Ever since the first century Apostles died, the church of Jesus Christ has been under constant attack with many false doctrine and half truth about what the true Gospel is all about. Not only that, even the true identity of the person of Christ has been masked to project Him as someone He is not!
For those who have been following my blog posts will know, the true Gospel is about the kingdom of God and Christ the Savior is the means to inherit the kingdom of God - the end destiny for mankind. Jesus Christ was sent by God the Father not only to save mankind from condemnation of death - the death penalty due to sin - but also to proclaim the true Gospel of the kingdom which God the Father sent Him to proclaim. The kingdom of God has yet to come and that is why Christ told all His true disciples to pray to God the Father, 'Thy kingdom come' - Matthew6:10. Many were deceived thinking that the kingdom of God is the church of this age. If that is true, then why would Christ told His disciples that it is not for them to know the time and season why asked when the kingdom of God would be restored - barely fifty days hence to Pentecost when the church would be founded just before His ascension to heaven! (Acts 1:6-8). It simply just doesn't make sense.
Besides, Christ said in Matthew 8:11 that 'many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven (God)'. If the kingdom of heaven (God) is the church of the here and now as many proclaim, then where on earth are the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? In the closing words of the parable of the sower, the Lord Jesus Christ also told His disciples recorded in Matthew 13:43 that 'the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father'. If the kingdom of God is the church of the here and now, who among the saints have shine forth so brightly? Have they done so, the world would not have face so much trouble and conflicts! No, my friends, the kingdom of God is NOT yet here but will be installed when Christ returns to earth to reign with His saints (Daniel 7:13,14,18,21,22,27; Rev 11:15) for a thousand years to restore all that had been lost to the great deceiver!
Over one billion folks the world over who proclaim to be followers of Christ worship on a Sunday. But the Bible states categorically that the Sabbath is on the seventh day of the week which falls on Saturday. The power that be of the Roman Empire then had changed the time of worship to that of Sunday which is the first day of the week. The fourth commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy (Exodus 20:8) has been most ignored as the world's system maintain Sunday to be the public holiday. But Sunday was originally kept by pagan worshippers of the sun god! This is one of many idolatrious practices that have infiltrated the church.
Then there are Christmas and Easter holidays which have nothing to do with Christ as the Savior was not born on December 25th and was not resurrected on Sunday, but on a Saturday! The easter egg is a symbol of fertility used in the worship of an ancient fertility goddess Ishtar, aka Ashtoreth as was known in Israel during biblical times. It was idolatry condemned as an abomination to the Lord! The original word 'Pascha' is the Greek equivalent for Passover and not Easter. The word Easter in Acts 12:4 in the KJV has been mistranslated. Millions if not billions of people celebrate Christmas and Easter annually without a proper understanding of the significance. The irony is that such festivals are not even mentioned in Scriptures let alone commanded to observe, but churches ignore the celebration of holy days like the Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles which were observed by Christ and the early Apostles.
As disciples of Christ, we are commanded to worship God as instructed in Scriptures (Deut 12: 32) and not in any manner we like for man's ways are not His ways (Isaiah 55:8). No wonder that man-made religious systems have so blinded man that they cannot see Christ's true Gospel of the kingdom of God which He was sent by God the Father to proclaim as the Good News - the hope for all mankind, especially the poor and oppressed - when all wrongs and injustices will be put right. That will be the time when this upside down world will be put rightside up - the time of restitution of all things during the millennial reign of Christ - perhaps even the earth will be tilted straight up with extreme climate and freak weather patterns resigned to history.
Some may say that celebrating Christmas and Easter are a remembrance of Christ and honoring Him. But there is no command in Scriptures to celebrate Christmas and Christ was not born in December - probably in September or October. Together with Santa Claus, these celebrations compromise with paganistic worship practices.Though they are meant to be fun and good for the merchants and the economy, they have nothing to do with Christ and God's plan for mankind. By adopting the method of pagan idolatry and tagging them as part of Christian worship is a direct violation of the First Commandment - 'You shall have no other gods before me' (Exodus 20:3). If they have to be celebrated, they should not be roped in as part of church worship.
Throughout the centuries, man has stolen Christ true identity and given Him a complete makeover - without His approval. He was often portrayed as the long-haired guy with a halo on His head. But in the Hellenistic Greek culture of His days, man had short cropped hair as seen on statues, busts and carvings of that period. Though Christ was a Nazarite, He was not under a Nazarite vow which would forbid drinking wine or touching a dead body - both of which he partook while on earth. His short hair enabled Him to escape from the religious leaders with ease by merging with the crowd of men who have short crops!
To be sure of one's salvation as a born again immortal spirit being (sons of God) in God's divine family, one has to understand these truths, believe and obey them. Only by understanding the truth and practising them will set them free. All those who are not called and predestined to be sons of God will have to wait for the second resurrection to take place towards the end of the millennial age, judge by Christ and be taught the truth by the resurrected saints who form the royal priesthood. When truly repented and forgiven by the blood of Christ, they will be born again as immortal spirit beings (children of God) in the kingdom of God.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
THE NEW COVENANT
The central message of Christ's Gospel of the kingdom of God is about changing the hearts and minds of human beings - the epitome of God's creation. This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them. (Hebrews 10:16). The purpose of life and death for all mankind is dependent upon whether man will allow God, through His Holy Spirit, to do just that. For those who submit to the will of God, they will inherit eternal life of immortality. But for those who would not, their life will be only physical and temporal. All human beings will be given the opportunity for God to work through them, either in this age or in the age to come.
Christ's first advent was to found the church to begin the process of transforming the hearts and minds of a small group of those God has called, a renewal process through partaking of the body and blood of Christ known as the New Covenant (1 Cor 11:25-26). There will be forgiveness and great blessings for all recipients of this New Covenant. But only after His Return will all people experience the full impact of this promise.
The New Covenant that Christ came to deliver did not in any way abolish the Old Covenant (also known as the Sinai Covenant).The Law of God still stand except they are no longer engraved on stones but on the tablets of the hearts and minds of the recipients of the promised New Covenant. Since God is impartial (Romans 2:11) and no respecter of persons, He has extended this promise to all peoples regardless of race and nationalities for those who would willingly obey Him.
The Old Sinai Covenant established the historical ancient kingdom of Israel. The New Covenant will establish the kingdom of God that will encompass people of all races and nationalities to rule the whole earth upon Christ's return. That is the meaning of Christ's commandment to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19) . Notice that He did not command the church to make all nations of disciples - not in this church age!
In the Old Testament, God chose righteous individuals of character to be the bearer of His covenants. He first chose Noah who already was serving God from his heart when the peoples around him were evil to the core. After Noah, God chose Abraham and made personal covenants with him (Genesis 15:8; 17: 1-11), for Abraham was a man of faith and obedience. And then God made a covenant with David that through him, the Savior of the world will come. That is why the opening verse of Matthew 1:1 reads, The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham'. It is through Abraham and David that God's plan of salvation for mankind will be fulfilled!
It is worthy to note that God makes an everlasting covenant with Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 17:7).This everlasting covenant concerns Abraham's natural and spiritual descendants. His natural descendants would be numerous as the dust of the earth (Gen 13:16) and spiritual descendants (Galatians 3:29) as numerous as the stars of the heavens (Gen 15:5). While the natural descendants will hold on to the land of Palestine, the spiritual descendants will inherit the kingdom of God. Most of Abraham's spiritual descendants are Gentiles (those of the church age), even though they came to the knowledge of salvation much later than the Israelites, they shall be the first to inherit the kingdom of God - for many who are first will be last, and the last first (Matt 19:30). The fact is that without a divinely transformed heart and mind, no one can be born again as an immortal son of God to inherit the kingdom of God!
God's promise to David is an everlasting Dynasty (2 Samuel 7: 12-16; 1 Chron 17:12). This is fulfilled in Jesus Christ who will be the everlasting King in the coming kingdom of God to be established on earth upon His return. The Sinai Covenant that God gave to Israel had its limitation. Without the gift of God's Spirit indwelling the people, it would be impossible to fully obey all of God's commandments. That is why the high priest of the Old Testament has to enter the Holy of Holies every year to perform the rituals of cleansing and forgiveness of sins.Only with an indwelling Spirit of God inside the minds of repented true believers can God's Law be fully obeyed. But this promise has yet to be fully consummated as the Spirit of God is given only to those who are the called and chosen in this church age. However, when Christ returns, the Spirit will be made available to all mankind for the word of God says that the Spirit of God will be poured out on ALL flesh (Joel 2:28) so that all people (living and resurrected) will learn of God's Law and His ways (Isaiah 2:2-4) and the whole earth will be filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9).
The New Covenant does not do away with God's Law. What has changed is that the intent and purpose of the Law shall be observed and obeyed from the heart and mind with the help of God's Holy Spirit. The ceremonial duties of the high priest is no longer required as Jesus Christ became our High Priest that is perfect in all ways as He is also the Mediator of the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:6). The problem is not in the Law of God per se, the problem of the Sinai or Old Covenant was that the people lack the willing heart to obey because the Spirit of God was not given them. Only the patriarchs and matriarchs, the prophets and a select few were given the Spirit of God to help them. In a sense, a veil of blindness was over the natural descendants of Abraham even up till this day when they read the Old Testament . However, when they turn to the Lord Jesus Christ, the veil is lifted (2 Cor 3:11-18). Under the New Covenant, the shed blood of Jesus Christ permanently blots out the sins of all those who repented and turn to Him. If they abide till the end, the death penalty of sin (Romans 6:23) for them will be annulled forever!
The Law of God given to the peoples in the Old Testament era was a blessing to them only if they obey. The two chapters in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 clearly spell out the blessings and curses for obedience and disobedience respectively. Right behavior and right living bring peace, health, safety and prosperrity and the reverse will incur the judgments and curses of God. If the ancient nation of Israel had taken heed, they would have been a model for the surrounding nations to follow and abide in God's Law. We who live in the church age are so fortunate and ought to be grateful to God for Christ has become our High Priest to assist us in our journey of discipleship for those who would abide and obey His commandments. Christ sums it up succinctly,' You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind; and You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.' (Matthew 22:37-40). The world is currently in great turmoil shows the extent of defiance of God's Law. Great blessings and grace will follow all those who live it out in their lives.
Christ's first advent was to found the church to begin the process of transforming the hearts and minds of a small group of those God has called, a renewal process through partaking of the body and blood of Christ known as the New Covenant (1 Cor 11:25-26). There will be forgiveness and great blessings for all recipients of this New Covenant. But only after His Return will all people experience the full impact of this promise.
The New Covenant that Christ came to deliver did not in any way abolish the Old Covenant (also known as the Sinai Covenant).The Law of God still stand except they are no longer engraved on stones but on the tablets of the hearts and minds of the recipients of the promised New Covenant. Since God is impartial (Romans 2:11) and no respecter of persons, He has extended this promise to all peoples regardless of race and nationalities for those who would willingly obey Him.
The Old Sinai Covenant established the historical ancient kingdom of Israel. The New Covenant will establish the kingdom of God that will encompass people of all races and nationalities to rule the whole earth upon Christ's return. That is the meaning of Christ's commandment to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19) . Notice that He did not command the church to make all nations of disciples - not in this church age!
In the Old Testament, God chose righteous individuals of character to be the bearer of His covenants. He first chose Noah who already was serving God from his heart when the peoples around him were evil to the core. After Noah, God chose Abraham and made personal covenants with him (Genesis 15:8; 17: 1-11), for Abraham was a man of faith and obedience. And then God made a covenant with David that through him, the Savior of the world will come. That is why the opening verse of Matthew 1:1 reads, The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham'. It is through Abraham and David that God's plan of salvation for mankind will be fulfilled!
It is worthy to note that God makes an everlasting covenant with Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 17:7).This everlasting covenant concerns Abraham's natural and spiritual descendants. His natural descendants would be numerous as the dust of the earth (Gen 13:16) and spiritual descendants (Galatians 3:29) as numerous as the stars of the heavens (Gen 15:5). While the natural descendants will hold on to the land of Palestine, the spiritual descendants will inherit the kingdom of God. Most of Abraham's spiritual descendants are Gentiles (those of the church age), even though they came to the knowledge of salvation much later than the Israelites, they shall be the first to inherit the kingdom of God - for many who are first will be last, and the last first (Matt 19:30). The fact is that without a divinely transformed heart and mind, no one can be born again as an immortal son of God to inherit the kingdom of God!
God's promise to David is an everlasting Dynasty (2 Samuel 7: 12-16; 1 Chron 17:12). This is fulfilled in Jesus Christ who will be the everlasting King in the coming kingdom of God to be established on earth upon His return. The Sinai Covenant that God gave to Israel had its limitation. Without the gift of God's Spirit indwelling the people, it would be impossible to fully obey all of God's commandments. That is why the high priest of the Old Testament has to enter the Holy of Holies every year to perform the rituals of cleansing and forgiveness of sins.Only with an indwelling Spirit of God inside the minds of repented true believers can God's Law be fully obeyed. But this promise has yet to be fully consummated as the Spirit of God is given only to those who are the called and chosen in this church age. However, when Christ returns, the Spirit will be made available to all mankind for the word of God says that the Spirit of God will be poured out on ALL flesh (Joel 2:28) so that all people (living and resurrected) will learn of God's Law and His ways (Isaiah 2:2-4) and the whole earth will be filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9).
The New Covenant does not do away with God's Law. What has changed is that the intent and purpose of the Law shall be observed and obeyed from the heart and mind with the help of God's Holy Spirit. The ceremonial duties of the high priest is no longer required as Jesus Christ became our High Priest that is perfect in all ways as He is also the Mediator of the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:6). The problem is not in the Law of God per se, the problem of the Sinai or Old Covenant was that the people lack the willing heart to obey because the Spirit of God was not given them. Only the patriarchs and matriarchs, the prophets and a select few were given the Spirit of God to help them. In a sense, a veil of blindness was over the natural descendants of Abraham even up till this day when they read the Old Testament . However, when they turn to the Lord Jesus Christ, the veil is lifted (2 Cor 3:11-18). Under the New Covenant, the shed blood of Jesus Christ permanently blots out the sins of all those who repented and turn to Him. If they abide till the end, the death penalty of sin (Romans 6:23) for them will be annulled forever!
The Law of God given to the peoples in the Old Testament era was a blessing to them only if they obey. The two chapters in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 clearly spell out the blessings and curses for obedience and disobedience respectively. Right behavior and right living bring peace, health, safety and prosperrity and the reverse will incur the judgments and curses of God. If the ancient nation of Israel had taken heed, they would have been a model for the surrounding nations to follow and abide in God's Law. We who live in the church age are so fortunate and ought to be grateful to God for Christ has become our High Priest to assist us in our journey of discipleship for those who would abide and obey His commandments. Christ sums it up succinctly,' You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind; and You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.' (Matthew 22:37-40). The world is currently in great turmoil shows the extent of defiance of God's Law. Great blessings and grace will follow all those who live it out in their lives.
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