04-02-25 | Daily Devotions

Approaching Eternity

Reflections 298

2005-04-02

Jesus Christ came to Earth to show man God’s love, yet when He was tortured and crucified, it seemed He had lived and died in vain. But after three days in the tomb He was resurrected and seen by many people (The Bible, Matthew 28:1-8; 1 Corinthians 15:3-6).

Jesus holds out to us a similar amazing miracle—new inner life right now and a heavenly life with Him after we die—through our accepting Him, our believing in Him, our taking His love and power and spirit into ourselves.

Here three writers express what Jesus’ resurrection at Easter means to them.

The miracle of Easter is that because Jesus didn’t remain in the grave, we don’t have to either! We don’t have to suffer death, the payment for our sins in Hell, or eternal separation from God. He took that punishment for us, and then rose in new life! And His new life can be inside us, giving us hope and peace, as we are filled with His love. He arose! And we who believe were also born anew. Hallelujah!—David Brandt Berg

A spot along the way home

A little girl who had to walk through a cemetery on her way home from school was asked if she was afraid. “No,” she replied. “I simply cross it to get home.”

That is what the Resurrection has done with death. It has turned it into a harmless pathway on our journey home.

That doesn’t mean that God won’t let you or your loved ones die. The message of Easter is not that faith is easy, but that above the greatest storms of your soul, there is hope.

The Resurrection struck a new note of hope in the lives of Jesus’ disciples. And likewise it strikes a note of new hope in the lives of those in sick rooms, in hospitals, in cemeteries burying their loved ones—those who suffer.

We will at times be in pain or grieve, but thank God, we are not left hopeless and helpless. That is because of an event that took place in one awesome moment in history some two thousand years ago, in a small cemetery outside the walls of Jerusalem.

It was early on a Sunday morning. Some women had walked together to visit the grave of their beloved friend and heard the angel say, “He is not here; He has risen.”—Vince Gerhardy (Australian pastor)

Approaching eternity

Plenty of great teachers, mystics, martyrs, and saints have spoken words full of grace and truth. In the case of Jesus alone, however, the belief has persisted that when He came into the world, God deigned to take on the likeness of a man in order that men might reach out.

For myself, as I approach my end, I find Jesus’ outrageous claim ever more captivating and meaningful. Quite often, waking up in the night as the old do, I feel myself to be half out of my body, hovering between life and death, with eternity rising in the distance.

I see my ancient carcass, prone between the sheets, stained and worn like a scrap of paper dropped in the gutter and, hovering over it, myself, like a butterfly released from its chrysalis stage and ready to fly away. Are caterpillars told of their impending resurrection?—How in dying they will be transformed from poor earth-crawlers into creatures of the air, with exquisitely painted wings? If told, do they believe it? I imagine the wise old caterpillars shaking their heads—no, it can’t be; it’s a fantasy.

Yet in the limbo between living and dying, as the night clocks tick remorselessly on and the black sky implacably shows not one single streak or scratch of gray, I hear those words: I [Jesus] am the resurrection and the life, and feel myself to be carried along on a great tide of joy and peace.—Malcolm Muggeridge (British journalist who became a Christian late in life, 1903-1990)

R298—April 2005
Topics: Easter, Jesus, salvation, faith, hope.
David Brandt Berg (1919-1994) was founder of The Family International.
Reflections © 2005 The Family International.
Visit our website at www.thefamilyinternational.org.

185 – Jesus—His Life and Message: The Ascension (Luke 24:50–53)

Jesus—His Life and Message

Peter Amsterdam

2022-09-27

(You can read about the intent for and overview of this series in this introductory article.)

In this article we’ll look at the last few verses of the last chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Earlier in this chapter, Jesus appeared to His disciples. They were frightened, and thought they were seeing a spirit. Jesus showed them the wounds in His hands and feet so that they would know it was Him, and then He ate some food to show that He was not a spirit. We’re told that He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.¹ He went on to say, “I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”²

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.³

The Gospel of Luke ends with Jesus’ ascension into heaven. Jesus left Jerusalem and led His disciples to Bethany, which is on the eastern slopes of the Mount of Olives, less than 2 miles (3.2 km) from Jerusalem. It was from there that He was taken up into heaven.

The book of Acts tells us the same thing.

He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me.”⁴

And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.⁵

The Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts both attest to Jesus’ ascension into heaven.

Some Bible commentators state that within the Gospels, only the Gospel of Luke describes Jesus’ ascension. While the Gospel of Mark includes the ascension (Mark 16:19), some commentators feel that the account in Mark is not an authentic part of Mark’s Gospel, but rather is a later addition. But even if Jesus’ ascension were only addressed in the Gospel of Luke, it doesn’t mean that it was unknown to the other New Testament writers. For example, in the Gospel of John, Jesus said to Mary, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”⁶ In the book of Acts, the apostle Peter speaks of Jesus being exalted at the right hand of God.⁷ In 1 Peter we read about Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.⁸ The apostle Paul wrote:

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.⁹

Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.¹⁰

Jesus’ ascension into heaven explains why there were no further post-resurrection appearances after 40 days. This 40-day period began with the resurrection of Jesus and ended with His ascension into heaven. One author explains:

In the transition from His earthly to His heavenly state, Jesus could perfectly well have vanished, as on other occasions, and “gone to the Father” secretly and invisibly. The reason for a public and visible ascension is surely that He wanted them to know that He had gone for good. During the forty days He had kept appearing, disappearing and reappearing. But now this interim period was over. This time His departure was final. So they were not to wait around for His next resurrection appearance. Instead, they were to wait for somebody else, the Holy Spirit [Acts 1:4]. For He would come only after Jesus had gone, and they could get on with their mission in the power He would give them.¹¹

Jesus’ ascension was also His vindication. It was the fulfillment of the prediction He made at His trial: From now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.¹² He was condemned to death for making this claim; however, the ascension shows that His claim was true and His crucifixion was unjust. The Father didn’t reject Jesus’ claim; rather, the Son was received at the Father’s side. Jesus’ ascension was not just a departure from this world, it was also an arrival in heaven.

And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.¹³

After receiving Jesus’ blessing as He was carried up into heaven, the disciples worshipped Him. It’s no wonder that they did so, as they had seen Him be crucified and laid in a tomb, and a few days later saw Him alive again. He was with them for 40 days, teaching and instructing them, and then they watched as He ascended into heaven. Their response was to return to Jerusalem and to worship God in the temple, and in time, on the day of Pentecost, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to preach the message of Jesus in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.¹⁴

This brings us to the end of this series, Jesus—His Life and Message. I pray that this series has been a blessing to you.

Note

Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptures are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

¹ Luke 24:45.

² Luke 24:49.

³ Luke 24:50–53.

⁴ Acts 1:3–4.

⁵ Acts 1:9.

⁶ John 20:17.

⁷ Acts 2:33.

⁸ 1 Peter 3:21–22.

⁹ Colossians 3:1.

¹⁰ Hebrews 9:24.

¹¹ John R. W. Stott, The Message of Acts (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1990), 49.

¹² Luke 22:69.

¹³ Luke 24:52–53.

¹⁴ Acts 1:8.

184 – Jesus—His Life and Message: The End of the Gospel of John (Part 2)

Jesus—His Life and Message

Peter Amsterdam

2022-09-13

(You can read about the intent for and overview of this series in this introductory article.)

Previously, the Gospel of John told of some of the disciples going fishing in the Sea of Tiberias, also known as the Sea of Galilee. After a night’s fishing, they caught nothing. Jesus, who was on the shore, instructed them to cast their net on the other side of the boat, which resulted in them hauling in 153 fish. When the disciples came to the shore, Jesus gave them both bread and fish to eat. At this point in the Gospel of John, the focus shifts to the apostle Peter, and also mentions “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”¹

Jesus addressed Peter three times in a formal manner, calling him Simon, son of John. By asking the question three times, Jesus emphasized its importance. The first time, He asked, Do you love me more than these? “More than these” isn’t defined. Jesus could have been referring to the fish; or, more likely, He may have been asking Peter, “Do you love me more than these other men love me?” or “Do you love me more than you love these men?” Peter could have responded with “Yes, I love you more than the other disciples do,” or with, “No, I don’t love you more than the other disciples do.” However, rather than make comparisons, each time Peter wisely and simply responded that he loved Jesus.

When Jesus instructed Peter to tend my sheep, the verb used has a broader meaning. It is understood to mean “exercise the office of shepherd.” Peter was being commissioned to engage in pastoral duties.² The third time Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him, Peter was grieved. It saddened him that Jesus would ask him three times if he loved Him. Rather than replying the same way he had the first two times, he pointed to Jesus’ knowledge of all things, that He knew what went on in people’s hearts and therefore He knew that Peter loved Him.

This incident shows that Peter was restored to his position of leadership. Before Jesus’ death, Peter denied the Lord three times;³ now, he affirmed his love for Jesus three times. This resulted in Jesus commissioning Peter three times to care for His sheep. In spite of Peter’s past mistakes, Jesus was restoring Peter to a place of trust.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”⁴

After commissioning Peter to tend my sheep, Jesus followed up with a prophecy, preceded by truly, truly I say to you. Jesus referred to Peter’s earlier life, before he followed Jesus, and contrasted his past with his present. When he was younger, he dressed himself and went wherever he wanted to. However, when he would get older, it would not be the same. The explanation generally given by commentators is that this prophecy referred to Peter’s death, through which Peter would glorify God. While the words are quite general, it is understood that the “stretching forth of the hands” referred to Peter’s crucifixion. Jesus reminded Peter that in the past, when he was young, he had the freedom to come and go as he wished; but in the future, when he was old, he would no longer be free to do so. It is generally understood that Peter was crucified upside down on a cross with his hands outstretched.

Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”⁵

After Peter’s position had been restored, he turned and saw the beloved disciple, who is generally accepted to be the apostle John, walking behind them. John is described as the disciple who had asked Jesus who was going to betray Him. Peter, in his usual forthright style, asked about the future of this disciple. Jesus didn’t answer Peter’s question; probably because John’s future was none of Peter’s business. Rather, Jesus repeated His earlier command, follow me.

So the saying spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”⁶

The Gospel writer deals with an error that had spread amongst believers, that the apostle John wouldn’t die, but would rather live until Jesus returned again. The Gospel writer wanted to correct that misinterpretation, as Jesus did not say “He will not die.” Rather He asked what difference it would make to Peter if John were to remain alive until Jesus’ return.

This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.⁷

The disciple “whom Jesus loved” is now identified as the writer of this Gospel. He is the disciple who bears witness to what has happened, and who has written these things down, which points to the apostle John. We’re not told who the “we” are who “know that the testimony is true.” One author says: The “we” is to be taken with full seriousness; there exists an apostolic church whose very existence is a confirmation and affirmation of the apostle’s witness.⁸

Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.⁹

This Gospel ends with a reminder that the author has only presented a selection of the many things that Jesus said and did. He has not told us all that he knew about what Jesus said and did. He tells us that if everything about Jesus were to be written down, the whole world couldn’t contain all the books which would be written. John reminds us that though we have been told much about what Jesus did and said, there are limitations to our knowledge. There is much more that Jesus did in His lifetime than what is presented here. Nevertheless, the information we are given in this Gospel is more than adequate, as stated earlier in this Gospel: These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.¹⁰

This brings us to the end of the Gospel of John.

(To read the next article in this series, click here.)

Note

¹ John 21:15–17.

² Morris, The Gospel According to John, 771.

³ John 18:15–27. See also Matthew 26:33–35, 73–75. Luke 22:54–62. Mark 14:69–72.

⁴ John 21:18–19.

⁵ John 21:20–22.

⁶ John 21:23.

⁷ John 21:24.

⁸ Morris, The Gospel According to John, 777.

⁹ John 21:25.

¹⁰ John 20:31.

183 – Jesus—His Life and Message: The End of the Gospel of John (Part 1)

Jesus—His Life and Message

Peter Amsterdam

2022-08-30

(You can read about the intent for and overview of this series in this introductory article.)

The last chapter of the Gospel of John begins with an appearance of the risen Christ in Galilee.

After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way.¹

The Sea of Tiberias, more commonly called the Sea of Galilee, is in northern Israel. We’re not told how long it had been since Jesus was last with the disciples or since He had told Thomas to put his finger in Jesus’ wound.² However, some time had passed, as the disciples had left Jerusalem and gone north to the region of Galilee, and Jesus appeared to His disciples there.

Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.³

A number of disciples (at least seven) were together in Galilee—Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James and John (the sons of Zebedee), along with two others who are not named.

Peter decided to go fishing, which had been his occupation before meeting Jesus. The other disciples who were with him decided to join him. There is no indication that Peter or the others were thinking of returning to their fishing business; it is likely that it was a spontaneous idea which they all agreed to. The disciples went out, though we’re not told from where. They embarked in the boat, though we’re not told whom the boat belonged to. Though they fished through the night, they caught nothing.

Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.”⁴

Jesus stood on the edge of the lake at dawn. We’re not told how He came there, and it may be that He suddenly appeared, similar to how earlier He had appeared to His disciples behind closed doors.⁵ The disciples didn’t recognize Him, just as Mary Magdalene didn’t recognize Him earlier in this Gospel ⁶ and the two disciples who were on their way to Emmaus didn’t know it was Jesus who was walking with them.⁷ Jesus asked them if they had any fish, and they responded that they had none. Having fished throughout the night without catching anything was probably rather disappointing.

He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.⁸

As Jesus was on the shore and the disciples were some distance out in the water, Jesus probably had to yell His instructions to cast the net on the opposite side of the boat. The men did as He instructed, and they found that the catch of fish was so large that they were unable to bring it into the boat.

That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.⁹

The disciple whom Jesus loved was likely the apostle John. John recognized Jesus, and told Peter that it was Jesus who had called out and asked them about the fish and who instructed them to cast the net on the right side of the boat. Upon hearing that, Peter put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Peter was doing his work in the boat while naked. One author explains: It is, however, not at all certain that Peter was wearing nothing whatever, as the English would lead us to expect. Standard lexicons cite passages where the word means “without an outer garment,” “dressed in one’s underwear.” The probability is that here the word means that parts of the body normally covered were exposed so that Peter was not naked, but rather “stripped for work.” This may mean that he wore a loincloth, or perhaps a sleeveless tunic that would not impede his movements.¹⁰

The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.¹¹

Only Peter left the boat and swam ashore. The others remained in the boat and did the work to get the large catch of fish to the shore. They were about two hundred cubits (KJV) or 94 meters from the shore. Instead of trying to pull the net full of fish into the boat, which would have likely caused it to capsize or sink, they hauled it to the shore.

When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”¹²

Upon disembarking from the boat, the disciples saw that there was a charcoal fire burning with some fish cooking on it, along with some bread. It seems that the amount of fish on the charcoal fire wasn’t enough to feed all who were present, so Jesus instructed them to add some of the fish they had just hauled in.

So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn.¹³

In response to Jesus’ instruction to bring some of the fish that they caught, Peter, who had jumped out of the boat and swam to the shore, apparently went back onto the boat to organize the hauling of the net full of fish to the shore. We are told that the fish were big ones, and that there were 153 of them. Earlier in history, some Christian teachers had various interpretations of the significance of the number 153, such as this being the number of the kinds of fish which were in existence. It’s most likely that this was the actual number of fish which were caught. The fish were counted perhaps so that they could be equally distributed to the seven or more disciples who were fishing together.

Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.¹⁴

Jesus invited them to eat the morning meal with Him. There is no record of their response; rather we are told that no one would ask Him “Who are you?” as they knew it was Jesus.¹⁵

Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish.¹⁶

Jesus distributed the bread and fish to His disciples, which started the meal. He said nothing more until after the meal was finished, which will be covered in the next article.

The author of this Gospel states:

This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.¹⁷

He reminds us that this is the third time Jesus appeared to the disciples after the resurrection. This likely refers to His being with the eleven disciples or at least most of them, as there are other references when He met with Mary Magdalene, with the disciples without Thomas, and one time with Thomas. But this is the third time He appeared to a larger group of disciples.

(To be continued.)

Note

¹ John 21:1.

² John 20:27–28.

³ John 21:2–3.

⁴ John 21:4–5.

⁵ See John 20:19, 26.

⁶ John 20:14.

⁷ See Luke 24:15–16.

⁸ John 21:6.

⁹ John 21:7.

¹⁰ Morris, The Gospel According to John, 763.

¹¹ John 21:8.

¹² John 21:9–10.

¹³ John 21:11.

¹⁴ John 21:12.

¹⁵ John 21:7.

¹⁶ John 21:13.

¹⁷ John 21:14.

182 – Jesus—His Life and Message: Final Appearances of Jesus (Part 2)

Jesus—His Life and Message

Peter Amsterdam

2022-08-16

(You can read about the intent for and overview of this series in this introductory article.)

The Long Ending of Mark

In the last chapter of the book of Mark (Mark 16), we read that Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices to Jesus’ tomb in order to anoint Him.¹ When entering the tomb, they saw a young man (an angel) sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed.² The angel instructed the women to “Go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.³

It is at this point (Mark 16:8) that some translations of the Bible bring the Gospel of Mark to its end. However, other Bible versions include twelve more verses (Mark 16:9–20). These verses are referred to as The Long Ending. When they are included in Bibles today, they are usually printed in italics, and often have brackets at the beginning and end in order to set them off from the first eight verses of this chapter. Some early Christians, such as Justin Martyr (ca. 100–165), quoted Mark 16:20 in his writings, as did other first- and second-century Christian writers, so there is some basis for accepting them as original. However, these last twelve verses are absent from some of the oldest Greek, Latin, Syriac, Coptic, and Armenian manuscripts, so it is also possible that they were a later addition.

Since some Bible commentators include these verses in their commentaries on the Gospel of Mark, and since The Long Ending is included in most Bibles, comments on these verses will be included here.

Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.⁴

We’re told that on Sunday, the first day of the week, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene. The Gospels of Luke and John also tell of Mary Magdalene’s involvement in discovering that Jesus was no longer in the tomb, and her going to the disciples to tell them that Jesus’ body was missing. In the Gospel of Mark the disciples, who were mourning and weeping over Jesus’ death, refused to believe that Mary Magdalene had seen Him and that He was still alive. Their response echoes what is told us in the Gospel of Luke: these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.⁵

After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.⁶

This echoes what the Gospel of Luke tells of two disciples who were walking to Emmaus when they met Jesus on the road but didn’t recognize Him.⁷ We’re not told what His other form was when He appeared to them, nor whether they immediately recognized Him. Like the disciples who were walking to Emmaus, these disciples returned to where the rest of the disciples were in order to tell them they had seen Jesus, but the disciples didn’t believe them.

Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.⁸

When Jesus later appeared to the eleven as they were eating together, He reproached them for their doubts and their hard hearts. It’s hard to imagine that the eleven didn’t believe that their fellow disciples were telling them the truth, but considering all that had preceded—Jesus’ arrest, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection—it was probably a difficult and confusing time for the disciples.

He said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”⁹

Jesus expressed the commission to His followers as taking His message, the gospel, and sharing it with everyone, including Gentiles. The last words in the Gospel of Matthew express these instructions in a more detailed fashion. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.¹⁰ Preaching the message to the whole creation meant that Jesus’ message was to be taken beyond Israel, beyond Judaism, and shared with “all people.” The disciples were to share the gospel with everyone, everywhere.

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.¹¹

Faith and belief in Jesus are key to salvation. This point is made throughout the Gospels. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.¹² Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.¹³

These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.¹⁴

The promise of the signs which would accompany believers echoes what is stated in the book of John: Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.¹⁵

The book of Acts also speaks about the fulfillment of the signs that Jesus said would accompany believers. Many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles.¹⁶ It also describes instances when the disciples would cast out demons and speak in tongues. One example is when the apostle Paul cast out a spirit from a woman.

As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.¹⁷

As for speaking in tongues, in the book of Acts we read that when the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.¹⁸

The last two verses of The Long Ending of the Gospel of Mark say:

So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.¹⁹

This Gospel ends with Jesus’ ascension into heaven.

The Ending of the Gospel of Matthew

The last five verses of the Gospel of Matthew tell of Jesus’ commission to His disciples.

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.²⁰

While the other Gospels tell of Jesus’ appearances in the area of Judea, the Gospel of Matthew only mentions the appearance of Jesus to the two Marys in Judea, and then focuses on Jesus’ presence in the area of Galilee.

A few verses earlier, Jesus had instructed the women to “go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”²¹ Here we are told that Jesus had instructed the disciples to go to a specific mountain in Galilee. There is no way for us to identify this mountain, but the disciples were familiar with Galilee and knew the location Jesus was referring to. Once they were on the mountain, the risen Jesus appeared to them.

Their response to seeing Jesus was to worship Him. This was a natural response on the disciples’ part, as He who had been crucified and was buried was now standing before them alive. He was stronger than death, so worshipping Him as their risen Lord was the expected response. However, we’re also told that some doubted, though we’re not told why they doubted or were hesitant. One author wrote:

Perhaps they were not sure that the person they were seeing was the one who was crucified. Perhaps they were not sure that Jesus really was risen; they may have wondered whether they were seeing a vision, not a real person. Perhaps they were not sure that it really was Jesus who was before them.²²

In the Gospel of Luke the two disciples who walked with Jesus to Emmaus didn’t know who He was.

Some authors state that it wasn’t any of the eleven who had doubts, but rather that some other believers were present, perhaps some of the 500 brothers whom the apostle Paul writes about in 1 Corinthians. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.²³ In any case, we’re told that even though the disciples worshipped Him when they saw Him, some of them had some doubts.

Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”²⁴

Jesus was likely a little distance from the disciples, but then came closer as He began to speak to them. He stated that things had substantially changed. In His resurrected state He was no longer a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief … stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.²⁵ Now He had been given full authority in both heaven and earth.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.²⁶

Because all authority had been given to Jesus, He had the authority to commission the disciples to “go” and to “make disciples” everywhere. This direction differs from earlier in this Gospel, when Jesus instructed His disciples to Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans.²⁷ Now they were to go and reach all nations.

Jesus’ disciples were instructed to baptize believers in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—the triune God, the Trinity. Throughout the New Testament, references are made to the Trinity.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.²⁸

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.²⁹

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.³⁰

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.³¹

We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.³²

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”³³

Besides going out and making disciples, Jesus’ followers were to teach them to observe all that I have commanded you. Some Bible translations say teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.³⁴ Believers are called to both teach and personally obey Jesus’ teachings, to apply them to their daily lives. Living and sharing the message of God’s love, of Jesus’ sacrificial death, and of His gift of eternal life is a commission for each of us.

As we live our lives in love and service to God, as we do our best to share His message of love and salvation with others, we can rejoice and be at peace as we hear Jesus’ promise:

Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.³⁵

(To read the next article in this series, click here.)

Note

¹ See Jesus—His Life and Message: The Resurrection (Part One).

² Mark 16:5.

³ Mark 16:7–8.

⁴ Mark 16:9–11.

⁵ Luke 24:11.

⁶ Mark 16:12–13.

⁷ See Luke 24:13–16. See also Jesus—His Life and Message: The Resurrection (Part Two).

⁸ Mark 16:14.

⁹ Mark 16:15.

¹⁰ Matthew 28:19–20.

¹¹ Mark 16:16.

¹² John 3:36.

¹³ John 3:18.

¹⁴ Mark 16:17–18.

¹⁵ John 14:12.

¹⁶ Acts 5:12.

¹⁷ Acts 16:16–18.

¹⁸ Acts 2:1–4.

¹⁹ Mark 16:19–20.

²⁰ Matthew 28:16–17.

²¹ Matthew 28:10.

²² Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, 745.

²³ 1 Corinthians 15:6.

²⁴ Matthew 28:18.

²⁵ Isaiah 53:3–4.

²⁶ Matthew 28:19–20.

²⁷ Matthew 10:5.

²⁸ 2 Corinthians 13:14.

²⁹ Matthew 28:19 NIV.

³⁰ 2 Corinthians 1:21–22 NIV.

³¹ Ephesians 4:4–6.

³² 2 Thessalonians 2:13.

³³ Luke 1:35 NIV.

³⁴ Matthew 28:20 NIV.

³⁵ Matthew 28:20.

81 – Jesus—His Life and Message: Final Appearances of Jesus (Part 1)

Jesus—His Life and Message

Peter Amsterdam

2022-08-02

(You can read about the intent for and overview of this series in this introductory article.)

Each Synoptic Gospel ¹ ends by describing Jesus’ final interactions with His disciples, followed by His ascension into heaven. Those accounts will be covered, Gospel by Gospel, in this and the next few upcoming articles.

The Gospel of Matthew

The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.²

Earlier in this Gospel, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to Jesus’ tomb, where they encountered an angel and then Jesus, who instructed them to tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.³ The eleven disciples (excluding Judas, who had betrayed Jesus) who had remained in Jerusalem after His death did as they were instructed and started their journey north to Galilee. Their destination was the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. We’re not given the name of the mountain, nor the exact location within Galilee, but from the information Jesus gave them, it’s clear that they knew where to go.

After going to the mountain in Galilee, the disciples saw Jesus, and when they did, they worshipped Him. Earlier in this Gospel, when the women saw Jesus, they worshipped Him; and here the disciples did the same. One author comments: Worship was the natural response to the realization that the Jesus who had meant so much to them throughout his earthly ministry was stronger than death and was alive again.⁴

While the reaction of most was to worship Him, we’re told that some doubted. Within the group of eleven, some were hesitant and unsure. In this instance, it may be that some weren’t sure it was actually Jesus they were seeing. Elsewhere in the Gospels, the disciples didn’t recognize Jesus. Their eyes were kept from recognizing him.⁵ When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.⁶ Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.⁷

Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”⁸

Evidently Jesus was a short distance from the group, for He came to them. It could also mean that He positioned Himself so that He could address the eleven. He started by making it clear that in His risen state He was quite different from the itinerant preacher/healer/miracle worker that they knew so well. All authority in heaven and on earth echoes Daniel 7:14, which says: To him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

Throughout the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus used the language of Daniel 7:13–14 when speaking of the future reign of the Son of Man.

Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.⁹

Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”¹⁰

Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.¹¹

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’”¹²

Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”¹³

After stating that all authority in heaven and earth was given to Him, Jesus instructed His disciples:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”¹⁴

Rather than focusing on the ways His authority would be exercised, Jesus instead addressed what this meant for His followers. Because He was the risen Christ, the Son of God, and because He had God’s full authority, He could commission His disciples to “go” and to “make disciples.” Their job was to share the news of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection; to teach and train those who believed, so that they too would share that message throughout the world.

Jesus’ last words in the book of Matthew are: Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. This Gospel ends with a final promise that the disciple isn’t going to be left alone to follow Jesus the best he or she can; rather, Jesus will be with them always. As one author explains:

The Jesus of whom Matthew writes is no small Palestinian figure, but a mighty Person who is with his followers wherever they may be. And this, he says, will last through time. He is not speaking of a temporary residence with first-century disciples, but of a presence among his followers to the very end of time. This Gospel opened with the assurance that in the coming of Jesus God was with his people (Matthew 1:23), and it closes with the promise that the very presence of Jesus Christ will never be lacking to his faithful follower. … He will be with them always, to the end of the world and to the end of time.¹⁵

(To be continued.)

Note

¹ Matthew, Mark, Luke.

² Matthew 28:16–17.

³ Matthew 28:1–10.

⁴ Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, 744.

⁵ Luke 24:16.

⁶ Luke 24:30–31.

⁷ John 21:4.

⁸ Matthew 28:18.

⁹ Matthew 16:28.

¹⁰ Matthew 19:28.

¹¹ Matthew 24:30–31.

¹² Matthew 25:31–34.

¹³ Matthew 26:64.

¹⁴ Matthew 28:19–20.

¹⁵ Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, 749.

180 – Jesus—His Life and Message: The Resurrection (Part 4)

Jesus—His Life and Message

Peter Amsterdam

2022-07-19

(You can read about the intent for and overview of this series in this introductory article.)

In the previous article we read about two disciples, Cleopas and an unnamed companion, who were walking to Emmaus with Jesus (whom they didn’t recognize). They expressed their disappointment about Jesus’ crucifixion, saying, we had hoped that he [Jesus] was the one to redeem Israel.¹ They talked about how the chief priests and rulers delivered Jesus to be condemned to death and how He had been crucified. Jesus then began to explain to them the meaning of all that had transpired. And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.²

So they drew near to the village to which they were going. [Jesus] acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them.³

As Jesus and the two disciples approached the town of Emmaus, Jesus acted as if He was going to continue on, perhaps heading to the next town. Because it was late in the day and would soon be dark, and perhaps it was unsafe to travel at night, the disciples urged Him to remain with them. Jesus agreed and he went in to stay with them. It seems likely that they were staying at an inn which provided lodging and food.

When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.⁴

When the two disciples reclined at the table with Jesus, they still didn’t know that it was Him. Jesus took bread, blessed it, and gave it to them. This mirrors His actions during the feeding of the five thousand ⁵ and the last supper.⁶ Jesus acted as the host of the meal, the one who blessed the bread and gave it to the others.

Once Jesus had broken the bread and given it to them, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. Then, once they recognized Him, Jesus disappeared. Throughout the Gospels, we are told that Jesus appeared and disappeared among the believers after His resurrection.⁷ The book of 1 Corinthians also mentions Jesus appearing to the disciples. The apostle Paul wrote:

I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.⁸

With reference to Jesus’ disappearance, one author states: With the revelation that Jesus lives, his visible presence is no longer necessary … the appearance displays continuity between the Jesus of earthly ministry and the raised Jesus who sits over the church. Jesus can personally minister to anyone after his death and resurrection.⁹

They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”¹⁰

Once the two disciples knew that it was Jesus who had been with them and had then disappeared, they expressed the effect that Jesus’ presence and words had on them. Jesus’ explanations caused great emotion and excitement.

They rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.¹¹

The two disciples who were originally going to the village of Emmaus wanted to pass on the news that they had seen Jesus, so they reversed course and started walking back to Jerusalem.

Upon arriving in Jerusalem, they found the eleven (the apostles) gathered with others. The Gospel of John tells us that the apostle Thomas wasn’t present when Jesus appeared to the apostles, which would mean that only ten apostles were present, not the eleven, when Jesus appeared. One author explains that Luke takes “Eleven” to be a general way to refer to the group of apostles without Judas, without insisting that all those who remained were present.¹² Besides “the eleven,” there were an unspecified number of other disciples who had remained in Jerusalem. The disciples who had turned back from going to Emmaus were prepared to give their account, but before they had a chance, another report came.

The two disciples found the eleven and the others who were gathered together with them. They were told, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” The two disciples then told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. The account of Jesus appearing to Simon (Peter) and the experience of the two disciples gives two separate accounts of witnesses who had seen the resurrected Christ.

As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.¹³

While the disciples were speaking about Jesus appearing to Peter and to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, Jesus appeared to them. The apostles and the others with them were surprised and scared, thinking that they had seen a spirit.

In order to calm them, Jesus asked them two questions.

He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?”¹⁴

The first question has to do with their being troubled and alarmed. They think they are seeing a “spirit,” and the presence of a disembodied spirit was certainly out of the ordinary and would probably be rather startling. The second question has to do with their lack of perception. Why are they having doubts in their hearts, in their inner person? Likely it’s because they weren’t expecting Jesus to be raised from the dead, nor did they expect Him to keep appearing.

“See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.¹⁵

Jesus instructed the disciples to look at His hands and feet, to see the wounds He bore from being crucified. This passage, as well as one from the book of John,¹⁶ shows that Jesus was nailed to the cross and not just tied to it. Besides looking at His wounds, He instructed them to touch Him, as He wanted them to see that He had a body of flesh and bones and was not a disembodied spirit. One author explains: It is the raised Jesus whose body has been brought back to life. It has characteristics of the physical body, though it carries those characteristics in a way that the old body could not (e.g., this new body will not perish and it can appear and vanish) and in ways that make his initial appearances startling, not the appearance of merely another disciple.¹⁷

And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.¹⁸

The phrase while they still disbelieved can be taken in two different ways. It could mean that despite the appearances and words of Jesus, the disciples doubted because it seemed so unbelievable. Another option is to understand it as an expression of amazement. The disciples felt a combination of both joy and amazement.

In asking for something to eat, Jesus probably removed their doubts and any fears they may have had. His sitting at the table with them eating a meal together showed that Jesus wasn’t a ghost or some sort of phantom. His table fellowship with the disciples showed His oneness with them. It also shows evidence that Jesus truly rose from the dead. He appeared to them, spoke with them, and ate with them. There was no question about His resurrection from death.

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”¹⁹

Jesus’ reference to my words that I spoke to you referred not to His general teaching, but rather His teaching regarding His death and resurrection.

“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”²⁰

Taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.”²¹

Referring to my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you also indicates that the risen Christ is the same person as Jesus who had been with the disciples throughout His ministry. It also points to a new period that has begun, in which Jesus would no longer be physically with them.

Jesus spoke of the Law of Moses, which refers to the first major section of the Old Testament, consisting of the first five books. The Prophets is the second major section of the Old Testament, which consists of the “former prophets” (Joshua through 2 Kings) and the “latter prophets” (the major prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel; and the minor prophets: Hosea through Malachi). And the Psalms probably refers to the third major section of the Old Testament called The Writings, which contains the rest of the books in the Old Testament.

Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”²²

Through Jesus’ explanation, the disciples better understood Scripture’s teaching about His death and resurrection, in contrast to earlier on when they lacked in understanding due to some things being concealed or hidden from them.

They did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.²³

They understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.²⁴

The first of the three points brought out from Scripture was that Christ should suffer. This doesn’t point to specific Old Testament verses regarding the Messiah’s suffering, but rather to the entire Old Testament teaching on this point. The early church frequently referred to Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 as proof that the Christ must suffer.

The second point is: and on the third day rise from the dead. This Gospel makes it clear that the promise is of a quick resurrection, which is quite different from the usual Jewish hope of a resurrection on the last day. This hope is seen in the Old Testament verse: For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.²⁵

The third point is that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. The future of God’s plan is expressed here. The message of repentance and forgiveness is to be proclaimed everywhere. As it says in the Gospel of Mark, Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.²⁶ Jesus’ instruction was that they begin their mission in Jerusalem, and then eventually move beyond, to take the gospel to all of the world.

You are witnesses of these things.²⁷

The disciples were witnesses of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension. They were commissioned to share their personal experience of the risen Christ, and their mission was to proclaim the message to all nations.

“Behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”²⁸

Jesus declared the coming of the Father’s promise. In calling God “my Father,” Jesus pointed to the deep and intimate relationship between the Father and the Son. The Spirit is the Father’s promise, but Jesus says “I will send” Him. Jesus is the channel through whom God’s promises of salvation and of the coming of the Spirit are provided.

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.²⁹

The disciples were instructed to remain in Jerusalem until the time they were clothed with power from on high. The same command to stay in Jerusalem is repeated in the book of Acts.

While staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”³⁰

The book of Acts points out the importance of the disciples remaining in Jerusalem for the time being, as it was imperative that Jesus’ followers were baptized with the Holy Spirit.

(To read the next article in this series, click here.)

Note

¹ Luke 24:21.

² Luke 24:27.

³ Luke 24:28–29.

⁴ Luke 24:30–31.

⁵ Luke 9:16.

⁶ Luke 22:19.

⁷ John 20:19, 26. Luke 24:36.

⁸ 1 Corinthians 15:3–9.

⁹ Bock, Luke 9:51–24:53, 1920.

¹⁰ Luke 24:32.

¹¹ Luke 24:33–35.

¹² William F. Arndt, Commentary on Luke (Concordia Publishing House, 1956), 491.

¹³ Luke 24:36–37.

¹⁴ Luke 24:38.

¹⁵ Luke 24:39–40.

¹⁶ John 20:25.

¹⁷ Bock, Luke 9:51–24:53, 1933.

¹⁸ Luke 24:41–43.

¹⁹ Luke 24:44.

²⁰ Luke 9:22.

²¹ Luke 18:31–33. See also Luke 9:44, 17:25, 22:37.

²² Luke 24:45–47.

²³ Luke 9:45.

²⁴ Luke 18:34.

²⁵ Psalm 16:10.

²⁶ Mark 16:15.

²⁷ Luke 24:48.

²⁸ Luke 24:49.

²⁹ Acts 1:8.

³⁰ Acts 1:4–5.

178 – Jesus—His Life and Message: The Resurrection (Part 2)

Jesus—His Life and Message

Peter Amsterdam

2022-06-21

(You can read about the intent for and overview of this series in this introductory article.)

Each of the four Gospels (as well as the book of Acts) gives an account of Jesus’ appearances to His disciples (women and men) after His resurrection. In Matthew’s account, when some of the women disciples went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body, they found the tomb empty. They were met by an angel who instructed them to go to the apostles and tell them that Jesus was alive and that He was going to Galilee, where they would see Him.¹

The Gospel of Matthew tells us that after the angel had instructed them to tell the disciples that Jesus was alive, the women departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.² It was important to inform the disciples (the eleven) as soon as possible that Jesus was alive. That the women departed with fear indicates that they were in awe of having been visited by a heavenly visitor. One author wrote: They had come to that place mourning the death of their great leader and dear friend; they went away knowing that he was dead no longer. Well might their emotion be great joy.³

And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”⁴

Having seen an angel and received a message to give to the disciples, the women were met on the road by the resurrected Jesus Himself. In the Gospel of Matthew, the women were present at all of the important events of Jesus’ death and resurrection. They were at the cross when He died, they were the first ones at His tomb, and they were the first to see the risen Lord. Having been told by the angel that Jesus was going to meet the disciples in Galilee, they were probably surprised to meet Him on their return from the tomb.

The women’s response was to fall at His feet, to hold Him and worship Him. It’s hard to imagine the joy and wonderment they felt at seeing the risen Jesus. In falling at His feet and worshiping Him, they showed that they understood that He was more than a mere man. It also shows that Jesus’ risen body was a real body; this wasn’t just a vision or an apparition. The women understood that He was divine.

Jesus repeated the angel’s command, Don’t be afraid, and also repeated the instructions that they should “go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”⁵ Most of Jesus’ ministry took place in Galilee, so it was natural that He would want to meet with His disciples there. Galilee was likely also a safer place for them to be and see Jesus.

Guards and Chief Priests

At this point, the Gospel of Matthew moves from Jesus and the disciples to the Roman guards and the chief priests.

While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.⁶

While the women were on their way to tell the disciples to go to Galilee, some of the guards entered the city and told the chief priests what had happened. Normally the guards would go to their own officers to report events which had occurred, but Pontius Pilate had put the Roman guards at the disposal of the Jewish leadership, to whom they now reported.⁷ Perhaps the guards were somewhat relieved that they didn’t have to report to their Roman superiors, as they would have to confess that they had not prevented the removal of a body from a tomb that was under their watch. While Jesus’ body had not been stolen, it would have been difficult to explain to the Roman officials exactly what happened.

Upon hearing from the guards, the chief priests considered this matter important enough to counsel with the elders before making any decisions as to what to do. The chief priests and elders decided that the best course of action was to bribe the guards so that they would lie about what had happened. We read that they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers. Other Bible translations say they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers.⁸ In accepting the bribe, the soldiers agreed to lie about what had happened. Sleeping while on guard duty was a major dereliction of duty in the Roman army, so telling their superiors that the disciples came during the night while they slept and stole him away was quite risky, though for the large sum of money they were offered, they apparently decided it was worth the risk.

The story they were commissioned to tell was simple—the disciples came at night and stole His body while the soldiers were sleeping. The chief priests and the elders told the guards that if the news that Jesus’ body was not in the tomb became known to the governor, Pontius Pilate, the Jewish hierarchy would keep the guards out of trouble, probably by paying the governor a bribe. There was a good possibility that Pilate wouldn’t hear about any of this, as his residence was in Caesarea and he would be heading there when the feast ended.

So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.⁹

The soldiers readily agreed to take money and to say that Jesus’ disciples stole His body. This solution likely seemed a good one to both the religious leadership and the soldiers. At the time the Gospel of Matthew was written (probably sometime after AD 70), the false story that the disciples had come in the night and stolen His body from the tomb while the guards slept would have been circulating for about 35 years.

Encounters with the Disciples

The Gospel of Mark tells us that Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices so that they could anoint Jesus’ body.¹⁰ When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man in a white robe (an angel) sitting on the right side.¹¹ The angel instructed them to tell the disciples that Jesus was going to Galilee and that they would see Him there.¹² We’re then told that they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.¹³ It seems that the women were overwhelmed at seeing and receiving a message from an angel, so they fled from the tomb. The account stops before we find out if they carried out the angel’s instruction to tell the disciples.

In the Gospel of John, two angels were in Jesus’ tomb, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.¹⁴ They asked Mary why she was weeping.

She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.¹⁵

Mary explains why she was crying—she assumed that someone had come and removed Jesus’ body—then she turned around. We’re not told why she turned; perhaps she heard some movement behind her, or the angels may have indicated that she should.

When she turned, she saw Jesus, but for some reason she didn’t recognize Him. We don’t know why she didn’t recognize Him, but there are at least two other situations after His resurrection in which His disciples also didn’t recognize Him. In the Gospel of Luke we read:

That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.¹⁶

In the Gospel of John we’re told that Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.¹⁷

Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”¹⁸

Jesus repeated the question the angels asked earlier, Why are you weeping? but He adds another question, Whom are you seeking? Mary thought Jesus was the gardener, perhaps because it was early, and who else would have been at the tomb at that time? Or, perhaps in some way He looked different. She also concluded that this gardener might have taken the body of Jesus away. So she asked that if he had, could he tell her where Jesus was, so that she could take the body.

Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”¹⁹

Mary hadn’t recognized Jesus; however, upon hearing Him speak her name, she knew it was Him. She then called Him “Rabboni,” teacher. One author explains: Rabboni is often regarded as a more personal and affectionate title than “Rabbi.”²⁰

Jesus told her not to hold on to Him because He hadn’t ascended to the Father. One author explains: The present imperative with the negative means “Stop doing something” rather than “Don’t start something.” Here it will mean “Stop clinging to me” and not, “Do not begin to touch me.” Evidently, Mary in her joy at seeing the Lord had laid hold on Him, possibly in the same way and for the same purpose as the women of whom Matthew wrote that they took hold of his feet and worshiped him.²¹

Up until now, Jesus’ “brothers” and His “disciples” were two different groups. Earlier in the book of John we read: After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples.²² Now, Jesus referred to His disciples as brothers.

“Go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”²³

He referred to His Father as also being their Father, as the natural follow-up of calling them brothers.

In the book of John, we’re told that Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.²⁴ In the Gospel of Mark, Mary Magdalene went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.²⁵ In the Gospel of Luke we read:

Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles.²⁶

(To be continued.)

Note

¹ Matthew 28:6–7. See Jesus—His Life and Message: The Resurrection (Part 1).

² Matthew 28:8.

³ Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, 738.

⁴ Matthew 28:9–10.

⁵ Matthew 28:10.

⁶ Matthew 28:11–15.

⁷ Matthew 27:65.

⁸ NAS, NAU, NIV, NKJV.

⁹ Matthew 28:15.

¹⁰ Mark 16:1.

¹¹ See Jesus—His Life and Message: The Resurrection (Part 1).

¹² Mark 16:7.

¹³ Mark 16:8.

¹⁴ John 20:12.

¹⁵ John 20:13–14.

¹⁶ Luke 24:13–16.

¹⁷ John 21:4.

¹⁸ John 20:15.

¹⁹ John 20:16–17.

²⁰ Michaels, The Gospel of John, 1000.

²¹ Matthew 28:9.

²² John 2:12.

²³ John 20:17.

²⁴ John 20:18.

²⁵ Mark 16:10–11.

²⁶ Luke 24:10.

177 – Jesus—His Life and Message: The Resurrection (Part 1)

Jesus—His Life and Message

Peter Amsterdam

2022-06-07

(You can read about the intent for and overview of this series in this introductory article.)

After His crucifixion, Jesus’ body was taken down from the cross and laid in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. A large stone was rolled over the entrance of the tomb. According to Jewish law, the type of work involved in burying a body couldn’t be performed during a Sabbath, nor could the body be left unburied over the Sabbath, so it was essential that Jesus’ body be placed in the tomb that evening.

Throughout His ministry, Jesus made reference to His death and His resurrection. The Gospel of Mark says that Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.¹ Although Jesus’ words seem quite clear to us now, the events that transpired show that it seems that the disciples didn’t fully understand what He had meant.

Due to the Sabbath requirements, Jesus was placed in the tomb some time between the ninth hour (about 3 p.m.) on Friday and sunset, which would have occurred around 8 p.m. at that time of year in Palestine. His body would have spent 4 to 6 hours in the tomb that first day. Once the sun set, the new day (Saturday) began. Jesus’ body remained in the tomb throughout Friday night and all of the next day, (Saturday). He then remained in the tomb through the night (which the Jews considered the first half of Sunday, approximately 12 hours) and rose from the dead in the morning on Sunday. Therefore, the three days that Jesus’ body was in the tomb didn’t amount to 72 hours (3 × 24), but rather expressed the Jewish method of reckoning time, which considered any part of the first day, all of the second day, and any part of the third day each as a full day; so Jesus’ body was in the tomb for three days.

Each of the four Gospels tells of the women who came to Jesus’ tomb early on Sunday morning. The Gospel of Luke explains that earlier, after the women saw the tomb where Jesus’ body was placed, they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.² The Gospel of Mark says that when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.³ Once the Sabbath day ended (at sunset on Saturday), the shops would reopen and the women would be able to purchase the spices needed to anoint Jesus’ body.

The Gospel of Luke tells us that on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.⁴ The Gospels of Matthew and Mark agree that it was about dawn that the women went to the tomb so that they might go and anoint him.⁵ The Gospel of John only mentions Mary Magdalene, while Mark mentions Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome, and Luke speaks of Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told … the apostles.⁶

Each of the four Gospels tells us that the large stone which covered the entrance to the tomb where Jesus had been laid on Friday was rolled away. The book of Matthew explains:

Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.⁷

Only the Gospel of Matthew mentions the earthquake occurring at that time. He indicates that the reason there was an earthquake was because an angel of the Lord came from heaven and rolled away the stone.

The Gospel of Mark tells us that when the women came to the tomb, they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large.⁸ The Gospel of Luke says that the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.⁹ The Gospel of John tells us:

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.¹⁰

Besides the stone being rolled back, each of the Gospels tells of the presence of heavenly beings near the tomb. As mentioned earlier, the Gospel of Matthew speaks of the angel of the Lord.¹¹ The Gospel of Mark tells us that when the women entered the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed.¹² The Gospel of Luke says:

When they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.¹³

The Gospel of John places the appearance of two angels later in the story, after Peter and “the other disciple” had seen that Jesus was not in the tomb and returned to their home.

Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.¹⁴

One author comments on the number of angels:

It seems clear that all these are references to angels; the small differences should not disconcert us unduly. Each of the Evangelists is saying in his own way that when the women came to the tomb they encountered an angelic visitation. It is not surprising that they speak of what happened in slightly different ways, for different people may well have had different perceptions. The important thing is that there were unusual angelic visitations and what the angels said concerning Jesus’ rising from the dead.¹⁵

The Gospel of Matthew tells us that those who were guarding the tomb saw the “angel of the Lord.”

And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.¹⁶

The guards who were there to guard the dead man (Jesus) themselves became like corpses in the presence of the angel. In contrast, the One who had died was now risen.

The three Synoptic Gospels ¹⁷ tell us that the angel (or angels) spoke to the women and instructed them not to be afraid. They then told them the good news that Jesus had risen from the dead.

But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay” (Matthew).¹⁸

And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him” (Mark).¹⁹

And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words (Luke).²⁰

The Gospel of John presents the same events in a slightly different order, which will be addressed later.

In the Gospel of Mark, we read that the angel told the women:

“Go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”²¹

The Gospel of Luke tells us that the women remembered Jesus’ words about His crucifixion and His rising on the third day.

And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.²²

In the Gospel of John, discovery that Jesus was no longer in the tomb and the appearance of angels is told in a different order.

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”²³

Upon seeing that the stone had been taken away from the entrance to the tomb, the first thing Mary Magdalene did was to run to town to tell Peter and the other disciple (probably John) that someone had taken Jesus’ body out of the tomb. Since the stone had been rolled away and Jesus wasn’t there, she assumed His body had been taken. She may have thought that someone had stolen His body or perhaps He had been reburied somewhere else.

So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes.²⁴

Once the men had left, Mary looked into the tomb.

Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”²⁵

(To be continued.)

Note

¹ Mark 8:31. See also Mark 9:30–31, 10:32–34, John 2:19–21.

² Luke 23:56.

³ Mark 16:1.

⁴ Luke 24:1.

⁵ Mark 16:1–2; Matthew 28:1.

⁶ Luke 24:10–11.

⁷ Matthew 28:2–4.

⁸ Mark 16:3–4.

⁹ Luke 24:1–2.

¹⁰ John 20:1.

¹¹ Matthew 28:2.

¹² Mark 16:5.

¹³ Luke 24:3–4.

¹⁴ John 20:11–12.

¹⁵ Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, 735.

¹⁶ Matthew 28:4.

¹⁷ Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

¹⁸ Matthew 28:5–6.

¹⁹ Mark 16:5–6.

²⁰ Luke 24:5–8.

²¹ Mark 16:7.

²² Luke 24:8–11.

²³ John 20:1–2.

²⁴ John 20:3–10.

²⁵ John 20:11–13.

176 – Jesus—His Life and Message: The Death of Jesus (Part 5)

Jesus—His Life and Message

Peter Amsterdam

2022-05-24

(You can read about the intent for and overview of this series in this introductory article.)

In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, we are told that about the ninth hour (3 p.m.) Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”¹ We are also told that someone took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.² Then Jesus cried out one last time and died.

The Gospel of Matthew says: Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.³ The Gospel of Mark tells us Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.⁴ The Gospel of John states: When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.⁵ In the Gospel of Luke we read: Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.⁶

Each of the four Gospels gives an account of the events which happened once Jesus breathed his last, and we’ll look at all of them here. The Gospel of John explains:

Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.⁷

The day of Preparation is a technical term for the preparation for the Sabbath. The Sabbath begins on Friday evening, therefore in the Jewish faith it is necessary that all work stops before Friday evening. Since Jesus and the two others were crucified on a Friday, they needed to be taken down from their crosses and buried before the Sabbath started. And because Jesus and the two others were crucified under the authority of Rome, it was necessary to receive the governor’s permission to take Jesus off the cross and bury Him.

The Jewish leadership asked Pilate to have the legs of those who were crucified broken, as this would cause them to die more rapidly. With broken legs, they would no longer be able to support their weight, and they would be unable to breathe. If their legs weren’t broken, those who were crucified could remain on the cross for days before dying; however, if their legs were broken, they would suffocate within minutes. Permission was granted, and the legs of the two criminals were broken, resulting in their deaths. Jesus, however, had already died, most likely because He had been weakened due to the whipping and beating He had endured prior to being crucified; therefore His legs were not broken.

But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.”⁸

The account of a soldier piercing Jesus with a spear, and blood and water coming out of Jesus’ side, is only found in the Gospel of John. This Gospel probably included these events because they were foretold in Scripture. The piercing of His side likely refers to Zechariah 12:10, which says: when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. The reference to the sacrificial lamb’s bones not being broken is found in Exodus 12:46. It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones.

The Curtain in the Temple

Two of the Gospels tell us that at the moment of Jesus’ death, the curtain of the temple was torn in two. The Gospel of Matthew states,

Behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.⁹

The Gospel of Mark says:

The curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”¹⁰

The Gospel of Matthew starts with the temple and speaks about the curtain. There were two curtains, which divided the temple into three sections. Once someone entered the temple, they stood in the first section, where laymen were admitted. One of the curtains separated the first section from the second section. Only the Jewish priests were allowed to pass through the first curtain, which brought them into the Holy Place. There was a second curtain, which separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, which no one was allowed to enter, except for once a year when the High Priest entered on the Day of Atonement to sprinkle the blood of sacrificial animals and offer incense.

It is uncertain whether it was the outer curtain or the inner curtain which was torn in two. Whichever it was, the impression is that of judgment on the temple, and Matthew is indicating that symbolically, the way into the Holy Place was opened by the death of Jesus. This is reinforced by what is written in the book of Hebrews.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.¹¹

The Burial

After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body.¹²

All four of the Gospels mention Joseph of Arimathea. Each Gospel gives some information about him. The Gospel of Matthew says he was a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus.¹³ The Gospel of Mark says that he was a respected member of the council who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God.¹⁴ The Gospel of Luke states: He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God.¹⁵

The Gospel of John adds that Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.¹⁶ The custom was to put such spices in between the sheets that were wrapped around the body. The Synoptic Gospels ¹⁷ don’t mention Nicodemus’ participation, but it seems that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus worked together to prepare Jesus’ body for burial. The amount of spices, myrrh, and aloes—about 34 kilos—was unusual. However, if Nicodemus intended to cover the body completely, then this amount would likely be needed.

At a time when Jesus’ disciples were in hiding, these two “secret” disciples came to the fore. They had nothing to gain by publicly associating themselves with Jesus; nevertheless, through their actions they boldly declared themselves as His followers and gave Jesus an honorable burial according to the customs of Judaism. They prepared the body by wrapping it in a sheet or shroud. They put spices within the sheets. They then brought Jesus’ body to a nearby tomb.

Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.¹⁸

According to the Gospel of Matthew, this tomb belonged to Joseph of Arimathea.

Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.¹⁹

Tombs were often cut out of solid rock and were closed using a heavy stone. The stone at the mouth of the tomb would be rolled in a groove so as to seal the entrance. It could also be rolled away from the entrance, in order to gather the bones at some point in the future, and also so the tomb could be used again.

Jesus’ burial had to be done speedily, as the Sabbath began at sundown, at which point, Jesus wouldn’t have been able to be buried. The burial rituals were obviously not completed, as on the first day of the new week, the women would return to the tomb to finish them.

(To read the next article in this series, click here.)

Note

¹ Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34.

² Matthew 27:48, Mark 15:36.

³ Matthew 27:50.

⁴ Mark 15:37.

⁵ John 19:30.

⁶ Luke 23:46.

⁷ John 19:31–33.

⁸ John 19:34–37.

⁹ Matthew 27:51–53.

¹⁰ Mark 15:38–39.

¹¹ Hebrews 10:19–22.

¹² John 19:38.

¹³ Matthew 27:57.

¹⁴ Mark 15:43.

¹⁵ Luke 23:50–51.

¹⁶ John 19:39–40.

¹⁷ Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

¹⁸ John 19:41–42.

¹⁹ Matthew 27:59–60.

175 – Jesus—His Life and Message: The Death of Jesus (Part 4)

Jesus—His Life and Message

Peter Amsterdam

2022-05-10

(You can read about the intent for and overview of this series in this introductory article.)

Each of the four Gospels speaks of the women who were present at Jesus’ crucifixion. The Gospel of Matthew says:

There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.¹

The Gospel of Mark lists one of the women present as Salome,² while the Gospel of John adds that Mary the wife of Clopas³ was also there.

The Gospel of Mark tells us that when [Jesus] was in Galilee, [the women] followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.⁴ One author commented: One of the interesting and unusual features of Jesus’ ministry was the presence of several women who numbered among the disciples. Although they “were serving” Jesus and the other disciples, they also sat at his feet and were taught, even as were the men (Luke 10:38–42). This is why Mark says they “were following him,” which implies discipleship.⁵ Later, it will be the women who first see Jesus after His resurrection from the dead.

The Gospel of Luke mentions that besides the women who were nearby, all his acquaintances were there as well. And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things.⁶ Commentators suggest that the acquaintances who stood at a distance along with the women were Jesus’ disciples, most likely a broader group than just the Twelve (now eleven). They may have observed from a distance because they felt that it was unsafe to be too close.

The Synoptic Gospels ⁷ describe the women standing at a distance from the place where Jesus was crucified, while the Gospel of John says they were standing close to the cross.

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.⁸

According to John, four women were present at the crucifixion—Jesus’ mother and her sister, Mary Magdalene, and Mary of Clopas. It seems that while the women were standing some distance from where Jesus was crucified, at some point they, along with the disciple whom Jesus loved, moved closer to the cross. When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom he loved, He spoke, first to His mother. “Woman, behold, your son!”

He then spoke to the disciple whom he loved. Five times in the Gospel of John we see mention of the disciple whom Jesus loved.⁹ Though he is never specifically identified, the early Christians, as well as most Bible commentators today, agree that this disciple was the apostle John. Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. Jesus was preparing for His departure from this world and was setting things in order, making sure that His mother would be cared for. The disciple immediately obeyed Jesus’ command and took His mother into his home.

Some may wonder why Jesus needed to bequeath His mother to one of His disciples rather than to one of His brothers. Perhaps it was because at this time His brothers were not believers. Earlier in the Gospel of John we read that not even his brothers believed in him.¹⁰ It wasn’t until after Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and His ascension into heaven that His brothers believed. They joined Mary and the disciples in the upper room to wait for the Holy Spirit.

When they had entered, they went up to the upper room … All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.¹¹

The apostle Paul writes that Jesus appeared to His brother James,¹² who later became a leader in the church of Jerusalem ¹³ and also makes reference to Jesus’ brothers preaching the gospel.¹⁴

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”¹⁵

All three Synoptic Gospels speak of the darkness which came over the land and of Jesus crying out to His Father. The account from the Gospel of Matthew will be used here.

The crucifixion began at the third hour (9 a.m.). At about the sixth hour (noon), darkness came upon the land and remained until the ninth hour (3 p.m.). The word translated as over all the land can mean “over all the but “over the entire land of Israel” is the most likely meaning. The cause of the three hours of darkness is not explained, and it is understood to have been caused supernaturally, as a part of the events leading up to Jesus’ death. One author writes:

Darkness is associated with judgment in several places in Scripture, and it appears that we are to understand it here as pointing to God’s judgment on sin that is linked with the cross.¹⁶

After hanging on the cross for about six hours, Jesus cried out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” In the Gospel of Mark we read this question in Aramaic, the original language: “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”¹⁷ One author comments: This is not just a cry of pain, but an anguished appeal to God which reveals for a moment something of the mental and spiritual torment of the “cup” Jesus had accepted in Gethsemane. The words are taken directly from the opening of Psalm 22 … the psalm expresses the spiritual desolation of a man who continues to trust and to appeal to God in spite of the fact that his ungodly opponents mock and persecute him with impunity. In the end, the psalm turns into joyful thanksgiving for deliverance.¹⁸

And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.”¹⁹

Though Jesus cried out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me,” it seems that some who heard Him misunderstood what He was saying. One author explains: In Hebrew, the word for “my God” is not so very different from the word for “Elijah,” and some of those near the cross thought that Jesus was calling for Elijah.²⁰

There was a jar full of sour wine standing there, and one of the bystanders who was watching (or possibly one of the soldiers) ran to get Jesus something to drink, apparently to the objections of some of the other onlookers. One author explains: It seems rather that one person at any rate was trying to help the sufferer by giving him a drink and that the others were simply waiting to see what would happen.²¹ They didn’t have to wait much longer.

(To be continued.)

Note

¹ Matthew 27:55–56.

² Mark 15:40.

³ John 19:25.

⁴ Mark 15:41.

⁵ Evans, World Biblical Commentary, Mark 8:27–16:20, 511.

⁶ Luke 23:49.

⁷ Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

⁸ John 19:25–27.

⁹ John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20.

¹⁰ John 7:5.

¹¹ Acts 1:13–14.

¹² 1 Corinthians 15:7.

¹³ Acts 15:13–22.

¹⁴ 1 Corinthians 9:5.

¹⁵ Matthew 27:45–46. Also Mark 15:33–34, Luke 23:44–46.

¹⁶ Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, 720.

¹⁷ Mark 15:34.

¹⁸ France, The Gospel of Matthew, 1075–1076.

¹⁹ Matthew 27:47–49.

²⁰ Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, 722.

²¹ Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, 722.

174 – Jesus—His Life and Message: The Death of Jesus (Part 3)

Jesus—His Life and Message

Peter Amsterdam

2022-04-26

(You can read about the intent for and overview of this series in this introductory article.)

While each of the four Gospels give the same account of Jesus’ death on the cross, they each also include some unique details. The Gospel of Matthew is the account used here, and portions of the other three Gospels will be included as well.

The Gospel of Mark tells us it was the third hour when they crucified him.¹ The third hour would be about 9 a.m. The Gospel of John says, It was about the sixth hour,² which would have been noon. There are a variety of explanations given by commentators regarding the difference in the time stated, with the general consensus being that Jesus was crucified sometime between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m.

Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.³

All four Gospels say that there were two others crucified at the same time as Jesus.⁴ He was in the middle, with one man on either side of Him. The Gospel of Luke says: Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.⁵ It seems likely that these two criminals carried their cross beams to Golgotha along with Jesus.

And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him.⁶

Jesus and the two robbers were crucified at a site that was easily accessible to the people of Jerusalem, possibly beside a road leading into the city, where many people passed by. Some of those people derided Him; other Bible translations say they were yelling insults at Him⁷ and hurling abuse at Him.⁸ Some were wagging their heads. The significance of the people shaking their heads isn’t explained, but in the Old Testament it is mentioned a few times as a negative action. In the book of Job, we read:

I also could speak as you do, if you were in my place; I could join words together against you and shake my head at you.⁹

The book of Lamentations says:

All who pass by clap their hands at you; They hiss and shake their heads at the daughter of Jerusalem.¹⁰

When the chief priests and the scribes and elders mocked Jesus, they said:

“He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”¹¹

The chief priests, scribes, and elders were the three main groups which made up the Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish ruling body in Israel. Their rejection of Jesus reflects the rejection of the majority of the Jewish establishment.¹²

It was probably not common for prominent people like the chief priests, scribes, and elders to attend a crucifixion, so their presence gives some insight into their animosity and vengefulness toward Jesus. While the general public directed their comments at Jesus (You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross), the aristocratic ones rather addressed their words to each other, but likely said them loud enough that Jesus could hear them (He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him). One author pointed out that while they claimed that if Jesus came down from the cross they would believe in Him, they most likely would not have, as seen by the fact that when He rose from the dead, they still didn’t believe.¹³

Even as these Jewish leaders were mocking Jesus, in the same breath they admitted that He trusted in God. Throughout His life and ministry, Jesus’ trust in His Father was visible to all. However, in spite of admitting that Jesus trusted in God, they didn’t understand that God was working out His purpose of salvation through the sufferer on the cross.¹⁴

In the Gospel of Mark, we’re told that Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.¹⁵ The Gospel of Matthew says the same: the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.¹⁶ The Gospel of Luke differs from these two accounts in that it describes one of the criminals who was crucified as favorable toward Jesus.

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”¹⁷

There are a number of possible explanations for why two of the Gospels describe both criminals railing at Jesus and one Gospel only describes one. One likely explanation follows:

At the start both criminals revile Jesus, but the second criminal is later impressed with Jesus and changes his mind. This old explanation goes back to Origen, Chrysostom, and Jerome.¹⁸

Using the text from the Gospel of Luke, one of the two criminals crucified with Jesus railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”¹⁹ Other Bible translations state that the criminals began to yell insults at Him (CSB), were hurling abuse at Him (NAS), and blasphemed Him (NKJV). These taunts are similar to those made earlier when He was mocked by the Jewish leadership and the soldiers.

The rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!”²⁰

The soldiers also mocked him … saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”²¹

The first criminal’s question, “Are you not the Christ?,” isn’t a statement of his belief, but rather a sarcastic challenge, something like, “If you really are the Christ like you say you are, then prove it by saving yourself and also saving the two of us from crucifixion.”

The second criminal rebuked the first. He saw their crucifixion as just judgment on them, and therefore felt that railing at Jesus was hypocritical. He asks the first criminal what right he has to taunt Jesus, who is innocent, when they are guilty and therefore rightfully deserve to die for their crimes as the due reward of our deeds. In making this statement, the second criminal both recognizes his sin and repents. He also testifies that Jesus has done nothing wrong. He is the third person who states that Jesus was innocent, after Pilate and Herod.²²

The second criminal then asked Jesus to remember him. One author comments:

His manner of address, “Jesus,” is stunning in its intimacy, for nowhere else in any Gospel does anyone address Jesus simply by his name without a specifying or reverential qualification.²³

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus is referred to as Jesus, Son of the Most High God (Mark 5:7, Luke 8:28); Jesus, Son of David (Mark 10:47, Luke 18:38); and Jesus, Master (Luke 17:13). This same author adds:

The first person with the confidence to be so familiar is a convicted criminal who is also the last person on earth to speak to Jesus before Jesus dies.²⁴

While the second criminal was requesting that he would attain life at the parousia (Jesus’ second coming, when He comes to judge the living and the dead), Jesus stated that today you will be with me in Paradise.

One author explains:

Jesus promises this criminal that today he will be with him and live among the righteous. Jesus’ reply also suggests that the criminal will be in some conscious, intermediate state until the resurrection, though this conclusion is implied, rather than explicit. Death is a mere transition for this man. He too will experience victory and deliverance through the King he confesses, and that deliverance is immediate … A call to Jesus yields immediate results.²⁵

(To be continued.)

Note

¹ Mark 15:25.

² John 19:14.

³ Matthew 27:38.

⁴ Mark 15:27, Luke 23:32, John 19:32.

⁵ Luke 23:32.

⁶ Matthew 27:39–41.

⁷ CSB (Christian Standard Bible).

⁸ NAS (New American Standard Bible).

⁹ Job 16:4.

¹⁰ Lamentations 2:15 NKJV.

¹¹ Matthew 27:42–43.

¹² France, The Gospel of Matthew, 717.

¹³ France, The Gospel of Matthew, 718.

¹⁴ France, The Gospel of Matthew, 719.

¹⁵ Mark 15:32.

¹⁶ Matthew 27:44.

¹⁷ Luke 23:39–43.

¹⁸ Alfred Plummer, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to St. Luke, International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: Clark, 1896).

¹⁹ Luke 23:39.

²⁰ Luke 23:35.

²¹ Luke 23:36–37.

²² Luke 23:4, 14–15, 22.

²³ Brown, The Death of the Messiah, Volume 2, 1005.

²⁴ Brown, The Death of the Messiah, Volume 2, 1005.

²⁵ Bock, Luke Volume 2: 9:51–24:53, 1858.

173 – Jesus—His Life and Message: The Death of Jesus (Part 2)

Jesus—His Life and Message

Peter Amsterdam

2022-04-19

(You can read about the intent for and overview of this series in this introductory article.)

After Jesus had been interrogated by Pilate, mocked, treated with contempt by Herod and his men, and scourged, it was time for His death sentence to be carried out. Each of the four Gospels addresses the events of Jesus’ death, and each Gospel writer includes details which others don’t mention. The Gospel of Matthew is used here as the main text describing Jesus’ death, and additional points from the Gospels of Mark, Luke, and John are included.

As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross.¹

Once the Roman soldiers were finished mocking, spitting on, and striking Jesus, they put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.² Usually the person condemned to death carried their crossbeam to the place of crucifixion. The crossbeam would then be attached to an upright beam which was already standing at the location where the crucifixion was going to take place.

In the Gospel of Matthew, we’re told that Simon was from Cyrene, a country that was situated in modern-day Libya, on the northern coast of the African continent. It was the capital of the Roman district Cyrenaica at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion, and home to a large number of Greek-speaking Jews. In the Gospel of Mark,³ we are told that Simon was the father of two sons, Alexander and Rufus.

In the Gospel of John, we read that Jesus went out, bearing his own cross,⁴ while in the Gospel of Matthew it says that Simon was compelled to carry it.⁵ Both are likely accurate. It is probable that Jesus started out carrying the crossbeam, but due to all that He had already endured, He was unable to carry it all the way to the place of crucifixion. One author explains:

He had been subjected to a great deal of stress. He had been up all night and had undergone the agony in the garden, the various sessions with the Jewish authorities, and the mockery of a trial before Pilate. He had endured the scourging, which … could be a very brutal affair. He had been mocked and hit by the soldiers. It may well be that Jesus had been more severely treated than the others who were crucified with him.⁶

All four Gospels tell of the place where Jesus was crucified, called Golgotha. Each Gospel adds an explanation of the name in parentheses. The Gospel of Mark says, they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull).⁷ The Gospel of John states, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.⁸ No one knows for certain exactly where the place called Golgotha was located, but it seems that it was not far from the gates of Jerusalem.

The Gospels of Matthew and Mark both tell of Jesus being offered wine to drink.

They offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.⁹

They offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.¹⁰

It is likely that the Roman soldiers were the ones who offered Jesus the wine mixed with gall or myrrh, which would have a mildly numbing effect. It’s not known if the soldiers offered the wine out of kindness or if they were mocking Him. Jesus tasting it, and then refusing to drink it, may have meant that He wanted to keep His senses clear as He was about to give his life as a ransom for many.¹¹

And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.¹²

The Gospel writers didn’t focus on the details of Jesus’ crucifixion; they simply stated that He was crucified. Each of the synoptic Gospels then tells of the Roman soldiers dividing Jesus’ clothes amongst themselves. When it came time to crucify Him, the soldiers stripped His clothes from Him, as those who were crucified were crucified naked. Acquiring the clothing of those who were crucified was a perk for the soldiers who conducted the crucifixion. The Gospel of John adds that Jesus’ tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” So the soldiers did these things.¹³

Then they sat down and kept watch over him there.¹⁴

It was likely that the soldiers were instructed to remain at the site of the crucifixion until Jesus (and the two other men) died, to make sure than no one would come and take them down from the cross and thus rescue them from their death sentence.

And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”¹⁵

One reason the Romans used public crucifixion as a punishment was to deter others from committing crime or rebelling against Rome. Seeing the charge written on a plaque on the cross or hung around the neck of the criminal sent a powerful message. Each of the Gospels recounts that the charges against Jesus were posted on His cross.

In the Gospel of John, we’re told that it was Pilate who had the inscription written and that he received some pushback from the chief priests.

Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”¹⁶

Since the place where Jesus was crucified was close to the city, many people would have likely come to watch, as crucifixions were popular functions in the first century.¹⁷ The inscription was also in three languages, which meant that anyone who could read would most likely be able to read it.

Aramaic was the language of the country, Latin the official language, and Greek the common language of communication throughout the Roman world.¹⁸

One author states:

As for the notice itself, its implication that the Jews are a people whose miserable “king” hangs on a cross offends them, and is made all the worse by being publicly accessible as well to Gentiles passing by who read only Greek or Latin.¹⁹

Knowing that they wouldn’t be able to convince Pilate to remove the plaque from Jesus’ cross, the chief priests tried to persuade him to change what was written on it. Pilate refused to make any change.

(To be continued.)

Note

¹ Matthew 27:32.

² Matthew 27:31.

³ Mark 15:21.

⁴ John 19:17.

⁵ Matthew 27:32.

⁶ Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, 714.

⁷ Mark 15:22.

⁸ John 19:17. See also Matthew 27:33, Luke 23:33.

⁹ Matthew 27:34.

¹⁰ Mark 15:23.

¹¹ Matthew 20:28.

¹² Matthew 27:35. See also Mark 15:24, Luke 23:34.

¹³ John 19:23–24.

¹⁴ Matthew 27:36.

¹⁵ Matthew 27:37.

¹⁶ John 19:19–22.

¹⁷ Morris, The Gospel According to John, 713–14.

¹⁸ Morris, The Gospel According to John, 714.

¹⁹ Michaels, The Gospel of John, 950.

172 – Jesus—His Life and Message: The Death of Jesus (Part 1)

Jesus—His Life and Message

Peter Amsterdam

2022-03-29

(You can read about the intent for and overview of this series in this introductory article.)

All four Gospels give an account of Jesus’ death on the cross.¹ While each of these passages covers the same event, the four authors tell the story in their own ways. This article and upcoming articles about Jesus’ crucifixion will be generally based on the Gospel of Matthew, while including points from the other Gospels as well.

After Jesus’ trial, Pilate decided to meet the demands of the chief priests and the elders, so he freed Barabbas, who was incarcerated for insurrection and murder. He then delivered Jesus over to their will.² In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, we are told that before delivering Jesus to the chief priests, Pilate had Jesus whipped. The NLT Bible says: So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.³

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters [called the Praetorium in some translations], and they gathered the whole battalion before him.⁴

The governor’s soldiers were members of the Roman military. From this point forward, Jesus was no longer under the control of the Jewish Sanhedrin; the Roman authorities would carry out His death sentence. Some Bibles translate battalion as a cohort or regiment. The battalion that gathered before Him could have been as many as 600 soldiers, or more likely 200, as both numbers of soldiers are sometimes referred to as a cohort. The soldiers at the governor’s headquarters gathered to amuse themselves by mocking Jesus.

And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him…⁵

Since Jesus had been convicted of claiming to being a king, the soldiers used that theme as they mocked Him before His crucifixion. They started by taking off His clothes and replacing them with a scarlet robe. Scarlet was close to the color purple, which was the color royalty wore.

…and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand.⁶

Since kings wore crowns, the soldiers fashioned some type of spiny plant into a crown. This crown not only mocked His kingship, but also added to His suffering and pain. As kings held royal scepters, the soldiers put a “scepter,” probably a piece of cane, perhaps bamboo or something similar, in His hand.

And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.⁷

While the Gospels of Mark and John join Matthew in relating that the soldiers mockingly greeted Jesus with “Hail, King of the Jews,” only the Gospel of Matthew tells of them mocking Him by kneeling before Him while doing so. Besides verbally mocking Him, they showed their contempt by spitting on Him. One author explains: When spitting and repeated blows are added, the scene combines cruelty with extreme dishonor.⁸

And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.⁹

We’re not told how long the mocking lasted, but when it ended, the soldiers took off the robe they had put on Him and put His own clothes back on Him. Those who were crucified by the Romans were usually naked, so putting Jesus’ clothes back on while He walked to the place of crucifixion was likely a concession to Jewish reluctance about public nudity. None of the Gospels tell us whether the crown of thorns was removed, but it seems that it probably wasn’t; as if it had been, it likely would have been mentioned specifically, as the removal of the robe was.

While there were many soldiers in the governor’s headquarters during Jesus’ interrogation, when they led him away to crucify him, it is likely that only a few escorted Him to the place of crucifixion. Normally only four soldiers were assigned to crucify a man.¹⁰

As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross.¹¹

Each of the Gospels speak of Jesus carrying the cross. The three synoptic Gospels ¹² tell of Simon, a man from Cyrene (present-day Libya), who helped Jesus carry the cross, while the Gospel of John doesn’t mention him.

There were three types of crosses generally used in executions: the crux decussata, which was shaped like an X; the crux commissa, which was in the shape of a (capital) T; and the crux immissa, which was shaped like a (lowercase) t. It is likely that the crux immissa was the shape of Jesus’ cross, as we’ll see later that they hung a sign over His head,¹³ which wouldn’t have been possible with an X- or T-shaped cross.

When carrying the cross (crux immissa), the convicted person didn’t carry the whole cross, but only the crossbeam. The vertical beam was left standing in the ground, usually in a prominent place like a public square or just outside the city walls, as a warning and deterrent to breaking the law. When carrying the crossbeam, the one to be crucified would carry it behind the nape of his neck, with his hands hooked over it.

It is likely that Simon, the man from Cyrene, was compelled by the Roman soldiers to carry Jesus’ cross because they saw that Jesus was too weak to carry the cross to the place of execution. They preferred to have Him alive on the cross rather than dying on the way.

In the Gospel of Luke we are told of Jesus speaking to the women who were mourning.

And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”¹⁴

Amongst the large group of people following Jesus to the place where He would be crucified were women who mourned and wailed for Him. Jesus calls them “daughters of Jerusalem,” which indicates that they were probably city dwellers rather than Galileans who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover.

In spite of His suffering and impending death, Jesus paused to warn the mothers and children of Jerusalem of what lay ahead for them in the near future, when the Romans would come and decimate the city and its inhabitants, due to the sins of the nation and their rejection of their Savior. Life would become so hard that not having any children would be considered a blessing—in contrast with the normal view that children are a blessing, a gift from God.

The coming capture and destruction of Jerusalem would be so terrible that the inhabitants of the city would want their lives to end quickly, as death would be preferable to the terrible misery they would be facing. They would want the mountains to fall on them and the hills to cover them.

The last verse—For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?—is a difficult verse to explain. Between the three commentators I use for the Gospel of Luke, they give 15 possible interpretations for this verse. One of the commentators concludes that the most likely meaning is: If God has not spared Jesus, how much more will the impenitent nation [Israel in Jesus’ day] not be spared when divine judgment comes?¹⁵

(To be continued.)

Note

¹ Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, John 19.

² Luke 23:25.

³ Matthew 27:26 NLT.

⁴ Matthew 27:27.

⁵ Matthew 27:28.

⁶ Matthew 27:29.

⁷ Matthew 27:29–30.

⁸ France, The Gospel of Matthew, 1063.

⁹ Matthew 27:31.

¹⁰ Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, 712.

¹¹ Matthew 27:32.

¹² Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

¹³ Matthew 27:37.

¹⁴ Luke 23:27–31.

¹⁵ Bock, Luke Volume 2: 9:51–24:53, 1847.

092 – Jesus—His Life and Message: Jesus on Love (Part 2)

Jesus—His Life and Message

Peter Amsterdam

2018-07-03

(You can read about the intent for and overview of this series in this introductory article.)

In part one, we saw that Jesus taught His disciples the principle of loving one’s enemies. He gave examples of behavior which would put this principle into action:

Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you, from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either, give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.¹

Jesus went on to say, As you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.² There are other ancient Jewish writings which convey this concept, such as:

What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor for that is the whole Torah; What you hate, do to no one; None should do to his neighbor what he does not like for himself.

While these sayings are similar to Jesus’ statement, they are expressed in the sense of avoiding unfair treatment of others that one wouldn’t wish for oneself. As one author wrote about Jesus’ expression of this concept:

It is not simply a command to avoid unfair treatment that one might not wish for oneself. Rather it is a command to give the same sensitive consideration to others that one might want others to give.³

Jesus used three examples to show how the love He expected of His disciples was to surpass the average norms of love. With each illustration of love, He starts by asking what is so special about His disciples doing things that anyone, even sinners, would do to show love. He then challenges them to love in a greater way.

If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.⁴

The King James translation says, For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? and the NAS translation states, If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Jesus makes the point that most people love those who love them—that’s normal and natural behavior. But Jesus was calling His disciples to go further, similar to how He had said earlier to “love the one who strikes you, the one who steals your cloak.”

In the ancient world, it was expected conduct to treat others as you would have them treat you, as it remains today. The principle Jesus put forward, however, is to love not only those who love you, but to go so far as to love those who hate you, who steal from you, who curse and mistreat you. In Luke, Jesus said, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you;⁵ in Matthew’s Gospel, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.⁶

Jesus raised the standard of love beyond the norm of this world.

If you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.⁷

Like the previous verse, Jesus points out that love which only does good to those who do good in return is no different from the love that most people give—it’s normal love. There is nothing out of the ordinary in such love. Jesus is calling for love that goes further, that surpasses the natural love and kindness that people have for one another, that is extraordinary.

If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.⁸

Here is another call to love in a way that is greater than what others normally do. He was referring to no-interest loans, as according to the Mosaic Law, loans made to the poor were to be interest-free.

If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him.⁹

If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you. You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit.¹⁰

Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.¹¹

Here Jesus summarized His teaching on love in verses 27–34 where He expressed the qualities and character of those who follow Him.

The loving behavior He outlined is evidence that one is a child of God. This concept is also expressed elsewhere in the New Testament:

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God.¹²

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. … Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.¹³

In the process of teaching His followers the true dimensions of God’s supernatural love, Jesus made reference to the loving character of the Most High. He stated that His Father is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. The Father shows love to those who spurn Him, ignore Him, are thankless, disobedient, and iniquitous. Jesus’ call to His followers is to emulate the Father, to love others in the manner that His Father loves. The apostle Paul made the same point when he wrote, Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.¹⁴ When Christians love in the manner Jesus described, they reflect the character of God—for gracious love is an attribute of God the Father.

Jesus ends this segment of His teaching by telling His followers that they should emulate the Father in His mercy.

Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.¹⁵

Throughout the Old Testament, we read of the mercy of God. When God revealed Himself to Moses, He spoke of His mercy and love:

The LORD passed before [Moses] and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”¹⁶

Elsewhere in the Old Testament, we read of God’s loving mercy.

For the LORD your God is a merciful God.¹⁷

Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful.¹⁸

David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is great.”¹⁹

Jesus taught His disciples that the character of God was to be the model for their character.

Jesus directed His disciples to emulate the Father with mercy and kindness. He taught that His followers should love others, including their enemies; should be generous without expectation of return; should do good to all. These actions imitate God and reflect His love. By doing these things, Jesus said those who follow Him would be sons of the Most High.²⁰ As Christians, we are called to conduct our lives in a manner which glorifies and reflects God.

* * *

For your interest, following are Scriptures that speak of some of God’s other attributes which, as His children, we should reflect in our daily lives. God is:

Just

The LORD sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness.²¹

O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed.²²

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.²³

Good

My people shall be satisfied with my goodness, declares the LORD.²⁴

They shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD.²⁵

In your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.²⁶

Let your saints rejoice in your goodness.²⁷

Holy

Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?²⁸

There is none holy like the LORD; there is none besides you.²⁹

Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.³⁰

Truthful

I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right.³¹

I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs.³²

Faithful

The LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.³³

The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.³⁴

I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.³⁵

Loving

The LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.³⁶

Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.³⁷

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.³⁸

Righteous

The LORD is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.³⁹

Your righteousness is righteous forever, and your law is true.⁴⁰

Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like you?⁴¹

(To read the next article in this series, click here.)

Note

¹ Luke 6:27–30.

² Luke 6:31.

³ Bock, Luke Volume 1: 1:1–9:50, 596.

⁴ Luke 6:32.

⁵ Luke 6:27.

⁶ Matthew 5:44.

⁷ Luke 6:33.

⁸ Luke 6:34.

⁹ Exodus 22:25.

¹⁰ Leviticus 25:35–37.

¹¹ Luke 6:35.

¹² 1 John 3:1.

¹³ 1 John 4:7–8, 11–12.

¹⁴ Ephesians 5:1.

¹⁵ Luke 6:36.

¹⁶ Exodus 34:6.

¹⁷ Deuteronomy 4:31.

¹⁸ Joel 2:13.

¹⁹ 2 Samuel 24:14.

²⁰ Luke 6:35.

²¹ Psalm 9:7–8.

²² Psalm 10:17–18.

²³ Psalm 89:14.

²⁴ Jeremiah 31:14.

²⁵ Jeremiah 31:12.

²⁶ Psalm 68:10.

²⁷ 2 Chronicles 6:41.

²⁸ Psalm 77:13.

²⁹ 1 Samuel 2:2.

³⁰ Leviticus 19:2.

³¹ Isaiah 45:19.

³² Romans 15:8.

³³ Deuteronomy 7:9.

³⁴ Deuteronomy 32:4.

³⁵ Psalm 89:1.

³⁶ Exodus 34:6.

³⁷ Psalm 36:5.

³⁸ 1 John 4:16.

³⁹ Psalm 145:17.

⁴⁰ Psalm 119:142.

⁴¹ Psalm 71:19.

091 – Jesus—His Life and Message: Jesus on Love (Part 1)

Jesus—His Life and Message

Peter Amsterdam

2018-06-26

(You can read about the intent for and overview of this series in this introductory article.)

In each of the synoptic Gospels,¹ Jesus quotes two commandments from the Old Testament. The first is from the book of Deuteronomy:

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.²

The second is from the book of Leviticus:

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.³

The Mosaic Law stated:

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.⁴

The Jewish understanding of one’s “neighbors” was other Jewish people. As one author explains:

In Judaism, one’s neighbor was someone with similar religious thinking, not one who was opposed and hostile. … In some movements in Judaism, the exact opposite was instructed, as at Qumran, where the right to hate one’s religious foes was a given.⁵ (Qumran is an archeological site less than a mile from the Dead Sea, which contains the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Some Bible scholars believe that a religious community called the Essenes lived at Qumran, and they had some beliefs which didn’t align with standard Jewish beliefs of the time.)

Seeing that some Jewish people had different interpretations of Scripture may help explain why, in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus makes reference to a saying which isn’t found in Scripture:

You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.⁶

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus expands the concept of loving one’s enemies by giving examples of ways that His followers can implement that love. He says that the love that His followers demonstrate for others is to be above and beyond the way people usually love. The focus here will be on Luke 6:27–38, which covers different aspects of loving others.

Jesus starts with:

I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.⁷

He addresses those who “hear,” meaning those who are willing to listen and to apply what He teaches. There are some references to doing good to one’s enemies in some Old Testament teachings, such as:

If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.⁸

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the LORD see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.⁹

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.¹⁰

While verses such as these in the Old Testament directed believers to show kindness to one’s enemies, Jesus went considerably further, instructing His followers to love and forgive them. He also practiced what He preached, as seen by the words He spoke from the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”¹¹ His followers practiced this as well. Stephen, the first martyr, while being stoned to death, cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”¹² The apostle Paul wrote, See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.¹³ The apostle Peter wrote, Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.¹⁴

After expressing the general principle of loving one’s enemies, Jesus moved on to specifics: do good to those who hate you.¹⁵ He’s speaking of taking positive action, doing things that benefit those who oppose you. He’s calling His followers to not just love their enemies in principle or in some passive manner, but to show them love through their actions.

Jesus called His disciples to bless those who curse you,¹⁶ meaning those who verbally attack you with insults, scorn, or verbal abuse. It’s natural to respond in kind, but Jesus taught His disciples to break that cycle of anger and hatred by blessing those who revile them. While at times we are right to respond to someone who is verbally attacking us, Scripture teaches us to do so wisely and lovingly.

The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.¹⁷

Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.¹⁸

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.¹⁹

When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat.²⁰ (To “entreat” means to end a disagreement or someone’s anger by acting in a friendly way.)

He also said to pray for those who abuse you.²¹ The KJV translates this as them which despitefully use you, while other translations say those who mistreat you. The Greek word epēreazō is also translated as to insult, treat abusively, revile, and threaten. Jesus’ call for His disciples to pray for people who mistreat them goes against one’s natural instinct to respond in kind. It represents a supernatural form of love, a love which reflects God’s love for humanity. Of course, Jesus’ call to love and pray for those who mistreat or abuse us doesn’t mean that we should continually tolerate such mistreatment. Removing oneself from an abusive situation and taking necessary action to protect oneself doesn’t conflict with praying for those who treat you badly.

After telling His disciples to love their enemies, to do good to the haters, to those who curse them, and to pray for those who mistreat, insult, and threaten them, He then went on to give four illustrations of loving others in spite of actions which hurt you or result in loss. The first is: To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also.²² In this case, the slap most likely refers to a slap with the back of the hand, which, in Jesus’ time, was considered a deliberate gesture of disrespect, a deep insult. By telling His disciples to offer the other cheek, He was stating that when they were insulted they should show love by remaining silent rather than attempting to even the score by returning insults. Part of love is not seeking revenge for affronts, slights, or insults. Rather than striking back, the disciple is willing to break the cycle of retaliation.

The second part of verse 29 is somewhat similar to the first: from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.²³ Jesus was saying that if someone was demanding your outer garment, you should give him your undershirt as well. The scenario is one of a robbery, and like offering the other cheek in the first part of the verse, here Jesus is saying not to retaliate by seeking revenge, but rather to love one’s enemy by being willing to suffer the loss rather than retaliating.

Jesus then follows with Give to everyone who begs from you.²⁴ Other Bible translations render this as Give to everyone who asks of you, which seems to be a better translation. Giving to the poor, known as almsgiving or the giving of alms, was a reflection of one’s piety. Jesus was referring to the poor and needy who didn’t have enough even to meet their basic needs. He pointed out that part of love was the readiness to help those in need without prejudice, as He states that all who ask should be helped. This of course touches on sacrifice and self-denial, as it refers to parting with possessions. Jesus is guiding His followers to express generosity toward others as part of love.

The fourth illustration of love is, from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.²⁵ Here Jesus speaks to His disciples about not seeking retribution for wrongs which are done to them. Even if something is taken from them, they are not to insist on its return. We see this thinking reflected in the writing of Paul:

To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?²⁶

Jesus speaks of generous self-denial.

Jesus’ teachings here are quite radical, as they are expressed in terms intended to shock those listening. He intentionally stated these commands in hyperbolic language, which exaggerates to make a point and isn’t necessarily meant to be taken literally.

Jesus’ reference to “enemies” may not have been directed only to who were opposed to His disciples. As one author wrote:

The category of “enemies” may include others … and not only those who deliberately oppose Jesus’ followers. Because the beggar is habitually defined as outside the circles of companionship of all but other beggars, they would not be classed as “friends” but as “enemies,” outsiders. Love is due them as well, as though they were comrades and kin, and in their case love is expressed in giving.²⁷

Jesus was calling His followers to surpass the standard thinking, ethics, and actions of the Jewish people of His day and how they put limits on who were their neighbors, thus limiting who they needed to love. He calls His disciples across the ages to love in ways that are out of the ordinary; in ways that are difficult, yet greater. The love He proclaims is the kind of love that we, who have been forgiven for our sins, are meant to live. A love that is kind, generous, merciful, sacrificial, and forgiving.

(Continued in Part Two.)

Note

¹ Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

² Deuteronomy 6:5.

³ Leviticus 19:18.

⁴ Leviticus 19:18.

⁵ Bock, Luke Volume 1: 1:1–9:50, 588.

⁶ Matthew 5:43–45.

⁷ Luke 6:27–28.

⁸ Exodus 23:4–5.

⁹ Proverbs 24:17–18.

¹⁰ Proverbs 25:21–22.

¹¹ Luke 23:34.

¹² Acts 7:60.

¹³ 1 Thessalonians 5:15.

¹⁴ 1 Peter 3:9.

¹⁵ Luke 6:27.

¹⁶ Luke 6:28.

¹⁷ 2 Timothy 2:24–25.

¹⁸ Ephesians 4:15.

¹⁹ Proverbs 15:1.

²⁰ 1 Corinthians 4:12–13.

²¹ Luke 6:28.

²² Luke 6:29.

²³ Luke 6:29.

²⁴ Luke 6:30.

²⁵ Luke 6:30.

²⁶ 1 Corinthians 6:7.

²⁷ Green, The Gospel of Luke, 272.

090 – Jesus—His Life and Message: The “I Am” Sayings (The Vine)

Jesus—His Life and Message

Peter Amsterdam

2018-05-22

The Vine

3/15/25 (You can read about the intent for and overview of this series in this introductory article.)

Jesus’ final “I Am” saying, like His statement I am the way, and the truth, and the life, was spoken on the night before He died. Judas, who betrayed Him, had left the gathering, and Jesus spent His final hours comforting and teaching the rest of the disciples. He started speaking about the vine, the vinedresser, and branches:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.¹

Throughout Galilee in Northern Israel, it was common to grow grapes, olives, and figs. Farmers would sometimes plant all three of these close together.² Other farmers would plant larger vineyards and would have their own winepress to make the wine.³

Pruning vines has been part of managing a vineyard since ancient times. The Law of Moses spoke of it:

For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the LORD. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.⁴

Isaiah wrote:

For before the harvest, when the blossom is over, and the flower becomes a ripening grape, he cuts off the shoots with pruning hooks, and the spreading branches he lops off and clears away.⁵

Pruning grapevines is essential to having healthy fruit. Generally it is done during the winter when the grapevines are dormant. Then, later in the year, some side shoots and unnecessary growth are cut off in order to allow the stronger branches to bear more fruit. If the vines aren’t pruned, then the vine will produce too many grape clusters, resulting in all of the clusters being of poor quality. The pruning process means less, but stronger, bigger grapes.

The Father is called the vinedresser or the gardener, reflecting the Old Testament imagery of Israel as God’s vineyard:

You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land.⁶

What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a waste … For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel.⁷

As the vinedresser, God is involved with the vineyard and the vines. He watches over it and participates in order to make sure the vineyard is fruitful. He removes branches which are fruitless, and prunes branches which are bearing fruit. In the original Greek, the two verbs used here—removes or takes away, and prunes or cuts back—rhyme with each other.

The pruning or “cleaning” of the fruitful vines causes them to bear much fruit. Jesus made the point that His disciples have been pruned (cleaned), and that cleansing has happened because of all that He had taught them. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. He goes on to say that these pruned and cleaned branches will bear more fruit, and how.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.⁸

Jesus explained that only by abiding—or dwelling—in Jesus can the disciples bear fruit. The tense of the Greek word translated as abide conveys the idea of a definite act of the will, a conscious decision to “dwell” or make a home in one’s present relationship to Jesus. And not only are His disciples to dwell in Him, but He will dwell in them. The sentence conveys the idea that making one’s dwelling with Jesus is the equivalent of Jesus making His dwelling in you.⁹

The concept of Abide in me, and I in you was introduced in the preceding chapter, when Jesus told His disciples:

In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.¹⁰

Jesus most likely was referring to the time after His resurrection and ascension, when the disciples received the infilling of the Holy Spirit. One author wrote:

The Spirit abiding with them would teach them, hence Jesus’ words would remain in them. As they continued in this union, they would know Jesus better and hence begin to reflect the “fruit” of his character.¹¹

What is the fruit that comes from abiding in Jesus? One fruit is those who become connected to the vine through our witness.

Lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.¹²

In this instance, it seems that the primary fruit being spoken of is “moral fruit,” as spoken of in other verses throughout the New Testament.

Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.¹³

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.¹⁴

The fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true.¹⁵

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.¹⁶

Jesus stated that those who abide in the vine bear much fruit, but those who don’t abide in Him can’t bear fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.¹⁷ He then focused on the fate of those who don’t abide in Him, stating:

If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.¹⁸

Unfruitful vines have no use, and are thus discarded and burned. While Jesus is speaking about unfruitful vines, His point is clear—those who do not abide or dwell in Him are in danger of being cast out. This point is made in similar language elsewhere in Scripture. John the Baptist said:

Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.¹⁹

One author wrote:

These are strong words that emphasize the necessity of remaining in vital contact with Christ if fruitfulness is to continue.²⁰

Having spoken of the fate of the unfruitful vine, Jesus once again focused on those who abide in Him.

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.²¹

Moving on from the dangers of not abiding in Him, Jesus offers insight in how to dwell in Him and He in us. We dwell in Him when His Word takes root within us. In the previous chapter, Jesus said:

If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.²²

When God’s Word dwells within us, when it influences our decisions and actions, when it speaks to us and guides us, then we dwell in Christ and He in us. If we are dwelling in Him, obedient to His words, then we can pray with faith that He will answer and we will bear fruit.

Earlier, Jesus said that whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.²³ Now He says, By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.²⁴ Those who abide in Christ glorify God in their fruit-bearing. As mentioned earlier, bearing fruit doesn’t only mean winning souls. In this passage the focus is on “moral fruit.” Bearing fruit in this sense means spiritual growth and inner transformation, living in a godly manner through applying God’s Word in our lives, manifesting the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.²⁵

In the book of 2 Peter, we find advice on spiritual growth and becoming partakers of God’s nature through Jesus, the one who called us by His own glory and goodness.

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.²⁶

The fruit of spiritual growth, which leads to godliness, is made available to us in Jesus.

Peter continues with counsel on how to partake of that divine nature:

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.²⁷

As we truly abide in the vine—Jesus—we will bear fruit in the sense of spiritual growth and godliness. It is in this fruit, this growth, that the Father is glorified and we are proven to be disciples of His Son. Such growth is meant to be continual, so that as disciples we constantly grow in our discipleship, devotion, service, witness, faith, and abiding in Christ.

(To read the next article in this series, click here.)

Note

¹ John 15:1–3.

² Keener, The Gospel of John, 989.

³ Jesus used an example of such a man in one of His parables in Matthew 21:33.

⁴ Leviticus 25:3–4.

⁵ Isaiah 18:5.

⁶ Psalm 80:8–9.

⁷ Isaiah 5:4–7.

⁸ John 15:4–5.

⁹ Michaels, The Gospel of John, 803.

¹⁰ John 14:20.

¹¹ Keener, The Gospel of John, 997.

¹² John 4:35–36.

¹³ Matthew 3:8.

¹⁴ Galatians 5:22–23.

¹⁵ Ephesians 5:9.

¹⁶ Colossians 1:10.

¹⁷ John 15:5.

¹⁸ John 15:6.

¹⁹ Matthew 3:10. See also Matthew 7:19.

²⁰ Morris, The Gospel According to John, 596.

²¹ John 15:7.

²² John 14:23.

²³ John 15:5.

²⁴ John 15:8.

²⁵ Galatians 5:22–23.

²⁶ 2 Peter 1:3–4.

²⁷ 2 Peter 1:5–8.

089 – Jesus—His Life and Message: The “I Am” Sayings (The Way, the Truth, and the Life)

Jesus—His Life and Message

Peter Amsterdam

2018-05-15

The Way, the Truth, and the Life

3/14/25 (You can read about the intent for and overview of this series in this introductory article.)

The next “I Am” statement from Jesus that we will look at was made during His last supper with His disciples. This is recorded in John chapter 14, and the context surrounding this statement is provided in the preceding chapter. In John chapter 13, we read how the night before Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, Jesus and His disciples were eating together in what the Gospels of Mark and Luke describe as a large upper room.^[1] Unbeknownst to His disciples, this was to be their last meal with Jesus.

During the meal, Judas left to betray Jesus to the authorities. Once he was gone, Jesus spoke to His disciples about being glorified and also said:

Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, “Where I am going you cannot come.”^[2]

When the apostle Peter asked Jesus where He was going, He responded:

“Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.”^[3]

It’s easy to imagine the surprise this news must have been to the disciples. They had left their homes, families, and livelihoods to follow Jesus for years, and now He was telling them that He was leaving and they weren’t going with Him. Peter wasn’t the only one who questioned Jesus. Thomas,^[4] Philip,^[5] and Judas (not Iscariot)^[6] all had something to say. In the preceding chapter, Peter stated, “I will lay down my life for you,”^[7] to which Jesus replied, Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.^[8] It must have been bewildering and terribly sad for them to hear that Jesus was leaving, especially after having just heard that one of their best friends was going to betray Him.^[9] It was in this context that Jesus made His next “I Am” statement.

Jesus comforted His disciples by saying:

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.”^[10]

After telling them of His departure, He explained that things were going to work out, that His leaving wasn’t the disaster they thought it would be. Rather, He was going to His Father’s house to prepare a place so they would be together again. Most likely the reference to His coming back in this case referred to His return at the end of the age, at the time of His second coming, known as the parousia.

He also made the point that they knew the way to where He was going. They knew how to follow Him, as that was what He’d been teaching them to do for as long as they had been His disciples. As they continued to follow the way He had been leading them, they would come to where He would be. However Thomas, like Peter earlier, was perplexed and asked for clarity.

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”^[11]

He was likely thinking of “the way” as a road leading to a specific destination, rather than as a way of being. His question led to Jesus giving more clarity.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”^[12]

“The Way” was the primary theme. Jesus, however, wasn’t giving directions; rather He was saying that the way was a person—Himself, and the destination was also a person—His Father. As the way, Jesus is the link between the lost and His Father, and without Him no one can come to the Father.

Jesus was saying that He is the one and only means for someone to enter into a relationship with the Father and to have eternal life. That message is echoed in many verses throughout the New Testament.

God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.^[13]

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.^[14]

Jesus entered our world and gave His life in order to make salvation possible. He is the way to salvation.

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.^[15]

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.^[16]

There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.^[17]

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.^[18]

As the way, Jesus is the means for people to enter into a relationship with the Father.

There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.^[19]

God loves the world and all who are in it, and therefore made a way for salvation through the gift of His Son, who died in our place so that we would be able to come into the presence of God—to be part of His family, to be able to call Him Father. The “Way” to God is through Jesus.

Jesus also said that He is “the Truth.” Within the Old Testament we hear of God being called “the God of truth.”

You have redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.^[20]

He who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth, and he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth.^[21]

We normally think of truth as opposed to falsehood, or reality as opposed to mere appearance.^[22] However, the Hebrew word ‘emeth, which is translated in the Old Testament as truth, can also mean faithfulness, reliability, stability, firmness. When referring to God, this word conveys not only His truthfulness and veracity, but also His complete reliability and integrity. The Father is the God of truth in both senses.

We read in the New Testament that Jesus is full of grace and truth.^[23]

We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.^[24]

The truth is in Jesus.^[25]

As He said to Pilate right before His crucifixion:

For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth.^[26]

As the Father is truth, so too is the Son.

Along with stating that He was the way and the truth, Jesus added that He is “the life.” Life, in this context, focuses on eternal life:

This we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.^[27]

In him was life, and the life was the light of men.^[28]

Over and over the New Testament makes it clear that Jesus is the means to eternal life, and that belief in Him results in everlasting life.

As the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.^[29]

As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.^[30]

I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.^[31]

The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.^[32]

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.^[33]

God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.^[34]

This is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.^[35]

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.^[36]

Jesus, the one we love and serve, is the Way—the link—to eternal life with the Father. He is the Truth, both in the sense of complete veracity as well as in faithfulness and reliability. He is also the Life, the giver of life; and through giving His life for our sakes, He has made it possible for us to live forever with Him.

(To read the next article in this series, click here.)

Note

^[1] Luke 22:12, Mark 14:15.

^[2] John 13:33.

^[3] John 13:36.

^[4] John 14:5.

^[5] John 14:8.

^[6] John 14:22.

^[7] John 13:37.

^[8] John 13:38.

^[9] John 13:11, 21–26.

^[10] John 14:1–4.

^[11] John 14:5.

^[12] John 14:6.

^[13] John 3:16–18.

^[14] John 3:36.

^[15] John 10:9.

^[16] John 6:51.

^[17] 1 Timothy 2:5.

^[18] Romans 10:9.

^[19] Acts 4:12.

^[20] Psalm 31:5 NKJV.

^[21] Isaiah 65:16.

^[22] Morris, The Gospel According to John, 259.

^[23] John 1:14.

^[24] 1 John 5:20.

^[25] Ephesians 4:21.

^[26] John 18:37.

^[27] 1 John 1:1–2 NIV.

^[28] John 1:4.

^[29] John 5:26.

^[30] John 5:21.

^[31] John 11:25–26.

^[32] Romans 6:23.

^[33] Romans 6:4.

^[34] 1 John 5:11–12.

^[35] John 17:1–3.

^[36] John 20:31.

088 – Jesus—His Life and Message: The “I Am” Sayings (The Good Shepherd)

Jesus—His Life and Message

Peter Amsterdam

2018-04-24

The Good Shepherd

3/12/25 (You can read about the intent for and overview of this series in this introductory article.)

In the first part of John chapter 10, Jesus stated:

Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers … I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.¹

Jesus contrasted Himself with “thieves and robbers,” likely referring to the Jewish religious hierarchy of His day. As chapter 10 continues, Jesus also brings out the differences between those who are hired hands (hirelings) and a shepherd to whom the sheep belong.

Jesus began with:

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.²

Jesus expressed the contrast between the actions of someone who was a good shepherd and those of someone who simply got paid to look after the sheep. The hireling’s primary interest was his wages. If a wolf came, he might not put himself in danger and could likely flee in order to spare his own life—resulting in some sheep being killed and eaten, and the rest of the flock scattered in different directions.

Throughout the Old Testament, God metaphorically compared Israel’s leadership to shepherds who acted like hirelings.

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! declares the LORD. Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the LORD.”³

Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts.⁴

It is in this context that Jesus states I am the good shepherd.⁵ The good shepherd is much more than a hired hand; he is committed to the sheep. He might be the owner, or a relative of the owner of the flock. When the sheep face danger, he will do all he can to defend them. The good shepherd cares about the sheep because they matter to him. He faithfully tends to their needs, which includes leading them to good pasture and to water, trimming their hooves when necessary, helping the ewes in lambing season, and shearing off their wool once or twice a year depending on the breed. The health and welfare of the sheep depend on the shepherd being faithful with all his duties. For a flock of sheep to flourish, the shepherd must be diligent.

Jesus didn’t just claim that He is the shepherd of the sheep, but additionally that “I am the good shepherd.” Why? One author wrote:

Jesus seems to use the adjective “good” in much the same way that the adjective “true” is used in other instances (for example, in John 1:9, “the true Light”; John 6:32, “the true bread”; John 15:1, “the true Vine”), to refer to what is “real” or “genuine” in God’s sight, the very model or prototype of what a shepherd should be.⁶

After stating I am the good shepherd, Jesus added:

I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.⁷

The phrase I know my own and my own know me reflects back to earlier in this chapter when He said:

The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.⁸

His own are those sheep whom the Father had given Him, as reflected in Jesus’ prayer later in the Gospel:

I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.⁹

Jesus’ reference to knowing and being known by the sheep is not merely a matter of recognition, but expresses relationship language, showing a deep bond and a strong attachment. Similar phrases are expressed elsewhere in Scripture, such as:

I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God.¹⁰

I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.¹¹

“This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD.”¹²

It’s beautiful that Jesus related His relationship with those who are His own to the intimate relationship He has with His Father.

I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.¹³

There are other instances within this Gospel which also show that such intimacy with God should be characteristic of believers.¹⁴ For example, as believers we know the Father:

If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.¹⁵

We continually learn from the Holy Spirit:

The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.¹⁶

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.¹⁷

The relationship Jesus has with the Father becomes a model for His followers’ relationship with Him.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.”¹⁸

“I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”¹⁹

“I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.”²⁰

“I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”²¹

After explaining that as the Father knows Him, so He knows His sheep, Jesus said, I lay down my life for the sheep.²² Jesus now reveals the lengths to which He goes to sacrifice His own well-being for the sake of His flock. Later in this Gospel, we will see how He does what’s best for His “sheep” by dying on the cross for the sins of the world.

Jesus then said:

And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.²³

At this point, Jesus inserts information that there would be other believers beyond the disciples and followers of His day. There would be other Jews who believed, and beyond that, there would be those of the Gentile world who would hear His message and become believers. His sheep, no matter what nationality, ethnicity, or timeframe in which they live hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.²⁴

I know my own and my own know me.²⁵

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us.²⁶

The result is that all the sheep—past, present, and future—will become part of one flock, the flock of Christ, with one shepherd.

Having spoken of the other sheep, Jesus then continued with what He was saying earlier when He stated:

I lay down my life for the sheep.²⁷

“For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”²⁸

The word “charge” here is translated as “command” or “commandment” in most other Bible translations.

Throughout this chapter, Jesus speaks of laying down His life. One author explains:

Jesus’ love for his sheep and his willingness to die for them is part and parcel of his very nature as God’s Son, and therefore as the object of the Father’s love. As Shepherd he risks his life for the sheep, but as the Father’s Son he does more, giving himself up to death on their behalf.²⁹

The Gospel of John tells us who wanted to kill Jesus:

This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.³⁰

I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.³¹

Though His foes wanted to kill Him, Jesus made the point that no one takes [my life] from me but I lay it down of my own accord. While others were intent on arresting Him or stoning Him, they were unable to do so.³²

Jesus had the authority to both lay down His life and to take it up again, and that authority came from His Father. As it was His Father’s will for Him to lay down His life, and because He obeyed His Father, He had the authority to receive back His life from the Father.

Jesus is the good Shepherd who went far beyond what most would do in dying on the cross for our sakes to save us. He laid down His life according to His Father’s will, and He rose from the dead. As a result, we, His sheep, will also rise from the dead to live with God eternally. Thank You, Jesus!

(To read the next article in this series, click here.)

Note

¹ John 10:7–9.

² John 10:11–13.

³ Jeremiah 23:1–2.

⁴ Ezekiel 34:2–5.

⁵ John 10:14.

⁶ Michaels, The Gospel of John, 585.

⁷ John 10:15.

⁸ John 10:3–4.

⁹ John 17:9.

¹⁰ Exodus 6:7.

¹¹ Jeremiah 24:7.

¹² Jeremiah 31:33–34.

¹³ John 10:14–15.

¹⁴ The points made in this and the next paragraph are summarized from Keener, The Gospel of John: A Commentary, Volume 1.

¹⁵ John 14:7.

¹⁶ John 14:26.

¹⁷ John 16:13–14.

¹⁸ John 5:19.

¹⁹ John 8:29.

²⁰ John 14:31.

²¹ John 17:26.

²² John 10:15.

²³ John 10:16.

²⁴ John 10:27.

²⁵ John 10:14.

²⁶ John 17:20–21.

²⁷ John 10:15.

²⁸ John 10:17–18.

²⁹ Michaels, The Gospel of John, 590.

³⁰ John 5:18.

³¹ John 8:37.

³² See John 7:30, 32, 44; 8:20, 59.

087 – Jesus—His Life and Message: The “I Am” Sayings (The Door)

Jesus—His Life and Message

Peter Amsterdam

2018-04-17

The Door

3/12/25 (You can read about the intent for and overview of this series in this introductory article.)

In John chapter 10, Jesus made two “I Am” statements: Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep¹ and I am the good shepherd.² The first ten verses of the chapter contain the first I Am saying, which will be covered in this article.

The chapter begins with:

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.³

The Greek word translated as sheepfold means a walled enclosure, usually attached to a building and open to the sky, like a courtyard. Structures of this nature were used at that time for a variety of purposes. In this case, it would have been a pen or corral where a shepherd would keep his sheep overnight in order to protect them from the elements and from beasts of prey. The courtyard had one entryway with a door which, as we read later in the passage, was guarded by a gatekeeper. The sheep would be safe and protected from predators such as wolves within this enclosure. However, it was possible for thieves and robbers to climb the walls and enter the enclosure to steal a sheep.

In contrast to the thieves and robbers, Jesus described the shepherd by saying, He who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.⁴ The shepherd is known by the man who guards the door—called the gatekeeper, doorkeeper, or porter in various translations. Unlike the thieves, the shepherd has legitimate access to the sheep.

The sheep know the shepherd’s voice. One author commented:

Shepherds normally became very familiar with their sheep, which would usually not be difficult if the average flock size was about one hundred. “Calling by name” most of all indicates familiarity, and often a degree of affection.⁵

Another author wrote:

Early one morning I saw an extraordinary sight not far from Bethlehem. Two shepherds had evidently spent the night with their flocks in a cave. The sheep were all mixed together, and the time had come for the shepherds to go in different directions. One of the shepherds stood some distance from the sheep and began to call. First one, then another, then four or five animals ran towards him; and so on until he had counted his whole flock.⁶

Sheep recognize the voice or the call of their shepherd and respond to it.

John chapter 10 continues:

When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.⁷

The shepherd goes ahead of the flock and the sheep follow him, because they were taught to recognize his voice and his commands. Shepherds sometimes used a type of flute, and would convey instructions to the flock by different tunes they would play. As the shepherd prepared to lead his sheep out of the sheep pen, he would give a special call, or if using a flute would play a specific tune, and the sheep would respond and follow. One author noted:

It appears that strangers, even when dressed in the shepherd’s clothing and attempting to imitate his call, succeed only in making the sheep run away. The sheep know their shepherd’s voice but do not know and do not respond to that of a stranger.⁸

Next we read:

This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.⁹

The Greek word paroimia, translated as this figure of speech, is only used twice in the New Testament—here and in 2 Peter 2:22, where it is translated as proverb. The definition of paroimia is a saying out of the usual course or deviating from the usual manner of speaking. It is translated in the KJV as “parable,” and elsewhere it is translated as “illustration” and “figure of speech.”

We’re told that those who were listening to Jesus didn’t understand Him. Who were the people listening? The previous chapter ends with Jesus saying to the Pharisees, If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.¹⁰ Thus it is understood that those who didn’t understand were most likely the Pharisees.

So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.”¹¹

By saying He was the door to the sheepfold, Jesus made the point that He was the protector of the sheep. However, the reference to those who came before Jesus is difficult to understand, as it’s not clear who those others were. In one sense, those who came before Him could be seen as the men of God who preceded Jesus—people like Abraham, Moses, the prophets, and John the Baptist. But it’s unlikely that these were who He was referring to, as Jesus spoke positively about these predecessors.¹²

Jesus most likely was contrasting Himself with the Jewish religious hierarchy of His day, who were more interested in their own well-being than the care of the people. Within the Gospels we see the Pharisees referred to as lovers of money.¹³ Jesus referred to the scribes as those who devour widows’ houses.¹⁴

Devouring widows’ houses can be understood in several ways: accepting payment from widows for legal aid and advice, even though this was forbidden; cheating widows in their roles as guardians of their husband’s estates; sponging off the hospitality of widows; mismanaging of widows’ estates; taking money from widows for lengthy prayers made on their behalf; taking houses as pledges for debts that could not be paid.¹⁵

As the door, Jesus protected the sheep from thieves and robbers to whom the door was shut. However, doors don’t always remain shut; and Jesus makes reference to Himself as the door which is open to those who enter through Him.

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.¹⁶

The sheep are not denied entrance through the open door; for them it is the entryway into the courtyard, to a place of safety.

The statement, if anyone enters by me, he will be saved, echoes other similar sayings of Jesus, showing the wide net He casts as He makes salvation available.

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.¹⁷

If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.¹⁸

Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.¹⁹

While it’s an open invitation to salvation, it is only through Jesus that one is able to enter into salvation. As Jesus said, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.²⁰ One author wrote:

The words “through me” are in an emphatic position; it is he and no other who enables people to enter salvation. There is a certain exclusiveness about “the” door. If there is one door, then people must enter by it or stay outside. They cannot demand another door.²¹

The death Jesus was speaking about wasn’t physical death, but spiritual death; for though we will physically die, our spirits will live forever.

God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.²²

He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.²³

Jesus concludes by making a comparison between Himself and one who is a thief and robber.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.²⁴

The thief in this case not only steals, but also kills. The understanding is that the thief was stealing the sheep in order to slaughter and eat it. Within this Gospel, being destroyed or lost stands in contrast to having eternal life.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.²⁵

This is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.²⁶

Contrary to the thief who comes to kill and destroy, Jesus came that we might have life.

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.²⁷

For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.²⁸

For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.²⁹

I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.³⁰

In the first part of John chapter 10, Jesus is portrayed as the door which keeps out the thieves and robbers, thus protecting the sheep, as well as being the gateway to salvation for the sheep. In the rest of the chapter, Jesus goes on to speak of being the good shepherd who loves and cares for His sheep, and this will be covered in the following article.

(To read the next article in this series, click here.)

Note

¹ John 10:7.

² John 10:11.

³ John 10:1.

⁴ John 10:2–3.

⁵ Keener, The Gospel of John, A Commentary, Volume 2, 805.

⁶ In the Steps of the Master (London, 1931), 155, as quoted in Morris, The Gospel According to John.

⁷ John 10:4–5.

⁸ Morris, The Gospel According to John, 448.

⁹ John 10:6.

¹⁰ John 9:41.

¹¹ John 10:7–8.

¹² John 8:39–40; 5:46–47; 5:33, 35.

¹³ Luke 16:14.

¹⁴ Mark 12:40.

¹⁵ Stein, Mark, 575.

¹⁶ John 10:9.

¹⁷ John 6:51.

¹⁸ John 7:17.

¹⁹ John 8:51.

²⁰ John 14:6.

²¹ Morris, The Gospel According to John, 452.

²² 1 Corinthians 6:14.

²³ 2 Corinthians 4:13–14.

²⁴ John 10:10.

²⁵ John 3:16.

²⁶ John 6:39.

²⁷ John 5:24.

²⁸ John 5:21.

²⁹ John 6:40.

³⁰ John 8:12.

086 – Jesus—His Life and Message: The “I Am” Sayings (The Resurrection and the Life)

Jesus—His Life and Message

Peter Amsterdam

2018-03-27

The Resurrection and the Life

(You can read about the intent for and overview of this series in this introductory article.)

Just before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead,¹ He spoke to Lazarus’ sister Martha and said:

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”²

This is the third time Jesus made an “I Am” statement when He performed a miracle. In previous instances, He stated I am the bread of life³ after He fed the five thousand, and I am the light of the world⁴ after He healed a man who was born blind. This time, He said I am the resurrection and the life prior to bringing a dead man back to life.

In raising people from death back to life, as in the cases of Lazarus, the dead man who was being carried out of the town for burial,⁵ and the ruler’s daughter,⁶ Jesus demonstrated that He had power over death itself. This power was further demonstrated when Jesus rose from the dead three days later, after being brutally scourged and hung on a cross until He died. His resurrection from the dead proved that He was the Son of God.

He was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead.⁷

His sacrificial death and resurrection from the dead made a way for those who believe in Him to also be raised from the dead and to have life eternally. Jesus was the first to die, resurrect, and never die again, thus the apostle Paul called Him the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.⁸

As believers, in a sense we experience two resurrections. The first is experienced spiritually through salvation, and the second will occur physically when Jesus returns and our bodies rejoin our spirits. The concept of salvation as a spiritual resurrection is found in the book of Ephesians. Paul wrote:

You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked.⁹

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ … and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.¹⁰

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ.¹¹

As unsaved sinners, we were spiritually dead, but salvation spiritually resurrected us. While we will eventually die physically, our spirit will be fully conscious as it dwells in the presence of the Lord until the time when Jesus returns. When He does, our spirits will be united with our resurrected bodies, which will be transformed to be like Jesus’ body upon His resurrection.

When Jesus said “I am the resurrection,” He was declaring that He had the power to raise the dead. Earlier in the Gospel of John, He stated:

For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.¹²

We believe this because He defeated death, and rose triumphantly. Because He lives eternally, we will also live eternally.

Besides declaring that He was the resurrection, Jesus also said that He was life, meaning He had the power to grant life after death. This authority was given to Him by the Father:

For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.¹³

Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. … For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.¹⁴

In the opening words and throughout the Gospel of John, we read of Jesus having life:

In him was life, and the life was the light of men.¹⁵

The bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.¹⁶

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.¹⁷

Because He has life within Himself, He has the power to bestow resurrection on all those who believe in Him. Because He is life, death has no ultimate power over Him, and because He gives spiritual life to those that believe in Him, they too partake in His victory over death.

This is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life.¹⁸

Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.¹⁹

When we die, we are called out of this earthly life, our outer person dies; but our spirit, our inner person, continues to live eternally. In addition, we will once again be reunited with our renewed physical body at the time of the resurrection.

Death was brought about due to sin.

Therefore just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.²⁰

Desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.²¹

The wages of sin is death.²²

Physical death, which brings physical life to an end and separates people from the ones they love, reflects the spiritual death which occurs when people are separated from God because of sin.

However, since Jesus bore our sins as He suffered and died on the cross, and then overcame death by His resurrection, death has been defeated. Because we are united in Him, we too will be raised to live eternally with Him.

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.²³

It’s hard to imagine any power greater than raising the dead—the power to bring back the spirit of the departed and reunite it with the body. Yet this is exactly what will happen to Christians when Jesus triumphantly returns.

We shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.²⁴

The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.²⁵

We will rise, because He has risen! This is what we celebrate every Easter. He is the resurrection and the life, and if we believe in Him, even if we die, we will live and we will never die.

(To read the next article in this series, click here.)

¹ For the context of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead see Jesus—His Life and Message: Miracles: Raising the Dead, Part Three and Part Four.

² John 11:25–26.

³ John 6:35.

⁴ John 8:12.

⁵ Luke 7:11–15.

⁶ Luke 8:49–56.

⁷ Romans 1:4.

⁸ 1 Corinthians 15:20.

⁹ Ephesians 2:1–2.

¹⁰ Ephesians 2:4–6.

¹¹ Colossians 2:13 NIV.

¹² John 6:40.

¹³ John 5:26.

¹⁴ John 5:19, 21.

¹⁵ John 1:4.

¹⁶ John 6:33.

¹⁷ John 10:28.

¹⁸ 1 John 5:11–12.

¹⁹ John 11:25–26.

²⁰ Romans 5:12.

²¹ James 1:15.

²² Romans 6:23.

²³ John 6:37–39.

²⁴ 1 Corinthians 15:51–52.

²⁵ 1 Thessalonians 4:16–18.

Celebrating Communion

David Brandt Berg

1979-12-01

3/10/25 “And He took bread and gave thanks, and when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, ‘Take, eat: this is My body broken for you’” (1 Corinthians 11:24). Thank You, Lord, for this bread representing Thy body broken for us and our physical health, in Jesus’ name, amen.

Break thou the bread of life,
Dear Lord to me,
As Thou didst break the loaves
Beside the sea;
Beyond the sacred page
I seek Thee, Lord,
My spirit pants for Thee,
Thou Living Word.
—Mary Lathbury, 1877

The bread represents His body, as well as His Word, because He is the Word, and from whom we feed. So we partake together, and if you’re sick or something’s wrong with you, claim it by faith for the Lord to heal you. When you partake of the bread, it shows you have faith that His body was broken for your health, so you can claim it by faith when you partake.

“After the same manner He took the cup, saying, This is My blood shed for the remission of your sins” (1 Corinthians 11:25). So this represents what? Salvation! And the bread represents healing. He’s a whole Christ for the whole man. We’re all saved through the same blood.

Would you be free from your burden of sin?—
There’s power in the blood, power in the blood!
Would you o’er evil the victory win?
There’s wonderful power in the blood!

You’ve already won it; He won it!—

There is power, power, wonder-working power,
In the blood, of the Lamb.
There is power, power, wonder-working power
In the precious blood of the Lamb.
—Lewis Jones, 1899

What can wash away my sins?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

O, precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
—Robert Lowry, 1876

I hope you’re having communion frequently. You can have it every night or once a week or once a month or once a year like some people do. He said, “But as oft as ye do it, ye do it in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:25). So the oftener you do it, the oftener you’re being a testimony and doing it as a remembrance of Him.

Communion doesn’t have to be some big, long, drawn-out affair that takes hours and hours. But remember what He said; don’t ever partake of it unworthily. How can you be worthy? Only because you’re saved, because He’s worthy. But if you don’t do it by faith, He said some are sick and some have even gone to sleep with the Lord. They didn’t have the faith to trust God for their healing through the bread (1 Corinthians 11:27–30).

I think probably in every church throughout the world there are people partaking of communion who are not saved. It’s a false witness if they partake of these elements and of the wine representing His blood, which is testimony that you have received Jesus’ blood for your salvation. If they partake of these elements unworthily—in other words, they have not received Jesus—then He says they drink to themselves judgment. They’re giving a false witness, and false testimony, because they’re not really saved.

We who love the Lord and have received His body and His blood for our health and salvation are giving a true witness.

I’m so happy and here’s the reason why,
Jesus took my burdens all away;
Now I’m singing as the days go by,
Jesus took my burdens all away.

Once I was so heavy with the load of sin,
Jesus took my burden, gave me peace within.
Now I’m happy as the days go by,
Jesus took my burdens all away.
—Stanton Gavitt, 1936

Strangers and Pilgrims

Hebrews 11

David Brandt Berg

1978-08-01

3/09/25 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

This word “substance” in the Greek was “hupostasis.” At the time of King James when this translation was made, the scholars did not know exactly what that word meant. They chose a good word, “substance,” because they could tell by the way it was used that it meant something very definite, concrete, very sure. So they agreed on using the word “substance” because it obviously brought out what the verse meant.

But they had not been able to find it anywhere. They scoured Greek literature, they scoured the classics, and this word was nowhere to be found. They were mystified about what in the world it could mean, and didn’t find out until the British had Palestine and began to do a lot of archaeological work there to try to uncover old villages and towns. They dug up a village in northern Israel near Caesarea, as I recall, Caesarea Philippi, and there in the ruins of an old burned inn where apparently this wealthy Roman woman had been staying, they found her little casket of precious jewels and papers, a metal casket that had lasted through the years.

When they opened it, they found some of these papers still intact. They were still decipherable. There was a whole series of documents, and at the top of each document it said “hupostasis.” And it turned out they were the title deeds to her properties.

She had come from Rome to Israel to inspect these properties she had bought. She was obviously a rich land speculator, and after the Romans conquered Palestine, they were probably able to buy up land pretty cheap. So she had come with her title deeds to see her properties. She knew they were hers because she had the title deeds—which guaranteed that the properties were hers.

With that in mind, now read the verse:

“Now faith is the title deed of things hoped for.” In other words, if you’ve got the faith, it’s just like you’ve got the title deed in your hand. Here was a lady who apparently had never seen the properties before, because she’d bought the title deeds in Rome. She might have heard a description of them—because I’m sure they didn’t take any Polaroid pictures—and she was coming to see them for the first time. But she knew they were hers because she already had the title deeds in her hand.

So faith is like having the title deed. Somebody gave me a car once, a dear old Kaiser. They don’t make them anymore, but it was a nice car then and way ahead of its time. It was streamlined and brand-new, and through the mail they sent me the title to the car. I’d never ever seen one. I hadn’t the faintest idea what the car looked like. There was the title deed; they’d signed my name on it, and I had a car. I knew I had a car. I didn’t necessarily know what kind of car, but I had a car; though I’d never seen it, I had the title deed. So “faith is the substance of things hoped for,” the title deed to things hoped for, “the evidence of things not seen.”

One thing that moving frequently as a child did for me was that it taught me that everything in this world is transitory, changeable. We used to say on the “Revolutionary Sheet” when we were first getting new disciples: “There’s one thing you can be sure of in the Revolution—change!”

If you’re going to have a revolution, you’ve got to be willing to change things! People who are accustomed to changing and adapting to new situations and new places are not afraid to change. They’re not afraid to try to change the world if they can, which we’re trying to do.

There was one thing which that constant change did for me; it taught me that no place was ever permanent. I would never always be in the same house. I would never always be with the same people. I was always having to leave things behind, and I would always be going someplace new, meeting new people, staying new places.

There was one thing besides that which it taught me to be sure of: There was only one thing I could always take with me that never changed—the Lord. It taught me that the Lord was always the same, and He always went with me wherever I went. It really helps you stay close to the Lord when you don’t know what the future holds. And who does? You don’t, I don’t, only the Lord knows. Sometimes He tells us, sometimes He doesn’t.

I used to sing a song about the future, that sometimes maybe the Lord throws a veil over the future and it’s best for us not to know. The things we need to know He tells us, sometimes the things we want to know He tells us, but most of the time He leaves the future known only to Him.

I believe it really helped me to learn to love the Lord more, trust Him more, think of Him more, and stay closer to Him, because He was the only thing that didn’t change. Even people around me changed. I had new governesses, new teachers, new friends, but the Lord never changed. So He was very close and dear, and I think it helped me learn to love Him more and trust Him more and appreciate Him more, because He was all in my life that didn’t change.

You have the most precious possession that you could possibly have, and that’s the Lord, that’s Jesus, and that’s one possession you’ll never have to give up, never have to forsake, never have to leave behind, never have to give away and lose. You can give Him away as much as you want but never get rid of Him. You’ll always have Him and He’ll always be near. He’ll never leave nor forsake you, even to the end of the world (Matthew 28:20).

“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed” (Hebrews 11:8). He was being given the title deed to it; God was promising it to him. But he’d never even seen it, never been there; maybe he’d hardly even heard about it for all we know.

“And he went out, not knowing whither he went.” I’ve got to admire a guy with guts like Abraham! How could he stand to do it? “By faith.” And what did he do when he got there?

“By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles”—tents—“with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.” By faith he went there, and when he got there in this strange land among strangers, how was he able to stand it? How could he bear to go to a strange land that he knew nothing about, had never seen before, and then live there with strangers, no doubt people of a strange tongue? In the tenth verse it tells us:

“For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Because he knew he wasn’t going to stay there forever; he knew he was going someplace which is going to last forever, “which hath foundations.” In other words, was never going to be moved, foundations that are going to be permanent. There have been oodles of cities that had foundations, but they didn’t last. This city has foundations built by God and it’s going to last forever!

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them and embraced them.” And what were the promises? How come they all died and never got these promises? What were they really looking for? A heavenly city whose builder and maker is God, a permanent home! “This world is not my home, I’m just a-passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.”

So why could they be happy to move, to leave one place and to live someplace strange? Because they confessed they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. “For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.” What country? “They desire a better country, that is, an heavenly!”

And then comes the corker. Here comes the payoff! What’s their reward? They are not satisfied with this world. They are willing to keep on moving to obey God and serve the Lord, so what does God have to say about them? “Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God!” What that really means is that God was proud of them.

“For He hath prepared for them a city!” He’s got a city for you and me where we’re not going to have any passport or visa problems. So we’ve got a lot to look forward to.

Lord help us all to have that pilgrim attitude and not be afraid to change. We’ve often said that moving is like dying. You leave the old life behind, the old house, old associations; you can’t take much with you. We even take more with us when we move sometimes, more junk than certainly we’ll ever be able to take out of this life, but it’s a type of dying. However, we can begin a new life.

It’s been my experience throughout my life that nearly everything I gave up, if we even gave up houses and lands, the Lord gave us in this life a hundredfold, a hundred times more. Once in a while it’s been a little hard. Once in a while there’s a little hardship. Once in a while, it’s a little difficult. But usually when we come through, things are better than they were before. Although there are greater battles, there is also the enjoyment of greater victories in the end when the battle is over. So thank the Lord for it all.

Your will be done in each life, to get out of that life what you want, Lord, and to put into that life what you want, and to do Your will to bring many, many more lives into Your kingdom for Your glory, in Jesus’ name, amen.

All Day Long, His Presence Did Linger…

Words from Jesus

2011-04-18

03/08/25 My dear one, you’re so busy! You have so much to do that your mind is full of the work, while your body is occupied in doing it as well and as quickly as you can. I am happy that you have a zeal for the work you have to do, but I would be happier still if I was more of a presence with you while you did it. I want to be a very present help, companion, counselor, friend, shepherd and husband throughout each day.

I want to commune with you throughout the day, to converse heart to heart, to talk things over, to take counsel together. I don’t want to just be consulted occasionally when you have a decision to make, to be asked for a yes or a no or a little guidance as if I were some sort of outside expert. I want us to talk things over, discuss matters, and share things that are on our hearts when necessary. The heart-to-heart communication I would like to have with you is important.

It’s natural sometimes to have the heart of Mary but the mind of Martha.¹ When you set aside time to be with Me, so often the mind of Martha butts in and reminds you that you need to do this or that—make this phone call, send this e-mail, talk to this or that person, or do this one little thing—and Mary often gets left behind for the rest of the day while Martha takes over. While I value your work for Me and I appreciate the times we have together, I would like to be with you more—and I will be, if you let Me.

Start your day with time with Me, and then let that time and My presence linger throughout the day. Before your day begins, commune with Me in quietness and confidence. There, in those quiet moments with Me, you will find your strength, your peace, your power and love and anointing for the day.²

Take time with Me first of all, and if the spirit of busyness keeps knocking on the door, reminding you of all that you have to do and asking how you can just be sitting there taking time with Me, insert spiritual earplugs by praising Me, or loving Me, or focusing on My Word, or singing a song to Me, or speaking in tongues.

When you get quiet before Me, seek Me and find Me, I am able to help you so much more throughout your day. When you stop, look, and listen at the beginning of your day, it’s easier to do so throughout the day. So keep at it until the stress melts away, and you can be renewed in heart and spirit.

You can converse with Me as you go, making it a natural part of your life. Instead of only asking yourself, “What should I do now?” or “What should I say?” you can also ask Me, “Lord, what should I do now?” or “Lord, what should I say?” Talk things over with Me. We can carry on a conversation, just like you would with anyone else.

If you’re struggling with something, don’t just tell yourself what a mess you are or how bad or discouraged you feel—explain it to Me and tell Me why you feel bad or discouraged or like a mess. I can provide help and comfort and reassurance and overcoming power as we discuss the problems of the day. Come unto Me, you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.³

Listen for My still, small voice. Remember the lesson I taught My servant Elijah in the days of old. I was not in the tempest and the winds as he stood on the mountain, nor in the earthquake and the fire, but in the still, small voice.⁴ Although you may feel as if you’re going through tempests or earthquakes or fires on some days, or all three, if you can find those moments to listen to the still, small voice that follows—My voice—I can advise you how to calm the storm, ride out the earthquake, and quench the fire.

So begin your day with Me, and then acknowledge Me throughout the day. You cannot do the work that I’ve given you to do without My power, and you can get that power by spending time with Me. That’s one of the secrets to not getting run down or run over by all the cares and duties of your busy life.

Abide in Me, and let Me abide in you. Talk to Me, sing to Me, converse with Me, listen to Me, commune with Me. You can’t make it without Me.

Some of you may be thinking that this sounds good, but you don’t know if you can do it, that it’s a bit too spiritual, and you’re really not that spiritual. In reality, it’s a very practical matter, and will come more easily once you establish the habit of doing so. After all, you think all day long, don’t you? Don’t you always have thoughts going on in your mind, considering how to do this or that, when or where to go, considering what to say, and so on? You talk to yourself continually. Well, you can turn some of those thoughts towards Me. You can share your heart and thoughts and desires and questions with Me.

As we talk, I can give you better perspective on your work, your relations with others, or even your attitude toward yourself. As you allow Me more entrance, then you take on more of My mind, My attitudes, My thoughts, My possession. I can get through to you easier, you can hear My voice clearer, and I can guide your actions better. I can remind you of things to do, give you new ideas or new ways of doing things, and provide the answers you need. Come to Me in quietness and in confidence and you will find the strength and power you need.⁵ Draw nigh to Me and I will draw nigh to you.⁶ Those are My promises to you.

Start the day off right with a time of communing with Me, and then continue praising and praying and communing with Me throughout the day as much as you remember. You can do it; you can pray without ceasing,⁷ in everything give thanks,⁸ and commune with Me with more frequency. And don’t worry or feel condemned if you don’t think you do it enough. If you will simply make the effort to do it when you remember, I’ll help bring it to your mind more often, and soon it will be more a part of your habits—something you benefit from and wouldn’t want to do without. Faithful is He who calls you, who also will do it.⁹

I long to be more of a presence in your daily life. Won’t you let Me? Won’t you talk to Me more and talk things over with Me more as you go about your day, sharing your heart and thoughts and desires with Me? I long to share My heart and thoughts and desires with you, to develop a sweetness and a love and a bond and a fellowship with you that is better than you can imagine. I want to be a faithful companion to you, because I love you.

Originally published February 2006. Adapted and republished April 2011.
Read by Stephen Larriva.

¹ Luke 10:38–42.

² Isaiah 30:15.

³ Matthew 11:28.

⁴ 1 Kings 19:9–12.

⁵ Isaiah 30:15.

⁶ James 4:8.

⁷ 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

⁸ 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

⁹ 1 Thessalonians 5:24.

De-stressing with God’s Word

Maria Fontaine

2018-08-18

03/07/25 There are so many beautiful promises in God’s Word that we can go to in times of fear, worry, and stress. We can hold on to them when we’re troubled or unsettled, and they will help us to “trust, and not be afraid.” Each of us can be assured that whatever problem we are facing, these promises and words of encouragement have the power to calm our minds and hearts and give us peace. In this post, I wanted to share with you some reflections on the wonderful verses that have helped me to overcome worry and fear.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6–7 NIV).

No matter how daunting the problem, how challenging the circumstances, or how potentially devastating a feared outcome may be, God’s promised peace can transcend every worry or fear, and we don’t have to fret or give in to anxiety. In fact, He’s exhorting us not to worry! In place of worrying, He wants us to talk to Him about it and commit every situation, problem, challenge, or worry to Him. The antidote to these negative emotions is expressing our need and thanking Him. We have a big God who loves us, a God who is greater than any possible problem that could come up.

We have so much to thank Him for because we know He’s going to take care of us as we give all our burdens to Him. And look at what comes to us as a result! He gives us His supernatural peace which transcends all understanding. That peace does more than just make us feel good; it guards our hearts and minds from fear.

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you (Psalm 56:3).

As soon as I realize that I’m worrying, fearing, or stressing about something, He’s right there, ready and able to lift the burden if only I will let Him. I’ve found that it helps me to verbalize my trust in Him out loud, if I’m in a situation where I can. To hear myself actually saying the words helps me to make an intentional note that I’ve done it. It emphasizes the conscious choice in my mind. It creates a touchstone of making that commitment that I can stand on.

I might say something like:

“Okay, Lord, I’m giving these fears to You. I’m not keeping them. I’m not going to have anything to do with them anymore. I know that You can take care of them.

“To worry will only do me and others harm. It won’t accomplish anything good, and, in fact, the opposite is true. But when I give my worries to You, I’m putting my trust in You. I’m saying that You are greater than any kind of fear. You’re greater than anything that can happen. You love me, You care for me, and I know that You’re not going to allow anything to happen that You can’t turn for my good eventually. Whenever David, who said these words, was facing fear, he always chose to put his trust in You and to declare the victory that he knew would come.

“King Jehoshaphat was afraid too when he heard that great armies were about to attack his much smaller army, but he set his face to seek You. Where there was fear, there was always faith to wipe it out (2 Chronicles 20:1–3). When I hear evil tidings or anything that makes me fearful, I’m going to immediately cry out to You, like he did.”

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7 NIV).

Imagine a child in distress or fear whose world seems like it’s crashing down on him for some reason. Perhaps he is lost or feels threatened or wakes up from a bad dream. What will wipe away the anxiety most effectively? Wouldn’t it be the presence of his mother or father close by him? The fact that he knows in that instant that he is cared for allows the child to leave behind all the fear and anxiety, and to cast himself into the arms of the person he trusts. It wipes away all the negative and destroys its power over him. If we can trust Jesus in this way, knowing that He is always near, then what is there to be fearful or anxious about?

When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy (Psalm 94:19 NIV).

What is the Lord’s consolation here? I would say that all of His tremendous promises of peace and protection are His comforts that can overcome fear and worry and bring us joy. I’ve found it’s important to make these promises part of my Word repertoire, verses that become part of me and that will come to my mind, especially when I start to worry.

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you (Isaiah 43:1–2 ESV).

If God knows you so intimately that He has called you by your name and told you that you’re His, how can you worry or fear that He won’t take care of you, that He won’t look after you, that He won’t protect you, His bride?

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me (Psalm 23:4).

If we are assured, as David was, that even in the valley of the shadow of death we don’t have to fear, how can we think that we need to fear in any situation, big or small?

Tell everyone who is discouraged, Be strong and don’t be afraid! God is coming to your rescue… (Isaiah 35:4).

Isaiah was passing along a message from God to those who were reading these verses. Isaiah told them to spread the word that they should hold on, because even though God’s people were facing terrible things at that time and they were struggling with fear and discouragement, God was going to deliver them from the things that were afflicting them.

When we are faced with what seems to be a fearful or hopeless situation, where we can’t see the good things that God is bringing through the troubles of the present, we need to remind one another not to give in to how things might look. He has given us the promises in His Word so we can declare the reality that He is always there to rescue us and keep us from harm. We may not be able to see it in the moment, but He tells us to hold on, because in His perfect time, the glorious deliverance is coming.

My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest (Exodus 33:14).

As Moses stood before the burning bush, hearing God’s plans for him to return to Egypt and deliver His people, all he could see were his own weaknesses and how impossible the task was for him. But God had a solution that Moses couldn’t argue with. God told him that He would go with him on his journey to rescue His people.

What a beautiful picture! God knows us and how overwhelming our fears and worries can be, but He never sends us out on our own. No matter where He shows us to go or what He asks us to do, He is always there with us.

We can have freedom from fear, stress, and worry. We can have the peace and rest of knowing we’re never without His protection and guidance in any situation.

Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid” (Mark 6:50 NIV).

When we fear, we need to cry out to Him. He will calm our fears.

For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, “Do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid … for I myself will help you,” declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel(Isaiah 41:13–14 NIV).

Even though these beautifully reassuring words were given for others, He says the same to each one of us personally. We are His beloved children who reach up for our Father’s hand. Weak and small and nothing as we are, we’re still precious to Him! Look how the Holy One of Israel, the God of all flesh, knows when we need His help, and He takes our hand and says to us, “Don’t be afraid, for I am here to help you.”

It’s an almost unimaginable privilege that He would stoop to help us! How can we not fully trust Him to protect us moment by moment!

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:39–40 NIV).

I feel like this is another verse that’s perfect for me when I’m facing winds and storms. I know that God can help me, for He has rebuked the wind and the waves in my life many times. It is yet another good reminder to trust and not be afraid.

O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears (Psalm 34:3–4).

What a powerful promise from the God of all flesh who never encounters anything that’s too hard for Him! He can and He wants to and He will free us from all our fears, and not just one or two or three, but all of them.—All that we have right now and each new one as it comes up. We can give it to Him. He promises that He will free us. Part of choosing that freedom is magnifying the Lord and His power and glory, and focusing on His greatness.

You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah (Psalm 32:7 ESV).

He did these things for King David and He will also do the same for each of us. He will be our hiding place. He will preserve us from trouble. He will surround us with His shouts of deliverance. And you can be absolutely sure that God’s “shouts” are so loud and terrifying to the evil ones that they will skedaddle very quickly as far as they can. They don’t want to mess with Him!

Whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil (Proverbs 1:33 KJV).

The Lord has given me this verse a number of times when I was struggling with worry over some situation. He is saying that He wants us to stop and really pay attention and take heed to whatever He, in His wisdom, is showing us to do or to dwell on.

That’s the secret to the peace and quiet of spirit that He promises we can have. It doesn’t necessarily mean that all around us won’t still be in chaos or that evil will disappear, but we are safe where He has shown us to be. Our spirits can find the quiet and peace of knowing He has us safe in His hands.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV).

I like how someone has explained this verse. Here are some excerpts from the explanation:

“God’s Word declares that you have been given a sound mind that works even in the craziest and most difficult situations! … A ‘sound mind’ is a phrase taken from the Greek that pictures a mind that has been delivered, revived, salvaged, and protected. God’s Word and the Holy Spirit can revitalize and maintain your mind.

“When the Word of God is allowed to work in your mind, it helps safeguard your emotions; it defends your mind from spiritual assault; and it shields you from any arrows of fear and doubt that the enemy may try to shoot in your direction, allowing you to focus on God’s love and power.

“You have the right and privilege to tell the devil to shut up, and then to declare by faith that your mind is sound, safe, and secure!”¹

Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me (Isaiah 49:16 ESV).

God not only takes you by the hand and holds you safely in His hands, but He even more personally has engraved you on His palms. He has placed a reminder of you and His love for you indelibly where He will continually see it. He will never forget you, not even for a moment. What an awesome thought. How could you be any closer to Him and any more one with Him than when He has you continually emblazoned on a part of Him that He sees every moment? That’s how unending, constant, and total God’s commitment is to love and care for you. What amazing love!

May God bless and strengthen you as you keep your heart and mind stayed on His unfailing Word.

¹ Adapted from https://renner.org/what-does-it-mean-to-have-a-sound-mind/

Greater Victories

A Mountain Streams book

David Brandt Berg

2002-01-01

Introduction
Run the Race—A Bible Study on Hebrews 12:1
Love Never Fails
Dumps
Fighters—”Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:3)
Attack Your Fears
Staying Alive
Your Best Friend
Afterword
About the Author

IntroductionTop

“Victory isn’t simply walking across the goal line; it’s struggling through opposition to reach the goal.” That’s just as true of the Christian’s spiritual life as it is of sports, with this one important difference: In the spiritual struggle the victory goes to those who depend on the Lord’s strength and abilities, rather than their own.

To be a winning Christian, you can’t just sit there like a spectator; you need to get in shape and stay in shape spiritually. To be a champion, you need to train like a champion. Put in contemporary terms, the apostle Paul explained it like this: “In a race everyone runs, but only one person gets first prize. So run your race to win. To win the contest you must [lay aside anything] that would keep you from doing your best. An athlete goes to all this trouble just to win a blue ribbon or a silver cup, but we do it for a heavenly reward that never disappears. So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I fight to win. I’m not just shadow-boxing or playing around” (1 Corinthians 9:24-26 TLB).

David Brandt Berg has inspired tens of thousands to become winning Christians. If you’re out to win, Greater Victorieswill help you do just that!

Run the Race—A Bible Study on Hebrews 12:1Top

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which [does] so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1 KJV).

The original text of this epistle was not divided into chapters. The translators did that. So you’ve got to keep in mind the preceding chapter in order to understand what “great cloud of witnesses” Paul is talking about. It is Hebrews chapter 11, of course, which some people refer to as the “Faith Hall of Fame.” Paul is referring to all the saints who have already gone on to be with the Lord. And they’re not only watching us, they’re praying for us. They are like our cheering section in the heavenly stadium, cheering for their team—you and me and everyone else who is serving the Lord. Whenever one of us scores a goal, they really cheer! Whenever one of us wins a soul, all the angels in Heaven rejoice (Luke 15:10).

Think how wonderful it is that there are millions of witnesses up there in Heaven, all watching and praying for us. Sometimes the Lord even has them come down here to help us. This life is where the real action is, where the big tests and battles are taking place. Once you leave this life there are other things in store for you, but this life provides the primary tests. This is what the whole universe is watching, the big game, the World Cup! So since they are all watching us, what should we do? Paul explains:

“Let us lay aside every weight.” What are the weights?—The things that slow us down, that hinder us from getting the job done. The Lord allows us to wear those weights for a while, to strengthen us. Sometimes runners wear weights while training, in order to build up their muscles. Then, when they take the weights off, they feel like they can almost fly! So sometimes the Lord allows us to wear a few weights to test us and strengthen our spiritual muscles. But when they have served their purpose, then it’s time to lay them aside and run the race.

“And the sin which does so easily beset us.” What is sin?—Not doing the most important thing God wants us to do, the way He wants us to do it—not hitting the bull’s eye, the center of His will. So, “let us lay aside the weights and the sins”—anything that holds us back from doing our best to be what God wants us to be.

Then, after laying aside all these weights and distractions and sins, what are we supposed to do? “Let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” You have to do God’s will; you have to do God’s work! As long as you are doing the job He has for you, as long as you’re doing His will, you’re running the race.

You can only “run with patience” if you have faith and are trusting the Lord. If you didn’t have patience, you would lose heart and quit, wouldn’t you? You’d say, “I’m tired of doing all this hard work, especially when people never thank me and don’t appreciate me and don’t realize what a hard job this is!” If you didn’t have patience, you couldn’t do it. In another epistle Paul encourages us: “Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Galatians 6:9).

It’s a race in which some are going to win more than others. Some are going to receive greater rewards than others do. It may be because they performed their duties faithfully and well, even if they weren’t able to do a lot of public outreach and witnessing. I think that some of the little people who do the most unseen jobs in the Lord’s service are perhaps going to get rewarded the most one of these days. They are the ones who will step forward to receive their medals, rewards, and crowns from Jesus. For the first time, they will get everything that they deserve, and the whole universe is going to hear about their faithfulness to Jesus!

Picture this: At the sound of a drum roll, a woman steps forward to receive her reward. “Who is that? I never heard of her!”

“Don’t you know? That is one of the volunteer office workers who helped make a wonderful outreach ministry possible!”

Dum-ta-dum-ta-dum! Out step some others. “Who are they?”

“Those are some print shop workers. If they hadn’t been diligent in their work, a lot of Gospel literature would never have been printed.”

Dum-ta-dum-ta-dum! “And who are all those people?”

“They operated and maintained the computer systems that furthered the Gospel, repaired the Christian volunteers’ cars, organized relief work, taught children about Jesus, sponsored missionaries, and did countless other jobs.”

So we’re to “run with patience the race that is set before us,” which is serving the Lord however and wherever He has called us. And the only way we can have the patience we need to run and win this race is by doing what? “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). So keep your eyes on Jesus!

Love Never FailsTop

All the introspection, analyzing, and agonizing over your weaknesses, failures, and faults are merely works of the flesh that will have to be repeated next week. Battles never cease! “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19).

Only God can do it! Our salvation is only by grace, never by our own works or battling in the flesh with our sins. If God can’t deliver us, nobody can!

If you’re trying to attain a state of sinless perfection, you’re doomed to disappointment. You’ll never make it! Not even the apostle Paul counted himself to have attained (Philippians 3:12). He kept making mistakes for the rest of his life and committed a classic blunder by trying to please the conservative religious leaders of his day. That permanently cost him his freedom, and ultimately his head (Acts chapter 21). Nevertheless, he was a good apostle and faithful evangelist who did a tremendous job in spite of all his shortcomings, failures, sins, and mistakes.

If you think the time’s coming when you’ll no longer have to fight sin and the “old self” (Ephesians 4:22), you’re mistaken. I’m still at it. How about you? That’s why we have so many victories: We have so many battles, and so much to fight against—mostly our own stinking selves! God knows we should be growing, passing a few tests, surviving a few trials, and having a few triumphs and testimonies, but if you think you’re ever going to become some sort of “sinless saint,” I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed!

Remember, love never fails. I have a hard time correcting other people for the same mistakes that I’m guilty of myself, and of which most of us are guilty—and sometimes even worse. So about all I can do is bawl them out momentarily, confess what a horrible mess I have made along the same line, cry a little, pray a little and sympathize a little; then we hug each other, forgive each other, and try again.

“But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:15).—And, let’s face it, you’ve got plenty of them! I think you are going to find out sooner or later that the “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7) that God is going to use to keep you humble is some besetting sin which will take a lot of the grace of God for you to keep overcoming, and you’ll probably keep battling it for the rest of your days. This is what helps keep us in shape spiritually. As I’ve often said, “There’s no triumph without a trial, no testimony without a test, no victory without a battle—so keep fighting!”

You’re bound to win sometimes, and when you lose, it will keep you humble and help others to know you’re only human—and it will help you to give God all the glory! I do not believe in the doctrines of eradication of sin or mere suppression of sin and temptation that some people teach, but rather in the good old Bible doctrine of habitation: “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). Jesus declared, “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). He even said, “The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do” (John 5:19). And Paul later wrote of Him, “Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). The “holiness” doctrine of eradication is all too often a vain show of self-righteous, sanctimonious, holier-than-thou hypocrisy!

You might as well face it: You can’t get the victory! It’s impossible for you to get the victory! Only Christ can. Let go and let God! You can’t do it yourself. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Only God can give salvation. You can’t earn it, work for it, work it up, pray it down, pray it through, or become so wholly sanctified that you’re some kind of sinless saint!

You haven’t got anybody’s righteousness except Christ’s, and He’s the only One who can give it to you. Your own righteousness stinks!It’s “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). So quit trying so hard in your own strength! Let God do it. Let the light in, and the darkness will flee of itself.

Get so full of the Spirit and the Word that you don’t have time to worry about your own stinking self or how bad you are. Of course you’re bad! So are all the rest of us! Only Jesus is good! I gave up on myself a long time ago, like Paul did when he said, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:17-25). Hallelujah! He’s the only One who can do it!

You’re glorifying Satan when you talk about your sins. You’re glorifying self when you talk about your faults, because you’re talking about yourself instead of Jesus.

You just can’t possibly tell people how bad you are, so quit trying. Let’s talk about Jesus! And let’s avoid being harsh on others for poor little blunders of the mind rather than sins of the heart. Let’s forgive one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven us (Ephesians 4:32).

We all need to apply to ourselves what Jesus said to the self-righteous hypocrites: “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice'” (Matthew 9:13). So for God’s sake, let’s remember that only Jesus can do it. Let’s quit trying to legislate righteousness. It’s a gift of God! Let God do it! Love never fails! Jesus never fails! What everybody needs is love. If they’re not going to find it with Jesus and amongst His followers, you and me, where are they going to find it?

Death? Or Eternal Life

David Brandt Berg

1994-10-18

03/05/25 For those who love the Lord, death is our relief, release, freedom, promotion, graduation, and passing on to a better realm, the next step, the next grade. Our spirits are immediately freed to be with the Lord, so it’s not really death for us in the same way it is for those who aren’t saved. We don’t die in the sense that they die.

That’s why I don’t even like to call it “dying” or “death.” I prefer to call it graduation, passing on, or promotion. It’s our graduation. And just as we celebrate when someone graduates from school or college, so we should rejoice when someone we love graduates from this old life. They’ve finished their schooling in this earthly grade and are passing on to the next grade—the heavenly grade!

It’s just like passing from one room to another, or simply going upstairs, and as you have read in testimonies from those who passed on and were allowed to come back, it’s a very beautiful experience for those who know and love the Lord. I don’t even like that word “die,” because He said we don’t really die. It’s not death; we don’t die. The Lord said, “Whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die” (John 11:26). In other words, if you’re really alive in the Spirit, “he that liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.” And the Lord also says, “If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death” (John 8:51).

The Lord delivers us out of the very jaws of death. “O grave, where is thy victory? Death, where is thy sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). We pass through it, but without sting—through the grave with victory for us, not the grave. Thank You, Lord! Our death will be a victory over the grave and a victory over sin and a victory over the Devil. A glorious victory and a glorious entry into the heavenlies. Thank You, Jesus!

It’s our homegoing, our graduation day, our promotion day. It’s when the Lord releases you and relieves you of your present responsibilities, and when you go home to your reward. As my grandmother said when she died, it’s your coronation day!

She had a beautiful death. She turned to my grandfather, slipped off her rings, and put them in his hand, as though she didn’t want anything that tied her to this world anymore. Everyone around her was weeping, and she said, “Why are you crying? Don’t cry. This is my graduation day. Earth recedes, heaven opens. This is my coronation day!”

For a Christian, I believe it’s the happiest event in your whole life. The end. Finito! At last, out of this fleshly carnal body with all of its woes and aches and pains and troubles and problems and weariness and sicknesses and disease and concerns, problems, hard work and sufferings. It’s all over.

You’ve done it, you’ve made it. Thank God! It’s behind you. Never again, heaven forever. Happiness eternally. Total glory.

“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). Death has no sting for us. Of course, in the world they don’t even like to think about it. It’s supposed to be very sad; funerals are so sad. They sing dirges, sad songs, they cry, they weep.

When my childhood friend Lamont got killed in World War II, my mother had a dream of him walking up this long avenue of beautiful trees where he met his sister. He said, “How come everybody else is crying, and you aren’t crying?” And his sister said, “We look at things differently up here.”

When my uncle died I had a funeral such as I think Miami, Florida, had never seen. They thought I was crazy! We clapped and we sang and we practically danced and we just had a great time; we had testimonies, and everybody was happy. Afterwards the funeral director shook his head and said, “I have never in my life seen a funeral like that. Everybody happy and singing lively songs and acting like you’re happy that he’s gone.” I said, “He’s gone to heaven! All his troubles are over. ”

I think for a Christian, the time of death should be a time of rejoicing. Please, talk about the good things, and praise and thank God that those who have gone on once lived, and that they still live. Don’t feel sorry for those who go on. I know we do feel a little sorry for ourselves because we have lost them from here and we miss their smiling, shining, encouraging faces and help, fellowship, and love.

You can’t feel sorry for anybody that goes there. “We sorrow not as others who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Everything in heaven is as wonderful as all of our delightful experiences and fellowship and love on earth, only it’s magnified, multiplied, amplified. The life hereafter for us, God’s saved children, is like an extension or an amplification, a multiplication of the joy and the thrilling, exciting lives we lead on earth. Our present happiness is multiplied many times over. When you die, that’s the final healing. Permanent healing forever! Thank You, Jesus!

I’m looking forward to actually seeing the Lord and meeting Him visibly firsthand. I shall see Him as He is, and be like Him, face to face (1 John 3:2), experiencing the fullness of the realities of God and the world to come. Hallelujah! Although, because I’ve known Him and had His Spirit in my heart and felt His presence for all these years, I don’t think it’s going to be too different. I think I’m going to feel pretty much at home with Him when we meet, just like old friends, as we have already been friends for many years.

So keep the faith. Never stop loving Him and others, and lead as many as you can into His wonderful, glorious love, so that He will rejoice to see you when you come, and say unto you, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord” (Matthew 25:21). If you think you’ve entered into a lot of joy in the Lord down here, there’s more to come!

That’s one privilege you have on earth, and that is the wonderful, glorious, thrilling experience of witnessing the love of Jesus to others and winning their hearts to Christ for their salvation to heaven. It’s hard, it’s difficult, sometimes trying, with many tests and trials, but it’s wonderful. It’s the most wonderful work in the world, and you’ll be glad you did when you see their happy, shining faces in heaven, thanking you for loving them and winning them to Jesus, to become members of His glorious kingdom of heaven. Hallelujah!

* * *

(Words from Jesus:) For all these trying and sorrowful things will pass away and seem like a dream in the night seasons, when I have received you into the glories of the everlasting kingdom and the joys that shall be forever. I will recompense all your pain and sorrows, and the things that have been lost in the earth life will be preserved forever in the heavenly kingdom that I have laid up where you shall rejoice forever.

The former things will be no more and forgotten. The pain, the sorrow, the death, the dying, the tears will all be wiped away, and there will be no more pain nor crying nor sorrow, for all these things will be forgotten in the glories that are to come.

If you could see what is in store for you, the things I have prepared for you, if you could feel what I feel for you, the joy you will know in time to come, you would be overjoyed for that which is to come. For you will experience joys you have never known.

This will be a compensation and a recompense, and you will be rewarded. For it has not entered into your mind, neither has your eye seen, nor your ear heard, the glories that will be, that I have laid up for you, My beloved.

The Resurrection of the Saved, the Living, and the Dead

Daniel 12, 1 Thessalonians 4, and Revelation 20

David Brandt Berg

1985-01-28

03/04/25 In the first part of Daniel 12, the Rapture is taking place, the resurrection of the righteous. He also specifically mentions the Tribulation: “A time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation,” and “at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book” (Daniel 12:1).

“And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake” (Daniel 12:2). All of the saved are raptured at this time. Dead or alive, we’re all raptured, but only the dead are resurrected. It says we who are alive and remain shall be changed in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17; 1 Corinthians 15:52). When the trumpet is blown to call us up, we’re changed immediately, instantly!

Not all Christians will be resurrected, because millions of Christians will live through to the Rapture. The Antichrist is not going to be able to get them all. He may kill a few thousand; he might even kill a few hundred thousand, who knows? But there will be millions of Christians, those who believe in Christ as their Savior and have received Him into their hearts—many Catholics, Protestants, and other denominations, and many without denominations.

God’s Word says that those who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air! Who goes first? The resurrected dead go first. “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,” and the trump of God shall sound and “the dead in Christ shall rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

Those who are alive and remain are going to be here standing on the earth watching the dead rise from the dead! God wants them to see that glorious sight. He wants them to see the resurrection of the dead along with the rest of the world. You talk about weekend thrillers, weekend shockers, there’s nothing ever going to shock the world as much as when they see the dead start popping out of the graves by the millions. Millions and millions, billions maybe, all the people who’ve been saved since the previous resurrection. When was that?

It’s in the description of Jesus’ crucifixion. “And the graves were opened; and many of the bodies of the saints which slept arose and came out of the graves after his resurrection” (Matthew 27:52–53). Paul calls Jesus the firstfruits, and after that, every man in his order (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23). Revelation 20 describes two more resurrections: the first resurrection and the second resurrection.

Revelation 20:4 says: “And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which had not worshipped the Beast, neither his image, neither had received his Mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” We know this refers to all the saved. “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished” (v. 5). That statement should have been in parentheses to set it off distinctly because it’s a parenthetical remark. It’s just inserted to let you know about the rest of the dead. Then when He says, “This is the first resurrection,” it’s obvious it doesn’t mean the rest of the dead, because it says they’re not going to live again till after the Millennium.

In this first resurrection, he is talking about the saved; all the saved take part in this first resurrection. Therefore in the mind of God He lumps both the resurrection at the time of the Rapture of all the Christian saints who died during the Christian era, right along with the resurrection of the Old Testament saints who were raised at the time of Christ’s resurrection. There was already another resurrection after the resurrection of Jesus, right in His day. Right after His resurrection the graves opened and the bodies of the saints came forth and many people saw them.

These are actually two resurrections. The first is a resurrection of the Old Testament saints and the next at the time of the Rapture is a resurrection of the New Testament saints, but God counts it all as one great resurrection of all the saints, both Old and New Testament—the first resurrection.

We know there was a resurrection at the time of Jesus’ resurrection and we know there’s going to be a resurrection at the time of the Rapture. Literally, technically, there are two different parts of this first resurrection. You might want to call them two resurrections, but the Lord just calls them one resurrection, the first. The first resurrection is all one resurrection, the resurrection of the saints. Although the Old Testament saints were raised at the time of Christ’s resurrection, and the New Testament saints will not be raised until Christ’s return, in the mind of God it’s all one great resurrection of all the saints—the first.

Revelation 20, verse 5 and 6: “This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: 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.” He’s already said that once before in verse 4, now He says it again in verse 6. These are the two actual parts of the same resurrection. All the saints who were resurrected, both Old Testament and New, are all counted as one great resurrection in the mind of God, called the first resurrection.

Then there’s another resurrection: “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” That is at the end of the Millennium. The Battle of Gog and Magog occurs and the earth is burned with fire, then the Great White Throne Judgment takes place where the rest of the dead are judged—the unsaved dead. He describes those dead at the Great White Throne Judgment beginning with the 11th verse, and the 12th verse describes the second resurrection: “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”

These are all unsaved people. Some are going to be found in the Book of Life. That’s what the judgment is about; otherwise there’d be no point in even having any judgment! The White Throne Judgment is to divide the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares.

By this time the Judgment Seat of Christ has been past for over a thousand years. The Bible speaks of the Judgment Seat of Christ as taking place at the beginning of the Millennium at the Marriage Supper, when He rewards everyone according to their works and according to their words. You’ll find the Judgment Seat of Christ used especially in some of Paul’s writings (Matthew 25:31–32; Romans 14:10; 2 Corinthians 5:10). But this is the Great White Throne Judgment, when God is judging out of the Book of Life all the other people who weren’t saved, but who were resurrected at this time.

Are all the unsaved dead people raised in the second resurrection going to be sent to hell? The 12th verse, 20th chapter of Revelation says: “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life.” Although the Lord used the term “book”—because man didn’t know anything but books in the way of records in those days—He’s probably got something vastly superior to computers. Most people who have had an after-death experience have said that their whole life just flashed through their mind in pictures in what may have been just a few seconds. Everything they ever did or ever said from the time they could first remember as children on up till their death flashed through in just a few seconds.

They know that your brain has memory chips; not like man-made computer memory chips. Your brain is just full of little cells which act as memory chips and store information. They say that nothing you’ve ever seen or heard or said or done is forgotten; it’s all still there! Most of it, thank God, is in your subconscious and you don’t have to think about it or remember it, or it doesn’t bother you most of the time until maybe you’re dreaming, or it comes to the surface when you try to remember it. But the brain is a far more amazing, phenomenal miracle of God, far superior to the biggest computer that man will ever build, even greater than the Antichrist and his Image, because it’s so small and has got all that in it that’s never forgotten. God can reel it off whenever He wants to, to make you remember all those things and know why you’re getting judged and the way you’re getting judged.

“And the books were opened.” The minds of all those people are going to be opened to all their sins and all their good deeds and whatever they did in that day. “And another book was opened, which is the book of life: And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” According to these verses here, apparently the Book of Life is mostly names.

He’s pulling out a book called the Book of Life, which most people usually just think means the book of the saved, but the saved have already gone to heaven. So that’s not what this book is, although there might be some relationship. Why are they pulling out this Book of Life at the Great White Throne Judgment before the people, none of whom were ever saved, if God isn’t going to give some of them some kind of life? Not death! He speaks of hell and that kind of judgment as death; in fact, He calls it the second death later in this chapter. Certainly people who are written in the Book of Life are not going to take part in the second death! I’ll admit it’s not very clear here, but you have to go by logical deduction.

Verse 13: “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them.” Spirits are going to be in a lot of different places, both good and bad spirits. He’s just trying to cover the scope of it: everywhere, from the bottom of the sea and death and hell, they all delivered up their dead. Here you again have Hades and Gehenna, these different places where the dead are: Hades apparently being a place that’s somewhat paradisiacal even though not heaven—kind of a waiting room, waiting for this day, this judgment—and hell, Gehenna, the Lake of Fire, being a place of torment.

God even has differences in the places where the people are waiting for this judgment. Those that deserve to go to hell and the Lake of Fire go to hell right away, and they’ve been in hell now, some of them, for thousands of years. Others who were better people, good people but unsaved, they’re in some other kind of waiting places, either in Hades or perhaps in Purgatory, in this place called Paradise that Jesus went to when He spent three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:40; Ephesians 4:9; 1 Peter 3:19; 4:6). He went straight to the heart of the earth for three days and three nights, and yet He said to the dying thief, “This day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). So it’s not all hell down there; it’s not all Lake of Fire.

“The Book of Life was opened and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works” (v. 12). And then the 15th verse says: “And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire.” So here again is your logical deduction. Certainly people found written in the Book of Life were not going to be rewarded with death.

These people found written in the Book of Life who are going to be allowed to live on the surface of the new earth were dead, but they’re found in the Book of Life, so God allows them to live. Now we’ve got all humanity classified in three major groups: the saved, the living, and the dead. The first class are the saved, the second class the living, and the dead are no class at all.

I think that’s a good term for those people—the living. They’re not dead, they’re not in hell, they don’t suffer the Lake of Fire and that kind of torment, but apparently they were good enough that God felt they did the best they knew how—righteous people, good people who did good works even though they knew not their Master’s will. But they were sinners, because everybody’s a sinner. Therefore since they sinned, they must have done some things worthy of punishment. He said, “Those who knew not their Master’s will shall be beaten with few stripes”—very little punishment (Luke 12:47–48).

Faith and Healing (part 2b)

Maria Fontaine

1990-11-11

Part 2

The “Fiery Furnace”

Sometimes the Lord does not answer us right away, which tests our faith and draws us closer to Him as we are driven to Him and His Word, to whom and which we might not otherwise give so much time and attention.

The apostle Paul had an affliction or “thorn in the flesh” till the day of his death to keep him humble. He couldn’t even be trusted with full health because it probably would have made him too full of pride, since he’d been honored by the Lord in so many other ways.

He said, “Lest I should be exalted above measure, there was given unto me a thorn* in the flesh. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. But He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:7–9).

* The Greek word translated here as “thorn” literally means “a bodily annoyance or disability.”—Strong’s Bible Concordance

All of us also have weaknesses that are our “thorns in the flesh.” If we didn’t have any of these weaknesses and we were all so perfect, we couldn’t help others much; we couldn’t be sympathetic or compassionate if we were so self-righteous and unblemished. We couldn’t even understand them. So sometimes we may be a lot more useful to the Lord with our afflictions and weaknesses—or a whole lot more humble and believing—than if the Lord were to heal us.

Paul’s thorn in the flesh didn’t keep him from serving the Lord. It didn’t negate his service for God. He didn’t quit and give up just because he had a little thorn in the flesh (which sounds like bad eyes). (See Galatians 4:13–15.)

God wants to test your faith and willingness to obey before He’s going to heal you, and He wants to see if you’ll believe and obey Him even if you think you may never get healed! Why should He honor you with healing when you don’t honor Him with faith? You’ve got to believe and obey the Lord even if He never heals you.

Like the three Hebrew children who were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to renounce their faith and bow down to the king of Babylon’s idol: They said, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thy hand. … But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship thy golden image” (Daniel 3:17–18).

And it looked like the end, because into the furnace they went, and the flames were so hot, it even killed their executioners. But because of their faith and obedience, God was with them, and they came out without even the smell of smoke on them! (See Daniel 3.)

Faith and obedience come first, then God answers prayer. “For the trying of your faith is more precious than gold. When thou hast passed through the fire, thou shalt come forth as gold. For every man’s work shall be tried, and it shall be known what substance it is, whether it be of wood, hay, or stubble, or whether it be of precious things, as gold and silver and precious stones; and that which is of no avail shall be burned up, but that which is of precious things shall endure” (1 Peter 1:7; 1 Corinthians 3:12–15).

“For behold,” he says, “I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 48:10). So “think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you” (1 Peter 4:12). By His miracle-working power, things that seem do not have to be—just like the three Hebrew children. You may have to go through the fire, but the Lord is easily able to bring you out without even smelling of smoke! He says, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: Is there anything too hard for Me?” (Jeremiah 32:27).

Praise Power

Afflictions and illnesses are usually a real test, but they often end in bitterness and murmuring. People hold it against God because He doesn’t heal them. “If He’d do it, then I’d serve Him. But He doesn’t love me, He doesn’t care, because He won’t heal me!”

Such doubt, fear, discouragement and murmuring kill! Look at all that murmuring older generation of Israel that died in the wilderness for their lack of faith. They “suffered so many things in vain” (Galatians 3:4). They did all the suffering and never got to enjoy the benefits because they complained. The people who complain about the battle and then quit just before the victory’s won never get to enjoy it.

Faith, trust, courage, and praising the Lord “maketh alive” (1 Samuel 2:6). If you want to knock the Devil for a loop, just start praising the Lord no matter what’s happening. He just can’t stand it! He turns tail and runs. “Resist the Enemy and he shall flee from thee. Perfect love casteth out fear; for God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Therefore, Thou shalt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee” (James 4:7; 1 John 4:18; 2 Timothy 1:7; Isaiah 26:3).

God gets His greatest victories out of seeming defeat, and He often brings them along the neglected path of praise. So when things look darkest, don’t look down—look up! Don’t murmur and complain. Start praising the Lord, and you’ll often praise your way right out of the pit into which the Devil is trying to cast you.

Praise is the voice of faith.

More Conditions for Getting Healed—and Staying Healed

Our happiness and our health and our blessings in this life depend on our obedience to God. God can and wants to heal us, but we must first be willing and yielded to Him and make the decision that we want to be delivered without reservations. We must correct any spiritual problems first—then trust God utterly in prayer and obedience, and we’re bound to get results.

Sometimes that’s why we get sick in the first place: because God is chastening us or spanking us. He is punishing us for something—not always, but sometimes. It hurts Him to see people being bad, because He loves them, and He knows their badness hurts them, so He tries to correct them to make them see the light and to cause them to turn and repent and confess.

But even God’s spankings are proof of His love and done in love. “For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth” (Hebrews 12:6). Even when we get sick because of our sins, the Bible says in the thirteenth verse of this same chapter, “Rather let it be healed.”

God is merciful. He is a loving God, a merciful God. “For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him, for He knoweth our frame, He remembereth that we are dust” (Psalm 103:11, 13–14).

“For the Lord will not cast off forever: And though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. For He doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men” (Lamentations 3:31–33).

So when we have learned the lesson God is trying to teach us or the conditions are ready for the result God wants to bring, He says, “Rather let it be healed.” God prefers to heal—if we can be trusted with it, learn what He is trying to show us, and let it accomplish His purpose.

His healing is a special blessing, a priceless privilege, which, unlike salvation, He can take away if you don’t keep trusting Him for it and giving Him all the glory. So if you want to keep it, you’d best obey Him—like a loan, like living on borrowed time: When you’re healed, you’ll want to stay close to the Lord and do the things that He healed you for. Use that strength that God gives you in healing for His glory.

In Conclusion

Of course, one of the greatest of healing factors is faith, to know that God loves you and cares for you and is going to take care of you no matter what happens. Faith even eliminates some of the greatest causes of disease and ill health, and that’s fear and tension.

When you have faith, you have peace of mind and you can just rest in the Lord, knowing He’s going to take care of everything. Faith and trust in God gives you a feeling of rest of body, peace of mind, contentment of heart, and spiritual well-being, which all tend to greatly improve your whole state of well-being.

As a final note, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and a stitch in time saves nine. It’s better to stay healthy than to have to be healed, so do your best to prevent illness by keeping God’s health laws. Proper diet, proper exercise, proper rest, and proper living will help keep you healthy.

But if and when you do need His healing, remember, it’s there for you. All you have to do is reach out your hand of faith and receive it, accept it. “He healeth all our diseases” (Psalm 103:3). No exceptions! He can heal anything. “I am the Lord that healeth thee” (Exodus 15:26).

Have desperate prayer—and expect a miracle! “Believe and ye shall receive” (Mark 11:24). You do your part, and the rest is up to God. God bless and keep you. Expect miracles, and in Jesus’ name you’ll get them.

Faith and Healing (part 2a)

Maria Fontaine

1990-11-11

Part 2a

03/02/25 I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. (Psalm 40:1)

As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me. (Psalm 55:16)

For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. (Isaiah 41:13)

Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. (Isaiah 49:13)

When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. (Jonah 2:7)

Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (Matthew 4:10)

And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. (Mark 11:22-23)

And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace. (Luke 8:48)

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. (2 Corinthians 4:7)

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18)

Here now is “Healing in His Wings”, faith-building words of wisdom from our precious father in the Lord, so that you can personally apply God’s promises and principles in your own life, and have them work in you. For with God nothing shall be impossible, and all things are possible to him that believeth (Luke 1:37 and Mark 9:23).

HEALING IN HIS WINGS

By David Brandt Berg

The day of miracles is not past. God is still in the business of transforming the bodies that need it, as well as the hearts, the minds, and the spirits. To heal is a small thing for Him, the God of creation. If He can create the body, He certainly can repair it! The one who made us can certainly fix us. He says, “Unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings” (Malachi 4:2).

God is still alive, well, and working just as powerfully as ever among those that trust in Him. He says, “I am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3:6), and “Jesus Christ: the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). “He that believeth on Me,” Jesus said, “the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto My Father” (John 14:12). “And these signs shall follow them that believe … they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:17–18).

Troubles, Trials and Tribulations—Why?

Does the Lord protect us, His children, from all accidents and sickness and trouble? Or does He often let us have a lot of trouble?

There is no sure guarantee that you are never going to get sick with anything as long as you are in human flesh. The Lord never said we wouldn’t have illnesses and afflictions, but He did say that He would deliver us out of them all. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19).

Naturally, we usually wonder why these things happen, but God always has a reason, and I believe that nothing happens by accident to one of His children. I have found in my own life, and that of many others, that He always has a purpose for them, although it is not always revealed immediately.

The Lord sometimes uses afflictions and sickness to test us and to cause us to draw closer to Him and cry out to Him and really seek the Lord. Someone once said, “God does some things to make you humble, other things to keep you humble, and yet others to make sure you’re still humble.” Otherwise we would have a tendency to just rock along. It causes us to rely more on the Lord.

So sometimes things happen just to keep you close to the Lord, humble, and more dependent on Him. Sometimes things happen to make you pray—all kinds of reasons for even having troubles. Even Jesus “learned obedience through the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). We know Jesus was perfect and didn’t bring these things on Himself by sin. The Lord allows these things to strengthen our faith.

So there are even occasions on which it isn’t necessarily something you did wrong—like the man in the Bible who was blind from birth, who Jesus said was blind not because of his own sins, nor even the sins of his parents, “but that the works of God should be made manifest in him,” whereupon He promptly healed him to prove the point! (See John chapter 9.)

Sometimes maybe you’ll be sick so that God can do a miracle and heal you and it will be a testimony, even if you weren’t bad and did nothing wrong to deserve it. Maybe God let you get sick so that He could heal you, to show that He can heal and to demonstrate His power.

But whatever the reason, always remember that whatever God does, He does it in love. And “All things work together for good to them that love the Lord” (Romans 8:28). God is not going to let anything happen to you, His child who loves Him, except what is for your good. You may say, “But a lot of things happen that don’t seem good to me!” Well, I daresay you finally found out sooner or later that somehow or another it was good for you. Or you will yet. This is why King David said in his Psalms:

“It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn Thy statutes.” “Before I was afflicted I went astray: But now (after he was afflicted) have I kept Thy Word” (Psalm 119:71, 67). So even troubles and tribulations are good for us. God knows best! And even though it sometimes may take weeks, months, or years before you know why, the time will come, and you’ll know that God was right and did the right thing.

Healing is for You

Although “many are the afflictions of the righteous,” the Lord is going to “deliver you out of them all” (Psalm 34:19)—no matter how many or what. A-l-l, all! Not just some or a few or most or many, but all. We can expect God to deliver us according to His Word.

The provision is there for you. There are lots of scriptures on healing throughout the Bible, God’s personal Word to each of us. He has made promises in His Word, promises which we can claim and expect Him to fulfill. “There are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these (His promises) ye might be partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

This is also where your faith will come from. Faith comes—it grows by hearing the Word of God. It’s not a sudden boom. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). That’s the law of faith.

How often lack of faith is due to ignorance! If you feel like, “Oh, my God, I just don’t have much faith for God to heal me,” it’s because you don’t have the Word. Faith is built on the Word. Read it prayerfully and ask God to strengthen your faith. He’ll always answer the hungry heart. His Word will give you faith for it.

God not only can do it, but He wants to do it. When the poor leper came to Jesus and said, “Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean,” the Scripture says that “Jesus put forth His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I will, be thou clean.’ And immediately his leprosy was cleansed” (Matthew 8:2–3). He’s more willing to give than we are to receive!

All He asks from us is that we honor Him with faith, by believing His Word and His promises. “For without faith it is impossible to please Him: For He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Trust in the Lord. “He hath never failed in one of all His good promises” (1 Kings 8:56).

With His Stripes

There is salvation both for the body and for the spirit. Just as Jesus’ blood was shed for the salvation of our spirits, His body was broken for the healing of our bodies. He died for your salvation, but He suffered for your healing.

“He took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses in His own body on the tree” (Matthew 8:17; 1 Peter 2:24). “For He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes* we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

* The Hebrew word translated here as “stripes” literally means “bruise, hurt, stripe, wound.”—Strong’s Bible Concordance

What does it mean, “With His stripes we are healed”? There is some form of atonement, even for our diseases. He paid for it by His physical suffering. So we can claim it, even as a part of His atonement. We can claim it as a part of what He paid for. It’s yours already for the asking.

The great physician now is near,
The sympathizing Jesus;
He speaks the drooping heart to cheer.
Oh, hear the voice of Jesus!^[1]

We who have personally received Jesus into our hearts already have His healing power manifest in our bodies through the Lord’s healing. (See Romans 8:11.) But it will not be complete until we receive our eternal supernatural indestructible bodies on which death and sickness no longer have any power or claim whatsoever.

Healing is a sample, like salvation. When we experience salvation, we get a little sample of what eternal salvation and heaven are going to be like. We have a little bit of heaven in our hearts already. We have “tasted of the heavenly gift and the powers of the world to come,” as His Word says (Hebrews 6:4–5).

Likewise, when we get healed we have a little sample of what God is going to do one of these days. He’ll not only give you one new part or fix you up a little bit or repair you, but He is going to give you a whole new heavenly model. (See 1 Corinthians 15:42–58.)

But in the meantime, we’re still bound by our corruptible fleshly human bodies, and about all God’s doing now through healing is patching us up to make us last a little longer. Like an old car, He can patch you up a little and keep repairing you. That’s really what this lesson is all about: how to receive His healing and “repair service” while here in these old mortal bodies that often break down and give us so much trouble.

Prayer Power

“The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up, and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him” (James 5:15).

Prayer is powerful! When we pray, things will happen and things will be different. God will answer prayer. But God said to Israel one time that bad things were happening because “No man stirreth himself to call upon Me” (Isaiah 64:7).

If you’re really desperate and crying with your whole heart and asking Him, He’ll answer! He says, “Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). And “Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3).

You’ve got all the promises in the whole Bible on your side—“exceeding great and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4). When you pray, bring those promises with you. When you remind God of His Word, it shows you have faith in it. It’s a positive declaration of your faith and your knowledge of the Word which pleases God. (See Colossians 1:10; Hebrews 11:6; 1 John 3:22.)

“Prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord, and see if I will not pour out such a blessing that there will not be room enough to hold it” (Malachi 3:10). You don’t see the blessing yet. How do you know He’s going to pour it out? You’ve only got His Word for it. You’ve got to prove Him! You’ve got to try. You have to literally test it. Hold Him to His Word! Request and expect an answer. He has promised it. Put your faith in the Lord, and quote and claim scriptures, just as Jesus did. (See Matthew 4:4,7,10.) Stand on the Word—that solid-rock foundation of truth.

He is bound by His Word. So cling to His promises, memorize and quote them continually, and never doubt for a moment that God is going to answer—and He will. Trust Him.

Jesus says, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24). “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us. And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him” (1 John 5:14–15). All we have to do is believe His promises and pray, and expect some kind of an answer.

The Lord can help, and nothing is impossible with the Lord. He is “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20). We just need to believe in Him and trust Him and pray for it. “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God, and all things are possible to him that believeth” (Luke 18:27; Mark 9:23). (To be continued)

Fight for Healing

1985-09-10

Maria Fontaine

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven” (James 5:13–15 ESV).

Some of our biggest battles in life are our physical afflictions. I’ll bet every one of you has had some kind of affliction this week, no matter how small. Who hasn’t had any kind of affliction this week, whether it was a cough, sore throat, boil, rash, allergy, sore knee, sore back, sore tooth, earache, stiff neck or creaky joints? You can see why faith for healing is necessary in our Christian life. It’s almost more frequent and common to have physical afflictions than it is to have spiritual afflictions.

We say the Lord delivers us out of all our afflictions, every affliction. While I believe that’s true, I don’t think the Lord is going to deliver us out of everything entirely in every case until we get our new bodies. It’s a promise, but I don’t think the promise is always for the present. In most cases it is. In most cases the Lord “delivers you out of them all” one at a time. He delivers you out of one and then you get another, and the Lord delivers you from that. He keeps delivering you.

Some people, like Fanny Crosby and Helen Keller and other great men and women of the Lord, the Lord didn’t deliver them from their afflictions until they went to be with Him. So in some cases the Lord allows some afflictions. You could accuse them of not having enough faith, but I don’t believe that. Fanny Crosby was a woman of great faith, Helen Keller too, as well as many, many Christians down through the ages. If they hadn’t been blind, they might never have accomplished what they did. So there are a lot of different reasons sometimes why the Lord allows some afflictions to hang on or maybe even be permanent.

Of course, we always have ongoing spiritual battles as well and we’re always gaining victories, and we’re always progressing in our spiritual lives. If I were to ask, “Who has had some spiritual battles this week?” maybe you’d say you had spiritual battles too. But a lot of times the physical things seem more bothersome and are more difficult to get the victory over than the spiritual ones—and they get you more down and discouraged.

Physical afflictions can be really stubborn, and you get them over and over and over. If you even get a little cut on your finger, your whole body can hurt, or if you get a little blister on your toe, it’s hard to walk. It doesn’t have to be very big to be a bother and a hindrance. You can often become discouraged when you’re sick. Not only do you get discouraged, but it can make you irritable with other people, so it doesn’t help your relationship with others.

So the Enemy really likes to use sickness. But we have been promised the victory to overcome every time. We have power to overcome sickness through Jesus, who bore our sins and sicknesses in His own body on the cross, that through His sufferings we might be healed. We have been promised as many victories as we face battles.

The Lord allows our many afflictions to keep us humble and more dependent on Him, and closer to others and compassionate with others. Some of the people who have been the sickest and have had the most problems with illness have grown closer to the Lord through it, because they’ve learned from it and have allowed those things to draw them closer to the Lord.

We know that the Lord has given many promises for healing. We were going over some of the stories of Jesus’ healing in the Gospels, the blind man and some of those other healings, and just think of what great faith they had! They didn’t have the experience of healings of all the many saints and Christians for years like we do. They really had to have faith in the unseen, the unknown, faith for things they had never or had rarely seen before.

In some ways, it’s easier for us to believe and have faith because we see how the Lord has been healing people for thousands of years. And we have our own personal experience of the many times He’s healed us. We have experienced healing, and we hear time after time how people have gotten healed in answer to prayer. We know from our own experiences that the Lord has healed us, and we know the scriptures on healing.

When Jesus told people they had great faith, He really meant great faith. They probably hadn’t heard of healing before Jesus came along. But they said, “Just speak the word and my servant will be healed,” though he was dead or dying! Jesus said, “You have such great faith; no greater faith have I found in all Israel” (Matthew 8:5–10). That man had probably never heard of that happening before. They didn’t have years and years of thousands upon thousands of people who had been healed to base their faith on. It was just that word that Jesus said, or they’d heard of Jesus doing some of these things. They had very great faith. No wonder Jesus told them that!

Fight the good fight

Most of us who have been Christians a long time know God has the power to heal. But there’s more to healing than that. A lot of times there’s more to healing than just saying, “Lord, Your Word is true. You said, ‘These signs shall follow them that believe,’ and that’s all we need.” The Lord said it and we believe it, but often we have to fight for our healing in the spirit and not be lethargic.

It’s not always enough just to claim and quote the scriptures. We also have to do battle in the spirit and fight and resist the Enemy (James 4:7). Sometimes we just claim a verse and thank the Lord, and that’s enough. But in some of these difficult cases, we’ve got to really fight. Jesus made a difference in cases when He said, “This kind cometh not out but by fasting and prayer” (Matthew 17:21). In other words, some required more effort than others.

That’s another part of fighting; you can’t just go to bed indefinitely and expect the Lord to heal you. I could just stop using my eyes and say I’ll rest them and I’ll go to bed for a while and see how they do. That may help some if I’ve been overusing my eyes, but in a spiritual fight that’s not going to entirely get rid of the problem. I could close my eyes for a whole week or two, but in this spiritual fight that’s not the answer. The problem is still there and it’s not going to go away just because I don’t use my eyes! It may help a bit temporarily, but it isn’t going to get rid of the problem.

The Lord also expects us to do what we can in the physical as well. If we need rest, we should get it if we can. If good food will help, He expects us to eat it. As Jesus said to the people at Lazarus’ grave, “Roll ye away the stone” (John 11:39), the physical hindrance and obstacle that they could take care of themselves. In other words, do what you can and He will do the rest.

We often get our problems taken care of pretty easily, but others take more effort. They aren’t all so easy and there are different degrees, so we can’t treat every problem the same, or spiritual or physical afflictions, whatever they are.

There are times when we have to stir ourselves up to fight for the victory. It’s not just a matter of saying a prayer, but stirring up ourselves, asking the Lord to make us desperate to get the victory, to want to fight. You can say the words, but with spiritual problems and spiritual battles you have to continually have that attitude of desperation, of a stirred-up spirit on the attack. We have to have that attitude in our heart (Jeremiah 29:13; Isaiah 64:7).

As Alexander the Great said when they asked him how he had conquered the world in such a short time, “By not delaying!” So that goes with fighting and with changing things—doing it now. Otherwise, if you put it off, you may never do it. You can’t just sit around and rest on your past accomplishments; you have to do something, even though it takes a lot of effort, change, and discomfort. You’re a lot more comfortable doing whatever you normally do. It takes sacrifice to launch out and tackle something new, but sometimes that’s what the Lord requires of us.

Most of us don’t like to change, and we can get stuck in a rut. It’s difficult for us, and we don’t like it and we resist it. Nevertheless, I believe that the Lord will give you even more credit if you don’t like it but you do it anyway and you overcome that natural tendency to be lazy and to be stuck in a rut.

If there’s something that’s difficult for you and you do it anyway, the Lord’s going to give you even more credit for it. Of course, in a way it’s difficult for all of us to fight spiritual battles, but some people naturally like to do one thing and other people don’t. So it’s harder for them, and when they do get the victory, they may deserve more credit in that particular area than the one who is sort of created to be that way and likes to do that.

It says that “Jesus endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, so be not weary and faint in your minds” (Hebrews 12:3). Jesus endured contradiction against Himself, “but ye have not yet resisted unto blood” (Hebrews 12:4). Resisting unto blood! We haven’t fought the battle like Jesus did. But we’re at least supposed to be strong and not faint in our mind, not be weary in well doing. “I have fought a good fight,” “strong, waxed valiant in fight,” “so fight I, not as one that beateth the air.” I mean, that’s something that you really have to put a lot of effort into. “And they overcame them by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11). They overcame! That is a war too, a fight! “The spirit of a man sustaineth him.” In other words, a fighting spirit, one that’s alive, one that’s ready to go on the attack (Proverbs 18:14). “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small” (Proverbs 24:10).

The Bible is full of verses aimed toward going on the attack and putting forth an effort and being aggressive. The Christian life is a fight, and you’ve got to work at it every day. It’s hard work! We need to stir ourselves up, not just for healing or spiritual battles, but in our everyday life and in everything we do to have enthusiasm and inspiration and put effort into it, so that whatever we do, we do it all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Our prayer should be that we get to the point where we love to put forth the effort.

“Whatever you do, just keep on going for God! You’re bound to make it sometimes if you try often enough.” That’s a fight too, when you keep trying. “It’s a struggle to live! It takes faith and courage and fight and a lot of real hard work to live the faith life.”

Bless This House

David Brandt Berg

1983-02-01

In many parts of the world where pagan religions are practiced, the people set up statues or idols in their homes or outside them to worship and pacify the spirits, sometimes with a complete house or temple. Almost all homes in Thailand, for example, have a small “spirit house” on the property with a statue in it that is supposed to be the representation of that landlord’s particular deity.

Even the Catholics in many places seem to think they need a little shrine inside or outside their house for protection. Instead of insulting and offending the landlord by removing this house in Asian countries, you could put a statue or picture of Jesus in there instead. It would be a testimony, a witness, and yet show them that you realize that some kind of spirit needs to hover over the house. We have our spirits, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and the angels!

What the early churches sometimes did—in fact, it was a very common practice in early Christian Rome—was to clean out the heathen temples of all their idols and pictures, paint over them and completely renovate the temple and make them into temples of worship for the Lord. They would cover the walls with new paintings, and eventually even fill them with new images.

Catholicism is probably the predominant Christian religion in most Asian countries, if there are any Christians, so they’re probably accustomed to their having their own little shrines, even on some foreign mission fields where there are so many pagan religions.

As missionaries in foreign cultures, it’s important to try to fit in as much as you can and conform and become one as far as you can go without compromising your convictions and religion. That way it actually becomes a testimony. All the houses and homes that I have seen in Catholic countries for people who were ardently Catholic had a little Madonna shrine out front or a Christ statue in the front yard or some saint, and I thought it was really a very good way of their testifying to every passer-by that this is a Catholic home.

Buddhism was not originally intended to be a religion at all; it was a philosophy and a way of life, a moral code taught by Buddha, similar to Confucianism. Originally I’m sure they only had those pictures or statues of Buddha to honor their teacher of philosophy. But of course in the primitive animistic cultures it was quite soon associated with the spirit of Buddha. Instead of the idol just being in honor of Buddha, it began to be worshipped.

The same thing happened to those pictures and images of Mary and Jesus in Catholic churches. They were only supposed to be honored, and they’ll tell you to this day that they’re not worshipped.

When you’re moving into a new house, it’s a good idea to pray over the grounds and living quarters. It was a common custom for my mother and our family to walk around the house in the yard, completely circle the house and pray over it, and then go into each room and pray for its spiritual cleansing.

It’s nice to have a dedication and consecration ceremony of dedicating and consecrating the house to the Lord. The Catholics do this when the bishop or the priest goes through the house and shakes his holy water and prays and consecrates and dedicates the new house. We used to do that when I was young, I can remember us doing that when we moved into a new house.

Just like the laying on of hands or the anointing of oil or the calling for the elders of the church, having a public prayer for somebody who is sick, all of these are testimonies and witnesses of your faith, and they’re also in obedience to the commandments of the Lord. All of these are first of all showing your faith by obedience to God, if it is a commanded rite or ordinance, as they’re called.

That’s really how the American and English “housewarming” originated. It was supposed to be a dedication, a consecration, of those houses. They used to have a party in Christians’ homes and invite friends and neighbors to come. They had the preacher come and have prayer and conduct a little dedication ceremony in Protestant homes, like the Catholics, and I remember they would sing that beautiful song, “Bless This House”:

Bless this house, O Lord, we pray,
Make it safe by night and day.
Bless these walls so firm and stout,
Keeping want and trouble out.

Bless the roof and chimneys tall,
Let thy peace lie over all.
Bless this door that it may prove,
Ever open to joy and love.

Bless these windows shining bright,
Letting in God’s heavenly light.
Bless the hearth, a-blazing there,
With smoke ascending like a prayer.

Bless the people here within,
Keep them pure and free from sin.
Bless us all that we may be,
Fit, O Lord, to dwell with thee.
—Helen Taylor, 1927

“Solomon’s dedication of the temple” was a scripture they often used in Protestant churches and homes, where the pastor prays a prayer for the dedication of the house of the Lord, etc. It would make a nice scripture reading:

But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day: That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place.

The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us: That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers. That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else. Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day (1 Kings 8:27–29, 57–58, 60–61).

There are a lot of verses in the Bible about the house of the Lord, the Lord’s temple. Of course we believe the Lord’s house is our bodies and that definitely the human temple is the body, the temple of the Holy Ghost. “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). But after all, the house you’re living in, you occupy it, in a way making it a temple too.

Through prayer and dedication and consecrating rites, reading the scriptures to inspire faith, you can consecrate any new property you move into, new or old, and dedicate it to the Lord.

Heavenly Communication (part 2)

“Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).

1984-03-28

Desperate prayer power

The Lord wants us to be happy, and thanks to Him, we usually are. But there should be times when you really seek the Lord for a needed change and pray desperately, pouring out your heart to the Lord. He says, “Ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). All our little prayers are sincere and we mean them, but we also need to get desperate in prayer about any serious situations that arise. There are times when we really need to get down to business with the Lord about problems.

A lot of people have sort of a lazy attitude and seem to think that the Lord will just do it all no matter what. But the truth of the matter is that a lot depends on us. Many times what God does depends on your will and your actions and what you want and how you pray. You’re not supposed to just stand there and let God and the Devil fight it out!

Although God can do anything, He has committed Himself to work through you, and your prayers can do mighty things. Of course God’s overall plan has never changed, His overall will has never changed, but in certain details you can bring about change through prayer. Otherwise, if prayer can’t change anything, you might as well forget it! If you’re in His Spirit, in His will, desiring only those things which glorify Him, delighting your heart only in Him, you can ask Him for the desires of your heart, because all you want is what He wants and what is for His glory.

I’ve never really put myself out on a limb and asked God to do a certain thing, but that He did something. It wasn’t always the thing that I was asking for—usually it was—but He did something. He showed me the answer or answered somehow. When you cry unto Him with a whole heart, He promises, “I will answer thee” (Jeremiah 29:13, 33:3).

So next time you really need His help and are on the spot, call on the Lord and His power. Jesus never fails! He always answers when we stir ourselves to call upon Him with a whole heart.

More prayer principles

For a good prayer life, one of the main things you need to know is God’s Word. Faith grows by faithful study of His Word. “Faith cometh by hearing the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). Even though God can answer anyway, if you’re going to have real desperate prayer, you’ll find that if you have a devotional, inspirational reading of the Word first, it will inspire you and give you more faith for your prayers.

God has made promises in His Word, and when you pray, you should bring those promises with you to remind Him. When you remind God of His Word, it shows you have faith in it. And it’s a positive declaration of your faith and your knowledge of the Word which pleases Him. For “without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these (His promises) ye might be partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). You have to quote the terms of the Contract (the Bible) to the Contract Maker (God), and hold Him to it. He is bound by His Word. So remind Him of it, cling to His promises, memorize and quote them, and never doubt for a moment that God is going to answer—and He will!

But always remember His conditions, His terms of the contract: faith and obedience! Faith and obedience come first, then God answers prayer. If we are obeying the Lord and are faithful and trusting and believing, then God’s got to bless and answer. Of course, sometimes God likes to test our faith. He likes to see how much we really believe, and often He will not give us answers until we obey what He’s already told us or shown us.

It’s helpful to remember that God’s delays are not necessarily denials, and that sometimes we just have to have faith and wait for Him to answer, which usually results in “the trying of our faith, which worketh patience” (James 1:3). Learning patience seems to be one of God’s most frequent lessons, yet one of our own rarest virtues, as it really tests our faith and drives us to the Lord and His Word.

Another important prayer principle is to be specific with the Lord. We need to ask for and expect specific answers when we pray. Being specific is a sign of your faith. A lot of times people pray generally because they don’t expect to be answered anyhow. Whereas if you are specific when you pray, you’re showing your faith that you expect to get that specific answer. And you don’t expect to be disappointed. You really expect it or you wouldn’t be so specific.

Remember, God takes you exactly at your word! I remember a preacher I knew once who said, “Lord, give me a car. I need a car. I’m desperate for a car, Lord—any old car!” And that’s exactly what he got, a real junker! He said, “Next time I prayed specifically for a good car and got it.” So be careful what you ask the Lord to do, because He’ll take you literally. He’ll give you what you ask for, and certainly what you have the faith for.

Watch out about some of the things that you insist on the Lord giving you: He sometimes even lets people have things that aren’t good for them to teach them a lesson. He said of the children of Israel that “He gave them their request, but sent leanness to their souls” (Psalm 106:15). Watch out that what you’re seeking is for His glory and within His will.

If you’ve read our lesson on God’s precious Holy Spirit, “The Spirit of Love,” then you know what a powerful effect the Holy Spirit can have on your prayer life, as once you are filled with the Spirit, you can pray in the Spirit and your prayers have more effect because you’re praying by the Spirit. “Likewise the Spirit helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26). You can speak in tongues, letting the Spirit pray through you.

Once you’ve prayed about something and have committed it to the Lord, you just need to have faith. “Whatsoever things ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24). Faith is not surprised at the answer to prayer; faith believes it. But the word “believe” as it’s used today is hardly strong enough. Faith expects it to happen. So once you’ve prayed about something and committed it to the Lord, from then on it’s God’s problem. You don’t need to worry about it. Just trust the Lord and praise Him and thank Him for hearing and answering your prayer—even if you don’t see the answer right away.

In fact, you should not only end your prayers with praise and thanksgiving, but you should also begin your requests that way. His Word says that “in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6). King David said that we should “enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4). It’s like coming before the King and salaaming, giving Him due reverence and honor.

Even if you’re tired or discouraged or don’t feel like praising Him, you should go ahead and praise Him anyway, simply because He said to and you know that it pleases Him. It’s a little bit like priming an old pump: you pour a little in, but you get a lot out. When you go ahead by faith, praising the Lord, priming the pump and getting started, pretty soon you’ll feel happy in the Lord and really glad you praised Him, because He’ll pour out His Spirit on you and He’ll bless you for it.

Even when you feel a little down in the dumps or discouraged, look up and count your blessings. Thank God for all your blessings and get your eyes on the Lord and on the good things. (See Philippians 4:8.) Praise the Lord! Start your prayers by lifting your heart unto Him in praise! “By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name” (Hebrews 13:15).

Also remember: “One can chase a thousand, and two can put ten thousand to flight” (Deuteronomy 32:30). It helps greatly to have someone else pray with you sometimes, especially during times of trial. “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). And, “If 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).

There is great power in united prayer together! So never be ashamed to ask for help or prayer from someone else when you need it. “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed” (James 5:16).

One last, but certainly not least, final reminder is about praying in the name of Jesus: All through the New Testament the Lord tells us how important it is to pray in the name of Jesus, to ask things in the name of Jesus, to use the name of Jesus and its power in prayer. Jesus is the one we have to approach God through. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). People need to realize the power of the name of Jesus! For without that name, there is no power. Jesus said, “If ye shall ask any thing in My name, I will do it” (John 14:14).

Do you know Jesus? If not, ask Him into your heart right now—and Jesus will come in. Then you can learn to really know Him personally, intimately, as you learn to fellowship and communicate with Him through prayer.

Communication (part 1)

“Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).

1984-03-28

2/25/25 To cry to the Lord in prayer is something that should come naturally to every truly born-again child of God. God expects each of His children, those who really know Him, to touch Him personally and make direct contact with Him, not just through somebody else’s prayers or faith. Therefore each of us must learn to individually make personal, intimate contact with the Lord through prayer, the heavenly link, the divine telephone between us and heaven.

Even though our “heavenly Father knoweth what things we have need of before we ask Him” (Matthew 6:8), He likes us to confess that we alone can’t solve all of our problems and that we need His help. He likes us to be humble and willing to pray, to acknowledge His power and show our faith in Him by asking Him for help. Then, of course, He likes to answer, not only to remind us that we need Him, but also because He likes us to appreciate His help and to love Him for it—like a father.

That’s the way we parents often feel with our own small children—we like to answer their questions and solve their problems and give them answers—if they’ll ask. But a lot of times they just try to struggle through on their own. I’ve often told one of my frustrated young children, “Why didn’t you ask me to help you?” And it’s the same sort of situation with us and the Lord: He likes for us to ask Him for His help, as this is what shows our faith in Him and His Word, divine guidance, and parental love.

The Lord loves to give us the answers to our problems and questions and troubles. He knows exactly what to do and how to do it, and wants us to ask Him for His guidance. He says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7–8).

He even goes on to say, “For what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?” (Matthew 7:9–11).

All we have to do is ask and He promised we’d receive. If we really seek the answer, we will find it! So don’t ever think you have to try to figure out all your problems and decisions yourself. Get down in prayer and get God’s answers. He says, “Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3).

“Without Him you can do nothing” (John 15:5), but with Him, you can “do all things through Christ which strengtheneth you” (Philippians 4:13). So when you really need help, tell it to Jesus. “Cast thy burden upon the Lord and He shall sustain thee. Cast all your cares upon Him, for He careth for you” (Psalm 55:22; 1 Peter 5:7). Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” But there’s one condition to it—“come unto Me” (Matthew 11:28–30). When you come to the Lord in prayer and faith, and ask Him for the answers, you’ll get them.

This is what prayer is all about. It is not merely some kind of religious ritual, but a living relationship. As that dear hymn says:

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear.
What a privilege to carry,
Everything to God in prayer.

Oh, what peace we often forfeit.
Oh, what needless pain we bear.
All because we do not carry,
Everything to God in prayer.
—Joseph M. Scriven (1820–1886).

The Lord’s shoulders are broad enough to carry any load—all the burdens put together, including His own. So it’s really important to learn to pray and commit our burdens, trials, and needs to Him.

Hearing from heaven

With many people, prayer is a one-way conversation, and they do all the talking. They pray, “Hear, Lord, Thy servant speaketh,” instead of like dear Samuel, the child prophet, who at five years of age said, “Speak, Lord, Thy servant heareth” (1 Samuel 3:10). You’ll get a lot further that way, listening to the Lord instead of talking so much that you don’t even have a chance to hear what He has to say.

Prayer is not just getting down on your knees and speaking your piece, but letting God speak His, too. This is why each of us is supposed to know the Lord personally and be filled with the Holy Spirit and therefore be led by the Spirit individually, so that we can personally seek the Lord and find the answers for ourselves that we need for our own individual cases.

This is actually the greatest thing that each of us needs to learn—to follow God and to hear from Him fresh every day. You can’t just get inspired once and let that do for the rest of your life. It’s like eating: One meal doesn’t last you even one full day, and it certainly doesn’t last you for weeks and months. And just as you’ve got to eat every day, you’ve also got to get inspired every day. You need fresh food of the Spirit, fresh power of the Spirit, milk of the Word, fire from on high to inspire you day after day.

We all need to hear from God. It doesn’t have to be out loud; it doesn’t have to be with an audible voice. It can just be in that “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12) that you feel inside of you, sometimes not even words, just an impression that you have. God doesn’t have to communicate in words; He can just give you a feeling or a picture or an idea.

His Spirit is like a broadcasting station, broadcasting all the time; you just have to learn how to tune in. If you’ve got an open channel and tune in, the Lord will fill you—your mind, your heart, your ears, your eyes. You just have to have faith. Jesus can speak anytime, anywhere, if you believe. So when you ask the Lord for an answer, expect an answer.

If you really believe and ask the Lord, and you want to hear or see, you won’t be disappointed. And that thing you see or hear with the eyes or ears of your spirit will come from the Lord—and it will be such a comfort to you. Expect God to answer. Just open up your heart and let the sunshine in. If you’re really desperate and crying with your whole heart and are asking Him, He’ll answer.

Quiet time

If you’re always hurrying and rushing around, fretting and impatient, you’ll never be able to focus your full attention—your eyes, your ears, your mind, your heart—on the Lord for the solutions to the problems, the answers to the questions, the best decisions for the situations.

Unless you get quiet and try to seek the Lord, how are you ever going to get anything from the Lord? He says, “Be still, and know that I am God. In quietness and confidence shall your strength be” (Psalm 46:10; Isaiah 30:15). You’re going to have to get quiet by yourself—somewhere, somehow, sometime—if you’re going to hear from the Lord.

Every great man of God, from Moses to Jesus, had to retreat alone to his mountain for a while in order to have time to meditate, pray, and commune with God. My Lord, if Jesus Himself had to do it, how much more we need to do it! Jesus had to get up at the break of day before His disciples got up and walk out across the hills or up in the mountain to get alone with God and get His orders for the day from His Father (Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12).

So start the day off right: hear from the Lord. You need it, or things just won’t go as they should. If you neglect your fellowship with the King of kings because you’re so busy with the affairs of the kingdom, it can be disastrous to your spiritual life and communion with the Lord. You cannot do the Master’s work without the Master’s power and guidance. And to get it, you must spend time with the Master.

So try a little prayer time early in the morning before your day’s work. Asking the Lord for the solutions to problems is the easiest way in the world to get them. If you’d spend a little more time praying, you’d probably spend a lot less time working and trying to get things done.

He’ll solve a lot of your problems before the day even starts if you listen to what He has to say. But if you go plunging into all your troubles and your work without stopping to talk to the Lord and get directions from your Commander in Chief, then you’re going to be like a soldier who’s trying to fight the war all on his own without listening to headquarters, with no guidance from the top.

We all need more quiet time with the Lord in rest and refilling, drinking of the living water of His Word and fellowshipping with Him in the communion of prayer and the sweet lovemaking of the Spirit. It just totally renews you and completely refreshes you and gives you new vision and fresh inspiration, new strength, rest and peace and joy. For “they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

“In all thy ways acknowledge Him” (Proverbs 3:6).

Although we should spend some quiet time with the Lord every day—time in prayer and reading His Word—Jesus also told us that we should always pray, that we should continually pray all the time, all day long, that in everything we do we ought to be “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2).

“Men ought always to pray and not to faint” (Luke 18:1). He also says, “Watch and pray” (Matthew 26:41), and Paul says “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). He knows that we need to, and it’s one way the Lord has of keeping us close to Him and in His presence continually, constantly dependent upon Him and His protection.

Prayer is something you should be doing all the time, no matter what else you’re doing. You can’t wait until you’re through doing this or that, and then pray. It’s like thinking on your feet. Or like breathing—just breathing the Holy Spirit all the time, being in constant communication with the Lord.

He says, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not to thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6). This is one of the most wonderful verses in the Bible to hang on to, especially when making decisions. We don’t have to know all the answers, we don’t have to lean on our own ideas or wisdom; we just have to lean on the Lord and His leadings.

The Lord can save you a lot of work, a lot of trouble, and a lot of time if you’ll just remember to pray before you start a job. Whatever you have to do, pray about it. The Lord is always right there with you. He says, “I’ll never leave thee nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). He’s always there. So it’s never God who’s not there; it’s us who are sometimes not always there, when we run off someplace else and leave Him behind when we forget to pray.

When we don’t pray for His help, it’s usually either because we just plain forget—and it’s very negligent to forget to pray—or we’re not willing to admit that we don’t know the answer and that we have to ask Him for it. Either way, it’s a mistake. When you don’t pray and get in tune and ask the Lord to lead you and help you to do the right things, you can sure make mistakes and blow-its and really make a mess of things and can sure get off the track.

Some of the biggest mistakes that Christians ever make are through following their natural reasoning and common sense, when the Lord had something entirely different in mind, contrary to natural expectation, which could only be revealed by His Spirit. Many is the time in the Bible when men made decisions on their own by their own natural reasoning, and it turned out to be exactly the wrong decision because they hadn’t sought the Lord or been led of the Spirit.

It’s important to remember that you cannot possibly solve the multitude of problems that you will encounter in your own wisdom, your own strength, your own mind, your own understanding, your own trying to put two and two together. Jesus said, “Without Me, ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).

The most important thing in our lives is Jesus and to stay close to Him, to let Him lead and guide us. He’s the one who has got to lead us because only He can! Without Him, we don’t know where we are going or how to get there. But He knows exactly where and how, and all we have to do is just sit in the back seat and let Him drive. He knows where to go and the best way to get there.

He’s promised that if you acknowledge Him, He will direct your paths. He says, “You shall hear a voice behind you, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it” (Isaiah 30:21). So ask the Lord about everything before you do it. Make sure it’s what He wants you to do. Seek Him about everything—every problem, every decision—and He will never fail you or let you down!
(to be continued)

Divine Healing: A Touch of Grace

Peter Amsterdam

2014-04-21

When giving the disciples the Great Commission to go into all the world and preach the Gospel, Jesus also said that these signs will follow those who believe: “They will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”¹ Throughout the Gospels, there are numerous examples of Jesus using touch in healing.

Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.²

Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed Him.³

Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him, and He laid his hands on every one of them and healed them.⁴

The apostles also used touch in their healing of others.

[Peter] took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.⁵

It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him healed him.⁶

Often people would touch Jesus and be healed.

When the men of that place recognized Him, they sent around to all that region and brought to Him all who were sick and implored Him that they might only touch the fringe of His garment. And as many as touched it were made well.⁷

All the crowd sought to touch Him, for power came out from Him and healed them all.⁸

Another example we can follow is using oil for anointing when we pray.

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.⁹

Sometimes when Jesus would heal, He would instruct the person to take some sort of action.

Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other.¹⁰

Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight.¹¹

The greatest of these is love

In addition to healing being a platform for sharing the Gospel, one of the main motivations for praying for people is compassion. Jesus had compassion and sympathy for the suffering of others, and He did something about it.

When He went ashore He saw a great crowd, and He had compassion on them and healed their sick.¹²

As He drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then He came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”¹³

A leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.¹⁴

Compassion can be seen as love in action. Jesus leaving the halls of heaven to live among us was a manifestation of God’s love for mankind. God is compassionate. Jesus reflected the compassion and love of God through His actions. We are filled with the Holy Spirit, meaning the Spirit of God dwells within us, and thus we too should be moved to action by compassion and love.

The Holy Spirit, who dwells in us, has made available spiritual gifts, one of which is healing. The apostle Paul wrote about the gifts of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12. He states:

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills.¹⁵

After speaking about these gifts, he says:

I will show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.¹⁶

Paul strongly makes the point that if we have the gifts of the Spirit and can do all kinds of wonderful things because of these gifts, we must do them in love, as without love we are nothing.

No matter what your theology or methodology regarding healing, ministering to people must be done with love—to put yourself in the position of the sick person, or those grieving their loss, and act in a loving manner by showing sympathy. Love is the key when working with the infirm and with their loved ones.

When God doesn’t seem to answer our prayers for healing

While it’s a good thing to stand on God’s Word, to know that God has promised to, and does, answer prayer, I think it’s important to face certain truths—such as that not every prayer is answered in the manner we expect, and that sometimes God chooses not to answer immediately or in a way that we see it as His answer. God is greater than we are, and while we should claim His Word and stand on it and trust Him thoroughly, we need to understand that His ways are higher than ours and that He, in His infinite love and wisdom, may do or allow things in our lives or those of others that we don’t understand.

To demand that God answer every prayer for healing in a way that we expect, and, if that prayer is not answered, or is answered differently than we would have hoped, to put the blame on someone, in my opinion takes away from God’s power, from His sovereignty. It’s saying that we know better than God. God has more dimensions than we do. He knows so much more than we do—He knows supremely better than we do what’s best for each individual.

I believe that God heals people who are prayed for. Sometimes He heals instantaneously, sometimes progressively. Some He heals in this lifetime, and some He heals eternally through taking them home to Him. Whether God heals someone in this lifetime or in eternity, He is compassionate and loving. I believe it’s best to follow His Word by praying for the sick in obedience to His commands, trusting that as you pray, God will answer, and then leave the way He answers in His hands, and not try to place blame on someone—yourself or others—if a healing doesn’t take place every time.

At the same time, we also need to remember that there are many promises of healing in God’s Word; that Jesus, the apostles, many believers in the early church and throughout Christian history, including nowadays, have used healing in their witness, as well as for one another. They have prayed for the sick, and people were supernaturally healed.

As Christians, we’ve all been given the power to pray for the sick, as evidenced by the words of Jesus, His commands to His disciples to pray for the sick, His personal example, and the example of the early disciples. It takes faith to step out and pray for others, especially in a situation where you don’t know the person. It may be awkward, it could be embarrassing, but in doing so, the opportunity is given to someone to be touched by God. Many people would be happy to have someone pray for their healing, whether they are believers or not. When we pray for someone’s healing, we provide an opening for His love and power to be manifested to an individual.

His Word is clear—healing is available! He’s given us as believers power to heal. He’s sent us as disciples to preach the Gospel and heal the sick. The Holy Spirit, who dwells within us, has made the gift of healing available to us. When we pray for the sick, they will be healed in accordance with God’s will. No matter what method we use, God’s Spirit can use us as vehicles for His healing if we will take the step to pray for others. What a wonderful gift! What an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others! What a tremendous vehicle for showing someone the love of Jesus, God’s compassion!

We may not know all the theological ins and outs, we may not know every method available, we may not completely understand why some people are healed and others aren’t, but what we do know is that the power of healing is available to us, as Christians, to help in ministering to others and leading them to salvation.

May God’s love and compassion motivate us to use all the means at our disposal, including the power of healing, to fulfill our mission of bringing Jesus into the lives of others.

Originally published April 2012. Adapted and republished April 2014.
Read by Simon Peterson.

¹ Mark 16:15–18 ESV.

² Matthew 8:3 ESV.

³ Matthew 20:34 ESV.

⁴ Luke 4:40 ESV.

⁵ Acts 3:7 ESV.

⁶ Acts 28:8 ESV.

⁷ Matthew 14:35–36 ESV.

⁸ Luke 6:19 ESV.

⁹ James 5:14–15 ESV.

¹⁰ Matthew 12:13 ESV.

¹¹ Mark 10:52 ESV.

¹² Matthew 14:14 ESV.

¹³ Luke 7:12–14 ESV.

¹⁴ Mark 1:40–42 NAU.

¹⁵ 1 Corinthians 12:4–11 ESV.

¹⁶ 1 Corinthians 12:31–13:2 ESV.

Everyone Will Have Their Chance

David Brandt Berg

1987-05-01

The Christian Missionary Alliance had a lot of stories about people deep in the jungle and chieftains who had never heard of Jesus, never knew anything about the gospel, had never even seen a missionary, who really cried out in their hearts for an answer to life and their sins. They just instinctively knew there was a God and they cried out to God for help. They didn’t really know what they wanted, but of course it was salvation, and what they needed was to know the Lord.

There were many cases where the Lord spoke to them in their sleep or in a dream, or gave them a vision of a man whom they’d never seen and told them, “This man is going to give you the answer to your problems.” And when the missionary showed up, the person recognized the missionary.

It’s like what happened to Cornelius (Acts 10). The Lord gave Cornelius a message that he should send to Joppa for a man called Peter and that Peter would tell him the words of eternal life, and He gave Peter a vision that this guy was coming and what he should tell him. Cornelius was a good man who treated his servants fairly and was trying to serve God.

Missionaries did get to some of the Buddhist and Muslim countries very early and there were large numbers of people converted to Christianity, but there were even larger numbers of people who rejected it and even wiped out the Christians, and therefore wiped out the Christian faith in those countries.

You may wonder why God let it happen. Perhaps He knows that He’s still going to give them a chance and that this life is just a drop in the bucket, a momentary thing in the overall plan. They could be getting saved in the next world just as fast as they’re dying, as soon as they see and hear and know the truth. The Catholics believe that such cases go to a place called Limbo where they’re held until they’re given a chance to either hear the gospel or know the truth and make their own decision.

They also believe in Purgatory, a place where people will be punished for a certain length of time, if they deserve punishment, and then finally be released. The Lord indicated that too. He said, “The servant that knew his Master’s will and did things worthy of punishment will be given many stripes”; in other words, great punishment. “But the servant who knew not his Master’s will and did things worthy of stripes will be given few stripes,” very little punishment (Luke 12:47–48).

In the first chapter of John he says, “This is the light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9). He says this is the problem, this is the condemnation, that the light came into the world but they rejected it. “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). “That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not” (John 1:9–11).

So the condemnation of man is that the light has come into the world and people have rejected it. That passage alone is enough to convince anybody that everybody is going to be given a chance to hear or see or understand the gospel, to get the light of Jesus. Jesus is the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world, so that they’re either going to be given a chance in this life or the next life.

Who would reject the Lord in the next life when they can see it and know it all? And obviously see what’ll happen to them if they do reject the Lord, maybe even see the hell they’re going to. Who is not going to take a fire escape then when they can already see the fire? That’s why they won’t get as much credit when they see it and therefore know it and don’t even have to have faith to believe it. They won’t be given as much credit as we who now having not seen have believed. As Jesus said to Thomas, “Blessed are those who having not seen have believed” (John 20:29).

I believe that everybody who finally accepts the Lord, whether it’s in this life or the next, is going to be saved. But those who accept Him now purely by faith, without sight, without seeing the next world, or even the Lord, but only by hearing about Him and believing, are more blessed. In this dispensation, this present age, faith comes by hearing, whereas in the next world, faith comes by sight. They’ll see it and know it. But now we only know it by the Word, except for special revelations.

Even the gifts of the Spirit are manifestations of the power of the next world, so in a sense they’re sometimes a visible or audible proof of the power of God and the truth of the gospel. But people still haven’t really seen it, except perhaps people who have visions and dreams, because, of course, that is the most convincing to some people for whom seeing is believing.

The rule and the law that God has laid down now is that you must believe first and then you’ll see, and maybe not even till the next world will you see. (See 2 Corinthians 5:7.) The rule for the next world is that seeing is believing, and it’s going to be very easy to believe then, because you can see. But apparently some are still going to rebel. Like Satan—he knows, he’s seen it all, and still he’s a rebel. Still he doesn’t want to yield or obey; he’s proud and self-righteous and disobedient. So obviously there are going to be people just like him.

There are going to be rebels who, having seen the kingdom of God on earth and seen the manifestation of the power and seen angelic beings with tremendous supernatural powers and who know the personal visible presence of God on earth and even see the Holy City hanging there in the sky in the Millennium, still at the end of the Millennium they are going to rebel against it and even try to attack the Christians that are saved in the Millennium. Obviously the Lord takes them out by some method and then destroys the rest and the whole surface of the earth.

So there are people who even though they have seen, yet they will not believe—Jesus said so. He said even though one were to come back from the dead, yet they will not believe (Luke 16:31). Their hearts are hardened like the Scribes and the Pharisees. He said, “They have Moses and the prophets”—they have the Scriptures, the Word—“even if one were to come back from the dead, yet they will not believe.” They saw a number of people come back from the dead during Jesus’ time on earth. They saw the resurrection, or at least the healing of a number of people who were raised from the dead, and they still didn’t believe.

So there are people who are so hard of heart and rebellious and anti-God and anti-Christ that even if they see the power of God and see miracles and people rising from the dead, and even see the next world and the Millennium and the kingdom of God on earth, they will still rebel against God, just like Satan. God knows how long they’ll have to spend in hell before they repent.

As for the millions who die every day, if they really are not to blame for not having heard the gospel themselves, and have never heard it or rejected it, I truly believe they’re going to get a chance in the next world. Jesus even indicated that there was a chance at that time. He said those that reject the Holy Spirit, “those that sin against the Holy Ghost will not be forgiven in this life, nor in the next” (Matthew 12:31–32).

That indicates there is forgiveness in the next world of some sins. But not for rejecting the Holy Ghost, meaning rejecting the conviction of the Spirit, those who reject what they feel, hear, see, or whatever way it is that God speaks to them. In other words, they’ve had some chance of salvation and have rejected it. By some means the Holy Spirit has gotten through to them and they have rejected it, so they’ve had their chance in this life and they’re not going to be forgiven in this life nor the next. Jesus Himself said this, and that shows there is forgiveness in the next life.

Just think of the horrible punishment the kings and leaders of the Eastern world deserve for having stamped out Christianity. There are traces of Christianity and definite evidence that Christianity was brought to nearly every nation in the Eastern world. They all have historical evidence that Christianity and the message of Christianity reached those countries, but that the leaders or kings or emperors or tyrants of those countries finally stamped it all out and slaughtered almost all the Christians.

Think of the punishment they deserve for having stopped Christianity and wiped it out so that others couldn’t know about it or hear about it until more recent years when missionaries came. Now the missionaries have come to nearly all those countries. China had a great revival some years ago. Korea had a great revival, and there are still a multitude of Christians in both North and South Korea as a result. I don’t know that Japan ever had a great revival, but it has had oodles of gospel. So those countries can hardly say that they haven’t heard. They may not have heard the pure gospel, but they’ve heard of Jesus and heard of Christianity.

Plenty of people are hearing the gospel today. Even some of the most benighted countries have received a lot of gospel at some time or other and had a chance, so that they can hardly say that they never got a chance. But I believe that those who have not had their chance in this life are going to get it in the next. When they’re passing through what the Catholics call Limbo, wherever it is, or just like Jesus went to visit the spirits in prison during His death time (Matthew 12:40; 1 Peter 3:19, 4:6; Ephesians 4:9). From the time He was crucified till the time He was resurrected, He preached the gospel to the spirits in prison, and to me that means all of those who were then in Limbo, or wherever, who had not had a chance to hear the gospel. If some of them couldn’t have gotten saved, there wouldn’t have been any point in preaching to them.

There was a place that was indicated in the New Testament, a paradise that is inside the earth somewhere (Luke 23:43). They may not be immediately translated or go to heaven like us, but they will not be punished because they’re forgiven, saved by grace, and apparently will be finally judged at the Great White Throne Judgment when they’re all resurrected.

It seems to be indicative of that, because Dives the rich man went straight to hell, to his punishment, immediately, and Lazarus, the poor beggar, went straight to some kind of paradise where Abraham was, and certainly that was some kind of paradise or heaven (Luke 16:19–25). Obviously, either way some go to hell immediately because they don’t repent and don’t receive it, and others go to either heaven or paradise or wherever the Lord has made provision for them.

So everybody will get their chance—everybody! “This is the light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” And “at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow,” even those under the earth (Philippians 2:10). Even those in hell are going to bow down at the name of Jesus, whether they like it or not. Everybody gets their chance, and those millions who are dying every day are undoubtedly getting their chance. Even if they haven’t already had it, they’re getting their chance immediately after death in the next world to determine which way they go.

Just like the angel meets the saved people at the end of the tunnel in those after-death experiences and gives them another chance to go back and finish some unfinished business that they need to do, the Lord must have some kind of angel to meet the unsaved at the end of their tunnel and explain to them the gospel of salvation. If the Christians see their life like an open book and they face that angel at the end of the tunnel and it’s all revealed to them in what seems to be a few seconds, why can’t the Lord reveal to these dying heathen the same thing the minute they get to the end of their tunnel, wherever it goes? They could meet an angel that reveals to them the gospel, and instantly they have a chance to receive it or reject it, and that determines where they finally end up.

There’s a chance for everybody, but no one deserves more than one chance. If they reject it in this life, it doesn’t mean they’re going to get another chance to receive it in the next life. They had their chance. If they knowingly hear the message of the gospel of grace and willfully reject it in this life, they don’t deserve another chance. But everyone will have their chance and is having their chance right now, whether in this life or the next. God will give everyone a chance.

If they’re not saved, it’s not going to be God’s fault. They will have had their chance and they themselves personally, knowingly, willfully rejected it. You just wonder how anybody could do such a thing, but they do it all the time in this life, so that’s how they can do it then. Look how the Scribes and the Pharisees saw Jesus, saw Him work and do miracles, raise the dead, and heard the Word, and still their hearts were so hardened that they rejected Him. They had their chance, and the Lord said it was not going to be forgiven them either in this life or the next.

I don’t believe in a second chance at all. I believe all that anybody deserves is one chance to really know it, hear it, understand it, perceive it, comprehend it, and have the Holy Spirit convict them of the truth, and then if they reject it, there’s no more. “No more place of repentance” (Hebrews 12:17). I think that’s what Hebrews 6 and Hebrews 10 are all about. People who have heard it, seen it, tasted it, really had a chance and were convicted by the Holy Spirit that it was the truth, and yet they turned against it, it says there will be no more renewing them to repentance (Hebrews 6:4–6, 10:26–27). So if they’ve really heard the gospel and understood it, but knowingly, willingly, rebelliously rejected it, that’s their last chance. At least the last chance to be saved like we are.

Here in this life it seems like the Lord gives people quite a few chances, but He doesn’t have to give them any more in the next life. “My Spirit will not always strive with men” (Genesis 6:3). As my mother used to preach, some people pass the point of no return. She used to illustrate it with that story about the boat on the Niagara River. There was a point where they had a sign that they were not supposed to go beyond it or there was no possibility of them being rescued; they were bound to be swept over the Falls, with tons of water crushing them on the rocks below. It was called “The Point of No Return,” and beyond that point there was no possibility of them saving themselves or being saved by others; they were bound to be swept over the Falls.

A lot of people are playing around with many chances, but one of these days God is going to give them their last chance, and that’s it. They’re going to be worthy of many stripes. “But they that knew not their Master’s will,” Jesus said plainly, “shall be beaten with only a few stripes” (Luke 12:47–48). We all deserve some punishment because all are sinners, but if they didn’t know, then it wasn’t their fault.

02 – Laying Aside Every Weight

Resting in the Lord, Part 2

Words from Jesus

2006-10-01

Have you ever reached that point where you find yourself saying, “I don’t know if I can give any more than I already have. I don’t have anything left! I’ve already gone beyond what energy levels I had. I don’t have any more of me left. I’ve used it all!” You feel that you have used all your strength, energy, and time, and you don’t have any more of yourself to pour out. You are like the widow; you have given everything you had.

When you pass through these deep waters, you discover that the only way through is to cast the weights on Me. It is a realization that dawns on your consciousness. It is like having to cross a deep gorge continually in your work each day, and discovering that the only practical, viable way to do this is to walk over a small bridge rather than wandering to the edge of the gorge and struggling to get down, across, and up the other side.

You realize you have to cross at the bridge in order to be safe and effective, so your plans become built around returning to the bridge whenever you need to cross the gorge. Your paths are channeled to it; your work is built around the fact that this is the only viable way to cross. This bridge is found when you rest in Me and cast your cares on Me.

Likewise, when you come face to face with the deep gorge of your personal limitations, you need to have enough common sense to make the decision to change your former ways of doing things that took you to other points along the gorge, and determine that this essential part of your life of committing all things to Me and entering into My rest is a priority.

Truly commit it to Me

Taking the time to rest in Me costs, but the cost is yourself—not effort, time, or work. It’s not a new load to bear, more time to invest, more effort to drag from a weary and stretched body and mind. Resting in Me replenishes you; it gives you the renewed peace of knowing that you can give all your burdens to Me and I will sustain you.

If you are just beginning to lay things hesitantly at My feet, watching to see if I’ll even notice they are there, while you wait around, ready to jump in and grab them back to make sure they get done, then make a decision that once you’ve laid something at My feet, you will commit it fully to My care.

You can send Me reminder prayers, but don’t come running back to push your concern closer to Me in case I didn’t see it. Trust Me. When I need you to take a step of faith in some area, or do something to roll away the stone, I’ll let you know. But the goal is to commit everything to Me so that you can then rest fully in Me. When you do that, it becomes a DSL connection—a Dedicated Spiritual Link that’s open all the time.

Come into My presence

To all who labor and who are heavy laden, I will give rest, but you must come to Me. As you acknowledge Me and come to Me, you will find the calm, peace, patience, and love that you need. As you labor to rest in Me, casting your cares on Me, letting Me carry the weight to a greater degree, I will give you rest, and it will calm your spirit and slow you down, and you will find My strength.

Your spirit needs time to relax and be fed and healed from its battle wounds—not just when you stop and rest one day a week. You need to learn how to maintain a rested and healthy spirit throughout the entire week, and you do that by taking time to be quiet and time to meditate on My Word. As resting in Me becomes a part of your everyday life, you will reap the benefits, both physically and spiritually. You will have more peace of mind, less stress in your life, and having less stress means you will be happier, and the people around you will be happier and find you easier to work and live with.

You will have more patience and look forward to getting up in the morning because you won’t be carrying your burdens on your shoulders. You’ll have the faith to trust Me to take care of the problems, because you’ve committed them to Me, which will help you to stop worrying.

Doing the difficult

When you come to Me and let Me help you carry the weights of your work, ministry, children, or finances, whatever it is that is making you feel so stressed, I will relieve the pressure. You will still have to do all those things, but when you look to Me for the strength, then the work and the challenges and struggles that accompany it are much more bearable.

I didn’t say it would be easy, but it will be doable, and I will help you overcome the stress and pressure. If you can do your work or fulfill your responsibilities without feeling tense or worried or stressed, then you can approach these with a positive attitude. You’ll still have big boulders to move, but you’ll have an attitude of faith, and progress will be made.

When I give you a commission, something that you know is going to be hard to do, trust that I will also give you the strength and the anointing to do it. You will receive that strength and anointing by looking to Me, acknowledging Me in all your ways, and seeking My face.

The pressure valve is released when you come to Me. But if you don’t come to Me, even in the midst of work deadlines and big pushes, then you get overworked and stressed out, and that’s when you start to feel like it’s not fair and the burdens are too heavy.

I know it’s not easy to discipline yourself to get quiet, to calm your spirit so that you can absorb My strength and peace, especially in the middle of a hectic job, but that’s the way to handle the pressure of your work without allowing it to overwhelm you. Otherwise, you can find yourself going from one work push to another, to another major upheaval of some kind in your life, and you will always feel stressed out about something. You’ll be tempted to feel like “this is too hard,” “this isn’t fair,” and that you can’t handle it. You can end up constantly doing things and going places, but without a sense of peace and calm of spirit that comes from resting in Me. You can feel like you’re never making enough progress, and your to-do list can constantly weigh on you if you don’t cast your burdens on Me.

I’m not going to remove your work or make your to-do lists shorter or tell you you’ll never have a crisis situation or stressful deadline to deal with, or that you’ll never have to learn to work with new co-workers or adapt to new situations. You’ll still have to do all these things and more. But I can promise you that if you learn to truly rest in Me, you will be able to do all these things with a much calmer, more trusting spirit, and you’ll be happier. I’m not promising that you’ll never feel pressure, because sometimes a degree of pressure comes with the job or a project as you work to meet deadlines. But I will give you the grace and faith for it, and the peace that comes with keeping your mind on Me.¹

Before you begin your day, talk to Me and ask for My help and anointing for that day. Find ways to bring more of My Spirit into your day. Although you have to work and get things done, you can bathe your work more in My Spirit. When you commit something to prayer and ask for My help, that’s leaning on Me. In doing so, you will see a difference in your level of peace and faith and calm, as you surround everything you do with more of My Spirit.

Originally published October 2006. Adapted and republished June 2019. Read by Simon Peterson. Music by Michael Dooley.

¹ Isaiah 26:3.

Fight the Good Fight of Faith

David Brandt Berg

1975-01-01

2/21/25 Remember that not all voices are of God, and you must “try the spirits” (1 John 4:1) to make sure that what you’re hearing is of the Lord. If it is not according to His Word or causes you to be discontent, bitter, dissatisfied, unhappy, or critical of others—these things are not of the Lord, and you must rebuke the Enemy in Jesus’ name when he tempts you with these negative thoughts.

One of your best protections is to keep busy for God and obedient to Him, and also to fill your mind and heart with positive, encouraging, strengthening and faith-building thoughts from His Word, remembering, memorizing and continually quoting to yourself and even to the Enemy when he attacks you, claiming such promises of God constantly as you cling to His Word.

Some scriptures which have been a great blessing to me in times of distress, mental anguish, doubts and fears and battles with the Enemy have been those like: “For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear” (1 John 4:18). “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee because he trusteth in Thee” (Isaiah 26:3).

“For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds” (Hebrews 12:3). “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). “And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2).

The Twenty-third Psalm and the Lord’s Prayer have always been a great comfort to me in time of need, to know that the Lord would never leave nor forsake me nor leave me comfortless (Hebrews 13:5; John 14:18). And I am always convicted by that part: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” (Matthew 6:12), and where Jesus said we know that “If we forgive not others their trespasses, neither will our Father in Heaven forgive us” (Matthew 6:15).

So we must ask Him in all humility to help us have mercy on others, knowing that we ourselves must also be forgiven for many sins. Remembering continually what sinners we are and how many mistakes we’ve made helps greatly to keep us humble and to avoid that spirit of self-righteous pride which causes us to criticize and condemn others.

It helps to always remember we’re all sinners and that we all make mistakes and that we must “forgive one another even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven us” (Ephesians 4:32). “For it is no longer you that live but Christ that lives in you, for you are now dead and your life is hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

You don’t have to offer God your life, for He has already taken it. When you yielded on His altar of sacrifice and asked Him to take it, He did, and He’s been trying to use it for His glory ever since, as much as you will let Him.

So keep it that way: it’s in His hands. You are His and He loves you and is doing His best for you in trying to make you useful and happy in His service for others, so that you might bring them life and happiness as you have found it in Jesus.

Stay close to Him and He’ll never fail you. He’ll never forsake you. He’ll never let you down. Even though He may not always answer just the way we’d like, keep trusting Him and He’ll never fail.

Keep loving others and they will love you. Keep serving Jesus and He’ll serve you—well! “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him” (Isaiah 59:19). “Resist the Devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

Also remember: “One can chase a thousand, but two can put ten thousand to flight” (Deuteronomy 32:30), and it helps greatly to have someone else pray with you when you feel oppressed or distressed or attacked by the Enemy. “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). And, “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).

So there is great power in united prayer together. Never be ashamed to ask for help or prayer when you need it. “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed” (James 5:16).

Meanwhile, despise not the day of small things (Zechariah 4:10) or whatever humble tasks the Lord may call you to perform. The less responsibility you have, the less you will be held responsible for; but if you are faithful in the small things, the Lord will commit greater things to your care when you have proven that you can be trusted with them. Remember that “It is better to be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord than to dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Psalm 84:10).

In the meantime, “In everything give thanks.” Be thankful for all things (1 Thessalonians 5:18), and “in whatsoever state you’re in,” whether “abounding or abased” (Philippians 4:11–12), be thankful for your many blessings and that Jesus loves you and your loved one loves you. We are praying for you that you’ll make it by continuing to be faithful—full of faith and love in Jesus.

God bless and keep you and make you a blessing.

Thy Kingdom Come

David Brandt Berg

2018-01-15

In Revelation chapter 19, we read John’s magnificent description of Jesus Christ’s coming with the hosts of heaven to defeat and destroy the Antichrist and his forces at the Battle of Armageddon. Following the chronological order of events, in Revelation 20 we’re given an amazing glimpse into the Millennium period:

“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”—Revelation 20:1–3

The Devil will be bound and cast as a prisoner into the bottomless pit for a thousand years, with nobody left to run his business. For a thousand years he will no longer bother us and no longer lead his legions and his demons across the face of the earth to plague the world and its citizens. It is during this thousand years, while the Devil is in prison in the bottomless pit, that the saints—including all the new arrivals who resisted the Antichrist and rejected the Mark of the Beast, choosing rather to give their lives than to deny Christ—will live and reign with Christ.

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. They shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. But the rest of the dead (the unsaved) lived not again until the thousand years were finished.”—Revelation 20:4–6

During the Millennium, Jesus is going to reign and rule in person using His followers as His instruments. So our work—and I hope you won’t be too disappointed—will not be over with the resurrection and the Rapture. We’re still going to be busy, ruling and reigning with Jesus.

Many people get dreamy ideas about all of this, that after Jesus returns we’re all going to be way off somewhere in some place called heaven. Heaven is not going to be way off somewhere; it’s going to be right here on earth, a heaven on earth during the Millennium. We’re going to rule and reign with Christ right here on earth over the unsaved nations and the unsaved people who are left, who were not destroyed by the judgments God heaped upon the Antichrist kingdom.

Every day, millions of Christians all over the world pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”¹ But I’m sure most of them don’t really appreciate the tremendousness of that statement in the Lord’s Prayer and how literally it is going to come true and be fulfilled. It’s actually going to be like heaven, heaven on earth, with God’s will being done and His kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

“And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.”—Daniel 7:14, 18

We’re going to have a country to call our own one of these days, thank the Lord. In fact, it’ll all be our country then; our country will be a worldwide, earthwide, kingdom of God on earth. No longer will reign the cruel, selfish, dog-eat-dog philosophy which gives the world to the strongest and the mightiest, in which might is right. It will be given to those who have the right to govern because of what reprobate man today considers weaknesses: love and meekness and forgiveness and faith in God and His Word.

These weakest and meekest will become the most powerful influences on earth, who will rule the world with both love and a “rod of iron” of loving force to compel the nations to submit to the laws of God, to recognize His authority, and to obey His rules of life, love, health, and happiness for a reign of “peace on earth toward men of good will.”² 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. At last there will be peace on earth that will never end under the reign of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Prince of Peace Himself.

Jesus told His disciples, “The kingdom of God is within you,”³ and this is true for all of us who know and love the Lord—we already have heaven on earth in our hearts. The problem is, there is still hell all around us. But in that day He’s going to wipe away all this hell on earth, and He’s going to set up His kingdom of peace, righteousness, fairness, justice, goodness, mercy, and love. That’s going to literally be heaven on earth. His kingdom won’t only be within us, it will be all around us.

“The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. He shall judge the poor of the people, He shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.”⁴ The world is going to see a righteous judge at last, a righteous ruler, who will have a righteous government. No more corruption, vice, crime, payola, bribery, or crooked judges and crooked politicians, but a righteous government and justice for all.

“He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.”⁵ The kingdom of Christ on earth is going to cover the whole world. “The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet; they break forth into singing.”⁶

There will be no more big powers and oppressed poor—only the kingdom of Jesus Christ, heaven on earth, fairness and justice for all, and eternal happiness forever. “Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him: all nations shall serve Him. And blessed be His glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with His glory; Amen, and Amen.”⁷

Originally published June 1983. Adapted and republished January 2018.
Read by Jon Marc.

¹ Matthew 6:10.

² Luke 2:14.

³ Luke 17:21.

⁴ Psalm 72:3–4.

⁵ Psalm 72:6, 8.

⁶ Isaiah 14:7.

⁷ Psalm 72:11, 19.

The Fear of God

Peter Amsterdam

2012-09-11

I recently came across a topic that piqued my interest—the fear of God. The Bible speaks a fair bit about fearing God, and one can come away with the impression that we’re supposed to be afraid of God in the sense of being terrified of incurring His wrath. For Christians, this can be difficult to reconcile with the fact that God so loved the world that He sent His only Son to manifest His love, and we are to love God with all our hearts, minds, and souls.

There are verses throughout the Bible which speak of being afraid of God and His wrath, but there are many other verses which speak of fearing Him as something positive. When the Bible speaks of fearing God, there are two different concepts being referred to—being afraid of God and His wrath is one, and the other is honoring Him and having reverence for Him. Understanding this difference, we can see the relationship between fearing God and receiving His blessings.

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments!^[1]

Oh, how abundant is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You.^[2]

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding.^[3]

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.^[4]

The fear of the Lord prolongs life.^[5]

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life.^[6]

The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied.^[7]

I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before Him.^[8]

Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it.^[9]

The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him.^[10]

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them.^[11]

Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him have no lack!^[12]

He will bless those who fear the Lord, both the small and the great.^[13]

The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.^[14]

One of the concepts of fearing God portrayed in the Bible, as mentioned briefly above, is terror, dread, or fear; it’s in reference to being afraid of God, and is used mainly when speaking of people who have sinned and are going to face God’s judgment. Some examples of this concept are:

People shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of His majesty, when He rises to terrify the earth.^[15]

How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which He was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.^[16]

Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.^[17]

This concept of the fear of God is different from the one that is spoken of in the positive sense of reverencing God.—That is, having awe, reverence, honor, and respect for Him. Synonyms for these words are wonder, admiration, amazement, astonishment, esteem, veneration, worship, devotion, high opinion, deference, regard. Fearing God in this way brings blessing and goodness to our lives.

In the King James translation, there are times when the word fear is used to mean reverence. Newer translations often render it reverence or revere or respect. For example, Leviticus 19:3, which is translated in the King James Version (KJV) as “Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father,” is rendered in the English Standard Version (ESV) as “Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father.” It reads as “Every one of you shall reverence his mother and his father” in the New American Standard Bible (NASB), and “Each of you must respect his mother and father” in the New International Version (NIV).

Another example of fearing God meaning something other than “being afraid of Him” is from the book of Isaiah, which spoke of the Messiah fearing God.

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. And His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.^[18]

Clearly, the Messiah wasn’t going to be in dread and terror of God. Rather it can be seen as the Messiah loving, reverencing, and giving glory to the Father.

I honor My Father.^[19]

[Jesus] lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You.”^[20]

Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him.”^[21]

There are examples of people in the Old and New Testaments who honored and revered God, and thus were said to fear Him.

[The Lord] said [to Abraham], “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”^[22]

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.^[23]

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.^[24]

By contrast, there are those who are unbelievers or are wicked, who are said to have no fear of God, meaning no reverence, respect, or honor for God.

Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes.^[25]

Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.^[26]

It will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God.^[27]

Your evil will chastise you, and your apostasy will reprove you. Know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the Lord your God; the fear of Me is not in you, declares the Lord God of hosts.^[28]

As saved Christians, we need not have the dread of punishment for our sins, for Jesus has already taken that punishment on Himself through His death on the cross. We have been forgiven for our sins and delivered from the “wages of sin” through the gift of God of salvation and eternal life with God.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be any consequences for our sins in this life; nor does it mean that God will countenance willful sin and disobedience of His moral laws. The Bible does speak of chastisement or being disciplined. Chastisement in Scripture is generally spoken of as training or causing one to learn, the molding of the character by reproof or admonition, which is quite different from punishment for our sins. The Lord may chastise us in some way for our sins for the purpose of teaching us or molding us, which is an act of His love.

For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives.^[29]

As believers, the right reaction to all God is and has done is having the fear of the Lord—in the sense of veneration and devotion, of reverence and deference, of worship and devotion, as well as awe and wonder. When we think of His creating the universe, from all of the stars to subatomic particles, we can only marvel at His power and glory. When we realize that as human beings we sin and therefore deserve His punishment, but that because of His love He made our salvation and reconciliation possible, then the correct response is praise and worship, honor, love, obedience, and reverence. It’s all part of acknowledging that He is God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

There are blessings in store for those who honor Him in this way.

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments!^[30]

Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways!^[31]

Oh, how abundant is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You and worked for those who take refuge in You, in the sight of the children of mankind! ^[32]

The time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding Your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear Your name, both small and great.^[33]

Those of us who love the Lord don’t need to have the type of fear that causes us to be afraid of God and His wrath. We are part of His family, having been given this right through our faith in Jesus. Our sins are forgiven, so we won’t face the punishment of God. We are redeemed. Our relationship with the Lord is one of love, of gratitude, of praise and worship. As such, we are rightly to fear the Lord by giving Him our love, obeying His Word, and living in a manner that glorifies Him, for He is infinitely worthy.

Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created.^[34]

Note

^[1] Psalm 112:1.

^[2] Psalm 31:19.

^[3] Psalm 111:10.

^[4] Proverbs 1:7.

^[5] Proverbs 10:27.

^[6] Proverbs 14:27.

^[7] Proverbs 19:23.

^[8] Ecclesiastes 8:12.

^[9] Proverbs 15:16.

^[10] Psalm 25:14.

^[11] Psalm 34:7.

^[12] Psalm 34:9.

^[13] Psalm 115:13.

^[14] Proverbs 22:4.

^[15] Isaiah 2:19.

^[16] Hebrews 10:29–31.

^[17] Matthew 10:28.

^[18] Isaiah 11:2–3.

^[19] John 8:49.

^[20] John 17:1.

^[21] John 13:31.

^[22] Genesis 22:12.

^[23] Job 1:1.

^[24] Acts 10:1–2.

^[25] Psalm 36:1.

^[26] Romans 3:14–18.

^[27] Ecclesiastes 8:13.

^[28] Jeremiah 2:19.

^[29] Hebrews 12:6.

^[30] Psalm 112:1.

^[31] Psalm 128:1.

^[32] Psalm 31:19.

^[33] Revelation 11:18.

^[34] Revelation 4:11.

Jude

NIV

2014-04-14

Jude 1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by [Or for; or in] Jesus Christ:

Jude 2 Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.

Jude 3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. Jude 4 For certain men whose condemnation was written about [Or men who were marked out for condemnation] long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a licence for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

Jude 5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord [Some early manuscripts Jesus] delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe.

Jude 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home – these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

Jude 7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

Jude 8 In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings.

Jude 9 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

Jude 10 Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals – these are the very things that destroy them.

Jude 11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.

Jude 12 These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm – shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted – twice dead.

Jude 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved for ever.

Jude 14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones

Jude 15 to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

Jude 16 These men are grumblers and fault-finders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.

Jude 17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. Jude 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.”

Jude 19 These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

Jude 20 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.

Jude 21 Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Jude 22 Be merciful to those who doubt;

Jude 23 snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear – hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

Jude 24 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy –

Jude 25 to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and for evermore! Amen.

What is apostasy and how can I recognize it?

Answer

Apostasy, from the Greek word apostasia, means “a defiance of an established system or authority; a rebellion; an abandonment or breach of faith.” In the first-century world, apostasy was a technical term for political revolt or defection. Just like in the first century, spiritual apostasy threatens the Body of Christ today.

The Bible warns about people like Arius (c. AD 250—336), a Christian priest from Alexandria, Egypt, who was trained at Antioch in the early fourth century. About AD 318, Arius accused Bishop Alexander of Alexandria of subscribing to Sabellianism, a false teaching that asserted that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were merely roles or modes assumed by God at various times. Arius was determined to emphasize the oneness of God; however, he went too far in his teaching of God’s nature. Arius denied the Trinity and introduced what appeared on the surface to be an inconsequential difference between the Father and Son.

Arius argued that Jesus was not homoousios (“of the same essence”) as the Father, but was rather homoiousios (“of similar essence”). Only one Greek letter—the iota (ι)—separated the two. Arius described his position in this manner: “The Father existed before the Son. There was a time when the Son did not exist. Therefore, the Son was created by the Father. Therefore, although the Son was the highest of all creatures, he was not of the essence of God.”

Arius was clever and did his best to get the people on his side, even going so far as to compose little songs that taught his theology, which he tried to teach to everyone who would listen. His winsome nature, asceticism, and revered position as a preacher also contributed to his cause.

With respect to apostasy, it is critical that all Christians understand two important things: (1) how to recognize apostasy and apostate teachers, and (2) why apostate teaching is so deadly.

The Forms of Apostasy
To fully identify and combat apostasy, Christians should understand its various forms and the traits that characterize its doctrines and teachers. As to the forms of apostasy, there are two main types: (1) a falling away from key and true doctrines of the Bible into heretical teachings that claim to be “the real” Christian doctrine, and (2) a complete renunciation of the Christian faith, which results in a full abandonment of Christ.

Arius represents the first form of apostasy—a denial of key Christian truths (such as the divinity of Christ) that begins a downhill slide into a full departure from the faith, which is the second form of apostasy. The second form almost always begins with the first. A heretical belief becomes a heretical teaching that splinters and grows until it pollutes all aspects of a person’s faith, and then the end goal of Satan is accomplished, which is a complete falling away from Christianity.

The Characteristics of Apostasy and Apostates
Jude was the half brother of Jesus and a leader in the early church. In his New Testament letter, he outlines how to recognize apostasy and strongly urges those in the body of Christ to contend earnestly for the faith (Jude 1:3). The Greek word translated “contend earnestly” is a compound verb from which we get the word agonize. It is in the present infinitive form, which means that the struggle will be continuous. In other words, Jude says that there will be a constant fight against false teaching and that Christians should take it so seriously that we “agonize” over the fight in which we are engaged. Moreover, Jude makes it clear that every Christian is called to this fight, not just church leaders, so it is critical that all believers sharpen their discernment skills so that they can recognize and prevent apostasy in their midst.

After urging his readers to contend earnestly for the faith, Jude highlights the reason: “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4). In this one verse, Jude provides Christians with three traits of apostasy and apostate teachers:

First, Jude says that apostasy can be subtle. Apostates have “crept” into the church. In extra-biblical Greek, the term Jude uses describes the cunning craftiness of a lawyer who, through clever argumentation, infiltrates the minds of courtroom officials and corrupts their thinking. The word literally means “slip in sideways; come in stealthily; sneak in.” In other words, Jude says it is rare that apostasy begins in an overt and easily detectable manner. Instead, it looks a lot like Arius’s doctrine—only a single letter, the iota, differentiates the false teaching from the true.

Describing this aspect of apostasy and its underlying danger, A. W. Tozer wrote, “So skilled is error at imitating truth, that the two are constantly being mistaken for each another. It takes a sharp eye these days to know which brother is Cain and which is Abel.” The apostle Paul also speaks to the outwardly pleasing behavior of apostates and their teaching: “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:13–14). In other words, do not look for apostates to appear bad on the outside or speak dramatic words of heresy at the outset of their teaching. Rather than denying truth outright, apostates will twist it to fit their own agenda, but, as pastor R. C. Lensky has noted, “The worst forms of wickedness consist in perversions of the truth.”

Second, Jude describes apostates as “ungodly” and as those who use God’s grace as a license to commit unrighteous acts. Beginning with “ungodly,” Jude describes eighteen unflattering traits of apostates: they are ungodly (Jude 1:4), morally perverted (verse 4), denying Christ (verse 4), ones who defile the flesh (verse 8), rebellious (verse 8), people who revile angels (verse 8), who are ignorant about God (verse 8), those who proclaim false visions (verse 10), self-destructive (verse 10), grumblers (verse 16), faultfinders (verse 16), self-satisfying (verse 16), people who use arrogant words and false flattery (verse 16), mockers of God (verse 18), those who cause divisions (verse 19), worldly minded (verse 19), and finally (and not surprisingly), devoid of the Spirit/unsaved (verse 19).

Third, Jude says apostates “deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” How do apostates do this? Paul tells us in his letter to Titus, “To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed” (Titus 1:15–16). Through their unrighteous behavior, the apostates show their true selves. Unlike an apostate, a true believer is someone who has been delivered from sin to righteousness in Christ and who refuses to continue in sin (Romans 6:1–2).

Ultimately, the sign of an apostate is that he eventually falls away and departs from the truth of God’s Word and His righteousness. The apostle John signifies this is a mark of a false believer: “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us” (1 John 2:19).

Ideas Have Consequences
Every New Testament book except Philemon contains warnings about false teaching. Why is this? Simply because ideas have consequences. Right thinking and its fruit produce goodness, whereas wrong thinking and its accompanying action result in undesired penalties. As an example, the Cambodian killing fields in the 1970s were the product of the nihilistic worldview of Jean Paul Sartre and his teaching. The Khmer Rouge’s leader, Pol Pot, lived out Sartre’s philosophy toward the people in a clear and frightening way, which was articulated in this manner: “To keep you is no benefit. To destroy you is no loss.”

Satan did not come to the first couple in the Garden with an external armament or visible weapon; instead, he came to them with an idea. And it was that idea, embraced by Adam and Eve, that condemned them and the rest of humankind, with the only remedy being the sacrificial death of God’s Son.

The great tragedy is that, knowingly or unknowingly, the apostate teacher dooms his unsuspecting followers. Speaking to His disciples about the religious leaders of His day, Jesus said, “Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit” (Matthew 15:14, emphasis added). Alarmingly, it is not only false teachers who go to destruction, but their disciples follow them there. Christian philosopher Søren Kierkegaard put it this way: “For it has never yet been known to fail that one fool, when he goes astray, takes several others with him.”

Conclusion
In AD 325, the Council of Nicea convened primarily to take up the issue of Arius and his teaching. Much to Arius’s dismay, the end result was his excommunication and a statement in the Nicene Creed that affirms Christ’s divinity: “We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten of his Father, of the substance of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father.”

Arius may have died centuries ago, but his spiritual children are still with us to this day in the form of cults who deny Christ’s true essence and person. Sadly, until Christ returns and every last spiritual enemy has been removed, tares such as these will be present among the wheat (Matthew 13:24–30). In fact, Scripture says apostasy will only get worse as Christ’s return approaches. “At that time [the latter days] many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another” (Matthew 24:10). Paul told the Thessalonians that a great falling away would precede Christ’s second coming (2 Thessalonians 2:3) and that the end times would be characterized by tribulation and hollow religious charlatans: “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be . . . holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these” (2 Timothy 3:1–2, 5).

It is critical, now more than ever, that every believer pray for discernment, combat apostasy, and contend earnestly for the faith that was once and for all delivered to the saints. (GotQuestions.org)

The Endtime (part 2)

Word Basics

1997-01-01

The battle of Gog & Magog:

Psa.2:1-5 — The heathen rage [& rebel against Jesus’ rule]
Rev.20:7 — When the thousand years are expired…Satan loosed
Rev.20:8,9a — He shall deceive the nations…gather them to battle
Rev.20:9b — Fire came down from Heaven & devoured them [rebels]
2Pet.3:10-13 — Elements melt with fervent heat…earth burned up… (atmospheric) heavens on fire shall be dissolved
Psa.78:69b — The earth which He hath established forever [Only earth’s crust melts; globe is permanent]
Isa.40:4 — Every valley shall be exalted, every mountain low [Earth’s surface melted down evenly]

Great white throne judgement:

Rev.20:10 — The devil was cast (directly) into the lake of fire
Rev.20:11 — And I saw a great white throne (in Heaven)
Jn.5:29 — And they shall come forth…unto the resurrection of damnation (judgement)
Rev.20:5a — Rest of the dead live not again until the 1,000 years finished [this resurrection at end of Millennium]
Rev.20:12,13 — The (unsaved) dead judged…according to their works
Lk.12:47,48 — He that knew not…shall be beaten with few stripes [Differences of punishment] (See also Rom.2:12,14)
Job 34:10,11 — For the work of a man shall He render unto him
Rev.20:15,21:8 — (Those) not written in book of life cast into lake of fire…the second death

New heaven & new earth:
The Heavenly city comes down to earth:

Rev.21:1 — I saw a new (atmospheric) heaven & a new earth…& there was no more sea [3-4 times more land area]
Rev.21:10 — Holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven (space)
Rev.21:2 — I saw…New Jerusalem, coming down (to earth)
Rev.21:3 — (City) of God is with men, & He will dwell (on earth)

Description of the Heavenly city:

Heb.11:10 — A city, whose builder & maker is God
Rev.21:16 — [The city is 1,500 miles high, wide & broad]
Rev.21:12,17 — [The wall around base of the city is 214 feet high]
Rev.21:14,18-20 — [The wall is made of 12 layers of precious stones]
Rev.21:12,21 — The 12 gates were 12 (gigantic) pearls
Rev.21:18 — The city was pure gold, like unto clear glass
Rev.21:21b — The street…was pure gold, as…transparent glass
Rev.21:23,25 — The city had no need of the sun…for the glory of God did lighten it…no night there
Rev.22:1 — A pure river of life [flows through city]
Rev.22:2 — On either side of the river, was…the tree of life
Jn.14:2-3 — In My Father’s house (city) are many mansions

Only saved live in the city; unsaved nations outside:

Rev.21:24,27 — Only they which are written in the book of life
Rev.22:2 — Leaves of the tree for healing of the (sick) nations
Heb.11:13-16 — Pilgrims & strangers…God prepared for them a city

Eternal life & happiness in Heaven forever:

Rev.21:5 — Behold, I make all things new
Rev.22:3a — And there shall be no more curse
Rev.7:17 — God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes
Rev.21:4 — Shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying… former things are passed away
Rev.21:7 — He that overcometh shall inherit all things
Psa.36:7-9 — Make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures
Heb.13:14 — Here we have no…city, but we seek one to come

Celebrating Love

Maria Fontaine

2014-02-14

This is a day to celebrate love. Every day is a day to celebrate love. The love we experience for one another has a major, positive impact on our lives. When we feel the love of others, it inspires us and brightens our day because it is a reflection of the greatest of all loves—God’s love: the love of the Father in sending His Son to earth; the love of the Son in willingly coming and giving His life for us; and the love of the Holy Spirit in comforting and caring for us and empowering us to follow God.^[1]

When we celebrate the love we share with others, the starting place is to celebrate this source of all love—God’s love: a love so vast and mysterious that it’s a challenge to even start to describe it. One of the greatest examples of God’s love, outside of the gift of salvation, is heaven, with its all-encompassing joy, peace, and personalized wonders. God, in His love for you and me, welcomes us into His heavenly realm, a place of complete fulfillment, contentment, and satisfaction beyond anything we could ask or think. How can we not celebrate a love so great, which gives beyond all expectation and all imagination!

A few months ago I had cause to celebrate God’s love for my mother who, at the age of 91, went to sleep and woke up in the arms of Jesus, peacefully passing on to her reward.

I’d like to share with you what the Lord gave me to be read at her memorial in celebration of her life as well as in celebration of the God who loves her so greatly. Many of you have occasion at times to publicly commemorate the passing on of a Christian loved one or friend. You are welcome to draw ideas from this for such occasions to help you in opening up a window of comfort for those who are overcome by great anguish of heart and mind. Please feel free to use any parts of this message, or adapt it in any way to meet the need.

You are doing people a tremendous service when you help them to picture the wonders of heaven, one of the greatest manifestations of love from a God who is all-loving. Many people have no concept of the next life; therefore, being assured of how happy their loved one is in their new home gives them hope and peace in the midst of their grief. While memorials are an opportunity to honor those who have died, these occasions can also provide a way to celebrate the enormity of God’s love in preparing such an incredibly marvelous and magical place for those who love Him. Who wouldn’t want to share such a place with their loved one for eternity!

Memorial Message for My Mother

The death of our dear mother and friend is very painful for us. We sorrow greatly and we feel deeply the personal loss. Yet, while we sorrow for ourselves, we rejoice greatly for her. Mother, our dear mother, is now with Jesus in His home. He took her into His arms and carried the flickering earthly spark of her life to heaven, where He has changed it into a warm and constant eternal flame.

Death is merely a transition, a doorway from the temporal existence to the eternal. In that eternal realm, Mother is experiencing a life so beautiful, so pure, so full of light and love and beauty! Try to imagine, along with me, the new place she’s moved to and what she may very well be experiencing now:

I can picture Daddy meeting Mother as an angelic choir fills the air with songs of victory, songs of rejoicing, welcoming her home. Then she is mesmerized by another heavenly chorus singing a melody so unbelievably beautiful! As she listens, she is awestruck as she realizes that the words are from a poem that she wrote on earth that she always wished could be put to music. What a homecoming!

Imagine Mother’s delight—her wonderment—at the possibilities and the overwhelming love and the joy that surround her. She is now bursting with renewed life and energy, all the burdens of this temporal world left behind, but all the best parts of it multiplied many times over.

Imagine Mother and Papa reunited and having a heavenly honeymoon—fit and strong and energetic—with the opportunity to travel anywhere their hearts desire and do all the things they never dreamed possible, in this ultimate dream resort of heaven. It’s for them, it’s free, and it’s forever! The price for this unbelievably magnificent opportunity to live in such a heavenly paradise was paid for them in advance long ago by the dream maker Himself, Jesus, when He gave His life for them. When they accepted His sacrifice on the cross they were given an unconditional ticket to the heavenly realm, where they can now dwell with the God of love and light and beauty forever.

Mother and Daddy lived a long, full life serving Jesus and doing good for others. Now they have everything good. All of their desires, even the secret things they had wished for, but had not seen come to pass on earth, are now possible for them in heaven.

Mother often felt that she wasn’t able to accomplish what she wanted, or as much as she wanted. She has been liberated from her earthly limitations. Now she can go as far as she dreams. Now she realizes that the life she lived on earth was only the beginning of her greatest accomplishments, her purpose and her destiny.

Neither are there physical limitations. She’ll have the energy to do the things she wanted to do before but couldn’t; her old, worn-out body just wouldn’t allow it, but in heaven, all things are possible. Because Jesus is life and energy and love, Mother and Daddy and all the inhabitants of His home partake of His energy and love for eternity. The Bible says, “We look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.”^[2]

Imagine a place where you will have a perfect memory. Imagine a place where you never forget anything except the failures, mistakes, disappointments, heartbreaks, troubles, and problems. Mother felt so bad that her memory was failing her, but now she has a new, perfect memory. We know this because the Bible says that God will “make all things new.”^[3]

Imagine a place where there is no more worry, anxiety, or apprehension; where your heart is at peace. Imagine a place where there is no more sorrow, pain, or death. Mother and Papa are experiencing all of this right now. Their time on earth was so often a struggle; there were hardships to face, sickness and heartache to deal with, but now, in this magical place, she and Daddy are free of all those things. God has wiped away all tears from their eyes, and as the Bible says, “there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.”^[4]

Heaven is the place Mother and Daddy looked forward to all their lives, and while they didn’t know exactly what it would be like, they knew they were going to Jesus’ home. They knew that anywhere that Jesus was, that would be heaven, and it would be wonderful! When the heartache and the heartbreaks and the trials of life weighed heavy upon them, this was their faith, their vision of the future. This was what they knew was in store for them. This is why they could work with joy and perseverance, knowing that their Savior, who does all things well, and who loves beyond all comprehension, was preparing something for them that would make the difficulties on earth worth it all.

The Bible says: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”^[5] Mother and Daddy have now seen with their eyes, they have heard with their ears, and now it has entered into their hearts the things that God has prepared for them. This is the gift of God’s love for them: the realm of new beginnings and incomparable wonders! Now the deepest longings of their hearts have been realized in the atmosphere and marvels of heaven.

Even with all the wonders that now surround Mother and Daddy, they haven’t forgotten us, their loved ones, who are still here in the earth life. In fact, their spirits are not gone from our lives. We’re all part of the same team; them up there, praying for us through our struggles and rejoicing in our victories, and us down here, continuing to “run our race.” They’re still actively participating from heaven, helping us to fulfill the purpose God gave us: to love Him with all our heart and our neighbor as ourself. When our job here is done, we can know, without a shadow of a doubt, that we will all be united again!—Forever!

^[1] “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3).

“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10 KJV).

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” (Romans 5:8–11 NIV).

^[2] Philippians 3:20–21.

^[3] Revelation 21:5.

^[4] Revelation 21:4 KJV.

^[5] 1 Corinthians 2:9.

Core 8-07: The Armor of God

2014-02-01

In order to resist and fight Satan, Jesus has given us spiritual armor and spiritual weapons to use, which gives us strength to withstand his attacks. We must remember that the war of good and evil is not a carnal one but a spiritual one—one that can only be won through mind and spirit. And also one that is won through faith and belief in God’s Word.

Breakdown of God’s Armor
What do we need for protection?

We are fighting the devil—Satan. We are not fighting people, but the powers of darkness in this world, which is Satan and his helpers. The protection we need is the armor of God.

What is the armor of God, and how can we clothe ourselves in it? Let’s look at each piece.

Belt of truth—Standing firm in truth. Living our lives by the truth of God’s word.

Breastplate of Righteousness—Walking uprightly before God. Aligning our lives to His standards.

Shod feet—Standing with firm-footed stability, being ready.

Shield of Faith—Standing firm in our faith. This will squash all the fiery darts Satan sends.

Helmet of Salvation—Protection for our minds. Satan attacks us here more than anywhere. We need to be sure of our Salvation and not waver or doubt.

All of these pieces are for protecting us—and need to be put on daily.

There is still one other piece we need to be armed with. This piece is not for protecting us, but for fighting with.

The Sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God.

We cannot fight the enemy if we don’t know the word of God. It is vital for how effective we are when we use the sword, and how effective the rest of the armor is that protects us. No soldier goes to war with faulty weapons, or with faulty protection. Neither should we. The key here is to learn God’s word. Hide it in your heart. Then you can put on God’s armor and be able to stand firm.

S. Lowndes

As it said in the last paragraph, “We cannot fight the enemy if we don’t know the word of God.” This is a key point to remember, because it’s the secret to defeating and overcoming the power of Satan.

Core 8-08: Jesus’ Power over Satan

2014-02-01

The Bible says that it was for the very purpose of defeating Satan that the Son of God was manifested or revealed. [10] And by coming to earth and bringing us His law of love and then dying to take our sins, He overcame the Devil. In fact, before Jesus could begin His ministry, He went into the wilderness and was tempted by Satan.

Mark 1:13 And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

Jesus needed to have this battle with Satan in order to put Satan in his place and to prove to Satan that there was no way that he could have power over Him. There is no scenario where Satan will triumph over Jesus. Jesus will always win. Jesus rules supreme, and His power is stronger than any of the power or attacks that Satan can come up with.

Here is a humorous fictional story that illustrates Jesus’ power over the Enemy.

Jesus and Satan Compete
Jesus and Satan were having a debate about who was better on the computer. So God said, “I am going to set up a test that will run for two hours, and from those results, I will judge who does the better job.”

So Satan and Jesus sat down at the keyboards and typed away.

[media]

They moused.

They faxed.

They e-mailed.

They e-mailed with attachments.

They downloaded.

They did spreadsheets.

They wrote reports.

They created labels and cards.

They created charts and graphs.

They did some genealogy reports.

They did every job known to man.

Jesus worked with heavenly efficiency and Satan was faster than hell.

Then, ten minutes before their time was up, lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, thunder rolled, rain poured, and, of course, the power went off.

Satan stared at his blank screen and screamed every curse word known in the underworld.

Jesus just sighed.

Finally the electricity came back on, and each of them restarted their computers.

Satan started searching frantically, screaming:

“It’s gone! It’s all GONE! I lost everything when the power went out!”

Meanwhile, Jesus quietly started printing out all of His files from the past two hours of work.

Satan observed this and became irate.

“Wait!” he screamed. “That’s not fair! He cheated! How come He has all His work and I don’t have any?”

God just shrugged and said, “Jesus saves!”

Author unknown

Footnotes

[10] 1 John 3:8

Core 8-09: Our Authority over Satan

2014-02-01

You’re not strong enough to fight the Devil on your own, but through the power that Jesus gives us, you have more than enough authority and power over Satan. Since the Word is Jesus, the Word is what Satan fears the most, because the Word exposes and confounds him. It freaks him out so much that it makes him want to get away from you as fast as he can.

Another way to rebuke and bind Satan and his power is by calling on the name of Jesus. Just as Jesus rebuked Satan and commanded him to leave him in the Great Temptation, so can you do the same by using the authoritative and powerful name of Jesus.

Philippians 2:9-10 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth

When Jesus was with His disciples, He gave them power to cast out devils:

Luke 9:1 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.

And this power is given to all of those who believe in the name of Jesus:

Mark 16:17 These signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons.

Core 8-06: Strategy Against Satan’s Tactics

2014-02-01

The Bible tells us to “fight the good fight of faith” [9] and warns us not to be ignorant of the Devil’s tactics. The Devil has no direct power over us physically, but he can try to influence our thoughts, attitudes, and decisions. We don’t need to fear him, but we do need to be on guard against him.

The Devil knows that if he’s too obvious with his attacks, then we would readily recognize his lies and know how to defeat him. So he often uses more subtle tactics, like twisting the truth to cause us to choose to do something wrong, or magnifying our lazy nature to keep us from choosing to make a positive decision.

Say you became sick or were involved in an accident. You feel that if you would have done something differently, this wouldn’t have happened. As a Christian, you know that God can use this situation to either teach you something good or bring you closer to Him. Once you have asked Him and have done your part to get His thoughts on the matter, then that’s that—you get better and move on. But the Devil is more than happy to play on your feelings of remorse. He will try to make sure that you don’t let go of that bad feeling, and he does his best to make sure that you will continue to beat yourself up about what you did wrong for as long as possible.

The goodness that Jesus gives us makes us feel forgiven, humbled, and thankful, so if you are instead carrying feelings of remorse, condemnation, and regret, you need to realize that this is Satan at work.

It’s important to recognize the thoughts and lies of Satan, because once you do, you can then access the power and promises of Jesus that He gives you through the words that are written in the Bible. The Devil cannot withstand the power of Jesus. His own power is weakened and he is then easily defeated.

Fight Like a Warrior
A message from Jesus
The true warrior is always looking for a way to gain territory no matter how severe the attacks of the Enemy may be. Unlike earthly warfare, where you often retreat when casualties are high, or you concede defeat because you’re badly beaten, when it comes to spiritual warfare you never need to concede defeat, because you can always rely on Me to come through for you, and make every situation and every battle a victory situation if you never give up.

The way of man is usually to pull back in certain areas in order to reinforce other areas where major attacks have been launched, but that’s a very defensive approach. Often the best way to fight back is to not only stand your ground, but to launch an attack in several directions, so that the Enemy is the one who is then put on the defensive and sent running.

No matter how badly the Enemy attacks you, you have the power and the weapons to keep hammering away at him. You have the heavenly resources to keep blasting his forces to bits. And you have the gift of faith to hold tightly to, so that no matter how dismal the outlook may be, your faith in Me will sustain your spirit with the promise that I will be the victor, so long as you are willing to keep fighting and seeing the battle through.

Don’t give the Enemy the pleasure of seeing you pull back because of his scare tactics. Keep launching your attack. Keep sending volleys into Satan’s camp, no matter how hard he’s besieging you. The courageous man is the one who keeps fighting and moving forward even when he’s hardest hit, even when there are foes all around and the battles are intense. There is always hope of victory if you keep fighting.

Footnotes

[9] 1 Timothy 6:12

Core 8-04: Knowing Who’s Who

2014-02-01

We can tell the difference between God’s good spiritual forces and the Devil’s evil spirits by “test[ing] the spirits, whether they are of God.” [4]

God’s power is creative and loving, while the Devil’s power is destructive and hateful. God’s Spirit ministers love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—all good things. The Devil and his evil spirits minister fear, hatred, bitterness, strife, misery, confusion, and torment—all bad things. [5]

Footnotes

[4] 1 John 4:1

[5] Galatians 5:22-23

Core 8-05: Heavenly Forces

2014-02-01

There is, of course, the good side to the spirit world—the side that fights the Devil and those who follow him. This side not only includes God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, but also other spirits as well. You can find reference to these spirits in the Bible.

These include the seven spirits of God spoken of in Revelation 4:5, the seven stars or angels or spirits of the seven churches of Revelation 1:20, the four spirits of the heavens of Zechariah 6:5, and the multitudes of other celestial messengers, angels, or spirits that are mentioned in the Bible.

The apostle Paul calls this heavenly host a “great cloud of witnesses” that surrounds us. [6] Just like a cloud is composed of millions of tiny particles of moisture, this spiritual cloud is composed of millions of good spirits.

In the book of 2 Kings we learn about how God opened someone’s eyes to see into the spiritual realm and he got a glimpse of some of those many witnesses:

2 Kings 6:15-17 (NIV) When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” the servant asked. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

They are not only watching us, they are watching over us, protecting us, and trying to influence us for good. All throughout the Bible there are many promises of spiritual protection, such as, “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them,” [7] and, “He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.” [8]

These heavenly beings are also there to help us to fight the battle of good and evil mentally and spiritually, and to help us to choose what is right over what is wrong.

Footnotes

[6] Hebrews 12:1

[7] Psalm 34:7

[8] Psalm 91:11

Spiritual Pests and Problems

Taking Authority over Evil Spirits

David Brandt Berg

1985-04-01

I was so surprised one time when my mother and I went to pray for a girl in Pittsburgh, named Helen Jones. Mother always did all the praying and took charge, whereas I just sort of stood by and helped lay on hands. But all of a sudden the Spirit hit me and I practically began to prophesy when I laid my hands on her head, and I got the scripture about the spirit of fear, “who through fear of death were all their lives subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:15). So I knew then right away; the Lord revealed that it was a spirit of fear, and I rebuked it.

I don’t have those experiences too often, but every now and then I recognize that somebody is being afflicted by one of those little pests. It’s not like being demon-possessed, where people have fits and go absolutely berserk, but it’s sort of like having a parasite that just lives on you and with you and is a constant pest and annoyance. Although it can’t actually possess you or control you, it constantly annoys and pesters. Of course, I suppose if some people would yield to it completely, they would get possessed. But it’s just sort of like harboring a parasite that is living off you, like a bloodsucker.

My mother used to make that distinction between some people actually being possessed by devils, whereas others are just oppressed by some devil or demons that constantly pester and bother them and annoy them. Some people just sort of harbor them and allow them to hang around without really rebuking them and getting rid of them.

That reminds me of Mr. Machowski, who was oppressed by a spirit named Tom. Mr. Machowski was standing on the street corner preaching in Chicago when he finally really rebuked Tom. Tom left him and entered into a drunk, and the drunk had a fit and fell down on the sidewalk slobbering just like an epileptic. Apparently he could totally possess the drunk, because the drunk wasn’t saved.

It’s so sad that Christians go so long without getting complete deliverance. They have to recognize those devils and sometimes even call them by name and command them in the name of the Lord to depart, then they have to obey. But if they don’t discern them and don’t recognize them and don’t take authority over them, then they don’t use their authority and their power in the Lord to rebuke them and get rid of them. It’s just like a human host harboring some kind of parasite and not really doing anything about it. Sometimes the parasite kind of annoys them and they swat them or scratch them, but they don’t really take authority over it and command it to depart in the name of Jesus.

The only way people like that can get rid of them is to go on a direct attack and be specific, even name the demon, if possible, and command it to depart in Jesus’ name. You can’t just scratch them and swat them and sort of chase them a little bit; you’ve got to get rid of them completely. You’ve got to recognize the spirit, the devil, the demon, or call it by name if necessary.

I know I was suddenly inspired that day praying for that girl. I rebuked the spirit of fear and commanded it to depart in Jesus’ name, and she was instantly delivered, and at the same time she was healed. She had gotten so fearful that she stayed in bed all the time and couldn’t eat, and finally got to where she could hardly drink water. She was frightened of everything. But the minute we got rid of that damn fearful spirit, we commanded her in the name of the Lord to get up out of bed and walk, and she got right out of bed and started walking around the room and was totally delivered and never had any problem with it again.

So you’ve got to be definite and specific about these things and even call them by name and rebuke them by their kind or whatever, with real authority in the power of the Spirit. There are lying spirits that deceive people, and usually they’re very deceitful. They don’t want to wake people up to the fact that they’ve got problems with the Devil. They even pretend to be good, like Tom.

Mr. Machowski thought Tom was good because he was helping him win bets and races and make a lot of money. So he finally decided to bet everything he had on one horse and make a real killing, and Tom told him the wrong horse and he lost everything. Tom just cackled and laughed about it like it was a big joke. I think that was just before Mr. Machowski was saved, and his getting saved was a result of that, when he realized that Tom was something evil.

You see, the Devil is a destroyer. He tried to strip Mr. Machowski. He may have even sensed or known he was going to get saved and was trying to destroy him, because it was then that he heard a Gospel program on the air and got saved. He heard this preacher preach on discerning spirits and rebuking spirits, and he got that special verse about “every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ came in the flesh is not of God” (1 John 4:2). He took that home with him and went into his usual séance with Tom and confronted Tom with that verse. He said, “All right, Tom. You claim you’re good, now confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh!” Tom hemmed and hawed and beat around the bush and finally ranted and raged furiously because he was caught and exposed.

So Mr. Machowski slammed his Bible shut and said, “Okay, if you won’t confess Jesus Christ, then you’re not of God. It means you’re evil and of the Devil. Go away! Leave me alone!” But he didn’t know specifically how to really take authority over the evil spirit and command it in the name of Jesus to leave with the authority of the Lord. He just sort of told him to get away, that he didn’t want him around.

It’s like having an evil boarder in your house. He’s not in control of the house, but he causes you trouble and annoyance and you don’t like him. You tell him to leave several times, but he won’t leave, so finally by the authority and the law—in this case of the Word of God and the name of Jesus—you literally throw him out!

Christians who are the property of the Lord can’t be literally possessed of the Devil. My mother recognized that. She’d say, “They’re just oppressed and being annoyed by an evil spirit.” She didn’t see how the property of the Lord could be in possession of the Devil. But some Christians certainly were pestered and annoyed and caused a lot of other people to be annoyed as a result by having those oppressive spirits.

First of all, you need discernment to recognize the spirit, what kind of spirit it is and what it’s the spirit of, whether it’s a spirit of fear or whatever it is. Then you need to take charge and recognize that you have the authority of the Lord and the Spirit of the Lord to rebuke it in Jesus’ name and command it to go.

This is what the disciples were so excited about when they came back to Jesus and said, “Even the evil spirits are subject into us” (Luke 10:17). In other words, they had to go when the disciples told them to depart in Jesus’ name. But there were some stubborn ones. Remember, Jesus said of one, “This kind goeth not out but by fasting and prayer” (Matthew 17:21). In other words, they had to really get down to business with God and fast and pray together to have a real anointing and power to rebuke a powerful devil.

I’ve heard of people praying for people and commanding the spirit, whatever kind of spirit it was, saying, “Give me your name! What’s your name?” And they have to obey, and the mouth of the victim flies open and tells the name of the spirit, what kind of spirit it is. So it’s good to really nail it down and identify it and make it confess its name. Or have someone with discernment there that recognizes the spirit and its name, and then rebuke it by name in the name of the Lord and command it to depart, because we have authority over those devils.

We all have power over evil spirits, all of us who have the Lord, but we need to learn how to exercise it and how to be specific about it and how to discern what demon or devil it is and what kind or what name, and then command it by name in the name of the Lord to depart, with real anointing take charge of the situation and command it to depart. But if the person doesn’t want to be delivered, and their own will refuses to be delivered, then the Devil has got a real hold on them.

I guess you’d call it taking authority over evil spirits, being specific and commanding the evil spirit to leave in the name of the Lord and by the authority of the power of the Spirit with anointing and spiritual power, and it will depart. It’s just pitiful that Christians who have hosted these pests for years and been annoyed by them and pestered by them, oppressed by them, handicapped by them, haven’t recognized it and really rebuked it by name. I think sometimes they don’t want to recognize it; they don’t want to admit it and confess it. As the disciples said, “Even the devils are subject unto us!” They have to obey when you are specific and call them by name and command them to depart, even telling them where to go like Jesus did.

They asked if they could go into the swine, so He let them, and they possessed about 2,000 head of swine. That was quite a herd! And they all ran down and fell over the precipice into the sea and were apparently killed (Matthew 8:28–34; Mark 5:1–17). So no wonder their owner got mad at Jesus! To get rid of that many devils all at once and destroy his whole herd of swine was quite a scene.

Jesus was very specific. He would talk to the devils and even call them by name. In that one case He demanded the devil’s name. He said, “What is thy name?” And the man said, “Our name is Legion, for we are many.” The poor demoniac was possessed by a whole legion of devils! Then as soon as they were all gone, the man sat there at Jesus’ feet, clothed, in his right mind, and peaceful. Up till that time he had broken chains and was a wild man, violent. He was totally, instantly delivered, apparently from a legion of devils!

Sometimes people can even have a spirit of worry or nervousness that seems to pester them, and that’s also a form of fear. They’re oppressive spirits. They can’t actually get in, but they attack from the outside. They put thoughts in people’s heads and inspire them to do certain things which they shouldn’t do. They’re not in full possession, but people, often not realizing it’s the Devil, obey them and do things that they’re told to do, and if that habit keeps up, it can wind up in defeat. Thank God we are a possession of His Holy Spirit and the Devil couldn’t possibly possess us.

So don’t feel bad if the Devil attacks you and bothers you and annoys you and pesters you and hinders you. That’s his job, and the Lord allows it as your test. What was Jesus’ temptation for? It was the final test before He began His public ministry. The Devil was testing Him to see if he could make Him fall, and gave Him three different types of temptations. Jesus had been 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness. The Devil even quoted scripture! But the Lord answered him with scripture each time (Matthew 4:1–11).

Remember, Jesus was in a human body then, and He had all the weaknesses and frailties and temptations of the human flesh, and here the Devil offers Him the whole world. He could have said, “It’s My world anyhow and I’m going to take it over one of these days soon, so nuts to you!” But He didn’t. He just quoted Scripture. “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve” (Matthew 4:10). And in another place He said, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (Matthew 4:7). The first temptation was food, and Jesus answered, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

So what is the best way to resist the Devil when he comes along with his lies and temptations and deceits? Pick up the sword of the Spirit and whack away! He’ll run every time if you’ll really use the Word of God.

Fill your mind with the Word of God and you won’t have room for that darkness. Fill your mind with the light of God’s Word, and the darkness will flee. Quote Scripture! Don’t listen to the Devil’s lies. Fill your mind with the light, and the darkness will flee.

“Give no place to the Evil One,” God’s Word says (Ephesians 4:27). Don’t give him any room to get in. With some people, the Devil comes knocking at their heart’s door and they open the door and they’re very hospitable. They say, “Come right on in, Mr. Devil and Mrs. Devil and all your little devilets. Come on in, pull up a chair. Here, sit down and let’s talk things over!” Don’t listen to his doubts and his fears and his discouragement and his temptations and all the rest. Sock him with the Word of God!

Bad Pictures; Evil Imagination

Word Topics

1998-01-01

Definition: Bad pictures can be defined as thoughts involving oneself and/or others, accompanied by mental pictures having negative, violent, destructive, or perverted themes. The Bible often refers to this as evil imagination.

At some time or another we are tempted with bad mental pictures.

Genesis 8:21a — [Evil thoughts or pictures can be a product of our sinful nature.] And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in His heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth. [See also 6:5; Mark 7:21-23.]
Jeremiah 17:9 — The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Romans 8:7 — [Bad thoughts or pictures can come from our sinful carnal minds.] Because the carnal mind is enmity [hostile] against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
1 Corinthians 10:13 — There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

It is not necessarily a sin when bad thoughts or pictures enter our minds, only if we yield to or entertain them.

Job 15:12,13 — Why doth thine heart carry thee away? And what do thy eyes wink at, ¹³ That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth? [See also Proverbs 4:23.]
Isaiah 55:7 — Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
Jonah 2:8 — They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
Romans 6:13 — Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
Romans 8:1 — There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
James 1:13-15 — Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man: ¹⁴ But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. ¹⁵ Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

Evil pictures and imaginations are often be inspired by the Enemy.

Genesis 3:1-6 — [The Devil put thoughts in Eve’s mind, subtly convincing her to disobey.] Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? ² And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: ³ But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. ⁴ And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: ⁵ For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. ⁶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Luke 22:31,32a — And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. ^32a But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.
John 8:44b — [The Devil is the “father of lies.”] He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
1 Timothy 4:1 — [Demonic influences are stronger in the Latter Days, especially to those who listen to them!] Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the Latter Times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.
1 Peter 5:8,9a — Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. ^9a Whom resist stedfast in the faith.

Here are some attitudes which are fertile ground for evil thoughts and imaginings:

1 Samuel 18:7-9 — [Envy or jealousy can motivate the heart to imagine evil against others without valid reason:] And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. ⁸ And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom? ⁹ And Saul eyed David from that day and forward. [Later he even tried to kill David several times.] [See also Acts 13:45; Proverbs 27:4.]
Jeremiah 7:24 — [Backsliding:] But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward. [See also Deuteronomy 29:18,19.]
Zechariah 7:10b — [Rebelliousness is an inroad for evil:] And let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. 11 But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. [See also 8:17; Jeremiah 18:11,12.]
Acts 8:22,23 — [Bitterness usually gives rise to evil imaginings.] Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. ²³ For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. [See also Job 7:11; Hebrews 12:15.]
Psalm 36:4 — [When we don’t hate evil, we’re open to thinking the Enemy’s thoughts.] He [the wicked] deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.
Luke 1:51b — [Pride and self-righteousness:] He [God] hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
2 Thessalonians 2:10,11 — [Lack of receptivity to the truth:] And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ¹¹ And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.

Sometimes the Enemy gives us bad pictures and imaginings to try and weaken us through fear.

2 Timothy 1:7 — For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Psalm 27:1 — 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?
Psalm 112:7 — He shall not be afraid of evil tidings [or pictures]: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.
Proverbs 3:25a,26 — Be not afraid of sudden fear. … ²⁶ For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
2 Kings 6:17 — [Ask the Lord to open the eyes of your spirit to the realities of His good Spirit World which is fighting with you and for you.] And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray Thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

We must learn to recognize the Devil’s broadcasts and “change channels” immediately!

1 John 4:1a — Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God.
Matthew 26:41 — Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 — For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: ⁴ (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
1 Peter 1:13a — Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober.

Avoid being exposed to the Devil’s propaganda and dirty work through polluting videos, TV shows or reading material.

Psalm 101:3 — I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.
Psalm 119:37 — Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken Thou me in Thy way.
Proverbs 4:25 — Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
Isaiah 33:15,16 — He that … shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; ¹⁶ He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.
Romans 12:9b — Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

Meditating on Jesus and His Word leaves no room for evil pictures.

Deuteronomy 11:18 — Therefore shall ye lay up these my words [Moses’ exhortation to obey the Lord] in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.
Psalm 1:2 — But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night.
Psalm 19:14 — Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
Psalm 104:34 — My meditation of Him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord.
Isaiah 26:3 — Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.
1 Timothy 4:15 — Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.

Once we determine in our hearts to resistthe Enemy’s evil pictures, the Lord promises us absolute, total victory over the powers of darkness.

Isaiah 59:19b — When the Enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.
Matthew 10:1a — And when He had called unto Him His twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out.
Matthew 18:18 — Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.
Luke 11:34-36 — The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. ³⁵ Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.³⁶ If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.
2 Peter 2:9a — The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations.
1 John 2:14b — [Power to overcome the Devil comes from the Word:] I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the Word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the Wicked One.
1 John 4:4 — Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.

03 – Finding Rest Through Prayer Moments

Resting in the Lord, Part 3

Words from Jesus

2006-10-01

02/09/25 When you search for ways to bring Me more into your day, it is easy to get discouraged and feel that you hardly have enough time as it is, and it’s just not realistic to commit more time to your spiritual life. But bringing Me into your day doesn’t always require more time. You just need to learn to connect with Me more as you go about your duties, through a moment of prayer, or a moment of thinking positive and uplifting thoughts. Or when you’re doing something that doesn’t require your total focus, you can take a moment of quiet communion with Me.

As you seek Me and My presence in everything you do, you’ll find those little spaces for a time of communion between the two of us, or an opportunity to commit to Me your work or any cares you are facing. Prayer is an important part of committing your cares to Me—taking the time to till the ground through your prayers before going in to sow the seeds.

Time-saving prayer

When you’re trying to do too much, and you’re constantly under pressure to perform, accomplish, and get things taken care of to the point that you don’t feel you have the time to commit your cares to Me, that can lead to an unbalanced life and your eventually wearing out, because the load is more than you can carry in your own strength.

It takes time to seek Me about a complex issue, but it can save more time than continuing to struggle and trying to figure it out yourself. It takes time to labor in prayer for someone’s needs, but you could never meet all their needs yourself even if you invested your full time in it.

When there’s too much for you to do and it seems humanly impossible, come to Me with your heavy burdens and I will give you rest. As you depend on Me more, rely on My strength, and commit every care to Me in prayer, you will find the strength and grace you need.

People often feel that “trusting Me” means resigning themselves to seeing things fall through the cracks, and that it’s just one of those hard choices to “let something go.” But when you truly commit your cares to Me, I can save you hours of work time by taking care of the behind-the-scenes side of things, by preparing people’s hearts, supplying your needs, and helping things fall into place, or even by taking care of situations before you have to get involved.

I can save you so much time when you commit your ways to Me, trust in Me, and ask Me to act on your behalf.¹ Commit things to Me in prayer. Depend on Me to do the “big work” in people’s hearts, so that some of these big rocks that look like they will be so difficult to move will move easily—to your surprise—and will fall into place as they should.

If you’re committing your work and your every concern to Me in prayer, you can approach your work with confidence and the knowledge that I have promised to direct your paths.²

My anointing lightens the load

One of the laws of My Spirit is that if I ask you to do something, then I will provide the anointing and will help you to do it. I have the plan, I have the anointing to give you, and I will give you the strength and wisdom that you need. Remember, I created the world and all My marvelous, mind-boggling creation out of nothing! So when you look at yourself and your limitations, and even what seem to you to be very real factors—you’re forgetting that if I have given you a task to do, I will also provide everything you need to do it.

If you stop to think about it, there are so many things that can go wrong or right in your work or your circumstances every day. There are many factors beyond your control that will greatly affect your work—like your health, how you sleep, whether your computer or equipment or vehicle works, how well all the pieces of the puzzle come together. No matter how carefully you plan and how much “margin for error” you allow yourself, it’s difficult for you to accurately predict everything or to fully know what is going to end up being the most important work, or where your labors might have the greatest effect. But if you’re seeking Me and committing all your ways to Me, you can trust Me to work through you and in everything you face.

Yours is a life of faith. If I ask you to do something, then I have a plan for how to help you do it. There will be times when the load is very heavy, but you have to keep casting all your cares on Me. There will be times when you’re stretched thin, but you have to determine to commit every concern to Me and do the best you can, trusting that I will help you to stretch without breaking. There will be times when it all seems impossible—but that is when My power and strength will come through.

My perspective will give you faith. If you get your eyes off My perspective and allow worry to replace faith, you’ll feel the stress and strain. But if you learn to let Me help you carry the load and you keep laboring in prayer, the load will be there, but it will be easier and lighter. It’s not that you won’t feel the load, but it won’t ever be too much. It won’t get you down. It won’t steal your joy.

I promise to continue to give you the anointing and strength and all that you need for the job as you continue to place your trust in Me.

Moving mountains through prayer

Praying is one of the most proactive things you can do in any situation—praying for the future, praying for people, praying for supply, praying that I will work in the hearts and minds of others, praying for mission works, praying for laborers for the harvest. Prayer is preparing the field, the ground, so that when you advance, your way is already prepared.

You can’t change hearts or minds, but I can. Prayer begins the job, and sometimes even finishes the job, before you have to expend any other energy. And if it doesn’t finish the job, it can do a great portion of the work so that when you finally step into the situation, the stage is set and the pieces fall together, and you marvel at the works of My hands.

Too often work takes on a life of its own, and people begin feeling that they have to meet preset goals no matter what. They are running on yesterday’s program, and it can be hard to put on the brakes or change direction once things are in motion. Part of laboring to enter into My rest is bringing situations to Me and seeking My guidance to evaluate and assess them. Sometimes I will guide you to realize that you no longer need to take care of something that you thought you had to, or that you don’t have to take care of it in the same intense way that you were feeling led. I might guide you to scale some endeavor way back and instead commit it to Me in prayer.

When you cast your burdens on My shoulders, you can trust that I will help you to carry them, and you will feel lighter and have greater confidence and strength. When you take time to commune with Me; when you commit your cares to Me instead of giving way to worry or stress, you are tapping in to My power and strength, and letting it carry you.

Originally published October 2006. Adapted and republished June 2019.
Read by Simon Peterson. Music by John Listen.

¹ Psalm 37:5.

² Proverbs 3:6.

Signs of the Times

2004-01-01

02/08/25 As events unfold in the third millennium, many of us can’t help but wonder what the future holds for us and our planet. Are we on the threshold of a brave New World Order, with “peace and plenty for all”? Or are we tottering on the brink of unprecedented chaos and disaster?

Biblical prophets foretold many specifics about today’s world. Their predictions, now two to three thousand years old, accurately depict conditions and events that have either already taken place or will soon—quite possibly during our lifetime.

Among those prophecies are descriptions of modern rapid transportation systems, today’s unprecedented increase in world travel, the present explosion in knowledge of all kinds, technological advances such as electronic banking, a soon-to-be-implemented global financial and identification system, the effects of global warming, and outbreaks of lethal epidemics.

Awareness of these predictions will give you a new perspective on the radical transformation the world is currently undergoing, as well as prepare you for the cataclysmic changes to come.

The big question

A discourse that is regarded by many as the most profound and comprehensive of its kind was given 2,000 years ago on a hillside outside the ancient city of Jerusalem. There a small band of truth-seekers gathered around their teacher—a carpenter-turned-preacher, known as Jesus of Nazareth. The question they asked Him prompted a response that reaches across the centuries to the days in which we are now living.

As He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3).

What His followers were asking Him about is often referred to as “the Second Coming,” the dramatic return of Christ prior to His taking over the world and establishing the kingdom of God on earth. Jesus answered their question by revealing not one sign of “the end,” but many.

A world at war

“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. … Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:6-8).

Wars, famines, plagues, and earthquakes were nothing new in Jesus’ time, of course. War has been a scourge of mankind since time immemorial, but no period in history has witnessed a greater number of wars or greater destruction brought about by them than has the last hundred years.

Famines

“And there will be famines…” (Matthew 24:7)

Extreme poverty remains a daily reality for more than 1 billion people; hunger and malnutrition are almost equally pervasive: More than 800 million people have too little to eat to meet their daily energy needs. World population has more than doubled in the last 50 years and is expected to reach 8.5 billion by the year 2030. As the number of people increases, per capita availability of water and arable land decreases. The control of water resources is predicted to become a major cause of armed conflict in the future.

Our violent world

“As the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:37).

Another condition that Jesus indicated would be evident immediately prior to His return would be pervasive violence. How were things in “the days of Noah?” The book of Genesis tells us “the earth was corrupt before God, and was filled with violence” (Genesis 6:11).

In the 20th century it is estimated that around 110 million people died as a result of wars, whereas over 170 million were killed in political violence during the same period.

The good news goes global

“And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).

Unlike wars, famine, plagues, and earthquakes, which Jesus called “the beginning of sorrows,” He said that this particular sign—the Gospel being preached in all the world—was a specific sign that would indicate when the actual end of the age would be upon the world.

According to The Almanac of the Christian World, Christians and Christian churches now exist in every country of the world. Missiologists estimate that between 75 and 85 percent of the world’s population have heard the Gospel at least once. Over 50 million Bibles are distributed every year, as well as nearly 80 million New Testaments. Four billion gospel tracts are also printed each year.

According to the United Bible Societies, the entire Bible or parts thereof are now available to about 98 percent of the world’s population, having been translated partially or entirely into some 2,303 languages and dialects. Meanwhile an innumerable number of Christian websites, cyber churches, gospel webcasts and podcasts, and other Christian ministries evangelize, inform, and pastor via the Internet.

Never in the course of history has the Gospel been preached in all the world to all nations as it is right now by every means possible.

ARE YOU READY for these earth-shaking events? If not, you can get ready by simply receiving Jesus into your life. He loves you, and will be with you and guide you through whatever perilous times you may face. If you don’t yet know Jesus, you can receive Him and His free gift of everlasting life by simply praying this prayer:

Dear Jesus, I ask You to come into my heart. Please forgive me for all the wrongs I’ve done, and give me Your gift of everlasting life. Help me to love You, and help me to share Your love and truth with others. Amen.

The Prince of the Covenant

David Brandt Berg

1979-05-01

Nearly all Bible prophecy teachers teach that the prince of the Covenant (referred to in Daniel 11:22) is the Antichrist, because that’s what the Bible as good as says. “The prince of the covenant”—it’s obvious. The term itself implies who he is: the prince of the Covenant. Who is this prince that has so much to do with the Covenant that he is called the prince of the Covenant? He can be none other than the Antichrist.

There’s only one other screwy interpretation I ever heard of, by the historicists, who say it was all fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and Jesus Himself was the prince of the Covenant. How can He be, when this prince-of-the-covenant Antichrist is against the “Prince of princes,” or King of kings, Jesus, in Daniel 8:25?

The “historicists,” usually old-line denominations, are the ones who teach that all this Bible prophecy has already been fulfilled; it is all past history and we’re now living in the Millennium. If this is the Millennium, or Christ’s kingdom of heaven on earth, God help us! It’s closer to hell on earth. They teach that Jesus’ death, the beginning of the age of grace and the end of the Law, was also the beginning of the Millennium, and we’re now in it, and Jesus will come in the Rapture after it. That’s why they’re known as “postmillennialists,” because they believe Jesus’ Second Coming is after the Millennium.

The Covenant is spoken of many times: a seven-year covenant in Daniel 9:27 and many other passages. It’s like a promise of religious freedom or religious worship, enabling the Jews to reestablish the temple and sacrificial worship in Jerusalem.

The Covenant is made by the Antichrist himself. Therefore he is called “the prince of the Covenant.” He’s the one who makes this covenant to allow religious worship and freedom in Jerusalem. This has been the general interpretation. That’s my interpretation and that of most Bible prophecy students and teachers, even Scofield’s Bible.

The Antichrist, obviously from the 9th chapter of Daniel and many others, makes the Covenant and/or confirms it, and is therefore called “the prince of the covenant.” Then he breaks it in the middle of the seven years, at the end of three and a half years. It’s generally assumed or interpreted that since he is the one who has made the Covenant, he has the power to break it.

It’s conceded by nearly all interpreters of Bible prophecy that this mastermind, this superman, the Antichrist, is the guy who’s going to solve the problem of Jerusalem by making some kind of an agreement between the Muslims and the Jews, probably by making it an international city under the U.N.

That has long been the suggestion of the U.N. as an alternative to solve the problem, to internationalize Jerusalem. That’s the only thing that will ever halfway work. But then, as the Antichrist finds out, even that doesn’t work. That still doesn’t make the religions stop fighting and quarreling with each other. They will still be fighting and arguing over every square inch of Jerusalem—who gets this, and who gets that, and who gets to place their temple here, and who gets to place their altar there. So he finally just gets fed up and abolishes the whole works and sets up his own religion.

But first in Daniel 9:27, he confirms the Covenant or this religious peace pact to allow free religious worship in Jerusalem for all religions for seven years. When he does, that will begin the last seven years of history. We know this from Daniel 9:27.

Lots of modern politicians have suggested this: “Why don’t we declare Jerusalem an open city, an international city? The sacred city, the holy city, capital of the world’s three greatest religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.” Why not declare it an international city in no one country or people’s hands, but under the U.N. or the world government? When the Antichrist takes over as the world dictator of a one-world government, he will have the power to do that, to declare Jerusalem an international city that belongs to the world—not just to the Jews, not just to the Muslims, not just to the Christians, but to all—the whole world.

It would be a compromise, a covenant telling the whole world and the world’s three greatest religions it belongs to all of us. The world government takes it over and makes it an international city. In fact, according to the Bible, the world dictator of the world government—the Antichrist—then makes that city his capital too. His political capital of his world government will be Jerusalem, the capital of the whole world (Daniel 11:45). For a while, to get the sympathy of the people and the world and the cooperation of the world’s great religions, he allows them all religious freedom, not only all over the whole world, but within Jerusalem itself.

This then finally gives the Jews their golden opportunity to rebuild their temple and restore its sacrificial worship. They work out some kind of compromise with the other religions, and this is the only way it could ever be done, because the Muslims would never allow it otherwise. It has to be done by a fourth party, a world political government, to make a compromise which is generally accepted as the covenant spoken of in the Bible prophecies of Daniel.

The Bible says the Antichrist eventually stops the sacrifices. (See Daniel 8:11, 9:27, and 11:31). Well, he can’t stop them unless somebody has started them. It’s going to take some ticklish work to figure out some way for the Jews to rebuild the temple and reinstitute sacrificial worship on their altar with the Mosque of Omar standing right over it. The Dome of the Rock, the holiest of the Muslim holy places outside of Mecca, is now standing over what was once the Jewish temple sacrificial altar, where they sacrificed their sacrifices. So what they are going to do about that, we don’t know yet.

But we do know that finally the Antichrist is going to stop it. Maybe it’s just to settle their quarrels and fights over this very thing. Who knows? He is going to put an end to the Covenant right in the middle of it. He then later sets himself up as God and his image in this holy place, and says, “Now everybody worship me and my image. Forget all these other religions, and we’ll just have one big one-world religion of the one-world government of the one-world dictator, and I will be your god!”

The Antichrist, as a smart politician, realizes that in order to stop all this bickering and arguing and infighting among the world’s three great religions within his one-world government, he’s got to abolish all religions and insist that there must just be one religion—his religion—the worship of him and his image.

Obviously, the Covenant doesn’t work. He tries, but there’s probably still so much fighting between them that he cannot get the world really united as long as these religions are still fighting each other. So his idea, of course, with the seeming sensible reasoning of man and the Devil, is to abolish all other religions and unite the world in one religion, the worship of himself, the Antichrist, which means the worship of the Devil, for he is the Devil in the flesh.

Finally the Devil has what he always wanted: the worship of the whole world with him as its god—“the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Then comes the attempted abolition of the worship of the one true God and of Jesus Christ His Son and all other religions.

It says, “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week” (seven years). First of all, it says in Daniel 9:26 that “the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary (Jerusalem and the temple), and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”

The literal fulfillment of this particular prophecy is usually considered the desolation of Jerusalem under the Romans in 70 A.D., because it was “after Messiah was cut off” (Daniel 9:26), after Jesus was crucified, that the city was destroyed and made desolate.

But maybe it also applies to the future destruction under the Antichrist, because obviously he is also going to invade and take over Jerusalem. It could apply to both—one a foreshadowing and the other a final fulfillment. Many Bible prophecies are like that. It says in verse 27—and this obviously can refer only to the Antichrist, because it has to do with the Covenant:

“And he (the Antichrist) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week”—or seven years. This prince that shall come shall confirm the Covenant. This is why he is called the prince of the Covenant, the Antichrist, as it is he who confirms the Covenant. He makes a seven-year covenant for the reinstitution of sacrificial worship and freedom of religion in Jerusalem, or an ingenious compromise between the Jews and Muslims.

But then he breaks it. “In the midst of the week” or the seven years, or therefore at the end of three and a half years, “he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” There is reference after reference about this event: Daniel 7:25; 8:9–14; 9:27; 11:31; 12:7–11; Matthew 24:15 and 21; Luke 21:20–24; Revelation 11:2–3, and many others.

“He shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease (break the Covenant), and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate (the abomination of desolation), even unto the consummation (the end), and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

All through the book of Daniel it speaks about the prince of the Covenant, the Antichrist, who turns around and breaks it in the middle, at the end of only three and a half years. He is talked about in Matthew 24:15 by Jesus, and in Revelation 11 and 13 by John. He finally turns against the Jews and the daily temple sacrifices of the Jews, and stops them, and sets up the “transgression of desolation,” his own image (Revelation 13:14–15), the “abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet,” quoted by Jesus in Matthew 24:15–21:

“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation (the image) spoken of by Daniel the prophet stand in the holy place … then shall be (the) great tribulation.” What worse abomination could stand in the holy place of the world’s three greatest religions than the Image of the Beast, the image of the Antichrist? He finally sets up his own image in the holy place, a talking, seemingly living idol!

Scofield has Jesus coming before this and taking the church out at this time so they won’t have to go through the Tribulation. But you can’t find any foundation for that in fact or scripture anywhere in the Bible. The Bible plainly says, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days … then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven” (Matthew 24:29–30).

So there is the order of events. Despite all these wars and rumors of wars and earthquakes and pestilences and famines for 2,000 years, from that time until the Antichrist, He says, “But the end is not yet” (Matthew 24:6).

“But when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand(ing) in the holy place, then” shall the end be near, for, “then shall be (the) great tribulation” which is ended by His Coming, as He says then in verses 29 and 30: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven” and He will come to rescue His own in the Rapture (verse 31; Acts 1:11; 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4; Revelation 14).

In many passages it tells us exactly how long the Tribulation’s going to be—three and a half years. All of these passages throughout the Bible teach the same thing, and give the length of the Tribulation in many ways: It will begin in the middle of the seven-year Covenant (Daniel 9:27), which leaves three and a half years.—Or a time (one year) and times (two years) and half a time (half a year) (Daniel 7:25 and 12:7)—or three and a half years. Or it says 42 months (Revelation 13:5), which is three and a half years. Or it says 1,260 days (Revelation 12:6), which is three and a half years. All say the same.

The Great Tribulation or persecution of the religions by the Antichrist shall last three and a half years exactly—the last half of the broken Covenant. God made it so specific and counted it in so many different ways that nobody could possibly misinterpret it, misunderstand it, or misfigure it like some Bible interpreters try to.

Then comes the 11th chapter of Daniel, that very mysterious chapter in which so many Bible students and teachers go astray. Trying to interpret it all and identify everybody here, you’re going to get in trouble. However, it comes to a point around the 21st verse when it begins to speak very clearly and obviously of a certain person who continues to dominate the world scene right on through the rest of the passage.

From Daniel 11:21 on, nearly all Bible students and teachers agree, is a description of the Antichrist, after many other descriptions in Daniel previous to this (Daniel 7:8, 20–25; 8:9–12, 23–25; 9:26–27, etc.). So this detailed description of the Antichrist begins here in the 21st verse: “A vile (evil) person, to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.”

The antichrist system conquers countries and their people by propaganda, “peaceably,” “by flatteries,” powerful “peace” propaganda.

It then says in verse 22: “And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.” “Yea, also the prince of the covenant.” Don’t stop here and don’t link it too closely with what has just been read, because originally the Bible was not divided into chapters and verses, neither was it punctuated.

The Old Testament in the Hebrew doesn’t have any punctuation, so you can make a mistake and divide things where they shouldn’t be divided, and run them together where they shouldn’t be run together. There is kind of a pause here, and it looks almost like the translator has linked it together: “Yea, also the prince of the covenant.” If you interpret it as some people have, and you punctuate it and run it together the way the translator did who put these verses together, it sounds like, “The prince of the Covenant got run over too! He too got broken, right?”

But what it is saying here is, “Yea, (he’s) also the prince of the covenant.” This is literally what this passage means. It does not mean, “Yea, also the prince of the covenant” is broken. I’ll grant you, that’s what it might look like and sound like, if you don’t really know your Bible and all the rest of the passages.

If you find a whole bunch of scriptures that say one thing, 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. Otherwise you’d have to say, “Because this one passage says so-and-so, all the rest of the scriptures are wrong!” But we’ve already seen how all through God’s Word, especially Daniel, 2 Thessalonians, Revelation, Matthew, and all the other prophetic passages, it speaks of this Antichrist, this prince as the prince of the Covenant, the one who makes it and breaks it. It speaks of him time and time again.

The Antichrist is really the prince of the Covenant, this vile person who becomes the Antichrist, according to the passage here. “To whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom, but he shall come in peaceably and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.” He talks them out of it. He’s a usurper! “And with the arms of a flood (of atom bombs?) shall they be overflown from before him and shall be broken.

“Yea, (he’s) also the prince of the covenant.” What the writer here is trying to bring out is that he is not only doing all these things, but this is also the guy we have been talking about in all these other scriptures.

As the prince of the Covenant, the Antichrist is the one who makes the Covenant, and therefore he has the authority to break it. He makes the promise, but he also breaks the promise. He’s the one who gives these nations and religions their freedom and authority to practice and worship in Jerusalem and set up their official temples there, and tries to bring about a compromise between them.

After trying with the seven-year Covenant to get the religions to compromise and work and worship together and leave Jerusalem an open, internationalized city with freedom of worship for all, which doesn’t work, this prince of the Covenant apparently gets fed up and stops the whole works, breaks the Covenant, stops the worship, and places the image of himself, the Beast, right in the holy place, at the temple.
(References following)

Ezekiel 39, Part 2

Verses 6–29

David Brandt Berg

1985-03-06

02/06/25 Ezekiel was known as the prophet of the return because he lived partly during the Captivity and also during the return of Israel from their Babylonian captivity. This was about 2,500 years ago, so to be predicting the future over 2,500 years before it happens is quite a feat! But it’s not too hard for the Lord, and He’s describing the Battle of Armageddon and the people who fight it.

The Antichrist is called Gog in this passage, and his land Magog. In Daniel he’s also called the king of the north. He comes from the north with his forces, thinking they’re going to gain a mighty victory and put down Israel once and for all, but instead of that, God puts them down once and for all.

(Verse 6:) “And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles.” In other words, there’s probably a war going on around the world, another world war of some kind, and the Antichrist is having all kinds of trouble. The deeper he gets into the Tribulation, the more troubles he has, the more wars he has. And when he gets into the Wrath of God, then he really has trouble and finally winds up in the Battle of Armageddon.

(Verse 7:) “So will I make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel; and I will not let them pollute My holy name anymore: and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.”

He’s not going to let them pollute His holy name anymore, and the heathen shall also know that He’s the Lord. Usually when He says the heathen, He means the Gentiles. In other words, the Gentiles, the foreigners, the invaders will know He’s the Lord.

(Verse 8:) “Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken.” The day of God’s final judgments upon the Antichrist and his hordes.

(Verse 9:) “And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth and shall set on fire and burn the weapons.” The Scripture goes back and forth, but right now it’s going to wind up with what happens after the battle. It already says that five-sixths of the Antichrist’s army is destroyed, and those that came with him have been killed. And now: “They shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years.”

Never have they had so many weapons to burn that it took them seven years to burn them all. You might say, “That’s pretty far-fetched!” Well, the whole thing is far-fetched. A battle in which blood runs deep to the horses’ bridles for a space of about 200 miles (Revelation 14:20). That’s about the length of the Valley of Megiddo and the River Kishon. I don’t expect the blood itself to be that deep, but blood draining down from the battlefield into the River Kishon could certainly be up to the horses’ bridles. And then for a huge army of probably billions to suddenly come riding out of the sky on white horses, I don’t think you can get anything further fetched than that.

Either you believe the Bible and you believe in God and you believe these things can happen, or you might as well take this book and throw it away, because the whole thing is far-fetched! They’re going to have so much junk left after this battle that it’s going to take them seven years to get rid of it all. Think of it!

(Verse 10:) “So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests.” That ought to please the environmentalists! I think they’re going to be shouting hallelujah in that day because man won’t be tearing down the forest and denuding the landscape and wrecking the earth; instead they’ll be wrecking the instruments of war.

“For they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God.” The nations of the earth today spend more money on their weaponry and on wars than on anything else, and that’s why most of them are having such economic troubles.

(Verse 11:) “And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel.” What a mess to clean up, all those dead bodies, thousands and thousands of dead soldiers! Jeremiah says, “They shall be as dung on the face of the earth, they shall not be lamented, neither gathered”—for a while—“nor buried,” because they don’t have time (Jeremiah 25:33). And it’s going to take them quite a while to do it.

(11th verse:) “And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea.” The Valley of Megiddo is a main route between Jerusalem and Haifa, the principal port. They’re going to conscript or draft even the people passing through to help them bury the dead.

“And it shall stop the noses of the passengers. And there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.” That literally means “the multitude of Gog,” or Gog’s army. The Antichrist himself is slain in this battle and is sent straight to the Lake of Fire along with the False Prophet.

(Verse 13:) “And it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God.” God’s glorified by this because they will know He’s the Lord and He did it. It shows God’s judgment upon the wicked, upon the Antichrist forces that give us so much trouble during the Tribulation and who persecute the poor and the Christians and all the religious people and wreak havoc. Here they are lying rotting in the fields of Israel. That’s a fitting end for the Antichrist forces.

(Verse 14:) “And they shall sever out men of continual employment passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: at the end of seven months shall they search.” In other words, they’ll begin to have to look for whatever dead are left after they’ve buried all the ones that were obvious and piled up. “Men of continual employment,” including “the passengers”—everybody in Israel is going to be drafted to bury the dead.

(Verse 15:) “And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog.” They’ve done that during some past wars. After the battle is over, special teams search for the dead, and when they find them they stick a little sign over them to attract attention—as I recall, in Vietnam it was a little flag—and then the teams that later come out with trucks to gather the dead can easily find them. So they’re going to set up signs where the bones are.

(Verse 16:) “And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah”—which literally means “the city of the multitude.” “Thus shall they cleanse the land.”

(Verse 17:) “And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God; speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field: Assemble yourselves and come gather yourselves on every side to My sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood.” God hasn’t forbidden the beasts of the field or the vultures of the air to drink blood and eat flesh; that’s their job. They’re the garbage men who clean up the garbage. They get at it first because there aren’t going to be enough people around to get everybody buried in a hurry. God’s garbage men, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, are going to start cleaning up the mess by picking their bones clean until they get them all buried.

(Verse 18:) “Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.” He’s symbolizing these great ones as bullocks, rams, mighty men, the captains and the princes and the leaders of the hosts here.

(Verse 19:) “And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of My sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.” He talking to the birds and the beasts.

(Verse 20:) “Thus ye shall be filled at My table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord God.” The destruction is complete, and the beasts of the field and the birds clean up what’s left.

(Verse 21:) “And I will set My glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see My judgment that I have executed, and My hand that I have laid upon them.” Is God going to be glorified by this battle? Isn’t God going to manifest His power in this battle?

(Verse 22:) “And so the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward.” Not only are the heathen going to know God is God, but who else needs to learn that God is God? The Jews. They’re going to find out they can’t save themselves, that God finally had to come down and have mercy on the remnant of them to save them. “Then they’ll know I’m the Lord.” Then the Jews will know that Jesus is the Lord. Praise God!

(Verse 23:) “And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity.” Why did they have all this trouble? For their sins! “Into captivity,” meaning they’re scattered all over, in all the nations of the earth. “Because they trespassed against Me, therefore hid I My face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies. So fell they all by the sword.” There are going to be a lot of dead Jews there too. He says in other places that He’s only going to spare one-third of those that are there (Zechariah 13:8). Apparently He’s only going to spare those that He’s going to have mercy on who maybe were trying to be good or worship God, as we’ll see in another passage.

(Verse 24–25:) “According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid My face from them. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob.” This means release him from captivity; it doesn’t mean capture him again. “And have mercy upon the whole house of Israel”—that is, what’s left—“and will be jealous for My holy name; after that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against Me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid.” The Jews have been dwelling for the first time in their own country since 1948.

(Verse 27:) “When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands.” So when is this battle going to happen? Is it somewhere way back in ancient history? Would it have been World War I or II? It couldn’t have been, because it wasn’t until after World War II that Israel became a nation, 1948, largely as a result of World War II when the U.S. and the West won the war and promised that they would help Israel.

“And am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations.” How is this whole thing going to sanctify God in the eyes of the nations which are left on earth? Sanctify means to make kosher, clean, or made holy, or in other words, glorified in the eyes of many nations. God is going to be glorified by what He does in this case. Are the nations going to see that God is just? God is fair. He doesn’t take sides, as though one side is entirely guiltless and holy and with no blame; He punishes both sides in this battle. Of course, He slaughters more of the Antichrist’s people because they’re the worst.

(Verse 28:) “Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen. But I have gathered them unto their own land and have left none of them any more there.” Exactly what that means, we don’t know. I don’t think the land of Israel is big enough to hold all of the Jews, but at least certainly those that are there.

(Verse 29:) “Neither will I hide My face any more from them: for I have poured out My Spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God

Ezekiel 39, Part 1

Verses 1–5

David Brandt Berg

1985-03-05

02/05/25 (Verse 1:) “Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.” Ezekiel started off the 38th chapter that way, and he wants to let you know that it’s God speaking. When that happens, it’s direct prophecy. A lot of the Bible is not direct prophecy, but here the prophet is getting a direct prophecy against Gog and Magog—the Antichrist and Russia.

At the time of most of Ezekiel’s prophesying, he says that he was one of the captives, like Daniel, and it was in some of the places where they were a captive people (Ezekiel 1:1).

(Verse 2:) “And I will turn thee back and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel.”

God says that He’s bringing Gog and Magog from the north parts. Russia is north of Israel, and there are really only two countries between Israel and Russia, depending on which way you go, whether you take the Lebanese route or the Syrian route.

Russia is the major power north of Syria, so Gog doesn’t have very far to go from his homeland of Magog to get down into Israel. They come down to conquer Israel, and so early on the Lord prophesies how many of them are going to be destroyed. We know this has got to be Armageddon by what follows, but it says here that five-sixths of the armies of the Antichrist are going to be destroyed, and that’ll mean tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands, depending on how large a force is in that last invasion of Israel.

So the Battle of Armageddon begins with an invasion of Israel—the final invasion of Israel. God in the Battle of Armageddon literally invites the birds of the air and the beasts of the field to come and have a feast. This feast is described in both this chapter, verse 4, and also in the 19th chapter of Revelation, verses 17 and 18, in which He invites them again: “And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God.”

We’ve just had a big feast up in heaven, and now God’s going to give a feast to the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field. “That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.” When He says all men, it doesn’t mean they’re going to eat everybody on earth, but it means all these men that are going to be killed.

The 20th verse also says that at the end of this battle “the Beast was taken, and with him the False Prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the Mark of the Beast, and them that worshipped his Image. These both were cast alive into a Lake of Fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth.” That is a word picture to describe the power of God. I don’t think Jesus is really going to come down out of the heavens with a sword sticking out of His mouth. It symbolizes the Word—the power of God just to speak the Word, the sword of His Word, and slay them.

“And the remnant were slain with the sword … and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.” Who are the remnant? The Beast and the False Prophet are the heads of the Antichrist forces, so who’s left after they’re cast into hell? Their followers. Those with the Mark of the Beast are slaughtered by the sword; they’re slain. The Antichrist and the False Prophet are immediately cast into hell, but the followers are simply killed.

In Revelation it says the rest of them are killed, and the 39th chapter of Ezekiel says the Lord is going to save or spare or leave “but the sixth part of them.” In one chapter it sounds like they’re all going to be killed, and sometimes we’ve said that, but apparently not all of them are going to be killed immediately; a few are going to be left.

(Verse 3:) “And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou and all thy bands.” “Bow and arrow” doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going back to bows and arrows; that’s all they had in the days when this was written. How could He possibly say guns and bullets? They’d never heard of guns and bullets; they’d never seen guns and bullets.

I think in some of those descriptions in Revelation where it says, “their tails will sting with fire and they belch smoke and fire out of their mouths,” how could the prophet describe guns any other way than mouths belching smoke and fire? Tails like small guns that sting! He’d never seen guns before, and even if he saw them in a picture, he wouldn’t know what to call them. The word “gun” hadn’t been invented yet, because guns hadn’t been invented yet. Gunpowder had not been invented yet, except perhaps by the Chinese, who used it for fireworks and celebration. So the prophet, if he was seeing this scene, couldn’t possibly have known what it was, so he just describes it the best he knows how. Maybe that’ll explain some of those monsters and things in Revelation. Maybe they’re tanks. Maybe they’re planes dropping bombs.

One theory is that the participants, especially Russia, realize that most guns are operated electronically, except handguns. Planes, tanks, ships, big guns and bombs all have electronic circuitry which must operate in order for them to explode or shoot and operate. What they call an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) would knock out all the electronic circuits. Maybe what the Lord is talking about here is that they’re actually going to revive some of those ancient weapons. That is a theory advanced by some as to why there are so many horses in this last battle and so much is spoken of as using bows, arrows, shields, spears, swords, etc. Armies could still use swords, shields, bows and arrows even if every tank, gun, plane, bomb and missile is knocked out of operation.

Maybe the Antichrist is smart enough to know that’s going to happen, so he prepares an army that can’t be affected by that. Then when the enemy, totally dependent upon electronic circuitry, has all of its weapons completely knocked out, the hordes of the Antichrist can ride in triumphant.

(Verse 4:) “Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands.” It is so specific where this battle is going to occur that it names the country, it names the valley, and it names the main mountain. It even says that it’s fought to the walls of Jerusalem; it names the city. It couldn’t be more specific where this is going to be fought.

“Thou shalt fall … all thy bands and the people that is with thee: and I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.” This would have sounded very encouraging in the ears of the Israelites. Here God is predicting a mighty invasion by this king of this northern power that sounds like he’s about to destroy Israel, but at the same time God is saying He’s going to destroy the destroyer.

A remnant, a small number, will wake up when they see these things happen and realize that they were wrong to reject Jesus and that God has come to rescue them, and they will believe and they will receive at that time. God’s mercy is from everlasting to everlasting, amen?

(Verse 5:) “Thou shalt fall upon the open field.” I don’t know what the significance of the open field is, except that it’s an open field like a battlefield. That’s what they usually call places where they have battles. When they’re going to have a big battle like this with hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions involved, they’ve got to have some pretty broad places to fight.

A number of famous generals and military tacticians have looked out over the Valley of Megiddo, even Napoleon, and said, “What a place for a battle!” General Pershing and Napoleon said something about it being a marvelous strategic place for a battle. And it’s a very strategic location too, because that valley ends at Haifa in Israel’s only normal port.

The Valley of Megiddo is a long valley, which is the entire Kishon Valley of the River Kishon, which extends clear down to the very heart of Israel and not too far from Jerusalem. It has its origin in the Kishon tributaries in the mountains of Israel north of Jerusalem, and it has its mouth following down the river to Haifa Bay.

It gets the name Megiddo from that big round dome-shaped mountain that’s right in the middle of it. Ar-mageddon means height of Megiddo, that round dome-shaped promontory that sticks up right out of the valley floor for apparently no reason whatsoever, except it’s probably going to play a very major part in the Battle of Armageddon. It has been used as a lookout point and as a gun emplacement for big cannons in every war that’s been fought there. So the height of Megiddo will probably play some important part in the Battle of Armageddon.

It’s a battlefield, and the battlefield is the Valley of Megiddo where the Ar-mageddon is and where the Battle of Armageddon will be fought. That’s the geography and the topography of the Battle of Armageddon.

I’ve often marveled at God’s preparation of geography. I don’t believe anything God creates happens just by accident. I believe He designed the land and exactly fit the geography of the lands that He knew were going to come into being, and their peoples, and even their events. Marvelous! I’ve seen the hand of God in geography so many times studying history and events that couldn’t have happened if the geography hadn’t been like that, peoples that couldn’t have happened that way, or nations that couldn’t have been created that way unless the geography had been like that. So geography all has a purpose.

Ezekiel 38, Part 2

David Brandt Berg

1981-03-06

02/04/25 The Bible is really the only newspaper in the world, because the daily newspaper you read tells you what has happened; it’s just a history book. The Bible is the only book that tells you what’s going to happen.

We’ve been talking about this 38th chapter of Ezekiel, and we found in the first few verses that the invasion of Israel and the Mideast by the Antichrist and his forces is very clear. It tells you that Gog is going to lead Magog. Gog, or the Antichrist, is going to be the leader and he’s going to invade the Mideast and the lands around Israel.

Some of these countries that are going to be with him and be his friends and allies are going to be Persia (which is today Iran), Ethiopia, and Libya. They’re going to be a great company assembled together.

Verse 8: “After many days thou shalt be visited; in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword.” Now he’s talking to Gog, the Antichrist leader of Magog. You’re going to “come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel.” The Jews certainly have been brought back from suffering persecution throughout the world and gathered out of many people, many nations all over the world. And into the mountains of Israel—

“Which have always been waste, but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.” Israel was a wasteland, a desert until the Jews began to come back and improve it and irrigate it and water it and cultivate it, and they have caused the desert to blossom like a rose (Isaiah 35:1).

Now he is again speaking to this Antichrist leader who will invade Israel as a punishment for its sins: “Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, and thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.”

Verse 10 says, “Thus saith the Lord God; it shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought.” He’s talking directly to the Antichrist. “And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages: I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, to take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations.”

This is a very strange thing, because villages and towns and cities had walls and gates until the last hundred years or so. Even after the invention of gunpowder and cannons, walls were still an effective protection against enemy forces, and fortifications, forts, various bastions of that kind were still used as protection against enemies.

Today walls are no protection or help whatsoever, because planes can fly over and drop bombs inside the walls, or rockets can be fired over walls. There’s no use building walls around towns and villages today.

This is the first time in almost 6,000 years that cities and towns and villages have been built without walls for protection. Here it describes how the Jews have come back to Israel, restored the land, and built villages and towns and cities without walls. So this is the time of this prophecy. Ezekiel is talking about the present day and the future.

He’s saying, “Antichrist, I know what you’re going to do. I can read your mind. You’re thinking, ‘I’m going to go down into that little country with all those unwalled villages, towns, cities without walls. It’d be very easy for me to go in and conquer it.’” Is anybody going to object to this invasion?

Verse 13: “Sheba and Dedan.” Sheba and Dedan are in Arabia, the various Arabian nations. Along with “the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof.” Tarshish has been interpreted by some Bible students as being the British and the British Isles. They’re merchants, they operate a lot of ships, and the animal symbol of Britain is a lion. So “all of her young lions” could refer to Great Britain’s former colonies scattered throughout the world, all kinds of former possessions known today as the British Commonwealth, which used to be known as the British Empire.

The young lions are going to oppose this invasion. Britain, the U.S., Canada and the British Commonwealth, former British Empire, are going to be against this invasion of Israel. It doesn’t say that they do very much. Maybe they’re just going to diplomatically object in the United Nations. First of all they issue their diplomatic protests: “Art thou come to take a spoil? Hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? To carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?”

Verse 14: “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog”—now He’s telling Ezekiel, His prophet, to tell the Antichrist: “Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when My people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it? Thou shalt come forth from thy place out of the north parts.” What direction is Russia from Israel? Due north.

“Thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army.” And what are the modern horses? Tanks, guns, planes, etc. “A great company and a mighty army: And thou shalt come up against My people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days. And I will bring thee against My land, that the heathen may know Me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes” (Ezekiel 38:15–16).

He’s saying here that He’s bringing Gog, the Antichrist, and Magog down there to conquer Palestine, or Israel, and make a just and peaceful settlement, to fairly settle this major problem, which is Israel’s possession of Palestine, refusing to share it with its original inhabitants and occupants, the Palestinians.

Verse 17: “Thus saith the Lord God”—he’s talking to the Antichrist—“art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by My servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?” “Didn’t I tell My prophets a long time ago? I’m not only telling Ezekiel, I’ve told many of My prophets about you, Gog. I’ve prophesied about you for centuries, that I would bring you against them.”

So he says, “And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that My fury shall come up in My face.” Now we’re on the 19th verse: “For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath have I spoken. Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel.”

The Lord is talking to the Antichrist and his people and warning them that He’s going to then judge Gog and Magog for their sins. This is a procedure God has often followed. He has used the wicked of the world to judge and punish His people. But then He has turned around and judged the wicked as well.

The Antichrist and his forces are going to invade and take over the land of Israel. And as we have already studied in Daniel 11, it says that he will set up his palace, his tabernacle, there in Jerusalem (Daniel 11:45). The Antichrist will not only invade Israel, but he will make Jerusalem his capital. He will set up his headquarters there, his palace, and he will rule the world from there for three and a half years. He makes this invasion in the middle of his reign, at the end of the first three and a half years, because of the rebellion of the Jews against his Holy Covenant.

Finally the Antichrist gets so furious with the religions that he abolishes them all and forces them all to kneel down and worship him as their god, and sets up his image right in their holiest of holy places on top of Mount Moriah where their major temples are located. That’s when this invasion is taking place that we’re reading about here.

Most of the countries in that area will be his friends. Ethiopia and Iran and Turkey and Jordan and Libya are going to be on his side. The only ones that are going to buck him or try to fight with U.S. help are going to be Egypt and Saudi Arabia and Israel.

It’s explained in other places in God’s Word, both in Daniel and in even more detail in Revelation 13, that the Antichrist makes this invasion in the midst of the seven years, in the middle of the seven-year pact, and he sets up a new religion and he occupies Israel and the Holy Land for 42 months (Revelation 13:5).

God permits the Antichrist to take over Israel for three and a half years, 42 months, 1260 days to be specific, according to the Jewish year, and rule the world from Jerusalem for three and a half years. But the Lord says that’s going to be a time of trouble such as the world knew not since the world began, and never will again. The time of Jacob’s trouble, Israel’s trouble. The time of Great Tribulation for all the world, because the Antichrist will then try to force the whole world to worship and obey him and take his mark, and he’ll kill those who won’t.

A good deal of this passage from there on tells about what God does afterward, at the end of this time of terrible trouble in which the Antichrist is trying to run the world and dominating Israel.

He says there’s going to be a great shaking when God’s judgments finally fall after the Antichrist has taken over Israel. He’s been there for three and a half years, it’s his headquarters, he’s been running the world from there, but finally he’s caused so much trouble—he’s persecuted the people of God, Christians, Jews, Muslims and the world over—that God puts a stop to it.

Verse 19: “For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel.” God starts judging the Antichrist and his worldwide kingdom, his anti-God, anti-Christ, anti-religious kingdom of which he’s made himself god, and God’s going to send great earthquakes to Israel, because it has become his capital.

Verse 20: “So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at My presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.” This sounds like the wrath of God.

Verse 21: “And I will call for a sword against him throughout all My mountains, saith the Lord God; every man’s sword shall be against his brother.” It’s going to be a horrible chaotic worldwide war.

Verse 22: “And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood.” These are the things He’s going to rain upon the Antichrist and his kingdom, his worldwide government. “I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.” What kind of a war does that sound like? It can be atomic bombs, or it can be volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, hailstones from heaven.

Verse 23: “Thus will I magnify myself”—the Lord’s saying—“and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.” Again, God’s going to manifest His justice, His righteousness to the world. Because by this time the world will know that the Antichrist has gone too far, and if there is a God in heaven, that he ought to be punished. So God’s going to punish him.

Chapter 39: “Therefore thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee.” Now we’re beginning to jump into the future, clear up to the end of the Antichrist’s reign and the end of the world, in fact. We’re going to the wrath of God and the Battle of Armageddon.

When we get to the 39th chapter of Ezekiel, we’re getting into the final great war of Armageddon, the wrath and judgments of God. If you want to know how bad this war’s going to be, Armageddon, when Jesus Christ leads the saints of God from heaven to fight against the Antichrist and his kingdom on earth, a direct war with the forces of God and His angels against the forces of the Devil and his people, then you’ll find it in this 39th chapter of Ezekiel.

We don’t have time to read it now, but He says five-sixths of the Antichrist forces are going to be destroyed. It says that there’s going to be so many dead people that it’s going to take seven months to bury them all! There’s going to be so much ruin and wreckage from it all that people won’t even have to gather wood or try to find any fuel for seven years; they’ll just be burning the wreckage and the weapons that were used in that war.

That’s how horrible that last war’s going to be, the worst of all!—The war against the Antichrist conducted by the forces of God from heaven.

Ezekiel 38, Part 1

David Brandt Berg

1981-03-05

This is a series of studies on Bible prophecy, and we’re studying the book of Ezekiel regarding events which are yet to occur. We won’t be going back into Bible history and fulfilled Bible prophecies, which is a very marvelous, interesting, inspiring, encouraging, faith-building study to help you believe the ones which we’re studying now about the future.

If so many prophecies have already been fulfilled, so many things the Bible has predicted have already happened, this encourages your faith to know that these other prophecies which we are studying are also going to happen just as accurately and just as certainly and in just as great detail as did the ones which have already been fulfilled in the past, for thousands of years.

God’s Word says that “not one shall lack her mate” (Isaiah 34:16), and the mate of every prophecy is its fulfillment. Isn’t that a good term to use for a fulfilled prophecy?

Through the Bible studies that we’ve already done, we’ve studied how many of these prophecies in God’s Word have been fulfilled. Seeing how its predictions, prophecies of the future which are now history and have been so faithfully and so perfectly fulfilled, it won’t be hard for you to believe that what we’re reading is going to be fulfilled as well.

We have been studying the most important period to come in all history, and that is the last seven years of world history; the last seven years of the reign of man; the last seven years, the reign of the Antichrist. The passage which we have to deal with is Ezekiel 38 and 39. These chapters have particularly to do with the war in which the Antichrist invades Israel and conquers it and sets up his anti-God government, an atheistic government in which he proclaims himself god and sets up his image to be worshipped.

The prophet Ezekiel starts by saying: “And the word of the Lord came unto me” (Ezekiel 38:1). Ezekiel wasn’t saying things out of his own ideas and his own imagination; it was the Word of the Lord!

Verse 2: “Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog.” “The land of Magog is the ancient name for Russia [currently the region comprising Russia, the Ukraine, and Kazakhstan].

He said, “Set your face against Gog”—the leader of Magog—“the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him”—this Gog who will be the coming Antichrist leader.

“Thus saith the Lord God; behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords” (v. 3–4).

You could say that this doesn’t sound like any modern warfare today. It sounds pretty ancient and antiquated to be fighting an army with horses and swords and shields and armor. Well, what kind of words could the prophet use for our modern armies and soldiers? In fact, if you see riot police marching out today to try to control riots, they’ve gone back to helmets and armor and shields and swords or batons and horses.

The automobile is the modern horse, and it has drivers which therefore are horsemen, driving modern gasoline-powered horses. They even still classify them according to their horsepower. So these tanks and armored personnel carriers and so on are the horses of today.

How else could the prophet describe them? He no doubt saw these things in his visions, these strange carriages and chariots puffing smoke, and probably thought they were some kind of dragons, not only horses. He must have really been mystified. He also saw these great birds flying in the air spitting fire! Wait till you get to Revelation; they’re all described there. It’s so mysterious, he calls them locusts flying in the air, and he calls them these iron horsemen on the ground and so on.

Another prophet said that the chariots shall jostle one another in the broadways. “They shall run like the lightning, and jostle one another in the broadways” (Nahum 2:4). Cars at night with their headlights look like lightning, and they’re chariots, and they certainly jostle one another in the broadways! Thousands of people are killed every year from this jostling and all the auto accidents.

The prophet has to use words he knows. He has to use the terminology he knows. He never heard of a tank, a plane, or a gun.

In verse 5, it starts telling us about some of the countries that are going to be on his side and who’s going to fight against him: “Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet.” Persia is Iran. Ethiopia, that’s part of ancient Abyssinia. “And Libya with them.”

Which way is Iran going to go? You don’t have to guess; it’s right here in the Bible! It’s been here for 2,500 years since Ezekiel prophesied it, that when the Antichrist forces begin to invade the Near East to capture Israel, Palestine, Jerusalem, and put down this war between the Jews and the Arabs and settle the whole issue, Persia, Iran, is going to be with them.

Who else is going to be with the Antichrist? Here we have the 6th verse: “Gomer, and all his bands.” Also, “the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands.” I’m inclined to believe that means Turkey.

All these countries talked about in the Bible are going to be on Russia’s side when she marches in: Ethiopia, Libya, Turkey, Iran … and we’ll read about some more in Daniel 11.

Daniel chapter 11, verse 41: “He shall enter also into the glorious land” (that’s Israel, and this is the Antichrist invasion of the Mideast)—“but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom and Moab and the chief of the children of Ammon.” Right now the chief of the children of Ammon is Jordan and its rulers, and they live in the city of Amman; that’s the capital of the kingdom of Jordan.

“He”—this anti-Christ leader, Gog—“shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt.” It sounds like Egypt is going to try to fight the Antichrist.

But then it says “the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps” (Daniel 11:42–43). The Ethiopians and the Libyans are going to be with him, along with the Iranians, similar to the passage in Ezekiel.

Back to Ezekiel 38, verse 7: “Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.” The Antichrist is going to guard all these friendly nations.

Thank You Jesus for Your Word; bless it and make it a blessing. We thank You that we believe this holy book, the holy Bible, to be Thy Word spoken by Thy prophets in ancient times, even talking about times long past their day, past their death—really their life, their second life to be with Thee. Prophecies You gave them then so we’d read them and hear them now and know what’s going to happen tomorrow. You promised in those last days that the wise should instruct many, so we ask Thee to help them to understand.

“They of understanding shall instruct many” (Daniel 11:33), and only the wise should understand. So give them the wisdom of Thy Word from these studies now that they may in the future understand and instruct many about what’s going to happen to prepare them for it, in Jesus’ name.

Attack (part 2)

David Brandt Berg

1972-06-01

02/02/25 Whereas guerrilla forces and commando units are small, somewhat independent, and can choose the time and place of attack, with lightning strikes, and disappear as quickly as they appeared, like little David with Goliath: one little guerrilla defied a whole army; like Gideon and his little band: a bunch of guerrillas who defied a whole army; like Jonathan and his armor bearer; two more guerrillas who defied a whole army. And, boy, if you’ve got God with you, you’re unbeatable, no matter how small you are! Jonathan said, in that particular attack of his, “God is not limited by few or by many.” (1 Samuel 14:6).

Any military strategist knows that, no matter how small your forces, if you take the initiative and attack first—go on the offensive—you have a definite and distinct advantage over the enemy.

So it pays to face your fears, recognize they’re there, decide between the real and the unreal, the truth and the lie, and go to the attack to dispel the vaporous fiction of the fairy tale and to drive away the genuine reality of real threat.

We’re in a spiritual warfare, and our weapons are not carnal, but spiritual—mighty to the tearing down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4). This is a picture of your attacking the strongholds of the Enemy and ripping them apart, destroying the opposition. Jesus said of the church, in Matthew 16:18, “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

When I was a little boy and I heard preachers use this verse, the way they interpreted it, it sounded as though the church was standing on a big rock, and, though all hell was pounding on its gates, hell couldn’t triumph over the church. The whole way they had it pictured was the church building standing there on the rock, Christ Jesus, and the fires of hell were lapping against its fortifications. But the church was standing firm on the defensive, all bottled up in its little fortress, and hell and the Devil and all the demons couldn’t get in.

But this is not God’s picture at all. That isn’t what the Scripture says. Jesus said it to Peter when Peter confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior, the Son of God. Jesus told Peter, “Upon this Rock (the fact that I am Christ, the Anointed, the Savior, the only foundation) will I build My church.” He was literally saying, “Upon Me will I build My church.”

But now notice the rest of the verse. As Jesus continues His declaration, He says, “And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”—the church. In other words, the gates of hell will not be able to defend themselves against the church. The gates of hell itself—the Devil’s territory, his fortresses, Satan’s strongholds, his gates—will not be able to withstand the onslaughts of the church, the attacks of God’s people against the Enemy’s territory. The gates of hell shall not prevail. The gates of hell will not be able to withstand our attacks.

It’s a case of mistaken identity, and some of the misunderstanding has probably come from the misuse of the word “prevail.” The Lord didn’t misuse it: the original Greek word He used here did not mean to “conquer” or “overcome,” as is the accepted meaning of “prevail” in most of today’s dictionaries. The word Jesus used meant to “stand strong” or “withstand strongly.” What He was saying was that the gates of hell would not be able to stand strong or withstand or be very strong against the attacks of the forces of God.

It could be that our modern usage of the word “prevail” has changed its meaning through the years since the King James translation, when it is possible the word “prevail” did convey the correct meaning of “stand strong against.” Otherwise, it was a very poor choice of a word by the translators to define the Greek word, which meant to “stand strong,” because our usual present meaning of the word “prevail” in English means to “conquer” or “overcome,” just the opposite of what Jesus was talking about. Furthermore, the word “prevail” is only used one time in this sense of “overcoming” or “conquering” in the 67 times it is used in the whole Bible.

The picture is not of the church standing fast behind its closed doors while all hell attacks. The picture Christ painted was of hell trembling behind its closed doors, while the church was in an all-out attack against hell’s gates, which were collapsing and crumbling under the weight of the power of God through His church.

Did you get the picture? The Children of God are launching the attack. They are on the offensive. They are invading hell’s gates. The Children of God are raiding the Devil’s territory, just as you do when you go out witnessing, right on the Devil’s ground, right into his strongholds. You’re launching the attack, you’re picking its time and place. You’re taking the initiative, you’re overwhelming the Enemy.

This is why the commando raids of World War II were so successful—tiny raids against tremendous strongholds of the enemy on the coasts of Norway and Germany. One tiny little boatload of men and explosives in the fog of dark and night, would cross the North Sea, then suddenly, without warning, sneaking right past the enemy’s line of defense, would blow up some of his major installations—power plants, fortifications, bunkers, big guns, even battleships—which they’d sink right in the port’s mouth, bottling up his fleet.

All this damage was inflicted by a mere handful of men against almost overwhelming numerical odds of the enemy, in manpower and firepower.—All because they were quick, unexpected, surprising, sudden attacks, taking the initiative and the offensive, choosing the time and the place, and the enemy knew not where or when, so he could never be prepared. And they were extremely successful. It caused him to have to spread out his forces and be prepared to defend himself in so many places at one time that he weakened his whole operation.

The enemy never knows what you’re going to do next. He doesn’t know what kind of a shenanigan you’re going to pull next, and you’ve put him on the defensive. He rocks and reels from sudden blow after sudden blow, so that he has no time to organize an attack on you; he’s too busy defending himself. In this way, tiny guerrilla forces and commando units can keep an entire numerically superior conventional army at bay, and an army continually on the defensive will never get anywhere.

Take Martin Luther, for example. That one man against the world, with God, was more than a match for the Devil and all his forces, because he launched the attack, he took the initiative, he chose the time and place, and he drove home thrust after thrust of the sword of God’s Spirit into the wide open chinks in the armor of the Roman Catholic Church, which was set back on its heels and made to defend itself against the attacks of one man and a few others who preceded and followed him.

You can be destroyed by defending instead of attacking. Never let yourself get put on the defensive! Never let them do all the talking, ask all the questions, and give all the answers. Sock it to them with the Word of God! Survey their condition, find the chinks in their armor, the weakness in their defense, then launch the attack with the sword of His Spirit. Don’t let them put you on the defensive or you’re doomed to defeat.

This is why the tiny handful of Christians of the early church could absolutely upset the whole Roman world. This is why the tiny handful of so-called reformers—really revolutionists—of the Reformation, could all but destroy the exclusive hold the Roman church had on Christian faith and doctrine. This is why the tiny handful of American pioneers could establish such a great and powerful country, now one of the richest and most powerful in the world.

Let’s go! Attack! You can’t lose. Sure, we’ll have casualties. Sure, we’ll have losses. Sure we’ll have wounds. But we’ll win, because we cannot lose. It’s impossible, for God is with us. We’re on the offensive. We’re moving. We’re attacking. We’re active. We’re doing something—getting things done—acting, not just talking—samples, not just sermons—activists, not just theorists—converting, changing, conquering.

Face the enemy! Attack him! “Resist the enemy and he’ll flee from you” (James 4:7). Face the fear of man in the power of His Spirit on the promises of His Word, and you cannot fail. Praise God.

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And tho’ 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;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours, through Him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
And we will win the battle.^[1]

Hallelujah.

“Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” (Matthew 25:21).

^[1] From “A Mighty Fortress” by Martin Luther, 1529. This song has been called “the greatest hymn of the greatest man of the greatest period of German history” and the “Battle Hymn of the Reformation.”

Attack (part 1)

David Brandt Berg

1972-06-01

02/01/25 Fear is a very interesting subject. You don’t realize so much of it is subconscious until you try to put it in words and try to analyze it. I suppose my being afraid to talk about my fears is one of the worst fears of all, because to confess your fears is really to expose your innermost self—the part you hide from everybody, even those dearest to you. In fact, the part you’re even trying to hide from yourself, because you’re afraid to think about it. You don’t even want to confess it to yourself that you’re afraid, because that would be admitting you’re a coward, and you don’t want to confess you’re a coward for fear of being exposed.

Jesus, Lord Jesus, Thy will be done. Have Thy way. If we can help someone else by being honest, help us to be honest. Help us, Lord, to be willing to face our fears.

I guess it’s kind of like a disease. You can’t very well find the cure unless you confess you have the disease and you reveal the symptoms. And you’re really very ashamed to confess you have it. It’s one of those secret diseases that you’re ashamed to confess you have, because you know it’s the result of sin. Because if you’re honest, you know your fears are results of doubts or feared failures—past failures or possible future failures.

I think the fear of failure is probably one of the greatest fears anybody could possibly have—the fear of failure in life, love, labor, and the Lord. If you’re failing God, I think that’s one of the worst for a Christian. And it’s perhaps second only to the fear of failing others, because you know that God will forgive you, but others find it hard to forgive. The fear of hurting them because of your failure, fear of letting them down, disappointing them, hurting their faith, disillusioning them, discouraging them—the fear that because of your failure, others will fail, too. This is hardest to bear. It’s the kind of thing you don’t even want to admit to yourself.

The fear of failing yourself is least of all. Really, in a way, it’s fear of the truth. You’re actually afraid of the truth about yourself. But now here’s where it pays to face your fears, because you have to draw a line of distinction by facing them, between that which is the truth and those fears which are the lies of the Devil.

It reminds me of when I was a little kid delivering papers and handbills, and there were all these big dogs that were always chasing me and nipping at my heels. Sometimes they actually bit me, and they really hurt. But most of the time their bark was worse than their bite. I soon discovered that, if I ran from them, they ran after me, and they were more apt to bite me if I turned my back on them than if I faced them.

A dog barks at you and growls at you because he’s afraid of you. And it’s a funny thing, the more afraid you are of him, the more afraid he is of you, because God put in him the instinctive knowledge that if you’re afraid of him, you’re apt to do something to him to protect yourself; you’re apt to hurt him.

So, if he senses you have fear, right away he’s afraid of you, and he’s apt to bark and growl and possibly even attack you. But if you face him and stand your ground, no matter how much he barks and growls and snarls, he usually will not attack you. The very fact that you face him lets him know that, though you may be somewhat afraid of him, you’re not too afraid. You’re not afraid to stand there and face him. Therefore, he knows you’re not afraid of him, and since you’re no longer afraid of him by standing firm and facing him, then it lessens his fear of you, and he’ll often back down, growl and snarl a little, turn his head away, and look for somewhere to go to get out of your presence, watching you out of the corner of his eye all the time. And then he’ll usually back down and turn around and leave you alone.

I’ve had this happen so many times with dogs, both big and little. If you’re so afraid that you turn your back on him and run, he’ll chase you and even be encouraged to bite you—even the littlest dog—because now he knows you really are afraid of him. He knows you really are an enemy and his doubts about you were right, his fears of you were well founded. You’ve proved it by running. So he promptly takes advantage of your fear as you retreat, by leaping to the attack.

Nearly everybody who’s ever been bitten by a dog was not bitten on the toes, but the heels; not on the shin, but the calf of the leg. Of course, some dogs are so mad or so diseased or so trained that they’ll attack you to the face—sometimes demon-possessed—but even these can be rebuked in the power of the Spirit in Jesus’ name.

I’ll never forget when I was about 12, delivering handbills, and I had to go into a certain yard to get to a house in the rear. Out from the back yard came this huge Great Dane, barking and growling furiously, and coming at me full speed, leaping and bounding. I thought, “This is it!” But I knew I didn’t dare turn my back on him or he would bite me for sure. Yet, on the other hand, he was a little too big for me to face, and I was invading his territory.

So I thank God I remembered to cry out to the Lord. I suddenly jutted my hand out toward him and I yelled, “I rebuke you in Jesus’ name!” And did he put on the brakes! He skidded to a stop and looked absolutely startled, and turned tail and ran.

So it not only pays to face your fears and to acknowledge them, even confess them, but to take a positive stand against them, especially in the power and Spirit of the Lord with the promises from His Word. Because it wouldn’t have done me a bit of good in the world to say, as a Christian Scientist, “Big old dog, you just don’t exist, so I’m going to ignore you.” He would have promptly finished me off to prove that he did exist.

It doesn’t pay to say there’s no Devil and no demons and no such thing as evil, sin, or sickness, and just try to ignore the facts. It would be like trying to ignore that you have a disease when you’ve really got it, because as long as you have it and try to hide it, you can’t very well find the remedy.

Like the story told by Mark Twain about the fellow who fell off a cliff and broke so many bones, and the Christian Scientist came along and tried to persuade him that he didn’t have any broken bones, it was all in his imagination. There was no such thing as reality. It was all in his mind, so he should just try to get up and walk. But the poor man couldn’t make it.

And that’s where you have to draw the line. You have to find out the difference between reality and the imaginary, the truth and the lie, because if it is reality, it doesn’t do any good to try to tell yourself it isn’t there—to just shut your eyes and hope it goes away, and when you open them again you’ll find out it didn’t exist, that it was just your imagination.

That big dog existed, and he was coming right for me, and it wouldn’t have done a bit of good to shut my eyes and hope he went away, that he was just something I was imagining, some figment of my imagination. He was there, brother, and he was as real as you or me, and he was headed for me. And in that case, the best thing in the world to do was to face it and take some kind of action and do something about it to eliminate the danger, because it was either him or me. I did this by taking the initiative and launching an attack myself on him by the power of the Spirit, in that rebuke in Jesus’ name. At first he was on the offensive and I was on the defensive, but the Lord helped me turn the tables by inspiring me to take the offensive and attack him with a rebuke—and suddenly he was put on the defensive and turned and ran.

As any military strategist knows, it’s impossible to win a defensive warfare. Defensive war is doomed to defeat. To win a war, you have to launch an attack. You have to go on the offensive. You have to attack the enemy. You have to set him back on his heels. You have to take the initiative. You have to be positive. You have to attack and invade and overpower. You can’t just sit there and try to ward him off while he attacks and invades, or he’ll finally overpower you.

A passive defense never won a war. That’s why it’s usually the aggressors who win wars. They take the initiative. They launch the attack; they leap to the offensive, and they can pick the time and place, and do it by surprise and suddenness, so that you’re caught off your guard, your defense is down, and you’re overrun.

This is why guerrilla warfare is so successful, even with such small numbers and very little manpower. By sudden surprise attacks in unexpected places and at weak spots in the enemy’s armor, you can do a lot of damage. You can hit and run before the enemy even knows what happened, before he has a chance to retaliate.

This is why conventional armies can be withstood or even licked by small-scale guerrilla warfare. A conventional army is a large, ponderous, slow-moving, though powerful giant, usually somewhat thick-witted and its reactions slow, because its body is so big that it takes a long time for it to move and for communications to get from the brain, headquarters, to the hand or the foot, and for them to react. (to be continued)

Getting Alone with God Is Always in Season

A compilation

2019-02-12

01/31/25 Life can get busy for anyone, and this is certainly no different for pastors. And for pastors, there is a rhythm to our year that involves seasons of more intense ministry, like Christmas and Easter.

Regardless of the season you’re in right now, it’s always appropriate to withdraw and spend time seeking God’s favor on your life and ministry.

If we want to fulfill God’s vision for our lives and ministries, we must continually hear from God. We must believe that hearing from God daily is a requirement for us to truly shepherd our congregations. It is not just an add-on to our list of things to do; it is a necessity for being a loving and effective pastor.

The prophet Habakkuk says, “I will climb up to my watchtower.”¹

This is his way of saying, I’m going to get alone with God.

It doesn’t matter where you get alone with God. You just need to find a place. I happen to like outside.

When my kids were growing up, I actually built a little prayer garden down on the slope behind my house where I could get away to pray and focus on God.

You need to have a place that’s quiet, a place where you habitually go to meet with God. Make it special and specific.

The Bible says, “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”² This was a habit with Jesus, and it needs to become a habit in your life.

If you want to get God’s vision and hear God’s direction for each new year and each new season of ministry, you need to meet with him daily.

Let him set your priorities.

Jesus says, “Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.”³

God wants to meet with you. He wants you to know him as well as he knows you. There is nothing in your life or in your church that doesn’t interest God.—Rick Warren ⁴

The shepherd has to be fed with the hand of his Creator, and the hand of his Shepherd, if he’s going to feed the sheep and bring them the same peace.

The main job of anyone who cares for others is to keep in touch with the Lord, to begin the day with praise and fellowship with Him. We have to learn how to first of all rest at the Lord’s feet. The secret of that calm and peace and rest and patience and faith and love is that resting in the Lord!—Getting calm before the Lord and praising the Lord and seeking the Lord first. And then you just impart this to others—it’s a spirit; you impart that very atmosphere.

This is why you cannot even make a move until you have first found that place of rest and calm and sweet peace in the Lord, and have sat down and played your pipe to the Lord. That sweet rest is a sign of real faith, which brings patience. As your spirit communes with the Lord and is in harmony with Him, it communicates that peace to others. We comfort others with the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted.⁵—David Brandt Berg

Throughout the Gospels we read of Jesus separating Himself from those He was ministering to, and even from His closest friends and followers, to spend time alone in prayer and communion with His Father. Before beginning His ministry, we see Him being led by the Holy Spirit to spend forty days alone in fasting and prayer.⁶ Before deciding which of His followers to designate as the twelve apostles, we’re told that “He went out to the mountain to pray, and all night He continued in prayer to God. And when day came, He called His disciples and chose from them twelve, whom He named apostles.”⁷ After hearing of the death of John the Baptist, Jesus “withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by Himself.”⁸ When the crowds gathered to hear Him and to be healed, He sometimes “would withdraw to desolate places and pray.”⁹ After miraculously feeding the five thousand, He sent His disciples off in a boat, then, “After He had dismissed the crowds, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone.”¹⁰

It was common for Jesus to separate Himself from others to be alone with God. Even when He was extremely busy, very needed, and doing great things, He still made a point of getting away from everyone to have time alone with His Father.

“That evening at sundown they brought to Him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. … And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed.”¹¹

Carving out time to be alone to commune with the Lord gives us the opportunity to pray and hear His voice without distraction. Solitude allows us to focus on connecting deeply with God, knowing we won’t be interrupted by others, especially when we add silence to the mix by disconnecting from all communication devices, phones, computers, etc. Of course, it isn’t always necessary to get away from noise and conversation to hear the voice of the Lord, as He can speak to us in any situation, but there are times when it’s beneficial to be alone and in quietness as we seek Him and listen to Him.—Peter Amsterdam

There is no place where the mind can be as fully renewed as in the secret place of prayer, alone with God. When we come aside from the temporal things that distract and harass us, and there in the presence of God we put our mind on the things of God, the transforming power of God then begins to work in us, and we are changed, renewed.—Virginia Brandt Berg

Published on Anchor February 2019. Read by Jerry Paladino.
Music by Michael Dooley.

¹ Habakkuk 2:1 NLT.

² Luke 5:16 NIV.

³ Matthew 6:6 The Message.

⁴ http://pastors.com/season-for-prayer.

⁵ 2 Corinthians 1:4.

⁶ Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry (Matthew 4:1–2).

⁷ Luke 6:12–13.

⁸ Matthew 14:13.

⁹ Luke 5:13–16.

¹⁰ Matthew 14:23.

¹¹ Mark 1:32–35.

Is Life So Dear? – When Being Wrong Is Right! (part 4)

Brother Andrew

2005-04-28

01/30/25 Excerpts from the book (New York: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1985)

WE STAND BY AND DO NOTHING?

There is no way to avoid involvement in spiritual warfare. If we say nothing and do nothing, our very default becomes a major contribution to the triumph of godlessness. On the other hand, if we act aggressively in obedience to Christ’s command and in reliance on the mighty spiritual resources which God makes available, we can see the very gates of Hell give way!

Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He shall reign forever and ever. What a destiny is ours to be marching in His train across the battlefields of this World!

Because the early church realised what the real problem and the real issues were, they reacted in the right way when the apostles were flogged and released and came to report what the chief priests and elders had said to them (Acts 4:23).

They began by praying, “And now, Lord, look upon their threats, and grant to Thy servants to speak Thy Word with all boldness” (v. 29).

In other words, Lord, help us to step up our efforts. We are not going to be intimidated because persecution and pressure could force us to go underground. We are not going to be pressed into hiding because they persecute and kill us. Help us to be more bold.

They also asked for power in their public ministry, “while Thou stretchest out Thy hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of Thy holy servant Jesus” (v. 30).

One of the last literature distribution trips I made in Eastern Europe was to Czechoslovakia, when the Soviet army invaded in 1968. A week before the Russians moved in, I had a strange feeling that somehow this would happen and predicted the invasion to a friend before it actually occurred. I was in my office in Holland when my children burst in, shouting that the television news was on with reports from Prague. I turned on the TV just in time to see a live report from Czechoslovakia describing the Soviet invasion.

When I heard the news, I didn’t need a prayer meeting to tell me what to do. I figured if the Russians were coming to meet me half-way, I’d better get moving!

That afternoon I loaded my station wagon with Russian Bibles and drove from Holland to the Czech border in one day. I didn’t even bother to hide the Bibles, counting on the confusion which I knew I would find to get me past the border without a vehicle search. When I got to the border, there was a line of cars over a mile long coming from the other direction, thousands of Czechs waiting to get out. As I had expected, the harried Czech border patrol didn’t even ask for a visa, much less check my car. He just looked at me as if I were crazy, slowly shook his head, stamped my passport, and waved me through.

Six miles past the border I almost literally ran into the Soviet army. I rounded a curve and saw two huge tanks blocking the road. A Russian soldier came to the car, a frown stretched across his face, and asked to see my papers. As I handed them to him through the car window, I prayed the prayer that I had prayed so often before: “Lord, in my luggage I have Scriptures that I want to take to Your children across this border. Now, I pray, make seeing eyes blind. Do not let the guards see those things You do not want them to see.” And once again God honored the prayer. The soldiers didn’t even look inside the station wagon. They let me through.

Several miles farther I encountered another army division in the town of Pilzen. Somehow I got in the middle of a long column of Soviet tanks rumbling down the main street. It was a strange experience, and an embarrassing one, because thousands of people lined the streets and squares of that town, all shaking their fists angrily at the Russians. But they were a quiet crowd, dead quiet, except when they saw my station wagon with Dutch registration plates; then they began shouting and cheering. I thought, “Oh, please, don’t do that. This is no time to give a warm welcome to a poor Dutchman! Not with a Russian tank five yards behind me!”

Gradually, I pulled past the tanks and was on the open road again. Every time I stopped, people warned me not to go on to Prague, which was completely occupied by that time. I arrived there the second evening.

The city was a mess. Czech citizens had turned all the road signs around and had painted over all the street names and house numbers to confuse the Russians. Hastily-made signs taunted the Russians and pointed the way to Moscow.

When I preached in church that first Sunday morning of the occupation, tanks were still grinding through the streets and sporadic shooting could be heard in the distance. Yet the church was packed with a standing-room-only crowd. During that sermon, I stressed that if you do not go to the heathen with the Gospel, they will come to you as revolutionaries or as occupying forces.

I challenged the people in the church that morning to seize the opportunity to evangelise the Russian soldiers, and dumped my load of Bibles on a table in front of the church. They took them and went out to give the Soviet troops the Scriptures.

The Russian soldiers were an unhappy lot. They had been told they would be received warmly as liberating friends by the Czechs. Instead they found hostile, bitter citizens who cursed them, threw rocks at them, even tried to set fire to their tanks. They were scared stiff and totally demoralised.

Then suddenly that Sunday morning, smiling Czech people came to them, saying, “Ivan, Jesus loves you. Here’s a book that tells you about it!” And they gave them Bibles in their own language. “We love you because Jesus loves you,” they told the Russian soldiers. This happened not only in Prague, but in other cities to which we had sent teams. Can you imagine the impact this had on them? Only Heaven knows how many were converted by this.

I foresee the total collapse of organised religion in our Western World. The only thing that will remain will be true Christianity. I think that’s what has happened in the People’s Republic of China. A true Christianity has emerged today from the collapse of the church system. For this true church, there are few buildings, few pastors, few Bibles and no prestige. But the Christians there are the true salt of the Earth.

EPILOGUE

If we realise what Jesus Christ did for us on Calvary, then our “sacrifices” for God are only giving back to Him what He has given to us.

However, there is always a risk involved if you take a determined stand. No change comes the easy way. You can ask any revolutionary today, any guerrilla fighter–whether in Asia, Africa, or Latin America. Revolutionaries are people with ideals. They want a different World, a changed World, and they want it quickly. They also know they will have to pay a price for it. But they believe in something they are willing to die for. That should be our level of dedication too.

Once we begin to understand God’s blueprint for this World, we will know that we’ve got to pay a price if His plans are to become reality. That’s why we speak about the need for “a revolution of love.” That’s why we speak about being “soldiers for Christ.” It is a fight. It is a struggle. Let’s take a stand for the Lord Jesus Christ. We have His Word; we’d better take it seriously.

Is Life So Dear? – When Being Wrong Is Right! (part 3)

Brother Andrew

2005-04-28

01/29/25 Excerpts from the book (New York: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1985)

ACTION TRIGGERS MIRACLES

One Sunday, just before I was leaving on a trip to East Germany, I spoke at a large church in Holland and asked for prayer for my journey. After the meeting, a slightly agitated lady approached me.

“Andrew, I know you are going to Germany,” she said. “Now I have a matter that has been weighing on my conscience. I wish you could help me.”

I was puzzled. “Tell me about it,” I said.

Obviously under deep conviction of sin, she told me her story.

During, and just after World War II, she lived in the eastern part of Holland near the German border, and used to entertain American officers there in her home. They would often bring textiles to her home. Such cloth was very valuable and especially hard to get in Holland at that time. Because she suspected the officers had stolen it, and also because it was such expensive material, the kind used to make men’s suits and linings, she kept it stored away.

The supply increased until she had quite a big box full, but she never used it. Then, for more than twenty years following the war, she worried about it, wondering what to do with it. On that Sunday morning when I spoke in her church, the Lord got through to her and she decided to resolve her problem once and for all.

“Andrew,” she asked, “can you please take this to Germany and just give it to someone? It will relieve my conscience to know that to the best of my knowledge it has gone back to where it came from.”

I told her I would do that. The next weekend, I loaded my station wagon with all the things I wanted to take across the border. Then, without thinking it over further, I simply put in the big box of cloth she had delivered to me.

When I came to the West German border, an officer asked, “Do you have anything to declare, sir?”

That cloth had great value, but since I was in Germany, I replied, “No, sir,” because the cloth had originally come from there and should not need to be declared.

The next morning I arrived at the East German border. Again, that same question from the guard: “Do you have anything to declare?”

“Yes” I answered. “A lot!”

I opened the rear of my station wagon. “Here,” I said, “is a box full of cloth that I want to take into the country.”

“What are you going to do with it?” he asked.

“I will give it away.”

“To whom?”

“I don’t know.”

Well, that really brought the question marks to his face! So I added, “I can explain it to you, sir.”

I gave him the story of what had happened the previous Sunday morning, but I extended it a little so that it became a full-fledged sermon on salvation and the need for a clean heart. I also put in something about God’s forgiveness being available to all men. Of course, I used the story of the lady, but I made it just a little longer to get the Gospel across to the officer at the border.

All this time, he had a deeply puzzled look on his face. He turned to me. “Sir,” he said, “I’ll have to talk it over with my bosses inside the office. I have never had a case like this before.”

He went inside and twenty minutes passed before he came out again. He had talked to all his superiors in the office and had still come up with no answer.

“Tell me again,” he inquired, “to whom are you going to give it?”

“Honestly,” I said, “I don’t care.” Then I asked, “Do you want it?”

“Oh, no, I can’t take it.”

“Well, all right, I just want to give it to somebody.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I want to give it back to somebody in Germany. I am going to be traveling all over the country. Listen, if you don’t know what to do and I can’t pass with all of this, you may seal it; and I’ll just take it into West Berlin and give it away to someone there. But this lady did receive it from Germany, and she wants me to give it to someone in Germany. That’s all.”

Again, he had that deeply perplexed look. He went back into the office and phoned, probably all the way to East Berlin. He didn’t know what to do. After a long, long time, he came out to me again and just shrugged his shoulders. “Sir, just take it, go, and give it to anybody you want.”

He never asked me if I had anything else to declare, but I had told him the truth when he asked if there was any thing to declare. So I did not have to declare my books and Gospels. I had truthfully shown him one box of cloth that had to be declared. He became puzzled by my lengthy explanation, but maybe something I said may have been used by God to work in his heart anyway.

So he let me pass. They had never had such a case before. Usually, if you have so much as a dollar’s worth of goods you have to declare it. I had hundreds of dollars’ worth and no written declaration, and he let me take it in to give it away to whomever I chose.

I call that a miracle!

Later in the afternoon, I drove into the city where I would spend the night and went to the home of a tailor with whom I usually stayed. There I found a young Hungarian lady named Anna. She was the daughter of a Baptist pastor who had served as my interpreter in Hungary. I had put the two families, one in East Germany and the other in Hungary, in touch with each other.

“What are you doing here, Anna?” I asked in surprise.

“As you know,” Anna explained, “my parents are very poor. So my mother has sent me to East Germany to find some cloth to make a suit for Daddy.”

Well, I thought I was in heaven! Such clear guidance! I had worked a great deal with her father, who ministered among Gypsies in Hungary. He was a real man of God, thrown out of the ministry because he distributed Bibles to the troops of the Russian army. His lack of a regular occupation brought great poverty to the family.

Because I was in the house of a tailor, I could cut off just enough of the cloth for this man’s suit, and the rest I could still give away to other people who needed it.

Now every little detail was in place, truth prevailing and God’s power so evident. Guidance given to everyone involved–the woman in Holland, the border guards in East Germany, the tailor, and the fine Baptist pastor in Hungary! And to think this girl arrived at this very time on the opposite side of the very same errand that had brought me to this home. It was marvellous!

I want to emphasise yet another principle of spiritual warfare that the Lord has called us to wage in His name. Because He holds all authority in Heaven and on Earth, and because His hosts surround us with their power in the invisible world, we who are obedient to Him can expect that our Almighty God will bring His purposes to pass through nothing less than miracles.

On one occasion early in my ministry, I was headed back home from Berlin through the one hundred mile Russian-occupied zone of East Germany. I had been working in the refugee camps with a fellow Dutchman named Anton, giving out Scriptures to people from different countries. We had some Bibles left over which I was taking back with me to Holland where I could repack them and send them with other teams to the specific Eastern European countries that could use them.

I had not hidden the Bibles; I just had them in cardboard boxes. So far I had never encountered any problems going through the East German border into West Germany. This time though, as I stopped at Helmstadt, on the East German side of the border, an officer came up to my car and pointed to one of the cardboard boxes. “What’s in there?” he asked.

With a very big smile, I said, “Sir, there are Bibles in that box.”

He frowned. “Take the box into my office,” he ordered. So Anton and I carried the heavy box into his office and filled three tables with New Testaments, Gospels, and complete Bibles, mostly in Eastern European languages.

He checked every book to see where it had been printed. I was lucky none had been printed in New York, since anything printed in America would have been more suspect. But they were all from Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, and Holland.

“Do you have anything else?” he asked.

Again I smiled, and said, “Yes, sir, I have a lot more.”

He marched us back to our vehicle, right to the back of my Volkswagen and pointed to a box. “What’s in there?”

“Flannelgraph stories.”

“What’s that?”

I have developed a habit of making very long sentences, so I can present the Gospel at every opportunity. I launched in.

“Well, sir,” I responded, “they are illustrated stories that teachers use to tell children about the Lord Jesus Christ, because even children can believe on Him; because when a child is old enough to love his parents, he can love Jesus Who came into the World to save sinners so that children as well as grown-up people, by simple faith in Him, can have eternal life and go to Heaven when they die.”

That was my sermonette in a sentence!

He left the box right there, but then he pulled out one of the folders and opened it. I was embarrassed because it was a map of the Mediterranean with the travels of the apostle Paul marked with dots and lines, all the countries, seas, and islands identified. It looked like a proper spy map!

Looking at me very closely, he said, “Aha! You said it was for little children.”

“Yes, sir,” I interrupted, “it’s just a map of the travels of the apostle Paul, the first to come to Europe to tell about the Lord Jesus Christ so that we in Europe should hear about the great message of Jesus Christ; and if Paul had not come here, we would still be barbarians living without God–practically as atheists.”

That was my second sermonette!

He really got cross with me then. “Take that box into my office!”

We saw that the office was full of soldiers, picking up those beautiful books we had laid out on the tables, trying to read the Word of God in these different languages. When I put the box down, more people flowed into the hall, Red Army soldiers and officers.

The officer pulled another folder from my box and, again, it was the worst possible one he could have chosen. It was the story of Ephesians 6, the chapter on the whole armor of God! When he opened it, out fell the sword and the helmet and all the rest. The situation looked dangerous to me.

Again an angry look appeared on his face as he mumbled something more about “children.”

“Really, it is!” I insisted. “Let me demonstrate it for you.”

I asked my friend Anton, who is six-and-a-half-feet tall, to hold up the cloth background. I took a figure of an undressed boy and stuck it to the flannel background, and began to tell the story.

“Here is a man in the World, unprotected from sin and demons, and sickness, and darkness, and disease. He needs protection. Man cannot live without God…”

I put on him the helmet of salvation.

“You’ve got to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved and know that you have eternal life.”

Then I quickly put on the breastplate of righteousness.

“…because you have to live a righteous life, and all these godless people in this World make a mess of it and murder people…” I gave the story of Hitler’s Germany. “…and now we can’t allow that to happen because people living without God bring the whole World into bondage.”

Then I put the shield of faith in the little figure’s hand and said that with faith we are protected. “No matter what happens in the World, if we have personal faith which results in a new heart, we can live a holy life and have the shield of faith, so that all the onslaughts of the enemy, all his attacks, can be thwarted right here with the shield of faith.”

I was just going to grab the sword and put it on the flannel board and go on to speak about the Word of God, when it dawned on the officer that I was preaching to them! I surely had a captive audience; the office was filled with soldiers and officers!

“Now, stop this! Put it all back in your boxes and take it to your car and go!”

“Yes, sir,” I said. “But I would first like to give each of you a souvenir. I’ve enjoyed my time with you.”

I got out a pile of John’s Gospels and tried to hand them out, but the soldiers couldn’t possibly accept them. They put their hands behind their backs and marched away, leaving Anton and me to take the Bibles and flannelgraph stories back to the car.

This incident illustrates the point that with God working miracles, we don’t have to outsmart the guards at border crossings. But we do have to go prepared in prayer, assured that we are in God’s Will. If I have my car loaded with Bibles as I arrive at the Russian border, I just beam at the guards. I have already prayed hard before I left that they won’t ask, “Do you have any Bibles?” Sometimes I pray something will distract their thoughts and attention. It is remarkable how the Lord just arranges for “little” things to happen at the border.

For example, one of our teams went to Bulgaria with a load of Bibles in a huge pick-up van. Since it was summer and we travel just like other tourists–which we are in a way because we enjoy the sunshine and scenery, the swimming and all the rest–the two fellows had an inflatable canoe with them for recreation. They had been lazy that day and after canoeing somewhere in Yugoslavia, they didn’t bother to let the air out of the canoe. They just squeezed the whole thing into the back end of the van and drove off to the Bulgarian border with their seven hundred Bibles.

At the border they gave their papers to one of the officers while another officer, blissfully innocent, went to the rear of the van and opened the door.

Bang! The canoe shot out the door right onto his head! He stood there for a moment, completely befuddled. Our boys were helpful; they ran to him, lifted the canoe off his head, and together they pushed it back into the car, locked the door, and that was the end of the inspection. You could never arrange for that to happen a second time.

Another team went to Czechoslovakia with Bibles. Just before they reached the border, they stopped for a last prayer meeting before crossing. Being Dutch boys, they made themselves a cup of coffee and opened a tin of milk. But, also because they were boys, they forgot to put it away properly, leaving the open tin on a box partly filled with Bibles, partly with tools.

While they were in the office at the border-crossing having their papers checked, one of the officers opened the van to check the luggage. Somehow he knocked over that tin of milk and spilled some on the floor. He jumped out of the vehicle and ran to his office, got a cloth and ran back and began to wipe up the spilled milk. He apologised profusely and was ever so sorry–and there was no more checking whatsoever! A tin of milk did that. It’s often something small like that that God uses in a big way. (to be continued)

Is Life So Dear? – When Being Wrong Is Right! (part 2)

Brother Andrew

2005-04-28

01/28/25 Excerpts from the book (New York: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1985)

WE SHOULD EXPECT SUFFERING

The possibility of suffering is not a happy prospect for many Christians. As a matter of fact, however, it should be regarded as an integral component of the Christian life.

One of my favorite books, an all-time best-seller, is Pilgrim’s Progress, written by John Bunyan. Bunyan was a tinker, a mender of pots in the village of Bedford, England. He was a very humble man, but once he came to know the Lord he was an earnest preacher of the Gospel.

During his time, England was not favorably disposed to such independent evangelists, and Bunyan was imprisoned for preaching the Gospel. With the exception of a few days, he spent nearly twelve years in the Bedford jail, until he was finally freed by the Declaration of Indulgence. “As the law stood, he had indisputably broken it, and he expressed his determination, respectfully but firmly, to take the first opportunity of breaking it again. `I told them that if I was out of prison today I would preach the Gospel again tomorrow by the help of God.'”–From The Life of John Bunyan, by Edward Venables.

Bunyan recognised the truth that the apostle Paul also preached: There is a price to pay for being a Christian. And many non-believers respect true Christians for those beliefs and convictions.

Once while traveling in Eastern Europe, I was arrested and taken to the secret police headquarters for interrogation. Whenever I am arrested, I preach as powerfully as I can to those who interrogate me. I reason that they’ll be afraid I might convert them all, so they will kick me out. This time I said, “Sir, listen to me. You know that I am doing a good work in your country. And you know that the Christians in your country are the best citizens. They are the best workers in your country. They are the most honest people in your country. It’s all because they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

That secret police officer actually helped me to get out of the country! He knew that what I said was true. In every country I know of, Christians are the most productive, honest citizens there. Today’s authorities show a deep inner conflict, just as the authorities did in Paul’s day. While they often dislike the message you’re preaching, they like the results in your life and the lives of those who hear and receive the truth!

OUR UPSIDE-DOWN WORLD

When Paul and his evangelistic group proclaimed Jesus as Lord in Thessalonica, the city council was told: “These men who have turned the World upside down have come here also” (Acts 17:6).

That statement was not really true. The Devil had turned the World upside down, and these men had come to put it straight again! People willing to live that radically for Christ are, of course, resented by those responsible for governing this World. The whole World is in the grip of the evil one, so it’s not unusual for its rulers to be in his grip also (1 John 5:19).

For the student of God’s Word, hostility toward the church of Jesus Christ should come as no surprise. The Bible makes it clear that the nations of this World simply are not for Christ. In Luke 21:12, in speaking of the Endtime with its earthquakes, famines, pestilences, and other signs from Heaven, Jesus says: “But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for My name’s sake.”

Jesus warns us that religious persecution will be carried out in the name of authority. We see again how upside-down this World can become! Surely it’s time we carried out our commission and put it right.

Two signs of the Endtime are persecution and World evangelism.

Persecution will come from political and religious opposition (Mark 13:9). Real opposition will always be against the person of Jesus Christ and all that He stands for. When Jesus speaks of wars and revolution, He says: “Do not be alarmed … the end is not yet” (Mark 13:7). Then He mentions natural disasters but warns that they, too, are only the beginning of birth pains (Mark 13:8). The prelude to the fiercest possible persecution will come when the love of many (not few, but many) will grow cold (Mat.24:12).

This will happen simply because all nations will hate those who follow Jesus. I think that will include nations that up until now have seemed tolerant of Christians (Mat.24:9). Wickedness will increase so terribly that many will not be able to stand the pressure. A sense of personal failure born of not being able to impart morality and spirituality to one’s children will be followed by putting the blame on God: “If He is a God of love, how can He let this happen to us?”

Consequently many will turn away from the faith and instead of obeying the command to love each other, they will betray and hate each other (Mat.24:10). No, not the atheists, but fellow Christians will do this. “And brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child” (Mark 13:12).

But in both accounts of this most terrible persecution recorded in Matthew 24 and Mark 13, the middle section of both Chapters states the Gospel will be preached, and the Gospel must be preached before the End comes (Mat.24:14 and Mark 13:10). The Great Commission is still the watch-word for Christians; not a word of it has been withdrawn. It may well be in prisons and concentration camps that the common man will hear about Jesus. It may be that during trial proceedings those who never bothered to go to church will hear the Gospel. “You will stand before governors and kings for My sake, to bear testimony before them” (Mark 13:9).

The New Testament shows that interrogation rooms and the courts, not to mention prison cells, have been eminent platforms for the proclamation of the Gospel. Some of the most effective sermons recorded in Scripture were given in such surroundings.

Look at these examples:

* Peter and John before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:8-20; Acts 5:29-32).

* Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin (Acts 7:2-53).

* Paul’s defense speech in Jerusalem (Acts 22:1-21).

* Paul’s testimony to the Sanhedrin (Acts 23:1-6).

* Paul’s reply to Felix (Acts 24:1-21).

* Paul again before Felix, now joined by his wife Drusilla (Acts 24:25).

* Paul to King Agrippa (Acts 26:2-29).

Last, but not least, Paul could say he fully proclaimed the message to all the Gentiles, including his most cruel persecutor, Nero (2Tim.4:17).

In his running battle with the government, Paul must have had always in front of him the specific promise of Jesus found in Luke 21:17-19: “You will be hated by all men for My name’s sake …. But there shall not an hair of your head perish. In your patience possess ye your souls.” Today we do see many of these signs coming to pass, but be of good courage. If we stand up for Jesus and boldly proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom, soon the End will come! (to be continued)

Is Life So Dear? – When Being Wrong Is Right! (part 1)

Brother Andrew

2005-04-28

01/27/25 Excerpts from the book (New York: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1985)

PREFACE

I dedicate this book to those Christians who throughout history have wound up on the wrong side of the law. Literally untold thousands of Christians have been arrested, imprisoned, tortured, deprived of possessions, or executed for their witness. The vast majority of them were not being punished for having done something against God–for having broken His law. Most had only broken the law of some human government.

The fact is, Christians can in all righteousness break certain laws. Otherwise, how did so many of our heroes of the faith wind up in prison? The list of martyrs beginning with Hebrews 11 has an appendix to it that extends through all the apostles; many of the church fathers; great men like William Tyndale, who made the Bible available to us; and John Bunyan, who gave us the powerful and deeply spiritual work, Pilgrim’s Progress. It extends through missionary pioneers like Adoniram Judson, and modern leaders today who dare to put God first.

Why were there believers in prison at the time the New Testament was being written? And why have Christians been imprisoned throughout the history of the church until this very day? Because these believers decided to obey God rather than Man. They decided they would obey the laws of their countries only up to the point at which those laws transgressed the Will of God.

Most Christians suffering today really are keeping God’s law! And the church itself is now living in a time in which we may all have to break the law in order to continue to worship and obey God. In fact, we may have to break the law of Man and of governments in order to keep the law of God.

I was deeply moved when I first read the words of Patrick Henry, the American Revolutionary War hero, who said, “Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?”

He was calling for political revolution. We call for a revolution of love. We need to know that spirit of uncompromising obedience that will say, “We hold not our lives dear unto death!”

OUR ORDERS ARE CLEAR

Imagine that you are a soldier. Your commanding officer has ordered you to invade enemy-held territory, and you plan your attack to catch the opposition off guard by striking when and where he least expects it. But as you move forward, you discover that his fortifications are well-constructed. What’s worse, he has somehow learned of your plan, because, suddenly, guns open fire and you are blasted into retreat.

When you report back to headquarters your commanding officer asks: “Well, did you capture that position?” “No, sir,” you reply. “The enemy won’t let me.”

Do you think you could get away with that answer? That isn’t what warfare is all about. When a soldier receives an order, he is bound by his oath of allegiance to fight to the death to fulfil it. He won’t let himself be stopped simply because the enemy is entrenched and armed to resist! He knows that before he starts on his mission. His commander knows it too. That obstruction must be overcome if the battle is to be won!

Exactly the same principle of allegiance and obedience applies to spiritual warfare where we may have to disobey civil authorities in order to obey the Lord’s command. Yet a lot of Christian soldiers seem to be saying to their Commander, “We can’t advance because the enemy disapproves of our objectives and is not willing to let us succeed.”

Isn’t that ridiculous! Of course the Devil disapproves; that’s what makes him an enemy. Of course he fights against the Lord’s army; that’s what an enemy does! Why then are so many Christians amazed, even immobilised, by the least sign of resistance to the Gospel?

The most basic principle for any Christian work is this: The Lord Jesus Christ, Who crushed Satan and conquered death, commands us to invade this enemy-occupied World and reclaim it for God. We march under His exclusive authority. We make no deals with the foe. No compromises with evil authority. No concessions to godless governments. And no excuses to anybody.

What’s more, the Lord has given His assurance that Hell’s own gates will not hold up against the ultimate advance of Christ’s church. The Devil’s maneuvers and power-plays are just his last-ditch resistance to the overwhelming forces of the Lord.

Just days after He had died on the cross, Jesus faced the disciples. It was the day of His ascension, the day on which He was going to take His rightful place on the throne of God. He had something astounding to say to them, the most important statement ever made in this World. He was going to send them into enemy territory!

He knew, as no one else could, that the Devil, the prince of this World, would do everything he could to stop believers from spreading the Gospel of Christ–because that message would reclaim men from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Light.

Thus, Jesus sounded a battle cry. He made the breathtaking statement: “All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to Me” (Mat.28:18).

By this assertion of authority, Jesus defined the battlefield for us and set the goals of spiritual conflict. He has sent His followers into enemy territory to claim people who are held in sin by Satan, behind whatever barrier–whether it be cultural, linguistic, or even governmental.

We must act! And if we are arrested, we must remember that interrogation is an excellent way of communicating new ideas! A Christian can clearly present the message of Christ in his responses. But we have to face the fact that the governments of this World simply are not for Christ.

The apostle Peter found this out very quickly, as we see in Acts 5. Right there in the beginning of the church’s life and public ministry, the Jewish authorities disagreed with its message and its methods–and with its leaders. So the legal government, the one to which the Bible says you must submit, arrested the apostles.

In Acts 5:28, the high priest said, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”

Look closely at the reply Peter gave for himself and the apostles: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

That’s it. Here again is the main issue: Jesus said we must take the Gospel into every country. If any of those countries resist–whether through the police, the government, the army, the culture, or even the religion–we still have the commission to go, regardless!

WE HAVE DUAL CITIZENSHIP

As citizens of some nation here on Earth, as well as citizens of the eternal Kingdom of God, we have dual citizenship. This description of our position in this World echoes the phrase contained in the honor roll of heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11: “These all died in faith … having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the Earth” (v. 13). This was the basis for their suffering, as an example for us.

The apostles were also confronted with the question of whether or not they should submit to the earthly authorities–or whether they should accept the obligations of their Heavenly calling. Peter and John were brought before the Sanhedrin (the duly established religious authority for the Jewish nation), arrested for ministering in the name of Jesus, and forbidden to “speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:18). To this, the apostles replied: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20).

The apostles persisted in their activities. Once again they were brought before the Sanhedrin and given strict orders to cease teaching in Jesus’ name. Their response: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

How can we account for this defiance of authority? The key lies in the priority of allegiance. God was first, the government second. When commands of an established earthly authority conflict with divine commands, the Christian is obligated to follow the commands of God.

Scripture abounds in examples of times when loyalty to God was primary. Hebrew midwives spared the lives of the male children in violation of the edict of Egypt’s Pharaoh (Exo.1:15-20). The mother of Moses hid her child contrary to Pharaoh’s order (Exo.2:2-3). Daniel disobeyed the royal decree by courageously continuing to kneel in prayer–before an open window–three times daily (Dan.6). The question was not, is it legal? But rather, who has the right to declare that obeying God is illegal?

In Acts 5:28 the authorities tell Peter that he cannot preach and teach anymore in the name of Jesus. Do you think Peter replied, “Yes, I happen to be a citizen of this country, so I submit myself to you and your rules”? If he had done so, how many of us would be Christians today?

Peter said, “No, I have a higher allegiance; I must obey God rather than men.”

12:1 makes it clear what God wants from us: “I appeal to you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

Then Paul adds, “Do not be conformed to this World.” Don’t bother about it. Don’t get involved in it. Work for the Kingdom of God. Be a radical, or even a fanatic for it! Someone once said it’s easier to cool down a fanatic than to warm up a corpse any day! Jesus said, “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth” (Rev.3:16).

As William Penn said in 1681: “If we are not governed by God, then we will be ruled by tyrants.”

AUTHORITIES: CREATED BY GOD, RESPONSIBLE TO GOD

When a government–local, national, or international–limits the church in its activity and curbs the witness of Christians, or perhaps persecutes them, it has gone beyond the purposes of the God Who ordained it. Thus, we are no longer under obligation to observe its regulations with respect to witness and worship.

In Acts 9:23, Saul was in Damascus when the Jews plotted to kill him. This plan was not the action of an individual; it was from the government. The Jews had an official warrant of arrest probably similar to the one Saul had been given for his mission to persecute the church in Damascus. Saul was in trouble because, instead of persecuting the church, he was now witnessing for Jesus Christ after his wonderful encounter with the Lord.

We read, “But their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night” (Acts 9:24). Who was watching? The government; police and soldiers (2 Cor. 11:32-33)! But his companions helped him get away at night by lowering him in a basket down over the wall.

Saul committed an illegal act by avoiding border controls and fleeing arrest. Shouldn’t he have submitted to the government? Didn’t it have the power of God?

No! Saul believed that to fully observe the commandments of Christ, he must not let the authorities control his activities. Inasmuch as he had already received the commandment to evangelise, he could not be bogged down by government decrees.

In fact, he didn’t even accept punishment if it came his way unjustly. For Paul did not consider that the word he used for our relationship to government, subjection, required him to accept an immoral judgment from the state. If the command of a government was unlawful, then the penal sanction attached to it was also unlawful. If one could resist the former, then he was equally justified in resisting the latter.

The apostle Paul frequently did not accept the established procedures and punishments prescribed by magistrates as is shown by Scripture (see Acts 17:6-10; 19:38 20:1). He simply disregarded some of the rules that people who are not in his business of preaching the Gospel should observe. That is why Paul was so often in prison. It was not for doing legal things, but always for doing illegal things.

Another time, in Thessalonica, Paul had to hide because local citizens had attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring him out so they could take him before the local government. The rioters couldn’t find him because he had concealed his mission–he had gone “underground” (Acts 17:5-6). He was not going to allow his work and witness to be destroyed by the enemy. He was not going to submit to what people would call the legal government.

Let’s consider Peter too. All we need to do is look at Peter’s life to see that he did not believe governments always need to be obeyed. One confrontation Peter had with the authorities is recorded in Acts 5:17. Here, the apostles were under pressure from a government they were to honor and obey–a government that was supposed to punish the bad and praise the good–but one that had put them in prison.

The Scripture says an Angel from the Lord opened the prison doors. Highly illegal! You can’t just open prison doors like that; they were closed and guarded by order of a government put there by God! Yet God identified with the men who defied the government. God Himself takes the apostles out of prison; and what’s more, God doesn’t say to them: “Now, disappear, go underground.” No! He says, “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life” (Acts 5:20).

Doesn’t that strike you as humorous, really? God is not afraid of a confrontation with the powers of evil; we are the ones who are afraid because we don’t know the real issues.

In Peter’s case, when the authorities catch up with the apostles again and warn them: “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name [an official government decree], yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us” (Acts 5:28), he replies: “We must obey God rather than men.”

THE TARGETS OF SATAN’S ATTACKS

I believe it is important for Christians undergoing persecution to realise the attack they are under is actually directed not at them, but at the life of Jesus in them, a life which they have the power to transmit to others.

Satan will make every effort to discredit you, to frighten you, and to silence your witness in order that the new life in you stops with you. Sometimes Satan overreaches himself, just as he did at the cross, and sends a believer to a martyr’s grave, but that life lives on in other believers who continue to bear witness more gloriously and triumphantly than ever! That the church not only survives, but grows under such persecution has been demonstrated beautifully by the church in China. After missionaries were expelled in 1950, and all ties were cut with the rest of the body of Christ, believers were put through the horrible experience of Mao’s cultural revolution. Christians were killed or imprisoned, Bibles burned, and the remaining believers scattered all over China. The attack was clearly on the life and name of Jesus as manifested in believers’ lives.

As these sufferers scattered, they took the life of Jesus with them, and just as was the case with the early believers in Jerusalem, “Those who were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the Word” (Acts 8:4). Only now are we beginning to see the harvest in China, as millions of Christians are identified, meeting together for fellowship and worship in remote provinces.

It’s time we use Holy Spirit boldness to see the nations as God sees them. If we are true followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we will go into all the World because He sends us. We need no welcome, we need no invitation, we need no permission from the government, although we are, as Christians, naturally prepared to respect normal procedures whenever that means we can be granted official permission to carry Bibles in and witness in a country. We need no red-carpet treatment, we need no VIP reception–unless it means Very Important Prisoner for Christ’s sake!

We must have the courage, the Holy Spirit boldness, to live a life that is more revolutionary than that of any non-Christian faith. The Lord will give us the courage to work like commandos if we want Him to, but we must go and carry out His commission. (to be continued)

Before the Big Break

Jewel Roque

2012-10-26

01/26/25 Imagine, if you will, the most powerful man in a country. He is the king. He has some major resources. His rule stretches far and wide. And he is evil.

In fact, so evil, it is said that he “did even more open evil before GOD than anyone yet—a new champion in evil!” The passage goes on to say, “It wasn’t enough for him to copy the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat; no, he went all out, first by marrying Jezebel—daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians—and then by serving and worshiping the god Baal. He built a temple for Baal in Samaria, and then furnished it with an altar for Baal. Worse, he went on and built a shrine to the sacred whore Asherah. He made the GOD of Israel angrier than all the previous kings of Israel put together.”1

His name, if you haven’t guessed it yet, was King Ahab.

Imagine now another man, just one, called by God to confront this powerful and wicked king.

Not just confront him, but to curse the very land, by saying, “As surely as GOD lives, the God of Israel before whom I stand in obedient service, the next years are going to see a total drought—not a drop of dew or rain unless I say otherwise.”2

Needless to say, the king was after this man’s life, whom you’ve probably figured out by now was Elijah, an Old Testament prophet.

But, of course, God wouldn’t leave His own man to fend for himself.

He told Elijah about a place where he could hide. “Get out of here, and fast. Head east and hide out at the Kerith Ravine on the other side of the Jordan River. You can drink fresh water from the brook; I’ve ordered the ravens to feed you.”3

It wasn’t raining anywhere in the land. Things looked dismal, but God had given him a place to wait until He would give word for him to move on once more. He even had a few birds as his personal waiters for breakfast and dinner. At first, Elijah was probably stoked.

He might have thought something like, “Well, I’ll just wait it out here until the rain comes, or Ahab has his own salvation experience, or he dies … whichever comes first.”

But none of those things happened. Instead, the brook began to dry up. The water, once flowing and bubbling over stones and clefts, turned into a thin, shallow creek.

Doubtless, Elijah watched the receding waterline with great concern as it went down, down, down. Finally, the water dwindled down to barely a trickle, and still no word from God.

He had no choice but to wait.

Has that ever happened to you? You made a decision that you knew was good for you and that you felt had God’s stamp of approval. Then after making this decision, nothing much happens. In fact, nothing at all … except that everything that you had hoped for or planned for appears to be falling apart all around you.

“What on earth is going on?” you’re tempted to ask. “I thought that this was part of God’s plan!” But you lose confidence in your decision, and you almost wonder if it really was His voice you heard in the first place. Sometimes there’s no way of knowing for sure, so you’re faced with waiting and holding on a little longer. Hoping. Trusting. And clinging to the only One who has led you this far.

But you’re still waiting! And it’s way more difficult than the “doing.”

If all this rings true to you (or maybe it will at some point in your life), it helps to know that it is in the waiting that we often find a greater faith than we ever had before, a greater strength than we thought was possible. A faith that comes only through times when you cannot see beyond the dwindling brook. A strength that only comes through times when we have nowhere to look but up—to the place where our help will always come from.

Elijah went on to perform some amazing and physics-defying feats. He was the conduit God used to feed a widow and her son throughout years of drought. He called down fire from the heavens. He slew hundreds of idol-worshipping false prophets. He brought someone back from the dead. He ran faster than a chariot once (that’s got to count for something). He never tasted death, but was instead taken into heaven.

But first—before his big break—all he could do was wait; he was left with no choice, really.

I have a feeling, though, that this was when his faith grew in a way it never had before. It is when he learned to recognize God’s voice not in the thunderous skies and quaking ground, but in the gentlest of whispers.

Shh.

Can you hear it?

Not yet?

That’s okay. Your brook might not be dry enough yet. Just wait a little longer, trust, and smile.

The God who led Elijah to a river in the desert, and through the wilderness to a time of greater accomplishments and success than he probably ever thought possible, will do the same for you.

He promised. “Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”4

Footnotes
1 1 Kings 16:30–33 TM
2 1 Kings 17:1 TM
3 1 Kings 17:2-4 TM
4 John 14:12, 14 NIV

Why Sin Matters

Peter Amsterdam

2020-05-18

01/25/25 Sin is an important topic, since it affects the life of every human being and is what has caused the separation of humans from God. Thankfully, God, in His love and mercy, has made salvation from sin available to humanity through Jesus’ suffering and death.

Rufus Jones offers the following thoughts on sin:

Sin is no abstract dogma. It is not a debt which somebody can pay and so wash off the slate. Sin is a fact within our lives. It is a condition of heart and will. There is no sin apart from a sinner. Wherever sin exists there is a conscious deviation from a standard, a sag of the nature, and it produces an effect upon the entire personality. The person who sins disobeys a sense of right. He falls below his vision of the good. He sees a path, but he does not walk in it. He hears a voice, but he says “no” instead of “yes.” He is aware of a higher self which makes its appeal, but he lets the lower have the reins. There is no description of sin anywhere to compare with the powerful narrative out of the actual life of the Apostle Paul, found in Romans 7:9–25. The thing which moves us as we read it is the picture here drawn of our own state. A lower nature dominates us and spoils our life. “What I would, I do not; what I would not, that I do.”¹

The most common Hebrew word used for sin in the Old Testament is chata, which is defined as “to miss the goal or path of right and duty, to miss the mark, to wander from the way.” The Old Testament also uses words translated as to break off (as in breaking God’s covenant), transgression of God’s will, rebellion, going astray.

The New Testament uses a variety of words when speaking of sin. These are translated as violate, transgress, overstep, miss the mark, go past, fall beside, failure, wrongdoing, deviate from the right path, turn aside, a deviation from truth and uprightness, unrighteousness of heart and life, lawlessness, ungodliness, unbelief, rebellious disobedience, and falling away.

Some definitions of sin from theologians are as follows:

Sin may be defined as the personal act of turning away from God and His will. It is the transgression of God’s law … the violation of God’s command. It is the turning away from God’s expressed will.²

Sin is any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature.³

While God has expressed His will and moral law through the Bible, there was a time when the Bible didn’t exist. There are also many who haven’t heard of it or read it, or don’t know that it contains truth about God and His will. However, all throughout history humans have inherently known God’s moral law to some extent, as God has embedded it in the heart of each person.

“When Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.^”⁴

While many people do not specifically know the moral laws of God as expressed in Scripture, everyone has a basic understanding that murder, stealing, lying, etc., are wrong, which is evidence of an overall moral consciousness that humans have. This understanding is often referred to as natural law or moral law and is contained within the Ten Commandments.⁵

Because humans have intuitive knowledge of the moral law within them, they have a sense of what is right and what is wrong, of moral accountability. Their conscience “bears witness.” God’s expressed moral law and will in Scripture, and each person having an intuitive knowledge of the moral law and a conscience that bears witness when they break the moral law, means that all humans—whether they know Scripture or not—are aware that they fail to conform to or that they deviate from the moral law, and that they are doing wrong.

The first sin

When Adam was told not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God didn’t give him a specific reason why he shouldn’t eat it, only that there would be serious consequences if he did. Adam was in a position to show his willingness to obey God’s commands, to submit his will to the will of his Creator. It can be seen as a test of whether he would allow God to determine what was right or he would undertake to determine this for himself.

Adam and Eve’s first sin shows the essence of sin. They resisted God’s will and would not subordinate themselves to it, but rather chose to do what they felt was in their best interest. They wouldn’t let God decide what was best for them.

Louis Berkhof explained it like this:

The essence of that sin lay in the fact that Adam placed himself in opposition to God, that he refused to subject his will to the will of God, to have God determine the course of his life; and that he actively attempted to take the matter out of God’s hand, and to determine the future for himself.⁶

Instead of accepting that God was their Creator and as such they were subordinate to Him, they yielded to the temptation to put themselves in the place of God. God had said that if they ate of the tree, they would surely die. The serpent told them they wouldn’t. God had told them what was true, yet they disbelieved God’s word; they questioned who was right.

The decisions Adam and Eve made to not subordinate themselves to God, to not accept His determination as to what is right, and to not believe Him, are emblematic of the root cause of the specific sins of individuals throughout the history of humanity. Every human is tempted to sin just as the first humans were, and every human yields to that temptation. In doing so, each of us has acted toward God in the same manner that Adam and Eve did.

Prior to this first sin, Adam and Eve lived in harmony with their Creator. They enjoyed His fellowship; they trusted and believed Him. Their freewill decision to disobey God changed that, not just for themselves but for all of humanity. This sin resulted in the fall of man, and humankind hasn’t been the same since.

Humankind stands guilty of sin before God due to Adam and Eve’s sin being imputed to all, and due to our own individual sinning. As sinners, we are separated from God; we physically die and stand guilty before Him and deserve punishment for our sins.

God, in His love for humankind, made a way for humans to be forgiven, to be reconciled with Him, and to be spared from His wrath.

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned … For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”⁷

Being reconciled to God through Jesus, being forgiven for our sins, being redeemed, is the greatest gift one can receive—a personal gift directly from the hand of God. It not only changes our lives today but for eternity. It is a gift that each of us has received, and that we have been asked to pass on to others. It’s the good news we are commissioned to tell others about, so they too can be freed from sin’s grasp and can become children of the eternal, loving, gracious, and merciful God.

Originally published September 2012. Adapted and republished May 2020.
Read by Gabriel Garcia Valdivieso.

¹ Rufus M. Jones, The Double Search—Studies in Atonement and Prayer (Philadelphia: John C. Winston Co., 1906), 60–61.

² J. Rodman Williams, Renewal Theology, Systematic Theology from a Charismatic Perspective, Vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 222.

³ Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 490.

⁴ Romans 2:14–15.

⁵ Exodus 20:13–17.

⁶ Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1996), 222.

⁷ Romans 5:12, 17–19.

My Yoke Is Easy

David Brandt Berg

1972-06-01

01/24/25 Leadership is a very great responsibility, a heavy burden, and just a plain big job of a lot of hard work, tension, confusion, excitement, concerns, and physical, mental, and nervous strain which tends to be pretty hard on you. Even the Lord Himself could not bear the continual strain and virtue drain of a constant ministry to the multitudes, so He frequently had to get away from it all and take His disciples up into the mountains or out to sea or on a private visit to friends, for a spiritual retreat, rest, and recuperation and inspiration—sometimes even all alone.

No one can continue to keep pouring out to others without spending some time alone with the Lord getting filled up again. I’ve been in the Lord’s work for half a century, and my mother for half a century before me, and my grandfather for half a century before her, so I know what I’m talking about. As A. B. Simpson, that grand old man of faith, once said, “You cannot do the Master’s work without the Master’s power!” And to get it, you must spend time with the Master!

We all need more quiet time alone with the Lord in rest and refilling, drinking at the living water of His Word and fellowshipping with Him in the communion of prayer and the sweet lovemaking of the Spirit.

None of us can stand these constant pressures of continuous demands on our time, strength, body, soul, and spirit to which we are so often forced to submit, without relief, by the press of time, necessity, need, and one emergency after another so prevalent in a fast-moving and rapidly expanding work such as ours where the laborers are so few, the harvest so big, and there’s so much to be done to gather it in before the storm!

The Lord Himself has said, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30). And His Word also warns us that we must be temperate in all things (Titus 1:8) and “let your moderation be known to all men” (Philippians 4:5).

If the yoke gets too hard and the burden too heavy, it’s not His yoke nor His burden, but our own or someone else’s which we’ve unwisely undertaken or permitted to be placed upon us beyond the Lord’s knowledge of our strength and abilities. He Himself will never suffer us to be tempted above that which we are able (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Sometimes we’re tempted to take too much upon us, but certainly not by the Lord. Sometimes we allow our strength to be taxed beyond what we know we can wisely endure, and in so doing, we often allow ourselves to be pushed beyond the measure of our own faith and suffer the consequences in a physical, mental, nervous, or spiritual collapse or breakdown. Please don’t let it happen to you! “Take time to be holy.”^[1] Wholly His, and whole in body, mind, and spirit. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee” (Isaiah 26:3).

Trust the Lord, and He’ll take care of you. He never fails, no matter what the conditions. God bless and keep you and continue to make you a blessing!

^[1] Hymn written by William D. Longstaff, 1882.

What’s In It for Me?

David Brandt Berg

1986-04-04

01/23/25 Some Christians and churches take a negative approach to false religions. They attack them, trying to show everything that’s wrong with them, but they don’t really offer people something better. They don’t show them how much better the Lord is. They don’t show them how much greater power they can have through the Lord.

My mother used to illustrate it by the famous picture of the little girl that has dropped her dolly that she loved so much. You see the dolly falling to the ground out of one hand, and she’s reaching up to a real live dove that’s coming down to land on her other hand. In other words, the imitation was easily traded for the reality of something even better.

Mother used to illustrate it that way to show that you don’t have to fight false religions; just show them something better, give them something better. Show them that Christ is better, the Holy Spirit is more powerful, and that God is the God; that you can have greater peace, greater power, and the only salvation through Jesus. Nearly all of them are imitations and counterfeits of the reality. Who wants an imitation and a counterfeit when they can have the real thing?

When I was considering Uri Geller and his spoon-bending, fork-bending, clock-stopping antics in London, the Lord said, “These are child’s play, children’s impish little tricks. These are things for children. I’ve given you something much better: insight into the future, knowledge of the real salvation of God and the power of Christ for salvation, the Holy Spirit for wisdom and all the gifts of the Spirit.” In other words, this is foolishness. These little miracles of hopping around on cushions on the floor trying to get levitated, this is child’s play! This is mischievous, impish, ridiculous juvenile antics!

We as Christians have many answers to prayer, no less miraculous just because we can’t see them take place before our very eyes. The Lord more often than not lets our miracles be done through natural channels in accordance with His natural laws, not bypassing them in a spectacular show that calls public attention to them. The main miracle that we want people to see is salvation and its power to change hearts and lives!

For many years I sought the gift of tongues. I knew I wasn’t seeking the baptism of the Holy Spirit because I knew I had it. I knew I had the Lord; I knew I had His Spirit and power. I knew it by other gifts and leadings. But here I was seeking this childish toy, so to speak—even Paul in a sense calls it that—wanting to have this manifestation, this demonstration of speaking in tongues, something physical and miraculously supernatural (1 Corinthians 14).

Of all the nine gifts of the Spirit, only three really are observably supernatural, such as tongues, miracles, and healings. Miraculous types of healings, instant healings, etc. We have plenty of healings, we have plenty of tongues, and we’ve had miracles. But they’ve not been the main nor most spectacular part of our ministry, and they’ve not had to be.

We’re trying to win people to Christ and the love of God, and not just going around showing off our super-duper spirituality, that we’re some kind of mystical gurus who can perform miracles and healings and speak in tongues and do showy spiritual manifestations.

Everybody dashed after the Pentecostals from the first of the Pentecostal outpourings in the U.S. and elsewhere, because of these miraculous, supernatural manifestations, especially speaking in tongues. So the Pentecostal church became filled with people who wanted speaking in tongues more than anything else, and who wouldn’t believe they had the baptism of the Spirit till they spoke in tongues. They were after the wrong things; they were after the signs and the wonders rather than the Lord and His love and a burden for souls and desire to witness and win souls and save people for heaven.

Most of the gifts of the Spirit are not showy gifts; they are the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, discernment, and things which are not so showy, not so obviously supernatural, but things which are the most needed and the best of all the gifts if you’re going to work for the Lord. If you’re going to do things for God and be led of His Spirit, those are the things that you need.

Paul said of the Corinthians that they were seeking after things like children, like toys to play with, speaking in tongues and miracles and healings, showy things which were demonstrative of their spiritual power, to show off their spiritual power, which ministers to spiritual pride (1 Corinthians 14:20).

Some Christians are after God with the attitude, “What’s in it for me? What can God do for me?” What John F. Kennedy said to the nation: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country” could be paraphrased for Christians: Ask not what your God can do for you, but ask what you can do for your God.

“What can I do for the Lord? What can I do for others? How can I truly serve God and serve others sacrificially by faith with suffering and all the rest? What’s in it for You, Lord? What can I do for You? You’ve done so much for me. What can I do for You now? What can I by faith sacrificially do for You and others to show my thanks for all that is in it for me and all You’ve given me.”

I mean, everything’s in it for us, of course. By serving the Lord and pleasing God, He’ll give us almost anything, the desires of our hearts, abundantly above all that we can ask or think (Psalm 37:4; Ephesians 3:20). Not only our needs but our wants! Everything’s in it for us. If we will delight ourselves in Him and His will and His service and lay down our lives in love for others and for Him, if we’ll do His will and follow Him and serve Him and others and win souls, everything’s in it for us.

There are two sides to the deal. It’s not only, “God, what can I get out of You?” God wants to know, “Christian, what can I get out of you?”

So this business of wanting spiritual manifestations and demonstrations and miracles and powers, which people are looking for, they’re not really looking for what they can do for God or others; they’re looking for what they can get out of it for themselves and show off to others.

The Lord showed us that this is foolishness as far as He’s concerned. “O foolish Galatians! O foolish Corinthians!” All this foolishness of child’s play, of playing with the gifts of the Spirit as if they were toys. The Lord had to show us that we needed to grow up and be mature Christians with the responsibility of parents and the responsibility of souls and followers, babes in Christ, to teach others to teach others to teach others; that a Christian has most of all a responsibility to God in thanks and gratitude for what He has already done for us. We’re not just to be looking for more and selfishly craving more, selfishly boasting of more, but we are to sacrificially want to serve Christ and serve others and witness and win souls forever for heaven!

How to Have Your Best Year Ever

John Maxwell

2022-12-30

01/22/25 The New Year is here, and Dr. John Maxwell has a timely message for you that will position you for your best year ever. (From a talk published in January 2019, but the principles apply to any new year.)

Run time for this video is 37 minutes.

https://youtu.be/cxE7DCWjOvs?si=l2spG-5Qu52_93_b

The Fire and the Wind!

Maria Fontaine

2023-04-24

01/21/25 Unless you have personally faced a catastrophic event, it can be difficult to grasp the intensity of such experiences and how small and powerless man becomes in the face of them. Witnessing such events firsthand can be terrifying, because for many of the people directly involved, there is little chance of escape, other than through a God-given miracle.

Along with the accounts of the devastation caused by such events also come some tremendous accounts of supernatural protection, guidance, and the hand of God shielding His children in miraculous ways. During such dire events, many people feel an urge to cry out to God or Jesus, because they come to the realization that there is nothing that they themselves can do. As a result, the lives of many who have experienced God’s intervention to protect them in the midst of such desperate situations are forever changed.

A few years ago, fires raged in Australia for months. Many people found themselves trapped in situations where, but for the grace of God, they would not have survived.

Throughout the parts of Australia where the fires raged, there are some towns and small cities surrounded by hundreds or thousands of square miles of forest. Many of the trees are various types of eucalyptus trees. Their sap is so flammable that in a fire these trees can literally explode, sending flaming shards of wood for some distance and spreading the fire rapidly.

They burn so hot that fires can sweep through large areas at high speeds, leaving little more than ashes in their wake. Yet, in the midst of such terrifying situations, we see that God is with His children, keeping them in the hollow of His hands. Nothing can stand against the limitless power of our loving God to save and protect.

Someone sent me an account of one such situation by a man in Australia. The town where he was located had been cut off from escape by land as the fires approached from three directions. The people of this town were trapped by the fire on three sides, and on the other side lay the ocean. They faced almost inevitable death from the massive walls of fire approaching. The rescue teams were trying to reach many such places by the sea, but they were overwhelmed by the magnitude of the situation.

Here is this man’s firsthand account, told in the midst of the inferno.

Well, conditions are a hell of a lot better than they were. It doesn’t look like midnight like it was just before. There’s actually some light coming through the smoke. … Mate, you just don’t want to go through something like this. It was terrifying! … I’m a bit emotional still but I’m grateful that our animals are alive and that our guests that were with us are safe. We’ve stayed together. And, yeah, it was horrendous!

I want to give God the glory because, mate, I have a good friend, ex-firie [firefighter], well, former head of the fire department here in Mallacoota, Graham Clarke. He’s been giving me the heads-up.

He’s in Canberra, but was totally surrounded by fire where he was, and he was good enough to ring me and he said, “David, it’s at the airport.” So, I knew where the fire was. The airport in Mallacoota is five or seven minutes away in the car. I knew it was hitting town because the sirens started up.

You could actually hear it roaring towards town. I had been told that by Graham, the fire chief. He told me, “You’ll hear it, David. You’ll hear the sound.” We heard gas cylinders exploding, which means people’s homes were being destroyed.

At that point, I started praying. I was an atheist, but I was praying to God, praying to Jesus, “Turn the wind!”

You wouldn’t believe it, but I’m going to tell you the honest-to-God truth. It pushed this thing back against itself. Literally, we felt the wind come from off the beach; it shouldn’t have, but it did. It was unbelievable. It stopped after five minutes, and then probably 20 minutes after that, the breeze was blowing up to a gale and then the sky went red.

We thought it was a fire front about to run over the top of us, but it was, I believe, God’s intervention, absolutely, through prayer, because the redness was the sun coming through the smoke, not the fire about to destroy, you know, obliterate all of us down here. Because there’s nothing [the firefighters] could have done if that had happened. It doesn’t matter how many fire trucks you have. … It looked like what we’d been looking at when we saw the fire coming, but it was God stopping it! Yeah, we’re just grateful to be alive.

Those who sent this account to me managed to find this man’s phone number and called him to let him know that they were praying for him. He didn’t have much time to talk because he was still hard at work helping in the rescue operations.

He explained that a wall of flames 60 feet high was coming at him and the other people who’d fled to the beach. He started praying quietly but then started praying more and more boldly, until he was shouting out his prayer.

That’s when an east wind came and blew the fire away. People around him could hear him praying, and he didn’t care. The bolder he got, the stronger came the answer.

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.—Hebrews 4:16

(He was on BBC World Service, Jerusalem Times, all over the world.)

As we often say, “It takes an impossible situation for God to do a miracle.” What’s so wonderful is that when we personally experience His miracles or hear about them, those physical manifestations are often dwarfed by the spiritual victories that take place, as in the case of this man who was an atheist before this experience.

Something even greater than the physical events happened to him, something life-changing that will last forever. Through his brush with death, he discovered the One who transformed his life for eternity. What greater miracle could you ask for than that?! I believe it was due to many people, not only in Australia but around the world, who were praying!

And Jesus looking upon them saith, “With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.”—Mark 10:27

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.—Psalm 32:7

Originally published February 2020. Adapted and republished April 2023. Read by Debra Lee.

A Divine Fire Escape

James M. Kushiner

2024-07-17

01/20/25 In the Eastern churches, the service of matins includes several odes presenting images of salvation from the Old Testament. There is an ode on Moses and Israel escaping Egypt through crossing the Red Sea, another on Jonah’s three days in the belly of the whale and escape from the depths of the sea, and two odes about the three young men in the fiery furnace who miraculously escape. In all three stories, an escape is accomplished following a trial in a place of danger: in crossing the waters of the Red Sea, in the belly of the whale in the depths of the sea, and in the flames of the fiery furnace, where suddenly we find “four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods” (Dan. 3:25). There is Christology in all three stories.

(Read the article here.)

A Divine Fire Escape by James M. Kushiner | Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity

Why Disasters? (part 2)

Is Death a Curse or Blessing?

David Brandt Berg

1980-11-01

01/19/25 “This is the Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9). The Holy Spirit by His faithfulness speaks to the heart of all and tells people when they’re doing wrong. They know the difference between good and evil, even if they may not have known all of their Master’s will.

They may not have even known their Master, they may not have known the Gospel or the truth or the Good News of salvation, but they knew the difference between right and wrong. If they then, therefore, in spite of that, did things worthy of stripes, it says they’ll be beaten with few stripes. Their punishment will be light, comparatively speaking.

Whereas those who knew their Master’s will, knew the Bible, had heard the Gospel, knew about Jesus, knew it in all of its fullness, and yet did things against the Lord and against their Master’s will, “shall be beaten with many stripes.” They will suffer severe punishment both in this life and the afterlife.

The wicked suffer now, although it doesn’t always look like it. For example, riches don’t make people happy. Robbing the poor, making themselves rich has never made them happy. Their wars don’t really bring them happiness. Alexander the Great at 33 years of age had conquered virtually all the known civilized world in only ten years, and yet he died drunk and sobbing like a baby, “Alas, there are no more worlds to conquer!” It didn’t satisfy.

The rich and the powerful receive a lot of punishment right in this life. As many of them say, “Yes, I believe in hell; I’m living in it right now!” As the Word says, “some men’s sins go before them”—in other words, they’re judged even in this life and they suffer for them even here and now. “But other men’s sins follow after”—they’re not going to get theirs until after they die (1 Timothy 5:24). They’re not going to get their full punishment until the afterlife, and that punishment is really going to be effective.

They’re going to get it sooner or later, because God is just and God is thorough, and “every man will be rewarded according to his works” (Psalm 62:12; Jeremiah 17:10; Matthew 16:27; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 2:23, 20:13, 22:12). We’ll even have to “give an account for every idle word, for by thy words shalt thou be justified, and by thy words shalt thou be condemned” (Matthew 12:36–37). That’s why it’s so important to confess Christ by your words, with your mouth (Romans 10:9–10).

God is just, God is loving, God is pure, God is holy, God is perfect, and everything will work out perfectly in the long run. There will be perfect judgment and punishment for the wicked, and perfect reward for the righteous and the believer and the one who obeyed the Lord. But it will all be to the same end or purpose.

For those who still have to be punished hereafter, the punishment and the reward will be designed and tailored according to their deeds, for a reason. For what purpose? Just to get revenge? Just to be vindictive? God is not that type of vengeful God, vindictive, only wanting to make people suffer for their sins.

It’s for a purpose: to bring them to the light, to demonstrate His goodness and kindness and love, and show them what damage they did by their disobedience and their lack of love. Why? To hope for belief and to hope for godly sorrow and repentance and a change; that if they did not choose to do good here, that they will be shown in the afterlife how important it is to do good, and will choose to do it there.

It’s sad that they have to wait until then to find out or to decide, and those who wait until then will never be able to walk in the Holy City and enjoy the greatest blessings and joys of God. But obviously they’ll be outside in varied degrees of punishment, reward, freedom, imprisonment, or whatever it may be, until such time as God deems that they have served their sentence, suffered enough, repented enough, and they will be released or relieved.

He makes a difference between few stripes and many stripes, but whether few or many, they all come to an end. A few is a number, many is a number, and whether few or many, the stripes come to an end when they have received enough to have accomplished God’s purpose to cause them to repent, see the light and be sorry, and turn away and change. Having received the punishment that they deserve because they refused Christ’s sacrifice, then they have to suffer for it.

If they reject Christ’s suffering, His atonement, His substitutionary death for their sins, then they have to suffer for their own sins. So therefore, they then will suffer the judgment and serve out the sentence until they have suffered enough to pay for it, and then they will be released from whatever that is and allowed some better life—but not as good as those who received Him in this life and repented here and now and served Him here and obeyed Him in this world and did good in what they could now, here on this earth, and who have received Jesus Christ as their Savior, as their substitution, sacrifice for sins.

We are completely forgiven. We are completely relieved from the punishment of sin, “For the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin”—past, present, and future (1 John 1:7). But not them, because they rejected Jesus and they rejected His blood and they refused to believe and they refused to receive, therefore they shall have to suffer for their own sins, their own punishment.

Jesus does not take it for them because they have not received Him. In a way, He took it for everybody; He died for the whole world, but only those who receive it get it (1 Timothy 4:10). So that’s the story, and I’m convinced that if things aren’t squared in this life, they certainly will be in the next, good or evil.

Therefore, great disasters that sweep thousands of lives into the next are undoubtedly in some way good for the people involved. Those who die go right into a life where they’ll certainly be taught what’s right and wrong. And for many it will be a release from the agony and the punishment and the pain, like Lazarus the beggar, who begged at the rich man’s door and the dogs licked his sores.

The Lord says he suffered his here and had his evil things here, but now he’s going to have his good things. Whereas the rich man had good things here and he was going to suffer for his sins in the afterlife (Luke 16:25).

Those who did evil in this life but maybe didn’t suffer enough for it here will suffer for it afterward unless they have been cleansed by the blood of Christ. In that case, “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). But some will have to pay for their sins by death, suffering, and pain in this life and the afterlife.

It’s a very big subject, one that has plagued the world for millenniums and caused men to wonder and question and argue as to why. Why these disasters, earthquakes, floods, eruptions, wars and famines that wipe out tens of thousands of people?

In many cases it could be a blessing in disguise to relieve many of the poor and the pitiful and the suffering and the oppressed and the starving from their agony and their suffering. They’ll find that death is a blessing, even if they didn’t know the Lord and didn’t know His Word and didn’t know Jesus. I’m sure God’s going to have mercy upon them, and His relieving them of this life is going to teach them the things they need to know in the next life, because we didn’t get to them in this life—our responsibility (Ezekiel 3:18–19).

The church didn’t fulfill its obligation of reaching them with the truth and the Gospel and Jesus and His love in this life, so where are they going to learn it? Certainly God wants them to know it and learn it sometime, sooner or later, and if they don’t get it here and now, they’ll get it there and then. I’m convinced of it.

It says that, “Then no man shall say, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Him” (Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 8:11). If everybody’s going to know Him, then they’re all going to know the truth and all know Jesus. They may not know Him as well and as personally as we do, because we already knew Him in this life, and learned to know Him well, communicate with Him well, and love.

We have only happiness and joy and beautiful eternal rewards to look forward to in the next life, because we have received His substitutionary sacrifice for sin, Jesus Christ, and His blood shed on the cross, so that we are relieved from the punishment and the penalty of the sin and relieved from the sentences that will be passed on others at the Great Judgment.

That judgment is for a reason! All the people who ever lived, whether good or bad, if unsaved, will have to stand at the Great White Throne Judgment of God (Revelation 20:11–12). Not at the Judgment Seat of Christ. The Judgment Seat of Christ is a different judgment, in which we are judged by Christ Himself because we know Him, and there He will reward us according to our works (Romans 14:10; 2 Corinthians 5:10).

Christians will be rewarded either well or poorly, because if they served poorly, they’ll be rewarded poorly. Or if they served well, they’ll be rewarded well. Some in the Resurrection, He says “will shine as the stars,” those that turn many to righteousness. They’re going to be shining stars! Whereas others will be “raised to everlasting shame and contempt”—but nevertheless raised, and nevertheless rescued from death and this world (Daniel 12:2–3).

How you interpret it depends on whether you believe in God or not. How you interpret it depends on whether you believe in the afterlife or not. Of course, if there were no afterlife, then the whole thing is a farce and a tragedy and travesty against justice. But there is an afterlife where things are squared up, the good and the righteous are rewarded, and the evil are punished.

Why weep for those who have been taken and gone on to the next life? They’re the blessed ones! It’s those who didn’t die, who stay behind and suffer, that you are to pity and be sorry for, because they’re still having to suffer in order to learn what life is all about, and suffering helps us to learn. As David said, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but in my affliction I cried unto the Lord and He saved this poor man out of all his troubles (Psalm 18:6, 34:6, and 119:67). Affliction and suffering drives people to God, at least those who can be driven. With some, affliction and suffering causes them to curse God all the more because they’re still unrepentant, as God’s prophets said of them (Ezekiel 3:7; Matthew 23:37).

So suffering is a catalyst; suffering is the test-tube time to see if you either have the grace already to take it by faith, or if it can turn you to grace, cause you to call upon God and ask Him to forgive you and cause you to repent and cause you to seek His mercy and His love and His salvation. Or whether the same suffering is going to cause some to reject Him the more and deny Him the more!

Ralph Underwood was a famous atheist—head of the American Association for the Advancement of Atheism (AAAA), the biggest atheistic outfit in America at that time, before communism. He once told me, “Dave, all those years I went around preaching against God and claiming He didn’t exist, I knew He existed, but I just hated Him, and therefore I didn’t want people to believe in Him. So I tried to destroy their faith, undermine their faith, and wipe out their faith in God, if they had any.” Of course, if you have real faith in God, it can’t be wiped out.

What little thread of childlike belief or whatever it was they had, he went around trying to destroy because he hated God and didn’t want people to believe in Him. He said, “I cursed God and hated Him for the life I’d had to live. I had been an orphan when I was a child, and I learned to hate God.” But look how the Lord, in spite of his hatred and working against God for years, finally saved him—through suffering! He had some kind of crash or accident that finally brought him to God.

In general terms, suffering can do one of those three things: It purifies and humbles and cleanses the saved and draws us even closer to God; it turns some of the unsaved to God, to repentance and salvation as in their suffering they cry unto the Lord; and then for the totally unrepentant, the renegade or utterly wicked, it causes them to curse God all the more and therefore be all the more deserving of His judgments.

I’m completely, utterly convinced of the righteousness of God and His love and His mercy and His justice and fairness and that He does only the right thing and the thing that’s good for us; or that is deserved by the wicked, which is also good, of course. Even the judgments of God are righteous. The works of God are good and not evil. They may seem evil, look evil, and appear to some people to be evil, but even so-called evil is good if God is in it.

We’re certainly not to be sorry for the dead, only except perhaps for those who died unrepentant and in unbelief and rebellion against God. I’m sorry for them. And for the good poor who died, it was a release and relief from their sufferings and from their hardships and hard life and oppression, depression, pain, and deprivation. I’m sure that God has a fair and just reward for them, and relief from this life was undoubtedly with thanksgiving and pleasure.

In a sense we all live in a measure of suffering in this world under the curse of suffering, pain, sickness, death. So it’s for the living that we need to pray—for the mercy of God and relief of suffering if they repent, or a tightening of the screws if they don’t. Pray for the millions of the poor who still suffer.

It’s for the millions who still live that we need to pray and whom we need to reach with the Gospel and the love of Christ and the message of salvation and His forgiveness and His joy and happiness, His love. These are the ones that we need to be praying about and worrying about, or at least concerned about and caring for and striving to help—not those who are already dead and have passed on to their reward, whatever it may be.

We’re not to weep for the dead in that case, unless they were wicked and evil and have gone on to more suffering, in which case perhaps our prayers might help them. “All things are possible with God, and the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (Matthew 19:26; James 5:16). Since they are still in a stage of learning and being taught in hope and preparation of their repentance and turning and changing and becoming purified and purged in Purgatory, then surely we can pray to that end, and that’s good prayer. In that case we can yet pray for the dead, the unsaved dead, that they may learn in the afterlife what they failed to learn here.

But most of all we need to pray for the living and those who are still alive and can still be saved here and now and miss all that, that they can be spared having to go through even more suffering and agony and teaching and training and chastisement and judgment and punishment in the afterlife. We need to be concerned with trying to save the people now, building a fence at the top of the precipice instead of a hospital at the bottom.

We need to work on the ounce of prevention now rather than worry about the pound of cure later, because it’s so simple and so easy that they be saved now and spared all that, so that the quicker they die the better, the sooner the better, except to live for the sake of others.

God is just, God is good, God is merciful, God is love, and I believe it with all my heart. No matter what happens or how it happens or what great disasters befall the poor and the meek, “they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). And those who die, if they were good and did the best they knew how, they’re better off and they’re out of the suffering and agony of this world.

The Knowledge of Good

David Brandt Berg

1984-01-01

01/18/25 Man may be able to invent computers and automatons, but that stuff is eventually going to lead the world to its destruction. “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22). Things can be used by the Lord for good—like we use computers—or by mankind and the Devil to destroy the world. Every missile has a built-in computer to guide it to its destination, so computers can be used for good and evil.

The Devil told the truth when he said it was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Up to that time all they had was the knowledge of good, because everything was good; there was no evil except for the Devil. But when they partook of that tree, they got the knowledge of evil—good and evil.

Until they had the knowledge of evil, all they had was good, and they didn’t even know what good was. It took the knowledge of evil to give us the knowledge of good, to understand good and what good is. Because without the bad, you wouldn’t have anything to compare the good with, to know it is good.

They didn’t really get the knowledge of good, to know that it was good and why it was good and how it was good, until Satan gave them the knowledge of evil. He didn’t actually give it to them; they yielded to it by eating the forbidden fruit from the forbidden tree that God had warned them not to eat. That was, of course, the first evil, their lack of faith in the Word of God. The Devil planted doubts and they believed the Devil instead of the Lord and they partook of the fruit. But what God promised happened, and what the Devil promised happened too—at least half of it. When he said, “Ye shall not surely die,” that didn’t happen; they did die, it was a lie! The Devil often tells people half-truths to get people to swallow the lie, his sugar-coated pill (Genesis 3:4).

It’s sad that many people today have gained so much scientific knowledge about the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, the planets, solar system, and galaxies, and yet they’re so ignorant of the beautiful order and perfection and marvelous synchronization of things like the phases of the moon! God has made a lot of marvelous things, and He put the moon and the stars up there for a reason; He said for lights, to light the day and the night, and to be for signs and seasons so you’d know the difference (Genesis 1:14). Long before people had calendars or clocks or any other way of telling time, that was the way they told time. If you ever got lost out in the woods or out in the desert or somewhere, as many people have, people who knew about these things managed to find their way home. People who didn’t, often starved to death and died, because they didn’t know which direction was which or which way to go.

God has made even the planetary system of the earth and the moon to be a marvelous clock to be able to tell time by, and even the day of the year. In biblical times people could read those signs and tell you what the weather was going to be, etc. They had ways of discerning the signs in the sky and the weather, even though they had no meteorologists. But Jesus said, “You can’t even discern the signs of the times! You don’t even know what day it is spiritually or in history or what’s happening right here in your country.”

God’s creation is fascinating. You can see the hand of God, hear the voice of God in it, and learn so much about God from it. “He which is invisible can be seen in the things that He has made” (Romans 1:20). That’s what that scripture means. It has kind of funny wording, but that’s what it means.—That in seeing what He has made, what is visible, you can see and know the existence of He who is invisible, by seeing His handiwork.

Back in the Garden of Eden, the Devil said, “Hath God said? God said you shouldn’t do that because God doesn’t want you to know that if you do this, you’ll have lots more fun!” Adam and Eve did that, and what happened? They didn’t have a lot more fun; they had nothing but trouble from then on.

Seeking the happiness of others and trying to help others and make others happy, as God has ordered us to do, is the only way to bring true happiness. That little song has got it all summed up beautifully: “The way to be happy is to make others happy, and we’ll have a little heaven right here.”

If you’ll try to make others happy, it’ll make you happy, and you’ll have a little heaven right here on earth.—Contrary to the preamble of the Declaration of Independence, that states that Americans are guaranteed the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They’ve been chasing it ever since and have never found it. You don’t find happiness by chasing it; happiness finds you by your bringing happiness to others. That’s God’s system, God’s rule, God’s way, God’s Law of Love. God will make you happy if you make others happy. It’s that simple!

I’ve even told people who have been Christians for years that that was the way to be happy. I told that to one woman who’d married husband after husband after husband and couldn’t find a man who could make her happy. I finally said, “Why don’t you go out and try to find some dear old man that you can make happy; maybe it’ll work!” The only way to be happy is to make others happy, and you’ll have a little heaven right here.

The Lord allowed mankind to fall because He saw that the only way man, His creation, would ever learn, was through that bitter experience, because you never learn as well as you do through experience. Adam and Eve learned, let me tell you, when they were driven out of the Garden and had to go out and find clothes to wear and till the soil for their food.

They then realized they’d never had it as good as they’d had it in the Garden when they obeyed God and kept His rules and had perfect liberty. The trouble was, you see, in the Garden before the fall they didn’t know what good was, because they didn’t have anything to compare it with. As I’ve often said, you wouldn’t know what light was unless you’d known darkness.

You don’t really appreciate health until you’ve known sickness. You don’t appreciate wealth unless you’ve known poverty. You don’t appreciate that marvelous heavenly relief and release from pain unless you’ve known pain.

The Lord had to let all that happen so that we would learn and appreciate the good and the marvelous good world we’re going to have in the future without all of that pain and evil, the kind of world He wanted us to live in in the first place and the way it was to begin with, and the way man was to begin with. But He saw that man didn’t really appreciate it, didn’t really understand it, had nothing to compare it with to know it was so good and so beautiful and so wonderful and such heaven on earth and so perfect with no evil.

God had to let man experience evil to really appreciate good, and experience sin in order to appreciate salvation.

God’s Idea of Greatness

A compilation

2022-01-11

01/17/25 How would you define greatness?

In his bestselling book The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren says: “There will always be more people willing to do ‘great’ things for God than people willing to do the little things. The race to be a leader is crowded, but the field is wide open for those willing to be servants.”

The interesting thing is that Jesus promoted the role of a servant. Whenever the disciples argued about who would be greatest, Jesus reminded them that the greatest thing they could ever do—the action that would make them great in God’s eyes—was to serve others. “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.”¹

Here are a few more excerpts from Rick Warren’s book on what it means to be a servant:

The world defines greatness in terms of power, possessions, prestige, and position. Jesus, however, measured greatness in terms of service, not status. God determines your greatness by how many people you serve, not how many people serve you.

Jesus specialized in menial tasks that others tried to avoid: washing feet, helping children, fixing breakfast, and serving lepers. Nothing was beneath Him, because He came to serve. It wasn’t in spite of His greatness that He did these things, but because of it, and He expects us to follow His example.

Small tasks often show a big heart. Your servant’s heart is revealed in little acts that others don’t think of doing, as when Paul gathered brushwood for a fire to warm everyone after a shipwreck. He was just as exhausted as everyone else, but he did what everyone needed. No task is beneath you when you have a servant’s heart.

John Wesley was an incredible servant of God. His motto was, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, as long as you ever can.” That is greatness. You can begin by looking for small tasks that no one else wants to do. Do these little things as if they were great things, because God is watching.²

The Bible is filled with examples of imperfect men who were of service to others. If you’re looking for God’s greatness, just start serving. Look for ways that you can help another and then do what you can with all your heart, and as you do, as you serve, you will learn to serve well.

Keep in mind, though, that service doesn’t mean setting yourself up to receive recognition. But you can be encouraged that as you serve, your life will have a positive impact on others and you will cultivate deep relationships.

When I read about people like Mother Teresa, who helped so many of the destitute on the streets of Kolkata, or Father Damien, the leper priest of Hawaii, their lives of giving and service inspire my soul and heart to pursue a path greater than myself; it gives me a vision far surpassing my petty wants.

One of my favorite quotes is by George Bernard Shaw. He said, “This is the true joy in life: being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.”

In other words, selfless living is a joy; it’s fulfilling! Albert Schweitzer said, “The only really happy people are those who have learned how to serve.” It’s funny, because when some of us think of the word “serving” or “service,” joy and happiness are not what come to mind. We more likely think of work and self-denial. But obviously, many people have discovered that they have received happiness, joy, and satisfaction through living to serve, give, and care.

As Christians, our service should be done as unto God, and not for personal glory or because we are expecting something in return. We are called to give and serve as unto God out of love and gratefulness for Him, not for appreciation, respect, honor, or reward.

Through serving others you’re creating a ripple effect of giving and receiving. Your giving is not just bringing sacrifice into your life, but joy and positive experiences that you might not have expected. And you don’t only have good things coming back to you in this life; imagine what it will feel like one day to have God say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”³—Daveen Donnelly

Full of His greatness

God’s idea of greatness is having a heart, soul, and spirit so full of His greatness that it manifests through us. In the Bible, the word “great” is nearly always used to describe who God is: “For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised.”⁴ Or what God has done: “The LORD has done great things for us, and we are glad.”⁵

A great person is one who obeys God: “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”⁶ A great person is one who is a servant: “Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.”⁷

When we acknowledge God’s greatness through our worship of Him, we invite His greatness to dwell in us. When we obey God and serve Him, then He does great things through us. This is the kind of greatness God has called us to in our lives.—Stormie Omartian

What is greatness?

The world measures greatness by money, or eloquence, or intellectual skill, or even by prowess on the field of battle. But here is the Lord’s standard: “Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.”—J. H. Jowett

Do not confuse notoriety and fame with greatness. Many of the titled in today’s world obtained their fame and fortune outside their own merit. On the other hand, I have met great people in the most obscure roles. For greatness is a measure of one’s spirit, not a result of one’s rank in human affairs. Nobody, least of all mere human beings, confers greatness upon another, for it is not a prize but an achievement. And greatness can crown the head of a janitor just as readily as it can come to someone of high rank.—Sherman G. Finesilver

Choosing significance over success

Ever since God breathed His story into existence, we’ve been drawn to the stories of heroes. We are inspired by brave warriors who stand up for justice, such as firefighters who run into buildings when everyone else is running out. Heroes don’t do what they do for recognition, credit, or fame. They do it because they can take something wrong in the world and set it right again.

Isn’t it interesting that when we read these stories, we don’t consider ourselves in the same category? … The truth is that every one of us is called to be heroic for God’s Kingdom. That means prioritizing a life of eternal significance over worldly success.

That can be hard for us to accept. For most of us, our success in life has been determined by how well we perform inside worldly grading systems. Whether it’s school and report cards, or the adult world of commission structures and performance reviews, in order to gain success, we have to measure up well inside the system. Believe me, I know. For many years, my ultimate goal was success. Get the highest grades possible. Earn recognition and awards.

But do we want success at the cost of God’s will being done?

It’s not that God doesn’t want us to be successful; He wants us to experience the abundant life He has to offer.

Jesus came to offer that abundant life by turning things upside down. He came to tell us about what rewards look like in His Kingdom. He came to invite believers to partner with Him in building His Church.

As leaders (and we are all leaders in some way), the goal is to shift our mindsets. We aim for significance by being major heroes in building God’s Kingdom instead of minor characters, or worse, players who never got in the game. How do we do that? …

When what we say and do honors God and invites others into a relationship with Him, we lead a life of significance.

Father, help me to prioritize the building of Your Kingdom above all else and live faithfully and fully in light of eternity. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.—Erin Weidemann⁸

Published on Anchor January 2022. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.
Music by Michael Dooley.

¹ Mark 10:43 NIV.

² Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004), 257, 259, 260–261.

³ Matthew 25:21 NIV.

⁴ 1 Chronicles 16:25.

⁵ Psalm 126:3.

⁶ Matthew 5:19.

⁷ Matthew 20:26.

⁸ https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2020/12/09/choosing-significance-over-success.

Building Great People

A compilation

2012-02-13

01/16/25 One of the greatest gifts you can give someone is your faith in them. Everyone needs someone to believe in them!—Peter Amsterdam

People often judge one another by what they see on the outside—the initial reactions, the perception of a person’s character, the hearsay circulated about an individual. It’s hard to see the person behind the mask, to see his heart and what his intentions are. It’s sad that so much is measured by what’s on the outside, because it’s the heart that counts. People the world over would be far better off being measured against that touchstone.

It takes love, hope, faith, and understanding to nourish the possibilities in another, and to believe that there is more to a person than meets the eye. You may think that you know a person well enough to know that he is beyond changing, but would you have the same said of you? Would you want to be boxed in and limited to what people suppose you are? Would you consider how people view and treat you to be a fair representation of who you really are and how you would want to be treated? Think about that, and then consider how you view others and how you treat them.

Human nature is such that you thrive on hearing appreciation from those around you. You gain confidence when you know that someone considers your thoughts of value. A brilliant light is turned on within a heart that is cherished and admired by another. There truly is no comparison to what love and faith can do to the human spirit, and it would make Me so happy to see more love extended to those around you.

Do your best to help those around you flourish and become more than they are today. It’s part of your Christian duty to reach out to others and to believe in them. Show faith and trust in people, even when you may feel hesitant to do so. You’d be surprised at what may come from a little confidence and faith placed in an individual.

So many people lack simple confidence. They’ve felt shut out by others, condemned, unappreciated, and ridiculed, and this has been a loss to the development of their possibilities. It’s a rare soul who can go so contrarily against the crowd and forge ahead, regardless of what others think, or whether or not he receives any praise or encouragement for what he hopes to achieve. Most people need the gentle nurturing of appreciation, faith, love, and belief that they can succeed.

Such faith in others doesn’t always come easily. Sometimes you must extend the hand of acceptance, even when your logic is screaming that you shouldn’t. But if you know that it’s what’s right, that it’s what I expect of you, then it’s My voice within your heart that you must listen to. Don’t push it aside as illogical or foolish. Love isn’t always logical.

If you want to see the world and those around you change, then it starts with you—with your belief that others are more than they appear to be. You can draw out the good in those around you, appreciate individuals for who they are, acknowledge the gifts and talents that I’ve blessed them with, and humbly be a conduit of love and appreciation to others.

Remember My words to My disciples, which still hold true today: “This is My commandment: that ye love one another, as I have loved you.”¹ So love others, and highlight the good in them, and that good will flourish even more. You can have full confidence that love never returns void.—Jesus, speaking in prophecy

Expect the best from people. You’ll see that they’ll often meet your expectations, and in some cases, exceed them.—Jesus, speaking in prophecy

Many of you remember the movie “Stand and Deliver,” the story of Jaime Escalante, an immigrant from Bolivia who taught at Garfield High School in inner-city Los Angeles. He accomplished remarkable results with students known to be especially difficult to teach.

One story not depicted in the movie was the one about “the other Johnny.” Escalante had two students named Johnny in his class. One was a straight A+ student; the other was an F+ student. The A+ student was easy to get along with, cooperated with teachers, worked hard, and was popular with his peers. The F+ Johnny was sullen, angry, uncooperative, disruptive, and in general was not popular with anyone.

One evening at a PTA meeting, an excited mother approached Escalante and asked, “How is my Johnny doing?” Escalante figured that the F+ Johnny’s mother would not be asking such a question, so he described in glowing terms the A+ Johnny, saying he was a wonderful student, popular with his class, cooperative and a hard worker, and would undoubtedly go far in life. The next morning, Johnny—the F+ one—approached Escalante and said, “I really appreciate what you said to my mother about me, and I just want you to know that I’m going to work real hard to make what you said the truth.” By the end of that grade period, he was a C- student, and by the end of the school year, he was on the honor roll.

If we treat others as if they were “the other Johnny,” chances are dramatically better that they will, in fact, improve their performance. Someone rightly said that more people have been encouraged to succeed than have been nagged to succeed. This example makes us wonder what would happen to all the “other Johnnies” of the world if someone said something really nice about them.—Zig Ziglar

Everyone screws up at some point or another, but the knowledge that someone still believes in them, has faith in them, and trusts that even though they’ve made mistakes and have fallen or failed, they’re not being put on the scrap heap, can be just what they need to make it. You’ll be amazed at what people will do or be if they know that you believe in them.—Jesus, speaking in prophecy

Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great.—Ralph Waldo Emerson

People often lose faith in themselves and in their own abilities. They clearly see their mistakes, inabilities, and failings, and the Enemy is always right there to magnify those faults and to tell them, “Yes, you are a failure and you’ll never amount to anything. You might as well give up now.”

But when someone comes along and shows faith in them, it can often be the ray of hope that they need to turn things around and to keep going.—Jesus, speaking in prophecy

Practical ways to express “I have faith in you”:

* Build up excellence: Try to think of at least one thing that you find outstanding in a person, and then make it your task to let them know. Reinforce the fact that you see and know how excellent they are in that specific way. Don’t be shy; they won’t get tired of hearing it. What you’re doing is building confidence in that one area, and as they gain confidence, they will start to improve in other areas as well.

* Give others responsibility: If you’re in a position of authority, try to give others responsibility in the areas in which they are notably strong, even if it’s just in one small thing. Let them feel trusted and needed and appreciated for their obvious strengths, and it will help them to develop other strengths.

* Appreciate who they are: Appreciating others for what they do is important, and people like to be thanked and acknowledged for it. But being appreciated for a personal trait feels a lot nicer than only being appreciated for the outcome of that trait. For example, telling a cook that she is creative in coming up with exotic dishes, rather than just saying that the food was delicious.

* Keep appreciation simple and doable: Don’t feel that you need to have wonderfully warm feelings about a person, or be their best friend and really know them deeply before you can make a difference in someone’s life. You can be a near stranger and still have a marvelous effect on someone.

* Slow down: It takes time to see people in a new light. It takes a slowdown of the hasty assumptions that are a result of mental ruts and thought patterns that require no change in perspective. Go slower in your interactions with people and allow Me a chance to reveal My perspective.

* Pause to meditate: Think of the positive ways that someone has helped you. Praise Me for the good that a person has done. Pray for them. Appreciate them in your thoughts. You will have a change in how you view others, because you will have taken the time to go deeper, past the surface assumptions that are so easy to make and past your history with them.

* Let go of the past: Be willing to see who the person is today, or the potential of what they can be tomorrow, and don’t let your view be marred by your past experiences.

* Extend mercy: Acknowledge the mercy that you want Me and others to show you, and then show that same mercy and tenderness to others.

* Drop the labels: Think of how you dislike being labeled or put in a box. You desire freedom to go wherever My Spirit leads, to do whatever I show you to do. Labels and classifications put people in boxes that hinder their faith to follow My Spirit. Try your best to support and encourage others to follow their faith.—Jesus, speaking in prophecy

Treat a man as he appears to be, and you make him worse. But treat a man as if he already were what he potentially could be, and you make him what he should be.—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Originally published December 2009. Adapted and republished February 2012.
Read by Simon Peterson.

¹ John 15:12.

What Is Truth?

By Marge Banks

01/15/25 Standing in the judgment hall of Roman-controlled Jerusalem, face to face with the prophet of Galilee, the procurator Pontius Pilate asked what was to become one of the most famous questions of all time: “What is truth?” Pilate apparently failed to realize that the answer was standing right in front of him. The Bible tells us that “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ,”¹ and Jesus Himself said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”²

Today we live in a world of relativism, where it would seem there are no absolutes. Relativism alleges that truth is subjective, elusive, changeable. Politicians utter promises they can’t or don’t intend to keep; spin doctors mislead; the world’s commerce is driven by greed at the expense of integrity; history is revised; news reports are frequently biased, sensationalized, or otherwise distorted; modern entertainment blurs the lines between reality and fantasy; the Bible is viewed as mythical, irrelevant, and inappropriate for today’s needs—if ever it was.

People may imagine what they will, disparage as they will, and try to make reality conform to their own desires and agendas, but that doesn’t change the truth. As Mohandas Gandhi put it, “God is, even though the whole world deny Him. Truth stands, even if there be no public support. It is self-sustained.” Those who close their minds to that reality unwittingly fulfill some of the saddest words in the Bible: “[Jesus] was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.”³ Even many sincere seekers of the truth look first in the wrong places. While they explore new forms of spirituality or take a psychological route toward self-improvement, for example, like Pilate they miss what is right in front of them: the liberating truth and love of God, which He freely extends to them.

But those who read the Bible with open minds and believing hearts find what they’ve been searching for—answers to life’s deepest questions and love enough to fill the deepest void—truth. “If you abide in My word,” Jesus promises, “you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”⁴

The Bible—Fact or Fable?

Despite popular dismissals of the Bible as little more than fables and fabrication, archaeology has provided remarkable evidence of its historical accuracy. For example, the archive of the ancient city of Ebla in northern Syria was discovered in the 1970s. The documents it contained, written on clay tablets around 2300 BC, demonstrate that personal and place names in the accounts of the Hebrew patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are real. Ancient customs reflected in the stories of the patriarchs have also been found in clay tablets.

Another example concerns Sargon, king of Assyria, who is referred to in the book of Isaiah, but whose existence historians long disputed: “In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and fought against Ashdod and took it” (Isaiah 20:1). We now know that Sargon II was indeed an Assyrian king who started his reign in 722 bc. Sargon’s palace at Khorsabad, Iraq, was discovered by Paul-Émile Botta in 1843. Further excavation of the site some 90 years later found the very event mentioned in Isaiah—Assyria’s conquest of Ashdod—recorded on the palace walls. Visitors to the British Museum in London can see the colossal winged bull taken from the palace.

A third example was discovered in the British Museum itself. In the summer of 2007, visiting professor Michael Jursa, an Assyriologist, was searching through the museum’s collection of 130,000 Assyrian cuneiform tablets when he came across a name he half remembered—Nabu-sharrussu-ukin, described there in a hand 2,500 years old as “the chief eunuch” of Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon. The small tablet on which the name appears is a bill of receipt acknowledging Nabu-sharrussu-ukin’s payment of about 0.75 kg of gold to a temple in Babylon. Jursa checked the Old Testament and found the same name, rendered differently by the Bible’s translators, in chapter 39 of the book of Jeremiah. Nebo-Sarsekim, according to Jeremiah, was “chief officer” to Nebuchadnezzar II and was with him at the siege of Jerusalem in 587 bc, when the Babylonians overran the city. Dr. Irving Finkel of the British Museum summed up the significance. “This is a fantastic discovery, a world-class find. A throwaway detail in the Old Testament turns out to be accurate and true. I think that it means that the whole of the narrative [of Jeremiah] takes on a new kind of power.”⁵

What of Jesus Himself?

Dozens of ancient non-biblical manuscripts confirm that Jesus was a genuine historical figure who lived in Palestine in the early part of the first century. The Encyclopedia Britannica states: “These independent accounts prove that in ancient times even the opponents of Christianity never doubted the historicity of Jesus, which was disputed for the first time—and on inadequate grounds—by several authors during the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th centuries.”⁶

For instance, the Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus mentions “Christus” in his annals published around 115 AD: “Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus.”⁷

Another example is Lucian of Samosatam, a Greek satirist who lived during the second century. He was scornful of Christians, but nevertheless his writings attest to the spread of Christianity at that time: “The Christians … worship a man to this day—the distinguished personage who introduced this new cult, and was crucified on that account. … You see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all time, which explains their contempt for death and self devotion … their lawgiver [taught] they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws. All this they take on faith.”⁸

Marge Banks is a member of the Family International in England.

Let mental culture go on advancing, let the natural sciences progress in ever greater extent and depth, and the human mind widen itself as much as it desires—beyond the elevation and moral culture of Christianity, as it shines forth in the Gospels, it will not go.
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, German poet (1749-1832)

All human discoveries seem to be made only for the purpose of confirming more and more strongly the truth contained in the sacred Scriptures.
—Sir William Herschel, German astronomer (1738-1822)

The Bible is the sacred collection, preserved under the name of Book of books, which contains the doctrinal, moral, and religious system relatively most profound, popular, and intelligible that has come into existence in the history of mankind.
—Francisco Giner de los Ríos, Spanish educator and philosopher (1839-1915)

There is abundant evidence that the Bible, though written by men, is not the product of the human mind. By countless multitudes it has always been revered as a communication to us from the Creator of the universe.
—Sir Ambrose Fleming, English inventor (1849-1945)

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.
—William Gladstone, English Prime Minister (1809-1898)

In books I converse with men, in the Bible I converse with God.
—William Romaine, English preacher (1714-1795)

For me, the Bible is the Book. I cannot see how anybody can live without it.
—Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poetess and Nobel prizewinner (1889-1957)

John 1:17
2. John 14:6
3. John 1:10-11
4. John 8:31-32
5. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/11/ntablet111.xml ; July 13, 2007
6. Encyclopedia Britannica (1980), Vol. 10, page 145
7. Annals 15.44.2-8
8. The Passing Peregrinus

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) ESV

Become a New Creature in Christ

David Brandt Berg

2016-03-10

01/14/25 Grace plus faith plus nothing.—That’s salvation. You don’t have to be good to get saved, and you don’t have to be good to stay saved. But this does not mean that you can just live as you please once you are saved. If you are really a Christian you will always be saved, but if you commit sins against the Lord and others which are unconfessed, unrepented of, and not made right, you will suffer for them in some way, “for whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.”¹ But even if you are disobedient at times and are chastened by the Lord for your sins, if you are saved, you’ll always be saved.

When, as a young Christian, I read John 3:36, that ended all my worries. “He that hath the Son hath everlasting life.” That was it. I knew I had Jesus, and I knew He didn’t keep popping in and out of my heart. He was there all the time. He says, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”² He says, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee,”³ and “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.”⁴

So thank the Lord that we can be saved and know it. And of course, if you really are, you’ll show it too. You’ll no longer be like everybody else in the world; you’ll be different. You’ll be a “new creature in Christ Jesus; old things will be passed away, and all things will become new.”⁵ There’ll be a change, a real change.

Jesus coming into your life not only renews and purifies and regenerates your spirit, but it also renews your mind, breaking old connections and reflexes and gradually rebuilding and rewiring you into a whole new computer system with an utterly different outlook on life, a new way of looking at the world, and with new reactions to nearly everything around you.

It’s impossible for men to really change themselves, but it’s possible for God to change anyone. And when Jesus comes into your heart, everything is changed. You are a new person.

If you are genuinely saved, born again, a new creature in Christ Jesus, old things are passed away and all things are become new. And if you “abide in Him and He abides in you, then you shall bring forth fruit.”⁶ If you are genuinely saved, if you are genuinely born again, if you have God in your heart, if you have salvation, if you have Jesus, you’re a new creature and you will be different.

So expect things to be different. Not totally different perhaps, as you’re still human. But you’ll find a change in your spirit, in your thoughts, in your heart and in your direction. You’ll be happy and overflowing with love. Because if you have Jesus, you have love. For “God is love.”⁷

Do you have Jesus? Have you taken Him into your heart and been born again by His Spirit? Are you truly changed, a new person, a new creature, one in which old things have passed away and all things have become new? You don’t have to walk down to an altar; you don’t have to stand up, sit down, turn over, or stand on your head. It has nothing to do with the position of your body. It’s all in how you position your heart. If your heart is humble before God and you know you’re a sinner and need His help, all you have to do is ask Him into your heart.

Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.”⁸ Salvation is so powerful, but God will not force it on you. His love is all-powerful, but He won’t make you receive it. Jesus knocks at the door; He doesn’t kick it in. He could break it down or pulverize it with one look, but He refuses to force His way into your heart.

He simply asks to come in, and you have to invite Him. That is the limitation He has set and the condition He requires. You have to let Him come in, but if you won’t invite Him willingly, He won’t force His way in.

He wants to save you, but He can’t do it unless you want Him to. You have to ask Him to come in. Gentle Jesus stands there, meek and mild, in loving patience, and perhaps has been for years, waiting at your heart’s door—knocking again and again by His Word, by His love, perhaps by some sad incident or the parting of a loved one, a death or sickness or pain.

But God has left the majesty of choice up to you as an individual, and nobody can ever force you to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior. You alone can make that choice, if and when you want to. He certainly wants to be your Savior and He will come in, just as soon as you ask Him. But you must make the decision. He’s left that choice up to you.

Do you have Jesus in your heart? Then you are saved forever and bound for heaven and will never be lost. Are you saved? If you’re not sure, make sure right now and receive Him personally as your own Lord and Savior by sincerely praying this simple prayer:

“Lord Jesus, please forgive me for all my sins. I believe You died for me. I believe You are the Son of God, and I now ask You to come into my life. I open the door and I invite You into my heart. Jesus, please come in and help me to love others and tell them about You, that they may find You too. Help me to read Your Word and understand it by Your Spirit. In Your name I ask. Amen.”

If you pray this prayer and mean it, Jesus will come in. Jesus promised that if you open the door to your heart, if you ask Him to come in, He will come in. Period.

True salvation is based on pure faith in God’s Word, not faith in feelings. Your feelings may change from day to day—sometimes good, sometimes bad—but the Bible, God’s Word, never changes. So put your faith in His Word, for “faith comes by hearing the Word of God.”⁹ The Bible is definite, so no matter how you feel, if you ask Jesus to come in, He comes in, because He promised He would.

Of course, being born again, receiving Jesus, will result in a change in your life, as you show your faith by your works.¹⁰ But it is not necessarily always manifested at the moment by a big emotional feeling or outward show—although it sometimes is. But regardless of your feelings, God’s Word is always the same and Jesus will always come in when asked.

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”¹¹ God bless you with His love and salvation—now and forever.

Originally published March 1984. Adapted and republished March 2016.
Read by Jerry Paladino.

¹ Hebrews 12:6.

² Matthew 28:20.

³ Hebrews 13:5.

⁴ John 10:28.

⁵ 2 Corinthians 5:17.

⁶ John 15:5.

⁷ 1 John 4:8.

⁸ Revelation 3:20.

⁹ Romans 10:17.

¹⁰ James 2:18.

¹¹ Acts 16:31.

Granted to Us on Behalf of Christ

A compilation

2020-07-02

01/13/25 “It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him.”—Philippians 1:29¹

I am a creature of comfort. I don’t want luxury, but I do love comfort. I like—no, strike that—LOVE creature comforts, such as warm cups of tea, soft blankets, cuddling with my kids, a plate of pasta, an evening laughing with friends, the joy of a shirt that fits just right, kisses from my husband, a pretty place to sit. These are the things I seek out. I also like knowing that everyone I love is comfortable. Truth be told, I consider these my needs.

Let me tell you about the things I don’t seek out: pain (of any kind), suffering, distress, and deprivation. I really dislike anything that will leave me cold, tired, or hungry—let alone injured or in pain. I like things to be easy. That’s just the honest truth.

There is this verse in the Bible that really conflicts with what I consider my “needs”: “It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him.”² This passage was written to the Christians of Philippi when Paul was in prison. In the previous verses Paul was talking about how honored he felt to be in prison for preaching the gospel, and expressing how whether he lived or died, his life belonged to God.

So there I have it in black and white: “It is given to me to suffer for Christ.” Paul is letting us know that it’s not just a “feel good” religion where we find comfort, hope, encouragement, peace, and all that good stuff. Our faith in Jesus is also something we can expect to suffer for.

Religious persecution can seem so far removed from our universe that we don’t realize that even today there are many Christians whose faith costs them heavily in terms of personal comfort, safety, freedom, and even their lives.

It can be a shock for those of us who live in places where religious persecution is less common that our faith comes with a “must be willing to suffer” clause. Jesus prepared our hearts for it when He said, “The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”³

Persecution is actually a promise for living the way God wants you to live. Paul says this in 2 Timothy 3:12: “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”⁴ So persecution can be a sign that your choices and lifestyle are probably right and godly.

I decided to put a face on what persecution can look like, just to prepare my heart and so that when it comes, I will remember that this is what I have signed up for.

Being called out for my beliefs. This could mean having to explain to some of my secular friends that I believe in things like intelligent design and being ridiculed for those beliefs. Or taking flak for not condoning certain kinds of behaviors or lifestyles. Or perhaps watching my kids being pushed out of the “cool crowd” for choosing to be true to their faith.
Having someone go out of their way to make my or my family’s life miserable because of our faith. Maybe someone will spread malicious stories about me and my loved ones. This could affect our social circle, club memberships, or employment, and cause hardship. This could go a step further, with someone putting our physical safety at risk.
Being persecuted by the law and the government. I live in a country that boasts of religious freedom, and I love that we have it. But I also know that this certainly is not the case in many countries today. Religious freedom is something that amazing people of the Christian faith have fought and given their lives for, and I do not take it for granted. It could be taken away. There are countries where being a Christian is a crime punishable by imprisonment, fines, and in the most extreme cases, death.

There’s a lot to be said about God’s grace, protection, miracles, and strength that comes when times are hard, which includes persecution. We can trust that He will give us His grace for any opposition or persecution we face in this life, from mild to severe. He will help us to face it with the same kind of love that makes us ready to fight and/or suffer for those we love. And we know that Jesus does the same thing for us.

“In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”⁵—Mara Hodler

Worth the cost

Christians have experienced persecution from Jesus’ time to the present. Our Lord explained in the Scriptures that this is a part of our lives as His followers.⁶ The apostle Paul also said, “Yea, and all that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”⁷

Many people equate the term “persecution” with its most severe forms—imprisonment, torture, and death. They hear accounts on YouTube, in the news, and on Christian websites of the rising numbers of those of faith who have been called to endure such forms of persecution. But then they look around at the many other Christians in the world who have never faced anything that severe, and they may wonder if somehow those people weren’t “godly” enough in some way.

I think the answer can be found by looking at the definition of the word “persecution.” In both secular and Bible dictionaries the definitions include terms such as “being pursued, pressed on, oppressed, or suffering punishment.” Some definitions described the meaning as “facing resistance, hostility, ill treatment, or opposition.”

When you live the truth of the gospel, it’s inevitable that you will face opposition and resistance in one form or another. Some are called to endure very extreme forms of persecution, while others suffer in other ways. Whatever the situation, God gives them the strength and courage to face what He has asked of them.

None of us can know what will come into our lives in the future, but we do know that whatever it is, Jesus will never fail us. Whatever He calls us to do in this life, if we are closely following Him, we will glorify Him. No matter what He asks us to do, His power will be there to help us when we need it. As we look to Him, we will be victors, and He will be pleased with us.—Maria Fontaine

Tasks of faith

“We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”—2 Corinthians 4:16–17⁸

Philip Yancey once wrote, “I used to believe that Christianity solved problems and made life easier. Increasingly, I believe that my faith complicates life, in ways it should be complicated. As a Christian, I cannot not care about the environment, about homelessness and poverty, about racism and religious persecution, about injustice and violence. God does not give me that option.”

Yancey goes on to quote that old familiar passage, which he explains this way: “Jesus offers comfort, but the comfort consists of taking on a new burden, His own burden. Jesus offers a peace that involves new turmoil, a rest that involves new tasks.”⁹

What new tasks? Jesus summed them up when He summed up the Christian faith: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself”¹⁰—our “neighbor” being anyone we are in a position to help. Loving others as much as we love ourselves doesn’t come naturally and seldom is easy, but it’s what we are called to as Christians.—Keith Phillips

Published on Anchor July 2020. Read by Simon Peterson.

¹ NIV.

² Philippians 1:29 NIV.

³ John 15:20 KJV.

⁴ NIV.

⁵ Romans 8:37 NIV.

⁶ See John 15:20.

⁷ 2 Timothy 3:12.

⁸ NIV.

⁹ Philip Yancey, Reaching for the Invisible God (Zondervan, 2000), 93–94.

¹⁰ Matthew 22:37–39.

03 – Living Christianity: The Blessings of Obedience to God

Living Christianity

Peter Amsterdam

2018-10-16

01/12/25 Each of us is regularly faced with making both moral and nonmoral decisions. Choosing what food to order at a restaurant, what color to paint your bedroom, whether or not to buy a new pair of gloves, for example, are nonmoral decisions—they are morally neutral, as there is no ethical value attached to them. They are just a matter of personal preference. Most of our day-to-day decisions fall into this category. However, at times we are faced with making decisions of a moral nature. Do I exaggerate my level of education on my résumé? Do I deliberately lie in order to get out of a difficult decision? Should I support my government’s decision to fight an unjust war?

The moral and ethical choices we make play a large role in our relationships with God and others. As believers, the foundation of our ethics is the Bible. A life that is lived in service to God finds its ethical compass within Scripture, and through obedience to its teachings we find the joy of pleasing the Lord.

Both the Old and New Testaments teach that obedience to God brings blessings to one’s life, and that sin brings negative consequences. They also teach that each of us sin: None is righteous, no, not one.¹

As believers, we want to please God by living in obedience to His Word; yet, as sinful human beings, we aren’t able to fully obey all that Scripture teaches. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.² In spite of our natural, human inclination toward sin, Scripture teaches that if we endeavor to glorify God through our actions, we will receive His blessings. What do those blessings look like? Let’s take a look.³

The blessing of His love and fellowship.

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.⁴

If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.⁵

The joy and delight of God’s presence.

In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.⁶

How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights.⁷

The joy of expressing our love for God through obedience to His Word.

If you love me, you will keep my commandments.⁸

Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.⁹

This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.¹⁰

The blessing of pleasing God. In the Gospel of John, Jesus said:

He who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.¹¹

Elsewhere in the Gospels, at the time of Jesus’ baptism, God said:

This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.¹²

Jesus pleased His Father.

Throughout the Epistles, we read about conducting ourselves in a manner that pleases God, as Jesus did.

He [Jesus] received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”¹³

We are called to please God through our actions.

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.¹⁴

It is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.¹⁵

Try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.¹⁶

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.¹⁷

Whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.¹⁸

Brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.¹⁹

How do we live in a way that pleases God? By doing our best to apply the principles of His Word to our lives, and allowing the fruit of those principles to flow through our actions, resulting in the “good works” which God’s Word directs us to do.

We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.²⁰

Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.²¹

They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share.²²

The blessing of being effective in our example and witness. When our words and actions are guided by Scripture, they will be moral and ethical and therefore honorable. The apostle Peter wrote:

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.²³

If we act with Christlikeness, then even those who may dislike us or who speak against us will still see the good we do and perhaps be moved by it. Peter also expressed this concept when he wrote:²⁴

Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct.²⁵

The blessing of God being more attentive to us. Scripture teaches that we receive additional blessings from God when we make an effort to avoid evil.

Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.²⁶

We read about having confidence when we come before God in prayer with a clear conscience and live what Scripture teaches.

Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.²⁷

The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way.²⁸

The joy of a clear conscience. The apostle Paul directed Timothy to train people to keep a good conscience before God.

The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.²⁹

He also instructed him to fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith.³⁰ Of course, having a good conscience requires striving to live in obedience to God’s Word and resisting the temptation to sin.

The blessing of peace. The apostle Paul wrote that practicing what he taught would bring God’s peace.

What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.³¹

In the book of Isaiah we read something similar.

Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.³²

The blessing of avoiding God’s discipline. Scripture compares God’s loving discipline of His children to that of an earthly father who disciplines his children when they are disobedient. Such discipline is an act of love, as its goal is to correct the child for wrongdoing in order to teach them the right way to conduct themselves. In the book of Revelation, we hear Jesus say:

Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.³³

In Hebrews, we read:

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.³⁴

If we get off track, God’s discipline is a blessing. However, it is even better to live in a way that makes it unnecessary to receive His discipline.

The blessing of experiencing a foretaste of heaven. The Bible tells us that there will be no sin or disobedience in the heavenly city to come:

Nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.³⁵

Life there will be lived in complete alignment with God’s standards and love, and nothing unrighteous will be present.

We are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.³⁶

If we live in obedience to what God commands in Scripture, then in a sense we will have a foretaste of what heaven will be like.

The blessing of heavenly reward. The Epistles show that salvation is a free gift from God. They also teach that there are degrees of reward for believers in the life to come, and that those rewards are related to how we live on earth.

Whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.³⁷

We will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.³⁸

When we stand before the Lord and give account for our lives, it will be a time of blessing and reward for those who loved and obeyed Him. The book of Revelation speaks of the time for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great.³⁹

It’s not easy to live in obedience to God’s Word, but when we do, we encounter His blessings. In the next article, we will explore the effects and consequences of sin in our lives.

Note

¹ Romans 3:10.

² Romans 3:23.

³ The following points are condensed from Wayne Grudem’s Christian Ethics (Wheaton: Crossway, 2018), chapter 5.

⁴ John 15:10.

⁵ John 14:23.

⁶ Psalm 16:11.

⁷ Psalm 36:7–8.

⁸ John 14:15.

⁹ John 14:21.

¹⁰ 1 John 5:3.

¹¹ John 8:29.

¹² Matthew 3:17. See also Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22, Matthew 17:5.

¹³ 2 Peter 1:17.

¹⁴ Colossians 1:10.

¹⁵ Philippians 2:13.

¹⁶ Ephesians 5:10.

¹⁷ Hebrews 13:16.

¹⁸ 2 Corinthians 5:9.

¹⁹ 1 Thessalonians 4:1.

²⁰ Ephesians 2:10.

²¹ Matthew 5:16.

²² 1 Timothy 6:18.

²³ 1 Peter 2:12.

²⁴ For more on women’s role in the New Testament generally, and in regard to marriage specifically, see Women of Faith, parts 1–4.

²⁵ 1 Peter 3:1–2.

²⁶ 1 Peter 3:10–12.

²⁷ 1 John 3:21–22.

²⁸ Psalm 37:23.

²⁹ 1 Timothy 1:5 NAS.

³⁰ 1 Timothy 1:18–19 NIV.

³¹ Philippians 4:9.

³² Isaiah 48:18.

³³ Revelation 3:19.

³⁴ Hebrews 12:11.

³⁵ Revelation 21:27.

³⁶ 2 Peter 3:13.

³⁷ 2 Corinthians 5:9–10.

³⁸ Romans 14:10–12.

³⁹ Revelation 11:18.

Run the Race

A Bible Study on Hebrews 12:1

David Brandt Berg

1978-05-01

01/11/25 Hebrews 12:1: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”

The original was not divided into chapters, so you’ve got to keep in mind the chapter before this in order to know what “great cloud of witnesses” he’s talking about. He’s referring to all the saints who have already gone on to be with the Lord! And they’re not only watching us, they’re also praying for us.

They’re all praying for us and they’re all watching us, and every now and then God sends one of them down to give us a hand if we need some extra help. They are like our cheering section on the heavenly bleachers cheering for the team, and when you win a battle they really cheer and rejoice! When you win a soul, all the angels in heaven rejoice, praise God (Luke 15:10).

Think how wonderful it is that there are millions up there, all watching and praying for you, and lots of them coming down to help you! This is really where the action is. Here is where the big test is going on. Once you get over there, there will be more in store for you, but this is the primary test. This is what the whole universe is watching, the big game, the World Series. So since they are all watching us, what should we do?

“Let us lay aside every weight.” What are the weights? The things that slow you down, the things that hinder you from getting the job done. Sometimes the Lord allows those weights for a while as sort of a test. In the old days runners used to train wearing weights, building up their muscles, so that when they took the weights off they could just almost fly.

Sometimes the Lord allows a few weights to strengthen your spiritual muscles and to test you and to strengthen you spiritually. But when the weights have served their purpose, then it’s time to lay them aside and run the race.

“And the sin which doth so easily beset us.” What is sin? Missing the mark, not shooting straight, not really doing the most important thing God wants you to do, which is to hit the bull’s eye of His will. So, “let us lay aside the weights and the sins”—anything that keeps you from doing God’s highest and His best, that keeps you from being in the center of His will.

Then, after laying aside all these weights and distractions and sins, what are we supposed to do? “Let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” In other words, you’ve got to do God’s will, do God’s work. As long as you are doing His job and doing His will, it’s work and you’re running.

You can only “run with patience” if you have faith and are trusting the Lord. If you didn’t have patience, you would get fed up, wouldn’t you? “I’m tired of doing all this hard work for people who never thank me and don’t appreciate me and don’t realize what a hard job this is.” If you didn’t have patience, you couldn’t do it. “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9).

It’s a race in which some are going to win more than others. Some are going to receive greater rewards than others. In fact, I think some of the people who do the most unseen jobs are perhaps going to get rewarded the most one of these days. They’re going to step out and get the medals and the rewards and the crowns, and for the first time really get what is coming to them, and the whole universe is going to know.

So we’re to run with patience the race that is set before us, wherever God has called us. And the only way we can really run this race is by doing what? “Looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2). That’s the only way you can have the patience to do the job He has called you to do. So keep your eyes on Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith.”

02 – The Spiritual Disciplines: Bible Intake

The Spiritual Disciplines

Peter Amsterdam

2014-01-21

01/10/25 Christians who desire a flourishing relationship with God and who are interested in spiritual growth recognize that spending time taking in and absorbing God’s Word is of utmost importance. It is within the pages of the Bible that we learn about God and His love for humanity, about Jesus and His message, about how to live in harmony with God and our fellow human beings.

God is the Creator, and He wants to be in relationship with His creation. In order to make that possible, He has revealed Himself to us through the Bible. In it, He tells of His love for us and of the actions He has taken to make it possible for us as imperfect and finite beings to be in relationship with Him. The more we abide in His Word and let His Word abide in us, the more we understand how to live our lives in alignment with Him, in accordance with His will, and in a manner that reflects Him and His love, especially in our interactions with others.

Reading God’s Word

Setting aside time daily to read the Bible provides the opportunity to connect with God each day. It opens us up to letting Him speak to us through what we read, to His instruction and guidance, to His help through life’s problems and difficulties. Regular reading of God’s revelation to us reminds us of the moral code which we are meant to fashion our lives around, and provides us with guidance when we are faced with decisions. It is a key element for those who seek to be like Jesus, because it is in the Bible that we hear His teaching, see the example of His love, and are introduced to the relationship with His Father that His sacrifice has opened up for us. As we abide in His Word, we become more and more aware of the value He places on each individual, and the love and compassion He has for every human being. As we begin to absorb the truth contained within these pages, as we ponder and pray about those truths, and as we apply them to our daily living, we begin to anchor both our inner and outer lives on the foundation of Christlikeness, on godliness, and on the truth of God.

Each day we are flooded with a barrage of input from a wide variety of delivery systems which influences us in one way or another. Taking time daily to read what God has said to us provides a way to navigate through the maelstrom of information and input that we are faced with. It enhances our spiritual ability to discern truth and falsehood. It makes it easier to keep our hearts centered on those things which are important to living lives of true happiness, inner peace, and alignment with God and His will. It helps us to survive and overcome all that life brings our way. As Jesus said: Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.^[1]Abiding in God’s Word brings us in regular contact with His Spirit. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.^[2] Part of having that contact with the Lord, of having that promised peace, is spending time reading His Word.

Carving out the time to read daily is no easy task—it requires self-discipline, as does each Spiritual Discipline. Like the workouts and training that athletes must do daily to maintain their conditioning and excel in their performance, taking regular time to read Scripture will strengthen your spirit and make you a stronger Christian—one who is grounded in God’s truth and love. The connection with God, that savoring of His Word, helps you to be Spirit-led in your daily interactions with others, in your decision making, and in your ability to stay strong in the face of daily temptations.

There is no specific formula for how much you need to read daily or what portions of the Bible you should read. The key is setting aside the time to do it and then sticking to it. It helps to have a good contemporary translation. The English Standard Version (ESV), the New American Standard Bible (NASB), and the New International Version (NIV) are known to be good and accurate contemporary English translations.

It helps to commit to reading a certain number of chapters per day, as having a realistic goal can motivate you to stick with your reading even on busy days. The book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life makes the observations that reading 15 minutes a day will take you through the entire Bible within a year, and that reading three chapters a day and five chapters on Sunday will accomplish the same. It also points out that since the Bible contains 66 different books, for variety’s sake you might want to consider starting to read in three places—Genesis, Job, and Matthew—as this divides the Bible into three sections that are equal in length, so by reading the same number of chapters in each section each day you will finish the three sections, and thus the entire Bible, at roughly the same time.

Finding and following a Bible reading plan of some kind can help you stick with your reading and forge ahead when you find yourself in the more difficult portions of Scripture. There are a variety of apps for electronic devices which can help you design your reading plan, including some that provide the reading program and the text. Some people prefer to read from the pages of their Bible in book form. Whether you read from a Bible or on your computer or use a mobile app, what’s important is that you read it.

Information about apps:

http://thecripplegate.com/three-must-have-bible-apps/

http://appadvice.com/appguides/show/best-bible-apps-for-the-ipad

http://rachelwojo.com/4-fabulous-bible-apps-i-recommend/

Information about Bible reading programs:

http://www.ligonier.org/blog/bible-reading-plans/

http://www.navpress.com/dj/content.aspx?id=138

Ideally, you should read in a situation free from distractions, perhaps in a quiet spot early in the morning before your day begins or late at night when all is winding down. The quietness and absence of activity around you facilitates meditating on what you are reading. If early morning is not possible, try to find another time of day when it is. But even if you can’t carve out some quiet time, then read on the run, in whatever time opens up for you—or listen to it in audio form as you go. It’s a fight to keep your commitment to read/study the Bible, but doing so will make a difference in your life.

Hearing about God’s Word

Along with personally reading God’s Word, it can be beneficial to hear His Word spoken about as well. This would entail reading, listening to, or watching sermons, talks, discussions, and posts which pertain to the Word and godly principles. Anchor, Directors’ Corner and Just One Thing can help with this, and there are other very good sites where men and women of God speak about and teach God’s Word.

I’ve found that there are some teachers I like to hear, whose style and what they speak about resonates with me more than others. But other people I know love to listen to someone who doesn’t appeal to me. We’re each different, but the point is that it can be helpful to watch or listen to those who share God’s words in a manner which speaks to you and helps strengthen your connection and relationship with the Lord.

It’s often much easier to listen to someone else speak about the principles and teachings of God’s Word than it is to take the time to read the Word yourself and to think about and meditate on what you have read. While it’s spiritually feeding and beneficial to listen to sermons and read articles about the Word, it shouldn’t replace your time reading the Bible and benefiting from what the Lord Himself has to say to you personally through His Word.

Meditating on the Word

When you read the Bible or listen to others expound on it, it’s important to ask yourself what God is speaking to you about through what you’re reading or hearing. Take time to think about what you’re reading. If a passage stands out to you, read it again. Think about it; ask yourself why it stood out to you and what the Lord might be trying to tell you through it. If a part of a sermon you listen to speaks to your heart, listen to it again, and think and pray about it. Remember, the reason for reading or listening isn’t to get through the material as quickly as possible, or to cram in as much as you can in the allotted time, but rather to absorb it, and to let it speak to you and become part of you. It’s a time to let the Lord communicate with you through His Word.

Focusing on what you read or hear, and thinking more deeply about it, is part of meditating on God’s Word. Our lives are so busy, and we often feel we need to rush from one thing to the next, so it’s difficult to take the time to truly think about what we’ve read and how to apply it, but it’s important to do so if we want it to affect us.

In the Psalms we hear David speak of meditating on God and His Word:

I will meditate on Your precepts and fix my eyes on Your ways. I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.^[3]

Hundreds of years earlier, God spoke to Joshua about the importance of continually meditating on the Word of God.

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.^[4]

The great prayer warrior George Mueller wrote regarding meditating on God’s Word:

What is food for the inner man? The Word of God, and here again, not the simple reading of the Word of God, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water passes through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering over it and applying it to our hearts.^[5]

Donald Whitney wrote:

The tree of your spiritual life thrives best with meditation because it helps you absorb the water of God’s Word. Merely hearing or reading the Bible, for example, can be like a short rainfall on hard ground. Regardless of the amount or intensity of the rain, most runs off and little sinks in. Meditation opens the soil of the soul and lets the water of God’s Word percolate in deeply. The result is an extraordinary fruitfulness and spiritual prosperity.^[6]

Reading, listening to, and meditating on the Word of God brings His blessings into our lives. As Psalm 1 says: Blessed is the man … [whose] delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.^[7]

Reading God’s Word and meditating on it brings us into personal communication with God. As we meditate on what we’ve read, we create the opportunity for His Word to speak to our hearts because we put ourselves in the position of being willing to listen to Him. In meditating on His Word, we enter into His presence, hungering to learn, to grow, to change, to draw close to Him, to do His will. He desires to speak to each of us directly. However, if we aren’t listening or meditating on Him and His Word, if we are so busy reading what He’s said that we don’t give Him room to speak to us personally about what we’re reading, then we are truly missing something important.

Many Christians are happy to listen to what this or that speaker or preacher has to share, to be inspired by someone’s sermon, yet are much less inclined to have that one-on-one communication with the Almighty that comes when we discipline ourselves to read, study, and meditate on Scripture. Richard Foster addresses this point:

Human beings seem to have a perpetual tendency to have somebody else talk to God for them. The history of religion is the story of an almost desperate scramble to have a king, a mediator, a priest, a pastor, a go-between. In this way we do not need to go to God ourselves. Such an approach saves us from the need to change, for to be in the presence of God is to change. That is why meditation is so threatening to us. It boldly calls us to enter into the living presence of God for ourselves. It tells us that God is speaking in the continuous present and wants to address us … All who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord are the universal priesthood of God, and as such can enter the Holy of Holies and converse with the living God.^[8]

Of course, meditating on what you’ve read or listened to takes time, and if you find you don’t have the time to stop and listen, then you might want to consider reading a little less to free up time to meditate on what you’ve read. Author Maurice Roberts wrote:

It is not the busy skimming over religious books or the careless hastening through religious duties which makes for a strong Christian faith. Rather, it is unhurried meditation on the gospel truths and the exposing of our minds to these truths that yields the fruit of sanctified character.^[9]

If we want godliness in our lives, if our desire is to emulate our Savior, if we want the light which shines through us to be the light of God and His love, then we need to take time with Him and His Word. Disciplining ourselves to take this time daily is a key component of Christlikeness. Of all the Spiritual Disciplines, this is the most important, as God’s Word—the Bible—is His revelation of Himself to humanity. Reading and meditating on it, applying it to our inner being and to our outer actions is vital to being like Jesus. It is through the regular deep absorption of the water of His Word in our hearts that we are gradually renewed and transformed to become more like Him. It is through the application of what we read and meditate on that we have the grace to live lives that are in alignment with His will. For His Word is a lamp unto our feet and light unto our path.^[10]

Take the time to commune deeply with God through His Word. It will change your life.

[Jesus] said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”^[11]

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”^[12]

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.^[13]

You have exalted above all things Your name and Your word.^[14]

How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your word.^[15]

I have stored up Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.^[16]

I will meditate on Your precepts and fix my eyes on Your ways. I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.^[17]

Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.^[18]

(To read the next article in this series, click here.)

Note

^[1] Matthew 7:24–25.

^[2] John 6:63.

^[3] Psalm 119:15–16.

^[4] Joshua 1:8.

^[5] Roger Steer, Spiritual Secrets of George Mueller (Wheaton: Harold Shaw, 1985), 62, quoted in Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1991), 76.

^[6] Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines, 49–50.

^[7] Psalm 1:1–3.

^[8] Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline (New York: HarperOne, 1998), 24.

^[9] Maurice Roberts, “O the Depth!” The Banner of Truth, July 1990, 2, quoted in Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines, 55.

^[10] Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105).

^[11] Luke 11:28.

^[12] John 14:23.

^[13] John 15:7.

^[14] Psalm 138:2.

^[15] Psalm 119:9 NIV.

Exorcism with Authority

How to overcome and get rid of the Devil’s pests

David Brandt Berg

1975-04-22

01/09/25 Some people drag a few husks with them when they come from the old life, especially those who have been involved with demonism, witchcraft, or devil worship. Sometimes this is a very hard thing to shake. Of course, I don’t see how a child of God can be demon-possessed, but they can be demon-oppressed, especially if they had a lot to do with those things.

People who have been involved in that, who have once been a channel for the Enemy, carry those things with them unless they have strong faith and can really fight the Enemy. So you really need to pray for them.

Those who come out of those things have to constantly baptize themselves in prayer, soak themselves in the Word, memorize and quote constantly to the Devil and to themselves. They have to wage a militant warfare against the Enemy! Of course, we all have to do this to a certain extent, but not quite the same.

You know the story Jesus told about the man who got all cleaned up, house swept and garnished and empty? Well, the devil that had lived there went and saw that it was still a pretty nice place to live, so he got some more spirits that were even worse than he was and came back and they all moved in (Matthew 12:43–45).

Apparently that guy didn’t move in the Holy Spirit, their archenemy, to fill up his house and take it over in order to keep out the intruders! So if you have been involved in that sort of thing, the best thing in the world for you to do now that you’re a Christian is to fill your heart and mind and spirit with the Holy Spirit and get baptized with the power of God to fight the Enemy.—To really seek God for the power of the Holy Ghost to get rid of those damned satanic spooks.

Ask Him to wash your mind clean of all that stuff “with the washing of water by the Word” (Ephesians 5:26), and try to forget it and rebuke it every time it comes to mind. Don’t even think about it. Don’t dwell on it. “Neither give place to the Devil” (Ephesians 4:27). Sin in your heart is a very dangerous thing, especially if you allow things like doubts and fears and a critical spirit to creep in, which the Enemy uses as a channel.

The Lord once said that the reason certain people were having so much sickness was because they were running around outside the tower of the Lord’s protection and they were not hiding in the secret place nor staying under the Lord’s wings. You’ve got to stay close to the Lord like a little chicken under the wings of the mother hen, in tune with Him and in touch with Him in prayer and really touching the Lord (Psalm 91).

We are in a spiritual war, and you have to keep in tune, in touch with the Holy Spirit and on God’s territory all the time, close to His Word and in the right spirit and constantly in prayer and seeking the Lord and praying for His protection and His help and thanking Him constantly for His blessings.

When you’re dealing directly with the Enemy’s power, you’d better know what you’re up against and know how to pray hard and get ahold of the Lord. You cannot do the Master’s work without the Master’s power, and you can’t deal with these things on a natural level.

Jesus said, “These signs shall follow them that believe, they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall be healed, they shall cast out devils.” And the disciples said, “Even the devils are subject unto us through the name of Jesus.” We who have Jesus have more power than the demons, because we have the power of God. “At the name of Jesus,” He says, “every knee shall bow.” He is more powerful than them all. (Mark 16:17–18; Luke 10:17; Philippians 2:10; 1 John 4:4)

If you believe it and claim the scriptures and command the demon to depart in the name of Jesus, the evil spirit has to obey and depart, because God’s Word says so! Jesus said, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and earth” (Matthew 28:18), and in the name of Jesus He has granted you the authority to command them to come out.

As far as the initial exorcism that the Lord and the apostles performed, they didn’t necessarily always have the cooperation of the individual. But to remain clean, then the will of the individual is involved and they must desire to remain clean, as the Lord Himself showed. (See Matthew 12:43–45.)

They have got to desire to remain clean, and in order to do so they must be repentant and be saved and have the Holy Spirit, have Jesus to protect them. Otherwise you could cast the demons out all day long, but if the individual’s not cooperative, they’ll just come right back in again.

And remember, one can chase a thousand, two can put ten thousand to flight (Deuteronomy 32:30). If there’s anybody there whom you don’t feel is really with you and in tune and united in the power of the Spirit, then ask them to please leave. Jesus made the unbelievers leave the room first, and then He commanded the girl to rise (Mark 5:40–41).

You have to be in total unity of the Spirit, really concentrating, united and praying desperately, all of you together, backing up the one who’s leading in prayer. You can’t just use ordinary prayer in a case like that, just “Lord bless” and “Lord help,” “please heal.” You can’t beat around the bush in these cases or try to save feelings by not dealing with the problem. You’ve got to name the Old Boy and sock him straight on with the weapons God has given us.

The Lord will answer your prayers. The Devil trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees.

Activated, March 2003: The Battle of the Mind

Volume 4, Issue 3

2003-03-01

Personally Speaking

01/08/25 We’ve all seen cartoons of a person at a point of decision, with a guardian angel on one shoulder and a little devil on the other, each trying to persuade the person to do or not do this or that. The message is simple, clear, and often amusing, but what few people seem to realize is that there is also a lot of truth to those cartoons.

Even a lot of people who believe in God don’t realize how real the spirit world is or what a major part it plays in their daily lives. Numerous verses and passages in the Bible make it clear that the Lord and His angels on one hand and the Devil and his agents on the other are constantly trying to influence us—and they do it through our thoughts from the unseen spiritual realm. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12 KJV).

To use a modern analogy, God’s Spirit is like a radio station and our minds are like radios. God’s broadcasts inspire faith, hope, love, wisdom, truth, instruction, and other positive thoughts that inspire positive actions. The Devil is like another station. He deliberately tries to flood the spiritual airwaves with his lies and propaganda and time-wasters—anything to occupy our minds and distract us from receiving and following God’s messages.

Whose voice are you tuned in to? Who guides your thoughts and thereby controls your time and actions? This issue of Activated could change the way you look at your thoughts, which guide your life.

Keith Phillips
For the Activated Family

The Legend of the Magic Mask

There was once a king of a vast domain. He was shrewd and powerful and feared by all, but no one loved him. Each year, as he became more severe, he became lonelier. His face reflected the bitterness in his soul. There were deep, ugly lines around his mouth, and deep, permanent furrows on his forehead.

But it so happened that in his realm there lived a beautiful girl whom everyone seemed to love. The king wanted to make her his wife, and finally he decided to speak to her of this love. He dressed in his finest robes, but when he looked in the mirror, he saw a cruel, hard face, even when he tried to smile.

Then a thought came to him. He sent for his magician. “Use your greatest skill to paint a mask that looks kind and pleasant and handsome. I will pay any price you ask.”

“This I can do,” said the magician, “on one condition. You must keep your own face in the same lines that I paint. One angry frown, and the mask will be ruined forever and I cannot replace it. You must think only kindly thoughts and do kindly deeds. You must be gracious to all men.”

So the magic mask was made, and it looked so natural that no one guessed it was not the true face of the king. Months passed, the beautiful lady became his bride, and the king fought hard to keep the mask from breaking. His subjects attributed the miraculous change in the king to his lovely wife, who, they said, had made him like herself.

Eventually the king regretted having deceived his beautiful wife and summoned his magician. “Take away this deceiving mask!” he cried. “It is not my true self!”

“If I do,” said the magician, “I can never make another. You will have to wear your own face as long as you live.”

“Better so,” said the king, “than to continue to deceive one whose love and trust I have won dishonorably. Take it off, I say!”

The magician did as he was commanded.

In anguish, the king turned to see his reflection in his mirror. Suddenly his eyes brightened and his lips curved into a radiant smile. The ugly lines were gone. His face was the exact likeness of the mask he had worn so long. When he returned to his beloved wife, she saw only the familiar features of the man she loved.

Yes, this is only a legend, but it teaches a truth: A man’s face portrays what is inside, what he thinks and feels. The wise and true Scripture tells us, “As [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).

—Author Unknown

The Battlefield of the Mind

The mind is the great battlefield where relentless spiritual war is waged—the war for the control of people’s thoughts and, through their thoughts, their actions.

Most of the things that bring people down start in the mind: pride, jealousy, selfishness, hatred, covetousness, bitterness, worldliness, self-righteousness, unbelief, etc. They begin in the mind, take root in the mind, and fester in the mind—all through putting on the mind of man and the mind of the world instead of the mind of God.

The Bible has much to say about the need to guard our thoughts, about finding and putting God’s will above our own will, and about putting on the mind of Christ:

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).

“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2).

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2).

“To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6).

“Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8).

It is through the mind that Satan gains entrance, through the mind that he tries to influence people, through the mind that he works to recruit the lost of the world to his side, and it is through the mind that he controls and manipulates his own.

And the Devil doesn’t stop with his own, of course. He also attacks God’s children, trying to hinder their happiness and well-being and usefulness to God by interjecting his negative thoughts into their own. But when they choose the Lord’s light over the Devil’s darkness, when they allow Jesus to control them by asking Him to give them His thoughts, anything good is possible.

How close we stay to the Lord and how much He is able to bless us as a result is determined in our mind, because this is where our will is set. This is where we choose Him and His ways, where we choose to believe His word above the Devil’s, where we are able to put on the mind of Christ.

“Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), the Bible tells us, and one of the best prayers we could continually pray is for the Lord to direct our thoughts and rid our minds of the Devil’s input, because for the Lord to bless and use us as much as He would like, He needs full control.

His thoughts cannot coexist with our natural minds, which are at odds with His mind. “The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be” (Romans 8:7). Our natural minds are easy prey for the Devil’s doubts and lies and propaganda, and can stifle the Lord’s Spirit.

This is the crux of the matter: If we’re going to be the kind of Christians the Lord wants us to be, we must be wholly His, and in order to be wholly His, we must put on His mind; we must more fully think His thoughts. How do we do this?—By putting off the mind of man, the mind of the world, the thoughts of Satan, the propaganda of Satan, the vanity of the carnal mind.

We must “gird up the loins of our minds” (1 Peter 1:13). That means to put up barricades to shield us from the Devil’s attacks through our thoughts. It means to allow Jesus full control. When we do, He is able to live in us and work through us like never before!

Huddersfield

There was once a rich landowner who decided to buy the entire village of Huddersfield, and over time he bought every piece of land in the area—every piece, that is, except one little plot. One stubborn old farmer refused to sell his tiny piece of land, and nothing would change his mind. The landowner even offered the farmer much more money than his property was actually worth, but the farmer was so fond of his land that he absolutely refused to sell. When the landowner finally gave up, he tried to encourage himself by saying, “What difference does just one little plot of land make? I’ve bought everything else, so Huddersfield is mine. It belongs to me!”

But the stubborn old farmer overheard him and said, “Oh, no it doesn’t! We own Huddersfield. It belongs to you and me!”

Don’t let the Devil be able to say that of you to God! “Aha! Look, God! Even though he belongs mostly to You, a little bit still belongs to me!”

—David Brandt Berg (D.B.B.)

Core 8-08: Jesus’ Power over Satan

2014-02-01

01/07/25 The Bible says that it was for the very purpose of defeating Satan that the Son of God was manifested or revealed. [10] And by coming to earth and bringing us His law of love and then dying to take our sins, He overcame the Devil. In fact, before Jesus could begin His ministry, He went into the wilderness and was tempted by Satan.

Mark 1:13 And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

Footnotes

[10] 1 John 3:8

Core 8-09: Our Authority over Satan

When Jesus was with His disciples, He gave them power to cast out devils:

Luke 9:1 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.

And this power is given to all of those who believe in the name of Jesus:

Mark 16:17 These signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons. …

Core 8-10: No Fear

Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” [11] When we receive Jesus into our hearts, we are His and the Devil cannot take us back, no matter how hard he tries.

But this doesn’t mean that we cannot get into trouble if we are careless or disobedient to what Jesus tells us, and not interested in obeying His admonitions. The Bible warns us to:

The butterfly and the sparrow
A woman told me she was once awakened by a very strange noise of pecking, or something of the kind. When she got up, she saw a butterfly flying back and forth inside the window pane in a great fright, and outside a sparrow pecking and trying to get in. The butterfly did not see the glass, and expected every minute to be caught, and the sparrow did not see the glass, and expected every minute to get the butterfly. Yet all the while that butterfly was as safe as if it had been millions of miles away, because of the glass between it and the sparrow. So it is with a Christian. Satan cannot touch the soul that has the Lord Jesus Christ between itself and him.

Good Thots 2, p. 1418

Footnotes

[11] John 10:27-28

Core 8-11: On the Winning Side

Though the Devil’s power is great, God’s power is far greater! And in reality, the Devil can’t have any power over your mind or heart unless you let him. If you choose to let God’s light into your life, the darkness will be forced to retreat.

The Devil may continue to fight you, but he can never defeat you if you call on Jesus’ help. In fact, the Devil’s attacks can cause you to grow even stronger spiritually every time you fight him back. As the famous quote from Edmund Burke says, “Our antagonist is our helper.” How true that is. The Devil’s attempts to discourage us, to frustrate our efforts, or to cause us to fear can actually strengthen our resolve to take a stand against him.

Ulysses S. Grant said, “The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike at him as hard as you can and as often as you can, and keep moving on.”

Ask Jesus to help you make your personal stand against any of the Devil’s attacks in your life. And then, keep moving on!

Core 8-03: The Battle Between Good and Evil

2014-02-01

Each day we’re faced with choices. When you have a run-in with one of your friends or a member of your family, you can either choose to work things out nicely or you can choose to argue and give each other a hard time. This is an example of the inner struggle between good and evil that we’re often confronted with.

It isn’t always easy to make the choice for good, because it’s within our human nature to get angry, frustrated, or to say the first mean thing that comes to mind. This is why we need Jesus to help us to take on His nature, so that we can more easily choose to have the right reaction, the loving reaction.

Two Wolves
In a story from Native American folklore, a grandfather explains to his young grandson the inner struggle between good and evil.

“A battle goes on inside us all,” the grandfather begins. “It is a battle between two wolves. One wolf is the embodiment of everything evil, like hate, anger, jealousy, resentment, greed, arrogance, lying, and selfishness. The other wolf is the embodiment of everything good, like love, joy, peace, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, compassion, truth, and faith.”

The grandson thinks about those words and then asks, “Which wolf wins?”

The grandfather replies, “The one you feed.

Activated, October 2006

Whenever you have a thought that causes you to feel angry toward someone, or bitter, unhappy, or critical, you are giving the evil wolf a good meal. How much better to make the good wolf stronger by feeding it kind, forgiving, positive, and constructive thoughts and actions! The more you feed the good wolf, the stronger he will grow.

The good news is that if you are staying close to God, then without even knowing it, you will be “feeding that good wolf.” Wherever God exists, the Devil cannot, because darkness cannot coexist with light.

Watch it: Evil is the result of men not having God in their heart

Core 8-04: Knowing Who’s Who

We can tell the difference between God’s good spiritual forces and the Devil’s evil spirits by “test[ing] the spirits, whether they are of God.” [4]

Footnotes

[4] 1 John 4:1

[5] Galatians 5:22-23

Core 8-05: Heavenly Forces

In the book of 2 Kings we learn about how God opened someone’s eyes to see into the spiritual realm and he got a glimpse of some of those many witnesses:

These heavenly beings are also there to help us to fight the battle of good and evil mentally and spiritually, and to help us to choose what is right over what is wrong.

Footnotes

[6] Hebrews 12:1

[7] Psalm 34:7

[8] Psalm 91:11

Core 8-06: Strategy Against Satan’s Tactics

Listen: Fight Like a Warrior

Footnotes

[9] 1 Timothy 6:12

Core 8-07: The Armor of God

Breakdown of God’s Armor
What do we need for protection?

We are fighting the devil—Satan. We are not fighting people, but the powers of darkness in this world, which is Satan and his helpers. The protection we need is the armor of God.

What is the armor of God, and how can we clothe ourselves in it? Let’s look at each piece.

Belt of truth—Standing firm in truth. Living our lives by the truth of God’s word.

Breastplate of Righteousness—Walking uprightly before God. Aligning our lives to His standards.

Shod feet—Standing with firm-footed stability, being ready.

Shield of Faith—Standing firm in our faith. This will squash all the fiery darts Satan sends.

Helmet of Salvation—Protection for our minds. Satan attacks us here more than anywhere. We need to be sure of our Salvation and not waver or doubt.

All of these pieces are for protecting us—and need to be put on daily.

There is still one other piece we need to be armed with. This piece is not for protecting us, but for fighting with.

The Sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God.

S. Lowndes

Ephesians 6:10-17

Core 8-02: How It All Began

2014-02-01

There is the side of good, which is God and His heavenly forces, and there is the side of evil, which is the Devil and his demons. These two sides have been at war since the creation of the world, and have been looking to influence the souls and minds of those on earth to affect the course of history.

However, God and Satan weren’t always at war. There was a time when Satan was on the good side; he was God’s right-hand man and was known as Lucifer. Before Lucifer became Satan, he was an incredibly beautiful creature, created out of precious stones and musical instruments. (Read Ezekiel 28:12-19 for a fuller description of Lucifer.) In Ezekiel 28:12 God said of Lucifer, “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.” Sounds rather awesome!

Apparently Lucifer thought so as well, as his beauty eventually became his downfall. God said of him, “You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.” [1] And what was that iniquity? It was pride. “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty.” [2]

Lucifer first became proud because of his utter perfection, which then led to his pride in thinking that he could be equal to God.

Isaiah 14:12-15 How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to … the lowest depths of the pit.

From the day that Satan fell, he has been hard at work trying to prove God and His laws and principles wrong, both in the heavenly realm and here on earth. And for us on earth, this great battle between good and evil all began in the Garden of Eden, when Satan convinced Eve to eat a fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.; [3]

Footnotes

[1] Ezekiel 28:15

[2] Ezekiel 28:17

[3] Genesis 3

12 – Armageddon (part 2)

The Rise and Fall of the Antichrist

Scott MacGregor

2012-01-01

01/04/25 The prophet Joel also foresaw this gathering of the wicked at Armageddon to be cast into the winepress of God’s Great Wrath when he prophesied:

The Lord gives voice before His army. For His camp is very great; for strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; who can endure it? Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war!” Wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, “I am strong.” Assemble and come, all you nations, and gather together all around. … Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow—for their wickedness is great.” Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will diminish their brightness.

Joel 2:11; 3:9–15

The Valley of Jehoshaphat is believed to be the steep-sided ravine that separates the Mount of Olives from the old city of Jerusalem, and that is now known as the Valley of Kidron. But it might not be talking about this particular place, as Jehoshaphat by interpretation means “the Lord is judge.” So here they could be entering into the “valley” of the Lord’s judgments.

Several more verses do point to the fact that this last great battle culminates at Jerusalem.

Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south. … Thus the Lord my God will come, and all the saints with You. It shall come to pass in that day that there will be no light; the lights will diminish. It shall be one day which is known to the Lord—neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen that it will be light. And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths.

Zechariah 14:1–7,12

This passage states that the Lord’s feet will land on the Mount of Olives during this great battle and the mount will split and a great valley will be formed. Could this be the valley of judgment that is talked about? Whether it is or not, the other important point from this passage is that this battle is taking place around Jerusalem. Since the Antichrist has already made his capital there, the looting, rape, and deportation of half the population that is referred to in the first part of the passage could be referring to when he initially took it over. But the “plague” referred to in the last part certainly sounds like a continuation of the nuclear carnage that began with the nuclear attack on Babylon.

The fact that Jesus touches down on the Mount of Olives is also a fulfillment of the angels’ promise to Jesus’ disciples at His Ascension:

While they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.

Acts 1:9–12

Since Jesus Himself is trampling the winepress of the Wrath of God outside the city as stated in Revelation chapters 14 and 19, then it seems that from this and the other verses already quoted, that although the forces of the Antichrist are gathered at Armageddon, the Battle of the Great Day of the Lord culminates at Jerusalem or at least is fought in and around Jerusalem as well.

“Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of Heaven, ‘Come and gather together for the supper of the great God’“ (Revelation 19:17). This is not referring to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb has already taken place. This is a different kind of supper! This angel invites the carrion-eating fowls of the air to come and feast upon the bodies of these terrible people who caused untold destruction and who even tried to fight God to the very end. This angel cries out to all these vultures and buzzards, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great” (Revelation 19:17–18).

Ezekiel’s description of this horrific Battle of Armageddon remarkably parallels John’s: “‘Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field: Assemble yourselves and come; gather together from all sides to My sacrificial meal which I am sacrificing for you, a great sacrificial meal on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, drink the blood of the princes of the earth. … You shall be filled at My table with horses and riders, with mighty men and with all the men of war, says the Lord God” (Ezekiel 39:17–18, 20).

Now back to where we left off in Revelation: “And I saw the Beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army” (Revelation 19:19). Here the Antichrist makes a last-ditch stand to try to fight Jesus and His forces. “These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful” (Revelation 17:14).

book of Jude also describes this: “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude 14–15).

The final outcome of the battle is described in Revelation chapter 19: “Then the Beast was captured, and with him the False Prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the Mark of the Beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh” (Revelation 19:20–21). That is the miserable end of the Antichrist and all of his bestial followers who have persecuted and imprisoned and tortured and slaughtered God’s people and so many others in their reign of terror.

It says the Antichrist forces are slaughtered by the sword that comes out of the mouth of Christ. The prophet Isaiah also foresaw this when he wrote, “He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked” (Isaiah 11:4). In another passage Isaiah also writes: “For behold, the Lord will come with fire and with His chariots, like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword the Lord will judge all flesh; and the slain of the Lord shall be many” (Isaiah 66:15–16). The sword of the Word proceeding out of Jesus’ mouth is evidently going to be like fire to devour His enemies.

Following is another passage, written by the apostle Paul, that refers to the destruction of God’s enemies by fire:

It is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from Heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe.

2 Thessalonians 1:6–10

This Battle of Armageddon is going to be a very great battle and a very great slaughter, and is surely the fulfillment of the wicked being cast into the winepress of the Wrath of God described in Revelation 14. And how long does the period of wrath and Armageddon last? We don’t know for sure, but an interesting passage in the book of Daniel, which could provide some insight to this, is covered in Appendix 5 of this book.

When the Battle of Armageddon is over and the blood has run so deep, there will be so many bodies left that the Scripture tells us it will take “men regularly employed” seven months just to bury the dead in Israel alone (Ezekiel 39:14–15)!

Yet there is one last foe, the ultimate archenemy of all that is good, that has to be dealt with.

Then I saw an angel coming down from Heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished.

Revelation 20:1–3

So the Devil is locked away for a thousand years. Although it will not be the last we hear of him, at least the earth will be free from his evil for a long time. What is to become of him after that will have to be left to the next book of this series, From the End to Eternity.

In conclusion, at this mighty Battle of Armageddon, Jesus, along with a little help from those who love and serve Him, not only conquers Satan and his forces, but as a result “the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (Revelation 11:15). God is going to take over the governing of this world, and He’s going to turn it right side up and run it the way it ought to be run, and those who believe and follow Him are going to help Him. Are you ready?

If you have not already received Jesus’ wonderful gift of salvation, you can do so by saying a prayer like the following:

Jesus, I believe that You are the Son of God and I accept you now as my Savior. Amen.

12 – Armageddon (part 1)

The Rise and Fall of the Antichrist

Scott MacGregor

2012-01-01

01/03/25 BEFORE GETTING INTO THE DETAILS OF THIS MOMENTOUS BATTLE OF THE GREAT DAY OF GOD ALMIGHTY, known more commonly as the Battle of Armageddon, it is helpful to understand a little background.

Megiddo was an ancient city of Israel. It guarded the Aruna Pass, the most important pass through the mountains of northern Israel. The city itself is in the Valley of Jezreel on the northern end of the pass. That valley opens up into the Plain of Esdraelon. The Kishon River runs northwest through Jezreel and Esdraelon and into the Mediterranean. The Harad River also drains the Valley of Jezreel and heads east to join up with the river Jordan.

The Aruna Pass is on the ancient trade route from Egypt to Mesopotamia, and as such Megiddo grew rich from the taxes it imposed on the merchandise that flowed through it. Because it was also strategic militarily, the area was the scene of many battles throughout history, the last fought between the British and the Turks in World War I. The ancient city was destroyed and rebuilt many times, but has lain in ruins since Roman times. The site of the city is now covered in the dirt and debris of millennia, and appears as a raised mound or tel and is called in Hebrew Har Megiddo, which means the Hill of Megiddo. This is rendered in English Bibles as Armageddon. Megiddo in ancient tongues meant “rendezvous” or “troop,” both fitting names for the place where the Antichrist gathers his troops for his final battle. It is also only 24 kilometers (15 miles) from Haifa, Israel’s main deep-water port and the most likely place for boats bringing troops and materiel from abroad to dock and offload.

But who exactly is the Antichrist gathering his forces to fight? It can be deduced that it is the remnants of any alliance of nations that he has been fighting all along. We have already seen that war has occurred, but now it seems that the Antichrist and the nations that oppose him are about to really go at it one last decisive time.

From reading over the books of Daniel and Revelation and other prophetic biblical passages, it seems that the Antichrist is embroiled in many wars throughout his reign, and the attack on Babylon the Great is the penultimate battle that precedes his final Battle of Armageddon.

The Rapture has taken place and the Wrath of God is being poured out—primarily it seems on the Antichrist and his forces, but also affecting every part of the earth. Apparently there are still nations even at this point that will not submit to the Antichrist, otherwise the Antichrist would have no one to fight against. The Antichrist must now be determined to wipe them out once and for all.

If these people and nations are fighting the Antichrist, then it is obvious that they do not worship him nor have they accepted the Mark of the Beast. By simple deduction we can then separate humankind at this time into three general groups: 1) those who are saved and were taken up to Heaven at the Rapture, 2) those who follow the Antichrist, and 3) those who are not saved but who nevertheless refuse to be allied with or subservient to the Antichrist and his regime. For the sake of simplicity in this chapter we’ll give this third group, those arrayed against the Antichrist, the moniker of Anti-Antichrists, or AACs for short.

The most likely interpretation of the Scriptures seems to be that the Battle of Armageddon takes place when the seventh Plague of the Wrath of God is poured out, after the Antichrist’s forces have gathered together in the vicinity of the Hill of Megiddo, Armageddon.

Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of Heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent [about 35 kg, or 75 lbs]. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.

Revelation 16:17–21

Upon the pouring out of this seventh bowl, a voice from the throne says, “It is done”—meaning, “This is the End!” This is the last scene of the horror drama of all the damage that man has wrought on Earth. This is the last horrific battle before the establishment of God’s kingdom on Earth. War is man’s most ardently pursued occupation, creating the most possible destruction, the ultimate manifestation of man’s inhumanity to man, and in this war the Devil and man have combined to bring about the most utter devastation ever!

One great final earthquake is going to destroy the “cities of the nations.” Whether this means all the cities of the world is not made clear, but nevertheless this earthquake is very destructive. Isaiah also envisioned this great final utter destruction at the time of the Battle of Armageddon when he spoke of “the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall” (Isaiah 30:25).

John’s apocalyptic vision is paralleled by Ezekiel’s description of the Battle of Armageddon in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39. God told Ezekiel that there’s going to be a great shaking when God finally decides to judge the Antichrist. After he’s caused so much trouble for those who refuse to worship him, and has warred against any nations that oppose him, God finally will put a stop to him!

For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: “Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. So that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.”

Ezekiel 38:19–20

Here again the great earthquake is predicted, and this time it gives its epicenter as Israel.

“And I will bring Gog [a name used both for the Antichrist and the Devil] to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone” (Ezekiel 38:22). We just read in Revelation 16 that the seventh plague of the Wrath of God included mighty hailstones weighing over 35 kilograms (75 lbs) each. “Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 38:23).

In Revelation 19, John writes: “Now I saw Heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God” (Revelation 19:11–13).

Up until this time the Antichrist and his forces have been fighting the AACs who are arrayed against them. And it could be theorized that because of the immense power and resources the Antichrist has available that he is most likely getting the upper hand. But now a far more formidable foe has entered the battle, leading a heavenly cavalry charge.

Who is it that John saw coming on a white horse? Someone called Faithful and True, whose Name is called The Word of God. This can be none other than Jesus, “the Word [that] became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).

Here is Jesus Christ, crowned with many crowns, not coming as a babe in a manger, not coming as a merciful savior. This time He’s coming with righteousness and with judgment. He is coming now as a great warrior and a judge to make war, as King of kings and Lord of lords!

And the armies in Heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Revelation 19:14–16

“And the armies in Heaven … followed Him on white horses.” There are many references to horses in the passages about Armageddon. In Revelation 9:16 John sees a vast multitude of mounted horsemen and is told that they number 200 million. This is in the middle of a passage that talks about a very different kind of battle horses that have heads like lions that breathe out fire and tails like serpents that sting. It is very mysterious to us right now what these horses and their riders actually are.

“Out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations” (Revelation 19:15). He’s going to strike them with His Word. “The worlds were framed by the Word of God” (Hebrews 11:3). If He can make the whole world and the whole universe just by speaking the Word, how much more can He smite the nations with His Word?

“He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:15–16). This picture of the grand finale of the judgments of God, with Christ coming and casting the wicked into the Great Winepress of God’s Wrath, is also described in Revelation chapter 14:

Then another angel came out of the temple which is in Heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.

Revelation 14:17–20

From reading Revelation 14, it seems the city referred to in the preceding passage is Jerusalem. However, the site of Megiddo is about 100 kilometers (60 miles) to the north. If the rivers run with blood after the third bowl of wrath is poured out as we covered in Chapter 10, then this would literally be up to and even beyond the horses’ bridles. The horrific bloodletting at Armageddon would no doubt add to this grisly flow. One thousand six hundred furlongs, or stadia as it is written in the original Greek, is about 300 kilometers, and a horse’s bridle would be about one-and-a-half meters from the ground. So if this is literal, the carnage is going to be of such horrific proportions as to be almost incomprehensible. (to be continued)

11 – The Plagues of the Wrath of God

The Rise and Fall of the Antichrist

Scott MacGregor

2012-01-01

01/02/25 IN REVELATION CHAPTER 16, we are given a vivid picture of the hell that’s going to be unleashed on this earth after Jesus Christ has taken the believers, those who have accepted Him as their Savior, up to that wonderful wedding supper in Heaven. While that event is happening, God releases His final judgments upon the Antichrist’s empire. In Revelation 15, the introductory chapter to this event, we see that these final judgments will be delivered by “seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete” (Revelation 15:1).

The destruction of Babylon the Great occurs at the end of the Tribulation, either shortly before or after the Rapture. This destruction, as referred to in Revelation 17 and 18, sounds very much like a nuclear attack. How widespread an attack it will be, we don’t know, but it seems the events that are described now are happening in a post-nuclear-war world.

Much is heard today of weapons of mass destruction, which not only include nuclear weapons but also biological and chemical weapons. In a total war situation that would arise from a nuclear strike as devastating as described in the destruction of Babylon, we can assume that every weapon available in a reprisal arsenal would be utilized. The horrors unleashed would be unprecedented, almost unimaginable, and totally unpredictable.

Keep that in mind as we examine the Scriptures on the Wrath of God. Even though the source of the last seven plagues is spiritual, it seems that the actual physical delivery system, so to speak, could perhaps be the fallout from this nuclear attack and/or continued nuclear, chemical, and biological warfare between the Antichrist forces and their enemies.

John observes, “Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, ‘Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.’ So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the Mark of the Beast and those who worshiped his image” (Revelation 16:1–2). This first plague is poured out upon the earth and the people who have followed the Beast. The followers of the Antichrist who accepted his Mark and worshiped his Image develop horrible sores!

“Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died” (Revelation 16:3). Some of these plagues had already occurred to a degree during the judgments of God on the empire of the Antichrist during the Tribulation, as recounted in Revelation chapters 8 and 9. They were only partial at that time: A third of the waters became blood, a third of fish in the sea died, a third of the ships were destroyed, a third of the trees were burned up, and so on. But this time, due to these final seven bowls of wrath, the destruction seems to be total! It says the sea became blood—apparently the entire sea—and everything that lived in the sea died!

Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying: “You are righteous, O Lord, the One who is and who was and who is to be, because You have judged these things. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due.” And I heard another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”

Revelation 16:4–7

The third angel will pour out his bowl upon the rivers and fountains and they’ll become blood! There’ll be no way for the wicked to get a drink of water, there’ll be nothing to drink but blood! The angel says they’re worthy of it because they shed the blood of God’s prophets and His people, so they deserve to drink blood!—How the blood of the martyrs is avenged; those martyrs who cried out from under the altar in Heaven in Revelation chapter 6, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Revelation 6:10). Well, here is the somber answer to their prayers!

Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory. Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the Beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. They blasphemed the God of Heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.”

Revelation 16:8–11

The fifth bowl is a direct hit on the Antichrist and his forces. While the first four seemed to generally afflict the entire world, this particular one lands right on the Antichrist and his kingdom. The curses and plagues and horrors will be so bad that men shall gnaw their tongues because of the pain. Yet in spite of all this, they curse God and don’t repent!—Think of that! It’s going to be hell here and hell hereafter for those who insist on being unrepentant and rebellious against God.

Isaiah, when prophesying against the ancient city of Babylon, seemed to also foresee this time of wrath and prophesied:

Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He will destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine. I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, a man more than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth will move out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts and in the day of His fierce anger.

Isaiah 13:9–13

The whole earth will become a disaster area under these awful judgments of God!

Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the Dragon, out of the mouth of the Beast, and out of the mouth of the False Prophet. For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

Revelation 16:12–14

The sixth angel dries up the great Euphrates River to prepare the way for the armies of the east. In fact, the kings and armies of the entire earth will be summoned together for one last great battle. The Antichrist and his forces, even in their anger and their torment and their pain and their torture, are planning one last decisive battle for world domination. They are still reviling and cursing God and creating even more destruction in a final horrible war called “the Battle of that Great Day of God Almighty.”

The passage continues:

“And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.”

Revelation 16:16

10 – The Marriage Supper of the Lamb and the Judgment Seat of Christ

The Rise and Fall of the Antichrist

Scott MacGregor

2012-01-01

01/01/25 AS YOU ARE HEADING UP INTO THE CLOUDS TO JOIN JESUS AND ALL THE RESURRECTED SAVED, you might be wondering “What next?” Well, my friends, it is time to party, and you are going to be one of the guests of honor. You are cordially invited to your wedding party. Welcome to the great “Marriage Supper of the Lamb,” where you, one of Jesus’ brides and part of His Church, the elect, the ekklesia, the called-out ones, finally get to celebrate your marriage with Jesus. You became part of His Bride the minute you accepted Him into your heart, and now you finally get to have the wedding supper, and it is going to be the party to end all parties—well, at least up until this point.

John described it like this:

Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!” And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’”

Revelation 19:5–9

From that point on, the Bible is silent as to what the celebrations consist of, but we can rest assured that if Jesus is planning the party, it is going to be totally out of this world.

There is another event that will apparently take place at this time, referred to in Scripture as the Judgment Seat of Christ. This is when the saved will come individually before Jesus Christ to receive their rewards. Paul writes: “We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Then each of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:10,12). Also, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Jesus said, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work” (Revelation 22:12). And, “The Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works” (Matthew 16:27). And also, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). The apostle Paul, at the end of his ministry, shortly before his death, said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7–8). This crown is your reward.

A lot of Christians get confused by the Bible verses on rewards and crowns, and apply them to salvation as something that must be earned. Salvation cannot be worked for and thus earned; it is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8–9; Titus 3:5). But you can work for rewards and you can earn praise and commendation from the Lord! A special, “Well done, good and faithful servant. … Enter into the joy of your Lord!” (Matthew 25:21). Although the good that you do in this life isn’t going to help to get you into Heaven, it will have a great deal to do with your reward and your position once you’re there.

When a heavenly messenger was speaking to Daniel, he said: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:2–3). Those who have been wise by living a life dedicated to being what God wants them to be, and to turning others to righteousness, will shine as the stars; but those who haven’t done much for the Lord will be pretty dull and some held in shame and even contempt.

So those who have done more will receive more rewards. But it also has to be understood that “the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). He knows what you are capable of and what you desire to do, and if for some reason your circumstances hold you back from being as much of a force for good on Earth as you would like to be, then those circumstances will be taken into consideration. Jesus is called the Righteous Judge, and your reward will be a righteous one. Nevertheless, it is important that we do our best to be and do all that God expects of us.

Paul wrote, “Now if anyone builds on this foundation [salvation] with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward” (1 Corinthians 3:12–14). Having received Jesus, if you live for Him and do what you can to be a living sample of His love for others, when you stand before Him at this great Judgment Seat, these works will endure the test, even as gold and silver endure and come through the fire. They will endure and you will receive a glorious reward. “That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ!” (1 Peter 1:7).

But, the Scripture passage in Corinthians continues, “If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:15). Those who have received Jesus, but yet did nothing for Jesus in thanksgiving, who lived their lives selfishly and did not live by the golden rule of “whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them” (Matthew 7:12), will find their works burned as wood, hay, and straw, and will not receive much of a reward, if any. They’ll still be saved, but they’ll suffer such a sad loss! So if nothing else, this should be strong motivation to do our best to live the way God wants us to live and do the things He wants us to do on Earth, so that we can receive His reward and commendation in Heaven!

Meanwhile, as we are rejoicing at the Marriage Supper and receiving our rewards, the angels of the Lord are taking care of unfinished business on the earth.

09 – Jesus’ Second Coming

The Rise and Fall of the Antichrist

Scott MacGregor

2012-01-01

12/31/24 NOW WE MOVE TO THE LAST OF THE SEVEN TRUMPETS. The first six all heralded death and destruction on the Antichrist and his followers, and this last one is going to be the most horrible of all for them. However, for the followers of Jesus, it’s the most wonderful event of their lives! John recounts:

I saw still another mighty angel coming down from Heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire. He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices. Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from Heaven saying to me, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.” The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to Heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created Heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer, but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.

Revelation 10:1–7

What is the “mystery of God” that should be finished that He has declared to His servants and prophets? It is what we have all been waiting for: the return of Jesus in the sky to rescue all His children. Jesus Himself told us that:

For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Matthew 24:27,29–31

The Second Coming of Jesus Christ, often referred to as the Rapture,¹ will be the most anticipated and wonderful event for the Christians who have gone through the Tribulation. They have endured the depths of persecutions and the hell into which the world has descended under the Devil incarnate, the hideous tyranny of the Antichrist. Now their moment of release has come when they are to be taken out of this world and transported into the wonders and joys of Heaven. This is the real thing, not the ephemeral myth of a rapture before the Tribulation begins, which many sincere and dedicated Christians had been so deceived by. (See Appendix 1.) It will have been a very hard and difficult three and a half years, but now their deliverance comes.

Jesus described just how sensational His Second Coming will be. The sky is going to light up as though there were lightning, but this is much more than a mere lightning bolt that flashes for an instant—this is as bright as lightning and illuminates the entire sky, from the east to the west. Jesus said that just before His appearance the sun is darkened and the moon doesn’t shine, meaning the sky is completely dark. Then, as the powers of the atmospheric heavens start to shake as though in the throes of some colossal thunderstorm, the sign of Jesus Christ appears in the sky. Exactly what that sign is, we don’t know, but just like the armies of old followed a standard, a flag held in the vanguard, and oftentimes this was the first thing that came into the view of their enemies as the army approached, so it seems this sign is the first thing that those on the earth see. The Antichrist and his wicked followers are going to be moaning and mourning, but all those who have accepted Jesus are going to be rejoicing. Jesus appears in the clouds, and with a great trumpet blast, the angels start gathering God’s people from the four corners of the earth.

This description of Jesus’ return in the sky, visible to all, was also told to His disciples by angels as they witnessed Jesus’ ascension into Heaven after His resurrection:

Now when [Jesus] had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men [angels] stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

Acts 1:9–11

The gathering of God’s children to Heaven during the Rapture is also described in the book of Revelation:

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. … Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

Revelation 1:7; 14:14–16

This is the great reaping and calling home of all genuine Christians from the time of the early church on. Saint Paul wrote about this great event in several of his letters:

I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep [died], lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18

Those he is referring to as having “fallen asleep” are those saved Christians who have died. Their bodies are dead in the grave, but their spirits are very much alive in Heaven with Jesus. When Jesus returns at this time, Paul says that all of these will come with Him. Why? Because a very important event is about to occur for them and for those of us who remain. When the Lord descends from Heaven and the shouting and trumpeting begins, the “dead in Christ” shall rise first. All those spirits whose bodies have been buried in the earth are going to receive physical bodies. However, it is not going to be the old body they knew, but a totally made-over body, regenerated and indestructible, a new heavenly body. We all then get caught up together in the clouds. Yes, we all sail up into the sky in our new bodies.

Saint Paul tells us more about this in his first letter to the Corinthians. “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51–52).

The Bible also tells us that the supernatural, miraculous, resurrected, transformed, fleshly bodies of the future are going to be like those of the angels of God! “Nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection” (Luke 20:36). But it’s still going to be you. You’re going to look similar, only much better! But it’s going to be you, the same body, otherwise it wouldn’t be a resurrection. (For more on these Resurrection bodies, see Chapter 3, “Superhuman Bodies!” in From the End to Eternity.)

And so we get delivered at the end of the Great Tribulation and then carried off to Heaven to the greatest of all parties ever held up till that time, the magnificent “Marriage Supper of the Lamb,” which we will cover in the next chapter.

An amazing thing about the Rapture is that at some point you will be able to mark the date, or close to it, on your calendar when it will happen. The Bible is specific as to how long the Tribulation lasts, and we covered this already in chapters 2 and 6. So, from the time the Antichrist sets up the Abomination of Desolation, which kicks off the Great Tribulation, you can mark off 1260 days. The Lord told us this so we would know how long we would have to endure the Antichrist’s tyrannical rule on Earth. It was to give us hope and help us hang on, knowing that rescue is coming.

On this point, some people may bring up the following Scriptures about not knowing the day or the hour of the Lord’s coming. Let’s examine those verses now. This is Jesus speaking to His disciples about His return:

But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of Heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Matthew 24:36–44

Another passage on this subject is found in Paul’s first epistle to the Thessalonians:

But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.

1 Thessalonians 5:1–5

It is obvious from the first passage that Jesus’ Second Coming is certainly going to come as a surprise to many. It is also true that at the time Jesus gave this discourse to His disciples, the only One who knew the timing of the Second Coming was God, Jesus’ Father in Heaven. Jesus didn’t know and the angels didn’t know and we still don’t know today. But why was He telling us about this and all the other signs of His return if He didn’t want us to be aware that the event was at least drawing close? He did and does want those who will actually witness the events (and His immediate audience, His disciples, were not going to) to know the approximate timing and to be prepared.

In the second passage, Paul makes it very clear that we are not supposed to let that day overtake us unexpectedly. We are children of the light and aren’t supposed to be in the dark on all this.

And finally, why would He keep telling us the exact length of time that the Tribulation would last if He didn’t intend for us to know when He was coming? Back in the apostles’ day, they didn’t need to know the exact timing of His return, because that event wasn’t going to affect them. But for us who are alive in these Last Days, and especially if we wind up in the Tribulation, the Lord wants us to know because it will help us endure to the end, either the end of our lives or the end of the Tribulation.

So, at this point we take a hiatus from the war as the Lord comes back to take us home in that marvelous event that we call the Rapture. We are taken up into the air, our bodies are changed and immortalized, and we are off to Heaven for the mother of all parties, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

But for the Antichrist and his ilk, it is the worst event. Those whom he has sworn to kill have been snatched from his clutches by his ancient and unbeatable foe, Jesus Christ. And the worst for the Antichrist is yet to come.

Notes

The term Rapture is not found in English-language Bibles but made its way into the Christian lexicon as a transliteration of the Latin for that event. Its biblical equivalent is the Resurrection of the Just, where believers, both living and dead, are taken up to Heaven at the last (seventh) trump, and given their immortal bodies.

The term Rapture as applied to the catching up into the heavenlies of the saved at Jesus’ Second Coming finds its origins in the Latin Vulgate translation of 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

The Latin word used to render “caught up” is rapiemur. Rapiemur is a derivative of the verb rapio (sometimes written raptio): to seize, snatch, carry away. Saint Jerome, the translator of the Vulgate Bible, apparently looked at the Lord’s return and our gathering to Him in the sky as a mass abduction of believers from the Antichrist Empire.

The actual English word rapture, meaning overwhelming happiness, also found its way into English from Latin roots, specifically from the medieval Latin raptura, meaning seizure, and is in turn derived from the classical Latin raptus, which means a carrying off or an abduction.

18: The Fall of the World System

A Study of Revelation: Revelation Chapter 18

A Study of Revelation

David Brandt Berg

1981-05-01

12/30/24 Revelation 18: “And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies” (verses 1–3).

This Babylon is not just the ancient Babylon of old—of which that Babylon was a type of the Babylon of all ages and the Babylon of today, the great commercial system of wealth, money, riches and materialism. The religion of the world is the worship of things and not God. That is the Babylon which He’s talking about. That is the Babylon which is used as the symbol of all other Babylons and world systems from the beginning to the end.

In fact, it dates from the very time that Cain disobeyed the Lord, and instead of sacrificing the blood sacrifice that he was told to, he decided he would sacrifice whatever he wanted to sacrifice, that he would set his own standards and decide on his own sacrifices, and that would be his religion. As a result, God was greatly displeased and refused to accept his sacrifice, but rather accepted the sacrifice of his dear brother Abel who sacrificed a blood offering, a lamb, symbolic of Jesus Christ, which was pleasing to the Lord. (See Genesis 4.)

And Cain was very angry with his brother Abel outside the Garden of Eden in the very beginning, because God accepted his younger brother Abel’s sacrifice and rejected his, the older brother’s. And the Lord asked him, “Why art thou wroth? Why is thy countenance fallen?” He said, “If thy sacrifice is not accepted, then sin lieth at the door” (Genesis 4:5–7). There are many people today who try to be religious and holy and have some form of religious worship, but it’s not God’s. It’s not what He has asked for. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can satisfy His commandments.

So Cain was so wroth—this first symbol of false religion and the worship of things and materialism and the gods of this world and disobedience unto the Lord—that he became very angry with his brother Abel, whose sacrifice was simpler and perhaps less abundant but was in obedience, a blood sacrifice of a lamb symbolizing Jesus. So Cain, the head of the world’s first false religion of disobedience to God and of substituting his own righteousness and his own way and his own sacrifice instead of that which was commanded by God, became angry with the true believer, Abel, there just outside the Garden of Eden.

Cain rose up in anger and tried to kill the true, loving worshipper of God, the one who had obeyed God and given the right sacrifice. He killed his own brother in a jealous rage because his brother’s sacrifice was accepted—so simple, so humble, but so obedient. And his own abundant sacrifice of his fruits of the field, his fruits of his own hands, his own labors, his own righteousness was rejected by God and displeased God, because sin lay at his door in disobedience to God.

This simple little picture of Cain and Abel and the murder of Abel by his older brother Cain in jealous rage is a picture of the false church and the true church from that time on through over 6,000 years of man’s history. The false self-dependent religion which rules over the kings of the earth has persecuted the poor minority of the true church of believers who love and obey God and believe His Word and trust Him and follow Jesus.

Here in this great book of Revelation we have two women pictured. One is this horrible whore who has deceived the nations of the earth and rules over the kings and the powers and the governments of the earth, always persecuting the church of Jesus Christ.

We see the two women of this book, one very good, beautiful, and pure like Mary herself, the bride of Christ; the other evil, wicked—though beautiful—a licentious fornicator, adulteress, mother of harlots, the false church.—The greatest religion of all, that of materialism, the worship of things, riches, wealth, power.

While the poor pitiful little true bride of Christ like Mary of old flees into the wilderness for protection by the Lord, she is persecuted by the Devil and hounded by his mistress, who at last gets her due. This Antichrist government, this great red beast turns upon her and devours her and destroys her with fire at the very end in the Tribulation; and his ten kings pitch into her, burn her with fire, and destroy her.

First of all, having come into power, the Antichrist, Satan in the flesh, the Devil-man, decides he no longer needs Babylon, the great commercial, city system of materialism, so he destroys it. Remember, this is a flashback; we’re going back again into the period of the Tribulation and Antichrist rule before the Coming of Christ and the wrath of God.

We’re going back to see what the Antichrist does to the great whore, he and his ten kings who turn upon her and devour her with fire and destroy her and eat her flesh.—She who made them rich and powerful, she who rode upon their backs as a queen, saying, “I shall see no sorrow.” She who was a king-maker, she who was an empire-ruler, the empress of the Antichrist, is finally destroyed by the Antichrist government itself as he demands that all men everywhere shall now worship him only as the world’s god.

In the eighteenth chapter of Revelation, the Antichrist destroys the world city system in what appears to be a final atomic war. God thinks it’s such a tremendous event that He devotes an entire chapter to it, describing how she is finally destroyed, how the world cities and their banks and office buildings and temples of worship are finally totally destroyed, along with a great deal of the world. Very suddenly, He says, in a day, in one hour!

Fourth verse: “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double.” The angel is saying to God, “Double to her the judgment and the cruelty and the punishment and the persecution that she gave the saints.”

“How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day”—one day! The experts say the atomic war will be over in a few hours, in one day, perhaps one hour. “In one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire. For strong is the Lord God who judgeth her” (Revelation 18:5–8).

“And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for the fear of her torment”—lest they get caught in the fire—“saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city. For in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more.” No more commercial system.

“The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner of vessels of ivory, and all manner of vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and odors, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men” (Revelation 18:9–13). That just about covers everything that the great whore trades in—all of her products, goods, wealth, from virtually everything on earth, including the very souls of men, slaves of her religion.

“And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls. For in one hour so great riches is come to nought” (Revelation 18:14–17).

“And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off”—they didn’t dare come very close because of the horror of the atomic destruction and the fallout—“and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city.” It must have been something like that at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

“And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness. For in one hour is she made desolate. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her” (Revelation 18:17–20). The world city system, the Rome of modern days, tries to persecute and martyr the children and prophets of God because they’re thorns in their flesh and pricks in their eyes; they prick their conscience and make them feel guilty for their sins.

“And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all” (Revelation 18:21). With violence she destroyed many, with violence she destroyed nations, with violence she destroyed empires, countries, whole peoples with her hellish wars and bombs.

“And the voice of harpers and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee. And no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee.” No more engineers, no more manufacturers. “And the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee” (Revelation 18:22). No more production even of food and grain.

“And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee.” That’ll be the day, the night when all the lights go out, the night when there’s the great blackout, the greatest the world has ever known, and the world goes dark.

“And the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth” (Revelation 18:23–24). This witch who practiced her witchcraft and sorcery to deceive man, to deceive the entire world to follow the Beast and his Antichrist, is finally destroyed by her own lover—the Antichrist.

This Antichrist destroys her, along with his kings, who turn on her and burn her with fire and destroy her, and she is gone forever.—The harlot of the kings of this earth who have lived deliciously with her in luxury and wealth and have promoted her and carried her upon their backs to great power and glory.

At last she’s destroyed because she destroyed God’s servants and God’s children throughout time. She persecuted and harassed them, and finally killed and martyred many of them in these last days. Their message, their witness, their words of God needled her, tormented and annoyed her, so she tried to wipe them out to get rid of her guilty conscience and that convicting message, preaching against her sins and her abominations and her worship of this world, the god of this world, the Devil in the flesh and the things of this earth, having worshipped the creature and the creation more than the Creator (Romans 1:25).

So is destroyed her in whom was found the blood of the prophets and of the saints and of all that were ever slain upon the face of the earth. All the people of God in both Old and New Testaments were destroyed in her, this worldwide Babylon of sin and iniquity and mammon and materialism and the worship of the things of this earth instead of God. Then the Antichrist demands the worship of all men and claims he’s God.

That’s the beginning of the end. God is about to destroy Satan and his Antichrist kingdom and his beast and false prophet and all his Mark-takers throughout the earth. They have persecuted His children and have tormented them and killed them and harassed them from one end of the earth to the other.

Finally His children say, “Lord, how long? How long, O Lord, before You wreak revenge on these who have shed our blood?” (Revelation 6:10). And the Lord says, “Just a little bit, wait a little bit longer.” “For he which lives by the sword and kills by the sword must die by the sword; here is the patience and the faith of the saints.” For he that comes out of the pit, out of hell, must go into perdition (Revelation 13:10; 17:8).

In the nineteenth chapter we come to the end, the Battle of Armageddon, the return of Jesus Christ with His saints to take over the world and to set up the kingdom of God on earth, the great millennial kingdom of God! The curse is removed, man restored, and the beauty of God’s marvelous original creation restored here on earth for a thousand years. We’ll read about that beautiful millennial period after we read chapter 19 in which the final victory is won over the forces of the Antichrist and of Satan.

07 – The Great Tribulation (part 2)

The Rise and Fall of the Antichrist

Scott MacGregor

2012-01-01

12/29/24 Certainly the power of these two witnesses is awesome. But it is not unprecedented. Elijah called down fire from Heaven and caused it not to rain for three years in Israel (2 Kings 1:9–15; 1 Kings 17:1; 18:1); Moses and Aaron brought plagues on their oppressors and caused the waters to be turned to blood (Exodus 7:17–21; 9:13–26). So these powers have been available to God’s chosen before, and they will be available again in the Endtime.

It’s going to be a time of great victory and marvelous testimony so that the whole world will hear. Multitudes of believers are going to survive right until the very coming of the Lord. So there are going to be many people still functioning for the Lord and surviving and living by faith and preaching the Gospel. There are going to be millions of them still alive to see the Lord come.

And although there’s going to be the most hell the world has ever known, there’s also going to be the most heavenly power and defense and help and protection. It’s going to be a time of great victory over the forces of Satan and tremendous triumph over the anti-Christ wicked. The Tribulation is not going to be a rampaging victory for the Devil. Supernatural, miraculous victories are going to be won over him and all of his powers. Don’t think that God’s people are all going to be cowering, hunted victims. Many will be mightily empowered to fight and battle in the defense of the Gospel right up to the end, alongside all the forces of Heaven, aided by the curses and plagues that God unleashes on the wicked.

Nevertheless, it will be a time of persecution, and even the two witnesses lose their lives as martyrs. Daniel explains: “Yet for many days [the people of God] shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering. Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by intrigue. And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time” (Daniel 11:33–35). Many Christians in countries that are closed to the Gospel already experience these kinds of conditions where they are persecuted and informers weasel their way into their fellowships, and some believers even die for their faith. But these conditions do have an end.

Aside from getting a little help from some quarters, there is a lot of help forthcoming from the spirit world. Revelation chapters 8–10 relay what will happen when the Seven Trumpets of the Tribulation are sounded in Heaven and seven mighty and fearsome angels begin to execute the judgments of God on the Antichrist’s empire.

The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter. Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night. And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”

Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

Revelation 8:7 to 9:4

Who are these ferocious insect-like creatures from the bottomless pit hurting and tormenting?—Those people on Earth who do not have the “seal of God” on their foreheads. Revelation chapter 7 describes how God had held back His avenging angels till those who were His servants on Earth had received this seal. We don’t know what form this seal will take, although it seems to be a spiritual rather than an actual physical mark. One thing we do know is that those who receive it are His people, and they are not on the receiving end of these plagues. It is the followers of the Antichrist who are on the receiving end, those who are trying to persecute and kill the ones who refuse to worship the Beast. For all the trouble, pain, and hurt they try to inflict on those who love Jesus, it sounds like the Antichrist and his followers come off the worst for it.

The Lord set a precedent for this kind of thing way back when the children of Israel were held as slaves in Egypt, in the days of Moses. Moses demanded that pharaoh give the Israelites their freedom but pharaoh kept refusing. God, therefore, sent numerous plagues against Egypt because of pharaoh’s recalcitrance. At least some of those plagues did not touch the land of Goshen, the area of Egypt where the Israelites lived (Exodus 9:26). And just as they were spared, we will also be spared much of the horror.

And they [the monster locusts] were not given authority to kill them [the Antichrist’s followers], but to torment them for five months. And their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.

Revelation 9:5–6

These creatures have power to inflict pain with their stings for five months, and their victims will wish they could die but apparently can’t.

The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months.

Revelation 9:7–10

Like much in the book of Revelation, this passage is cryptic; and although some have tried to explain exactly what these creatures are, it seems we won’t really know until we actually see them. But the good thing is that if you have the seal of God in your forehead, you don’t need to worry. And if you have Jesus in your heart and love Him and try to serve Him, then you qualify as a servant of God and you will have that seal. (See Appendix 3.)

Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great River Euphrates.” So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm.

Revelation 9:13–19

This sixth trumpet obviously has to do with war occurring during the period of Great Tribulation. What these horses with heads of lions and mouths that breathe fire are is for now a mystery. But it seems that the armies involved numbered 200 million, and the casualties in that war were a third of all mankind. That surely sounds like a time of great troubles or Great Tribulation. If ever there was an entity who glories in destruction and would love to see the world engulfed in a conflagration of the magnitude spoken of here, it is the Devil. And he will be in the thick of it in the person of the Antichrist.

Notes

Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, “What do you see?” So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.” … Then I answered and said to him, “What are these two olive trees—at the right of the lampstand and at its left?” And I further answered and said to him, “What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?” Then he answered me and said, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” So he said, “These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth” (Zechariah 4:1–3, 11–14).

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.” And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Can you drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.” So Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared” (Mark 10:35–40).

07 – The Great Tribulation (part 1)

The Rise and Fall of the Antichrist

Scott MacGregor

2012-01-01

12/28/24 THEREFORE WHEN YOU SEE THE “abomination of desolation,” spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be Great Tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Matthew 24:15–21

As we’ve seen in Chapter 4, the placing of the “abomination of desolation” represents the halfway mark in the Antichrist’s seven-year reign. Therefore, Jesus is here describing the beginning of the last three and a half years of the current epoch of the earth. In the parallel passage in the Gospel of Luke we see some more details of the events occurring at this moment.

But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

Luke 21:20–24

Jerusalem is surrounded and occupied by the armies of the Antichrist, and Jesus basically says that those in the vicinity should run for their lives. Obviously it is not a peaceful occupation, and most likely it is the culmination of a war.

In Revelation 11:1–2 we read the following: “Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.’” John is measuring a temple that seems to be a different one than the one described earlier in Revelation, for the previous temple was in the heavenly realm. This one has at least the outer court given to the Gentiles and they have it and the city of Jerusalem for 42 months, which is most likely the time of the Tribulation. It is also likely that this corresponds to the “times of the Gentiles” of the earlier passage in Luke. And it is a fair guess that the temple John was measuring is actually the one that is going to be rebuilt at Jerusalem.

The Antichrist, from what we have already covered, has apparently been mortally wounded and has literally come back from the dead. But now he is not just a pawn of Satan, he is totally possessed by him. He sets up both his image and his throne in the temple environs. All who will not worship him and take his infamous Mark are then declared beyond the law and are marked for extermination. Although all in this category are to be hunted down and killed, it appears from Revelation 12—the vision of the woman and the dragon—that those who are Christians are particularly singled out:

“Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the Devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 12:12–13,17

This sounds terrible for Christians—and certainly when compared with the temporal might of the Antichrist and his armies and his massive government apparatus, we might not seem to stand a chance—but we have one almighty ace up our sleeves: Jesus Christ Himself. Yes, He may at this time be unseen, but He will be fighting on our side and that means we will be the ultimate victors. We will come through this period on top in the end. It might look like we are losing at times, and we will suffer casualties, but in the end we will win, because the battle is Jesus’ and He always wins.

As the wise Jewish teacher Gamaliel said to the Jewish leaders when they planned to persecute the early Christians, “If it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God” (Acts 5:39). The apostle John, one of the very people Rabbi Gamaliel was warning against harming, echoed this when he wrote: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4–5). Also Paul, who had studied under Gamaliel, again reminded us of the inevitability of our victory when he said: “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:57–58).

However, for the formal, organized denominations with their big church buildings and economic and political clout, the handwriting is on the wall. Daniel prophesied of their troubles when he said, “I was watching; and the [Antichrist] was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them. … He … shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and … the saints shall be given into his hand. … He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people. … And when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished” (Daniel 7:21,25; 8:24; 12:7).

Why would God allow this?—Because it is good for His people. It purifies His Church by driving them to Him in desperation. It “makes them white,” as Daniel was told by the angelic messenger (Daniel 12:10). Whenever persecution has come to Christians, it has always resulted in revival in the long run, with believers drawn closer to the values of Christianity. The Bible not only promises “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution,” but also “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose” (2 Timothy 3:12; Romans 8:28 KJV).

Even though the Antichrist will be allowed to physically overcome the organized temporal power of the Christian denominations, he will not and cannot overcome Christians spiritually. The Lord says, “And they overcame [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death” (Revelation 12:11). The only power they’re going to have left will be God’s power. “Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more” (Romans 5:20). In the world’s darkest hour of greatest iniquity, many Christians are going to supernaturally, miraculously witness and shine brighter than ever before. “For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you” (Isaiah 60:2).

Furthermore, the Bible promises that during this time “the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. And those of the people who understand shall instruct many” (Daniel 11:32–33). This is very important because the raison d’être for the Lord’s people during this momentous and trouble-filled time is to witness to others and teach them and instruct them as to what is going on. The Antichrist regime will be horrible and oppressive, and many people are going to hate it and will want to know what they can do about it. Those who know God will be in their element because they will have multitudes of hungry hearts to win and teach the good news of God’s Word and Jesus’ imminent return.

Many are going to be more receptive than ever then, just like many are now in times of personal trial, emergency, catastrophe, illness, or accident. A lot of people are going to believe then, and many are going to need salvation and need the good news. Those who understand from the Bible what’s happening and what’s going to happen will be a great encouragement to millions of people throughout the earth.

It costs something to witness, and in that day it is definitely going to cost some Christians who “know their God” their lives. The Antichrist is going to try to wipe them all out because they’ll be telling the truth and exposing him. They’re going to be “instructing many,” warning them of who he really is. And he and his forces are going to be furious.

But if you love the Lord, don’t fear the Tribulation. God’s a much greater enemy to the Antichrist forces than they are to you. “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). As His Word has said, “It is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you” (2 Thessalonians 1:6).

Powerful men and women of God, just like the ancient prophets and prophetesses of old, are going to be God’s leaders and have supernatural, miraculous powers to protect and defend their flocks and followers and help them survive to the very end.

Two exceptional witnesses are mentioned in the following passage in Revelation 11:

And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days [the Tribulation period], clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth.¹ And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.

Now when they finish their testimony, the Beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three and a half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.

Now after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. And they heard a loud voice from Heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they ascended to Heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. Revelation 11:3–12 (to be continued)