I See Jesus Everywhere!
Christian Book-Bible Commentary-Bible Study -Apologetics
God's Common Thread of Truth all through Scripture
There is a common tread, a common lesson...God teaches us all through scripture.
Look at this foreshadow of what God requires. What God requires never changes all through scripture. God showed me this truth as I am was reading the book of Deuteronomy... as I continue to read the bible in a year.
I see the common thread all through scripture...and they all lead to this truth...God gives only two ways for man to choose from.
1) Trust in God. Do His will.
2) Trust in something else and do your own will.
Deuteronomy 11:26-28 is one of those pictures God paints.
26 See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse- 27 the blessing if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; 28 the curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.
1) Blessing if you will obey the commands of the Lord.
2) A curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord and turn and follow other gods.
Has anything changed under the New Covenant (PROMISE OF GOD) we read in the New Testament?
The answer is "NO". There are still two ways:
1) We can either be "Blessed" by trusting in Jesus Christ as ADONAI who saves us from our sins and receive eternal life:
John 3:16
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Romans 10: 9-10
9That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
2) YOU WILL BE CURSED FOREVER:
Matthew 25: 46
46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
John 3: 36
36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."
2 Thessalonians 1: 8-9
8He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power
Please look at verse 8 above in 2 Thessalonians 1 and see what God is saying to us:
God still requires us to obey His decrees. His New Covenant decree is to believe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you reject His decree, His holy word tells you are cursed and you are condemned already.
John 3:18
18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
Need more evidence?
Jesus Himself tells us what "GOD REQUIRES" for work to earn salvation:
John 6:28-29
28Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"
29Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
The work required by us is not work at all...He requires we trust Him. When we trust and love Him...then we can begin to obey Him. Not because we are FORCED to by God...but because we love Him..more than we love this world.
May all Trust in God.
God loves you and so do I!
God appears in the Flesh in the Old Testament!
Wow! Want to see a time when God appeared as a man in the Old Testament?
He did many times...we know this is the Son of God when He appeared to man...not an angel...because those who saw God appear as a man worshiped and even spoke they have SEEN GOD!
Judges chapter 13 is one of these occurrences of God appearing in the flesh.
Read all of Judges 13..but here are some highlights of God appearing in the flesh:
Judges 13: 3
3 The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, "You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son.
The Angel of the Lord (ADONAI) Is God appearing in the flesh. Let us read on to see it.
Judges 13:9-10
9 God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. 10 The woman hurried to tell her husband, "He's here! The man who appeared to me the other day!
In verses 9-10 we get more of a description of the angel of God. The wife of Manoah describes the angel of God as a man! This angel of God has flesh for she describes Him as a man. we read on:
Judges 13: 11
11 Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, "Are you the one who talked to my wife?"
"I am," he said.
"I am" he says...interesting the name of God is used...but this is not proof, we must read further.
Judges 13: 15-16
15 Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you."
16 The angel of the LORD replied, "Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD." (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the LORD.)
WOW! The angel of God is offered food. also, Manoah does not realize who he is speaking to. Again, not enough proof this is an appearance of God Himself...but we are not finished yet.
Judges 13:17
17 Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, "What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?"
MANOAH IS ABOUT TO FIND OUT WHO HE HAS BEEN SPEAKING TO:
Judges 13:20-21
20 As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. 21 When the angel of the LORD did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD.
Manoah finally realizes this man was not a man...but someone much greater...and greater than an angel by far. WHAT MANOAH AND HIS WIFE SAYS NEXT REVEALS WHO THEY WERE SPEAKING TO:
Judges 13:22-23
22 "We are doomed to die!" he said to his wife. "We have seen God!"
23 But his wife answered, "If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this."
THEY HAVE BEEN SPEAKING TO GOD ALL ALONG! God appeared to them in the flesh....this is Jesus appearing in the Old Testament.
How do I know? Because NO ONE HAS EVER SEEN THE FATHER GOD EXCEPT ONE!
John 1:18
No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.
Think about it!
God loves you and so do I!
Can We Know Confidently What Happens After Death?
I was watching an interview of Bill Maher, Talk show host and funny cynic, done by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee on his new show on Fox News Network. Mr Maher did a documentary on religious zealots in America titled "Religulous". In the interview, Mr.Maher stated to Mr. Huckabee, "I do not know what happens after death, and neither do you." What does the Bible have to say about this? Can we confidently know for sure what happens after death? The Bible says yes!
The first place that comes to mind for me is 1 Corinthians chapter 15 in the bible. In my book, "I See Him!...I See Him! God's WORD to Witness To!" I state, "This is my Bible chapter. It is where all hope lies in scripture." I was inspired to write this chapter in my book, "Hope! Where Do You Place Yours?" because two events occurred at the same time as I was studying 1 Corinthians chapter 15. First, a dear loved one of mine who is an aging agnostic who has no hope for eternity was on my mind and secondly; our dear neighbors lost their nephew in a car accident who was only 19 years old when he died.
I wrote:
The apostle Paul begins his chapter with the assurance that Jesus arose from the grave according to Old Testament scriptures. The New Testament became part of the Bible later after they were compiled by the early church. This gives us even greater assurance that eternity is true because the ancient prophecies of the Messiah's resurrection was fulfilled through Jesus Christ.
Paul writes:
3For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
Paul makes this bold statement below. He says if Christ hasn't risen, then no one else will be either raised from the grave either. He is setting the stage for the truth. He continues:
13But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
14And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
19If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
32 ...if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.
Now Paul declares the truth of scripture. Christ has truly risen and because He has, all who believe will rise to:
42So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
43It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
44It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
45And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
46Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
47The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.
Because of our Lord Jesus, we do not need to fear death!
54.....that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
There are many more places I would like to take you in scripture to show the truth, but these monthly teachings are meant to be short. I will leave you with two scripture references that reveal the confidence we can have in everlasting Life. May we have such faith.
Hebrews 11:
13These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
And from Job:
25For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
26And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
God loves you and so do I!
When Will Christ Return? What about the Rapture?
A dear friend of mine e-mailed to ask these question of me:
Will there be two "returns of Christ"? One at the beginning of the 1,000/yr reign of Christ, and the other when Christ comes once Satan is loosed (and they are destroyed)?
At which one of those would we be raptured up? Could it be, that we won't be raptured in the first return, but we will remain here, and He'll come to us and setup His kingdom here? But the 2nd time, we'll be raptured out as He comes to destroy the evil ones?
I wrote this answer back to him:
Let me answer your question by what I believe scripture foretells is going to happen.
The seven feasts of Israel (Leviticus chapter 23- written 1,400 years before Christ's birth.) is one of the timetables God is using to fulfill all that is prophetical in Scripture concerning Jesus and His Second Coming.
3) The Feast of Firstfruits is the prophetic Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Interesting: The Jewish people do not celebrate this feast any longer even though God commanded them to do so. Zola Levitt (Messianic Jew) believes it is because the Jews feel it symbolizes the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore, they do not want to honor Him by celebrating this feast.
4) The Feast of Pentecost was fulfilled 50 days after Jesus arose from the grave. We received the Holy Spirit and now God can live in our temple, the spirit that God gave to all man. Our spirit is now alive with the Holy Spirit living in those of us who accept God's grace through His Son Jesus Christ.
5) The Feast of Trumpets: This is the Rapture of the church (believers) to meet Jesus in the air (I Thessalonian 4: 13-18 (verse 17 is the rapture). We know this is the rapture and not Christ's Second Coming because Jesus NEVER TOUCHES THE GROUND as he will at the end days (Zechariah 14: 4-5). Those raptured will receive their heavenly body at this time (1 Corinthians 15: 51-52)
Notice the Feasts starts with Trumpets. Trumpets and the shout of the Lord will happen at the Rapture (I Thessalonian 4: 16). This trumpet is the same one revealed in Revelation 4: 1, When the trumpet says "Come up Hitter"- THIS IS THE RAPTURE. I Thessalonian 4: 13-18 and Revelation 4 are speaking of the exact same event.
When the Rapture happens- the Tribulation and the antichrist will then be able to go into full bloom, with all the followers safely in heaven with our Lord. Now, anyone coming to know Christ during the Tribulation, it will cost them their lives or find hiding, for the antichrist will be at war with them and with God.
6) The Day of Atonement. With the Feast of Trumpets fulfilled by the rapture, God will turn his focus back to his chosen people- the Jewish people. The day of Atonement is for them. They will come to know that Jesus is their Messiah. The remnant of Jews will come to know Jesus Christ (as will people from every tribe and nation). But it will be horrible for them because this is happening during the Tribulation. Those who survive the Tribulation will live to see the last and final Feast fulfilled by Jesus Christ. Those who were raptured before the Tribulation will be coming back to see it fulfilled also.
7) The Feast of Tabernacles. THIS IS THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST being fulfilled. God makes his home on earth with mankind for 1,000 years. This time Jesus feet does touch down on the Mount of Olives with all of his saints from I Thessalonian 4: 13-18 thus fulfilling Zechariah14: 16. The Millennium reign of Jesus Christ begins with the fulfillment of this last feast. Jesus sits at the throne of his ancestor, King David, as Lord forever and ever.
After the 1,000 years is over, Satan is unleashed one last time to tempt those who survived the Tribulation and those who came to life during the Millennium. Great numbers will fall and after this short period of time when Satan does his final tempting, Jesus ends it for good. THE EIGHTH DAY(my term for it only) BEGINS. The Eight Day lasts forever and never ends. Heaven and a new earth are united as one and we will live with our Lord forever, enjoying fellowship with Him and all our brothers and sisters, the angels, and heavenly hosts.
I believe the feast of Trumpets could be fulfilled at any time. We must be ready.
This is only the tip of the iceberg in studying the Feasts. For a full explanation of what you just read, please read my book, "I See Him! I See Him! God's WORD to Witness By" chapters 27-34 to see the uniqueness of how the Bible is written and how Jesus fulfills all that is written.
Your brother in Christ,
Ken
Ingrafted Branches
Let us read the passage of the Olive Tree from the word of God. Taken from the New King James Version
19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“ The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27 For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”
"The olive tree which God cultivated is Israel. Its root is the Patriarchs- Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya'akov [Abraham, Issac, and Jacob]. From this root grew the Jewish people. Meanwhile, the Gentiles were a wild olive tree to whom God the farmer had not devoted the same kind of special attention. Sha'ul [apostle Paul] writes that they "were at that time seperated from Christ. alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenant of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
Let us examine the extended metaphor of the olive tree with a view to understanding its implications for theology. There is only one cultivated tree, and that means there is only one Israel, not two. The wild branches (Gentiles- God only recognizes to races- Jews and Gentiles.) have been grafted in though the faith in the Messiah, "brought near in the blood of Christ," so that they are now included in the commonwealth of Israel....the cut-off branches (unbelieving Jews) too are still identified as Israel even though they do not have the living sap of the tree (Jesus Christ) flowing through them. For God is miraculously preserving them, so that instead of dying out. as detached branches normally do, they are able to be grafted back in by faith."
I recommend this book by David H. Stern for those of you who are interested in seeing the Jewishness of your faith. It is the way the entire Bible was written. The Bible is a Jewish book written for all humankind.
We Can Fulfill God's Law
Can we, as sinful human beings, ever fulfill God's commands? Can we ever do what is pleasing to God? It excites me so that the word of God says we can, even in our sinful nature. The apostle Paul gives us the timeless answer on how we can accomplish our obligation to fulfill God's law in his letter to the Romans.
9For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
10Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Who is your neighbor? In Jesus own words, everyone is our neighbor:
Matthew 5: 42-43 43Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you
Therefore, as a follower of Jesus Christ, live your life in a way that is pleasing to God. Love others, even those you find unlovable or those that have hurt you or may hurt you in the future. God is asking you to love your neighbor.
Why Only One Way To Heaven?
Narrowness is Not Always Bad
Many people have felt that God is cold and narrow because He has only allowed one way to get to heaven. One night a few years ago, I was diagnosed with appendicitis. The doctor told me that the only way to relieve my pain and save my life was to have my appendix removed. "Could it be anything else?" I asked. "Is there anything I can do to avoid having an operation?"
"Not if you want to live," he said. That was a very narrow answer. And not once did I think he was uncaring or cold because he gave me only one option.
Is God uncaring because He only gives us one option? Consider this.
- Suppose that once upon a time, a good and loving God created people in his own image.
- Suppose He gave those people free will, so that they could make their own choices.
- Suppose He set them in an idyllic environment, with plenty of food and sunshine and interesting things to do.
- Suppose He imposed one restriction on them, warning them that if they violated this restriction, they would lose this gift of life He had given them?
- Suppose they violated that restriction, for no good reason, just because they felt like it?
- Suppose that, instead of taking their lives, God made provision for them and forgave them?
- Suppose their descendants repeated that pattern, over and over and over again?
- Suppose that God bestowed special gifts on one particular nation, so that they could know Him deeply and help others break the destructive pattern?
- Suppose the chosen nation rebelled too?
- Suppose that time after time, God forgave this nation, delivered them from the messes they'd gotten into, and sent special messengers to communicate to them?
- Suppose these people killed the messengers?
- Suppose the people turned their backs on God, invented other religions, and worshiped idols they carved out of stone,and animals and mountains and rivers and streams, instead of God?
- Suppose, in an ultimate act of redemption, God himself came to them in a human body as the Son of God, not to condemn them, but to redeem them?
- Suppose, instead of welcoming Him, these people rejected, tortured, and killed Him?
- Suppose God accepted the death of His Son as payment for the sins of the very people who put Him to death?
- Suppose God offered His Son's murderers complete forgiveness, transcendent peace, and eternal life as a free gift?
- Suppose God said, "I demand only one thing from you in return: that you honor My Son, who gave His life for you?"
The wonder is not, why is there only one way? But, why is there any way at all?
Is It Really a Beautiful World?
This thought to think about is taken from "Answers" Magazine Vol 3 No. 3 July - August 2008. I highly recommend this magazine publication and can be reviewed and ordered from www.AnswersinGenesis.org
Sometimes Christians give the wrong impression that the existence of a "loving and wise Designer" is obvious simply because we see so much "beauty" in creation.
They often fail to consider the ugly things in this world- mutations, deformity, decay, and death. While we see many elements of beauty and design in the universe, it's important to remember that God cursed this world because of Adam's sin. It's no longer perfect.
According to Genesis, God made the original world "very good" (1: 31) 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.), but Adam's sin brought God's curse on all creation. The whole universe now "groans" under the curse, waiting for things to be set right (Romans 8:22) 22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.).
We don't have all the pieces to figure out God's whole plan, but the Bible reveals the most important part. God made the world very good. but humans corrupted it by their sin. Yet God continues to love us so much that He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to take our judgment on Himself.
God promises to set things right in the end, restoring a new heaven and earth where "there shall be no more curse" (Revelation 21: 1-4; 22: 3). This promise awaits all who turn from their sin and trust in Him.
Look what we have awaiting us:
Revelation 22: 3 3No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.
Jesus is our Anchor
Song by Ray Boltz- a forgiven sinner and one who continues to sin (as we all do). Ray recently has admitted and publicly announced he’s living a homosexual lifestyle. By his denying the sins of sexuality found throughout scripture, he is in essence saying to God, "I set the rules and not you!" May Ray remember that it is God who sets the rules and not man. May he listen to the Holy Spirit who has told him what sin is, and not the old man (sinful nature) that Satan uses to deceive us with.
Satan, the great liar that he is, long ago deceived our first parents into sin. He said to Eve:
Genesis 3: 1-6
The Fall of Man
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
I have learned in my own walk with Jesus, that God truly does set the rules. Sin can look so very good. It can look pleasing to the eyes, and very desirable. Sin can be very pleasurable.
In order to protect ourselves from the evil one, and so that Satan will not be able to deceive and be able to turn us away from the truth of God, we must read and study our Bible. We must test all thought that comes into our mind with scripture. We must test all that we read and hear (even the words that comes from the pulpit or church) with scripture.
Test all that I have written on this web-site and in my book with scripture. Do not deny what you read in scripture, but know it is the absolute truth of God. God's truth is not written to cause us harm, but to give us everlasting life with He that has created us and all that is in the universe.
God loves you and so do I!
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