The celebration of Christmas is a wonderful thing. It is a time for many of getting with the family, eating good food, of happy greetings, "Happy Holidays," "Merry Christmas." But it is also a time of remembering Jesus.
We remember Jesus as a baby, a king, the greatest of all kings, yet born in a manger with animals. "...She brought forth her first born Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn," (Luke 2:7).
It might should be remembered that the Bible did not institute the Christmas celebration. This was started much later. And likely the birth of Jesus was not in December at all. Furthermore, there is no record of any observance of Jesus' birthday by early Christians; and Jesus made no such request. He only asked that they remember His death through the partaking of the communion.
Nevertheless, the story of His birth is true...as recorded in the book of Luke. Jesus is real and wonderful; our Savior. Praise be to our Lord!
Sadly, many today do not have room for Jesus, just as there was no room for Him in that inn. There seems to be a moving away from the principles that Jesus taught and died for. We should make sure that Jesus is the driving force in our lives, where we put our trust, who we follow. Praise be to our Lord!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Baggage
As we mature we bring along baggage; we all do that. Sometimes it is past sin that haunts us. Or it might be effects of our upbringing, or things that we have been taught from early ages. So many things from our past continue to dwell with us and affect how we see the present or the future. The easy solution to this is to say, "Drop the baggage and move on." But, of course, it isn't usually that easy. Let's see what the Bible has to say about this.
Philippians 3:12-16 gives us a good look at how Paul was doing with this subject. And surely he is a good example to follow, realizing that he had been responsible for the torture and deaths of Christians before his conversion. He says, "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you." It is interesting to see that Paul could say, "..forgetting those things which are behind..." when we consider what a past he had.
As we put the lid on 2011 and start a fresh new year, let's follow Paul's suggestions. Put it all behind, dropping the baggage, and look forward with fresh eyes, as Hebrews 12:2 says, "..looking unto Jesus.."
Thanks for reading again. Join me in looking forward....forward to God's wonderful creation and to a future of trying to bring Glory to God through our lives. Bless you.
Philippians 3:12-16 gives us a good look at how Paul was doing with this subject. And surely he is a good example to follow, realizing that he had been responsible for the torture and deaths of Christians before his conversion. He says, "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you." It is interesting to see that Paul could say, "..forgetting those things which are behind..." when we consider what a past he had.
As we put the lid on 2011 and start a fresh new year, let's follow Paul's suggestions. Put it all behind, dropping the baggage, and look forward with fresh eyes, as Hebrews 12:2 says, "..looking unto Jesus.."
Thanks for reading again. Join me in looking forward....forward to God's wonderful creation and to a future of trying to bring Glory to God through our lives. Bless you.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
The millenium--1000 year reign
If you expect to completely understand the 1000 year reign from reading this post, you will be disappointed. The only place where this is discussed in the Bible is in Revelation 20; and scholars disagree wildly on what this means. It starts this way: "Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while." To demonstrate the confusion over the passage, there are postmillenialists who believe that Jesus will come to earth after the 1000 years, premillenialists who believe He comes before the 1000 years, and amillenialists who believe that the 1000 years isn't literal and Jesus isn't coming to reign on the earth.
Here are some things to consider:
Virtually all of Revelation is not literal. It is figurative, symbolic language which seems to have been more understood in the 1st century than it is today.
The book of Revelation was written to give confidence and hope to the persecuted Christians who desperately needed to know that God would triumph over Satan. This is the primary point of Rev. 20.
Rev. 20 does not mention:
The second coming of Christ.
A bodily resurrection.
A reign of Christ on earth.
A literal throne of David.
Palestine or Jerusalem.
Christ on earth.
Many people today have drawn conclusions from this chapter that simply are not stated. There are a lot of passages in other places in the Bible that discuss the Kingdom, the reign of Christ, but none talk about Jesus coming back the earth for an earthly reign. Here are a few key passages if one wants to search this out: Isaiah 2, Daniel 2, and Joel 2 talk about the coming kingdom. Acts 1 says that Jesus will come back in the same way as He left (in the clouds). Acts 2:33-41, especially vs 35 quotes David where he said that the Lord said "to my Lord (Jesus), sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool" (destruction of Satan). And Hebrews 10:13 references this. 1Corinthians 15:20 on, especially 24-26 discuss the end times. And 1Thessalonians 4 & 5 do also. A quick study of these passages will give a good deal of enlightenment to what is coming. But in all of this, one will not find reference to Jesus coming back to the earth for a physical reign. And a final thought is that many passages would indicate that Jesus is already reigning in heaven, at the right hand of the Father (note especially Acts 2). And Colossians 1:13 says that "He has ....conveyed us (Christians) into the kingdom of the Son of His love." It would seem that Jesus is already reigning, and Christians today are in the kingdom.
I hope this helps. God bless you.
Here are some things to consider:
Virtually all of Revelation is not literal. It is figurative, symbolic language which seems to have been more understood in the 1st century than it is today.
The book of Revelation was written to give confidence and hope to the persecuted Christians who desperately needed to know that God would triumph over Satan. This is the primary point of Rev. 20.
Rev. 20 does not mention:
The second coming of Christ.
A bodily resurrection.
A reign of Christ on earth.
A literal throne of David.
Palestine or Jerusalem.
Christ on earth.
Many people today have drawn conclusions from this chapter that simply are not stated. There are a lot of passages in other places in the Bible that discuss the Kingdom, the reign of Christ, but none talk about Jesus coming back the earth for an earthly reign. Here are a few key passages if one wants to search this out: Isaiah 2, Daniel 2, and Joel 2 talk about the coming kingdom. Acts 1 says that Jesus will come back in the same way as He left (in the clouds). Acts 2:33-41, especially vs 35 quotes David where he said that the Lord said "to my Lord (Jesus), sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool" (destruction of Satan). And Hebrews 10:13 references this. 1Corinthians 15:20 on, especially 24-26 discuss the end times. And 1Thessalonians 4 & 5 do also. A quick study of these passages will give a good deal of enlightenment to what is coming. But in all of this, one will not find reference to Jesus coming back to the earth for a physical reign. And a final thought is that many passages would indicate that Jesus is already reigning in heaven, at the right hand of the Father (note especially Acts 2). And Colossians 1:13 says that "He has ....conveyed us (Christians) into the kingdom of the Son of His love." It would seem that Jesus is already reigning, and Christians today are in the kingdom.
I hope this helps. God bless you.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Restoration
Continuing the thought process of the last blog (be sure to read that one first), it is interesting, perhaps important, to examine the history of the Jews and how God dealt with them and the promises He made to them. The prevalent thinking of today's Christendom is to believe that Jesus is coming back to earth again to reign for 1000 years, setting up a powerful, conquering Kingdom headquartered in Jerusalem. This is beautifully summarized in a speech by Pat Robertson, "Why Evangelical Christians support Israel;" you can Google that and read the whole speech. This is well spoken, but appears to be totally wrong; you can judge:
"Think of it, according to Disraeli, the primary evidence that God exists is the existence of the Jewish people… A people who in 586 BC were deported to Babylon, yet returned after 70 years to rebuild a nation. Who were again brutally massacred and dispersed by the Romans in 70 AD, yet after countless centuries of Diaspora, expulsions, pogroms, ghettos, and attempts at genocidal extermination, have clung to their faith, their customs -- and now after some 2500 years of wandering have returned to the land promised by God to their ancestors. A new nation began in that land in 1948 named after their ancestor Jacob, whose divinely appointed name Israel means "Prince with God." And to fulfill another ancient prophecy, God moved on the heart of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, whose son Ehud told me that, while his father was living in Eastern Europe, he heard a voice and saw a light directing him to bring forth for the Jewish people a pure language-Hebrew-the language of the Torah and of the ancient prophets.Yes, the survival of the Jewish people is a miracle of God. The return of the Jewish people to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is a miracle of God. The remarkable victories of Jewish armies against overwhelming odds in successive battles in 1948, and 1967, and 1973 are clearly miracles of God. The technological marvels of Israeli industry, the military prowess, the bounty of Israeli agriculture, the fruits and flowers and abundance of the land are a testimony to God's watchful care over this new nation and the genius of this people.Yet what has happened was clearly foretold by the ancient prophet Ezekiel, who, writing at the time of the Babylonian captivity, declared this message for the Jewish people concerning latter days."For I will take you out of the nation; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back to your own land… I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you… to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness."I will call for the grain and make it plentiful… I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine…"This is what the Sovereign Jehovah says, 'On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. They will say, "This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.'"Then the nations around you that remain will know that I, Jehovah, have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I, Jehovah, have spoken, and I will do it." (Ezekiel 36:24 ff).
Ladies and Gentleman, evangelical Christians support Israel because we believe that the words of Moses and the ancient prophets of Israel were inspired by God. We believe that the emergence of a Jewish state in the land promised by God to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was ordained by God.We believe that God has a plan for this nation which He intends to be a blessing to all the nations of the earth."
Robertson is quoting from Ezekiel 36 where God was promising His people, Jews, that there would be a restoration; that they would return to rebuild, with His help, the Temple, the city of Jerusalem, the kingdom. They are in captivity to Babylon, but God is giving them encouragement and hope; there will be a restoration, salvation from the present distress. And we know from history that God led them with prophets to do that.....only to have them fail again because of falling away from God. And Jerusalem was completely destroyed in AD 70.
But it isn't a stretch to see that God wasn't just promising a restoration to their homeland, but was also looking forward to a time when Jesus would come, would set up an everlasting kingdom to include all men, not just the Jews. But remember that Jesus said in John 18:36, right before He left the earth: "My kingdom is not of this world..." It is a heavenly kingdom, a spiritual kingdom; and it would never again be a kingdom on this earth. So most people today, most preachers, most churches, are wrong to believe that Jesus is coming back to the earth. He is coming back in the clouds to reclaim His own (Acts 1:11, 1Thes. 4:15-17), but isn't promised to return to earth.
It doesn't really change our salvation, our relationship with God perhaps, but it makes sense to understand what the Bible is teaching about the return of Jesus, about the kingdom of Jesus and what is coming. Much of the error on this subject comes from a misunderstanding of what is said in Revelation 20 about a 1000 year reign. Perhaps we will talk more on that next week.
Have a great week! God bless you.
"Think of it, according to Disraeli, the primary evidence that God exists is the existence of the Jewish people… A people who in 586 BC were deported to Babylon, yet returned after 70 years to rebuild a nation. Who were again brutally massacred and dispersed by the Romans in 70 AD, yet after countless centuries of Diaspora, expulsions, pogroms, ghettos, and attempts at genocidal extermination, have clung to their faith, their customs -- and now after some 2500 years of wandering have returned to the land promised by God to their ancestors. A new nation began in that land in 1948 named after their ancestor Jacob, whose divinely appointed name Israel means "Prince with God." And to fulfill another ancient prophecy, God moved on the heart of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, whose son Ehud told me that, while his father was living in Eastern Europe, he heard a voice and saw a light directing him to bring forth for the Jewish people a pure language-Hebrew-the language of the Torah and of the ancient prophets.Yes, the survival of the Jewish people is a miracle of God. The return of the Jewish people to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is a miracle of God. The remarkable victories of Jewish armies against overwhelming odds in successive battles in 1948, and 1967, and 1973 are clearly miracles of God. The technological marvels of Israeli industry, the military prowess, the bounty of Israeli agriculture, the fruits and flowers and abundance of the land are a testimony to God's watchful care over this new nation and the genius of this people.Yet what has happened was clearly foretold by the ancient prophet Ezekiel, who, writing at the time of the Babylonian captivity, declared this message for the Jewish people concerning latter days."For I will take you out of the nation; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back to your own land… I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you… to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness."I will call for the grain and make it plentiful… I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine…"This is what the Sovereign Jehovah says, 'On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. They will say, "This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.'"Then the nations around you that remain will know that I, Jehovah, have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I, Jehovah, have spoken, and I will do it." (Ezekiel 36:24 ff).
Ladies and Gentleman, evangelical Christians support Israel because we believe that the words of Moses and the ancient prophets of Israel were inspired by God. We believe that the emergence of a Jewish state in the land promised by God to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was ordained by God.We believe that God has a plan for this nation which He intends to be a blessing to all the nations of the earth."
Robertson is quoting from Ezekiel 36 where God was promising His people, Jews, that there would be a restoration; that they would return to rebuild, with His help, the Temple, the city of Jerusalem, the kingdom. They are in captivity to Babylon, but God is giving them encouragement and hope; there will be a restoration, salvation from the present distress. And we know from history that God led them with prophets to do that.....only to have them fail again because of falling away from God. And Jerusalem was completely destroyed in AD 70.
But it isn't a stretch to see that God wasn't just promising a restoration to their homeland, but was also looking forward to a time when Jesus would come, would set up an everlasting kingdom to include all men, not just the Jews. But remember that Jesus said in John 18:36, right before He left the earth: "My kingdom is not of this world..." It is a heavenly kingdom, a spiritual kingdom; and it would never again be a kingdom on this earth. So most people today, most preachers, most churches, are wrong to believe that Jesus is coming back to the earth. He is coming back in the clouds to reclaim His own (Acts 1:11, 1Thes. 4:15-17), but isn't promised to return to earth.
It doesn't really change our salvation, our relationship with God perhaps, but it makes sense to understand what the Bible is teaching about the return of Jesus, about the kingdom of Jesus and what is coming. Much of the error on this subject comes from a misunderstanding of what is said in Revelation 20 about a 1000 year reign. Perhaps we will talk more on that next week.
Have a great week! God bless you.
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