Re-Post Friday

Understanding the duality of why Jesus Christ came. Read it HERE!

A Guide for Life

Have you ever sat and wondered about the importance of doing a Bible study? Why is it so important to ensure that we are spending time daily in God’s word? By doing our Bible studies we understand more of God’s word, we understand a little bit more about God and our faith in general. All of this is a very good thing, but did you know that doing a daily Bible study helps you in day to day life events?

“21 Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
22 When you walk, they will guide you;
When you sleep, they will watch over you;
And when you awake, they will talk to you.
23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light;
And rebukes for discipline are the way of life”

Proverbs 6:21-23

When we are daily in the word of God, we begin to understand more about His word. This also means that we can often remember a general idea of where a certain verse or topic is found in the Bible. The more we study His word, and study it seriously, the more it becomes ingrained in our minds. His word becomes bound to us. This is important because as we face this crazy world and everything in it, we need to understand why we rely on the word of God. As we walk through life; His word guides us, as we lay down His word is the comforter, and the more we study His word, the more the Bible talks to us and guides us in our situation.

The Bible is not just some boring book that is irrelevant to life today. It is the hope and joy of a born-again believer who understands the knowledge that is hidden through out the sixty-six books. “It is the glory of God to conceal things,
    but the glory of kings is to search things out.” Proverbs 25:2. The Bible is a living book that guides us through our life. It is the assurance that we need that God loves us, that He will stand by the promises He has made, and that we can lean on His strength as we face this world.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Eschatology 101 Part Five

Welcome to our fifth study in our Eschatology series. Today we need to study two Theo Praxis that have occurred which point directly to God having His attention leading to the PMC event. For those who have not read our past four posts, I would encourage you to stop here and go back to read those first!

Imagine, the Jews are dispersed by the Romans, their Holy City is sacked, the Temple is destroyed. If you were studying the Old Testament, you would be thinking this is where the Prophets got it wrong!

Josephus the Historian wrote the following,

“And now, since his soldiers were already quite tired with killing men, and yet there appeared to be a vast multitude still remaining alive, Caesar gave orders that they should kill none but those that were in arms, and opposed them, but should take the rest alive. (415) But, together with those whom they had orders to slay, they slew the aged and the infirm; but for those that were in their flourishing age, and who might be useful to them, they drove them together into the temple, and shut them up within the walls of the court of the women; (416) over which Caesar set one of his freed men, as also Fronto, one of his own friends; which last was to determine every one's fate, according to his merits. (417) So this Fronto slew all those that had been seditious and robbers, who were impeached one by another; but of the young men he chose out the tallest and most beautiful, and reserved them for the triumph; (418) and as for the rest of the multitude that were above seventeen years old, he put them into bonds, and sent them to the Egyptian mines. Titus also sent a great number into the provinces, as a present to them, that they might be destroyed upon their theaters, by the sword and by the wild beasts; but those that were under seventeen years of age were sold for slaves. (419) Now during the days wherein Fronto was distinguishing these men, there perished, for want of food, eleven thousand; some of whom did not taste any food, through the hatred their guards bore to them; and others would not take in any when it was given them. The multitude also was so very great, that they were in want even of corn for their sustenance.

3. (420) Now the number of those that were carried captive during this whole war was collected to be ninety-seven thousand, as was the number of those that perished during the whole siege eleven hundred thousand, (421) the greater part of whom were indeed of the same nation [with the citizens of Jerusalem], but not belonging to the city itself; for they were come up from all the country to the feast of unleavened bread, and were on a sudden shut up by an army, which, at the very first, occasioned so great a traitness among them that there came a pestilential destruction upon them, and soon afterward such a famine, as destroyed them more suddenly.”1

  Now you know why Jesus wept in the Gospel of Matthew when He looked upon Jerusalem and declares, Matthew 23:37-39, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. 38 “Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! 39 “For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’” Yet, here we have a hint to our first Theo Praxis, Jesus is declaring that there must be a day when Jerusalem is filled with Jews like it is at the time of Matthew 23 and they must recognize Him as their Messiah, the Christ, and say, “BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD.” Jesus is aware of what is coming, Luke 21:5-6 “And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said, 6 As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.”

Jesus is aware of what is coming, and yet He is seconding what is stated in the Old Testament about the Jews having specific promises that must be fulfilled. Amos 9:14-15 “Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, And they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them; They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, And make gardens and eat their fruit. 15 “I will also plant them on their land, And they will not again be rooted out from their land Which I have given them,” Says the LORD your God.”

So it would appear that there is an issue, the Jews are dispersed, Israel is no longer and yet, God’s Word makes a declaration setting the stage for a clear impossibility for anyone other than God. However, God is not done raising the impossibility! He declares that Israel will come back in a single day. One day there is no nation, the next day there is a nation. Isaiah 66:8 “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.”

For centuries many pastors would examine the impossibility, deny God’s sovereign will and assume there was a mistake in the text; or they would spiritualize it to mean anything other than what God said, they were guilty of committing Parexigesi Theo Praxis. Many of the promises to Israel were taken and assumed to be for the Church. Others were assumed that they were already fulfilled. Suddenly, May 14, 1948 comes, and in one day Israel becomes a nation recognized by the largest superpower nations immediately. The Amos prophecy is found to be complete. Israel is a nation again, the Jews survived not being a nation for almost two thousand years to suddenly have a home again. The second Theo Praxis, is the fact the Jewish people have survived. Historically speaking, no society has ever been able to leave their homeland for two thousand years and come back with their culture, history, and people. This is something that only God can do. The Jews have gone through some of the most horrific atrocities known to mankind, and yet survived! This is only possible with God. For two thousand years God protected the Jews outside of their homeland, He now has brought them home, two impossible events a reality. Hard to believe for those who do not understand that God is sovereign and takes His own word seriously, even when mankind does not. To be perfectly honest, there are still those who do not understand the basics of Biblical understanding and try to spiritual what we can see in front of us! Nevertheless, God’s Word is true and we have two Theo Praxis to examine that have happened within our lifetime.

Jews have returned. Israel is a nation again! Why is this so important? It is important because God has declared the Jews must be in a present Israel and in Jerusalem when He deals with Satan. This is why the Jews in Jerusalem are so important. This is why Israel puts the clock ticking and Satan on notice that God has not forgotten what He declared in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall crush you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” Satan has already bruised the heel, but now Satan will have his head crushed at the Post-Millennium-Culmination.

Next week we will discuss a series of events that Israel must go through. Daniel the Prophet and others help us understand what is coming.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed hope is coming,

JL

1. From The Works of Josephus,
   translated by William Whiston
   Hendrickson Publishers, 1987

Re-Post Friday

What does the cross really mean? Find out HERE!

The Smallest Gifts

There are moments in our life where God orchestrates situations that are outside of our control. These situations cause us to be brought into a position that immediately identifies our limitations. Instead of looking at these with fear, we should recognize the opportunity to be apart of what God is doing. Let us examine the below passage and see a situation in God’s control but outside of man’s. Let’s see a situation where God through action declares “I AM” and we get the opportunity to be apart of.

“5 So Jesus, after raising His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?” 6 But He was saying this only to test him, for He Himself knew what He intended to do. 7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not enough for them, for each to receive just a little!” 8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are these for so many people?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people recline to eat.” Now there was plenty of grass in the place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and after giving thanks He distributed them to those who were reclining; likewise also of the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover pieces so that nothing will be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with pieces from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.14 Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 

John 6:5-14

Most people who read this passage are struck by the fact that Jesus was able to take such a small gift, and distributed enough that not only was everyone fed, but there was enough to fill twelve baskets. While this is indeed a miracle worth studying, today I want to focus on someone who isn’t even named in this passage.

  It is already stated that there was a large crowd gathering around Jesus, five thousand men to be exact but this does not include the women and children there as well. Philip has already remarked that two hundred denarii would not buy enough food to feed them all. So it seems almost laughable when Andrew mentions to Jesus that a young boy has five loaves of bread and two fish. In such a large gathering, this amount of food would barely feed five people let alone five thousand! And yet, we see this young boy offering all that he has, however small it may be. This child had no clue what would happen, he had no idea that Jesus was already aware of what he would do and how his offering would be used to show the glory of God. He simply wanted to offer what he had in service to Jesus. This is a moment where God brings about a situation that requires outside of man’s capabilities to answer. All we need to do is offer up our inadequate services and watch His wonders.

 This young boy’s small gift led there to be more than enough food to feed the crowd. He simply gave what he had and allowed God to provide the rest. This young boy stands as an example for us today. We may not have much to offer, either physically or financially, and yet when we offer it to God with pure intentions; we are able to see how God turns it into a miracle. This can be a reminder for us today that God uses us for more than we can do on our own. So when asked, we need to step up and allow Him to work.

 Seek the truth and encourage one another,

 Alex

Eschatology 101 Part 4

We have now come to the fourth part in our series of Eschatology, and the foundation we need to progress in our study. Isaiah’s Law of God Eternality reveals to us that God is eternal and God’s character is unchanging through subtraction. We know that Satan is concerned about the Post-Millennium-Culmination or PMC for short. So the stage is set, and we can now evaluate prophecies to examine how they were foretold and how they resulted. By doing this, it can help us evaluate what we will study soon regarding future events. Ironically, we are in the Christmas season and this is the best “case study” for those who wish to study eschatology to understand how God works.

Let us examine eight prophecies about Jesus and see what was said and how it was carried out.

1.) Jesus would be born of a woman.

Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

The answer revealing this happening is.

Galatians 4:4 “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,”

2.) Jesus would be born of a virgin.

Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”

The answer of Jesus being born of a virgin.

Matthew 1:18-25 “18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.” 24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.” Luke 1:26-31 (NASB95) 26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.”

  3.) Jesus will be the descendent of Abraham.

Genesis 22:18 “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

We see God carries this out as promised in the following.

Matthew 1:1 “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:” 

4.) Jesus will be the descendent of Isaac.

Genesis 17:19 “But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.”

We see God carries this out as promised in the following.

Luke 3:34 “the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,”

5.) Jesus will be the descendent of Jacob.

Numbers 24:17 “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, A scepter shall rise from Israel, And shall crush through the forehead of Moab, And tear down all the sons of Sheth.”

We see God carries this out as promised in the following.

Matthew 1:2 “Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.”

6.) Jesus will be the descendent of Judah.

Genesis 49:10 “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.”

We see God carries this out as promised in the following.

Luke 3:33 “the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah.”

7.) Jesus will be the descendent of Jesse.

Isaiah 11:1 “Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.”

We see God carries this out as promised in the following.

Matthew 1:6 “Jesse was the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah.”

  8.) Jesus will be the descendent of King David of Israel.

1 Samuel 7:12-16 “12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.” 13 So the Philistines were subdued and they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 The cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. 15 Now Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 He used to go annually on circuit to Bethel and Gilgal and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places.”

Isaiah 9:7 “There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

We see this carried out in the following.

Luke 1:32 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.”

This is only a short list of the prophecies regarding Jesus’ FIRST COMING! And yet, the total list of first coming prophecies is less than a third of what is prophesied regarding Jesus Christ’s second coming. In fact, we have MORE TO ANALYZE regarding His second coming than His first. However, what does the first coming of Jesus provide for cross examination of eschatology? It reveals God’s seriousness of what He says.

God does not change; when He says that He will do something, no matter how unlikely it is, it is going to happen. Remember, impossible does not mean impossible when God is involved. This is why Gabriel says to men when Man doubts God’s actions, Luke 1:37 “For nothing will be impossible with God.” When Man thinks it is impossible, Jesus quickly corrects their understanding. Matthew 19:25-26 “25 When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” 26 And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

This understanding is summarized into the following term. Theo Praxis: A declaration by Yahweh of a future event that no matter how unlikely or statistically impossible, will happen exactly as told.

When studying a Theo Praxis, one must take into account the slippery slope of examining the messenger and reader’s inability to understand the Theo Praxis resulting in possible improper analysis of data. This is why God takes His word seriously, thus we need to take His word seriously. So if you are ever reading God’s word, and you come across a prophetic declaration by God and think to yourself, “This is impossible, so it must not mean what it says,” take a moment and ask yourself if this is a Theo Praxis.

Unfortunately, many cults today have done the opposite of a Theo Praxis. They have examined the scripture and ignore the data based on improbability, declaring that God could not have done what He said He has or will do. This is called a Parexigesi Theo Praxis. As we read forward, we need to recognize that God takes His word seriously, and so should we. When examining the future and Jesus’ second coming, numerous Theo Praxis will become prevalent. We need to be cautious not to make any analytical miscalculations regarding God’s capability to fulfill His word. God’s word is not inaccurate, rather our study and application needs to be evaluated in order to understand this capability. Join us next week as we look at two Theo Praxis in scripture that are happening today. 

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

Join us as we discuss universalism! Read it HERE!

Lineage of Believers Part II

Two weeks ago we discussed the impact that Paul had, and what we can have today, when the gospel is shared. We saw that Paul was often rejected by those who he was witnessing to, but there were always those who came to know Christ simply by overhearing what Paul was saying. We recognized that when the gospel goes out, it does not return empty. “So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11. Today, I want to continue this line of discussion and recognize the importance it is to disciple other believers.

God’s word will never return empty, that is a stated fact. We leave new believers defenseless when we do not teach them after salvation the facts and doctrines that are the bed rock of Christianity. They will become open to false teachings simply because they do not know any better. If you have been a reader of Mill House Ministries for the last few years, I am sure that you are no longer a new believer, but I ask that you think back to those first few days, weeks, months, and years after you placed your faith in Jesus Christ. Did you have some ideas that did not fall in line with what the Bible teaches? And did someone come along beside you to help you understand more about your faith? That act is discipleship. And it is something that we are called to do.

“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20

“2 The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful people who will be able to teach others also”

2 Timothy 2:2

“We will not conceal them from their children,
But we will tell the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His power and His wondrous works that He has done.”

Psalm 78

These are just three verses that describe teaching the word to the next generation of believers, the act of discipleship. So we see that it is something that every believer is called to do, but why is it important? Well let us consider again the sequence of events in Acts 18:5-11; 24-28. Paul arrived in Corinth and staying with two believers, Aquila and his wife Priscilla. The Jews denied Paul’s attempts to share the gospel but he stayed in Corinth for a year and a half. During this time, Paul must have been teaching and encouraging Aquila and Priscilla. He was discipline them by training them to understand more of their faith. After Paul left Corinth, Aquila and Priscilla then came across a man named Apollos who was sharing the gospel but needed some correction. Through Paul’s discipleship of them, Aquila and Priscilla were able to come alongside Apollos and disciple him. Through their discipleship, Apollos was then able to refute the Jews in public and continue to spread the gospel.

Last week I ended with a call to not give up hope when you are sharing the gospel. This week I come to you with a challenge. I am sure we can all think back to someone in our life who has been instrumental in helping us grow in our faith, now is the time for us to pay it forward. We must continue to guide the new generation of believers so that they will be able to stand strong in their faith. This can only happen if those who have more knowledge of the scriptures come alongside them to teach them. I ask that you take a moment and pray, ask God to reveal if there is someone that you can help as a disciple and train them up. Pray that God continues to provide you with someone who can train you as well. Do not sit idly by with your knowledge of scripture, share it with those who need to learn.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Eschatology 101 Part 3

We are in our third part of our series in Eschatology. We now know two things, that we need to study eschatology with an open mind that is laser focused on Christ (part one in this series), we also need to recognize Isaiah’s Law of God Eternality (part two in this series).

Now we come to the spark that set the saga we are experiencing into motion. Ironically, people might think this event is Adam and Eve sinning. However, that is not the case. This saga actually begins AFTER the fall of man. Let’s read Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” This event we shall call, “Eden Initiator.” Like in physics, the initial action causing the chain of action and reaction is identified as an “initiator”. Adam and Eve had sinned. This happened in Eden, this does not cause the events, but what is said after by God to Satan does cause them.

This is important for us to know because this is the very moment that God has put Satan on notice. Before this Satan had already fallen, and yet there was no declaration of judgement announced for him. But now God is identifying that there was someone coming through the line of Adam and Eve who will bring about the fall of Satan. We are already getting a hint of the virgin birth, “her seed”. The teams are set, it is Satan against Mankind and God. This entire saga can be rooted back to the Eden Initiator and the chain reaction of forces locked in a cosmic struggle.

A key element to understanding end times prophecy is understanding Satan’s attempts to disrupt what has been declared. The devil’s ultimate goal is to undo the Eden Initiator, thus all his calculated actions are in observance of this event. This is why Satan attempts to poison the DNA sequence of mankind in Genesis 6:1-8 was devious and almost successful. “Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. 5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 The LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.”

When it says in verse 8, “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.” He is talking about the spiritual and physical. Noah is a believer! But he is also physically 100% human. The flood is a response to Satan’s attempt to killing off mankind so there could be no future Champion of God. As God focuses more and more of His attention on the specific bloodline for whom the Champion will come from, it is Satan’s prerogative to focus his attention as well. This is why you do not hear of Satan wiping out whole groups of people like he has attempted over the years to with the Jews, and specifically the line of Judah. As the Old Testament continues, we see more declarations of what this Champion would do. As the Hebrew culture would grow, this Champion would be identified with a new name, Messiah or in Greek we would say, the Christ. History tells us that Satan failed at stoping the Messiah’s first coming, however he can attempt to stop the second. The first coming was for the salvation of mankind, fortunately for Satan his demise was not at this coming. The devil’s demise would be scheduled for after the 1,000 years of Christ’s reign on planet earth. This event is called Post-Millennium-Culmination or PMC for short. The Eden Initiator, does foreshadow PMC but does not identify specifics. PMC did not happen at Messiah’s first coming but is declared to happen after the 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ on the Throne of David in Jerusalem. We will in a future post discuss the Millennium reign. However, to study eschatology, we need to understand the motives and label the terms needed to easily be able to identify and move on with our study.

So let us wrap up our study so far. We now know that due to Isaiah’s Law of God Eternality, God will not change. So with the Eden Initiator, Satan is concerned with PMC, thus his actions mirror God’s with ever focusing attempts to thwart God’s actions. Satan failed at stoping the salvation of  mankind, but he is now attempting to thwart the second coming and PMC. How does the second coming come about? Before we can answer this, we need to understand what is happening right now.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

Peter teaches us an important lesson. Read it HERE

Reassurance

For many of our readers, tomorrow is a day that is meant to reflect on what we are thankful for. I am sure the blessings in this last year have been many; some big and some small and we often overlook how many blessings we have. However, I am just as sure that the challenges have also been innumerable as well. And as we are faced with these challenges, what is it that allows us to hold fast to our faith? When we are faced with those who wish to deny us the joy and comfort found in following Jesus, how do we remain assured in Him? The answer is that we can remain steadfast in our faith because we know that nothing can separate us from God, and it is not by our own doing but by the unchanging nature of God Himself!

“16 For people swear an oath by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath serving as confirmation is an end of every dispute. 17 In the same way God, desiring even more to demonstrate to the heirs of the promise the fact that His purpose is unchangeable, confirmed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to hold firmly to the hope set before us. 19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and reliable and one which enters within the veil,”

Hebrews 6:16-19 

It is here that we can find assurance in our salvation. There is nothing greater than God, and so He can only make an oath on Himself. God has promised that nothing can take us away from Him, a promise we know by Jesus Christ’s own words. “27 My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” John 10:27-29 We can rest assured that God did not make this promise without the capability to fulfill it. God is unchanging, He cannot go against Himself, nor can He lie. We can hold fast to our assurance in salvation based on God’s merit. And that is a comforting thought! If our salvation was based on ourselves, we would be continually wondering if we are “good enough” but God’s answer to us is that while we are not “good enough” His Son, Jesus Christ, is and it is through His sacrifice that we have been reconciled to God! Our hope and strength comes from an infallible God. A God who we can rely on to keep His promises, not because of anything that we have done but because that is who He is!

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Eschatology 101 Part 2

As discussed last week, we are starting a series on eschatology which is latin for the study of the end times. Like any study, there are laws, theories, and hypothesis. This does not mean that God’s Word contains error, but rather we humans at this time might not fully understand the implications of what God is talking about. Last week we went over the right mind when studying God’s Word; today I want to digest more of this theme, but also progress into the study itself.

There are two basic principles that govern the Bible that we need to understand.

1. God is perfect.  Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Or Psalms 18:30 “This God--his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.” This means that His interpretation is perfect, His Word is perfect, and His revealed future is perfect.

2. God does not change. Malachi 3:6 “For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.” Or Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” His words will happen according to what He has said.

Together these two rules develop our foundational truth; as reliable to us as the Newton’s law of universal gravitation, Byerlee’ s law, Curie’s law, Darcy’s law, and so many more. This law can be summed up in what I call, Isaiah’s Law of God Eternality. The law is stated as such:

“YAHWEH is and will be eternal and thus unchanging through subtraction of His principles, of which He is.”

Below is a list of Bible verses that help us identify Isaiah’s printed work on the subject.

Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

Isaiah 40:28 “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.”

Isaiah 26:4 “Trust in the LORD forever, For in GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock.

Isaiah 43:13 “Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?”

Isaiah’s Law is confirmed through other published work by Jeremiah, Malachi, John the Apostle, and others.

What does this mean for us? It means that as we continue to progress in eschatology, we have the Law of God Eternality to support our study and research. This will help later on as we dig in deep. So to study the end, we needed to first understand the beginning which is the undeniable truth that God is present. He is eternal and unchanging through subtraction. You might be wondering what does this mean regarding “subtraction” and we will discuss this further when we talk about the virgin birth. Neverthless, we can recognize that He is unwavering in His will and what has been declared will unfold. It is up to us to understand what has been declared so that we can be ready to share the good news of Christ at a moments notice. 1 Peter 3:15  “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” So next time someone says, “We don’t know what will happen in the world” tell them God does, and if they listen explain to them “Isaiah’s Law of God Eternality.” Explain to them that in Christ Jesus, we have a God who is eternal and unchanging, thus His declarations of love and rescuing us will come to pass.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

A warning regarding a prominent church. Read it HERE!

Lineage of Believers

Have you ever shared the gospel with someone only to have them turn around shake their fist at you and completely shut down your attempts to share the gospel with them? It can certainly be frustrating and when faced with someone who you thought would come to know Christ but doesn’t, it can almost be disheartening to share the gospel with others. However, today I want to take a moment to encourage us all to continue to share the gospel, when we do there is a bigger impact then we may ever be aware of.

Paul faced this situation a number of times. He would preach the gospel, call the people to repent and turn to God, only for the majority of the time to have this met with imprisonment, stoning, and beating. So how did Paul find the strength to continue? And how can we have the same courage? The answer can be found in Acts 18:5-11.

“5 But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 6 But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood is on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 Then he left the synagogue and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord together with his entire household; and many of the Corinthians, as they listened to Paul, were believing and being baptized. 9 And the Lord said to Paul by a vision at night, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” 11 And he settled there for a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.”

Here we see Paul has come to Corinth and was staying with a born-again Jewish believer named Aquila and his wife, Priscilla. Paul would go into the synagogue to preach the gospel and was met with accusations in front of a court with the intention to have him imprisoned or killed. Now based on Paul’s response in verse six, you would almost think that he had given up sharing the gospel with his Jewish brethren. But that was far from the case, Paul simply changed tactics and instead of large groups, he built more of a one one one relationship by going to those nearby the synagogue. If you are involved in a life group or similar type Christian fellowship, I am sure that you can imagine the conversations that Paul and Titius Justus were having, conveniently within earshot of a leader of the synagogue; Crispus who then shared with his family resulting in all of them becoming born again.

Are you beginning to see how when we talk about the gospel it spreads? In verse eight we see that Crispus listened to Paul and believed, but Paul’s influence does not end with just face to face conversations. Remember Aquila and Priscilla I mentioned earlier? Paul stayed with them and worked with them, he undoubtedly had conversations regarding the gospel with them that helped to grow their understanding as well. To the point that even when Paul was no longer at Corinth, his influence on Aquila and Priscilla was still evident.

“24 Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was proficient in the Scriptures. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was accurately speaking and teaching things about Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; 26 and he began speaking boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately to him. 27 And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace,28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.”

Acts 18:24-28

Here we have Apollos, a man who had not met Paul and yet he was knowledgeable of the Scriptures and was teaching others about them. However, there must have been some areas of refinement for Apollos, because the husband and wife that Paul stayed with took Apollos aside to more accurately explain the scriptures to him. Apollos then went to Achaia where he encouraged other believers and was able to explain to others that Jesus is the Christ. It was due to Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla having that time together that Aquila and Priscilla were able to help guide Apollos. So the next time that you feel downhearted when someone that you are sharing the gospel with turns away from it, remember that we must continue to share the gospel. While the person we were trying to witness to may deny it, there may be others who are listening who will accept Jesus. When they then go and share the gospel, we will be unaware of the impact they had as well.

“11 So will My word be which goes out of My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it.”

Isaiah 55:11

Two weeks from now we will go over the second part that can challenge people when the offer is turned down, discipleship is a meaningful and important practice that Christians sometimes forget about when sharing the gospel.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Eschatology 101

I must admit to you the reader, that my plans for this fall have changed with the current events that have been happening. I thought it important for us to pivot from planned posts and bring to light what many are discussing. It is time we tackle what a third of the Bible is about. Prophecy!

Now you might be wanting to stop reading right here, and for those who do it is ok; however, I am wanting to talk to the person who wants to know God in all of His word and what only He can declare. What I want to do is start a series going over the basics of Bible prophecy to equip you to study for yourself. It has become apparent that pastors and teachers of the Bible today have dropped the ball, and yet the body of Christ has dropped their own responsibility with studying God’s entire Word. Ignorance is not a reason to stay ignorant.

Nevertheless, before we can get into any part of prophecy, we need to understand that it starts with the correct mindset.

Romans 12:1-2 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

We need to come to God’s Word with the right attitude and perspective. No preconceived ideas, but a blank slate as a scientist coming to a new field and observing new elements at work right in front of their eyes. We too need to present our bodies to study knowing that we will not have all the answers on our own, but God does! We will wipe off the dust of the old ideas and venture where many dare not go. We will challenge current theories, we will identify laws, and if possible examine personal hypothesis. You might wonder, if this sounds more like a science lecture and the answer would be YES! Others might reason we are diving deep into ancient scripts that have been lost in libraries and the answer would be God’s Word is foundational like that of any other study of the Universe, and as such it should be treated as something we can observe. This means we can go to old texts and use the same methods of study God has given us for such a task!

So if you have questions about any of this please reach out and ask! If we challenge what you believe, take a moment and reflect on God’s Word and see what He says. Not pastors, not theologians, nor any other person but God’s 66 books of the Bible can bring to you the right answer, all others can only point you to the truth.This series will also be providing resources and other individuals who we believe are eagerly studying God’s Word, keeping a sound mind in the prophetic study, and pointing the world to that truth! I am excited to start this series and cannot wait to get into it.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

What can we learn from the trials we face? Find out HERE!

The Unforgivable Sin

Have you ever sat and read through the book of 1 John and found yourself being greatly encouraged? There is no doubt that 1 John offers some wonderful reminders for the believer, such as knowing that we do not need to be ashamed of our pasts because Jesus has forgiven us (1 John 2:28) or that we are over-comers because Jesus overcame the world (1 John 5:4-5). However, after being encouraged and reminded that we lean not on our strength, but on the strength of God; John closes this book with a remark that has confused many.

“16 If anyone sees his brother or sister committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will, for him, give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death; I am not saying that he should ask about that.”

1 John 5:16

When you read this passage, John clearly states that there is sin that does not lead to death and sin that does lead to death. On the surface level we can take this passage to mean a physical death, but I believe that this verse leans more to describing a spiritual death. If that is the case then it leaves the reader with the big question, what is the sin that can lead to a spiritual death? This then leads the wanderer to question if they have committed that sin that leads to death, and for someone who is not mature in their faith this may cause them to question if they are actually saved or if they have crossed that invisible line.

Thankfully, scripture answers scripture and I believe that Jesus answers this very question for us. The answer can be found in Matthew 12:31-32.

“31 “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”

Here we see Jesus distinguishing between two sins, those against he Son of Man and those against the Holy Spirit. We have all been in the situation of speaking against Jesus Christ, the Son of Man. Any sinful action that we did, spoke against who God was. This is why Romans 6:23 states, “23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Every person falls under the category of this type of sin, the only thing that can correct this course is acceptance of Jesus Christ that we pass from death to life. This is why in Matthew 12:31 Jesus states that any sin against Him will be forgiven, when we accept Jesus’s free gift of salvation all of our past, present, and future sins have been forgiven.

So then it would almost appear that 1 John 5:16 and Matthew 12:31 are almost contradictory. Jesus is stating that all sin against Him will be forgiven while John is stating that there is an unforgivable sin. And this is where Matthew 32 comes in. In this verse Jesus very matter of factory answers what this unforgivable sin is, to speak against the Holy Spirit. But what exactly does this mean? It means that when confronted with our sins, instead of turning to God for forgiveness, an individual deny’s God’s gift of salvation. They wrongly assume that they do not need God and deny any role He has over them. Those who deny God commit the greatest sin there is, they do not reconcile themselves to Him and so they never receive life. They continue in their sin and they die both physically and spiritually.

With this understanding, we see that 1 John 5:16 is not directed towards fellow believers, but for those who are still actively practicing sin and have not received God’s free gift of salvation. For these individuals we need to pray for them and ask that God intercede and do what He needs to in order to bring these individuals to Him.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Scheduling Conflict

Fall is in full swing! This means the schedule is full, and there is something pulling at the very seconds of the day. The temptation to take time away from God’s Word to fill it with the demands of life is dangerous. However, I want to take a moment and encourage you to stay the course and dedicate time with the Lord each and everyday.

In fact, if we spend time with the Lord, this will reverberate back into the rest of our day. Proverbs 2:11 “Discretion will guard you, Understanding will watch over you,” Don’t you want to have discretion guarding you? And understanding watching over your actions? I sure do! So if that is what we are doing, we need to recognize how we come to this. Examine Proverbs 2:1-10 “My son, if you will receive my words And treasure my commandments within you, 2 Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding; 3 For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding; 4 If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; 5 Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God. 6 For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. 7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, 8 Guarding the paths of justice, And He preserves the way of His godly ones. 9 Then you will discern righteousness and justice And equity and every good course. 10 For wisdom will enter your heart And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.”

When we take time to understand God’s Word, we are in fact preparing the best way for the rest of the day. This means God’s Word is designed for us to be utilized daily! No where in the Bible will you see someone write, “Go look at God’s Word tomorrow” it will always be directing us to now. For salvation is for today. When we listening to His word, we will find that God is answering us throughout the day. This is why God says in Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” To further this point, just look at Jesus’ own words to Satan, Matthew 4:4 “But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’” So as you are thinking of the busy schedule and the idea creeps into your mind that the Bible study can wait until later, take a moment and smother the thought, drown it in God’s Word and see how much He cares to be in our schedule, because only He can make our time matter.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

Join us for our third discussion on the threat within the churches today! Read it HERE!

Beyond the Imagery

Have you ever been doing your Bible study and come across a section of verses that seem to belong more in a poetry book? While the writers of the 66 books in the Bible would often use poetry to describe a meaning, simply open to the book of Psalms or Song of Solomon to see, these verses are often hard to understand and as such it is easy to want to skip over them. However, when you come across these verses I would ask that you take a moment to pause and think about what the imagery is trying to describe, allow me to show you what I mean.

4 The words of a man's mouth are deep waters;
    the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

Proverbs 18:4

In this verse we have two descriptions of bodies of water, the deep water and the bubbling brook. When you think of deep water it often conjures up images of dark depths where it is difficult or impossible to see the bottom. Often deep waters bring to the forefront of the imagination of what could be lurking in the depths. Deep waters are often seen as untrusting. With this understanding, it is interesting that the words of a man’s mouth is described as deep waters. It brings to mind that the words of man are often untrusting or there is more than what is being said. This is corroborated in scripture.

2 Your tongue devises destruction,
Like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit.
3 You love evil more than good,
Lies more than speaking what is right. Selah
4 You love all words that devour,
You deceitful tongue.

Psalm 52:2-4

9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.

10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.

James 3:9-10

We can see how mistrustful the mouth of man can be and so it is like the deep waters where we can not see what is beneath the surface.

On the opposite side of this, there is the bubbling brook. This imagery often makes the reader think of a calm stream, it is often peaceful and gentle. And so is wisdom. Wisdom is described as shouting in the street, in the square, the noisy streets, and the entrance of the city gates (Proverbs 1:20-21) wisdom is there for everyone but few take the time to seek it. So the next time you come across a section of scripture that is based more on imagery, I ask that you take a moment to think of what it is describing. Then see if you can apply that image to what is being said in the verse.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex