Today is the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. A special celebratory service was held at Westminster Abbey today. It was the Bible, commissioned by a King, that made the Word of God available to all English-speaking people so that they were no longer reliant on translations by those who could read Latin. It…
Today is the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. A special celebratory service was held at Westminster Abbey today. It was the Bible, commissioned by a King, that made the Word of God available to all English-speaking people so that they were no longer reliant on translations by those who could read Latin. It allowed the common man to drink, as it were, straight from the bottle.
Jesus The Only Way To Heaven.
The Jesus Movement of the 1960s and ’70s, the “One Way” sign-the index finger held high-became a popular icon. “One Way” bumper stickers and lapel pins were everywhere, and the “One Way” slogan for a time became the identifying catchphrase of all evangelicalism.
Evangelicalism in those days was an extremely diverse movement. (In some ways it was even more eclectic than it is today.) It encompassed everything from Jesus People, who were an integral part of that era’s youth culture, to straight-line fundamentalists, who scorned everything contemporary. But all of them had at least one important thing in common: They knew that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. “One Way” seemed an unshakable belief that all evangelicals held in common.
That is no longer the case. The evangelical movement of today is no longer unified on this issue. Some who call themselves evangelicals are openly insisting that faith alone in Jesus is not the only way to heaven. They are now convinced that people of all faiths will be in heaven. Others are simply cowardly, embarrassed, or hesitant to affirm the exclusivity of the gospel in an era when inclusivity, pluralism, and tolerance are deemed supreme virtues by the secular world. They imagine it would be a tremendous cultural faux pas to declare that Christianity is the truth and all other faiths are wrong. Apparently, the evangelical movement’s biggest fear today is that Christians will be seen as out of harmony with the world.
Postmodernism
Why has this dramatic shift taken place? Why has evangelicalism abandoned what believers once all agreed is absolutely true? I believe it is because church leaders, in their desperate quest to be relevant and fashionable, have actually failed to see where the contemporary world is going and why.
The dominant worldview in secular and academic circles today is called postmodernism. To the postmodernist, reality is whatever the individual imagines it to be. That means what is “true” is determined subjectively by each person, and there is no such thing as objective, authoritative truth that governs or applies to humanity universally. The postmodernist naturally believes it is pointless to argue whether opinion A is superior to opinion B. After all, if reality is merely a construct of the human mind, one person’s perspective of truth is ultimately just as good as another’s. “Truth” becomes nothing more than a personal opinion, usually best kept to oneself.
That is the one essential, non-negotiable demand postmodernism makes of everyone: We are not supposed to think we know any objective truth. Postmodernists often suggest that every opinion should be shown equal respect. And therefore, on the surface, postmodernism seems driven by a broad-minded concern for harmony and tolerance. It all sounds very charitable and altruistic. But what really underlies the postmodernist belief system is an utter intolerance for every worldview that makes any universal truth-claims-particularly biblical Christianity.
Postmodernism and the Church
The church today is filled with people who are advocating postmodern ideas. Some of them do it self-consciously and deliberately, but most do it unwittingly. (Having imbibed too much of the spirit of the age, they are simply regurgitating worldly opinion.) The evangelical movement as a whole, still recovering from its long battle with modernism, is not prepared for a new and different adversary. Many Christians have therefore not yet recognized the extreme danger posed by postmodernist thought.
Postmodernism’s influence has clearly infected the church already. Evangelicals are toning down their message so that the gospel’s stark truth-claims don’t sound so jarring to the postmodern ear. Many shy away from stating unequivocally that the Bible is truth and all other religious systems and worldviews are false. Some who call themselves Christians have gone even further, purposefully denying the exclusivity of Christ and openly questioning His claim that He is the only way to God.
Jesus The Only Way To Heaven
The biblical message is clear. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). The apostle Peter proclaimed to a hostile audience, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The apostle John wrote, “He who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36).
Again and again, Scripture stresses that Jesus Christ is the only hope of salvation for the world. “For there is on God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). Only Christ can atone for sin, and therefore only Christ can provide salvation. “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:11-12).
Those truths are antithetical to the central tenet of postmodernism. They make exclusive, universal truth claims, declaring Christ the only true way to heaven and all other belief-systems erroneous. That is what Scripture teaches. It is what the true church has proclaimed throughout her history. It is the message of Christianity. And it simply cannot be adjusted to accommodate postmodern sensitivities.
Instead, many Christians just pass over the exclusive claims of Christ in embarrassed silence. Even worse, some in the church, including a few of evangelicalism’s best-known leaders, have begun to suggest that perhaps people can be saved apart from knowing Christ.
Christians cannot capitulate to postmodernism without sacrificing the very essence of our faith. The Bible’s claim that Christ is the only way of salvation is certainly out of harmony with the postmodern notion of “tolerance.” But it is, after all, just what the Bible plainly teaches. And the Bible, not postmodern opinion, is the supreme authority for the Christian. The Bible alone should determine what we believe and proclaim to the world. We cannot waver on this, no matter how much this postmodern world complains that our beliefs make us “intolerant.”
Tolerant Intolerance
Postmodernism’s veneration of tolerance is its most obvious feature. But the version of “tolerance” peddled by postmodernists is actually a twisted and dangerous corruption of true virtue.
Incidentally, tolerance is never mentioned in the Bible as a virtue, except in the sense of patience, forbearance, and longsuffering (cf. Ephesians 4:2). In fact, the contemporary notion of tolerance is a pathetically feeble concept compared to the love Scripture commands Christians to show even to their enemies. Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you” (Luke 6:27-28; cf. vv. 29-36).
When our grandparents spoke of tolerance as a virtue, they had something like that in mind. The word once meant respecting people and treating them kindly even when we believe they are wrong. But the postmodern notion of tolerance means we must never regard anyone else’s opinions as wrong. Biblical tolerance is for people; postmodern tolerance is for ideas.
Accepting every belief as equally valid is hardly a real virtue, but it is practically the only kind of virtue postmodernism knows anything about. Traditional virtues (including humility, self-control, and chastity) are openly scorned, and even regarded as transgressions in the world of postmodernism.
Predictably, the beatification of postmodern tolerance has had a disastrous effect on real virtue in our society. In this age of tolerance, what was once forbidden is now encouraged. What was once universally deemed immoral is now celebrated. Marital infidelity and divorce have been normalized. Profanity is commonplace. Abortion, homosexuality, and moral perversions of all kinds are championed by large advocacy groups and enthusiastically promoted by the popular media. The postmodern notion of tolerance is systematically turning genuine virtue on its head.
Jesus The Only Way To Heaven
Just about the only remaining taboo is the naïve and politically incorrect notion that another person’s alternative lifestyle, religion, or different perspective is wrong. One major exception to that rule stands out starkly: It is OK for postmodernists to be intolerant of those who claim they know the truth, particularly biblical Christians. In fact, those who fancy themselves the leading advocates of tolerance today are often the most outspoken opponents of evangelical Christianity.
Why is that? Why does authentic biblical Christianity find such ferocious opposition from people who think they are paragons of tolerance? It is because the truth-claims of Scripture-and particularly Jesus’ claim to be the only way to God-are diametrically opposed to the fundamental presuppositions of the postmodern mind. The Christian message represents a death blow to the postmodernist worldview.
But as long as Christians are being duped or intimidated into softening the bold claims of Christ and widening the narrow road, the church will make no headway against postmodernism. We need to recover the distinctiveness of the gospel. We need to regain our confidence in the power of God’s truth. And we need to proclaim boldly that Christ is the onlytrue hope for the people of this world.
That may not be what people want to hear in this pseudo-tolerant age of postmodernism. But it is true nonetheless. And precisely because it is true and the gospel of Christ is the only hope for a lost world, it is all the more urgent that we rise above all the voices of confusion in the world and say so.
@Zoe | November 25, 2011 at 9:43 PM |
“Jesus The Only Way To Heaven”
Hi Flyweight! I saw your cut & paste post. But I am waiting to receive a post from the pretender to the heavyweight throne King Lemuel.
But I guess we will have to wait until after his Pharisaical observance of the Sabbath!
My preceeding three posts, pointed out the Absolute ‘Truth claim’ that Jesus Christ IS* the Only way to Almighty God, His Father, and heaven.
This ‘Truth claim’ by Jesus is either TRUE or FALSE, either/or!
The three fundamental Laws of Logic, are themselves, Absolute Truths, and are universal, regardless of culture, race, creed, or ethnicity.
1) The law of Identity
2) The law of Excluded Middle
3) The law of Non-Contradiction
Assessing competing, and contradictory ‘World views’ bears out the utterly fundamental grounding of Logic, for thinking critically, objectively, coherently, about ‘truth’ and World views. These logical laws point us toward truth.
Reason, the ability to think rationally, critically, is* necessar for ‘Revelation’
(facts, evidence) to be coherent.
Without these Laws of Logic, NO rational thought would be possible. To reject these basic laws of logic, one would have to ‘utilize’ these very laws to reject them, thereby refuting one’s own argument.
Logical Absolutes form the very foundations of how we approach and understand reality. Logical absolutes are unchangeable absolute fundamental laws of logic. There are three logical absolutes which are the law of identity, law of non-contradiction, and law of excluded middle. Any human being that seeks the truth and wishes to be able to support their beliefs would do well to know and study these laws.
Law of Identity
The Law of Identity states something is what it is:
A = A. The law of identity is basic and fundamental for the other basic laws of logic. LI asserts that a particular entity or object IS* that particular object. In other words, it IS identical to itself. For example, ‘The Red pen IS the Red pen’ it is NOT, ‘The blue pen.’
A certain rock is that rock. We identify the rock by our sense data, yet there is a true essence of the rock which exists exclusively apart from our sense data. So the rock is what it is independent of the attributes we ascribe to it. If no humans were around to observe the rock, it would still exist and its nature would still be what it is.
Law of Excluded Middle
The law of excluded middle says that a statement is either true or false. When someone states that a God exists the statement is either true or false but it cannot be both. The law of excluded middle ties in with the law of identity in this logic:
A = A, is either true (A=A) or it is false (A=/=A)
The law of excluded middle is not to be confused with a false dichotomy. A false dichotomy might state something like “either Christianity is true or Islam is true, can’t be both”. However there is the possibility that neither is true. A statement that has an excluded middle is Christianity is either true or false but it cannot be both.
A statement is True, is one that ‘corresponds to reality.’ If statement “X” is true, corresponding to reality, then that implies that not-X is FALSE. In other words, if something is TRUE, this must exclude something, namely FALSITY. We are left with two exhaustive options – TRUTH or FALSITY.
The LEM entails NO third way is possible. For example, Almighty God either exist, or He does not exist. There is no other alternative.
Law of Non-contradiction
The law of non-contradiction states that two opposing statements cannot both be true:
A = A and A=/=A cannot both be true
That is, A cannot be -A in the same respect or same time. In other words, two competing ‘Truth claims’ cannot be both right, in the same respect or the same time. They can both be wrong, BUT, they CANNOT* both be right. World views are all making ‘truth claims’ and the only sound method of evaluating their respective ‘truth claims’ is by utilizing these unalterable, unchanging Laws of Logic.
The Historic Judeo/Christian Worldview.
This World view contains claims about reality, which are either True or False..
Therefore, any World view, must be subjected to, and must sustain, (3) test in order to be considered valid.
1) Logical Consistency
2) Empirical Adequacy
3) Experiential Relevancy
The only religious World view, across comparativer difficulties, premised on warranted, credible facts and evidence, that meet and sustains all three of these criteria, is the Historic Judeo/Christian World view.
Secondly, and intrically connected to the above criteria for validity, every system must also demonstrate and deal with the following questions:
1) Origin
2) Meaning
3) Morality, and
4) Destiny.
Again, the theistic Christian World view, is the ONLY one that convincingly demonstrate and sustian to, the above questions, unparalleled with any other religious world view.
The structure of justification/warrant, in defending any propositional ‘Truth claim’ IS* coherence. Coherence IS* our sole criterion for TRUTH.
Coherence is found throughout God’s Word the Bible, from beginning,
Genesis, to the End, the Book of Revelation.
‘To say of what IS* that it IS*, or of what is NOT* that it is NOT* is TRUE.”
(Aristotle, Metaphysics, 1077 b-26)
The Book of Revelation: Timetable for the End Time
The book of Revelation—a revealing of the future—is history written in advance.
Does the book of Revelation give us additional details about events leading up to Christ’s return?
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Revelation:1:1-3).
The book of Revelation—a revealing of the future—is history written in advance. It describes in detail the events leading up to Christ’s return, then tells us what will happen beyond that time. Be sure to look up and read these scriptures and surrounding passages in your Bible.
Does the book of Revelation confirm the sequence of events of Jesus Christ’s earlier prophecy?
Carefully read and study Revelation:6:2-8. Here the same conditions Jesus Christ described in the Olivet Prophecy are present in symbols: the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
The white horse represents a powerful, conquering religious deception. (Some assume that the rider of this horse is Jesus Christ, but a comparison with the description of the returning Christ in Revelation:19:11-16, and the sequence of events Christ gave in the Olivet Prophecy and the book of Revelation, shows they are not the same).
The red horse (the color of fire and blood) and its rider clearly represent warfare. The black horse and rider depict famine (note the comment about the outrageously high cost of food). The sickly colored pale horse represents the sickness and disease that inevitably follow warfare and food shortages.
How will the conditions represented by these four horsemen impact humanity?
“. . . And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth” (Revelation:6:8).
According to this prophecy, war, violence, starvation and disease may take hundreds of millions of lives. These disasters will also affect animals, which will also take a large toll of human life through predation and spread of disease.
How does Revelation depict the sequence of events that will precede Christ’s return?
“And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals” (Revelation:5:1).
The book of Revelation depicts the events described in the Olivet Prophecy through a series of seven “seals.” In the time of the apostle John, who wrote this book under the inspiration of Jesus Christ (Revelation:1:1-2), official correspondence was customarily fastened with a wax seal. To read what was inside, the seal had to be broken and the scroll unrolled. This is what John saw in vision. (Be sure to study the charts on page 12 to better understand the flow of events described in the book of Revelation.)
What do these seven seals symbolize?
Revelation 6 describes the opening of the first six seals, which depict major events and trends. You should read this entire chapter carefully. The first six seals are:
First seal (verse 2): religious deception (compare Matthew:24:4-5[4]And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.[5]For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.).
Second seal (verses 3-4): war (compare Matthew:24:6-7[6]And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.[7]For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.).
Third seal (verses 5-6): famine (compare Matthew:24:7For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.).
Fourth seal (verses 7-8): disease (compare Matthew:24:7For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.).
Fifth seal (verses 9-11): tribulation and persecution of true Christians (compare Matthew:24:9-13[9]Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.[10]And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.[11]And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.[12]And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.[13]But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.; Luke:21:12-19[12]But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake.[13]And it shall turn to you for a testimony.[14]Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:[15]For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.[16]And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.[17]And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.[18]But there shall not an hair of your head perish.[19]In your patience possess ye your souls.).
Sixth seal (verses 12-14): an earthquake and heavenly signs (compare Matthew:24:7For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.; Luke:21:11And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.).
What is unique about the seventh seal?
“When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets” (Revelation:8:1-2).
The seventh seal is divided into seven “trumpets,” which reveal further events leading up to Jesus Christ’s return. These events, which are not described in the Olivet Prophecy, are sometimes referred to as “the seven trumpet plagues.” The seventh seal is comprised of these seven events. Be sure to read all of Revelation 8 and 9, which describe the events to occur at the first six trumpets.
The first six trumpets plagues are:
First trumpet (Revelation:8:7): devastation of earth’s vegetation.
Second trumpet (verses 8-9): devastation of oceans and seas.
Third trumpet (verses 10-11): devastation of rivers and fresh water.
Fourth trumpet (verse 12): sun, moon and stars partially darkened.
Fifth trumpet (Revelation:9:1-11): a satanically influenced military power.
Sixth trumpet (verses 13-19): an enormous rival military power.
What happens as a result of this sixth trumpet plague?
“By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed . . .” (Revelation:9:18).
Here we read that another third of earth’s inhabitants will die at the hands of this massive 200 million-man army (verse 18). This is in addition to those who have lost their lives earlier. These frightening prophecies help us understand how all life on earth will be threatened with extinction!
How do people react to these events? Do they finally repent of their evil and turn to God?
“But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts” (verses 20-21).
Incredible as it may seem, even after man has brought utter disaster on himself and after God begins to punish him for his rebellion and sins, man will still choose to defy his Creator. He will continue in the same direction that will bring mankind to the brink of extinction.
What happens when the seventh trumpet sounds?
“Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘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).
“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” (1 Thessalonians:4:16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:).
The blast of the seventh trumpet announces the triumphant return of Jesus Christ to earth. “The kingdoms of this world” come under Christ’s dominion as the Kingdom of God is at last established on earth! At the same time, “the dead in Christ will rise”; God’s faithful servants throughout history will rise from their graves to eternal life with Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians:15:51-53[51]Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,[52]In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.[53]For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.).
To better understand these vital subjects, be sure to request your free copies of the booklets What Is Your Destiny?, What Happens After Death? and The Gospel of the Kingdom. All discuss these subjects in much greater detail.
Will Jesus Christ literally return to earth?
“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” (Zechariah:14:4And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.).
This obviously describes a physical, literal return to earth. Jesus Christ will return to the Mount of Olives, which overlooks Jerusalem from the city’s east side. Apparently a massive earthquake will then split the mountain in half, opening a new valley running east to west from Jerusalem to the Judean desert.
Why will Jesus Christ return to earth?
“Pilate therefore said to Him, ‘Are You a king then?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world . . .” (John:18:37Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.).
At Jesus’ trial before His crucifixion, the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, asked Him if rumors about His being a king were true. Jesus responded that this was true, that He indeed was born to be a king. However, He also told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world” (verse 36). Christ’s purpose at that time was not to overthrow the Roman government and restore the kingdom of Israel, which people assumed was the intent of the Messiah. Jesus’ kingdom—the Kingdom of God—would not be established on earth until far into the future.
Was Jesus Christ’s destiny prophesied to Mary before His conception and birth?
“Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end’” (Luke:1:30-33[30]And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.[31]And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.[32]He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:[33]And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.).
The angel told Mary that her son was destined to “reign over the house of Jacob”—the restored 12 tribes of the Israelite nation—in a kingdom that would have no end.
Is Jesus Christ’s kingdom—the Kingdom of God—a literal kingdom?
“I was watching in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then 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 the one which shall not be destroyed” (Daniel:7:13-14[13]I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.[14]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.).
In vision the prophet Daniel saw Jesus Christ—”one like the Son of Man”—come to God the Father—”the ancient of Days.” In this vision Christ was “given dominion and glory and a kingdom” in which “all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.” Notice that He will rule over physical peoples and nations of all languages. This is clearly describing literal rulership over physical, flesh-and-blood human beings.
What will Jesus Christ’s title be at His return?
“And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: King of kings and lord of lords” (Revelation:19:16).
Jesus Christ was destined to rule! His kingdom was foretold by the Hebrew prophets, revealed to Mary before His conception and birth and affirmed by Jesus Christ Himself. He will return to rule on earth over all kingdoms, governments, peoples and nations. He will be the supreme authority, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords over all the earth!
@ Zoe | November 26, 2011 at 10:35 AM |
I am NOT sparring with you unless you land a punch with some feel in it!
I am waiting on lemuel your new coach and promoter. It seems that PhD has abandoned your corner.
It is very disheartening to read the comments on this blog, this could have been an avenue of intelligent discourse and advancement to those, who otherwise would not have a voice in the main-stream media.
What I am bombarded with is nothing less than hate speech towards anything that is different. Fundamental Christians are targeted as bigots and simpletons at best and the bottom of the food chain at worse!!
People like Zoe et al can argue theology and church history ad nauseum (their long-windiness gives me a migraine) followers of Jesus Christ and citizens of His Kingdom will talk to you nay-sayers about relationship, on that you cannot argue. When you have an experience with someone and you know what they have done for you, others may talk like a ‘shirt sleeve flapping in the wind’ nothing shakes your confidence.
As far as Jesus Christ being the only way to God, believe or not- that is each individual’s choice!! Should I invite to my home in St. Lucy and inform you that there is only one set of directions to reach my home and you choose to disregard my directions, take your own course and then get lost, it is not my fault!
God’s mercy and love is shown even in nature we cannot avoid His wonder and awesome power, His intelligence in design and creation, but a place has been reserved for us who constantly state that we want nothing to do with God, a place of thick darkness, of abject terror and torment, where even Death itself cannot die, because God is nowhere in that place everything that the opposite of His Nature will rule and reign- darkness, extreme pain, agony, torment, terror, eternal separation from mercy, forgiveness, even the ability to breathe fully, a place of rotted, burning flesh of man and beast, no water to quench the thirst, no neighbourly kindness, fire and heat so intense that one cannot breathe no better than an asthma sufferer, time would have ended so there is only unceasing eternity and a memory that will not stop reminding you that you could have followed His directions, all the songs and the sermons heard and a hardened misguided heart led you all the way, by one’s own choosing away from a Father who died to love you!!!
@ Albranch | November 26, 2011 at 11:29 AM |
“Should I invite to my home in St. Lucy and inform you that there is only one set of directions to reach my home and you choose to disregard my directions, take your own course and then get lost, it is not my fault!”
What you have posited above is not in harmony with the teachings of Jesus as advised in the parable of the lost sheep.
“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?
And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away!
In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.”
Matthew 18: 12-14
Please in your response save us the ad hominems just tell us if the parable is applicable to the situation and your action you described in your thread.
.What I am bombarded with is nothing less than hate speech towards anything that is different. Fundamental Christians are targeted as bigots and simpletons at best and the bottom of the food chain at worse!!….’
Come again sir…..
You slip is showing!!
Albranch sounds like the typical JW.
How can you state…..’As far as Jesus Christ being the only way to God, believe or not- that is each individual’s choice’…
Then come back with the tried and tested scare tactics of …’ but a place has been reserved for us who constantly state that we want nothing to do with God, a place of thick darkness, of abject terror and torment, where even Death itself cannot die,’…..
If we all have free will and some choose not to follow your (and Zoe’s et al) path…who are you to judge?
Are you not then guilty of hypocrisy?
To Miller:
Having read your posts, I must admit that I had a good laugh, especially as I have been promoted as a promoter and then crowned royally with what most would consider to be what paddy shot at. But you should admit that Zoe’s piece on Post modernism is important as it has given rise to what some currently refer to as “open theism”. This something that I an sure that you miller would be very interested in.
To understand the book of Revelation, one must first read and understand the book of Daniel. They complement each other. Why the book was written in the symbolism that it is in testifies to the King of Babylon’s dream about the statue. The bible is about about God’s interaction with man and His role in the affairs of man. The book of Revelation with its symbols gives some insight into the last days and the end of human time. No those who are chosen shall not live in Heaven; this earth shall be renewed and inhabited. The last chapters are specific about this.
About not only the chinese but any group who does not hear the gospel message, I do not know how God intends to deal with those situations, but it is clear that those of us who have been exposed shall have no excuse. By the way the gospel has been preached in india and china for a long time now; the roman catholics have martyrs going back to the 16th century.
To Miller:
Within the plan of salvation, there is only ONE way to be saved. These other religions have no saviour, even the Jews are still waiting for THEIR messiah. The only religion that has a saviour is Christianity.
“Within the plan of salvation, there is only ONE way to be saved. These other religions have no saviour, even the Jews are still waiting for THEIR messiah. The only religion that has a saviour is Christianity.”
What a LOAD of GARBAGE Lemule you speak only for your self and this is why the world is in this state because of the religious dogma that has fcuked up the minds of people like you.
You know what You CHRISTIANS reminds me of a Bunch of Communists.
meaning Your Way or the Highway. i wonder what would Jesus think. No wonder he cautioned that many would be called but few would be chosen.to do his work .
To Island Gal:
I have been trying my best not to lay my written tongue on you. But this time I have to respond. Why are you so upset about people like me believing in a load of garbage? What is clear is that there will a time as it was in Egypt when the real God shall stand up. When he stands up, saying that you did not hear or know would not be enough. In trying to get rid of God, many of you have attempted to replace him with “reason”, the “force”, finding “self”, eastern religions, self awareness gurus, and we could go on and on. None of these can be your saviour, and you need one, Island.
To AC:
There are some things that I shall admit; present day christians are not the best example of what Christ wants. At times we are too judgmental, hypocritical, closed minded, too cold and not kind to our fellow men. But that does not take away from the fact that what is contained in the Bible is not true or shall not stand on the day when the king of kings and the lord of lords stand up. Guessing form the standards set by the creator, many of us shall stand condemned as shall many of you.
Lemuel But you know who wrote the BIBLE. a bunch of judgemental ! Hypocrtical! Closeminded cold and not too kind to fellow man but yet you say what is written is TRUE! or is their an exception for the writersof the GOOD BOOK!
Le Mule…..I do not need a saviour and my spiritual awakening has nothing to do with being saved. You are one mixed up individual that you will never see the forest.
To AC:
Stop putting words in my mouth; I never said anything about who wrote the Bible. I made a reference to present day christians ans their less than charitable behaviour towards their fellow man. All of us are sinners and I am sure those inspired writers would have had their failings, but that does not nullify what is being transmitted; hope for mankind. And if ever we need it we need it now.
To Island:
Your spiritual awakening has to make sense of this life. Why are you here, for what purpose to eat, sleep and then die or is there much more to it. Is there a need for mankind to be restored to their communication with God?
Le MULE…..you haven’t made sense of your life on this planet . I don’t give a rat’s ass about why what and where. I live in the now and how I can make my life better with my fellow man. My interpretation of GOD is different from yours. The bible should be thrown in the garbage bin to allow man to develop to his highest potential.
lemuel | November 27, 2011 at 1:14 AM |
“To Miller:”.
By Jove, the Sabbath is passed and no ass has fallen into the well! Thank you for responding to my post.
So you are saying that these other religions and their practitioners are not worthy in the sight of your god and saviour! In other words, if they do not accept your lord and saviour Jesus Christ they don’t stand a chance of going to heaven and meeting your sweet Jesus as god, right? They stand less of a chance to see the face of god than a “snowcone” will last in hell!
So what is your view of Christian Barbados buying Chinese made goods and Japanese vehicles- (I use the words Chinese and Japanese with your forgiveness in mind). Don’t you see these as goods tainted with the devil’s handiwork? Why support and enrich people who do not have anything to do with your lord and saviour, ask them to invest in your country, and then turn around and borrow money you know you can’t payback? Have you ever been to (patronised) a Chinese restaurant? You ought to be very careful or you might just see a devil in the wonton soup! But I believe you are very good are compartmentalising your life. Church on Saturday to pay homage to the god Saturnalis decry people of other faiths from Sunday to Friday but buy the material goods made by the same slaves to Satan.
But before you come with your “holier-than-thou” harangue please respond to the second query that was posed to you regarding the Book of revelation. For ease of reference the second query is reproduced as follows:
“Secondly, do you accept the Book of Revelation as a clear indication of the very imminent return of Jesus Christ to Earth when those who believe in him will be taken to Heaven?
Again a simple answer will suffice.”
To Miller:
Never assume that I have not journeyed to China. You know as well as i do that to answer the question one would first have to know where to begin for one’s audience. You are making the isolation argument. And you know that that does not make any sense. Remember China did that with her great wall and spent centuries trying to catch up with the explosion of modern science and technology. Many of the trinkets you accuse me of hypocritically purchasing were products of her re-engineering exercise which saw her stealing western technology and at times making it better. The knowledge which is available to man is God given; hence, all of us should benefit from the engendering of life that it brings. By the way I do my own chinese fried rice; i have a difficulty with how it is prepared by them.
I have said clearly in the last piece; this earth shall be renewed and those who have chosen God shall live here. Check the last chapters of Revelation. Yes, I believe in a literal return of our Lord and saviour Jesus christ. I do not interpret Revelation as visitations from beings from outer space. Miller, you are also aware that the globalization phenomena are responsible for all of us buying goods made in chine and the east. That is a guilt trip that can not work.
Lemuel why are you saying that i put words in your mouth just the way you interpret the GOOD BOOK is the way you have mis screwed what i said all i did was to infer that all of mankind has the same shortcomings including those who wrote the GODLY BOOK which means it is not infallible since man is not infallible.Having said that the GODLY BOOK is subjected to criticism and correction
To AC:
The good book, the Bible, is a transmittal of God’s thoughts through the pen of men. Your ridiculous assumption would have these purveyors of those thoughts fornicating, stealing and at the same time writing a good holy book. Come on AC you are better than that; I have seen it in other posts. Do not let the carnality that you feel towards believers and their foibles get the best of you and sully your thinking.
lemuel you seem to be skirting the issue as readily accepted by all Christians that the GOOD BOOK says that man is not perfect taking that into consideration it would leave no doubt in ones mind that the writings in the GODLY BOOK would indeed be not as precise as one wishes to believe.Even Moses and David and others GODLY men whom God had chosen fell prey to their imperfection because they are human
BTW are you Scout! tell the TRUTH Godly Christian!
To AC:
You seem to want to make the argument that sinner do sinful things; the bible was written by sinners; therefore the bible is a sinful book. Look at your syllogism and recognize it for what it is; that is invalidity of it. This world and things you hold on to were conceptualized by sinners; does that make everything you do in life bad; does that make you a congenital thief or worse? No. The Bible itself does not run away from the sins of man; the mere fact that you can point to the sins of some of the great men in the Bible testifies to that, but does that destroy its message or standard for the way men should conduct themselves in this life. No. So do not in glee stand on your soap box. The bible is and shall remain the good book for life.
Far from it i would not call the GOODLY BOOK a sinful book although iti does indeed records the sinful nature of some of GOD’s chosen people . However i would rather say ” IMPERFECT” since many of the writings can not be proven.
BTW i see you chose to ignore the latter part of my previous post . SO i would interpret it that to be YES subject to correction only by YOU
Are you finding it difficult to understand how some human beings can treat other human beings as they do? Consider the possibility that aliens are here and interbreeding with human beings. Are you still finding it difficult?
@ Lemuel…..
Do you see now why I care nothing about ReLIEgon and Christianity?
After reading your posts and some (the short) ones from Zoe, it only serves to reaffirm my belief……It is a sad joke!!
You claim that Christianity was spread long ago in China by Roman Catholics…Zoe would argue to the death that it was not Christianity.
On BU we have JWs, Mormons, SDAs, Zoes (yes, he deserves his own brand) et al.
The one thing I find you all DO NOT have is tolerance!
Have it ever occurred to you, that you also scoff and mock others?… or is it the fact you all think your specific group has the monopoly on the truth?….that is just pure arrogance!
What makes it even more laughable is the way you all would gang up and ridicule, mock, scorn and condemn the non believers, using the Bible as your sword BUT can not even agree on the said Bible in its entirety. The non believers are more united than you guys…lol.
Just listen to what the great Zoe really thinks of JWs, SDAs, Mormons, Catholics and Anglicans for starters.
I suspect the others feel the same towards Zoe and others to….where then is the Christian’s credibility?……and please don’t quote the Bible…..you all have made a joke of the book.
@ lemuel | November 27, 2011 at 10:28 AM |
“Many of the trinkets you accuse me of hypocritically purchasing were products of her re-engineering exercise which saw her stealing western technology and at times making it better. ”
So you denounce a people, in general, for not accepting the teachings laid down in your good book called the bible but yet buy gods made by “stolen technology” and in some cases ‘close to slavery’ labour.
I thought one of the basic injunctions found in your book is: “Thou shall not steal!”
Can I accuse you then of aiding and abetting in this theft and exploitation of human beings and also of buying and receiving stolen goods?
Please bring a cogent argument why this charge should not apply!
I will address your acceptance of the coming return of your Jesus as outlined in the Book of the Apocalypse in a separate thread.
@lemuel | November 27, 2011 at 10:28 AM |
“To Miller:
I have said clearly in the last piece; this earth shall be renewed and those who have chosen God shall live here. Check the last chapters of Revelation. Yes, I believe in a literal return of our Lord and saviour Jesus christ. I do not interpret Revelation as visitations from beings from outer space.”
Now that you have more “precisely” addressed my query about the return of your lord and saviour Jesus Christ should I assume his return is imminent given that the current events taking place across the globe are equivalent to the warning signs mentioned in the New Testament – Matthew chapter 24?
So if the future of mankind is solely determined by the imminent return of Jesus why then do you rely on secular human activities and institutions to shape and determine man’s view of the future and his development? Truly your abiding faith in Jesus’s imminent return to Earth ought to be the main focus and concern of humans if they are to go to heaven or inhabit a ‘refreshed’ earth. So explain to us why you put so much “faith in the UWI’s future capacity to save Barbadians from socio-economic decay and destruction?
Reproduced below is one of your contributions to the debate of financing the UWI.
lemuel | November 25, 2011 at 8:04 AM |
“Yes, we shall face or are facing tough economic times, but should we so dismantle a fundamental institution that when times improve it shall prove impossible to put together again.”
Now surely this is not a show of faith in your Jesus’ return to sort out all of mankind’s problems on earth including Barbados! Your argument should be one chiselled along the path of Christian enlightenment by mandating that the institution be turned into a Judeo-Christian propaganda organ trumpeting the warning to the people that they must seek salvation and accept your lord before it is too late instead of teaching lies about rational though and reason. To quote you: “John Stuart Mills, Nietzche, St. Augustine, relativism and cultural relativism constructs” (and all that baloney- my emphasis added)!
That multi-faith chapel that cost so much to build will be converted to a Christian fundamentalist performance centre to make American televangelist burn with envy.
But be prepared to see a fall off in numbers. Muslims are doing very well educationally in Barbados and might not want to attend a learning institution where the names of Allah and Mohammed are banned.
But as noted before you are extremely clever at pigeon-holing your schizophrenic intellectual eggs; ably at ease in separating your religious dogma addled ones from the more progressive, enlightened and materially practical fertile lot.
A piece of homework for you and your new sidekick Zoe: Do a bit of research (Zoe can even cut & paste) on the coming galactic alignment or cross. This is an astronomical event whose last occurrence was approx 13000 years and is believed to have given rise to the legend of the great flood as mentioned in your story book where Noah is the main character in the fable.
A bit of knowledge on this event might enlighten you and to more deeply appreciate the real meaning of the astral theological term you used, i.e. “ those who are chosen shall not live in Heaven; this earth shall be renewed and inhabited. The last chapters are specific about this.”
Comparing science and the Bible
Missing in this discussion is information that has been disallowed by the scientific method, which discards any information that cannot be verified or disproved by observation or experimentation.
That missing information is found in the Bible. The scientific approach generally leads to rejection of biblical facts and statements about other intelligent life, because science cannot prove those statements. This isn’t necessarily the fault of science; it simply is the way the scientific discipline was established and functions. Of course, we can rely on something science has proven. But, like most things, even science has its limitations.
When the Bible reveals something of a spiritual nature, such information is often beyond the level of science. Science is often incapable of proving or disproving what is stated. The Bible describes this kind of information as revealed knowledge, or knowledge we cannot discover through human effort alone.
An interesting example of this is found in Matthew 16. Here, Jesus asked His disciples what people were saying about Him. The answers varied. Then He asked: “‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven’” (Matthew:16:15-17[15]He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?[16]And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.[17]And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.).
Understanding Jesus Christ’s identity as the Son of God is not scientific; it is not in the flesh-and-blood realm, proven through a microscope or telescope. This kind of knowledge is beyond science. In His conversation with Peter, Jesus affirmed that only God reveals this kind of knowledge. This revealed knowledge is the missing component in man’s desire to understand his place in the universe. Without it, man will forever be left with a string of unanswered questions and endless possibilities.
Of course, not all who claim revealed knowledge actually have it. Occasionally we learn of cultlike small groups that claim to have secret knowledge of the unknown. When tragedy results, like the recent mass suicide of the Heaven’s Gate group near San Diego, many are inclined to dismiss all revealed knowledge.
The difference between these groups and the Bible is the SOURCE of their information. Even large, long-established religious assemblies have shown their inadequacies in interpreting and explaining the Bible and attempting to represent God’s revealed will. All groups have fallible human leaders, while the Bible contains the very words of God Himself. As 2 Timothy:3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: tells us, “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” Its authority is unassailable, whereas speculation of individuals remains just that-speculation.
The Bible has answers
So what can we learn from Scripture about extraterrestrial life and man’s place in the universe? The Bible reveals that there is extraterrestrial intelligent life, but NOT as many suppose. The Bible does not speak of aliens who live on other planets, but it does speak of a Spirit Being who “inhabits eternity” (Isaiah:57:15 “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.).
The Bible is silent about extraterrestrial life-forms as popularized in science fiction and the entertainment media, yet it is by no means silent about real extraterrestrial life in all its great abundance. The beings spoken of in the Bible are real. They have appeared and spoken directly to humans (Genesis:3:9-10[9] “And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?[10]And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.; 4:9; 16:9). The Bible records the existence of many millions of angelic beings (Revelation:5:11) who are “ministering spirits” to mankind in fulfillment of God’s purpose (Hebrews:1:13-14[13]But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?[14]Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?).
The first verse of the Bible introduces us to the ultimate Spirit Being: God. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis:1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.). It presents two pieces of revealed knowledge beyond the realm of science. The first is the existence of God. The second is found in the word created, a translation of the Hebrew word bara.
“This verb is of profound theological significance, since it has only God as its subject. Only God can ‘create’ in the sense implied by bara. The verb expresses creation out of nothing, an idea seen clearly in passages having to do with creation on a cosmic scale…” (Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, “Create”).
The concept of bringing the universe into existence from nothing is completely outside the parameters of scientific observation and experimentation. Science tells us a great deal about matter that already exists. It tells us that matter can change shapes and form. But science cannot account for the appearance of something that previously did not exist. It can only theorize about possible explanations for how everything we see around us came to exist from nothing.
We see this even in the various theories for the evolution of life into the myriad forms we see today-all start by assuming that matter already existed.
The Bible vs. evolution
In the face of this fundamental deficiency, some have tried to blend revealed knowledge with scientific theory in what is known as theistic evolution, or a belief that God made matter and then allowed evolution to shape life. In a monumental announcement the Roman Catholic Church recently agreed that life as we know it may have come about in this way.
Theistic evolution, however, is not the simple bridge between the spiritual and the physical worlds many would like. There are simply too many conflicts. The Bible, for example, reveals that God formed Adam from the dust of the ground (Genesis:2:7And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.), not by evolutionary happenstance.
Scientific limitations aside, the apostle Paul said, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans:1:20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:, New International Version).
Science acknowledges that we live on planet Earth, but in rejecting revealed knowledge it can provide no absolutes about how our world came to be. In contrast, Paul said this beautiful planet, with its many sophisticated, interwoven relationships among its intricate array of life-forms, is testimony to God’s existence.
The Bible further says, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm:14:1The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.; 53:1). Why would anyone reject revealed knowledge simply because it did not meet humanly imposed limitations? Paul, speaking of man’s moral decline, explains: “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools” (Romans:1:21-22[21]Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.[22]Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,, NIV).
Mankind desperately needs the revealed knowledge that only the Bible can provide. Through the pages of this divinely inspired book, we learn not only about extraterrestrial intelligent life (God and the angelic realm), but how this planet and we humans came to be-and what God has in store as our ultimate destiny.
A scientist’s last words
The late Carl Sagan was respected worldwide as one of this century’s greatest scientists. His many credentials included his tenure as the David Duncan professor of astronomy and space sciences and director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies at Cornell University. He also wrote 30 books and served as an adviser to NASA on the Mariner, Voyager and Viking unmanned space missions.
Before dying from a rare disease in December 1996, he penned these words: “Six times now have I looked Death in the face. And six times Death has averted his gaze and let me pass. Eventually, of course, Death will claim me-as he does each of us. It’s only a question of when. And how.
“I’ve learned much from our confrontations-especially about the beauty and sweet poignancy of life, about the preciousness of friends and family, and about the transforming power of love…
“I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But as much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking” (Billions & Billions, Random House, New York, 1997, p. 214).
Although he excelled in scientific endeavors as few others have ever done, Sagan’s otherwise expansive outlook was in many ways shackled by the scientific method to which he had devoted his life. This remarkable man had not come to trust in the revealed knowledge of the Bible-promises that human beings can eventually “be like” their Creator (1 John:3:1-2[1]Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.[2]Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.) and take on His “divine nature” (2 Peter:1:2-4[2]Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,[3]According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:[4]Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.).
From the outset the Bible describes man as created “in the image of God” (Genesis:1:27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.). The profound ramifications of this concept are discussed and described throughout the rest of the Bible.
Whether human beings understand these things or not, the Bible promises that “the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken” (Isaiah:40:5And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it., NIV). In due time this will come to pass. The Good News is dedicated to sharing this revealed knowledge found within the Bible.
The Bible is silent about extraterrestrial life, as it is popularly conceived, in other parts of the universe. At the same time, most of the world is markedly ignorant of the extraterrestrial life to which the pages of the Bible so abundantly testify. Mankind is also largely ignorant of the incredible future potential God has in store for human beings “out there.”
There is indeed life out there-and your destiny is to become part of it if you so choose!
Zoe | November 23, 2011 at 8:26 PM | Nnaki/Raelian, I challenge you, to cogently, coherently, objectively, scientifically, and, if possible, logically and honestly, to refute, what I posted earlier re the historic veracity of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ; and likewise, the following; Remember, Nnaki/Raelian, NO imagenary folly and unsupported, Star Trek nonsense. Take your time, don’t choke now; this ain’t no JACKASS, in your Pythonated gut!
Adam, Eve and Noah vs Modern Genetics
by Dr Robert W. Carter, and my other posts, from bright intelligent men/women, REFUTE them, with sound counter evidence, NOT IGNORANCE, folly and Bildge Pumping HOGWASH!
Come now Nnaki/Raelian, stop crawling around like an ANT caught in the Epidermis of an Elephants FOOT, and respond and refute my re-posted challenge to you as per above!!
Signs In The Heavens
Christians are naturally interested in heaven. Many rightfully look forward to going there eventually, according to God’s plan and schedule. But what exactly, or where exactly, is heaven?
The term we know as heaven is the English translation of the original two words in the Bible. The Hebrew word in the Old Testament is pronounced roughly shaw-may, and the Greek word in the New Testament is pronounced roughly, oo-ran-aws. Both mean the same thing – either the sky, or the outer space above it, depending on the context of what the writer was talking about. Sky or space are quite accurate modern substitutes for heaven.
If you happen to be someone interested in astronomy, the years ahead are going to provide you with many interesting observing sessions. No one, in fact, will miss it. There is a lot about to happen up there.
Some coming attractions:
•”…the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars [meteorites] will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky…” (Matthew 24:29-30)
•”After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight”…”why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, Who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:9,11). See The Return Of Jesus Christ
•”something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea” (Revelation 8:8). See A Huge Mountain, All Ablaze and The Apostle John.
•”a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky” (Revelation 8:10)
•”a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night” (Revelation 8:12). See The Seven Seals
•”And he performed great and powerful signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men” (Revelation 13:13). See The Great False Prophet
•”I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know – God knows. And I know that this man – whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows – was caught up to Paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that a man is not permitted to tell” (2 Corinthians 12:2-4). See On The Road To Damascus
•”But in keeping with His promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13).
Because Satan knows the incredible significance of the planetary and other heavenly aspects and SIGNS of the Return of Jesus Christ, he, the father of ALL LIES and DECEPTION, continues to CONFUSE the likes of Nnaki/Raelian, et al of his ilk, with his FALSE Demonic interpretations, of such Astronomical activities, keeping them in his Satanic DARKNESS!
NO LIE is of the Truth!
@ Zoe | November 27, 2011 at 10:59 PM |
Comparing science and the Bible
“Then He asked: “‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven’” (Matthew:16:15-17[15]He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?[16]And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.[17]And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.)”
This is clear biblical evidence that JESUS IS NOT GOD. Irrefutable evidence straight from the “Master’s” mouth confirming scientifically that Jesus is not your God but a creation of your God. Can a single god be in heaven looking after the billions of stars and other planets while he becomes a shape shifter or a “Q” on Earth being a fisher of Piscean humans? The coming age of Aquarius would remove the dominance of the fish motif with coming end of papal control.
Prove what is written that is supposed to be coming from the mouth of the Son of Man on Earth with reference to His Father (SUN) in the Sky to be -“bilge pumping, stupid, void and non-substantive nonsense that any idiot can write in short, futile sentences”- to quote you.
Let us hear your spin on this Yorker!
The Deity of Christ: That He IS* Co-Eternal, Co-Equal, Co-Omnipotent, Co-Omniscient, Co-Omnipresent, Co-Immutible with Almighty God, distinguishable, yet, indivisible in nature, and attributes; He is God of very God, as revealed in His Word, the Scriptures, the Bible.
During the filming of the Exorcist the famous Swedish actor Max Von Sydow was having trouble with his lines. The director William Friedkin recalls: “I threw the script on the bed, grabbed him, and said ‘What is wrong?’ He said ‘I don’t believe in God, and I don’t believe in this.’ I said ‘But Max, you played Christ in The Greatest Story Ever Told.’ He said, ‘Yes. But I played him as a man’.” (Celebrities in Hell, p. 269). It’s the question of the ages. Is Christ merely a man or is He God manifest in the flesh? Since the word ‘deity’ derives from the Latin ‘deus’ (a god), to assert the deity of Christ is to claim that the man who walked the dusty roads of ancient Galilee was none other than God incarnate.
There are eight lines of evidence worthy of consideration in making the case for the deity of Christ:
1. Christ possesses the attributes of deity.
2. Christ possesses divine offices
3. Christ possesses divine relationships
4. Christ acts with all the prerogatives of deity
5. Christ possesses the names and titles of God
6. Christ claimed to be God
7. Christ accepted divine worship
8. Direct proof texts
1. Christ possesses the attributes of deity.
There are certain characteristics that are true of God alone. Whoever has these characteristics or attributes must of necessity be God. The following divine characteristics are attributed to Christ in the Bible:
a. He is Eternal (Isa 9:6, Micah 5:2, John 1:1, John 8:58)
b. He is Immutable or unchanging (Mal 3:6, Heb 13:8, Heb 1:10-12)
c. He is Omnipotent or all-powerful (Rev 1:8, Phil 3:21, 1 Cor 15:25, Matt 28:18)
d. He is Omniscient or all-knowing (Matt 12:25, chs. 24-25, Luke 6:8, 9:17, John 1:47-51, 2:24-5, 4:17-18, 6:61, 64, 13:1, 11, 16:30, 18:4, 21:17, Col 2:3)
e. He is Omnipresent (Matt 18:20, Matt 28:20, John 1:48, Mark 6:48)
f. He is Impeccable or not liable to sin (1 John 1:5, 2 Cor 5:21, 1 Pet 2:22, 1 John 3:5)
2. Christ possesses divine offices.
There are certain offices that are unique to God. In sharing these offices Christ is given equality with God by the scriptures of truth:
a. He is the Creator of the universe (Gen 1:1, John 1:3, Col 1:16, Heb 1:10)
b. He is the Sustainer of the universe (Heb 1:3, Col 1:17).
3. Christ possesses divine relationships.
The relationships that Christ has, as revealed in scripture, put His deity beyond doubt:
a. He is one in nature and essence with the Father (John 10:30)
b. He is the Son of God in a unique way (John 5:18, 20:17)
John Ch. 5 is a masterful setting forth of the deity of the Messiah. The following lines of truth are easily discernable in the passage and set forth the unity and equality of the Father and the Son:
Their unity and equality in person based on relationship (5:16-18)
Their unity and equality in action based on revelation (5:19-20)
Their unity and equality in life-giving power (5:21)
Their unity and equality in honour based on judgment (5:22-25)
Their unity and equality in possession of life (5:26-29)
John repeatedly outlines the equality of the Father and Son in stark terms:
To honour the Son = to honour the Father (John 5:23)
To know the Son = to know the Father (John 8:19)
To believe the Son = to believe the Father (John 12:44)
To see the Son = to see the Father (John 12:45, 14:9)
To receive the Son = to receive the Father (John 13:20)
To hate the Son = to hate the Father (John 15:23)
To deny the Son = to deny the Father (1 John 2:23)
4. Christ acts with all the prerogatives of deity
A prerogative of God is a right or privilege exclusive to Himself. The following divine prerogatives are attributed to Christ in scripture, thus providing further proof of His deity:
a. He forgives sin (Psa 85:2, Matt 9:2-8, Luke 7:47). Christ’s action in forgiving sinners was not on the same level as when a person who has been wronged says “I forgive you” to his adversary. Since all sin is against God, for Christ to step into the scene and claim to forgive the wrongs someone has committed against God is to claim equality with God.
b. He raises Himself from the dead (John 2:19, 10:18).
c. He has been appointed the judge of all (John 5:22, Acts 17:31)
d. He speaks with divine authority (Matt 7:28-29). Christ did not quote other Rabbis as His authority nor does the Bible ever state, “The word of the Lord came to Jesus.” Rather what one sees is the Old Testament “Thus saith the Lord ” replaced with the New Testament words of Jesus “But I say unto you.” (Matt 5:22, 5:28, 5:32, 5:34, 5:44, 11:22, 11:24, 12:6, 12:36, 17:12, 26:29)
5. Christ possesses the names and titles of God
The remarkable number of parallel names between the Father and the Son is a fascinating study in itself. Here is a partial list:
God/Jehovah Title Christ
Exod 3:14 The ‘I am’ John 8:58
Psa 10:16 King Matt 21:5, Rev 17:14, Psa 2:6
Isa 44:6 First & Last Rev 1:17
Deut 10:17 Lord of Lords Rev 17:14
Isa 63:16 Redeemer Rev 5:9
Psa 78:35 Rock 1 Cor 10:4
Psa 106:21 Saviour Luke 2:11
Psa 23:1 Shepherd John 10:14
Deut 6:4 God Heb 1:8
Psa 27:1 Light John 1:4, 8:12
Seeking to circumvent this very powerful Biblical testimony to the deity of Christ some have argued that the name issue is no different than two people happening to have the same name, like two John Smiths. This argument is undone by that fact that in both Old and New Testaments the Bible is adamant that there is only one God (Deut 6:4, 1 Tim 2:5), yet this same Bible calls Jehovah God and Jesus God.
6. Christ claims to be God
In the Gospel of John seven people attest to the deity of Christ.
1. John Baptist (1:34)
2. Nathanael (1:49)
3. Peter (6:69)
4. Martha (11:27)
5. Thomas (20:28)
6. Apostle John (20:31)
7. The Lord (5:17, 5:23, 8:58, 10:30, 10:36, 14:9)
The seventh in the list here is the Lord Jesus Himself, which contradicts the claim of those who say that Jesus never said He was God. C.S. Lewis comments: “One attempt consists in saying that the man [Jesus] did not really say these things, but that His followers exaggerated the story, and so the legend grew up that He had said them. This is difficult because His followers were all Jews. That is, they belonged to that nation which was of all others most convinced that there was only one God – that there could not possibly be another. It is very odd that this horrible invention about a religious leader should grow up among the one people in the whole world least likely to make such a mistake. On the contrary, we get the impression that none of His immediate followers…embraced the doctrine at all easily.”
7. Christ accepted divine worship
Who receives and is worthy of worship is a ‘big issue’ in the Bible. The following people refused to be worshipped:
1. Paul (Acts 14:8-15)
2. Peter (Acts 10:25-26)
3. An angel (Rev 22:8-9)
Jesus Himself clearly stated that only God must be worshipped (Matt 4:10, Luke 4:8) yet repeatedly allowed men to worship him (Matt 14:33, 28:9, John 20:28-29). This is powerful evidence that Jesus claimed to be God. In another of those amazing parallels, Jehovah in the Old Testament says that every knee shall bow to Him (Isa 45:23). The New Testament then states that every knee shall bow at the name of Jesus (Phil 2:10). In Heb 1:6 the Father says of Christ “Let all the angels of God worship Him.”
8. Direct proof texts
The Bible categorically spells out the fact that Jesus is God again and
again in the most uncertain terms in the following eleven proof texts:
1. John 1:1
“The Word was God.”
The New World Translation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses has attempted to
obscure this plain statement by translating it “The Word was a god”. They claim the authority to do this on the basis of the fact that the definite article ‘the’ does not appear before the word for ‘God’ in the text. Professor Donald MacLeod comments:
“By omitting the definite article before God (theos) John is not (as Jehovah’s Witnesses and others claim) reducing his statement to the impossible level of ‘the word was a god’. He is avoiding a form of language which would have meant either ‘the word was the Father’ or ‘the Word was the godhead’. Both of these propositions would have been erroneous. John’s problem was that he had to assert the deity of the Son without prejudice to the deity of the Father and he does this, negatively by omitting the article and, positively, by going on to state, ‘The Word was with God’. The Word was not the Father. Not was the Word the only person of the godhead. The Word was God with God ” (Donald MacLeod, From Glory to Golgotha p. 140-141).
The New World Translation gives the game away further down John chapter 1 in verse 18. Here again the definite article is missing in the Greek original but nevertheless the NWT still says “No one has seen God at any time.” Clearly their tampering with verse 1 was not due to any consideration of Greek scholarship but rather to the bias of a deity denying cult.
2. Isaiah 7:14, Matt 1:23
“Emmanuel…God with us.”
At His birth the lovely name Emmanuel was pronounced over Christ. It means ‘God with us’. Literally in Greek Matt 1:23 says “The God with us.” The definite article is present in reference to Christ as God, which is the
final nail in the coffin of the Watchtower’s faulty argument concerning the missing definite article in John 1:1. The same is true of the famous statement of Thomas in John 20:28, which translated literally reads, “The Lord of me and the God of me”, the definite article being present twice in his confession.
3. Isaiah 9:6
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Note the unambiguous reference to Christ as ‘the mighty God’.4. John 5:18
“Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had
broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.”
See the comments above under ‘His Sonship’.
5. John 8:58
“Before Abraham was: I am.”
This is more than a claim to pre-existence, where the imperfect tense would have sufficed. This is a claim to eternal existence and self-existence. The use by the Lord Jesus of the divine title the ‘I am’ (Exod 3:14) is a high
claim to deity.
6. John 10:30
“I and My Father are one.”
The word ‘one’ here is in the neuter gender. It refers to a unity of essence
between the Father and the Son that is spiritual, intimate and unbreakable. Attempts to interpret it to mean ‘one in purpose’ are misguided, as an examination of the violent reaction of the Jews in passage shows. John 17:11 and 21 states that there’s a similarity between Christians’ union with each other in the body of Christ and the unity of the godhead, but not a total sameness. The sameness of nature and essence of the Father and the Son is expressed in the use of the following words in the Bible:
Reference Greek Translation Meaning
a. John 1 logos The Word of God Christ the personal manifestation of deity
b. Colossians 1 eikon The Image of God Christ in essence the perfect expression/representation of God
c. Colossians 2 theotes Godhead Christ possesses the essence and nature of God
d. Philippians 1 morphe The form of God Christ bears the character of God exactly
e. Hebrews 1 charakter The express image Christ the impress of God’s substance and essence bearing exact similarity in every way.
7. John 14:9
“He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?”
In that Christ is the Word of God, the image of God, exists in the form of God and is the express image of His person, He can rightfully say “To see Me is to see the Father.”
8. Colossians 2:9
“For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”
Late in the first century AD false teachers called Docetists taught that while Jesus appeared human, He was really only divine (Docetism is from the Greek verb dokeo, to seem). They taught that the ‘divine Christ’ descended on Jesus at His baptism and left before the cross. This later developed into full-blown Gnosticism which flourished in Egypt in the second and third centuries. This is the background of the so-called ‘Gospels’ of Thomas, Mary, Philip and Judas, documents written by those who denied that Jesus was God manifest in the flesh. These Gnostics spoke much about ‘fullness’ and held a belief in a plethora of emanations or divine beings on an ascending scale. Where did Christ fit into this scheme? He was displaced from His true status as the Word who became flesh. Paul points out that all the fullness that the Gnostics believed existed across all the many divine emanations actually dwelt bodily in Christ! Furthermore the New Testament teaches that “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” dwell in Christ (Col 2:3). He is also spoken of as being “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
So, the totality of the power and attributes of deity – the fullness – dwells in Christ bodily. Two words are of particular interest in Colossians 2:9. Firstly, the word ‘dwelleth’ (Gk. Katoikeo) means to reside permanently. This undoes the error of the Docetists. Secondly, the word Godhead (Gk. Theotes) refers to the essence and nature of God. It is not to be confused with the similar word translated Godhead (in the KJV) in Romans 1:20 (Gk. Theiotes). This refers to the divine perfections and attributes of Divinity.
9. 1 Timothy 3:16
“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was
manifest in the flesh.”
The confession of the city of Ephesus where Timothy lived was, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians” (Acts 19:28). Paul here states that the Church’s confession is that “Wonderful is revelation of the godly Christian life…God was manifest in the flesh.” Though there is some controversy as to the retention or omission of the word ‘God’ in this passage, the weight of evidence is clearly on the side of the manuscripts that read ‘theos’.
10. Hebrews 1:8
“But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.”
This mighty testimony to the deity of Christ reveals the Father calling the Son ‘God’.11. 2 Peter 1:1 (NKJV)
“The righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
The Greek grammar used in this verse demands that one person be meant, not two. It clearly states that Jesus is God.
Problem verses
In light of the eleven clear verses above, one might legitimately wonder how the Unitarians and the cults manage to deny the Deity of Christ. They lean on a group of texts which they either take out of context, or misinterpret, or both. Here are the eight most frequently used texts, together with a Biblical rebuttal to their misuse.
1. Mark 13:32
“But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”
Here it is argued that Christ was not omniscient and therefore must have surrendered his Deity, at least to some degree, when coming to earth. The following verses refute that idea: Matt 12:25, chs. 24-25, Luke 6:8, 9:17, John 1:47-51, 2:24-5, 4:17-18, 6:61, 64, 13:1, 11, 16:30, 18:4, 21:17, Col 2:3. So what does this verse mean? The Lord spoke of certain things that He had left in His Father’s hands such as who would sit on His left and right hand in the kingdom (Matt 20:23), and the subjugation of all His enemies (Mark 12:36). So, in coming to earth the Bible reveals that Christ temporarily and voluntarily left certain things in His Father’s hands.
Now, with reference to Christ’s knowledge, it is important to remember that omniscience means not simply knowing everything, but the ability to know everything. We know that Deity can choose not to remember (Heb 10:17). Jesus is not saying in Mark 13:32 that he cannot know the day and the hour of His return but that He chose not to know it while He was on earth. He had ability to know, but He temporarily and voluntarily chose to leave that date in the Father’s hands.
2. Mark 10:18
“Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”
The claim here is that Jesus is saying, “I am not God so you should not be calling me good.” Again, this is to take an isolated text and attempt to overthrow the testimony of the rest of scripture. One of the basic rules of hermeneutics is that difficult verses must always be explained by simple ones, never the other way round. The explanation is quite simple. The Lord was taking up the young man on the ground on which He was approached Him. The man did not accept the Deity of Christ. He came to Jesus as one good man to another. That being the case, the Lord was simply saying, “You do not recognise Me as God, so why do you call Me good. No one is truly good but God – and you don’t think I am God.”
3. Matt 12:31
“Whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”
This text seems to imply that it is more serious to blaspheme the Holy Spirit than Jesus. That implied inequality would therefore undermine the Deity of Christ. What’s the answer? In looking at Jesus of Nazareth and hearing His teachings, it would have been relatively easy for someone to completely miss the fact that this Man was God incarnate and thus speak against Him in true ignorance. Though inexcusable, this ignorant speaking against Christ was forgivable. However, a look at the context of Matthew 12 reveals that the Lord’s statement follows on the heels of a display of multiple notable manifestations of the miraculous healing power of the Spirit of God through the ministry of Christ. Faced with this undeniable evidence of God at work in their midst, the Jewish leaders attributed the miracles to the power of Satan. This was not a charge made from ignorance. It was a deliberate rejection of the power of the Spirit of God in the ministry of Christ. Such a rejection represented the committal of the unpardonable sin. Understood properly, this verse has nothing to say about the Deity of Christ.
4. John 14:28
“My Father is greater than I.”
Perhaps this is the favourite Deity-denying verse of the Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witnesses. However, the Lord Jesus is but expressing the fact that in coming to earth and taking on manhood He accepted a position and status in relation to the Father that made the Father ‘greater’. The greatness refers not to Christ’s essential nature, but to His position administratively as a result of voluntarily becoming man. The Prime Minister or President of a country is ‘greater’ that an ordinary citizen, but not ‘better’. Thus Christ declares His Father to be greater than Himself, but not better.
5. 1 Cor 11:3.
“The head of Christ is God.”
This statement does not imply inequality between Christ and God, any more than the same verse implies inequality between men and women. The verse is stating that in becoming man, the Christ submitted Himself to the Father administratively, but not essentially. His was a voluntary subordination in His role as man, Messiah and Mediator, while all the time He remained (and remains) equal with the Father.
6. Luke 22:42
“Not My will but Thine be done.”
This verse seems imply that the Son’s will was different to the Father’s, leading some to use it to deny Christ’s Deity. It will help to understand this statement of Christ if we remember that there was no independence in the life of the Lord Jesus. In Jesus Christ, Satan knew he faced a man who walked in total submission to and dependence on His Father. At the core of Satan’s attempt to make Jesus turn stones into bread was not so much a challenge aimed at Christ’s ability, but rather a challenge aimed at making Christ act independently of His Father. In effect Satan was saying, “If You are the Son of God, what are you doing depending each day on the word of Your Father? Take the initiative and do Your own thing.” However, the Lord stated in John 5:19-20 that He never acted as a rival of the Father (as the Jews supposed). He repeatedly emphasised the fact that He had no separate interest to His Father’s but rather subjected His will to that of the Father from the moment of His incarnation. Note the three verses below:
“Wherefore when He cometh into the world, He saith…I come…to do Thy will, O God.” Heb 10:5-7
“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” John 5:30
“For I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me.” John 6:38In other words, what the Lord said in Gethsemane was nothing new. It was a very intense and real reiteration of the guiding principle of His life on earth which highlighted of His servanthood in bowing to the sin-bearing horror of the cross. It was not a conflict of wills. When Christ asked, “If it be possible let this cup pass from Me”, He knew only too well as the Lamb foreordained before the foundation of the world that the cross was unavoidable. Note what He says to Peter a few minutes after the agony in the garden, “Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” (John 18:11). Remember also that in the upper room Christ had said, “Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.” John 12:277.
1 Cor 15:28
“And when all things shall be subdued unto Him [Christ], then shall the Son also himself be subject unto Him [the Father] that put all things under Him [the Christ], that God may be all in all.”
Does the fact that this verse speaks of Christ being subject to the Father imply He is less than God? No. The context is the end of the millennial reign of Christ. As that 1,000 year period terminates, the mediatorial character of the kingdom will come to an end. During world history, as long as there has been any element of opposition to the supremacy of God, anything requiring subjugation, Christ has exercised governmental authority on the Father’s behalf. However, as the eternal state dawns it will no longer be a case of the Son carrying out the subjugation of all things to the Father – all will be merged in the infinite and absolute supremacy of God, the triune God, who will be everything in everything. “That is to say, not the Son carrying out a special work for the Father as previously, but God – Father Son and Holy Spirit – acting as such in all things everywhere.” W.E. Vine.
8. Phil 2:6-8
“Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.”
It has been taught from this verse that Christ gave up His deity either partially or wholly when He became man. At least a couple of Bible translations convey this faulty idea:
Good News Bible: “He always has the nature of God, but he did not think that by force he should try to remain equal with God. Instead of this, of his own free will, he gave up all he had, and took the nature of a servant.”
Contemporary English Version: “Christ was truly God, but he did not try to remain equal with God. Instead he gave up everything and became a slave, when he became like one of us.”
When this verse is understood properly, word by word, it will be clearly seen that in the incarnation Christ surrendered nothing of His true and complete deity.
First we meet the word “being” (Greek, huparcho). The way this word is used in the New Testament expresses previous existence and continuing existence. For example:
David being a prophet (Acts 2:30)
Man being the image and glory of God (1 Cor 11:7)
If thou being a Jew (Gal 2:14)
Joseph of Arimathaea being a councillor (Luke 23:50)
So, when Paul speaks of Christ “being in the form of God”, he means to say that Christ always existed in the form of God and continued to exist in that form when He became man. At the incarnation Christ became something He had never been before (man), while never ceasing to be what He always was (God).
Then Paul uses the expression “in the form [Gk. morphe] of God”. In English the word ‘form’ has multiple meanings, from a piece of paper, to a bench, to a mood. One particular English use reflects the Greek word quite well. The character and nature of a person can be implied in the word ‘form’ as in the sentence, “The Doctor came early, true to form.” This is its sense in Phil 2:6. Christ has always and continues ever to exist in the form, the essence and nature of deity.
The verse continues, “Thought is not robbery [Gk. harpagmos] to be equal with God.” Robbery here is the noun of the Greek word harpagmos, to seize or take away. There is no thought whatsoever in this verse of the Christ relinquishing any part of His essential eternal deity. Some translate this verse ‘thought it not something to be grasped’ (taking harpagmos in a passive sense). However, Greek scholar Gordon Fee suggests that harpagmos (robbery) is not to be thought of as a thing at all. He points out that nouns ending in -mos do not ordinarily refer to a concrete expression of the verbal idea in the noun, but to the verbal idea itself. Rather, says Fee, harpagmos is an abstract noun that emphasizes the concept of ‘grasping’ or ‘seizing’ (and should be taken here in an active sense). That being the case there are at least three possibilities as to the meaning of Phil 2:5:
1. Christ did not view His equality with God as an act of seizing or robbery because He already was and always had been equal with God.
2. Christ did not view His equality with God selfishly in a grasping way, but poured Himself out for us.
3. Christ did not seize upon the fact that He was equal with God (to avoid suffering and death). Harpagmos (robbery) has a cognate, harpage, which means ‘booty’ or ‘prey’. In this passage the Greek idiom can be taken in the sense of ‘a matter to be seized upon’ i.e. ‘taken advantage of’.
To paraphrase Philippians 2 with the Greek background of option 3. in mind: “Who though He was in the form of God He did not think this divine quality should be used for His own advantage, as giving Him a reason to avoid suffering and death.” Fee translates it in the New International Commentary on the New Testament, “Being in the form of God as He was, Christ did not consider it a matter of seizing upon to His own advantage, this being equal with God we have just noted, but He emptied Himself.” This is in keeping with the context of the whole epistle of Philippians where Paul repeatedly emphasises the need in Christian living to waive one’s personal rights and think of others (2:4 & 21), as exemplified in the lives of Timothy and Epaphroditus (2:19-30).
This view of ‘robbery’ helps in considering the next expression – “made Himself of no reputation” or ’emptied Himself’. Just as harpagmos (robbery) needs no object for Christ to seize so Christ did not empty himself of anything – He simply emptied Himself or poured Himself out by taking on the form of a slave. It is important to note the way the word empty (keno) is used in the New Testament in its four other occurrences:
“For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect.” Rom 4:14
“For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.” 1 Cor 1:17
“It were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void.” 1 Cor 9:15
“Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf.” 2 Cor 9:3
As can be readily seen from these verses the word kenoo ‘to make empty’ is used figuratively in the sense of ‘to make void, neutralize or abase’. It is therefore a fitting word as used by Paul to describe the self-abasement of Christ.
This densely packed passage continues with the words “Took the form of a servant.” When Paul uses the word ‘morphe’ (form) again, he does not mean to imply that Christ exchanged the ‘form of God’ for the ‘form of a servant’ at the incarnation. Rather He chose to express the form of God in the form of servant.
“Made in likeness of men”. The word ‘likeness’ (Gk. homoioma) means resemblance. Christ in every way, sin apart, resembled man, because He was man, yet nothing of this likeness to man in any way compromised His deity.
Finally Paul says Christ was “found in fashion as a man”. The Greek word for fashion here is ‘schema’. It refers to what is visible and perceptible (See 1 Cor 7:31, ‘the fashion of the world’). Thus while for form (morphe) remains the same, the ‘schema’ changed at the incarnation. Christ will eternally exist in fashion as a man.
So, Nnaki/Raelian, Ya not even playing marble cricket with your FEBLE, child-like ‘yorkers’ you are playing like the ANT* you ARE* still trapped IN* the Elephants Epidermis of its FOOT!
@ Zoe | November 28, 2011 at 2:19 PM |
So you are calling your friend Jesus a pathological schizophrenic liar who even on his dying cross was so mentally deranged with a split personality as to shout:
“… Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which is translated, ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34; Matthew 27:46).
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice. Luke 23:34
This is not a yorker this time but a back drive passed you for 4 runs!
Why did Jesus cry out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?”
In Matthew 27:45-46, it says, “Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. 46And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” If Jesus is God, why would He say this?
First of all, Jesus quoted Psalm 22:1 which begins with, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”. Jesus quoted this Psalm in order to draw attention to it and the fact that He was fulfilling it there on the cross. Consider verses 11-18 in Psalm 22:
Be not far from me, for trouble is near; For there is none to help.12 Many bulls have surrounded me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. 13 They open wide their mouth at me, As a ravening and a roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And Thou dost lay me in the dust of death. 16 For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. 17 I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; 18 They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.
The term ‘dogs’ was used by the Jews to refer to Gentiles (cf. Matt. 15:21-28). His heart has melted within Him (v. 14). During the crucifixion process, the blood loss causes the heart to beat harder and harder and become extremely fatigued. Dehydration occurs (v. 15). Verses 16b-18 speak of piercing His hands and feet and dividing his clothing by casting lots. This is exactly what happen as described in Matt. 27:35.
Psalm 22 was written about 600 years before Christ was born. At that time, crucifixion had not yet been invented. Actually, the Phoenicians developed it and Rome borrowed the agonizing means of execution from them. So, when Rome ruled over Israel, it became the Roman means of capital punishment imposed upon the Jews whose biblical means of execution was stoning. Nevertheless, Jesus is pointing to the scriptures to substantiate His messianic mission.
A further comment
2 Cor. 5:21 says, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” It is possible that at some moment on the cross, when Jesus became sin on our behalf, that God the Father, in a sense, turned His back upon the Son. It says in Hab. 1:13 that God is too pure to look upon evil. Therefore, it is possible that when Jesus bore our sins in His body on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24), that the Father, spiritually, turned away. At that time, the Son may have cried out.
One thing is for sure. We have no capacity to appreciate the utterly horrific experience of having the sins of the world put upon the Lord Jesus as He hung, in excruciating pain, from that cross. The physical pain was immense. The spiritual one must have been even greater.
That shows us clearly how much God LOVES US!
Jesus Christ was/IS, fully God, and SINLESS man, humanity, its called the hypostatic union of God/Man. He spoke as God, and He also spoke in His humanity, as fully human being, while many mysteries are not revealed to us this Cry of Jesus from the Cross, was probably from His humanity, as He bore the SINS of ALL mankind.
Nnaki/Raelian, You would NEVER understand, such is the state of ‘spiritual’ DARKNESS in which your ANT* like mind dwells, lost in the abyss of Raelian folly!
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