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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This refers to our baptism, the profession of our faith publicly.
Fourthly, in the exodus. Twenty nine verse is five and six we read. Then you shall take the garments, put the tunic on air and the robe of the effort, the effort on the breastplate and gird him with the intricately woven band of the effort. You shall put the turban on his head and put the Holy Crown on the turban and then in verses eight through nine we read.
Then you shall bring his sons and put tunics on them, and you shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons and put the hats on them in the step.
The priests were then to be clothed or robed in Galatians three twenty seven.
Our brother Paul writes for as many of us were baptized have put on Christ, we have put on Christ. We've been robed in the righteousness of Jesus. When we were saved, our sins were taken away.
Our filthy rags were exchanged for the righteousness of Jesus. And we now wear his righteousness.
We wear his sinless perfection on our spirits.
Second Corinthians five twenty one declares he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
We've been robbed in the righteousness of Jesus.
Fifthly, in Exodus 2097 we read and you shall take the anointing oil, pour it on his head and anoint him speaking of air.
And then in verse twenty one we read and you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments, on his sons and on the garments of his sons with him. And he and his garments shall be hallowed and his sons and his sons garments with him. The priests were to be anointed with oil in the scriptures. When someone is anointed with oil, what's it always a picture of?
It's a picture of the Holy Spirit. This is why John the Apostle wrote the anointing which you have received. From him. Abides in U. The anointing which you have received from him abides within you, the Lord has put his Holy Spirit in you and desires to put his spirit upon you, to anoint you and give you the power to minister as his priest.
And I know we're moving through these real fast. And and each of these really could be a sermon unto themselves. I pray that you'll think of these things more this week, that you'll study them more and just go through them again a little more slowly and see what else the Lord might want to show you, because there's so much to see here.
Sixthly, in Exodus 29, 22 through five, we read this also, you shall take the fat of the ram, the fat tail, the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, the two kidneys and the fat on them.
The right thigh for it is a ram of consecration, one loaf of bread, one cake made with oil and one wafer from the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the Lord. And you shall put all these in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons.
And you shall waive them as a way of offering before the Lord.
You shall receive them back from their hands and burn them on the altar as a burnt offering, as a sweet aroma before the Lord. It is an offering made by fire to the Lord. I'm not going to get into detail on all of that right now, I just want you to notice that after being anointed, everything the priests needed in order to minister was put into their hands.
Everything that you need to minister to the Lord and the people has been and will continue to be given to you by the Lord, the personality he created you with your talents and abilities, your profession, your relationship, your past. Yeah. Even the broken parts, your wealth or lack thereof. God has filled your hands that you might use what he's given to you, as the priests did right here to minister to the Lord to give it back to the Lord in ministry.
So lastly, we've been and are being sanctified, sanctified.
We're being made more like Jesus. We're living for his glory. In Romans six, Paul writes, Do not present your members the parts of your body as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. But now, having been set free from sin and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness and the end ever lasting life. We've been set apart, we've been consecrated, we've been sanctified, and our being sanctified by the Lord for ministry to him and ministry to others.
That's how God set men aside to be his priests. And it's how God sets aside men and women today to minister to him and minister to people. And perhaps the most wonderful thing about this whole process, all seven steps, and you might have noticed this, is that in every step the priests did nothing. They did nothing, they were passive participants, they were ministered to, they simply stood there and received, they were robed, they were anointed, their hands were filled.
Moses, serving as a picture of Jesus, did all the work for them and did all the work to them. The only things they did, as you read through the text, you'll find is that they were to lay their hands on the offerings as a sign that the offerings were being given in their place and they ate of the show bread.
The pictures, the imagery is obvious.
All we do is reach out to Jesus and accept his offer to be the sacrifice for our sins. And we take in the bread of the word. What's our contribution to our salvation and our sanctification, what's our contribution to our anointing and equipping for ministry and service?
We say yes. That's it, that's our part. The Lord invites, the Lord offers, and we say yes. What is the Christian life it's saying, yes, Lord, in every situation and every circumstance, day in and day out, that's the whole Christian life.
It doesn't matter who you are, what you've done or where you've been. The Lord can, the Lord desires to, and the Lord will do great things through the man or woman who will simply say, yes, Lord, yes.
But, Jeff. I don't feel qualified for ministry, I don't feel qualified to be used by God, cool story, bro.
It's not relevant. It's not relevant because if you haven't connected the dots yet, it's not about you. It's not about how you feel. It's not about what you think. It's about what Jesus has done for you and what Jesus has done to you.
It's not about who you think you are. It's about who Jesus says you are. Listen to me. When a young David was about to take on the seemingly impossible task of battling the giant Goliath. Where did David find the five smooth stones for his Slint? He finds them in the brook where.
In the Valley of Elah, In the Valley of Elah, that was the valley that ran between the camp of the Israelites and the camp of the Philistines, it was the valley where Goliath was waiting for any challengers.
Here's my point. David had already committed he had already taken the step and made the journey down into the valley before he found the Stones, before he found the ammunition that he needed.
And this is one of the most important principles of faith that every Christian needs to learn. And far too many Christians never seem to learn.
And I need this person to go here and change their mind about this, to blow up this.
If you know that God has called you. Then you need to step out in faith believing that as you do, he'll give you what you need. If you spend DOMAs this, DOMAs this, if you spend your whole life waiting until you have everything you think you need before you step out in faith and trust the Lord, you will spend your whole life on the side of the valley.
While those who are willing to step out in faith are slaying giants down in the valley. There's no way around the step of faith, you'll never be ready, you'll never be prepared enough. It will always require faith. I still feel unqualified all the time, all the time. Do you know how many times that I've thought, man, people would be so disappointed if they knew that I don't know the whole Bible as well as I know whatever I taught on last week, people will ask me questions about the Bible that reveal that they think I know the whole Bible like this.
I don't. I've read the whole Bible multiple times, but I'm learning it in depth one week at a time as I study through it, just like you are, hopefully.
But listen. If I waited till I knew the whole Bible as well as I know these two chapters of the Bible. I probably never get there at a minimum, I would waste decades of ministry that the Lord has so graciously decided to do through me. Because I said, yes, Lord, even though I don't feel qualified, even though I don't feel like I know enough. You have to step out and make yourself available in faith to be used by the Lord, there's no way around the step of faith.
Don't miss out. Don't miss out. Let's close with a few more words from our brother Paul, who wrote this to his protege, Timothy. He said, I thank Christ, Jesus, our Lord, who has enabled me because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor and an insolent, that means a violently arrogant man. But I obtained Mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief and the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.
This is a faithful, sane and worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. However, for this reason, I obtained mercy that in me first Jesus Christ might show all long suffering as a pattern to those who are going to believe on him forever lasting life. Now to the King.
Eternal, immortal, invisible to God, alone to God.
Who alone is wise. The honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. Paul says, I was a blasphemer. I persecuted the people of God, I was a violently arrogant man. And you know what Jesus did with me, he put me in the ministry, why? To show just how merciful is and that he can use anybody. Who is God looking for? He's looking for the man or woman who will simply say, yes, Lord. And if you will do that.
He'll take it from there. You've been ordained. You're in the ministry. So let's minister together church, would you buy your hat and close your eyes? Let's pray. Father, thank you so much. That in your great grace. Through your son, Jesus, you've called us out of darkness, into your marvelous light. And not only saved us, Lord, but given us a place in your kingdom and given us a part to play. And you desire to minister to others through us.
So, Lord, if there's any among us who is hesitating to step out in faith in an area where they know that you've called them.
Father, would you give that gift to faith, would you stir that heart right now that we might obey you, that we might be a people who love to say yes to you? That we might see you, Minister, to you and to others through us in ways that absolutely blow us away. We want to be down in the valley, Lord, in the place of faith, not on the sidelines.
We want to have our own testimonies, countless testimonies of the great things we've seen you do. We want to have our own stories, Lord. Of your faithfulness and goodness and Lord, we have them, but Lord, would you multiply them even more for your name sake and for your glory?
We love you, Jesus, in your name we pray. Amen.
Series
Good Friday is Good...Date:4/2/21
Passage: Matthew 27:1-61...Speaker: BJ Chursinoff
A lot of bad things happened on Good Friday. But we don’t call it "Bad Friday" - we call it "Good Friday". In this message, we'll examine both the bad and the good that took place on the very first Good Friday and we will see why we ended up calling this Friday “good” instead of “bad.”
Today is the day that Christians all over the world celebrate the anniversary of one very particular Friday that took place a little over two thousand years ago, today is the day we remember and reflect on one of the best days in the history of the entire world.
Today is the day that we celebrate Good Friday. But I have a question for you. Have you ever really considered why we call this Friday good, or do you just assume it's good?
Because everybody has been calling it good for the past 20 years?
The reason I'm asking this question is because I don't think it's as obvious as you might expect if you were to simply take a look at what happened on Good Friday.
I don't think good would be the automatic conclusion that we would come to in the gospel of Matthew in Matthew Chapter twenty seven Verse is one to sixty one. We have a detailed description of some of the events that took place on the original Good Friday. And a lot of what we see there doesn't appear to be all that good. Let me try to show you what I mean by simply reading for you the account of Good Friday that we have in Matthew's Gospel because it's such a long passage.
I'm also going to show the words on the screen as I read to help you keep your attention all the way through. And when I'm done reading, we're going to take a look together at what makes Good Friday so good, even though so much bad stuff happened on that day, too. So let me read our text. Here's what took place on Good Friday. When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death, and they bound him and let him away and delivered him over to the governor.
Then when Judas, his betrayal, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, I've sinned by betraying innocent blood, they said, what does that to us see to it yourself and throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple. He departed and he went and hanged himself. But the chief priests taking the pieces of silver said it is not lawful to put them into the Treasury since it is blood money.
So they took counsel and brought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers.
Therefore, that field has been called the field of blood to this day then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the Prophet Jeremiah sane. And they took the 30 pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter's field as the Lord directed me. Now, Jesus stood before the governor and the governor asked them, are you the king of the Jews? Jesus said, you've said so.
But when he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. Then pilot said to him, Do you not hear how many things they testify against you? But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed. Now, at the feast, the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted, and they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabas.
Now the chief priests and elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabas and destroy Jesus. The governor again said to them, Which of the two do you want me to release for you? And they said, Barabas pilot said to them, Then what shall I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?
They all said, Let him be crucified. And he said, Why? What evil has he done? But they shouted all the more, let him be crucified.
So when pilots saw that he was gaining nothing but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd saying, I am innocent of this man's blood. See to it yourselves. And all the people answered his blood. Be on us and on and on our children. Then he released for them Barabas and having scourged, scourged, Jesus delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters and they gathered the whole battalion before him and they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him and twisted together a crown of thorns.
They put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, Hail king of the Jews.
And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.
As they went out, they found a man of Cairene, Simon, by name, they compelled this man to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means place of a skull, they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall. But when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. Then they sat down and kept watch over him there and over his head.
They put the charge against him, which read, This is Jesus, the king of the Jews. Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. And those who passed by derided him wagging their heads and saying you who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself if you are the son of God, come down from the cross. So also, the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him, saying he saved others, you cannot save himself.
He's the king of Israel. Let him come down now from the cross and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God deliver him now if he desires him for he said, I am the son of God. And the robbers who were crucified with them also reviled him in the same way. Now, from the sixth hour, there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour and about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying, Eli, Eli, Lema, Sabattini, that is my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
And some of the bystanders hearing it said, this man is calling Elijah and one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him. And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook and the rocks were split.
The tombs also were opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised and coming out of the tombs.
After his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many when the Sun Cherian and those who were with him keeping watch over Jesus saw the earthquake and what took place. They were filled with awe and said, truly, this was the son of God.
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
All of that happened on Good Friday. Now, do you see what I mean when I say that this this day doesn't seem all that good? At first glance, it's not super obvious why we call this particular Friday good.
On Good Friday, we see that the day got started with an innocent man who was pronounced guilty and sentenced to death by the religious leaders. That innocent man was Jesus. And that doesn't seem good. Isn't it bad when innocent people are sentenced to die? On Good Friday, we see a man who was so overwhelmed with guilt that he committed suicide. That's what happened to Judas Iscariot on Good Friday. Suicide is devastating whenever it happens, whoever it happens to.
It's not good. It's bad. Most of us know a little bit about Judas, a story. He wasn't a very good guy. He betrayed Jesus and delivered Jesus over to die. And he did it for 30 pieces of silver. But Jesus tells us to love everyone, even our enemies. That means we shouldn't wish harm on anyone or rejoiced when bad things happen to them. We should even sympathize with their struggles. Can you imagine for a second, though, the weight of the guilt and the shame that gnawed away at Judas to the point that he couldn't take it anymore?
It was so bad that it drove him to take his own life. And have you ever thought about Judith's family, his mom, dad, any brothers or sisters he may have had? Have you ever thought about how Judases suicide would have affected them? However, which way you slice it, Good Friday wasn't a good day for Judith or for the people that he left behind. On Good Friday, we see that a woman suffered terribly because of a dream in Verse 8 19, pilot's wife said this to him, have nothing to do with that righteous man.
Speaking of Jesus, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream, suffering much because of a dream. That doesn't sound pleasant, but that suffering happened on Good Friday. On Good Friday, we see a wicked and guilty man released to the crowds instead of Jesus, and I'm referring to Barabas. Do you want and what do you want to know why Barabas was in prison in the first place?
Luke tells us in his gospel in Luke, chapter 23, verse 19, we are told that Barabas was a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder. Barabas was a convicted murderer, and if we have any sense of justice inside of us, we cry out against the idea we're guilty, murderers are released and innocent people suffer instead. But that's exactly what we see happen on Good Friday when we see Barabas being released to the crowd instead of Jesus.
It should have been Jesus who has released Jesus should have been free to go, Barabas was the guilty one, but Barabas was spared and Jesus was killed. That doesn't seem good. That seems bad. On Good Friday, we see the people who Jesus came to save cry out for him to be crucified. Jesus spent three years going all over Israel, teaching from town to town, village to village, healing thousands of people and telling them the good news about the kingdom of heaven.
Some of the crowd who was there that day on Good Friday probably had a story of their own where Jesus either healed them or someone they knew.
And at the end of it all, they returned the favor by crying out with one voice. Crucify him. Crucify him. Not a good way to respond to the messiah who has come to save you. That doesn't seem good. That seems bad. On Good Friday, we see pilots hand Jesus over to die so that pilot could save his own life. I hope you know, that's why pilot did what he did. He wasn't being noble with the whole washing of the hands thing.
He was saving his own skin. At this point, there was a riot brewing, and if pilot couldn't keep the peace in this part of the Roman Empire that was under his jurisdiction, then he'd have to answer to Caesar. And that would not have turned out well for pilot if there was a riot under his watch. If pilot released Jesus, there would have almost been a riot for sure, but if pilot handed Jesus over to be killed, he would prevent that riot from starting and thus save himself from having to answer to Caesar so to preserve his own well-being.
Pilot handed an innocent man over to death to keep a potential riot at bay. Pilot reason to himself that there was no other way around it. There's nothing good about that. It's not good to choose to do the wrong thing, to benefit yourself is good to do the right thing, regardless of what it might cost you personally.
But pilot thought he could simply wash his hands of Jesus. It wasn't good what pilot did that day, but we still call that the good. On Good Friday, we see Jesus mocked and tortured at the hands of a Roman battalion, and then they crucified him. And on Good Friday we are told that while he hung on the cross, the son of God was forsaken by the father. All of these things happened on one day and after we finish reading what happened on that day, we decided to call this day good.
It doesn't seem all that good when I put it that way, does it? And herein lies the rub. That Friday was good. It was so, so good. It's probably the single best Friday that has ever happened. And so how do we look at these events that happens and reconcile them with the idea to call this Friday, Good Friday, what is good about Good Friday? That's the question I want to answer for you.
Now, I'm going to draw your attention to three different scenes that took place on Good Friday. And when we see these three scenes, the way that God would have us see them, I think then we will be able to understand how good Good Friday it really is.
I see no one. I want you to imagine in your mind, if you will, the scene where a pilot presents Jesus before the crowds and gives them an opportunity to have Jesus released. Picture that scene in your mind. And what happened? Did the crowd choose to have Jesus released to them? No. They chose to have a notorious prisoner named Barabas released to them instead.
It was Barabas who walked away that day, a free man, and it was Jesus who walked up the hill to Golgotha where he was crucified on that day, a man who deserved to die was set free and a man who didn't deserve to die was killed. And we look at the scene where Bravas was set free instead of Jesus. We realized that a gross injustice was done that day.
What happened that day was wrong. It wasn't right. It was bad. It wasn't good at all. Or was it? I think that the goodness that we can see in this scene depends on what perspective you or I use when we look back on it. There was one person who would have looked back on that scene that day and said, you know what? Yeah, that was a really good day, a really good day for me anyway. Who would have said something like that about this day?
Barabas, Barabas, Good Friday was a really, really good day, if you were Barabas, can you imagine the response Barabas got when he showed up at home that day?
To everyone's surprise.
Can you believe it? I can hardly believe it. I'm still pinching myself. This is the best day of my life. I was going to die, but now I'm alive. Barabas was supposed to die, but he got to live instead, and why did he get set free that day? Because someone else was chosen to die instead of him. Barabas got to live and Jesus went on to die. This scene. Gives us a picture of the gospel that is a picture of the good news, if there ever was one.
Now, if you look back on this scene and placed yourself in the story, who do you think you are?
When we look at the scene that took place on Good Friday, we have to realize that we are Barabas in the story, all of us. We are the ones who are guilty and who deserve to die, we deserve to die because of our sins, the apostle Paul says this in Romans Chapter three. Twenty three for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And he goes on to say this. Paul in Roman six verse twenty three for the wages of sin is death.
You see, Barabas stood guilty before a human court. We all stand guilty before a heavenly court. We've all sinned against God. And if we all got the justice that we deserved, we would all pay for our sins and hell forever.
But just like Barabas did we to have received the opportunity to walk away free. Well, someone who didn't deserve to die ends up dying instead of us in our place. Jesus died instead of Barabas that day, and on the cross, Jesus died instead of all of us. The Bible tells us that while on the cross, the perfect sinless son of God hung there while the sins of the entire world were placed upon him.
And when the sin of the world was on him, the father crushed Jesus in place of us. In place of us, for us, we can escape the judgment that we deserve from God, we can live forever, and instead of dying forever, we can do this by turning from our sins and trusting in what Jesus did for us on the cross. We do this by believing in Christ and then what he did.
We have a way out.
And if you choose to believe in Christ and turn your life over to him, you two will escape the justice you deserve. You can experience for yourself what Barabas experienced on Good Friday. Good Friday was a good day for Barabas because of what happened to Jesus. And Good Friday is a good day for everyone who has ever lived because of what happened to Jesus that seen no one. You see no to the second scene from Good Friday that I want you to imagine in your mind is the scene where we see Jesus hanging on the cross.
There's so much good to see in the scene, picture it with me, Jesus had been mocked, tortured and crucified and now the son of God hung on the cross. It was a physically, emotionally, mentally brutal way to die. The cross all by itself was unbearable. But I want to draw your attention to what was said to Jesus while he hung on the cross.
While Jesus was on the cross that day, people continued to hurl insults at him and they continued to mock him. They did this by suggesting that he should save himself if he actually could.
Let me read Verse is thirty nine to forty four from our text for you one more time. And it says and those who passed by derided him wagging their heads and saying you who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself if you are the son of God, come down from the cross.
So also, the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him, saying he saved others. He cannot save himself. He is the king of Israel. Let him come down now from the cross and we will believe in him.
And the robbers who are crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.
Now, for the record, Jesus could have easily done what they were taunting him to do. They were telling him to save himself and Jesus could have saved himself that day if he chose to.
There is absolutely, absolutely no doubt that he could have.
If we flash back from the scene to only a few hours before this to the scene in the Garden of Gethsemani that took place on the very night before Good Friday when Jesus was being arrested and Peter tried to defend him. Jesus said these words to Peter in Matthew, chapter 26, verse 53. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my father? And he will at once send me more than 12 legions of angels? Jesus was basically saying this to Peter, Peter, none of these things is happening against my will.
I am choosing to let these things happen to me. I am letting them arrest me. My angels will come the instant I summon them, and all this mess would be cleaned up real quick.
All of it could have been over at any moment that Jesus decided it was enough, Jesus could have ended it all in the garden on the night before, and Jesus could have easily come off that cross on Good Friday when he was taunted to do it. But he didn't he didn't summon the legions of angels that were at his disposal. He didn't obliterate everyone that opposed him. He let them mock him. He let them spit in his face. He let them torture him.
He let them put a scarlet robe upon his tattered body. He let them put a crown of thorns on his head. He let them drive the nails into his hands and into his feet. He let them crucify him. And Jesus waited until the very end. While hanging on the cross with some of his final breaths, he uttered the words, It is finished.
He let them do everything they did to him until it was all done.
Jesus didn't save himself like he was mockingly told to do, even though he could have. But what if he did? Have you ever thought about that? What if Jesus responded to the taunts he received that day when they said to him, save yourself, what if Jesus was like.
OK. And then he did it, what if he came off the cross and walked away that day and he didn't die there on Good Friday? I'll tell you, that would have done if Jesus saved himself from the cross that day. That would mean that heaven would never have any human beings in it ever. You and I would never get to be in heaven. Nobody would be. We'd all be lost forever.
If Jesus didn't die on the cross for our sins, then at the end of our lives, we would have only one option available to us. Our only option would be to stand before the judgment seat of God given account for our sins and then pay for our sins forever in hell. That would be our only option if Jesus didn't die on the cross that day, but because Jesus died for our sins on the cross, we have another option now. Now we have a choice.
Now we can choose to have Jesus be the one to pay for our sins on our behalf.
That's the choice that God has made available to a sinful humanity. And if you choose to place your faith in Jesus, then you will have your sins forgiven.
And now the only thing that would have kept you out of heaven is gone from your life. Your sins are gone and paid for.
Like the lyrics of the old hymn say Jesus paid at all. If Jesus saved himself that day and didn't die on the cross, everyone would be in big, big trouble. But he chose not to save himself so that we could have the option of being saved, and that is good, good news.
The one who said of himself, I am the way and the truth and the life is not alive anymore. He's dead. This doesn't seem good, but it's so good. This dark scene is so good because it set the stage for the greatest display of power and hope the world has ever seen this scene on Good Friday. Set the stage for the scene that would take place on Resurrection Sunday in only a matter of days.
Jesus wouldn't be dead any more. He died on Good Friday, but he was coming to life on Easter Sunday because Jesus died and was laid in the tomb. He was in a position where he could conquer death by resurrecting from it and walking out of the tomb. Death used to when it used to have the final say when people died, they had this habit of staying dead. Death is one of the consequences of sin, but Jesus is the champion of life.
Jesus dealt with the sin problem on the cross, and then he defeated the death problem when he rose from it, overpowering it and overcoming it, never to taste the sting of death again. But Jesus couldn't conquer death unless he died first, he had to enter the jaws of death in order to dismantle it and walk away from it victorious. And that's what's happened. That's what happened on Good Friday. The son of God died and was laid in a tomb.
And then on Sunday, he would rise forever. We're going to spend some time looking at Jesus resurrection in a couple of days on Easter Sunday, but for now, know this, any good that we see in Good Friday is only good because Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday.
None of the goodness we've looked at here in this message is good news if Jesus body is still rotting in the grave somewhere.
Christianity stands or falls on whether Jesus rose from the dead or not, and only because of the resurrection of sinners receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God as a gift, a gift that cost us nothing but a gift that cost God everything. That, my friends, is good news. That, my friends, is why we call Good Friday. Good. Good. A man. A man. When you pray with me.
Let's pray, Father. We worship you. We worship you for Good Friday. Are you so loved the world that you gave your one and only begotten son that whosoever should believe in him will not perish but have everlasting life? Good Friday is the goodis day that we have ever known, because on it you made a way for sinners to receive mercy, sinners to receive forgiveness.
On Good Friday, you showed your love to the world in that one act, one that one display of grace. You died for us. Thank you. Thank you, Lord. Right now I pray for my brothers and sisters, Lord, for Christians around the world. I pray, Lord, that this reality of Good Friday would not be a doctrine that we ever simplify or think is elementary or think that we graduate from and go to deeper, deeper doctrines and deeper dives into theology.
Lord, I pray that you let the cross of Christ be emblazoned on our minds and in our hearts. Let us never think that we've mastered the glory and the majesty of the Cross. But in it, Lord, we meditate upon the cross and your love that was poured out there in that we have for us the root of all of our joy, the root of all of our satisfaction, the root of all of our piece, the root of all of our power in the proclamation of the Gospel is found in the cross is found in the Gospel.
Lord, let your people preach the Gospel to ourselves over and over and over, that we would be built up in our most holy faith.
And Lord, right now, as the church, we pray if we have any friends among us right now watching this message, hearing this message of the goodness of Good Friday, and they still haven't received forgiveness of sins they haven't trusted in a they haven't believed in you. There may be hearing this for the first time. They may be hearing this for the 10000 time. If it's the first or the millionth time.
Father, we pray right now as the church that you would save sinners right now, Lord, that you would let their sin crush them under the weight of them, that they realize how hopeless they are to save themselves, that they would see what they deserve.
But Lord, open the eyes of their heart, that they can see you and see what you did on the cross and see you beckoning them to come and lay down their sinful life and take up your life instead. Lead them, Lord, to to reject their life and trust you for forgiveness of sins and everlasting life. Let them simply come to you and ask you, Lord, for forgiveness, and you will grant them forgiveness and everlasting life saved sinners.
Right now we pray, Lord, do that this Good Friday. We we pray. And if anyone says yes to that invitation, Lord, your word tells us that the angels in heaven are rejoicing when one sinner turns in repentance. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. We pray all these things. Jesus, Lord Jesus in your sweet and Your powerful. In your most amazing name. Amen. Amen. Amen.
Obviously, these early versions of the story do not have computers or NASA in them! But their structure and many of the details are the same. Rimmer's account shows this: Someone, a scientific person skeptical of the literal truth of the Bible, accidentally discovers (through astronomical calculation) that "the earth is twenty-four hours off schedule." Prof. Totten says, "Of course, just check your Bible to see if you can account for your missing time."
The skeptic reads Joshua and finds that only 23 hours and 40 minutes were lost when Joshua made the sun stand still. "If the Bible made a mistake of forty minutes, it is not the Book of God!"
Totten points out that the Bible didn't say that a whole day was lost at the time of Joshua. It says "about the space of a whole day."
The skeptic took up his Bible reading again, and finally came to a passage in the 38th chapter of Isaiah. King Hezekiah was gravely ill, and in response to his prayer, God promised to add fifteen more years to his life. To confirm the truth of His promise, God offered a sign. He would make the sun advance 10 degrees. He said, "Go out in the court and look at the sundial of Ahaz. I will make the shadow on the sundial back up ten degrees!"
In 2 Kings 20:9-11 an additional detail is given, which is not in Isaiah. God offers as a sign to make the sun advance 10 degrees. Hezekiah answered, "It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees." God was apparently in a good mood that day, and accepted the modification of the original plan. Why, one wonders, is it a "light thing" to make the shadow advance ten degrees, but miraculous to make it go back ten degrees? Of course, the natural direction of shadow motion is an advance. Surely God wasn't proposing the normal rate of advance, but must have been proposing something miraculous, like a sudden advance. Let's credit God with some intelligence! I'd certainly be equally impressed with a sudden motion of the shadow in either direction.
Rimmer concludes, This settles the case, for ten degrees on the sundial is forty minutes on the face of the clock!"
Back in the 50's there was a well known radio host/comedian/song
writer in Hollywood named Stuart Hamblen who was noted for his
drinking, womanizing, partying, etc.
One of his bigger hits at the time was "I won't go hunting with you
Jake, but I'll go chasing women."
One day, along came a young preacher holding a tent revival.
Hamblen had him on his radio show, presumably to poke fun at him.
In order to gather more material for his show, Hamblen showed up
at one of the revival meetings.
Early in the service, the preacher announced, "There is one man in
this audience who is a big fake."
There were probably others who thought the same thing, but Hamblen
was convinced that he was the one the preacher was talking about.
Some would call that conviction, but he was having none of that.
Still the words continued to haunt him until a couple of nights later
he showed up drunk at the preacher's hotel door around 2AM
demanding that the preacher pray for him!
But the preacher refused, saying, "This is between you and God and
I'm not going to get in the middle of it."
But he did invite Stuart in and they talked until about 5 AM at which
point Stuart dropped to his knees and, with tears, cried out to God.
But that is not the end of the story. Stuart quit drinking, quit chasing
women, quit everything that was 'fun.' Soon he began to lose favor
with the Hollywood crowd.
He was ultimately fired by the radio station when he refused to accept
a beer company as a sponsor.
Hard times were upon him. He tried writing a couple of "Christian" songs
but the only one that had much success was "This Old House", written
for his friend Rosemary Clooney.
As he continued to struggle, a long time friend named John took him
aside and told him, "All your troubles started when you 'got religion,'
was it worth it all?" Stuart answered simply, "Yes."
Then his friend asked, "You liked your booze so much, don't you ever
miss it?" And his answer was, "No."
John then said, "I don't understand how you could give it up so easily."
And Stuart's response was, "It's no big secret. All things are possible
with God." To this, John said, "That's a catchy phrase.
You should write a song about it."
And as they say, "The rest is history."
The song Carl Stuart Hamblen wrote was "It Is No Secret."
"It is no secret what God can do. What He's done for others, He'll do for you.
With arms wide open, He'll welcome you. It is no secret, what God can do...."
By the way... the friend was John Wayne.
And the young preacher who refused to pray for Stuart Hamblen?
That was Billy Graham.
It really is no Secret.
Passage: Matthew 27:62-28:15... Speaker: BJ Chursinoff
Easter Sunday is also known as "Resurrection Sunday" because on the third day after His crucifixion, Jesus Christ rose from the dead. In this message we will learn why the resurrection of Jesus was unstoppable, and we will also see how the ripple effects of His resurrection are still being felt in our world today - 2,000 years after He walked out of the tomb.
A train pulls away from the station.
Think in your mind, old school locomotive at the train after the train picks up, steam is hurtling down the tracks and there is nothing that would dare to get in its way.
But a few miles down the tracks in the woods, a couple of guys from the wrong side of the tracks, they see the smoke from the train in the distance and they come up with a genius idea.
They want to try and stop the train because they can see the smoke.
They can tell that the train will be arriving where they are very soon. And so they devised a plan.
They run on quickly and get a couple of items.
One of these items is a roll of paper towel and the other is a spray bottle with water in it.
They come back to the train tracks and find two trees, one on either side of the track, and they attach one end of the roll of paper towel to one tree.
Then they stretch out the roll across the track and attach the other end of the roll to the other tree.
This makes a barrier that they're going to use to stop the train when it comes and just to make sure their plan will work real good. They take the spray bottle and lightly spray the paper towel to make extra sure that the train won't be able to break through it.
So what's going to happen when the train finally arrives and makes contact with the wet paper towel resistance that's been set up?
Nothing, absolutely nothing.
Nothing will happen except that the ridiculous resistance that was set up will be passed through as if it weren't even there.
This is a picture of what happened on Easter Sunday when Jesus was killed and then placed in the tomb on Good Friday. There was absolutely no resistance that could have been applied to him that would have kept him from rising from the dead on the third day after his death.
Anything that tried to keep Jesus resurrection at bay would be like two guys trying to use a damp paper towel to stop a locomotive moving at full speed.
There would be zero resistance. It would be completely futile. This is because the resurrection is an unstoppable force.
What was it that made it so unstoppable? Well, there are at least four things I want you to consider.
There are four powerful truths pertaining to the resurrection that made the resurrection of Jesus an unstoppable force, one God plan, the resurrection to God promised the resurrection. Three, God proved the resurrection and for God personified the resurrection. Let's look at these one at a time. Number one, God planned the resurrection. After Jesus rose from the dead, the apostle Peter stood in front of a large crowd that had gathered in Jerusalem for the Jewish celebration of Pentecost, and he preached the very first sermon of the church.
That sermon can be found in the Book of Acts in Chapter two. And here's an excerpt from that sermon. Men of Israel hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst.
As you yourselves know, this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and for knowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised them up, losing the pangs of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it. Did you hear that Jesus was delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, the whole thing was rigged.
If you study this idea in the Bible further, you will come to realize that God planned the resurrection of Jesus before he laid the foundation of the world.
If the resurrection was a locomotive, the resurrection left the stage, left the station, and eternity past God planned this whole thing out a very long time before it happened.
So if God planned to raise Jesus from the dead, who would be able to stop his plan? Number two, God promised the resurrection, God didn't plan the resurrection and then decided to keep it a secret, he made his plans about the resurrection known through his prophets that he sent into the world. God promised the resurrection when he talked about the resurrection before the resurrection ever happened. Jobs says this about the resurrection in Job Chapter 19, for I know that my redeemer lives.
And at the last he will stand upon the earth and after my skin has been thus destroyed.
Yet in my flesh, I shall see God whom I shall see for myself in my eyes shall behold and not another.
My heart faints within me. Jobs spoke about a future resurrection, saying that even though his skin or his body would be destroyed, yet in his flesh or in his body, he will see God. Jobs said that even though he would die, there would be a time when he would be alive again to see God, that's resurrection talk.
Listen also to what the prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah, chapter 26, verse 19. But your dad will live, their bodies will rise. Those who live in the dust will wake up and shout for joy. For you to do is like the dew of dawn and the earth will give birth to the dead.
This is plane resurrection talk, God is giving us hints in the Old Testament that there would be a resurrection of some sort, but then he gets a little more specific when we hear what David writes in Psalm 16, in verse 10.
He says, for you will not abandon my soul to Sheol or let your holy one see corruption, the term, your holy one is a reference to the Messiah, the savior that would come into the world. David says that God wouldn't let his holy one see corruption. This is a reference to the savior dying.
But the savior won't be dead long enough for his body to go through the natural decaying process. His body wouldn't see corruption. This is because the Messiah would resurrect from the dead before that could happen.
Job, Isaiah and David all spoke in the Old Testament Testament period about the resurrection. And then God's final prophet came on the scene, the son of God himself, Jesus Christ and Jesus also promised the resurrection, but he specifically promised his very own resurrection, not just once, but three times.
He said he would rise from the dead in Matthew Chapter six. Twenty one. It says, From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed. And on the third day be raised in Matthew Chapter 17, In verses 22 to 23. It says, as they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, The son of man is about to be delivered into the hands of men and they will kill him and he will be raised on the third day and they were greatly distressed.
And then in Matthew, Chapter 20, verses 17 to 19, it says, and as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the 12 disciples aside. And on the way he said to them, See, we're going up to Jerusalem. And the son of man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. And he will be raised on the third day.
He demonstrated he had the power to do it. Jesus performed countless miracles throughout his three year public ministry. Before his death, he opened blind eyes. He loosened tongues that couldn't speak. He unstopped deaf ears. He enabled paralyzed people to walk. He cast out leprosy with a touch.
He cast out demons with a word. He did so many miracles that John said these words at the end of his gospel in John. Twenty one twenty five, he says.
Now, there are also many other things that Jesus did where every one of them to be written. I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
Jesus performed countless miracles during his earthly ministry. Out of all the documented miracles that Jesus did, three of them were of the resurrection variety.
Listen to these accounts. The first one is found in Luke's Gospel Luke, Chapter seven verses 11 to 17. Soon afterward, he went to a town called Name and his Disciples and a great crowd went with them as he drew near to the gate of the town. Behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother. And she was a widow. And a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, Do not weep.
Then he came and touched the beer and the bearers stood still and he said, Young man, I say to you, arise. And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.
Fear seized them all and they glorified God, saying a great prophet has arisen among us and God has visited his people.
And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country. Here's another one also found in Luke's gospel when Jesus raised Jairus daughter, Luke, eight, Verse is 52 to fifty five. And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping. And they laughed at him knowing that she was dead, but taken her by the hand. He called saying child arise and her spirit returned.
And she got up at once and he directed that something should be given her to eat. And one more time in the Gospel of John, Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead John Chapter 11 Verse is thirty eight to forty four. Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb, it was a cave and a stone lay against it, Jesus said, take away the stone. Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, Lord, by this time there will be an order, for he has been dead for days.
Jesus said to her that I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God.
So they took away the stone, and Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me. But I said this on account of the people standing around that they may believe that you sent me. When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice.
Lazarus, come out. The man who had died came out his hands and feet bound with linen strips and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them and bind him and let him go. It's one thing to plan the resurrection, it's one thing to promise the resurrection is another thing altogether to prove that you have the power to do the resurrection.
I want you to listen to this exchange found for us in John Chapter 11 and listen closely for what Jesus says about himself in it.
John, Chapter 11, Verse is 17 to twenty seven. And when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for days, Bethany was near Jerusalem about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him. But Mary remains seated in the house. Mary Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
But even now, I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you. Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection.
On the last day Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he died, yet shall he live? And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? She said to him. Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God who is coming into the world. To hear what Jesus said about himself in verse twenty five, he said, I am the resurrection.
He didn't say I have the power to raise people, which he did have. No, it's more than that. He is the resurrection. Jesus is the resurrection personified. You know, the game, rock, paper, scissors, rock, always beats scissors every time without fail, there's a real life version of that game is called Death Resurrection.
When someone puts out death and someone else puts out resurrection, resurrection always beats death every time, without fail. And Jesus is the resurrection personified. So what do you think would happen if the one who is the resurrection died? Do you think the resurrection would stay dead? Do you think he could stay dead? It was impossible for him to stay dead and to put these four powerful truths together. God plan the resurrection. God promised the resurrection. God proved that the resurrection, God is the resurrection personified.
And here's the point. With all those things in mind, Good Friday happened. Jesus was betrayed, arrested, falsely accused and falsely tried and sentenced to death.
He was handed over to the Romans who mocked him, tortured him and crucified him. Jesus died on a cross. His body was placed in a tomb. All of that happened on Good Friday. But then on the third day, Easter Sunday, happened and nothing could stop Jesus from rising.
On Easter Sunday, the resurrection of Jesus was an unstoppable force, building up steam.
To this point in history, all four of these truths converged at the point in history where Jesus Christ lay dead in the tomb. And then. He wasn't there anymore, he rose because death couldn't hold them. It wasn't strong enough, nothing could keep the resurrection dead.
Anything that would have tried to keep him dead and in the grave would have had as much success as a wet paper towel would in stopping a train barreling down the tracks at full speed.
But do you want to know something funny? There were people who tried to stop Jesus from leaving the tomb.
Listen to what Matthew describes happening on the day after the death of Jesus in Matthew. Chapter twenty seven, Verse is, 62 to 66. We read this. The next day, that is after the day of preparation, which was the Saturday following Good Friday, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before pilot and said, Sir, we remember how that impostor said while he was still alive, after three days, I will rise.
They didn't believe his words. It says to In verses 63, they said, Sir, we remember how that impostor said while he was still alive, after three days, I will rise. They knew he said he would rise, but they didn't believe him. They didn't believe his words.
And they also didn't believe the evidence that he gave them after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, you would think that the religious leaders would finally, finally believe that there was something to the claims of who Jesus was.
But instead of believing the evidence of a raised man come back to life, John tells us that they plan to kill Lazarus because so many people were believing in Jesus because Lazarus was alive.
The religious leaders didn't believe Jesus and that was stupid. Count number two of their stupidity. The religious leaders also tried to keep him in the tomb, even though they didn't believe who he was and they didn't believe he would rise from the dead.
They still tried to keep his body in the tomb anyway.
So they roll the stone in front of the tomb and they put up a guard of soldiers in front of the tomb to keep his body in it. Yeah, that was going to work. Can anyone say wet paper towel? He rose anyway, of course. And he walked out of that tomb even before the stone was rolled away. Let's keep reading in. Matthew Matthew. Chapter twenty eight. Verse is one to ten. Now, after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, which was Sunday, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.
And behold, there was a great earthquake for an angel of the Lord, descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him, the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the woman, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen as he said.
Come see the place where he lay, then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead.
And behold he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him. See, I've told you so. They departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said greetings. And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. And there they will see me.
Jesus was already gone by the time the angel came to remove the stone from in front of the tomb in the darkness of the tomb, Jesus overcame death. He conquered it. Death would not and could not keep the light of the world under the cloak of darkness. He rose. And we were talking about this kind of resurrection power.
We need to understand that Jesus didn't need to be let out of the tomb after he rose.
He didn't need to wait for an angel to come rule the stone away so that he could get out.
He wasn't trapped in there. He just left.
The glorified risen Christ is not bound by anything, not bound by time. Space matter, nothing. The stone wasn't rolled away, for Jesus’s sake. It was rolled the way for the sake of those who were there that day. The angel said to the women who are there, come see where he was.
He's not here anymore. He's risen. And then the angel also said to them, don't be afraid. I think it's funny that the angel didn't tell everyone there that day not to be afraid, he didn't tell the soldiers to not be afraid.
And now the king is not dead anymore. Then the woman left to tell the disciples that Jesus was alive and on their way, they met the risen one and they worshiped him and it was awesome. A question. Now, was that the end of the resurrection story, was it all over after Jesus rose from the dead? Did God apply the brakes to the resurrection train and bring it gently to a full stop and into the station?
Hardly. If anything, the resurrection train only began to pick up steam after Jesus rose from the dead.
Here are just a few quick hitting points to consider in terms of how resurrection power took off after Jesus rose from the dead. A lot of people personally saw Jesus for themselves after he resurrected, he saw himself alive to people over a period of 40 days before he ascended back to heaven.
At one point, there were five hundred people who saw him. At the same time, they got to witness resurrection power for themselves after Jesus rose.
And then after Jesus ascended to heaven, his disciples waited in Jerusalem for the promise, he told them about 10 days after Jesus went back to heaven, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the church.
The same resurrection power that Rose Christ from the dead was now living personally inside his people, empowering them to live for him. Before Jesus went back to heaven after his resurrection, he also gave his disciples the charge to tell everyone the gospel. The gospel is the message of the life, death and the resurrection of Jesus. And this message is not your everyday kind of message. This message is the power of salvation to everyone who believes everyone who believes the gospel will be saved from their sins be given eternal life, and they, too, will receive the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit, who comes to live inside of them.
And we look forward to our own resurrection, the day is coming and is soon here when Jesus is going to call his church home to be with him forever in that day, those who are alive will be caught up in the air to meet the Lord, together with those who have trusted in Christ and have died. They will be resurrected to new life and receive the same kind of body that Jesus received when he rose from the dead.
Listen to what the apostle Paul says concerning the resurrection in First Corinthians 15. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we should all be changed.
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable and we shall all be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this moral body must put on immortality.
Paul goes on in First Thessalonians, Chapter four. But we do not want you to be uninformed brothers about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do, who have no hope for, since we believe that Jesus died and rose again. Even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this, we declare to you by a word from the Lord that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not proceed.
Those who have fallen asleep, for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an angel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord, therefore encourage one another with these words. And ever since the resurrection happened, the message of the resurrection has been carried around the world by those filled with resurrection power and people have been believing in the resurrection for the past two thousand years.
While they were going behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place, and when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, tell people his disciples came by night and stole them away while we were asleep. And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble. So they took the money and did as they were directed.
And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. They couldn't keep him in the tomb, and so they switched up their tactics to try to stop the resurrection from spreading. They tried to change the narrative of the story to keep people from believing the real story.
Furthermore, they were like, we know what actually happened, but tell the people a different story. Instead, tell the people his body was stolen. Tell him a different story. Tell them whatever you want. Just don't let people believe that he rose from the dead, make up anything. People do the same thing today, tell people he wasn't a real person, tell people he wasn't God, tell people he didn't actually die, tell people he didn't actually rise.
Every false religion in the world today tries to alter the gospel by changing parts of it or all of it.
That's been a tactic of people who oppose Jesus for the past two thousand years.
But do any of those tactics ever work? Can you say wet paper towel, resist resistance? Throughout history, the harder the world tries to stop the resurrection of power, resurrection, power of Jesus from spreading, the more of that power is put on full display by God.
Examples in places like China and Iran, laws exist to limit or stop the belief in the resurrection of Christ and to stop the spreading of the message in those countries today.
How do you think that's working out? The church is spreading like wildfire in those countries.
People are believing and getting saved left, right and center. The resurrection is an unstoppable force. It couldn't be stopped when Jesus walked out of his tomb alive.
It won't be stopped as long as his church takes the message of the resurrection across the whole world.
It won't be stopped when he comes back to rapture his church. Final question for you in this message. Are you on the resurrection train if you answer yes to that question? Praise God, you're on it. If you are, you are on it by faith, by believing on the resurrection of Jesus. Now invite people to get on the train with you by telling them the gospel. Tell them there's room for them where you're going. But you might say, no, I'm not on the train yet, then I will say to you, what are you waiting for?
Jesus said that whoever is not for him is against him. You are either on the resurrection train or you're not. You either have resurrection power in your life or your life. Is the wet paper towel trying to resist God? Stop resisting him. Confess your sins, turn from them and give your life to follow the one who loved you so much, she came to die on the cross for your sins and then rose from the dead so that you can rise one day to believe in Jesus today and become a Christian.
Get on the train. That is the unstoppable force of the resurrection.
You are the victorious one. Likewise, you are the sovereign one. You are the champion of life. You are the source and the sustainer of life. Not only that, but you are the resurrection. You conquer death. You put it to shame. You triumphed over it and you sent your disciples across the world telling everyone the message that they have access to God now simply by believing in the life, death and resurrection of the son.
Likewise, you tell people or don't clean your life up first. Don't be righteous first. Don't get your act together first. Just confess your sins and come to me and I will take care of everything. Praise you, God, you're such a good God. You're so merciful. You're so full of love and grace and truth and comfort and power.
We praise you. We praise you. Today on Easter Sunday. We praise you every day, every day until you come back to get us. Lord, thank you. Thank you. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.
A Psalm of Thanksgiving
1 Make a Joyful shout to the Lord,
all you lands!
2 Serve the Lord with Gladness;
Come before His presence with
singing.
3 Know that the Lord, He is God!
It is He who has made us, and
not we ourselves.
We are his people and the sheep
of his pasture.
4 Enter into His gates with
thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless his
name.
5 For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
and His truth endures to all
generations.
From the:
Possibility Thinkers Bible (NKJV)
NOVEMBER 2019
Millions of people believe that if we do not immediately address climate change, we will literally be in the early stages of mass extinction, and this will be the LAST GENERATION on this earth—with worldwide devastation happening in the next few decades.
A few months ago (on September 19, 2019), millions of people demonstrated across the world demanding urgent action to tackle global warming, as they united across timezones and cultures to take part in the biggest climate protest in history.
People protested from the Pacific Islands, through Australia, across Southeast Asia, Africa, into Europe, and also in the Americas. It was an explosion of the youth movement that was started by a Swedish school ‘striker’ Greta Thunberg just over a year previous to this event.
For the first time since the school ‘strikes’ for climate change that began in 2018, young people called on adults to join them—and they were heard. Trade unions representing hundreds of millions of people around the world mobilized in support, employees left their workplaces, doctors and nurses marched, and workers at firms like Amazon, Google, and Facebook also walked out to join the climate protest.
Demonstrations took place in an estimated 185 countries, but the overall message was unified. It was a demand for an urgent step—immediate action to cut emissions and stabilize the climate.
Inspired by the Swedish teenage climate activist, fellow climate-change warrior Lucas Barrero, said in his new book, “The World You Are Leaving Us,” “We are the first generation that will suffer, or rather, is already suffering the effects of the ecological and climate crisis. But we are the last generation that can do something to stop the disaster.”
Here in America, the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), made headlines when she said (in January 2019) that she and other young Americans fear that “the world is going to end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change.” She also remarked that the fight to mitigate the effects of climate change is her generation’s “World War II.”
Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) joined fellow Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) in predicting the climate change-induced doomsday, but he said that, “The world only has 10 years left.” (His climate change proposal, that seeks to hit net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, is estimated to cost about $5 trillion over the next ten years).
However, on the other ‘side’ of the argument, many prominent climate scientists refuted AOC’s claim, with NASA climate scientist Kate Marvel stating that climate change is not a “cliff we fall off” but rather “a slope we slide down.”
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.
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.
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).
This is definitely happening today!
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 were 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
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 ].
Who would have thought that just 10-15 years ago what a USA Today newspaper article said, “That eventually everyone will be ‘chipped,’” which will contain all of that person’s personal information, and will be used to purchase goods. [ Note: I believe that this will be the technology that will be used for the “Mark of the Beast” during the Tribulation period—maybe in conjunction with a ‘tattoo’ on the hand. Reminder: Taking the ‘Mark’ damns a person’s soul to Hell for eternity! ].
[ FYI: 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
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 ].
Middle East ‘Activity’
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.”
The Bible tells us that the Harlot will be an ‘apostate’ ecumenical church that will embrace all world religions (except for ‘biblical’ Christianity). [ Something Pope Francis has a strong focus on doing today, being involved in an ‘alliance’ with Turkey to control Jerusalem ].
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’ .
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.”
There’s also the very ‘dangerous and un-biblical “replacement theology” that says the Church has ‘replaced’ Israel as God’s focus. Sadly, the Evangelical Church is moving away from supporting Israel. Totally unbiblical!—primarily because most Christians don’t know prophecy!
Then there’s “Christian Palestinianism” that blames Israel for the conflict with the Arabs, and that Israel is living in the Palestinian’s land. A total lie! (There are no “Palestinian” people mentioned in the Bible, and Jerusalem has been the capital of only one country throughout history—Israel!)
There’s also a rush into mysticism with what is being called “contemplative prayer,” that tells Christians to be like Buddhists, and what is called “Christ Alignment”—a form of Christianized tarot cards—that tells the ‘future’ of a Christian. All of this is repackaged new-age witchcraft, which is specifically condemned in Scripture (Deuteronomy 18:10-11).
All this—and MORE—is happening at a ‘breakneck’ pace!
Increase In Apostasy
Escalating ‘Birth Pangs’
The earth is exhibiting catastrophic “birth pangs”—natural disasters worldwide are happening with greater frequency and greater intensity.
For example, global natural disasters in the 1950s were about 25-30 per year, in the 1960’s it was about 50-75 per year, and now, in the first decade of the 2000s, it was 400-500 per year. However, in the 2010’s it’s been 800-850 per year and is forecast to increase even more! (Droughts, famines, plagues, and pestilences have also been increasing dramatically).
I really believe the world is virtually ‘dilated’ at a “10,” and it’s just a matter of time before the earth gives ‘birth’ to unimaginable disasters.
Terrorism
One of the reasons for continued terrorism in the Middle East is that hatred is being passed on to the next generation. Children are going to “summer camp” in territories under the control of the Palestinian Authority and are taught how to take a serrated edged knife and cut the head off of a teddy bear (as though it’s a Jew!). Then they’re taught how to put on suicide vests, and are told that their “greatest reward is to give their lives for the cause of Allah.” They are raising terrorists in humongous numbers (about 150,000 kids every summer), and their ‘mantra’ is that “Israel’s days are numbered.” They are told that in order for there to be world peace, Israel must be destroyed!
Sadly, Middle Eastern terrorism is here to stay and will continue to grow, since large sums of money are given to the families whose family members perpetrate acts of terrorism. A Muslim woman commented that she wishes that she had more sons to offer to the ‘cause’ of Allah as martyrs! A ‘sad’ state of affairs!
In addition to the Middle East, there are other ‘rogue’ nations, like North Korea, that possess nuclear weapons and are a real threat to all the nations of the earth.
Here in the U.S., the ‘official’ start of the war on terrorism began on September 11, 2001, and we have been engaged in the most protracted ‘war’ we have ever been in. It was very sad that 3,000 died in those “911” attacks, but it’s even more horrific than abortion takes 20,000 TIMES (60,000) more humans per day! Ruth Graham (wife of Billy Graham) remarked about the downward spiral of America’s moral standards saying, “If God doesn’t punish America, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.”
Religious Persecution
This is primarily an unprecedented rise in the persecution of Jews and Christians worldwide.
There have been more Christian martyrs in the 20th century than all other centuries combined! Anti-semitism is also escalating worldwide. New York students were given homework to give reasons why they should exterminate Jews! Daily, in Europe, Jews are being ‘harassed’ to an extent that they need police protection, so they’re immigrating back to Israel [ FYI: Returning to the Land is another end times prophecy
Another example of persecution includes many governments not allowing people to even plant food for themselves, and they are starving to death. Criminal!
Rebirth Of Israel
The rebirth of Israel as a ‘State’ is the ‘CENTRAL’ WORLD EVENT that is prophesied to lead to the last ‘generation’ and the greatest war of all time.
To understand how monumental this truly is, this has NEVER OCCURRED in the history of mankind! We have never seen a people who have lost their land, were dispersed, and then integrated into cultures all over the world, to come back into their original land and reinstitute their language and culture (especially after over 1,900 years!).
The thing is, Isaiah the prophet ‘predicted’ it: “In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” [ Isaiah 11:11-12 ].
Then, Jesus ‘promised’ it: “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” [ Matthew 24:32-35 ].
Israel’s rebirth is illustrated as “dry bones” that came back together (The prophet Ezekiel ‘sees’ a graveyard vision of the national restoration, regeneration, and return of the “whole house of Israel” – verses 1-14).
Ezekiel then writes, “I will bring you from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered—with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath” [ Ezekiel 20:34 ]. These ‘dry bones’ are a dramatic image of the Jewish nation before they returned to their land, and there is an indication that there would be a primary ‘re-organization’ of them, and then a gradual ‘implementation’ over time (people returning to the Land).
Israel, a nation that had not really existed as a ‘unique’ nation for nearly 2,500 years, was declared a new sovereign State by an act of the United Nations on May 14, 1948. The nation was ‘reborn’ in a day, just as Isaiah predicted: “Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children” [ Isaiah 66:8 ].
The Jewish people are now back in their land. That is THE GAME-CHANGER EVENT that ‘screams’ to me that we are the ‘LAST’ GENERATION! This is not just the miracle of the 20th century, but of ALL TIME!
Finally, the astonishing victory of Israel in the 1967 War is significant in fulfilling this ‘rebirth’, since Israel took over jurisdiction of the entire city of Jerusalem then (it had been previously divided between them and Transjordan before the war). This was also prophesied to happen!
Convergence
Something that’s even more astounding is the ‘CONVERGENCE’ of all of these things—happening all at one time, today!
All these ‘things’ (and others) are taking place right in front of our eyes, and are SURE INDICATIONS that we are in the LAST of the last days! Prophecy ‘watcher’ Jan Markell is ‘know for’ saying that, “The world is not falling to pieces, rather, the pieces are all falling into place.”
PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE
When Jesus spoke of the “fig tree” in Matthew 24:32-35, He wasn’t speaking about a ‘literal’ fig tree, He was speaking metaphorically—as a ‘symbol’ of national Israel (We also find this in Hosea 9:10 and Jeremiah 24:5). Jesus is saying here that when you see the fig tree “budding”—coming back to life—know that My return is near.
“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” [ Matthew 24:32-35 ].
Israel IS back in the Land that God originally gave them, so Jesus’ return is very near!
HOW LONG IS A “GENERATION”?
There are three possible interpretations of what Jesus meant about being the “last generation,” based on a few translations of the Greek word “genea.”
The first is that it applied to the generation alive that Jesus was speaking to. However, the context was His Second Coming and the ‘end of the age’—the rise of the Antichrist, the desolation of the Holy Place, the darkening of the sun, and the War of Armageddon—none of which happen during the lifespan of people alive in Jesus’ day. Obviously then, Jesus meant something different when He spoke of “this generation.”
Secondly, generation can also mean “race.” So, some interpret it to mean that the Jewish race would not become extinct before Jesus returns. Again, this certainly doesn’t qualify as much of a sign to say that as long as there are Jewish people living on earth Jesus could come back. In addition to that, there is another Greek word that is used for “race” that could have been used if that was the intent here.
So, the third, and most logical interpretation, is that the generation being born when the fulfillment of the end times signs begins, would still be alive at Jesus’ return. Notice it doesn’t say that no subsequent generations would be born, nor does it say that all the signs would be fulfilled before the birth of the next generation. It just says the signs will be fulfilled within the lifetimes of those who are living at the time the first sign appears.
The Amplified version of the Bible gives some clarity to all this: “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this generation [ the people living when these signs and events begin ] will not pass away until all these things take place.” So, the “generation” that sees the fig tree ‘budding’, will see everything connected with the “end time” events. This means that the people on earth when the ‘birth pangs’ begin will not all die until all that has been prophesied has been fulfilled, and Jesus returns to the earth (His “Second Coming”). Those who are on the earth then will have only a short time left. [ Reminder: Remember, too, that there are NO specific ‘signs’ with regard to the Rapture of the Church—it can take place at ANY moment! (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) ].
In different places in the Bible, it identifies “generational” timespans as 40, 70, 80, 100, and 120 years. The following is an analysis of each.
When the Israelites refused to go into the Promised Land for fear of the Amorites the Lord condemned all the adults except for Caleb and Joshua to death. He said they’d wander in the desert one year for every day the 12 spies were in the land and during that time all the adults age 20 and over would die. The spies were in the land for 40 days so the term of punishment was set at 40 years. During that 40-year period, the Israelites conducted an average of 85 funerals each day to remind them of their failure to obey, until all the adults had died (Numbers 14). This event led some to speculate that the length of a generation is 40 years when in fact the Lord had really limited the life span of those adult Israelites to coincide with the term of the punishment.
Thus, that generation was more than 40 years old since it is the adults who are being spoken about. Besides, nowhere in human history has a generation been said to be only 40 years.
70-80 YEARS
Several hundred years after the Flood, Moses declared, “For we have been consumed by Your anger And by Your wrath, we have been dismayed. You have placed our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your presence. For all our days have declined in Your fury; We have finished our years like a sigh. As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, Or if due to strength, eighty years, Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; For soon it is gone and we fly away. Who understands the power of Your anger And Your fury, according to the fear that is due You?” [ Psalm 90:7-12 ]. According to this passage, could a generation be 70 or 80 years?
Well, considering the context, the psalmist’s first line in this passage is speaking on behalf of the nation of Israel (i.e., “we”). The people of Israel were under God’s judgment for their disobedience under the Old Covenant. God was “consuming” Israel in His fury and anger against them. Israel endured exile, bondage, drought, famine, and other consequences for their apostasy to the Covenant.
Then, in verse eight, the Psalmist says Israel’s sins were “before” God. Though Israel thought they were sinning in secret, the Psalmist says their secret sins were placed in the light of God’s presence. In other words, they weren’t so secret after all. Because of Israel’s unrepentant sins, God consumed His people in fury through judgments that weakened them and brought them to early death.
In verse 10, the psalmist says the life of a person is 70 or maybe 80 years, yet the pride of our years is merely labor and sorrow. No matter how long we may live, soon we are gone in the end.
Therefore in this context, it is clear that the psalmist is not specifying an exact length of life for all human beings. Rather, he’s remarking, in a general way, that most people live between 70-80 years. Some may live fewer years and some may live longer. Nevertheless, 70-80 years is generally the length of life for mankind, and in eternal terms, it’s a very short time indeed. Therefore, we must live with an appreciation for the eternal consequences of how we live.
One thing is clear, the psalmist asks God to teach His people to NUMBER THEIR DAYS, which means to appreciate the fragile and fleeting nature of life on earth. (Which is something ALL believers should do!) By gaining a healthy appreciation for our mortality, God’s people should live with wisdom for whatever time God gives us.
So, Psalm 90:10 (nor Genesis 6:3) are interpreted as being God-ordained age limits for humanity. Genesis 6:3 is a prediction of the timetable for the Flood, and Psalm 90:10 is simply stating that as a general rule, people live 70-80 years (which just so happens to be still the ‘normal’ lifespan today).
100 YEARS
There is a passage in Genesis where God tells Abraham that his descendants would spend 400 years in Egypt as slaves before coming out with great wealth: “Then the Lord said to Abram, ‘Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward, they shall come out with great possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete’” [ Genesis 15:13-16 ].
This passage appears to equate 400 years with four generations, making a generation 100 years long, but this is not the case. The numbers 400 and four refer to two different things. True, the Israelites were in Egypt for about 400 years, but a careful study shows that after Moses led them out, the Israelites who finally crossed the Jordan with Joshua were the fourth generation from the one in which Moses was born.
120 YEARS
In Matthew 24, Jesus states that in the days before His coming, it will be “as in the days of Noah.” While the “days of Noah” lasted exactly 120 years (“My Spirit will not contend with man forever for he is mortal, his days will be a hundred and twenty years” – Genesis 6:3), it so happens that this is the exact number of years God gave mankind to repent before He sent the Flood.
This Genesis passage deals with God’s long-suffering and the length of time He was willing to allow people to repent, and the previous Psalm deals with finite humans who are in need of God’s mercy.
So, upon careful examination, we can conclude that these passages both give us important insight into the existence of human beings and the judgment that each human must face when their time on earth has concluded. Whether a human being lives to be 100 or 120, their time on earth is VERY BRIEF when seen from God’s perspective. “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” [ James 4:14 ].
The brevity of our life should cause us to EXAMINE OUR SPIRITUAL ‘CONDITION’ to see whether we are prepared to spend eternity in heaven with Jesus or eternal separation from Him in Hell.
“For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers” [ Psalm 90:4–6 ].
Now, I’m not trying to “date set,” but I’m just making a ‘case’ that sometime in the NOT-TO-DISTANT FUTURE the ‘Trumpet’ is going to sound and Jesus is coming back to rapture ALL BELIEVERS to Heaven!
So, it looks like there is not any ‘conclusive’ proof as to exactly how many years a “generation” is, but I think we can safely say it is between 70 and 120 years.
It also just so happens that a recent huge study has just been concluded, and most secular scientists associated with the study agree that, even with all the medical breakthroughs that could possibly happen, they surmise that humans are unlikely to live longer than 125 years old.
What a DAUNTING PROSPECT that there will be a ‘terminal’ generation, and even MORE UNNERVING is that I am proposing, because of all of the ‘signs’ I just discussed, that there just might be people that are living today that will bTHAT GENERATION!!!
THE ‘COUNTDOWN’ HAS STARTED
If this is the Final Generation, the important questions would be, when did it ‘START’ and when will it ‘END’? When did the ‘official’ beginning of the re-gathering take place?
If this is the Final Generation, the important questions would be, when did it ‘START’ and when will it ‘END’? When did the ‘official’ beginning of the re-gathering take place?
Well, the “Final Generation” term refers to the ‘last’ generation that lives in the biblical “end times,” which for my purposes here, correlates to living within a 70-120 year timeframe before the Second Coming of Jesus. The Rapture will remove the believers from this ‘generation’, and unbelievers will be left behind. However, within the unbeliever ‘group’, some will become believers before the Tribulation Period—the ‘gap’ between the Rapture and the start of the Tribulation Period—so they will not be alive when the Tribulation starts.
The “Terminal Generation” then alludes to a ‘subset’ of the “Final Generation,” who are people that will experience the seven-year Tribulation Period. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word “terminal” as: “extremely or hopelessly severe, occurring at or constituting the end of a period.” The thing is, the Bible foretells of global events that will get so chaotic and catastrophic in the Tribulation that, “unless those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect’s sake, those days shall be shortened” [ Matthew 24:22 ]. This is only because God made an unconditional ‘covenant’ with Abraham that he would have decedents forever. So, God prevented the extinction of mankind because of His promise to Abraham. [ To me, the “Terminal Generation” will only know that they are IT when the Antichrist “desolates” the Jewish Temple, and then they can calculate that they have 3-1/2 years until Jesus comes back to establish His “Millennial Kingdom” on earth ].
So, a few would argue that it started with the foundation at the inaugural Congress of the Zionist Organization, held in Basel, Switzerland in 1897. Since from 1897 to 1967 is exactly 70 years (a ‘significant’ period of time biblically), then it is reasonable to assume that the “second phase” would also take 70 years (which would make the ‘end’ to be 2037).
I, however, (with many Bible scholars) advocate that the countdown ‘started’ on May 14, 1948, when Israel, once again, ‘became’ a nation. Many scholars connect this date with their interpretation of the Parable of the Fig Tree.
[ NOTE: Why wait to see if this is the Final Generation that concludes with the Terminal Generation? TREMBLE at the coming wrath of God, and with a poor and contrite ‘spirit’, CRY OUT to Him now to save you so you can ‘escape’ the ‘terminal’ generation! (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10) ].
So, it just might be that the end may come a bit sooner—at least seven years for the Tribulation (but probably more). Based on the assumption that a ‘generation’ isn’t more than 120 years, the Rapture ‘should’ occur before 2068 (However, I believe it will be MUCH EARLIER than that!)
Now, know that “no one knows the hour and the day” (Mathew 24:36), but the Bible has given us ‘clues’ as to “the times and the seasons” (1 Thessalonians 5:1) and that “the Lord shall come as a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2). All this should be obvious to the discerning believer.
The rapture is an event that will take place sometime in the near future. Jesus will come in the air, catch up the Church from the earth, and then return to heaven with the Church. The Apostle Paul gave a clear description of the rapture event in his letters to the Thessalonians and Corinthians.”For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thess, 4:16-18).
“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal put on immortality” (1 Cor. 15:51-53).
The timing of the rapture is not known. From the Word of God and from sound reasoning–something Jesus used quite frequently–I hope to prove the reality of the pretribulation rapture.
The word “rapture” comes from Paul’s “caught up” remark in verse 17. The words “caught up” are translated from the Greek word harpazo, which means “to carry off,” “snatch up,” or “grasp hastily.” The translation from harpazo to “rapture” involved two steps: first, harpazo became the Latin word raptus; second, raptus became the English word “rapture.”
Scriptural Evidence for the Pretribulation Rapture
The Unknown Hour
When we search the Scriptures and read the passages describing the Lord Jesus’ return, we find verses that tell us we won’t know the day and hour of that event. Matthew 25:13 says Jesus will return at an unknown time, while Revelation 12:6 indicates that the Jews will have to wait on the Lord 1,260 days, starting when the Antichrist stands in the Temple of God and declares himself to be God (2 Thes 2:4). This event will take place at the mid-point of the seven-year tribulation (Dan 9:27). Note that some people only see a three-and-a-half-year tribulation. In a way, they are correct because the first half of the tribulation will be relatively peaceful compared to the second half. Nonetheless, peaceful or not, there still remains a seven-year period called the tribulation. When the Jews flee into the wilderness, they know that all they have to do is wait out those 1,260 days (Mat 24:16). There is no way to apply the phrase “neither the day nor the hour” to this situation. The only way for these two viewpoints to be true is to separate the two distinct events transpiring here: 1) the rapture of the Church, which comes before the tribulation; and 2) the return of Jesus to the earth, which takes place roughly seven years later
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
In Luke 12:36, the Word states that when Christ returns, He will be returning from a wedding. In Revelation 19:7-8, we read about the marriage itself. The marriage supper takes place before the marriage. According to Jewish custom, the marriage contract, which often includes a dowry, is drawn up first. The contract parallels the act of faith we use when we trust Jesus to be our Savior. The dowry is His life, which was used to purchase us. When it’s time for the wedding, the groom goes to the bride’s house unannounced. She comes out to meet him, and then he takes her to his father’s house. This precisely correlates with the events according to the pre-trib scenario. Jesus, the Groom, comes down from heaven and calls up the Church, His Bride. After meeting in the air, He and His Bride return to His Father’s house, heaven. The marriage supper itself will take place there, while down here on earth the final events of the tribulation will be playing out.
“He” That is Taken Out of the Way
Before the Antichrist can be revealed, Paul said a certain “He” must be taken out of the way. According to 2 Thessalonians 2:7, the “He” that must be removed is widely thought to be the Holy Spirit. It has been promised that the Holy Spirit would never leave the Church, and without the working of the Holy Spirit remaining on earth, no one could be saved during the tribulation. The removal of the Church, which is indwelt by the Holy Ghost, would seem the best explanation for this dilemma. The working of the Holy Spirit could go on during the tribulation, but His influence would be diminished because of the missing Church.
War or Rapture
(Rev 19:19-21) When Jesus returns at the end of the tribulation, He will be coming for battle. For those who believe in a post-trib rapture, it would be strange to meet your Lord and Savior just as He’s rushing into battle. The idea that war and rapture could occur together is difficult to imagine, especially since they transpire at the same moment.
The Five Foolish Virgins
The wedding story that Jesus gave in Matthew 25:2-13, I believe, is a parable of the rapture of the Church. It explains how some will not be ready. Jesus clearly states that a group of people will miss out on an event, and will cry out to God to let them into the place where He resides, heaven. Although some try to put this parable in a post-trib context, it doesn’t fit very well. The ones left behind in a post-trib rapture will not need to seek the Lord because they’ll immediately be confronted by Him and His army of angels.
God Hath Not Appointed Us to Wrath
In 1 Thessalonians 5:9, Paul assures us that God has not appointed His people to wrath. This wrath is plainly God’s anger that will be poured out during the tribulation. Pre-trib believers interpret this as meaning that Christians will be removed from the earth. Post-trib believers tell a different story. They describe this as meaning that God will protect Christians during the tribulation and pour this wrath out on the unbelievers only. This idea runs against the statement made in Revelation 13:7, in which the Antichrist is given power to make war with the saints and to overcome them. A post-trib view would make God’s promise of protection from wrath into a lie. In years past, it was possible to think of being protected from the guns and swords of that day. Today, when any major war would involve nuclear and chemical weapons, it’s impossible to expect that same kind of protection. When Nagasaki, Japan was bombed during World War II, the bomb exploded over a Catholic church. Everyone who was in the center of the explosion died–both Christians and non-Christians. The only way to validly interpret God’s promise of protection from wrath is by viewing 1 Thessalonians 5:9 as the bodily removal of the Church from this world.
The Salt of the Earth
Jesus said, “Ye are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13). When the believers are suddenly removed, the earth will be plunged into spiritual darkness. When this happens, the Antichrist will then be free to control the world
In Revelation 7:3, an angel descends to earth and seals the servants of God. Two bits of information about this sealing highly disclaim a post-trib viewpoint. The first item is the number of people sealed: 144,000. The second one is that all those who are sealed are from the 12 tribes of Israel. For the events in Revelation 7:3-8 to be true in a post-trib interpretation, either the Church has turned against God or God has turned against the Church. A post-tribber could write a thousand-word commentary about why the Church doesn’t need to be sealed. Instead of trying to argue about why the Church is not mentioned or sealed, a pre-trib proponent could just say, “We’re already in heaven.”
Noah and Lot as Examples
The tribulation period is compared to the times of Noah and Lot by Jesus in Luke 17:28. Most people argue over whether the time frame Jesus was talking about in that passage was pre-trib or post-trib. In doing so, they miss an important point. The two circumstances that the Noah and Lot situations have in common are the removal of the righteous and the judgment of the unbelievers. From these two accounts, we see that God prefers to remove His own when danger is involved.
Common-Sense Reasons for Believing in the Pretribulation Rapture
One way to check the soundness of a doctrine is to see how the world reacts to it. One company put out a questionnaire that was used to screen prospective employees. One of the questions was, “Do you believe in the rapture?” If you answered “yes,” your chances of getting hired would not be good. Some internet sites do not allow the topics of Rapture or Second Coming. They do allow topics such as sex, gays, and drugs. The only time the news media mentions the rapture is when someone sets a date and is proven to be wrong.
That Old-Time Religion
It used to be a rule of thumb that when one was visiting a church or listening to a preacher, one could assume the preacher believed in repentance, prayer, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost if he taught the rapture doctrine. It was also true that the churches on fire for God worshipped out of storefronts. Today, many of those storefront churches have moved into marble palaces and have strayed from their principal doctrines.
Birds of a Feather Flock Together
Whenever I look at all the groups that teach false doctrine and are highly focused on end-time events, I cannot find any that support the rapture theory. Some organizations, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, teach a false gospel and are heavily into Bible prophecy. Why, then, don’t Jehovah’s Witnesses teach a false doctrine that would be right up their alley? Could it be that the demonic forces that influence these groups know something that Christians opposed to the rapture don’t know? The list of prophetically minded cults that reject the idea of a rapture goes on and on. Here are some more: the Mormons, the Worldwide Church of God and the Moonies, as well as leaders like Jim Jones and David Koresh.
The Church Would Rebuke the Antichrist
If the Antichrist came to power with the Church still here, I do not see how he could operate. When Hitler was fighting to take over England, a number of Christians were praying for victory. Hitler made mistake after mistake, and England outperformed its enemy at every stage of the conflict. It is difficult to measure the impact of intercessory prayer in physical warfare. Little is known of how great a role praying saints played in the defeat of Nazi Germany. If the Church were to reside on earth during the tribulation, I am sure she would give the Antichrist fits. In Revelation 11:3, the two witnesses alone give the Antichrist enough headaches. Millions of Christians who know their Bibles well would recognize the man of sin and pray fire down on his head. The post-trib view would have to plan on the Church just rolling over and playing dead the whole seven years
AMEN