priest and the ruler of all. All His creation is accountable to Him.  Anyone that has studied God’s word knows that one basic teaching is there will be a final judgment day for all.  Everyone is to be judged according to His perfect law and His righteousness.[2]

 Theological Definition of Hell

From a theological standpoint the doctrine of Hell is relating to eschatology. Eschatology is the study of end-times events, the book of Revelation in the Bible and what happens to an individual’s soul when their physical body dies. Actually in simple terms it is related to our eternal destiny and whether our soul goes to heaven or to hell. God has an offer for everyone to join Him in His kingdom when they die. Unfortunately very few will take him up on his offer and instead of choosing heaven they will be residing in this place called hell.
God is without sin and holy, just and loving. Nothing unholy can ever come within His presence. Anyone failing to accept the truth must end up somewhere else after physical death and that somewhere else is Hell. This is not a pleasant topic however it is one that is very important to understand in biblical context.[3]

There is enough evidence for us to believe that Hell, the Gehenna Hell exists today.  It is real and it is likely someone you have known is there now.  That should be a sobering, tearful and frightful thought.  According to the scriptures and the words of Jesus heaven is still in preparation.  It says, in John 14:1-3, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also”.[4]

As for Hell, however, there is strong evidence from the Bible and also from scientific facts that say Hell exists right now. Look to Matthew 25:41, “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels”.  Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost wrote, “The word ‘prepared’ literally is “having been prepared,” suggesting that the lake of fire is already in existence and awaiting its occupants.  It is the thesis of C.T. Schwatrze, then of New York University, that such a place as a lake of fire is known to science today.”[5]

The images of Hell in the Old Testament are where the phrase “fire and brimstone” originated.  It is the King James Version’s explanation of “burning sulfur” suffocating its victims by the fumes and the flames would destroy anything else remaining.  Lamentations indicates that death by fire and brimstone might be fairly merciful compared to some ways of meeting the end. “For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her” (Lam. 4:6).  God’s wrath was poured out on sinners in Sodom and Gomorrah and they were burned to ashes as an example of what will happen to the ungodly in the end. “And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly” (2 Peter 2:6).  The absolute permanence of that city’s destruction is made clear in the scriptures.  It was a forever lasting event.  (Isaiah 13:19-22; Jer. 5040). The city of Sodom would never again rise which is the picture of the destiny of those Jude was referring to.  They will “suffer the punishment of eternal fire” (Jude 7).[6]

Hell is for real! The reality of Hell is an established fact.  There is an undeniable reality of Hell.  Tony Evans writes, “Hell is the place of external exile where the ungodly will experience god’s righteous retribution against sin forever.  We are going to see that of all the suffering in hell, the worst is the fact that the lost are banished from God’s presence forever.[7]

Join me next time to look into the human responses to hell compared to what the Bible says about that horrible place.  CLICK HERE TO PROCEED TO PART 3.

Jump to Part 1,  Part 2,   Part 4,    Part 5,  Conclusion.

Have a Godly day,

“The Tubthumper”

[1] Chan and Sprinkle, Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity, and the Things We Made Up.

[2] Sproul, Unseen Realities, 61.

[3] Robert Velarde, Is Hell Real?, http://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/becoming_a_christian/is_christ_the_only_way/is_hell_real.aspx (accessed April 19, 2013).

[4] The Holy Bible, King James Version.

[5] Harold L. Wilmington, Great Truths from God’s Word: Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1993), 228.

[6] Edward William Fudge, and Peterson, Two Views of Hell, 29.

[7] Evans, Tony Evans Speaks Out on Heaven and Hell, 16.

Hell Yes It’s Real, Part 1

HeavenorhelldoorIn the last couple months I have working on a few theological items. Some of the main topics have been Hell, Heaven and Faith along with a few others.  I wrote about Hell previously but this time I did some research and pulled the views of some others into my package of thoughts and knowledge.So I think I will work through these items starting with Hell.

In a series of posts I will show how the authoritative words of Jesus Christ and the clarity of the Bible cause us to have no other choice but to believe that Hell is for real. 

The subject we are considering is extremely heavy as we look at the reality of Hell.  Hell is an awesome thing.  Who could ever possibly take it all in?  To admit that Hell is real is to say that it is possible you or I or both of us might end up in eternal anguish separated from God and separated from other humans to be tormented in darkness.  It is important to know if Hell really exists and it sure would be nice for a lot of people if it didn’t. [1]

There is a very different opinion of Hell now from back at the time when Edwards or Spurgeon were thumping the “Hellfire and Brimstone” from the pulpit.  Any discussion regarding Hell today is sure to bring a rash on someone.  The doctrine of Hell has never been challenged as much as it is now in our time.[2]

Hell is certainly for real and even Jesus Christ went there.  He went to Sheol (Greek Hades) at His death on the cross (Acts 2:27, 31).  He visited briefly because He was resurrected on the third day and came back in victory.  Because of His resurrection from death Jesus has in His possession “the keys to death and Hades” and He will reign over them (Rev. 1:18).  In the end both death and Hades will be cast into the “lake of fire” along with the devil, fallen angels and all the lost sinners (Rev.20:13-15).

The views have changed over time. The doctrine of Hell is almost never addressed in Christian theology today because it is so controversial. You don’t hear any ‘Hellfire and Brimstone’ sermons any more like was part of the ministry of Jonathan Edwards so long ago.  Jonathan Edwards was probably more closely associated with the concept of Hell than any other preacher.  Many called him sadistic because he concentrated on Hell so often.  Jonathan Edwards was a man that truly believed in the reality of Hell. Because he was concerned about the spiritual well-being of his congregation, and he rightly should have, he preached passionately about Hell. He certainly had no desire for any of his people to experience that dreadful place.[3]

The Doctrine of Hell stands alone.  Of course Hell is for real.  The doctrine stands alone based on the history of Christianity.  If you were to take away Hell the entire scope of Christian theology would be altered.  Men and women dreamed of going to heaven and they had nightmares about going to Hell.  Now days there is distaste for hell and it shows up in the watered down sermons. There cannot be any room for doubt on this.  We must make a choice to admit that the endless misery of Hell is real or we need to give up the thought of eternal happiness in heaven.[4]

There is both scientific and biblical evidence that Hell is for real.  Evangelical Christians believe the Biblical sources are the only ones truly reliable to determine what our eternal destinies will be like. They (we) want to seek out God’s truth for the answer.  Evangelical Christians also believe that Hell is for real and any thought of a postmortem second chance or an afterlife is preposterous.  Consequently, evangelicals believe the most horrible fate any human being could ever face is the reality of Hell.[5] 

The views have changed over time.  Regardless of the issue that people do not want to think seriously about hell, everyone needs to be aware.  Human beings need to understand the place that Christ’s death on the cross saved them from.  All unbelievers should be warned of the eternal judgment that will become them if they do not turn to God, repent of their sins and find salvation through Jesus Christ.

This is real serious stuff because we are talking about the eternal future and destination of real people.  People that you and I know and see every day.  People that could spend the rest of eternity in a horrible place.  Anyone persistently rejecting the Lord throughout their life can expect to one day face God in judgment and likely get the verdict to be cast into Hell. Hell is for real.  Anyone ending up in Hell can never come out again and Hell is frightening beyond any human imagination.

Yes, Hell is for real… join me in the next post as I continue with defining hell and getting into the nitty-gritty dirty details.

CLICK HERE FOR PART 2

Click here to jump to Part 3,  Part 4, Part 5, Conclusion.

Have a Godly day,

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“The Tubthumper”

[1] Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle, Erasing Hell.

[2] R.C. Sproul, Unseen Realities: Heaven, Hell, angels and Demons.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Timothy Keller et al., Is HELL for Real or does Everyone go to Heaven.

[5] Edward William Fudge, and Petersen, Two Views of Hell.

[6] Sproul, Unseen Realities.

In God’s Image, Really?

imageWhat do you think when you read that man was created in God’s image.  We could all write pages and pages on what is all encompassed within being created in God’s image. The first thought I have is that God created us perfect and then man’s sin with Satan’s treachery ruined it all. Have you ever thought about all the absolutely beautiful things in the world? Sometimes I see something and I think “Oh my, that is so beautiful… how can it be?” Can you possibly imagine how beautiful God is? My pastor said yesterday that to be with Him someday and see that awesome beauty will be like I have never, ever seen before. That is a good first thought.  It is a thought about His beauty, His greatness, His power and His love. And how can it be that we would be created in that image?

In Genesis 1:26-27 it says, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

I think these verses actually refer to the nature of man and not how we look. I don’t think it is referring to the physical bodies we are in now. One clue I have is that my body is deteriorating fast and God’s body has none of these effects.

I believe that even in my best years, (and in my prime I was a handsome and fit man if I don’t say so myself) I could never have held a candle to the image of God. Never! We have no clear image of God’s beauty and looks.  No person has ever seen God.  John wrote, “No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” Jesus said in John14:9, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” 

The very first sentence in Genesis 1:27 say’s a lot. God created, therefore, anyone believing the Bible is truly the word of God must without question put aside any thoughts of evolution. We did not evolve. We were created.  Because we were created in the image of God, He must have had a plan for us. He must have designed a purpose. He must have a divine purpose for each of us when we were created or as a whole when mankind was created. There are scriptures that indicate we were created for Him and we were created for His pleasure. “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.” (Colossians 1:16) “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Revelation 4:11)

The Bible indicates in many passages that God is a Spirit. Because we were created in His image we then have a spirit. We were created in His image and have a body, a soul and a spirit. Certainly and evidently we have no divine trinity like He does but we do have a type of triune existence that is much inferior to His. Much, very much inferior to His.  (Created in his image.) Remember that an image is simply a reflection. We experience the spirit existence when we pray and when we hear that still small voice within. It is the Holy Spirit (God’s spirit) communicating with our spirit. What about the soul, the soul, is hard to understand and cannot be explained because it is one of God’s great mysteries Think of how we think, if you can. I think of my being and who I am deep down.  Actually this soul is the inner you and it is the person God sees. The person you show other humans is not really you. Only you and God know the real you. It is that part that only God knows that is the soul. It is what drives your thoughts, your conscience, your intellect and common sense and it is your will. The will is important because it is there the battle rages between flesh and spirit. The fact we were created with will means we have choice. What a mystery and a wonder this is. With the soul he created us with emotion and the ability to love. Is there another word in the Bible mentioned more than the word love? With some research you will find the word love shows up in different numbers depending on what version of the Bible you are reading.  Regardless of the version, however, love comes up huge.  The King James Bible shows the word love 314 times, the word love’s appears once, the word loved appears 98 times, the word lovedst appeared twice and the word lovely appears 4 times. In the New American Standard version the word love appears 133 times in the Old Testament and 215 times in the New Testament.  In the New International Version the word love shows up 319 times in the Old and 232 times in the New Testament.  Lastly in the New Revised Standard version the word love appears 317 times in the Old and 221 times in the New Testament. Lot’s of love. God is love and he created us with the capacity to love. He wants us to love. Through our loving and His love we glorify God and we demonstrate the Glory of God which is our purpose. Love is one of His pleasures. We were created for His pleasure.

God created us in His image so that He can have fellowship with us and we can fellowship with Him. God desires our fellowship. He desires to share all the glory and beauty of His love with us. We are to stay in fellowship through prayer and the reading of His word.  It seems like God wants to have an ongoing meaningful relationship of love with all He created. Earlier it was mentioned that He created man for His pleasure. His pleasure is to love us and to be loved by us. His pleasure is to have us glorify God.  Those that refuse to accept His love and deny Him do so by exercising that free will He provided in creation. He made it clear that to deny Christ is to deny life. If you are reading this and your life is empty and useless then turn to the one who gives life and love. As Elmer Towns always says, “Believe and live.”

I must conclude with a thesis of what it means to be created in God’s image is that we were created with the capacity to love and it is God’s desire that we share His love.  That is His pleasure.  We are beings that were created as loving beings.  We were filled with God’s love.CreatedinGodsImage5th

There is so much more to be said. Of course we know of the horrible act in the Garden where evil and hate became real. That became real along with the choice to love or to hate. (That is another subject for another time.)

God bless your day today,

“The Tubthumper”

You must view God in 3-D, part 5

Trinitylast

 

Dove

 

 

CONCLUSION

You likely have sung or heard this doxology:

“Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures here below, Praise Him above, ye heavenly host, Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.”

You may also be familiar with this:

“Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy ghost, As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, World without end, Amen.”

Both of these songs are about the Trinity.  By knowing the true nature of the Trinity and by intimately relating to each person and the Godhead one can deepen the spiritual walk and increase faith in Christ.  Knowledge and understanding of the nature of God and theological issues like this will gradually wean one from the milk of the word and help in the partaking of the meat.

There are some false views and mistakes many make regarding the Trinity.  One big mistake people make is to buy into the theory of “tri-theism”. Tri-theism maintains that the Trinity is made up of three separate gods.  The theory is these three gods cooperate with one another but are all separate. Do not get caught up in this theory. It is false.

Another theory people might buy into is the theory of “modalism”.  Those that lean to this kind of thinking believe there is one God that reveals himself through using three different modes.  This is kind of like having a climate system on your care that can use three modes, the heating mode, the cooling mode or the vent mode.  Just turn the switch.  So they God turns the Father switch on when he is in Father mood or maybe he feels today like a ghost so he switches on the Spirit mode and then when He feels like it He changes to the mode of the Son.  Don’t get caught up in modalism.  This is false teaching and both “tri-theism” and “modalism” are unscriptural.

How does scripture describe the Trinity?

1) The Bible says the Father is God.  “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:44) “To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 1:7) “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.” (1 Peter 1:2)

2) The Bible says the Son is God. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6) In the beginning was the Word, [Christ] and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)  “And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.” (John 20:28) “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:13) “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.” (Hebrews 1:8)

3) The Bible says the Spirit is God.  “But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.” (Acts 5:3-4) “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14)

I am sure you may be familiar with this beautiful hymn:

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty,

Early in the morning, our song shall rise to Thee;

Holy, Holy, Holy, merciful and mighty,

God in three Persons, blessed Trinity. 

The author of that hymn is Reginald Hernber and I don’t think anyone could have put the doctrine of the Trinity in a better form.

They are All Equally God and they are All Divine.

The doctrine of the Trinity can be best defined this way, “First, the Bible teaches there is only one God and second, the Bible teaches there are three distinct persons called God, namely the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Lastly and most importantly, the three persons; The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are the one God.”[1]

There is only one deity and that one deity is sacred and holy and eternal. There are three persons that make up the one deity.  As mentioned earlier the doctrine of the Trinity cannot be figured out through human wisdom and knowledge. It can only be revealed by the truth of the word through scripture.  We first find the Trinity in the pages of the Old Testament and later we find it in the New Testament where the doctrine becomes fully revealed.  Three distinct personalities show up along with the relationship to each and they all are unified to show the “three in one” dynamics.[2]

Regarding deity they are all equal. (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.) They are all equally God.  Barry Davis wrote, “This Jesus who identifies Himself as “I AM” is equal with God because He is God. “I AM” is eternal with God.”1

The whole issue can be summed up with the words of William Edwin Boardman in his book The Higher Christian Life, where he said, “The Father is all the fullness of the Godhead invisible, (John 1:18); the Son is all the fullness of the Godhead manifested, (John 1:4-18); and the Spirit is all the fullness of the Godhead acting immediately upon the creature. (1 Corinthians 2: 9-10) And therein lays “The Deity of Three.”

Jesus had a favorite way of referring to Himself.  It was “The Son of Man”. That title is what He preferred, however, when He wanted to be very clear that He was the same as God the Father and the Holy Spirit he used a different term so as to demonstrate his sovereignty and His deity.  “I AM…I AM”.  He is claiming to be ‘The God’, the self-existent one, He is claiming to be the God identified with the Old Testament and He is claiming to be ‘your God’.  He is my God!  The great “I AM…I AM,” Lord and Master of all.

He is “One God and Father of all, who [is] above all, and through all, and in you all,” Ephesians 4:6. 

I will conclude with 2 Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.”

Today is Good Friday; please enjoy the Resurrection Sunday in Him. He is risen!

Amen and Amen,

“The Tubthumper”

 

Click here to jump to :
PART 1,  PART 2,  PART 3,  PART 4

[1] Beckwith, The Trinity.

[2] Max Robert Miller, The Godhead as It Relates to the Three Divine Personalities of Deity, the Trinity, Being God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Thereby Making Special Identification of These Three Persons and Especially to the Son and His Relations in the Trinity (Amridge University, ALabama: http://p2048-www.liberty.edu.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/docview/303230576?accountid=12085-Dissertation/Thesis, (accessed March 1, 2013), 1981).

You Must View God in 3-D, Part 4

Holy_Spirit  THE DEITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Invisible force of power cannot be compared to an individual person of deity.

Many have argued that the Holy Spirit is simply an invisible force of the power of the Almighty God.  They argue that the Holy Spirit has no deity and is “not a person” and that it is an impersonal force God uses to complete His will.  The Bible teaches however, the Holy Spirit is a person.  A person is a self-conscious and rational being.  In order to qualify as a person there needs to be certain components present such as knowing, thinking and communicating. Let us look at these passages of scripture:

“And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” (John 16:8) He is a personal pronoun indicating a person who is communicating.

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” (John 8:13) Guide you into all truth whatsoever he shall hear indicates knowing and thinking and speak and shew is communicating.

“As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.” (Acts 13:2) The Holy Ghost said, indicating communication.  “I”, is a first person pronoun indicating a person. In these passages the Holy Spirit is demonstrating those traits of a person.  By communicating, thinking and knowing, and being described with personal pronouns, the Holy Spirit is acting as a self-conscious person.[1]

The Five-fold Indication of the Deity of the Holy Spirit.

The scriptures clearly assert the deity of the Holy Spirit in five ways.

First, divine names were given to the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit is called God as Ananias is talking in Acts 5 verse 4, “Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.”  The Spirit is also called Lord in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” In the Lord’s Day, the title ‘Lord’ as used of Christ was applicable only to the Deity, to God.  Therefore this reference is applicable to the Deity.

Second, the Holy Spirit is in possession of divine attributes.  Hebrews 9:14 indicates He is eternal in His nature. Psalms 139:7-10 speaks to the omnipresence of the Holy Spirit.  Luke 1:35 speaks to how the Holy Spirit is omnipotent and 1 Corinthians 2:10 and 11 speaks to the omniscient Holy Spirit through the trinity.

Third, the Divine works are ascribed to the Holy Spirit.  Genesis 1:2 and Psalms 104:30 give indication to the divine works in creation.  Regeneration is indicated in Job 33:4, “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” Romans 8:11 brings out the Holy Spirits involvement in the resurrection, “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”

Fourth, the name of the Holy Spirit gets associated with the Father and the Son.  In Baptism there is the personality of the Spirit.  Baptism is done in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  When it comes to the distribution of Spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit is on equal footing with the Father and the Son. “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.” (1 Corinthians 12:4-6)

Fifth and last, some scripture passages in the Old Testament referring to God are also in the New Testament referring to the Holy Spirit.  Compare Isaiah 6:8-10 with Acts 28:25-27 and compare Exodus 16:7 with Hebrews 3:7-9.[2]

R.A. Torrey writes, “To sum it all up, by the ascription of all the distinctively Divine attributes, and several distinctly Divine works, by referring statements which in the Old testament clearly name Jehovah, the Lord, or God as their subject to the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, by coupling the name of the Holy Spirit with that of God in a way that would be impossible to couple that of any finite being with that of Deity, by plainly calling the Holy Spirit God, in all these unmistakable ways, God in His own Word distinctly proclaims that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person.”[3]

Come back for the conclusion in the next post. Click here for the CONCLUSION.

God bless your day today,

“The Tubthumper”

 

Click Here to Jump to Part 1,  here for Part 2,  here for Part 3


[1] Francis J. Beckwith, The Trinity, http://www.answering-islam.org/Trinity/beckwith.html (accessed March 1, 2013).

[2] Evans, The Great Doctrines of the Bible.

[3] R.A.Torrey, The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit (New York, NY: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1910), 29.