What Makes Jesus Unique? No one else made the claims that He did, He is alive...............
All the great religious leaders of history have one thing in common: they are dead. Only one man has risen from a grave never again to taste death. Jesus Christ died, was buried, remained in the grave for 3 days, then was raised to life again.
Jesus is unique. He is the only one proven to be the Son of God because God validated His Kingship and accepted His payment for our sins all with one incredible stroke: He raised Jesus from the dead!
Paul opens his letter to the Romans with this evidence about who Jesus is:
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, which He had promised before by His prophets in the holy scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Romans 1:1-4
Because Jesus Christ is very much alive, five things are true right now that wouldn’t be true if He were just another dead religious leader like Confucius, Mohammed or Buddha.
Because Jesus was raised from the dead and is alive…Prayers are answered, We can talk to Jesus 24/7
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Additionally, the leader of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, Gavin Schmidt, called AOC’s 12-year deadline, “Bullshit.” He then added, “The thing to push back against is the implicit framing that there is some magic global mean temperature or total emissions that separate ‘fine’ from ‘catastrophic’. There just isn’t.”
Speaking directly to the climate-change ‘youth movement’, Australian politician and Chair of the “Environment and Energy Committee,” Craig Kelly believes that children are being “completely brainwashed” and he believes they are saying “the exact opposite of the truth” in relation to climate change. He says that, “The truth rebuts every single one of these alarmist’s slides that they carry on every single thing. They tell you from more fires to more deaths to polar bears drowning. When you look at the evidence and the peer-reviewed science, it tells the exact opposite of what’s being peddled.” He then went on in the 12-minute interview to cite many scientific facts proving that the “climate change” they are talking about is a hoax
Now, like any issue that has passionate, like-minded people on both ‘sides’, there is likely to be some ‘exaggeration’. So, I put a representative ‘sample’ of information on both in the “Resources” and “Articles” sections below for you to consider for yourself.
HOWEVER, the thing is, I AGREE with Greta Thunberg, Lucas Barrero, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Beto O’Rourke that the WORLD WILL END in the next ‘few’ decades, and that WE ARE THE “LAST GENERATION”—BUT NOT FOR THE REASON, “climate change,” that they claim will be the ‘culprit’.
I believe what the Bible says is going to happen: Believers in Jesus will be ‘raptured’ before a seven-year period of time called the “Tribulation,” which Jesus will come back to earth at the end of it to terminate the unimaginable, horrendous war called “Armageddon.” (Because the Bible says that, if Jesus didn’t return, “no human being would be saved” – Matthew 24:22). [ A 1,000-year “Millennium” will follow the Tribulation, after which God will then totally ‘remake’ the entire universe and come to live with His ‘children’ in the “New Jerusalem” on the “New Earth” for eternity! .
THE LAST GENERATION
Jesus Himself used this terminology in His famous “Olivet Discourse” regarding the signs of the “end of the age”: “Even so when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” [ Matthew 24: 33-34 ].
There is a “generation” that will see the fulfillment of all the things that Jesus spoke of. A generation unlike any other—for it will be this generation that sees (in its completion) the Second Coming of Jesus. Jesus Himself also gives us important clues as to when it might be and the ‘time frame’ in which to look for it—so that when it starts to happen, we will recognize it. Jesus never intended for us to be clueless or ‘in the dark’ about something so important as the time of His return.
It just so happens that there are many of these ‘things’ that are casting their ‘shadow’ now, and we see them beginning to ‘CONVERGE’—all happening at the same time at a feverish pace—which the Bible says will ‘play out’ when Jesus will come back for His Church (the Rapture).
These things are unfolding with unprecedented accuracy. So, when you study their fulfillment, you see that it would be absolutely impossible to have them happen simply by chance.
The following are the top things that most prophecy teachers agree upon are the reasons that they think this is the LAST ‘GENERATION’ before the Christians are raptured.
[ FYI: Prophecy expert, Dr. David Reagan, has produced a list of the “50 Reasons We Are in the End Times.” View them in the “Articles” section of this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post:
Peace And Security
The Bible says that Jesus will come like a “thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2). While people are saying there is peace and security, sudden destruction will come upon them, and they will not escape!
The Apostle Paul used an analogy of a woman prevailing in labor. When the birth pains begin, there’s no stopping what is going to happen, and there’s no way of going back—it’s just a matter of time before that baby comes out! As an illustration, there’s no way the doctor and the nurses are going to say, “Hey it’s time for our lunch break, so we’re going to stop this birthing process and we’ll resume it at a more convenient time for us after lunch. Ridiculous! It’s the same for stopping Jesus coming back for His people. That’s not going to happen!
On the whole—except for the Middle East—it is ‘reasonably’ peaceful around the world.
Business As Usual
Jesus’ return is going to come in a ‘season’ that you could call “business as usual” around the world. People will be enjoying life, prospering, and without a ‘care in the world’. However, people are going to be caught off guard. Many people will not be giving even one thought to where they will spend eternity.
This is pretty much happening today.
Mocking And Scoffing
Many people say that all this “end times” talk—that Jesus is coming back—has been purported in the past, and every time it has been wrong.
The Bible says that in the last days, “there shall come deceitful scoffers, walking after their own lusts, saying “Where is the promise of His coming?” (2 Peter 3:4a). This mocking and scoffing will even come from fellow Christians (the ones that don’t know their Bible).
The Rise Of Wickedness/Plummeting Morality
The Bible says that in the last days mankind’s character will decline tremendously and be “given over to a depraved mind” (Romans 1:28)—and will get more and more evil as the time gets close (Abortion; Homosexuality; Transgenderism). Fifty years ago no one would have even imagined that a transgender man would demand that he be allowed in a women’s bathroom just because he “identifies” as a woman—and that the culture would ‘fight’ for his right to do so!
The leading disciplinary problems in public schools in the 1940s was talking, chewing gum, making noise, running in the hallways, getting out of place in line, and not putting paper in wastebaskets. In the 1990s it was drug abuse, alcohol abuse, pregnancy, suicide, rape, robbery, and assault! It sure appears to me that there has been a ‘massive’ rise in wickedness—and that was 20 years ago! Sadly, it’s getting so bad and commonplace that we are no longer even shocked by any of this anymore—it’s considered to be the ‘norm’! (Just what the Bible says it will be in the last days).
The culture will also “be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God on self” [ 2 Timothy 3:2-4 ]. The Bible says that their behaviors will be similar to what was happening “in the days of Noah” (which is why God flooded the earth to destroy all of it). That definitely describes today’s culture!
Strong Delusion
Senator John Kerry once said that “climate change is more dangerous than terrorism.” Seriously?! The experts I cited above strongly disagree with his pronouncement).
In Canada, they have passed a law that the government can seize children from a Christian home, and in America, there’s a new law now that says “authorities” can take children away from parents if they don’t accept the gender identity their children have chosen for themselves. What? Are you kidding me?!
These are just a few of the ‘delusions’ the world experiences when they turn from and abandon God. So, He then “turns them over to a reprobate mind” and people think that up is down, black is white, good is evil, and evil is good. Sounds like today’s world, eh?
Surge In Technology
With all financial transactions becoming ‘digital’ (Chase Bank is no longer is accepting cash deposits) and the money supply now being totally ‘controlled’, (almost all business transactions on the entire planet have become Internet-based), this is just one ‘step’ away from global financial control—and whoever controls the Internet directly or indirectly controls the world’s economy. (The United States recently decided to give up control of the Internet to a private organization, “ICANN,” which most believe will be influenced by overseeing authorities like the United Nations. A huge loss to the free world). [ This could be ‘setting the stage’ for a one-world government ].
This will appear in the middle of the Tribulation period, so if you are a ‘believer’, you won’t ever see this ].
Speaking about the latest drone technology, for me, it’s really scary to see how sophisticated they have become, and how artificial intelligence is taking them to a whole new level! “Swarm” technology allows them to ‘interact’ with each other. So, armed with weapons, they could be used as a ‘programmed’ attack force, or if they go ‘rogue’, they could attack who ‘they’ want to eliminate!
Speaking about how powerful and accepted A.I. is becoming, there is a robot, “Sophia,” that one can not only have a conversation with, but it just might be the most interesting conversation one would ever have (since ‘she’ is connected to the Internet, and has access to pretty much all of mankind’s collected knowledge). Sophia is also being ‘personalized’ now—being the ‘feature’ on the cover of a variety of fashion magazines. So, now ‘she’ is a model. Scary!
All this is definitely happening very quickly right now. The ‘standard’ Smartphone is 100,000 times more powerful than the computer that landed the Lunar Lander on the moon in 1969—just 50 years ago!!! (and you have it in your ‘pocket’!). An INSANE INCREASE in capabilities!
Building The Third Temple
Currently “The Temple Institute” is laying the ‘groundwork’ for building a third Temple in Jerusalem. They have already created all of the vestments and the ritual items required for use in a Temple, and are lobbying for more Jewish access to the Temple Mount. The priest has already been selected!
The Sanhedrin has even minted a coin with images of President Trump and Cyrus to promote the rebuilding of the Temple (since they think Trump will actually be the one to build the Temple!)
The third Temple is important because the Bible says that the Antichrist will ‘desolate’ it halfway through the Tribulation, and that’s when ‘all hell breaks loose’!
[ Note: The ‘believer’ will never see this Temple, since they will have been raptured. However, one day they will see the ‘final’ “Temple” during the Millennium ].
The Bible tells us that “Jerusalem will be a burdensome stone for all people” (Zechariah 12:3a) and that “all the people of the earth will be gathered together against it” (Zechariah 12:3c). That has been increasingly true in the past 70 years or so.
First off, Iran wants to destroy Israel because they believe the final Mahdi will come and institute Islamic rule of the world. Secondly, Turkey’s President Erdogan is wanting the Ottoman Empire to be reborn again to rule once more as it did in the past. Thirdly, Russia’s Putin thinks he’s the new ‘Tsar’ and wants the glory days of the old Soviet Union to return and for him be THE world leader. Not to be ‘outdone’, sitting on the ‘sidelines’ is President Xi, who also has the same type of ego the others do, and also thinks he can be the world’s next leader.
All things considered, it looks like the ‘stage’ is being set for an invasion of Israel, that just so happened to be prophesied some 3,500 years ago (Ezekiel 38 and 39).
Longing For A Global Leader
The world is looking for a leader who can stop the chaos and create worldwide peace—and the Bible says that there will be one, called the Antichrist. He will, at the beginning of the Tribulation, ‘miraculously’ do so, though it’s just a ‘set up’—he will, under the Devil’s influence, create a ‘hell on earth’.
One-world Religion
Religion will flourish during the first half of the Tribulation with the false religious system called “Babylon,” the “Great Harlot.”
In the times we live in now, ‘humanism’ has, more and more, been taking over the role that religion used to play. Mankind is more and more self-reliant, being governed by itself, rather than being ‘led’ by God.
Today, the thinking of most people is that of a ‘secular’ mindset, reasoning that ‘organized’ religion is the primary problem in the world—being the cause of all the trouble between people and the cause of all the wars.
It’s not difficult to imagine then that the Antichrist and False Prophet will ‘preach’ that the world needs just one religion—especially to ‘throw off the shackles’ of religions like Christianity. The world needs to become ‘liberated’ from its ‘repressive’ requirements. It’s not difficult for me to imagine, because of the mindset today, that there would be a massive following for a person who proposes to do this then (This message can be experienced today in the “seeker-sensitive” and “prosperity” churches—saying what “itching ears” want to hear).
I believe Rome is this “Mystery Babylon” and that the Pope will be the “False Prophet” (Antichrist’s ‘righthand man’ during the Tribulation). [ It so happens that the current Pope, Francis, is very ‘ecumenical’ ].
I’m sad to say that the Catholic Church is also “drunk with the blood of the saints” (Revelation 17:6), having martyred many, many Christians and Jews throughout history. I think we have to keep our eyes on Rome. It might not be Pope Francis, since he’s getting old, so he may have to step down and allow someone else to assume the ‘position’.
Globalism
The rush to globalism is the rush to ‘one-worldism’—the longing for a world without ‘borders’.
The primary appeal of a one-world government will be to solve the environmental ‘problems’—primarily pollution and “climate change”—because these issues know no borders and a single ‘point of contact’ will be the best way to solve these ‘world-ending’ issues.
Explosion Of The Cults/Occult
Counterfeit Christianity is everywhere with cults and false christs (Matthew 24:24), psychic phenomena, spiritism, satan worship, witchcraft, nature worship, and the New Age movement (1 Timothy 4:1).
The word “cult” is referencing the distorted teachings that redefine the biblical, historical Person of Jesus Christ, and the essential doctrines of the orthodox Christian faith. Confusion, delusion, and spiritual abuse then follow.
The Apostle Paul penned some very sobering words about this: “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no Gospel at all. Evidently, some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” [ Galatians 1:6-9 ]. This is happening increasingly in our day.
Counterfeit Christianity
Beyond cults—which many can see is aberrant—there is much ‘deception’ in the Church today.
I am overwhelmed to see of some of the teachings that are now ‘mainstream’ in the Church that has happened in just the past few decades. There’s post-modernism, the Social Gospel, and the “seeker-sensitive” churches that water everything down and don’t preach the Gospel (Joel Osteen’s type of church). There’s also the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) with it’s so-called “prophets for profit.”
Larry Spargimino
August 1, 2023
“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4).
Highly sexualized material has a way of lodging in the mind. It is addictive and it leads to compulsive behavior. As we are instructed in 2 Corinthians 10, verses 4 and 5, we should be trying to demolish strongholds, not create new ones.
I have become increasingly aware of some of the very graphic materials being distributed to school students in America. This is a very serious matter. Some of the material that they are reading could not be quoted on the radio or in this magazine. In fact the language is so degrading that it could not even be quoted on secular radio stations.
I am not a prude. I see nothing wrong with teaching school students about human reproduction. I taught Health and Hygiene to high-schoolers in a Christian school in Tennessee. When presented in the context of covenant marriage, this is an important part of the curriculum.
If you think about it, the average child in the U.S. has countless opportunities for exposure to sexualized messages every day. Television, music, billboards, print media, internet, cell phones and communications devices, movies, and of course, interaction with peers and adults expose kids to a lot. Even little children ask questions that can often take an adult by surprise. It is important, however, that what we teach is age-appropriate and designed to meet the needs of students in a particular age group. You don’t have to teach everything to little children, and you don’t have to answer questions that are not asked.
Unfortunately, this exposure to sexualized messages occurs far too frequently without the guidance and intervention from parents that is necessary to help children sort through and make sense of it all. And yet, too many parents never ask their kids what they are learning in school. In fact, in some cases school teachers tell their students not to tell parents what they are learning about the human body because “parents don’t really understand.”
Reading material that is filled with s*xual violence and perversion serves no useful purpose even though, as is often claimed by public school educators, “this book received a literary award.”
Just look at what organization gave the award and you will quickly know that it is an organization that does not represent your values.
It is a mystery to me, and also to many of the parents to whom I have spoken, how obscene materials can be considered age-appropriate and meet the needs of students. People who write stuff like this for consumption for little children have a problem. What drives them to write obscene material is not the desire to help little children, but the desire to satisfy some craving. They don’t need to be in a classroom and they don’t need to be writing materials for children.
We can argue forever about the pros and cons of kids being exposed to smut, but the most effective argument against such is the condition of American society at the present time. Violence, crime, cutting, suicide, pedophilia, is commonplace. I have a Christian friend who works as a psychiatrist for the state of Oklahoma. All too many young people are in deep emotional trouble.
Why do educators insist on poisoning the minds of young people when we see its harmful effects? If you drink a glass of dirty water and it makes you vomit, should you drink another glass of the same water?
Parents who speak out against obscene materials are often bullied and are given a strange look which says, “Where did you come from?” Parents often feel that they become a target for the progressives who support public education and minimize parental rights.
Parents often tell me that they don’t want to make waves because they don’t want their kids to be singled out. But if enough parents make waves and stand their ground, those who critique them will be the ones singled out.
It happens every time, with every social issue. The progressives are the most hateful, despicable, mean-spirited people you can find. Though they speak about freedom of speech and democracy, they are really Nazis. They break the windows of churches that are publicly pro-life and write hateful graffiti on the property of pro-life pregnancy centers. A good example is radical, left-wing California governor Gavin Newsom who said his state would no longer do business with Walgreens after the drugstore announced that it would cease selling the do-it-yourself-home abortion pill in some Republican states.
Newsom sought to claim the moral high ground when he claimed Republicans are ignoring the needs of women. The fact is, however, that women who use the pill can have a number of dangerous reactions. Some even die. Newsom’s moral high ground doesn’t exist.
The obscenity that kids are being exposed to is just part of the downward moral trends in our society. We keep on compromising on important issues.
When I was young, I knew some kids who smoked pot. They were all alike: failing in school, in poor health and had no real future in our society. Now, however, states are seeking to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. We hear how good marijuana is. Legalizing it will free up police so they can do real police work. Yes, marijuana will create real police work. It’s called crime.
That doesn’t discourage the progressives, however. The State of Colorado is considering allowing small amounts of cocaine and heroin in an individual’s possession without it being considered a felony. Yes, the downward plunge into cultural disintegration is continuing.
A foundational issue is this: “Who owns your kids?” Do the parents determine what is appropriate for them or does the school?
Christian parents need to get back to the basics: Parents are responsible for raising their kids, not the school, and certainly not the state. The secular world disagrees and believes that parents are ill-suited to raise their kids. The progressives believe that they and they alone are enlightened, and will care for kids in a way that is good for them. It’s time for parents to put their foot down. The secular world has done nothing for society but to create confusion, crime and despair. ?
SEVENTY SEVENS: MEANING OF THE 70 WEEKS OF YEARS IN DANIEL 9:24-27 TIMELINE
You are reading in the prophecy section of the book, Fellowship With God in the Sixth Path. I have prayed for you, that after you have received our Lord's message for you in this page, that he will lead you to click here, into the introduction of this book, into the continual prayer of the new covenant of the Spirit.
Now, please read prayerfully, asking God to reveal his truth...
Daniel's Seventy Weeks
"24 Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.
25 "Know therefore and discern that from the going out of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem to the Anointed One, the prince, will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be built again, with street and moat, even in troubled times. 26 After the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One will be cut off, and will have nothing. The people of the prince who come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end will be with a flood, and war will be even to the end. Desolations are determined. 27 He will make a firm covenant with many for one week. In the middle of the week he will cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. On the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate; and even to the full end, and that determined, wrath will be poured out on the desolate" (Daniel 9:24-27).
Many things are revealed in this prophecy, that hundreds and thousands of years later, Messiah and judgement may be recognized when the have come.
In these words of our Lord from verse 24 are revealed seventy weeks, the content of which was to finish disobedience to the law at the replacement of the law, the defeat of sin, reconciliation and righteousness through the anointed Messiah and a period without prophecy. By the time of the crucifixion, all of the content of verse 24 had occurred in the holy city for Daniel's people. Please prayerfully observe that I have addressed each phrase of verse 24.
In verses 26-27 our Lord also reveals some very different things: wrath, war, desolations, abominations, destruction of the city and temple... events which are not included in the content of the seventy weeks of verse 24, but occurred at the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, decades after the completion of the seventy weeks.
So, Daniel 9:24-27 contains prophecies pertaining to four time periods.
The prophecies from our Lord in Daniel 9:24 were fulfilled in three time periods, which total 70 weeks:
7 weeks (verse 25)
+62 weeks (verse 25)
+1 week (verse 27)
= 70 weeks ( verse 24)
The Law and the Prophets have been fulfilled
Jesus said, "Don't think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn't come to destroy, but to fulfill" (Matthew 5:17).
Jesus said, "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let those who are in the middle of her depart. Let those who are in the country not enter therein. 22 For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled" (Luke 21:20-22).
Jesus spoke these words in roughly 33 AD, shortly before He was crucified. His phrase "all things which are written" refers to the scriptures that had been written at that time, the Old Testament. None of the books of the New Testament were written at that time. History tells us that Jerusalem was "surrounded by armies" in 70 AD and destroyed. So, this passage is saying that the Old Testament was fulfilled on or before the "desolation" of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The Old Testament contained the Law and the Old Testament prophetic books like Daniel, Ezekiel and Isaiah. So, the Law and the Old Testament Prophecies were fulfilled at that time. Luke 21:20-22 does not say that prophecies written in the New Testament have been fulfilled, since no New Testament prophecies were written at the time Jesus spoke those words in 33 AD. But, it does appear to mean that Daniel 9 was fulfilled before 70 AD. For more on the fulfillment of all Old Testament prophecy with the destruction of Jerusalem, click here. To see how scripture defines the fulfillment of God's promises from the book of Joshua, click here.
Some say that Luke 21:20-22 only means that all things prophesied about Jerusalem were fulfilled by 70 AD... but they also believe that Daniel's seventy weeks have not yet been fulfilled. But, the seventy weeks were decreed for the "holy city", which was Jerusalem (Daniel 9:24-25). See both passages below:
Jesus said, "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let those who are in the middle of her depart. Let those who are in the country not enter therein. 22 For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled" (Luke 21:20-22)
"Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city" (Daniel 9:24).
Furthermore, Daniel's prophecy specifically includes a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem and the sanctuary (Daniel 9:26, 24-27). Luke also specifically mentions the destruction of Jerusalem in the above passage regarding the fulfillment of "all that is written (21:20). And he also mentions the destruction of the temple (21:5, 21:5-22), which occurred when Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD.
So, Luke and Daniel are clearly referring to the same event.
So, according to Luke 21: 20-22, whatever was written about Jerusalem in Daniel's seventy weeks has been fulfilled.
It is a contradiction to hold that all things written about Jerusalem were fulfilled by 70 AD, but that the seventy week prophecy written about Jerusalem in Daniel 9 has not been fulfilled.
This is so important that I must repeat it:
It is a contradiction to hold that all things written about Jerusalem were fulfilled by 70 AD, but that the seventy week prophecy written about Jerusalem in Daniel 9 has not been fulfilled.
If the seventy weeks were fulfilled by 70 AD, then the seventieth week was fulfilled by 70 AD.
By the way, the promise of complete fulfillment at a specified time in Luke 21:20-22 is similar to Joshua 23:14 which states that all of God's promises to Israel had been fulfilled in the days of Joshua, even though all of the land promised in Joshua 1:1-4 was not yet conquered (Joshua 23:1-5, especially 4-5). In other words, some of God's promises have been fulfilled when, at first glance, they do not appear to have been fulfilled, because many of God's promises are conditional, subject to the condition of obedience. For more on this see the last section in this page.
Is Daniel's Seventieth Week in Our Past?
I appears to be very clear that it is in our past. But, some prophecies are fulfilled more than once or fulfilled in different ways. So, I am open to possible fulfillment in our future. But, that may be said about any prophecy. To my knowledge, any teaching claiming that Daniel's seventieth week must be fulfilled again in our future is entirely without foundation in scripture. Could the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 24:15-22 regarding the abomination of desolation be an example of a partial multiple or similar fulfillment? Was Matthew 24:15-22 fulfilled on or before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD or is it to be fulfilled in our future? I will leave those issues for another day. For proof, from the scriptures, that prophecies may have multiple fulfillments,
How Was the Seventieth Week in Daniel 9 Fulfilled?
A simple calculation of the 490 years of Daniel's figurative 70 weeks from the date of Artaxerxes decree in 457 BC (Ezra 7:11-28) results in a conclusion of the 490 year period in 33 AD. Most scholars seem to place the crucifixion of Jesus in 30 or 33 AD. The 30 AD crucifixion date seems to fulfill the elimination of sacrifices in the middle of the 70th week in Daniel 9:27. So, a 2000 year gap between the 69th and 70th week, as some suggest, is not necessary. A 2000 year gap is also neither included or inferred in the text of the Daniel 9 prophecy.
Click here to go to another website to see scriptural evidence for 457 BC as the date of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem.
Here is the text of the Daniel 9 prophecy with an interpretation consistent with a pre-70 AD fulfillment in accordance with Luke 21:20-22. The interpretation is interspersed in the text in ALL CAPS and in parenthesis:
Seventy weeks (490 YEARS) are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience (TO COMPLETE THEIR REJECTION OF GOD BY ORCHESTRATING THE DEATH OF HIS SON), and to make an end of sins (DEFEAT SIN), and to make reconciliation for iniquity (JESUS PAID FOR OUR SINS ON THE CROSS TO MAKE RECONCILIATION), and to bring in everlasting righteousness (THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST IMPUTED TO THE BORN AGAIN), and to seal up vision and prophecy (AUTHENTICATE ALL PROPHECY BY FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY), and to anoint the most holy (TO ANNOINT THE MESSIAH).
"Know therefore and discern that from the going out of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem (EZRA 7:11-28, 457 BC) to the Anointed One (FIRST COMING OF CHRIST), the prince, will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks (483 YEARS). It (JERUSALEM) will be built again, with street and moat, even in troubled times (WITH OPPOSITION). 26 After the sixty-two weeks (AFTER, BUT NOT IMMEDIATELY
AFTER THE END OF THE 62 WEEKS) the Anointed One (CHRIST) will be cut off (CRUCIFIED), and will have nothing (HIS LIFE AND POSSESSIONS TAKEN AWAY). The people of the prince (SATAN) who come will destroy the city and the sanctuary (DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM WHICH OCCURED IN 70 AD). Its end will be with a flood, and war will be even to the end (THERE WERE WARS FROM THE CRUCIFIXION TILL 70 AD). Desolations are determined (FOR JERUSALEM). 27 He (CHRIST) will make a firm covenant with many for one week (IN THE 70TH WEEK, CONTAINING SEVEN YEARS, IN THE 3.5 YEARS BEFORE AND AFTER HIS CRUCIFIXION JESUS REVEALED, BROUGHT TO FRUITION AND MATURED THE NEW COVENANT OF THE SPIRIT TO REPLACE THE OLD COVENANT OF LAW.
THE SEVEN YEAR PERIOD OF THE 70TH WEEK MAY SPAN FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE MINISTRY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST TO THE STONING OF STEPHEN.). In the middle of the week he will cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease (JESUS, THE TRUE SACRIFICE FOR SIN, WAS CRUCIFIED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 7 YEAR PERIOD, POSSIBLY IN 30 AD, SO THAT SACRIFICES OF THE LAW WERE NO LONGER LEGITIMATE BEFORE GOD, HAVING BECOME OBSOLETE SINCE THE TRUE SACRIFICE HAD COME AND SINCE THE LAW WAS NO LONGER IN EFFECT). On the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate (DESOLATION OF JERUSALEM WHICH TOOK PLACE IN 70 AD) ; and even to the full end, and that determined, wrath will be poured out on the desolate (WRATH OF GOD ON JERUSALEM)" (Daniel 9:24-27).
The Atonement Was in the 70th Week!
The atonement or "reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness" was prophesied to occur in the 70 weeks according to Daniel 9:24 above:
""Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness"
This atonement was accomplished by the death of Christ on the cross in 30-33 AD. Daniel 9:26 tells us that this occurs AFTER the 62 weeks:
"After the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One (Christ) will be cut off (Crucified).
The 70 weeks occur in the following order: 7 weeks followed by 62 weeks followed by 1 week (Daniel 9:25,27). Since the atonement occurs within the 70 weeks but after the 62 weeks, the atonement and crucifixion could only occur in the 70th week.
The crucifixion took place in 30-33 AD, SO THE 70TH WEEK HAS ALREADY OCCURED. THERE CAN BE NO 2000 YEAR GAP BETWEEN THE 69TH AND 70TH WEEK!
When is a Prophecy Fulfilled?
In the second to last chapter in the book of Joshua, we are told that God's promises had been fulfilled when, at first glance, they had not been fulfilled. Click here to see, how scripture communicates, that God's promises have been fulfilled when they do not appear to have been fulfilled.
Conditions for Understanding the Word
Understanding of scripture is a gift from God to those who are born again with soft hearts and a willingness to obey, who receive this understanding by zealously seeking it through prayerful meditation on scripture.
Click here to see how scripture says that we may come to understand scripture.
Jesus said, "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand... For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled"
Luke 21:20-22
The Book of Revelation
Tabor is a professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
When people read the Book of Revelation they encounter this vast array of symbols. Some have become quite well known to the public, particularly in the late twentieth century. ... The mark of the beast, which the book talks about as some sign or mark that people receive on their hand and their forehead. Even the number of this beast--the beast being some military ruler that controls the world at the end of time--as being 666. ...
It's a sealed book. It's a scroll with seven wax seals. As you begin to open it, you get this unfolding scenario of events, beginning with war and famine and disease and earthquakes and heavenly signs. It's fairly standard. And then you begin to get these characters introduced, and there are five or six main characters. One would be the false prophet. He's like a dragon, but he speaks like a lamb. He has horns. A beast that is non-descript, some sort of horrible creature that appears to stand for the Roman government to the early Christians, but today could be any power ... some sort of evil empire of some type. And then you have the saints or the Christians,
You have two people that are very interesting, that many modern interpreters are interested in ... called the two witnesses in Chapter 11. These are, I guess you could say the two final prophets that the book expects to appear on the earth, like Moses and Elijah of ancient times in the bible. You have a dragon, who's actually identified as the devil behind the scenes, and of course you have Jesus Christ, the lamb. So it's as if there's a whole stage set with these characters, and then things begin to unfold one by one, in terms of what's supposed to happen. ...
If you open the Book of Revelation and simply begin reading it as an unfolding scenario, it goes something like this. There will be wars and famines and disease epidemics and heavenly signs that will alert the world to some sort of crisis. Then will come an Antichrist as he's called, or a political ruler, that will establish control over the whole earth. He'll be backed up with a religious ruler, who's called the false prophet. They together establish a unified social, economic and religious system that dominates the world. The only thing opposing them are the people of God and these two prophets, they're called the two witnesses, who appear in Jerusalem, and begin to speak against this power. The rest of the book, really the last half of the book is about the overthrow of this system. The beast, the false prophet, who has the number 666, the Antichrist, is overthrown with judgments and plagues. Most of them are very cosmic. Asteroids hitting the earth. The water turning to blood and that sort of thing, until finally, Jesus Christ returns as a warrior on a white horse and sets up the kingdom of God. ...
If a modern secular reader ... sat down and read it through for the first time, my guess would be they would find it to be extremely violent. Someone once tallied up the death count and projected it on a modern world such as ours, with five billion people, and it's absolutely a horrible kind of a statistic. You come up with maybe four billion dying of famine, war, earthquake, plagues.
Essentially it's a book about the wrath of God being poured out upon the world. People not repenting except for the small group of faithful followers of God, and this awful wicked beast power ruling the whole world, and defying God, shaking his fist at God. And finally Jesus coming, not as a Prince of Peace at all, not as a lamb, but at the end of the book, as a rider on a horse, a warrior with a sword, to smite the nations. In one of the quotes that comes to my mind it says, "He will rule the nations with a rod of iron, as a potter strikes a pot with iron and it just completely shatters." So I think that would be the dominant impression someone would get, maybe a book you'd want to close and put away and not even think about. The book that might give you nightmares at night, in terms of all of these bizarre creatures. ...
PAULA FREDRIKSEN
Can you convey the atmosphere of Book of Revelation?
One of the emotional satisfactions of having good triumph over evil is knowing how evil evil is. And one of the devices used by the author of the Book of Revelations is also something that happens in history. When evil is flourishing it's very bad indeed. And what you get in Apocalypse is a vision of the suffering that people go through before the happy resolution. You have the suffering of the righteous, you have cosmic cataclysm, you have social cataclysm. Disease, earthquake, everything you can imagine. When [things get] as bad as you can possibly imagine, that's your clue for knowing what time it is on God's clock, and things are about to turn around. And Apocalypse in a sense presents to the western imagination a blueprint for reading the signs of the times. ...
Clarence L. Haynes Jr....Contributing Writer.UPDATED
January 29, 2024
Bad Excuses, Beautiful Opportunities in the Parable of the Great Banquet
As it is with so many stories of Jesus, there is always a lead-in to the story. The parable of the great banquet is no different. Here is what happened: Jesus was having dinner at a prominent Pharisee’s house on the Sabbath. After being there a while and telling another parable Jesus made this statement:
“Then Jesus said to his host, ‘When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:12-14).
This statement led one of them at the table to respond. Here is how that exchange went:
“When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, ‘Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.’ Jesus replied: ‘A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet’” (Luke 14:15-24).
Why Do These Excuses Matter?
In biblical times, when guests were invited to a banquet they were told the day the banquet would take place. Even though they knew the day, they were not told what time of day the banquet would take place. The person who is hosting the banquet would send out the invitations. They would also begin making preparations based on how many people accepted the invitation. This is very much like anyone planning a party or wedding today.
When I got married, after we got back all of the invitations, we had to send the final headcount to the caterer. This number was based on the people who said they were attending. Whatever that number was, that was how many plates we had to pay for. Regardless of whether they showed up or not, we had to pay. This was also true of this banquet host.
Because the people had accepted the invitation, he prepared food for them, expecting them to attend. When it was finally time for the banquet to begin the host sent out his servant to tell those invited it was time for the banquet. What he got in return were excuses.
These were not just excuses but lame ones. Who buys a field without seeing it first? Who buys oxen without knowing the condition of the oxen before they buy them? Who agrees to come to a function not knowing they were getting married on that day? These were all excuses and revealed something that was in their heart. They didn’t really want to come. They had something “better” to do with their time.
Are you making a similar mistake? God has invited you to spend time in his presence, to spend time in his Word, and to spend time in fellowship. Have you exchanged the good things God has planned for you at his banquet table for something that seems better or more important at the moment?
The problem with the people in the story is that they had accepted the invitation and they stood up the host. You might say they left him hanging. I encourage you to make the time to spend with God. It is the best time you will ever spend. Those commitments you make to pray, to read, to worship or to spend time with God, remember them and honor them. God loves you and is looking forward to spending time with you.
A Rejected Invitation
After the initial invited guests rejected their invitation, the host became angry. Here is the second warning – if God is compelling you to do something, whether he is calling you to salvation or calling you to a specific work, don’t reject the invitation. We see in this story the picture of a God who, though he is patient, still gets angry. It is not his normal response but it can happen.
What happens is that those who rejected the invitation were eventually left out of the banquet and were replaced, their seat was taken. Don’t assume that if you don’t respond now you will be able to respond later. There is no guarantee that will be the case.
The man was determined to have a banquet because it had been prepared. There were open seats and he was determined to fill them. If the invited guests didn’t want them, he would reach out to those who would appreciate the offer. Those who were poor, lame, crippled, and blind. He was reaching those who otherwise would have been rejected.
John 1:11 tells us that Jesus came to his own and they did not receive him. The Pharisees and teachers of the law of Jesus’ day rejected his message, so he turned his attention to those who would listen. Often the poor, blind, crippled, the tax collectors, and sinners – those whom the religious leaders would reject, were accepted by Jesus at his banquet.
As you read this story, the heart of God remains true. One of the interesting parts of the story is that God wants his banquet to be full. He wants no empty seats at his table. This puts a responsibility on us to go and compel people to come. This invitation is extended to all who will listen and to all who are willing to accept it.
This means we need to take up the banner and share the good news of the gospel with those around us. Let’s get those invitations out. These are the seats that Jesus paid for, let’s make sure that every one is filled.
Passage: Revelation 12:1-6...Speaker: Jeff Thompson
Why has Israel, a relatively tiny people group and country, been such a lightning rod across the centuries? Where does anti-semitism come from? And what does it have to do with The Great Tribulation? In this study, we’ll dive into the enigma that is Israel, and find some answers.
There is a rumor going around that the Book of Revelation is hard to understand. But columniation say, we for you see, the word Revelation. Revelation means that something has been revealed, and the very first words of this book tell us exactly who it is that's being revealed. It's the revelation of Jesus Christ, and God wanted us to read this book so much that he promised those who would take the time to read and respond to it a special blessing. And we find that blessing in chapter one, verse three.
Let's claim it together. It says, Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it for the time is near. But God knew there would still be those who would claim it's hard to understand. So to make it easy to understand. He also included a simple and easy to follow outline.
And we find that in Revelation chapter one, verse one nine, that's where Jesus gives John these instructions. He says, John, I want you to write the things which you have seen, and that refers to the resurrected and glorified Jesus that John sees in chapter one. Then Jesus says, John, I want you to write about the things which are that refers to the Church age, which began around 32 Ad, continues to the present day and is prophesied across seven letters dictated by Jesus to John in chapters two and three.
And then lastly, Jesus says, John, I want you to write about the things which will take place after this, things that will unfold after the Church age comes to a close. And that moment the Church age coming to an end, takes place in Revelation chapter four, verse one, it says, this John writes, after these things, I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven.
And the first voice which I heard that was the voice of Jesus in chapter one was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this. And up John goes serving as a picture of the Church who will be raptured to be with the Lord. And Jesus takes all of chapters four and five to show us the Church safe and secure with Him in heaven before he begins pouring out his wrath on the Earth that has rejected him in chapter six.
And it's in Revelation 616 that those on the Earth reveal they know and understand the source of their calamity, identifying it as the wrath of the Lamb. And in the Bible, the Lamb is always who Jesus.
So chapter One introduces the focus of this incredible book, Jesus Christ. Chapters two and three take us through the Church age up to the present day. The Church goes up. In chapter four, verse one, we see the Church safe and secure in heaven for chapters four and five before wrath comes down. In chapter six.
That wrath will continue for seven years across a time period known as the Tribulation, and it's documented in chapter six through 19 after which Jesus will return to the Earth with his Saints in the event known as the Second Coming. And there'll be even more wondrous events revealed in the latter chapters of this special book. And here's what I can tell you with certainty. If you love Jesus, then your story will end with the words and they live happily ever after. In terms of our timeline for today's study, the 7th trumpet has been blown, marking the final judgment of the Tribulation, but we will not see its effects until we pick up that narrative thread in chapter 15.
Unfortunately, there are today many professing believers who hold to a theology that teaches God is done with the Jewish people, abandoning them in favor of the Church.
The only problem with that idea is the Bible. For example, in Jeremiah 31 37, we read thus says the Lord, if heaven above can be measured and the foundations of the Earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, says the Lord. In other words, God says it's impossible that I would cast out Israel from my heart and my plans. Today's text is going to explain at least part of the enigma that is ethnic Israel, the Jewish people.
Why has this people group and hated and persecuted by so many across history despite always being a relatively tiny population and country when it even had a country.
Jews make up around zero 2% of the world's population, while Muslims, for the sake of comparison, make up around 24.1%. Why is Israel such a lightning Rod? If they truly are the chosen people of God, why do they seem to be perpetually both the victims and the cause of so much turmoil? Verses one through six are going to give us the answers. So let's jump in verse is now a great sign appeared in heaven.
Would you underline a great sign? So what we have verse is our scene changing. The camera changes shots. We're looking at something else now a great sign that appears before John. As we've worked our way through Revelation, we've always started with the assumption that the text is speaking literally unless there is a compelling reason to interpret it some other way.
But here we notice that this is called a great sign. That is the text telling us plainly that this is not something literal, but rather a sign. The story God is about to show John will contain symbolism, and Jesus wanted us to know that. So we told us right up front. So write this down.
The signs in Revelation chapter twelve are symbolic. The signs in Revelation chapter twelve are symbolic. Let's keep reading. In verse one, it says a woman clothed with the sun with the moon under her feet and on her head a Garland of twelve stars. Then, being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.
Now there's been much speculation across the centuries as to the identity of this woman. Some say she is the Church, but that's problematic because the Bible always implies that the Church is a Virgin bride for Christ, not somebody who has been married before, had a child with someone else or is pregnant out of wedlock. In fact, there's no mention of the Church ever being pregnant in the Bible. Some say this woman is married, but we're going to find out that while she is involved, there's something even greater going on here that makes it impossible for this woman to be married.
I'll give you the punchline and then we'll unpack it.
In Genesis we encounter a man named Jacob at a certain point in his life. God changes Jacob's name to Israel. Jacob or Israel has twelve sons, and one of them is Joseph. Joseph has a dream and tells his brothers about it with exactly zero tact. I put it on your outline from Genesis 37, verse nine.
We read. Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers and said, Look, I have dreamed another dream, and this time the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me. Jacob is offended by the dream, and his response provides us with an explanation. His father rebuked him and said to him, what is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the Earth before you?
Clearly the implication is that in Joseph's dream, Jacob is the son, his mother, Rachel, is the moon, and the eleven stars are his brothers. Joseph would be the 12th star, and we bump into that same symbolism here in verse is of Revelation chapter twelve, where John sees a woman clothed with the sun with the moon under her feet and on her head a Garland of twelve stars. The twelve sons of Jacob or the twelve sons of Israel would grow to become the famous twelve tribes of Israel.
The nation of Israel came from the sons of Jacob. So the big thing we need to understand in order to make sense of this great sign is that this woman is ethnic Israel, and she is about to give birth to a child.
Verse three and another sign appeared in heaven. We are reminded again that Jesus is revealing things to John using symbolism, and we're changing scenes again as John sees another sign that's related to the first sign, behold a great fiery red Dragon having seven heads and ten horns and seven diadems on his heads. Even if you're not a Christian today, you get no points for figuring out who the fiery red Dragon is. It's Satan. And verse nine will make that absolutely clear when we get there next week, write this down.
The Dragon is Satan. The Dragon is Satan. The diadems on his heads are the kinds of crowns worn by conquering Kings and political rulers. We don't have time to unpack all the symbolism right now, but we will over the coming weeks. For now, though, I'm going to satisfy your curiosity by letting you know that the seven heads refer to the seven empires that ruled over and or persecuted Israel at various times throughout history.
Just so we know what else to be watching for that's coming up, too. When we look at Revelation chapters twelve and 13, together, we'll see the picture of an unholy Trinity begin to emerge.
We'll have the Dragon, Satan. We'll have the beast that we've already met before. Who is the demonic power behind Antiochus? Who's Satan's son, so to speak. And then we will also soon meet the false Prophet.
He will be Antichrist's propaganda Minister, the one who prepares the way for Antichrist's rise as the Holy Spirit prepares hearts for the gospel.
And this will be a counterfeit unholy Trinity consisting of Satan being the Father, Antichrist as the Son, and the false Prophet serving as the false Holy Spirit.
So we've been introduced to Israel, the woman who's about to give birth to a child, and to Satan, the Dragon who has persecuted Israel throughout history and will rule the Earth through Antichrist during the Tribulation.
Let's see what else we can learn about the origins of Satan the Dragon in verses four, it says his tale drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the Earth, as in several other places in Scripture, these stars of heaven are Angels.
And we noticed that because those stars were following behind the Dragon.
They were cast from heaven to the Earth. We're being told here that when Lucifer rebelled against God in heaven. Incredibly, a third of the Angels sided with him. But if you know the story, then you know it didn't go well. They were thrown out of God's Kingdom and cast down to the Earth.
The Ark Angel, Lucifer became known as Satan, and the Angels allied to him became known as fallen Angels. And if you're doing the math, that means, even in the realm of Angels, Satan is outnumbered two to one.
Now we learn what the Dragon Satan is determined to do. It says, and the Dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth to devour her child as soon as it was born. We're meant to understand that ever since Satan was cast out of heaven, he has been bitter.
He has hated God, and he was listening when God spoke the proto Evangelion, the first recorded prophecy in Genesis 315, saying to Satan, I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed, he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel.
This caused Satan to say, AHA, God's plan is to try and save humanity from sin through a male child. And as Satan listened in on God's promises to Abraham and then to Isaac and then to Jacob, it became clear which people this male child would come from and even where these people would dwell.
So write that down. The child is Jesus. This is why there has been antisemitism for as long as the Jewish people have been a people. This is why Empire after Empire set their sights on Israel, a tiny and seemingly inconsequential people. It's because they are NOT inconsequential.
They were right in the middle of God's plan to save humanity. And they are still a massive part of God's plan. There is hatred in the collective heart of humanity toward the Jew, and it has been put there by Satan himself. He hates God. He hates God's son, and he hates God's people.
As we understand this, so much of what is happening in the Middle East begins to make sense, as does much of the Old Testament narrative of the Bible. Cain slew his righteous brother able. John explains this in his first epistle. Cain, who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him?
Because his works were evil and his brothers righteous.
Genesis Six tells us that Satan sent fallen Angels to procreate with human woman to corrupt the gene pool of humanity in an attempt to render humans irredeemable.
After Joseph had been forgotten, Satan attempted genocide by stirring the hearts of Pharaohs in Egypt to kill Hebrew babies and enslave their families. In the centuries of the judges of Israel, Satan attempted to spiritually annihilate God's people through surrounding pagan cultures, including repeated attempts to lure the Jews into cults that practice child sacrifice.
Satan used King Saul to try and assassinate David, knowing Messiah was destined to arrive through his lineage.
When Israel was a divided Kingdom, the Messianic Lion was twice reduced to a single child. Satan attempted genocide again through Amen, but God thwarted those plans through a young Queen Esther. Satan went to work through King Herod, who issued a command to kill all baby boys under the age of two. In and around Bethlehem. Following news of the birth of Jesus during Jesus's Ministry, Satan tried to stir up the people of his hometown, Nazareth to kill him and later tried to drown Jesus using a storm on the Sea of Galilee.
And later, when Satan thought he had finally stopped the plan of God by nailing Jesus to the cross, it backfired spectacularly, to say the least. It was the greatest miscalculation in history. Satan thought he was destroying Jesus when in reality he was destroying himself. In Satan's defense. Not a phrase I use very often.
Can you blame him for not seeing it coming? Can you blame him for not even considering the possibility that Jesus would die for our sins? You can't because it was so wonderful that it didn't even enter the mind of Satan. It didn't even enter the mind of the Angels or anyone else. Nobody saw the cross coming because it's too good.
It's too gracious. It's too glorious. It's too outrageous. There was nothing Satan could do other than say Dang it. I blew it again.
And yes, I'm aware that Satan probably doesn't use the phrase Dang it. Since Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden, Satan has been trying to wipe out the people of God. Why? Because Satan believed that by eliminating the Jews, he could thwart God's plans, embarrass God and ruin his plan to redeem humanity, making God into a liar who cannot keep his promises. Unfortunately for him, God simply incorporated Satan's best efforts into his master plan.
Satan is the reason Hitler was obsessed with wiping out the Jews. Satan is the reason why on the day she became a nation again in 1948, the armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq joined together in an attempt to eliminate the nation of Israel. Satan is actively at work trying to thwart God's promise to redeem Israel. Spoiler Alert Wiley Coyote has a better chance of catching the road runner. Some scholars suggest that this is the reason why the exact timing of the Rapture is not revealed in Scripture.
God intends to take Satan by surprise. Verse Five, she the woman Israel bore a male child who gas is your Bible says was put a line through it and write is because that's the correct translation. And I'll explain why it matters when Jesus came to the Earth the first time the Jews and the world collectively said, we will not have this man reign over us. What would have happened if they had said we will have this man to reign over us. It's a fascinating question that I'll leave you to discuss with your brothers and sisters.
All we know for sure is that humanity rejected the rule and reign of Jesus at that time, which is why verse five should read. She bore a male child who is to rule all nations with a Rod of iron. That would be a better translation of the original text, too. It's a reference to Psalm chapter two, verse nine, which speaks prophetically of the coming Messiah, more specifically, his second coming, which will take place in Revelation 19. It doesn't mean Jesus millennial reign on the Earth will be marked by brutality, but rather that his government will be strong.
It'll be unshakable and just he will destroy all corrupt earthly systems, political, economic, social. You name it. Jesus will have the power to enforce justice on the Earth. And incredibly, Jesus told us in Revelation 22;6 through 27 that he's going to share that authority with us. Then we Reid and her child that's Jesus was caught up to God and his throne.
Ultimately, Satan was unable to stop Jesus'earthly Ministry and Jesus returned to heaven. The images John has been shown have a broad overview of the history that we've discussed. Now the scene returns to the tribulation, and we read in verse is then the woman. Remember, the woman is Israel fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God that they should feed her there. 1260 days.
Remember how long? 1260 days? Is that's right? It's three and a half years, exactly half the length of the seven year tribulation. And anytime we see this number as days, months or years, it's a reference to the back half of the tribulation, the great Tribulation.
So write this down at the halfway point of the tribulation. Israel is going to need to flee for safety. At the halfway point of the tribulation, Israel is going to need to flee for safety. Why? What changes at the halfway point of the tribulation?
Well, as we've learned, everything changes for Israel. At the halfway point of the tribulation, Antichrist commits the abomination of desolation, kicking Jews off the Temple Mount, entering the rebuilt temple and setting up a throne for himself, demanding to be worshiped as God and launching a genocide against the Jewish people. But God obviously has a plan in place because he knows everything, and his plan is to protect Israel by providing a place of shelter in the wilderness. Jesus talked about this in his all of that discourse. Look at what he said in Matthew 24, verses 15 through 22.
When you see this happen, don't grab your things, don't pack. Don't call your friends because there's no time. Just run, flee, get out of there. Then Jesus goes on and says, but woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days, because nobody will be able to slow down for them and pray that your flight may not be in winter. This may surprise you, but mountainous parts of Israel and Jordan to the south can become completely impassable due to winter snowstorms.
That's why Jesus says, Pray, this doesn't happen in winter because your escape route would be cut off. And then Jesus says, Also pray that this doesn't happen on the Sabbath, and I underline that in my Bible because I want you to recognize this is not a warning for the Church who will be raptured before the tribulation begins. Jesus says, this is for those who are in Judea and an area affected by the observance of the Sabbath. Jesus is clearly talking to Jews in Israel, specifically around Jerusalem as a day of the week.
The Sabbath, which is Saturday, doesn't really change anything for us.
Gentiles other than being part of our weekend in Israel, though everything shuts down on the Sabbath society grinds to a halt. That's why Jesus says, it's going to be very difficult for you if this happens on the Sabbath. It's at this point in the Olivet discourse that Jesus gives this warning to Israel for then there will be great tribulation such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time. No nor ever shall be. Now would you agree that as far as sources go, Jesus is pretty good?
I don't want you to miss that. Jesus himself tells Israel that what they will experience in the great Tribulation will be worse than anything they have ever experienced or will ever experience again, worse than the fall of Jerusalem in 70 Ad and worse even than the Holocaust. Now it's critical to understand the implications of this verse is because it completely destroys the eschatological systems that teach things like the Book of Revelation is about things that have already happened. It's about the fall of Israel between 70 Ad and 120 Ad.
No, it's not because Jesus said, for then there will be a time of great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time.
No, nor ever shall be. The time Jesus is speaking about is as bad as it will ever get for Israel as bad as the events of 70 80 to 120 Ad were, the Holocaust was significantly worse. That means that in the all of it discourse, Jesus could not have been referring to first and second century events and the underscore point, Jesus adds, and unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days will be shortened. In other words, unless the length of that time period, the Great Tribulation was limited by God, everyone on Earth would die.
But God will limit the length of those days for one specific reason to save elect ethnic Israel.
Sorry. In Isaiah chapter 16, verses one through five, the question of where Israel will flee in the Great Tribulation is addressed prophetically. It's on your outlines too. It says, Send the Lamb to the ruler of the land from Saleh to the wilderness. So wherever Israel goes will involve journey through the wilderness to the Mount of the daughter of Zion.
Things are wrapping up. Devastation ceases. The oppressors are consumed out of the land. Other translations will use phrases like oppressors have completely disappeared from the land. God declares that there's a place called Salah in the land of Moab.
Write this down. Moab is in present day Jordan. Moab is in the present day country of Jordan to the south of Israel. The Jews in Jerusalem in Israel are going to flee south to Jordan during the Great Tribulation, as there will be enemies in every other direction. Saleh means the rock in Hebrew, and if you look it up in a strong concordance, it'll tell you that it refers specifically to the rock city of Ijumea.
It's Saleh in Hebrew, but in Greek it's the city called Petra. Write that down. It's Soleil in Hebrew, but in Greek it's called Petra. And when you put it all together, you find that Saleh is Petra, the rock city of Ijumea, which is kind of mind blowing because there is a city in Moab. There is a city in Jordan that is called Petra, or in Hebrew.
It's about 140 miles Southeast of Jerusalem and 2700ft above sea level in the mountains. The city of Petro was carved into rock around 2500 years ago and is most famous for being featured in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1990 and 89. You might recognize its treasury called Al Jazne. From this Photo, Petra is an amazing place, and through ingenious engineering, the Edomites who built it created a system that captures rainwater in massive cisterns, providing hydration in a desert environment. This enabled the development of an entire civilization that at once lived and thrived in Petra.
Staggeringly, the rock city of Petra could still today hold a population of up to 2 million people. But for now it's a tourist attraction and one of the seven new wonders of the world. As always, I encourage you to do your own research, but I am personally convinced that Petra is where Israel will flee during the Great Tribulation. But if you're not still convinced, I've got one more exhibit of evidence to share with you. In chapter eleven of his book, Daniel the Prophet wrote that Antiochus would enter the glorious land.
That's always a reference to Israel. And it's an implication that Antichrist will conquer Israel and many countries shall be overthrown. But these shall escape from his hand. Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. Guess what country?
Edom, Moab, and Amon are all located in today Jordan. Where did we learn that Petra is located? Moab Daniel prophesied that for some reason Antiochus won't conquer the country of Jordan. I suggest we know the reason why Israel and Jordan currently enjoy peace thanks to a peace treaty they signed in. And that treaty also paved the way no pun intended for a major highway that today connects the two countries back to Revelation Twelve.
And let's just read verse six. One more time, it says. Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God that they should feed her there 1260 days. It was prepared by God 2500 years ago, and it's been preserved by God for the past 2500 years. Now, when you talk about Israel and we talk about God's promises to Israel, you might wonder, well, what does that have to do with me?
Why should I care? They're part of the family. That's great, but we're kind of disconnected right now. As a Christian, you should always find it encouraging when you read about God's faithfulness to Israel across millennia, because when we see God's absolute commitment to keep His promises, we are reminded just how secure we are in His promises. I shared that in Jeremiah 31 37.
And he promised to never take His Spirit from us. Telling His disciples, I am with you always. We mess up when we foolishly choose to sin when we rebel, when we don't honor Jesus the way we should when we fail, he doesn't leave us. God says it's impossible for me to disown you because I am in you. Therefore disowning me would be disowning myself.
And that's impossible. God will not keep His promises to Israel because they deserve it. And God will not keep His promises to us because we deserve it. God will keep His promises to Israel and His promises to the Church for one reason alone. God is good.
He's just good. I'm so thankful for the truth our brother Paul shared in Romans Eight writing. I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor Angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. Our Lord. He's with us.
He'll be faithful to the end till the moment we arrive in His presence. And then he'll be faithful for eternity. After that, thank God that our Salvation rests in the hands of a good and loving God. Let's pray together. Would you bow your head and close your eyes?
Father, thank you for your great love for us. And thank you that you are just good and everything that you do for us is good because that's all you can be is good. And so. Lord, we delight when we see your faithfulness displayed toward our future brother and sisters. Ethnic Israel Lord, we delight when we see your faithfulness endure across millennia.
And when we see your commitment to keep your promises even through centuries of unfaithfulness on the part of Israel. Lord, it reminds us and fills us with hope that you will keep your promises to us and that you are able to keep your promises to us. Lord, you're the firm foundation in which we place our hope, help us to build our lives on you. And thank you that our Salvation doesn't rest on us. But it rests upon your goodness which never changes.
We love you, Jesus. We bless you. It's in your name. We pray. Amen.
Series: Acts..Passage: Acts 20:35...Speaker: BJ Chursinoff
Jesus says it is more blessed to give than to receive. In this message, we'll learn how to experience the blessing Jesus associates with giving, in our lives.
We are looking one more time at an incredible verse found near the end of chapter 20. In Acts chapter 20, verse 35, the apostle Paul quotes Jesus when he says it's more blessed to give than to receive. And last week on Christmas Eve, we saw that Jesus not only spoke these words that connected blessing with giving, but he also lived these words out perfectly. Jesus gave himself to the world when he was born on Christmas day, and he came so that he could give himself up to die on a cross for sinners so that we could live with God forever. Nobody has ever given more to someone else than Jesus has given to us, and therefore, nobody has ever lived a more blessed life than Jesus.
At the end of his farewell address to the Ephesian elders recorded for us in Acts 20, Paul reminded these pastors of Jesus's words, it's more blessed to give than it is to receive. Now, why did Paul share this quote with the Ephesian elders when he met with them in Miletus? Was it simply a nice cliche to wrap up his message with? If you're going to name-drop anyone, you might as well name-drop Jesus. You can't get any better than that.
Or was it b, so that they could go and print that saying on bumper stickers and mugs and post it on Instagram with the hashtag blessed? Or was it c, so that they could actually experience more blessing in their lives? Well, the answer is C. Paul reminded the Ephesian elders of Jesus' words that it's more blessed to give than to receive so that they might experience more of the blessing that Jesus was talking about. Now, isn't that what everybody in the whole world wants - more blessing in their life? If I was to take a poll of everyone here in this room tonight by asking for a show of hands, who wants to experience more blessing in their life? Am I wrong to assume that 100% of hands would go up? Let's just do it for fun. Who wants more blessing in their life?
See, I knew it. I knew it. We want to be happy. We want to be well off. We want to be blessed.
We all want it. So why don't we experience more blessing in our lives? Why aren't our lives filled to overflowing with the blessedness that Jesus talks about? Jesus wouldn't have laid out the path to more blessing for us if it wasn't possible for us to attain. He wouldn't whet our appetites for more blessing and then slam the door in our face saying he was only joking.
He taught us about the blessed life because he wants us to experience the blessed life. So why do our lives lack the very blessing that we all want and that Jesus has made available to us? Well, here's what I think the answer is. Although it's a very straightforward statement, it's more blessed to give than it is to receive. We don't know how to appropriate this truth in our lives very well.
So that's what I want to help us do. In this message, I'm going to show you how you can live a life that is marked by giving. Because Jesus said that it's the secret to our blessing. It's more blessed to give than to receive. If we can learn how to give more freely, we will learn how to be blessed more abundantly.
And just in case anyone thinks that I'm talking about money when they hear me talk about giving, I'm not. Now, of course, a life marked by giving will include the aspect of financial giving. The lifestyle of giving that I am talking about isn't any less than that. It's just so much more. When I am talking about giving, I am talking about giving everything.
That's what a blessed life looks like. So does a blessed life include giving? Financially, yes. But it's just so much more than that. To make this as simple and as straightforward as possible, I'm going to lay out the pathway to experiencing a blessed life, a life that gives in three simple steps.
Now, simple means easy to understand, 'doesn't always mean easy to do. So go ahead and write this down. It's going to be the first fill-in on your outline. The first thing that must be done if someone is going to live a blessed life is receive Jesus. Receive Jesus.
This is the first step that has to be taken if a person is going to experience the blessed life that Jesus makes available to us. Now, this first step had already taken place by all those who were present in the meeting in Miletus recorded for us at the end of Acts chapter 20. Paul received Jesus back in Acts chapter nine. And although it's not documented in acts, the elders of the church in Ephesus would have received Jesus prior to becoming elders, because, believe it or not, receiving Christ is a prerequisite to becoming a pastor of one of his churches. So Paul and the elders had received Jesus.
And this is good because receiving Jesus is necessary for a blessed life. I'm not sure if any of you have picked up on this yet, but there's a little bit of a paradox here. Jesus says it's more blessed to give than it is to receive. Giving is better than receiving according to Jesus. But you have to receive before you can give.
You can't give what you haven't first received. Receiving must take place first, and then giving can happen second. More specifically, you must receive Jesus first, and then a blessed lifestyle of giving can happen second. It's necessary that you receive Jesus first because you won't live a life marked by giving until you first received what your own soul is thirsting and hungering and longing for. Until a person receives the gift of God into their life, they will be too consumed with trying to get what they need that they won't be free to give away to other people what they need instead.
This is one of the reasons why people are so unsatisfied in this life. It's because they aren't bent on giving. Instead, they are obsessed with trying to fill their life with everything and anything but God. People are trying to satisfy the deepest longings in their soul by filling their life with relationships or hobbies or climbing the corporate ladder or getting more and more possessions or experiences or whatever. People in this world are trying to fill the God-shaped hole in their life by anything and everything that isn't God.
And people wonder why they're so unsatisfied. You and I were made for God, and we won't know true satisfaction of the soul until we receive God into our life. Giving is more blessed than receiving, but receiving precedes giving. It's again a paradox. Now, receiving Jesus into your life is not adding a new piece of information that you agree with to your personal database of information.
Receiving Jesus into your life is not a new religion you adopt. Receiving Jesus is just that. It's receiving the person of Jesus Christ into your life. Jesus can give you his life because Jesus is alive. He died, but he didn't stay dead.
He resurrected from the dead. And that's why he can offer his life to you. Muhammad can't give you his life. Muhammad's dead. Buddha cannot give you his life.
He's alive. When a person receives Jesus, they are receiving the living God into their life. The most blessed person ever actually gives himself to you. You receive God into your life by believing in him and taking him up on his offer to you. And once you've received him, God begins to live his blessed life in you and through you.
This is a supernatural spiritual reality that has the potential to change everything in your life. When a person receives Jesus, they have the eternal source of everything good now living in them. Their soul has finally everything that it could ever possibly want or need. When you receive Jesus, you don't have to scrounge around in this world trying to get satisfied anymore. God is the supreme source of your satisfaction, and he is an eternal and infinite source of it.
He is a well of living water that will never run dry. He's more than enough for you. He's not only enough for you, but he's also enough for everyone that you come into contact with. There's an overflow. When you receive Jesus, you have enough that you can give away and give away and give away without ever going into a deficit.
Step number one to living a blessed life is to receive Jesus. But once you've received Jesus, the blessing you can enjoy through giving doesn't become automatic. When you receive Jesus, it's not like you get taken against your will on an involuntary roller coaster ride of blessing. Jesus doesn't say to you, all right, buckle up. The blessing train is leaving the station and you're like, wee, what's happening?
I can't believe this. This is blessings coming at me from every direction. What is going on? I wish it happened like that. But if you followed Christ for any amount of time, you know that's not how it works.
Once you've received Jesus, you now have the potential, the possibility of experiencing the blessed life that he talks about. But just because something becomes possible, it doesn't necessarily guarantee that it will become actual or realized in your life. The Bible makes it clear that there are two kinds of lives that a bona fide born-again Christian can experience. One, you can experience the blessed life that Jesus talks about. Or two, you can, as a Christian, miss out on that blessed life.
Now we all flip-flop between these two. It's not only one or only the other, but the goal is to stay in the lane of blessing more often than not. So how does a Christian activate the potential for blessedness in their life? This brings us to the second step to living a blessed life. Write this down.
Remember, Jesus. Remember Jesus. This is what Paul told the Ephesian elders to do when he met with them in Miletus. He told them in verse 35 to remember the words of the Lord Jesus. Now, here's the thing about remembering.
You got to learn something before you can remember it. In step number one of living a blessed life, you receive Jesus. And when you receive Jesus, you become spiritually alive. But you are a spiritual baby the moment that you receive Christ. From that point on, you have to learn how to live this new, blessed life just like a baby has to learn how to live once it's been born.
As a spiritual child of God, you have to begin learning what Jesus teaches you about how to live your new life with him. You get this information from him in the Bible, and you accumulate this information over time. As you follow Jesus, you learn from him. And after you've learned things from him, then you're able to bring those things to remembrance. But you can't remember something that you've never learned in the first place.
Now, here's a part of the problem I think a lot of us run into after we learn something from Jesus, we think the work is done, we learn it, and then we file it away somewhere in the deep recesses of our consciousness. And we don't think we need to spend any more time thinking about it, because why would we think about something that we've already learned? And when we do that, what we've learned can become dormant in us life-transforming truths, just sitting there limp and lifeless. But that's not what we're supposed to do with the things that we learn from Jesus. Once you learn what Jesus has said, you then need to continually remember what he said.
And this is where the power is that unlocks the potential for Christians to have and to live a blessed life. The word of God is powerful. It can change you, not just save you and give you a ticket to heaven when you die. It can change the way you live your life now, before you ever get to Heaven. When you give yourself to remembering Jesus' words, you're fixing your mind on them, you're meditating upon them, you're contemplating them, you're wrestling with them, you're dreaming about them.
All this takes place in the invisible part of your mind and your soul and your heart. But as you give yourself to the spiritual work of remembering the words of Jesus, the spirit of Jesus is at work in you, changing you from the inside, making you more and more like Jesus. This is what Paul talks about in his letter to the Romans in Romans, chapter twelve, verse two. And this verse should be on your outline as I read this verse to you. Keep in mind that Paul is speaking to Christians.
This is very important to know. Roman
Transformation into Christlikeness happens when our minds are renewed, and this renewal takes place when you learn the words of Jesus and you continually remember the words of Jesus. This is the power of the word of God, the living word of God, washing over your mind, your heart, and your soul, cleansing you, refreshing you, nourishing you, transforming you spiritually, making you into a new person. The power of the word of God is experienced when we remember the word of God. And when we give ourselves to remembering the words of Jesus, we will be able to know God's will, understand how life is designed to work. We will experience change desires in us.
We will begin to want different things in life. We will experience power that transforms us. We will be transformed from one degree to the next into the likeness of Jesus, the most blessed one. We will learn what a life marked by giving looks like. We will learn how to give, what to give, when to give.
This is what Paul is calling believers to experience in Romans twelve two. He's calling them to be transformed by the renewal of their minds. He calls them to this because this renewal unto transformation does not take place automatically. We have to give ourselves to it. We do this in part by remembering.
But what if we don't give ourselves to remembering Jesus' words on a regular basis? Well, the apostle Paul says we won't stay in neutral. Paul warns the believers in Rome what can happen if they don't give themselves to having their minds renewed. He says in the first part of the verse, he tells them, do not be conformed to this age. Do not be squeezed into this world's image.
Don't become like this world. Remember, he's telling this to Christians. That means Christians can be conformed to this age. Paul wouldn't warn them against it happening to them if it wasn't possible. That means Christians can receive Jesus and then go on to live lives that look nothing like Jesus.
We can receive Jesus and then actually go on to live lives that look like the world instead. That's what Paul is saying to them and to us. How does this happen in a Christian's life? Well, it's simple. If you are not fixing your mind on the words of Jesus, continually learning them and remembering them, then what else do you think you're spending your time filling your mind with?
The lies of this world, things that are the polar opposite of what Jesus says. Jesus says it's more blessed to give than to receive. The world tells us at every turn that it's more blessed to receive than it is to give. God says to us in 1 John chapter two and verse 15 to not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For everything in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one's possessions, is not from the father, but it's from the world. That's what God says to us. And then the world comes along and preaches to you and to me nonstop. These things that God tells you not to love will actually make you happy. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one's possession will bless you.
TikTok, YouTube, and Netflix movies - these things aren't bad in and of themselves, but have you ever stopped to consider how much of these things we consume on a daily basis where there is zero Jesus in them? And it's not just that there is zero Jesus, it's that they are loaded with messages that are completely contrary to the words of Jesus. And what do you think is happening to you when you consume hours of this content each and every day? Paul tells us what will happen. We will be conformed to the pattern of this world.
We are always coming to a fork in the road where choices have to be made. Will we give ourselves to becoming like the world that Jesus saved us out of? Or will we give ourselves to becoming more like the one who has saved us from out of it? We are called to remember Jesus' words because we can forget his words so easily. We are so easily distracted.
And it's not an innocent distraction. It's a distraction that will rob you and me of being able to experience the blessing in our life that Jesus has made available to us. How are you doing in this area? Do you have a plan in place to not only learn Jesus' words but to remember his words? Are his words on the forefront of your mind throughout the day?
Are his words informing the way that you navigate through all of life's challenges and opportunities that you face each and every day? Is the reality that giving is actually better than receiving consistently on the dashboard of your mind? Is this reality concrete in your mind? It can be, but only if we give ourselves to remembering Jesus. If you and I can grow in our practice of remembering Jesus, that will set us up to experience the blessed life that Jesus wants us to have.
The blessed life is not realized at the end of step two, but if we make it this far, the pump is primed for blessing. The blessed life, though, is realized when you start practicing step three because step one is receive Jesus. Step two is remember Jesus. Step three, write this down. Replicate Jesus.
Replicate Jesus. Replicate him in my life and through my life. Remember what Jesus said and did in his life so that I know what to say and do in my life. This is why we remember Jesus. We don't remember Jesus so that we can enjoy nostalgic memories of him that don't translate to having any bearing upon our lives.
We remember Jesus so that we can say and do the things that Jesus said and did. And what was one of the things that Jesus both said and did? It's more blessed to give than it is to receive. If we remember how Jesus gave his life and all that he did, we will be able to better walk in his footsteps and enjoy the same kind of blessing in our life that he did in his. If we remember Jesus, then we can replicate Jesus.
Paul did this. He modeled this, and we see him give an example of this kind of life to the Ephesian elders in Miletus. In verse 35, Paul says that he showed them it's necessary to remember Jesus's words. Now we use the CSB here at Gospel City. If you have your Bible open, I'm going to get you to underline a couple of phrases.
If you use a different translation, that's fine. It'll sound maybe a slightly different, but in verse 35, Paul says in every way. Now underline these next three words. I've shown you. And then I'll keep reading that it's necessary to help the weak by laboring like this and underline this part to remember the words of the Lord Jesus because he said, it's more blessed to give than to receive.
When Paul remembered Jesus saying that it's more blessed to give than it is to receive, that remembrance of those words fueled the way that he lived. It's such a powerful connection. Paul gave his life away everywhere that he went. We can see a lot of examples of his generosity as he recalls the time he spent in Ephesus with the elders of the church there. If you have your Bible still open, hope you do to Acts chapter 20.
We're going to take a look at the way Paul gave himself away during his three years in Ephesus. Starting in halfway in verses 18, he says, you know, from the first day I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility, with tears. And during the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews, Paul gave himself to a life of humble service. He gave himself to difficult situation that the Bible says produced tears in his eyes. He gave himself to experience trials at the hands of his fellow countrymen, the Jews.
He began to give himself away from the very first day he set his foot in Asia. This is only verses 18 and 19, and we can already see how much Paul gave in these two verses. He didn't have to give himself this way. He could have hunkered down and hiding somewhere and just remembered Jesus privately to himself, just Paul and his own personal little thought bubble filled with the things of Jesus. But he didn't do that.
He gave his life away. In Ephesus, verse 20, you know that I did not hesitate to proclaim anything to you that was profitable and to teach you publicly and from house to house and then down to verse 26. Therefore, I declare to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you because I did not avoid declaring to you the whole plan of God. Do you know why some people would hesitate to share some part of God's word with others because it's costly to share some things with people that would get them angry or upset with you. But Paul said he didn't hesitate to proclaim anything that was profitable.
He gave himself to teaching the whole council of God, and he did this from house to house. You have to give a lot of physical and relational energy to do that. Paul didn't divvy up the work. He didn't send Barnabas to some houses and Silas to others. Paul taught publicly, and he personally went house to house, teaching people the word of God.
He gave himself a way to do this. Verse 21 I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus. Paul gave himself to the work of evangelism while he was in Ephesus. Paul didn't just give himself to spending time with people who wanted to hear him. He didn't only spend time with fellow believers.
He gave himself to sharing the gospel with people who had not yet received Jesus. This is hard work. I'm not sure if you've ever tried sharing the gospel with someone who didn't want to hear about Jesus. It's hard work. It's challenging, it's frustrating, it's demoralizing at times.
And Paul gave himself to this task of calling people to receive Christ while he was in Ephesus. Verse 22 and now I'm on my way to Jerusalem, compelled by the spirit, not knowing what I will encounter there, except that in every town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions are waiting for me. Paul didn't know what was waiting for him in Jerusalem, but he gave himself to going there anyway. He didn't shy away from persecution. He gave himself up to the possibility of suffering for Jesus' name wherever he went.
Paul gave himself to doing God's will, whatever it was, wherever he was. Verse 25 and now I know that none of you among whom I went about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. Paul made some amazing friends while he ministered in Ephesus. You can tell by how deep the fields got when he told them he would never see them again. There were waterworks crying.
If Paul lived by the mantra that it's better to receive than to give. He would have stayed in Ephesus. He would have spent the rest of his life enjoying the sweet friendships that he made there. But he didn't do that. He gave up those relationships for the sake of obeying Jesus and following Jesus wherever Jesus led him.
Verse 28. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Men will arise up from even your own number and distort the truth to lure the disciples into following them. Therefore, be on the alert, remembering at night and day.
For three years, I never stopped warning each one of you with tears. If Paul lived for himself, he wouldn't have given himself to only. Sorry. If Paul lived for himself, he would have given himself to only talking about nice, comfortable things. But because he loved his brothers and sisters in Ephesus, he gave himself to warning them about the dangers of false teachers that they'd have to look out for.
Paul said, he did this, get this. Every day for three years, night and day, with tears, Paul gave himself to the church in Ephesus, passionately. 'Verse 33, he says, I've not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. Paul gave himself to being satisfied with whatever the Lord had given him. This takes effort, you know.
Takes effort to train yourself to be content with what you have, instead of longing for what others have in their life. Paul gave himself to this kind of contentment while he was in Ephesus. Verse 34, you yourselves know that I worked with my own hands to support myself and those who are with me. He didn't rely on people giving to him. Instead, Paul gave himself to work, to earn a paycheck, to pay his bills, and to pay the bills of those who were with him and to have something left over so that he could give to those who were in need.
Paul worked full-time in Ephesus and ministered the gospel there every day for three years. And then, verse 35, in every way, he says, I've shown you that it's necessary to help the weak by laboring like this. And I've shown you what it looks like to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, because he said, it's more blessed to give than it is to receive. Paul didn't just lie in bed daydreaming about the words of Jesus in secret. Paul showed the Ephesian elders what it looked like to remember the words of Jesus.
Paul poured his life out for God and for the people in Ephesus. He gave his life away at every turn, he embodied the words of Jesus, where he said, it's more blessed to give than it is to receive. Paul was becoming like Jesus. And since Jesus is the most blessed person that has ever lived, due to the way that he gave his life away, Paul got to experience the blessed life of Jesus, because Paul gave his life away, too. Paul received Jesus.
Paul remembered Jesus. Paul replicated Jesus. And not just in Ephesus, but we read of him doing this everywhere he went in his missionary endeavors.
Well, you're right on both counts. You are not Jesus, and you are not Paul. Neither am I. And the standards that they gave to us are the highest. But do you know what I have to say to that?
We should aim high. We should set the bar high in our life. We should have the highest standards for ourselves. I loved basketball growing up. I loved watching it and playing it.
And do you know that I never had a poster of John Koncak to yourself? Who's John Koncak? Exactly. Nobody had a poster of John Koncak on their wall growing up, because growing up I had posters of Michael Jordan in my room. Now, because I daydreamed of playing basketball like Michael Jordan, was I ever able to actually play exactly like him?
Of course not. But with him as the model that I looked up to, I bet you that motivated me to improve my game way more than if I had watched highlights of John Koncak. If you're by chance watching this, I had to pick one person from the era and the lot just fell to you. I'm sure you're happy now and living a great life, but aim high. Aim high.
Remember Jesus. Look to emulate him, follow in his footsteps, say the things that he said, do the things that he did. Love people like he loved them. And look at Paul, too. And look at any other good examples we have of men and women in the Bible who gave their lives away and were blessed for it.
Aim high. But as you aim high, also always know, accept, and embrace who you are and who God has called you to be, where he has called you to be it. You can be like Jesus, you could be like Paul. But you're not them. You are you.
But be the best version of yourself that God has made you to be. If you have received Jesus and you are consistently remembering him, then you can replicate him wherever you find yourself to be. At home, at work, at school, in the grocery store, with family or with friends or amongst strangers. In good times, in difficult times, wherever you find yourself and there are other people around, you have the opportunity to replicate Jesus' blessed life in those arenas. Wherever you find yourself, amongst other people, train yourself to be.
Always asking these kinds of questions. How can I serve? What can I say? Can I defer my preferences here for the good of another? Can I help carry someone else's load
Can I say a tough truth that someone needs to hear? Can I go without so that someone else can have WWJD? Right? What would Jesus do? Or WDJD?
What did Jesus do? Or I bet you've never heard this one before. W-I-J-A-M-T-D-I-T-S - what is Jesus asking me to do in this situation?
Whatever he asks of you, I'm sure that it will involve giving some part of yourself away. That's because Jesus wants you to be blessed. You won't do this perfectly. You will find yourself kicking against living this kind of life from time to time. The old person called the flesh in the Bible doesn't want this.
Your new spirit wants it though. Well, am I supposed to give all the time? Well, Jesus said it's more blessed to give than to receive. So I guess you should give in relation to how much blessing you want to experience in this life. If you want more blessing, give more.
If you want less blessing, give less. God's not going to make any of us live this kind of way. He makes this kind of life available to us. He invites us into this kind of life, he calls us to it, and he empowers us to live this kind of life. But the Bible says that God loves a cheerful giver.
That's what it would be like. How does a person live the blessed life? A life characterized by giving the way that Jesus gave. Receive Jesus, remember Jesus, and replicate Jesus. You pray with me.
Let's pray;
Jesus, I'm so thankful that when you saved us, you didn't just save us to hand us a dead religion, lifeless and impotent, that had no potential to transform our lives. We are so grateful that we're going to heaven when we die. Jesus, we thank you for the cross. We thank you for your resurrection. We thank you that you're coming back to get all of your people and to live with us forever and ever and ever.
We thank you that that day is coming. But we also thank you, Lord, that we don't have to wait for you to come back till we can experience you. We can experience you anytime we want to because you've given yourself to us. We've received you. And my prayer, Lord, is that a spiritual light bulb has gone off in our hearts and our minds and our souls here tonight, that there's so much life in all of us that have been left on the table, life that we can live blessed as we walk in your footsteps, I pray, Lord, that you'd give us a sweet conviction, a sweet inspiration to live the way that you've saved us to live, to live the way that you've made possible for us to live with you in us and with us.
Do this, Lord, one person at a time in Gospel City. Start with us. Do it one moment at a time as we practice living a life that's blessed. Change our lives, change our church, change our city, and change our world through this kind of living. Do it, Jesus, we pray.
We want more of you. We want to walk like you did. We want to walk with you, Lord. So please, please make that happen. Your name, we pray.
Amen.
Series: A Theology of Suffering...Speaker: Jeff Thompson
If we’re going to suffer, how do we suffer well? How can we bring glory to God and experience as much peace, hope, love, and life as possible in our trials?
We're taking a break from our study through the Book of Acts to look at a couple of issues that are just big in the life of our church right now. And the issue that I'm teaching on is suffering. And the key question, "What should suffering look like in the life of the Christian?" In our first study, we looked at why suffering exists. In our second study last week, we looked at the different causes of our individual sufferings.
And today we're going to look at some practical pointers that will help us navigate seasons of suffering well. And that might sound like an odd sentence to you. What do you mean, suffer well? That seems like an oxymoron, but what I mean when I say suffer well is I mean to suffer in a way that brings as much glory to Jesus as possible and as a natural byproduct produces in us the most peace, joy, and hope possible during the most challenging times of our lives. These messages are intended to be studied and processed in the order that I teach them in.
And it's important because last week we talked about diagnosing the cause of your suffering. And I want to be very clear once again that if the cause of your suffering is sin, if you're disobeying God, you need to repent and turn away from that sin. End of discussion. Not any other practical pointers, though. Jeff.
Yes. Repent. Repent. Repent. Repent.
Repent. Repent. That's it. If the cause of your suffering is foolishness and bad decisions that are not necessarily sinful, you need to gain wisdom and get foolishness out of your life. And we talked about how to do that last week.
So, if your suffering is being caused by sin or foolishness, these pointers are not for you. We must not view ourselves as victims. If the cause of our suffering is sin or foolishness, we're not victims. If you are suffering because you live in a fallen world, you're still experiencing the natural consequences of sins that you have repented of and turned away from. If you're suffering because you're being sanctified by the Lord or because you're serving Jesus, then it's my goal to help you today by pointing you to Christ in some practical ways.
Let me remind you of the compassion of our Lord by sharing with you a couple of my favorite verses in all of Scripture. If you've been around a while, you've heard me share it many times. It's on your outlines. In Hebrews 4, it says, "We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need."
I don't truly know what you're going through or what you will go through in the future. Nobody does. Except Jesus. And if there's one thing I pray we take away from this series, it's this invitation, which is also a command. Approach the throne of grace with boldness so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.
Our first overarching practical pointer is this - write this down on your outlines - Invite your church family into your suffering. Invite your church family into your suffering. God created us to live in community, and one of the reasons he created the church is so that we could experience community as the family of God. The New Testament is full of commands to this effect, such as Galatians 6:2, which commands us, "carry one another's burdens. In this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ."
Let me explain how, when we're suffering, we need encouragement. I don't care if you think you do or not. You need encouragement. We need to be reminded of God's faithfulness and the promises in his word. We need the prayers of others.
And God intends that we would receive these good things in part through his people, the church. And when we do receive them, we are strengthened. And we are empowered to endure our trials in a way that brings greater glory to God. So, when we refuse to share our sufferings with our church family, we're saying, I don't need any of those good things that God has deposited in my church family to bless me. Other people might need them.
Not me. I don't need them. I'm fine, thank you very much. And we're also saying that we'd rather go through our trial in a weakened state, bringing less glory to God than share it with others. Be strengthened, encourage them, and bring more glory to God.
Some people don't want to inconvenience people, and I know this is hard for some people to grasp. I don't mean this facetiously. But people who genuinely love Jesus genuinely love his people for real. And they desire to grow in their love for the people of God. Remember how central this whole love thing is to the Christian faith?
In John 13, Jesus told his disciples, I give you a new command love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. And by this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another. The radical way in which Christians are called to love their brethren is to be the defining characteristic of the church. So let the people of God love you.
When you're suffering, you're not an inconvenience.
Some people don't want to share their suffering with their church family because they don't think anybody's qualified to help. They're too young. Oh, they're too old. Well, they can't relate to what I'm going through. They're not educated in the area of my suffering.
I just don't jive with their personality. And there are many other excuses some people come up with. But at the end of the day, they keep their suffering to themselves by convincing themselves that nobody is qualified to help them in their suffering. And if this is you, here's what you need to understand Christians point other Christians to Christ, and Christians bring other Christians to Christ. Here's where I'm going with this.
I hope none of you are under the impression that I have mastered everything I preach. I hope that none of you are like, "Well, I guess Jeff mastered everything in Acts 22 personally in his life, and that's why he's teaching it this Sunday." I haven't, not even close. One of the most humbling aspects of my calling is that I must stand up and exposit parts of the Scriptures that I'm personally struggling with and sometimes failing at spectacularly. I do not teach from the place of mastery.
My goal is to point us and myself to Christ. That's the goal. And that's why 90% of the time I teach expositionally. I teach verse by verse through the Bible because I don't put a lot of weight in my own opinions. God doesn't want you to share your sufferings with your church family because they're experts on whatever you're going through.
And can I tell you, it is such a load off your shoulders as a Christian when you realize that you can bless your brothers and sisters in Christ by simply reminding them of God's Word and praying with them. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that when a brother or sister shares those struggles they're having with you, like you're supposed to counsel them from a place of expertise and just invent stuff up. Don't do that. If the Lord brings any scripture to mind, share it. If there's nothing, then you say, hey, let's go to the Lord together with this.
Let's pray. Let's ask the Lord for his help. That's what they need more than anything. But stop lying to yourself because that's what you're doing. Stop lying to yourself by saying, I'm not going to share because nobody has the expertise to help me in the area of my suffering.
It's just an excuse. It's not a good one. You're lying to yourself. Some people won't share their suffering with their church family because they're embarrassed. Some people are embarrassed because they feel like they're supposed to have it together all the time, and they're not supposed to be troubled by suffering like other people.
They're too mature, too experienced, too together. And what would people think if they knew what a rough time they were actually going through? Here's what I've learned about people myself, very, very much included. You cannot simply put your pain in a box and hide it. Whether you realize it or not, it is profoundly affecting your life and your relationships, and you are delusional.
If you think you're hiding it, you're delusional. People may not know the specifics, but it's affecting your thoughts. It's affecting your interactions with others. It's affecting your perceptions of others. It's affecting your relationship with Christ your whole life.
I heard a great quote recently. It says, "All pain that is not processed is transferred." If you do not process your pain by bringing it to Christ and allowing your church family to help you work through it, you will transfer that pain to others in the way that you treat them, think about them, speak to them, et cetera. All pain that is not processed is transferred. The only person we're truly fooling is ourselves.
When we refuse to share our sufferings due to embarrassment, we misrepresent ourselves and the gospel. We misrepresent ourselves by trying to act as though we are somehow not affected by earthly trials that's disingenuous. And we misrepresent the gospel by acting as though we don't desperately need the grace and strength of the Holy Spirit. We pretend to be better than we are, and we pretend to need Christ less than we do. I'm going to say it again.
We pretend to be better than we are, and we pretend to need Christ less than we do. I hope you know that we need him desperately, desperately. And I hope you know that this knowledge is shared by every mature follower of Christ. And so it's ironic, tragically ironic, that a believer would not open up to their church family because they want to appear mature, when in reality, such behavior is immature. Because all mature followers of Christ understand how desperately we need him.