ISRAEL vs Palestine

1. Hello! I guess you could say this blog is my personal opinion about the land of Israel and related issues. I wrote some of this in response to a blog comment and then I expanded it. It is just pretty much what I might say if we were discussing the subject. You may disagree but this is how I see it. Hope you enjoy and feel free to respond.
2. Most of my knowledge is from reading and research but I did have the privilege of visiting Israel back in 2007 and got a chance to talk with some Israelis, Christians, Arabs and even Rabbis.
3. The many slanders against Israel for mistreatment of Christians are incorrect. The Christian population is generally growing but has dropped from persecution in some Muslim controlled areas.
4. Many of the Arabs in Gaza would rather live under Israeli rule than under their own government. They know their lives would improve drastically if they weren’t oppressed by Hamas terrorists.
5. Israel does everything it can do to help the oppressed Arab people under the circumstances. They can’t allow them total freedom because many among them are out to destroy Israel. If Muslim homes are damaged or civilian lives are lost it is because the terrorists use civilians as shields. The Muslims of the Gaza Strip place a low value on this life. They send their children out with bombs strapped to them to kill innocent Israeli citizens because they believe Jihad will insure their eternal salvation. And, they feel justified in blowing up innocent Israeli civilians because their religion requires the killing of unbelievers.
6. Like many others, I sympathize with the general Arab population of Gaza. They are trapped in an oppressive Islamic terrorist stronghold and deceived by a false religion they were born into. Israel is not to blame for that.
7. Israel is not perfect but her humanitarian standards are very high. Read Son of Hamas by Mosab Hassan Yousef. He shares what life was like under Arafat and how the kindness of the Israelis changed his prejudiced attitude toward them, and how becoming a Jesus follower changed his life entirely.
8. Israelis have suffered throughout history. They have no desire to oppress others but they have a right to their land! Are they the only people in the world unworthy of a homeland? Are Muslims automatically entitled to every square inch of the Middle East?
9. If the Arabs calling themselves "Palestinians" deserve to take the land away from Israel because they are underdogs, why doesn't Israel deserve to keep some land because she is the underdog among the Arab nations? Her land is tiny compared to the surrounding Arab nations.
10. Have you not noticed that every time Israel makes concessions to the "Palestinians" they are viewed as weak and subjected to more attacks?
11. Have you not noticed that the "Palestinians" don't want freedom or a little more land– they simply want Israel wiped off the map? They actually have maps without Israel on them.
12. If the political leadership of Gaza and the West Bank would simply recognize Israel's right to exist and come to the talks desiring to make peace, peace would be attained.
13. Israel is willing to make reasonable concessions but she cannot afford to forsake her own security while she is surrounded by enemies who daily call for her destruction.
14. There are few sources of truth to be found in this world. The Holy Bible, being YEHOVAH's Word, is the main source of truth so I rely on it to lead the way– as “a lamp to the feet and a light to the path.”
15. The Bible reveals the source of the world's hatred of the Jews. They are not hated because they are talented or wealthy and successful, though they are. They are not hated because they rule the world, or drink the blood of Christians, or persecute Arabs, because they don't.
16. They aren't even hated because they crucified Jesus Christ. (A handful of corrupt Jewish leaders falsely accused Jesus and wrongfully condemned Him, but a Roman official and Roman soldiers put him to death.) Jews and Gentiles share that guilt.
17. No, Israelis are hated because Satan, the god of this world, hates Jesus. Satan oppressed the Jews and tried to wipe them out before Jesus was born to stop His birth. And, after Jesus was born, Satan tried to destroy Him. Satan is the one who influenced the Jews to condemn Him and the Romans to kill Him.
18. Satan thought he had won! He thought he'd been promoted from being the god of the world to being THE GOD of the world. (See 1 Cor 2:7-8)
19. But, three days later, Jesus rose again as a Conqueror over death, hell and the grave. Jesus took the keys from Satan and set the captives free (those who had died in faith looking forward to salvation through the blood of Jesus on the cross of Calvary).
20. Satan realized his mistake in killing Jesus and continued to persecute the Jews because they are the earthly family of Jesus, YEHOVAH's chosen people. YEHOVAH has not rejected or forsaken Israel.
21. YEHOVAH made many promises to the Jews about their land. He caused them to be scattered around the world because of their sins against Him but He promised to bring them home again in the latter days. And, YEHOVAH fulfilled that promise when Israel became a modern nation in 1948. (Satan used the Arabs to try to keep YEHOVAH's Word from being fulfilled, but He failed!) Israel has been a nation for 70 years now and the prophetic clock of the age is running down.
22. YEHOVAH has promised Israel that a descendant of David will rule the world from Jerusalem. This ruler will be their Messiah, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He is coming soon! Bless His Holy Name!
23. Today, Israel exists. Jerusalem is her capitol and Israelis await their Messiah.  President Trump has officially recognized Jerusalem as the capitol and moved the American Embassy there. He has also recognized their right to the Golan Heights and they are hoping for his help to build their Third Temple very soon. They still reject Jesus Christ and await another Messiah which we know will be the Anti-Christ. He will desecrate their Third Temple and they will realize they have been deceived again. And, that will open the way for them to finally receive King Jesus! 
24. Satan is still opposing YEHOVAH's plan. He is using the Arab nations to try to take Jerusalem and the land of Israel and to destroy the children of Israel.
25. According to the Holy Bible, Satan and those who follow Him will be destroyed. Those who support Israel will be blessed. Those who oppose her will be cursed.
26. This is not because Jews are better than other peoples. It is simply because YEHOVAH chose Israel as His vessel to bring salvation to the world through Jesus Christ.
27. Jesus loves everyone and anyone who chooses to believe in YEHOVAH and trust in Jesus for salvation will be saved.
28. "For God so loved the world that He sent His only Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but will have everlasting life." John 3:16
29. If you don’t know Jesus as your Savior, I invite you to come to Him. He is as close as the mention of His name. If you sense the Spirit drawing you, reach out to Him in prayer. Jesus is willing and ready to give you forgiveness of sin and eternal life by grace (without works) through faith. He paid for your sin and grants salvation when You put your trust in His finished work on Calvary (death, burial, resurrection) and confess Him with your mouth. Tell somebody and me! God bless you!
30. Back to the Facts about Our Subject.
31. There is no historical land of Palestine and there are no historical Palestinians. So, how can modern Arabs be Palestinians? The name Palestine was created by the British (after the fall of the Ottoman Empire) from the ancient word Philistine.
32. The ancient people known as Philistines were enemies of Israel who lived in the coastal areas (Gaza) of the land of Canaan. The modern Arabs who live in Gaza are not descendants of those Philistines.
33. Modern “Palestinians” are descendants of Abraham and Lot (Ishmael, Midian, Moab, Ammon, and others). This means their roots are actually in Jordan and the Arabian Peninsula, not in Israel. They have adopted the use of "Palestinian" from the name given to the modern land of Israel by the British. They only started claiming this name after Israel became a nation and they wanted to take her land away from her. (All “Palestinians” have a guaranteed right to Jordanian citizenship. They don’t have to stay in Gaza or Israel if they want to leave.)
34. Israel is entitled to her homeland and it does not belong to anyone else. YEHOVAH took the land from the descendants of Canaan because of their extreme idolatry and boundless depravity. And He gave it to Israel in perpetuity. The Jews have a history and continual presence on that land for thousands of years now. There has always been a remnant of the children of Israel living there.
35. If you think Israel has expanded her land, this is not true. In fact, she is living on far less land than YEHOVAH gave her. YEHOVAH describes the boundaries of her land from the Nile to the Euphrates in Genesis 15:18 in the Bible. Modern Israel is much smaller than it should be.
36. If you studied the subject in the Bible you would see that YEHOVAH set her boundaries and specifically told her not to take land from her neighbors that He had given to them. She has not done that. However, her neighbors are currently living on her land and trying to take more of it, which displeases YEHOVAH.
37. What Israel has done for the Middle East is to offer people there the only free country in the region. They have the highest standard of living and offer more opportunities for advancement than any other country. Many Arabs have great paying jobs in Israel and some of those Arabs are from Gaza. The benefits are many but would be much greater if Israel didn't live under the continual threat of destruction by the Arab nations.
38. If the historical facts weren't there I could understand the mistaken ideas in this matter, but history is clear. The world has been led astray by their lack of historical knowledge.
39. The Bible says, "My people perish for lack of knowledge." How true!
40. The Promise Land Belongs to Israel!
41. P.S. I use God’s personal Name YEHOVAH to distinguish Him from other so called gods. About 7000 times YEHOVAH is used in the Bible after He told Moses His Memorial Name at the burning bush in Exodus 3:14. But, His Name has been replaced with The LORD by the Jewish scribes and modern translators from time immemorial.
42. This was supposedly to protect and honor His Name but in reality it has hidden His Name and caused much confusion. Some today are saying YEHOVAH and Allah are the same God. No! YEHOVAH is “I AM WHO I AM” the Eternally Existing Uncreated One. HE is the ONLY GOD, Creator of all things in heaven and on earth. Other, so called gods, are merely idols: figments of men’s imaginations, demons, fronts for Satan worship, etc.
43. YEHOVAH gave His Name because He wanted us to know Him! At some point in history the scribes began writing only the consonants, YHVH, and refused to say the name out loud. Instead, the said The LORD. After many years it was thought that the vowels were lost and no one knew how to say the true NAME of GOD. Recently, however, research has uncovered many ancient writings with YEHOVAH written out. Praise YEHOVAH! We can once again use His real Name.
44. 
    

The Mystery of Godliness

There is a lot of disagreement about the identity of Jesus. Many say He was a good man, but just a man. (This claim obviously falls under its own weight since a good man would not make a false claim) Many others say He never claimed to be God. They may admit He said He was the "Son of God" just as we all are children of God; but, they say, He never claimed to be truly God.

To those who say Jesus never claimed to be God, I will respond with the Word of God, as did Jesus. Jesus told the resurrection denying Sadducees, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God" (Matthew 22:30). Those who deny the Deity of Jesus Christ are also mistaken because they do not truly know the Scriptures. 

The Word of God clearly tells us that Jesus is God. It says in John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and was God." To clarify Who the Word is, it goes on to say in verse 14, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." The word glory comes from the Hebrew word Shekinah. It means the manifest presence of God. John was referring to the Transfiguration when Jesus allowed three of His disciples to see the radiant glory of His heavenly body.

The Word says He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin as it was prophesied by Isaiah (7:14) and restated in Matthew 1:23, "The virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, God with us."  

The prophecies concerning His virgin birth were fulfilled. He grew up in the village of Nazareth and then went to the Jordan to be baptized by John and start His ministry. At his baptism, the Spirit of God descended in the form of a dove and a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Matthew 3:16-17 This event displayed the Trinity in action to those with eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand.

True Israelites should have already had some understanding of Yehovah in His Tri-Unity because it had been witnessed since creation. The actions of all three are mentioned throughout the Old Testament and two passages even mention God's "Son." It was also the reason for the Shema prayer of Israel. Why would you need to continually declare your God is One unless it was to establish the unity of the Trinity? The majority of religious leaders had hardened their hearts to that truth and it caused them to reject their Messiah even though Jesus made the truth plain to them.     

Jesus also spoke the truth to Satan but he missed it, as well. When Satan attempted to get Jesus to prove He was the Son of God by throwing Himself off the pinnacle of the Temple and letting angels rescue Him; Jesus responded, "It is written, 'You shall not tempt Yehovah, your God'" Matthew 4:6-7.  Jesus was giving Satan two responses in one. First, Jesus let him know He, Himself, would not sin by attempting to tempt His Father. And, second, Jesus was showing Satan that He, Himself, (as Yehovah in the flesh) was not even tempted by the offer. As James 1:14 tells us, "God cannot be tempted to evil..." He has no sin nature to appeal to... no lust to draw Him to sin.  

Now to get to the actual words of Jesus when He dwelt among men. Let's look at excerpts from John,  chapter 10, verses 24-33. The Jews surrounded Jesus and asked Him if he was the Messiah.  Jesus said, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works I do bear witness of Me... But you do not believe..." He continued with, "I and My Father are One."  "Then the Jews took up stones to stone Him." So, Jesus asked them "...for which of those works do you stone Me?"  The Jews replied, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make yourself God." Yes, they understood that Jesus was claiming to be God.

Continuing in verse 36, Jesus challenged their accusation of blasphemy.  He said, "do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, I am the Son of God?" This exchange reveals clearly that Jesus claimed to be God because He is!

In John 11:25, Jesus told Martha, "...I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die." Of course, we understand that those who die in Christ will be resurrected, but what does He mean when He says, "whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die"? Is this a hidden reference to those who will be raptured? I believe it is! The bottom line here is that only God has the power to fulfill these statements; therefore, we can rest assured that Jesus is God! 

                                             

Knowing Jesus is God doesn't mean we automatically understand how that works. Paul talked about the dual God/Man nature of Jesus as being a great mystery! There is no argument about the fact that it is complicated!

It helps if you insert the name of Jesus into this passage.

Jesus was manifested in the flesh. Jesus was justified in the Spirit. Jesus was seen of angels. Jesus was preached among the Gentiles. Jesus was believed on in the world. Jesus was received up into glory.

And, all of this is true because Jesus is God.

He was fully God in eternity past and, in agreement with the Father and the Holy Spirit, He chose to take on a flesh, blood and bone body to identify with His creation so He could live among us and die for our sins. He is fully God and fully Man now and for eternity. He wants those who trust Him as their Savior to live with Him forever in glory! Glory to the Godhead in the Highest!

Jesus, the Son of God, died for your sins and rose again.

If you believe He died for your sins, you are being drawn by the Spirit of God.

Confess that you are a sinner and don't want to live that way anymore.

Ask Jesus to take control of your life. He will!

Then tell someone that Jesus has saved you!

Rejoice! Pray! Read the Word of God.

Seek out fellowship.

He is Coming Soon!

Like Water Spilled On The Ground

For we will surely die and become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him.  II Samuel 14:14 NKJV

Here we are given deep insight into the nature of God and His heart for mankind. It comes to us in an Old Testament story about King David and his favored son Absalom.    Absalom had ordered his servants to murder his older half-brother, Amnon, because Amnon had raped Absalom's full sister, Tamar, and nothing had been done about it.

Following the murder, Absalom had fled to his mother's country of Geshur and dwelt there for three years. King David missed Absalom but he apparently wasn't comfortable with the ramifications for his kingdom if he set the precedent of letting members of the royal family be above the law. He knew justice would not be served by pardoning Absalom, and yet he pined for him.

After three years had passed without a solution, Joab, King David's nephew and the commander of his armies, decided he should intervene to help King David bring Absalom home. 

Joab hired a wise woman from Tekoa (a small town about six miles from Jerusalem) to come before King David with a petition to spare her son from the death penalty for killing his brother. 

Her plea was that her remaining son was the only one left to support her and to carry on the family line. 

King David's compassion was stirred, and he gave her an assurance her son would not be killed.

Once King David made his decision for mercy on her son's behalf, the wise woman pressed him concerning mercy for Absalom. 

She said: "For we will surely die and become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again."

This is such a vivid and therefore haunting picture of the hopelessness of death without a Savior. Selah.                               
She reminds King David that we are all sinners without hope, but for the grace and mercy of God. The death penalty is upon us; yet, God does not pursue our death because He "is not willing that any should perish." 

She goes on to say, "God does not take away a life." She tells King David that God "devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him." And thus, she encourages King David to make a way for Absalom to come home.

The problem is that her plea was a call for King David to embrace mercy without satisfying justice.

The wise words of the woman of Tekoa were certainly true concerning our Heavenly Father. He created us to be with Him, but we turned our backs on Him by sinning. Our sin caused spiritual death and banished us from His presence. But God still longed for fellowship with us, so He devised a righteous means to bring us back into eternal relationship with Him.

Unlike King David's action, God's provision satisfied justice. It would violate His nature to do otherwise. For God to be morally consistent within Himself, He must satisfy mercy and justice! 

His means of salvation must pay the penalty for all sins committed by mankind. He could justly provide forgiveness in no other way. 

So He literally provided Himself a sacrifice! He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, to die on a cross in our place. 

Consider the magnitude of that sacrifice!  Being a sinless man qualified Jesus to die for a single sinful man, but being a sinless God/Man qualified Jesus to die for all sinners!

This is good news! Because of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary "whosoever will" may come to the Father for forgiveness and eternal life. We are no longer banished and expelled! All is forgiven if we turn away from sin and ask the Father to forgive us because of the price Jesus Christ paid.     
                                                
Don't be like the unrepentant Absalom who perished in a rebellion against his father's kingdom. 

"Today is the day of salvation."

I invite you to return to your Heavenly Father for forgiveness and eternal life!

Put your trust in Jesus and come home!  

Who Wrote The Ten Commandments?

I love to read the Old Testament. There are so many foundational truths shared in its pages. It contains the only accurate story of the Creation of all things! It answers life’s essential questions. It clearly states that all of mankind came from Adam and Eve, which means there is only one race. It notes the barrier God made between species, which precludes the possibility of an evolutionary tree.  It reveals that families, laws, governments and nations (with borders) were ordained of God. It tells how sin and death entered the world and provides the remedy for them. It validates the evidence we can see today of a worldwide flood in the distant past. It tells us where languages came from. It explains why Israel is God’s chosen nation. It proclaims that the Creator God and His Son desire a personal relationship with each one of us. It contains numerous direct quotations of God speaking to individuals and nations. It showcases the lives of many noteworthy historical people, good and bad. It shares multiple accounts of encounters with angels; including Jesus, revealed as the Angel of The Lord, “whose goings forth have been from of old.” (Micah 5:2) It includes over 1200 prophecies, none of which have erred in fulfillment. And, there is so much more in those inspired books, including the answer to our question: Who Wrote the Ten Commandments?

This is a story about the giving of God’s Law to the young nation of Israel. The whole law of God is distilled into Ten Commandments, which were written on tablets of stone by God, Himself. Yes, these are the very same Ten Commandments that ungodly men are working to remove from our society today. They were written by the Creator God and given to us for our good! They were given to preserve and extend our lives, and the lives of our nations. Let’s read the passage. 

Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.” Exodus 24:9-10, 12 NKJV 

This is a jewel of a passage–-literally; a blue sapphire passage! Seventy-four men, still in the flesh, saw God! Yes, I know about the objections people have to this. Many commentators say they saw smoke and fire and heard a voice but did not see God. But, what does the passage say? It says, “they saw the God of Israel.”

In Exodus 33:20 God says, “there shall no man see Me, and live.” This passage is clearly talking about seeing the fullness of the glory of God the Father as He is in Himself. He is too holy for a human body to survive in His presence. Jesus later told His disciples, “And the Father Himself, which has sent me, has borne witness of me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape. (John 5:37) And the Apostle John wrote, “No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son...He has declared him.” (John 1:18)

Jewish commentators lack an understanding of the Trinity, even though the Father, the Son, and the Spirit of God are revealed in the Old Testament. Their eyes are blinded to this truth as long as they reject Jesus as their Messiah.

Many Christian commentators seem confused here too. As I noted above, Jesus is God and He has engaged in pre-incarnate “goings forth” since the beginning of creation. He walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, after personally creating them! He visited with numerous Old Testament characters; such as, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Manoah’s wife first and later Manoah, etc. In New Testament times, Jesus allowed Peter, James and John to see Him in His Divine Glory before He was crucified. This is called the Transfiguration. He allowed hundreds of believers to see Him in His resurrected body between the Resurrection and His Ascension into heaven in the clouds. Jesus is the God of Israel, and also the God of all nations. He and His Father are One. He is the “fullness of the Godhead bodily.” (Col 2:9)  Jesus is the only physical representation of God we have ever or will ever see. And these seventy-four men of Israel saw Him.

God, as revealed in Jesus, told Moses to join Him on the top of the mountain so He could give him the Ten Commandments which Jesus, Himself, had written on gemstone tablets for Moses so he could use them to teach the children of Israel God’s “law and commandments.”

Jesus gave the Ten Commandments to Moses to teach the people how to live righteously. (That simply means to teach them to do the right thing.) God’s commandments are powerful. They resonate in our hearts. Individuals who are regularly exposed to God’s commandments live at a higher level than those who are unaware of them. That’s why our culture has been deteriorating since they were taken out of schools and other public places. Only the light of God’s Word can overcome darkness and teach righteousness.  

From this passage in Exodus the Rabbis of Israel teach that God (Yahweh, the Great I Am) inscribed the first copy of the Ten Commandments on sapphire tablets from the floor of His throne room. Since God’s law is foundational to His kingdom, I can believe He would write them on the same type of precious gemstone as He used for the pavements of His throne room floor and I’m impressed! 

I am not impressed; however, that Moses broke those precious tablets inscribed by the finger of God when he came down from the mountain and discovered the idolatry of the children of Israel.  Apparently, Jesus wasn’t too impressed either. He required that the next set of stone tablets for the commandments be prepared by Moses. Then Jesus wrote the Ten Commandments again. After giving that scenario some thought, I told my husband that no woman would have broken the Ten Commandments like Moses did because they would have valued the sapphire stones they were engraved on. Lol  How much more should we value the wisdom and blessings to be gained by keeping them.

The 10 Commandments      Exodus 20:2-17

1.   You shall have no other gods before me.
2.   You shall not make idols.
3.   You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
4.   Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5.   Honor your father and your mother.
6.   You shall not murder.
7.   You shall not commit adultery.
8.   You shall not steal
9.   You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.

No nation shall long endure if it rejects the Law of God. Sin deceives and enslaves those who embrace it. Righteousness exalts a nation! God’s Ten Commandments are the bedrock of freedom. Let’s remember to obey, defend and promote them. It’s not a good time to be removing them from public spaces. We need them now more than ever before.

Who wrote the 10 Commandments?

 God in Jesus Christ wrote them!

Jesus, Fully God and Fully Man

Many in the church world today are denying the diety of Jesus Christ. The virgin birth, the miracles performed by Jesus, His claim to be God,  His death on the cross for the sins of mankind, and His resurrection from the dead, which guarantees the resurrection and rewards of all believers: all these eternal truths are being questioned and dismissed as allegorical or even mythical by much of the mainline church world today.

I could discuss each of these issues in detail but my first concern is the diety of Jesus Christ. Is He really God? Did Jesus make statements and perform deeds that led first century peoples and individuals to believe He was God? Let's see what the Bible tells us about this subject.

First of all, Jesus told the first century Jews, "Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to My coming. He saw it and was glad." John 8:56

How did the Jews respond to this declaration of Jesus? They argued with Him about His claim. They didn't believe Abraham could have seen Jesus because He wasn't even 50 years old and Abraham had been dead for around 2000 years!

Jesus answered, "The truth is, before Abraham was, I AM." (v58) Then they wanted to stone Him because they knew He was claiming to be God. I AM was the name revealed to Moses at the burning bush. (Exodus 3)

In Mark 2:1-12, Jesus forgave a man's sins and healed his body to prove He had the power of God to forgive sins on earth. These actions were considered to be blasphemy by the Jewish leaders.

During His trial account shared in Matthew, Mark and Luke, the chief priests told Jesus, "Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." Jesus answered, "I AM." They called for Him to be crucified because they said He claimed to be God.

There are many other passages I could share which reveal the divinity of Jesus. He clearly claimed to be God, and I, one among the many multitudes, believe Him!

John 1:1-18 excerpts

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men... That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’

And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

ANY ONE WHO DENIES THE DIETY OF JESUS CHRIST MUST ALSO DENY THE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE.

I'll close with another clear statement of Jesus found in John 8:23-24.

And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

This means if you DO believe that Jesus is God and trust that He died to forgive your sins, you will live eternally! That is good news!

Islam Roars Like A Lion



 

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." 1 Peter 5:8

Have you ever been in danger of being devoured by a lion? Have you ever, in real life, heard a lion roar? I've seen caged lions at the zoo, and I've seen lions on TV, but I've never been physically endangered by a real lion. However, I understand that the fear created by a lion's roar can actually immobilize its victim. 
 

Fear is the purpose of the lion's roar. The roar is meant to inspire a mind-numbing terror in the lion's intended victim which leads to a helpless, hopeless confusion and minimal resistance. This response makes the lion's prey easy to devour.

In the Holy Bible, Peter warns us about a roaring lion who goes about seeking victims to devour. He speaks not of a big cat, but of a far more diabolical enemy who wants to devour the soul, as well as the body of his victims. This is a dangerous lion indeed! In fact, Peter speaks of our oldest enemy, Satan!

Peter doesn't tell us what methods Satan will use against us and he doesn't describe the sound of the roar. But, he does tell us how to avoid being devoured. He tells us to "be sober and vigilant."

Peter was aware of the temptation to become drunk with the pleasures of the age and distracted by the cares of life. He knew it was easy to rest on the premise that someone else is on guard. So, Peter sounded a clear and personal warning. "You be sober. You be vigilant!"

The early Christians faced many lions. But, the sober, vigilant, early church was not devoured and continued to share the good news and grow stronger in spite of Satan's frequent roars. In fact, they "turned the world upside down" for Jesus.

 

By 800 A.D., churches dotted northern Africa, the Middle East, Europe and parts of Asia. And Satan was not pleased. (Many of the early churches are long gone, having been converted to mosques or destroyed by the followers of Islam.)

 

 

In Satan's view, there were too many crosses marring the skylines of the population centers. So, he came up with a truly diabolical plan. He would create a new religious totalitarian regime which would despise the Jews and would deny the truths of the faith taught by Christians.

 

 

Islam would deny that Jesus is the Son of God and present Him as a second rate prophet. It would deny that Jesus died on the cross and rose again to provide salvation by grace for all who would repent and believe in Him. It would deny that God even had a Son. And, this new religion would deceive many!

Who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denies the Father and the Son. 1 John 2:22
Satan's ingenious scheme was based on a bate and switch strategy. His new religion would base the legitimacy of its new prophet, Mohammad, and its new revelation, the Qu'ran, on its association with the Holy Bible-- since it was already believed by many to be the revealed Word of the True God. Then, Islam would use the Qu'ran to instruct its followers to reject the accuracy of the Bible, saying it has been corrupted. It would also teach Muslims to look down on, mistrust, and avoid friendship with Jews and Christians, from whom they might learn the truth.

To institutionalize religious bigotry, Islam would instill within its followers an arrogant sense of superiority based on nothing more than the word of their god, Allah. To instill pride and build group solidarity, it would require participation in rote prayers five times a day (spoken in Arabic) facing Mecca. It would also mandate good works to be performed to demonstrate submission to Allah.

 

And, finally, to replace the Christian's commission to share the goods news of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus, it would require its followers to fight to dominate the world by force.
Domination by force was actually Satan's primary goal in creating this totalitarian regime called Islam. Since Satan hates people and delights in making them submit to him, he used two methods to accomplish this goal. 

First, he loaded the Qu'ran with detailed threats of eternal punishments for the unbelievers, the hypocrtites and the infidels. And then he linked the fighting for Islam with booty in this life and the promise of salvation in the life to come. Those who died fighting for Allah (jihadi martyrs) would be guaranteed salvation and rewards. In fact, no Muslim other than a martyr could be assured of salvation since salvation would be based on works not grace.

That the Bible has been corrupted is a lie, of course. Thousands of copies of the Old and New Testament show remarkable preservation of the original texts for thousands of years-- far longer than Islam has existed! The Dead Sea scrolls testify to the accuracy of Jewish and Christian scriptures.

 

If you are Muslim, please stop relying on second hand information. Read the Bible for yourself and experience the living Word of God. Jesus died for your sins! You can know you are saved by grace if you put your trust and faith in Him!

 

By Satan's design, Islam is out to destroy Israel and the Western Nations. Muslims think they are meant to rule the world.

 

The very name, Islam, means submission. It denies freedom. Sharia law does not allow for a willing submission. Sharia law demands obedience which results in subjugation. Ask some of those Arab women imprisoned in black sheets how much freedom they have.

 

 

Islam claims to be for peace but peace for them means that everyone must honor them and submit to Islam. Don't be fooled. World domination is the agenda of Islam. Satan wants to be "like" God. He wants to be in control! He wants to rule the entire world! He wants everyone to submit to him! He is the Allah of Islam.

Jesus said, "Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy." And, that is a perfect description of Islam from its inception. The religion was born of Muhammad's sword. He consolidated a band of followers by raiding caravans: stealing, killing and destroying traveling merchants. Then he turned to the destruction of towns and villages throughout Arabia. And, when he died, his followers continued in his footsteps conquering (stealing, killing and raping) and destroying many countries and entire cultures. Look to history!

And, look around you today. The destruction and pillage continues throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa, as well as in Sudan, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and around the world!
For more details about the millions slaughtered follow the link below to an excellent article at Atlas Shrugs. 

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2011/11/how-many-slaughtered-millions-under-jihad.html

Can you hear that roaring when Muslim jihadists explode bombs to terrorize societies they intend to dominate? The world could have heard the roar in Nigeria on Christmas of 2012-- if they were listening.
Can you hear the roaring when fundamentalist Muslims riot over contrived offenses? They seek death and destruction. Who has taught them to behave this way? Satan, in the Qur'an.


We must be sober and be vigilant in order to preserve the non-Muslim nations who are currently in danger of being devoured by Islam. We must speak the truth and refuse to be silenced by political correctness! Every voice for truth matters! Please don't remain silent. And, vote for those who stand for Truth.

But, the most important resistance is receiving Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior and sharing the good news of salvation by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ Who died in our place so we might live eternally with Him!

Don't let Satan devour you. Be sober! Be vigilant! Please put your trust in Jesus and invite others to do the same.

Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 1Peter 5:9 NIV

 

The ONLY Begotten Son of God?

When speaking of "the only begotten Son of God," there may be some confusion as to what the term means. Angels are called the sons of God and born again believers are called the sons (or children) of God. But, only Jesus is called "the only begotten Son of God." Why is that?

First of all, we must know what begotten means. The English word begotten is commonly used to refer to procreation: the fathering of children in a biological sense. This biological connection between human generations means the father and his child or children are genetically related. They are of the same species and share the same physical and spiritual makeup. They often even look alike. However, this understanding of begotten is not sufficient to explain what begotten means when used to express the connection between Jesus and God the Father. Why? Because it does not include the full meaning of the Greek word monogenes which is used in the Greek New Testament and from which begotten is translated.

Monogenes, according to the Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament has two definitions.

First, monogenes pertains to "being the only one of its kind within a specific relationship." Monogenes is used in this way when Isaac is called Abraham's "only begotten son" in Hebrews 11:17. In case you don't know or have forgotten, the book of Genesis tells us that Abraham had eight sons. He begat Ishmael with Hagar. He begat Isaac with Sarah. And, he begat Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah with Keturah. (Yes, the Middle East is populated with Abraham's descendants!) But, Isaac was accurately called Abraham's only begotten son in the Hebrews statement because Isaac was the only son he had by Sarah and the only son of the covenant.

Note: Hebrews 11:17 is probably one of the scriptures critics use to point out mistakes in the Bible. It just goes to show that one must diligently study to avoid wrong conclusions!

Second, monogenes pertains to "being the only one of its kind or class, unique in kind." Monogenes is used with this meaning by Jesus when He said "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

Contrary to what some believe, begotten/monogenes does not imply that Jesus had a beginning. No, the Bible clearly teaches that Jesus exists from eternity with the Father and the Holy Spirit. So, the English term "only begotten" is simply used to highlight the fact that Jesus shares the divine nature as the unique Son of God. 

This second meaning of monogenes is also used in 1 John 4:9;            John 1:14, 18 and John 3:18 These scripture verses reveal the truth I'm sharing with you. Please meditate on their clear meaning as you can understand it now.

In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.      1 John 4:9 NKJV

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.  John 1:14 NKJV

No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.   John 1:18 NKJV

These verses say God the Father "sent" Jesus to us and "gave" Jesus to save us from our sins. They never say God created Jesus. He existed eternally with His Father as many verses tell us. Jesus, as God, created all things that are in heaven and earth! In the book of Isaiah, Jesus is called Wonderful (full of wonders!), Counselor (full of wisdom), Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. In the book of Revelation He declares Himself to be the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end!

Jesus is never simply called "the begotten Son of God." He is always called the "only begotten Son of God" because He is indeed Unique! One of a kind. Angels and humans are called sons of God because God created them but only Jesus proceeds forth from the Heavenly Father as His Eternally Existing Only Begotten Son.

In the Bethlehem prophecy foretelling His birth in Micah 5:2, the scriptures say His "goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." We know He physically created and then visited with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  He walked with Enoch and then took him to heaven. He instructed Noah on the building the ark. He spoke with Abraham about Isaac's coming birth, the destruction of Sodom, the sacrifice of Isaac and the future of his descendants. He comforted Hagar and assured her concerning Ishmael's future. He spoke "face to face" with Moses on many occasions. He appeared to Joshua as Commander of the Lord's Hosts. He announced the coming birth of Samson to Manoah's wife and later to Manoah. He has been going forth throughout history as Micah said.

Don't you find it comforting that Jesus takes such an interest in His people? I certainly do! And He takes an interest in us because He loves us! We rejected Him but He still loves us and makes a way for us to return to fellowship with Him and live forever. Knowing Jesus and accepting Him as Lord and Savior is the only way to gain eternal life.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  John 3:16 NKJV

He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:18 NKJV

Let me repeat:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16 NKJV

Jesus, God's only begotten Son,  invites you through His Word and His Spirit to be saved. I pray you will respond.

May God's grace and peace be with you and yours forever.