Click here for Bible Prophecy and the Future of Libya

Click here for Is it the Rapture or the 2nd Coming?

Click here for Understanding The Holiness of God, part one.

Click here for Understanding The Holiness of God, part two

Click here for Understanding The Holiness of God, part three

Click here for Understanding The Holiness of God, part four

Click here for The Excitement of Holiness

These are Bible Studies that God has put on my heart to work on and to bring to fruition mainly for the edification of my spirit and to answer questions that have arisen in my heart. From time to time I will include articles or bible studies authored by others that have appealed to me. If you have a short bible study that God has used in your life that you would like to share, contact me via our contact page and let me look at it.

September 14, 2011

MATTHEW 25:14-30

The following is an article in defense of the faith that I wrote in 2005 in response to teaching I received from B__ B-----, pastor of C------ V----- Bible Church and T--- E---- through his radio program.

Matthew 25:14 – 30 The parable of the man traveling to a far country, his three servants, the talents he entrusted to them, their handling of the talents and their rewards at his return.

I do not possess any special revelation concerning this passage of scripture, but my reason for this discourse is because I have been confronted twice in the past with two different segments of Evangelical Christianity that claim to have the correct understanding and meaning of this passage. Not having grown up in a home where biblical doctrine was standard fare or bible studies the norm, I came to Christ at the age of 34, having professed atheism the immediate 17 years prior to my conversion. So, I was literally illiterate when it came to what most of the scriptures had to say. I knew the Christmas story, I knew about the passion of my Lord and some of the old testament tales, but otherwise the whole bible was new to me.

My first bible after being born again, I took out of a motel room in Jackson, Mississippi, sending the organization who placed the bible there five dollars to assuage my guilt. I carried that bible with me day and night, reading it on my lunch breaks, driving down the road, instead of watching tv at night. I could not get enough of what that book had to say to me.

Shortly after coming to know the Lord, God brought a young Dallas Theological Seminary graduate to the church my wife and I had joined to be the associate pastor. He appreciated the hunger I had for the Lord and he took me under his wing and got me involved in scripture memory, different approaches to studying God’s word and meeting regularly for prayer, bible study and fellowship. I will be eternally grateful for Dave Matthews.

In verse 14 Jesus is speaking and he says, “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own (three) servants and delivered his goods to them.”

From chapter 24 we see that Jesus is speaking to His disciples. Whether the reference is to the 12 disciples or a larger group we do not know, but verse 3 of Chapter 24 seems to refer to the 12. If I understand the rules of serious bible study we must first understand the context of any passage we study. After reading through the passage several times I conclude that Jesus is speaking to his most intimate disciples, or the twelve original disciples who are known as the apostles.

The Kingdom of Heaven

According to some commentaries on this passage, the phase, ‘The kingdom of heaven’ that we find in V. 14, was not in the original manuscripts. I can not find it in my Young’s Exhaustive Concordance nor could I find it in a Concordance that I sometimes use on the internet. My NASB reads, ‘For it is just like a man about to go on a journey,……” with the words it is being in italics. My NKJV reads, ‘For the kingdom of heaven is like a man ….’, with the words the kingdom of heaven being in italics. Generally, as is this case, italics are used in the text to indicate words that are not found in the original manuscript but which certain scholars believe are implied by it.

The meaning of the phrase, ‘the kingdom of heaven’ in the context of Jesus teaching his disciples, all Jews, is probably different from what it means to a typical evangelical today. This term is introduced in the Gospels and seems generally to refer to an imminent   reign of Christ over Israel as their King or the 1000 year reign of Christ on earth in the end times. The Jews, during Christ’s brief ministry here on earth, were looking for the Messiah to come and establish His Kingdom, thus delivering Israel from the hands of the Romans. However, I’m not sure the typical Jew gave much thought to the spiritual dimension of any Messianic Kingdom. However, release from the bondage of Rome would have made any kingdom on earth a heavenly one in the eyes of any Jew.

There seems to be four understandings in Christendom of the possible meanings of the kingdom of heaven worthy of consideration. 1. The Kingdom was the immediate reign of Christ on earth upon acceptance of Him as Messiah by Israel, a plan rejected by the Jews. This would have been the Messianic kingdom and would correspond to what we now know to be the future millennial kingdom. 2. The Kingdom of heaven is in existence right now and its location is in the heart of every believer. 3. The kingdom of heaven is in existence at this time, but is in mystery form. The kingdom in mystery form is the time between the cross and the second coming. 4. The kingdom is future and is the Millennial Kingdom prophesied in scripture and detailed in the Revelations. The emphasis in the gospels, for the most part, seems to be on the millennial kingdom. Thou I find truth in all four positions, I believe that had Israel accepted Christ as Messiah at his first coming then the kingdom of heaven would have come to pass at that time and the Eternal Kingdom would be in existence today.

Is like a man traveling to a far country

Most bible scholars, it seems, conclude from reading of the passage that this man represents Jesus who is going back to heaven to be with His Father after His resurrection until such time as He returns to set up His millennial kingdom on earth, thus the far country represents heaven where God resides.

Who called his own servants….

If the man in this passage represents Christ, then I believe those listening to this discourse would understand the servants mentioned in the passage would represent Israel because Jesus is speaking to fellow Jews. Most of His entire ministry here on earth was spent delivering the message of God’s love for the Jew and His desire for them to turn back to Him and accept their Messiah, Jesus His son, who was in their midst.

Specifically, it seems Jesus is speaking to His closest disciples, some of whom presumably could be classified as true believers at this time in their walk with the Lord. However, we know that at least one, Judas Iscariot, never accepted Christ as Messiah and a case could probably be made that there were others in the band of twelve who had not yet believed in Christ. Perhaps there were other Jews present, but surely no Gentiles. So the servants were most likely believing Jews and unbelieving Jews.

…and delivered his goods to them.

His goods, or possessions, as the NASB has it, are qualified in v.15 as money.

Verse 15, ‘And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.

And He gave….talents

Webster’s New Encyclopedic Dictionary defines talent as: 1) any of several ancient units of weight and money value (as a unit of Palestine and Syria equal to 3000 shekels). 2) the abilities, power, and gifts a person is born with. (In verse 16 the talents will be identified as the masters money.)

Then he who received the five…..and he who received two….traded …and made…and gained ….. more talents….

We would say that these two were good stewards. They acted wisely, invested the money which was entrusted to them and made a nice return on what their master had entrusted to them.

But he who received one went…dug.. and hid

Apparently this servant chose for whatever reason not to be bothered with making any kind of investment, but instead stuck it in the ground for safe keeping. This, I understand, was a common practice in that culture at that time, since they had no banking systems as we have today.

“After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them’.

This is supposedly a picture of the Lord Jesus returning to earth to set up his millennial reign at which time he would reward and/or punish those with whom he left his possessions.

So he who had received five talents….

Verse 20, ‘So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents and saying, Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents beside them’. The servant who had received five talents returns the talents plus the return on his investment to the master.

Well done, good and faithful servant….

Verse 21. ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord. The master seems to be very pleased with the result of the first servants efforts and rewards him greatly.

He also who had received two talents came….

Verse 22, He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents: look, I have gained two more talents besides them’. The servant who had received two talents returns those two plus two more as a result of his investments to the master.

His lord said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant……

Verse 23. His lord said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord’.

The master of the slave responded with praise for his second servant and promise of great reward that was identical to the reward promised the first servant.

Then he who had received the one talent came…

Verse 24 - 25 Then he who had received the one talent came and said, “Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ This servant who had taken his one talent and buried it in the ground, returns the one talent to his master and explains why he had not invested the talent and made some kind of return on the investment. He was afraid of his master, he did not trust his master to do right by him, no matter what he did with the money because he did not truly know his master. He does not have an intimate, personal relationship with his master. He sees the master as a hard man, one who would reap where he did not sew and gather where he had planted no seed, perhaps meaning that he sometimes gleaned from others field which would be considered stealing to a Jew, thus seeing his master not as a good, honest, honorable person but one who was to be despised and shunned.

The response of the first two servants is more typical of a believer while the response of the third is more like that of an unbeliever.

But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant….

Verse 26, ‘but his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest

His master seems to respond in anger at the third servant, calling him wicked and lazy. Some would have his response being in the form of a question rather than any kind of admittance that the third servant was correct in his observation of the masters true character. Thus the master would be saying something similar to ‘You knew, did you that I was a hard man…..’

So take the talent from him…

… and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

This can not be a picture of Christ dealing with a believer. Would Christ ever regard a child of God as an evil being? How could Christ ever cast a true believer into hell?

Who is the master instructing to take this servants talent? And what does he mean to everyone who has, more will be given? A very careful study of the phrase outer darkness shows us that this is a term used for hell. Also, a careful study of the phrase weeping and gnashing of teeth depicts great pain, agony, suffering which no child of God will ever suffer once he closes his eyes in death or is taken up to meet the Lord in the air.

However, some do teach that the master of the servants is Jesus Christ and the servants represent believers, that the journey the master goes on represents His departure from earth at His ascension and His return at the end of the great tribulation. Some teach that the event of the return of the master represents the Bema judgment where the works of all believers will be tested as by fire. According to those who hold this view, the good works, represented as gold and silver, withstand the test as of fire and result in great reward for these believers. These are the good servants in this story. The unfaithful servant is the Christian who produces bad works and his punishment is to be caste into the outer darkness for a period of time.

Let us look at this parable in light of the whole counsel of God’s word.

If the master represents Christ, then the three servants can not all represent saved people. The first two could very well represent truly born again believers, but the lazy slave can not be a true believer because then Jesus would be punishing him by casting him into hell as represented by the outer darkness or to some other abode where the Lord will not be present. The apostle Paul says, for every believer, that when we depart this earthly body we will abide in the presence of the Lord to exist there for evermore. “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord” (2 Cor 5:8). The reality is that from the moment we believe through out all eternity we are never separated from the Lord. How then could a believer be cast out of His presence?

I believe Jesus is speaking to Jews exclusively, about future things, that pertain to Jews exclusively. Without abusing the parable, let us say that Jesus is representing Himself in the man who goes on a journey, then we can say that the slaves represents those to whom Christ was sent, His own people the Jews for there are no gentiles present and the church was yet future, therefore there are no Christians in existence.

The talents could very well represent all that Christ has availed to the Jews: His teaching, the knowledge of who He truly is and why He came as revealed by prophecy. He is leaving earth to return to the Father via His death on the cross, his burial, resurrection and ascension, all of which point the way for Jews and all mankind to understand who He was, is and is to come. They are without excuse.

When He returns, He will find that some have understood, accepted and used His treasures. They not only have become believers themselves, but they have reaped results of a few lost souls to many lost souls coming to know Jesus as Messiah, and in the case of any gentiles, Savior and Lord. He rewarded those who had accepted him as Savior and had spread the good news to the nation and the world. And for those who had not used His treasure to believe in Him for their own salvation, He cast into hell. Period.

Why I disagree with those who teach a different gospel

Here is why I think B-- B-----, T--- E---- and others are teaching heresy when they equate all three of these servants with children of God, who have been saved by the blood of the Lamb.

Jesus can never banish or cast a child of His into hell or anyplace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. He promises: 1. That every child of his would be with Him always and that their final abode will be with Him in heaven (Matt. 28:20). 2. That He is coming back to take them to heaven to a mansion that He has prepared and that they will be with Him always where ever He is (John 14:2&3), 1 Thess. 4:16 & 17). 3. He has assured His disciples that He gives them eternal life and that no one can snatch them out of His or the Fathers hands (John 10:28&29). 4. Very importantly He gives every believer eternal life and if he would cast a child of his into hell, even for one nano second, then He is a liar and eternal life is not eternal. 5. Most important. If the finished work of Christ on the cross is not sufficient to atone for ever sin a child of God has committed or will commit, then His work was not finished, was not sufficient and was a terrible sham foisted on mankind.

We have the promise that the blood of Jesus covers every sin past, present and future for those who put their faith and trust in Him. We are promised that as a believer, if we confess our sins then God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all our unrighteousness. God’s forgiveness extends even unto poor, shameful, weak, shallow, ineffectual, selfish works that we have done or works, which we should have done that we did not do. When a child of God stands before Jesus Christ at the Bema Seat and his wood, hay and stubble is exposed to the heat of God’s testing fire, the bad works will be consumed by the fire, but the child of God will be saved to enjoy what rewards he did receive for his good deeds and eternity will continue without further punitive incidents relevant to the bad deeds or sin. They are gone, forgotten and remembered no more by God or anyone.

How do I know this? Let me count the ways. Romans 8 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus… For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” For a child of God to receive a punitive sentence at the Bema Seat (after having received a glorified body and having spent time in the presence of the Lord Jesus in heaven either through death or via the rapture) is saying blatantly that the blood of Christ was not sufficient to cover all of our egregious actions or deeds. At the Bema Seat of Christ it is our works that will be tested by fire and it has nothing to do with sin. The only loss that will occur there is that of rewards that could have been ours had we done those works that result in awards.

For Tony Evans and others to teach that the lazy, wicked servant represents either the carnal Christian or the weak, insincere Christian who just didn’t produce many good works and that the Bema Seat of Christ as a vehicle which the Lord will use to punish these lazy, wicked Christians, they are doing great violent to the kingdom of God. They are saying that the blood of Christ may cover a multitude of sins, but not all. Or, they are saying that in some mysterious way bad works and sins are somehow related.

Carnal, according to Webster’s New Encyclopedic Dictionary means, 1: of or relating to the body: corporal; 2: marked by sexuality: sensual; 3: characterized by physical rather than spiritual orientation. Therefore, all carnal acts are sinful and are in no way related to works. Christ’s death on the cross, where He became the totality of man’s sin, resulted in the sins of all mankind for all time being dealt with in a way that pleased and satisfied (propitiated) God the Father’s judgment of sin. That is where and when the total payment for every mans sin was paid in full.

Good works, produced in the life of a believer, or the things done on behalf of others that bring honor and glory to God. Good works are the beneficial, tangible effects of a regenerate, obedient heart in submission to the indwelling Holy Spirit. The results of good works for the believer are rewards given out at the Bema seat.

On the other hand the wood, hay and stubble produced in the life of a believer are the things done in the flesh for our on vainglory or selfish ambition that are not sinful per se but do not bring honor and glory to the Lord.

The Bema seat of Christ deals with both kinds of works performed by Christians while living on earth. Scriptures says they will be tested by fire. Those works that were done in the power of the Holy Spirit will survive the test by fire and will result in rewards. Those done in the power of the flesh will be consumed by the fire and the result will be loss of rewards. This judgment seat will have nothing to do with sins. What these men are presenting to the church is another gospel.

Posted July 30, 2011

Is the Bible the Inspired Word of God?

By Jason Carlson and Ron Carlson 5/25/11

During a question-and-answer session at a recent speaking engagement, a
university student asked me, "Why do you believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God?" Now this is a very interesting question – and probably one of the most important questions any Christian could ask themselves. What is so special, so unique about the Bible that Christians believe it is literally the inspired word of God?

In answering this student's question, I encouraged him to consider the
following facts about the Bible:

First, the Bible is not just one single book. This is a more common misconception than many people realize, especially with people who do not come from a Judeo-Christian background. Rather than being a single book, the Bible is actually a collection of 66 books, which is called the canon of scriptures. These 66 books contain a variety of genres: history, poetry, prophecy, wisdom, literature, letters, and apocalyptic just to name a few.

Second, these 66 books were written by 40 different authors. These authors came from a variety of backgrounds: shepherds, fishermen, doctors, kings, prophets, and others. And most of these authors never knew one another personally.

Third, these 66 books were written over a period of 1500 years. Yet again, this is another reminder that many of these authors never knew or collaborated with one another in writing these books.

Fourth, the 66 books of the Bible were written in 3 different languages. In the Bible we have books that were written in the ancient languages of Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic; a reflection of the historical and cultural circumstances in which each of these books were written.

And finally, these 66 books were written on 3 different continents: Africa, Asia, and Europe . Once again, this is a testament to the varied historical and cultural circumstances of God's people.

Think about the above realities: 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over 1500 years, in 3 different languages, on 3 different continents. What's more, this collection of books shares a common storyline- the creation, fall, and redemption of God's people; a common theme- God's universal love for all of humanity; and a common message- salvation is available to all who repent of their sins and commit to following God with all of their heart, soul, mind and strength. In addition to sharing these commonalities, these 66 books contain no historical errors or contradictions. God's word truly is an amazing collection of writings!

After I had shared the above facts with this student, I offered him the following challenge: I said to him, "If you do not believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, if you do not believe that the Bible is of a supernatural origin, then I challenge you to a test." I said to the student, "I challenge you to go to any library in the world, you can choose any library you like, and find 66 books which match the characteristics of the 66 books in the Bible. You must choose 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over 1500 years, in 3 different languages, written on 3 different continents. However, they must share a common storyline, a common theme, and a common message, with no historical errors or contradictions." I went on to say, "If you can produce such a collection of books, I will admit that the Bible is not the inspired word of God." The student's reply was almost
instantaneous, he emphatically stated, "But that's impossible!"

"But that's impossible!" It truly is impossible, for any collection of human writings. However, the Bible passes this test. The Bible contains 66 books, written by 40 different authors, over 1500 years, in 3 different languages, on 3 different continents, with no historical errors or contradictions. The entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, bears the mark of Divine inspiration.

The next time you encounter someone who asks you why you believe the Bible
is the inspired word of God, try sharing this challenge with them. Better yet, don't wait until you're asked, just go ahead and share this challenge with a friend today.. You don't even have to mention the Bible up front, just ask them if they think it would be realistic to assemble such a collection of books. After they say, "But that's impossible!" you've got a ready-made opportunity for sharing the truth.

BIBLE PROPHECY AND THE FUTURE OF LIBYA
Posted: February 28, 2011 by joelcrosenberg in Uncategorized

Israel could still strike Iran, despite Mideast unrest - While chaos and change reigned supreme, Iran succeeded in repairing its uranium-enrichment plant after the cyber attack by the Stuxnet computer worm.

It is so painful to watch the horror show underway in Libya right now. Estimates tell us that at least 1,000 Libyans are dead. Many more are wounded. Some 100,000 people have apparently fled Libya in recent days as the situation goes from bad to worse.

The first sentence of a new Time magazine article asks, "Is it the End of Days for Libya?" The article looks at the rising death toll as Gaddafi continues using his army to slaughter the Libyan people desperate for change. It also asks the question of whether Libya will experience peace even if (or when) Gaddafi is deposed. Dirk Vandewalle, a Libyan expert at Dartmouth University, told Time: "Both sides, both the population, and the security organizations, know exactly what's at stake. If government militias [are to] win, they will have to kill many more, and if the security organizations lose, then the people, the regular people in Libya are going to take their revenge....Either way we're going to see a terrible blood bath." David Mack, a former deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs, told Time that the worst possible outcome would be a widespread lawlessness in which Libya degenerated into a kind of "Somalia on the Mediterranean."

What does the Bible tell us? Libya is referred to numerous times in the Scriptures, both directly and indirectly.

In Matthew 27, for example, we learn that it was a Libyan man - Simon of Cyrene (a part of ancient Libya) - who carried the cross for our Lord Jesus.

In Acts chapter 2, we learn that God-fearing men from Libya were present in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost and heard the Apostle Peter preach the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. Some 3,000 people that days repented of their sins and became fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. It is likely that Libyans were among them since they are mentioned in the text.

In Acts 11, we learn that Libyan (Cyrene) followers of Jesus Christ helped bring the gospel to Antioch, Syria, and made disciples for Jesus there.

In Acts 13 we learn that a Libyan man - Lucius of Cyrene - becomes one of the leaders of the church at Antioch, helping send out Barnabus and Paul to take the gospel to Asia and Europe.

Again and again in the Scriptures we see that the Lord loves the people of Libya. He wants them to know Him and receive His free gift of salvation.

That said, Bible prophecy also tells us the government and many of the people of Libya will be engaged in great evil in the End of Days.

In Ezekiel 38-39, we learn that Libya is one of the nations that joins the Russian-Iranian alliance against Israel in "the last days." In this prophecy, Ezekiel uses the name "Put." The first century historian Flavius Josephus wrote in his famous book, The Antiquities of the Jews, that "Put" or "Phut" is "ancient Libyos." Ancient Libyos, we know, certainly included the territory of the modern nation state we refer to today as Libya, but also included Algeria and possibly Tunisia. This tells us the no matter what the near term outcomes of the revolutions underway in North Africa are, in the not-too-distant future Libya for certain and possibly her neighbors will have virulently anti-Semitic and anti-Israel leadership who will eagerly join a coalition bent on destroying the Jews and occupy the land of Israel. Gaddafi, of course, is already such a leader. Perhaps he will ride out this storm and stay in power. Perhaps someone worse will rise up after him. Hopefully Gaddafi will be deposed and a more moderate leadership will rise up for a season before the prophecy of the "War of Gog and Magog" comes to fulfillment. Either way, the Church should be using this window of time to do everything possible to get the gospel into Libya and to strengthen the persecuted believers in Libya before the country faces God's judgment for attacking Israel.

In Daniel 11, we learn that Libya is one of the countries that will be under the control and direction of the Antichrist in "the last days." The Hebrew Prophet Daniel tells us that "a despicable person will arise" during "a time of tranquility" and will seize global power "by intrigue" and by "overflowing forces" in the End Times. This person, known in Christian theology as the Antichrist, "will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done." The Bible tells us the Antichrist "will enter the Beautiful Land" - that is, Israel - and "will stretch out his hand against other countries." Eventually, the Antichrist will gain control of the entire world and force all people who haven't received Christ as Savior and Lord to bow and worship him or be beheaded. But the Bible specificially notes that the Antichrist "will gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt; and Libyans and Ethiopians [the people of "Cush," which includes modern Sudan, Ethiopia and possible Eritrea] will follow at his heels." It is not entirely clear why the Bible points specifically to "Libyans" and "Ethiopians" as among those who will follow and serve the Antichrist, but this is what the Lord tells us in advance will happen.

This is all the more reason the Church must seek to reach all of North Africa with the gospel of Jesus Christ before it is too late. Please be praying faithfully for Libya and all of North Africa at this critical hour.

Is It The Second Coming of Christ or Is It The Rapture

Comparing Verses that refer to the 2nd Coming of Christ with verses that refer to the Rapture which is the removal of the church from the earth during the last days.

Recently, I taught our Wednesday night bible study in which I compared those verses of Scripture that are addressing either the return of the Lord Jesus at His second coming or they are referring to the coming of Christ in the air to rapture the church. Following is the text from my presentation.

I personally believe that we are living in the end times, quickly approaching the time of Jacobs trouble or the day of the Lord. What I would like to do tonight is look at some verses of scripture that are either talking about the second coming of Jesus Christ or they are referencing a time when the Son of Man will come to a spot in the lower heavens just above the earth and will give a clarion call that will summons the living and dead, who make up the church, to himself and take us back to heaven with him. However, I don't want this to be so much a time of teaching as a time of sharing and a time of understanding and a time of rejoicing of what is soon to come.

In Rev 19:11-14 the apostle John says, "And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses."
These verses, coupled with those that follow for the remainder of chapter nineteen, without a doubt refer to the 2nd coming of Christ to the earth. Note that Jesus is on a white horse and He is not alone. He is followed by the armies of heaven. Now let me ask a question. Where is this setting? Do we agree that it is in heaven?
Next question. Who makes up the armies of heaven? Let's see if Jesus Himself has already given us the answer elsewhere in scripture .
Look at Matt 24:30-31, Jesus is speaking, "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
Here is the same passage of scripture from the Parallel New Testament in Greek and English with interlinear translation by Alfred Marshall.
"And then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then will bewail all the tribes of the land and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory; and he will send the angels of him with a great trumpet, and they will assemble the chosen (elect) of him out of the four winds from the extremities of heavens unto the extremities of them."
Can we say that these two different passages of scripture speak of the same event? Yes, I believe we can. Note the elect are assembled from one end of heaven to the other. It doesn't say one end of the earth to the other. Note also that the angels used a trumpet to assemble the elect. Now lets compare these two passages of scripture with other similar scripture and see if we can detect important differences.
Let's read 1 Cor 15:51-54. "Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality."

Before we go any farther I want to share my understanding of this term Mystery that Paul uses in this verse. According to Merle F. Unger's New Unger Bible Dictionary.
MYSTERY (Gk. Musterion). The NT use of the term "mystery" has reference to some operation or plan of God hitherto unrevealed. It does not carry the idea of a secret to be withheld, but of one to be published (1 Cor. 4:1; "secret things," NIV). Paul uses the word twenty-one times. The term mystery, moreover, comprehends not only a previously hidden truth, presently divulged, but one that contains a supernatural element that still remains in spite of the revelation.
Thus, it seems that Paul, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit is saying, "I am revealing something to you that previously God has chosen not to disclose." However, I believe that there are old and new testament scripture that allude to what Paul is revealing here.
Now back to the verse. Note no mention of angels. It doesn't say that angels blew the trumpet. It doesn't in fact say any one blew the trumpet. It says the trumpet will sound. I believe this trumpet is for the church only and only the departed saints of the church and those who are alive at the time of this event will hear and understand that it is the Groom calling forth His bride, the church, to join Him in the clouds above the earth.
Let's also read 1 Thess 4:13-17. "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout , with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord."
Note who it is that descends from heaven. Question: Who is with Him? He is apparently alone. No mention of a horse. No mention of angels. Some commentators say that the construction of the passage indicates that it is the Lords voice that has the sound of an archangel, meaning urgency and authority. This is not the trumpet mentioned in Revelations 19, or Matt. 24. Again, some think it is the last trumpet of and for the church. The phrase, "With the trumpet of God" doesn't mean that an angel blew it or the Lord Himself for that matter. The phrase could mean that the sound was a clarion sound.
Webster says of clarion: obtrusively clear and high pitched, as a trumpets sound
If there is going to be a rapture of the church and if it is going to take place some time before the second coming, we don't have too many passages that describe an event such as the rapture and 1 Cor. 15 and Thess. 4 are our choices.
One final note. The Greek word in verse 17 translated "caught up" in English, is rendered raptured in Latin.
Paul's teaching on the Rapture was not his own speculation but direct revelation from God. The phrase, ‘this we say to you by the word of the Lord' has the authoritative tone of an inspired writer revealing what God has disclosed to him. Some argue that ‘the word of the Lord' refers to something Jesus said while He was here on earth. But there are no close parallels to the present passage in any of the Gospels, nor is there any specific teaching in the Gospels to which Paul could be alluding. Although the Lord talked in the Gospels about a trumpet and the gathering of the elect, the differences between those passages and the present one outweigh the similarities. As one commentator notes:
Similarities between this passage in 1 Thessalonians and the gospel accounts include a trumpet (Matt. 24:32), a resurrection (John 11:25, 26), and a gathering of the elect (Matt. 24:319)... Yet dissimilarities between it and the canonical sayings of Christ far outweigh the resemblances... Some of the differences between Matt. 24:30, 31 and 1 Thess. 4:13 - 17 are as follows: (1) In Matthew the Son of Man is coming on the clouds,... in 1 Thess. Ascending believers are in them. (2) In the former the angels gather, in the latter the Son does so personally. (3) In the former nothing is said about resurrection, while in the latter this is the main theme. (4) Matthew records nothing about the order of ascent, which is the principal lesson in Thessalonians. ("1, 2 Thessalonians," in Frank E. Gaebelein, ed. The Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol. 11 [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979], 276-77)
It is not likely that Paul is referring to a saying of Jesus not recorded in the Gospels (cf. Acts 20:35);
Look at Acts 20:35. "I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "
He does not state or imply that he is directly quoting Christ's words. As I have already pointed out in 1 Cor. 15:51 Paul referred to the Rapture as a mystery; that is, a truth formerly hidden but now revealed. That indicates that Jesus did not disclose the details of the Rapture during His earthly ministry. (He referred to the Rapture in John 14:1-3 in a general, nonspecific sense.)

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." John 14:1-3

Paul's teaching on the Rapture was new revelation, given by God through the Holy Spirit breathing into Paul's heart, mind, soul and spirit the truths that God wanted Paul to share with the church.

The Thessalonians had apparently been informed about the Day of the Lord judgment (5:1-2), but not about the preceding event-the Rapture of the church-until the Holy Spirit through Paul revealed it to them. This was new revelation, unveiled mystery.

The Rapture, then, does not rest on the shaky foundation of whimsical theological speculation, but on the sure foundation of the death, resurrection, and revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Quick question. What is the purpose of the tribulation period? Why do we need to know about Gods purpose for that period of time referred to in scripture as the day of the Lord, Jacobs trouble or the Tribulation?

The short answer: Since the tribulation is a future seven-year period of time when God will finish His discipline of Israel and finalize His judgment of the unbelieving world, we need to understand that the church will not be involved in this period of suffering and horror. However, an understanding of Daniel 9:24 - 27 is necessary in order to understand the purpose and time of the tribulation. Let me read that passage.

"Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. "So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. "Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing , and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."

This passage speaks of 70 weeks that have been declared against "your people." Daniel's people are the Jews, the nation of Israel, and Dan. 9:24 speaks of a period of time that God has given "to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy." God declares that "seventy sevens" will fulfill all these things. This is 70 sevens of years, or 490 years. (Some translations refer to 70 weeks of years.) This is confirmed by another part of this in Daniel. In verses 25 and 26, Daniel is told that the Messiah will be cut off after "seven sevens and sixty-two sevens" (69 total), beginning with the decree to rebuild Jerusalem. In other words, 69 sevens of passage years (483 years) after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, the Messiah will be cut off. Biblical historians confirm that 483 years passed from the time of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem to the time when Jesus was crucified. Most Christian scholars, regardless of their view of eschatology (future things/events), have the above understanding of Daniel's 70 sevens.

With 483 years having passed from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem to the cutting off of the Messiah, this leaves one seven-year period to be fulfilled in terms of Dan. 9:24 "to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy." This final seven-year period is known as the tribulation period-it is a time when God finishes judging Israel for its sin.

Dan. 9:27 gives a few highlights of the seven-year tribulation period: "He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him." The person of whom this verse speaks is the person Jesus calls the "abomination that causes desolation" (Matthew 24:15) and is called "the beast" in Revelation 13. Daniel 9:27 says that the beast will make a covenant for seven years, but in the middle of this week (3 1/2 years into the tribulation), he will break the covenant, putting a stop to sacrifice. Revelation 13 explains that the beast will place an image of himself in the temple and require the world to worship him. Revelation 13:5 says that this will go on for 42 months, which is 3 1/2 years. Since Daniel 9:27 says that this will happen in the middle of the week, and Revelation 13:5 says that the beast will do this for a period of 42 months, it is easy to see that the total length of time is 84 months or seven years. Also see Daniel 7:25, where the "time, times, and half a time" (time=1 year; times=2 years; half a time=1/2 year; total of 3 1/2 years) also refers to "great tribulation," the last half of the seven-year tribulation period when the beast will be in power.

For further references about the tribulation, see Revelation 11:2-3, which speaks of 1260 days and 42 months, and Daniel 12:11-12, which speaks of 1290 days and 1335 days. These days have a reference to the midpoint of the tribulation. The additional days in Daniel 12 may include the time at the end for the judgment of the nations (Matthew 25:31-46) and time for the setting up of Christ's millennial kingdom (Revelation 20:4-6).

I hope this material on the tribulation period is helpful in understanding why there must be a tribulation period. Because I am convinced that having a good understanding of why there is going to be a tribulation period helps us understand why God is not going to allow the church to suffer through this period of time.

The tribulation period is a time for God to finish his special work with Israel and to once and for all open their eyes to who their Messiah is and to fulfill all his promises to that nation. It is also a time for God to deal with the sins of all nations and to usher in the earthly kingdom reign of His Son. Since this will be a time of dealing with Israel and the rest of the ungodly people of the world, it has nothing to do with the Church whom God has promised to keep from this time of horror.

I pray God's blessings have been upon you as your read through this material. I would appreciate any thoughts that you might want to share. Go to our contact page and email me.

Also you have my permission to copy any material from this website and email to others or use them in your private study time.

Understanding the Holiness of God, part one.

The following is a four part series on Discovering, Understanding and Applying the holiness of God to our lives. I hope and pray that the Holy Spirit will lead all of us, who believe in the Lord Jesus as our Savior, to look seriously at our walk before Him and ask the question, "Do others see the holiness of God in me?"

Understanding the Holiness of God
Part One

There is a journey upon which we all embarked the day we accepted Christ as Savior and Lord. And it is the journey that becomes for some of us the longest, hardest trek of our lives. Now some of you may have started this journey full of spiritual vim and vigor and may be well on your way. However, I think it would be safe to say that most of us, though we may have started well, somewhere along the way we became complacent, discouraged, or we hit that proverbial brick wall. Or at the very best we reach a plateau and start walking in circles.

This journey I am talking about is the journey to discover all that we can about the holiness of God and then through the power of the Holy Spirit to understand the knowledge we gain and to apply that knowledge to our lives.

As for me, the journey has been on going since March 1975. Sometimes, I am convinced the trip thus far has not been very fruitful and the Holy Spirit has very little to show for the time, the toil and surely tears He has invested in me. To put it another way, if my salvation was equated to the planting of an acorn the day I believed in Jesus Christ as my Savior, spiritually I should be a mighty oak tree with branches reaching high towards heaven. However, that is not how I see myself. Considering the amount of time I have spent in prayer and personal bible study, scripture memory and research, in Spiritual seminars and retreats, in group bible studies and reading good, solid biblical based Christian literature I think I should be a spiritual giant, but I'm not.

But thanks be to God, as of late, He has given me a new desire to get serious about becoming conformed to the image of His Son. The desire and power for this renewed interest and determination has come mainly from the studies I have done on the blessings that are ours the moment we believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. You can read what I have discovered through God's Word by going to www.hislightshining.com and clicking on Reflections and Bible Studies.

I am convinced that God wants all of His children to experience all the blessings that are ours through faith in His Son. I am convinced that we are living in the last days with the coming of the Lord Jesus in the clouds above the earth to call His bride, the Church, to Himself nigh at hand. Therefore, I want to be ready and living for Him when He comes.

My greatest desire today is to be holy as my heavenly Father is holy. I am trying to live each moment in expectation of that clarion sound coming from the clouds on high as is recorded in 1 Thess. Chapter four:

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

I want to discover all I can about the Holiness of my heavenly Father so that I might know Him more intimately, more profoundly and to a greater spiritual depth than I have ever imagined.

Let me start by sharing from my Webster's New World Dictionary as it defines holiness.

holiness (hō'lē nis) n. the quality or state of being holy

holy (hō lē) adj. 1 belonging to or coming from God; 2 spiritually perfect or pure; untainted by evil or sin; sinless; saintly 3 regarded with or deserving deep respect, awe, reverence, or adoration.

In regards to holiness, as it pertains to the one and only great God of the Universe, our Creator, Merrill F. Unger in his New Unger's Bible Dictionary states:

Holiness of God. Holiness is one of the essential attributes of the divine nature. It is, on the one hand, entire freedom from moral evil and, on the other, absolute moral perfection. The Scriptures lay great stress upon this attribute of God. Of great consequence in this connection is the revelation of God's holiness in the character and work of Jesus Christ.

By the holiness of God, it is not implied that He is subject to some law or standard of moral excellence external to Himself, but that all moral law and perfection have their eternal and unchangeable basis in His own nature. He is the One in whom these eternal sanctities reside, who is Himself the root and ground of them all. In this sense it is said without qualification, "There is none holy like the Lord" (1 Samuel 2:2); "Thou alone art holy" (Rev. 15:4).

The holiness of God is set before us in the Scriptures as of great practical consequence. (1) It is the special ground of reverence, awe, and adoration. (2) It is the standard of all holiness. (3) It implies necessarily the divine opposition to, and condemnation of, all sin. (4) The contemplation of this attribute is accordingly peculiarly adapted to awaken or deepen human consciousness of sin. (5) It is revealed to men, nevertheless, as setting before them the highest end of their aspiration, hope, and endeavor. -New Unger's Bible Dictionary

My first objective in this pursuit of the Holiness of God is discovery. I hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit working in me, to discover all that can be found about the holiness of God. From the Word of God I want to discover what holiness looks like, how it feels, what is the scent and flavor of it. Plainly speaking, I want to see, feel, smell and taste the holiness of God.

My second objective is to have a broad, biblically based understanding of His holiness. I want to know intimately, thoroughly and deeply what holiness is and how God, my Father, wants it applied to my life.

Thirdly, I want His holiness, to become my holiness and I want it to change, enlarge, simplify, identify and solidify who I am in Christ. I want the Holy Spirit to inculcate into my inner most being the greatest awe, respect and reverence for our heavenly Father and our God that any mortal has ever experienced.

Here are a few verses from the Old Testament that give us an inkling of the holiness of God:

"Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?" Ex.15:11

Your testimonies are very sure; Holiness adorns Your house, O Lord, forever. Ps. 93:5
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." Isaiah 6:3

One of those verses that convicted me of the attitude of most Christians today toward the Holiness of God comes from Ezek 36:23;

"And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,""says the Lord God, "when I am hallowed in you before their eyes."
I know that in context God is addressing Israel in this verse and He is telling her that she has profaned His great name by living in rebellion and disobeying His law. But, let's be honest. The same can be said of the church today. We do not testify with our lives that the God we serve is a Holy God who is to be revered and worshipped in His holiness. Therefore, I believe the Lord God is saying that one day, before His Son comes to set up His millennial Kingdom on earth and perhaps before the rapture, His people are going to worship Him in His holiness as they should have been doing all along.

We, the Church of Jesus Christ, need to be praying, in part, the prayer of Zacharias, the Father of John the Baptist:

" ... grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve You without fear, In holiness and righteousness before You all the days of our life." Luke 1:74-75.

Then we need to make sure that our testimony follows the admonition of the apostle Paul:

"For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in holiness and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you." 2 Cor 1:12

"Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 2 Cor 7:1

"But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness". Eph 4:20-24

"And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints." 1 Thess 3:12-13

Brothers and sisters in Christ I will be posting in the days ahead some of the insights that I hope to discover in God's Word, in the light of His holiness, how then we should live.

Some conclusions that I have come to through the study of and meditation on God's Word thus far:

Any understanding of the meaning of sin must begin with an understanding of the holiness of God.

God's holiness is the benchmark by which we gain an understanding of what sin really is.
Our concept of God determines our response to God.
For most people, sin is defined by the person's concept of "God".
What one considers holy determines how they will live.
No person lives beyond his or her concept of God.

I want each of you to think about these conclusions and what the ramifications are when applied to our lives. Contact me via our contact page if you have any thoughts or questions.

Understanding the Holiness of God Part Two

Part Two
For mankind to understand the meaning of sin they must understand the holiness of God. God is our point of reference when we begin to understand what sin really is. In the mind, sin is mainly defined by a person's concept of God. If we see our God as a loving, passive, patsy whose love for man overrides His Own Holiness, then we will live and respond in conjunction with that belief. If we believe that a loving God would never condemn anyone to eternal suffering in hell for sin; our lives, for the most part, will reflect this concept of God. If we believe that the degree to which one rejoices or suffers in the afterlife is determined by a God who continually weighs our good and bad deeds with His balance, we will always be convinced that the good things we do will always outweigh the bad things. Thus we assure ourselves of a heaven with minimal suffering. However, this assurance is based upon faulty memory not intuition.

Our concept of God determines our response to God. To the extent that we consider our God holy determines how we will live. No person lives a more holy, righteous life than his or her concept of God.

The extent to which we understand the holiness of God helps determine if we serve Yahweh, the true God of the Bible, or some false god. We do not have the prerogative to define God as we want Him to be. God defines Himself. He defines His nature. He defines His holiness and all that He is. God is the standard by which we must judge what is holy and what is sin.

There is no one who upon reading the sum of Scripture could come away saying I know nothing of the holiness of God. However, apart from faith in Jesus Christ man can never fully discover, understand and appreciate the Holiness of God in its totality. Ultimately, it is the Holy Spirit of God living in a true child of God that reveals the Holiness of God to those He indwells. The striving for holiness apart from Jesus Christ always results in self righteousness. A perfect example of self righteous men are the scribes and Pharisees of the New Testament. Who was the chief Pharisee? Saul of Tarsus. And the same man thought he was doing a holy work for Jehovah by hunting down and persecuting Christians, until He met the Son of Jehovah who had died on the cross for the sins of man and was in fact Saul's long awaited Messiah. Through this encounter on the road to Damascus, Saul the Pharisee became Paul the apostle who became perhaps our greatest example of one seeking the holiness of God.

Therefore, I will be so bold as to say that one of the chief desires of God for mankind is that all humankind come to know Him in the fullness of His holiness. Why would Jesus have given his followers this admonition if it were not so:

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Matt 6:33

I know that one of the great reasons most of the Old Testament and the bulk of the four Gospels were originally God breathed into the heart of Godly men was for the purpose of drawing Israel to the true God and providing a way for all mankind to have fellowship with Him through a faithful Israel. Yet, we must never get away from the total purposes of Holy Scripture as recorded by the apostle Paul.

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Tim 3:16-17

This allows those of us living under the New Covenant to find great comfort, encouragement and purpose in the whole of scripture. Therefore, I rejoice in the words of the prophet Jeremiah even though he was speaking to the nation of Israel when he proclaimed these words of God.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Jer 29:11-13

Based upon this promise to men and women of all time, I know that humankind can find this holy God. They can discover for themselves who this wonderful, holy God is when they call upon Him and seek Him with all their heart. Once we find God, through faith in His Son, the Holy Spirit who takes up residence in us the moment we believe will lead us to all truth and understanding.

I wonder if perhaps Peter wasn't meditating on the grace and holiness of God when the Holy Spirit inspired him to write these words to us:

"Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."" 1 Peter 1:13-17

As I have meditated on these verses and come to an understanding of what the Holy Spirit must be saying through Peter I am putting forth that information in the TNT version (Tom's Nifty Translation).

"Tom, I want you to wrap My Belt of Wisdom and Knowledge, which is My Word, around your cranium and in the power of The Holy Spirit walk daily by faith in the abundance of Grace that has been available to you since the moment you placed your faith in Me. I want you to be obedient to My perfect will, conforming yourself only to Me. Forget the things your did and were out of ignorance and disobedience in the past. Because I am holy, I have called you to be holy in all you think, say and do just as the Holy Spirit has written in My Word. ‘ Be holy, for I am holy,' This is the way, walk in it!"

Bible scholars, historically have understood that holiness in Scripture takes its essential meaning from what and who God is. God, as He has revealed Himself in the three Persons of the Trinity, is holy in Himself. Therefore, all holiness that is of man is derived from a relationship with Him. Under the New Covenant no one comes to God except through Jesus Christ.

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6

Thus, if we are to be holy as God wants us to be holy, we must first enter into relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. Perhaps, some of you might be wondering how do you do that? For those of you who are in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ bare with me for a moment. For those who are not sure about their relationship with Jesus Christ, I beseech you to go the webpage, on this website, titled The Way, The Truth and The Life and discover how you can have an eternal relationship with God through Jesus Christ His Son.

I believe that men and women since the Garden of Eden have struggled greatly with the concept of holiness. Natural man just does not like the sound of the word, much less the meaning. I wonder when any mention of holiness evokes a negative response in the human heart if it isn't just the old Adamic nature raising its ugly head.

In light of the fact that there is some kind of mental or negative emotional response to holiness, perhaps it would be more acceptable to some if we used the word "godly" "godliness," or "God-likeness." Of or from God is the definition of godliness. And that is what holiness is. The extent to which someone is godly is determined by their likeness to the One True God. Sin in the eyes of God is disobedience to His known, revealed will. A child of God should always make the greatest effort to obey God's will regardless the cost.

My next article on discovering, understanding and conforming to the holiness of God is in draft form. Look for it in about a week. If you have any questions or comments contact me through the contact page. Until then, I again ask God's blessing upon every reader by opening the eyes of their spirit to His truths as they study His Word, as Bereans, to determine if what is proclaimed on these pages are true. Tom

Understanding the Holiness of God Part Three

Part Three
Of the many differences between Christianity and other religions of the world the one that stands out most prominently is that the God of the Bible is infinitely holy. The God of Jews and Christians is absolutely, infinitely, perfectly Holy as revealed in His Word.

In Part 1, I gave the definition of the Holiness of God from Merrill F. Unger's New Unger's Bible Dictionary. On the Holiness of God Unger says:

Holiness is one of the essential attributes of the divine nature. It is, on the one hand, entire freedom from moral evil and, on the other, absolute moral perfection.

I quoted several passages from God's word that tells us of His holiness, included in these:
"Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?" Ex.15:11

No one is holy like the LORD, For there is none besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God."
1 Sam 2:2

"Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His holy hill; For the LORD our God is holy." Psalms 99:9
"He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever: Holy and awesome is His name." Psalms 111:9
"And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!" Isaiah 6:3
"Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You,...." Rev 15:4

Though I was in my mid thirties when I came to faith in Jesus Christ, as a child and until I was about seventeen I attended a strong bible teaching protestant church three or four times weekly. I suspect that almost everyone who regularly attended any church in the forties and fifties as I did will testify to the importance in that era of God's holiness in sermon, prayer and song. We grew up with a sense of God's holiness that permeated the churches teaching, literature and form of worship.

Today, the holiness of God is one of the most neglected subjects in Christendom. Since, perhaps the late sixties, it seems that there has been a great void in the voluminous work of our many preachers, writers, and teachers on the subject of the holiness of God. This is a tragedy. Our children, or in the case of my generation, our grandchildren and great grand children are growing up in churches with dynamic personalities and programs, motivated children's Sunday Schools and youth clubs, but without a true sense of the awesome holiness of God nor the awe and reverence He so greatly deserves.
I remember from my childhood and early adolescence that when the stories of Moses and the burning bush, or the receiving of the Ten Commandments were told great emphasis was placed on the Holiness of God having such a powerful element to it that had Moses gotten too close to God he would have been destroyed. And then when Moses came down off the mountain with the two tablets of stone his face glowed for days because of the effects of the holiness of God upon his physical being from having been in God's presence. As a child I couldn't really understand all that was being taught about God's holiness, but I recall thinking each time I heard the story that to be so impacted by the holy presence of God must be a good thing.

Well, today, over a half century later I know with all my heart that being impacted by the presence of our awesome, Holy God is of the greatest importance. In fact, in the life of a believer it is the very best thing that could ever happen to us. That is one of the main reasons why I am writing this series of articles on the Holiness of God.
I closed article two of Understanding the Holiness of God by saying:

"In light of the fact that there is some kind of mental or negative emotional response to holiness, perhaps it would be more acceptable to some if we used the word "godly" "godliness," or "God-likeness." Of or from God is the definition of godliness. And that is what holiness is. The extent to which someone is godly is determined by their likeness to the One True God. Sin in the eyes of God is disobedience to His known, revealed will. A child of God should always make the greatest effort to obey God's will regardless the cost."

I want to revisit that last statement and continue with the precept that godliness and holiness are the same and what that should mean to a child of God today. I maintain that people today, primarily outside of the Christian faith, but to a small degree within, have a negative, emotional response to the word holiness and too, what they believe holiness to be. I suspect that it stems from a natural proclivity toward hatred of anything holy in our old sin nature. Lost sinful man, left to his own inclinations, will never move toward a holy God. He will always move away from anything having to do with holiness. I am not talking about false piety here. We all know of people of all religions that put on pious airs in the public while in private they seethe with great disdain and hatred for anything that is of the true God.

Christians understand that sin in the eyes of God is disobedience to His known, revealed will. Thus in disobeying God's will we are being ungodly or unholy. In obeying God's will we are being holy or godly. As I said in the above quote from the second article, a child of God should always make the greatest effort to obey God's will regardless the cost. Think about that for a moment and let the truth grab you and hold you tightly and never let you go. This I proclaim to you as being truth upon truth, until a believer values the holiness of God above everything else he or she knows about God, he or she will never truly understand that what they should desire above all else for themselves is to be holy as He is holy.

I know that the loudest cry of every believer's heart, at one time or another is, "It is impossible to be holy as God is holy". I have said it, you have said it and in it's most profound sense it is absolutely true. But, I want to reach a place, spiritually, where my walk with the Lord proves that statement to be a ball face lie. We never say that it is impossible to be a godly person, so why do we say it is impossible to be a holy person. In fact, most believers include in their prayers for themselves this request or one similar, "Father help me to be a godly person in all that I do." Now you might say, "Hey, I have never prayed a prayer like that." So I ask, don't you ask God to help you do His will?" If you sincerely have ever asked God to help you stay in His will, or do His will, or accept His will for Your life, then you have asked God to help you be a holy, a godly, a righteous person. And that is what God's will is for every child of His.

I just came across the following blog about an hour ago and I believe it was God sent. The person has stated very succinctly and beautifully some of the things I believe the Holy Spirit had giving me to say in this article. So, I am going to close with this timely blog from Jana Fischer. I do not know who she is and this is the first blog of hers that I have ever read. I promise you and her that it want be my last. Enjoy it. I give her the credit and God the glory for these things she has to say to all of us about the pursuit of His holiness in our lives. We will pick up here next week as we continue our discussion on the Holiness of God and how to discover, understand and begin living it in our lives.

The Excitement of Holiness
by Jana Fischer
Written 1-08-2010
This early, early morning I was kept awake thinking about what it means to live a holy life. I think we as Christians have been influenced by the current social climate (aka, critics of religious thought and/or culture) into approaching holiness as the utmost of isolation, tedium, irrelevance, pithiness, detachment, holier-than-thou, legalistic boredom. Oh my word is it ever something much more radical and amazing.

Living a holy life means living a life of risk.

Living a holy life means laying everything we have and are on the line.

Living a holy life means that every moment has the potential for greatness beyond what we can imagine.

Living a holy life means surrendering our pitiful efforts and sinful hearts to the One Who is powerful beyond measure, loving beyond belief, and merciful beyond comprehension.

Living a holy life means exchanging the limited for the limitless.

Living a holy life means living the best, most exciting, most fulfilled life we can imagine (and the best, most exciting, more fulfilled life He knows)

Living a holy life means living to the fullness of who we are, who we desire to become, and what we bring to this world.

Living a life of unholiness, no matter how "insignificant" the unholiness in your life is, means living a life where sin is allowed to be in control (no matter how small that part it controls is).

And God cannot work unfettered in any area that we have given over to sin. The Limitless cannot be wed to the limited, just as electrons cannot be bound to protons. Sin is everything He is not. Sin is everything that is limited, hateful, weak, blind, trapped, caged, decrepit, dying, bound.

But to live a holy life--to reject sin and thus to REJECT ALL LIMITATIONS!--means living a life where the power of the Holy One, the power of the Infinitely Loving, Infinitely Powerful, Infinitely Wise, Infinitely Good God does His Loving, Powerful, Wise, and Good work in us, and in through us into the world.

In choosing to live a holy life, we choose to exchange the bondage of sin and worldly satisfaction for the limitless, loving, powerful freedom of Christ. I can't wait to live a holy life! I can't wait to show others--even Christians--that holiness is so much more than monotonous prayer and the shunning of sin. It's an emptying of everything empty, it's a filling up of everything--EVERYTHING--wonderful, beautiful, satisfying, joyful, exciting, risky, profound, limitless. Living a holy life means living a life wherein God has the complete freedom to direct and work through. Do you realize what that means?!

Do you really, I mean REALLY, grasp that potential?! It's amazing!

If we had any realistic concept of the wonder and glory of His Holiness, we would never, for a single moment, wish for anything else to be exhibited in us.

I'm not one to make New Year's resolutions, but I'm too excited tonight not to make this my own. It is the one I will never stop making for the rest of my life, though I know I will fail many times. I choose holiness this year, and in doing so I choose to surrender to God's Power and Love, as well as His purifying, purgative, merciful work to help me let go of whatever keeps me bound in impotence. It's scary--but I love adrenaline. It's uncertain--but I love a good mystery. It's begun in a season of darkness and frailty--but I love a good rescue story. It's lonely--but the best romances are the ones with space for a hero. In certain ways it's dangerous--but there is no opportunity for heroism in times of perfect peace.
One thing I know: I'm in love with the Creator of my heart, the Creator of the universe, and I want to live a life that brings me so close to Him--the Creator of the earthly beauty that makes my heart and breath catch in awe--that He literally becomes the lifeblood in my veins. So close that I literally cannot imagine taking a single breath without Him. I want the One Who is All-Powerful, the One Who is All-Loving, the One Who is All-Knowing, the One Who is Perfectly Good, the One Who is Everywhere at Every Time, to be the One working through me.

Honestly, can you conceive of a more exciting way to start a new year and a more exciting way to live life? I DON'T THINK SO!!
(END OF BLOG)

Part Four of Discovering, Understanding and Applying the Holiness of God

As I have insinuated in the earlier articles, I believe we Christians today do not have the awe and reverence nor do we show the veneration that believers of earlier times had for our holy God. Let me see if I can prove my point. Consider these defining words from Webster's New World Dictionary and see if they truly represent the attitude towards and treatment of our wonderful God by most believers today.

Awe refers to a feeling of fearful or profound respect or wonder inspired by the greatness, superiority, grandeur, etc. of a person or thing and suggests a captivating effect;

Reverence is applied to a feeling of deep respect mingled with love for something one holds sacred or inviolable and suggest a display of homage, deference, etc;

Veneration implies worshipful reverence for a person or thing regarded as hallowed or sacred and specifically suggests acts of religious devotion.

You be the judge. Do you see these attitudes in the hearts of most believers today? Do you hear these attitudes being expressed in our conversations about the Lord today? Are we reading in our Christian books, articles and bible study materials these descriptions of how we should view, look upon, and approach our God and heavenly Father, as reflected in the words above?

I think you would probably agree with me that these things are missing in the lives of most of us. They certainly have been missing in my life. How then should we live? I will not speak for anyone else, but as for me, I have started on a journey that will end the day God calls me home or sends the Lord Jesus to rapture the church.

I am discovering anew the supreme holiness of God my Father through the reading of and meditating on scripture, praying for supernatural revelation, and seeking His Kingdom and His righteousness. I am asking the Lord Jesus to live His life through me every day from now through eternity. I want to be holy as He is holy. I want to walk daily in His righteousness.

I begin my journey each day by first dealing with my thoughts. From the moment I rise up in the morning until I close my eyes in sleep at night, I try to take my every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Here is my mandate and encouragement from my Father in heaven in the TNT version:

"Tom, though you walk in the flesh, you do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of your warfare are not carnal but mighty in Me, your God, for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of Me Your God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ My Son, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled." 2 Cor 10:3-6 (NKJV)

"Finally, Tom,, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, Tom, meditate on these things." Phil 4:8

If it doesn't come from His heart I don't want to think it.

Next on my daily agenda is dealing with my tongue. Here is God's message to me concerning my tongue and the words I speak:

"Tom you are no longer a child, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. Therefore, speak the truth in love! Let no unwholesome word proceed out of your mouth. Speak only what is good for the necessary edification of others, that your words may impart grace to the hearers." Eph 4: 14, 15 and 29

As my day unfolds I commit myself to being His man for all seasons. His daily message for me as to how I am to conduct myself whether there is rain, sleet or snow, the bright sun shines or the ill winds blow is:

"Tom, do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in lowliness of mind esteem all others more important than yourself. Don't just look out for your own interests, but also for the interests of others. Tom, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in My form, did not consider it robbery to be equal with Me, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore I also have highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to My glory." Phil 2:3-11

" Tom, take up the whole armor I have giving you, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Tom, stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And Tom don't forget, take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is My word for you; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for saints every where." Eph 6:13-18

Remember, in everyday language, holiness for you and me is simply godliness. Anything that violates the will of God for me or for you is ungodliness. So, how then are we to live? We are to practice living daily in godliness. How are we to do that? Begin with our thoughts. The moment we begin thinking anything that we know is out of God's will for us we are to stop and cry out in our hearts to God. "Father help me, right now, help me take my thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ!" Visualize if you need to, the hands of the Holy Spirit, who lives in us as children of God, snatching those undesirable thoughts and flinging them away. Then immediately ask God to give you thoughts that are pure, that are wholesome, and that build you up spiritually. Remember our minds can easily become Satan's play ground. So, by the power of God in you, tear down Satan's playground equipment by forcing yourself to think as God wants you to think. This is how you tear down the strongholds of the evil one in your minds. Memorize those things in Phil. 4:8 that God through the apostle Paul has told us to think on.

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate (think) on these things.

Being a holy man is going to take great effort and lots of blood, sweat and tears. But our Great and Awesome God is worthy of all our efforts. And with His help we will prevail.

So, are you ready to get started? Are you ready to become a godly person? Whether you are a man or woman, as believers in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we all begin this journey the same way. We take that first step. I believe that first step is telling our heavenly Father exactly what we want to do in the power of His Spirit. Let me share my prayer to God with you.

Father in heaven I am ashamed that I have spent so many years just being satisfied with having my sins forgiven and a home in heaven, all the while missing out on so many great blessings and opportunities to bring honor and glory to You. If I had, for all these years, pursued being holy as You are holy, as Your word told me to, I would be much closer to attaining Your goal for me, which is being conformed to the image of Your beloved Son. Father, with the help of Your Holy Spirit that lives in me, I will become holy as You are holy. I will study Your word faithfully, seeking to discover every thing You want to teach me about Your Holiness and how to apply it to my life. Father, I want the desires of my heart to always be centered on being holy as You are holy. Give me, O Father, the grace, that is the desire and power, to always seek and do Your will. Father, I pray this prayer in the wonderful, powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Step number two of our journey is to begin making an unending list of those things we know to be God's will for us. In fact, let's call it, "God's Will for Me List". And I say unending because it truly is going to be just that. We could write from now until the Lord Jesus calls us home or comes in the air to call His bride to Himself and we would never be able to name all the wonderful things He has in store for us on this earth, much less throughout eternity.

We want our list to contain every single thing we know and each new thing we learn about God's will and we are to view each of them as a great blessing. Let's begin with the very first thing that should be on our list by reflecting for a moment on what Jesus said in Mark12:30-31.

"...‘And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength' This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

Now I have no doubt that every child of God loves their heavenly Father in his or her own way, but I would suspect they have never given much thought to their love for Him. So, let us ask ourselves the question, "Do I love my heavenly Father as Jesus said I should, with all my heart, soul, mind and strength?" If we are honest with ourselves we are going to say, "I don't know how much I love my heavenly Father, but I want to know and I want to demonstrate my love in all its fullness to Him"

If we have been honest with ourselves in answering that question, let's take it a step farther. Let us acknowledge that we are going to find that we are incapable, in and of ourselves, of loving God as completely as we should. We need help! This is a supernatural work and process. However, instead of being dismayed and feeling helpless over this truth, lets ask ourselves another question. If you and I are born again, who is it that truly lives in us? Let the Word of God answer that question for us. Here is what the Holy Spirit of God says through the Apostle Paul to all believers in 1 Cor. 6:19. I take the liberty of personalizing it in the TNT version:

Tom, do you not know that your body is the temple of a Supernatural Being, the Holy Spirit who lives in you, whom you have from God? Tom, you are not your own!

Yes, the Holy Spirit speaking through the apostle Paul says that a Supernatural Being lives in each of us. Therefore, we have supernatural power in us. Is this supernatural power there to do our bidding? Yes, if we are acting in His power for the purpose of doing God's will, we can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens us. That is exactly what Paul said in Philippians 4:13.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil 4:13

We can come to love the Lord our God with all our mind, soul, heart and strength through the working of the Holy Spirit who lives in us as He shapes and molds us into the image of God's Son. I promise you, our love for the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit and our heavenly Father just continues to grow and get sweeter as each day goes by on this journey to be holy as He is holy. This is called walking in the newness of life. It is called walking by faith and not by sight. This is exactly what the apostle Paul tells us we are to do in 2 Cor. 5:7:

For we walk by faith, not by sight.

It is of the utmost importance that we grasp this truth and make it our own reality, because another thing I can promise you is that while on this journey you are going to experience times when you will not see yourself as God sees you. You are going to have times when you "feel" like a complete spiritual zero, a washout, an unworthy, hopeless failure. These are all lies that Satan will give you in his attempts to get you down and keep you down. Satan's reason for existence is to kill, steal and destroy.

Our first entry on our God's Will for Me List is of course this truth. It is God's will that we love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. But Jesus said there is another like it, "To love our neighbor as our self." What does Jesus mean by the phrase, ‘another like it'? I believe He is saying to me,

"Tom, to love your neighbor as yourself is of the greatest importance to our Heavenly Father. Because He wants people to see your love for Him being transformed and extending to those around you. When people see Your love for Your God empowering you to love others with a supernatural love they will want to know Him as you know Him."

That is precisely what Jesus meant in John 13:34-35.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

There you have another entry for your God's Will for Me List.

I am going to end this series on discovering, understanding and applying the holiness of God to our lives by just sharing some things from my list and how God is helping me come to a biblical understanding of His will and the application of His will to my life.

Early on in my walk with the Lord I began a life long process of memorizing scripture and then making personal application of the scripture to my life. Early on in this process God gave me one of my first spiritual epiphanies.

When my youngest son was 18 months old he developed a horrible ear infection. My wife, Dianne had taken him to the doctor that day and though he was taking a strong prescription drug to fight the infection and to give him relief from the pain. He was crying and calling out in agony, "Daddy, my hear hurts, my ear hurts".

My wife had gone to bed, worn out from having to care for a sick baby and meet the needs of our other two older children. It was about nine thirty in the evening, I was kneeling beside my son's bed praying that God would somehow give him relief and would quiet my anxious heart. I was begging God for a miracle, for anything that would help my baby stop hurting and drive out the horrible feeling of helplessness in my soul.

I'm not sure I understood immediately what was happening spiritually when a thought like a still, small voice spoke to my heart, clearly asking me what verse was I memorizing that week. In my heart I answered, "Philippians 4:6 & 7." Said the still, small voice, "Pray it." So, there on my knees beside my sons bed, I quoted the verses as a prayer to my heavenly Father saying,

"Lord, Your word in Philippians four, verses six and seven, says I am to be anxious for nothing, but in everything through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving I am to let my request be made known to You and You will guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus with peace that surpasses all comprehension. Well Lord, I am anxious. My baby is sick and hurting and I can't do anything about it. He needs relief from his pain and I need relief from this anxiety and worry in my heart."

About five minutes later, I realized that I had gotten off my knees walked into the living room, sat down in my recliner and began reading the comics in the newspaper. Here I was laughing at a Garfield cartoon when it hit me: my son had stopped crying! He was asleep, not even a whimper and I was at peace with the world!

Lessons from this encounter with the Lord that I have carried for thirty five years on my God's Will for Me List:

Read and study His Word
Memorize His Word
Personalize His Word
Apply God's Word to your life
Pray without ceasing, 1 Thess. 5:17
In everything give thanks, Thess 5: 18
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, Prov. 3:5
It is God's will for His children to have peace and joy
Use His Word in prayer
Listen for that still small voice

I hope and pray that you will soon come to experience these truths in your own life, if you haven't already, and will add them to your list.

As we become more and more obedient to God's revealed will, we see ourselves becoming more like the Lord Jesus every day. That is what is meant by becoming holy as He is holy.

As we search God's word in pursuit of the knowledge of all that is ours through Jesus Christ, we will begin to see how much God loves us and it is only then that we can respond in kind. Because the more we know and understand about the blessings that are ours the moment we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, the more we understand about God's infinite love for us and the more we find our love for Him growing deeper and richer.

Here are some of the blessings that are ours the moment we believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and if you remember nothing else from this study, please remember: This is how God sees you and me.

All our sins, past, present and future have been nailed to the cross; we have eternal life with Jesus Christ and God the Father; we have a home in heaven; we are sanctified; we are justified; we are accepted in the Beloved; we are co-heirs with Christ to all God's blessings and riches; we have the Holy Spirit living in us; we have victory over death and the grave and the list of blessings go on and on and on.

Go to "Reflections/Bible Study on this website for a better understanding of all that is ours through Jesus Christ. God bless you as you continue this journey to be holy as He is holy.



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