Eschatology 101 Part Seven

Welcome back to our Eschatology 101 series. It has been a few weeks since we had worked on this series, and I thought I would do an overview of why we need to study eschatology. As believers in Christ we need to recognize the BIG PICTURE that God has set forth. This should be important to us because God has made it important. There are believers out there who say things like, “I am a pantribulationalist, it will all pan out in the end.” What a shame! God takes each part of His word seriously; so why don’t we. Jesus is the one who states, Matthew 5:18 “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”

The smallest details are important and God rewards those who seek the hard to find details out. Proverbs 25:2 “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.” This is why the book of Revelation is the only book of the Bible that a blessing is given to those who read it. Revelation 1:3 “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.”

But did you know the book of Revelation is not only the only book of the Bible that gives a blessing to those who read it, but also the only book of the Bible that gives a blessing to those who “heed” His word? Check out Revelation 1:3 again and see, “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.”

It isn’t just reading and hearing God’s word, but taking it seriously. The word “heed” in the Greek is, “tereo” which means “to watch for, guard it, keep it, protect it and observe it in our lives.” In short, eschatology is important to God! So important that He gives blessings to those who are willing to read and take seriously His word. So as we continue our study into eschatology, remember that God has identified His word as important; thus we should as well. This includes God’s prophetic declarations of the future.

Hold until relieved our Blessed Hope is coming

JT  

Re-Post Friday

A look back into our Basics Course. Read it HERE!

Promises to Believers Part Two

Last week we began a discussion into Psalm 37. In it we saw four pledges that the Lord makes to believers; He calls us to trust in Him and do good, find our delight in the Lord and He will give us our heart desires, commit our ways to the Lord and He will bring forth righteousness, and finally rest in Him and wait patiently. However, this was only part of Psalm 37 and in order to fully understand, we need to look at it in its entirety. This week, we will be looking at the next section of Psalm 37 to see what God promises both the righteous and the wicked.

12 The wicked plots against the righteous, And gnashes at him with his teeth. 13 The Lord laughs at him, For He sees that his day is coming. 14 The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow To take down the afflicted and the needy, To kill off those who are upright in conduct. 15 Their sword will enter their own heart, And their bows will be broken. 16 Better is the little of the righteous Than the abundance of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken, But the Lord sustains the righteous. 18 The Lord knows the days of the blameless, And their inheritance will be forever. 19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil, And in the days of famine they will have plenty. 20 But the wicked will perish; And the enemies of the Lord will be like the glory of the pastures, They vanish—like smoke they vanish away. 21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back, But the righteous is gracious and gives. 22 For those blessed by Him will inherit the land, But those cursed by Him will be eliminated.

Psalm 37:12-22

The first thing that we notice is that the wicked are plotting against the righteous, there is no doubt that we see this occurring today. The world does not recognize Christ and His authority at this present time, and so they plot against Him and His followers. And yet what does the Lord do? He laughs at them; God is in control of everything, there is nothing that occurs that He does not allow. While the wicked in the world plot against those who follow Christ, their only reward is to be permanently separated from God. “17 Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net In the sight of any bird; 18 But they lie in wait for their own blood; They ambush their own lives. 19 Such are the ways of everyone who makes unjust gain; It takes away the life of its possessors.” Proverbs 1:17-19.

In the second half of Psalm 37:17, we see the the author changing directions from how the Lord will deal with the wicked, to the rewards of the righteous. We see that the Lord will sustain those who follow Him, this does not mean that the Christian life is an easy one. Instead we can find our strength not in ourselves, but in God. Just as God knows the days of the wicked, He knows them for the righteous as well. The difference is that the wicked’s days will come to an end, while the righteous will have their inheritance forever.

So the next time you are faced with someone who is plotting against the Lord, remember that God sees them. They will receive their punishment. On the other hand, while we will still face troubles, followers of Christ will have a reward that will never end! Next week we will finish looking at the rest of Psalm 37 to see what other promises God has for the righteous and wicked.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Salvation 2024 Sanctification

We are one full week into 2024; and before we get into the swing of the our previous series on Eschatology 101, I thought I would take a moment to discuss with our readers some prayer requests for Mill House Ministries. Please pray that 2024 is a year that we can reach more people for Christ, that we can proclaim His word to more, and encourage more to keep their eyes solely on Jesus Christ. We want this year to be a year of encouragement and steadfastness with keeping God the primary foundation in our posts. We want you to be encouraged to keep the faith and fight the good fight! We want to not be a primary Bible source, but a companion in your daily walk. This is why Mill House Ministries is excited for 2024, and why we will continue to post weekly.

I want to leave you with this thought from Colossians 3:12-17 “Therefore, as [the] elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also [must do.] 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, [do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

Let us allow 2024 to be the year that we strive for something better in our lives, where we give ourselves totally over to Jesus Christ; to have His workmanship that only He can do. For some this is salvation, for others this is sanctification as discussed in Colossians 3:12-17 and we strive to grow in what Christ has called us. I pray 2024 is a salvation year for you who are not saved and a sanctification year for those who are already saved. We all have something to work on, no matter if it is the beginning of the year or halfway through; but let today be the day we decide to walk closer the the Lord. As stated earlier, please pray for Mill House Ministries so that we can be part of your journey in following the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming

JL

Re-Post Friday

What separates mankind from the animal kingdom? Find our HERE!

Promises to Believers

The book of Psalms is often taken for granted, this book of 150 chapters is often only used in snippets. Many will look at a few verses, but avoid the majority of the book, which is to their detriment. The book of Psalms is filled with verses discussing Jesus, the end times, knowledge for present day believers, and even promises. As part of my own personal Bible study, I read a Psalm a day. In doing this, I am finding out more and more about our God. Today, I want to share with you one of the new things that I have found.

“Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! 2 For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. 7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! 8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. 9 For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. 10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. 11 But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.”

Psalm 37:1-11

We see right off that God is telling us not to worry or be envious of those who are not following His commandments. While it might appear now that they are getting everything they want, in the end those who are not found in the book of life as described in Revelation 20:11-15 will wither and fade. Their reward is here on earth, for the believer we have greater things coming!

However, throughout the rest of this section of Psalm 37, we can see that God makes a pledge to those who follow Him. The first pledge is in verse three. “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.” There is a duality in this pledge, first to the people of Israel about their promised land but also to those saved throughout human history with what Christ has made for us. This first pledge is a reminder to the promise God gave to mankind in Genesis 1:26-28; “Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” We are called to have dominion over this earth, not to worship the created but to dwell and grow in faithfulness the things that God has given us.

Our second pledge is in verse four, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” When we seek to put God’s will and desire for our life above our own, we quickly see that our desires align with what God wants. God is a good Father, He wants to give us good things. “11 Now which one of you fathers will his son ask for a fish, and instead of a fish, he will give him a snake? 12 Or he will even ask for an egg, and his father will give him a scorpion? 13 So if you, despite being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” Luke 11:11-13. It is only through our own sinful nature that seeks to rebel against God that we find ourselves in situations that cause us to be tempted.

Our next pledge is in verse five, “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.” To commit your way to something means that you are following it without hesitation or reservation. When we place this kind of commitment and desire to follow the Lord, our trust in Him grows. This also allows for us to be able to see how God is able to act upon His will for us.

Finally, we see the last pledge in verses seven and eight. “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! 8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.” Be still or rest before the Lord. This is a hard concept when we feel as if the enemy is not receiving any punishment. It can be all too easy to give into anger and wish to take matters into our own hands, this type of anger does no good and as we see in verse eight only leads to evil. This pledge is a reminder to allow God to punish those who plan and enact evil. “20 for a man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness of God.” Now this is not the same thing as righteous anger; we are called to love the things God loves and hate the things that God hates, this is righteous anger. What verses seven and eight are discussing is the anger we feel when we believe that someone is not receiving what they deserve. We forget that God is aware of everything that occurs and He is the One who ultimately deals out the punishment. It is why verse seven tells us to be still before the Lord and wait for Him.

Now that we have seen the four pledges found in Psalm 37; I do want to point out one more thing, and that is the culmination of these pledges. This can be found in verse nine. “For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. 10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. 11 But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.” We see again that God will deal with those who reject Him, this is a pledge to those who are not born-again believers who have placed their faith in the works of Jesus Christ. But then it continues and we see that God has one last message for those who belong to Him, the wicked will eventually be no more but those who trust, delight, commit, and rest in the Lord will inherit the land.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

New Year, Same God

Happy New Year from Mill House Ministries!

  Undoubtedly many people are starting their New Year’s resolutions. New years are always a great reminder of the old transitioning to the new. Change can be great, however there are something’s that shouldn’t change, and we can be thankful that they do not. God does not change, Malachi 3:6 “For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.” This is incredible news because man is not capable of staying true to what God has called us to, thus we need a savior who is willing to be with us in our ups and downs, in our days of failure and moments of triumphs. We need a God who does not change because this means His promises are assured. Romans 8:38-39 “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

This is why Israel and the Jewish people are still the chosen people of God, this is why the Church is made up of people from all nations and tribes to be Kings and Priests to God, and this is why the only way to Heaven is through Jesus Christ. So as you review 2023 and plan for 2024, take a moment and thank God that He does not change, and that He is the God of all people through the ages no matter if its 2023, 2024, or any other year.

  So this is one unchanging reason to celebrate during this new year!

Happy New Year!

JL

Re-Post Friday

Understanding the importance of our Basics Course! Read it HERE!

Serving Resolutely

We now come to the time of year where many of us are looking toward the future. Many of us are making plans and making goals we wish to succeed in the year to come. While the practice of New Year’s resolutions are not necessarily a bad thing, often times they become more “me-centric”. If you were to look up what the common New Year’s resolutions are, you would find that they are often to eat healthier, quit bad habits, a more balanced work/life ratio, and to learn something new. Again, none of these are bad in and of themselves. However, our goals for the year to come should not stop with ourselves.

“45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

Mark 10:45

We have here a calling for Christians who wish to be more Christlike. Jesus came to earth as a mere baby, something that is so dependent upon the service of others. Then as He grew older, Jesus did not complete His ministry to serve Himself. He did it to serve God the Father and in His ministry He served mankind. Think of the feeding of the 5,000, the numerous cases of Jesus healing others, washing the disciples feet, teaching others about the kingdom of God. All of these acts of service took place before the ultimate act of service with dying on the cross for us, His servent heart is why we can be reconciled to God.

Mark 10:45 is not the only place this mentality to serve others can be seen.

“13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.”

Galatians 5:13

“10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the multifaceted grace of God.”

1 Peter 4:10-11

3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

Philippians 2:3-5

We are called to be like Christ, and in doing so that means that we are called to serve others. So this year, I hope that you take the time to consider how you might be able to serve others. That could mean leading a Bible study, helping in your church, running a food drive, paying for groceries for a family that is struggling, or simply allowing God to lead you to where He needs you to serve. May 2024 be the year that we serve others more than we serve ourselves.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

A Merry Christmas for the Future

Merry Christmas from Mill House Ministries!

Many people have written about the first Christmas and how Jesus being born of a virgin came to earth to rescue us from our sins. But what about the future Christmas? For the sake of the discussion let us call it, “Second Christmas”. This Christmas has not happened, but will happen one day. I want to talk about a day when followers of Jesus Christ from all of human history will be able to be with Jesus and celebrate in memorial what He did with His humble birth.

Second Christmas will happen the first year of the thousand-year reign of Jesus in Jerusalem.

Revelation 20:1-6 “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. 4 Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.” 

This thousand-year reign in the scholarly world has been called the “Millennium Reign”. For those who doubt it will happen, I would encourage you to follow our study on Eschatology 101.  

Second Christmas will happen the first year after Satan is imprisoned. This year, Jesus will reign a very real and physical reign in Jerusalem. A perfect government from a perfect King and God. But what happens to Christmas? As you all know, there is undoubtedly traditions in Christmas today that have no Biblical basis and do not point to Christ. However, I think there is still room for Christmas. The Feast of Dedication (Hannukah) was a feast which celebrated what God did for the Jewish people. We know from the New Testament that Jesus celebrated the festival.  

John 10:22-23 “At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; 23 it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon.”

This points to God in His sovereignty has created the free will in man to find new Biblical ways to celebrate what God has done in their life. Hannukah is a celebration of lights, ironically it ends right before Christmas which is the ultimate celebration of light coming to man.

John 1:4-5 “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

Just look at what the three wise men brought Jesus. No one told them to bring those specific gifts and yet they came and worshiped Him with the free will provided by God.

Matthew 2:11 “After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

It is clear that God has given us the freedom to worship Him!

There are arguments that Christmas is even celebrated on the wrong day, and that could very well be the case. However, I will let the Lord Jesus identify the day of His official arrival in the manger. Nevertheless, Christmas being the resounding end of the Hanukkah season exclaims the light of the world has arrived to man. In the thousand years, we will have the light of man once again living physically with us. Christ will once again have rescued the world. This time instead of sin on the individual level, God will rescue in a very different way.

Only a few months later, Jesus Christ and us, will celebrate together the actions He has done. We will celebrate the light of the world coming down and living with man once again. Dare I say, the Christmas we celebrate now is only a shadow of the amazing Christmas we will celebrate in the future. But what does that mean for us today? Well take a moment and reflect on Christmas and recognize how it points to a future with Christ. Just look at the following two carols and see how they are pointing not to the present Christmas, but to the Second Christmas.

Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let Earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing

Joy to the Earth, the Savior reigns
Let all their songs employ
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy

He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love (and wonders of His love)
And wonders of His love (and wonders of His love)
And wonders, wonders of His love

Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let Earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Heaven and nature sing (and Heaven and nature sing)
And Heaven and nature sing (and Heaven and nature sing)
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing

Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let Earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Heaven and nature sing (and Heaven and nature sing)
And Heaven and nature sing (and Heaven and nature sing)
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing

And the second carol: 

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o'er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high,
And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heav'nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Adonai, Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

  So while we can have a Merry Christmas today, let us not forget of the coming Christmas and how merry and bright it will be. So from all of us at Mill House Ministries we want to wish you all a very happy and special Merry Christmas. Let us celebrate what God has done and has promised to do.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

JL

Re-Post Friday

Do you have fear? Join us HERE!

The Weary Rejoice

It is hard to believe that Christmas is just a couple days away. Many of us are filled with the excitement of the season, seeing the lights, spending time with loved ones, and generally there is just a sense of cheer in the air. However, this time is also full of bustling and trying to remember if we have everything we need for dinner, last minute gifts, ensuring travel plans go as smooth as possible. For some, this Christmas is the first year with a new spouse or child; while for others it is the first without certain loved ones. While this time is full of cheer, it is also a season of weariness.

This year, the song that is most often in my head is “ O Holy Night” and I am sure that you have heard it played a hundred times already. However, there is one specific line that stands out to me. “A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn;” It seems difficult to fathom that the weary are rejoicing. These two concepts are the exact opposite so how do they manage to work together?

For a born again believer, the idea of rejoicing is simple. We have a great delight during this time because our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was born. His birth was the beginning steps to God’s plan to bring redemption to sinful man. We rejoice because we know that through His miraculous birth, His perfect life, and His resurrection after death we are reconciled to God the Father! There is no better reason than to rejoice for this! “9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 And so the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:9-11. We rejoice because we know that God has always had a plan for salvation and this time of year is when we get to celebrate it.

But rejoicing is only part of the concept. How do those who are weary, who are burdened, who are facing challenges this time of year fit in? This is an area that believers and non-believers alike can struggle in, but the answer is the same for both. “28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30. For those who are feeling tired and worn out this Christmas, they can find comfort in the same way as those who are rejoicing. The answer is Jesus Christ, He is after all the real reason for the season. Anyone who finds themselves feeling weary can find rest and rejoice if they simply accept and lean on Jesus Christ. He gives us our rest, not just physical rest but rest in our souls. While our challenges may still be present, we no longer need to do it on our own.

So this season, I hope that you are able to find the reason to rejoice. I hope that you are not burdened and instead find rest in Jesus Christ. For the born again believers this means to cast our problems onto Him. Jesus is more than capable to handle whatever is going on. For the non-believer this means to accept Jesus’s free gift of salvation, recognize that you cannot earn salvation. When you do this, That burden in your soul will be lifted because you will belong to God’s family. Jesus’s burden is light, it is not like the burdens of this world that seek to drag you down. Jesus loves you and wants a relationship with you, all you need to do is accept Him.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Eschatology 101 Part Six

In our sixth post in Eschatology 101, we now come to a critical juncture that many who attempt to understand Bible prophecy fail to recognize. Those who fail to understand are susceptible to false doctrine and even be pulled into cults such as Mormonism, Jehovah Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventist, and other non-Christian groups. To understand this, we need to remember our previous lessons and the terms described. If you have not been following along to our series on Eschatology, please go to our previous posts.

  When people ask what the future holds, in part they are asking the wrong question. What they really mean to ask is, “Why what is happening is happening, and what is this going to get worse or better?” Commonly known as a “Double Barrel Question.” Two questions in one sentence, that emphasize what subconsciously all humans ask. No matter the religion, upbringing, culture, sex, and age; these thoughts will eventually come across. The world would give their answers, Proverbs 9:14-18 “She sits at the doorway of her house, On a seat by the high places of the city, 15 Calling to those who pass by, Who are making their paths straight: 16 “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here,” And to him who lacks understanding she says, 17 “Stolen water is sweet; And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” 18 But he does not know that the dead are there, That her guests are in the depths of Sheol.” Yet, those in God’s Word have the knowledge before them, and the capability to understand when we take His Word seriously, Proverbs 3:1-8 “My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments; 2 For length of days and years of life And peace they will add to you. 3 Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 So you will find favor and good repute In the sight of God and man. 5 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. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your body And refreshment to your bones.”

We know that Satan is doomed, and this entire saga of events has been an orchestrated rescue plan of God calling to humanity to come to Him. Yet, God has given the blueprints for us, in fact there was a politician, historian, philosopher, scholar, theologian, and dutiful praying man who put on view the humanistic events culminating to their final outcome. His name was Daniel from the tribe of Judah. Based on his education in today’s standards he would have been called a doctor in each of the previous listed categories. The events of his life can be found in the book of Daniel; however, today I want to briefly bring to light one term that is foundational for us to understand. To my own limits a simpler term has not come to mind, thus for simplicity this term is identified as a Perfect Prophet.

The term is defined as “A person identified, called, and used by Yahweh to reveal errorless information otherwise not known by the messenger and the targeted audience.”   

  Daniel is a perfect prophet. Three times we see him in his career identified as such.

Daniel 2:24 “Therefore, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and spoke to him as follows: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon! Take me into the king’s presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.”

Daniel 4:19 “Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies!”

Daniel 5:17 “Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Keep your gifts for yourself or give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him.”

  We know that God cannot change, this is described in Isaiah’s Law of God Eternality. Thus, when a Perfect Prophet announces what God has intended for humanity to know, we should take notice. Before we get into more regarding Daniel, we needed to understand what a Perfect Prophet is. In 2024, we will pick up our second half of this discussion regarding what God has declared to the world through Daniel. God has made a commitment He is going to act upon. There is a timeline that has been put into motion that God must now fulfill.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

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!