Tag: bible

DID JESUS DIE NEEDLESSLY?

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There is a popular view that the God of the universe will accept all religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, etc. as long as a person sincerely believes in the God of his/her culture and is a good person. I recently had someone tell me that. My answer to him was that, if that view is true, then Jesus died “needlessly”. Galatians 2:21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” In that context, Paul is saying that one cannot achieve saving righteousness through keeping the Law of Moses (or any law of any religion) b/c no one can keep whatever law he/she is under perfectly. So when one breaks whatever law he/she is under, they sin, but the law (any law) cannot save from sin; it can only condemn, not save. If it was possible for someone to be saved by law keeping, then Jesus suffered and died in vain.

If someone can be saved by being a devout Hindu or Buddhist, then Jesus suffered and died needlessly. Why would God allow His Son to suffer and die a horrible death on the cross if someone could be saved without believing in Jesus. Someone might say, “Jesus did have to die to save sinners, but his death would save a Hindu even if he doesn’t believe in Jesus. But that contradicts what Jesus said in John 8:24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.” One must believe in Jesus or else die in one’s sins. John 3:16 “whosoever believes in Jesus shall not perish but have eternal life”. Belief in Jesus is not optional. BTW universalism teaches that the death of Jesus covers all religions and all sinners whether they believe in Jesus or not. I wish that were true, but the Bible refutes that clearly.

The resurrection of Jesus confirms what I am saying in this article. In Acts 17, Paul came to Athens, Greece and walked among their many idols dedicate to their many Greek gods and goddesses. He even came to an altar to “the unknown god” (in case they missed one), and told them about Yahweh, the God of Israel, the one and only true God. He then preached to them that Jesus would be the judge of all men, “having furnished proof by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31). Why would the pagans reject the religoin of their culture (the worship of Greek gods and goddesses) just b/c this foreigner came telling them that they are worshipping in “ignorance” (Acts 17:23)? The resurrection of Jesus was the “proof” that belief in Jesus was the only true religion that pleases God. God does not expect us to just believe that Jesus is the only way for salvation based on blind faith and flimsy evidence. He gave an irrefutable proof by raising Jesus who had been dead for 3 days. So what happened after his sermon? Acts 17:32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, “We shall hear from you again concerning this.” 33 So Paul went out from among them. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.” Hinduism would be a parallel to the paganism, idolatry, and worship of many gods of the Athenians.

I close with John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” That just about says it all, doesn’t it? Let’s take this one step. further. If someone rejects Jesus and continues to live in sin, then Jesus died needlessly. If someone thinks that being a good moral person can save, then Jesus died needlessly. Have you believed in the one true God, Yahweh, and Jesus His Son?

“I WILL RESTORE THEM TO THEIR LAND”?

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Jeremiah 30:1 “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book. 3 For behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.’ The Lord says, ‘I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall take possession of it.’” But notice when this would be fulfilled: 30:9 But they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.” We know this is a Messianic prediction b/c it predicts that one day David will be their king again, and that always is fulfilled figuratively in Jesus. Also 34:In the latter days you will understand this.” The “latter days” refers to the last days of the Jewish age from AD 30 to AD 70. So the restoration of the fortunes of Israel and being brought back to their land would be fulfilled at the same time as David, i.e. Jesus, would be their king, which was fulfilled when Jesus ascended to heaven.

Ezekiel 34:11 For the Lord God says this: “Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd cares for his flock on a day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. 13 I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. 14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing place will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down in a good grazing place and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I Myself will feed My flock and I Myself will lead them to rest,” declares the Lord God. 16 “I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will eliminate. I will feed them with judgment.” In Ezekiel 34 God condemns the elders of Israel for not shepherding the flock as they should. He predicts that in the future God himself will take over shepherding the flock. We know that this passage is a Messianic prediction fulfilled in Jesus the Good Shepherd (John 10) b/c 34:23 “Then I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David will be prince among them; I the Lord have spoken.” Anytime the prophets predicted that one day David would be king, shepherd, and prince over the flock it refers to Jesus. So being brought back to their land would be fulfilled at the same time as David, i.e. Jesus, being made Shepherd of the flock. That was fulfilled when Jesus became the Shepherd of the Jewish believing remnant.

Ezekiel 36:24 For I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the lands; and I will bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put My Spirit within you and bring it about that you walk in My statutes, and are careful and follow My ordinances. 28 And you will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.” We know this is a Messianic prediction b/c it predicts that God will put His Spirit within them. That was fulfilled in Acts 2 and in the last days of the Jewish age when the miraculous indwelling was poured out on the remnant Jews who believed in Jesus as the Messiah (as was also predicted by the prophet Joel in Joel 2:28-32). He did not put His Spirit in the unbelieving Jews.

Ezekiel 37: 14 And I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it,” declares the Lord.’” 37:21 And say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land.” This is the famous “valley of dry bones”. The dry bones represent the dead in sin state of Israel and predicts that one day God will put His Spirit in them and raise them from their graves spiritually. Again, this is a Messianic prediction b/c God put HIs Spirit in the remnant Jews who accepted Jesus in Acts 2 and the last days. He did not put His Spirit in the unbelieving Jews. We know this is a Messianic prediction b/c, as in Ezekiel 34:23-25, it predicts that one day David will be their king again, and that always is fulfilled figuratively in Jesus. 37:24 “And My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances, and keep My statutes and follow them. 25 And they will live on the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons’ sons, forever; and My servant David will be their leader forever. 26 And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and set My sanctuary in their midst forever. 27 My dwelling place also will be among them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. 28 And the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.”’” So the bringing to their own land would be fulfilled at the same time as the pouring out of the Spririt, which was fulfilled in the book of Acts as God poured out His Spirit on the believing Jewish remnant.

These prophecies from Jeremiah and Ezekiel are obviously Messianic. They are predicting a time in their future when the “fortunes of Israel” will be restored and Israel will be brought back to live on their land (the promised land). But they also predict that when that is fulfilled that David will be their king and that always figuratively is fulfilled in Jesus as king (not a literal raising of David from the grave to be king). They also predict that when that is fulfilled that God will pour out His Spirit on Israel and this would be fulfilled when God poured out His Spirit on the Jewish remnant who accepted Jesus as the Messiah in Acts 2 and during the last days of the Jewish age. So it would stand to reason that Israel’s fortunes being restored and Israel being brought back to live in the land would be fulfilled at the same time in some way for the Jewish remnant who accepted Jesus. Of course, the believing remnant did not receive physical land as fulfillment of this prediction. Paul says in Romans 9 that the promises made to Israel in the Old Testament did not fail to come to pass. But he quickly points out that the promises were fulfilled in spiritual Israel, i.e. the Jewish remnant who believed in Jesus as the Messiah, and not the whole nation of Israel. Romans 9:6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7 nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “through Isaac your descendants shall be named.” 8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.”

So, the promises of restoration of the fortunes of Israel and returning to their land was fulfilled only for the Jewish believing remnant and not the whole nation. It was already being fulfilled spiritually and figuratively when Paul wrote Romans 9.  The prophets were not predicting, as many claim, that the whole Jewish nation would one day be restored to the physical land of Palestine, which many say was fulfilled in the 1948 statehood of Israel and their being given much of the promised land (but not all) by the United Nations.

So, if this only refers to the Jewish believing remnant being brought back to their land, and if this was not fulfilled literally, then what does it refer to? The Jews were expecting the entire nation to be restored to its physical power just as in the kingdom of David. Even the apostles expected this after the resurrection of Jesus. Acts 1:6 So, when they had come together, they began asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time that You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” Then Peter said in Acts 3:19 Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, 21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things, about which God spoke by the mouths of His holy prophets from ancient times.” That was not predicting a restoration of Israel to physical power but instead was predicting a restoration for the believing Jewish remnant of spiritual blessings, i.e. forgiveness, salvation in Jesus, grace, etc.

But what about the promise to be brought back to their land. If this was not meant to be a physical return to the land, and if it only was fulfilled for the Jewish believing remnant, then it must have been fulfilled figuratively and spiritually in some way. I have always struggled to explain how that was fulfilled, but I think I finally have it figured out. I received help on this from Philip Mauro’s book, The Hope of Israel (published in 1971). He said that this referred to “the heavenly places”. Paul said that the early Christians, Jew and Gentiles, were raised from the death spiritually to be made alive spiritually and raised to sit with Christ in the heavenly places. Ephesians 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead n our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So the land promise for the believing Jewish remnant was fulfilled when they were raised to sit in the heavenly places, i.e. a spiritual realm of safety in the hands of God. John 10:27 My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” That makes sense since the physical land of Palestine is where physical Israel dwelt and a spiritual land, the heavenly places, would be a figurative spiritual fulfillment since it does not refer to a physical fulfillment.

The figurative spiritual land that the believing Jewish remnant received, and that all believers receive, is to dwell in the heavenly places with Christ, a spiritual realm, in the very hands of God HImself. That is far better than getting some piece of dirt somewhere. It does take an understanding in the figurative fulfillment of prophecies to come to this conclusion. People tend to want to understand all prophecy as being fulfilled literally. Indeed, some predictions are fulfilled literally, such as Micah 5:2 Jesus being born in Bethlehem. But many of the prophecies, as seen by “David being their king” are obviously fulfilled figuratively and spiritually, not literally. That would be true of the land promise. It is sad that so much false expectations are put on Israel returning to the holy land in 1948 as the fulfillment of the land promises. It makes Christians feel that they must support Israel in the holy land today as some part of God fulfilling HIs promises, which is just not true. Many tied the supposed 2nd coming of Jesus to the 1948 statehood of Israel and being given part of Palestine by the UN. They said that Matthew 24 would be fulfilled in our “generation” (Matthew 24:34), which would mean in the next 40 years after 1948. Some thought the year 2,000 AD was the critical year and that the 70th week of Daniel’s prophecy in Daniel 9 would be fulfilled in the last 7 years before the year 2,000. Nothing happened. Here we are in 2025 AD and still nothing has happened. The further we get from 1948 and nothing happening. shows that their predictions were wrong.

That is very similar to Jesus’ actual predictions of his 2nd coming that was to be within the lifetime and generation (Matthew 24:34) (a period of 40 years in the Bible) of those he was speaking to (Matthew 10:23; 16:27,28; 24:31-34; 26:64). Either his 2nd coming was in the next 40 years or he was a false prophet. He did come back in 70 AD in judgment on the Jewish nation just as he predicted when the Romans destroyed the temple and the city of Jerusalem in 70 AD. So he is not a false prophet as the Muslims, unbelieving Jews, and atheists claim. He did not “delay” his 2nd coming, as many claim. Hebrews 10:37 For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay.” But those who expected Jesus to return and set up a physical kingdom did not realize his 2nd coming in 70 AD. They simply said that his 2nd coming was delayed, but that it would still occur soon in the first century. As they entered the 2nd century, they still claimed an imminent 2nd coming, but it became more and more difficult to explain why He had not returned as they expected. So now their “delay theory” is going on some 2,000 years. They thought 1948 would be the solution to all this, but that did not happen.

I know this is long and detailed, but I hope it helps to understand prophecy fulfillment. I hope it helps clear up all the false teaching about Israel being restored to the holy land and what the role of the nation of Israel is in our future. The “hope of Israel”, as Philip Mauro so clearly shows, is that Israel would accept Jesus as the Messiah and received spiritual, not physical, blessings today. It is not some hope of the nation of Israel receiving land or being restored as a power. We should pray for Israel. They have such a long, deep rooted connection with Yahweh of the Bible. God has rejected them as a nation (Matthew 21:43) but He still longs for them to accept Jesus.


DID YOU CONSULT THE LORD?

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Recently I was asking for wisdom from the Lord on a decision I needed to make. It was solving a 1st world problem but a problem no less that was really dominating my thinking. I decided to ask some wise people for advice. I got 3 answers that were all the same. I decided that whatever the 3rd and last person consulted with advised me to do that I would do that, considering that to be a final answer from the Lord. But my wife asked me if I would really “let it go” and quit thinking about the problem, considering it solved with the Lord’s help. I said that I would try.

How do you know when the Lord has given you answer to your quest for His wisdom? I don’t know any hard rules for determining that but maybe here are a few guidelines. First of all, we must really seek the Lord’s wisdom and be ready to follow it. We should use the minds that God gave us, of course, to come up with good possible solutions, and yet allow the Lord to filter through those possibilities to show us the best solution, or even to show us a. solution we had not thought of. I always think of David when I consider this subject. Here is a great article on David’s nine inquiries of the Lord: https://tafj.org/2012/01/06/davids-nine-inquiries-of-the-lord/

1)1 Sam 23:1-3 He consulted the Lord to see if he should defend the city of Keilah against the Philistines. The Lord told him to defend Keilah. 2) 1 Samuel 23:4-5 He asked the Lord again about defending Keilah b/c his men didn’t want to do that, and was told to defend the city. 3) 1 Samuel 23:10-11 He asked the Lord if Saul was going to come to Keilah trying to find David so he could kill him. The Lord said that Saul was coming. 4) 1 Samuel 23:12-14 He asked the Lord if the men of Keilah would deliver David to Saul even though David had saved them from the Philistines. The Lord said they would turn him over to Saul, and that he should leave the city. 5) 1 Samuel 30:8-9 David and his 600 men had been away fighting. They returned to David’s home base in Philistia, the city of Ziklag. The Amalekites had captured the women and children of David and his men and carried them off. David’s men were ready to stone him, blaming him for their not being in Ziklag to defend that Amalekite attack. David asked the Lord if he should pursue the Amalekites, and was told to do so. He brought back all the women and children that had been captured. 6) 2 Samuel 2:1-2 After Saul and Jonathon were killed, David asked the Lord where he should go to be anointed as king of Israel. God told him to go to Hebron. He was anointed king there but only reigned over Judah and Benjamin for 7 1/2 years before becoming king over all 12 tribes and reigning in his capital, Jerusalem. 7) 2 Samuel 5:17-21 When he was anointed king over all 12 tribes, the Philistines came to attack him. He asked the Lord if he should fight them, and the Lord told him to do so and gave him the victory. 8) 2 Samuel 5:22-25 The Philistines regrouped after their defeat and attacked David again. David asked the Lord if he should go attack them face to face, but was told instead to circle them and attack them from behind. David defeated the Philistines again. 9) 2 Samuel 21:1 David asked the Lord why there was a famine for 3 years. The Lord told him that it was b/c Saul had killed the Gibeonites, a people that Joshua had made a treaty with to protect them. To end the famine, David handed over 7 of Saul’s sons to be hanged.

David was successful when he consulted the Lord before decisions, and when he did what the Lord told him to do. His problems came when he failed to consult the Lord before doing things. 1) He obviously did not consult the Lord at all during the adultery with Bathsheeba and the cover up of his sin by having Uriah her husband killed, taking Bathsheeba as his wife. For over a year until the baby was born, he never consulted the Lord about his actions. 2) He did not consult the Lord when bringing the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem. They brought it back on an cart instead of being carried by the Levites on poles. This led to the death of Uzzah who tried to catch the ark when the oxen stumbled. 3) He did not consult the Lord when he initiated a census of the people as a remedy to the anger of the Lord that had come upon the people. Even Joab criticized the census. Apparently David was trusting in the number of fighting men that he had instead of consulting the Lord as to why He was angry with the people. If he had consulted the Lord, the Lord would have told him that He was angry with the people b/c of their sins and that they should repent. 4) Several times David failed to consult the Lord in making decisions during the 10 years that Saul was chasing him. We can understand why he was panicking at times out of fear while Saul pursued him with an army. In 1 Samuel 21 David in desperation had fled to King Achish in Philistine territory. He did not consult the Lord before doing so. He then faked insanity knowing that Achish would not kill and insane person. It worked but it would lead to further bad decisions. In 1 Samuel 27, David in desperation made a decision to take his 600 men to Philistine territory, thinking Saul would abandon his search to kill David instead of confronting the Philistines. He never consulted the Lord. It worked at first. Saul quit searching for David and Achish the Philistine king gave him the city of Ziklag for him and his men and their families to live in. But then David started killing several Canaanite peoples, telling King Achish that he was out killing Israelites. He lied. He left no survivors to tell what he was really doing. Later he had to lie to the king, acting as if he wanted to join the king in fighting Israelites. The Philistine commanders objected to David and his men fighting, which was fortunate for David or else he would have been confronted with killing his own people, the Israelites, or else Achish finding out how David had been deceiving him all along. Later, while David and his men would engaged in these Philistine battles, Ziklag was attacked by Amalekites and David’s men were ready to stone him, blaming him for their not being at Ziklag to defend the city. Again, all of these problems b/c David in desperation and fear failed to consult the Lord before making decisions. He ended up in Philistine territory, having to lie to Achish and endangering his 600 men b/c of his faking loyalty to Achish. Surely the Lord could have and would have protected David even if he had never fled to the Philistines if David had just consulted with the Lord and trusted in HIs guidance. When David, did consult the Lord while Saul was pursuing him, the Lord always led him to safety, as we saw in the 9 times that he did consult the Lord.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6) As I said, the Lord expects us to use our minds to come up with possible solutions. But before we do that, we should trust in Him for wisdom and guidance, and only after doing that should we start thinking about possible plans. James had a great comment on this. James 4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17 So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, for him it is sin.” I tend to come up with plan A, plan B, and plan C before I ever consult the Lord for His plan! If we consult the Lord first, and then come up with possible plans, I think the Lord will guide us to the right plan, or maybe even a plan we hadn’t thought of. I think He will in some providential way show us HIs plan, and discourage us from following a bad plan. We should look for those providential signs of the Lord revealing His plan to us in any decision. Back to my initial 1st world problem that was dominating my thinking, I finally asked the Lord for a sign: “I will do what the 3rd and last person that I consult with for advice tells me to do”. I really wasn’t sure what he would tell me, and there were 3 possible plans of actions to solve my problem. That person told me what he thought I should do to solve the problem. I took that as being from the Lord. I can’t prove that, but that’s what I did. It finally gave me some piece of mind over the course of action that I ended up taking to solve the problem.

I don’t know if these guidelines help you in decision making. I also tried to not worry or second guess my final actions based on the advice from the 3rd person. I still struggle with worry and second guessing, but I hope I can try to work on that.

Is there anyone out there reading this blog who can relate to what I am saying in this article?

    COUNT YOUR MANY BLESSINGS

    On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

    Another Sunday morning McDonalds’ egg McMuffin senior coffee 7 AM with wife. The one we go to is very clean. A man was out pressure washing the entire parking lot, and it seems that they do that regularly. Another man does nothing but clean inside. So we get two overpriced muffin, egg, Canadian bacon breakfast sandwiches but the 2nd one is only $1 with the app. Senior coffee is 69 cents. Can’t beat that! The joy of being a senior citizen!

    The managers are very nice. They have come to know us as regulars. The lady manager was telling me that she lost her daughter in a car wreck 5 years ago. I asked her if today, mother’s day, was tough on her and she said it was, but she clinched a necklace that she was wearing that was her daughter’s or was given to her by her daughter (I don’t listen to details very well!) and said that she was doing ok. She also told me that her family had a history of early deaths due to cancer but that she didn’t even want to know if she had cancer b/c she was ready to just go to be with her daughter. Sounds like Paul, doesn’t it? He said that he would rather just die and go to be with the Lord. We gave her a nice tip to eat out on and that felt good. But most of all, it made us thankful that God has blessed us with 3 grown healthy children who have godly marriages and are raising godly families. Tragedy has never struck our house. Parents dying, yes, but never a tragedy like losing a child. I hope I could be as positive as that lady manager if I had a tragedy of losing a child.

    Also I must mention the debate over whether I should buy flowers for my wife on mother’s day. I had someone trying to make me feel guilty b/c I wasn’t going to buy flowers for my wife today. I argued that my wife was not my mother. My mother passed away in 2010. “But your wife is your children’s mother!” was the counter argument. “Excatly”, I said. “So my children should buy their mother flowers, not me.” I have had two or three people agree with me on this. So on the way home from House of the Harvest yesterday morning, I stop to buy chicken livers at Publix (for my grandson to fish with) and I see all these overpriced flower bouquets. To appease the person making me feel guilty for not buying flowers for my wife on mother’s day, I bought a bouquet. At least I wasn’t hypocritical about it. I told my wife that the main reason I bought the bouquet was so I would not be criticized for not buying. She just laughed so I guess all is well! Such is life in our family and 54 years of marriage. Actually I did buy them for my wife also. They look very nice on our kitchen bar and she likes them. Maybe I’m not totally bad.

    What’s that song? “Count your many blessings, name them one by one. And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”

    Here are the lyrics to the song for us to meditate on today:

    1 When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
    When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
    Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
    And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

    Refrain:
    Count your blessings, name them one by one;
    Count your blessings, see what God hath done;
    Count your blessings, name them one by one;
    Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.

    2 Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
    Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
    Count your many blessings, ev’ry doubt will fly,
    And you will be singing as the days go by. [Refrain]

    3 When you look at others with their lands and gold,
    Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
    Count your many blessings, money cannot buy
    Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high. [Refrain]

    4 So, amid the conflict, whether great or small,
    Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
    Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
    Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end. [Refrain]

    From staugustine.com. “Gipsy Smith, a famous evangelist of yesteryear, said of this song, “Men sing it, boys whistle it and women rock their babies to sleep to it.”

    Johnson Oatman, Jr., born April 21, 1856, was a citizen of Lumberton, N.J. His dad was a local merchant and just happened to be the best singer in town, with a rich, powerful voice. Young Johnson could not sing as well as his father, yet he grew up wanting to make some musical contributions of his own. However, for a time he worked in the family business, but soon gave up those opportunities and began to study for the ministry. After finishing school and ministering in the Methodist Episcopal churches for a time, Johnson continued to hope that life surely held some other plans for him.

    At 36, he realized that he did, without question, have a musical talent after all. He could write songs for other Christians to sing. So, every year some 200 songs flowed from his pen. He eventually had written 5,000 songs and was happy that in his musical compositions he had found a way to “preach the Gospel.”

    Of all the songs Oatman wrote. he seemed to claim as his own favorites, “No, Not One” (1895) and “Higher Ground (1898).” (In the Church of Christ we sang these songs many, many times).

    However, people everywhere seemed to adopt another of his very special songs, “Count Your Blessings,” written in 1897. Almost immediately it began its meteoric journey.” Oatman died in 1922.

    If you can’t sing, write songs for others to sing!


    THE HOPE OF ISRAEL

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    While preaching to the Jews who came to his house arrest living quarters during the 2 years in his first imprisonment in Rome, Paul spoke of the “hope of Israel” in Acts 28:20 For this reason, therefore, I requested to see you and to speak with you, since I am wearing this chain for the sake of the hope of Israel.”

    What was the “hope of Israel” that Paul kept mentioning? “The “hope of Israel” refers to the expectation and belief in a future restoration and salvation, often associated with the Messiah, the Anointed One, who would bring peace and righteousness to the world. This hope encompasses various aspects, including the return of Israel to the Promised Land, the establishment of God’s kingdom, and the resurrection of the dead.” (AI) This expectation was based on promises made in the Old Testament. In Paul’s trial before Festus and King Agrippa, Paul said: Acts 26:6 And now I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers; 7 the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. For this hope, O king, I am being accused by Jews.” It did include the resurrection of the dead. Acts 24:14 “But I confess this to you, that in accordance with the Way, which they call a sect, I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and is written in the Prophets; 15 having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there is ‘about to be’ (mello which always means about to be in the NT) be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.” Daniel predicted that this resurrection of the dead would occur at the end of the Jewish Age in 70 AD. Daniel 12:2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.” That chapter 12 in Daniel is definitely referring to the destruction of the temple in 70 AD b/c 12:11 refers to the “abomination of desolation” of the temple which Jesus said would occur within the generation of those he was talking to in Matthew 24:15,34 just as Daniel predicted.

    So the expectation of the Jews, based on OT promises, was a literal restoration of the Jewish kingdom brought about by the Messiah (the Anointed One), a return to the holy land, and victory over their Roman rulers. That is still the way non Christian Jews and many evangelical Christians interpret the “hope of Israel” today. They see the statehood given to Israel by the UN in 1948 as partial fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel and they expect the rest of the fulfillment in the near future.

    I do not agree with this literal interpretation of the hope of Israel. I believe all the Messianic kingdom promises were made only to the Jewish remnant in the first century who would believe in Jesus as the Messiah and become Jewish Christians. I believe the promises were fulfilled in a spiritual, not literal, way. Some OT Messianic prophecies were to be fulfilled literally, such as the prediction in Micah 5:2 that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. It is clear that was a literal fulfillment and a one time only fulfillment in the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. But there are many OT prophecies that were fulfilled in a spiritual way. For example, Malachi 4:5 predicts that Elijah would come before the great and terrible day of the Lord (70 AD judgement on the Jews). Jesus said that was fulfilled in John the Baptist, not Elijah literally coming just before Jesus came. Malachi’s prediction was fulfilled in a spiritual way, using figurative language, not literally fulfilled.

    So how can we tell if OT Messianic prophecies were to be fulfilled literally or spiritually. It can get tricky but here are my guidelines. It should be obvious that predictions about Jesus’ birth place, suffering and death (Isaiah 53), etc. were to be fulfilled literal, just as they sound. They were given to confirm that Jesus was the Messiah so they had to be fulfilled literally and not with figurative language.

    But what about the Messianic promises made to Israel in the OT? My guideline is this. If a literal fulfillment contradicts New Testament passages, then it must have been meant to be fulfilled spiritually using figurative language. For example, Daniel predicted that the kingdom of God, with Christ reigning as king forever, would be established in the days of the Roman Empire. Jesus came proclaiming that kingdom of God was “at hand” and would be established within the lifetime of some of those he was talking to. So, unless Jesus is a false prophet, then the kingdom of God that was established in the first century as Jesus predicted could not be fulfilled literally in a physical kingdom like that of David in the OT. Instead, it was fulfilled spiritually in the establishment of the church, a spiritual kingdom. Many say that Jesus meant to establish a physical kingdom on earth but delayed that until his 2nd coming which they say is still in our future, but that would contradict what Jesus predicted.

    The Messianic promises to Israel were just like that example. We go to Romans 9-11 to show that to be the case. Romans 9:6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7 nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: “through Isaac your descendants shall be named.” 8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.” (NASB) Paul answers a possible objection that I hear made today: did God not fulfill His Messianic promises made to Israel in the OT? In other words, “did the word of God in the OT promises fail to come to pass”? Paul argues that those promises did come to pass but that they were only intended for the Jewish remnant who would accept Jesus as the Messiah and become Christians in the church. He clearly says that the promies were not given to the whole nation of Israel, fleshly Israel, even if they rejected Jesus as the Messiah. As a matter of fact, he clearly taught that the Jews who rejected Jesus as the Messiah would be judged by God when He sent the Romans to destroy Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD.

    So, if God did fulfill all the Messianic prophecies made to Israel by saving the remnant of Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah, then, as Paul argue, the word of God did not fail. But those remant Jewish Christians did not get the holy land and the kingdom of Israel was not restored to the power of the days of David. So it is apparent that the predictions of being restored to the land were fulfilled in a spiritual figurative way, just as the kingdom was.

    Paul goes on to say, Romans 9:27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “Though the number of the sons of Israel may be like the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved.” It was only the Jewish remnant that accepted Jesus that would be saved and not the rest of the unbelieving nation of Israel. The restoration of Israel and receiving of the land promises was not fulfilled in 1948. That was fulfilled in the first century as Paul argued, but it was fulfilled in a spiritual figurative way. The restored land was probably fufilled spiritually in the NT church kingdom being safely in the hands of God Himself.

    Paul deals with another possible objection: so did God reject His people? Romans 11:I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? Far from it! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? 3 “Lord, they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.” 4 But what is the divine response to him? “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice.” (NASB) It is obvious that God did reject the Jews who did not accept Jesus as the Messiah. He sent the Romans in 70 AD to kill one million of them and carry off another 200,000 into captivity. So He did rejected the unbelieving Jews. But He had not rejected true Israel, which would be the remnant of the Jewish nation who would accept Jesus as the Messiah. Matthew 21:43 Jesus said that the kingdom was going to be taken away from the Jews and given to a spiritual nation and kingdom, the church.

    Then Paul says, Romans 11:25 For I do not want you, brothers and sisters, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved.” If in Romans 9:27 the “remnant who would be saved” was the Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah, then the “all Israel” in Romans 11:26 must also mean the remnan Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah. Most all the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah initially. But Paul is pedicting that some of those who rejected Jesus will see the Gentiles being saved, become envious, and later decide to accept Jesus. Paul said this partial hardening would happen until the fullness of the Gentiles had come in. That would all come to pass at Jesus’ 2nd coming in 70 AD. By then, the entire Jewish remnant who accepted Jesus would be gathered from across the whole Roman Empire and the. process of grafting in the Gentile believers would be complete (i.e. the “fulness of the Gentiles”).

    So, I don’t believe there are any OT or NT prophetic predictions to be fulfilled after 70 AD. The plan is finished by 70 AD and salvation is available from then on for anyone who wants to be saved. I believe that Romans 9-11 should carry a lot of weight in. deciding what the “hope of Israel” was/is. The hope of Israel was that any Jew who would accept Jesus as the Messiah would be saved and blessed with spiritual, not physical, blessings. Many Messianic Jews did exactly that and formed the first church. Many Messianic Jews are doing that today also. Any ethnic Jew can realize the hope of Israel if they will accept Jesus as Messiah, Son of God, and Savior.

    JOHN HUSS: BURNED AT THE STAKE

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    John Huss was born in 1369 in Bohemia (in the Czech Republic), the son of a peasant. He was influenced by John Wycliffe and became a pastor. People from common people to the wife of the king followed him and a movement of true Christianity broke out in Bohemia. The pope threatened him but he continued to preach. He taught the priesthood of believers (every Christian is a priest; not just the Roman Catholic church priests). He preached against the corruption in the Roman church and against the selling of indulgences. He was brought before the cardinals for a hearing and then cast into a sewage-filled dungeon. Eventually, his books were burned and he was burned at the stake in 1415 at the age of 46. After his execution, his followers, Hussites, engaged in the Hussite Wars between 1420 and 1431, defeating 5 papal crusades sent to wipe them out. The wars ended with a compromise with the Catholic church. Eventually most Hussites were absorbed into the Catholic church by the 17th century. One group of Hussites formed an independent church, the Unitas Fratrum (Unity of Brethren). The Moravian church emerged from the Unitas Fratrum. The Czechoslovak Hussite Church, is a recognized religious body today.  “Nearly six centuries later in 1999, Pope John Paul II expressed “deep regret for the cruel death inflicted” on Hus and added “deep sorrow” for Hus’s death and praised his “moral courage”. (Wikipedia)

    I can’t imagine the horror of being burned at the stake. This method was employed for various reasons, including treason, heresy, and witchcraft, and served as a public spectacle of punishment. “Witches were burned at the stake during European witch trials, particularly between the 15th and 18th centuries, as punishment for heresy or witchcraft, which was often seen as a crime against both the church and the state. The punishment was a standard practice in many parts of Europe, with local authorities and church leaders overseeing the executions.” (AI) Joan of Arc was burned at the stake for heresy in 1431, although her conviction was later overturned. 

    John Huss refused to recant his preaching at his trial which led to his execution. He said, “I am ready to die.” Would I recant my faith in Jesus if threatened with being burned at the stake? I hope not.

    The Bible speaks of “dying to self”. Actually, your old sinful self dies in the eyes of God when you are buried with Christ in baptism and raised as a new self cleansed by the blood of Jesus. That old sinful self stays dead in God’s eyes unless you fall from grace. Colossians 3:3 ESV  “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” me. Galatians 2:20 ESV / 104 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

    I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

    But then we are told to continually “die to self”, to deny self, to crucify the flesh, meaning relinquishing selfish desires and priorities to follow Christ. That is a constant battle every day, the flesh vs the spirit. Your salvation doesn’t depend on you winning that battle over the flesh perfectly. Your salvation is due to the grace of God and the continual cleansing of the blood of Jesus. But a truly converted sinner will constantly try to die to self out of gratitude for what Jesus did for us.

    Galatians 5:24-25 ESV “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” Ephesians 4:22 ESV “To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires.”

    Some Christians are still being called upon to die for their faith like John Huss. In the U.S. we will probably never be faced with that, but we are faced with “dying to self” every day. Are you living for yourself and your own desires, or are you living for Christ to please His desires?


    JOHN WYCLIFFE: MORNING STAR OF THE REFORMATION (1330-1384)

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    You probably have heard of John Wycliffe. You could easily argue that Peter Waldo should have that title “morning star of the reformation” one hundred years earlier, but John Wycliffe had more impact than Waldo. Waldo believed much the same as Wycliffe. Born in England, Wycliffe abhorred the corruption in the Roman Catholic church. He taught that Christ, not the pope, is the head of the church. He taught that the Scriptures, not the Catholic church papal decrees and tradition, are the sole authority for faith and practice. He taught that the Catholic church should excommunicate immoral clergymen and give away the church’s excessive wealth and property. He taught against the selling of indulgences and he rejected transubstantiation. He began voicing his teaching at Oxford University where he had taught for many years. He began writing pamphlets in English that a farmer or shopkeeper could read. The common people only had the Latin Vulgate, so Wycliffe translated or was responsible for translating the Bible into Middle English (a version now called the “Wycliffe Bible”) so the common man could read it and decide what it meant instead of relying on the priests. “Wycliffe’s followers were called Lollards because the name, derived from the Dutch word “lollaert” meaning “mumbler,” was used pejoratively by critics to describe their practice of reading scripture and making long prayers.” (AI) His preachers went throughout England carrying copies of his English translation. They were called “Poor Preachers” b/c they dressed in simple clothes and lived with the common people, unlike the Roman priests who lived apart from the people and dressed in clerical garb. He was finally expelled from Oxford and was persecuted by the Catholic church, but the church was afraid to kill him, fearing it. would cause an uprising. He never left the Catholic church; he even died of a fatal stroke while at Mass. But 17 years after his death, anyone preaching Wycliffe’s ideas was punished by death by the Catholic church. In 1415, thirty years after his death, a Catholic council ordered that his books be burned and that his remains be dug up and burned. His ashes were thrown into the River Swift.

    We take it for granted that we have so many translations of the Bible into English so we can read it for ourselves and decide what we think it means. It is hard to imagine a time like in the 14th century when there were no Bibles in English. Since the 16th century, there have been around 250 translations into English alone (900 if you count revisions and partials)! The Catholic church actually did its own Douay-Rheims English version of the Bible in 1609, maybe partly as a result of the work of Wycliffe 200 years earlier. That version is older than the famous King James Version of 1611. Both versions used the Latin Vulgate as the main source. Wycliffe’s translation used the Latin Vulgate also.

    The original Old Testament books were written in Hebrew mainly and the New Testament in Greek. We don’t have any of the original books of the Bible. Can we trust the English translations that we have? Yes we can. We have over 5,700 complete or partial manuscripts made or translations into other languages from which to come up with an accurate translation that we can trust. The New Testament sources go back to within 100 years of the original New Testament books in many papyri. When we compare the thousands of copies of the New Testament, they are 95 to 99% the same. The errors are typically small copyist errors. The Old Testament books were copied with extreme care for accuracy. The Dead Sea Scrolls (1948) show that the Old Testament was copied accurately over the centuries. For example, the complete copy of Isaiah called the “Great Isaiah Scroll” found in the DSS is 95% the same as the earliest Hebrew copy of Isaiah that we had, which was in 930 AD, over 1,000 years later than the Great Isaiah Scroll which was carbon dated as 125 BC. That shows that the book of Isaiah had been accurately copied for that 1,000 years and gives us confidence that the original book of Isaiah done in 800 BC was copied accurately over the centuries. There are at least portions of all the OT books except Esther in the DSS. So, yes you can trust a good English translation of the Bible. Be careful about paraphrases. There is a lot of debate about which English translation of the Bible is the most accurate. Jesus and the apostles quoted from the Septuagint, which is the translation of the Hebrew OT from Hebrew into Greek, done between the 3rd and 1st century BC. That shows that you can trust a good translation of the original languages even if you know it is not 100% accurate.

    I hope this helps us appreciate our Bible translations. More importantly, I hope it encourages us to read and study those translations since we have been blessed with the Bible in our own English language.

    PETER WALDO

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    Have you ever heard of Peter Waldo? He is the founder of the Waldensians. Born around 1140 AD in Lyons, France, he was a wealthy merchant who became disgusted with the corruption in the Roman Catholic church. He became convinced that the Scriptures, not the Pope or Catholic tradition, are the sole authority for Christians. The Catholics used the Latin Vulgate, which few could understand, and claimed that ordinary Christians would be corrupted if they read the Bible for themselves. He paid to have the Bible translated into the current French language. After reading what Jesus told the rich ruler to do, “to sell what he had and give to the poor”, he sold what he had and lived as a beggar preacher. His followers sold or gave away what they had: they came to be called the “Poor of Lyons”. He believed that the Bible should be preached, even by lay preachers, which was also condemned by the Catholic church. Waldo’s followers, the Waldensians, were persecuted by the Catholic church. The infamous Roman Catholic Inquisition was a special church court established in the 1200’s to inquire about and judge matters of “heresy”. The inquisition lead to fierce persecution of the Waldensians. They lost their property and many were burned at the stake. The Waldensians were numerous in Italy, France, and Switzerland, and then spread throughout Europe.

    Here is a list of the doctrines of the Roman Catholic church that Waldo and the Waldensians rejected?

    • They rejected all claims to authority besides Scripture.
    • They rejected all mediators between God and man, except the man Christ Jesus (though Mary was venerated for quite a while).
    • They rejected the doctrine that only a priest could hear confession, and argued that all believers were qualified.
    • They rejected purgatory, and thus rejected indulgences and prayers for the dead.
    • They believed the only Scripture-sanctioned sacraments were baptism and communion.
    • They rejected the Church’s emphasis on fast and feast days and eating restrictions.
    • They rejected the priestly and monastic caste system.
    • They rejected the veneration of relics, pilgrimages, and the use of holy water.
    • They rejected the pope’s claim to authority over earthly rulers.
    • They eventually rejected the apostolic succession of the pope.

    You can see why Peter Waldo was considered one of the forerunners of the Protestan Reformation movement of the 1600’s. That list of objection to Catholic doctrine was the same as that of the Protestant Reformation movement. Any Waldensians in the 1600’s eventually joined the Protestant Reformation.

    So what do we learn from the story of Peter Waldo? We see how corrupt the Catholic church was. The church tortured and burned heretics. They wouldn’t let common people read the Bible in their language. It is hard for us to imagine that religious environment. We have had freedom of religion so long that we take it for granted. What if you lived back in the 12th century under the tyrannical power of the Catholci church? Would you have the courage to stand up to the church even if it cost you your life?

    So, what do you believe? At our Christian school the board came up with a “statement of faith” that the school believed in and practices. It is basic Christian doctrines, similar to those of Peter Waldo. Such a statement of basic beliefs became even more needed as issues like homosexual marriages and gender identity arose in the current culture. In a way, the anti-Christian culture of today is something that we Christians have to stand up to just as Waldo stood up to the Catholic church.. If you proclaim basic fundamentalist Christian teaching on marriage, homosexuality, and. gender you will be mocked. If you stand up for the Bible as the sole authority for doctrines, you will be mocked. Maybe not tortured or burned at the stake, but you will be persecuted and mocked. I hope the example of Peter Waldo will inspired you to have the courage to stand up to today’s anti-Christian culture.

    Wouldn’t it be great to talk to Peter Waldo? Maybe one day we can.

    JOHN G. PATTON: MISSIONARY TO CANNIBALS

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    Do you have any idea where the New Hebrides islands are? They are in the South Pacific.

    The New Hebrides, now known as Vanuatu, consists of roughly 80 islands in the South Pacific. These islands are situated northeast of New Caledonia and southeast of the Solomons. While there are 80-odd islands in total, not all of them are inhabited. Notice the islands of Tanna and Aniwa. They are at the heart of the post today concerning John G. Paton. Born in Scotland in 1824, John married Mary in April, 1858 and 14 days later sailed to the South Pacific and landed on the island of Tanna in November, 1858. They joined a missionary who had been working there for several years. Three months after their arrival, a son, Peter Robert Robson, was born on 12 February 1859. But just 19 days later, Mary died from tropical fever soon to be followed to the grave by the newly born Peter at 36 days of age. The natives on Tanna were cannibals. In 1839 two missionaries had been martyred and eaten by the cannibals in the South Pacific. “After Mary died, John spent nights sleeping on their grave to protect them from the local cannibals. The gravesite is still accessible to this day with a plaque marking the spot, erected in 1996.” (Wikipedia)

    John continued alone for 4 years trying to convert the cannibals in spite of the danger he faced from the cannibals. 14 times he was attacked with a fever. He barely escaped the cannibals on many occasions. Later he returned to Scotland to raise money for the work in the New Hebrides and to encourage missionaries to go there. In 1865 he married again to Maggie and they went to another island in the New Hebrides, Aniwa, in 1866. The natives of Aniwa were cannibals also but they were more receptive than those in Tanna. “John learned the language and reduced it to writing. Maggie taught a class of about fifty women and girls who became experts at sewing, singing and plaiting hats, and reading. They trained the teachers, translated and printed and expounded the Scriptures, ministered to the sick and dying, dispensed medicines every day, taught them the use of tools, held worship services every Lord’s Day, built orphanages and took care of many orphans, and sent native teachers to all the villages to preach the gospel. Enduring many years of deprivation, danger from natives and disease, they continued with their work and after 15 years of patient ministry, the entire island of Aniwa professed Christianity. In 1899 Paton saw his Aniwa New Testament printed and the establishment of missionaries on twenty-five of the thirty islands of the New Hebrides.” (Wikipedia) Maggie died in 1905 and John died at the age of 82 in 1907. John spent almost 50 years mission work in Tanna and Aniwa. He was courageous and willing to put his life on the line to propagate the gospel of Jesus.

    “In Christianity, an unreached people group refers to an ethnic group without an indigenous, self-propagating Christian church movement. It is estimated that of the 8.08 billion people alive in the world today, 3.42 billion of them live in unreached people groups with little or no access to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  For every $100,000 a Christian earns, only $107 on average will go to world missions. And roughly 1% of that money will support the 3.1 billion people who live in unreached people groups.” (AI)

    I encourage you to pray over this map of unreached people groups worldwide. Churches spend about 75-80 % of the money they collect in contributions on buildings and staff. Churches collect about 75 billion per in contributions but only a small % of that money goes into mission work and a very, very small % of that money goes toward reaching the unreached people groups with the gospel. Fellow Christians, what are we doing? Where do you think Jesus would want all that money spent? Children dying all over the world b/c of unclean water. Families and children in refugee camps trying to escape local warring groups. Famine and flood relief needed. The Bible needs to be translated into all the languages of the world. “As of November 2024 the whole Bible has been translated into 756 languages, the New Testament has been translated into an additional 1,726 languages, and smaller portions of the Bible have been translated into 1,274 other languages. Thus, at least some portions of the Bible have been translated into 3,756 languages.” (AI) So the translations are there, we just need to print and distribute them to the world.

    I hope you at least tithe (give a tenth). I hope you give that tithe to the many organizations that print Bibles, support missionaries, drill wells, provide food for the oppressed and needy worldwide.

    DANIEL PREDICTS THE FUTURE HUNDREDS OF YEARS IN ADVANCE

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    This is not meant to be a history lesson on Alexander the Great. Here is a great 1 hour video on that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7lb6KWBanI

    The Persians had become the world empire in 539 BC when Cyrus and Darius defeated the Babylonians. The Persians reigned from India to Asia Minor to Egypt. Alexander was born in 356 BC, crowned king of Macedon when he was 20 years old, conquered the Persian Empire in the next 13 years, and died when he was 33 years old of a fever, or maybe poison. He never. lost a battle, even though the Persians usually outnumbered him greatly. He intended to expand his empire through India but his soldiers refused to go any further as most of them had been fighting and away from home for 8 years. When he died, his kingdom was divided among his 4 generals into 4 smaller kingdoms. Two of those kingdoms, the Ptolemies and the Seleucids, controlled the Jews in Palestine for many years until the Maccabean priestly family defeated the Seleucids in 167 BC and Israel became an independent state for about 100 years. The Romans took control of Israel in 63 BC and later appointed Herod as king of the Jews even though he was an Edomite. Herod is the one who, trying to kill the baby Jesus, killed all the babies in Bethlehem. The first 10 kings of Rome were from Julius Caesar (Josephus confirms that by saying that Augustus was the 2nd king) to Vespacian (who began the war with the Jews in 67 AD). The 11 emperor would be Titus who destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD (he wasn’t an emperor yet when the destroyed Jerusalem).

    What is amazing is that all of these events were predicted by Daniel the prophet. There was King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a statue in Daniel 2. Daniel told the king that the statue represented 4 kingdoms: Babylon, Medo-Persian, Greece, and Rome.

    He added that God would set up a 5th kingdom, God’s kingdom, in the days of the 4th kingdom Rome. That 5th kingdom is the one Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mark 1:15) during the reign of the Romans, so it had to be established during Roman rule. It was established, a spiritual kingdom, the church. It was not a physical kingdom like the kingdom of David that would defeat the Romans and make Israel independent again which is what the Jews expected and why they rejected Jesus as the Messiah.

    Nebuchadnezzar saw his dream in his 2nd year of his reign, about 603 BC. Daniel had been carried captive into Babylon in the first captivity in 605 BC. That means that Daniel predicted that in about 70 years the Persians would defeat Babylon, which they did. Alexander the Great would defeat the Persians at the battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC (after two major battles at Granicus and Issus), so that means that Daniel predicted the fall of Persian about 274 years in the future. Rome took over Israel in 63 BC, so that means that Daniel predicted the Romans coming to power 542 years in the future.

    But there’s more. In Daniel 7, Daniel saw a dream during the 1st year of King Belshazzer of Babylon (556 BC) of a lion (Babylon), a bear (Media-Persia), a leopard (Greeks), and an iron beast (Rome) that corresponds to the same 4 kingdoms in Nebuchadnezzar’s statue in Daniel 2. The dream even predicts that the iron teeth beast Rome would have 10 horns (the first ten kings of Rome beginning with Julius Caesar), followed by a little horn that would wage war against the saints (the Jews). That little horn was Titus, who would become the 11th king but was not an emperor yet when he destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD. So this prophecy in Daniel 7 goes all the way down to 70 AD, which would be 626 years in the future.

    But there’s more. In Daniel 8, in the 3rd year of Belshazzer (554 BC), Daniel saw a vision of a ram and a goat. The ram had 2 horns (Media and Persia) and conquered everything. The goat came flying from the west and defeated the ram. The goat had a “prominent horn” between his eyes. But after the prominent horn became great, it was broken and 4 prominent horns came up in its place. Then Daniel actually tells who the ram and the goat are, i.e. the Medo-Persian ram and the Grecian goat. The prominent horn has to be Alexander the Great. The 4 kingdoms that form from the broken prominent horn has to be the division of Alexander’s might empire into 4 smaller kingdoms after his death in 323 BC. The vision, as in Daniel 7, predicts a “little horn” that would claim to be equal to God and would destroy the sanctuary (the temple in Jerusalem). That, as in Daniel 7, would have to be Titus who destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD. So this propphecy in Daniel 8 goes all the way down to 70 AD which would be 624 years in the future.

    But there’s more. In Daniel 9, in the 1st year of Darius the Median king who, along with Cyrus the Persian king, conquered Babylon in 539 BC, the angel Gabriel gave Daniel the 70 weeks prophecy. This prophecy predicts the death of the Messiah after 69 prophetic weeks (i.e. 483 years using “one day equals a year”) which would fit the death of Jesus the Messiah in about 30 AD. It also predicts the destruction of the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (the temple), and the “abomination of desolation”, all of which occurred when Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD. We know this “abomination of desolation” was 70 AD b/c Jesus said that the fulfillment of the “abomiation of desolatioin which was spoken through Daniel the prophet” (Matthew 24:15) would occur within the generation that he was speaking to (Matthew 24:34). That would have to be 70 AD. So this prophecy in Daniel 9 goes all the way down to Titus in 70 AD which would be 609 years in the future.

    But there’s more. In Daniel 11,12 in the first year of Dairus (539 BC), In Daniel 12:11 Daniel predicts that same “abomination of desolation” as in Daniel 9:27 (i.e. the destruction of the temple in 70 AD). He also predicts in 12:1 that the Jews would undergo a time of distress as the nation had never endured, a “shattering of the power of God’s holy people the Jews (12:7), which again Jesus tells us that was fulfilled in the tribulation and suffering that the Jews experienced in the wars of the Jews (67-70 AD). Jesus cited that verse (Daniel 12:1) and said that time of distress would occur with the generation he was speaking to (Matthew 24:34). So another prophecy of Daniel that goes all the way down to 70 AD, some 609 years in the future.

    A prophet’s main mission was to speak the word of God to the people, but the confirmation that he was a true prophet was in predicting the future with 100% accuracy, and Daniel did that. You can see why many liberal scholars say that the book of Daniel was written in the 2nd century during the time of the Maccabees (around 167 BC). They do not believe that prophets like Daniel could predict the future like he did. “While the debate continues, the evidence for an early dating of the Book of Daniel (in the 6th century BC) is substantial, particularly when considering its internal consistency, historical accuracy, and linguistic analysis. The discovery of Daniel manuscripts among the Dead Sea Scrolls, dating back to the second century BC, shows the text’s existence well before the period when some scholars suggest it was written.” (AI) The Jews were entrusted by God with collecting the Old Testament inspired writings of the prophets (Romans 3:1-2) and they included the book of Daniel in their OT canon which was completed by 400 BC. The liberal claim that Daniel was written in the Maccabean period is actually refuted by 1 Maccabees which was written during that period. “1 Maccabees 9:27 does mention a period of silence regarding prophets. It states that “there was great distress in Israel, such as had not been since the time that prophets ceased to appear among them“. This phrase is often interpreted as referring to the “four hundred silent years” between the Old Testament and New Testament, a period when, according to this interpretation, there were no new prophetic voices from God.” (AI) So those living during the Maccabean period said there were no new prophets during that period which would refute some prophet other than Daniel writing the book during that period.

    “In Isaiah 41:21-23, the Lord challenges false gods to declare the future, showcasing His divine ability to foresee events and bring them to pass, while the idols remain silent and incapable. The Lord essentially demands that the idols demonstrate their power by predicting and fulfilling future events, thus highlighting the true nature of God’s power and the utter weakness of false idols.” (AI) Can you imagine someone today predicting the world powers that will be in the next 600 years? Going back 600 years from today would put us at 1425 AD. The main world powers in the 1400’s were the Ottomon Empire, the Spanish Empire, the Ming Dynasty in China, etc. (not one main empire as Babylon was). Who could have predicted in 1425 AD that in the next 600 years the main world powers would be Portugal, Russia, Germany, the U.S., and Japan?

    Also remember that God is active in fulfilling Daniel’s predictions in the book of Daniel His predictions are not just lucky guesses. Yahweh of Israel had an active hand to raising up and removing kings. In Daniel 4:25 “the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.”. In Daniel 2:19 “May the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him.
    21 It is He who changes the times and the periods; He removes kings and appoints kings”. We are not told how God worked behind the scenes to  raise up Cyus, or Alexander, or to put the Romans in power for 500 years, but we believe God providentially made all that happen. Even then, God allowed freedom of choice: not the freedom to choose one’s circumstances but the freed of how to respond to those circumstances.

    So we praise God for giving us such great confirmation of His prophets and His word. Even Jesus’s predictions of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD were made 40 years ahead of their fulfillment and confirm that He was a true prophet of God. Many people doubt that the Bible is the word of God, but the fulfillment of prophecy stands as great confirmation of His word. Thank you Holy Spirit who inspired those prophets.