All Rights Reserved
|
█ THE VOICE OF ROYALTY. On the eve of His departure Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, Saviour of mankind and Messiah of the Jews, stood up and triumphantly proclaimed: “All authority is given to Me in Heaven and in earth. Therefore go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things, whatever I commanded you. And, behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world. Amen.” [Matthew28:18-20MKJV]. Evangelical Christians thus believe exactly what the Bible teaches, i.e., that Jesus Christ was/is, during His short tenure on earth, not an ordinary mortal but divinity in human form. The Bible further teaches that He was/is God the Father’s de facto Architect and Projects Engineer responsible for the original creation, maintenance and managing of the Cosmos: “God, who at many times and in many ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son [JESUS], whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds, who being the shining splendor of His [THE FATHER’S] glory, and the express image of His [THE FATHER’S] essence, and upholding all things by the word of His power, through Himself cleansing of our sins, He sat down on the right of the Majesty on high,” [Hebrews1:1-3MKJV].
█ THE STUDY OF BIBLICAL PROPHECY. Read any good book these days on the prophecies of the Bible, especially those Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament (the Hebrew Bible) and those Escha-tological prophecies from the Book of Revelation and most serious students of the Bible will affirm that Jesus of Nazareth has appeared in that unique prophetic window in history where those Old Testament prophecies could, against all mathematical probability, be 100% fulfilled; any ‘wannabe messiah’ emerging from the woodwork today will be exposed as a charlatan who had missed the prophetic bus by at least 2000 years. There was no one like Jesus of Nazareth before the advent of the New Testament era and neither will there ever again be someone successfully replicating His divine persona and status in future. █ JESUS CHRIST:
HOW CREDIBLE HIS WORDS? During His ministry Jesus, as a prophet, has issued
numerous prophetic statements almost as if He were looking into the future
through a high-resolution looking glass, and, from events reported today, it
can be easily deduced that the prophecies of Jesus are being fulfilled right
before our eyes and Jesus vindicated as a credible prophet of
history. From the Gospels, and especially from Matthew24:3-14
& Luke21:25-26, the following, founded on the prophecies of
Jesus Christ, can safely be concluded: ☀ Are false Christs (e.g., ‘gurus’,
‘messiahs’, ‘avatars’, ‘godmen’, ‘swamis’ ‘holymen’, ‘false prophets’ etc.) and
false religious cults coming increasingly to the fore these days? [YES] ☀ Do
we hear of wars and rumours of wars? [YES] ☀ Are
nations and kingdoms rising against each other? [YES] ☀ Are
famines experienced and being reported by the media? [YES] ☀ Are
‘pestilences’ (epidemics & pandemics) experienced and reported
worldwide? [YES] ☀ Are
Christians (including defenceless women & children) often being
increasingly harassed, hated, persecuted & even killed by diabolical
anti-Christian forces? [YES] ☀ Does
iniquity (e.g., vice, crime, injustice, immorality etc.) abound in the
land? [YES] ☀ Do
we observe ‘signs’ in heaven from the sun, moon & stars etc. (natural as
well as technological, i.e., developments in astronomy e.g., space exploration
& travel)? [YES] ☀ Are
nations experiencing anxiety i.r.o. the sea and waves roaring (e.g.,
killer-floods, typhoons, tsunamis etc.) [YES] ☀ Is
the Gospel of Jesus Christ being preached (published, broadcast etc.) in the
entire world today? [YES]. P.S.
According to certain online sources and a recent BBC report of
2020 the traditionally Buddhist country of China is
(at the annual growth rate of 7%) expected to be >50% Christian by the year
2030. █ THE TEACHINGS OF THE
BIBLE. The
teachings of the Bible (i.e., Hebrew Bible or Old Testament plus the New
Testament) outstrips and transcends anything ever produced on earth and in
history. It is the greatest literature in the world and in all of history and,
what’s more, it is not fiction, but irrepressible and indestructible content
predicated upon truth encapsulated in still the bestselling Book of
all times. Over
and above announcing creation by a Divine Creator and the coming of a Messiah
at the end of the age with the forgiveness of sin, reconciliation with God and
Salvation based on faith in Christ and not on rickety good works and personal
merit, the Bible also serves as the ultimate Moral Compass for people and
nations to regulate conduct and behaviour by. Show me a nation not founded on
Biblical (Judeo-Christian) values and principles and I’ll show you a nation (no
matter how educated) in moral and mental decline. As it has been said
before, “Babylon in all its desolation is a sight not so awful as that
of the human mind in ruins.” [Scrope Berdmore Davies,
1782-1852). █ THE GREATEST SERMON
EVER PREACHED (HEBREW BIBLE/OLD TESTAMENT). The greatest sermon ever preached
in the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) can be read and studied in
the Book of Job [Job38:1-41; 39:1-30; 40: 1-24; 41:1-34]. It’s a masterpiece of divine
eloquence on the mysteries of creation and not the most select of
science-fiction writers would ever have been able to, in all of history,
concoct anything remotely so profound and useful in the realms of literature. █ THE GREATEST SERMON
EVER PREACHED (NEW TESTAMENT). The
greatest sermon ever prea-ched in the New Testament can
be read and studied in the Gospel of Matthew [Matthew5:1-48;
6:1-34; 7:1-29]. Like
the greatest sermon from the Old Testament, It cannot be replicated
here, but to illustrate the beauty and moral musicality of the ‘Sermon on the
Mount’, the ‘preamble’ to this very lengthy sermon should perhaps not be left
out:
“And
He opened His mouth and taught them, saying, Blessed
are the poor in spirit! For theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Blessed
are they that mourn! For they shall be comforted. Blessed
are the meek! For they shall inherit the earth. Blessed
are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness! For they shall be
filled. Blessed
are the merciful! For they shall obtain mercy. Blessed
are the pure in heart! For they shall see God. Blessed
are the peacemakers! For they shall be called the sons of God. Blessed
are they who have been persecuted for righteousness sake! For theirs
is the kingdom of Heaven. Blessed
are you when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say
all kinds of evil against you falsely, for My [JESUS’] sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for your reward in Heaven is great. For so they persecuted the pro-phets who were before you.” [Matthew5:1-12MKJV]. █ NO DEMILITARISED ZONE IN THE WAR OF IDEAS. Many may say that they have taken a ‘neutral position’ on God and the Bible until the world’s theologians have sorted everything out; this is a dangerous philosophy or ideological position. I would rather accept the Bible and the promises of God at face value until someone has proved the contrary than to reject the Bible and the promises of God until someone has proved the contrary. Just as one only gets one chance in life to make a ‘good first impression’, so we have only one life with one chance to decide about God and the Bible. The Bible says: “And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment. [Hebrews9:27MKJV]. Jesus Christ has warned: “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.” [Luke11:23MKJV]. █ IT’S DECISION TIME. I once heard this anecdote where the wife, sick of her husband’s drinking, binging and drunkenness, had said: “Sweetheart, the time has arrived for you to choose between the liquor and me. You cannot have both; it is destroying our marriage.” The husband reportedly replied: “Luv, rather you decide on my behalf … I might decide wrong.” The greatest mistake we can make
today is to leave this critical decision for Leftist
professors, theologians, atheists, agnostics, apostates &
postmodernists (‘Christian atheists’) and evolutionists to make on our behalf.
We must pick up our Bibles and begin to read and study it for ourselves like
never before, our souls are at stake. The atheists are under the blissful impression that they are 'informed enough/wise enough' just like a drunk driver would consider himself 'sober enough'. █ WARNING AGAINST
NEGLECTING SALVATION. The
unknown author of the Book of Hebrews, probably the
Apostle Paul, has issued a stern warning against anyone neglecting the Gospel
of Salvation: “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and if every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a sal-vation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by those who heard Him;” [Hebrews2:1-3MKJV]. The Bible further teaches that we should never be ashamed of Jesus Christ: “Therefore whoever shall be
ashamed of Me and of My Words in this adulterous and sinful
generation, the Son of Man shall also be ashamed of him when He comes
in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” Jesus Christ has also promised: “And he who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life shall lose it. And he who loses his life for My sake shall find it.” [Matthew10:38-39MKJV]. █ THE FUTURE OF UNBELIEVERS. The Bible says: “And I saw a great white throne, and Him sitting on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And a place was not found for them. And I saw the dead, the small and the great, stand before God. And books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead in it. And death and hell delivered up the dead in them. And each one of them was judged according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death. And if anyone was not found having been written in the Book of Life, he was cast into the Lake of Fire.” [Revelation20:11-15MKJV]. █ CHIEF JUSTICE AT THE
GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT. To
many peoples’ surprise (including for some Christians) the Chief
Justice at the Great White Throne Judgment will be
Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. The Bible says:
“For the Father loves the Son [JESUS] and shows Him all the things that He Himself does. And He will show Him greater works than these, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and makes alive, even so the Son of Man makes alive whomever He wills. For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son, so that all should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Truly, truly, I say to you, He who hears My Word and believes on Him who sent Me has everlasting life and shall not come into condemn-ation, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, The hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they who hear shall live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has given to the Son to have life within Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.” [John5:20-27MKJV]. █ BEFORE THE END TIMES KNOWLEDGE SHALL BE INCREASED. The Prophet Daniel prophesied: ”And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine as the brightness of the sky; and those who turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars forever and ever. But you, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” [Daniel12:2-4MKJV]. █ THE BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE. Is your name written in the ‘Book of Remembrance’? The Bible says: “Then those fearing Jehovah spoke together, each man to his neighbor. And Jehovah listened and heard. And a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared Jehovah, and for those esteeming His name.” [Malachi3:16MKJV]. ✋ KDP Books from Amazon.com Services 'Meditations & Contemplations: Straight out of Joburg'  (click)  |
No comments:
Post a Comment