How To Know You Are Going To Heaven

How To Know You Are
Going To Heaven
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"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life."
John 5:24
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Security! The common denominator of all the aspirations of the human heart. Mankind has longed for it since time began. We have built walled cities, made treaties, sought after power and wealth. Indeed we have tried by every means possible to be secure in freedom, provisions and in relationships - especially in our relationship to God.

But according to the Bible, God's word, there is only one way to true security: Jesus Christ. In the Gospel of John we read, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by Me (John 14:6)." He can satisfy every need for security because He provides membership in God's family for now and eternity: "As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who trusted in His name (John 1:12)."

Why is Jesus the only way to true security? The Bible provides the answer. We cannot find security on our own because we stand condemned before God for sin. The Apostle Paul's statement in Romans 3:23, "All have sinned and do fall short of the glory of God." lets us know that every person in the world is a sinner. What's more this refers not only to so-called "bad sins" such as murder but to anything which falls short of God's perfection and excellence.

This sinfulness of mankind means that we lack the righteousness God requires and, indeed, can never achieve it. Concerning this requirement, Jesus said, "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:20)." Paul puts it bluntly: "There is none righteous, no not one (Romans 3:10)." Again, that includes everyone. Absolutely nothing a person can do on his own can ever earn or merit anything from God, as the prophet Isaiah notes: "All our righteous works are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6)." To Christians Paul said, "He did not save us on the basis of works which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy (Titus 3:5)." The consequence for mankind of this sinfulness and lack of righteousness is spiritual death - separation from God: "The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a)."

How then is it possible to have that righteousness necessary for acceptance by God? The answer is surprising and wonderful: Christ has provided it for us! The Bible points this out in 2 Corinthians 5:21: "He [God] made Him [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin in our place in order that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Jesus, who was perfectly righteous and therefore, did not deserve to die, took the penalty which we deserved (death, the wages of sin) upon Himself. Romans 5:8 says, "God proves His love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Peter proclaims, "[Christ] Himself offered up our sins in His body on the cross" (1 Peter 2:24), and, "Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous in place of the unrighteous, in order that he might bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18a)." Then Christ was resurrected from the dead to guarantee resurrection for the righteous (1 Corinthians 15:20-23). In this way God was able both to punish sin - thereby remaining consistently holy - and to forgive the sinner - thereby remaining consistently gracious. As Paul puts it in Romans 3:26: "[He did this] in order that He might be righteous and pronounce righteous the one who has faith in Jesus." God gives salvation as a gift: "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23)."

There is, however, a condition. That is, salvation is not automatic, for when the Philippian jailor asked Paul and Silas, "What must I do to be saved?," the reply was, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved (Acts 16:30-31)." Paul says it this way in Romans 4:5, "To the one who does not work, but believes in Him who declares the ungodly righteous, his faith is reckoned as righteousness." The Greek work translated "believe" indicates that the facts about Jesus must be accepted (that He was God in the flesh, etc.) and means that He must be depended on for salvation. In other words, there are two aspects to the meaning of the word - belief in facts and trust in a person.

Therefore, if you think that your sins are not bad enough to condemn you or that you can save yourself by church membership, baptism, etc., you must change your mind about those incorrect beliefs, believe what the Bible says about your sinful and separated condition and trust Christ to save you personally. Then, and only then, will you be saved and secure - when you take God's route to security.

For those who reject God's remedy for sin, the condemnation for sinfulness stands and results in permanent separation from God and punishment in the lake of fire: "The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides upon him (John 3:36);" "and if anyone was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15)." This is the scriptural destiny for all those who reject Christ.

Well, what about you my friend? Will you try to find security your own way and regret it for eternity or will you accept God's free gift of eternal life and have real security - now and forever? It is my prayer that you will place your trust in Christ as your Savior right now, wherever you are - and live forever secure in God's family.

Israel’s Miraculous Rebirth Proves the Bible

Israel’s Miraculous Rebirth Proves the Bible

One of the best proofs that the Bible is true is the fact that the Bible prophesies the history of the Jews before it happens. This Jewish history is surely the most improbable history of any nation and yet the Bible prophesied it flawlessly thousands of years in advance.

Some of this Jewish history is history you know. You know Jews are found scattered throughout the world;1 you know Jews have suffered great persecutions,2 and you know there is now a young Jewish nation called Israel,3 but did you know that the Bible prophesies all this history. God Himself foretold this very improbable history before it happened. Folks, the fact that God’s own words are in the Bible foretelling Israel’s improbable history and the fact that this improbable history happened is compelling evidence that the Bible is supernaturally inspired by God Himself. In other words the Bible is absolutely true, and you can confirm its truth for yourself because you know some of Israel’s recent history but you probably haven’t considered how very improbable this history is.

Consider; the Jews are an ancient people like the Phoenicians or the Philistines, but the Phoenicians and Philistines, like almost all ancient peoples, have lost their ethnic identity while the Jews have not. The Jews kept their ethnic identity despite being utterly defeated and dispersed by the Romans;. Jews were dispersed world wide; their language was no longer spoken, but incredibly, they kept their ethnic identity. Even more incredibly they reclaimed their original homeland and relearned their original language two thousand years after being dispersed. Impossible! but God said it would happen and it happened just as God said.

As improbable as was the re-establishment of Israel, the survival of Israel was even more improbable because the day Israel was reborn4 it was attacked by five modern, well equipped Arab armies which outnumbered Israel’s tiny army forty to one. Israel’s tiny improvised army was so poorly equipped it had no tanks and its air force was two Piper Cubs. Many Israeli solders were untrained, spoke only foreign languages and some didn’t even have rifles.

Until Israel was declared a state it was a British protectorate, protected by the British Army, but the British would leave as soon as Israel was declared an independent state and those five modern, well equipped Arab armies would attack. They would attack the ill-equipped, improvised, ragtag Jewish Army which they outnumbered forty to one. The horrible outcome of that attack was so obvious the British pleaded with Jewish Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion not to declare Israel a Jewish state. They told Ben-Gurion “If you declare a Jewish state, there won’t be one Jew left alive in all of Palestine in forty-eight hours.”

Most news items about this situation did not report this utter hopelessness of the Jewish position. We Americans knew the Jews were outnumbered and the news spoke of bloodbath but we did not know the Jews faced imminent total massacre. Even so Bible-believing Christians everywhere knew the restoration of Israel as a nation was the great Bible prophesy to be fulfilled in our time so the compelling question was could God make it happen despite the hopeless odds?

Of course God did make it happen and I think God deliberately created those hopeless odds in order to show that the restoration of Israel was His supernatural act.5 Every step in the restoration of Israel as a nation was very improbable, but when that ragtag, ill-equipped Israeli Army beat five combined modern well-equipped Arab armies it was nothing short of a miracle.6 By the way that ragtag army not only won the war, it doubled the size of Israel.

God said in His Word, in the Bible, that He would restore Israel and He did. Therefore we conclude God’s Word, the Bible, is inspired by God and is absolutely true. God’s plan of salvation is also in the Bible so it is also inspired by God and it is also absolutely true.


1 Leviticus 26: 33

2 Deuteronomy 28:64-67

3 Leviticus 26: 44,45; The covenant referenced is God’s Promise of land: The Promised Land. See Genesis 17: 7-8. Ezekiel 36: 24

4 Isaiah 66:8

5 Ezekiel 36:11,23; 37: 12-13

6 Despite heavy Arab representation in the United Nations, the United Nations still voted nationhood for Israel.

Even though there were five Arab nations poised to attack Israel if Israel should become a state, these Arab nations were not opposed to the United Nation’s declaring Israel a state. The Iraqi U.N. Ambassador even demanded statehood for Israel on the grounds that the United States U.N. Ambassador had set a deadline for the statehood decision which deadline had passed. The Iraqi Ambassador argued that the United States U.N. Ambassador had said that if a decision about Israeli statehood had not been reached by six o’clock on the day of debate, then Israel should be declared a state.

The reason that Iraqi Ambassador and other Arabs favored Israeli statehood was that the Arab forces arrayed against Israel were so utterly overwhelming. The five Arab nations were so powerful they outnumbered Israel forty to one in solders, and they had modern, well equipped tanks and aircraft while Israel had none. Therefore the Arabs with this super overwhelming modern, well equipped army assumed they would so easily crush the improvised ragtag Jewish Army that they were eager for Israel to be declared a state. They figured that as soon as the United Nations declared Israel a state that declaration would remove the British protectorate over Palestine. Without that British protection, the Jews would be left virtually defenseless. Five modern Arab armies would then attack these virtually defenseless Jews, would wipe them out and the nation of Israel would die on the day of its birth.

To show how utterly hopeless this situation was for the Jews, let me draw a picture of their situation. The year was 1948, just three years after the end of World War II. Remember World War II was the war of the anti-Jewish Holocaust where six million Jews were murdered and many more were made unwelcome refugees in Europe.

Many of these poor European refugees fled to Palestine where there were already some Jewish communities because of a movement called Zionism.

Zionism was a movement of Jews back to their original homeland and Palestine as a British protectorate provided a place where poor homeless Zionist Jews could flee. Of course these Jewish refugees were very poor. They spoke different languages; they were not yet a real nation. They were still in the process of organizing a society so they were in no condition to fight a war against any kind of army, much less against five modern armies attacking them from all sides. They had a very informal improvised army. They had no tanks; no military aircraft; they didn’t even have enough rifles to supply the few solders they could field. Many of these solders were untrained and did not even speak a common language.

Even if these Jews had had a modern well trained, well equipped army, they were outnumbered forty to one. For every Jewish solder there were forty Arab solders: five well equipped, well trained Arab armies which were poised on the borders of Israel eager to attack as soon as Israel was declared a state

The Jews not only had very few solders, they had very few weapons, and the British protectorate would not let Jews ship weapons into Palestine. Nor would Britain allow Jews to manufacture weapons. These British prohibitions would end when Israel was declared a state, but the moment Israel was declared a state, five large, well equipped Arab armies would attack.

To defy this British prohibition one Jewish genius bought weapons-making machinery from American junk yards and scrap metal dealers. This genius assembled the machinery he had bought on a farm to insure it would work. There he disassembled it, labeling every part, and shipped these 75,000 disassembled parts to Israel. Since the British could not recognize these disassembled parts as a weapons factory, they let them into their protected land which would soon become Israel, but the Jews still could not reassemble these parts and produce weapons until the British left.

Of course the Jews also needed money to buy arms. After one fund raiser had totally failed to raise funds in the United States, Golda Meyer, a future Israeli prime minister, volunteered to try. She arrived in New York with ten dollars. However, she learned that there would be a convention of prominent Jews (many of them rich) in Chicago. She flew to Chicago and talked her way onto the speaking schedule.

She spoke, and her speech was so effective she got promises for over a million dollars that very day. Furthermore the Jews got Golda Meyer more speaking engagements so that by the end of the month she had fifty million dollars.

Israel’s problem was that even though they could now buy weapons, they could not import them to soon-to-be Israel as long as the British were present. Of course the British left as soon as Israel was declared a state, and as soon as Israel was declared as state, five Arab nations attacked. Egypt attacked from the south. Jordan and Iraq attacked from the east and Syria and Lebanon from the north.

The few Israeli solders fought bravely, bombing the Arabs with their air force of two captured piper cubs by dropping hand grenades. When they ran out of grenades, they dropped crates of beer bottles with shrieking whistles on them.

Amazingly, no, miraculously, the Arab armies seemed paralyzed, so the ragtag Israeli Army, some of it under siege in Jerusalem, fighting on starvation rations, held the Arab armies for a month until the Arabs agreed to a truce.

It was during this truce that Israel imported all the weapons it had bought. Starting June 15, 1948: 29 canons, 10 tanks, 4 antiaircraft guns, 45,000 mortar shells, 110 tons of TNT, and 200,000 detonators. From Mexico, 36 canons, 500 machine guns, 17,000 shells and 7 million rounds of ammunition. From the U.S. 2 ships with war surplus jeeps, trucks and half tracks, machinery for manufacturing bazooka rocket launchers. From Italy 30 surplus German tanks and on and on. The Israeli air force got real fighter planes and bombers,

Israeli President, David Bengurian knew that with these weapons Israel could now win, but he also knew that he would be vilified if he refused to push for a continuation of the truce, but he thought the Arab nations would insist on renewing the fighting. He was right.

The Israeli Army now won victory after victory so that in just ten days they had won so much the U.N. called another truce, but by this time the nation of Israel was miraculously secure.

It was a real miracle when Israel won the war against all five Arab armies, and secular historians could not bring themselves to deal with it, so they made excuses for the Arabs. They made excuses like the Egyptian Army had not been tested in war or their commander was too much of a playboy or the Arab solders were suffering from mental stress.

Actually, by reading the secular historical accounts very carefully, we can surmise some of the reasons why the Arabs lost the war. For example, an Arab propagandist, a Doctor Kaleegee tried to incite Arab fighters against the Jews by falsely claiming Jewish solders were committing atrocities. That false claim backfired because instead of inciting Arab fighters against the Jews, it caused the Arabs to flee. There were multiple occurrences of things like Arabs fleeing in response to their own propaganda that caused them to lose the war. For instance when an unseasonable rain occurred during the normally dry season, a rumor spread among the Arab solders that this unseasonable rain was caused by nuclear fallout. (Hydrogen bombs were being tested by super powers, so nuclear fallout was in world news.) The Arabs escalated this fallout rumor to reports that the Jews had nuclear weapons and many Arab solders fled in terror. Another serious Arab problem was the fact that Arabs stole many of their own army’s military supplies. Supplies would be sent to the battle front but they would be stolen en route and would never arrive at the battle front.

On the Jewish side there was massive heroism. Jews destroyed or captured Arab tanks by climbing onto moving tanks and throwing bottles of flaming gasoline (Molotov cocktails) into their hatch.

Of course the real explanation for the Jewish victory was due to God’s divine intervention. The Jewish victory was truly a miracle of God.

a few more articles:

Israel, nation of miracles
by Hal Lindsey

Gaza's place in Bible's prophecies

Why God won't allow Israel to perish

If Millions Have Disappeared, Watch This...

"If Millions Have Disappeared, Watch This..."

(click here and go to the 9/20/2008 entry)

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Preacher Paris Reidhead [...] shares a vision he had about appearing before the "Bema" (Judgment) seat of Christ and having his works tried in the fire. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God!

A medical explanation of what Jesus endured on the day He died

The Crucifixion Of Jesus
A medical explanation of what Jesus endured on the day He died
By Dr. C. Truman Davis*

A Physician Analyzes the Crucifixion.
From New Wine Magazine, April 1982.
Originally published in Arizona Medicine,
March 1965, Arizona Medical Association.

Several years ago I became interested in the physical aspects of the passion, or suffering, of Jesus Christ when I read an account of the crucifixion in Jim Bishop's book, The Day Christ Died. I suddenly realized that I had taken the crucifixion more or less for granted all these years - that I had grown callous to its horror by a too-easy familiarity with the grim details. It finally occurred to me that, as a physician, I did not even know the actual immediate cause of Christ's death. The gospel writers do not help much on this point. Since crucifixion and scourging were so common during their lifetimes, they undoubtedly considered a detailed description superfluous. For that reason we have only the concise words of the evangelists: "Pilate, having scourged Jesus, delivered Him to them to be crucified ... and they crucified Him."

Despite the gospel accounts silence on the details of Christ's crucifixion, many have looked into this subject in the past. In my personal study of the event from a medical viewpoint, I am indebted especially to Dr. Pierre Barbet, a French surgeon who did exhaustive historical and experimental research and wrote extensively on the topic.

An attempt to examine the infinite psychic and spiritual suffering of the Incarnate1 God in atonement for the sins of fallen man is beyond the scope of this article. However, the physiological and anatomical aspects of our Lord's passion we can examine in some detail. What did the body of Jesus of Nazareth actually endure during those hours of torture?

Gethsemane

The physical passion of Christ began in Gethsemane. Of the many aspects of His initial suffering, the one which is of particular physiological interest is the bloody sweat. Interestingly enough, the physician, St. Luke, is the only evangelist to mention this occurrence. He says, "And being in an agony, he prayed the longer. And his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground" (Luke 22:44 KJV).

Every attempt imaginable has been used by modern scholars to explain away the phenomenon of bloody sweat, apparently under the mistaken impression that it simply does not occur. A great deal of effort could be saved by consulting the medical literature. Though very rare, the phenomenon of hematidrosis, or bloody sweat, is well documented. Under great emotional stress, tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can break, thus mixing blood with sweat. This process alone could have produced marked weakness and possible shock.

Although Jesus' betrayal and arrest are important portions of the passion story, the next event in the account which is significant from a medical perspective is His trial before the Sanhedrin and Caiaphas, the High Priest. Here the first physical trauma was inflicted. A soldier struck Jesus across the face for remaining silent when questioned by Caiaphas. The palace guards then blindfolded Him, mockingly taunted Him to identify them as each passed by, spat on Him, and struck Him in the face.

Before Pilate

In the early morning, battered and bruised, dehydrated, and worn out from a sleepless night, Jesus was taken across Jerusalem to the Praetorium of the Fortress Antonia, the seat of government of the Procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate. We are familiar with Pilate's action in attempting to shift responsibility to Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Judea. Jesus apparently suffered no physical mistreatment at the hands of Herod and was returned to Pilate. It was then, in response to the outcry of the mob, that Pilate ordered Barabbas released and condemned Jesus to scourging and crucifixion.

Preparations for Jesus' scourging were carried out at Caesar's orders. The prisoner was stripped of His clothing and His hands tied to a post above His head. The Roman legionnaire stepped forward with the flagrum, or flagellum, in his hand. This was a short whip consisting of several heavy, leather thongs with two small balls of lead attached near the ends of each. The heavy whip was brought down with full force again and again across Jesus' shoulders, back, and legs. At first the weighted thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continued, they cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles.

The small balls of lead first produced large deep bruises that were broken open by subsequent blows. Finally, the skin of the back was hanging in long ribbons, and the entire area was an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. When it was determined by the centurion in charge that the prisoner was near death, the beating was finally stopped.

Mockery

The half-fainting Jesus was then untied and allowed to slump to the stone pavement, wet with his own blood. The Roman soldiers saw a great joke in this provincial Jew claiming to be a king. They threw a robe across His shoulders and placed a stick in His hand for a scepter. They still needed a crown to make their travesty complete. Small flexible branches covered with long thorns, commonly used for kindling fires in the charcoal braziers in the courtyard, were plaited into the shape of a crude crown. The crown was pressed into his scalp and again there was copious bleeding as the thorns pierced the very vascular tissue. After mocking Him and striking Him across the face, the soldiers took the stick from His hand and struck Him across the head, driving the thorns deeper into His scalp. Finally, they tired of their sadistic sport and tore the robe from His back. The robe had already become adherent to the clots of blood and serum in the wounds, and its removal, just as in the careless removal of a surgical bandage, caused excruciating pain. The wounds again began to bleed.

Golgotha

In deference to Jewish custom, the Romans apparently returned His garments. The heavy patibulum of the cross was tied across His shoulders. The procession of the condemned Christ, two thieves, and the execution detail of Roman soldiers headed by a centurion began its slow journey along the route which we know today as the Via Dolorosa.

In spite of Jesus' efforts to walk erect, the weight of the heavy wooden beam, together with the shock produced by copious loss of blood, was too much. He stumbled and fell. The rough wood of the beam gouged into the lacerated skin and muscles of the shoulders. He tried to rise, but human muscles had been pushed beyond their endurance. The centurion, anxious to proceed with the crucifixion, selected a stalwart North African onlooker, Simon of Cyrene, to carry the cross. Jesus followed, still bleeding and sweating the cold, clammy sweat of shock. The 650-yard journey from the Fortress Antonia to Golgotha was finally completed. The prisoner was again stripped of His clothing except for a loin cloth which was allowed the Jews.

The crucifixion began. Jesus was offered wine mixed with myrrh, a mild analgesic, pain-reliving mixture. He refused the drink. Simon was ordered to place the patibulum on the ground, and Jesus was quickly thrown backward, with His shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire felt for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drove a heavy, square wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly, he moved to the other side and repeated the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flexion and movement. The patibulum was then lifted into place at the top of the stipes, and the titulus reading "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" was nailed into place.

The left foot was pressed backward against the right foot. With both feet extended, toes down, a nail was driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees moderately flexed. The victim was now crucified.

On the Cross

As Jesus slowly sagged down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating, fiery pain shot along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain. The nails in the wrists were putting pressure on the median nerve, large nerve trunks which traverse the mid-wrist and hand. As He pushed himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, He placed His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again there was searing agony as the nail tore through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of this feet.

At this point, another phenomenon occurred. As the arms fatigued, great waves of cramps swept over the muscles, knotting them in deep relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps came the inability to push Himself upward. Hanging by the arm, the pectoral muscles, the large muscles of the chest, were paralyzed and the intercostal muscles, the small muscles between the ribs, were unable to act. Air could be drawn into the lungs, but could not be exhaled. Jesus fought to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, the carbon dioxide level increased in the lungs and in the blood stream, and the cramps partially subsided.

The Last Words

Spasmodically, He was able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in life-giving oxygen. It was undoubtedly during these periods that He uttered the seven short sentences that are recorded.

The first - looking down at the Roman soldiers throwing dice6 for His seamless garment: "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do."

The second - to the penitent thief: "Today, thou shalt be with me in Paradise."

The third - looking down at Mary His mother, He said: "Woman, behold your son." Then turning to the terrified, grief-stricken adolescent John , the beloved apostle, He said: "Behold your mother."

The fourth cry is from the beginning of Psalm 22: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

He suffered hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, and searing pain as tissue was torn from His lacerated back from His movement up and down against the rough timbers of the cross. Then another agony began: a deep crushing pain in the chest as the pericardium, the sac surrounding the heart, slowly filled with serum and began to compress the heart.

The prophecy in Psalm 22:14 was being fulfilled: "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint, my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels."

The end was rapidly approaching. The loss of tissue fluids had reached a critical level; the compressed heart was struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood to the tissues, and the tortured lungs were making a frantic effort to inhale small gulps of air. The markedly dehydrated tissues sent their flood of stimuli to the brain. Jesus gasped His fifth cry: "I thirst." Again we read in the prophetic psalm: "My strength is dried up like a potsherd; my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou has brought me into the dust of death" (Psalm 22:15 KJV).

A sponge soaked in posca, the cheap, sour wine that was the staple drink of the Roman legionnaires, was lifted to Jesus' lips. His body was now in extremis, and He could feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues. This realization brought forth His sixth word, possibly little more than a tortured whisper: "It is finished." His mission of atonement had been completed. Finally, He could allow His body to die. With one last surge of strength, He once again pressed His torn feet against the nail, straightened His legs, took a deeper breath, and uttered His seventh and last cry: "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit."

Death

The common method of ending a crucifixion was by crurifracture, the breaking of the bones of the leg. This prevented the victim from pushing himself upward; the tension could not be relieved from the muscles of the chest, and rapid suffocation occurred. The legs of the two thieves were broken, but when the soldiers approached Jesus, they saw that this was unnecessary.

Apparently, to make doubly sure of death, the legionnaire drove his lance between the ribs, upward through the pericardium and into the heart. John 19:34 states, "And immediately there came out blood and water." Thus there was an escape of watery fluid from the sac surrounding the heart and the blood of the interior of the heart. This is rather conclusive post-mortem evidence that Jesus died, not the usual crucifixion death by suffocation, but of heart failure due to shock and constriction of the heart by fluid in the pericardium.

Resurrection

In these events, we have seen a glimpse of the epitome of evil that man can exhibit toward his fellow man and toward God. This is an ugly sight and is likely to leave us despondent and depressed.

But the crucifixion was not the end of the story. How grateful we can be that we have a sequel: a glimpse of the infinite mercy of God toward man--the gift of atonement, the miracle of the resurrection, and the expectation of Easter morning.

Salvation

source

COMPARISON
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 3:23 (NASB)

It’s a basic part of human nature to compare ourselves to others. We do it all the time, including when talking about whether we’re “good enough” for salvation. Many people feel they’re not good enough and don’t measure up – they haven’t done enough good deeds or have done too many bad ones (compared to other folks they see). Guess what? They’re right! They don’t measure up, but then, none of us do when measured against God’s perfection. That’s just a simple fact. Think of it this way – let’s say I can jump four feet. Well, compared to many of the residents at the nursing home who can’t even jump an inch, I’m a stud, a jumping machine. The pride of my prowess may be quite short lived though if I then compare myself to an Olympic long jumper. Now I find I’m a Class A ZERO. But what if the goal was to jump all the way across the Atlantic Ocean to England?? I don’t care who you are, it’s just not humanly possible. Period. It’s laughable to even consider it and all the squabbling we do with each other about who’s a better jumper is meaningless. OK, but let’s say you really want to get over there. Well, you could try swimming or rowing a boat, but only if you want to spend lots of time with the fishes. Honestly, if you really want to get to England, I don’t care how hard you try or what you do, nobody is going to be able get there under their own power. So now what?

FAITH
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23 (NASB)

Most people would probably opt to fly in a commercial jetliner. Trouble is, first you need a ticket, but you can’t afford one. Fortunately, a very wealthy patron has an unlimited number of tickets available for free and you’ve been offered one. Woo hoo!! Now you’re ready to go and there is nothing stopping you, right? WRONG!! There’s still something you absolutely have got to have if you’re going anywhere - Faith. That’s right, faith. First of all you have to truly believe in the airline company. You have to have faith that their big hunk of steel and aluminum can actually get up into the air and fly. You also have to take it on faith that they’ve hired competent pilots and mechanics and perform maintenance as required and that they’ve put enough fuel in, etc., etc., etc.

IF YOU DON’T TRULY BELIEVE THAT THE AIRLINE HAS ALL THIS IN PLACE, YOU WON’T STEP ONE FOOT ON THAT PLANE. Even though it’s all true, none of it matters if you won’t believe it. You’ve got a free ticket, your bags are packed and the plane is ready to go, but because of your lack of belief, you are not going anywhere. Not because of the airline, but because of you.

19 So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.
Heb 3:19 (NASB)

WHAT’S MY PART – I
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Eph 2:8-9 (NASB)

Now let’s say I have the faith to board the plane. What else does the airline expect me to do to help the flight safely make the crossing? NOTHING! Do you think the airline might expect me to advise the pilots? Not a chance! Would they expect me to help with the navigation? Only if they don’t care where they end up. All they really expect of me is to sit in my seat and relax. So upon landing, what bragging rights do I have for the successful flight? ZERO, NADA! I didn’t do anything nor could I nor was I expected to. All I can truly do is accept the free ride and be thankful.

WHAT’S MY PART – II

The ticket to ride has been given free of charge and without conditions. That’s been made clear in the literature. What if I’ve got faith to board, but when I go to get my ticket, the ticket agent, on his own, tells me “The ticket’s free, but you are required to assist in the flight. Here’s the deal, to insure the flight will make it, on a rotational basis, each passenger has to stand in the aisle for five minutes flapping their arms like a bird while reciting ‘I think I can, I think I can, I know I can, I know I can’ over and over. This is the only way you can make it.”? What??? I’d tell the guy to buzz off because it’s completely unnecessary. Even if the agent himself actually believes it, he’s wrong. To paraphrase one of my favorite Bible teachers, Les Feldick, “it’s the airline plus NOTHING!!!!” There is nothing more expected or required of me. It’s not the airline plus my efforts, it’s the airline plus nothing. That really is how simple it is.


THE JOURNEY
27 "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. John 14:27 (NASB)

One last thing I’d like to share. Now we’ve boarded and we’re in the air. If you look around, you’ll probably notice some passengers cool, calm and collected and others with white knuckles who are putting permanent indentations in the armrests. Why the difference? Fear. The passenger calmly reading her newspaper has experience with the airline, knows they can handle the program and that the plane will arrive just fine. No problem. The other passenger’s faith doesn’t extend that far. You’ll also see passengers that are good and relaxed until the plane hits some turbulence and then, Hoo Boy! Meanwhile, the more experienced traveler maybe steadies his computer and then just keeps on unfazed. He knows that there’s always going to be some turbulence, some worse than others, but that, in the plane, he always gets to his destination just fine. The real lesson is that we’re all going to get there whether we make ourselves miserable during the trip or not. The plane is going to make it regardless of what we think so, in faith, we may as well relax and enjoy the trip. The quicker we learn and accept that fact, the easier it all becomes.

33 "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." John 16:33 (NASB)

CONCLUSION

9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; Romans 10:9 (NASB)

I hope this helps take some of the confusion out of salvation in Jesus. It’s an incredibly fantastic gift, but it’s not “mysterious”. The simple fact is we are saved by our trust and faith in Jesus and His finished work on the cross. Period. It’s not “Jesus plus….”, it’s Jesus ONLY. When we believe, we are placed in Him and begin the journey. One problem with airplanes is, occasionally they do crash. The Good News is Jesus never fails. In fact, once we’re in Him, the trip is so assured that the Bible says we’re already in heaven! There’s no “if” about it, just when. It’s somewhat like dropping a steel anvil – as soon as you let it go, you could say it’s on the ground even if it takes a few seconds to get there.

5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus Eph 2:5-6 (NASB)

Go in His Peace.

What happened to the Ark of the Covenant?

What happened to the Ark of the Covenant?
by Jim Bramlett

The ark was used by the Israelites for hundreds of years and suddenly it was no longer mentioned in history. Scholars believe that it was lost when the Babylonians captured Jerusalem in 586 B.C. But what was its fate? Was it destroyed, or was it kept and hidden by its captors? Or did something else happen? Because it was so holy, would God actually allow its desecration and destruction?

Because it was so revered, it is very strange that no one mentioned it again. And, of course, it reportedly has never been found by archaeologists. It has been a great mystery for over 2,500 years.

Popular theories. The whereabouts of the ark is not without many opinions, theories, and speculations. Below are some of the more popular ideas where it may be:

1. Some claim the ark is presently known by Israeli authorities to be in a tunnel beneath the historic Temple Mount in Jerusalem, hidden there by temple priests just before the Babylonian invasion. A Muslim mosque currently sits on that site and they say the ark cannot presently be revealed due to the sensitive political situation. Orthodox Jews have, in fact, already made specific plans for a new temple on that historically Jewish site­the Third Temple­and the ark supposedly will be brought forth at the appropriate time. But if revealed now, they say, Muslims would go ballistic at the suggestion their mosque would be destroyed and replaced by a temple for the Jews. Muslims even deny that the Jews ever occupied that piece of real estate, sacred land the use of which goes back about 4,000 years in Jewish history, whereas Islam itself only goes back about 1,400 years, with no interest in that area until years later.

2. In his 1988 book, Armageddon: Appointment With Destiny, author Grant R. Jeffrey claims to document that the ark has been in Ethiopia since Solomon’s day, taken there by Solomon’s son from the Queen of Sheba, Menelik, to preserve it during a time of apostasy in Israel. In its place, the book says that Menelik left behind a replica. Jeffrey provides some interesting documentation, with photos. (It is possible, of course, that Menelik unknowingly took a replica himself.) By the way, black Jews comprise a large community in Ethiopia, referred to as Beta Israel (the house of Israel), and many have emigrated to Israel. Operation Solomon, a two-day Israeli airlift of 14,310 Ethiopian Jews to the Holy Land, occurred in May 1991. This is all very interesting history. This aliyah (emigration of Jews to Israel) is part of a modern-day, world-wide phenomenon foretold by the ancient prophets, such as Ezekiel, when he wrote to “the house of Israel” about something that never happened until the 20th century:

For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land (36:24).

This Ethiopian connection reminds us of the story in the New Testament about the Ethiopian eunuch visiting Jerusalem to worship and was encountered by Philip, as recorded in the book of Acts, chapter 8.

3. Author and publisher J.R. Church of Prophecy in the News magazine also has said that the ark has been in Ethiopia, but Church believes the ark was taken there through Egypt and a different route by exiled Jews.

(I have the highest respect for the scholarship of both Grant Jeffrey and J.R. Church)

4. The apocryphal book, 2 Maccabees, chapter 2, verses 4-8, records that the prophet Jeremiah hid the ark in a cave on Mount Nebo, the place where Moses had been allowed by God to look into the Promised Land. The passage says that Jeremiah’s companions later went back to mark the location but could not find it. It is recorded that Jeremiah then made a most interesting prophetic statement:

The place shall remain unknown until God finally gathers His people together and shows mercy to them. Then the Lord will bring these things to light again, and the glory of the Lord will appear with the cloud…

While 2 Maccabees is not generally accepted or canonized as inspired Scripture, it does not mean the information about the ark is necessarily incorrect. That reported prophecy by Jeremiah is intriguing, especially since God has been gathering His people Israel together in the land for the past few decades for the first time in almost 2,000 years.

5. Some believe the Roman Catholic Church has the ark hidden in the Vatican, but I am not aware of any evidence of this.

6. The most bizarre claim, as mentioned in my last message, is that of the late archeologist Ron Wyatt, who claimed that he found the ark while digging beneath Golgotha where Jesus was crucified. Below the location of the cross, he claimed, is a crack in the rock structure through which Jesus’ blood seeped, and blood was found on the Mercy Seat below, where it had dripped. Blood tests reportedly show the blood to be a person without a human father, which of course would have been the virgin-born Jesus, the Lamb of God. If the ark is there, Israeli authorities probably know about it. This is a fascinating claim, believed by many, but frankly I do not know whether or not it is credible. Wyatt’s materials are available at Wyatt Archeological Research, Inc. in Cornersville, Tennessee. Since my message the other day I have had communications with a friend I respect who knew Ron Wyatt, who traveled with him to Israel, observed his operation, and who is absolutely persuaded that he and his claims were genuine.

The Islamic Mahdi. The devil always has a counterfeit! Some Islamic scholars believe that when their messianic figure, the Mahdi, comes, he will locate the ark. According to a leading Islamic authority, “The coming of the Mahdi is established doctrine for both Sunni and Shi’a Muslims, and indeed for all humanity.” One Islamic source states that the discovery of the ark will help the Mahdi win converts from both Christianity and Judaism prior to “eradicating” the remainder who do not convert to Islam, a part their plan of world conquest. Some Christian scholars believe this Mahdi may be the antichrist of the Bible, or connected with him. If so, that explains the “eradication” attempt probably during the Great Tribulation prophesied in the Bible to occur at the end of the age. At this writing, Iran's leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, believes the Mahdi will arrive in the very near future and he hopes to start a world conflict to trigger his arrival.

A heavenly possibility?

There is one more interesting and compelling possibility. All the above theories notwithstanding, I may have discovered the actual location of the famous ark! If so, it is cared for, specially preserved, and in absolutely perfect condition.

What is this location?

I have evidence that the ark is actually located in­ heaven!

This is not just a personal opinion. I discovered it in the Bible. I was shocked when I found this, but it’s very clear. The Book of Revelation tells us:

God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant (Revelation 11:19)

How did it get there? It could have been literally “taken up” into heaven the same way that Enoch and later Elijah were suddenly taken up from earth to heaven.

The ark just might be in heaven, right now, and not just later! That would explain why it has been considered “lost” and why it is such a mystery. No wonder it hasn’t been found. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be found.

One of the above theories 1 through 6 may also be correct, but even so, I know we will eventually see it in heaven.

Even if there are claims that the ark has been found, we may never know if it is the original, genuine ark, or only a replica, as Jeffrey posits in his book mentioned above.

I once shared this opinion of the ark’s whereabouts with a friend who had an advanced degree in biblical studies. He replied, “But I always thought that verse was metaphorical and not literal.”

I said, “Well, maybe, but I’ll tell you what. Let’s just see. I’ll bet you that when you get to heaven you will find the ark there just like it says.” He didn’t have an answer or take the bet. Of course, I was joking about a bet, but it made my point. I have no reason to suspect that the description is not literal. I know we will see the ark in heaven.

Why would God take the ark and its contents directly to heaven, or why will we eventually find it there? Well, no one knows, but I have a good idea. First, I believe it is because the ark and its contents, the tablets of the Ten Commandments, are so sacred. But more importantly, I believe it is God’s plan for the presence of the ark to be an eternal testimony for the citizens of heaven -­ a testimony of the eternal blood covenant. It will be a reminder that He gave His own blood to “cover” the accusations of the law against His people. Not a bad reminder.

I hope it is there, for whatever reason. I want to see it. Then I want to say, “Thank you, Lord, for all that you did for us. It’s really great to be here.”

'Temple Mount points to location of lost Ark'
New best-selling prophecy book claims resting place is Mt. Nebo

His Unfamiliar Face

His Unfamiliar Face
by Chuck Missler

After Jesus' resurrection, why did people always seem to have difficulty recognizing Him? We can't help but notice something strange about Jesus' post-resurrection appearances.

Sunday Morning

That early Sunday morning, even Mary fails to recognize Jesus at first.[1] She mistakes Him for the gardener-until she hears His voice. She was no casual acquaintance: a few days earlier she washed His feet with her tears! Why didn't she know who He was until she heard His voice? It seems that "Mary!" prompted her recognition.[2]

Sunday Afternoon

Later that afternoon, Jesus joined two disciples on the Emmaus Road, and for seven miles He gives them an Old Testament Bible study.[3]

Although "their eyes were holden that they should not know Him," the Bible doesn't really explain what this means.[4] In any case, they did recognize Him when He broke the bread at dinner. (This itself is odd, since it was the role of the host-not the guest-to break the bread.) Their tip-off was in viewing the nail prints in His hands. (They confirmed this later that evening.)

Sunday Evening

These two disciples join the gathering that evening in the upper room and confirm His appearance, emphasizing that it was in the breaking of the bread that they realized who He was.[5] Why not during the seven-mile walk? What is going on here?

When Jesus ultimately emerges in their midst, we find them all terrified.[6] Astonished, of course, but why frightened? For some reason they don't recognize Him until they examine His wounds! Why?

The Galilean Breakfast

Perhaps the most puzzling thing occurs later at the Sea of Galilee.[7] When they join Him for that early morning breakfast on the seashore, John makes the strangest remark: "And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord."[8] What does that mean?

A Possible Clue

We should remember that the Bible is a single, integrated message -- 66 books, penned by over 40 authors over thousands of years, but in which every detail is there by supernatural engineering. Thus, we also need to recognize that:

the New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed;

the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed.

There are many surprising insights and details in the Old Testament which amplify the New, including some astonishing physical descriptions.

A familiar example is Psalm 22, which reads as if it were dictated by Jesus Himself as He hung on the cross. He describes His pain, the piercing of His hands and feet;[9] He quotes the taunts of the crowd[10] and observes the parting of His clothes,[11] etc. The Psalm even opens and closes with His first and final words from the cross.[12]

Another such passage is Isaiah 53.[13] This passage, sometimes called "The Holy of Holies of the Old Testament," highlights the implications of the cross as eloquently as any of Paul's epistles. In Isaiah 52:14, however, it specifies that the extent of the abuse left Jesus hardly even looking human.

Yet another most disturbing detail appears a page earlier:

"I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair." Isaiah 50:6

This seems to indicate that the Roman soldiers ripped off His beard! No wonder His friends had trouble recognizing Him!

I had an occasion some years ago to work with a software specialist who wore a very full beard. One day he came to work with it shaved off. I almost didn't recognize him! It is surprising what a difference a single feature like that can make.

(And this didn't involve any scar tissue or other evidences of abuse resulting from treatment received at the hands of vicious Roman soldiers.)

An Emblem of Love

I am reminded of a young mother whose face was badly disfigured. Her little girl was continually ridiculed by the children in school because of her mother's appearance. (You know how cruel children can be.)

When the little girl was old enough, the mother explained to her that when she was a baby there was a dreadful fire in the apartment and, although the mother was able to save the little girl, the mother herself suffered very severe burns in the process. From that day on, the little girl was no longer embarrassed about her mother. Every time she looked into her mother's face it was a reminder of just how much she was loved.

Is it possible that, in addition to the nail prints, there were additional scars-perhaps where His beard used to be-that caused their difficulty in recognizing Him? Are they still there? Does Jesus still bear the marks of His humiliation?

In the Book of Revelation, John is propelled forward in time some several thousand years and is granted a vision of the throne of God. In Revelation 5 we find "the lamb as it had been slain," apparently still bearing the scars of the cross.[14] They say that the only man-made things in heaven are His scars.

When Jesus returns to rule Israel, He proclaims, "And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced."[15]

The marks of His humiliation are also the marks of His glory. Furthermore, I'm sure the most significant aspects of the cross were not the physical or physiological aspects. I believe it will take us an eternity to even begin to understand what it cost Him that we might be with Him.

He was born of a woman so that we could be born of God.

He humbled Himself so that we could be lifted up.

He became a servant so that we could be made co-heirs.

He suffered rejection so that we could become His friends.

How precious our Redeemer is! Have you really thanked Him lately?
==================
**NOTES**

1. John 20:11-18.
2. John 20:16.
3. Luke 24:13-32.
4. Luke 24:16, 31.
5. Luke 24:35, 39.
6. Luke 24:36, 37.
7. John 21:1-12.
8. John 21:12.
9. Psalm 22:16.
10. Psalm 22:7, 8.
11. Psalm 22:18.
12. Psalm 22:1: "My God, My God, Why hast thou forsaken me?" (The only time He didn't call Him Father!) Cf. Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34. Psalm 22:31: "He hath done this"; or, better, "It is complete," "It is finished." Tetelestai: "Paid in full." John 19:30.
13. Beginning, actually, at Isaiah 52:13ff.
14. Revelation 5:1-5.
15. Zechariah 12:10.

Go ahead – be heavenly minded

Go ahead – be heavenly minded
by Greg Laurie

When you have had someone close to you die, especially a child, everything changes. You see life much differently. Although it has been one year now since my son Christopher's departure to heaven, the sadness lingers. His absence is very pronounced, perhaps even more so. Like a blanket, it covers everything.

While there are things still very, very hard to deal with, there are blessings as well. I have a much better perspective on life and what really matters. It has made me long for heaven more, and that cannot be a bad thing, because Jesus said, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21 nkjv). Thinking deeply about heaven helps a lot, and more than ever, I have a great interest in knowing and talking about heaven.

Although heaven is more personal, real and nearer than it has ever been before, I still have questions about heaven. I want to know more about heaven, because it is the future dwelling place of every follower of Christ. In fact, the Bible tells us to give some serious thought to the topic: "Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth" (Colossians 3:1-2 nlt). Another way to put it is, "Think heaven!" Our feet must be on Earth, but our minds must be in heaven.

Yet sadly, many of us go through an entire day, even a week, without one thought of heaven. As writer and Bible commentator Warren Wiersbe observes in his book, "Be Victorious," "Heaven is more than a destination; it is a motivation."

But how can we be thinking about and seeking heaven? Answer: from the careful study of Scripture. We have heard it said that a person can be so heavenly minded, they are no earthly good. But I would suggest that many people today are so earthly minded, they are no heavenly good. Those who are truly heavenly minded always have done the most for Earth. Think of the relief agencies, universities and schools that have been founded by Christians. In contrast, how many atheist relief agencies are in existence today? Those who think the most of the next world do the most for this one.

Heaven can be hard to wrap our minds around. People can think of heaven in a mystical way, with clouds, more clouds and people floating around. To some, like the science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov, heaven even sounded boring. He said, "I don't believe in an afterlife, so I don't have to spend my whole life fearing hell, or fearing heaven even more. For whatever the tortures of hell, I think the boredom of heaven would be even worse." But that is not a statement a person who knows something about heaven would make.

Heaven is a real place for real people. It helps me to think of heaven in this way, because I live in a place now, and the Bible tells me I will live in another place later. Jesus said, "I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2 nkjv).

The Bible uses many images, ideas and words to describe heaven. One of those words is "paradise." Jesus told the thief on the cross, "Today you will be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43 nkjv). The apostle Paul, who died, went to heaven, and then came back to life, described heaven using the same word: paradise (see 2 Corinthians 12:4).

Heaven is also described in the Bible as a city: "For [Abraham] waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Hebrews 11:10 nkjv); and "Here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come" (Hebrews 13:14 nkjv). Cities have buildings, culture, art, music, goods, services and events. So instead of trying to imagine some weird city that is situated on a cloud, think about a city you have visited. Certain cities, like Jerusalem, Rome, Paris and New York City, have unique qualities to them. Heaven will be the best of the best cities you have ever visited, yet so much better.

Another way the Bible describes heaven is as a country: "But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them" (Hebrews 11:16 nkjv).

So heaven is like a paradise, a city and a country. We tend to think of Earth as the real thing and heaven as the surreal thing. But as C. S. Lewis put it, Earth is "The Shadowlands." Lewis was speaking of heaven as the real thing. So Earth is a pale version of heaven, not the other way around. It is all just a taste of better things to come. Heaven is the real deal, the eternal dwelling place, while Earth is the copy, the temporary dwelling place. We start with Earth and reason up toward heaven, when we ought to start with heaven and reason down toward Earth.

Heaven is real, and it is a prepared place for prepared people. Are you prepared? If you want to go to heaven, it is a deliberate decision. It is a choice you make to accept the forgiveness of God and put your faith in Jesus Christ, and him alone, to give you eternal life.

The last thing God wants is for you to spend eternity separated from him. And that is why he paid such a great price by sending his son to die in your place. You can know today, and know with certainty, that you are going to heaven by putting your faith in Jesus Christ. The choice is yours.

Funny: Steven Crowder's conservative youtube videos

Crazy Pete's Abortion Barn

ObamaCare Yay Or Nay? The Truth About Canada!

Happy Prayer Day! (Featuring the ACLU)

The Qur'an CHALLENGE!

The OBAMA Song!

Illegal Aliens! (Featuring the Jimenez Brothers)

Are you Hindu yet?

This week, Lisa Miller of Newsweek penned an article titled "We Are All Hindus Now" in which she advanced on President Obama's statement that America is not a Christian nation.

In the editorial, she wrote that "conceptually, at least, we (Americans) are slowly becoming more like Hindus and less like traditional Christians in the ways we think about God, ourselves, each other and eternity." She noted that Americans are "no longer buying" Jesus' statement: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me."

My first response to this column was disgust. I don't want to think about our nation further abandoning the biblical principle of salvation. But the fact is that Ms. Miller may have a point. In fact, as she noted, 65 percent of respondents in a Pew Forum survey last year said they believe that "many religions can lead to eternal life."

This may be good news to multiculturalists, but I see this as further troubling evidence that our culture is losing more and more understanding into who Jesus is and what He proclaims.

The fact is that the Bible tells us that the salvation Jesus offers will be rejected by many: "Because narrow is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it" (Matthew 7:14, NKJV).

That verse is certainly pertinent today. People think Jesus was probably a nice guy, but many have no idea that He claims to be the only way to heaven.

Consider this: If Jesus stated that He is the only way to eternal life, we have either of two choices in how we respond to this claim.

1. We accept it as truth and embrace Him as the Christ, the Son of the living God.

2. We reject this claim and assert that Jesus was a liar.

Everyone needs to understand that they stand at this crossroads.

I wrote several months ago about a lecture at Thomas Road Baptist Church by Ken Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis, which I think is crucial for our evangelistic efforts in the modern culture. Ken pointed out that America today is like the Greek culture found in Acts chapter 17, which was lost in pagan worship.

I think this is a very important observation.

You see, we can no longer presume that Americans have even a basic understanding of Jesus and Scripture, maybe as we could assume 50 years ago. We cannot conduct our evangelistic activities with an assumption that we are in an Acts 2 culture (wherein people understood who Jesus is). This means that we, as Christians, must be fully grounded in Scripture so that we can be productive apologists for Christ.

As Ken stated, "You've got to have prepared ground to have a harvest." He means by this that we must understand our present culture (1 Chronicles 12:32) in order to offer the biblical alternative and thus effectively carry out our efforts of winning people to Jesus Christ.

This may mean that we have to examine some of our activities that might have worked 50 or even 20 years ago. Tradition cannot stand in the way of being effective.

So how do we reach our culture that, according to Lisa Miller, has become more Hindu than Christian?

Two ways:

1. We passionately and compassionately proclaim the truth of the Bible. Romans 10:17: "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

2. We emulate Jesus Christ in our lives at all times. Luke 6:40: "A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher."

Our culture is swiftly turning away from the Gospel, my friends. Americans are ignorant and ill-informed about Jesus, probably as never before. We must therefore become increasingly wise and attuned to the leading of the Holy Spirit as we reach out to those we know and love with the message of Jesus Christ.

source

God’s Simple Plan of Salvation

God’s Simple Plan of Salvation
by Pastor Ford Porter

My Friend: I am asking you the most important question of life. Your joy or your sorrow for all eternity depends upon your answer. The question is: Are you saved? It is not a question of how good you are, nor if you are a church member, but are you saved? Are you sure you will go to Heaven when you die?

God says in order to go to Heaven, you must be born again. In John 3:7, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again.”

In the Bible God gives us the plan of how to be born again which means to be saved. His plan is simple! You can be saved today. How?

First, my friend, you must realize you are a sinner. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Because you are a sinner, you are condemned to death. “For the wages [payment] of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This includes eternal separation from God in Hell.

“ . . . it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

But God loved you so much He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to bear your sin and die in your place. “ . . . He hath made Him [Jesus, Who knew no sin] to be sin for us . . . that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Jesus had to shed His blood and die. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev. 17:11). “ . . . without shedding of blood is no remission [pardon]” (Hebrews 9:22).

“ . . . God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Although we cannot understand how, God said my sins and your sins were laid upon Jesus and He died in our place. He became our substitute. It is true. God cannot lie.

My friend, “God . . . commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). This repentance is a change of mind that agrees with God that one is a sinner, and also agrees with what Jesus did for us on the Cross.

In Acts 16:30-31, the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas: “ . . . ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved . . . .’ ”

Simply believe on Him as the one who bore your sin, died in your place, was buried, and whom God resurrected. His resurrection powerfully assures that the believer can claim everlasting life when Jesus is received as Savior.

“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12).

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).

Whosoever includes you. Shall be saved means not maybe, nor can, but shall be saved.

Surely, you realize you are a sinner. Right now, wherever you are, repenting, lift your heart to God in prayer.

In Luke 18:13, the sinner prayed: “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Just pray: “Oh God, I know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus was my substitute when He died on the Cross. I believe His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection were for me. I now receive Him as my Savior. I thank You for the forgiveness of my sins, the gift of salvation and everlasting life, because of Your merciful grace. Amen.”

Just take God at His word and claim His salvation by faith. Believe, and you will be saved. No church, no lodge, no good works can save you. Remember, God does the saving. All of it!

God’s simple plan of salvation is: You are a sinner. Therefore, unless you believe on Jesus Who died in your place, you will spend eternity in Hell. If you believe on Him as your crucified, buried, and risen Savior, you receive forgiveness for all of your sins and His gift of eternal salvation by faith.

You say, “Surely, it cannot be that simple.” Yes, that simple! It is scriptural. It is God’s plan. My friend, believe on Jesus and receive Him as Savior today.

If His plan is not perfectly clear, read this tract over and over, without laying it down, until you understand it. Your soul is worth more than all the world.

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).

Be sure you are saved. If you lose your soul, you miss Heaven and lose all. Please! Let God save you this very moment.

God’s power will save you, keep you saved, and enable you to live a victorious Christian life. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Do not trust your feelings. They change. Stand on God’s promises. They never change. After you are saved, there are three things to practice daily for spiritual growth:

Pray -- you talk to God.
Read your Bible -- God talks to you.
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AFTER you are saved, you should be baptized in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ as a public testimony of your salvation, and then unite with a Bible-believing church without delay. “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord . . . .” (2 Timothy 1:8).

Is Temple Mount God's time bomb?

Is Temple Mount God's time bomb?
New book sees Jerusalem real estate as roadmap to future events

Was the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem more than a place of worship?

Was it, indeed, a roadmap to future events – a kind of prophetic landmark whose significance is only now revealed through the development of satellite imagery?

That is the contention of an explosive new book, "Temple at the Center of Time: Newton's Bible Codex Deciphered and the Year 2012," by David Flynn, a book that has risen dramatically to No. 1 among unexplained mysteries, No. 1 in world history and 73 overall on Amazon.com.

The book asserts it has "deciphered Isaac Newton’s greatest paradox: None other than 'the unified field theory' of Bible prophecy."

Sir Isaac Newton was not only a great thinker in physics, the book explains, but had extensive knowledge of the Scriptures with a special interest in prophecy. Newton believed there was a hidden code, a type of time-encrypted language. He believed the key to deciphering this code was the Temple of Solomon. He wrote extensively on the length measurements of the Temple and suggested it intersected time and dimension, serving as a prophetic and supernatural structure.

According to Flynn, although Newton never cracked this code, he was on the right track and was limited only by the lack of sophisticated satellite technology.

"The description of Jerusalem as a terrestrial center point, situated in the center of the world, is found in Philo's Legatio and Gaium," Flynn notes. "The world is like a human eyeball. The white of the eye is the ocean surrounding the world, the iris is this continent, the pupil is Jerusalem, and the image in the pupil is the Holy Temple."

To make his case, Flynn starts by illustrating what the reader soon learns is the first of numerous extraordinary time-distance anomalies.

The prisca sapentia framework of Newton suggests that the distance between the temple of Jerusalem and the capital city of any nation historically effecting the chronicles of Jerusalem would be supernaturally connected. This relationship would be significant with respect to units of time, expressing meaning in line with God's divine plan as recorded in the word of his prophets.

Newton and Flynn point out how Ezekiel recorded the dimensions of the future temple in chapter 40 of his book, starting with the lengths of the temple gates, chambers, courts, walls and its exterior. After this, calibrations of weights and measure for the temple functions were given in detail. Finally, the distance of land outward from the temple was measured.

And he brought me thither, and, behold, [there was] a man, whose appearance [was] like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate. (Ezekiel 40:3)

The measure of distance away from Jerusalem in this text implies a spiritual significance, says Flynn. A relationship between Jerusalem and the nations existed from the foundation of the temple, but was not completely perceived – and could not be fully known until the conventions of modern science.

For instance, if a measurement is made from the point of the temple of Jerusalem's foundation stone to the palace of Balthazar – the political center of Babylon and the exact location where the writing on the wall occurred – the distance should relate to the period in which Babylon most influenced Jerusalem.

Such a relationship exists and is the important distance of 539.86 statute miles.

What makes this measurement unusual is that Babylon, which played such a significant role in Hebrew antiquity, was measured and numbered in its relationship to Jewish history in Daniel chapter five during the famous handwriting on the wall. When the prophet interpreted the manifestation, he proclaimed in verses 25-28:

And this is the writing that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE, God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it; TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting; PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

That very night King Belshazzar was slain, and Darius the Mede became king.

Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians on the 16th day of Tishri of the Jewish calendar, which correlates to Oct. 12, 539 B.C. Curiously, the number 539 is also the distance in statute miles between the temple of Jerusalem's foundation stone to the palace of Balthazar, as confirmed by modern satellite measurement.

Does this give insight to the handwriting on the wall or the dating and measuring of Babylon's affairs in the history of Israel? Does this imply that Babylon's influence over Israel was supernaturally predated and measured, or foreknown? Or was this just a fascinating coincidence? As the first of such discoveries made by Flynn, he wondered the same thing.

So Flynn studied epic moments having to do with the sovereignty of Israel and the nations that played key roles in Hebrew and Jewish history. Over and over he found fascinating date-measurement anomalies connecting pivotal moments in time to the temple in Jerusalem. He went through annals, considering when acts by world leaders had influenced the development of the Jewish state. He continued to find more.

A case in point was the relationship between Napoleon Bonaparte
and the Jews.

Napoleon had previously encountered the prophecies of the Old Testament in the Jewish community of Malta, which he liberated under French law in 1798. For hundreds of years, the Knights Hospitalier of Saint John of Jerusalem had oppressed the Jews by enslaving them and preventing open worship. One of Napoleon's first acts after banishing the Knights was to allow the Jews to build a synagogue, and the community
of Jews on Malta welcomed Napoleon as a conqueror equal to Cyrus the Great. They believed their liberation by him was the fulfillment of the "king of the North" prophecy in Daniel 11.

This was followed on the first day of Passover, April 20, 1799, when Napoleon issued his proclamation of a Jewish state of Palestine. On May 22, 1799, the Paris newspaper, Moniteur Universel, announced: "Bonaparte has published a proclamation in which he invites all the Jews of Asia and Africa to gather under his flag in order to re-establish the ancient Jerusalem. He has already given arms to a great number, and their battalions threaten Aleppo."

Although the proclamation did not come to fruition, it increased a drive for Jews worldwide to pursue a sovereign state in Israel. Napoleon's ideas were also embraced by many who viewed them as a fulfillment of ancient prophecy, even some belonging to the Church of England.

This is important because Paris was named after the Paris, a Celtic people who settled on this central island in the 3rd century B.C. The city later spread outward from this point along the banks of the Seine River. This island is considered the birthplace of Paris and was the site of the city's earliest settlements. It was home to the French Kings from A.D. 400 to A.D. 1300. The royal palace and parliament were located on the western side of the island. Extending a measuring line from this historical center of Paris to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem shows the distance in nautical miles, 1,799.

The intriguing connection to Flynn's book is clear: Napoleon made a proclamation of historical importance to the Jewish nation in the year 1799, and perhaps not coincidently the distance from Paris to the Temple Mount in nautical miles corresponds perfectly at 1,799.

As findings like these stack up and the mathematical improbability of Flynn's disclosure increases, one of the most extraordinary parts of the book is unveiled when we learn how the year 1948 is marked by time-distance relations to the Temple location and several other mind-boggling dates and places, both past and future, which we will not divulge here. However, a peek into this section of the book finds discussion of how Britain was the nation that was "friendly to the Jews" and enabled them to return to Israel over 200 after Newton's death. The British defeated the Ottoman Turks and became administrators of the land of ancient Israel in 1917. Through mandate after World War I
and World War II until 1948, London was the heart of the governing intellect over the region.

London's original location at its founding is an important point in establishing the exact value of time and distance between it and Jerusalem's Temple.

The Romans established Londinium in about A.D. 47. It was a civilian settlement built where the Thames became narrow enough for a bridge to be built across it but was still deep enough to admit large ocean vessels. In the 16th century, William Camden believed that the "London Stone" was a Roman milestone from which all distances were measured in the province. In the 17th century, Christopher Wren was able to observe the foundations of the London Stone underneath Cannon Street during the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire. With this information, it is possible to extend a measuring line from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to the exact center of ancient London, and by fixing a point on the site of the temple mount, a measuring line extended over Jerusalem to the center of London produces 1,948.40 nautical miles.

Therefore, incredibly, recorded in the earth between the Temple Mount of Jerusalem and the historic center of London is what Flynn sees as the fulfillment of Newton's own prediction: Israel became a nation again May 14th, 1948, corresponding perfectly to a distance between the temple and London of 1948 nautical miles.

As the reader moves through Temple at the Center of Time, these time-length correlations accumulate quickly, including numerous ancient dates such as 1441 B.C. when the Exodus from Egypt occurred. It turns out is 1,441,000 feet from the Jerusalem Temple to the Great Pyramid in Giza. Flynn finds dozens of other key dates in the past through similar satellite mapping measurements including some related to the United States, Russia and Rome.

Before it is even officially released, Flynn's book is causing a sensation in some circles where it is being compared to "The Bible Code."

The "Lifehouse Everything drama"

youtube video of the original...

my favorite variations:

number 1
number 2
number 3

here's the background behind the skit...

Comparing Biblical and Modern Love

Love is a big word in everyone's vocabulary, but not everyone means the same thing when we use the word. Indeed, the modern world has adopted a notion of love that is completely different from the love taught and modeled by Jesus Christ.

Modern Love:

Based on experience- happens to a person when the "chemistry is right"

Biblical Love:

Based on a decision- We can decide to invest ourselves in another by giving of ourselves to meet his or her needs. Christ decided to die for us before we even existed (Ephesians 1:3)

Modern Love:

Defined by feeling- "I love you" means I feel a certain warmth, desire, or affinity for you

Biblical Love:

Compatible with feeling- "I love you" may sometimes mean a feeling, but it always means a commitment to serve. Jesus may not have felt desire or warmth toward the soldiers who flogged him, but he died for them anyway

Modern Love:

Can't be controlled- Love has to happen, so I can't be expected to choose to love someone. Therefore, love, or lack of love, is not a moral issue-

Biblical Love:

Can be controlled- Christian love is based on personal choice and commitment. Therefore, it is a moral issue (Mark 12:28-31)

Modern Love:

Depends on the other person- He or she must be attractive or lovely enough to elicit a love response in me

Biblical Love:

Depends on God and me- I can love the unlovely, like Christ did when he died for us while we were enemies of God (Romans 5:10)

Modern Love:

Self-affirming- Love is a good feeling and must be two-way. If a relationship is not rewarding to me, I have the right to leave and find another.

Biblical Love:

Self-sacrificial- Christian love is seeking to give victoriously and keeps no record of whether the other person gives back. (I Corinthians 13:5)

Modern Love:

Meets others' desires- Effort is extended to please or pacify others by doing what they want.

Biblical Love:

Meets others' needs- Christian love is concerned with doing what is good for another, not with what the other wants. This love recognizes that what people want and what they need are often different. The other person may need confrontation even if he or she doesn't want it.

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THE BIBLICAL MEANING OF LOVE
1 JOHN 4:7-10

Introduction: The primary meaning of the word "love" in Scripture is a "purposeful commitment to sacrificial action for another." In the Bible it is a fact that loving God is equated with obeying His Word. The two are inseparable.

In our day, most define love as some type of feeling. We "fall in love," or two people meet and it is "love at first sight." But the world's love is a selfish matter. If you are attractive to me, be nice to me, meet my needs and love me I in return will "love" you. The world's love is based on getting something from some else. The world does not give love where is does not benefit themselves. If you do not please me then I have no love for you. Thus for the world love must be earned by making someone else feel good.

Powerful emotions may accompany love, but it is the commitment of the will that holds true biblical love steadfast and unchanging. Emotions may change, but a commitment to love in a biblical manner endures and is the hallmark of a disciple of Christ. Sadly, the opposite is also true.

Emotions will vary, but a commitment which has its basis in biblical love will not be affected by the whelm of emotion or of one's circumstances.

Our example of true love is shown in God's love for the sinner. Romans 5:8 says ". . .commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." The lost sinner living in rebellion and sin is still loved by the Lord. He loved us enough to die for us and pay our sin debt while we were sinning against Him. This shows that true biblical love is a matter of will....not of emotion. God choose to love us and His love was not based on our meriting it in any way.

1 John 4:8 tells us that ". . . God is love."

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supernatural hatred of the Jews

why is Israel singled out and never allowed to defend itself?

"The so-called "enlightened and responsible nations" have developed a formula for exclusive use against Israel. This formula determines under what circumstances and in what manner Israel is allowed to defend itself against terrorist attacks. First, the provocation must be many times more serious than would be necessary for other nations. Simple acts of war, such as hostage-taking or continuous missile attacks against civilian population centers, are not sufficient provocation to permit defensive measures.

Since 2005, more than 6,000 rockets have rained down on Israeli cities from Gaza. In a display of remarkable restraint, only after three years and thousands of unprovoked attacks did Israel finally feel sufficiently justified to launch a defensive response."

(i forget the source of this)

================================

why does the fighting in Israel seem to go on forever?

"What is it about Israel that makes it the world's pariah state? How can it be that no insult to the Arabs is too slight to justify wholesale murder, whereas no atrocity, no matter how outrageous, justifies an Israeli defensive response? It matters not how reasonable and legitimate the defensive action would be for any other nation. But leaders from around the world have streamed into the U.N. to defend the "Palestinian democracy" – as if such an entity exists.

It makes absolutely no sense in the natural. Only the Bible can explain the mystery behind the supernatural hatred of the Jews. Bible prophecy predicted that Israel would be miraculously reborn in "the last days." The Bible also predicted that a supernatural hatred against Jews would grow worldwide. This will be soon followed by Armageddon and the return of Jesus the Messiah.

All of this is being fulfilled to the letter before our eyes. So don't be surprised or afraid. Christ's return to deliver those who have believed in Him is coming very soon."

"BIBLE PROPHECY -- "I will make JERUSALEM a cup of trembling unto all the people round about ... And in that day will I make JERUSALEM a burdensome stone for all people ..." [Zechariah 12:2-3; "In that day" refers to End of the Age; Emphasis added]

No small capital of such a small nation as Israel should ever capture and hold the attention of all the major, and many of the minor, nations of the world the way Jerusalem has done since Israel has come back to her land in 1948. The only reason Jerusalem has so captured the attention of so many national leaders, and is the focus of so many news headlines weekly, is that God's prophecy concerning Jerusalem in the End of the Age is being fulfilled, right in your Daily News, right in front of your eyes!"

(i forget the source for this)

============================

About 150 years ago, the King of Sweden was having personal doubts about the Bible's divine nature. He called for Count Von Zinzendorf, who was the bishop of the Moravian Church, to provide evidence that the Bible is inspired by God. When the Count arrived, the King told him he had set aside 10 hours to be enlightened on this matter. Zinzendorf said that much time would not be necessary because all he needed to do was to say two words. The King, skeptical, asked, “What words might those be?” Count Von Zinzendorf replied, "The Jews."

One of the greatest miracles of God is the preservation of the children of Israel. No other group of people has ever been completely annihilated as a nation and then later reborn. The rebirth of Israel in 1948 is the key indication that we are in the end times.

"Therefore behold the days are coming, says the Lord, that they shall no longer say 'As the Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt', but 'As the Lord lives who brought up and lead the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I have driven them' (Jer. 16:14-15).

The regathering of Israel is a remarkable task alone, but what makes one have to admit that the hand of God was involved is how the Jews managed to overcome unbelievable persecution. Each of the following nations and tribes has failed in its attempt to destroy the Jews:

Amalekites
Arameans
Assyrians
Babylonians
Canaanites
Edomites
Egyptians
Germany
Hittites
Midianites
Moabites
Persians
Philistines
Romans
Spain
The whole Muslim world

Of course, God is not finished preserving the Jewish people. During the tribulation, Satan will inspire several genocidal attacks against Israel. Anyone reading this article near the end of the tribulation will be able to add a few more names to this list of defeated foes.

(i forget the source of this)

===============================

Israel, A Nation of Miracles

The new born state of Israel was 50 years old in 1998. What a 50 years! To start with—the rebirth of the state of Israel in 1948 was a miracle of history (Ezek.37:1-11; Luke 21:29,30). Never before has a nation been destroyed, its people dispersed to the ends of the earth, and then, nearly two thousand years later, re-gathered to their homeland and re-established as a nation.

When Israel declared itself an independent state on May 14, 1948, still another miracle occurred. The armies of seven Arab nations marched on the newborn State, boasting that they would "push the Jews into the sea." Outnumbered 100 to 1, Israel not only repelled the invaders but acquired more of Palestine than was granted in the UN partition plan. Yigael Yadin, Israel’s commander of operations in that war, had a terse explanation of Israel’s victory. "It was a miracle!"

Five Examples of Miracles

A Syrian column of 200 armored vehicles—including 45 tanks—attacked Degania, the oldest kibbutz in Israel. What a psychological blow this defeat would be! Without artillery, Jewish forces were helpless to block the Syrian advance. Until then the only heavy weapons available in all Israel were four howitzers of the type used by the French army in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Two of these ancient fieldpieces were promptly dismantled and rushed to Degania. The local commander, Lieutenant Colonel Moshe Dayan, had them reassembled at the very moment the first Syrian tanks rumbled through the kibbutz perimeter, and they scored a hit on the advance tank. Had the Syrians known that these two obsolete weapons represented half the arsenal of fieldguns in all Israel, they would have pressed the attack. Instead, the armored vehicles swung around in their tracks and clattered back up the mountain road.

At Safed, near the Sea of Galilee a small unit of Israeli defenders were holding off thousand Arabs. A sudden tropical storm broke loose. The Israelis in desperation took their remaining gasoline, poured it over 50 empty drums, set them afire and rolled them down the hill. The flaming barrels flying down the slopes, the rumble of hollow barrels striking rocks—together with the tropical storm—created such an illusion that the bewildered Arabs imagining some sort of secret weapon took to their heel and fled.

In December 1948, the Egyptians were harassing Israeli settlements in the Negev while advanced columns were moving north. Yadin used the Bible for strategy. It mentioned an ancient road forgotten for centuries, which ran almost directly to Mushrafa, the Egyptians’ central garrison. Heavy boulders were pushed aside with bulldozers. Soldiers in armored vehicles, jeeps and supply trucks sped under cover of darkness along the ancient road and surprised the Egyptians. Taking this garrison destroyed the Egyptian defense system and ended the war 14 days later.

To liberate the airport at Lydda the tactics of Gideon were employed. Seven thousand Arab troops were ready to attack. Sixteen Israelis dressed as Arabs infiltrated into the city of Lydda. Like Gideon’s band of 300 they made such a commotion during the night that the Arabs, totally confused, fired upon each other. Finally the majority fled back across the border.

The Syrian Army had regrouped east of the Galilee. A Jewish column of 24 homemade armored trucks and cars, on the way to relieve a besieged Kibbutz, took the wrong road and crossed the border into Lebanon. Before they discovered their mistake, they ran head-on into a column of supplies for the Syrian Army in Galilee—dozens of trucks of ammunition, a string of light artillery and 20 new armored cars. The Israelis fired point blank at the first truck—a tanker loaded with gasoline. It exploded and set on fire the following truckload of hand grenades. Rapid repeating explosions were heard for miles around. Terrified, the Syrians abandoned their cargo. The Israelis scarcely had enough men to drive the captured supply train back into Galilee. Finally they reached the beleaguered Kibbutz, only to learn that the Arab besiegers heard rumors that the Jewish army had invaded Lebanon, therefore, the Arabs fled Israel.

The victory of the 1948 War was a big miracle composed of a series of little miracles. Why? Over 2500 years ago the prophet Isaiah made a remarkable prophecy concerning Israel regathered back in her land. "They that war against thee shall be as nothing and as a thing of nought…for I will help thee." (41:12,13).

The Bible Helped Build Israel

The miracles continued. Trees, fruits and vegetables grow over what was once shifting sandy wastes or malaria swamps. New industries fringe historic cities. Highways and pipelines stretch across a energetic nation that had slept for centuries.

David Ben Gurion, Israel’s dynamic first Prime Minister, was an ardent student of the Bible as an accurate history of Israel and its land. He dispatched engineers, horticulturists, botanists, etc., with the Bible in one hand and research tools in the other.

Miracles happened!

Following Bible clues, copper and iron mines were established. One mining engineer, Abraham Dor observed that at the richest veins of copper —"we come upon the slag and furnaces of ancient Israel. We often get the feeling that someone has just left." Deuteronomy 8:7-9 was often framed on the walls of mining offices:

For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills thou mayest dig copper.

Reclaiming the Wasteland

Barren land transformed to the fertility of ancient Israel is a miracle predicted in Scripture (Amos 9:14-15; Ezek. 36:34-35). It was long assumed that most of Palestine was wasteland, irreclaimable for agriculture. But archaeologists discovered the presence of more than 70 ancient settlement sites in one 65-mile stretch of the Jordan Valley alone, each with its own well for water. Lot, over 3,000 years ago, was not exaggerating when he "lifted up his eyes, and he saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, even as the garden of the Lord" (Gen.13:10).

New agricultural settlements—from Dan to Beersheba—have risen beside ancient sites reidentified by Biblical archaeologists. Concrete pumping stations were set over ancient springs or wells. A well from Abraham’s day, now supplies water for residents on the outskirts of Beersheba.

One of the basic necessities in that arid country is reforestation. Ever since Jews began returning, they have been planting forests, naming them in honor of such leaders and friends of Israel as Chaim Weizmann, Lord Balfour, George V and scores of others.

The Bible has helped them decide what kind of trees to plant and where to plant them. Debating whether a certain barren hillside would be a suitable location for Israel’s immense "Forest of Martyrs," Israelis found the answer in Joshua, which proved that a forest had existed there. "Knowing that trees grow more easily where trees have flourished before," explained Professor Zohary of Hebrew University, "we rely on the Good Book."

"The first tree Abraham put in the soil of Beersheba was a tamarisk," said Israel’s outstanding authority on reforestation, Dr. Joseph Weitz. "Following his lead, we put out two million in the same area. Abraham was right. The tamarisk is one of the few trees we have found that thrives in the south where yearly rainfall is less than six inches."

The writer personally knew the Boyko Family who pioneered in developing Biblical principles of agriculture that helped the Aravah and the Negev blossom as a rose. The Bible made Israel the agricultural giant it is today exporting its products worldwide. It took another miracle to make this possible. In Bible times there were two copious rainy seasons in Palestine—the "early and the latter rain." But for the past many centuries the "early rain" has been minimal while the "latter rain" and dew have disappeared completely. Since 1878, the "latter rain" is falling again. The precipitation of both has spiraled over the decades just as predicted in Joel 2:23,24.

The Miracle of Immigration

Jews from the four points of the compass heard the call to come home (Isa. 43:5,6). Israel’s Declaration of Independence stated that Israel "will be open to the immigration of Jews from all countries of their dispersion."

Even as war still raged and the little State faced possible destruction or bankruptcy, the newcomers poured in. During the first three years of statehood, the average reached 18,000 a month and in some months the figure exceeded 30,000. Between May 15, 1948, and June 30, 1953, the Jewish population of the country doubled. By the end of 1956, Israel’s population had nearly tripled, reaching 1,667,000. Imagine the economic shock of absorption!

Jews kept pouring into Israel over the decades. In 1984 - 1985 and again in 1991 harrowing airlifts brought Ethiopian Jews from utter despair to a Land of hope. Finally, the long-expected prophetic fulfillment of Jews from Russia began in 1991. By 1998 over 800,000 have returned from the former Soviet Republics (CIS) and they are still coming. Over a million are expected. Israel’s population increased from 650,000 in 1948 to nearly 6,000,000 in 1998. The miracle of absorption continues.

The Miracle of the ’67 War

The Arabs boasted that they would destroy Israel. However, in six days Israel overran the combined forces of Syria, Jordan, Egypt and took the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem, the West Bank (Samaria and Judea), and the Sinai—one of the greatest military feats in history. To many Orthodox Jews worldwide, especially in the United States, it was a wake-up call from God. Thousands poured into Israel and settled in Samaria and Judea to stake Israel’s eternal claim to the so-called West Bank—the heartland of Israel. They are certain the Messianic Age is near at hand. As Biblical Zionists, they oppose any give-away of land in the peace process.

A Hi-Tech Leader

Ezekiel 38:12, 13 predicts that Israel will become an economic envy of the nations. The immigration of Russian Jews is literally paying off. This year has witnessed an explosion in both hi-tech developments and the number of contracts Israeli hi-tech companies have signed with manufacturers worldwide. Prime Minister Netanyahu said, "The failure of Soviet communism to capitalize on the outstanding R & D skills of the Russian Jews was a stroke of good fortune for Israel. We now have the highest per capita of scientists in the world. This has put Israel on the cutting edge of technology." The New York Stock Exchange lists more hi-tech companies from Israel than any other nation… Ezekiel also predicts the sanctification of God’s name when Israel’s enemies would threaten His people (38:16-23).