On The Light Side

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anchor

The Holy Spirit and the Messiah

By Peter Amsterdam

In the Old Testament, the Spirit of the Lord generally came upon or interacted only with specific individuals and only on a temporary basis. It was prophesied, however, that a time would come when God would pour out His Spirit in abundance upon all His people. (Joel 2:28–29)

The Old Testament also includes prophecies about the Messiah who was to come, who would be powerfully filled with the Spirit of God and would do great things in God’s name. While the Jewish people did not think that this Messiah would be the Son of God, as they had no concept that God was a Trinity, they understood that the Messiah, an anointed king, would be greatly empowered by God’s Spirit.

Referring to the Messiah, the book of Isaiah says: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.” (Isaiah 11:1–2)

This prophecy tells us that the Messiah would descend from the lineage of David, the son of Jesse, and that God’s Spirit would rest upon Him, meaning that the Spirit would remain on Him. He would be endowed with wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, and the fear of God. Isaiah prophesied further about the Messiah, declaring again that God’s Spirit would be upon Him. (Isaiah 42:1)

Later it was again prophesied in the book of Isaiah that God’s Spirit would be mightily upon the Messiah and that He would be anointed and do His work with the power of the Spirit of the Lord:

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:1–3)

These prophecies were fulfilled in the life of Jesus, the promised Messiah. All four of the Gospels speak of Jesus being filled with the Spirit at the beginning of His ministry, when He was baptized by John the Baptist. (See Matthew 3:13–17; Mark 1:9–11; Luke 3:21–22; John 1:32–34)

Later, when asked about Jesus, John the Baptist said: “He whom God has sent utters the words of God, for He gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.” (John 3:34–35)

On the advent of Jesus’ ministry, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him without measure and remained on Him permanently. Immediately after this, the Spirit led Him into the wilderness, where the Devil tried to defeat Him, to no avail. (Luke 4:1–2) After overcoming the temptations, Jesus began ministering to others in the power of the Spirit. (Luke 4:14–15)

When Jesus returned to Nazareth, the village where He grew up, He was chosen to read from the Scriptures in the synagogue. The passage He read was from Isaiah, about the ministry of the Messiah, and at the end of the reading, Jesus made it clear that it was speaking about Him—that He was the Messiah upon whom the Spirit of the Lord had fallen:

“And He rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’” (Luke 4:20–21)

Jesus was stating that His ministry had begun, that He would proclaim the good news, bringing liberty to the captives, healing and freeing those who were oppressed, with God’s Spirit upon Him. The Holy Spirit, who descended upon Jesus, played a major role in His ministry—leading, guiding, and empowering Him.

Right before Jesus ascended into heaven, He told His disciples that He would send the “promise of the Father,” which was the Holy Spirit, the power of God, and that they were to wait in Jerusalem until they received this power from on high. (Luke 24:49)

The Holy Spirit which led, guided, and empowered Jesus was going to do the same things for His disciples. Jesus prepared His disciples for His departure, saying that in order for the Holy Spirit to come upon them, He had to leave, but that once He was gone, the Spirit would come to them. He said, “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you.” (John 16:7)

Jesus said it was necessary that He ascend to heaven, to return to the Father and be glorified, before the Holy Spirit—the Comforter, the Helper—could come.

Jesus had been with His disciples for about three and a half years. They had traveled with Him, lived with Him, learned from Him, heard Him preach to and teach the crowds. They had seen Him heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out demons. They had private instruction from Him and watched how He interacted with others—the rich, the poor, the outcasts, the religious. They saw Him get arrested and crucified. They knew He was dead, yet He stood before them in the upper room alive again. Then came the time for Him to go. He had been many things to them, and now He was going to depart. He had told them He would ask the Father to send them another Comforter or Helper. “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.” (John 14:16)

The word Helper or Comforter used in this verse is translated from the Greek word paraklētos, which is defined as called to one’s side, to one’s aid, a helper, aider, assistant; as well as one who pleads another’s cause before a judge, counsel for defense, an advocate.

Jesus is saying the Father will give the disciples another Comforter, which infers they presently have one. Jesus, the Helper, Comforter, Counselor, and Advocate they presently have is going to depart, and in His place the Father is sending the Holy Spirit. What Jesus had been to the disciples, and what the Holy Spirit was going to be to them, was very similar.

• Both “come forth”/“are sent” from the Father into the world. (John 5:43, 16:28, 18:37; John 14:26, 15:26, 16:13)
• Both are called “Holy” and are characterized by “the truth.” (John 6:69, 14:26, 6, 16–17)
• Both teach. (John 13:13; 14:26)
• Jesus came to convince and to convict the world, though many did not receive Him, as is also the case with the Holy Spirit. (John 1:11–12; John 16:7–11, John 14:17)

While Jesus was Helper and Comforter to the disciples, as well as teacher and truth-teller, and a witness, He said that after He departed He and the Father would send another Comforter who would do these things as well. This Comforter would mightily anoint the disciples in their mission. That is exactly what happened.

 

 

Copyright © 2017 The Family International.

Anchor

The Greatest Story Ever Told

By David Brandt Berg

The basic events, characters, and conditions of the future have already been revealed in the Bible and by His prophets, the foretellers of the future. (Ephesians 1:9; Isaiah 42:9; Numbers 12:6) God has already revealed them in His Word and prophecies—some of which have already come to pass and been fulfilled, proving that God’s Word is true. Therefore we can just as surely expect that the remaining prophecies of God’s Word about the future will be completely fulfilled, too, just as those in the past have been. (2 Chronicles 20:20b; John 16:4a; Isaiah 34:16, 40:8; Ezekiel 33:33)

There are thousands of prophecies in the Bible which have already been fulfilled, including prophecies about the history of nations, the rise and fall of empires, even the names of great kings and the amazing fulfillments of prophecies in the little land of Israel, particularly those concerning Jesus Christ, the Messiah, about whom hundreds of prophecies in the ancient writings of the prophets have all been fulfilled in His birth, life, and death for you and me. (Isaiah 44:28; Daniel 8:20–21; Isaiah 9:6; 11:1–5; 53:2–4)

His was a life of love! Born in love, living in love, and dying in love for you and me, so that we too might live in love for Him and others. (John 3:16; 1 John 4:9–10; Ephesians 3:19; Romans 8:38–39; 1 John 3:16) But His story does not end there, because He rose again! And He made many other promises and predictions to His disciples before He finally ascended on high, caught up in the clouds in the air to depart to be with His Father God in heaven and His precious Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:1–7, 18–20; Mark 16:16–18; John 11:25, 26)

Before He went away, He promised His disciples, “I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am, there ye may be also.” For He said that “In My Father’s house are many mansions, and if it were not so, I would have told you.” ( John 14:2–3) That place that He is going to prepare for us, that heavenly city is specifically described in detail in His holy book, the Bible, in its last book, the book of Revelation. (Revelation 21–22)

Dear John, the beloved disciple, Saint John the Revelator, described it in prophecy exactly as being 1,500 miles long, 1,500 miles wide, and 1,500 miles high—the greatest, most enormous city ever built, that could only have been built by God Himself. It is surrounded by a beautiful over-200-foot-high wall composed of 12 layers of precious jewels and having 12 gates, each gate a single gigantic pearl, and filled with beautiful dwelling places for His beloved children who have loved Him and been saved through faith in Jesus’ death for them on the cross.

Only they will be permitted to live within it, in its heavenly beauty of gorgeous splendor and paradise! Free forever from pain or sickness or death or evil, to live with Him and each other forever in eternal happiness. (Revelation 21:4; 22:5,14) Only they can walk its crystal golden streets and dwell in its gorgeous mansions in the presence of God forever. (Revelation 21:24, 27)

Each gate is guarded by a mighty angel, for outside, upon the surface of a new earth without seas but watered by rivers and lakes, there are still nations with kings, populated by people who are not yet ready to enter that beautiful city. (Revelation 21:24–26) They are not yet prepared for its purity and holiness, as they at first did not receive Jesus as their Savior because they had never heard of Him. (John 1:12; 3:16–17; Acts 4:12; 10:35; Romans 6:23; Hebrews 11:13, 16) They are the resurrected good of all ages who did not rise in the first resurrection at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ in the beautiful rapture of His saints, the bride of Christ, after the terrible Tribulation. (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17; Revelation 20:4–5)

They are the unsaved dead of the first 6,000 years of world history who have been brought back to life and placed upon the earth’s new paradisiacal surface because their names were found written in the Book of Life and therefore deserve their first chance to hear the gospel of Jesus and His love and of the wonderful love of God, His Father, who created all things and made all things for our benefit and our pleasure to know and to love Him.

Here on the surface of the new earth they will be taught to know the Lord. (2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:4; Philippians 2:10–11; Hebrews 13:14) Meanwhile, they live on this paradisiacal new earth with all of its unspoiled, re-created beauty like the Garden of Eden of old. Perfect in every respect, with no evil, no curse, no thorns, no evil varmints and poisonous serpents and insects and the horrors of the cursed earth that had gone before. (Revelation 22:3) Here in this perfect environment they are learning about Jesus and finding Christ as the Son of God. (John 14:3; 1 Corinthians 2:9–10)

But before they arrive in this beautiful paradise of God, several great periods of world history will have passed by. There was the fall from grace of man and woman, Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden for disobedience in eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. (Genesis 3; Romans 5:12–14) Driven out then into a hostile world full of curses and a difficult environment, they now must eat of their bread by the sweat of their brow, and work hard to earn a living, because they had lost the favor of the Lord through disobedience. Tempted by Satan, the king of evil, they passed on to all mankind the vicious sin of unbelief and disobedience to God. (Genesis 3:19; Hebrews 3:12, 19; 10:35–39; Romans 5:12)

Finally man became so evil that God decided that He must send a great flood of water upon the earth to destroy them all! All, that is, except one man and his family alone. That man was Noah and his wife and his three sons and their three wives. Eight souls in all were all that were saved from that great Flood, in an ark which God told Noah how to build. (Genesis 7; 1 Peter 3:20) After the Flood, over a year later, the ark landed upon the top of Mount Ararat, on the border of Turkey and Russia. And as the earth’s surface became dry enough to walk upon it, Noah and his family and all of the animals that they had saved left the ark and spread down the River Euphrates toward the Persian Gulf.

But they had not gone far or lived long before people had become evil again, this time building a mighty tower which they thought was going to reach up to heaven so that they would be like gods in their pride and their earthly might! God was angry with them for it, and He confused their tongues and their languages and divided them into all the various languages that are spoken upon the earth today. So they could no longer communicate with one another or understand each other to finish the tower. So they left off building the Tower of Babel and drifted on down the River Euphrates and began to spread out further across the surface of the earth in all directions. (Genesis 8, 11:1–9)

And it seemed the more man multiplied and populated the earth, the more wicked he became, so that they even worshipped devil gods and idols and images, and practiced worship of these demons, even including human sacrifice and the sacrifice of their own children to these false gods. (Leviticus 18:21; 2 Kings 17:14–17; Jeremiah 32:35; Psalm 106:35–39)

Finally God decided He had to do something about these descendants of the two creatures that He had created in the beginning. So He selected a people who would receive His words and write the Bible—the Jews of Israel—and produce the Messiah, Jesus Christ. But then again even the religious leaders of these chosen people, sons and daughters of Abraham the faithful, had the Son of God crucified, who had been sent to them only to show them love and explain God to them! They also tried to destroy His disciples. (Matthew 27:17–25; Acts 8:1) But God blessed Jesus’ disciples, and the Christians multiplied and spread throughout the earth until the gospel had finally conquered the Roman Empire, and Christianity became the official religion of the Western world. (Acts 8:4; 28:30–31)

But as the Christians became rich and powerful and corrupt, they too began to build temples to worship their God, like the temples of other gods, and developed a priesthood who wrote their own laws and rules and traditions. (Acts 7:48–50; 17:24–25; Mark 7:6–13) Again God sent great men of God and reformers such as Martin Luther to preach the truth throughout the world and reveal again the free gift of God’s salvation by grace through faith, and that not of themselves but the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast, but the free gift of salvation paid for by Jesus Christ with His blood shed on the cross of Calvary. (Romans 10:9–10; Ephesians 2:8–9; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5; Revelation 3:20)

These new Protestant Christians began to spread throughout the Roman Empire and throughout Europe and to North and South America and throughout the known world, until there were many Christian missionaries going to heathen nations. And there these missionaries gained many converts and won many of them with the love of God into true faith in the true Messiah, the true Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. (John 14:6; Acts 10:34–35)

However, it seemed that sin and evil will multiply even more rapidly and spread into every nation on earth. Finally the world will choose a completely godless government, an anti-Christ government and an Antichrist dictator, a false messiah who will pretend to be their savior but who will be the Devil incarnate! And he will declare that he is God and that all must worship him or die. (2 Thessalonians 2:3–4) He will establish a worldwide government and insist that there be no other religions but the worship of himself and his own image, which is set up by the rebuilt Jewish temple in Jerusalem where he is on a throne inside, claiming to be God.

This evil tyrant will then begin to persecute all who will not worship him, and kill and slaughter and martyr them, fighting great wars against the religious nations who oppose him, and trying to conquer the entire world, bringing great Tribulation to the earth. (Matthew 24:15, 21; Daniel 11:31–37; Revelation 12:13–17, 13:6–7)

But suddenly there will appear in the heavens the sign of the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, and He Himself will appear in the sky in the clouds. And there will be a great shout and the trump of God and the voice of the archangels calling the people of God to “Come up hither to your heavenly reward to be with your King forever!”

Suddenly all those who had died as Christians will rise from their graves with new heavenly bodies and begin to fly skyward, followed by the living Christians, who are instantly changed in the twinkling of an eye at that last trump and will rise together with them to meet the Lord in the air—Jesus with His bride, the true church of Jesus Christ from every faith and denomination all over the world. (Matthew 24:29–31; 1 Corinthians 15:51–52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17)

While they are feasting and rejoicing in their great salvation and receiving their rewards for faithfulness, having done their Master’s will, God is raining judgments and His great wrath upon the wicked left behind on the face of the earth through great scourges and plagues. The Bible says that the ungodly gnaw their tongues for pain and yet repent not of their evil deeds. ( Revelation 19:6–9; Revelation 15–16; Isaiah 13:11–13)

God mounts His children upon heavenly white horses of great power and supernatural strength, and with this mighty army of saints and angels they ride out of the heavenly city through the skies to destroy the evil empire of the Antichrist in the Battle of Armageddon! Until only the good, and the people who had resisted the Antichrist and resisted his mark are left, even though they do not yet know Jesus nor have been saved in the time previous. Yet the Lord is going to give all these living their opportunity to hear the gospel about Jesus and His love and His salvation. (Revelation 19:11–21; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:4; Philippians 2:10–11)

He will send His angels and His saints to rule over the earth and clean up the mess that has been left behind by the Antichrist and his reign and all of the remnants of man’s unrighteousness, to make it a new world, a cleansed earth! It is the same earth, but its surface purified and with the curse of God against evil lifted, and the Devil and his demons bound in hell for a thousand years! The earth is again restored to the beauty and perfection of the Garden of Eden. (Revelation 20:1–4) For a thousand years the earth is restored to its original beauty and purity and wonder and pleasure, so that all mankind rejoices in the kingdom of God on earth ruled by its King of kings, Jesus Christ, and His saints and angels. (Revelation 2:26–27; Revelation 5:10, 20:4)

All men still living are given an opportunity to know and love Him and to follow Him, and many are saved and regenerated, made new, living wonderful lives of righteousness and unselfishness and love for one another. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

But even in this perfect world with the perfect King of kings, there are many who still reject Him and resent Him and desire to go their own willful, wicked ways, as they had before. So that at the end of that thousand years, many will still not be regenerated and have rejected the Lord and resented His will. (Isaiah 26:10) So He allows Satan to be loosed from the pit of hell and to come back with his evil angels to go abroad through the earth and deceive as many men and nations as he possibly can, until Satan gathers followers from all nations to follow after him in a great war against the saints of God, the rulers of the earth.

God again rescues His saints from the earth, but this time He finishes off Satan and his followers and demons once and for all and forever, and destroys the surface of the earth and all of Satan’s evil rebels with a great flood of fire which completely burns up the surface of the earth and its atmosphere, the polluted heavens and junk-filled space. (Revelation 20:7–10; 2 Peter 3:10–13)

Then He renews the earth and completely remakes it into a new earth, more beautiful and more perfect than ever. (Revelation 21:1–5; Isaiah 60:19–22, 65:17–25)

Once the surface of the earth is purified and made perfect again, the Lord will see fit to permit His beautiful heavenly city to descend from the heavens and settle upon the earth, so that His habitation could be with His beloved people on this new earth in the New Jerusalem, the heavenly city—their home forever. (Revelation 21:2; Hebrews 12:22–23)

In the great White Throne Judgment of God, He has raised from the dead all of the other people of the earth who have ever died, and, sending the wicked to hell, He saves the righteous to live upon the surface of the earth to learn about Him and His love and His Son Jesus and His wonderful salvation from sin so that they too might be saved. (John 10:16, 27–29; Acts 3:21; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Ephesians 1:10; 2:7)

And all the saved peoples of the earth and heaven live happily with the Lord and His angels in the beautiful paradise of the new earth and the city of God with Him forever in an eternity of love and life eternal. (Revelation 22:3–5)

That is very briefly the story of God and the earth and man’s history and the endtime of man’s rule on earth, and the establishment of the kingdom of God in the thousand years called the Millennium, and that final destruction of the surface of the earth and its atmosphere and all its pollutions and evil in a flood of fire, only to be remade anew for God and His children and their heavenly city forever!

However, many of the details and actual experiences of His children during some of these periods have not been made completely clear. Some of these secrets have not yet been revealed, of the experiences that we are actually going to live through and feel and see in the wonderful world yet to come. (Deuteronomy 29:29; 1 Corinthians 13:12)

 

 

 

External link: The Greatest Story Ever Told

Copyright © 2017 The Family International.

Anchor

Man Shall Not Live By Bread Alone
A compilation of quotations on the Bible

It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

—Matthew 4:4 ESV

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The Word is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold on me.

—Martin Luther

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Believe me, sir, never a night goes by, be I ever so tired, but I read the Word of God before I go to bed.

—Douglas MacArthur

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The New Testament is the best book the world has ever known or will know.

—Charles Dickens

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The Bible is nothing less than God’s written Word—and because of this, it’s just as true today as when it was first written. As the Bible says concerning itself, its writers “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:21)

—Billy Graham

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What makes the difference is not how many times you have been through the Bible, but how many times and how thoroughly the Bible has been through you.

—Gypsy Smith

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An African chief wanted to know the secret of Britain’s greatness. Queen Victoria, holding a Bible in her hand, said, “Tell the chief that this book, the Bible, is the secret of our greatness!” (Psalm 19:9; Proverbs 14:34)

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The majesty of the Scriptures strikes me with admiration, as the purity of the gospel has its influence on my heart. Peruse the works of our philosophers with all their pomp of diction, how mean, how contemptible are they, compared with the scriptures!

—Jean-Jacques Rousseau

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The Bible contains a complete series of facts and of historical men, to explain time and eternity, such as no other religion has to offer. … What happiness that book procures for those who believe it! What marvels those admire there who reflect upon it!

—Napoleon Bonaparte

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The Bible is an inexhaustible foundation of all truths. The existence of the Bible is the greatest blessing which humanity ever experienced.

—Immanuel Kant

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I consider an intimate knowledge of the Bible an indispensable qualification of a well-educated man.

—Robert A. Millikan

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I consider the Gospels to be thoroughly genuine; for in them there is the effective reflection of a sublimity which emanated from the person of Christ: And this is as divine as ever the divine appeared on earth.

—Goethe

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Jesus Christ opens wide the doors of the treasure-house of God’s promises, and bids us go in and take with boldness the riches that are ours.

—Corrie ten Boom

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If a man is not familiar with the Bible, he has suffered a loss which he had better make all possible haste to correct.

—Theodore Roosevelt

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The Bible is far more than a doctrinal guidebook. God’s Word generates life, creates faith, produces change, frightens the Devil, causes miracles, heals hurts, builds character, transforms circumstances, imparts joy, overcomes adversity, defeats temptation, infuses hope, releases power, cleanses our minds, brings things into being, and guarantees our future forever! We cannot live without the Word of God! Never take it for granted. You should consider it as essential to your life as food.

—Rick Warren

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The Bible is the most wonderful, supernatural, miraculous, amazing, marvelous book in the whole world. It tells you where we came from, how we got here, why we’re here, how to survive while here, how to be happy while here, and how to have love, joy, and peace forever.

The Word of God is the most powerful truth on earth.—Words that contain the very Spirit and life of God Himself. ( John 4:24) The Word is the spiritual spark of God that ignites us with His life, light, and power.

His Word is the most powerful weapon in the world, sharper than any two-edged sword, sharper than any weapon on earth. It can do more than split atoms; it has greater power than the hydrogen bomb! For it can even divide asunder the soul and the spirit of man. And can change hearts and change minds.

—David Brandt Berg

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What shall we say of Isaac Newton (1642–1727), who discovered the law of gravity, formulated the three laws of motion, developed calculus, constructed the first reflecting telescope, and whom many consider the greatest scientist who ever lived? Newton wrote an estimated 1,400,000 words on religion—more than on physics or astronomy. Here are a few quotes from him:

“I have a fundamental belief in the Bible as the Word of God, written by men who were inspired. I study the Bible daily.”

“All my discoveries have been made in answer to prayer.”

“We account the Scriptures of God to be the most sublime philosophy. I find more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history whatsoever.”

Then there was Francis Bacon (1561–1626), credited with developing the scientific method. He said:

“There are two books laid before us to study, to prevent our falling into error; first, the volume of the Scriptures, which reveal the will of God; then, the volume of the Creatures, which express His power.”

How about Blaise Pascal (1623–1662), the brilliant French mathematician who developed the science of hydrostatics and helped formulate the laws of probability? From 1658 until his death, he worked on a defense of Christianity. He said:

“Except by Jesus Christ we know not what our life is, what our death is, what God is, what we are ourselves. Thus, without Scripture, which has only Jesus Christ for its object, we know nothing, and we see only obscurity and confusion in the nature of God, and in nature herself.”

Samuel F. B. Morse (1791–1872) invented the tele­graph and Morse Code, built the first camera in America, and founded the National Academy of Design. A dedicated Christian, Morse established one of America’s first Sunday schools and supported missionaries. He said:

“The nearer I approach to the end of my pilgrimage, the clearer is the evidence of the divine origin of the Bible, the grandeur and sublimity of God’s remedy for fallen man are more appreciated, and the future is illumined with hope and joy.”

The first message he sent by telegraph was: “What hath God wrought.”

Though born a slave, George Washington Carver (1864–1943) became one of the world’s greatest agricultural scientists. Working at the Tuskegee Institute, an Alabama school for African Americans, he developed over 300 products from the peanut and 118 from the sweet potato. He showed both black and white farmers how to better utilize land, and revitalized the South’s economy. He did much to improve race relations, and was also an accomplished artist. Like Pasteur, Carver patented none of his discoveries, but gave them away. He turned down an offer from Thomas Edison to leave Tuskegee Institute and work at 60 times his pay. In 1940 he donated his life savings to the Institute. A devout Christian, Carver taught his students from the Bible, in a class that met on Sundays from 1907 until his death. He said:

“The secret of my success? It is simple. It is found in the Bible, ‘In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.’”

—James Perloff

 

 

 

External link: Man Shall Not Live By Bread Alone

Copyright © 2017 The Family International.

Anchor

Making Godly Decisions: Finding the Will of God

By Peter Amsterdam

We have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
—Colossians 1:9–10 ESV

One of the traits of humankind, as beings created in the image of God, is free will, which includes both the ability to make decisions and the responsibility for the outcomes of our decisions. Learning to make decisions that will glorify God and fulfill His will for our lives can be very challenging at times, and can test and grow our faith, as we seek His will and wait on Him for answers and guidance.

Accepting Jesus as our Savior and receiving His free gift of salvation is the most important decision we ever face in our lives, as it determines our eternal standing in relationship to God and His kingdom. That all-important decision defines our present and our future, as well as redefines our past by canceling out the charges that “stood against us and condemned us, nailing [them] to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13–14 NIV)

The decision to accept Christ as our Savior is one that only we can make; it is a freewill choice to invite Jesus into our hearts and lives. However, salvation is not the end of the road, and once we’ve given our life to the Lord we are faced with numerous other decisions on a daily basis relating to the nurturing of our faith through studying His Word and living our lives according to His commands and guidance.

Decision-making for Christians is meant to be a relational process, involving ourselves and God, as we bring all our anxieties to Him, knowing that He cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7) He has told us to “come and let us reason together,” (Isaiah 1:18) demonstrating His desire to carry on a conversation with us. He wants to be present and to participate in the conversation as we make decisions, and has promised that His Spirit in us will guide us into all truth. (John 16:13)

Throughout our lives as Christians, we are faced with course-altering decisions that affect our future, whether they relate to what career to pursue, whom to marry, how to raise our children, what country to live in, or how to commit to our faith and participate in God’s work. One of the most important steps for finding God’s will and making good decisions is acknowledging Him and committing our ways to Him. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.” (Proverbs 3:5–6 NKJV; Psalm 37:5 NASB)

Learning to make decisions that will honor God and align with His will and commands is often accompanied by times of soul searching, desperate prayer, and testing. Sometimes it can be difficult to distinguish what God’s will is in a situation or what decision will produce the best outcomes. At such times, we can wish that a lightning bolt would light up the sky or that we’d be knocked to the ground like the apostle Paul to give us a precise, infallible sign. And yet, so often, the voice of God is so quiet that if we don’t calm our spirit and open our minds and listen, it can be missed.

The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
—1 Kings 19:11–12 NIV

How do we play our part in the decision-making process, doing everything in our power to make right decisions, to hush our spirits to hear God’s voice, and to determine the best option in decisions that will alter the course of our lives in some way? God’s Word tells us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (James 1:5)

He created us in His image, as rational beings, capable of freewill decisions and of choosing to place Him at the center of our lives. This is one of the ways by which we love God with all our minds: by making conscious decisions to love God, to make Him the center of our lives and our desires, and by seeking to glorify Him in all our decisions and ways. As we love God in this way, rationally and decisively with our minds and with the commitment in our hearts to follow wherever He leads, we are positioned to test and discern the will of God, as Paul explained in Romans: “Be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2 ESV)

This verse indicates that often we may need to put something to the test to find out through experience whether it is the will of God. The decision before us may not be clear-cut enough to know with absolute certainty that it is the right path. Perhaps we need to decide whether to invest in a business venture, or start a new form of mission work, or place our children in a certain school, or move to a new neighborhood. We have sought the Lord for wisdom and guidance. We have weighed the pros and cons. We have done a thorough analysis of the situation. We have asked counsel of those who are in a position to give sound advice. Yet we may find that we are still not 100 percent sure of the decision, despite a looming deadline. In such cases, you may feel that God is nudging you to take a step forward to make a preliminary decision, while making allowance for the testing and discerning stage, and the ability to alter course if the proposed direction doesn’t prove to be the will of God in your situation.

As you take the step of making a preliminary decision, the Lord will often either confirm it or new factors will emerge that will shed new light on the situation. At each new junction on the road to the final decision, you may need to relook at things and pray further before taking the next step. You may need to make course adjustments, as you discover that the coordinates of your original decision, while pointing you in the right general direction, need to be fine-tuned as you zero in on your final destination. Decision-making is often a process involving many decisions, not just a single decision, and each decision lays the foundation for our next decisions.

Most of us would prefer to receive unambiguous direction from God. Yet it seems that often God wants us to do the work of wholeheartedly seeking His will, investigating, analyzing, assessing, and using every means at our disposal to make wise and godly decisions. As so often proves to be the case, God rarely seems to do things for us that we are capable of doing. I’ve often found that I make the best decisions when I work in conjunction with the Lord through doing the background work of analyzing the possibilities and the options, weighing the pros and cons of each one, while seeking His guidance and thoughts on the matter through prayer and hearing from Him.

Making decisions that bring honor and glory to God is one of the ways that we show God that we love Him with all our hearts, souls, and minds. While most of us struggle with the grave responsibility of making godly decisions, it is also an opportunity to glorify God through our choices. As we place Him at the center of our lives, acknowledging Him in all our ways, committing our lives and times into His hands, we can trust that He will guide us and help us to discern His will and to make wise decisions.

 

 

 

External link: Making Godly Decisions: Finding the Will of God

Copyright © 2017 The Family International.

You Can Have Freedom from Fear!

David Brandt Berg

Fear is today’s No.1 killer! Believe it or not, fear causes more sickness and more mental illness and more premature deaths than anything else on Earth! Doctors have discovered that heart muscle is actually DESTROYED when people are subject to great fear. Dr. Marilyn Cebelin, writing in the General Practitioner’s newspaper, “Pulse,” says the hormone, adrenalin, literally DESTROYS heart muscles when people are subjected to intense stress and fear.

Canadian medical circles also report that WORRY increases chances of infectious disease, in that it weakens the body’s ability to fight off germs. A recent study of cases of streptococcal infection, according to Dr. Robert Haggerty, revealed that one out of four cases of such infections occurred after prolonged trauma and anxiety. Heart trouble, high blood pressure, arthritis and stomach ulcers are all basically caused by worry, tension, stress and fear!

Jesus said that in the Last Days “men’s hearts would be failing them for FEAR.”–Luke 21:26. Doctors say that there’s more heart failure today than ever in the World’s history because there’s more FEAR. In 1982, heart attacks caused 554,900 deaths in the U.S. alone, while hypertensive diseases caused 31,500 deaths!

People today are afraid! They’re afraid of the future, they’re afraid of what’s going to happen in the World, they’re afraid of each other, they’re afraid of social pressures, afraid of failing in school or work, afraid of being unemployed.–Afraid that they won’t have enough money for their families. They worry about so many things!

MUCH of this type of fear, believe it or not, stems from selfishness, from being overly concerned about one’s self, one’s self preservation, self-image, what the future holds for one’s SELF. The Apostle John wrote, “Perfect LOVE casts OUT fear, for fear has torment.”–1John 4:18. When that “perfect love” that comes from Jesus fills our lives, it crowds out this type of selfish worry and fear, and when our hearts are filled with love for others, then we don’t think and worry about ourselves so much.

There are many different types of worries and fears, and two of the most common concern the past and the future: Regret over the past and fear of the future.

A lesson on how to keep such fears from affecting us can be learned from modern ocean liners: They are constructed so that the captain can press a button and lower steel doors that separate one watertight bulkhead (compartment) from another, so if the hull is pierced in a disaster it can be sealed off and the ship can stay afloat. So it should be in the “ship” of our own lives; we have to learn how to make doors come down and shut out our worries about yesterday with its mistakes and failures, and also lower another door that shuts out our needless fears of the future, so we can live for just this day alone.–Otherwise our worries may cause us to go under!

Jesus said, “Do not worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”–Matthew 6:34. But too many people are like a man in the insane asylum whose chief trouble was his fear that he wouldn’t get his next meal. As soon as one meal was finished, he immediately began to worry about the next, and most of his time and strength were spent worrying!–How ridiculous! It just doesn’t make sense to worry about the future. Why open an umbrella when it’s not raining anywhere near you? Besides, have you noticed that it’s the things that never happen that seem to worry us the most? Like the famous writer, Mark Twain, said towards the end of his life, “I’m an old man, and I’ve had many troubles–most of which never happened!”

I read recently about a businessman who drew up what he called a “Worry Chart”, in which he kept a record of his fears. He discovered that 40% of them were about things that, in all probability, would never happen; 30% concerned past decisions that he could not now unmake; 12% dealt with other people’s criticism of him; and 10% were worries about his health. He concluded that there were valid reasons for only 8% of his worries!

Of course, as CHRISTIANS we don’t have to fear or worry about ANYTHING, because we know that “ALL things work together for GOOD to them that love the Lord!”–Romans 8:28. The famous evangelist, Dwight L. Moody, used to say, “You can travel FIRST or SECOND class to Heaven! SECOND class is, ‘What time I am AFRAID, I will TRUST.’–Psalm 56:3. And FIRST class is, ‘I will trust, and NOT be afraid.’–Isaiah 12:2. So why not buy a first class ticket?”

That’s one of the greatest of all liberations for a Christian, to be free from fear!–EVERY type of fear: Fear of the unknown, fear of the dark, fear of enemies, fear of failure and fear of death. We have COMPLETE FREEDOM from fear in JESUS! If you trust GOD, then you have FAITH and not fear. You know your Heavenly Father loves you and is going to take care of you and yours–your family, your future, your job, your wife, your children, your EVERYTHING, if you do your best to love, obey and follow Him!

It’s FAITH in Jesus that keeps us from fear. Faith in God is the best cure for fear in the World! “The LORD is my LIGHT and my SALVATION; WHOM shall I FEAR? The LORD is the STRENGTH of my life; of WHOM shall I be AFRAID? God has NOT given us a spirit of FEAR, but of POWER and of LOVE and of a SOUND MIND! For perfect LOVE casts out ALL fear!”–Psalm 27:1; 2Timothy 1:7; 1John 4:18.

Faith and fear cannot totally occupy your mind and heart at the same time.–It’s just impossible! It’s like the natural law of physics that states, “Two bodies cannot occupy the same place at the same time.”–And the same holds true in the spiritual. Faith is the opposite of fear, and when you have faith, you cannot fear!

Turning on the FAITH in your HEART is like turning on the LIGHT in a ROOM! If you go into a room and it’s dark, how do you get RID of the darkness? Do you try to SHOO the darkness out? Do you go in with your fists and FIGHT it? No, when you don’t want darkness in the room you just turn on the light, right? You just let the light in!–And the darkness turns tail and runs! “Chase away the shades of night, by letting in God’s love and light!”

And that’s how you get rid of fear!–By turning on faith! And how do you get faith?–From reading the Word of God in your Bible and Daily Food! The Bible says, “Faith COMES by hearing the WORD of GOD!”–Romans 10:17. Faith comes and grows as you faithfully read and hear God’s Word! It’s the WORD that will strengthen you and give you more faith. So the more you read the WORD, the MORE FAITH you will have and the LESS FEAR you will have!

On the other hand, believe it or not, SOME kinds of fear are healthy! It’s good to fear–or at least have a healthy RESPECT for–fire, electricity, lightning and anything that can cause accidents and do us or others damage and harm. God has placed within us beneficial automatic reactions, protective instincts, that make us react quickly and instinctively to danger!

The most healthy fear of all is to fear GOD! The Bible says, “The fear of God is the BEGINNING of WISDOM.”–Proverbs 9:10. A part of our LOVE for God should be a healthy RESPECT and FEAR of Him, like a child respects his father, especially if he’s been naughty and done wrong and knows that he deserves a spanking! Fearing God is a form of worshipping God. It’s giving Him the reverence and respect that He deserves.

However, in like manner, fearing the DEVIL is another example of the WRONG kind of DESTRUCTIVE fear that tears you down and brings you under stress and spiritual bondage. To fear the Devil and his powers is really worshipping the Devil!–So DON’T do it!–Not for a fraction of a second! “Thou shalt worship the LORD thy God and HIM ONLY shalt thou fear!”–Matthew 4:10. “This,” the wise King Solomon said, “is the whole duty of Man, to fear God”–only God–“and keep His commandments”!–Ecclesiastes 12:13. If you pin your faith in God, and fear God, all other fears will disappear!

Of course, we must recognise that the Enemy, the Devil, does have certain power. In fact, almost the Devil’s total power is in fear. He’ll often say “Boo!”, and say all kinds of terrible things to try to frighten you! But you don’t have to listen to him. Jesus called him, “A LIAR from the beginning.”–John 8:44. The Devil is a liar and is usually bluffing and hardly ever able to accomplish his threats!–Especially to a child of God who is protected by the Lord’s Holy Spirit and Angels!

The Devil reminds me of an ugly little Pekinese dog that I encountered while shopping the other day. For no reason he started barking and yapping at me like crazy. Its owner, an old lady, picked him up and actually said, “Oh, don’t worry! He’s just a little DEVIL!” And that struck me as a good lesson on what the Devil is like!–He makes such a big noise, when actually he’s so little and powerless compared to the LORD!

So you don’t ever have to worry or fear Satan’s power, because God is much bigger than any devil!–Or even Satan himself! The power of the Lord is much, much greater! “GREATER is He that is in YOU (Jesus), than he that is in the WORLD (the Devil).”–1John 4:4. In other words, God is saying, “My power in you is much greater than the Devil’s power in the World’s children!–MUCH greater!” In fact, all the devils of Hell, including Satan himself, are subject to your power, because you have the power of CHRIST! Jesus said, “ALL power is given unto ME in Heaven and in Earth!”–Matthew 28:18. YOU’RE not stronger than the Devil, but JESUS is!-And you have Jesus and His power, and the Devil and his demons have to do what you tell them to when you COMMAND them to do it in Jesus’ name!

If you feel the Devil is attacking you with fears, worries, anxiety etc., you can pray in the Name of Jesus and resist and overcome him!–Jesus said, “Behold, I give you power over all the power of the Enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”-Luke 10:19. This power is YOURS if you believe His Word, claim His promises and pray in the Name of Jesus! In fact, if you are filled with faith and His Holy Spirit, you have the authority to resist the Devil directly, just like Jesus and His early disciples did.

I’ll never forget when I was a kid about 12 years old, delivering newspapers, and I had to go into a certain yard to get to a house in the rear. Suddenly, out from the back yard came this huge Great Dane dog, barking and growling furiously, coming at me full speed, leaping and bounding! I thought, “Oh, no!–I’m a goner! This is IT!” But I knew I didn’t dare turn my back on him to run or he would bite me for sure. Yet, on the other hand, he was too big for me to face, and I was invading HIS territory! He was just too big for me!

I thank God that I remembered to cry out to the Lord, and I did something that I’d never done before, but which I’ve since done to the Devil many times when he’s tried to attack and frighten and scare me!–I suddenly jutted my hand out toward him and I yelled, “I REBUKE YOU IN JESUS’ NAME!”–And, boy, did he put on the brakes! He skidded to a stop and looked absolutely STARTLED!–And turned tail and ran away!

The Devil is just like that dog, a coward!–And if you face him down and RESIST him in Jesus’ name, he’ll run! You don’t get the victory over the Enemy by running FROM him! You get the victory by standing your ground and making HIM run!

Some fears are imaginary, and others, like that big dog, really exist. But whether real or imaginary, you have power over your fears to REBUKE and get RID of them in Jesus’ Name! You have to fight fear and fight the Devil! You have to face your fears, recognise they’re there, decide between the real fears and the unreal ones, the truth and the lie, and then go to the attack to dispel the vaporous fiction of the fairy tale and to drive away the genuine reality of real threat!

Praising the Lord and quoting God’s Word out loud is an excellent way to attack your fears! Memorise faith-building Scriptures like Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd…I will fear no evil.” Put all other thoughts out of your mind and just think about Jesus and His Love and His power. “Thou wilt keep him in PERFECT PEACE whose mind is stayed on Thee.”–Isaiah 26:3.

There are also some fears that you may need HELP in fighting. Some people have deep-rooted fears that are actual phobias.–For instance, some people almost panic when they’re shut up in a closed place. Others fear to go outside. Others fear heights, tunnels, the dark, snakes etc.–If you feel terrified by some extreme fear that you don’t feel strong enough to overcome just between you and the Lord, then it helps greatly to have someone else pray WITH to be delivered from that fear! The Bible says, “ONE can chase a THOUSAND, but TWO can put TEN THOUSAND to flight!”–Deuteronomy 32:30. “If any TWO of you shall agree on Earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it SHALL be done for them of My Father which is in Heaven!”–Matthew 18:19. Often, deep-rooted irrational fears are caused by bad SPIRITS, demons, and–as mentioned before–these spirits of fear can be commanded to depart in the Name of Jesus!-And they HAVE to obey! “SUBMIT yourselves to GOD, RESIST the Devil and he WILL flee from you!”–James 4:7.

So don’t be afraid of the Devil, HE’S afraid of you! “The Devil flees each time he sees the weakest saint upon his knees!” There’s nothing to be afraid of when it comes to the Devil!–He was defeated 2,000 years ago!–When Jesus Christ, the Son of God, won the victory for our souls on the Cross of Calvary!

“And though this World with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us!
We will NOT fear, for God hath willed,
His TRUTH to TRIUMPH through US!

The Prince of Darkness grim,
We tremble NOT for him!
For lo, his doom is sure,
One little Word shall fell Him!”–JESUS!

You have power over the Devil and all fears through JESUS and His WORD!–Pray and believe and be freed from fear today!–In Jesus’ name! Amen?

 

 

Treasures. Copyright (c) The Family International

Would You Like to Know Your Future?

David Brandt Berg

The Bible and the Words of God’s Prophets are actually the only real NEWSpapers, or NEWSbooks, in the World!–All other newspapers tell you what ALREADY happened YESTERDAY, so they’re not really NEWS papers, they’re HISTORY papers! But the BIBLE tells us what is GOING to happen TOMORROW! It is full of thousands of detailed PROPHECIES, actually describing specific people, places, times, situations and events thousands of years before they came into being! (Isaiah 34:16; 42:9; 2Peter 1:19-21.)

Many of these prophecies are about the FINAL period of World history, just before Jesus returns to stop all of today’s wickedness and to set up His Own Kingdom of Love and Peace on Earth. These last final days of Man’s kingdoms on Earth are known in the Bible as the “TIME OF THE END”, the “LATTER DAYS”, the “LAST DAYS”, etc.–the time in which YOU and I are NOW living! (Daniel 2: 28; 8:23; 12:4.)

When Jesus’ Disciples wanted to know the future and asked Him, “What shall be the SIGN of THY COMING and of the END of the World?”, He didn’t reply with only one sign, but with DOZENS! In fact, the Bible gives us HUNDREDS of “signs of the times”, signs and signals that we are to look out for so that we can know exactly HOW close to the very End we are! (Matthew 24:All)

These signs include: A dramatic upsurge in “famines, pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places” (Matthew 24:7), “the Gospel being preached in ALL the World for a witness to ALL nations” (Matthew 24:14), a drastic increase in international travel, with “many running to and fro, wandering from sea to sea, as knowledge is greatly increased”. (Daniel 12:4; Amos 8:11,12)–A great “falling away” (2Thessalonians 2:3) from the Lord as “evil men and seducers grow worse and worse, deceiving many”. (2Timothy 3:13)–“The love of many growing cold” (Matthew 24:12), resulting in “distress of nations upon the Earth and men’s hearts failing them for fear”! (Luke 21:25,26)–Signs which are all obviously being fulfilled TODAY more than ever before!

One of the most important and final signs of the VERY END that many Prophets predicted is the rise of a totally Godless ANTI-CHRIST WORLD GOVERNMENT led by a demonic dictator who will be possessed by SATAN himself! This man will come to power with a 7-YEAR AGREEMENT, a COVENANT (which COULD be in effect secretly already!) in which he will promise the World peace and religious freedom, and will settle the Mideast crisis, working out a compromise between the Jews and the Arabs to enable the Jews to reinstitute their traditional Temple worship in Jerusalem. (Daniel 8:23-25; 2Thessalonians 2:1-4; Daniel 9:27) Also, the World is ABOUT to go through a great ECONOMIC CRASH!–And HE will promise to RESTORE the economy!

For awhile, most of the World is going to think that this man, the Antichrist, is wonderful, as he will have brought peace, restored the World’s economy, solved the Mideast crisis, etc. But suddenly, toward the end of his reign, after having BROKEN the Covenant, he will INVADE ISRAEL from the NORTH, and will forbid and abolish all traditional religious worship, declaring that HE himself is GOD and demanding that all the World worship HIM! (Daniel 9:27; 8:9-12; 11:21-24,28-31,36; 2Thessalonians 2:3,4,8,9)

At this time he will place an idol, an IMAGE of HIMSELF, in the Temple, an “ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION” which could very likely be some kind of a computerised robot or telecommunications system for his Antichrist regime, as it will SPEAK and somehow even cause those who refuse to worship it to be KILLED! Jesus Himself said that when you SEE this Image, this Abomination of Desolation, standing there in the Temple, THEN would begin a time of “GREAT TRIBULATION”! (Daniel 11:31; 12:11; Matthew 24:15-21; Revelation 13:14,15.)

During the last part of the Antichrist’s reign, people won’t use paper money any more because the Antichrist government is going to set up a ONE-WORLD-CREDIT SYSTEM, and all members of the System who reject Jesus and worship this Antichrist will be issued a credit number, marked in their HANDS or FOREHEADS! The Antichrist government will use this new credit system to try to force everybody to either worship the Antichrist or starve to death, because no one will be able to BUY or SELL without this number or “MARK of the BEAST”!–But GOD’S CHILDREN will REFUSE to worship him or receive his Mark!–And the LORD will take CARE of us, even if He has to drop manna from Heaven to feed us! (Revelation 13:16-18; 12:6,14)

And while the Antichrist and his followers are persecuting and trying to get God’s children, God is going to let loose PESTILENCES and PLAGUES and even strange MONSTERS which will ATTACK these wicked people of the Devil! These days of the Tribulation will be like the last days of the children of Israel in Egypt!–God’s prophets will be doing great and mighty SIGNS, WONDERS and MIRACLES to defend the Gospel and God’s children! (Revelation 7:3; 9:1-11; 11:3-6.)

Near the END of the Tribulation period, 10 “KINGS” will join the Antichrist and together they will DESTROY and “devour with fire BABYLON, the GREAT WHORE”.–A final judgement which, according to many Scriptures, sounds like the 10 leading nations of EUROPE, such as we find in the EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY, uniting with RUSSIA and turning on AMERICA in a nuclear first-strike that will destroy her in ONE HOUR! (Daniel 11:38,39,43; Revelation 17:12,16,17; 18:1-10,17-19.)

The Antichrist’s worldwide suppression and persecution of all who refuse to worship him, plus the horrific Nuclear War, will make this Great Tribulation period a time of TROUBLE such as the World has never known! In fact, Jesus said, “Except those days be shortened (come to an end), there should no flesh be saved. But for the elect’s (Christians’) sake, those days shall be shortened (come to an end).” (Matthew 24:21,22)

Right at the END of the Last 7 Years, just when the fiendish Antichrist thinks he has the World in his grasp, then suddenly–BOOM!–Like a bolt from the blue, JESUS will RETURN and snatch all of His children out of this World! Just after that DARKEST NIGHT in World History we are going to have the BRIGHTEST DAWN!–Jesus is going to come back and rescue His Own, His Church, His people, EVERYONE who loves Him and knows Him and has Him in their hearts! (Matthew 24:29-31)

All of the Christians who have ALREADY died and gone on to be with Jesus will come back with Him to pick up their new, resurrection bodies!–And “the Earth shall cast out her dead!” (Isaiah 26:19) Then we who are alive and remain, having miraculously survived and kept witnessing for Jesus throughout the Antichrist’s reign of terror, will instantly be changed, TRANSFORMED, as we receive our new, miraculous, powerful, supernatural, resurrection bodies–just like JESUS’ body after HE was resurrected!–And up we’ll sail towards the sky, “to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we EVER be with the Lord!” (1Thessalonians 4:14-17; 1Corinthians 15:51-57; Philippians 3:21.)

All of our anti-Christ enemies will be SHOCKED as they see the Lord coming in the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory, lighting up the whole sky like permanent lightning!–The powers of the Heavens shaken!–The Lord descending with a great shout!–A terrific blast on the trumpet of God!–Graves of the Saints bursting open as the dead are raised!–And all of God’s children who are still alive transformed before their eyes, flying upwards to meet Jesus! “EVERY eye shall SEE Him and ALL the kindreds of the Earth shall WAIL because of Him!” (Matthew 24:27-31; Revelation 1:7.)

Jesus will come back to catch His Bride, His Church, out of the evil clutches of the Enemy and then whisk us away to the grandest, most glorious and thrilling wedding party that’s ever been held, the great MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB in Heaven!–At which time we will feast our eyes upon the spectacle of God’s Judgements being poured out upon the unrepentant, wicked World below! Right after the Lord has rescued and raptured us to be with Him, the horrific Vials of the great WRATH OF GOD are going to be poured out upon the Antichrist and his people in horrible, terrible PLAGUES such as the World has never known! (Revelation 19: 6-9; 14:14-20; 16:11-21.)

God’s going to pour out His Judgements and horrors and Wrath upon the Antichrist and his forces to punish and sock it to them with what they deserve!–Until the FINAL Wrath of all, when the wicked gather together at ARMAGEDDON in Israel to try to fight the remaining nations of Earth, who though unsaved, are still trying to resist his evil rule! Then JESUS HIMSELF, along with His resurrected, glorified, Heavenly forces, will return to Earth again on majestic white chargers out of Heaven to utterly defeat and destroy the Antichrist and utterly annihilate his forces in the supernatural, catastrophic BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON, and to rescue the unsaved people who were opposing him! Though they were never saved, Jesus will mercifully allow them to live on into the coming Golden Age of the Millennium so they can have a chance to know Him and believe on Him! (Revelation 9:13-21; 16:12-16; 19:11-21; 17:14; 16:12-21; Daniel 12:12.)

Then we, the Saints of God, along with our King Jesus Christ, will TAKE OVER the World and ORGANISE it and RULE it and RUN it the way it SHOULD have been run if Man had yielded to God! We’re going to set up the Kingdom of God on Earth and restore the Earth to the beauty of the Garden of Eden again! This amazing period will last for ONE THOUSAND YEARS and therefore it is known as THE MILLENNIUM! (Daniel 2:44; 7:18,26,27; Revelation 20:4)

He says, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the FIRST Resurrection (the Rapture): On such the second death hath no power, but they shall be PRIESTS of God and of Christ, and shall REIGN with Him a THOUSAND YEARS!” (Revelation 20:6) Jesus also promised to His faithful ones, “He that OVERCOMETH, and KEEPETH My works unto the End, to him will I give POWER over the NATIONS (of surviving unsaved people): And he shall RULE them with a ROD OF IRON (authority).” (Revelation 2:26,27)

The DEVIL will be BOUND and cast as a prisoner into the Bottomless Pit for this Thousand Year period, and GOD is going to be SUPREME and JESUS will REIGN from shore to shore and WE will rule and reign WITH Him!–And those who live on into the Millennium will be FORCED to do what’s right and forced to obey for a thousand years! Then and ONLY then, under the supreme and powerful rule and reign of Christ and God’s children, will all wars finally cease and the World will at last be governed fairly and well with TRUE justice, liberty, peace, plenty and happiness for ALL! (Revelation 20:1-3; Isaiah 2:2-4; Psalm 22:27,28; 42:2,3,7,8)

The CURSE will be partially LIFTED, which will mean a lot of different and better conditions.–The Earth will be like it was during the days of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden! “And NOTHING shall HURT nor DESTROY in all His holy Kingdom!”–No more stinking automobiles belching fumes, nor big smokey smoke-belching factories! The World is going to go back to animal transportation and carriages and wagons and beautiful, majestic, wind-powered sailing vessels! (Isaiah 11:6-9; 65:2O-25)

During the Millennium, WE–the born-again, saved, resurrected Saints–will be in our new SUPERNATURAL BODIES, with amazing miraculous powers such as indestructibility, no pain, sickness or death, but power to destroy enemies at a thought or a glance or a motion, the abilities to appear and disappear, fly, change our appearance into inscrutable disguises to spy on our enemies and invade their most secret hideouts and even their very thoughts with our mind-reading ability and x-ray eyes to see through walls and across vast stretches of distance to detect their plans and operations! Meanwhile we can communicate with each other by mental telepathy without speaking a word, even over great distances, etc., whereas our enemies will have none of these advantages, so it will be fairly easy to rule over them with the wisdom, power, justice and love of Jesus and His personal leadership!

But the REST of the World, those who have been spared and blessed enough to survive into the Millennium, are going to still be in their old NATURAL bodies. EVERYONE on Earth will SEE His glorious power and Kingdom and EVERYBODY will believe THEN! So there won’t be any UNBELIEVERS, but I’m afraid there will still be some UNRECEIVERS who won’t yield and won’t obey and will STILL be stubborn and rebellious and defiant! These wicked rejectors will probably move to distant corners of the Earth in order to live independent of Jesus’ benign rule, and as long as they do not bother the receivers–the GOOD citizens of Jesus’ Kingdom–we will leave them to their own devices. (Habakkuk 2:14; Isaiah 29:18, 19;32:1; 4O:5)

Then, as a final TEST and a final SIFTING, at the end of the Millennium, Satan is going to be RELEASED from his prison in the heart of the Earth for a “little season”, just long enough to deceive the unconverted wicked who have rejected Christ’s Kingdom of Love. These rebels will again follow him to the full, in open rebellion against the Lord and His Government, and will attack “the Camp of the Saints”, the normal Earthlings who are citizens of Jesus’ Millennial Kingdom. This will result in the catastrophic BATTLE OF GOG AND MAGOG, at which point God is so fed up with them that He just sends down FIRE out of Heaven to DEVOUR them COMPLETELY! (Psalm 2:All; Isaiah 26:9-11; Revelation 2O:7-1O.)

In fact, He will cause SUCH a horrible fire to come down that it will completely wipe out the entire Earth and the heavens shall be rolled back like a scroll and depart with a great noise! It’s all going to explode and be burned up, and the entire surface of this planet is going to be completely melted. After the World has been totally cleansed, it will be RECREATED into a beautiful NEW Earth! (2Peter 3:1O-13)

After this climactic Battle of Gog and Magog, all the UNsaved of all ages will be resurrected for the final GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT! All of the UNSAVED DEAD will finally be raised to stand before God Himself in the final Judgement in which “the books are opened”, and they will all be given their final sentences according to their works and will be assigned to their final places in the hereafter. (Revelation 2O:11-15) God’s great Heavenly SPACE CITY will then DESCEND from above to the beautiful, recreated, Garden-of-Eden-like NEW EARTH!–And God Himself will dwell WITH us right here on Earth! It will be like God taking over the World by invading it from Outer Space–bringing down His Heavenly City and restoring Himself as the King of kings forever! This great Space City is 1,5OO MILES LONG, 1,5OO MILES WIDE and 1,5OO MILES HIGH!–The greatest space vehicle ever created, the most wonderful Spaceship ever conceived, built by the LORD and on its way down to Earth now! (Revelation 21:All!)

The ENTIRE “CITY is PURE GOLD, like unto CLEAR GLASS”! (Revelation 21:18) It’s like clear golden-colored glass, a beautiful CRYSTAL GOLD! So you’ll be able to see out of the City through those transparent walls, out onto a beautiful, fully-restored and recreated New Earth which will be populated by NEW NATIONS and kings and peoples who will then learn the righteousness, goodness and love of God, even though they will be OUTSIDE the Golden City and its jewelled walls! (Revelation 21:1,24-26)

It will be a BETTER WORLD then with BETTER PEOPLE who will have learned their lessons of the law of the Love of God and will be happier than ever before, because at last they will be purged and purified of their sins of rebellion against Him and healed by the LEAVES of the TREES OF LIFE which WE shall minister to them from where they grow by the RIVER OF LIFE within the City! (Revelation 22:1,2)

Only the MOST wicked of all, such as Satan, the Antichrist, his False Prophet and their most ardent Christ-rejecting followers, will have been sent to the Lake of Fire to be punished and purged of their diabolical rebelliousness! If they repent even there, perhaps they may be released and allowed to live on the surface of the New Earth. But if they do NOT repent, God may see fit to just completely DESTROY them! (Revelation 21:8; 22:14,15; Philippians 2:1O,11; 1Timothy 2:4; Ephesians 1:1O; 2Peter 2:12)

Some of this may be a shock to you, but it’s the TRUTH of GOD’S WORD! You can read it in the Bible for yourself if you wish, if you truly want to know the things that will shortly come to pass and if you hunger for the righteousness of God and thirst for His living waters that bring Eternal Life through His Love and the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ! For He has promised that if you DO, you TOO shall be filled and satisfied to overflowing upon others who need Him also! Hallelujah! (John 5:29; Acts 17:11; Matthew 5:6.)

So if YOU want a NEW WORLD and a NEW LIFE under a new GOOD GOVERNMENT by GOD HIMSELF and would even like to help run it with peace and plenty and happiness for all, why not ASK JESUS into YOUR HEART today and JOIN US NOW and work with us to tell the World of His Love and show them what a wonderful World it’s going to be from the Bible and your own happy smiling face and heavenly living together in love, a present-day sample of the Heaven to come! (John 1:12; Revelation 3:2O; Matthew 5:16.)

Prepare for the future TODAY by receiving Jesus NOW! Simply pray,

“Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and forgive me for all my sins. Help me to love and live for You, to hunger for Your Truth, to learn Your Word and to tell others about Your Love.–In Jesus’ name, amen.”

 

 

 

Source: Would You Like to Know Your Future?

 

 

 

Treasures. Copyright (c) The Family International

The Word!

Based on the writings of David Brandt Berg

 

 

MEDITATING ON THE WORD!

The Bible is an absolutely inexhaus­tible source of wisdom and knowledge in which you constantly find treasures new and old! (See Matthew 13:52.)

The Word of God will stand a thou­sand readings, and he who has gone over it most frequently is the surest of finding new wonders there.

We must read the Word like men digging for hidden treasures.

What makes the difference is not how many times you have been through the Bible, but how many times and how thoroughly the Bible has been through you.

To do God’s work we must have God’s power. To have God’s power we must know God’s will. To know God’s will we must study God’s Word.

How can you have faith in the Bible unless you know what’s in it?

A thumbprint on the Bible is more important than a footprint on the moon.

The Word… Know it-in your head; Show it-in your life! Sow it-in the World; Stow it-in your heart!

To read the Word without reflecting, is like eating without digesting.

Besides the once-and-for-all cleans­ing of Salvation, you need the daily cleans­ing of the Word from daily sin.

 

TAKING TIME FOR GOD!

Many people struggle through life needlessly, when only a little more time spent with God’s Word would bring the peace, faith and happiness they seek.

Put the Word first and the Lord will always give you time to do the other things.

Whatever keeps me from the Word is my enemy, however harmless it may appear to be.
 

No time for God?
What fools we are… No time for God?
As soon to say no time
To eat. to sleep, to live, to die.
Take tine for God,
Or a poor misshapen thing you’ll be
To step into eternity,
And say, “I had no time for Thee.”

 
The most desirable time to read the Word is as often as possible.

 

THE BIBLE AND ITS CRITICS!

Most people don’t read the Bible, not because they can’t understand it, but because they can understand it, and they don’t like to hear it!

Daniel Webster once said that he believed that “the Bible is to be believed and understood in the plain and obvious meaning of its passages; for I cannot persuade myself that a Book intended for the instruction and conversion of the whole World should cover its true meaning in any such mystery and doubt, so that none but critics and philosophers can discover it.”

Nothing contradicts itself in the Bible! People just think it does because they can’t understand what it means in the first place.

Men do not usually reject the Bible because it contradicts itself, but because it contradicts them.

Don’t criticise the Bible; let the Bible criticise you.

The Bible’s incredibly correct his­torical memory has been validated many times by archaeological discoveries. No discovery has ever contradicted a Bible reference.- Dr. Nelson Blueck, Jewish archaeologist.

I know it’s the Word of God, because I know it works!

Other books have been written for our information; the Bible was given for our transformation!

Bible verses will save you from spiritual reverses.

 

POWER OF THE WORD!

Love is the greatest force in the World, and the Word of God the most powerful Truth on Earth!

The Bread of Life never becomes stale.

The Bible contains the vitamins for a healthy soul.

Thank God for the Word, the Water of Life! That’s why He likened the Word to Water, because it’s so essential for your spiritual life, and you’re not going to last very long without it.

The secret of power and victory and overcoming and fruitfulness and fire and life and warmth and light and leadership, and everything, is the Word!

The word is our weapon against the Enemy and his stronghold on people’s minds and hearts. (See 2Corinthians 10:4,5.)

The Word of God is the most power­ful weapon in the World, greater by far than any nuclear weapon imaginable. It can change hearts and minds, something no nuclear wea­pon has ever done or will ever do.

 

THE SIMPLE TRUTH!

Why waste time on complicated con­fused theories and thoughts of Man, when the Bible is right there, so simple, direct and to the point?

No man is uneducated who knows the Word and no man is wise who is ignorant of its teachings.

William Lyon Phelps (called the most beloved professor in America) of Yale University said, “I thoroughly believe in university education for both men and women, but I believe a knowledge of the Bible with­out a college course is more valuable than a college course without the Bible.”

If you know this Book-the Bible- you can run circles around any man that has graduated from a university or seminary- because you’ve got the Truth!

I’ve never read any worldly man’s writings that weren’t dumber than the Bible! Only the Words of God have lived on! Only the Words of Jesus have accomplished any­thing!

The answers we find in the Word are not quick and easy answers, but they are in fact the only real answers.

If I find something in the Bible that I can’t explain or something happens that I don’t understand, I just wrap it up in a little package of faith and put it on the shelf and wait for the Lord to unwrap it for me and reveal it to me later.

Just like with any other book-you don’t quit reading the Bible just because you can’t understand one little thing. You keep on reading, and there will be something else you can understand.

 

INTERPRETING THE WORD!

If you find a whole lot of Scriptures that say so-and-so, but then you find one little passage that seems to say the opposite, then what are you going to accept?-The preponderance of the Script­ures!-Right?

If one Scripture seem to contradict several others, you must be interpreting it wrong or the translation may be wrong. You’ve got to balance Scripture with Scrip­ture.

The Bible would not be the Book of God if it had not deep places here and there which Man has no ability to fathom.

 

THE BIBLE’S AUTHORITY!

The Bible is not just a history book, it’s a news book! It not only tells you about yesterday, it tells you about tomorrow!

The Bible is the Bureau of Standards by which we measure all truth and all error!

Your ignorance of God’s law is no excuse. If you don’t read the Word, then it’s your own fault, not God’s fault.

If you know the Scriptures, you have the answer for everything!

As we search the Scriptures, we must allow them to search us, to sit in judgement upon our character and conduct.

 

PROMISES AND WEALTH!

Wealth in the Word is wisdom!

The promises of God are the cur­rency of Heaven, and if you’ve got a lot of verses in your heart you’re really rich! You can cash them in at the bank of Heaven and get back answers!

You have to quote the terms of the contract (The Bible) to the Contract Maker (God), and hold Him to it!

With every promise God makes to us there are some conditions that we must ful­fil. God makes promises, but His promises are contracts with conditions!

Learn to put your hand on all spiritual blessings in Christ and say “Mine”.

 

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY!

The more dearly you begin to love His Word and read and study it, the more mature you will become and the more you’ll find that God can speak to you loudly and clearly and supernaturally and miraculously and ecstatically, right through the reading of His Word!

The minute we begin to listen to the Lord’s recorded written Word, immediately we put ourselves in the position of being willing to listen, so then the Lord begins to speak and give us the living Word!

We must have the Word in every form possible. The Bible was the one to begin with, the already recorded and established Word down through the centuries. It works, which is the greatest proof of its efficacy. Also we need to have His present Word, di­rect answers to prayer, direct revelations, messages, prophecy, tongues, interpretation, information straight from Heaven to know exactly what He wants us to do right now!

The Bible is still the yardstick of measurement, the bureau of standards by which we measure everything else God has ever given us. If it isn’t confirmed and can’t be corroborated by the Bible, if you can’t prove it also by the Bible and if it’s not in accordance with the Bible, you don’t have to believe it! That doesn’t mean every­thing is in the Bible, because we’ve had lots of revelations that you can’t find any­thing about in the Bible. But it means that those revelations will not be contrary to anything in the Bible-that is, anything that is in the Bible which is for today.

In what we’ve taught, you won’t find anything contrary to the basic prin­ciples of the Bible, of faith in God and His Love and His Salvation. There’ll be nothing contrary to the Bible, except that the Lord has used us to fill in a lot more of the picture, a lot more pieces of the puzzle. He gives us a lot of details and clearer things that we never had before.-Not contrary to the Bible but more like a fulfilling or a filling up of the gaps and spaces that were not filled in before.

Our writings are a commentary or an extension or an enlargement or greater detail, but it’s all based on the Bible, and you should know your Bible. It would even help you to believe the Bible better if you knew our writings well, because you’d know that what we write is based on the Bible and is in conformity with the Bible. They don’t contradict or deny it in any way. They only confirm it.

It’s a damnable doctrine of church devils to confine all the truth and revela­tions of God strictly to the Bible! True prophecy won’t teach anything contrary, but it sure can fill in a lot of gaps! The Bible is still going to be the standard of measurement, for that was God’s Message for them. But today we have to tell this generation how to do it under these present circumstances.

Since the Word of God has been so horribly wrested and distorted by the Church all these years, we now have to interpret and explain it, and that’s what our writings are for, besides supplying the general training that people today need.

You’ve missed a lot if you don’t know the Bible, because that’s our basic foundation. Our writings are largely a com­mentary or they are an extension, further revelations, further knowledge, more detail on subjects that you can already find in the Bible.

Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Joshua 23:14b And ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.

Job 23:12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of His lips; I have esteemed the Words of His mouth more than my necessary food.

Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night.

Psalm 119:9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to Thy Word.

Psalm 119:11 Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.

Psalm 119:18 Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law.

Psalm 119:103 How sweet are Thy Words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Psalm 119:106 Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Psalm 119:130 The entrance of Thy Words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.

Proverbs 6:20-23 My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother; Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.

Isaiah 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the Word of our God shall stand for ever.

Isaiah 46:10b,11b My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.

Isaiah 55:10,11 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from Heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the Earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall My Word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Jeremiah 15:16 Thy Words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy Name, 0 Lord God of hosts.

Jeremiah 23:29 Is not My Word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

Matthew 4:4 Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Matthew 22:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.

Matthew 24:35 Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but My Words shall not pass away.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the Words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

John 14:23,24 Jesus answered and said unto him, if a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him. He that loveth Me not keepeth not My sayings: and the Word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father’s which sent Me.

John 15:3 Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you.

John 17:17 Sanctify them through Thy Truth: Thy Word is Truth.

John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His Name.

Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

1Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the World are come.

Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of Salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Colossians 3:16a Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.

1Thessalonians 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the Word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

2Timothy 3:16,17 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profit­able for doctrine, for reproof, for correc­tion, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Hebrews 4:12 For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the divid­ing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

James 1:21b,22 Receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

1Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby.

2Peter 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the World through lust.

 

WHAT GREAT MEN HAVE SAID ABOUT THE BIBLE!

SIR ISAAC NEWTON, ENGLISH SCIENTIST who formulated the laws of gravitation & motion, 1642-l727: Newton’s achievements in science are very well known, but it is not so well known that he spent more time study­ing the Bible than studying the stars. “There are more sure proofs of authenticity in the Bible than in any secular history. All my discoveries have been made in answer to prayer. I can take my telescope & look millions of miles into space; but I can go away to my room & in prayer get nearer to God & Heaven than I can when assisted by all the telescopes of Earth!”

IMMANUEL KANT, GERMAN PHILOSOPHER, 1724-1804: “The existence of the Bible as a Book for the people is the greatest benefit which the human race has ever experienced. Every attempt to belittle it is a crime against humanity.”

GEORGE WASHINGTON, 1st USA PRESIDENT, 1732-1799: “It is impossible to rightly govern the World without God & the Bible.”

JOHN ADAMS, 2nd PRESIDENT OF USA, 1735-1826: “The Bible contains more philoso­phy than all the libraries that I have ever seen, & such parts as I cannot reconcile with a little philosophy, I postpone for future investigation.”

PATRICK HENRY, AMERICAN PATRIOT & radical leader, 1736-1799: “The Bible is worth all other books which have ever been printed.”

SIR WILLIAM HERSCHEL, GERMAN-BORN ASTRONOMER, discoverer of the planet Uranus, 1738-1822: “All human discoveries seem to be made only for the purpose of confirming more & more strongly the truth contained in the Sacred Scriptures.”

THOMAS JEFFERSON, 3rd PRESIDENT OF USA, 1743-1826: “I have always said that a studious perusal of the Sacred Volume will make you better citizens, better fathers & better husbands.”

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, 6th PRESIDENT OF USA, 1767-1848: “The first & almost only book deserving of universal attention is the Bible. I speak as a man of the World. So great is my veneration for the Bible, that the earlier my children begin to read it, the more confident will be my hope that they will prove useful citizens of their country & respectable members of society. I have for many years made it a practice to read through the Bible once every year.”

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, EMPEROR OF FRANCE for 10 years, conquered large parts of Europe, 1769-1821: “The Bible is no mere book, but a Living Creature, with a power that conquers all that oppose it… Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne & I myself have founded empires, but upon what do these cre­ations of our genius depend?-Upon force! Jesus alone founded His Empire upon Love, & to this very day millions would die for Him. “What happiness the Bible procures for those who believe it! What marvels those admire there who reflect upon it!

SIR WALTER SCOTT, SCOTTISH NOVELIST, POET, 1771-1832:

“Within this ample Volume lies
Humanity’s most precious prize.
Happiest they of human race
To whom their God has given grace
To read, to fear, to hope, to pray,
To lift the latch, to force the way;
But better had they ne’er been born
That read to doubt or read to scorn.”

 
DANIEL WEBSTER, AMERICAN ORATOR, SECRETARY OF STATE for 3 U.S. Presidents, 1782-1852: “If there is anything in my thoughts or style to commend, the credit is due to my parents for instilling in me an early love of the Scriptures. If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering & to prosper, but if we & our posterity neglect its instructions & authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us & bury all our glory in profound obscurity.”

ZACHARY TAYLOR, 12th PRESIDENT OF THE USA, 1784-1850: “It was for the love of the truths of this great & good Book that our fathers abandoned their native shores for the wilderness.”

WILLIAM HENRY SEWARD, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE, 1801-1872: “The whole hope of human progress is suspended on the ever­growing influence of the Bible.”

ROBERT E. LEE, AMERICAN GENERAL, commander of Southern forces in U.S. Civil War, 1807-1870: “In all my perplexities & distresses, the Bible has never failed to give me light & strength.”

ALFRED LORD TENNYSON, ENGLISH POET LAUREATE, 1809-1892: “Bible reading is an education in itself.”

WILLIAM GLADSTONE, PRIME MINISTER OF ENGLAND, 1809-1898: “All that I think, all that I hope, all that I write, all that I live for, is based upon the divinity of Jesus Christ, the central joy of my poor, wayward life. I have known 95 of the world’s greatest men in my time, & of these, 87 were followers of the Bible.”

ABRAHAM LINCOLN, 16th AMERICAN PRESIDENT, 1809-1865: “I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to Man. All the good from the Saviour of the World is communicated to us through this Book.”

HORACE GREELEY, PROMINENT AMERICAN NEWSPAPER EDITOR, & publisher, 1811-1872: “It is impossible to enslave mentally or socially a Bible-reading people. The prin­ciples of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom”

CHARLES DICKENS, ENGLISH NOVELIST, 1812-1870: “The New Testament is the very best Book that was or ever will be known in the World.”

ULYSSES S. BRANT, AMERICAN GENERAL, 18th PRESIDENT OF THE USA, 1882-1885: “To the influence of the Book we are indebted for the progress made in civilisation, & to this we must look as our guide in the fu­ture. The Bible is the anchor of our liber­ties.”

MARK TWAIN, AMERICAN AUTHOR, 1835-1910: “It is hard to make a choice of the most beautiful passage in a Book which is as gemmed with beautiful passages as the Bible.”

THEODORE ROOSEVELT, 26th PRESIDENT OF USA, 1858-1919: “A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college edu­cation. Almost every man who has by his lifework added to the sum of human achievement…has based his lifework largely upon the teachings of the Bible.”

WOODROW WILSON, 28th PRESIDENT OF USA, held office during WW1, 1856-1924: “A man has deprived himself of the best there is in the World who has deprived himself of a knowledge of the Bible.”

HERBERT HOOVER, 31st PRESIDENT OF USA, 1874-1964: “There is no other book so various as the Bible, nor one so full of concentrated wisdom. Whether it be of law, business, morals etc., he who seeks for gui­dance may look inside its covers & find il­lumination.”

DOUGLAS MacARTHUR. FIVE-STAR GENERAL IN WW2, 1900-1964: “Believe me, never a night goes by, be I ever so tired, but I read the Word of God before I go to bed.”

 

 

Treasures. Copyright (c) The Family International

Why Persecution?

Compiled from the writings of David Brandt Berg

“If the World HATES you,” Jesus told His followers, “you know that it hated ME BEFORE it hated YOU! If you were OF the WORLD, the World would LOVE its own. But because you are NOT of the World, but I have chosen you OUT of the World, THEREFORE the World HATES you!” (John 15:18,19) This explains why CHRISTIANS who are really following Jesus are frequently LIED about, VILIFIED and outright PERSECUTED by the forces of “this present evil World”! (Galatians 1:4)

“But come now!”, some may object. “This is the TWENTIETH CENTURY, a modern, enlightened and civilised age! Aren’t things different now?” Well, sad to say, NO, they’re NOT! The heart of Man is the same today as it always was! In fact, if anything, “Wicked men and deceivers have grown WORSE and WORSE”, just like the Bible said they would! (2Timothy 3:13)–And the Devil is just as real and evil as ever, and his people are just as vicious and against God’s people as ever! In this regard, times have NOT changed!

WHY did the World hate JESUS? He was PERFECT, the Son of God. He never committed a sin or did anything wrong, but look what happened to HIM! The RELIGIOUS LEADERS of His day were so infuriated with Him that they not only LIED about Him and actively campaigned against Him, but they actually had Him ARRESTED, TRIED and publicly and shamefully EXECUTED like a common criminal, crucified on a cruel cross!

WHY did they do this to Jesus? Because He EXPOSED them! They SAID the reason they wanted to get rid of Him was because He broke their RELIGIOUS laws, traditions and conventions. But the REAL reason that they wanted to kill Him was because He EXPOSED their HYPOCRISY and their SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS, He showed the public what absolute HYPOCRITES they were! “White-washed TOMBS which APPEAR beautiful and clean OUTWARDLY, but within are full of wickedness, filth and dead men’s bones!” (Matthew 23:27)

Jesus PREACHED what they WEREN’T preaching, DID what they WEREN’T doing, and showed great LOVE and MERCY to others, exposing how LITTLE love these religious leaders had! His simple life of healing, teaching, loving and reaching the common people in the streets, markets, gathering places etc., exposed and condemned the religious leaders for their selfishness and lack of love!

If you preach the TRUTH, you cannot help but make ENEMIES! Jesus said, “If I had not come and SPOKEN unto them, they had not had sin. But NOW they have NO CLOAK, no COVERING, for their sin!” (John 15:22) Which is why the ones who SHOULD have been His FRIENDS, who were supposed to be of His same religion–the Scribes, the Pharisees and the Chief Priests–were the very ones who KILLED Him! Because He EXPOSED their religion for the empty, hollow, shallow sham that it really was! (Read Matthew 23!)

Another major reason that the religious leaders violently turned against Jesus was because His liberating message of, “All you have to do now is LOVE God and your neighbours as yourself!” (Matthew 22:37-39), destroyed their dictatorial control over the people! Jesus’ doctrine of GRACE gave the people FREEDOM and made them realise that they didn’t NEED the old laws, ceremonies and traditions of their former religion any more! OUR message of Love and freedom has likewise caused many religious leaders today to accuse us of being “immoral breakers of God’s Laws”, when all we’re actually doing is accepting and practicing the liberty that the NEW TESTAMENT talks about from cover-to-cover! God’s LIBERATING Law of Love!

Jesus told some compromising hypocritical religionists of His day, “The World CANNOT hate YOU, but it hates ME.–Because I speak the TRUTH against it, EXPOSING its evils!” (John 7:7) The reason why we true Christians today have so many enemies is the same: We have uncloaked and exposed the enemies of God with the bright and searing light of His Truth!

In our PUBLICATIONS–which we have distributed throughout the World literally by the MILLIONS to the BILLIONS–we have repeatedly exposed the ANTI-CHRIST FORCES that are taking over the World! The so-called “ONE-WORLDERS”, the international big money boys who control and manipulate this World’s financial and political systems!

In HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of pages of publications, we have exposed their plans to bring on the great ECONOMIC CRASH in order to destabilise things enough for them to be able to put their man on the throne of the World! The long-foretold “ANTICHRIST” who will ultimately demand the World’s obeisance and worship, forcing men to be branded like cattle with his soul-damning credit mark and number, 666! The Mark of the BEAST! (Revelation 13). The propagators of this plot have frequently used their enormous influence and financial resources to orchestrate massive media campaigns against us.

(For more on this topic, visit The Signs Of The End site)

Our uncompromising stand against the evils of COMMUNISM–an integral PART of the Antichrist’s scheme for World domination-has also caused many to turn against us and persecute us with a vengeance! Nevertheless we feel it is our God-given duty to expose the anti-Christ forces that are at work in this World, so that people can know the TRUTH, and BEWARE, and have their eyes opened to the “Signs of the Times” that are clear indications that we are NOW living in the TIME OF THE END, and that Jesus Himself will soon return to take over this crooked World to set things STRAIGHT!

Our challenge to the established CHURCHES to obey Christ’s command to “GO into ALL the World and preach the Gospel to EVERY creature!” (Mark 16:15), has also brought the wrath of many conservative RELIGIONISTS down upon us! Because we have given our ALL to obey Christ’s command, our lives have put other Christians to shame who REFUSE to do so, so they have either got to start obeying THEMSELVES, or somehow DISCREDIT US to ease their OWN guilty consciences! This is the REAL reason that so many supposedly religious people take it upon themselves to persecute and campaign against us!

Also defectors and backsliders, who, like Judas who betrayed Jesus, have lied about us and tried to stir up trouble against us to justify themselves! Actually, MOST of them chose to leave because usually they found they were unable to sacrifice and endure the hardships and rigors of our way of life. But SOME who have left us, rather than ADMIT and confess failure on THEIR part, turn against us in order to excuse and justify themselves for leaving. A few have even been paid and manipulated by our powerful religious enemies to write and speak against us.

Another reason we have often been vilified is because we have uncompromisingly proclaimed and exposed the evils of modern, decadent AMERICA! Warning them that, “The wicked shall be turned into HELL, and EVERY nation that FORGETS God!” (Psalm 9:17) Infuriating many Americans by telling them that God would soon judge and destroy their once-Christian nation for their sins against Him and the poor of the World! The Worldfamous evangelist, Billy Graham, has said the same of the U.S.: “If God does not judge the U.S., He will have to apologise to Sodom and Gomorrah!”

We have continued to warn America of her sins, yet she has continued to turn her back on God! She has become even MORE materialistic, MORE anti-Christ, MORE perverted and MORE vicious and cruel, not only in her relentless nuclear arms build-up and unprecedented weapons sales to the rest of the World–fueling the fires of war around the Globe–but also in her creation and exportation of absolutely sickening VIOLENT and PERVERTED horror movies and so-called “thrillers”, as well as her “punk”, “heavy-metal” and other demonic music that is corrupting the youth of the entire WORLD!

Not to mention her appalling example to the rest of the World, pretending to be so righteous and “Christian” while she annually slaughters millions of innocent unborn babies through ABORTIONS, has abolished and made PRAYER, GOD and the BIBLE illegal in her public schools, and refuses to make fair and JUST TRADE AGREEMENTS with the developing nations of the World etc. etc.! Our clear-cut Biblical stand against other perverted modern trends such as HOMOSEXUALITY, so-called “WOMEN’S LIB” etc.–trends which are becoming more and more prominent and acceptable in modern Man’s twisted society–have also caused many to rise up and fight against us! Nevertheless, NONE of these forces have been able to STOP us to SATURATE the World with the Gospel of God’s Love, as well as our warnings against these anti-Christ evils of our day!

So is it any wonder that we have many jealous and hateful ENEMIES, that we are viciously PERSECUTED, that there are many who would like to do anything they could to DESTROY our work for the Lord entirely? Jesus Himself warned His followers, “Ye shall be HATED of ALL nations for My Name’s sake!” (Matthew 24:9) So why should anyone be surprised if a little persecution and opposition is raised by those whom we expose with the light of God’s Truth?

Jesus told us, “WOE unto you when ALL men shall speak WELL of you!–For so did their fathers of the FALSE prophets!” (Luke 6:26). In other words, if you’re always so POPULAR, and everyone is always thinking and speaking WELL of you, then something must be WRONG with you! This is why the Bible says that, “ALL who will live GODLY in Christ Jesus SHALL suffer PERSECUTION!” (2Timothy 3:12). If everything is always so smooth and you never have any problems or persecution, then you’re NOT living GODLY in Christ Jesus!

Of course, very few of our enemies ever give the REAL reasons WHY they persecute us. Just like JESUS’ enemies never told the Roman Governor, Pilate, the real reason why they sought to slay HIM! If they’d said, “This guy is EXPOSING us, BREAKING our TRADITIONS, and LIBERATING the people from OUR CONTROL!”, Pilate would have thrown the case out of court! So they LIED and leveled POLITICAL charges against Him: “We found this man SUBVERTING the NATION and OPPOSING payment of TAXES to Caesar, claiming that He Himself is a KING! If you release Him, YOU are not a friend of CAESAR!” (Luke 23:2; John 19:12) But despite their lies and their futile attacks against us, they will NEVER be able to stop us, even if they KILL us! We’ll keep on going and keep on winning souls and prospering and multiplying until Jesus returns, because that’s God’s plan! In fact, our enemies could even KILL any one of us or even a LOT of us, and our work would STILL go on, because the LORD is our Leader and they can’t beat HIM no matter how hard they try! “If this work were of MAN, it would come to NOTHING! But if it be of GOD, then NO man is able to stand against it! Lest they be found to be fighting against GOD!” (Acts 5:38,39).

NO ONE can stop our work for the Lord, and we will keep on witnessing His Truth to the World’s BILLIONS, and winning and loving MILLIONS into His Heavenly Kingdom until HE HIMSELF finally stops us for our VICTORY CELEBRATION in HEAVEN when He returns! Hallelujah! (Revelation 19)

But until THEN, we’ll keep on fighting evil and “going into all the World, preaching the Good News of His Love to every creature!” Until the END! Praise the Lord! Are you fighting EVIL or GOOD? Or GOD! Beware!

 

 

 
Source: Why Persecution?
 

 

 

Treasures. Copyright (c) The Family International

Anchor

Building Spiritual Endurance

By Maria Fontaine

“For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. In your patience possess ye your souls.”
—Hebrews 10:36; Luke 21:19

As a part of our spiritual growth and Christian development, we inevitably experience the process of learning how to endure difficulties and delays. At different points in our lives, we may find ourselves having to get used to fighting more long-term battles. And in the process, we learn what it means to really hold on, not just for one day or one week or one month, but perhaps for many months or even years at a time. Through these experiences, we learn to truly cling to God’s Word and “endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.” (2 Timothy 2:3)

We may not have had to learn such heavy lessons of patience and endurance before, and it may seem like a hard saying when these lessons come knocking at our door. In our personal battles and trials, in many cases we may have experienced shorter struggles with quick victories in answer to our prayers. We’ve seen lives changed and souls won so easily. We’ve finished projects and have gotten quick answers to our prayers. We’ve seen rapid healings.

However, we all will face times in life where we have to make up our minds that we may have extended periods of not seeing any evidence of victory or even improvement at all, times when, if anything, you may be feeling pretty rotten. There may be times when you won’t be able to go on your feelings at all, but will have to cling to the promises of His Word, that God still loves you and God still cares. He is expecting you to go on for Him, no matter what you feel like, and no matter how long you don’t feel like it. It may come down to having to learn to keep going even if you feel like you’re just going through the motions, just doing what you’re supposed to do because God says so in His Word.

The Word tells us, “Blessed is the man that endures temptation.” (James 1:12) “Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” (James 5:11) “Endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:5 NKJV) “We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces patience; and patience, character; and character, hope.” (Romans 5:3–4 NKJV)

Knowing that God’s Word tells us that we are blessed when we endure can give us courage to keep on going in the face of seemingly hopeless situations. You may have to keep going even when it seems like everything has turned against you, believing that God will never fail in one of His good promises. You may have to choose to wait on the Lord and rest in Jesus’ arms with those unbreakable promises in your mind and heart, like many of the hymn writers expressed, who learned to endure. We have to ground our faith in His Word and trust that His purpose for each one of us will be fulfilled, as we continue to believe and trust in His promises.

You can’t look at faith the way that a lot of people look at marriages nowadays, “Oh well, if it doesn’t work out, I’ll just get a divorce.” You’ve got to be “fully persuaded” in your own mind and heart that God is able to do whatever He promises. (Romans 4:21) You’ve got to have the attitude of “to whom shall we go; no one else has the words of eternal life!” (John 6:68) If you have consecrated and dedicated yourself and have made that kind of a commitment to the Lord, then no matter how hard things get, you’ll keep going by His grace and keep living for the Lord in whatever way He has called you.

Should we cower and tremble and hide our faces at the prospect of enduring hardness? No! We should be challenged and excited at the wonderful things the Lord is going to do through us.

If you are worried or fearful of the future and its uncertainties, the secret lies in increasing your faith through His Word and the wonderful promises that the Lord has given. Even if you find yourself in a time of suffering or enduring hardship in this life, you can rejoice that it is your destiny and your calling to be victorious over it, whether in this life or the next! The thing you have to realize when you go through trying times is that as a Christian there is a purpose in everything you experience in your life.

We don’t have to fear! Although we may have lots of problems, at least we know there’s a good reason for it, a purpose behind it all. We understand that we are in a spiritual warfare, and that most of our problems are a result of that, and they ultimately teach us lessons and make us strong. So just the fact that we know that these trials have a valuable, eternal purpose makes it a lot easier for us to bear them.

We have God’s Word, we have prayer, we have the Lord’s promises, we have a vision, we have a purpose, we have Holy Spirit power, and we know God’s plan for the future and where we’re going after this life. We have a reason for patient endurance during times of tribulation.

As Christians, we should not only believe it but we should preach it, even when what we believe and practice and preach is in opposition to much of what the world believes and practices. We’re called to preach the gospel, in season and out of season. It’s our calling as Christians to stand up for what we believe, even when God’s truth is unpopular. How much better to suffer affliction now with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin for a season. (Hebrews 11:25)

So let us rather “boast all the more gladly of our weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon us.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) He has promised that His grace will be sufficient!

 

 

 

External link: Building Spiritual Endurance

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