THE MYSTERY OF MAN

The educated man of modern times is a subject of much curiosity and is often, enigmatic. The higher is the educational attainment, the greater the ignorance of knowledge outside his area of expertise. It is geared primarily toward materialism - on how to make a full living - but not how to live life to the full. Much of modern education is centred on a combination of the agnosticism of evolution, the politics of Karl Marx, the economics of Adam Smith, the philosophy of Plato and the morals and social norms of Sigmund Freud. As such, higher education does not adequately address the purpose of mankind and human civilization. It also fail to teach that all things are a matter of cause and effect. For every resultant outcome - whether it is positive or negative - there is a cause or causes involved.

The primary sectors of human civilization in the form of government, family, education, business & finance, arts & entertainment are all secular, shutting out God in their scheme of things. They therefore are totally ignorant that Satan, as the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2b) is their ultimate master and are doing his bidding. Hence, mankind is facing mounting problems in all fronts, even its own survival, and no amount of higher education and technological breakthrough can solve these problems which are getting worse by the days! The root causes of these are spiritual.

 God's purpose for man is to instill character in him so that he can qualify to be born as an immortal spirit being with righteous spiritual character like Christ. But such righteous character cannot be attained overnight, it has to be acquired through hard work and much effort, involving suffering, sweat and tears at times, even to the point of physical death. Once this is done, man is ready to be born again as immortal spirit being, born of God into the divine Family of God incapable of sin (1 John 3:9). Then man will be complete and ready to restore God's government on earth which Satan had usurped by default due to the Fall of man through Adam and Eve.

All things physical is subject to change. But once made a spirit being, it is finished creation and is not subject to change. God's purpose for mankind on earth is to help restore the government of God on earth and to restore the physical creation of earth and the vast universe where the rebellious angels turned to ruin. In the process, God's purpose is for man to qualify to inherit as members of His divine royal Family to become God Beings just like Christ, albeit of lower status than the Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Man was first created of matter from the dust of the earth so that if he adopts Satan's "get way of life", he could be changed to God's "give way of life" - a life of love - and subsequently qualify as overcomer to become sons of God in the life to come. Should he refused to abide in God's way after being given the whole truth, then he will be blotted out of existence as if he was never born. Man current physical life is incomplete as it was inherited from Adam. But he will be made spirit being because of Christ,  the last Adam became a life-giving spirit (1 Cor 15:45-46).

Although man was created mortal and does not have self-containing life, God has given man a human spirit that when united with the Holy Spirit will beget immortal life beyond physical death. Man is not saved by the death of Christ, but only reconciled to God the Father by Jesus' death. We shall be saved by His life (Rom 5:10) - notice the future tense "shall be saved", as salvation will occur only at our resurrection! The teaching in most churches of the dead in Christ go straight to heaven is utterly false. For Christ said, ' No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven' (John 3:13). The Apostle Peter preached after Christs' resurrection and ascension to heaven on the day of Pentecost that David is both dead and buried (Acts 2; 29), 'For David did not ascend into the heavens (Acts 2:34), but fell asleep (Acts 13: 36). If the dead in Christ go straight to heaven, why is there a need for resurrection then? Some theologians claim that the resurrection is for man to have a bodily form to become complete. But the Apostle Paul categorically states that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 15:50), and the kingdom of God cannot be seen by the eyes of man (John 3:3).

All these truths should propel us to live life meaningfully with the overarching goal of inheriting eternal life in the kingdom of God when Christ returns to establish His kingdom on earth!

GOD'S DIVINE FAMILY

Most people live their lives with no clue why they were born to live life on planet earth. Their common assumption is that they are simply the product of their parents' union and a cog in the order of life and death that plague all mankind. Philosophers, evolutionists and educators are in constant debate about the meaning and purpose of life - but never come to the knowledge of the truth! But only those who truly search the Bible will understand that there is a transcendent life purpose determined by the Godhead, currently composed of two Supreme Supernatural God Beings, Who are working to build a divine Family of immortal and powerful god beings to restore  the government of God on earth (by default ceded to Satan and the demons) during the millennial age and then the universe during the age of eternity.

The world's religion has held back God's gospel message since the time of the first century church. As the gospel message of the kingdom of God involves God's government and God's family ruling His kingdom, Satan has a vested interest in thwarting the true gospel from reaching the masses. In this church age, Satan is still sitting on his throne (2 Cor 4:4), but all these is about to change. He knows his days are numbered as he lost his right to govern to Jesus Christ some two thousand years ago (Matt 4:3-11). Christ is now in heaven awaiting His inauguration with the coming kingdom of God when He returns to earth (Luke 19:12). Christ true disciples are to live by faith with hope and love (1 Cor 13:13)   while awaiting His return. But faith and hope will fade away when the perfect comes (1 Cor 13:10) as His true disciples will be born again as immortal god beings into His divine family, and only love will remain for all eternity - hence the  greatest of these three virtues is love!

God's divine family involves the very purpose of your life and mine. But the wise men of this world (Satan's kingdom of darkness) refuse to know and scoff at God's revelation, choosing to go in cahoots with Satan and his demons to deceive the people of the world. The Apostle Paul had to rebuke the Corinthian church of the first century for being carnal, like babes in Christ choosing to feed on milk rather than solid food, with envy, strife and divisions among them (1 Cor 3:1-3). Unfortunately, such rebuke is still relevant in the twentieth-first century. For many know not that the goal of a Christian is to receive an immortal spirit body at the resurrection to fulfill the very purpose of being - to bear the image of the heavenly Man ( which is Christ Himself  - 1 Cor 15:49)

But God's spiritual creation of man is still work-in-progress, basically unfinished. Job understood the purpose of God for his life for 'All the days of my hard service I will wait, till my change comes. You shall call, and I will answer You. You shall desire the work of Your hands.' (Job 14: 14-15). He knew that God was at work within him to prepare him for eternity. God is the potter, we are the clay (Jer 18:6).  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them ( Eph 2:10). However, God is only working among those whom He has called in this church age. Even then, only relatively few of those who are called will eventually qualified to be in the first resurrection (Matt 20:16b; 22:14) to inherit the kingdom of God ( little flock - Luke 12:32 ) to become members of God's royal divine family. The rest of humanity will have to wait till when Christ returns and Satan bound to be in the qualifying process.

To build the very character of God is the very reason you and I exist. However, it is hard work as it takes time, effort, discipline and experience to acquire godly character. But the Spirit of God is helping those whom He has called in the process. Those who try to do so on their own effort will not make it. Our role is to obey by yielding to Him and let God accomplish His purpose in and through us. It is Christ in us (Gal 2:20; 4:19; Col 1:27; Eph3:17; 2 Cor 13:5) that does the character building process which the Heavenly Father guides through the Spirit of God indwelling in the mind of those He has called. Those who are carnal will not qualify (Gal 5:19-21; Eph 5:5; 1 Cor 6:9-10). Make no mistake, only members of God's royal divine family (they have to become inheritors, not just heirs, to see and enter the kingdom of God) will rule the earth during the millennial age and the whole universe in the age of eternity! (Hebrews 2:5-11).

THE HUMAN MIND

The human mind is incredibly superior beyond the size of the physical brain. No animal in the animal kingdom can come close to the power of the human mind in terms of its creativity and power of analysis. What is so unique about the human mind is due to the 'spirit in man' that gives it the edge over all other earthly creature. Animals have brains, but no intellect. They operate mostly on instinct, but no ability to develop moral characters, let alone Godly ones.

God's purpose for creating man is to reproduce Himself with Godly spiritual character that will be perfect like Him and will not sin once he is born of God - 'born again' (1 John 3:9). But such spiritual character cannot be canned, it has to be developed through time, experience (trials and tribulations) and discipline. Hence, the purpose of mortal human life on earth is to accomplish God's plan for mankind.

For this to happen, God has placed in man a human spirit (1 Cor 2: 11). Although the human spirit does not impart life in that it cannot think, feel, see or hear, but the human spirit records every thought, character and knowledge through the five senses. Notice that it is the spirit in man that enables him to acquire human knowledge; but it is the presence of the Holy Spirit implanted in his mind that empowers him to understand spiritual knowledge (1 Cor 2:11). That is why mankind in general, without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in their mind is unable to understand the spiritual truth about the kingdom of God (spiritual knowledge)  because they are not spiritually discerned (1 Cor 2: 14).

All matter in the physical is transient and changeable. But the spiritual is immortal and unchangeable. Once the rebellious angels decided to rebel against God's righteous law, there is no turning back. Although the demons do not die as they are immortal spiritual beings, they will lose their sense of purpose without hope and joy for all eternity. For man, they have a choice to make - to follow God's way with the hope of eternal life or be annihilated in the second death (Obadiah 16; Malachi 4:1) from which there is no hope of resurrection. If God had made man spirit being right from the start, that would be the greatest of all tragedies for those who refuse to repent from Satan's way of life. That explains why God had to seal off the tree of life from man after the Fall (Genesis 3:24), or else man would partake of it and  live eternally in sin!

The indwelling of the 'spirit in man' infuses him with a human mind that differentiates him from an animal. The indwelling of God's Holy Spirit allows the Spirit of God to connect with the mind of man to impart spiritual understanding and character. That makes him a true believer and a Christian as he is being led by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9). As the true believer allows the Spirit of God to impart more spiritual knowledge and understanding through bible study, prayer and obedience, the character of Christ is slowly being formed in him as he partakes of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-4). Like a foetus growing to full term, he will be 'born again' at the first resurrection when Christ returns to become an immortal spirit being (son of God) to be like Christ (1 John 3:2). Their role is to ultimately bring God's government upon the whole universe - consisting of a trillion galaxies and more!

The spirit in man acts as the mold that encapsulates the character, knowledge, attitude, shape and form until the point of physical death. Man's spirit will return to God upon death (Eccl 12:7; Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59), but the human spirit is not conscious of anything by itself and God will perfect it (Hebrews 12:23) for the day of redemption. Only at the first resurrection will the true believer who is dead comes alive, born of the spirit (born again) at the next second of consciousness since his time of death! Job understood this full well (till my change comes - Job 14:14), so did David (I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness - Psalm 17:5b) and Daniel (And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake - Daniel 12:2). If mankind truly understands the true Gospel of the kingdom of God and the incredible human potential,  most of the problems and evils of this world can be resolved. For those whose mind is not indwelled with the Holy Spirit, they are more susceptible to deception from the forces of darkness as Satan is the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2) who deceives the whole world (Rev 12:9).

THE DESTINY OF BEING

The theory of evolution has deceived millions into believing that man is a product evolved from some lower animal species like the ape family through millions of years. But the evolutionists failed to understand that man is specially created in the image of God, in His likeness (Genesis 1:26). But this means is that man was created with the potential to be like God, for man was created to be the 'God kind', while all animals have no such potential.

This is the true Gospel message that Christ came some 2,000 years ago to preach to reveal the good news (the Gospel) of the total abolition of Satan's power over the world and banishment from the earth upon His return. The earth will be restored to the rulership of God with Christ as the King and the resurrected sons of God as kings. To those Jews who believe in Him, Christ said, 'If you abide in My word (the Gospel of the kingdom of God), you are my disciple indeed... you seek to kill Me, because My word (the Gospel message sent from the Heavenly Father) has no place in you... you do not understand My speech because you are not able to listen to My word (the Gospel message)... he who is of God hears God's words, therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.' (John 8:30-47). Christ commissioned His disciples to preach the Gospel of the kingdom of God and the church was raised to back such mission.

Man can understand the Gospel because human kind is created far beyond just the physical brain. 'But there is s spirit in man, and the breadth of the Amighty gives him understanding' (Jobs 32:8)  Man has a spirit which none of the species in the animal kingdom possess. The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:11 gives an astonishing statement, 'For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God'.  What this means is that man can acquire human knowledge only because of the human spirit in him; and he can acquire spiritual knowledge only when the Spirit of God is indwelling him. Thus all human beings were created to receive two different kind of spirits - one at birth (the spirit in man) and the other upon repentance and baptism (the Holy Spirit).

Since only a small group of God's elect possess the Holy Spirit, man in general is unable to solve the problems of mankind which has spiritual roots at the core. This is inspite of all the advancement of mankind in medicine, science and technology. The converted mind possesses both the human spirit and the Holy Spirit, and both are working in harmony to produce the fruits of character, begotten of God and ready to be born again as immortal spirit being at the first resurrection (Romans 8:16-17). Character building is a process that takes time and the spirit in man is involved (Proverbs 16:32). When the physical life of the disciple has run its course, the human spirit is returned back to God (Ecc 12:7; Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59) with the personality, character, knowledge and a complete life history of experience intact ready to be merged with a new spiritual body at the time of resurrection (Hebrews 12:23). The Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 states thus, 'Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.'

Human beings must acquire knowlege from the time of conception  in order to function properly. Animals operate mostly by instinct and is able to acquire only limited knowledge and nothing beyond that. While animals only have brains, a human being has a mind, containing the human spirit - and that sets man apart from animal. As such man has the power to choose between right and wrong. When the first parent Adam rejected the Tree of Life, he rejected the opportunity to receive the Spirit of God.  Since then, all man has cut himself off from God and the opportunity of eternal life. Except for a small group of those who are His elect, mankind is totally cut off from God until when Christ returns to earth to set up His kingdom. Man without the Holy Spirit is incomplete and a work-in-progress until Christ returns and make available the Holy Spirit to all who believe and accept the way of God.

When Christ returns to earth, He will bring reward to each person whom God has called in this age according to his works (Matt 16:27). However, the spirit in man is not by itself conscious. It will unite with the Spirit of God at the time of resurrection - the very mold that unlocks all that a person is from beginning to end. It is the spirit in man that works with the brain to form the human mind  and not the 'immortal soul' that many wrongly assume will transcend death. Man does not have a soul but man is a living soul (Genesis 2:7). And the soul who sins shall die (Ezekiel 18:4,20). If man already has an immortal soul, how could he be changed from mortal to immortality as stated in 1 Corinthians 15:54?

All who are called in this age are now in training to be ready for Christ's return to serve as priests and rulers for the great harvest yet to come upon the multitudes that survive the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord. God has always warned His people from mixing truth with error, failing to heed the warning would result in death!

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JESUS CHRIST

For almost 2,000 years, theologians and preachers have misunderstood the true gospel. They were and still are preaching the gospel about the Person of Christ instead of the gospel of Christ - which is the gospel of the kingdom of God. The gospel of the kingdom of God is NOT the gospel of grace or about the Person of Christ. Instead, Christ is to be preached in conjuction with the gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ was sent by God the Father as a Messenger to proclaim the coming kingdom of God that will be ushered in when He returns to reign over all the earth and displace Satan as the god and ruler of this world (2 Cor 4:4; John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11). If the gospel is about saving grace and the Person of Christ, it would be meaningless since when Christ started to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God with His disciples, none of His disciples then knew that He would be crucified, and could not have preached the gospel without having any knowledge of it!

Jesus Christ came to be KING over all the earth when He returns to reign with the kingdom's headquarters in Jerusalem. The kingdom of God will be the time of  'Sabbeth rest' that those who are called and chosen to be sons - members of the Divine Family - they will have to strive now (Hebrews 4:11) to become overcomers (Rev 3:21) in order to enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). When the kingdom of God is ushered at His return, sufferings, misery, wars and evils will disappear - world peace and prosperity, happiness and righteousness will prevail over all the earth. In essence, the gospel is the Good News of the coming government of God that Christ was sent by the Heavenly Father to preach (Mark 1:14-15; Luke 4:43) and all His disciples are commissioned to do likewise (Matthew:28:19-20).

The Apostle Philip preached the gospel of the kingdom of God AND the name of Jesus Christ to the Samaritans (Acts 8:12) as two separate matters. Similarly, Paul preached the gospel of the kingdom of God to the Gentiles for three months (Acts 19:8). And  to both the Jews and Gentiles, Paul preached the kingdom of God (Acts 20:25)... repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (verse 21)... showing that the gospel is preached alongside the role of Christ as Saviour and Lord. When Paul was in house arrest, he faithfully preached the kingdom of God AND teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 28:31).

The Apostle Paul warns in 2 Cor 11: 4 about preaching 'another Jesus or a different gospel'.  If Christ is the gospel, why would Paul cites these two as separate doctrinal errors? Paul plainly distinguishd the teaching of a false Jesus and a false gospel as two separate errors! All these clearly show that the Messenger is Christ and the gospel message is the kingdom of God. A deceived world has confused the gospel message with the Messenger. They simply focus on the Messenger and ignore His message. Such grave ommision will bring about God's judgement upon the coming Day of the Lord!

The message about the coming kingdom of God is the very core of the Bible. Enoch - Noah's great grandfather - prophesied that the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment on all (Jude 14-15),  a reference to Christ's Second Coming to reign as King over all the earth. Noah is the eighth preacher of righteousness (the coming kingdom of God) - 2 Peter 2:5 - while Enoch is the seventh preacher, showing that there were eight preachers in all proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God with Abel as the first preacher of righteousness in the centuries leading to the Flood.

The same gospel was also preached to Abraham (Galatians 3:8) - probably by Melchizedek - in that through him all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Genesis 12:3). This can only happen when Christ returns to establish the kingdom of God on earth. Since Moses penned the book of Genesis, he must have known of the gospel of the kingdom. In many of his Psalms, David wrote of the coming kingdom of God, like 'For You shall judge the people righteously, and govern the nations on earth' (Ps 67:4). The major and minor prophets of the Old Testament all preached the gospel of the kingdom of God.

The prophet Isaiah is a great preacher and writer of the coming kingdom of God. In the often quoted but misunderstood verses of Isaiah 9:6-7, he prophesied of the First and Second coming of Christ Who will sit on the throne of David (currently occupied by Queen Elizabeth II of UK) to establish His government of peace and righteousness forever. It will be a time when the knowledge of God will be made known throughout the entire world (Isaiah 11:9) and how the government of God will be spread throughout the earth and war will be no more (Isaiah 2:2-4). The prophet Micah recorded this identical prophecy in Micah 4:1-3. Christ spoke of this in His parable of the leaven recorded in Luke 13:20-21 in which the kingdom of God is like a leaven which spreads until it fills its host.

 The prophet Jeremiah foretold of a time when Christ the King shall reign over all Judah (Jews and Benjaminites) and Israel (the 'lost ten tribes of Israel') as the THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (Jeremiah 23:5). This can only happen when Christ has returned to earth to reign as the King of kings and Lord of Lords! Ezekiel describes of a time when God will bring all the Israelites, who are now scattered all over the earth, into the land He promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel) - Ezekiel 36:24.  Daniel wrote of a time when God will set up a kingdom that will stand forever (Daniel 2:44).

As to the minor prophets, with the possible exception of Jonah (he probably did but was not recorded), all of them wrote and preached the gospel of the kingdom of God (Hosea 2:16, 19; Joel 2:21-27; Amos 9:11-15; Obadiah 21; Micah 4:1-3; Habakkuk 2:14; Zephaniah 3:14-20; Zechariah 14:1-3, 8-9; Malachi 3:1-3) in one way or another. The Apostle Peter spoke and wrote that God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets the gospel of the kingdom since the world began (Acts 3:21). All who are called by God to be His servants will preach the same message as Christ preached, as did all the prophets and the Apostles. The Lord Christ Himself affirmed that, 'the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me' (John 14:24).

Make no mistake, no man can bring about the kind of government that will solve man's problems. Only a miraculous divine intervention through Christ will bring about permanent change ruled by the Family of God with Christ as the King. The ultimate destiny of man is to be born again as immortal spirit god-being upon resurrection to participate in the future spreading of God's government - not just upon the earth, but throughout the universe (Isaiah 9:7)! Those who have ears, let them hear.

JESUS CHRIST OF THE BIBLE (2)

Most traditional churches believe that Jesus Christ was in the grave from Friday to Sunday - celebrated by Good Friday and Easter Monday. But in truth, He was in the grave from Wednesday to Saturday when He arose on a Sabbath day - a full three days and three nights in the grave! As Jesus said that no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17) so shall the Son of Man be  (Matt 12: 39-40) - nothing more and nothing less.

Jesus Christ was the WORD made flesh upon His incarnation as a Human Being. He was with God the Father right from the beginning (John 1: 1-2) and was the SpokesPerson of the Old Testament in the encounters with Moses. After His incarnation, the WORD became known as Jesus Christ, a Man born of the virgin Mary. Jesus always spoke and expressed the truth and will of God the Father. The truth and will of God are expressed in the Bible (The WORD in written form), the Laws of God and the gospel of the kingdom of God which Christ was commissioned to preach ('I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent ' -Luke 43).  Most preachers ignored the gospel and preach only the Person of Christ, mistaken that the kingdom of God is the church or the gospel about Christ (different from the gospel of Christ that the Lord preached) - but they are all separate and distinct (See Acts 8:12, Acts 28:31). A true minister of Christ must preach the full gospel or none at all.

The question as to why Jesus was delivered to the Romans to be executed is not fully understood by most Bible teachers. Most taught that the Jews do not have the mandate to put any of their own to death, citing John 18:31, 'It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death' . However, in practice, they do have the power to authorise capital punishment except where it involved treason or sedition against the Roman government. Stephen was accused of blasphemy and was stoned to death by the Jews (Acts 7:59-60), there is no mention of Roman government involvement in that case. On several occasions, the chief priests and scribes attempted to kill the Lord Jesus (Mark 11:18; Luke 19:47) and even the Jews (John 10:31), with or without approval from the Roman authority.

Although accused of blasphemy by the high priests, the religious leaders conspired to finish off Jesus through false charges of treason - by leaving the unpleasant task of execution to Pontius Pilate.  They were all mistaken into believing that Jesus was going to set up the kingdom of God there and then in His first advent. That would threaten their own authority among the Jews with tacit support from the Roman government. Fast forward two thousand years later, the church is still mistaken that Christ had already set up the kingdom of God when He first came - in the church and the through preaching the gospel of grace! The truth is the kingdom of God has yet to be established, but will only be when He returns (Rev 11:15).

It is a fact that the Lord Jesus Christ came to die for the sins of mankind and accepting Him as Saviour will give the hope of eternal life after resurrection. But this hope of eternal life will be realised only after His Second Coming, not anytime before. All who are dead, both believers and unbelievers, are sleeping in the grave, and not in heaven (John 3:13) or roasting in hell (Proverbs 30:4) as many Christians believe. Acts 2: 29 and 34 state unequivocally us that not even David - a man after God's own heart - has gone to heaven but is in the grave. Hebrews 11:13 further confirms that even the founding fathers of the Old Testament times have all died in faith, yet to receive their promise of eternal life! The Apostle Paul in Romans 8:19 states, 'the creation eagerly awaits for the revealing of the sons of God' - all those who are called and chosen as members of the Divine Family will be in the first resurrection when Christ returns.

The rest of all humanity who have ever lived will be resurrected as reconstituted flesh and blood mortals in the second resurrection towards the end of the millennium age and be given all the truth to accept Christ as Saviour. Those who refused will be annihilated in the lake of fire. All who received forgiveness and salvation though the shed Blood of Christ (Acts 4:12) will be given immortal life in the kingdom of God. Christ and His chosen saints will rule the earth and then the universe for all of eternity. All these and more are clearly stated in God's Plan of Salvation for mankind through the seven Holy Days' festivals found in Leviticus 23. These are God's universal truth meant for all mankind regardless of race, background or when they lived. But only a small group will have the faith to believe the WORD at face value and will be greatly rewarded.

JESUS CHRIST OF THE BIBLE (I)

Millions of people are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ the world over every Christmas season. But sadly, few understand Who is He and what is the purpose of His ministry on earth and why is He coming again. Millions and perhaps billions down the centuries taught they know better, since the message of Christmas is well publicised and rooted in the festive season of merry-making, celebration and commerce. However, the true Jesus Christ of the Bible is far different from 'another Jesus' that the Apostle Paul spoke of in 2 Corinthians 11:4.

To begin with, Jesus was certainly not born on December 25 as the story weaved it out to be. Luke 2:8 tells us that there were shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night when Christ was born. Since it is winter season in December, both sheep and shepherd could not  be out in the field as it is rainy and cold. The likely explanation is that in the Roman world, December 25 is a time of merrymaking to celebrate the idolatrous pagan festival Saturnalia with exchanges of gifts and presents.

From a young age, Jesus was well acquainted with the Law of God - the commandments, statutes, precepts and judgments. He kept the Holy Days of God while He walked the earth. After all, as the Rock of the Old Testament (1 Cor 10:4), it was Jesus Christ who delivered the Ten Commandments to Israel atop Mount Sinai. As God of the Old Testament (John 1:1-3), Christ knew and understood the customs and traditions of the Jews very well.

Movies and paintings portray Jesus Christ as an effiminate Guy with long hair, as theologians mistaken Him to be a Nazarite sworn with Nazarite vows. But nowhere in Scriptures is mentioned that Christ had sworn such vows, otherwise He would not have drank wine and touched any dead body as that would be forbidden and considered unclean. If Jesus Christ had worn long hair, that would have gone against the customs of His times as man of those days kept their hair short. Scriptures teach that Christ escaped His enemies several times by merging with the crowd, and if He had kept long hair that would distinguish Him like a sore thumb. Besides, the Apostle Paul advised against keeping long hair for men (1 Cor 11:14) as it is a dishonour to do so. Certainly, such a distorted image of Christ falls squarely against the teachings of the Bible!

During the first centuries B.C and A.D., the Jews were very much oppressed by the Roman occupation in paying of taxes (up to 40 percent of their crop produce) in addition to the tithe (10 percent) for the Temple. In such harsh conditions, many were hopeful of the Messiah to come and deliver them from oppression of the Roman authorities. Many had been deceived by self-proclaimed false christ during those times, but only few truly believed Jesus Christ as the true Messiah as prophesied and sent by God the Father.

The Jews of the times of Christ could not accept Him as their Messiah because they misunderstood Scripture. They thought that their Messiah would come in pomp and glory to demolish the Roman Empire and set them free from bondage and establish an eternal kingdom based on various Old Testament prophecies. But man's ways are not God's ways (Isaiah 55:8). God sent Christ to proclaim the Gospel of the kingdom and to die for the sins of man, so that man can be reconciled back to God. Christ's first advent was to qualify to rule the kingdom of God upon His return when He overcome the temptations of Satan in the wilderness. Because Christ was obedient to the Father's will, He was granted the right to rule in the coming kingdom - the divine government that will bring justice and peace to the whole world. That has yet to happen - the Jews missed the mark and so do millions of Christians in Christendom today!

The Roman authorities felt threatened, and so do the Jewish religious leaders in the days of Christ because they were fearful that their own standing among the Jews and hence their jobs as civil servants of the Roman Empire would be undermined.  They inderstood that Christ was preaching the Gospel of the kingdom - the divine government that will replace all human governments - but they misundersood the exact timing. The religious leaders mistakenly thought that the kingdom of God would come in Christ's time on earth. Even Christ's own disciples got the timing wrong right up to the time of His ascension, when they asked Him, 'Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?' (Acts 1:6).

It is God the Father,  and not Christ Who called each and every one of His children to repentance (John 6:44,65) and lead the Christian way of life so as to be born into God's kingdom at the first resurrection (happen at Christ's Second Coming). And to be born into the kingdom of God - His divine Family - one must live according to the laws governing the kingdom of God. The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is the epitome of the laws and principles governing the kingdom. What the millions in Christendom believe and practise today are mostly contrary to Scripture, being deceived into believing that the Old Testament has been done away with as 'Christ had nailed it to the cross' -and that those teachings are only for the Jews. As foretold by Christ and the Apostle Paul, most will simply miss it all!