Saturday, December 14, 2013

THE SPIRIT OF MAN

The world's religions believe in the concept of the immortal soul, and so do most of those who called themselves Christians. Such concept has it origin from Greek philosphers, particularly Plato who is a chief proponent with Aristotle followed closely behind. These Greek philosophers were in turn influenced by Babylonian and Egyptian mythologies. The doctrine of the immortal soul teaches that a person's soul will live on after death, either in heaven, purgatory or in hell. All these are pure philosophical and human speculations which appealed to the intellectuals and the Gnostics of that time.

Theologians like Justin Martyr (A.D 100-167),Tertullian (A.D.150-220) and Origen (A.D. 185-254) were either Platonist or neo-Platonist with some blended Catholic theology to write extensively on trinity and the immortal soul. All of these are either Greek, Babylonian or Egyptian in origin and has no biblical basis!

Most Protestant churches adopt a doctrine of heaven or hell after death largely because it was handed down through the founding fathers who were themselves influenced by Greek philosophers. A novel titled Divine Comedy written by Dante Alighierly sometime in the 14th century A.D. about heaven and hell was made popular by preachers and evangelists down through the centuries, albeit with dramatic effect, helped to seal such belief in the church fraternity. But such a position is not the teaching of the Holy Scripture.

When Adam was created, God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life: and man became a living soul - Genesis 2:7. Scripture is unequivocal in stating the soul that sinneth, it shall die - Ezekiel 18:4 & 18:20. Since all have sinneth, all souls of man will die, regardless of their faith. It is not that man has a soul, man is a living soul. For the true believers, it is the hope of resurrection to immortality and eternal life. But what is it that makes man different from animals? - it is the human spirit given by God at birth of every person dwelling in his/her brain! Animal has none of this.

Man and animal are made of dust and all dies (Eccl 3:19-20). But man is inherently different. Since man is created in the image of God, man has a spirit in him (1 Cor 2:11) which makes him different from any animal (God too has a Spirit which is known as the Holy Spirit). Hence, the theory of evolution of man according to Charles Darwin is absolutely false!

While the spirit of man differentiates a human being from an animal which does not possess a spirit, the leading of the Holy Spirit in a regenerate man distinguished a true believer as the son of God (Rom 8:14, 16) from an unbeliever. Without the human spirit in a man/woman, he /she is simply living life not much different from an animal. But with the presence of the Holy Spirit, the true believer has far more wisdom in understanding the things of God and deep spiritual truth, (1 Cor 2:14) like the mysteries of the kingdom of God - Matthew 13:11!

The spirit of man enables a person to have the power of intellect which is absent in all animals. The Holy Spirit is residing in the frontal lobe of the brain where cognitive abilities operate. The heart is the seat of emotions that works out one's behavior in coordination with the mind. Those who are led by the Spirit of God will exhibit the gifts of the Holy Spirit namely, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance (Galatians 5:22-23) to reflect Christ-likeness in their daily lives.

Upon death, the spirit of the true believers return to God in heaven but is itself not conscious of anything (Eccl 3:21; 12:7). The spirit of man is the spiritual mold that encapsulates all the character qualities and experiences of the person up to the point of death ready to be made perfect in heaven (Hebrews 12:23) to be resurrected to immortality and eternal life into God's divine Family when Christ returns. Since man is a soul, not that he has a soul, it dies with him at death. It was Satan that deceived Eve at the Garden of Eden into believing that man has an immortal soul - Ye shall not surely die (Genesis 3:4).

However, while the soul of man will die a physical death, it cannot be destroyed by man - only God has the power to destroy the human soul at the lake of fire. While physical death is only a temporal departure - to await resurrection - the second death (Rev 20:14) at the lake of fire is total and final with no possibility of resurrection!

The dead - whether in Christ or without Christ - remains dead and has no sense of consciousness of anything (Psalm 6:5,146:4; Eccl 9:5). The next second of consciousness of the dead is resurrection - the first resurrection for all true believers in Christ to immortality and the rest of humanity who had ever lived, it will be the second resurrection into reconstituted physical human beings - literally where they last left off at the point of death.

The true value and potential of the human life is the human spirit, which dwells within the human brain to give the human mind - the seat of knowledge and intellect. Animal has no spirit and hence no such intellectual prowess, they operate mainly by instinct. With the human spirit working inside the human brain and the human mind working in collaboration with God's Holy Spirit, man has incredible potential far beyond this physical lifetime (1 Cor 2:9). For all of humanity, one lifetime is too short to harness its full potential, with more in store in the life to come!

True believers when empowered with God's Holy Spirit, for those who are willing to obey Him (Acts 5:32), will have the ability to understand and discern spiritual knowledge and truth with Godly wisdom. The Holy Spirit connects with the spirit in man to make him a son of God which will someday judge the angels! - 1 Cor 6:3.

The spirit in man is innately selfish because of our fallen nature. But God's Holy Spirit can change that to a higher level - the 'give way of life' as opposed to the 'get way of life'. The human spirit is limited to understanding of the physical and material aspects but not the spiritual realm. Since most problems of this world have their root causes in the spiritual dimension, man cannot find adequate solutions to solve them. Man can at best find solutions to deal with the symptoms but not the underlying root causes of most, if not all the problems of this world!






 

Saturday, November 30, 2013

WHAT EXACTLY IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?

The doctine of trinity which most Protestant churches embrace as a tenet of Christianity is never in the Bible. Millions of Christians the world over assume that God is a trinity. But when asked to explain what that means most would reply that they have no clue, even the most learned theologians and preachers. Their most common reply is to 'take it by faith' or 'if I know, I would be God'  - what a response. But God would not want His true disciples to be ignorant of Who He actually is - He wants them to know Him personally. When we fail to get the correct doctrine of Who God is, our faith is built on a wrong foundation and will not stand up to scrutiny when the real tests come!

The true God of the Bible consists of the two Supreme Spirit Personality - God the Father Who is the Head of the God Family and His Son Jesus Christ. The idea of One God is that they are of one mind, united in purpose. The Apostle Paul explains this in 1 Corinthians 8:6, 'But to us there is but  one God, the Father of whom are all things, and we in him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.'  When asked to show them the Father, Christ replied that when they see Him, they see the Father.

Some may contend that it was the spirit of God that moved upon the face of the waters at creation (Geneses 1:2) and hence has to be a 'Spirit Being'.  But Jeremiah 27:5 explained that while the spirit of God originates from God, it is not a separate distinct spirit personality like the Father and Son. In that verse, it states, 'I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.'

In his Psalm of repentance, David begged the Lord not to take away the Holy Spirit from him - Psalm 51:11. If the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the trinity, he would have asked the spirit being directly to not leave him!

In the Old and New Testaments, there are many prophecies about the coming of Christ to earth. However, there is not a single prophecy in the Old Testament about the coming of the Holy Spirit. Although Christ told His disciples that He will send His Spirit to them after His departure to heaven, they only understood the Holy Spirit to be some kind of 'breath' that will fall upon them at Pentecost. Throughout Scriptures, the Holy Spirit is typified as the 'anointing oil', 'running water', 'wind' and 'dove' among others, never as a separate distinct personality.

Since Jesus Christ was born of the Holy Spirit, rightfully Christ should be called the Son of the Holy Spirit if the latter is a Spirit Being. Instead, Christ was named the Son of the Heavenly Father - Luke 1:32.

If the Holy Spirit is a spirit being, then it should be called 'Quadnity' and not 'Trinity'. When Christ was on earth, the Spirit of the Heavenly Father was upon Him. When He ascended to heaven the Spirit of Christ is upon all His true believers.

Throughout His ministry on earth, the Lord Jesus Christ only mentioned of the Holy Spirit shortly before His ascension to heaven, stating that He must leave for heaven before the Holy Spirit can come. In addition, He told His hearers that He and the Father are one - John 10:30, equating Himself with God. This is corroborated in John 1:1 when the Apostle John wrote that Christ was known as 'The Word' before His incarnation as Jesus Christ, and that He and the Father together form the God Head - none else!

Just before His crucifixion, Christ prayed to His Father in heaven and the Holy Spirit was never mentioned in His prayer all night (John chapter 17). This is also seen in Hebrew chapter 1, a brief record of the conversation between God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son regarding God's Master Plan for mankind!

In the Lord's prayer, Christ taught His disciples to pray to the Heavenly Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 6:9-13), there is no mention of praying to the Holy Spirit! If the Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity living in the lives of millions of believers as Trinitarians believe, then He must have been the most neglected spirit personality in all of the universe!

Almost all the epistles written by Apostle Paul begin with the greetings of  'Grace and Peace' from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, there is no mention of the Holy Spirit - Rom 1:7; 1Cor1:3; 2Cor1:2; Gal 1:3; Eph  1:2; Phil 1:2; Col 1:2; 1Thess 1:2; 2Thess 1:2; 1 Tim 1:2; 2Tim 1:2; Tit 1:4; Philemon 1:3. Similar greetings can be found in the epistles of James (James1:1), Peter (1 Pet 1:3; 2 Pet 1:2) and John (1 Jn 1:3; 2 Jn:3) and Jude 1.

In an end-time vision recorded by prophet Daniel (Daniel 7: 13-27), the Ancient of Days (God the Father) handed the kingdom of God over to Jesus Christ to rule and reign as King of kings on earth, together with the resurrected saints (as kings) from the first resurrection, there is no mention  of the participation of the Holy Spirit.

The Book of Revelation reveals the end-time prophecies which God the Father handed to Jesus Christ Who then instructed the holy angel to reveal to the Apostle John to be written down - Rev 1:1. There is no mention of the Holy Spirit's involvement.

The moot point for many is found in Matthew 28:19 when it is stated that true disciples are to be baptised in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This commandment is for true believers to be baptised into the Divine Family that bears the name of the Heavenly Father (Eph 3:14-15). Jesus is the Saviour who died for the sins of man and believers are saved by His life (Rom 5:8-9) when resurrected and born again as immortal spirit beings.

We are baptised in the name of the Holy Spirit because it is by the power of God's Spirit that begettal happens when resurrected saints are born again as immortal sons and daughters into the Family of God (Rom 8:16). When God's Seed - the Holy Spirit - (1 John 3:9) is implanted in a believer upon conversion, he or she is begotten but not yet born, much like human pregnancy with the church as the "Mother" feeding the new believer (Gal 4:26). The believer becomes an heir of God (Rom 8:17) awaiting to inherit God's kingdom when the time comes for Christ to return, resurrection happens and the saint is then born again (1 Cor 15:50-54).

Then again in 1 John 5:7-8, a passage that seem to support the concept of the trinity. However, a closer examination in the NKJV in the margin shows that many of these words were added by trinitarian Bible Translators! The words from verse 7 starting "in heaven" all the way to verse 8 ending "on earth" were not found in the ancient Greek manuscripts and appear in the Latin Vulgate version much later sometime in the eighth century.

The fact of the matter is that the triad deity originated from Babylon when the followers of Nimrod, his wife Semiramis and their son Adonis were being immortalised as deity. The politics of the Roman Empire in the first few centuries after the death of Christ also played a part in conceiving the doctrine of the trinity. But all the arguments for trinity are human concoction and presuppostion that has no biblical basis.

Throughout the centuries since then, different civilisation, culture and language groups have borrowed the idea and created their own triad diety known by different names throughout the history of mankind. God is dishonoured when some truth is mixed with much falsehood and judgement will come upon all who rebelled against His truth. True believers are warned to come out (Rev18:4) of the Babylonian Mystery religion (Rev 17:5) before it is too late!









 

Sunday, November 17, 2013

PROPHETIC SIGNS OF CHRIST'S SECOND COMING

In the light of a flurry of events unfolding fast and furious across the world's news in recent years, many may be wondering what on earth is happening. From a Biblical perspective, all these happened for a reason according to God's timeline on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the ushering in of God's kingdom on earth to replace all the governments of man.

According to Christ's teachings on the Olivet Prophecy, the prophetic signs given by Him as recorded for us in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 are in respond to a question from His disciples (Matt 24:3), 'And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world (age)?' Revelation chapter 6 parallels that of Matthew 24, depicting in symbols what to expect of the trends and events set to occur shortly before His return.

With about 750 thousand words and one-third prophecy, the Bible is the only source of news broadcast in advance, well before they are set to happen. Some of these signs in the end times to look for can be summarised below.

First, there is a breakdown of character worldwide. People are getting more violent and immoral. Man's brutality against fellow humans just know no bounds and others are even advocating adultery as a way of life. Protest marches are happening everywhere and some opposing camps are resorting to violence to get what they want. This was recorded for us as a warning in 2 Timothy 3:1-6 about perilous times of the last days - for which we are now living.

Be forewarned for it is written, "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." - 2 Tim 3:12-13.

Second, the proliferation of false teachings is going viral with different Christian groups, sub-groups and cults sprouting out everywhere. Each denomination with its sub-groups are not in unity and many are at odds with one another teaching different doctrines and practices - but all proclaiming in the name of Christ - just as He prophesied that it would. "For MANY shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many" (Matthew 24:5). Such trend is set to get worse causing all kinds of confusion - both inside and outside the church fraternity.

The false Christ is portrayed as the first in the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in Revelation 6:2 - 'And I saw, and behold a white horse; and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.' The true Christ wields a sharp sword that proceeds out of His mouth and not a bow, and has many crowns upon His head (Rev 19:2), not just one. His name is also known as the Word of God (Rev 19:13) - Christ's pre-incarnate name at the very beginning with the Heavenly Father before He became Jesus Christ (John 1:1).

Third, there will be wars and rumours of wars (Matt 24:6). The second horseman riding a red horse symbolises wars and killings which are prevalent in our times. Wars and civil wars, gun and drug violence have become a frequent occurence that it surprises nobody any longer. Such is the scenario when 'power was given to him (the red horse rider) ...to take peace from the earth' . When peace is absent, war and terrorism are inevitable, with many parts of the earth turning into killing fields!

Fourth, the consequences that follow after warfare are famines and pestilences (Matt 24:7) as depicted by the black horseman of the Apocalypse (Rev 6:5) when the third seal was opened. The world is facing food shortage in many parts of the world. Bacteria are mutating faster than ever and that the most powerful antibiotics are losing its potency in the fight against certain diseases.

With shortage of food and under-nurishment, pestilences and diseases inevitably break out. This will spread quickly and engulf nations on a mass scale like those of the Bubonic Plague in the 20th century where one-fourth to one-half of Europe's population were wiped out, an estimated 75 million people died. The fifth seal of the pale horse will gallop along to strike the earth and even wealthy nations of the world are not spared!

Fifth, Christ warned that 'there shall be ...earthquakes in divers places' - Matt 24:7 - and this could apply to tsunamis as well, often caused by earth's movements under the sea bed. Several nations like Indonesia, Japan and recently, Philippines have suffered severely from earthquakes and tsunamis.

Could these be some of the 'beginning of sorrows' (Matt 24:8) as warned by Christ with more to come as the clock ticks towards the midnight hour? Though we can never be absolutely sure, one thing we do know is that all these natural disasters seem to be happening more frequently and with greater intensity than the ones before, with scientists pointing to global warming as the main cause. Whatever the cause, the Olivet Prophecy does provide us the signs to watch and pray (Luke 21:36).

Sixth, while all these are happening, there will come a time of the seventh resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire with a confederation of ten nation states known in the Bible as "The Beast" that will be controlled by a religious organisation headed by a "False Prophet", also known as the "man of sin" - 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4. The symbolic Beast is a political union of ten states in Europe controlled by a two-horned religious beast that will set to dominate the world, just before Christ's Second Coming. Daniel chapters 2 and 7 with Revelation chapters 13 and 17 prophesied of the coming Beast and False Prophet at the time of the end - which is quietly taking place right now!

Finally, Christ foretold that when the true Gospel of the kingdom of God is being preached, the end will come - Matthew 24:14. It has not been preached for over 1900 years, otherwise the end of the church age would have been upon us with the ushering in of the kingdom of God - thy kingdom come!

Satan is well aware that his reign as god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4) is coming to an end and he knows that he has only a short time left (Rev 12:12) before making way for Jesus Christ to usher in God's kingdom Who will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev 19:16). Hence, he is lashing out on the inhabitants of planet earth with such humongous disasters and problems like never before, for he came to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10).










 

Monday, October 28, 2013

WHAT EXACTLY IS THE GOSPEL?

When one walks into any evangelical church, invariably the preacher will stress the importance of preaching the gospel. Most Christians when asked what is the gospel will reply that it is the gospel about Jesus Christ coming from heaven to earth to die for the sins of mankind. While this is true, it is not the gospel. Others may say it is about the gospel of grace, or it is about God's blessing in the arena of health and wealth. Yet some will preach a social gospel of doing good in this mortal life.

Although these have noble objectives, they are not the gospel. The gospel is not about the Person of Christ but the message of the kingdom of God. Christ was known as the Word in His pre-incarnate Being, together with God the Father (John 1:1). Christ was sent by the Heavenly Father as the Prophet Messenger (Deut 18:15; Malachi 3:1; Acts 7:37) to earth to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God to mankind (Mark 1:14-15; Luke 4:43).  In fact, it was the same gospel that was preached by all the prophets of the Old Testament (Acts 3:21)! No prophet ever came to preach about himself, always preaching the message given from a higher authority. For the true gospel it was a message from the Heavenly Father Himself.

Although Christ Himself is not the gospel, the Person of Christ has to be preached in conjunction with the gospel because of the important role He has played as the sacrifice for the sins of mankind, paving the way for true believers to see and enter the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God and Jesus Christ are two separate matters as recorded in 2 passages in Acts 8:12 and Acts 28:31 - 'Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God AND the name of Jesus Christ'... Paul taught likewise - 'Preaching the kingdom of God AND teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ'.

The kingdom of God is the supergovernment of God that will descend upon earth when Christ returns. It is about the rulership by government with authority set up by God over literal nations and literal people on earth (Daniel 7:27; Rev 11:15). When Christ was on earth, His main pre-occupation is teaching and instructing His disciples about the kingdom of God. In fact, most of His parables are pointing to the gospel of the kingdom. Similarly, the Apostle Paul was fervent in preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God (Acts 19:8; 20:25).

The prophet Daniel recorded what God revealed to him about the world to come - that there will be four kingdoms ruled by man and one after that will be the kingdom of God ruled by Christ (Daniel 2:31-35, 44). Chapter 2:44 reads, ' And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.' At the sounding of the seventh trumpet, the seventh angel sounded and with great rejoicing in heaven saying, ' The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.' - Revelation 11:15.

While on earth, Christ was in the wilderness for forty days and overcame the three temptations of Satan, qualifying Himself to rule as the King in the coming kingdom of God (Mark 1: 12-13). The first words of Christ after that was 'Repent ye, and believe the gospel' - Mark 1:15 - two key verbs that one must repent and believe in order to be saved! The gospel as stated in the preceding verse 14 is the kingdom of God - not something else as most churches are preaching and squabbling over every issue of doctrinal differences, mostly based on the interpretation of man. Only the Bible can interprets the Bible, and this has to be the basis for all interpretation of scriptural verses, including prophesies.

Christ Himself commissioned His twelve disciples to preach the kingdom of God. He also gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases (Luke 9:1-2). He later appointed other seventy, and sent them two and two to do likewise (Luke 10:1-9). In John 8:31, it was recorded that the Jews believed on Him. But that is not enough, Christ continued, If ye abide in my word (kingdom of God), then are ye my disciples indeed.' Then and only then,' ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.' 

Similarly, in the Lord's prayer, Christ taught us to pray beginning with Matthew 6:10  - Thy kingdom come . Follow on in Matthew 6:33, Christ taught us to 'seek ye first the kingdom of God (the gospel) and his reightousness (the laws of God)' . Many can memorise it verbatim, but few understand its meaning, let alone obey it.

At His trial before His crucifixion, Christ told Pontius Pilate that He was born to be King (of the coming kingdom of God), and it was for this purpose that He came into this world, 'that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth hearth my voice - John 18:37. Truth of the matter is that the THE TRUTH Christ spoke of is the gospel of the kingdom of God!

This is consistent with the prophecy of Isaiah recorded in Isaiah 9:6-7, ' 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...his government shall be no end...and upon his kingdom.' Similar prophecy is recorded for us in Luke 1:32-33, '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... and of his KINGDOM there shall be no end.' The throne to the kingdom is currently occupied by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. It will make way for Christ - the King of kings and Lord of lords - when He returns. Those who are called and qualified will be amongst the kings and lords to rule and reign with Him - Daniel 7:22; Revelation 2:26, 3:21, 5:10.

Religionists of our day try to spiritualise it away saying that the 'kingdom of God is in your heart or that it is the church'. This is the result of misinterpreting Scripture taken from Luke 17:21. The translation 'the kingdom of God is within you' is incorrect - a better translation is the kingdom of God is in the midst of you as Christ is the Divine Representative of the coming kingdom standing in the midst of the Pharisees. No way Christ was telling them the kingdom of God is in them when He called them names of the derogatory kind.

The kingdom of God is not the church as Christ told Nicodemus that one has to be born again to see the kingdom of God - John 3:3. To be born again is to die physically and be resurrected as an immortal spirit being. That is why flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God - 1 Corinthians 15:50. If the kingdom of God is the church, then all humans who have eyes - believers or unbelievers - will be able to see and enter therein!

For centuries since the first century AD, the true gospel had not been preached until the mid 20th century with Herbert Armstrong broadcasting the gospel of the kingdom of God over radio and the magazine 'Plain Truth'. The Lord Christ prophesied that the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached to all the nations before the end will come - Matthew 24:14. Had the true gospel being preached before that, the end of the church age would have come with Christ returning to usher in the kingdom of God on earth.

These are all facts from the Bible that cannot be denied. Sadly, many would choose to believe in man rather than from the words of the Son of God, Jesus Christ and His chosen Apostles. Those who choose to follow man are worshipping and serving God in vain (Matthew 15:9; Mark 7:7). Choose wisely, for therein is the difference between life and death - for eternity!

Sunday, October 13, 2013

GOD'S PURPOSE FOR FAMILY

The family is the building block of society, and that is a given. But the new liberals of the world today are challenging the norm with 'alternative lifestyle' and the gay agenda. Little do people understand that the concept of the family with one man one woman and natural children born from the sanctity of marriage is God given and unchangeable for a specific divine purpose. That purpose has to do with God's Divine Royal Family which is His ultimate plan and purpose for mankind. Simply put, God is reproducing Himself through the human family!

When I was growing up in the sixties and seventies, divorce was virtually unheard of in my family, extended family, friends, relatives and even in the neighborhood. Today, family break-up is far too common, giving rise to all kinds of social problems and crimes. Marriage as a sacred institution is under threat and those holding on to the sanctity of marriage are lampooned and ridiculed as people living in the past, and very often being accused of being intolerant toward others who wish to exercise their 'freedom of choice'.

But they do not know better. God's purpose for human marriage and family is sacred because it is for the ultimate purpose of extending His Divine Family that will last for eternity. Implicit in the Gospel of Christ is the Family of God, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain (Jesus Christ) of their salvation perfect through sufferings (Hebrews 2:10). Every person born into this world is worth more than the treasures of this world, because it has the potential to be born again as a spirit god being in his or her own right (Psalms 82:6; John 10:34) with eternal significance. No other creation can even come close, for being born a little lower than the angels, man will eventually judge the angels when born again as eternal spirit god being (1 Cor 6:3) - for those who qualify!

Man was created by God in His image (the God kind) to have fellowship with Him and eventually to be "married" into His Family through Jesus Christ which even angelic beings are not offered the privilege (Hebrews 1:5) - and that makes Satan fuming mad - no wonder he is out to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10) to deceive man regarding the true Gospel of the kingdom of God! Man has descended into the depths of depravity by embracing the theory of evolution and thus behave more like beasts by committing brutality and inhumanity towards one another, often with little to no understanding or remorse. Man has lost his mind and lost his way, and like the first parents, have seek his own way apart from God. Much like the parable of the prodigal son spoken of by Christ.

God is holding earthly family accountable for the way the children are being brought up, especially the father who is the head of the family. Earthly fathers are to train and teach the children the right values and set good models for their children. If they failed to abide by God's commandments to love their wives and children, God's judgment is set to fall upon them - prophesied to come upon the whole earth during the Great Tribulation which is yet ahead! It is indeed a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a holy God. Hence, earthly father must not take his responsibilities lightly for the eternal destiny of his family, to a large extent falls squarely in his hands!

God has purposed to hand over the world to come (Hebrews 2:5) to born again human beings (saints) and not to angelic beings. Man will ultimately rule with Christ whom God the Father hast put all things in subjection under his (Christ) feet (Hebrews 2:8). God's plan to establish His Divine Royal Family is through the human family, where children born of human flesh and blood will have the potential to become spirit god beings when born again at the time of resurrection (First Resurrection - Heb 11:35; Rev 20:4-6), passing from mortal flesh to immortal spirit composed beings (1 Cor 15:42-52).

Christ taught that human eyes and those born of the flesh cannot see and enter the kingdom of God. He further gave the anology of the wind as man cannot see where the wind blows - John 3:3,6 &8. The Lord Jesus further explained, 'that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit' - verse 6. This is corroborated by the Apostle Paul where he wrote, 'flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption' - 1 Cor 15:50. Putting these together, it simply means that human being cannot see and enter the kingdom of God (let alone inherit it) but only those born again as immortal spirit composed being can - and this only occur at Resurrection!

Yet almost the whole Christendom teaches that one is born again 'just simply believing in Jesus and be baptised' on the presumption that the kingdom of God is the church - when these are two totally separate doctrine. Just think, any human being, whether a believer or unbeliever can see and enter a church. If the kingdom of God is the church, why then did the Lord Jesus replied His disciples when asked when is the kingdom to be restored to Israel, ' It is not for you to know the times and the season, which the Father hath put in his own power' - Acts 1:6-7. Such a reply simply makes no sense when the church, to be founded on Pentecost, is only ten days away! The kingdom of God cannot also be about the Person of Jesus Christ as clearly shown in the preaching of Philip to the Samaritans (Acts 8:12) and the Apostle Paul in his last days (Acts 28:31) where these are separated by the conjunction 'and' - see also Daniel 7:14,18,22 &27 to get a clearer picture of what the kingdom of God is.

 Jesus Christ is the firstborn from the dead (Col 1:18) with many more sons of God to come (Rom 8:19) who are called His brethren ( Heb 2:11-12; firstborn among many brethren - Romans 8:29) effectively making the Lord Jesus Christ the Elder Brother of them all. They will all be made perfect (Heb 12:23) and be like Christ (1 John 3:2) and cannot sin for they are born of God (the 'seed' of God - Greek word 'sperma', the same root word for the human sperm) - 1 Pet 1:23; 1 John 3:9. Hence, all those begettal but not yet begotten (heirs but not yet inheritors) can be aborted if they failed to overcome and remain faithful to the end - Matt 10:22. The Apostle Paul also had to strive towards this goal in his spiritual journey if he is to qualify - 1 Cor 9:19-27; Philippians 3:7-21.

Jesus Christ will be the King of kings (resurrected saints born again as immortal spirit composed  beings who will rule and reign with Him - Rev 2:26, 3:21, 5:10) and Lord of lords (resurrected saints born again as immortal spirit composed beings who will form the Royal priesthood teaching and leading others to salvation and righteousness under the reign of Christ - Rev 5:10; Isaiah 2:2-4; Micah 4:1-5). The true church is called and trained to undertake the task of bringing in the great harvest (the 'latter rain') in the millennium age (1 Peter 4:17). Ultimately, all true disciples of Jesus Christ are called to inherit His kingdom as inheritors (Matt 6:33; 1 Thess 2:12). Until born again, they are just heirs and joint-heirs with Christ, meaning not yet inheritors - Romans 8:17, 29; James 2:5.

That is why Christ told His hearers,' Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God ' (Mark 10:14). The future of children is immeasurably great because they have the potential to become members of God's Divine Family - spirit beings with great power and authority even to judge the angels (1 Cor 6:3)! If only human beings understand this, the abuse and mistreatment of children can be drastically reduced in every corner of the globe.

Satan and the demons are all out to destroy the human family in a desperate attempt to thwart God's plan and His love for mankind to be reproduced into His Divine Family. The devil is filled with jealousy that puny men and not the superior angelic beings like himself are given such privileged opportunity (Heb 1:5). His devious strategy include corrupting like-minded beings to pervert sex and distort the wholesome purpose of love and family relationships through the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and trans-sexual) agenda. Whatever man may say, it is contrary to God's will and against God's created nature and order. The Apostle Paul in three separate passage of the epistles warned that those who commit sexual sin, unless repented of, will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:5-7).

As the timeline for Christ return becomes imminent, the drum beat inspired from the kingdom of darkness in its evil plan gets into overdrive and with greater media coverage across different spectrum of society. The devil is well aware that he has but a short time as god of this world (2 Cor 4:4; Revelation 12:12) and hence the push to extract more damage in their evil scheme of things before Christ return to set up the kingdom of God on earth as King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev 19:16)!

Jesus Christ was born to be King (Isaiah 9:6-7; Luke 1: 31-33) to sit on the throne of David - the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7: 12-16) and the ''Sceptre Promise" (Gen 49:10). He knew full well His reason for Being is to become King (John 18:37) and you need to know yours as Christ's disciple is to be king. Your immeasurable potential as an eternal and immortal spirit composed being is yet ahead. Those who refuse to abide in the words of Christ have one major problem plaguing mankind since the dawn of civilisation - they refuse to have God reigning over them (1 Samuel 8:7; Luke 19:27), whatever their charming and soothing rhetoric and cliché may say (Matt 15:8-9)!





Thursday, September 26, 2013

PURPOSE OF LIFE AND DEATH

To the overwhelming majority of people who have inhabited the earth, life is a mystery. Who am I, what am I, and why am I have never been adequately answered by even the most learned philosophers and sages throughout the ages. The reason why no satisfactory answers can be found is simply because they have all turned to the wrong source of knowledge to try and explain all the mysteries of life. Only the source of truth from the holy Bible gives the correct answers. Sadly, even the most learned scholars - both biblical and secular - failed to address the correct issues to elicit the appropriate answers. The Bible has become a mystery even to the most learned scholars themselves!

None of us alive has ever seen our own brain, let alone understand its working. We have never seen the 'inside' of us, be it physiologically, intellectually, emotionally or spiritually, let alone understand  how it all work out that govern our behaviour and who we really are. All these are mysteries that few people would be bothered to seek after the truth, let alone have a good grasp of them. The learned academics and scholars would rather accept the theory of evolution to simplify the issues and avoid the hard facts that an eternal Supreme Being Who is behind the design and has created it all!

But why did God put man on planet earth? Certainly, He has a purpose for  doing so. God initially created the angelic beings to govern His universe, with earth as its headquarters. But because Lucifer, one of three archangels, rebelled against God's rule and led a third of the angels astray, God then created man to have dominion over all His creation (Genesis 1:26). But our first parents, Adam and Eve, failed the test of obedience and sin was introduced into the world with the penalty of death ever since. The loving and merciful God the Father planned for man's redemption through the sacrificial death and blood of Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind.

But man was made of matter - flesh and blood and is subject to decay and death. This temporal state of man is necessary so that those who eventually refused to obey Him will not be given eternal life in spirit existence. So man has a spirit ('the spirit of man which is in him' - 1 Cor 2:11), which distinguishes man from all other animals, for animals have no spirit in them. It is this spirit in him that enables man to connect with his Creator. When man dies, his spirit returns to God the Creator. Only those who abide in His Word will eventually be made immortal spirit beings free from sin and death (1 John 3:9), and will never dies (Revelation 20:6). All those who rebelled against God after being given the whole truth will be annihilated in the Lake of Fire as if they have never been (Malachi 4:1-3). A merciful God will put them out of misery!

Had man been made an immortal spirit being at the beginning, it would be tragic for all of His creation if he/she rebelled against God's righteous laws - just like the millions of demons did. That is why at the Garden of Eden, the Tree of Life - which typify the Holy Spirit - had to be barred from man after the Fall of Adam and Eve. Had man taken the Tree of Life after the Fall, they would become immortal spirits but not the righteous character to accompany it (Genesis 3:22-24).

The ultimate purpose for man then is to develop the righteous Christlike character that will last in order to be born again as immortal spirit beings in the Family of God. Embedded in the Gospel of the kingdom of God is God's ultimate plan for man's eternal destiny - to become immortal god beings! That is why we are all created in the image of God - the God kind (Genesis 1:26). The physical family structure of man on earth is but a typology of what is God's ultimate purpose for the birth of His Divine Royal Family. Their role in eternity is to assist Christ to rule and reign on earth during the Millennial Age and thereafter the whole universe for all of eternity. God's government has to be restored which had been usurped from man as a result of the Fall.

Although God is Supreme and omnipotent, He cannot create the righteous character demanded of man through fiat. It has to be developed through the crucible of trials and tribulations of life (Acts 14:22), and that takes a lifetime of learning, developing and overcoming - the very reason why we are here on planet earth! I learned as a kid growing up through my dad's pre-war blacksmith shop that a piece of hard iron and steel had to be forged through molten fire, much hammering and sledge-hammering to be made into useful implement of hardware tools. The same applies to our lives that only through much diligence and discipline can man be transformed to become members of the Royal Family of God for His glory and eternal purpose.

 Whatever man may say, character is everything. Talent, wealth and material success as seen through the eyes of this world are all but vain and temporal which will eventually fade away. Character is the real test of  what makes you and I, and will transcend us even after death. Those who failed to develop the righteous character required by God will not make the grade for immortality. But in this present church age, only a small group of those who are called of God will be born again into spirit immortality (Matthew 22:14). The rest of mankind will await their opportunity for salvation and eternal life towards the end of the Millennial Age when Satan was cast away. Simply put, there is no other way that peace, prosperity, unity and harmony can co-exist, not just on planet earth but throughout the whole universe. That is man's ultimate destiny and why we were all created for.

Only a correct understanding of the true Gospel of the kingdom of God which Christ and His disciples preached will one be empowered by the Holy Spirit to change and transform from the inside out. When Christ and His disciples preached the Gospel of the coming kingdom, power and authority flow from the Heavenly Father to heal the sick and cast out demons of those who were demon-possessed. All those who embraced some truth mixed with much errors are being shortchanged - the millions who are 'Ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth' (2 Timothy 3:7).



 

Sunday, September 15, 2013

WHAT EXACTLY IS MEANT BY 'THY KINGDOM COME'

The Bible is the world's best selling book, but it is also the least understood. Millions of Christians bought the bible without even reading it, let alone study the content of some three quarter of a million words printed therein. In the Lord's prayer, Christ instructed His disciples to pray, 'Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven...For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.' - Matt 6:10,13. But what exactly do these verses mean?

Christ was teaching those He had called that they should pray to the true God in heaven - Our Father which art in heaven - Matt 6:9 - and not any other man-made gods. The first thing a true Christian should focus on his mind is the coming kingdom of God - the true Gospel essence Jesus Christ was commissioned by God the Father to proclaim at His first advent (Luke 4:43). God is ruling the universe from His throne in heaven. We are commanded to pray that God's rule will likewise extend to the whole earth when the time comes for Christ to return. Presently, Satan is the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4) - albeit with God's permission to rule since the fall of Adam.

 One of the most quoted verses but probably least understood verse in the Bible - Seek ye first the kingdom of God (Matt 6:33)- was relegated to insignificance. Many are deceived (Rev 12:9) into thinking that the kingdom of God is something ethereal - in your hearts and minds! The kingdom of God is the coming supergovernment of God that will replace all man-made government and laws on earth (Rev 11:15). That will be the time of refreshing when hope is restored to all the poor, handicapped and marginalised with peace and prosperity extended to the whole world (Luke 4:18-19).

Jesus Chrst was foretold by Archangel Gabriel to be born of a virgin and God shall give Him the throne of David and of His kingdom there shall be no end (Luke 1:32-33). Before Pontius Pilate when asked, '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.' - John 18:37.  The truth Christ was referring to is the Gospel message of the kingdom of God! But man had twisted the Gospel to become the Gospel about Christ instead of the Gospel of Christ as prophesied by Moses and Malachi that a Prophet will come and we are to hear Him, even His word (Deut 18:15; Malachi 3:1; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35).

Man's mindset is so engrossed with the cares of this world that he has no clue that the coming God's kingdom on earth will affect everyone - whether those living or dead - when Christ return to establish God's kingdom on earth (Luke 19:12). Everything will undergo drastic transformation on planet earth when God's righteous laws are established worldwide (Isaiah 2: 2-4) and Satan is incarcerated (Revelation 20:2). It does not matter if people know or believe in this, as it will happen. The coming kingdom should be the topmost priority of every true Christian and not the cares and worries of this world. Just before the kingdom of God arrives, all true disciples (saints) who are living then will be translated to immortal spirit beings and that will be the time when their redemption takes place (Luke 21:28).

The world is getting from bad to worse, and will get far worse before it gets better - and only when God's kingdom is established on planet earth. As Christians, we must be focused and watch what is happening in the world today in order to pray effectively for God's kingdom to come and restore all that had been lost due to sin and evil. God will punish the world through the coming Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord and most of the living will perish. Only those who are true to their calling will escape the coming cataclysmic events that will unfold onto this world as a snare (Luke 21: 35). True disciples of Christ are commanded to 'Watch and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.' - Luke 21:36.

To seek God's righteousness is to desire His laws as stated in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) and expanded by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7). Only when God's holy laws are understood and implemented will peace and prosperity for all mankind be enjoyed on a global scale during the Millennium. Wars and conflicts will then be relegated to history.Those who think that God's laws are being made redundant because of Christ's death on the cross are being deceived. Only the observance of them is different. There has to be a change of hearts and minds before there can be any real lasting transformation for the better. Only God's government under Christ the King and the born again resurrected saints as kings ruling and reigning in the Royal Family of God can the coming paradise world of tomorrow become a reality. It behoves all true disciples of Christ to watch and pray for His kingdom to come!
 

Thursday, August 22, 2013

WHAT EXACTLY IS BORN AGAIN?

The subject of  'born again' is a touchy one as millions misunderstood its true meaning and import as to their eternal destiny. This is because the true Gospel of the kingdom of God has been hidden from mankind since the days of the first century and had not been preached for some 1,900 years after the first Apostles passed on from the early church. Most Christians today believe that once they have undergone water baptism, they are 'automatically being born again'. But nothing is further from the truth.

Christ's encounter with Nicodemus in John 3 makes it clear that flesh and blood cannot see the kingdom of God (verse 3) for what is born of the flesh is flesh  and what is born of the spirit is spirit (verse 6). To see the kingdom of God, one has to become spirit being and to become spirit being, one has to be born again. And to be born again, one has to die physically and be resurrected to immortal spirit, for 'flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God' - 1 Cor 15:50.

What people do not realise is that it is real stuff, not some ethereal concept within the hearts and minds of those who were being baptised. The confusion arise because they failed to understand what is the Gospel of the kingdom of God - which is about the transformation of mortal beings into immortal spirit beings to form the God Family. It is only then that they will be made perfect to inherit the divine nature as true sons of God (2 Pet 1:4)! God the Father as the Head of the God Family has worked out a plan to reproduce Himself (in bringing many sons unto glory - Heb 2:10), that is why man was made in His image, in His likeness.

Those who failed to grasp the truth and the implications of the true Gospel of the kingdom of God that Christ preached will find it hard to understand. It is so profound that even 'the angels desire to look into' - 1 Peter 1:12. However, all who died in their faith are still 'asleep' in their graves and will be resurrected to immortal spirit at the First Resurrection upon the return of Christ. For they 'shall be like Him' (1 John 3:2) and 'cannot sin... born of God' (1 John 3:9). Only Christ as the Firstborn Son of God had been changed from mortal man to immortal Spirit Being and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven. The whole creation is awaiting with bated breath for the revelation of the sons of God (Romans 8: 19) to come to the rescue -  due to decay as a result of rebellion over the government of God and sin, instigated by Satan and his fallen angels.

The incredible human potential awaits those who are called and chosen by God to grasp the deep spiritual truth (1 Cor 2:10) and become the firstfruits (James 1:18) of His new creation - the born again saints who will inherit, rule and reign with Christ in the kingdom of God when He returns. Even though God has only revealed a glimpse of the glorious future now (1 Cor 13:12), but they shall be exceedingly delighted to be part of the 'A' team with Christ to rule the world and subsequently the whole universe when all things are put under their power and authority (Hebrews 2:10) - what an exciting future and destiny lies ahead (1 Cor 2:9)!

The born again immortal spirit beings (the former saints) will be endowed with unique power and capabilities to be able to zip through space and time that even the most advanced technological spacecraft of man cannot achieved. It is not living a life of idleness in heaven but what king David described as 'life of pleasures for evermore' - Psalm 16:11. Members of the born again God Family will be able to accomplish wonderful, creative work and service just as God does (John 5:17). The immortals will direct people to obey God's laws and His ways (Isaiah 30:20-21) and assist Christ in establishing peace and order and uphold righteousness worldwide (Rom 8:21).

As is all things in life, one has to prepare for the privileged tasks ahead now while still in the flesh so that he or she can be born again as immortal spirit when the kingdom comes. Those who cannot be ruled by Christ now will not be qualified to rule when He returns. All who are called will have the veil of deception (set by Satan) lifted to understand the deep spiritual truth. Once the person who is called has his/her eyes opened to understand His truth, he/she must learn to overcome the pull of the flesh, the value system of this world which is false and perverted, and the deception and temptation of Satan to lure us away from the purposes and ways of God. Though there will be price to be paid and challenges to overcome, but it is well worth it all considering the glorious eternal destiny awaits those who succeed!

 

Thursday, August 1, 2013

THE ONE TRUE CHURCH

The world is filled with all kinds of churches of different beliefs and persuasions. Some are named after the founder, others are affiliated together through certain doctrinal beliefs and practices. But Christ taught that He came to found a church, not churches. 'I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it' - Matthew 16:18. On the night before His crucifixion, Christ prayed to the Father that He will keep His disciples in thine own name, meaning the body of Christ is to bear the name of the church of God. The term church of God is stated a total of twelve times in the New Testament.

According to the teaching of Scripture from 1 Corinthins 12:12-13, the body of Christ is one and it is made up of many members. All its members were baptised into one body by one Spirit. Which means to say that there is one true church, named after God the Father called The Church of God. The one true church teaches the truth of God and not the doctrine and tradition of man - Matt 15:9; Mark 7:9. Only those who are not corrupted by doctrinal errors will be part of the called and chosen of God who will form the 144,000 firstfruits in the First Resurrection. These are the disciples who had not been defiled by false teachings and are 'spiritual virgins' - Rev 14:4. God will not allow His church to be defiled and mixing truth with error is disallowed - just like eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil was similarly forbidden in the Garden of Eden - Genesis 2:17- even though there is some good in it.

Unknown to theologians and church leaders, the purpose of Christ establishing His church is not primarily for 'saving the souls' of the whole world in this church age. If that is so, Christ failed miserably! All whom God has called to be part of His church is not merely for salvation and eternal life, but also for learning the ways and government of God, and to develop the character of Christ during their physical life in the church age. They have to overcome the deception of Satan, the lure and temptation of society and the weakness and idiosyncracies of self to be an overcomer to inherit the kingdom of God as immortal spirit beings; and thus become members of the Royal Family of God! Those who are called and chosen in this church age will have to turn from Satan's way of life (greed, selfishness, fear etc - the get way of life) to God's way of righteousness based on His holy law (love, peace, joy etc - the give way of life).

If the church is the instrument to get all mankind to be saved, then there is no salvation for the Gentiles before the time of Christ, other than the few who were specifically called and given the Spirit of God! Only the true church knows and understand God's Master Plan of Salvation for mankind found in Leviticus 23, teaches its members to observe the Holy Days of God rather than man-made holidays.Those who are called in the church age are called for a specific purpose and specific work. These saints are in training now to be equipped for the noble and great task ahead to assist Christ in bringing the whole of humanity to salvation when Satan is being put away.

The one true church is headed by Jesus Christ and He had come as the second Adam to qualify to replace the former Lucifer as the King on the throne of the earth ruling with the government of God. Christ also came as a Prophet to proclaim the Gospel of the kingdom of God which is the good news of replacing God's government in place of Satan on the throne of the earth - 2 Cor 4:4. The way for humans to enter and inherit the kingdom of God is for Christ to die to pay the death penalty for our sins and later resurrected as eternal spirit beings. Christ first advent was also to establish the church to train and equip those who are called and chosen to rule with Him when He returns.

All other churches who are not part of the true church of God, working under the rulership of Jesus Christ will not know, understand and have the faith and power to obey the commandments of His word and instructions to become the firstfruits of the calling. They will not form part of the First Resurrection when Christ returns!






 

Saturday, July 13, 2013

WHERE ARE ALL THE DEAD? (PART TWO)

Many who came from Sunday School are also familiar with the story of prophet Elijah 'ascending up by a whirlwind unto heaven'. But the story in 2 Kings 2:11 was merely stating that Elijah was miraculously being transported into another place, away from the crowd. That was why the students from the school of prophets started looking for him after his departure. In  2 Chronicle 21:12, the same prophet Elijah wrote a letter warning King Jehoram to repent from his wickedness lest 'serious affliction wil come upon him and his family'. Since, spirit beings in heaven do not write letters to earthlings, Eliajh was not 'lifted up to heaven'!

Traditional Christianity misrepresents God as the 'Ultimate Sadist' who is game to send unrepentant sinners to eternal life in hellfire 'roasting in all eternity without ever being burned up'. Could the saved in heaven ever be joyful knowing that their loved ones are being tormented in hellfire all of eternity? Would even the most wicked person on earth mete out such punishment? What more if most of those 'lost souls' have never ever heard of the true Gospel and God's laws and commandments? But most do not realise that the belief in the lost eternally burning in hellfire (having eternal life in hell) is in direct contradiction to John 3:16 which states unequivocally that only the saved in Christ have eternal life! Such belief is from pagan religion and not from Scriptures.

The Psalmist states that in 115:17, 'The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down in silence'. If the 'lost' who were dead - who forms the majority of all who had ever lived - are crying and wailing in hell, then there is no silence from the grave! Christ told His audience that ALL (the dead) that are in the graves shall hear his voice (John 5:28), not just some and true disciples of Christ should take all the words of the Lord at face value, not selectively!

The Hebrew word for 'hell' is shoel and in the Greek it is hades - literally means 'the grave'. In fact, all the dead - whatever their religious affiliation, go to 'hell ' (the grave). In the second usage of the word 'hell' is found in 2 Peter 2:4 - tartaros - refers to a place of restraint for the fallen angelic beings. The third usage of the word is translated from the word gehenna in Greek which could mean hell or hellfire, and refers to destruction and not ongoing punishment as stated by Christ in Matthew 10:28, ' And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.'

The Gehenna hellfire mentions in Mark 9:43-48 refers to the Valley of Hinnon - a deep gorge outside of Jerusalem where fire used to burn 24/7. Not only trash but dead bodies of those killed in battle or prisoners were thrown in to be burned. Some of the corpses thrown over never made it into the fire below but got stuck on the ledges near the edge of the gorge and were swarmed with maggots which later turned to flies!

Gehenna actually refers to the Lake of Fire which is a place of punishment with permanent destruction which Revelation 20:14 refers as the second death. All those who refused to repent after being given all the truth and the opportunity to do so will be resurrected in the Third Resurrection to end up in the Lake of Fire of annihilation (Malachi 4:1). A righteous and merciful God will never allow anyone to be tormented in pain and misery for eternity!

Some will defend the belief of eternal life in hell inferno by quoting the parable of The Rich Man and the Beggar spoken of by Christ in Luke 16:19-31. However, a closer examination of the parable shows that it is teaching about resurrection and not the living state of the dead either in 'heaven or in hell'. If the parable is referring to an inferno, can the tongue of the rich man be cooled simply by a dip of water (Luke 16:24)? One would rightly ask for a huge pool of water to quench the fire! Besides, the word 'remember' used in verse 25 when Abraham answered the rich man shows that a long lapse of time had passed - not an instance of getting to a burning hell after death for the unrepentant. The parable is rightly teaching about the prospect the wicked will face the Lake of Fire when they are so fearful that they can hardly move their tongue to speak coherently!

All those who are called and chosen to be true disciples of Christ will have their spirits renewed by God when their spirits return to Him upon death  - 'the spirits of just men made perfect' (Hebrews 12:23). These saints will be asleep 'in the graves' awaiting the First Resurrection when Christ returns to set up the kingdom of God on earth and that will be the time when true saints are resurrected to be born again as spirit beings to enter and inherit the kingdom as members of the Family of God. Make no mistake, only members of the Divine Family will untimately rule over the whole earth in the Millennium Age (Rev 3:21, 5:10) and the universe in eternity (Col 1:15-20) - even ruling over the angels (1 Cor 6:3)!


 

Saturday, June 29, 2013

WHERE ARE ALL THE DEAD? (Part One)

All through my growing up years as a Christian, I often heard Sunday school teachers, pastors, preachers and guest speakers talking nonchalantly about heaven and hell. Many a times, some would even preached at the wake of Christians who had passed on to bring comfort to those who are mourning that the deceased had 'gone to heaven to enjoy life forevermore'. But a careful study of Scripture will show that it teaches no such thing. So what is the truth of the destiny of all those who had died throughout the millennia since our distant ancestors walked the earth? Let's go through Scripture to find out.

The concept of the dead who had believed in Christ going to heaven and those who had not, going to hell is to believe that human beings have immortal soul. But Ezekiel 18:4 & 20 state, 'the soul that sinneth, it shall die' , and since 'all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God' - Romans 3:23, all human beings died and those who had died remained dead, they do NOT have eternal life somewhere else (whether in heaven or hell) as no human being has an immortal soul. All humans are souls and when they die, the souls died as well.To believe that the 'lost' are all 'burning in hell fire' after death is to imply that the wages of sin is 'eternal life in hell'.

Such man-made theology is pagan in origin and was popularised by a novelist named Dante Aligeirli who wrote the novel Divine Comedy in the thriteenth century. Dante was influenced by Greek philosophers like Plato, Aristotle and other earlier writers to pen the novel about heaven and hell. Subsequent preachers and evangelists had made use of such concept to great drama and effect in reaching out to unbelieving audience to 'frighten them into trusting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour'.

When a person dies, his or her spirit returns to God but it is not conscious and has no life of its own (Eccl: 3:21). The dead has no consciousness of existence and the passage of time (Psalm 6:5, 115:17, 146:4;  Eccl 3:20, 9:5). 'My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word' - Ps 119:25. The Psalmist knew that when he died, he will be 'sleeping in the dust' awaiting the (First) Resurrection when Christ returns to claim the kingdom of God as the ruling King of all the earth. David knew full well his eternal destiny when he will be resurrected (First Resurrection) from death to become immortal spirit God being (born again) like Jesus Christ - 'I shall be satisfied, when I awake with thy likeness' - Psalm 17:15.

Interestingly, Jesus Christ told Nicodemus, a Pharisee, which was recorded in John 3:13 thus, 'And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.'  Even after the ascension of Christ up to heaven, the Apostle Peter declared that 'David is both dead and buried...For David is not ascended into the heavens.' - Acts 2:29, 34. If David who is a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14) is not in heaven, even after the resurrection and ascension of Christ, then how is anyone going to get into heaven!

Jesus Christ taught in the Sermon on the Mount that 'the meek shall inherit the earth' - Matt 5:5. John recorded in Revelation 5:10 which should be correctly translated as 'And has made them (the saints) unto our God kings and priests, and they (the saints) shall reign on the earth.'  Similarly, it was recorded in Revelation 2:26 - ' And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations.'  Man-made theology would have you believe that heaven is an eternal playground for believers to roll and idle around forever with nothing better to do. But such teaching is contrary to the Gospel message which Christ and all His Apostles taught!

The prophet Daniel also recorded in chapter 7:14,18,22 &27 about Christ being officially given the rulership of the kingdom of God by the Heavenly Father and the saints of God were given the task to rule and reign with Christ on planet earth - hence the title of Christ as King of kings (saints) and Lord of lords (humans on earth). Towards the end, the prophet Daniel was told by Archangel Michael to rest (die) till the time of resurrection at the end of days (end of church age) - Daniel 12:13.

Some sceptics may weigh in Christ's promise to the thief in Luke 23:43 of granting him safe passage to heaven. But this is purely a mistranslation. Since in the original Greek manuscript which was inspired, there is no punctuation, the coma was incorrectly placed. It should rightly be translated as, 'Verily I say unto thee today (that is, right now),  shalt thou be with me in paradise.' If Christ had promised the thief that today he shall be with Him in paradise, the Lord is contradicting Himself. For He was three days and three nights in the grave and when Mary Magdalene saw Him on the fourth day, Christ told her, 'Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father (in heaven).' - John 20: 17.

Besides, He would be contradicting Himself on His statement in John 3:13. That is why He told His hearers that 'Where I go (heaven), you cannot come' - John 8:21,22; John 13:33. The thief will not be in the first resurrection as he was not baptised and had no time to develop the righteous character required to become sons of God. Since he repented of his sins, Christ will not condemn him and he will be in the second resurrection towards the end of the Millennium Age. By then, earth would have been a paradise. Jesus Christ is coming to earth and NOT the saints going to heaven - Rev 22:12. All who died in faith, including Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are still 'sleeping in the grave' awaiting the First Resurrection - Hebrews 11: 13. Christians are heirs in this lifetime and to become inheritors when Christ returns. If the dead in Christ had gone on to heaven, why is there a need for resurrection (see 1 Cor chapter 15)? - it simply makes no sense!




 

Friday, June 14, 2013

THE CALL TO BE GOD'S FIRSTFRUITS

The firstfruits are those whom God called (John 6:44) out of the value systems of this world (Gal 1:4) to conform to the mindset and attitude of Christ (Phil 2:4-5). They are in the world but not of the world (John 17:16) and will be sanctified by the Word of Truth (17:17) - meaning that they are not being deceived by false doctrine and teachings. Unless God the heavenly Father called them like Abraham, Moses and the Apostle Paul, amongst others, all of humanity are going through life ignorant of the plan and purposes of God. The Apostle Paul recognised those who are called to be the firstfruits of His creature (James 1:18) and acknowledged them as such (Rom 16:5; 1 Cor 16:15).

The prerogative of those who are called to be the firstfruits is that of God the Father. For He foreknew those whom He calls even before they were born (Rom 8:29-30). Those called will have a lifetime of striving in order to please God and be separate and different from the world (1 John 2:15-17). That is why 'not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called; but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.' (1 Cor 1:26-27). As Christ had said, 'narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.' (Matt 7:14). Those who hope to be overcomer of self (pride, greed, selfishness etc.), the deception of Satan and the lure of society will have to choose God's way.

The true church of God that Christ founded on the Day of Pentecost in AD 31 consists of a small group of true believers who understood the gospel of the Kingdom and all its accompanied truth handed down to Christ as the Prophet (Deut 18:15) and Messenger (Mal 3:1c). There is only one true church that He founded (Matt 16:18) and not a mixture of churches with differing doctrines and practices. They are the 'little flock' (Luke 12:32) with the Father's name written on their forehead (Rev 14:1) - meaning the Holy Spirit is indwelling in the cognitive part of their mind situated at the frontal lobe of the brain. The will and work of the Heavenly Father are always in their mind. The have not been corrupted by false doctrine ('spiritual virgins') and have avoided the political and religious system of the world (Rev 14:4) which are nothing more than the doctrines and traditions of men (Mark 7:7-8). The called are prepared to forsake all to abide in the truth and be faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ (Like 14:33), for they are the called, chosen and faithful (Rev 17:14).

Those who are being called and are obedient, God has given them the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:32) to empower them to overcome trial and tribulations which are necessary to trim their character to be more Christlike for the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). The firstfruits that make up the true church of God in this church age follow the government of God led by Christ as the Head. They must learn to be good followers of Christ now in order to lead others into God's kingdom come the millennium.Those who cannot follow the commandments and laws of God now will not qualify as the firstborn of God in the First Resurrection when Christ returns - 'for judgment must begin at the house of God' (1 Peter 4:17).

God's plan for the salvation of mankind is revealed in the observance of His Holy Days - not holidays! The Day of Pentecost is the picture of the calling and harvesting of the firstfruits of the church of God who will later assist Christ in bringing the rest of humanity to salvation when He returns. We are now living in such a time when God is calling and choosing His firstfruits to be trained and prepared - a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people - to reign with Christ in His kingdom (1 Pet 2:9). Those who have ears to hear will do well to heed the advice of the Apostle Peter to 'give diligence to make your calling and election sure; For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ' - 2 Pet 1:10-11.






 

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

WHY WAS JESUS CHRIST CRUCIFIED?

Traditional Christianity teaches that Jesus Christ, the Son of God was crucified for the sin of mankind. While this is an absolute truth on God's Plan for the salvation of mankind, there are more to the reasons and circumstances that led to His crucifixion.

When God redeemed Israel out of slavery from Egypt, He entered into a covenant with them to bless them as long as they obey His commandments. This was ratified with the blood of animal sacrifices (Exodus 24:6-8). Since the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin (Heb 10:4), God has to establish a better covenant and with better promises (Heb:8:6) that came in the Person of Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the world (John 3:16; John 6:54).

Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of virgin Mary in Bethelem. He was the God of the Old Testament (1 Cor 10:4) and came unto his own, and his own received him not (John 1:11). During His first advent, thousands heard Him speak and teach, saw Him casting out demons and healing the sick. The Pharisees and Sadducees - the religious elites of that time - demanded proof from Him of His identity with a sign from heaven. But none will be given except that of the prophet Jonah, when He will be in the grave for three days and three nights after His crucifixion.

These religious elites felt threatened by His teaching and popularity as they could lose their the support of the Jews. Besides, their power and authority were derived from the Roman authorities from where they were given some minor governmental roles. If they allow Christ to preach the true Gospel of the kingdom of God - a higher authority than that of the Roman emperor - these religious leaders could be implicated with sedition and treason which demand the death penalty. These prompted the religious leaders to plot the death of Christ in order to save their own skin (John 11: 45-53).

The Pharisees knew that Christ came from God the Father (John 3:2) and the Gospel of the kingdom that He proclaimed is about the coming supergovernment of God on planet earth. But to safegurard their interests and positions, they were determined to undermine Jesus Christ at every opportunity to stop Him in His track! They attempted to trap Him with His words so that they can accuse Him of sedition or treason before the Roman government. (Matt 22:15). But Christ saw through their intention (verse 18) and silenced them with His wisdom (verse 21).

Christ performed many miracles and spoke of strong words that the masses found difficult to stomach. After feeding the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish, Christ went over to Capernaum. The masses continue to follow Him hoping for more physical food to feed their stomach. But Christ told them to feed on spiritual food that will eventually lead to eternal life. When He spoke to the crowd that He is the Bread of Life and told them to feed on Him (the Passover symbols), many of His disciples turned away and walked with Him no more (John 6:66). Little wonder that Jesus said to His country folks, 'A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house' - Mark 6:4.

It was one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot who betrayed Him to the religious leaders for thirty pieces of silver and Christ was delivered to the Roman governor Pilate to be tried. It is commonly believed that the Jewish leaders have no power to sentence Him to death based on John 18:31, 'It is not lawful for us to put any man to death'. However, this is true only for charges involving sedition or treason - for which Jesus Christ was accused of since He preached the Gospel of the kingdom of God - the very Gospel message sent from God the Father. The religious leaders accused Christ of blasphemy, but they falsely charged Him of treason to let Pontius Pilate put Him to death. In this way, they could wash their hands off (and so they thought) and yet have Christ crucified. Jesus Christ came to preach the Gospel (Luke 4:43: John 18:37) and to set up the church (Matt 16:18) so that mortal human beings could be born again as immortal spirit beings in the Family of God to inherit God's kingdom (Rom 8: 16-17, 29-30; Heb 2:10). He died doing the Father's will!





 

Sunday, May 12, 2013

THE LAST GREAT DAY

The Last Great Day is also known as the 'eighth day' in Leviticus 23:36 as it follows immediately after the end of the Feast of Tabernacles. This final Holy Day commemorates the final judgement of God and some major events that follow after the Millennial Rule of Christ on earth. Some of these events include the Second Resurrection, the Third Resurrection, the New Heaven and the New Earth. All those who are called in this church age and qualifies in the First Resurrection will be rulers  (Rev 3:21) and priests (1 Peter 2:9) in the kingdom of God. They will be the pioneers who will assist Christ to govern and turn the hearts of rebellious mankind to be reconciled to God the Father.

The prophet Ezekiel in the book that bears his name states the vision of the 'Valley of the Dry Bones' (chapter 37) of physical resurrection (Second Resurrection) of all who had ever lived but are not already in the First Resurrection. Starting with the Israelites, all people who had died will be resurrected to flesh and blood physical beings to learn of God's truth and plan of salvation - to be lead and taught by Christ's called and chosen saints (Rev 17:14) in the First Resurrection who will become immortal spiritual beings (1 Cor 15:51-54; Rev 20:4-6). These saints will be members of the Family of God (Hebrews 2:10) and will be 'kings' (1 Tim 6:15) and 'gods' (Ps 82:6; Micah 4:5) to bring in the great harvest for the kingdom of God. They are currently being trained and judged by God in this present age for the great task ahead (1 Pet 4:17).

Only a small percentage of the world's population will survive to live in the millennial age - the large majority having perished in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord preceding that. They will be given the full truth of God's grace, mercy and Plan of Salvation for mankind. Just before The Last Great Day, Satan will be let loose on earth to deceive the people (Rev 20:7-10), and many will fall away. Subsequently, Satan and his demons will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Rev 20:10) and they will never again influence humanity.

Then comes the Second Resurrection or the Great White Throne Judgment - not sentencing - where all of humanity who have ever lived will be physically resurrected as flesh and blood beings to experience the life of peace, joy and prosperity since Satan and his demons were put away for good. This group of people will include all those who lived during the Pre-Flood era. Regardless of their age from infant to the elderly, they will live for another 100 years and be given all of God's truth for salvation (Isaiah 65:20-24; Acts 4:12). They will be judged on how they live their lives during the last 100 years of the millennial age and not their past life before the Return of Christ. All their works post resurrection will be recorded in the book of life (Rev 20:12) and judgment will be meted out based on post resurrection living.

Christ taught this in John 7:37-38, 'In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood up and cried, saying "If any man thrist, let him come unto me and drink." He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.' His mesage was given probably on the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles. In Christ's teaching, the living waters refer to partaking of the Holy Spirit, which God will pour out His Spirit upon ALL flesh (Joel 2:28) during the Last Great Day to give eternal life on all those who will accept God's way of life - the way of giving rather than Satan's way of getting.

The physical resurrection of all human beings during the last 100 years of the millennial age is not a second chance for salvation, but for all who have never had the opportunity to know the Creator and the truth of God. Their judgment will occur during the time of Christ's rulership when earth will be a paradise, after booting out Satan as god of this world (2 Cor 4:4) and as a great deceiver (Rev 12:9). The vast majority of the resurrected will have the opportunity to learn, experience and grow in God's way of life and have their names inscribed in the book of life. All those who refused to accept  God's way of life will experience the Third Resurrection. They will be those living during the 6,000 year period of Satan's rule, the millennial age or the last 100 years before the end of the millennial age. The merciful God will put them out of misery, casting them into the Lake of Fire (Rev 20:15) to be annihilated (Malachi 4:1, 3) in the 'second death' (Rev 20:14)  as if they have never been born and with no possibility of resurrection - they will not have eternal life in 'hellfire'. The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23) - not eternal life in any form of 'hellfire'!

All who qualifed for eternal life are either those who lived during the 6,000 years of Satan's rule, during the millennial age or at the last 100 years before the ushering in of the New Heaven and the New Earth. Even the inhabitants of ancient cities of Tyre, Sidon and Sodom, which angered God for their depravities will find mercy on the day of judgement and probably many will be saved and reconciled to God (Matt 11:21-24). God the Father will come down from the third Heaven to reside in the kingdom of God (headquarters will be in Jerusalem) and dwell with mankind (Rev 21:3). Man's destiny is to inherit the earth (Matt 5:5) where the throne of God (kingdom of God) resides. All who accept God's way of life will be born again as immortal spirit beings and be part of God's divine Family. But that is only the beginning - the universe needs to be transformed to conform to God's purpose for eternity!

 

Sunday, April 28, 2013

FEAST OF TABERNACLES

The Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23: 27,34) is a seven day festival commanded in Scriptures to be celebrated for which no servile work is to be carried out. This festival is celebrated by looking forward to 'when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord ' - Acts 3:19. God's plan for mankind involves restoration, and this Feast symbolises the restoration process when Jesus Christ will return to earth - represented by the Feast of Trumpets - and the banishment of Satan - represented by the Day of Atonement. Once all these have taken place, the foundation is set for the 'restitution of all things' (Acts 3:21), including the restoration of peace and harmony with God for the whole earth - with Jesus Christ reigning as the King of kings and Lord of lords!

The Feast celebrates the Good News of the coming Kingdom of God which Christ came to preach as the Gospel at His first advent. It also reflects the weekly Sabbath 'rest' (Hebrews 4: 1-11) when all of humanity will be resurrected to be given the opportunity to learn of God's truth and perfect laws and be reconciled back to God. It was meant to be so at the beginning of creation, but Satan's deception and man's disobedience led to sin and depravation of mankind.

Christ's return will begin the one-thousand year rule - the millennium reign (Rev 20:4) - with God's law as the foundation of His Messianic rule. 'For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem' - Isaiah 2:3. King David echoed this in Psalm 119:165, 'Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them'. By then, even the nature of wild animals will be changed, 'The wolf  also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them' - Isaiah 11:6.

Deserts will bloom and great physical healing will take place during the Millennial reign of Christ. 
'The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.' - Isiaah 35:1. 'Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.' - verses 5-6. Of even greater miracles will be spiritual healings, with six thousand years of human sufferings and injustices reversed. The Lord Christ and His saints (those resurrected from the First Resurrection) will become rulers and priests to help minister to all in need. Christ promised all true disciples 'that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations' - Rev 2:26. In the church age, they are being trained by the true church for times such as these!

The Feast of Tabernacles is also known as the Feast of Ingathering (Exodus 23:16). This Feast is a time of celebration of abundance which God has given. In type of the spiritual harvest, the former rain spring harvest is moderate (before Christ's return), while the latter rain fall harvest will be an abundant spiritual harvest during the Millennium - Joel 2:23-24. It will be the time when 'every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.' - Philippians 2:11 and 'The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea' - Isaiah 11:9.

In the New Testament, Christ kept the Feast (John 7:8-14), despite threats to His life as the Jewish religious leaders sought to kill Him. It was only in the middle of the Feast that His presence became known. Similarly, the Apostle Paul kept the Feast of Tabernacles as it was celebrated in the fall (Acts 18:21). The Millennial rule of Christ will be the time of peace, happiness and prosperity that mankind has been waiting for after six thousand years of wars, conflicts and misrule that plagued mankind with no lasting solutions to all the problems of humanity. Indeed, it is the Good News of the 'world to come' - Hebrews 2:5 - that Christ came to proclaim for all mankind. Christ said to His hearers -'know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32) - free from the bondage and deception of Satan. Let all who have ears hear the Gospel truth!







 

Saturday, April 13, 2013

THE DAY OF ATONEMENT

The Day of Atonement (Lev 23:27) is the fifth of the seven holy days of God's Master Plan for the salvation of mankind. In the feast of trumpets, Christ will return to earth to stop total destruction of mankind by establishing rulership over the whole world. Following from that, the next step of God's Plan is to put away Satan and his demons who are the primary instigators of all the sins of this world. Although the Passover is the forgiveness of sin for mankind, only those who are called before His return have appropriated the Blood of Christ and are saved. The rest of mankind will have to wait till the time of the Millennial Age for salvation.

Satan is so powerful that he blinds the world of God's truth, for he 'deceives the whole world' - Rev 12:9. The Apostle Paul reminded us that those who are called once ' walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience' - Eph 2:2. For Satan can transform himself as an angel of light, and his ministers can be transformed as ministers of righteousness to deceive the naive and gullible - 2 Cor 11: 14-15. Christ plainly taught this to those who are antagonistic to his teaching, ' Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar and the father of it - John 8:44.

True Christians are called to be in spiritual battle to resist the devil and his demons. We all have to do our part to resist the devil and temptation of the flesh to sin against the righteous laws of God. The Day of Atonement looks forward to the time when Satan and his demons will be put away and mankind will be free from their deception and influence (Rev 20:1-3). It will be the time when all of humanity will be given the chance to know the truth and be reconciled to God the Father. Babylon will become the habitation of Satan and the demons (Rev 18:2).

In Leviticus chapter 16, the Scriptures describes the Old Testament typology of Christ as the sacrificial Lamb that was slain and Satan as the 'scapegoat' that escaped into the wilderness. Although since the death of Christ, animal sacrifice was no longer necessary, nonetheless it reveals God's Plan for the salvation of mankind. Two goats were chosen and Aaron the high priest would cast lot to select 'one for the Lord' to be offered as a sacrifice (Lev 16:8-9). This goat represented Jesus Christ who would pay the penalty for the sin of all mankind. The high priest would confess all sins of the Israelites upon the head of the other goat ( the 'scapegoat' ) to be set free into the wilderness. The Hebrew word for 'scapegoat' is Azazel, which is a name for a demon - namely Satan. The term is a misnomer as the word 'scapegoat' is one who wrongly takes the blame of others and not one who was set free! The sending off of the sin-laden goat into the wilderness signifies the removal of all sin from the people and handling them over to the evil spirit where it belongs.

The term 'ye shall afflict your soul' in Lev 23:27 is to humble oneself through fasting on the Day of Atonement in a repentant state of mind. Fasting helps to remind us of our dependence upon God who alone is our source and sustainer of life. The early church kept the Day of Atonement and so did the Apostle Paul who observed this day of fast as recorded in Acts 27:9. The Day of Atonement is to be observed by all true believers as it is a prepatory step toward the Feast of Tabernacles when Christ and His saints will reign over all the earth.





 

Saturday, March 30, 2013

THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS

The Feast of Trumpets (Lev 23: 23-25) introduces the autumn festivals during which period of time God will send Christ back to earth to govern all the nations of the world. This coming establishment of the kingdom of God - the very heart of the gospel message of Christ - will commence the Millennial Age when God will intervene in the affairs of man throughout the whole earth. Satan will be put away for a thousand years under the restraining order of God. This Holy Day will commence the turning point in the history of mankind as the good news of the establishment of divine government on earth where peace, prosperity and righteousness based on God's law will prevail.

This Feast celebrates the heralding of the final prophetic trumpet that depicts the return of Jesus Christ to earth as the ruling King. It is the good news for this sin-filled wretched world that will finally see Satan dethroned as the god of this world and Christ enthroned as the King of the whole earth (Rev 11:15)! Hence, the Feast marks the future fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah coming as the King who will rule with power and authority.

In His earthly ministry, Christ did make a distinction between His first and second coming. Before Pontius Pilate at His trial, Christ told him that He had not come to rule at that time. ' My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world then would my servants fight (indicating at His second coming the angels will come with Him to destroy those who oppose His rulership), that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence... To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.' (The truth is that His first coming was to deliver the Gospel message of the kingdom of God and to build the church that will form the Family of God to help govern the kingdom when He returns).

Just before Christ was to ascend to heaven, the apostles last question for Him was when is He going to establish the kingdom of God. Christ told them that 'It is not for you (the disciples and true believers) to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power' - Acts 1:7. Instead, Christ told them to focus on spreading the Gospel of the good news of the coming kingdom. Note that just two verses earlier, Christ told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the arrival of the Holy Spirit, which is at Pentecost -' not many days hence'. Pentecost is the birth of the Christian church in 31 A.D. Yet traditional Christianity largely believe that the kingdom of God is synonmous with the church - which is contrary to what Christ taught!

The Feast of Trumpets also signals the resurrection of the dead. It is recorded for us in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, 'For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.' The Lord Jesus Christ will return to earth and all true believers will be with Him on planet earth with the Headquarters of His kingdom in Jerusalem - not in heaven! The Apostle Paul initially believed that Christ would return in his lifetime, hence the use of the word 'we'. This is the first resurrection mentions in Revelation 20:5 for which the second death (at the lake of fire) has no power because those resurrected will be changed to immortal spirit being.The writer of Hebrews term this 'a better resurrection' - Hebrews 11:35. This is the blessed hope of all true believers who understand the Master Plan of God.

Paul wrote in Romans 8:18-23 that all creation awaits the revelation of the sons of God as all are in bondage due to sin of corruption. Although tragic events lie ahead of the cataclysmic events of the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord, what lies beyond is the good news that Christ will return to restore mankind and the whole earth into God's abundant way of life, with the establishment of His perfect government on all the earth. The Feast of Trumpets is also a time to remember Christ command to pray, 'Thy kingdom come' - Matthew 6:10.