Contrary to popular belief in Christiandom, simply saying the sinner's prayer to seek forgiveness of one's sins may not be sufficient to get one saved. The sinner's prayer may indicate that the sinner is remorseful of one's sins, but that does not mean repentance. Repentance means to turn away from one's sinful past, cutting off root ties that hold a person in bondages. While remorseful is fill with sorrow and regret for what one had done, by itself it has no power to change for the better. Repentance is Godly sorrow and it involves mindset change. Scriptures tell us that repentance is toward God the Father and faith is toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). The significance of this verse will be explained as we proceed along. It is worthy to note that true repentance is required for true conversion in order to receive God's Holy Spirit for empowerment as the change agent.
The problem with an unconverted mind is that the person is either full of himself/herself or with some idol still stuck in the subconscious mind. Pride and prejudice either rules the unconverted mind or some form of idolatry do. God has to humble the person before he/she can be of any use in the work of God. To be truly converted is to be repented - a lifelong process - and be filled with the things of God and not the things of this world. Only repented persons are truly converted, and true conversion is an essential requirement to inherit the kingdom of God to become members of His Divine Family.
A sure way to fill our mind with the things of God is to have the thoughts of God - to think like God from God's perspective. Such is the renewal of the mind that the Apostle Paul talks about in Ephesians 4:23. A kind of mind siege by the power of God's Spirit. When we set our mind on the things above, and not on the things on the earth (Col 3: 2), we are allowing the Spirit of God to fill our mind. In order for the Spirit of God to fill our mind, we have to first empty what is contrary to His will and purposes for our lives. This is a sure way to prevent sin from getting a hold on us.
The goodness of God leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). The goodness is the divine exchange that God was prepared to die on our behalf to pay the penalty of sin and fulfill the law of God. That is why repentance has to be toward God and not toward man. It has to be godly sorrow and not human remorsefulness. The first step is to recognise any idol or idols and smash them out of our way. Next is to repent of all our sinfulness before God the Father. The third step is to fill our mind with the things of God with the renewal of our mind by the Spirit of God.
God the Father orchestrated the whole plan of salvation for mankind with Jesus Christ taking the cross of calvary in fulfillment of the plan. When we see the goodness of God's plan and the shed blood of Christ we begin to understand why we need to repent toward God and have faith in Christ that only His death and blood is sufficient to pay for our sins. But before one can have his/her mind renewed by the Spirit of God, there has to be true repentance. God is so good that the Father and Son are prepared to sacrifice greatly for mankind. When Jesus Christ became our sin offering, our Heavenly Father also suffered horrifically as the relationship between them was broken for the sake of our salvation that we may have eternal life forever in the kingdom of God!
All of us have some idols in our lives at some point in time. The idols may not necessarily be some man-made gods or someone important. It could very well be the acceptance of your views and opinions by members of your close social networking group! Whatever form it takes, the Lord is not pleased if it takes precedence over the Almighty God. God has to work something in us to yank out the idols in our life for true repentance to take effect. I for one can testify the trials and tribulations that I went through and am still going through toward Christian maturity. Only when we empty of self can the Spirit of God fills our mind to take its rightful place at conversion. When the Holy Spirit of God fills our mind, renewal of the mind takes place. That is what makes the convert a Christian.
A true Christian will have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16; Phil 2:5) as our Lord Jesus Christ was led by the Spirit of God while He walks the earth. To have the mind of Christ is to think the thoughts of God and see events and circumstances from God's perspective. Once a Christian fully understands and practice that, he/she is on the way to become an overcomer. An overcomer of the deceptions of Satan, the lure of wealth and power of society and the temptations of the flesh and pride of life. Such a person will eventually be born again as immortal spirit being to become a son of God to inherit all that the Heavenly Father has planned for His divine Family.
You can become part of His marvellous plan if you trust and obey His word from Scriptures. That will be the beginning of the abundant eternal life - more than just the chemical existence of this temporal life!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
WHY DISASTERS STRIKE
In the past several years, it is becoming too common to hear of disasters taking place all over the world with increasing frequency. What used to be shocking news is now seemingly common - people just take it as part and parcel of life. The recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile bear testimony to the fact that we are indeed nearing the time of Christ's Second Coming as He said so in Matthew 24:7. Many theologians and preachers are adamant that a loving God will never has a hand in all these disasters. Yet in the same breath, they proclaim that all who have never heard and believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior in this time and age are doomed for eternal condemnation in hell!
The fact of the matter is that we need to understand the world as God sees it. This world does not belong to God as our forebear Adam and Eve had long ago cut off man's relationship with his Creator. In so doing, all of mankind had fallen under a curse of sin and death. When Jesus came to redeem man from the Fall, only a small handful who are called out from this world are under His protection.The rest of humanity will have to wait until after His return for their chance of salvation. All these are in God's plan of salvation for mankind hidden in the festivals of the seven holy days found in Leviticus 23.
Has Adam and Eve chosen to obey God in partaking of the tree of life, the Spirit of God will have abide in all of mankind giving God's presence, provision and protection to all who obey Him. But since that was not the case, mankind as a whole is under the sway of the great deceiver to commit sin and more sin as generations passed. The result is untold sufferings and misery throughout the history of mankind. Sadly, just as our forebears had rejected God, so have our generation. Hence, famines, pestilences, natural disasters and wars had and will continue to come till the close of this age when Christ returns to set up God's kingdom on earth. Then and only then will there be peace, righteousness and prospertiy throughout all the earth.
God had to allow man to learn his lessons. The reader may wonder how is that possible since countless innocents would have been dead, often through no fault of their own making! The answer is simply that all the dead will be resurrected to life sometime toward the close of the millennial age and be taught the truth, and nothing but the whole truth about what had actually happened and how they can embrace God's way of life. 2 Peter 3:9 reads, 'The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.'
Every human being who has yet to be saved will be given the opportunity to hear of the gospel and God's plan of salvation. Except for a small group who will reject God and be annihilated at the lake of fire, most will repent and accept God's offer of salvation and be born again in the kingdom of God as eternal spirit being. It is within the kingdom of God that eternal life begins.
In this age only a small group of people are called to repentance and have God's protection through His indwelling Spirit. In the Old Testament, there are records of countless helpless people killed, including many women and children before they had the opportunity to repent of their sins. God is a God of love as well as a God of judgment. He blessed those who obey and punished those who disobey Him. There are examples after examples of warnings in the Bible about God's judgments. The case of the Great Flood in Noah's days, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Abraham's days and the ten plagues in Egypt during the time of Moses are lessons for our learning (1 Cor 10:6).
The vast majority of the victims of natural disasters have not been given the opportunity of repentance and hence are yet to be judged. God's perspective of death is only a temporary sleep (John 11:11). All those who died in all the disasters in the history of time will be resurrected and be offered true life where disaster and death will be no more! The facts of injustice and disaster in Luke 13:1-5 testify of the truth that bad things do sometimes happened to good and innocent people. The Lord made it clear that those Galileans who were killed by Pilate were no worse sinners that deserved such fate. Similarly, the eighteen men who were killed when the tower in Siloam fell on them were no greater sinners than others who did not die tragically. But unless we repent, we shall likewise perish! The disasters are a warning for the nations to repent, or worse disasters during the Great Tribulation will eventually take place (Jeremiah 16:4).
Just like the many catastrophes happening in the years leading to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, there will be many disasters leading to the coming Great Tribulation. All these are the beginning of sorrows -Matthew 24:8. God says in Jeremiah 33:11, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.Turn, turn from your evil ways! This life is only temporal and will soon pass. The real abundant life will come to bring hope to countless billions that will fill earth to the brink. That will be when God will bring about a new heaven and a new earth to house His expanded Divine Family!
The fact of the matter is that we need to understand the world as God sees it. This world does not belong to God as our forebear Adam and Eve had long ago cut off man's relationship with his Creator. In so doing, all of mankind had fallen under a curse of sin and death. When Jesus came to redeem man from the Fall, only a small handful who are called out from this world are under His protection.The rest of humanity will have to wait until after His return for their chance of salvation. All these are in God's plan of salvation for mankind hidden in the festivals of the seven holy days found in Leviticus 23.
Has Adam and Eve chosen to obey God in partaking of the tree of life, the Spirit of God will have abide in all of mankind giving God's presence, provision and protection to all who obey Him. But since that was not the case, mankind as a whole is under the sway of the great deceiver to commit sin and more sin as generations passed. The result is untold sufferings and misery throughout the history of mankind. Sadly, just as our forebears had rejected God, so have our generation. Hence, famines, pestilences, natural disasters and wars had and will continue to come till the close of this age when Christ returns to set up God's kingdom on earth. Then and only then will there be peace, righteousness and prospertiy throughout all the earth.
God had to allow man to learn his lessons. The reader may wonder how is that possible since countless innocents would have been dead, often through no fault of their own making! The answer is simply that all the dead will be resurrected to life sometime toward the close of the millennial age and be taught the truth, and nothing but the whole truth about what had actually happened and how they can embrace God's way of life. 2 Peter 3:9 reads, 'The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.'
Every human being who has yet to be saved will be given the opportunity to hear of the gospel and God's plan of salvation. Except for a small group who will reject God and be annihilated at the lake of fire, most will repent and accept God's offer of salvation and be born again in the kingdom of God as eternal spirit being. It is within the kingdom of God that eternal life begins.
In this age only a small group of people are called to repentance and have God's protection through His indwelling Spirit. In the Old Testament, there are records of countless helpless people killed, including many women and children before they had the opportunity to repent of their sins. God is a God of love as well as a God of judgment. He blessed those who obey and punished those who disobey Him. There are examples after examples of warnings in the Bible about God's judgments. The case of the Great Flood in Noah's days, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Abraham's days and the ten plagues in Egypt during the time of Moses are lessons for our learning (1 Cor 10:6).
The vast majority of the victims of natural disasters have not been given the opportunity of repentance and hence are yet to be judged. God's perspective of death is only a temporary sleep (John 11:11). All those who died in all the disasters in the history of time will be resurrected and be offered true life where disaster and death will be no more! The facts of injustice and disaster in Luke 13:1-5 testify of the truth that bad things do sometimes happened to good and innocent people. The Lord made it clear that those Galileans who were killed by Pilate were no worse sinners that deserved such fate. Similarly, the eighteen men who were killed when the tower in Siloam fell on them were no greater sinners than others who did not die tragically. But unless we repent, we shall likewise perish! The disasters are a warning for the nations to repent, or worse disasters during the Great Tribulation will eventually take place (Jeremiah 16:4).
Just like the many catastrophes happening in the years leading to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, there will be many disasters leading to the coming Great Tribulation. All these are the beginning of sorrows -Matthew 24:8. God says in Jeremiah 33:11, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.Turn, turn from your evil ways! This life is only temporal and will soon pass. The real abundant life will come to bring hope to countless billions that will fill earth to the brink. That will be when God will bring about a new heaven and a new earth to house His expanded Divine Family!
Friday, February 26, 2010
THE FEAR OF THE LORD
Very often, we hear of the phrase - The Fear of the Lord - being trumpeted at the pulpit to goad church members into actions of some sort. This is taken from Proverb 9:10 which states, 'The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is inderstanding.' In this post, I will attempt to explain the meaning with its attendant implication and application of the Fear of the Lord.
There is a widespread belief that once a person is saved by grace, the blood of Jesus Christ will free the believer from all sins and he/she is free to live life the way he/she wants. While it is true that salvation is free and nobody can earns it by any amount of good works, the convert is accountable for all his/her actions after salvation. Unless the sins of commission and omissions are repented of before God the Father (Acts 20:21) and confessed through prayer, the believer stands to lose the rewards accorded to him/her.
Those who understand the Fear of the Lord are wise because they will live righteous lives to please God who is the ultimate Judge of all His creation, including all humanity. They know that their reward is the inheritance of the kingdom of God when Christ returns to rule and reign as the King of kings and Lord of lords on earth (Rev 3: 11,21; 22:12). The Apostle Paul uses the phrase ' The Terror of the Lord' to describe the judgment seat of Christ for good works and bad ones (2 Cor 5:10-11). Colossions 3: 24-25 vividly describes the rewards of inheritance and the punishments commensurate with those who have done wrong. It is worthy to note that these admonitions are delivered to those who are believers.
The Lord Jesus Christ warns in Matthew 22:11-13 that those who have no good works to show forth his/her faith will be excluded in the kingdom of God - means that they will not be part of the divine royal Family. The term 'wedding garment' symbolises good works of the saints. While those who claim to be God's ministers but instead serve their own interests (known as 'hypocrites' - Matthew 24:51) will be severely punished. They will be cut into two - probably separation of the spirit and soul making one incomplete - a situation far worse than death!
Let us make this clear - salvation is by grace, but rewards are according to works. But works do not just confine to doing good deeds, it has to begin with right character qualities. For without the right spiritual character qualities and attitudes, all works are merely works of the flesh which God will not recognise! To be sure of our calling and election, eventually being ushered into the everlasting kingdom of God (2 Peter 1:10-11) with the divine nature, we need to follow the teachings of 2 Peter 1:5-9. The result of an obedient and faithful life is one of honor, position and glory of eternal life to come in the kingdom of God.
In 2 Peter 1:5, we are urged to give due diligence with efforts, striving and yearning after the things of God. This involves putting off the old selfish nature and putting on the new spirit man with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God in us. After repentance towards God the Father, we must have faith in Christ as His words say He would do for us as the High Priest before our Heavenly Father. Virtue is the determination to live for the Lord and not for the pomp and glamour of this world. To have godly virtue one must have the right knowledge, for Christ cautions us in John 7:17, 'If onyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.' Unfortunately, not many Christians would put in the time and effort to search the truth but being swayed into following man's ways and teachings that are contrary to the Word of God. They are worshipping God in vain (Mark 7:7).
With knowledge comes responsibilities, and that is why self-control or self-government is required of us to obey and put right what is wrong. Little wonder the Apostle Paul speaks of disciplining his body in order to win the prize (reward) of his inheritance in the kingdom of God as if running a race to win (1 Cor 9:24-27). He is not talking about salvation which is by the grace of God that he cannot earned. Then there is perseverance or endurance. A true follower of Christ has to endure hardship, trials and tribulations to enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22b).
How then can one become godlike? By gazing and studying into His word on a consistent basis to know and understand His will for our lives. To these are added brotherly kindness and love. If we have the love of God in our life, we will be kind and gracious to others, not just those in the household of faith but even those we dislike! The key to be able to practise this is to adopt the 'give way of life' instead of the world's system of the 'get way of life'. When we understand and put into practice what the Scripture teaches, we will be frutiful in the work of the Lord (verse 8).
Those who practise the works of the flesh like adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry,sorcery, heresies, drunkenness, murders, envy etc will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21). Unless they repented and confessed their sins, they stand to miss the kingdom of God during the millennial reign of Christ when He returns. The major stumbling block to our inheritance is when our flesh and the Spirit of God are in conflicts striving to gain control of our lives. The Apostle Paul describes such conflict in Romans 7:15-25. We have to learn to become overcomer by starving the flesh and nurture the spirit within us so that the Holy Spirit can work God's will in and through us.
We have to earn our right to inherit the kingdom of God just like Joshua and Caleb earned theirs by entering the promised land. Jude 11 is a timely warning to those who waver (being double minded) in the service of God, 'Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.' Cain brought a bloodless sacrifice for worship hoping that it will satisfy the demands of God. However, this reminds us that only through the blood of Jesus Christ can man's sin be forgiven and cleansed. Balaam's error was trying to compromise the laws and commandments of God with worldly gains and status. Those who hold on to the doctrine of Balaam (Rev 2:14) are teaching and or practising things contrary to the Word of God. Such people have not understood the severity of the Fear of the Lord. They have every reason to fear for their destiny!
There is a widespread belief that once a person is saved by grace, the blood of Jesus Christ will free the believer from all sins and he/she is free to live life the way he/she wants. While it is true that salvation is free and nobody can earns it by any amount of good works, the convert is accountable for all his/her actions after salvation. Unless the sins of commission and omissions are repented of before God the Father (Acts 20:21) and confessed through prayer, the believer stands to lose the rewards accorded to him/her.
Those who understand the Fear of the Lord are wise because they will live righteous lives to please God who is the ultimate Judge of all His creation, including all humanity. They know that their reward is the inheritance of the kingdom of God when Christ returns to rule and reign as the King of kings and Lord of lords on earth (Rev 3: 11,21; 22:12). The Apostle Paul uses the phrase ' The Terror of the Lord' to describe the judgment seat of Christ for good works and bad ones (2 Cor 5:10-11). Colossions 3: 24-25 vividly describes the rewards of inheritance and the punishments commensurate with those who have done wrong. It is worthy to note that these admonitions are delivered to those who are believers.
The Lord Jesus Christ warns in Matthew 22:11-13 that those who have no good works to show forth his/her faith will be excluded in the kingdom of God - means that they will not be part of the divine royal Family. The term 'wedding garment' symbolises good works of the saints. While those who claim to be God's ministers but instead serve their own interests (known as 'hypocrites' - Matthew 24:51) will be severely punished. They will be cut into two - probably separation of the spirit and soul making one incomplete - a situation far worse than death!
Let us make this clear - salvation is by grace, but rewards are according to works. But works do not just confine to doing good deeds, it has to begin with right character qualities. For without the right spiritual character qualities and attitudes, all works are merely works of the flesh which God will not recognise! To be sure of our calling and election, eventually being ushered into the everlasting kingdom of God (2 Peter 1:10-11) with the divine nature, we need to follow the teachings of 2 Peter 1:5-9. The result of an obedient and faithful life is one of honor, position and glory of eternal life to come in the kingdom of God.
In 2 Peter 1:5, we are urged to give due diligence with efforts, striving and yearning after the things of God. This involves putting off the old selfish nature and putting on the new spirit man with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God in us. After repentance towards God the Father, we must have faith in Christ as His words say He would do for us as the High Priest before our Heavenly Father. Virtue is the determination to live for the Lord and not for the pomp and glamour of this world. To have godly virtue one must have the right knowledge, for Christ cautions us in John 7:17, 'If onyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.' Unfortunately, not many Christians would put in the time and effort to search the truth but being swayed into following man's ways and teachings that are contrary to the Word of God. They are worshipping God in vain (Mark 7:7).
With knowledge comes responsibilities, and that is why self-control or self-government is required of us to obey and put right what is wrong. Little wonder the Apostle Paul speaks of disciplining his body in order to win the prize (reward) of his inheritance in the kingdom of God as if running a race to win (1 Cor 9:24-27). He is not talking about salvation which is by the grace of God that he cannot earned. Then there is perseverance or endurance. A true follower of Christ has to endure hardship, trials and tribulations to enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22b).
How then can one become godlike? By gazing and studying into His word on a consistent basis to know and understand His will for our lives. To these are added brotherly kindness and love. If we have the love of God in our life, we will be kind and gracious to others, not just those in the household of faith but even those we dislike! The key to be able to practise this is to adopt the 'give way of life' instead of the world's system of the 'get way of life'. When we understand and put into practice what the Scripture teaches, we will be frutiful in the work of the Lord (verse 8).
Those who practise the works of the flesh like adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry,sorcery, heresies, drunkenness, murders, envy etc will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21). Unless they repented and confessed their sins, they stand to miss the kingdom of God during the millennial reign of Christ when He returns. The major stumbling block to our inheritance is when our flesh and the Spirit of God are in conflicts striving to gain control of our lives. The Apostle Paul describes such conflict in Romans 7:15-25. We have to learn to become overcomer by starving the flesh and nurture the spirit within us so that the Holy Spirit can work God's will in and through us.
We have to earn our right to inherit the kingdom of God just like Joshua and Caleb earned theirs by entering the promised land. Jude 11 is a timely warning to those who waver (being double minded) in the service of God, 'Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.' Cain brought a bloodless sacrifice for worship hoping that it will satisfy the demands of God. However, this reminds us that only through the blood of Jesus Christ can man's sin be forgiven and cleansed. Balaam's error was trying to compromise the laws and commandments of God with worldly gains and status. Those who hold on to the doctrine of Balaam (Rev 2:14) are teaching and or practising things contrary to the Word of God. Such people have not understood the severity of the Fear of the Lord. They have every reason to fear for their destiny!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
THE SONS OF GOD
The conventional teaching in Christianity is that once a person receives Christ as his/her personal Lord and Savior, the believer then becomes a son or daughter of God. But a closer examination of Scriptures shows that this is not so. It is much more than that. If it were that simple, the bible should not be more than a few pages thick! In this blog, we will discuss who are the potential sons of God and how does a believer qualify as one.
It is God the Father who creates, designs and forms the spirit of man in every human being (Numbers 27:16).
Just as the spirit in man (1 Cor 2: 11-13) differentiates a human being from that of an animal, the Spirit of God indwelling in the mind of a convert differentiates him/her from that of a pre-believer. After repentance and water baptism, the believer will receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands of a spiritual leader. This connection of the Holy Spirit with the spirit in man is what makes a believer a child of God. At that point, the convert is begotten of God on his way to become a son of God as the Holy Spirit works in cooperation with the human spirit in the mind of the convert (Romans 8:16). However, the convert is like a foetus in the womb of the mother (Gal 4:26), awaiting to be born. The 'mother' is the church who is responsible to feed the new believer the word of truth for the believer to grow into maturity as a son of God.
A true Christian is one led by the Spirit of God, for they are the sons of God (Rom 8:14). To be led by God's Spirit is to be prompted and directed by the Holy Spirit in the disciple's daily life who is called to develop the spiritual character qualities of Christ-likeness (Rom 8:28-30). The disciple must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt 6:33), and righteousness is the character of Christ-likeness, for Christ will be called THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (Jeremiah 23:6) when He returns to establish the kingdom of God on earth.
The potential sons of God have yet to be born again, which will happen at the first resurrection (Rev 20:5)just before Christ returns at the sound of the last trumpet to set up the kingdom of God on earth (Rev 11:15). Once born again, they will become immortal spiritual God beings to be members of the Divine Family (1 Cor 15:54). For flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 15:50) but only immortal spirit being can see, enter and inherit it. Just like the wind which can be felt but cannot be seen (John 3:8), the kingdom of God can only be seen and entered into by spirit beings, not human beings (John 3:3,5)! Potential sons of God are presently heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ (Christ being the firstborn from among the dead -Rom 8:29d) which after death, will be glorified - meaning, being resurrected from physical death (Rom 8:17). When the sons of God are perfected at resurrection, they will be like Christ (1 John 3:2), no longer able to sin (1 John 3:9).
Christ will bring the rewards of the individual sons of God with Him when He returns (Rev 22:12) - not daughters of God because there is no sex and mariage in the world of the spirit beings (Matthew 22:30). The rewards are given by God the Father who is in heaven, not that the rewards are presented in heaven.The rewards are determined by the Heavenly Father who is the Head of the Divine Family. Earthly marriage and family is a symbolism of God's plan for His own Divine Family. A type of rehearsal for the creation of His eternal Divine Family! Theologians, scientists and philosophers can search and research all their life but can never find the truth, unless the Spirit of God is working in them to reveal His marvellous divine plan for mankind.
No wonder that 2 Timothy 3:7 states that men are always learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. The Apostle Paul warns that those who do not love the truth will fall into deception and perish (2 Thess 2:10). Christ on the night before He was betrayed, prayed for His disciples before God the Father, 'Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.' (John 17:17). Truth can never be compromised, for it is the universal spiritual law set by God which cannot be broken. Christ told the Jews who believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.' (John 8:31-32). That is what the Scriptures meant by righteousness - understanding and obeying the truth as taught by Christ. Details of which can be found in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapters 5 through 7. These teachings are for the sons of God to abide to overcome Satan, society and self. Once they overcome, they will qualify to be born again as sons of God to rule and reign with Christ, just as Christ overcame Satan in the wilderness and qualify to rule as King in His coming kingdom!
The Apostle Paul in his inspired writings from 1 Cor 15:45-49 states, 'The first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam (Christ) became a life giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust (flesh and blood), and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man (composed of spirit after resurrection).' Those who are called and chosen to become sons of God are those whom God is working in their lives. They are literally a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). Sadly, these are a small minority who will understand and obey, such 'little flock' (Luke 12:32) will ultimately inherit all that God has destined for them in the kingdom of God. Make no mistake, only those who enter and inherit the kingdom of God have obtained salvation and have eternal life! Even the patriarchs and prophets of old are still waiting for the first resurrection when Christ returns (Hebrews 11:13).
Potential sons of God are called to take on the divine nature of their Parent (2 Peter 1:4), holy and righteous in character. To accomplish this, disciples basically have to overcome the pride of life and the lust of the eyes that is dominant in this world's value system. Without this understanding and discipline, it is an uphill task like going against the forces of gravity. Christ's sermon on the mount in Matthew chapters 5 through 7 is a series of teachings about the give way of life as compare to the get way of life that is practised by the people of this world. But there is hope. The Lord of Righteousness will return to change all that has gone out of sync with God's will for mankind. The Day of Lord will be time when God will supernaturally intervene in the affairs of mankind (Zachariah 14:1-5) to bring about permanent change for mankind and all the governments of this world!
The sons of God will see, enter and inherit the kingdom of God. But many wrongly assume that once they are 'saved, baptised and become a church member' they will so inherit it. In Mark 1:15, Christ preached, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel.' Notice that at that point in time, the church has not even being formed. The church came about on the day of Pentecost which was fifty days after Christ ascended to heaven. It is a no brainer to know that Christ message about the kingdom of God cannot be referring to the church. What he was saying is that after overcoming Satan at the wilderness (Matthew 4:3-11), He is now qualified to be King of the coming kingdom of God - that is what He meant by 'the time is fulfilled'. Since the time of John the Baptist, the kingdom of God was being preached and everyone is pressing (striving) to enter it (Luke 16:16). The time to preach the kingdom of God and to qualify to enter it was then and still is now! Only born again resurrected spirit beings can see, enter (John 3:3-8) and inherit the kingdom of God with all the riches of God's inheritance and rewards for those who qualify!
One must accept God's terms to qualify for the kingdom. It is not automatic as many wrongly assume. Most churches failed to worship the Heavenly Father. One of Christ's main goals on His first advent was to reveal God the Father and His will for mankind. Sadly, most simply do not believe Him. The majority will wake up in the second resurrection to find that they have missed the most glorious time of history - the inauguration of Christ on the throne of His Millennial Reign, together with His resurrected saints as kings (Daniel 7:13, 14, 18), probably to different positions of key appointments in His kingdom. They will reign with Christ forever and ever into eternity! The parable of the Minas in Luke 1912:27 clearly teaches the principle of rewards for those servants who will believe and obey what He teaches. For no one will be fit to rule and reign in the kingdom of God if they do not believe and obey in this lifetime. For those who are servants of God but refuse to submit to His governmental authority for the church, they will be severely punished ((Luke 19:26-27).
Every potential son of God will have his/her role in the church carve out by God (1 Cor 12: 18). They are not at liberty to do as they please. To do so would be like those rebellious servants in Christs' parables in Matthew 24 and Luke 19 who are 'doing their own things' and ultimately lose their rewards and be punished. They are not connected to the Head of the church, who is Christ. Only those who are found faithful and wise will ultimately made rulers over God's kingdom (Matthew 24:45). God's ultimate purpose for the resurrected spirit beings is to propagate His government over all His creation in the universe (Isaiah 9:7). Will you take step to believe and obey Him and be counted as a son of God? Your awesome potential is yet to be!
It is God the Father who creates, designs and forms the spirit of man in every human being (Numbers 27:16).
Just as the spirit in man (1 Cor 2: 11-13) differentiates a human being from that of an animal, the Spirit of God indwelling in the mind of a convert differentiates him/her from that of a pre-believer. After repentance and water baptism, the believer will receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands of a spiritual leader. This connection of the Holy Spirit with the spirit in man is what makes a believer a child of God. At that point, the convert is begotten of God on his way to become a son of God as the Holy Spirit works in cooperation with the human spirit in the mind of the convert (Romans 8:16). However, the convert is like a foetus in the womb of the mother (Gal 4:26), awaiting to be born. The 'mother' is the church who is responsible to feed the new believer the word of truth for the believer to grow into maturity as a son of God.
A true Christian is one led by the Spirit of God, for they are the sons of God (Rom 8:14). To be led by God's Spirit is to be prompted and directed by the Holy Spirit in the disciple's daily life who is called to develop the spiritual character qualities of Christ-likeness (Rom 8:28-30). The disciple must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt 6:33), and righteousness is the character of Christ-likeness, for Christ will be called THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (Jeremiah 23:6) when He returns to establish the kingdom of God on earth.
The potential sons of God have yet to be born again, which will happen at the first resurrection (Rev 20:5)just before Christ returns at the sound of the last trumpet to set up the kingdom of God on earth (Rev 11:15). Once born again, they will become immortal spiritual God beings to be members of the Divine Family (1 Cor 15:54). For flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 15:50) but only immortal spirit being can see, enter and inherit it. Just like the wind which can be felt but cannot be seen (John 3:8), the kingdom of God can only be seen and entered into by spirit beings, not human beings (John 3:3,5)! Potential sons of God are presently heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ (Christ being the firstborn from among the dead -Rom 8:29d) which after death, will be glorified - meaning, being resurrected from physical death (Rom 8:17). When the sons of God are perfected at resurrection, they will be like Christ (1 John 3:2), no longer able to sin (1 John 3:9).
Christ will bring the rewards of the individual sons of God with Him when He returns (Rev 22:12) - not daughters of God because there is no sex and mariage in the world of the spirit beings (Matthew 22:30). The rewards are given by God the Father who is in heaven, not that the rewards are presented in heaven.The rewards are determined by the Heavenly Father who is the Head of the Divine Family. Earthly marriage and family is a symbolism of God's plan for His own Divine Family. A type of rehearsal for the creation of His eternal Divine Family! Theologians, scientists and philosophers can search and research all their life but can never find the truth, unless the Spirit of God is working in them to reveal His marvellous divine plan for mankind.
No wonder that 2 Timothy 3:7 states that men are always learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. The Apostle Paul warns that those who do not love the truth will fall into deception and perish (2 Thess 2:10). Christ on the night before He was betrayed, prayed for His disciples before God the Father, 'Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.' (John 17:17). Truth can never be compromised, for it is the universal spiritual law set by God which cannot be broken. Christ told the Jews who believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.' (John 8:31-32). That is what the Scriptures meant by righteousness - understanding and obeying the truth as taught by Christ. Details of which can be found in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapters 5 through 7. These teachings are for the sons of God to abide to overcome Satan, society and self. Once they overcome, they will qualify to be born again as sons of God to rule and reign with Christ, just as Christ overcame Satan in the wilderness and qualify to rule as King in His coming kingdom!
The Apostle Paul in his inspired writings from 1 Cor 15:45-49 states, 'The first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam (Christ) became a life giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust (flesh and blood), and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man (composed of spirit after resurrection).' Those who are called and chosen to become sons of God are those whom God is working in their lives. They are literally a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). Sadly, these are a small minority who will understand and obey, such 'little flock' (Luke 12:32) will ultimately inherit all that God has destined for them in the kingdom of God. Make no mistake, only those who enter and inherit the kingdom of God have obtained salvation and have eternal life! Even the patriarchs and prophets of old are still waiting for the first resurrection when Christ returns (Hebrews 11:13).
Potential sons of God are called to take on the divine nature of their Parent (2 Peter 1:4), holy and righteous in character. To accomplish this, disciples basically have to overcome the pride of life and the lust of the eyes that is dominant in this world's value system. Without this understanding and discipline, it is an uphill task like going against the forces of gravity. Christ's sermon on the mount in Matthew chapters 5 through 7 is a series of teachings about the give way of life as compare to the get way of life that is practised by the people of this world. But there is hope. The Lord of Righteousness will return to change all that has gone out of sync with God's will for mankind. The Day of Lord will be time when God will supernaturally intervene in the affairs of mankind (Zachariah 14:1-5) to bring about permanent change for mankind and all the governments of this world!
The sons of God will see, enter and inherit the kingdom of God. But many wrongly assume that once they are 'saved, baptised and become a church member' they will so inherit it. In Mark 1:15, Christ preached, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel.' Notice that at that point in time, the church has not even being formed. The church came about on the day of Pentecost which was fifty days after Christ ascended to heaven. It is a no brainer to know that Christ message about the kingdom of God cannot be referring to the church. What he was saying is that after overcoming Satan at the wilderness (Matthew 4:3-11), He is now qualified to be King of the coming kingdom of God - that is what He meant by 'the time is fulfilled'. Since the time of John the Baptist, the kingdom of God was being preached and everyone is pressing (striving) to enter it (Luke 16:16). The time to preach the kingdom of God and to qualify to enter it was then and still is now! Only born again resurrected spirit beings can see, enter (John 3:3-8) and inherit the kingdom of God with all the riches of God's inheritance and rewards for those who qualify!
One must accept God's terms to qualify for the kingdom. It is not automatic as many wrongly assume. Most churches failed to worship the Heavenly Father. One of Christ's main goals on His first advent was to reveal God the Father and His will for mankind. Sadly, most simply do not believe Him. The majority will wake up in the second resurrection to find that they have missed the most glorious time of history - the inauguration of Christ on the throne of His Millennial Reign, together with His resurrected saints as kings (Daniel 7:13, 14, 18), probably to different positions of key appointments in His kingdom. They will reign with Christ forever and ever into eternity! The parable of the Minas in Luke 1912:27 clearly teaches the principle of rewards for those servants who will believe and obey what He teaches. For no one will be fit to rule and reign in the kingdom of God if they do not believe and obey in this lifetime. For those who are servants of God but refuse to submit to His governmental authority for the church, they will be severely punished ((Luke 19:26-27).
Every potential son of God will have his/her role in the church carve out by God (1 Cor 12: 18). They are not at liberty to do as they please. To do so would be like those rebellious servants in Christs' parables in Matthew 24 and Luke 19 who are 'doing their own things' and ultimately lose their rewards and be punished. They are not connected to the Head of the church, who is Christ. Only those who are found faithful and wise will ultimately made rulers over God's kingdom (Matthew 24:45). God's ultimate purpose for the resurrected spirit beings is to propagate His government over all His creation in the universe (Isaiah 9:7). Will you take step to believe and obey Him and be counted as a son of God? Your awesome potential is yet to be!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM
For many years after I accepted Christ as my personal Lord and Savior, I always thought that the Gospel of the Kingdom of God is synonymous with the Gospel about Christ. How wrong I had been. The bible stated categorically in Mark 1:14-15, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.' But what exactly is the gospel of the kingdom of God? He can't be talking about Himself since He has yet to die for the sins of the world then, and not even His close disciples knew!
Throughout the centuries, millions and perhaps billions of people were confused. Rather, I should say being blinded to the truth! Most thought that the kingdom of God (or kingdom of heaven) is the universal church, many thought it is heaven and some presume it is the faith residing in the hearts and souls within you. Some are misled by the incorrect translation in Luke 17:21b which states that 'the kingdom of God is within you'. In truth, the correct translation should be 'the kingdom of God is in the midst of you'. This points to Christ as He is the divine Representative of the soon coming kingdom. Misguided preachers compounded the problems multifold.
Shortly after the passing of the first Apostles towards the close of the first century, there had been a conspiracy to deceive the masses about the true gospel. The gospel of the kingdom is about the coming kingdom of God which God the Father will send Christ at His Second Coming to establish a worldwide government to dethrone Satan who is the current king of this world (2 Cor 4:4). A kingdom will have four elements - King (Christ), territories (all nations of the earth), subjects (humans who survive the Great Tribulations and reconstituted humans from the second resurrection) and Laws (the ten commandments and laws of Christ). Without the Laws, there will be lawlessness leading to anarchy!
The gospel of the kingdom was what Christ came to preach at His first advent (Luke 4:43). The gospel of Jesus Christ is about the good news of the kingdom of God. He is the Prophet spoken of by Moses (Deut 18:15) and we are all told to hear Him - His message given by God the Father for mankind! Christ is the Messenger of the covenant (Malachi 3:1). Sadly, most so called Christians only believe in Him (even the demons do and trembled) but do not believe Him - His message and commandments! Many put their trust in the traditions and teachings of man whom they see, but lack the faith to believe the words and teachings of Christ whom they do not see.
Please don't get me wrong, we must all accept Christ as our personal Savior in order to find acceptance for the forgiveness of our sins in order to be born again as spirit being to see and enter the kingdom of God. But by preaching only Christ and ignoring His message is like accepting the means but forgetting the end! We need to proclaim both hand in hand. Christ is preached in conjunction with the gospel not apart from it! This is evident in Acts 8:12 when Philip preached 'the things concerning the kingdom of God AND the name of Jesus Christ ' to the Samaritans. Subsequently, those who heard the gospel were then baptized. Similarly, the Apostle Paul preached 'the kingdom of God AND teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence.' (Acts 28:31). These show that the gospel of the kingdom and Christ are clearly two separate matters but yet to be preached together!
Note that Christ sent out His twelve disciples and told them to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God and to heal the sick (Luke 9:1-2).Whenever the gospel of the kingdom was preached, there is healing! Christ cannot be talking about Himself since He has yet to walk the road to calvary then. Make no mistake, it is the gospel of Christ. The gospel that Christ preached and not the gospel about Christ. Readers may ask how did all this confusion come about? The answer is both religious and political.
By the middle of the first century A.D. the mysteries of lawlessness is already at work (2 Thess 2:7). Simon the Sorceror, aka Simon Magus was one of the founding fathers of heresy. Such heresy sought to twist the gospel . With the Jewish religious leaders under the patronage of the Roman authorities (kind of civil servants), they were afraid to proclaim the kingdom of God as the gospel lest it be misconstrued to challenge the Roman Empire and taken as subversives and be put to death. Obviously, these religious leaders were looking after their own interests at the expense of God's gospel message to mankind!
One must believe the gospel of the kingdom of God (the kingdom and kingdom of heaven are all used interchangeabley) to be saved. Because without seeing and entering the kingdom of God, no salvation can take place. All those who will be saved will be changed into spirit being at the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:50-54). In the New testament, these words 'kingdom', kingdom of God' and 'kingdom of heaven' are used a total of 136 times.This is so important that the Apostle Paul issued a warning not to pervert the true gospel or else be accursed (Gal 1:6-9). Notice the good Apostle emphasised the gospel OF Christ and not the gospel about Christ (verse 7). The gospel of Christ is the gospel of the kingdom of God, with Christ as the means to fulfill the end salvation of it all.
As a Prophet sent by God, Christ came to proclaim hope to a hopeless world that one day He will return to govern the world to bring world peace, harmony, universal health, universal education and prosperity! The religious leaders including Christs' disciples thought that it will happen in His first advent. Everywhere He went, Christ spoke about the kingdom of God, many of them through parables. He sent His twelve disciples and later His seventy disciples to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God and also to heal the sick (Luke 9:1-2, 10:1,9). Make no mistake, the gospel of the kingdom is the goods news of the coming government of God to rule all the nations of the world - only then will every knee bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!
The Apostle Peter preached the gospel of the kingdom, 'for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:11). And so did the Apostle James in James 2:5, 'Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?' Notice that Paul in Acts 20:21& 25 preached about the kingdom of God to the Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ. All these passages clearly show that Christ Himself and the early Apostles consistently preached the message of the kingdom of God.
But that is not all. The early prophets of the Old Testament also preached the gospel of the kingdom of God. This was revealed by the Apostle Peter in Acts 3: 21, 'the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.' - starting with the righteous men before the Flood, Enoch and Noah. Jude 14-15 tells us that Enoch prophesied that the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment on all people. This is in clear reference to Christ millennial reign on earth after His Second Coming. Next came Noah - the preacher of righteousness - a reference to the time when God's Law will be instituted worldwide (2 Peter 2: 4-9) which can only happen during the millennial reign of Christ.
God promised Abraham that through him, all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Geneses 12:3). In Galatians 3:8, we are told that the gospel was preached to Abraham (probably through Melchizedek) and that all the nations shall be blessed. It is a no brainer to understand that only when God's government is firmly established on earth can such prophecies be fulfilled! Then there was Moses, who preached the gospel in the wilderness about the coming Messiah and Prophet Jesus Christ Who will someday rule and judge the world as King of the earth (Deut 18:15, 18-19). King David proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom in many of his Psalms, 'For the kingdom is the Lord's, and He rules over the nations' (Psalms 22:28); 'For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth' (Psalms 37:9, 11, 18,22,29,34); 'Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For YOU shall judge the people righteously, and govern the nations on earth' (Psalms 67:4).
The prophet Isaiah stated clearly and succinctly in many of his prophecies about the government and coming kingdom of God on earth that will bring lasting peace, power and prosperity and that it will last forever (Isaiah 9:6-7). Even the nature of the animal kingdom will be changed during the coming kingdom (Isaiah 11: 6-9). Jeremiah 23:5-6 states, 'Behold, the days are coming, the Lord will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.' The prophet Ezekiel wrote in Ezekiel 36:24-30 of the coming rule of God's government on earth to bring about restoration and forgiveness. Then there was prophet Daniel who stated in Daniel 2:44 about the coming kingdom that will stand forever and never be destroyed.
Let's get the Christian goal clear - it is to be born into the kingdom of God as a spirit being (sons of God for those in the first resurrection and children of God in the second) to rule under the Kingship and leadership of Christ on earth for a thousand years and then onto eternity. It is only through the Blood and forgiveness of Christ can this be made possible. With one trillion galaxies and quadrillions of stars in the universe, the tasks of restoration and rebuilding upon the creation of God is humongous. Satan and his demons will by then be banished into the blackness of darkness (Jude 13) to spend eternity in the far flung corner of the universe without light forever.But the sons and children of God will be equipped for the glorious tasks ahead!
Throughout the centuries, millions and perhaps billions of people were confused. Rather, I should say being blinded to the truth! Most thought that the kingdom of God (or kingdom of heaven) is the universal church, many thought it is heaven and some presume it is the faith residing in the hearts and souls within you. Some are misled by the incorrect translation in Luke 17:21b which states that 'the kingdom of God is within you'. In truth, the correct translation should be 'the kingdom of God is in the midst of you'. This points to Christ as He is the divine Representative of the soon coming kingdom. Misguided preachers compounded the problems multifold.
Shortly after the passing of the first Apostles towards the close of the first century, there had been a conspiracy to deceive the masses about the true gospel. The gospel of the kingdom is about the coming kingdom of God which God the Father will send Christ at His Second Coming to establish a worldwide government to dethrone Satan who is the current king of this world (2 Cor 4:4). A kingdom will have four elements - King (Christ), territories (all nations of the earth), subjects (humans who survive the Great Tribulations and reconstituted humans from the second resurrection) and Laws (the ten commandments and laws of Christ). Without the Laws, there will be lawlessness leading to anarchy!
The gospel of the kingdom was what Christ came to preach at His first advent (Luke 4:43). The gospel of Jesus Christ is about the good news of the kingdom of God. He is the Prophet spoken of by Moses (Deut 18:15) and we are all told to hear Him - His message given by God the Father for mankind! Christ is the Messenger of the covenant (Malachi 3:1). Sadly, most so called Christians only believe in Him (even the demons do and trembled) but do not believe Him - His message and commandments! Many put their trust in the traditions and teachings of man whom they see, but lack the faith to believe the words and teachings of Christ whom they do not see.
Please don't get me wrong, we must all accept Christ as our personal Savior in order to find acceptance for the forgiveness of our sins in order to be born again as spirit being to see and enter the kingdom of God. But by preaching only Christ and ignoring His message is like accepting the means but forgetting the end! We need to proclaim both hand in hand. Christ is preached in conjunction with the gospel not apart from it! This is evident in Acts 8:12 when Philip preached 'the things concerning the kingdom of God AND the name of Jesus Christ ' to the Samaritans. Subsequently, those who heard the gospel were then baptized. Similarly, the Apostle Paul preached 'the kingdom of God AND teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence.' (Acts 28:31). These show that the gospel of the kingdom and Christ are clearly two separate matters but yet to be preached together!
Note that Christ sent out His twelve disciples and told them to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God and to heal the sick (Luke 9:1-2).Whenever the gospel of the kingdom was preached, there is healing! Christ cannot be talking about Himself since He has yet to walk the road to calvary then. Make no mistake, it is the gospel of Christ. The gospel that Christ preached and not the gospel about Christ. Readers may ask how did all this confusion come about? The answer is both religious and political.
By the middle of the first century A.D. the mysteries of lawlessness is already at work (2 Thess 2:7). Simon the Sorceror, aka Simon Magus was one of the founding fathers of heresy. Such heresy sought to twist the gospel . With the Jewish religious leaders under the patronage of the Roman authorities (kind of civil servants), they were afraid to proclaim the kingdom of God as the gospel lest it be misconstrued to challenge the Roman Empire and taken as subversives and be put to death. Obviously, these religious leaders were looking after their own interests at the expense of God's gospel message to mankind!
One must believe the gospel of the kingdom of God (the kingdom and kingdom of heaven are all used interchangeabley) to be saved. Because without seeing and entering the kingdom of God, no salvation can take place. All those who will be saved will be changed into spirit being at the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:50-54). In the New testament, these words 'kingdom', kingdom of God' and 'kingdom of heaven' are used a total of 136 times.This is so important that the Apostle Paul issued a warning not to pervert the true gospel or else be accursed (Gal 1:6-9). Notice the good Apostle emphasised the gospel OF Christ and not the gospel about Christ (verse 7). The gospel of Christ is the gospel of the kingdom of God, with Christ as the means to fulfill the end salvation of it all.
As a Prophet sent by God, Christ came to proclaim hope to a hopeless world that one day He will return to govern the world to bring world peace, harmony, universal health, universal education and prosperity! The religious leaders including Christs' disciples thought that it will happen in His first advent. Everywhere He went, Christ spoke about the kingdom of God, many of them through parables. He sent His twelve disciples and later His seventy disciples to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God and also to heal the sick (Luke 9:1-2, 10:1,9). Make no mistake, the gospel of the kingdom is the goods news of the coming government of God to rule all the nations of the world - only then will every knee bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!
The Apostle Peter preached the gospel of the kingdom, 'for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:11). And so did the Apostle James in James 2:5, 'Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?' Notice that Paul in Acts 20:21& 25 preached about the kingdom of God to the Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ. All these passages clearly show that Christ Himself and the early Apostles consistently preached the message of the kingdom of God.
But that is not all. The early prophets of the Old Testament also preached the gospel of the kingdom of God. This was revealed by the Apostle Peter in Acts 3: 21, 'the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.' - starting with the righteous men before the Flood, Enoch and Noah. Jude 14-15 tells us that Enoch prophesied that the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment on all people. This is in clear reference to Christ millennial reign on earth after His Second Coming. Next came Noah - the preacher of righteousness - a reference to the time when God's Law will be instituted worldwide (2 Peter 2: 4-9) which can only happen during the millennial reign of Christ.
God promised Abraham that through him, all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Geneses 12:3). In Galatians 3:8, we are told that the gospel was preached to Abraham (probably through Melchizedek) and that all the nations shall be blessed. It is a no brainer to understand that only when God's government is firmly established on earth can such prophecies be fulfilled! Then there was Moses, who preached the gospel in the wilderness about the coming Messiah and Prophet Jesus Christ Who will someday rule and judge the world as King of the earth (Deut 18:15, 18-19). King David proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom in many of his Psalms, 'For the kingdom is the Lord's, and He rules over the nations' (Psalms 22:28); 'For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth' (Psalms 37:9, 11, 18,22,29,34); 'Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For YOU shall judge the people righteously, and govern the nations on earth' (Psalms 67:4).
The prophet Isaiah stated clearly and succinctly in many of his prophecies about the government and coming kingdom of God on earth that will bring lasting peace, power and prosperity and that it will last forever (Isaiah 9:6-7). Even the nature of the animal kingdom will be changed during the coming kingdom (Isaiah 11: 6-9). Jeremiah 23:5-6 states, 'Behold, the days are coming, the Lord will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.' The prophet Ezekiel wrote in Ezekiel 36:24-30 of the coming rule of God's government on earth to bring about restoration and forgiveness. Then there was prophet Daniel who stated in Daniel 2:44 about the coming kingdom that will stand forever and never be destroyed.
Let's get the Christian goal clear - it is to be born into the kingdom of God as a spirit being (sons of God for those in the first resurrection and children of God in the second) to rule under the Kingship and leadership of Christ on earth for a thousand years and then onto eternity. It is only through the Blood and forgiveness of Christ can this be made possible. With one trillion galaxies and quadrillions of stars in the universe, the tasks of restoration and rebuilding upon the creation of God is humongous. Satan and his demons will by then be banished into the blackness of darkness (Jude 13) to spend eternity in the far flung corner of the universe without light forever.But the sons and children of God will be equipped for the glorious tasks ahead!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
THE DAY OF ATONEMENT
There are three spring Holy Days that represent the true church of God - whose members were called by God before the Second Coming of Christ to fulfill His Master Plan of Salvation for Mankind. The remaining four fall Holy Days represent salvation for the rest of manknind - probably a hundred billion or more people who have ever lived on planet earth since the creation of Adam and Eve.
In order for all mankind to be saved, God's Master Plan involves the atonement of all their sins. Since the Lord Jesus said in John 12: 32, If I am lifted up from the earth, will draw ALL PEOPLES to Myself', and it is God's desire that none should perish, God's Master Plan of Salvation involves Christ Second Coming and restrainting the great deceiver and his proxies who have blinded the world from God's truth!
The Day of Atonement, observed just after the Feast of Trumpets, gives answer as to how this is to be achieved. For six thousand years, Satan, his demons and their human representatives have ruled the world with much injustices and sufferings for the majority of mankind. This is accomplished through a world system of distorted values and deceptions, accomplished largely through complicated webs of political and religious hidden agenda with the control of the monetary system and mass media (Eph 2:2, 5:11-12, 6:12, 2 Thess 2:9-12, 2 Peter 2:1-3, Rev 17:17). Their ultimate goal is world domination (codeword: NEW WORLD ORDER) to usher in the Antichrist!
For God's Plan of Salvation to be accomplished, not only sin has to be removed, but the source as well. Scriptures tell us that Satan is the primary instigator of all sin, though human nature has a part too. Not only is Satan the primary cause of sin, he is also the one who blinded billions to God's truth (2 Cor 4: 3-4). Many things that we think we know to be the truth turn out otherwise, and this more so in these last days.
The command to keep the Day of Atonement is found in Leviticus 23:27 and Numbers 29:7. It is a day of fasting in remembrance of the time when God will save all mankind after the establishment of the kingdom of God by Jesus Christ in the Millennial Age with His resurrected Divine Family. The sons of God who will be in the first resurrection will help Christ to rule and teach all the rest of humanity (probably a hundred billion or more) to be resurrected in the second resurrection towards the last one hundred years of Christs' thousand year reign. These sons of God (kings) of the royal Divine Family will be endowed with supernatural power and knowledge like in the days of Jesus when He first walked the earth, perhaps even more! They will perform the humongous tasks of teaching, ministering and ruling the countless billions to turn to God's truth and way of life! Hence, they need to have the Christlike character qualities to fit the tasks.
The Day of Atonement is meant to look forward to the time when Satan and his demons will be incarcerated to deceive the world no more (Rev 20: 1-3), so that all humanity can be saved. This is symbolised in the Old Testament two-goats sin offering performed by Aaron and found in Leviticus 16:5-10. The priest was to select two goats as a sin offering for the people. Aaron as the high priest was to cast lots to select the one for the Lord - which typologically represents Jesus Christ as the sin offering to pay for our sins - and the other to be released into the wilderness as the escape goat ( escape goat is a more accurate translation than scapegoat)." The sending of the sin-laden goat... signifies the complete removal of the sins of the people and the handing over, as it were, to the evil spirit to whom they belong" (The One Volume Bible Commentary, page 95). The escape goat represents Satan and his demons. However, God will remove them from humanity before establishing Christ on the throne as the King of kings and Lord of lords during the coming millennial rule.
Once Satan and his demons are removed, mankind will be free to understand and apply the truth and Laws of God. 'For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.' (Isaiah 11:9).The command to fast is to represent our dependence to God in repentance and humility to remember the horror of sin that has wreck mankind for generations! As the High Priest takes the blood of the slain goat into the Holy Place - the mercy seat - it is a symbol of God's throne with His Laws and Government established over all His creation. Similarly, we are reminded of Christ in heaven who is our High Priest making intercessions on our behalf.
Since Christ had done all for us, we need not come with animal sacrifices, but a humble spirit and a contrite heart to remember God's Master Plan of Salvation for mankind. For those whom God has called, it is a time to reflect in preparation of the coming tasks ahead to bring in the great harvest into the kingdom of God. The Day of Atonement also reminds us that until Satan and his demons are put away, sin will continue to wreck havoc worldwide. But with the faith of Christ, we can overcome and look forward to the day when humanity will be at peace with God and with one another !
In order for all mankind to be saved, God's Master Plan involves the atonement of all their sins. Since the Lord Jesus said in John 12: 32, If I am lifted up from the earth, will draw ALL PEOPLES to Myself', and it is God's desire that none should perish, God's Master Plan of Salvation involves Christ Second Coming and restrainting the great deceiver and his proxies who have blinded the world from God's truth!
The Day of Atonement, observed just after the Feast of Trumpets, gives answer as to how this is to be achieved. For six thousand years, Satan, his demons and their human representatives have ruled the world with much injustices and sufferings for the majority of mankind. This is accomplished through a world system of distorted values and deceptions, accomplished largely through complicated webs of political and religious hidden agenda with the control of the monetary system and mass media (Eph 2:2, 5:11-12, 6:12, 2 Thess 2:9-12, 2 Peter 2:1-3, Rev 17:17). Their ultimate goal is world domination (codeword: NEW WORLD ORDER) to usher in the Antichrist!
For God's Plan of Salvation to be accomplished, not only sin has to be removed, but the source as well. Scriptures tell us that Satan is the primary instigator of all sin, though human nature has a part too. Not only is Satan the primary cause of sin, he is also the one who blinded billions to God's truth (2 Cor 4: 3-4). Many things that we think we know to be the truth turn out otherwise, and this more so in these last days.
The command to keep the Day of Atonement is found in Leviticus 23:27 and Numbers 29:7. It is a day of fasting in remembrance of the time when God will save all mankind after the establishment of the kingdom of God by Jesus Christ in the Millennial Age with His resurrected Divine Family. The sons of God who will be in the first resurrection will help Christ to rule and teach all the rest of humanity (probably a hundred billion or more) to be resurrected in the second resurrection towards the last one hundred years of Christs' thousand year reign. These sons of God (kings) of the royal Divine Family will be endowed with supernatural power and knowledge like in the days of Jesus when He first walked the earth, perhaps even more! They will perform the humongous tasks of teaching, ministering and ruling the countless billions to turn to God's truth and way of life! Hence, they need to have the Christlike character qualities to fit the tasks.
The Day of Atonement is meant to look forward to the time when Satan and his demons will be incarcerated to deceive the world no more (Rev 20: 1-3), so that all humanity can be saved. This is symbolised in the Old Testament two-goats sin offering performed by Aaron and found in Leviticus 16:5-10. The priest was to select two goats as a sin offering for the people. Aaron as the high priest was to cast lots to select the one for the Lord - which typologically represents Jesus Christ as the sin offering to pay for our sins - and the other to be released into the wilderness as the escape goat ( escape goat is a more accurate translation than scapegoat)." The sending of the sin-laden goat... signifies the complete removal of the sins of the people and the handing over, as it were, to the evil spirit to whom they belong" (The One Volume Bible Commentary, page 95). The escape goat represents Satan and his demons. However, God will remove them from humanity before establishing Christ on the throne as the King of kings and Lord of lords during the coming millennial rule.
Once Satan and his demons are removed, mankind will be free to understand and apply the truth and Laws of God. 'For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.' (Isaiah 11:9).The command to fast is to represent our dependence to God in repentance and humility to remember the horror of sin that has wreck mankind for generations! As the High Priest takes the blood of the slain goat into the Holy Place - the mercy seat - it is a symbol of God's throne with His Laws and Government established over all His creation. Similarly, we are reminded of Christ in heaven who is our High Priest making intercessions on our behalf.
Since Christ had done all for us, we need not come with animal sacrifices, but a humble spirit and a contrite heart to remember God's Master Plan of Salvation for mankind. For those whom God has called, it is a time to reflect in preparation of the coming tasks ahead to bring in the great harvest into the kingdom of God. The Day of Atonement also reminds us that until Satan and his demons are put away, sin will continue to wreck havoc worldwide. But with the faith of Christ, we can overcome and look forward to the day when humanity will be at peace with God and with one another !
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
GOD'S END-TIME WARNINGS
The Lord Jesus Christ walked the earth some two thousand years ago to deliver the gospel message of the kingdom of God from the Heavenly Father. After preaching the gospel for three and a half years, only one hundred twenty believed what He preached (Acts 1:15). The rest who heard the gospel either disbelieve it, or worse, distort it into 'another gospel'. Throughout the centuries that follow, except for a small group of faithfull believers, the church has ignored preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. For those preachers who do so in the end-time, they either misunderstood or misinterpreted the gospel to suit their agenda. Looks like it has come full circle since the days of the first century Apostles!
The kingdom of God is the Government of God which will be established on earth for a thousand years after the Second Coming of Christ, with Jerusalem as the headquarters. But before this is to happen, the Great Tribulation will come upon earth as Satan unleashed his vengeance on planet earth before being dethroned with his incarceration for a thousand years (Rev 20:1-3). It will then be followed by judgment from God known as the Day of the Lord or the time of Jacob's Trouble!
Before Adam was ever created, the angels walked and inhabited the earth. The Government of God was over them. Unfortunately, they sinned and rebelled against God. God created Adam and Eve with the plan to restore the Government of God but they failed. The Word finally came, incarnated as the Son of God (John 1: 1-14) - aka Jesus Christ - the second Adam to save the world from ultimate destruction! Even Jesus Christ had to pass the test at the wilderness to qualify as the King of kings and Lord of lords to rule in the Millennial Age. Testings and trials will be required of His true disciples.
The prophet Ezekiel was given the message by God to warn the house of Israel - the lost ten tribes of Israel - about the impending judgment to come (Ezekiel 2:3, 3:1,17). However, Ezekiel himself was a slave from the house of Judah, not that of Israel. The house of Israel was taken to captivity by the Assyrian more than one hundred years before the house of Judah was taken to captivity by the Babylonian. The people of the house of Israel would have migrated to Britain and Western Europe by the time Ezekiel issued the warning. There was no record that Ezekiel left the Middle East and go west to deliver the message. In all probability, the warning of Ezekiel to the house of Israel was not meant for that time. It could mean that the warning message of Ezekiel was meant for the modern descendants of the house of Israel - people who have since taken roots in modern day United Kingdom, Western Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America.
The warning is a call to repentance before the coming of the Day of the Lord. The Day of the Lord is the time when God supernaturally intervenes in the affairs of this world. Currently, it is the day of man when man manages his own affairs. Though the prophecy targets specifically the house of Israel, it is also applicable to all who would heed the call. For God is no respecter of persons. God commanded Ezekiel to convey the message of warning of the coming judgment (Ezekiel chapter 2) as it contains lamentations, mourning and woe (2:10).
The sixth chapter of the book of Revelation shows the opening of the first six seals of judgment. The sixth seal ushers the world to the Day of the Lord with catastrophic signs of the sun, moon and the stars.The seventh chapter unleashes the seventh seal which consists of the first four trumpets of the seven trumpet plagues. Only the servants of God - at that time will be the 144,000 and the multitudes from all nations - that have been sealed on their foreheads will be protected (Rev 7:3).
Seven trumpet plagues make up the seventh seal. The first plague burns up one third of the trees and grass, the second turns one third of the seas into blood , the third fell upon the rivers and water source and the fourth struck the sun, moon and stars (Rev chapter 8). The last three plagues, called woes, struck and killed one third of mankind (Rev 9:18). But still man will harden their hearts and not repent of their sins (8:20-21). The seventh trumpet consists of the seven last plagues, and will culminate in the return of Jesus Christ to establish His kingdom on earth with the sounding of the seventh trumpet in Revelation 11:15!
Ezekiel was called to be a watchman to warn the house of Israel - not for his days but for end-time such as ours. It will continue on with the two witnesses preaching much to the same drumbeat (Rev: 11:3). The call to repentance with the coming of the kingdom of God is God's work of pre-eminence in these last days. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 24:14, 'And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations and then the end will come.' The true church is tasked to complete this Great Commission in this end time. Sadly, few would heed the call.
The primary reason is found in Ephesians 2:1-2, 'And you He made alive, who were dead in trepasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.' Most who claim to be Christians lack the faith to believe Christ - His very words - though many believe in Him, of who He is. As such , many were being deceived to follow the slippery path of the great deceiver. That is why pop stars and sports personalities command more attention, wealth and influence than preachers and politicians. The mass media has been sold out to lure fame and fortune, and generally does not care what values and morals are being conveyed.
Even if the Lord tarrys His coming, a new world will dawn in the horizon. In it will be a totally new paradigm where values and systems will be based on the laws of God. The coming Millennial Age will be ruled by Christ with the resurrected born again saints as kings and priests to reign and teach God's truth and to reclaim all that have been lost to evil during the six thousand years of man's history (Acts 3:19-21). Will you heed the call and be a partaker of the most exciting time ever ?
The kingdom of God is the Government of God which will be established on earth for a thousand years after the Second Coming of Christ, with Jerusalem as the headquarters. But before this is to happen, the Great Tribulation will come upon earth as Satan unleashed his vengeance on planet earth before being dethroned with his incarceration for a thousand years (Rev 20:1-3). It will then be followed by judgment from God known as the Day of the Lord or the time of Jacob's Trouble!
Before Adam was ever created, the angels walked and inhabited the earth. The Government of God was over them. Unfortunately, they sinned and rebelled against God. God created Adam and Eve with the plan to restore the Government of God but they failed. The Word finally came, incarnated as the Son of God (John 1: 1-14) - aka Jesus Christ - the second Adam to save the world from ultimate destruction! Even Jesus Christ had to pass the test at the wilderness to qualify as the King of kings and Lord of lords to rule in the Millennial Age. Testings and trials will be required of His true disciples.
The prophet Ezekiel was given the message by God to warn the house of Israel - the lost ten tribes of Israel - about the impending judgment to come (Ezekiel 2:3, 3:1,17). However, Ezekiel himself was a slave from the house of Judah, not that of Israel. The house of Israel was taken to captivity by the Assyrian more than one hundred years before the house of Judah was taken to captivity by the Babylonian. The people of the house of Israel would have migrated to Britain and Western Europe by the time Ezekiel issued the warning. There was no record that Ezekiel left the Middle East and go west to deliver the message. In all probability, the warning of Ezekiel to the house of Israel was not meant for that time. It could mean that the warning message of Ezekiel was meant for the modern descendants of the house of Israel - people who have since taken roots in modern day United Kingdom, Western Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America.
The warning is a call to repentance before the coming of the Day of the Lord. The Day of the Lord is the time when God supernaturally intervenes in the affairs of this world. Currently, it is the day of man when man manages his own affairs. Though the prophecy targets specifically the house of Israel, it is also applicable to all who would heed the call. For God is no respecter of persons. God commanded Ezekiel to convey the message of warning of the coming judgment (Ezekiel chapter 2) as it contains lamentations, mourning and woe (2:10).
The sixth chapter of the book of Revelation shows the opening of the first six seals of judgment. The sixth seal ushers the world to the Day of the Lord with catastrophic signs of the sun, moon and the stars.The seventh chapter unleashes the seventh seal which consists of the first four trumpets of the seven trumpet plagues. Only the servants of God - at that time will be the 144,000 and the multitudes from all nations - that have been sealed on their foreheads will be protected (Rev 7:3).
Seven trumpet plagues make up the seventh seal. The first plague burns up one third of the trees and grass, the second turns one third of the seas into blood , the third fell upon the rivers and water source and the fourth struck the sun, moon and stars (Rev chapter 8). The last three plagues, called woes, struck and killed one third of mankind (Rev 9:18). But still man will harden their hearts and not repent of their sins (8:20-21). The seventh trumpet consists of the seven last plagues, and will culminate in the return of Jesus Christ to establish His kingdom on earth with the sounding of the seventh trumpet in Revelation 11:15!
Ezekiel was called to be a watchman to warn the house of Israel - not for his days but for end-time such as ours. It will continue on with the two witnesses preaching much to the same drumbeat (Rev: 11:3). The call to repentance with the coming of the kingdom of God is God's work of pre-eminence in these last days. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 24:14, 'And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations and then the end will come.' The true church is tasked to complete this Great Commission in this end time. Sadly, few would heed the call.
The primary reason is found in Ephesians 2:1-2, 'And you He made alive, who were dead in trepasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.' Most who claim to be Christians lack the faith to believe Christ - His very words - though many believe in Him, of who He is. As such , many were being deceived to follow the slippery path of the great deceiver. That is why pop stars and sports personalities command more attention, wealth and influence than preachers and politicians. The mass media has been sold out to lure fame and fortune, and generally does not care what values and morals are being conveyed.
Even if the Lord tarrys His coming, a new world will dawn in the horizon. In it will be a totally new paradigm where values and systems will be based on the laws of God. The coming Millennial Age will be ruled by Christ with the resurrected born again saints as kings and priests to reign and teach God's truth and to reclaim all that have been lost to evil during the six thousand years of man's history (Acts 3:19-21). Will you heed the call and be a partaker of the most exciting time ever ?
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