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Starting from today, you are moving from glory to glory; anything you lay your hands shall prosper in Jesus Name. Your dream will not die, your plans will not fail, your destiny will not be aborted, and the desires of your heart will be granted. This 2009, Say a big AMEN. Money will know your Name and Address from now on. If u desire to claim it send it back to me & all your friends. Heavens have confirmed 2day the end of your sufferings sorrows & pains because he that sits on the throne has remembered u. He has taken away the hardship and given U JOY. He will never let you down. Don’t feel selfish to have these blessings alone,
If u believes this send it to 10 people.
Friday, 10 April 2009
Thursday, 9 April 2009
Prepare for the Lord's Return! 5 Days in Heaven and Hell
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by Bernada Fernandez
The text you are about to read, is the first part of the testimony of sister Bernarda Fernandez,
who was privileged to be taken by Jesus Christ to visit the next world.
THIS IS THE TESTIMONY OF MY FIRST JOURNEY
As I was not feeling well that morning, my husband refused to leave me on my own and go to
work. I told him that I was not alone. After he left, I felt that I was dying. So I decided to phone
some of my friends, and my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law answered: "Bernarda, God will
bless you today, do not be afraid". The same answer came from another brother in Christ that I
phoned, but he added: "Bernarda get up from your bed and praise the Lord, cry to Him and
glorify Him".
So, in spite of my lack of strength I cried to the Lord saying: "Lord You are my strength, come
and help me". I tried to stand up, but my strength left me. My voice could no longer be heard but
in my soul I was crying to the Lord to help me since I was dying. Suddenly my room was lit up
of a light which looked like a fire. Immediately my fear vanished and I saw angels descending
and walking in my room. I could hear them clearly speaking to each other, and suddenly a
marvelous being appeared, more marvelous than angels. He was dressed in White with a golden
sash. On His chest was written in gold: "FAITHFUL AND TRUE". His face was showing
gentleness and Love. Jesus the CHRIST was in front of me, the King of kings and the Lord of
lords. Blessed be His name!
Jesus approached me, touched my head and told me: "I am Jesus who died for you. Look at
these marks in my hands, they are still there for you. I came down from my throne of glory to
speak to you; there are many things in your life to put right. You are lazy and quick-tempered.
Moreover, I do not want 25% Christian nor 95%, but 100%. If you want to go to heaven, you
have to be holy as I myself am holy; I came to take you for a journey".
I asked Him: "Lord is it a missionary journey?" He answered "No". Then He took me by my
hands and lifted me up, and talked to me with simplicity and Love. He brought me as far as my
windows, He looked at the city of New-York and I saw sadness on His face. He wept and said:
"My Word is well preached, but people do not listen. The sin of this city has reached My
Father".
The city was full of homosexuals; among them were
Politicians. The Lord told me: "It's another Sodom, but
I am alive and the judgments of My Father will soon
fall on this city". Then I knelt before the Lord while
crying and He told me: "Do not be afraid. When
judgment falls on this world, my Church will no
longer be on earth". He then led me again towards my
bed and asked me to phone a brother from my
congregation. He gave me the name of the then brother.
He then asked me to tell him that my spirit would come
out of my body, and that they should not bring my corps
to the hospital or to the any funeral ceremony. Instead,
they should tell my husband to trust the one who is the Resurrection and the Life (John 11: 25).
The Lord told me again: "I who give life, I take your spirit but you will come back and tell the
peoples to trust me fully. The one who believes in me will never die" (John 11:26). He stretched
His hands and I saw that another body came out of me. I was dressed in white and I was shining
like the Lord, He told me: "Look! This is the body that Christians who obey my Word will soon
have".
I realized that I could go through the walls. The Lord who was holding me by my hand said:
"Look"! When I turned, I saw my body without spirit. He explained to me that my physical body
was worthless, it was nothing but dust, and that at death it will become dust again, as any
physical body. He added that the new body I had was a glorious one which is the spirit He gave
to man. I thought He would lead me straight to heaven, but it was not the case. We descended
through a tunnel below the earth, and when approaching a certain place I could perceive an
unbearable smell. I said: "Lord I do not want to go into that place". But we went in; that place
was dark and not worth living. I heard people suffering, weeping and screaming. When we got
to the end of the tunnel, we sat on a rock and the Lord told me: "Look"! I saw people suffering.
In hell, people spend their time crying, and no one
cares about others.
Dear brothers and sisters, I just came to realize
that HELL IS REAL. I wept and wept, and when
I looked at the Lord, He told me: "Hold on to
what you have seen, and do not forget it".
I was looking at the hell, and people were
screaming "Ouch! Ouch! It's for ever! it's for ever!
Pain and hatred for ever and ever."
I turned toward the Lord and asked Him: "Is
there anyone from my family in this hell?" He
answered me "I will not allow you to see a
member of your family". I asked Him again: "Lord is there anyone that I know here?" "Yes",
said the Lord and I will allow you to see him. Suddenly I saw a young man coming from the
depths of the hell: It was Alexander.
I knew this young man at a crusade my husband and I attended in Dominica Republic. During
that crusade, I heard a voice saying to me, "Get up, go and meet Alexander who is passing by.
Tell him not to reject this message, for I'm giving him a last chance". This voice was the voice
of the Lord even though I did not see Him. I told Alexander what the Lord told me. This is how
he responded: "You Christians are all fools. You deceive people by telling them that Jesus Christ
is coming, I, Alexander, do not believe this to be the truth". I told him: "Alexander, God gives
live and takes it away when he wants; Alexander, you will soon die. He answered: "I am too
young to die, I still have many good years of festivities on this earth."
This chance was well and truly the last for Alexander. Dear reader, what do you know about
yourself?
Three weeks later, Alexander died while he was drunk. His destination was this place of
torment where I saw him (hell). The Bible states clearly that drunker will not inherit the
kingdom of God (Galatians 5: 21).
When looking at people in hell, I could see Alexander attacked by two big worms. He was
screaming "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" He was tormented. He recognized me and told me: "I
neglected my last chance. I am here today, suffering. Please, when you return to earth, go to my
house and tell my family to believe in Jesus Christ and to obey His word, so that they will not
come to this place of torment."
Then the Lord showed me thousands of people who were suffering in hell, and He told me:
"You see, some of these people knew Me when they were on earth. There are still a lot of
people on earth who walk on the street without knowing where they go. Know that the way to
heaven is very narrow, and it will be narrower again. There will be difficulties on earth, so
that you will be as pure as gold, but fear not for I am ahead of you like a mighty warrior".
I asked Him: "ARE THERE CHRISTIANS IN THIS HELL?", He answered: "Yes, do you know
why? They believed in Me but they did not walk according to my Word. There are many, those
Christians who only behave well when they are in the temple, in front of their pastors and
their family. But they are greatly deceiving themselves. The eyes of my Father see everything
and He understands every word, wherever you are. Tell my people that it's time they lived a
holy life before my Father, before the devil and before the world. Let the devil has no right to
accuse my people; and let the world not pointing finger at my people. It's high time we sought
holiness and consecration "(1 Peter 1: 14-16)
Then we went somewhere where there was a lake of fire. As we were approaching the lake, I
perceived a very bad smell and the Lord told me: "What you see there is a lake of fire, which is
already ready for the devil, the false prophet, and the Antichrist. I did not prepare this place
for men, but all those who do not believe in me as their Savior and those who do not live
according to my word will go there (Revelation 20:14)"
At that moment I saw Jesus weeping and He told me again: "There are too many those who
are lost than those who go to heaven". Then Jesus showed me the number of people who were
dying in a minute and He told me: "Look! How many are lost! My Church is sleeping despite
the fact that Shehas received my power; She has my word and the Holy Spirit, but She is
sleeping. On earth there are people who preach that hell does not exist. Go and tell them that
this place is real".
I was very far from that place, but I could feel the heat. We left the Hades and we went to
heaven. We kept on going and went to the second heaven. In that heaven the Lord showed me
the sun and the stars and He told: "Look at these stars, I call each one of them by its name. Do
you see this sun, it's by my power that it shines both on the righteous and the wicked. But
there will come a day when the sun will no longer shine, everything will be darkness".
We went further and reached the heaven where God lives. There, were beautiful houses. The
walls of those houses were very high, of pure gold and of precious stones. There were twelve
gates of pearls, with twelve angels at the gates. I thought I could not go in, but the Lord looked
at me and said: "Do you want to go in?" "Oh yes Lord! I really want to." "Then get in, for I
myself am the door" (John 10:9).
At that moment I went in through a precious gate and I saw a garden of magnificent flowers.
"Do you want to go in the garden? Then go in for I've prepared this for you and my people".
When I stepped in, I started to pick some flowers and to arrange some bunches. I was running in
the garden like a little girl. The flowers I picked had many colors with a very nice smell. After
that, the Lord called someone. It was an angel, strong and so beautiful that I could not describe.
The Lord told me: "Do you see this one, he is the Archangel Michael, he is the one who leads
my army. Look again!" I saw a mighty army on horses and the Lord told me: "It's not a human
army, but my Father's. This army is at the disposal of Christians who are REALLY born
again; do not fear, for it is more powerful than the one which is in the world".
Then He showed me another angel. "This one is the messenger of Christians who obey my
word". I was happy to hear that. Jesus told me: "Be attentive! I am the God of Abraham, the
God of Moses, the God of Elijah, the One who caused fire to fall from heaven; I have not
changed. I am going to show you the condition in which my people live in these last days
they've got left". The Lord told me: "Be very careful about the things I'm going to show you". I
saw Christians who were weak and tired. The Lord asked me this question: "Do you believe that
I can take this Church away in its present state?" Then He told me, "Christians that I will take
away with me will be glorious, triumphant, spotless, and blameless. Among my people there
are lies, lack of love, my people is divided. I showed you the condition of Christians in these
last days; Now I'm going to show you how the early Church lived. Those brothers and sisters
were filled with the glory of God. They constantly fasted and prayed; they preached my word
without any fear. Whereas present Christians think that I've changed, they also think that the
Holy Spirit has changed. The big mistake of Christians today is the fact that they live a
routine life, planned by human being. Therefore they've forgotten that the messages are from
the Holy Spirit and from above. Tell my servants, the pastors that time has come to put behind
those routine's programs. If they do, you will see the power of God in your midst, the Holy
Spirit who was manifest in the early Church. He will perform signs, miracles and wonders in
great number, causing the dead to rise. The Holy Spirit is still the same, it's you who have
changed".
Christians, it's high time you came back to the life of the early Church.
I then left this beautiful garden and went to the lovely street of Gold and the Lord told me:
"Touch! Yes it's pure Gold. Go and tell my children that VERY SOON, they are going to walk
on these streets of gold by the hand of the One who gives life (Revelation 21:10-15)"
Oh! How great it is to walk on those streets of gold! After that I saw a splendid Throne
surrounded by Angels, Archangels and Seraphs. They were continually praising God, the One
who was on the Throne, saying: "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty; heaven and earth
are filled with his Glory. Amen!" Time has come to lift up holy hands unto me and praise me".
At the same time I saw the river of the water of life flowing from the Throne. I also saw the tree
of life and at the other end I saw the rainbow and the river of crystal. Then, I asked the Lord:
"Who is on the throne?" He answered: "It's my Father, the Lord of Host". I told Him: "Can I
see the Father", "No it's not yet time", the Lord answered.
Even though I did not see the Father, the One who was on the throne was Mighty. I saw
thunder and flashes of lightning coming from the throne and I heard praises. Jesus told me: "Do
you hear these praises? These are the praises of those who are redeemed". I saw seven angels,
each one of them holding a golden bowl; and seven others (angels), each holding a trumpet.
"Lord, who are these angels?" The Lord answered: "The seven bowls that the angels hold are
filled with the wrath of God. They will soon be poured out and when the trumpets sound, my
Church (those Christians who live according to the will of my Father) will be caught up. They
will no longer be on earth during the great tribulation. Before the Antichrist manifests
himself, this man of sin, my Church will hear the last trumpets' sound, and they will meet me
in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
I was there, dear friend, in front of a great throne, and I did not have any notion of time. A
moment later Jesus showed me how His Church (the true believers) will be caught up! I saw in
this vision, thousands of people disappearing. This happened world-wide, and TV and radio
gave the news of the disappearance. Newspapers with (big headlines in red), also brought out
the news. The Lord told me: "The news will soon happen". If the judgments of My Father have
not yet come upon the earth, it's because of the faithful Christians, those who really love me."
After that, I saw the appearance of the man of sin. He was saying to the inhabitants of the
earth: "I'm bringing you peace and safety" and immediately people forgot the event that had just
taken place. Jesus told me: "Look carefully!". I saw in the vision the seven angels with the
seven bowls. Dear friend, what was happening was difficult to describe; I saw the angels
pouring out the seven bowls of the wrath of God on the earth. Trumpets started sounding. God
was pouring out His judgments on the inhabitants of the earth, and whole countries disappeared.
The Lord told me: "Look! All these people were part of my Church, some were pastors".
Because I did not fully understand this, I asked the Lord: "How is it that your people have been
left so numerous in the great tribulation? How is it that there are also pastors among them,
those who preached your word?" Jesus answered: "Yes, they had preached my word, but they
were not living in accordance with my word." Then the Lord allowed me to see another
multitude of pastors, and He told me: "Those pastors were not preaching my word as it is
written. They thought that my word was not adapted to their century. They had too much
favor towards those who were given a lot of tithes, because they were more interested in
materials. Go and tell my servants that I am the One who called them, and that Silver and
Gold belong to me and I give them according to my greatness and glory. Tell them to preach
my word as it is written. They are many, those who give another interpretation to my word.
My word is my word, and no one can change it. It must be preached as it is written. There are
many among my people who distort my word for their own profit ".
After that, we entered a lounge in that new Jerusalem and the Lord told me: "What you see is
paradise". In Paradise I saw the apostles and I asked the Lord, Lord where is Abraham? I was
expecting to see and old man, but suddenly I saw a young man aged about 25 approaching and
Jesus told me, this is Abraham, the father of Faith.
The Lord called a very beautiful woman with an unspeakable beauty, like all those I saw there,
and He told me: "This is Mary! Go and tell every body that Mary is not the Queen of heaven.
The King of heaven is I, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords; the One who says: "I AM
THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIVE. (John 14: 6-7). Go and tell this BLINDFOLDED
MANKIND that there no purgatory, for if there was one, I would have shown you. Instead,
there is hell, the lake of fire, the precious Jerusalem, and the paradise which I showed you.
But tell them that there is no purgatory; tell them that IT'S A LIE FROM THE DEVIL,
THERE IS NO PURGATORY".
Then the Lord led me to a store of crowns. "These are crowns of life". The Lord asked me:
"What do you see?" I saw my local Church, the believers of that community, singing and
preaching, then I asked Jesus: "Why are the names of the believers of my community not written
in this book?" And He told me: "Because of their wrongdoing on the earth". After all this the
Lord allowed me to come back on earth.
NOW, I AM GOING TO TALK ABOUT MY SECOND JOURNEY
One day we were at a prayer meeting, we were twenty in number. As usual, we started by
praising and worshiping the Lord.
Suddenly we felt the presence of God. It was so powerful as if we were on the day of
Pentecost. I remember that my husband's mother, who is well advanced in age and very devoted
in the work of the Lord came to me and said: "Bernarda, let's keep the noise down during the
praise for we're making a lot of noise". She was right, because the praise was like a sound of
waterfall. As I was about to ask my brothers to keep the noise down, I heard the Lord telling me:
"Don't say anything! In the world, when people are making noise, nobody cares, why then
should you stop the praise?" We then carried on praising and worshiping the Lord, and I felt
that something great would take place. Suddenly I remembered what the Lord told me on my
first journey: "I'll come back for you".
All of a sudden I saw a bright light flooding my home. My brothers also saw the light, and
they all knelt down before this True and Faithful God. I did not know what to do, and I just
stood still. That light became brighter, and took a human form. I had in front of me the Lord
Jesus Christ whose look was beautiful and full of love. On earth, I have never seen such beauty
on a man's face. He came closer to each of my brothers. As I was about to tell my brothers that
the Lord came for me I started speaking in tongues. (1 Corinthians 14:39-40)
The Lord came closer to me. Just by looking at me, my spirit left my body. I was in the air
and I saw what was happening in my house. I saw people ringing my door's bell, and when my
husband went to answer, two policemen were at the door. The policemen said: "We heard that a
lady died here; that's why we came". My husband told them no, here we meet to worship and
praise the Lord. The policemen did not really believe, but they could not enter. They said: "OK,
carry on but do not make a lot of noise". I was in the air when I saw all this.
Jesus took me by hands and we went towards the Dominican Republic. When we reached the
city, the Lord told me: "There are two great sins this country commits before my Father,
witchcraft and idolatry". I saw the people of that country running after sorcerers and fetish...
After that the Lord brought me to Venezuela and to
Mexico. In Venezuela, I was in the air with Jesus, but
I saw people turning to magic, fetish, and to
witchcraft. In Mexico I saw people meeting and
worshiping demons. The Lord told me: "The horror
of this sin has reached my Father. The first sign I
give as a warning is that there will be an earthquake
in Mexico if the inhabitants of the country do not
repent and come back to me". When I came back on
earth, I went to Mexico and gave the message. The
people did not listen and recently there was a terrible
earthquake in Mexico.
When we were still in the air, the Lord told me that the hands of his Father have been
stretched out upon the inhabitants of the earth. I saw the sea with gigantic waves, resembling a
monster. I also saw hurricane happening on earth. I asked the Lord: "Lord what will become of
Christians when all this happen?" He answered: "Go and tell them that, for those who are
faithful to me, none of their hair will be touched". After that the Lord brought me to another
place, I saw places where the earth was split. The Lord told me: "Many countries will soon be
wiped out". Then we left that place and went to another place where waters were in motion. We
went by these waters through a tunnel and reached the depths of the earth. I saw great doors. It
was not the same as those I saw during my first journey. On these doors were big chains. The
Lord went towards the doors, and after he had removed the chains, He let me in through the
tunnel.
Dear brothers and sisters, I saw thousands of people, with their head down, wearing torn
clothes. They were chained, with big chains whose noise could lead to deafness. Then I said:
"Lord, what does this mean?" He answered: "All these men and women are on their way to
hell". Among those who were on their way to hell, I saw my husband's senior brother, Adolfo.
He was a difficult man, he used to get married and divorced when he wanted, and he used to
curse God. Then I started pleading with the Lord to let me go back on earth and warn Adolfo
that he was going to hell, but the Lord did not answer me. Again I saw Adolfo and his wife
walking through the tunnel. They were at the edge of hell. I pleaded with the Lord again to let
me go back on the earth and tell people what I have seen. The Lord lifted his hands up and said:
"Go and tell them that time is nearly over". He said again: "Thousands and thousands of
people will go to hell, Adolfo's time is over, he is going to die".
When I came on earth, my brother in law, Adolfo did not want to change his way of living.
One day, he quickly came home from work and said to his wife: "I can't work any longer,
something is telling me that I'm going to die". His wife answered: "It's because you are drunk as
usual that you're saying this". Both of them went to bed. Some minutes later, she had a vision.
In her vision she saw her husband and she in a tunnel, clothed with shabby clothes, and going to
hell. She heard the Lord telling her: "Time for both of you is over".
When I was still in the air the Lord told me: "Do you know why I brought you here for a
second time? It was to show you that during your first visit, the number of lost was less than
this time".
Suddenly, Jesus and I left that place to the first heaven, and then to the second heaven. When
we reached the third heaven, I saw angels bustling from one side to the other; then I asked the
Lord: "Why are these angels in motion?" Jesus answered: "It's true that my angels are in
motion here, but I'm going to show you how the earth is also in motion. Be careful because
many demons have invaded the earth. The devil is furious against Christians because he has
little time left".
The Lord allowed me to see those demons in a terrible anger, and He told me: "Those demons
you see are demons of adultery. They will attack thousands of My servants and many will fall
into that sin. Do you know why the devil succeeds in causing my servants to fall? It is because
my servants do not give me all the glory. They steal my glory and become proud. On top of
that, their wives live in a great spiritual disorder. They did not build their homes with
wisdom." (1 Timothy 2:11-14)
I saw thousands of angels that I could not count, there were many of them ready for the battle.
Then Jesus told me: "Now I'm sending these thousands of angels on the earth to protect my
people. In these last days, I will double the protection will be double. Satan also will double
his attacks, but you should not forget that your God is great and mighty. If you are attached to
Him nothing will happen to you".
The Lord then brought me to another place. There, I saw a huge table rounded with golden
chairs. On each chair, a name was written, and a robe of fine linen was also placed. In front of
each chair, on the table I saw crowns. Then I noticed that there was a chair that was bigger than
others. In front of that chair was a huge cup in gold. Jesus told me to go and see what is in the
cup. It was full of wine, ready to be served. Jesus told me: "Do you know why the wine is ready
to be served? Go and tell my people that I am at the door, I'm coming soon".
The Lord gave me a robe of fine linen and a crown. I wore the robe and the crown, then the
Lord brought me to another place where I saw things like in a mirror. He told me: "There's
neither stain nor crease on your robe, isn't it? None will enter through this door nor take
place at this table, unless he is clothed like this. Some among my people on earth have dirtied
their robes. Others have crumpled robes, and still others have put theirs aside, and have
forgotten them. Tell my people that it's time they washed their robes, ironed them and took
them back. Christians should ask the Holy Spirit to help them keeping their robes in good
state, because the King will soon celebrate the Marriage Supper in His Father's kingdom".
I come from a divorced family and I grew up with my father. My mother was a very religious
woman. As for my father, he believed in nothing. I have a sister who is in a catholic convent, but
I know that Jesus will soon take her out of that and she will preach the Gospel with me. I pray a
lot for her. When I was thinking about my mother's life in that mystic religion, during my first
journey in paradise, I cried before the Lord and told Him: "Lord my mother is lost, yet I've
preached the Gospel to her but she won't listen. More and more she is clung to that pagan
religion". The Lord answered me: "I will save your mother, but I will take her home
immediately otherwise she will fall back into sin and go to hell. For this reason, as soon as
she is converted, she will die some time later and come here, in paradise".
When I came back on earth, I prayed, cried, sighed, reminding the Lord the promise he gave
me, but I saw my mother who was more and more involved in the idolatry of her religion. One
day God used my son to convert my mother. Just three days after her conversion, she died;
praise the Lord!
During my second journey in paradise the Lord told me: "Look, what my mouth says, my
hands fulfill it". I saw my mother in that beautiful paradise; she was among other women. Then
the Lord led me in an area in the paradise. There I saw thousands of children clothed in white
who were praising and glorifying the Lord. Jesus told me: "These children are those who have
been aborted by parents and criminals doctors. Babies that people killed whilst they are still in
their mother's womb, and that are found in dustbins and rivers, are here in heaven."
Dear brothers and sisters, contrary to what you think, for the Lord a fetus is a human being
from conception, from the first day of pregnancy.
Jesus told me again: "Bernarda, work for I am your strength. This message has to be
published into the whole world. It's a message for Christians, pastors, and for all the
inhabitants of the earth, including you. Let him who is holy continue to be holy."
At that moment the gates of heaven were opened. There was a beautiful escalator. Jesus called
thousands of angels who came, and then the Lord accompanied me to my home.
When we got home, I saw my husband and the Christian brothers who were waiting for my
spirit to come. I looked at my physical body that remained on earth, and I told the Lord that I do
no longer want this body. The Lord told me: "You cannot go back to heaven with me for it is
not your time yet. You have to tell my people first what you saw in order for them to get ready".
With a powerful voice, He told me: "Enter and receive life, I am the resurrection and the life,
he who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live (John 11: 25-26).
by Bernada Fernandez
The text you are about to read, is the first part of the testimony of sister Bernarda Fernandez,
who was privileged to be taken by Jesus Christ to visit the next world.
THIS IS THE TESTIMONY OF MY FIRST JOURNEY
As I was not feeling well that morning, my husband refused to leave me on my own and go to
work. I told him that I was not alone. After he left, I felt that I was dying. So I decided to phone
some of my friends, and my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law answered: "Bernarda, God will
bless you today, do not be afraid". The same answer came from another brother in Christ that I
phoned, but he added: "Bernarda get up from your bed and praise the Lord, cry to Him and
glorify Him".
So, in spite of my lack of strength I cried to the Lord saying: "Lord You are my strength, come
and help me". I tried to stand up, but my strength left me. My voice could no longer be heard but
in my soul I was crying to the Lord to help me since I was dying. Suddenly my room was lit up
of a light which looked like a fire. Immediately my fear vanished and I saw angels descending
and walking in my room. I could hear them clearly speaking to each other, and suddenly a
marvelous being appeared, more marvelous than angels. He was dressed in White with a golden
sash. On His chest was written in gold: "FAITHFUL AND TRUE". His face was showing
gentleness and Love. Jesus the CHRIST was in front of me, the King of kings and the Lord of
lords. Blessed be His name!
Jesus approached me, touched my head and told me: "I am Jesus who died for you. Look at
these marks in my hands, they are still there for you. I came down from my throne of glory to
speak to you; there are many things in your life to put right. You are lazy and quick-tempered.
Moreover, I do not want 25% Christian nor 95%, but 100%. If you want to go to heaven, you
have to be holy as I myself am holy; I came to take you for a journey".
I asked Him: "Lord is it a missionary journey?" He answered "No". Then He took me by my
hands and lifted me up, and talked to me with simplicity and Love. He brought me as far as my
windows, He looked at the city of New-York and I saw sadness on His face. He wept and said:
"My Word is well preached, but people do not listen. The sin of this city has reached My
Father".
The city was full of homosexuals; among them were
Politicians. The Lord told me: "It's another Sodom, but
I am alive and the judgments of My Father will soon
fall on this city". Then I knelt before the Lord while
crying and He told me: "Do not be afraid. When
judgment falls on this world, my Church will no
longer be on earth". He then led me again towards my
bed and asked me to phone a brother from my
congregation. He gave me the name of the then brother.
He then asked me to tell him that my spirit would come
out of my body, and that they should not bring my corps
to the hospital or to the any funeral ceremony. Instead,
they should tell my husband to trust the one who is the Resurrection and the Life (John 11: 25).
The Lord told me again: "I who give life, I take your spirit but you will come back and tell the
peoples to trust me fully. The one who believes in me will never die" (John 11:26). He stretched
His hands and I saw that another body came out of me. I was dressed in white and I was shining
like the Lord, He told me: "Look! This is the body that Christians who obey my Word will soon
have".
I realized that I could go through the walls. The Lord who was holding me by my hand said:
"Look"! When I turned, I saw my body without spirit. He explained to me that my physical body
was worthless, it was nothing but dust, and that at death it will become dust again, as any
physical body. He added that the new body I had was a glorious one which is the spirit He gave
to man. I thought He would lead me straight to heaven, but it was not the case. We descended
through a tunnel below the earth, and when approaching a certain place I could perceive an
unbearable smell. I said: "Lord I do not want to go into that place". But we went in; that place
was dark and not worth living. I heard people suffering, weeping and screaming. When we got
to the end of the tunnel, we sat on a rock and the Lord told me: "Look"! I saw people suffering.
In hell, people spend their time crying, and no one
cares about others.
Dear brothers and sisters, I just came to realize
that HELL IS REAL. I wept and wept, and when
I looked at the Lord, He told me: "Hold on to
what you have seen, and do not forget it".
I was looking at the hell, and people were
screaming "Ouch! Ouch! It's for ever! it's for ever!
Pain and hatred for ever and ever."
I turned toward the Lord and asked Him: "Is
there anyone from my family in this hell?" He
answered me "I will not allow you to see a
member of your family". I asked Him again: "Lord is there anyone that I know here?" "Yes",
said the Lord and I will allow you to see him. Suddenly I saw a young man coming from the
depths of the hell: It was Alexander.
I knew this young man at a crusade my husband and I attended in Dominica Republic. During
that crusade, I heard a voice saying to me, "Get up, go and meet Alexander who is passing by.
Tell him not to reject this message, for I'm giving him a last chance". This voice was the voice
of the Lord even though I did not see Him. I told Alexander what the Lord told me. This is how
he responded: "You Christians are all fools. You deceive people by telling them that Jesus Christ
is coming, I, Alexander, do not believe this to be the truth". I told him: "Alexander, God gives
live and takes it away when he wants; Alexander, you will soon die. He answered: "I am too
young to die, I still have many good years of festivities on this earth."
This chance was well and truly the last for Alexander. Dear reader, what do you know about
yourself?
Three weeks later, Alexander died while he was drunk. His destination was this place of
torment where I saw him (hell). The Bible states clearly that drunker will not inherit the
kingdom of God (Galatians 5: 21).
When looking at people in hell, I could see Alexander attacked by two big worms. He was
screaming "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" He was tormented. He recognized me and told me: "I
neglected my last chance. I am here today, suffering. Please, when you return to earth, go to my
house and tell my family to believe in Jesus Christ and to obey His word, so that they will not
come to this place of torment."
Then the Lord showed me thousands of people who were suffering in hell, and He told me:
"You see, some of these people knew Me when they were on earth. There are still a lot of
people on earth who walk on the street without knowing where they go. Know that the way to
heaven is very narrow, and it will be narrower again. There will be difficulties on earth, so
that you will be as pure as gold, but fear not for I am ahead of you like a mighty warrior".
I asked Him: "ARE THERE CHRISTIANS IN THIS HELL?", He answered: "Yes, do you know
why? They believed in Me but they did not walk according to my Word. There are many, those
Christians who only behave well when they are in the temple, in front of their pastors and
their family. But they are greatly deceiving themselves. The eyes of my Father see everything
and He understands every word, wherever you are. Tell my people that it's time they lived a
holy life before my Father, before the devil and before the world. Let the devil has no right to
accuse my people; and let the world not pointing finger at my people. It's high time we sought
holiness and consecration "(1 Peter 1: 14-16)
Then we went somewhere where there was a lake of fire. As we were approaching the lake, I
perceived a very bad smell and the Lord told me: "What you see there is a lake of fire, which is
already ready for the devil, the false prophet, and the Antichrist. I did not prepare this place
for men, but all those who do not believe in me as their Savior and those who do not live
according to my word will go there (Revelation 20:14)"
At that moment I saw Jesus weeping and He told me again: "There are too many those who
are lost than those who go to heaven". Then Jesus showed me the number of people who were
dying in a minute and He told me: "Look! How many are lost! My Church is sleeping despite
the fact that Shehas received my power; She has my word and the Holy Spirit, but She is
sleeping. On earth there are people who preach that hell does not exist. Go and tell them that
this place is real".
I was very far from that place, but I could feel the heat. We left the Hades and we went to
heaven. We kept on going and went to the second heaven. In that heaven the Lord showed me
the sun and the stars and He told: "Look at these stars, I call each one of them by its name. Do
you see this sun, it's by my power that it shines both on the righteous and the wicked. But
there will come a day when the sun will no longer shine, everything will be darkness".
We went further and reached the heaven where God lives. There, were beautiful houses. The
walls of those houses were very high, of pure gold and of precious stones. There were twelve
gates of pearls, with twelve angels at the gates. I thought I could not go in, but the Lord looked
at me and said: "Do you want to go in?" "Oh yes Lord! I really want to." "Then get in, for I
myself am the door" (John 10:9).
At that moment I went in through a precious gate and I saw a garden of magnificent flowers.
"Do you want to go in the garden? Then go in for I've prepared this for you and my people".
When I stepped in, I started to pick some flowers and to arrange some bunches. I was running in
the garden like a little girl. The flowers I picked had many colors with a very nice smell. After
that, the Lord called someone. It was an angel, strong and so beautiful that I could not describe.
The Lord told me: "Do you see this one, he is the Archangel Michael, he is the one who leads
my army. Look again!" I saw a mighty army on horses and the Lord told me: "It's not a human
army, but my Father's. This army is at the disposal of Christians who are REALLY born
again; do not fear, for it is more powerful than the one which is in the world".
Then He showed me another angel. "This one is the messenger of Christians who obey my
word". I was happy to hear that. Jesus told me: "Be attentive! I am the God of Abraham, the
God of Moses, the God of Elijah, the One who caused fire to fall from heaven; I have not
changed. I am going to show you the condition in which my people live in these last days
they've got left". The Lord told me: "Be very careful about the things I'm going to show you". I
saw Christians who were weak and tired. The Lord asked me this question: "Do you believe that
I can take this Church away in its present state?" Then He told me, "Christians that I will take
away with me will be glorious, triumphant, spotless, and blameless. Among my people there
are lies, lack of love, my people is divided. I showed you the condition of Christians in these
last days; Now I'm going to show you how the early Church lived. Those brothers and sisters
were filled with the glory of God. They constantly fasted and prayed; they preached my word
without any fear. Whereas present Christians think that I've changed, they also think that the
Holy Spirit has changed. The big mistake of Christians today is the fact that they live a
routine life, planned by human being. Therefore they've forgotten that the messages are from
the Holy Spirit and from above. Tell my servants, the pastors that time has come to put behind
those routine's programs. If they do, you will see the power of God in your midst, the Holy
Spirit who was manifest in the early Church. He will perform signs, miracles and wonders in
great number, causing the dead to rise. The Holy Spirit is still the same, it's you who have
changed".
Christians, it's high time you came back to the life of the early Church.
I then left this beautiful garden and went to the lovely street of Gold and the Lord told me:
"Touch! Yes it's pure Gold. Go and tell my children that VERY SOON, they are going to walk
on these streets of gold by the hand of the One who gives life (Revelation 21:10-15)"
Oh! How great it is to walk on those streets of gold! After that I saw a splendid Throne
surrounded by Angels, Archangels and Seraphs. They were continually praising God, the One
who was on the Throne, saying: "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty; heaven and earth
are filled with his Glory. Amen!" Time has come to lift up holy hands unto me and praise me".
At the same time I saw the river of the water of life flowing from the Throne. I also saw the tree
of life and at the other end I saw the rainbow and the river of crystal. Then, I asked the Lord:
"Who is on the throne?" He answered: "It's my Father, the Lord of Host". I told Him: "Can I
see the Father", "No it's not yet time", the Lord answered.
Even though I did not see the Father, the One who was on the throne was Mighty. I saw
thunder and flashes of lightning coming from the throne and I heard praises. Jesus told me: "Do
you hear these praises? These are the praises of those who are redeemed". I saw seven angels,
each one of them holding a golden bowl; and seven others (angels), each holding a trumpet.
"Lord, who are these angels?" The Lord answered: "The seven bowls that the angels hold are
filled with the wrath of God. They will soon be poured out and when the trumpets sound, my
Church (those Christians who live according to the will of my Father) will be caught up. They
will no longer be on earth during the great tribulation. Before the Antichrist manifests
himself, this man of sin, my Church will hear the last trumpets' sound, and they will meet me
in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
I was there, dear friend, in front of a great throne, and I did not have any notion of time. A
moment later Jesus showed me how His Church (the true believers) will be caught up! I saw in
this vision, thousands of people disappearing. This happened world-wide, and TV and radio
gave the news of the disappearance. Newspapers with (big headlines in red), also brought out
the news. The Lord told me: "The news will soon happen". If the judgments of My Father have
not yet come upon the earth, it's because of the faithful Christians, those who really love me."
After that, I saw the appearance of the man of sin. He was saying to the inhabitants of the
earth: "I'm bringing you peace and safety" and immediately people forgot the event that had just
taken place. Jesus told me: "Look carefully!". I saw in the vision the seven angels with the
seven bowls. Dear friend, what was happening was difficult to describe; I saw the angels
pouring out the seven bowls of the wrath of God on the earth. Trumpets started sounding. God
was pouring out His judgments on the inhabitants of the earth, and whole countries disappeared.
The Lord told me: "Look! All these people were part of my Church, some were pastors".
Because I did not fully understand this, I asked the Lord: "How is it that your people have been
left so numerous in the great tribulation? How is it that there are also pastors among them,
those who preached your word?" Jesus answered: "Yes, they had preached my word, but they
were not living in accordance with my word." Then the Lord allowed me to see another
multitude of pastors, and He told me: "Those pastors were not preaching my word as it is
written. They thought that my word was not adapted to their century. They had too much
favor towards those who were given a lot of tithes, because they were more interested in
materials. Go and tell my servants that I am the One who called them, and that Silver and
Gold belong to me and I give them according to my greatness and glory. Tell them to preach
my word as it is written. They are many, those who give another interpretation to my word.
My word is my word, and no one can change it. It must be preached as it is written. There are
many among my people who distort my word for their own profit ".
After that, we entered a lounge in that new Jerusalem and the Lord told me: "What you see is
paradise". In Paradise I saw the apostles and I asked the Lord, Lord where is Abraham? I was
expecting to see and old man, but suddenly I saw a young man aged about 25 approaching and
Jesus told me, this is Abraham, the father of Faith.
The Lord called a very beautiful woman with an unspeakable beauty, like all those I saw there,
and He told me: "This is Mary! Go and tell every body that Mary is not the Queen of heaven.
The King of heaven is I, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords; the One who says: "I AM
THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIVE. (John 14: 6-7). Go and tell this BLINDFOLDED
MANKIND that there no purgatory, for if there was one, I would have shown you. Instead,
there is hell, the lake of fire, the precious Jerusalem, and the paradise which I showed you.
But tell them that there is no purgatory; tell them that IT'S A LIE FROM THE DEVIL,
THERE IS NO PURGATORY".
Then the Lord led me to a store of crowns. "These are crowns of life". The Lord asked me:
"What do you see?" I saw my local Church, the believers of that community, singing and
preaching, then I asked Jesus: "Why are the names of the believers of my community not written
in this book?" And He told me: "Because of their wrongdoing on the earth". After all this the
Lord allowed me to come back on earth.
NOW, I AM GOING TO TALK ABOUT MY SECOND JOURNEY
One day we were at a prayer meeting, we were twenty in number. As usual, we started by
praising and worshiping the Lord.
Suddenly we felt the presence of God. It was so powerful as if we were on the day of
Pentecost. I remember that my husband's mother, who is well advanced in age and very devoted
in the work of the Lord came to me and said: "Bernarda, let's keep the noise down during the
praise for we're making a lot of noise". She was right, because the praise was like a sound of
waterfall. As I was about to ask my brothers to keep the noise down, I heard the Lord telling me:
"Don't say anything! In the world, when people are making noise, nobody cares, why then
should you stop the praise?" We then carried on praising and worshiping the Lord, and I felt
that something great would take place. Suddenly I remembered what the Lord told me on my
first journey: "I'll come back for you".
All of a sudden I saw a bright light flooding my home. My brothers also saw the light, and
they all knelt down before this True and Faithful God. I did not know what to do, and I just
stood still. That light became brighter, and took a human form. I had in front of me the Lord
Jesus Christ whose look was beautiful and full of love. On earth, I have never seen such beauty
on a man's face. He came closer to each of my brothers. As I was about to tell my brothers that
the Lord came for me I started speaking in tongues. (1 Corinthians 14:39-40)
The Lord came closer to me. Just by looking at me, my spirit left my body. I was in the air
and I saw what was happening in my house. I saw people ringing my door's bell, and when my
husband went to answer, two policemen were at the door. The policemen said: "We heard that a
lady died here; that's why we came". My husband told them no, here we meet to worship and
praise the Lord. The policemen did not really believe, but they could not enter. They said: "OK,
carry on but do not make a lot of noise". I was in the air when I saw all this.
Jesus took me by hands and we went towards the Dominican Republic. When we reached the
city, the Lord told me: "There are two great sins this country commits before my Father,
witchcraft and idolatry". I saw the people of that country running after sorcerers and fetish...
After that the Lord brought me to Venezuela and to
Mexico. In Venezuela, I was in the air with Jesus, but
I saw people turning to magic, fetish, and to
witchcraft. In Mexico I saw people meeting and
worshiping demons. The Lord told me: "The horror
of this sin has reached my Father. The first sign I
give as a warning is that there will be an earthquake
in Mexico if the inhabitants of the country do not
repent and come back to me". When I came back on
earth, I went to Mexico and gave the message. The
people did not listen and recently there was a terrible
earthquake in Mexico.
When we were still in the air, the Lord told me that the hands of his Father have been
stretched out upon the inhabitants of the earth. I saw the sea with gigantic waves, resembling a
monster. I also saw hurricane happening on earth. I asked the Lord: "Lord what will become of
Christians when all this happen?" He answered: "Go and tell them that, for those who are
faithful to me, none of their hair will be touched". After that the Lord brought me to another
place, I saw places where the earth was split. The Lord told me: "Many countries will soon be
wiped out". Then we left that place and went to another place where waters were in motion. We
went by these waters through a tunnel and reached the depths of the earth. I saw great doors. It
was not the same as those I saw during my first journey. On these doors were big chains. The
Lord went towards the doors, and after he had removed the chains, He let me in through the
tunnel.
Dear brothers and sisters, I saw thousands of people, with their head down, wearing torn
clothes. They were chained, with big chains whose noise could lead to deafness. Then I said:
"Lord, what does this mean?" He answered: "All these men and women are on their way to
hell". Among those who were on their way to hell, I saw my husband's senior brother, Adolfo.
He was a difficult man, he used to get married and divorced when he wanted, and he used to
curse God. Then I started pleading with the Lord to let me go back on earth and warn Adolfo
that he was going to hell, but the Lord did not answer me. Again I saw Adolfo and his wife
walking through the tunnel. They were at the edge of hell. I pleaded with the Lord again to let
me go back on the earth and tell people what I have seen. The Lord lifted his hands up and said:
"Go and tell them that time is nearly over". He said again: "Thousands and thousands of
people will go to hell, Adolfo's time is over, he is going to die".
When I came on earth, my brother in law, Adolfo did not want to change his way of living.
One day, he quickly came home from work and said to his wife: "I can't work any longer,
something is telling me that I'm going to die". His wife answered: "It's because you are drunk as
usual that you're saying this". Both of them went to bed. Some minutes later, she had a vision.
In her vision she saw her husband and she in a tunnel, clothed with shabby clothes, and going to
hell. She heard the Lord telling her: "Time for both of you is over".
When I was still in the air the Lord told me: "Do you know why I brought you here for a
second time? It was to show you that during your first visit, the number of lost was less than
this time".
Suddenly, Jesus and I left that place to the first heaven, and then to the second heaven. When
we reached the third heaven, I saw angels bustling from one side to the other; then I asked the
Lord: "Why are these angels in motion?" Jesus answered: "It's true that my angels are in
motion here, but I'm going to show you how the earth is also in motion. Be careful because
many demons have invaded the earth. The devil is furious against Christians because he has
little time left".
The Lord allowed me to see those demons in a terrible anger, and He told me: "Those demons
you see are demons of adultery. They will attack thousands of My servants and many will fall
into that sin. Do you know why the devil succeeds in causing my servants to fall? It is because
my servants do not give me all the glory. They steal my glory and become proud. On top of
that, their wives live in a great spiritual disorder. They did not build their homes with
wisdom." (1 Timothy 2:11-14)
I saw thousands of angels that I could not count, there were many of them ready for the battle.
Then Jesus told me: "Now I'm sending these thousands of angels on the earth to protect my
people. In these last days, I will double the protection will be double. Satan also will double
his attacks, but you should not forget that your God is great and mighty. If you are attached to
Him nothing will happen to you".
The Lord then brought me to another place. There, I saw a huge table rounded with golden
chairs. On each chair, a name was written, and a robe of fine linen was also placed. In front of
each chair, on the table I saw crowns. Then I noticed that there was a chair that was bigger than
others. In front of that chair was a huge cup in gold. Jesus told me to go and see what is in the
cup. It was full of wine, ready to be served. Jesus told me: "Do you know why the wine is ready
to be served? Go and tell my people that I am at the door, I'm coming soon".
The Lord gave me a robe of fine linen and a crown. I wore the robe and the crown, then the
Lord brought me to another place where I saw things like in a mirror. He told me: "There's
neither stain nor crease on your robe, isn't it? None will enter through this door nor take
place at this table, unless he is clothed like this. Some among my people on earth have dirtied
their robes. Others have crumpled robes, and still others have put theirs aside, and have
forgotten them. Tell my people that it's time they washed their robes, ironed them and took
them back. Christians should ask the Holy Spirit to help them keeping their robes in good
state, because the King will soon celebrate the Marriage Supper in His Father's kingdom".
I come from a divorced family and I grew up with my father. My mother was a very religious
woman. As for my father, he believed in nothing. I have a sister who is in a catholic convent, but
I know that Jesus will soon take her out of that and she will preach the Gospel with me. I pray a
lot for her. When I was thinking about my mother's life in that mystic religion, during my first
journey in paradise, I cried before the Lord and told Him: "Lord my mother is lost, yet I've
preached the Gospel to her but she won't listen. More and more she is clung to that pagan
religion". The Lord answered me: "I will save your mother, but I will take her home
immediately otherwise she will fall back into sin and go to hell. For this reason, as soon as
she is converted, she will die some time later and come here, in paradise".
When I came back on earth, I prayed, cried, sighed, reminding the Lord the promise he gave
me, but I saw my mother who was more and more involved in the idolatry of her religion. One
day God used my son to convert my mother. Just three days after her conversion, she died;
praise the Lord!
During my second journey in paradise the Lord told me: "Look, what my mouth says, my
hands fulfill it". I saw my mother in that beautiful paradise; she was among other women. Then
the Lord led me in an area in the paradise. There I saw thousands of children clothed in white
who were praising and glorifying the Lord. Jesus told me: "These children are those who have
been aborted by parents and criminals doctors. Babies that people killed whilst they are still in
their mother's womb, and that are found in dustbins and rivers, are here in heaven."
Dear brothers and sisters, contrary to what you think, for the Lord a fetus is a human being
from conception, from the first day of pregnancy.
Jesus told me again: "Bernarda, work for I am your strength. This message has to be
published into the whole world. It's a message for Christians, pastors, and for all the
inhabitants of the earth, including you. Let him who is holy continue to be holy."
At that moment the gates of heaven were opened. There was a beautiful escalator. Jesus called
thousands of angels who came, and then the Lord accompanied me to my home.
When we got home, I saw my husband and the Christian brothers who were waiting for my
spirit to come. I looked at my physical body that remained on earth, and I told the Lord that I do
no longer want this body. The Lord told me: "You cannot go back to heaven with me for it is
not your time yet. You have to tell my people first what you saw in order for them to get ready".
With a powerful voice, He told me: "Enter and receive life, I am the resurrection and the life,
he who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live (John 11: 25-26).
Sunday, 5 April 2009
The Abuse Of Power
The concept of power is relevant in every field of life. Power is the ability to do things or to act with autonomy according to one’s will Max Webber, (1947}.The concept of power thus involves the notions of conflict, struggle, confrontations and force. The word abuse means to put to wrong use, to use badly especially for one’s own advantage. It also implies to treat something or somebody badly.
CLASSICAL BIBLICAL EXAMPLES OF POWER ABUSE
THE CHILDREN OF ELI:- Eli was a priest. His sons Hophni and Phinehas misused the spiritual power given to them and treat the sacrifice of God with contempt. Besides they indulged themselves in sexual immorality with the women who assembled at the tabernacle of the congregation.
Consequently Hophni and Phinehas were slain in the battlefield. The shock of their death, among other things, led to the death of their father and Phinehas wife. (1 Sam 2:12-36,4:10-11}.
SAMSON: Samson was a man highly consecrated and anointed with power to deliver the Israelites from the Philistines. He had great physical strength and power but lacked moral and spiritual power. He later became careless with his life and went into sexual immorality with strange women especially the Philistine harlot-Delilah. She handed Samson over to his enemies who immediately pluck out his eyes and brought his glory to ashes.{Judge 16:1,19:21}
DAVID:- He was a shepherd boy whom God raised from nowhere to become the king of Israel. He was a valiant soldier who defeated Goliath the champion and subdued the Philistines. In the process of the time he forgot his humble beginning and allowed his achievement to get into his head.
He then murdered the innocent man Uriah and took his wife with whom he committed adultery. God was so displeased that he brought untold calamity upon David and his entire household [11Samuel11:1-27, 12:1-14]
PHARAOH:- Pharaoh was the king of Egypt who oppressed the Israelites during their exile in Egypt. He was so power drunk that he questioned the authority of the Almighty God to deliver the Israelites out of his oppressive hand. He however learnt his lesson in the Red sea where his plans and his soldiers perished [Exodus 5:1-18,14:26-30]
AHAB AND JEZEBAAL:- Ahab and his wife Jezebaal are well known for their wickedness. Ahab was the king of Israelite whom God blessed with abundant material blessings. Unfortunately, driven by covetousness he used his political power to murder the innocent Naboth in order to have the poor man’s vineyard. God instantly proved to him that he is a God of justice by allowing him and his wife die in a most shameful manner [1 kings 21:1-26
NEBUCHADNEZZAR:- Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon. He had political power such that the fame of his military might was noised in every kingdom. Indeed he was the world power at his time.
Incidentally, he became proud and pompous and in his arrogance he made a molten image for which he demanded worship. Not too long a time, God pronounced judgement on him. This great king was made to eat grass for seven years and made his dwelling with the wild beasts until he realized the greatness to the Almighty God not only in heaven but also in the affairs of men [Dan 3:1-11,4:22-23]
REHOBOAM:- Rehoboam is the son of king Solomon . He was a king who allowed the political power bestowed on him to becloud his sense of good judgement. As a result he rejected the wise counsel of levelheaded elders and yielded to the advice of inexperience young people. This led to the collapse and total disintegration of his kingdom. The children of lsreal scattered and every one went to his own house
[1kings12: 1-11, 16]
LUCIFER:- In the beginning Satan, then Lucifer, was a mighty archangel entrusted with great authority. The scriptures described him with these words: Thou was perfect from the days thou was created until iniquity was found in thee [Ezekiel 28:15] He was the anointed cherub that covert, the sun of the morning,the light bearer of heaven, the crystal of beauty that had special charisma. There was no secret among the angelic host that was hidden from him. Though of the Angelic order, Lucifer at the peak of his glory allowed pride to lead him into rebellion against God’s authority. The evil seed of pride permitted to take root continued to grow. In the end it produced a harvest of misery and woe for himself and for those who followed him. Precisely Lucifer was cast down into the depth of depravity and consequently lost his position [Ezekiel.28: 14-19, Isaiah.14: 12-14]
Others include BELSHEZZAR. Who used the holy vessels from the house of God to serve his concubines and guest in a banquet and Solomon, who used his own power to amass foreign and strange women who later turned his heart away from God and led him into idolatory.[Daniel.5:1-31,1 kings.3,4]
In conclusion abuse of power is not only limited to kings of nations but also cuts across every field. e.g.
Parents and employers of labour to mention but few.
PARENTS:- Parents often abuse their parental powers and privileges.[Ephesians.4:6] A word to you parents. Don’t keep on scolding and nagging your children’s thereby provoking them to anger and resentfulness rather bring them up with the loving discipline the Lord himself approves with suggestions and Godly advice.
MASTER/EMPLOYERS OF LABOUR:- [Deut.24:14] Thou shall not oppress thy hired servant that is poor and needy whether he be thy kinsmen or thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates. At his day, thou shalt give him his pay. Let not the sun go down upon it for he is poor and sets his heart upon it lest he cry against thee unto the Lord and it be sin unto thee,[col.14:1] Master give unto your servants that which is just and fair. Always remember that you too have a master in heaven who is closely watching you.
Dear reader, God is no respecter of persons, [Ephesians.6: 9] what he did to the people of the past he will do to those of this generation.
Wherefore we receiving a kingdom, which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and Godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire. Better take heed for, he that is often reproved and yet hardens his heart and persist in his or her sins and wickedness, shall suddenly be destroyed without remedy.
Writen by Wikimor Enugu
Edited and Pblished By Felix Ebago
CLASSICAL BIBLICAL EXAMPLES OF POWER ABUSE
THE CHILDREN OF ELI:- Eli was a priest. His sons Hophni and Phinehas misused the spiritual power given to them and treat the sacrifice of God with contempt. Besides they indulged themselves in sexual immorality with the women who assembled at the tabernacle of the congregation.
Consequently Hophni and Phinehas were slain in the battlefield. The shock of their death, among other things, led to the death of their father and Phinehas wife. (1 Sam 2:12-36,4:10-11}.
SAMSON: Samson was a man highly consecrated and anointed with power to deliver the Israelites from the Philistines. He had great physical strength and power but lacked moral and spiritual power. He later became careless with his life and went into sexual immorality with strange women especially the Philistine harlot-Delilah. She handed Samson over to his enemies who immediately pluck out his eyes and brought his glory to ashes.{Judge 16:1,19:21}
DAVID:- He was a shepherd boy whom God raised from nowhere to become the king of Israel. He was a valiant soldier who defeated Goliath the champion and subdued the Philistines. In the process of the time he forgot his humble beginning and allowed his achievement to get into his head.
He then murdered the innocent man Uriah and took his wife with whom he committed adultery. God was so displeased that he brought untold calamity upon David and his entire household [11Samuel11:1-27, 12:1-14]
PHARAOH:- Pharaoh was the king of Egypt who oppressed the Israelites during their exile in Egypt. He was so power drunk that he questioned the authority of the Almighty God to deliver the Israelites out of his oppressive hand. He however learnt his lesson in the Red sea where his plans and his soldiers perished [Exodus 5:1-18,14:26-30]
AHAB AND JEZEBAAL:- Ahab and his wife Jezebaal are well known for their wickedness. Ahab was the king of Israelite whom God blessed with abundant material blessings. Unfortunately, driven by covetousness he used his political power to murder the innocent Naboth in order to have the poor man’s vineyard. God instantly proved to him that he is a God of justice by allowing him and his wife die in a most shameful manner [1 kings 21:1-26
NEBUCHADNEZZAR:- Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon. He had political power such that the fame of his military might was noised in every kingdom. Indeed he was the world power at his time.
Incidentally, he became proud and pompous and in his arrogance he made a molten image for which he demanded worship. Not too long a time, God pronounced judgement on him. This great king was made to eat grass for seven years and made his dwelling with the wild beasts until he realized the greatness to the Almighty God not only in heaven but also in the affairs of men [Dan 3:1-11,4:22-23]
REHOBOAM:- Rehoboam is the son of king Solomon . He was a king who allowed the political power bestowed on him to becloud his sense of good judgement. As a result he rejected the wise counsel of levelheaded elders and yielded to the advice of inexperience young people. This led to the collapse and total disintegration of his kingdom. The children of lsreal scattered and every one went to his own house
[1kings12: 1-11, 16]
LUCIFER:- In the beginning Satan, then Lucifer, was a mighty archangel entrusted with great authority. The scriptures described him with these words: Thou was perfect from the days thou was created until iniquity was found in thee [Ezekiel 28:15] He was the anointed cherub that covert, the sun of the morning,the light bearer of heaven, the crystal of beauty that had special charisma. There was no secret among the angelic host that was hidden from him. Though of the Angelic order, Lucifer at the peak of his glory allowed pride to lead him into rebellion against God’s authority. The evil seed of pride permitted to take root continued to grow. In the end it produced a harvest of misery and woe for himself and for those who followed him. Precisely Lucifer was cast down into the depth of depravity and consequently lost his position [Ezekiel.28: 14-19, Isaiah.14: 12-14]
Others include BELSHEZZAR. Who used the holy vessels from the house of God to serve his concubines and guest in a banquet and Solomon, who used his own power to amass foreign and strange women who later turned his heart away from God and led him into idolatory.[Daniel.5:1-31,1 kings.3,4]
In conclusion abuse of power is not only limited to kings of nations but also cuts across every field. e.g.
Parents and employers of labour to mention but few.
PARENTS:- Parents often abuse their parental powers and privileges.[Ephesians.4:6] A word to you parents. Don’t keep on scolding and nagging your children’s thereby provoking them to anger and resentfulness rather bring them up with the loving discipline the Lord himself approves with suggestions and Godly advice.
MASTER/EMPLOYERS OF LABOUR:- [Deut.24:14] Thou shall not oppress thy hired servant that is poor and needy whether he be thy kinsmen or thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates. At his day, thou shalt give him his pay. Let not the sun go down upon it for he is poor and sets his heart upon it lest he cry against thee unto the Lord and it be sin unto thee,[col.14:1] Master give unto your servants that which is just and fair. Always remember that you too have a master in heaven who is closely watching you.
Dear reader, God is no respecter of persons, [Ephesians.6: 9] what he did to the people of the past he will do to those of this generation.
Wherefore we receiving a kingdom, which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and Godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire. Better take heed for, he that is often reproved and yet hardens his heart and persist in his or her sins and wickedness, shall suddenly be destroyed without remedy.
Writen by Wikimor Enugu
Edited and Pblished By Felix Ebago
The Death of Christ
Remember Your Loved Ones This Easter
The New Park Street Pulpit
The Death of Christ
A Sermon
(No. 173)
Delivered on Sabbath Morning, January 24, 1858, by the
REV. C. H. Spurgeon
at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens.
"Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand."—Isaiah 53:10.
HAT myriads of eyes are casting their glances at the sun! What multitudes of men lift up their eyes, and behold the starry orbs of heaven! They are continually watched by thousands—but there is one great transaction in the world's history, which every day commands far more spectators than that sun which goeth forth like a bridegroom, strong to run his race. There is one great event, which every day attracts more admiration than do the sun, and moon, and stars, when they march in their courses. That event is, the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. To it, the eyes of all the saints who lived before the Christian era were always directed; and backwards, through the thousand years of history, the eyes of all modern saints are looking. Upon Christ, the angels in heaven perpetually gaze. "Which things the angels desire to look into," said the apostle. Upon Christ, the myriad eyes of the redeemed are perpetually fixed; and thousands of pilgrims, through this world of tears, have no higher object for their faith, and no better desire for their vision, than to see Christ as he is in heaven, and in communion to behold his person. Beloved, we shall have many with us, whilst this morning we turn our face to the Mount of Calvary. We shall not be solitary spectators of the fearful tragedy of our Saviour's death: we shall but dart our eyes to that place which is the focus of heaven's joy and delight, the cross of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Taking our text, then, as a guide, we propose to visit Calvary, hoping to have the help of the Holy Spirit whilst we look upon him who died upon the cross. I would have you notice this morning, first of all, the cause of Christ's death—"It pleased the Lord to bruise him." "It pleased Jehovah to bruise him," saith the original; "he hath put him to grief." Secondly, the reason of Christ's death—"When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin." Christ died because he was an offering for sin. And then, thirdly, the effects and consequences of Christ's death. "He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand." Come, Sacred Spirit, now, whilst we attempt to speak on these matchless themes.
I. First, we have THE ORIGIN OF CHRIST'S DEATH. "It pleased Jehovah to bruise him; he hath put him to griefs." He who reads Christ's life, as a mere history, traces the death of Christ to the enmity of the Jews, and to the fickle character of the Roman governor. In this he acteth justly, for the crime and sin of the Saviour's death must lay at the door of manhood. This race of ours became a deicide and slew the Lord, and nailed its Saviour to a tree. But he who reads the Bible with the eye of faith, desiring to discover its hidden secrets, sees something more in the Saviour's death than Roman cruelty, or Jewish malice: he sees the solemn decree of God fulfilled by men, who were the ignorant, but guilty instruments of its accomplishment. He looks beyond the Roman spear and nail, beyond the Jewish taunt and jeer, up to the Sacred Fount, whence all things flow, and traces the crucifixion of Christ to the breast of Deity. He believes with Peter—"Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." We dare not impute to God the sin, but at the same time the fact, with all its marvelous effects in the world's redemption, we must ever trace to the Sacred Fountain of divine love. So cloth our prophet. He says, "It pleased Jehovah to bruise him. He overlooks both Pilate and Herod, and traces it to the heavenly Father, the first Person in the Divine Trinity. "It pleased the Lord to bruise him, he hath put him to grief."
Now, beloved, there be many who think that God the Father is at best but an indifferent spectator of salvation. Others do belie him still more. They look upon Him as an unloving, severe Being, who had no love to the human race, and could only be made loving by the death and agonies of our Saviour. Now, this is a foul libel upon the fair and glorious grace of God the Father, to whom for ever be honor: for Jesus Christ did not die to make God loving, but he died because God was loving.
"Twas not to make Jehovah's love
Toward his people flame,
That Jesus from the throne above,
A suffering man became.
"Twas not the death which he endured,
Nor all the pangs he bore,
That God's eternal love procured,
For God was love before."
Christ was sent into the world by his Father, as the consequence of the Father's affection for his people. Yea, he "so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The fact is, that the Father as much decreed salvation, as much effected it, and as much delighted in it, as did either God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit. And when we speak of the Saviour of the world, we must always include in that word, if we speak in a large sense, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, for all these three, as one God, do save us from our sins. The text puts away every hard thought concerning the Father, by telling us that it pleased Jehovah to bruise Jesus Christ. The death of Christ is traceable to God the Father. Let us try if we can see it is so.
1. First it is traceable in decree. God, the one God of heaven and earth, hath the book of destiny entirely in his power. In that book there is nothing written by a stranger's hand. The penmanship of the solemn book of predestination is from beginning to end entirely divine.
"Chained to his throne a volume lies,
With all the fates of men,
With every angel's form and size
Drawn by th' eternal pen."
No inferior hand hath sketched even so much as the least minute parts of providence. It was all, from its Alpha to its Omega, from its divine preface to its solemn finis, marked out, designed, sketched, and planned by the mind of the all-wise, all-knowing God. Hence, not even Christ's death was exempt from it. He that wings an angel and guides a sparrow, he that protects the hairs of our head from falling prematurely to the ground, was not likely, when he took notice of such little things, to omit in his solemn decrees the greatest wonder of earth's miracles, the death of Christ. No; the blood-stained page of that book, the page which makes both past and future glorious with golden words,—that blood-stained page, I say, was as much written of Jehovah, as any other. He determined that Christ should be born of the Virgin Mary, that he should suffer under Pontius Pilate, that he should descend into Hades, that thence he should rise again, leading captivity captive, and then should reign for ever at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Nay, I know not but that I shall have Scripture for my warrant when I say, that this is the very core of predestination, and that the death of Christ is the very center and main-spring by which God did fashion all his other decrees, making this the bottom and foundation-stone upon which the sacred architecture should be builded. Christ was put to death by the absolute foreknowledge and solemn decree of God the Father, and in this sense "it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief."
2. But a little further, Christ's coming into the world to die was the effect of the Father's will and pleasure. Christ came not into this world unsent. He had laid in Jehovah's bosom from before all worlds, eternally delighting himself in his Father, and being himself his Father's eternal joy. "In the fullness of time" God did rend his Son from his bosom, his only-begotten Son, and freely delivered him up for us all. Herein was matchless, peerless love, that the offended judge should permit his co-equal Son to suffer the pains of death for the redemption of a rebellious people. I want your imaginations for one minute to picture a scene of olden times. There is a bearded patriarch, who rises early in the morning and awakes his son, a young man full of strength, and bids him arise and follow him. They hurry from the house silently and noiselessly, before the mother is awake. They go three days, journey with their men; until they come to the Mount, of which the Lord hath spoken. You know the patriarch. The name of Abraham is always fresh in our memories. On the way, that patriarch speaks not one solitary word to his son. His heart is too full for utterance. He is overwhelmed with grief. God has commanded him to take his son, his only son, and slay him upon the mountain as a sacrifice. They go together; and who shall paint the unutterable anguish of the father's soul, whilst he walks side by side with that beloved son, of whom he is to be the executioner? The third day has arrived; the servants are bidden to stay at the foot of the hill, whilst they go to worship God yonder. Now, can any mind imagine how the father's grief must overflow all the banks of his soul, when, as he walked up that hill-side, his son said to him, "Father, behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?" Can you conceive how he stifled his emotions, and, with sobs, exclaimed, "My son, God will provide himself a lamb." See! the father has communicated to his son the fact that God has demanded his life. Isaac, who might have struggled and escaped from his father, declares that he is willing to die, if God hath decreed it. The father takes his son, binds his hands behind his back, piles up the stones, makes an altar, lays the wood, and has his fire ready. And now where is the artist that can depict the anguish of the fathers countenance, when the knife is unsheathed, and he holds it up, ready to slay his son? But here the curtain falls. Now the black scene vanishes at the sound of a voice from heaven. The ram caught in the thicket supplies the substitute, and faith's obedience need go no further. Ah! my brethren, I want to take you from this scene to a far greater one. What faith and obedience made man do, that love constrained God himself to do. He had but one son, that son his own heart's delight: he covenanted to yield him up for our redemption, nor did he violate his promise; for, when the fullness of time was come, he sent his Son to be born of the Virgin Mary, that he might suffer for the sins of man. O! can ye tell the greatness of that love, which made the everlasting God not only put his Son upon the altar, but actually do the deed, and thrust the sacrificial knife into his Son's heart? Can you think how overwhelming must have been the love of God toward the human race, when he completed in act what Abraham only did in intention? Look ye there, and see the place where his only Son hung dead upon the cross, the bleeding victim of awakened justice! Here is love indeed; and here we see how it was, that it pleased the Father to bruise him.
3. This allows me to push my text just one point further. Beloved, it is not only true that God did design and did permit with willingness the death of Christ; it is moreover, true that the unutterable agonies that clothed the death of the Saviour with superhuman terror, were the effect of the Father's bruising of Christ in very act and deed. There is a martyr in prison: the chains are on his wrists, and yet he sings. It has been announced to him that to-morrow is his burning day. He claps his hands right merrily, and smiles while he says, "It will be sharp work to-morrow, I shall breakfast below on fiery tribulations, but afterward I will sup with Christ. Tomorrow is my wedding-day, the day for which I have long panted, when I shall sign the testimony of my life by a glorious deaths." The time is come; the men with the halberts precede him through the streets. Mark the serenity of the martyrs countenance. He turns to some who look upon him, and exclaims, "I value these iron chains far more than if they had been of gold; it is a sweet thing to die for Christ. There are a few of the boldest of the saints gathered round the stake, and as he unrobes himself, ere he stands upon the fagots to receive his doom, he tells them that it is a joyous thing to be a soldier of Christ, to be allowed to give his body to be burned; and he shakes hands with them, and bids them "Good by" with merry cheer. One would think he were going to a bridal, rather than to be burned. He steps upon the fagots; the chain is put about his middle; and after a brief word of prayer, as soon as the fire begins to ascend, he speaks to the people with manful boldness. But hark! he sings whilst the fagots are crackling and the smoke is blowing upward. He sings, and when his nether parts are burned, he still goes on chanting sweetly some psalm of old. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble; therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea."
Picture another scene. There is the Saviour going to his cross, all weak and wan with suffering; his soul is sick and sad within him. There is no divine composure there. So sad is his heart, that he faints in the streets. The Son of God faints beneath a cross that many a criminal might have carried. They nail him to the tree. There is no song of praise. He is lifted up in the air, and there he hangs preparatory to his death. You hear no shout of exultation. There is a stern compression of his face, as if unutterable agony were tearing his heart—as if over again Gethsemane were being acted on the cross—as if his soul were still saying, "If it be possible let this cross pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." Hark! he speaks. Will he not sing sweeter songs than ever came from martyr's lips? Ah! no; it is an awful wail of woe that can never be imitated. "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" The martyrs said not that: God was with them. Confessors of old cried not so, when they came to die. They shouted in their fires, and praised God on their racks. Why this? Why doth the Saviour suffer so? Why, beloved, it was because the Father bruised him. That sunshine of God's countenance that has cheered many a dying saint, was withdrawn from Christ; the consciousness of acceptance with God, which has made many a holy man espouse the cross with joy, was not afforded to our Redeemer, and therefore he suffered in thick darkness of mental agony. Read the 22nd Psalm, and learn how Jesus suffered. Pause over the solemn words in the 1st, 2nd, 6th, and following verses. Underneath the church are the ever lasting arms; but underneath Christ there were no arms at all, but his Father's hand pressed heavily against him; the upper and the nether mill-stones of divine wrath pressed and bruised him; and not one drop of joy or consolation was afforded to him. "It pleased Jehovah to bruise him; he hath put him to grief." This, my brethren, was the climax of the Saviour's woe, that his Father turned away from him, and put him to grief.
Thus have I expounded the first part of the subject—the origin of our Saviour's worst sufferings, the Father's pleasure.
II. Our second head must explain the first, or otherwise it is an insolvable mystery how God should bruise his Son, who was perfect innocence, while poor fallible confessors and martyrs have had no such bruising from him in the time of their trial. WHAT WAS THE REASON OF THE SAVIOUR'S SUFFERING? We are told here, "Thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin." Christ was thus troubled, because his soul was an offering for sin. Now, I am going to be as plain as I can, while I preach over again the precious doctrine of the atonement of Christ Jesus our Lord. Christ was an offering for sin, in the sense of a substitute. God longed to save; but, if such a word may be allowed, Justice tied his hands. "I must be just," said God; "that is a necessity of my nature. Stern as fate, and fast as immutability, is the truth that I must be just. But then my heart desires to forgive—to pass by man's transgressions and pardon them. How can it be done? Wisdom stepped in, and said, "It shall be done thus;" and Love agreed with Wisdom. "Christ Jesus, the Son of God, shall stand in man's place, and he shall be offered upon Mount Calvary instead of man. Now, mark: when you see Christ going up the Mount of Doom, you see man going there: when you see Christ hurled upon his back, upon the wooden cross, you see the whole company of his elect there; and when you see the nails driven through his blessed hands and feet, it is the whole body of his Church who there, in their substitute, are nailed to the tree. And now the soldiers lift the cross, and dash it into the socket prepared for it. His bones are every one of them dislocated, and his body is thus torn with agonies which can not be described. 'Tis manhood suffering there; 'tis the Church suffering there, in the substitute. And when Christ dies, you are to look upon the death of Christ, not as his own dying merely, but as the dying of all those for whom he stood as the scape-goat and the substitute. It is true, Christ died really himself; it is equally true that he did not die for himself, but died as the substitute, in the room, place, and stead of all believers. When you die you will die for yourselves; when Christ died, he died for you, if you be a believer in him. When you pass through the gates of the grave, you go there solitary and alone; you are not the representative of a body of men, but you pass through the gates of death as an individual; but, remember, when Christ went through the sufferings of death, he was the representative Head of all his people.
Understand, then, the sense in which Christ was made a sacrifice for sin. But here lies the glory of this matter. It was as a substitute for sin that he did actually and literally suffer punishment for the sin of all his elect. When I say this, I am not to be understood as using any figure whatever, but as saying actually what I mean. Man for his sin was condemned to eternal fire; when God took Christ to be the substitute, it is true, he did not send Christ into eternal fire, but he poured upon him grief so desperate, that it was a valid payment for even an eternity of fire. Man was condemned to live forever in hell. God did not send Christ forever into hell; but he put on Christ, punishment that was equivalent for that. Although he did not give Christ to drink the actual hells of believers, yet he gave him a quid pro quo—something that was equivalent thereunto. He took the cup of Christ's agony, and he put in there, suffering, misery, and anguish such as only God can imagine or dream of, that was the exact equivalent for all the suffering, all the woe, and all the eternal tortures of every one that shall at last stand in heaven, bought with the blood of Christ. And you say, "Did Christ drink it all to its dregs?" Did he suffer it all? Yes, my brethren, he took the cup, and
"At one triumphant draught of love,
He drank damnation dry."
He suffered all the horror of hell: in one pelting shower of iron wrath it fell upon him, with hail-stones bigger than a talent; and he stood until the black cloud had emptied itself completely. There was our debt; huge and immense; he paid the utmost farthing of whatever his people owed; and now there is not so much as a doit or a farthing due to the justice of God in the way of punishment from any believer; and though we owe God gratitude, though we owe much to his love, we owe nothing to his justice; for Christ in that hour took all our sins, past, present, and to come, and was punished for them all there and then, that we might never be punished, because he suffered in our stead. Do you see, then, how it was that God the Father bruised him? Unless he had so done the agonies of Christ could not have been an equivalent for our sufferings; for hell consists in the hiding of God's face from sinners, and if God had not hidden his face from Christ, Christ could not—I see not how he could—have endured any suffering that could have been accepted as an equivalent for the woes and agonies of his people.
Methinks I heard some one say, "Do you mean us to understand this atonement that you have now preached as being a literal fact?" I say, most solemnly, I do. There are in the world many theories of atonement; but I can not see any atonement in any one, except in this doctrine of substitution. Many divines say that Christ did something when he died that enabled God to be just, and yet the Justifier of the ungodly. What that something is they do not tell us. They believe in an atonement made for every body; but then, their atonement is just this. They believe that Judas was atoned for just as much as Peter; they believe that the damned in hell were as much an object of Jesus Christ's satisfaction as the saved in heaven; and though they do not say it in proper words, yet they must mean it, for it is a fair inference, that in the case of multitudes, Christ died in vain, for he died for them all, they say; and yet so ineffectual was his dying for them, that though he died for them they are damned afterward. Now, such an atonement I despise—I reject it. I may be called Antinomian or Calvinist for preaching a limited atonement; but I had rather believe a limited atonement that is efficacious for all men for whom it was intended, than an universal atonement that is not efficacious for anybody, except the will of man be joined with it. Why, my brethren, if we were only so far atoned for by the death of Christ that any one of us might afterward save himself, Christ's atonement were not worth a farthing, for there is no man of us can save himself—no, not under the gospel; for if I am to be saved by faith, if that faith is to be my own act, unassisted by the Holy Spirit, I am as unable to save myself by faith as to save myself by good works. And after all, though men call this a limited atonement, it is as effectual as their own fallacious and rotten redemptions can pretend to be. But do you know the limit of it? Christ hath bought a "multitude that no man can number." The limit of it is just this: He hath died for sinners; whoever in this congregation inwardly and sorrowfully knows himself to be a sinner, Christ died for him; whoever seeks Christ, shall know Christ died for him; for our sense of need of Christ, and our seeking after Christ, are infallible proofs that Christ died for us. And, mark, here is something substantial. The Arminian says Christ died for him; and then, poor man, he has but small consolation therefrom, for he says, "Ah! Christ died for me; that does not prove much. It only proves I may be saved if I mind what I am after. I may perhaps forget myself; I may run into sin and I may perish. Christ has done a good deal for me, but not quite enough, unless I do something." But the man who receives the Bible as it is, he says, "Christ died for me, then my eternal life is sure. I know," says he, "that Christ can not be punished in a man's stead, and the man be punished afterwards. No," says he, "I believe in a just God, and if God be just, he will not punish Christ first, and then punish men afterwards. No; my Saviour died, and now I am free from every demand of God's vengeance, and I can walk through this world secure; no thunderbolt can smite me, and I can die absolutely certain that for me there is no flame of hell, and no pit digged; for Christ, my ransom, suffered in my stead, and, therefore, am I clean delivered. Oh! glorious doctrine! I would wish to die preaching it! What better testimony can we bear to the love and faithfulness of God than the testimony of a substitution eminently satisfactory for all them that believe on Christ? I will here quote the testimony of that pre-eminently profound divine, Dr. John Owen:—"Redemption is the freeing of a man from misery by the intervention of a ransom. Now, when a ransom is paid for the liberty of a prisoner, does not justice demand that he should have and enjoy the liberty so purchased for him by a valuable consideration? If I should pay a thousand pounds for a man's deliverance from bondage to him that retains him, who hath power to set him free, and is contented with the price I give, were it not injurious to me and the poor prisoner that his deliverance be not accomplished? Can it possibly be conceived that there should be a redemption of men, and those men not redeemed? That a price should be paid and the ransom not consummated? Yet all this must be made true, and innumerable other absurdities, if universal redemption be asserted. A price is paid for all, yet few delivered; the redemption of all consummated, yet, few of them redeemed; the judge satisfied, the jailer conquered, and yet the prisoners inthralled! Doubtless 'universal,' and 'redemption,' where the greatest part of men perish, are as irreconcilable as 'Roman, and 'Catholic.' If there be a universal redemption of all, then all men are redeemed. If they are redeemed, then are they delivered from all misery, virtually or actually, whereunto they were inthralled, and that by the intervention of a ransom. Why, then, are not all saved? In a word, the redemption wrought by Christ being the full deliverance of the persons redeemed from all misery, wherein they were inwrapped, by the price of his blood, it can not possibly be conceived to be universal unless all be saved: so that the opinion of the Universalists is unsuitable to redemption."
I pause once more; for I hear some timid soul say—"But, sir, I am afraid I am not elect, and if so, Christ did not die for me." Stop sir! Are you a sinner? Do you feel it? Has God, the Holy Spirit, made you feel that you are a lost sinner? Do you want salvation? If you do not want it it is no hardship that it is not provided for you; but if you really feel that you want it, you are God's elect. If you have a desire to be saved, a desire given you by the Holy Spirit, that desire is a token for good. If you have begun believingly to pray for salvation, you have therein a sure evidence that you are saved. Christ was punished for you. And if now you can say,
"Nothing in my hands I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling."
you may be as sure you are God's elect as you are sure of your own existence; for this is the infallible proof of election—a sense of need and a thirst after Christ.
III. And now I have just to conclude by noticing the BLESSED EFFECTS of the Saviour's death. On this I shall be very brief.
The first effect of the Saviour's death is, "He shall see his seed." Men shall be saved by Christ. Men have offspring by life; Christ had an offspring by death. Men die and leave their children, and they see not their seed; Christ lives, and every day sees his seed brought into the unity of the faith. One effect of Christ's death is the salvation of multitudes. Mark, not a chance salvation. When Christ died the angel did not say, as some have represented him, "Now by his death many may be saved;" the word of prophecy had quenched all "buts" and "peradventures;" "By his righteousness he shall justify many. There was not so much as an atom of chance work in the Saviour's death. Christ knew what he bought when he died; and what he bought he will have—that, and no more, and no less. There is no effect of Christ's death that is left to peradventure. "Shalls" and "wills" made the covenant fast: Christ's bloody death shall effect its solemn purpose. Every heir of grace shall meet around the throne,
"Shall bless the wonders of his grace,
And make his glories known."
The second effect of Christ's death is, "He shall prolong his days." Yes, bless his name, when he died he did not end his life. He could not long be held a prisoner in the tomb. The third morning came, and the conqueror, rising from his sleep burst the iron bonds of death, and came forth from his prison house, no more to die. He waited his forty days, and then, with shouts of sacred song, he "led captivity captive, and ascended up on high." "In that he died he died unto sin once; but in that he liveth he liveth unto God," no more to die.
"Now by his Father's side he Sits,
And there triumphant reigns,"
the conqueror over death and hell.
And, last of all, by Christ's death the Father's good pleasure was effected and prospered. God's good pleasure is, that that this world shall one day be totally redeemed from sin; God's good pleasure is, that this poor planet, so long swathed in darkness, shall soon shine out in brightness, like a new-born sun. Christ's death hath done it. The stream that flowed from his side on Calvary shall cleanse the world from all its blackness. That hour of mid-day darkness was the rising of a new sun of righteousness, which shall never cease to shine upon the earth. Yes, the hour is coming when swords and spears shall be forgotten things—when the harness of war and the pageantry of pomp shall all be laid aside for the food of the worm or the contemplation of the curious. The hour approacheth when old Rome shall shake upon her seven hills, when Mohammed's crescent shall wane to wax no more, when all the gods of the heathens shall lose their thrones and be cast out to the moles and the bats; and then, when from the equator to the poles Christ shall be honored, the Lord paramount of earth, when from land to land, from the river even to the ends of the earth, one King shall reign, one shout shall be raised, "Hallelujah, hallelujah, the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth." Then, my brethren, shall it be seen what Christ's death has accomplished, for "the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand."
The New Park Street Pulpit
The Death of Christ
A Sermon
(No. 173)
Delivered on Sabbath Morning, January 24, 1858, by the
REV. C. H. Spurgeon
at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens.
"Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand."—Isaiah 53:10.
HAT myriads of eyes are casting their glances at the sun! What multitudes of men lift up their eyes, and behold the starry orbs of heaven! They are continually watched by thousands—but there is one great transaction in the world's history, which every day commands far more spectators than that sun which goeth forth like a bridegroom, strong to run his race. There is one great event, which every day attracts more admiration than do the sun, and moon, and stars, when they march in their courses. That event is, the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. To it, the eyes of all the saints who lived before the Christian era were always directed; and backwards, through the thousand years of history, the eyes of all modern saints are looking. Upon Christ, the angels in heaven perpetually gaze. "Which things the angels desire to look into," said the apostle. Upon Christ, the myriad eyes of the redeemed are perpetually fixed; and thousands of pilgrims, through this world of tears, have no higher object for their faith, and no better desire for their vision, than to see Christ as he is in heaven, and in communion to behold his person. Beloved, we shall have many with us, whilst this morning we turn our face to the Mount of Calvary. We shall not be solitary spectators of the fearful tragedy of our Saviour's death: we shall but dart our eyes to that place which is the focus of heaven's joy and delight, the cross of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Taking our text, then, as a guide, we propose to visit Calvary, hoping to have the help of the Holy Spirit whilst we look upon him who died upon the cross. I would have you notice this morning, first of all, the cause of Christ's death—"It pleased the Lord to bruise him." "It pleased Jehovah to bruise him," saith the original; "he hath put him to grief." Secondly, the reason of Christ's death—"When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin." Christ died because he was an offering for sin. And then, thirdly, the effects and consequences of Christ's death. "He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand." Come, Sacred Spirit, now, whilst we attempt to speak on these matchless themes.
I. First, we have THE ORIGIN OF CHRIST'S DEATH. "It pleased Jehovah to bruise him; he hath put him to griefs." He who reads Christ's life, as a mere history, traces the death of Christ to the enmity of the Jews, and to the fickle character of the Roman governor. In this he acteth justly, for the crime and sin of the Saviour's death must lay at the door of manhood. This race of ours became a deicide and slew the Lord, and nailed its Saviour to a tree. But he who reads the Bible with the eye of faith, desiring to discover its hidden secrets, sees something more in the Saviour's death than Roman cruelty, or Jewish malice: he sees the solemn decree of God fulfilled by men, who were the ignorant, but guilty instruments of its accomplishment. He looks beyond the Roman spear and nail, beyond the Jewish taunt and jeer, up to the Sacred Fount, whence all things flow, and traces the crucifixion of Christ to the breast of Deity. He believes with Peter—"Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." We dare not impute to God the sin, but at the same time the fact, with all its marvelous effects in the world's redemption, we must ever trace to the Sacred Fountain of divine love. So cloth our prophet. He says, "It pleased Jehovah to bruise him. He overlooks both Pilate and Herod, and traces it to the heavenly Father, the first Person in the Divine Trinity. "It pleased the Lord to bruise him, he hath put him to grief."
Now, beloved, there be many who think that God the Father is at best but an indifferent spectator of salvation. Others do belie him still more. They look upon Him as an unloving, severe Being, who had no love to the human race, and could only be made loving by the death and agonies of our Saviour. Now, this is a foul libel upon the fair and glorious grace of God the Father, to whom for ever be honor: for Jesus Christ did not die to make God loving, but he died because God was loving.
"Twas not to make Jehovah's love
Toward his people flame,
That Jesus from the throne above,
A suffering man became.
"Twas not the death which he endured,
Nor all the pangs he bore,
That God's eternal love procured,
For God was love before."
Christ was sent into the world by his Father, as the consequence of the Father's affection for his people. Yea, he "so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The fact is, that the Father as much decreed salvation, as much effected it, and as much delighted in it, as did either God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit. And when we speak of the Saviour of the world, we must always include in that word, if we speak in a large sense, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, for all these three, as one God, do save us from our sins. The text puts away every hard thought concerning the Father, by telling us that it pleased Jehovah to bruise Jesus Christ. The death of Christ is traceable to God the Father. Let us try if we can see it is so.
1. First it is traceable in decree. God, the one God of heaven and earth, hath the book of destiny entirely in his power. In that book there is nothing written by a stranger's hand. The penmanship of the solemn book of predestination is from beginning to end entirely divine.
"Chained to his throne a volume lies,
With all the fates of men,
With every angel's form and size
Drawn by th' eternal pen."
No inferior hand hath sketched even so much as the least minute parts of providence. It was all, from its Alpha to its Omega, from its divine preface to its solemn finis, marked out, designed, sketched, and planned by the mind of the all-wise, all-knowing God. Hence, not even Christ's death was exempt from it. He that wings an angel and guides a sparrow, he that protects the hairs of our head from falling prematurely to the ground, was not likely, when he took notice of such little things, to omit in his solemn decrees the greatest wonder of earth's miracles, the death of Christ. No; the blood-stained page of that book, the page which makes both past and future glorious with golden words,—that blood-stained page, I say, was as much written of Jehovah, as any other. He determined that Christ should be born of the Virgin Mary, that he should suffer under Pontius Pilate, that he should descend into Hades, that thence he should rise again, leading captivity captive, and then should reign for ever at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Nay, I know not but that I shall have Scripture for my warrant when I say, that this is the very core of predestination, and that the death of Christ is the very center and main-spring by which God did fashion all his other decrees, making this the bottom and foundation-stone upon which the sacred architecture should be builded. Christ was put to death by the absolute foreknowledge and solemn decree of God the Father, and in this sense "it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief."
2. But a little further, Christ's coming into the world to die was the effect of the Father's will and pleasure. Christ came not into this world unsent. He had laid in Jehovah's bosom from before all worlds, eternally delighting himself in his Father, and being himself his Father's eternal joy. "In the fullness of time" God did rend his Son from his bosom, his only-begotten Son, and freely delivered him up for us all. Herein was matchless, peerless love, that the offended judge should permit his co-equal Son to suffer the pains of death for the redemption of a rebellious people. I want your imaginations for one minute to picture a scene of olden times. There is a bearded patriarch, who rises early in the morning and awakes his son, a young man full of strength, and bids him arise and follow him. They hurry from the house silently and noiselessly, before the mother is awake. They go three days, journey with their men; until they come to the Mount, of which the Lord hath spoken. You know the patriarch. The name of Abraham is always fresh in our memories. On the way, that patriarch speaks not one solitary word to his son. His heart is too full for utterance. He is overwhelmed with grief. God has commanded him to take his son, his only son, and slay him upon the mountain as a sacrifice. They go together; and who shall paint the unutterable anguish of the father's soul, whilst he walks side by side with that beloved son, of whom he is to be the executioner? The third day has arrived; the servants are bidden to stay at the foot of the hill, whilst they go to worship God yonder. Now, can any mind imagine how the father's grief must overflow all the banks of his soul, when, as he walked up that hill-side, his son said to him, "Father, behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?" Can you conceive how he stifled his emotions, and, with sobs, exclaimed, "My son, God will provide himself a lamb." See! the father has communicated to his son the fact that God has demanded his life. Isaac, who might have struggled and escaped from his father, declares that he is willing to die, if God hath decreed it. The father takes his son, binds his hands behind his back, piles up the stones, makes an altar, lays the wood, and has his fire ready. And now where is the artist that can depict the anguish of the fathers countenance, when the knife is unsheathed, and he holds it up, ready to slay his son? But here the curtain falls. Now the black scene vanishes at the sound of a voice from heaven. The ram caught in the thicket supplies the substitute, and faith's obedience need go no further. Ah! my brethren, I want to take you from this scene to a far greater one. What faith and obedience made man do, that love constrained God himself to do. He had but one son, that son his own heart's delight: he covenanted to yield him up for our redemption, nor did he violate his promise; for, when the fullness of time was come, he sent his Son to be born of the Virgin Mary, that he might suffer for the sins of man. O! can ye tell the greatness of that love, which made the everlasting God not only put his Son upon the altar, but actually do the deed, and thrust the sacrificial knife into his Son's heart? Can you think how overwhelming must have been the love of God toward the human race, when he completed in act what Abraham only did in intention? Look ye there, and see the place where his only Son hung dead upon the cross, the bleeding victim of awakened justice! Here is love indeed; and here we see how it was, that it pleased the Father to bruise him.
3. This allows me to push my text just one point further. Beloved, it is not only true that God did design and did permit with willingness the death of Christ; it is moreover, true that the unutterable agonies that clothed the death of the Saviour with superhuman terror, were the effect of the Father's bruising of Christ in very act and deed. There is a martyr in prison: the chains are on his wrists, and yet he sings. It has been announced to him that to-morrow is his burning day. He claps his hands right merrily, and smiles while he says, "It will be sharp work to-morrow, I shall breakfast below on fiery tribulations, but afterward I will sup with Christ. Tomorrow is my wedding-day, the day for which I have long panted, when I shall sign the testimony of my life by a glorious deaths." The time is come; the men with the halberts precede him through the streets. Mark the serenity of the martyrs countenance. He turns to some who look upon him, and exclaims, "I value these iron chains far more than if they had been of gold; it is a sweet thing to die for Christ. There are a few of the boldest of the saints gathered round the stake, and as he unrobes himself, ere he stands upon the fagots to receive his doom, he tells them that it is a joyous thing to be a soldier of Christ, to be allowed to give his body to be burned; and he shakes hands with them, and bids them "Good by" with merry cheer. One would think he were going to a bridal, rather than to be burned. He steps upon the fagots; the chain is put about his middle; and after a brief word of prayer, as soon as the fire begins to ascend, he speaks to the people with manful boldness. But hark! he sings whilst the fagots are crackling and the smoke is blowing upward. He sings, and when his nether parts are burned, he still goes on chanting sweetly some psalm of old. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble; therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea."
Picture another scene. There is the Saviour going to his cross, all weak and wan with suffering; his soul is sick and sad within him. There is no divine composure there. So sad is his heart, that he faints in the streets. The Son of God faints beneath a cross that many a criminal might have carried. They nail him to the tree. There is no song of praise. He is lifted up in the air, and there he hangs preparatory to his death. You hear no shout of exultation. There is a stern compression of his face, as if unutterable agony were tearing his heart—as if over again Gethsemane were being acted on the cross—as if his soul were still saying, "If it be possible let this cross pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." Hark! he speaks. Will he not sing sweeter songs than ever came from martyr's lips? Ah! no; it is an awful wail of woe that can never be imitated. "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" The martyrs said not that: God was with them. Confessors of old cried not so, when they came to die. They shouted in their fires, and praised God on their racks. Why this? Why doth the Saviour suffer so? Why, beloved, it was because the Father bruised him. That sunshine of God's countenance that has cheered many a dying saint, was withdrawn from Christ; the consciousness of acceptance with God, which has made many a holy man espouse the cross with joy, was not afforded to our Redeemer, and therefore he suffered in thick darkness of mental agony. Read the 22nd Psalm, and learn how Jesus suffered. Pause over the solemn words in the 1st, 2nd, 6th, and following verses. Underneath the church are the ever lasting arms; but underneath Christ there were no arms at all, but his Father's hand pressed heavily against him; the upper and the nether mill-stones of divine wrath pressed and bruised him; and not one drop of joy or consolation was afforded to him. "It pleased Jehovah to bruise him; he hath put him to grief." This, my brethren, was the climax of the Saviour's woe, that his Father turned away from him, and put him to grief.
Thus have I expounded the first part of the subject—the origin of our Saviour's worst sufferings, the Father's pleasure.
II. Our second head must explain the first, or otherwise it is an insolvable mystery how God should bruise his Son, who was perfect innocence, while poor fallible confessors and martyrs have had no such bruising from him in the time of their trial. WHAT WAS THE REASON OF THE SAVIOUR'S SUFFERING? We are told here, "Thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin." Christ was thus troubled, because his soul was an offering for sin. Now, I am going to be as plain as I can, while I preach over again the precious doctrine of the atonement of Christ Jesus our Lord. Christ was an offering for sin, in the sense of a substitute. God longed to save; but, if such a word may be allowed, Justice tied his hands. "I must be just," said God; "that is a necessity of my nature. Stern as fate, and fast as immutability, is the truth that I must be just. But then my heart desires to forgive—to pass by man's transgressions and pardon them. How can it be done? Wisdom stepped in, and said, "It shall be done thus;" and Love agreed with Wisdom. "Christ Jesus, the Son of God, shall stand in man's place, and he shall be offered upon Mount Calvary instead of man. Now, mark: when you see Christ going up the Mount of Doom, you see man going there: when you see Christ hurled upon his back, upon the wooden cross, you see the whole company of his elect there; and when you see the nails driven through his blessed hands and feet, it is the whole body of his Church who there, in their substitute, are nailed to the tree. And now the soldiers lift the cross, and dash it into the socket prepared for it. His bones are every one of them dislocated, and his body is thus torn with agonies which can not be described. 'Tis manhood suffering there; 'tis the Church suffering there, in the substitute. And when Christ dies, you are to look upon the death of Christ, not as his own dying merely, but as the dying of all those for whom he stood as the scape-goat and the substitute. It is true, Christ died really himself; it is equally true that he did not die for himself, but died as the substitute, in the room, place, and stead of all believers. When you die you will die for yourselves; when Christ died, he died for you, if you be a believer in him. When you pass through the gates of the grave, you go there solitary and alone; you are not the representative of a body of men, but you pass through the gates of death as an individual; but, remember, when Christ went through the sufferings of death, he was the representative Head of all his people.
Understand, then, the sense in which Christ was made a sacrifice for sin. But here lies the glory of this matter. It was as a substitute for sin that he did actually and literally suffer punishment for the sin of all his elect. When I say this, I am not to be understood as using any figure whatever, but as saying actually what I mean. Man for his sin was condemned to eternal fire; when God took Christ to be the substitute, it is true, he did not send Christ into eternal fire, but he poured upon him grief so desperate, that it was a valid payment for even an eternity of fire. Man was condemned to live forever in hell. God did not send Christ forever into hell; but he put on Christ, punishment that was equivalent for that. Although he did not give Christ to drink the actual hells of believers, yet he gave him a quid pro quo—something that was equivalent thereunto. He took the cup of Christ's agony, and he put in there, suffering, misery, and anguish such as only God can imagine or dream of, that was the exact equivalent for all the suffering, all the woe, and all the eternal tortures of every one that shall at last stand in heaven, bought with the blood of Christ. And you say, "Did Christ drink it all to its dregs?" Did he suffer it all? Yes, my brethren, he took the cup, and
"At one triumphant draught of love,
He drank damnation dry."
He suffered all the horror of hell: in one pelting shower of iron wrath it fell upon him, with hail-stones bigger than a talent; and he stood until the black cloud had emptied itself completely. There was our debt; huge and immense; he paid the utmost farthing of whatever his people owed; and now there is not so much as a doit or a farthing due to the justice of God in the way of punishment from any believer; and though we owe God gratitude, though we owe much to his love, we owe nothing to his justice; for Christ in that hour took all our sins, past, present, and to come, and was punished for them all there and then, that we might never be punished, because he suffered in our stead. Do you see, then, how it was that God the Father bruised him? Unless he had so done the agonies of Christ could not have been an equivalent for our sufferings; for hell consists in the hiding of God's face from sinners, and if God had not hidden his face from Christ, Christ could not—I see not how he could—have endured any suffering that could have been accepted as an equivalent for the woes and agonies of his people.
Methinks I heard some one say, "Do you mean us to understand this atonement that you have now preached as being a literal fact?" I say, most solemnly, I do. There are in the world many theories of atonement; but I can not see any atonement in any one, except in this doctrine of substitution. Many divines say that Christ did something when he died that enabled God to be just, and yet the Justifier of the ungodly. What that something is they do not tell us. They believe in an atonement made for every body; but then, their atonement is just this. They believe that Judas was atoned for just as much as Peter; they believe that the damned in hell were as much an object of Jesus Christ's satisfaction as the saved in heaven; and though they do not say it in proper words, yet they must mean it, for it is a fair inference, that in the case of multitudes, Christ died in vain, for he died for them all, they say; and yet so ineffectual was his dying for them, that though he died for them they are damned afterward. Now, such an atonement I despise—I reject it. I may be called Antinomian or Calvinist for preaching a limited atonement; but I had rather believe a limited atonement that is efficacious for all men for whom it was intended, than an universal atonement that is not efficacious for anybody, except the will of man be joined with it. Why, my brethren, if we were only so far atoned for by the death of Christ that any one of us might afterward save himself, Christ's atonement were not worth a farthing, for there is no man of us can save himself—no, not under the gospel; for if I am to be saved by faith, if that faith is to be my own act, unassisted by the Holy Spirit, I am as unable to save myself by faith as to save myself by good works. And after all, though men call this a limited atonement, it is as effectual as their own fallacious and rotten redemptions can pretend to be. But do you know the limit of it? Christ hath bought a "multitude that no man can number." The limit of it is just this: He hath died for sinners; whoever in this congregation inwardly and sorrowfully knows himself to be a sinner, Christ died for him; whoever seeks Christ, shall know Christ died for him; for our sense of need of Christ, and our seeking after Christ, are infallible proofs that Christ died for us. And, mark, here is something substantial. The Arminian says Christ died for him; and then, poor man, he has but small consolation therefrom, for he says, "Ah! Christ died for me; that does not prove much. It only proves I may be saved if I mind what I am after. I may perhaps forget myself; I may run into sin and I may perish. Christ has done a good deal for me, but not quite enough, unless I do something." But the man who receives the Bible as it is, he says, "Christ died for me, then my eternal life is sure. I know," says he, "that Christ can not be punished in a man's stead, and the man be punished afterwards. No," says he, "I believe in a just God, and if God be just, he will not punish Christ first, and then punish men afterwards. No; my Saviour died, and now I am free from every demand of God's vengeance, and I can walk through this world secure; no thunderbolt can smite me, and I can die absolutely certain that for me there is no flame of hell, and no pit digged; for Christ, my ransom, suffered in my stead, and, therefore, am I clean delivered. Oh! glorious doctrine! I would wish to die preaching it! What better testimony can we bear to the love and faithfulness of God than the testimony of a substitution eminently satisfactory for all them that believe on Christ? I will here quote the testimony of that pre-eminently profound divine, Dr. John Owen:—"Redemption is the freeing of a man from misery by the intervention of a ransom. Now, when a ransom is paid for the liberty of a prisoner, does not justice demand that he should have and enjoy the liberty so purchased for him by a valuable consideration? If I should pay a thousand pounds for a man's deliverance from bondage to him that retains him, who hath power to set him free, and is contented with the price I give, were it not injurious to me and the poor prisoner that his deliverance be not accomplished? Can it possibly be conceived that there should be a redemption of men, and those men not redeemed? That a price should be paid and the ransom not consummated? Yet all this must be made true, and innumerable other absurdities, if universal redemption be asserted. A price is paid for all, yet few delivered; the redemption of all consummated, yet, few of them redeemed; the judge satisfied, the jailer conquered, and yet the prisoners inthralled! Doubtless 'universal,' and 'redemption,' where the greatest part of men perish, are as irreconcilable as 'Roman, and 'Catholic.' If there be a universal redemption of all, then all men are redeemed. If they are redeemed, then are they delivered from all misery, virtually or actually, whereunto they were inthralled, and that by the intervention of a ransom. Why, then, are not all saved? In a word, the redemption wrought by Christ being the full deliverance of the persons redeemed from all misery, wherein they were inwrapped, by the price of his blood, it can not possibly be conceived to be universal unless all be saved: so that the opinion of the Universalists is unsuitable to redemption."
I pause once more; for I hear some timid soul say—"But, sir, I am afraid I am not elect, and if so, Christ did not die for me." Stop sir! Are you a sinner? Do you feel it? Has God, the Holy Spirit, made you feel that you are a lost sinner? Do you want salvation? If you do not want it it is no hardship that it is not provided for you; but if you really feel that you want it, you are God's elect. If you have a desire to be saved, a desire given you by the Holy Spirit, that desire is a token for good. If you have begun believingly to pray for salvation, you have therein a sure evidence that you are saved. Christ was punished for you. And if now you can say,
"Nothing in my hands I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling."
you may be as sure you are God's elect as you are sure of your own existence; for this is the infallible proof of election—a sense of need and a thirst after Christ.
III. And now I have just to conclude by noticing the BLESSED EFFECTS of the Saviour's death. On this I shall be very brief.
The first effect of the Saviour's death is, "He shall see his seed." Men shall be saved by Christ. Men have offspring by life; Christ had an offspring by death. Men die and leave their children, and they see not their seed; Christ lives, and every day sees his seed brought into the unity of the faith. One effect of Christ's death is the salvation of multitudes. Mark, not a chance salvation. When Christ died the angel did not say, as some have represented him, "Now by his death many may be saved;" the word of prophecy had quenched all "buts" and "peradventures;" "By his righteousness he shall justify many. There was not so much as an atom of chance work in the Saviour's death. Christ knew what he bought when he died; and what he bought he will have—that, and no more, and no less. There is no effect of Christ's death that is left to peradventure. "Shalls" and "wills" made the covenant fast: Christ's bloody death shall effect its solemn purpose. Every heir of grace shall meet around the throne,
"Shall bless the wonders of his grace,
And make his glories known."
The second effect of Christ's death is, "He shall prolong his days." Yes, bless his name, when he died he did not end his life. He could not long be held a prisoner in the tomb. The third morning came, and the conqueror, rising from his sleep burst the iron bonds of death, and came forth from his prison house, no more to die. He waited his forty days, and then, with shouts of sacred song, he "led captivity captive, and ascended up on high." "In that he died he died unto sin once; but in that he liveth he liveth unto God," no more to die.
"Now by his Father's side he Sits,
And there triumphant reigns,"
the conqueror over death and hell.
And, last of all, by Christ's death the Father's good pleasure was effected and prospered. God's good pleasure is, that that this world shall one day be totally redeemed from sin; God's good pleasure is, that this poor planet, so long swathed in darkness, shall soon shine out in brightness, like a new-born sun. Christ's death hath done it. The stream that flowed from his side on Calvary shall cleanse the world from all its blackness. That hour of mid-day darkness was the rising of a new sun of righteousness, which shall never cease to shine upon the earth. Yes, the hour is coming when swords and spears shall be forgotten things—when the harness of war and the pageantry of pomp shall all be laid aside for the food of the worm or the contemplation of the curious. The hour approacheth when old Rome shall shake upon her seven hills, when Mohammed's crescent shall wane to wax no more, when all the gods of the heathens shall lose their thrones and be cast out to the moles and the bats; and then, when from the equator to the poles Christ shall be honored, the Lord paramount of earth, when from land to land, from the river even to the ends of the earth, one King shall reign, one shout shall be raised, "Hallelujah, hallelujah, the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth." Then, my brethren, shall it be seen what Christ's death has accomplished, for "the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand."
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
Easter Gifts
By P. G. Mathew, M.A., M.Div., Th.M.
Copyright © 1995 by P. G. Mathew
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very heart of Christianity. In 1 Corinthians 15 St. Paul reasoned, "If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. . . .We are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead." In that same chapter he says "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen sleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." But then Paul triumphantly declares, "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Cor. 15:14-20).
The First Easter
What do we mean by the resurrection of Christ? Jesus Christ came into this world to die as our substitute for our sins. The sinless Son of God came to give his life as a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28). On that first Good Friday, Jesus was crucified. We know he died because one of the Roman soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear to ensure his death. Some of his disciples then buried his body in a new tomb (John 19:30-42).
While Jesus was alive, he had predicted that he would rise from the dead. He challenged his enemies: "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." He was speaking about his body (John 2:19-22). Jesus also told his disciples many times that he would be killed by the leaders in Jerusalem, but be raised to life on the third day. The leaders who killed Jesus were aware of this prediction that he would rise from the dead. Although they did not believe it, they wanted to ensure that it would not happen, so they set a guard around the tomb. In Matthew 27:62-66 we read, "The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 'Sir,' they said, 'we remember that while he was still alive, that deceiver said, "After three days I will rise again." So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body, and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.' 'Take a guard,' Pilate answered. 'Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.' So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard."
Did the strategy of the chief priests and Pharisees succeed? No! Despite their efforts, Jesus rose from the dead. Remember how Jesus had said to Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life"? During his ministry on earth, Jesus brought a number of people to life from the dead, including Martha's brother Lazarus, who had been dead for four days (John 11). But the resurrection of Jesus Christ was different. It was not just resuscitation, as was the case with Lazarus, who later died again. On the third day Jesus was raised from the dead with a transformed body that was clothed with immortality and glory. His resurrection body could appear and disappear, go through material objects, and ascend to and descend from heaven.
On Easter morning some women and apostles went to Jesus' tomb, expecting to find his body. But the tomb was empty, and the angel at the tomb told them, "He is not here; he has risen!" Later they saw their risen Lord face to face. The gospels record these events, but the earliest written report concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ was written by St. Paul within twenty-five years of Christ's death in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8: "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep." Later St. Luke the historian wrote in his introduction to the book of Acts, "After [Jesus'] suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3).
Because of the miracle of Christ's resurrection, Jesus' depressed and disappointed disciples were instantly transformed. They began to preach the gospel with power, and the resurrection of Jesus was at the heart of their preaching. Why? Without the resurrection, there is no Christianity. These disciples of Jesus willingly suffered martyrdom for their faith. The enemies of the gospel were totally unable to refute this central claim of the gospel. They could not produce the body of Jesus Christ and put a stop to Christianity. The Jewish believers, meanwhile, were so impressed by this miracle that they began to worship on the day of Christ's resurrection, Sunday, rather than on Saturday, as their custom had been.
Unbelief and the Resurrection of Christ
Many people do not believe in the resurrection. Even in New Testament times we find those who refused to believe in the resurrection. The Sadducees were materialists who did not believe in resurrection as the Pharisees did. Even in the church, some people did not believe in the resurrection. St. Paul wrote concerning this in 1 Corinthians 15. In 2 Timothy 2:17-18 Hymenaeus and Philetus were mentioned by Paul as people who did not really believe in the resurrection of the body.
Therefore, unbelief in the resurrection is not a recent idea, but especially beginning in the latter part of the seventeenth century, some in the church began to question putting faith in miracles, particularly in the miraculous resurrection of Jesus Christ. In England deists like John Toland refused to believe in the resurrection. Rationalists like H. S. Reimarus refused to believe in miracles, and questioned the authority of the Bible and the church. The theologian David Strauss systematically denied any miracles in his work, Life of Jesus, and in the twentieth century Karl Barth, along with Rudolf Bultmann, also denied the resurrection of the body. Today most liberal churches deny the resurrection as well as any miracle as recorded in the New Testament.
Such people deny the resurrection. They do not say it is not historical, or it is not recorded in the text of the New Testament. They deny it simply out of unbelief. They reason that normally the dead do not rise, and therefore Jesus could not rise from the dead. In spite of all textual and historical evidence, such people refuse to believe in the resurrection because they trust in the ultimate authority of fallen human reason rather than in God's Holy Scriptures.
Although they may be members of churches, such people are really pagans who are without hope. St. Paul speaks about them in 1 Thessalonians 4:13: "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men who have no hope." They are "without hope and without God in the world," Paul says in Ephesians 2:12. They will not believe the New Testament, which declares the resurrection of Christ with great clarity.
How Does the Resurrection Affect Us?
If we believe in the evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ as recorded in the New Testament, what significance does the resurrection have for us?
1. In the resurrection of Jesus Christ we see the clear demonstration of the power of the true God. Ephesians 1:19-21 tells us that it is the power of our heavenly Father that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
2. The resurrection proves that Jesus Christ is God. That is exactly what God the Father wanted to communicate to us, as we read in Romans 1:4. The Jews crucified Jesus Christ because, to them, he was blaspheming when he said that he was the Son of God, equal to the Father. The resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrates the truth that he is who he said he was.
3. Our salvation depends on our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Romans 10:9, we are told how to be saved. It says that "if you confess with your mouth 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." This means that you cannot be a Christian unless you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This should tell us that even if some people are in churches, if they reject the resurrection of Jesus Christ, they are not Christians.
4. The resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrates to us that all the teachings of Jesus Christ are true. Everything Jesus taught was true, including his great promise in John 6:40, "Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." Jesus' teachings concerning his person, his work, heaven, hell, and the future judgment are all true.
5. The resurrection of Jesus Christ secured our justification. "Christ died for our sins and he was raised for our justification," Paul says in Romans 4:25.
6. Our own resurrection depends completely on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:14: "We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him." There are a number of other verses concerning this, including 2 Corinthians 4:14, and others.
7. The power for our Christian life in the present is the power of his resurrection. We read about this in Ephesians 1:19-21, as well as in Romans 6:4: "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." People ask me, "How can we live this Christian life?" We can live it by the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
8. The resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrates that this Jesus Christ is going to be the appointed judge of all the wicked people in the world. In Acts 17:31, Paul told the Athenians, "'For he [God] has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.'" We see the same idea in John 5:22 where Jesus said, "Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son." In verses 27-29 he continued, "And he has given him authority to judge, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out-- those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned." The resurrection of Jesus Christ means that he will raise up everyone who ever lived--some to eternal life and some to eternal damnation--and Jesus Christ will be the judge of the wicked. All who have trusted in their fallen reason and rejected the claims of Jesus Christ will be raised up from the dead by Jesus Christ himself. He will judge and damn them.
How Do We Respond to the Resurrection?
How do we respond to the resurrection of Christ? I urge you to repent now and believe in him who is the Judge of the whole world. "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved," Paul told the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:31). The Lord Jesus is the Son of God who became man. He is very God and very man. He was crucified, he died and was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures. This same Lord Jesus Christ ascended into the heavens, is ruling and reigning even now, and will come again to judge the living and the dead. Will you bow down before him and be saved forever?
May God give you faith to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and particularly in the fact that God raised him from the dead. May you come to know that Jesus Christ is the only Savior and there is no other. May we all remember that Jesus is the Judge whom we will all face, because it is appointed to man once to die and then comes judgment. May God have mercy on us, that we will beg for mercy and pardon from him and be saved. Amen.
By P. G. Mathew, M.A., M.Div., Th.M.
Copyright © 1995 by P. G. Mathew
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very heart of Christianity. In 1 Corinthians 15 St. Paul reasoned, "If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. . . .We are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead." In that same chapter he says "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen sleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." But then Paul triumphantly declares, "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Cor. 15:14-20).
The First Easter
What do we mean by the resurrection of Christ? Jesus Christ came into this world to die as our substitute for our sins. The sinless Son of God came to give his life as a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28). On that first Good Friday, Jesus was crucified. We know he died because one of the Roman soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear to ensure his death. Some of his disciples then buried his body in a new tomb (John 19:30-42).
While Jesus was alive, he had predicted that he would rise from the dead. He challenged his enemies: "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." He was speaking about his body (John 2:19-22). Jesus also told his disciples many times that he would be killed by the leaders in Jerusalem, but be raised to life on the third day. The leaders who killed Jesus were aware of this prediction that he would rise from the dead. Although they did not believe it, they wanted to ensure that it would not happen, so they set a guard around the tomb. In Matthew 27:62-66 we read, "The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 'Sir,' they said, 'we remember that while he was still alive, that deceiver said, "After three days I will rise again." So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body, and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.' 'Take a guard,' Pilate answered. 'Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.' So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard."
Did the strategy of the chief priests and Pharisees succeed? No! Despite their efforts, Jesus rose from the dead. Remember how Jesus had said to Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life"? During his ministry on earth, Jesus brought a number of people to life from the dead, including Martha's brother Lazarus, who had been dead for four days (John 11). But the resurrection of Jesus Christ was different. It was not just resuscitation, as was the case with Lazarus, who later died again. On the third day Jesus was raised from the dead with a transformed body that was clothed with immortality and glory. His resurrection body could appear and disappear, go through material objects, and ascend to and descend from heaven.
On Easter morning some women and apostles went to Jesus' tomb, expecting to find his body. But the tomb was empty, and the angel at the tomb told them, "He is not here; he has risen!" Later they saw their risen Lord face to face. The gospels record these events, but the earliest written report concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ was written by St. Paul within twenty-five years of Christ's death in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8: "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep." Later St. Luke the historian wrote in his introduction to the book of Acts, "After [Jesus'] suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3).
Because of the miracle of Christ's resurrection, Jesus' depressed and disappointed disciples were instantly transformed. They began to preach the gospel with power, and the resurrection of Jesus was at the heart of their preaching. Why? Without the resurrection, there is no Christianity. These disciples of Jesus willingly suffered martyrdom for their faith. The enemies of the gospel were totally unable to refute this central claim of the gospel. They could not produce the body of Jesus Christ and put a stop to Christianity. The Jewish believers, meanwhile, were so impressed by this miracle that they began to worship on the day of Christ's resurrection, Sunday, rather than on Saturday, as their custom had been.
Unbelief and the Resurrection of Christ
Many people do not believe in the resurrection. Even in New Testament times we find those who refused to believe in the resurrection. The Sadducees were materialists who did not believe in resurrection as the Pharisees did. Even in the church, some people did not believe in the resurrection. St. Paul wrote concerning this in 1 Corinthians 15. In 2 Timothy 2:17-18 Hymenaeus and Philetus were mentioned by Paul as people who did not really believe in the resurrection of the body.
Therefore, unbelief in the resurrection is not a recent idea, but especially beginning in the latter part of the seventeenth century, some in the church began to question putting faith in miracles, particularly in the miraculous resurrection of Jesus Christ. In England deists like John Toland refused to believe in the resurrection. Rationalists like H. S. Reimarus refused to believe in miracles, and questioned the authority of the Bible and the church. The theologian David Strauss systematically denied any miracles in his work, Life of Jesus, and in the twentieth century Karl Barth, along with Rudolf Bultmann, also denied the resurrection of the body. Today most liberal churches deny the resurrection as well as any miracle as recorded in the New Testament.
Such people deny the resurrection. They do not say it is not historical, or it is not recorded in the text of the New Testament. They deny it simply out of unbelief. They reason that normally the dead do not rise, and therefore Jesus could not rise from the dead. In spite of all textual and historical evidence, such people refuse to believe in the resurrection because they trust in the ultimate authority of fallen human reason rather than in God's Holy Scriptures.
Although they may be members of churches, such people are really pagans who are without hope. St. Paul speaks about them in 1 Thessalonians 4:13: "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men who have no hope." They are "without hope and without God in the world," Paul says in Ephesians 2:12. They will not believe the New Testament, which declares the resurrection of Christ with great clarity.
How Does the Resurrection Affect Us?
If we believe in the evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ as recorded in the New Testament, what significance does the resurrection have for us?
1. In the resurrection of Jesus Christ we see the clear demonstration of the power of the true God. Ephesians 1:19-21 tells us that it is the power of our heavenly Father that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
2. The resurrection proves that Jesus Christ is God. That is exactly what God the Father wanted to communicate to us, as we read in Romans 1:4. The Jews crucified Jesus Christ because, to them, he was blaspheming when he said that he was the Son of God, equal to the Father. The resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrates the truth that he is who he said he was.
3. Our salvation depends on our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Romans 10:9, we are told how to be saved. It says that "if you confess with your mouth 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." This means that you cannot be a Christian unless you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This should tell us that even if some people are in churches, if they reject the resurrection of Jesus Christ, they are not Christians.
4. The resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrates to us that all the teachings of Jesus Christ are true. Everything Jesus taught was true, including his great promise in John 6:40, "Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." Jesus' teachings concerning his person, his work, heaven, hell, and the future judgment are all true.
5. The resurrection of Jesus Christ secured our justification. "Christ died for our sins and he was raised for our justification," Paul says in Romans 4:25.
6. Our own resurrection depends completely on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:14: "We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him." There are a number of other verses concerning this, including 2 Corinthians 4:14, and others.
7. The power for our Christian life in the present is the power of his resurrection. We read about this in Ephesians 1:19-21, as well as in Romans 6:4: "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." People ask me, "How can we live this Christian life?" We can live it by the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
8. The resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrates that this Jesus Christ is going to be the appointed judge of all the wicked people in the world. In Acts 17:31, Paul told the Athenians, "'For he [God] has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.'" We see the same idea in John 5:22 where Jesus said, "Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son." In verses 27-29 he continued, "And he has given him authority to judge, because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out-- those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned." The resurrection of Jesus Christ means that he will raise up everyone who ever lived--some to eternal life and some to eternal damnation--and Jesus Christ will be the judge of the wicked. All who have trusted in their fallen reason and rejected the claims of Jesus Christ will be raised up from the dead by Jesus Christ himself. He will judge and damn them.
How Do We Respond to the Resurrection?
How do we respond to the resurrection of Christ? I urge you to repent now and believe in him who is the Judge of the whole world. "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved," Paul told the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:31). The Lord Jesus is the Son of God who became man. He is very God and very man. He was crucified, he died and was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures. This same Lord Jesus Christ ascended into the heavens, is ruling and reigning even now, and will come again to judge the living and the dead. Will you bow down before him and be saved forever?
May God give you faith to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and particularly in the fact that God raised him from the dead. May you come to know that Jesus Christ is the only Savior and there is no other. May we all remember that Jesus is the Judge whom we will all face, because it is appointed to man once to die and then comes judgment. May God have mercy on us, that we will beg for mercy and pardon from him and be saved. Amen.
Repent
Repent now for the kingdom of God is at hand. It is only when you are alive that you can serve God. Because after death judgment. There will be no opportunity for repentance. You must repent now that you still have the grace. I guarantee you this very second that once you surrender all your life to Christ, all your sins will be forgiven but there is no guarantee for the next second.
By Felix Ebago
Free forex training
By Felix Ebago
Free forex training
The Birth of Jesus Christ
Seek first the kingdom of God and every other thing shall be added onto you.Mathew:6:33
Greeting Cards and Flowers
By: Daniel B. Wallace , Th.M., Ph.D. (Bio)
Also available in: Download Word Document
Preface
The following is part of a short series of devotional items related to the birth of Christ. For some, such material is hardly devotional because it primarily focuses on history. But we must keep in mind that the Jesus we worship was truly born in time-space history. And that babe in the manger was truly crucified--and just as surely rose from the dead. The Bible is different from the sacred books of other religions because it invites historical investigation. And when it has met the test--as it surely always, inevitably does--it inculcates a greater devotion in the heart of the believer for the one we call the Son of God.
The Year Jesus Was Born
In the western hemisphere, we split time by the birth of Jesus Christ. But did he really even live? If so, when was he born?
Sometime ago, I struck up a conversation with a man who claimed that God did not exist. He was an atheist. But not just a run-of-the-mill atheist, you understand. He also insisted that Jesus Christ never existed! This fellow was hard core.
Now my atheist friend had incredible faith--blind faith, I might add. His religious fervor, in fact, would put many evangelists to shame. But the evidence that Jesus Christ invaded history is not just shut up to the testimony of the New Testament--as irrefutable as that might be! The very enemies of Christianity claimed that he lived--and that he performed miracles! Early Jewish documents such as the Mishnah and even Josephus--as well as first-century Gentile historians--such as Thallus, Serapion, and Tacitus--all testify that the one called Christ lived in Palestine and died under Pontius Pilate. As the British scholar, F. F. Bruce put it, "The historicity of Christ is as [certain]. . . as the historicity of Julius Caesar" (NT Documents, 119).
Now it logically follows that if Jesus Christ lived (need it be said?), he must have been born. The Gospels tell us that his birth was shortly before Herod the Great died. Herod's death can be fixed with certainty.
Josephus records an eclipse of the moon just before Herod passed on. This occurred on March 12th or 13th in 4 B.C. Josephus also tells us that Herod expired just before Passover. This feast took place on April 11th, in the same year, 4 B.C. From other details supplied by Josephus, we can pinpoint Herod the Great's demise as occurring between March 29th and April 4th in 4 B.C.
It might sound strange to suggest that Jesus Christ was born no later than 4 B.C. since B.C. means 'before Christ.' But our modern calendar which splits time between B.C. and A.D. was not invented until A.D. 525. At that time, Pope John the First asked a monk named Dionysius to prepare a standardized calendar for the western Church. Unfortunately, poor Dionysius missed the real B.C./A.D. division by at least four years!
Now Matthew tells us that Herod killed Bethlehem's babies two years old and under. The earliest Jesus could have been born, therefore, is 6 B.C. Through a variety of other time indicators, we can be relatively confident that the one called Messiah was born in either late 5 or early 4 B.C.
My atheist friend scoffs at such flexibility. He says, "If you don't know exactly when Jesus was born, how do you know that he really lived?" That is hardly a reasonable question! The other day I called my mother to wish her a happy birthday. "Mom, how many candles on this birthday cake?" I inquired. "I don't know, son--I don't keep track any more," she sighed. After a few minutes of pleasant conversation, we hung up.
Now, of course, I can't be certain, but I do believe that that was my mother on the other end of the phone. She can't remember how old she is (and she's neither senile nor very old), but that doesn't make her a figment of my imagination, does it? Because if she's just a phantom, then for the last three minutes, you've been reading absolutely nothing!
The Day Jesus Was Born
This coming December 25th most parents will be lying to their children about old St. Nick. Some of us will be celebrating the birth of our Savior. But was he really born on this day?
Was Jesus really born on December 25th? Virtually every month on the calendar has been proposed by biblical scholars. So why do we celebrate his birth in December?
The tradition for December 25th is actually quite ancient. Hippolytus, in the second century A.D., argued that this was Christ's birthday. Meanwhile, in the eastern Church, January 6th was the date followed.
But in the fourth century, John Chrysostom argued that December 25th was the correct date and from that day till now, the Church in the East, as well as the West, has observed the 25th of December as the official date of Christ's birth.
In modern times, the traditional date has been challenged. Modern scholars point out that when Jesus was born, shepherds were watching their sheep in the hills around Bethlehem. Luke tells us that an angel appeared to "some shepherds staying out in the fields [who were] keeping watch over their flock by night" (2:8).
Some scholars feel that the sheep were usually brought under cover from November to March; as well, they were not normally in the field at night. But there is no hard evidence for this. In fact, early Jewish sources suggest that the sheep around Bethlehem were outside year-round. So you can see, December 25th fits both tradition and the biblical narrative well. There is no sound objection to it.
Now admittedly, the sheep around Bethlehem were the exception, not the rule. But these were no ordinary sheep. They were sacrificial lambs. In the early spring they would be slaughtered at the Passover.
And God first revealed the Messiah's birth to these shepherds--shepherds who protected harmless lambs which would soon die on behalf of sinful men. Whey they saw the baby, could they have known? Might they have whispered in their hearts what John the Baptist later thundered, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
Now, of course, we can't be absolutely certain of the day of Christ's birth. At least, not this side of heaven. But an early winter date seems as reasonable a guess as any. And December 25th has been the frontrunner for eighteen centuries. Without more evidence, there seems no good reason to change the celebration date now.
We can blame the ancient church for a large part of our uncertainty. You see, they did not celebrate Christ's birth. At all. To them, it was insignificant. They were far more concerned with his death . . . and resurrection.
But modern man has turned that around. A baby lying in a manger is harmless, non-threatening. But a man dying on a cross--a man who claims to be God--that man is a threat! He demands our allegiance! We cannot ignore him. We must either accept him or reject him. He leaves us no middle ground.
This Christmas season, take a close look at a nativity scene once again. Remove your rose-colored glasses--smell the foul air, see the cold, shivering animals. They represent the Old Testament sacrificial system. They are emblems of death. But they are mere shadows of the Babe in their midst. He was born to die . . . that all who believe in him might live.
The Visit of the Magi
When Jesus Christ was born, men--known as magi--came from the east to worship him. Were they wise men . . . or astrologers?
Matthew begins his second chapter with these words: "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.'"
Who were these wise men from the east? Matthew tells us next to nothing about them--he doesn't mention their names, nor how many there were--not even which country they came from. As mysteriously as they come on the scene, they disappear. . .
Though Matthew doesn't tell us much, over-zealous Christians throughout church history have dogmatically filled in the blanks. By the 6th century A.D., these dark strangers were given thrones and names: Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar were the alleged names of these alleged kings. But this has nothing to do with the biblical story: we really have no idea what their names were--nor even their number. There could have been 3 or 300 as far as we know! But one thing we do know for sure: they were not royalty. The ancient magi were reilgious and political advisors to eastern kings--but there wasn't a drop of blue blood among them.
But isn't it true that the magi were astrologers? And didn't God prescribe death to astrologers in the Old Testament? 'Not always' and 'yes' are the answers. In Deuteronomy 17, God commands his people to execute all astrologers by stoning. Jean Dixon wouldn't stand a chance in such a theocracy! The fact that she--and others like her--are so comfortably tolerated--even well respected!--in modern America ought to show us that the U.S.A. is a post-Christian country--at best . . .
But what about these ancient magi? Were they astrologers? After all, they followed a star to Bethlehem.
We might answer this in three ways: First, not all magi were astrologers, for Daniel the prophet was the chief of the magi in Nebuchadnezzar's court. Through his influence, undoubtedly many of the magi carried on their religious and political duties as worshippers of the One true God.
Second, there are some biblical scholars who believe that Isaiah predicted that a star would appear when the Messiah was born. If this interpretation is correct, then the magi who worshipped the newborn king were clearly following in Daniel's train, for he almost surely taught them from Isaiah.
Third, although a few believe that the 'star' they saw was a natural phenomenon--such as a conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter--this cannot explain how the star stood right over Bethlehem. Clearly, the 'star' was completely of supernatural origin. If so, it probably had nothing to do with astrology.
Therefore, the magi most likely did not subscribe to such superstitious folly. If so, they were truly wise men . . .
I saw a bumper sticker the other day, which read, "Wise men still seek him." Actually, that's not quite accurate. The Bible tells us that "no one seeks God, not even one." But if he has led us to himself, then we have become wise. For it is true that "wise men still worship him."
The Boys from Bethlehem
One of the most heinous atrocities in human history was the murder of Bethlehem's babies by Herod the Great. But did it really happen?
In the second chapter of Matthew's gospel, we read that when Herod the Great heard of the Messiah's birth, "he was troubled--and all Jerusalem with him." Later, when the wise men did not report back to him, he became furious and ordered all the baby boys up to two years old in and around Bethlehem to be slaughtered!
Three questions come to mind as we consider this cruel incident: First, how many babies did Herod actually kill? Second, how old was Jesus when this happened? And finally, why does no other ancient historian record this outrage? In other words, did it really happen?
How many babies did Herod murder? Some scholars have suggested as many as 200! But most reject such a figure. Bethlehem was a small community--almost a suburb of Jerusalem. The village itself--and the surrounding countryside--would hardly have more than 30 male infants under two. Most scholars today place the number between 20 and 30.
But that's if only the boy babies were killed. Actually, the Greek text of Matthew 2:16 could mean 'babies'--not just 'boy babies.' And psychologically, Herod's henchmen might not have bothered to check the gender of their victims. The number might be as high as 50 or 60.
Second, how old was Jesus when this occurred? According to the best chronological evidence, he could not have been more than three or four months old. He was more than likely born in the winter of 5 or 4 B.C.--Herod died in the early spring of 4 B.C. So why did Herod slay all children up to two years old? The answer to the third question might help to answer this one. . .
Third, why is this event not recorded outside the Bible? Specifically, why did Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, fail to mention it?
Josephus tells us much about Herod. The best word to describe his reign is 'overkill.' He murdered his favorite wife's father, drowned her brother--and even killed her! He executed one of his most trusted friends, his barber, and 300 military leaders--all in a day's work! Then he slew three of his sons, allegedly suspecting them of treason. Josephus tells us that "Herod inflicted such outrages upon (the Jews) as not even a beast could have done if it possessed the power to rule over men" (Antiquities of the Jews 17:310). Killing babies was not out of character for this cruel king. And killing them up to two years old--to make sure he got the baby Jesus lines up with his insane jealousy for power.
Josephus might have omitted the slaying of the babies for one of two reasons: first, he was no friend of Christianity and he left it out intentionally; or second, just before Herod died he locked up 3000 of the nation's leading citizens and gave orders that they were to be executed at the hour of his death. He wanted to make sure that there would be mourning when he died. . . Israel was so preoccupied with this that the clandestine murder of a few babies might have gone unnoticed. . .
Herod thought that he had gained a victory over the king of the Jews. Yet this was a mere foreshadowing of the victory Satan thought he had when Jesus lay dead on a Roman cross. But the empty tomb proved that that dark Friday was Satan's worst defeat!
Conclusion
We've been looking at several aspects of the birth of Jesus Christ in this short study. Now, we want to put it all together.
In the winter of 5 or 4 B.C., God invaded history by taking on the form of a man. He was born in a small town just south of Jerusalem. Bethlehem, which means 'the house of bread,' indeed became worthy of its name one lonely winter night. For there, in that town, was born the Bread of Life . . .
His mother placed the infant king in a manger--or feeding trough--because the guest room where they were to stay was occupied. The birth of this king was celebrated that night only by his mother, her husband, and a handful of shepherds. The shepherds had been in the fields around Bethlehem, guarding the lambs which would die at the next Passover. An angel appeared to them and gave them the birth announcement: "today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11). In their simple faith, they rushed to see their newborn king.
Shortly after the birth of the Messiah, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem and inquired of king Herod where the real king of the Jews was to be born. The theologians of Herod's court knew the Scriptures well--in 'Bethlehem' they recited. Ironically, though they knew the Scriptures, they did not believe them! They did not even bother to travel the five or six miles to Bethlehem to see their Messiah.
But Herod believed the Scriptures! That is why he sent a corps of butchers to Bethlehem to slaughter innocent children, in hopes of destroying this rival to his throne. But he was too late. The magi had come and gone and Jesus was by now safe in Egypt.
And the magi believed the Scriptures. They had traveled several hundred miles to worship this Babe. They were guided to Bethlehem by a supernatural celestial phenomenon--and by the Scriptures. Apparently, their ancestors had been instructed by Daniel the prophet about the coming Messiah. . . When they saw the child, they fell down and worshiped him. This was God in the flesh. They could do no other.
And they gave him gifts--gold, frankincense, and myrrh. This was an unusual present--by any standards. The gold, of course, we all can understand--but the frankincense and myrrh were odd. Perhaps they had read Isaiah's prophecy that "nations will come to your light, and kings to your rising . . . They will bring gold and frankincense, and will bear good news. . . " (Isa. 60:3, 6). This explains the frankincense, but not the myrrh.
Now myrrh, like frankincense, was a perfume. But unlike frankincense, myrrh smelled of death. In the ancient world, it was used to embalm a corpse. Jesus himself would be embalmed with this very perfume (cf. John 19:39).
If the magi were thinking of Jesus' death when they brought the myrrh, they no doubt knew of it from Daniel's prophecy (9:24-27). In the ninth chapter of Daniel we read that the 'Messiah will be cut off' and this 'will make atonement for iniquity' and ultimately 'bring in everlasting righteousness' (9:26, 24).
Even at the birth of our Savior, the shadow of the cross is already falling over his face. . .
The theologians of Herod's court did not believe the Scriptures. They were fools. Herod believed, but disobeyed. He was a madman. The simple shepherds and the majestic magi believed in this infant Savior--and it was reckoned to them as righteousness. May we follow in their train.
Greeting Cards and Flowers
By: Daniel B. Wallace , Th.M., Ph.D. (Bio)
Also available in: Download Word Document
Preface
The following is part of a short series of devotional items related to the birth of Christ. For some, such material is hardly devotional because it primarily focuses on history. But we must keep in mind that the Jesus we worship was truly born in time-space history. And that babe in the manger was truly crucified--and just as surely rose from the dead. The Bible is different from the sacred books of other religions because it invites historical investigation. And when it has met the test--as it surely always, inevitably does--it inculcates a greater devotion in the heart of the believer for the one we call the Son of God.
The Year Jesus Was Born
In the western hemisphere, we split time by the birth of Jesus Christ. But did he really even live? If so, when was he born?
Sometime ago, I struck up a conversation with a man who claimed that God did not exist. He was an atheist. But not just a run-of-the-mill atheist, you understand. He also insisted that Jesus Christ never existed! This fellow was hard core.
Now my atheist friend had incredible faith--blind faith, I might add. His religious fervor, in fact, would put many evangelists to shame. But the evidence that Jesus Christ invaded history is not just shut up to the testimony of the New Testament--as irrefutable as that might be! The very enemies of Christianity claimed that he lived--and that he performed miracles! Early Jewish documents such as the Mishnah and even Josephus--as well as first-century Gentile historians--such as Thallus, Serapion, and Tacitus--all testify that the one called Christ lived in Palestine and died under Pontius Pilate. As the British scholar, F. F. Bruce put it, "The historicity of Christ is as [certain]. . . as the historicity of Julius Caesar" (NT Documents, 119).
Now it logically follows that if Jesus Christ lived (need it be said?), he must have been born. The Gospels tell us that his birth was shortly before Herod the Great died. Herod's death can be fixed with certainty.
Josephus records an eclipse of the moon just before Herod passed on. This occurred on March 12th or 13th in 4 B.C. Josephus also tells us that Herod expired just before Passover. This feast took place on April 11th, in the same year, 4 B.C. From other details supplied by Josephus, we can pinpoint Herod the Great's demise as occurring between March 29th and April 4th in 4 B.C.
It might sound strange to suggest that Jesus Christ was born no later than 4 B.C. since B.C. means 'before Christ.' But our modern calendar which splits time between B.C. and A.D. was not invented until A.D. 525. At that time, Pope John the First asked a monk named Dionysius to prepare a standardized calendar for the western Church. Unfortunately, poor Dionysius missed the real B.C./A.D. division by at least four years!
Now Matthew tells us that Herod killed Bethlehem's babies two years old and under. The earliest Jesus could have been born, therefore, is 6 B.C. Through a variety of other time indicators, we can be relatively confident that the one called Messiah was born in either late 5 or early 4 B.C.
My atheist friend scoffs at such flexibility. He says, "If you don't know exactly when Jesus was born, how do you know that he really lived?" That is hardly a reasonable question! The other day I called my mother to wish her a happy birthday. "Mom, how many candles on this birthday cake?" I inquired. "I don't know, son--I don't keep track any more," she sighed. After a few minutes of pleasant conversation, we hung up.
Now, of course, I can't be certain, but I do believe that that was my mother on the other end of the phone. She can't remember how old she is (and she's neither senile nor very old), but that doesn't make her a figment of my imagination, does it? Because if she's just a phantom, then for the last three minutes, you've been reading absolutely nothing!
The Day Jesus Was Born
This coming December 25th most parents will be lying to their children about old St. Nick. Some of us will be celebrating the birth of our Savior. But was he really born on this day?
Was Jesus really born on December 25th? Virtually every month on the calendar has been proposed by biblical scholars. So why do we celebrate his birth in December?
The tradition for December 25th is actually quite ancient. Hippolytus, in the second century A.D., argued that this was Christ's birthday. Meanwhile, in the eastern Church, January 6th was the date followed.
But in the fourth century, John Chrysostom argued that December 25th was the correct date and from that day till now, the Church in the East, as well as the West, has observed the 25th of December as the official date of Christ's birth.
In modern times, the traditional date has been challenged. Modern scholars point out that when Jesus was born, shepherds were watching their sheep in the hills around Bethlehem. Luke tells us that an angel appeared to "some shepherds staying out in the fields [who were] keeping watch over their flock by night" (2:8).
Some scholars feel that the sheep were usually brought under cover from November to March; as well, they were not normally in the field at night. But there is no hard evidence for this. In fact, early Jewish sources suggest that the sheep around Bethlehem were outside year-round. So you can see, December 25th fits both tradition and the biblical narrative well. There is no sound objection to it.
Now admittedly, the sheep around Bethlehem were the exception, not the rule. But these were no ordinary sheep. They were sacrificial lambs. In the early spring they would be slaughtered at the Passover.
And God first revealed the Messiah's birth to these shepherds--shepherds who protected harmless lambs which would soon die on behalf of sinful men. Whey they saw the baby, could they have known? Might they have whispered in their hearts what John the Baptist later thundered, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
Now, of course, we can't be absolutely certain of the day of Christ's birth. At least, not this side of heaven. But an early winter date seems as reasonable a guess as any. And December 25th has been the frontrunner for eighteen centuries. Without more evidence, there seems no good reason to change the celebration date now.
We can blame the ancient church for a large part of our uncertainty. You see, they did not celebrate Christ's birth. At all. To them, it was insignificant. They were far more concerned with his death . . . and resurrection.
But modern man has turned that around. A baby lying in a manger is harmless, non-threatening. But a man dying on a cross--a man who claims to be God--that man is a threat! He demands our allegiance! We cannot ignore him. We must either accept him or reject him. He leaves us no middle ground.
This Christmas season, take a close look at a nativity scene once again. Remove your rose-colored glasses--smell the foul air, see the cold, shivering animals. They represent the Old Testament sacrificial system. They are emblems of death. But they are mere shadows of the Babe in their midst. He was born to die . . . that all who believe in him might live.
The Visit of the Magi
When Jesus Christ was born, men--known as magi--came from the east to worship him. Were they wise men . . . or astrologers?
Matthew begins his second chapter with these words: "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.'"
Who were these wise men from the east? Matthew tells us next to nothing about them--he doesn't mention their names, nor how many there were--not even which country they came from. As mysteriously as they come on the scene, they disappear. . .
Though Matthew doesn't tell us much, over-zealous Christians throughout church history have dogmatically filled in the blanks. By the 6th century A.D., these dark strangers were given thrones and names: Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar were the alleged names of these alleged kings. But this has nothing to do with the biblical story: we really have no idea what their names were--nor even their number. There could have been 3 or 300 as far as we know! But one thing we do know for sure: they were not royalty. The ancient magi were reilgious and political advisors to eastern kings--but there wasn't a drop of blue blood among them.
But isn't it true that the magi were astrologers? And didn't God prescribe death to astrologers in the Old Testament? 'Not always' and 'yes' are the answers. In Deuteronomy 17, God commands his people to execute all astrologers by stoning. Jean Dixon wouldn't stand a chance in such a theocracy! The fact that she--and others like her--are so comfortably tolerated--even well respected!--in modern America ought to show us that the U.S.A. is a post-Christian country--at best . . .
But what about these ancient magi? Were they astrologers? After all, they followed a star to Bethlehem.
We might answer this in three ways: First, not all magi were astrologers, for Daniel the prophet was the chief of the magi in Nebuchadnezzar's court. Through his influence, undoubtedly many of the magi carried on their religious and political duties as worshippers of the One true God.
Second, there are some biblical scholars who believe that Isaiah predicted that a star would appear when the Messiah was born. If this interpretation is correct, then the magi who worshipped the newborn king were clearly following in Daniel's train, for he almost surely taught them from Isaiah.
Third, although a few believe that the 'star' they saw was a natural phenomenon--such as a conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter--this cannot explain how the star stood right over Bethlehem. Clearly, the 'star' was completely of supernatural origin. If so, it probably had nothing to do with astrology.
Therefore, the magi most likely did not subscribe to such superstitious folly. If so, they were truly wise men . . .
I saw a bumper sticker the other day, which read, "Wise men still seek him." Actually, that's not quite accurate. The Bible tells us that "no one seeks God, not even one." But if he has led us to himself, then we have become wise. For it is true that "wise men still worship him."
The Boys from Bethlehem
One of the most heinous atrocities in human history was the murder of Bethlehem's babies by Herod the Great. But did it really happen?
In the second chapter of Matthew's gospel, we read that when Herod the Great heard of the Messiah's birth, "he was troubled--and all Jerusalem with him." Later, when the wise men did not report back to him, he became furious and ordered all the baby boys up to two years old in and around Bethlehem to be slaughtered!
Three questions come to mind as we consider this cruel incident: First, how many babies did Herod actually kill? Second, how old was Jesus when this happened? And finally, why does no other ancient historian record this outrage? In other words, did it really happen?
How many babies did Herod murder? Some scholars have suggested as many as 200! But most reject such a figure. Bethlehem was a small community--almost a suburb of Jerusalem. The village itself--and the surrounding countryside--would hardly have more than 30 male infants under two. Most scholars today place the number between 20 and 30.
But that's if only the boy babies were killed. Actually, the Greek text of Matthew 2:16 could mean 'babies'--not just 'boy babies.' And psychologically, Herod's henchmen might not have bothered to check the gender of their victims. The number might be as high as 50 or 60.
Second, how old was Jesus when this occurred? According to the best chronological evidence, he could not have been more than three or four months old. He was more than likely born in the winter of 5 or 4 B.C.--Herod died in the early spring of 4 B.C. So why did Herod slay all children up to two years old? The answer to the third question might help to answer this one. . .
Third, why is this event not recorded outside the Bible? Specifically, why did Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, fail to mention it?
Josephus tells us much about Herod. The best word to describe his reign is 'overkill.' He murdered his favorite wife's father, drowned her brother--and even killed her! He executed one of his most trusted friends, his barber, and 300 military leaders--all in a day's work! Then he slew three of his sons, allegedly suspecting them of treason. Josephus tells us that "Herod inflicted such outrages upon (the Jews) as not even a beast could have done if it possessed the power to rule over men" (Antiquities of the Jews 17:310). Killing babies was not out of character for this cruel king. And killing them up to two years old--to make sure he got the baby Jesus lines up with his insane jealousy for power.
Josephus might have omitted the slaying of the babies for one of two reasons: first, he was no friend of Christianity and he left it out intentionally; or second, just before Herod died he locked up 3000 of the nation's leading citizens and gave orders that they were to be executed at the hour of his death. He wanted to make sure that there would be mourning when he died. . . Israel was so preoccupied with this that the clandestine murder of a few babies might have gone unnoticed. . .
Herod thought that he had gained a victory over the king of the Jews. Yet this was a mere foreshadowing of the victory Satan thought he had when Jesus lay dead on a Roman cross. But the empty tomb proved that that dark Friday was Satan's worst defeat!
Conclusion
We've been looking at several aspects of the birth of Jesus Christ in this short study. Now, we want to put it all together.
In the winter of 5 or 4 B.C., God invaded history by taking on the form of a man. He was born in a small town just south of Jerusalem. Bethlehem, which means 'the house of bread,' indeed became worthy of its name one lonely winter night. For there, in that town, was born the Bread of Life . . .
His mother placed the infant king in a manger--or feeding trough--because the guest room where they were to stay was occupied. The birth of this king was celebrated that night only by his mother, her husband, and a handful of shepherds. The shepherds had been in the fields around Bethlehem, guarding the lambs which would die at the next Passover. An angel appeared to them and gave them the birth announcement: "today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11). In their simple faith, they rushed to see their newborn king.
Shortly after the birth of the Messiah, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem and inquired of king Herod where the real king of the Jews was to be born. The theologians of Herod's court knew the Scriptures well--in 'Bethlehem' they recited. Ironically, though they knew the Scriptures, they did not believe them! They did not even bother to travel the five or six miles to Bethlehem to see their Messiah.
But Herod believed the Scriptures! That is why he sent a corps of butchers to Bethlehem to slaughter innocent children, in hopes of destroying this rival to his throne. But he was too late. The magi had come and gone and Jesus was by now safe in Egypt.
And the magi believed the Scriptures. They had traveled several hundred miles to worship this Babe. They were guided to Bethlehem by a supernatural celestial phenomenon--and by the Scriptures. Apparently, their ancestors had been instructed by Daniel the prophet about the coming Messiah. . . When they saw the child, they fell down and worshiped him. This was God in the flesh. They could do no other.
And they gave him gifts--gold, frankincense, and myrrh. This was an unusual present--by any standards. The gold, of course, we all can understand--but the frankincense and myrrh were odd. Perhaps they had read Isaiah's prophecy that "nations will come to your light, and kings to your rising . . . They will bring gold and frankincense, and will bear good news. . . " (Isa. 60:3, 6). This explains the frankincense, but not the myrrh.
Now myrrh, like frankincense, was a perfume. But unlike frankincense, myrrh smelled of death. In the ancient world, it was used to embalm a corpse. Jesus himself would be embalmed with this very perfume (cf. John 19:39).
If the magi were thinking of Jesus' death when they brought the myrrh, they no doubt knew of it from Daniel's prophecy (9:24-27). In the ninth chapter of Daniel we read that the 'Messiah will be cut off' and this 'will make atonement for iniquity' and ultimately 'bring in everlasting righteousness' (9:26, 24).
Even at the birth of our Savior, the shadow of the cross is already falling over his face. . .
The theologians of Herod's court did not believe the Scriptures. They were fools. Herod believed, but disobeyed. He was a madman. The simple shepherds and the majestic magi believed in this infant Savior--and it was reckoned to them as righteousness. May we follow in their train.
Birth of Jesus
About 2000 years ago God sent an angel to Israel, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to Joseph, a carpenter. The angel told Mary that by God's power, she would conceive and bear a son.
When Joseph learned that she was pregnant, an angel instructed him to marry her. Joseph took her to Bethlehem to register for a census. While there, Mary gave birth to Jesus. She laid him in a manger because there was no room at the inn. Shepherds visited Jesus in Bethlehem.
Later, wise men brought gifts to Jesus. They told Herod the Great, a wicked king, that Jesus would rule Israel. So Herod sent soldiers to kill the children in Bethlehem. Warned by an angel, Joseph took his family to Egypt. After Herod died, they returned to Israel and raised Jesus in a town called Nazareth.
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Courtesy of lifeofjesus.com
When Joseph learned that she was pregnant, an angel instructed him to marry her. Joseph took her to Bethlehem to register for a census. While there, Mary gave birth to Jesus. She laid him in a manger because there was no room at the inn. Shepherds visited Jesus in Bethlehem.
Later, wise men brought gifts to Jesus. They told Herod the Great, a wicked king, that Jesus would rule Israel. So Herod sent soldiers to kill the children in Bethlehem. Warned by an angel, Joseph took his family to Egypt. After Herod died, they returned to Israel and raised Jesus in a town called Nazareth.
Get Easther Gift Here
Courtesy of lifeofjesus.com
Monday, 23 March 2009
Rapture
Robert G. Barbaria
After my initial experience with GOD in 1997, I speak with THE LORD daily. In nearly all of our conversations, GOD reminds me of the pending RAPTURE that will soon occur. Most of the signs of the END-TIMES given throughout the Holy Bible have already happened, so it is just a question of what hour or day will the RAPTURE come, for it is certainly near and knocking at the door.
THE LORD has told me that the number of them that are taken in the first RAPTURE, the Rapture of the Church, is very small, and scripture calls this group "The BRIDE of CHRIST". It consists of only 800,000 adults and 9,600,000 children. When comparing this 10,400,000 people to the world’s 6,000,000,000 plus population, it represents less than one-tenth of one percent. The balance of the population that is LEFT BEHIND must then endure at least the first twenty-one months of the Great Tribulation, while waiting for the second RAPTURE to come, that which is called the "Rapture of the Tribulation Saints" along with the 144,000 Tribulation Saints taken in RAPTURE, will be taken 389,600,000 more people, and scripture calls these people the "Wedding Guests". This is ALL of the people that will be taken off the Earth from among the living, whom will enter into HEAVEN, after the MILLENNIUM PERIOD is complete.
So, contrary to what you have been taught by the Church, the number of people going to HEAVEN from among the living on the Earth during the END-TIMES is 400,000,000 people, out of the 6,000,000,000 plus that now populate the Earth. This represents about eight percent of the Earth’s total population. Of those remaining on the Earth after the Rapture of the Tribulation Saints, 2,000,000,000, one-third of them will be RESURRECTED from among the dead to live and REIGN with CHRIST during the one thousand years of Heaven on Earth, called the MILLENNIUM. These people are called by scripture the "Beheaded Souls" and they will not go to HEAVEN after the MILLENNIUM PERIOD is completed, but will rather return to the dust of the Earth. These are the people who are beheaded for refusing to take the "Mark of the Beast" and live and REIGN with CHRIST for one thousand years as a reward for their martyring themselves in the NAME of GOD and for the TESTIMONY of JESUS CHRIST.
The three books I have written for THE LORD are KEY to your not being "LEFT BEHIND" for these books will aid in your ability to RECEIVE the "LIVING WATERS" contained within the Word of GOD. These are the "LIVING WATERS" necessary for your HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM, and "SAVING GRACE" called by JESUS CHRIST in scripture: "THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER" ROBERT G. BARBARIA
NOTE:
THE LORD has told me that many of you who read this MESSAGE will refuse to believe it, even though it bears the TRUTH. Scripture supports everything being said in this MESSAGE, and WE will cite but a few of the applicable scriptures. First and foremost, in regard to the small numbers of people receiving the RAPTURE and an ETERNITY in HEAVEN, JESUS CHRIST says the following:
Matthew 7:13 ENTER YE IN AT THE STRAIT GATE: FOR WIDE IS THE GATE, AND BROAD IS THE WAY, THAT LEADETH TO DESTRUCTION, AND MANY THERE BE WHICH GO IN THEREAT:
Matthew 7:14 BECAUSE STRAIT IS THE GATE, AND NARROW IS THE WAY, WHICH LEADETH UNTO LIFE, AND FEW THERE BE THAT FIND IT.
These scriptures mean exactly what they say! MANY of you will take the road to DESTRUCTION, (meaning the road to HELL), while only a FEW of you will receive RAPTURE, and an ETERNAL PLACE in HEAVEN! Neither should you believe that just because you attend church every week, and proclaim yourselves to be Disciples for JESUS CHRIST, and call yourself a Christian because you have received a water baptism, that you are SAVED; for you are more than likely not. One can only be SAVED through HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM and your attendance at church and water baptism means absolutely NOTHING! HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM is a SPIRITUAL EVENT and not a carnal event such as a water baptism, and only comes to them that GOD has deemed to receive it! JESUS CHRIST says:
Matthew 7:21 NOT EVERY ONE THAT SAITH UNTO ME, LORD, LORD, SHALL ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN; BUT HE THAT DOETH THE WILL OF MY FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN.
Matthew 7:22 MANY WILL SAY TO ME IN THAT DAY, LORD, LORD, HAVE WE NOT PROPHESIED IN THY NAME? AND IN THY NAME HAVE CAST OUT DEVILS? AND IN THY NAME DONE MANY WONDERFUL WORKS?
Matthew 7:23 AND THEN I WILL PROFESS UNTO THEM, I NEVER KNEW YOU: DEPART FROM ME, YE THAT WORK INIQUITY.
These last three scriptures refer to those of you whom attend church, and donate to the various charities, and even through prayer have successfully helped others. And, even though you may have received ANOINTING to perform GOD'S WORK, have not been BAPTIZED in the SPIRIT of GOD. Judas Iscariot was a classic case of this scenario. He also was baptized with water and ANOINTED, he cast out demons, healed the sick, and followed JESUS wherever HE went. However, Judas resides today in HELL!
GOD has told me that there will also be them of you that read this MESSAGE and say, "This man is only trying to frighten people so they might buy his books"! But I can tell you that I didn't write these books for THE LORD for profit, but rather to warn the people against being misled by the church. Throughout the entire HOLY BIBLE, GOD, MOSES, and JESUS CHRIST warns against being deceived by them claiming to serve GOD, but are rather the False Prophets of Satan. These False Prophets proclaim themselves to be Christians, and stand at the pulpits every Sunday and cite scripture. However, it must be remembered that when Satan approached JESUS in the wilderness, he also cited scriptures in an effort to DECEIVE JESUS.
Matthew 7:15 BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS, WHICH COME TO YOU IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING, BUT INWARDLY ARE RAVENING WOLVES.
Furthermore, in regard to the THREE BOOKS I have written for GOD, they are also cited in HOLY scripture. And, many whom will read them will have their stomachs churned, because they will refuse to believe that the BIBLE'S TRUTH is so very different from that which had been taught to them by the Church. So be it that you either, serve your religion or SERVE GOD, for you cannot serve both!
Revelation 10:10 And I took the LITTLE BOOK out of the ANGEL'S hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Revelation 10:11 And he said unto me, Thou must PROPHESY again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
This is the MESSAGE given to John and the 144,000 TRIBULATION SAINTS, regarding MY BOOKS!
After my initial experience with GOD in 1997, I speak with THE LORD daily. In nearly all of our conversations, GOD reminds me of the pending RAPTURE that will soon occur. Most of the signs of the END-TIMES given throughout the Holy Bible have already happened, so it is just a question of what hour or day will the RAPTURE come, for it is certainly near and knocking at the door.
THE LORD has told me that the number of them that are taken in the first RAPTURE, the Rapture of the Church, is very small, and scripture calls this group "The BRIDE of CHRIST". It consists of only 800,000 adults and 9,600,000 children. When comparing this 10,400,000 people to the world’s 6,000,000,000 plus population, it represents less than one-tenth of one percent. The balance of the population that is LEFT BEHIND must then endure at least the first twenty-one months of the Great Tribulation, while waiting for the second RAPTURE to come, that which is called the "Rapture of the Tribulation Saints" along with the 144,000 Tribulation Saints taken in RAPTURE, will be taken 389,600,000 more people, and scripture calls these people the "Wedding Guests". This is ALL of the people that will be taken off the Earth from among the living, whom will enter into HEAVEN, after the MILLENNIUM PERIOD is complete.
So, contrary to what you have been taught by the Church, the number of people going to HEAVEN from among the living on the Earth during the END-TIMES is 400,000,000 people, out of the 6,000,000,000 plus that now populate the Earth. This represents about eight percent of the Earth’s total population. Of those remaining on the Earth after the Rapture of the Tribulation Saints, 2,000,000,000, one-third of them will be RESURRECTED from among the dead to live and REIGN with CHRIST during the one thousand years of Heaven on Earth, called the MILLENNIUM. These people are called by scripture the "Beheaded Souls" and they will not go to HEAVEN after the MILLENNIUM PERIOD is completed, but will rather return to the dust of the Earth. These are the people who are beheaded for refusing to take the "Mark of the Beast" and live and REIGN with CHRIST for one thousand years as a reward for their martyring themselves in the NAME of GOD and for the TESTIMONY of JESUS CHRIST.
The three books I have written for THE LORD are KEY to your not being "LEFT BEHIND" for these books will aid in your ability to RECEIVE the "LIVING WATERS" contained within the Word of GOD. These are the "LIVING WATERS" necessary for your HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM, and "SAVING GRACE" called by JESUS CHRIST in scripture: "THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER" ROBERT G. BARBARIA
NOTE:
THE LORD has told me that many of you who read this MESSAGE will refuse to believe it, even though it bears the TRUTH. Scripture supports everything being said in this MESSAGE, and WE will cite but a few of the applicable scriptures. First and foremost, in regard to the small numbers of people receiving the RAPTURE and an ETERNITY in HEAVEN, JESUS CHRIST says the following:
Matthew 7:13 ENTER YE IN AT THE STRAIT GATE: FOR WIDE IS THE GATE, AND BROAD IS THE WAY, THAT LEADETH TO DESTRUCTION, AND MANY THERE BE WHICH GO IN THEREAT:
Matthew 7:14 BECAUSE STRAIT IS THE GATE, AND NARROW IS THE WAY, WHICH LEADETH UNTO LIFE, AND FEW THERE BE THAT FIND IT.
These scriptures mean exactly what they say! MANY of you will take the road to DESTRUCTION, (meaning the road to HELL), while only a FEW of you will receive RAPTURE, and an ETERNAL PLACE in HEAVEN! Neither should you believe that just because you attend church every week, and proclaim yourselves to be Disciples for JESUS CHRIST, and call yourself a Christian because you have received a water baptism, that you are SAVED; for you are more than likely not. One can only be SAVED through HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM and your attendance at church and water baptism means absolutely NOTHING! HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM is a SPIRITUAL EVENT and not a carnal event such as a water baptism, and only comes to them that GOD has deemed to receive it! JESUS CHRIST says:
Matthew 7:21 NOT EVERY ONE THAT SAITH UNTO ME, LORD, LORD, SHALL ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN; BUT HE THAT DOETH THE WILL OF MY FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN.
Matthew 7:22 MANY WILL SAY TO ME IN THAT DAY, LORD, LORD, HAVE WE NOT PROPHESIED IN THY NAME? AND IN THY NAME HAVE CAST OUT DEVILS? AND IN THY NAME DONE MANY WONDERFUL WORKS?
Matthew 7:23 AND THEN I WILL PROFESS UNTO THEM, I NEVER KNEW YOU: DEPART FROM ME, YE THAT WORK INIQUITY.
These last three scriptures refer to those of you whom attend church, and donate to the various charities, and even through prayer have successfully helped others. And, even though you may have received ANOINTING to perform GOD'S WORK, have not been BAPTIZED in the SPIRIT of GOD. Judas Iscariot was a classic case of this scenario. He also was baptized with water and ANOINTED, he cast out demons, healed the sick, and followed JESUS wherever HE went. However, Judas resides today in HELL!
GOD has told me that there will also be them of you that read this MESSAGE and say, "This man is only trying to frighten people so they might buy his books"! But I can tell you that I didn't write these books for THE LORD for profit, but rather to warn the people against being misled by the church. Throughout the entire HOLY BIBLE, GOD, MOSES, and JESUS CHRIST warns against being deceived by them claiming to serve GOD, but are rather the False Prophets of Satan. These False Prophets proclaim themselves to be Christians, and stand at the pulpits every Sunday and cite scripture. However, it must be remembered that when Satan approached JESUS in the wilderness, he also cited scriptures in an effort to DECEIVE JESUS.
Matthew 7:15 BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS, WHICH COME TO YOU IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING, BUT INWARDLY ARE RAVENING WOLVES.
Furthermore, in regard to the THREE BOOKS I have written for GOD, they are also cited in HOLY scripture. And, many whom will read them will have their stomachs churned, because they will refuse to believe that the BIBLE'S TRUTH is so very different from that which had been taught to them by the Church. So be it that you either, serve your religion or SERVE GOD, for you cannot serve both!
Revelation 10:10 And I took the LITTLE BOOK out of the ANGEL'S hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Revelation 10:11 And he said unto me, Thou must PROPHESY again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
This is the MESSAGE given to John and the 144,000 TRIBULATION SAINTS, regarding MY BOOKS!
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