Category: Great Flood of Noah’s day

Resolute to Speak in Christ!

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

“For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:17 KJV).

Despite all the corrupters, we will keep God’s Word pure!

I periodically receive emails from discouraged grace believers, people “beaten up” by denominationalists. Whether in-person or on social media, they have encountered much opposition. (I know!) Individuals constantly attack the King James Bible as “faulty” and “a mere translation.” Jesus Christ’s crosswork means nothing to them because their religious works mean everything to them. There is much anti-grace rhetoric (legalism). Individuals viciously ridicule the Apostle Paul. Dispensational Bible study is questioned and denigrated as “nutty” and “cultic.”

This should neither surprise nor discourage us. Whether today, or throughout Bible history, very few follow Father God. Never forget, my dear brethren, Noah preached for 120 years, and all he converted was seven precious souls (2 Peter 2:5)! Untold millions mocked and refused to hear him, thus perishing in the Great Deluge. Pride kept them from entering that Ark, eternally damning them. Even today, pride keeps billions of lost people from being saved by trusting Christ as personal Saviour (1 Timothy 2:4). Moreover, pride prevents millions of Christians from “coming to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).

Some 2,000 years ago, people were “wresting” (perverting) the Scriptures—especially Paul’s epistles—to their spiritual destruction (2 Peter 3:15,16). When we learn of so many people today vilifying Jesus Christ, the King James Bible, Paul, and dispensational Bible study, we recall today’s Scripture: “For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.”

A disheartened grace believer recently wrote to me concerning the hostility: “After it’s done beating me up a bit I tend to try to redouble my resolve to know the word of grace.” In other words, the opposition motivates him to endeavor to learn about God’s grace even more! (It took me years to gain that same attitude, but I agree 1000 percent!!) The more they question God’s truth; the more we reinforce it in our minds, over and over and over again. Daily, constantly, eternally! 🙂

Fewer Enemies Than God

Sunday, July 24, 2016

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them” (Genesis 6:5-7 KJV).

You may have a lot of enemies, dear Christian friend, but you have a lot less enemies than God does!

Long ago, a much older Christian saw a young pastor who was greatly disheartened. He exhorted that young man by name, “You may have enemies, but not as many as God does!” “Amen,” we say, “Amen!” Just think on today’s Scripture. Many, many centuries ago, the world became so out of control, so rebellious, that God had to finally destroy it in the Great Flood. That wickedness was not confined to the Mesopotamian Valley. It was literally everywhere. God’s enemies had taken over His planet, and now He was going to wipe it clean!

The human population of Earth at the time of the Great Deluge is unknown. Maybe there were several hundred millions. Perhaps even a few billions. Add to that the seven billion people on Earth today. Plus, there may be one or two billion other people between the post-Flood world and modern-day record-keeping. In total, somewhere between 10 and 15 billion people have lived thus far. All of them sinners, God had to deal with every last one of them. How He was so patient! All of them were always doing things to upset Him, to offend Him, to disobey Him. Even today, God has more enemies present on Earth than He has ever had!

Christian friend, no matter how many people are against you, always remember God has more people against Him. If He can handle His enemies, He is also able to handle yours if you let Him! 🙂

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Did God create evil?”

Understand and Enjoy the Bible! #9

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15,16 KJV).

Although there is so much confusion about it, can we really understand and enjoy the Bible?

Let us consider the third point from today’s Scripture: “As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood.” I confronted my denominational pastor years ago with dispensational Bible study. Pointing to today’s Scripture, I told him Peter admitted that he found some of Paul’s teachings “hard to understand.” Looking for a quick way out, the man blurted, “Paul’s teachings had not been written down yet!” (How dishonest! Did not Peter refer his audience to Paul’s “writings” and “epistles?!”)

When Peter declared that he did not understand everything Paul wrote, we need not throw up our hands in desperation. We need not throw away our Bibles in frustration. First, we take a deep, deep breath. Then, we recall that Peter had already written that special divine wisdom had been given to Paul. That wisdom had not been committed to Peter’s trust! People have been taught for ever so long in church tradition that Paul’s ministry was an “extension” of what Peter and the 11 apostles of Israel did and taught, but Peter himself argues, “Not so!”

Paul’s ministry was so radically different from Peter’s that Peter admitted in final last epistle that Paul taught some information he did not understand. Jesus Christ Himself taught Peter for three years, and Peter still had difficulty with some spiritual truths? Yes, because not even Jesus had taught during His earthly ministry what He was now teaching through Paul during His heavenly ministry. No wonder people still struggle with Paul today. They need not. With the completed Bible in hand, we can see everything Peter did not. Through Paul’s writings, we have God’s Word to us Gentiles!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What does Colossians 1:24 mean?”

Understand and Enjoy the Bible! #8

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15,16 KJV).

Although there is so much confusion about it, can we really understand and enjoy the Bible?

Let us consider the second point from today’s Scripture: “even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things.” Some people in “Christianity” today—even preachers!—absolutely hate the Apostle Paul. I have received emails from “Christian” people disparaging Paul, individuals calling him every nasty name but the “four-letter ones.” (Doubtless their “‘Jesus-loving,’ scholarship-worshipping, ‘spiritual’ leader” taught them these reckless slanders.)

The Holy Spirit, knowing people were criticizing Paul (2,000 years ago), moved the Apostle Peter to pen “our beloved brother Paul.” Paul was not a charlatan or infidel. Peter acknowledged Paul as a brother in Jesus Christ. Moreover, he called Paul “beloved.” Notice the amity and love Peter had toward Paul. After all, they both were saved by the same Jesus Christ and led by the same Holy Spirit.

Yet, Peter acknowledged Paul had “wisdom given unto him.” Interestingly, Peter singled out Paul. Peter never claimed to have been given that wisdom—or John, James, Matthew, Jude, et cetera. In Peter’s mind, no one but Paul had that “wisdom.” Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:2,3: “…the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery….” Paul confirms in Galatians 2:1,2: “Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles….” Paul met with Peter, James, and John, and he shared with them the special Gospel message God had given to him to preach amongst the Gentiles!

Understand and Enjoy the Bible! #7

Monday, January 11, 2016

“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15,16 KJV).

Although there is so much confusion about it, can we really understand and enjoy the Bible?

Let us consider the first point from today’s Scripture: “And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation.” Remember, the Apostle Peter (1:1) is writing to the nation Israel (Galatians 2:9). The Holy Spirit through Peter wants Israel to “account” something, to “consider” that “the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation.” Now, what does this mean? We can answer this by asking, “What are the circumstances that caused Peter to write this?”

Notice the beginning of chapter 3 of 2 Peter: “[3] Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, [4] And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. [5] For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: [6] Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: [7] But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”

In today’s Scripture, Peter provided Israel with an answer to give the scoffers who asked where Jesus Christ’s Second Coming was, His return to consume them in His wrath. He was supposedly coming “quickly,” and yet, at the time of Peter’s writing, Christ had left Earth over 30 years earlier. There had still been no fiery judgment. Why? Was Christ not coming back? Was it all just a farce? In the second point, Peter encouraged his audience to consult Paul’s ministry. We do just that!

Rise Up, LORD! #6

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

“And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee. And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel” (Numbers 10:35,36 KJV).

What does today’s Scripture mean?

In Acts chapter 7, a window into the third heaven was opened, and Stephen, standing on Earth, saw Jesus finally standing at His Father’s right hand. When Stephen told Israel what he saw, they recalled their Old Testament prophecies and were convicted. Remembering the closing warning of Peter’s sermon on Pentecost just a year earlier (Acts 2:33-40), these lost Jews knew God’s judgment against their persistent unbelief was coming.

Today, 2000 years later, strangely, we can declare that wrath never came. Not because God was bluffing, but because He interrupted that prophetic program and introduced our mystery program. God wanted to demonstrate His wisdom. While Israel was uncooperative with Him in reaching the lost and dying Gentiles, He would still reach them without Israel. He would save and use one of Stephen’s murderers, Saul of Tarsus, commissioning him as the Apostle Paul of the Gentiles. Jesus Christ did return, but not in wrath. He returned in grace, mercy, peace, and love to save Paul (1 Timothy 1:13-16). (But, that, friends is another marvelous story we must forgo here!)

Had Israel entered the Promised Land under Moses in faith, Jesus Christ would have come to reign over them (note Exodus 15:17,18). Alas, they did not and He did not. How Israel saw JEHOVAH God cleansing His land of pagans so they (His people) could enter in, they were getting a glimpse of JEHOVAH God coming to finish the job at Christ’s Second Coming. Except, at the Second Coming, not only will that wrath be directed toward lost Gentiles, but also toward lost Israel. Only redeemed Israel—her Little Flock—will go into the land. The descendants of Abraham who reject Jesus Christ, they are His enemies, and have nowhere to go but to God’s punishment against their sin, eternal hellfire.

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Why did Cornelius have to hear Peter’s preaching?”

Rise Up, LORD! #4

Monday, November 16, 2015

“And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee. And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel” (Numbers 10:35,36 KJV).

What does today’s Scripture mean?

Jude, in his tiny Bible book, described a little-known ministry that occurred 2,000 years before Moses: “[14] And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, [15] To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

Over 2,500 years before King David wrote Psalm 68:1 and Psalm 110:1, and 2,000-plus years before Moses spoke today’s Scripture, God’s people already understood Jesus Christ’s Second Coming in wrath. Enoch, who lived merely 500 years after the Creation, and just before the Great Flood, was led by God’s Spirit to speak of a day when the Lord would come with tens of thousands of angelic soldiers. He was coming to judge this world of sinners, this world of people who hated Him and spoke against Him. Obviously, Moses and David received further revelation.

The Spirit of God had also moved David to write in Psalm 2: “[1] Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? [2] The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, [3] Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. [4] He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision. [5] Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.”

Psalm 2 set a date for that wrath. It would occur shortly after Calvary (cf. Acts 4:25-28). Hence, Peter preached what he did on Pentecost. Much of Israel ignored the apostles’ preaching, and, in Acts chapter 7, a year after Calvary, Jesus Christ stood up! Israel no doubt knew what was just moments away!

Satan and Dispensationalism #22

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

“Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:” (Colossians 1:25,26 KJV).

Dispensational Bible Study enables us to see and appreciate the final revelation from God. Satan is thus utterly embarrassed!

By nature, Satan is a genius. From his creation, he has operated on a mental level far, far, far beyond every other creature of God. Lucifer was “full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” (Ezekiel 28:12). As creation’s song-leader, Satan was to devise ways to glorify his Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ. Lucifer became prideful (verses 15-18): his wisdom and beauty made him fall in love with himself. Lucifer concluded that he belonged on God’s throne, that he was wiser, more fit to govern creation. Thus, began the spiritual battle that is waged even today.

Beginning in Genesis chapter 3, Satan involved mankind in usurping God’s authority. Genesis chapters 4-6 were intensifications of that battle. Unbelieving Cain killed his believing brother Abel—the first murder. Man’s wickedness was so great that God finally destroyed that ancient world with a global flood. Next, the disastrous one-world government and one-world religion at the Tower of Babel (Genesis chapter 11). Satan thought he would somehow always outsmart God.

When God created His special nation Israel (Genesis chapter 12), Satan began to focus on corrupting Israel. The rest of the Old Testament documents Satan corrupting Israel. During Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry, that spiritual battle reached its highest level of intensity. The bloodlust was so great in Satan that the greatest murder would occur now.

Satan could have sent an evil spirit to work in killing Jesus Christ. But, he did not. The Bible says Satan himself entered Judas (Luke 22:3). Satan was certain the job would be done right, once for all. Israel’s King would die! With Him dead, Israel’s kingdom would never come to pass. Israel was already dead in sin and Satan’s grip. The lost Gentiles could not be saved through Israel, for Israel could not rise to kingdom glory. With God’s Son dead, Satan had won. Or, had he?

The Rainbow

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

“I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth…. And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh” (Genesis 9:13,15 KJV).

Why does the rainbow exist?

A dear Christian brother recently asked me if I had heard about the rainbow that appeared in the sky last week, the day before 9/11, in New York City. He proceeded, “Maybe God was trying to tell us something.” I silently waited as he explained, “Like the White House was bathed in colored lights in celebration of the legalization of homosexual unions, God had His own rainbow over the World Trade Center site to show us what He thought!” (My reaction was polite, but swift, once he finished, “God is telling us nothing!” Remember, “God” was a day early, and He had many other rainbows visible around the world on that day—what of those rainbows?!)

Dear friends, if you believe that you must look into the sky to hear from God, please throw away your Bibles. No, honestly. If you hold to continuing revelation from God, you agree with the cults! Whether looking for God’s Word to be communicated via angels, blood-red moons, rainbows over memorial sites, dreams, et cetera, you are well on your way to expanding the Bible’s canon of 66 books to include your very own pseudepigrapha (false writings, apocryphal books). If you need coffins, high unemployment rates, astronomical phenomena, hospital bills, and angelic visitations to hear a word from God, friend, religion has so robbed—yes, robbed—you of the true words of God.

The Bible says—notice this is not a hunch or an opinion—the rainbow is God’s promise that He will never flood the whole world again as He did in Noah’s day. If we are Bible believers, we should believe what the Bible says about the rainbow, rather than speculating. God has already spoken about where He stands with respect to homosexuals (Romans 1:27; 1 Timothy 1:10,11), so let us get our noses in His Book instead of having our eyes in the skies!

Manipulating Moses to Murder Messiah #3

Saturday, May 30, 2015

“And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers” (Acts 3:17 KJV).

How could Israel have been so blind in rejecting Jesus as Messiah, One who fulfilled hundreds of Old Testament prophecies?

In his farewell epistle, the Apostle Peter mentioned people who “wrest” the Scriptures (2 Peter 3:15,16). They distort the meaning or interpretation of Bible verses so that they fit their opinions or views (“private interpretations;” 2 Peter 1:20). Before you think about Christendom’s excessive mishandling of the Holy Bible to create thousands upon thousands upon thousands of denominations, remember that the Bible was often largely misused long before Christianity.

Consider how the nation Israel (mis)handled Deuteronomy 13:1-11. They chose to use those few verses to condemn and kill Jesus Christ, all the while ignoring over 300 Old Testament prophecies that justified and validated Him as their God manifest in the flesh! Aptly, Jesus said that they did not believe Moses. Had they believed Moses they would have believed Jesus because Moses wrote about Jesus (John 5:39-47)—animals killed to clothe Adam and Eve, Noah’s ark as salvation from divine punishment, Abraham offering his only begotten son Isaac, Joseph’s betrayal by his brethren, the Passover lamb killed to ward off the death angel, and the whole law system (priesthood, sacrifices, tabernacle, holy vessels, feast days, et cetera), all depicted the Lord Jesus in some way. Israel ignored the fact that Jesus arrived exactly when Daniel predicted Messiah would be born (9:24-26), disregarded Micah’s prediction about Messiah’s birthplace (5:2), and ignored Isaiah when he described Messiah’s ministry, message, and miracles (35:3-6; 53:4; 61:1,2). On and on we could go, but these must suffice.

Who was leading Israel’s rebellion against the Lord Jesus? Saul of Tarsus! First Timothy 1:13 is the Apostle Paul’s reflection on his early years, when he served in the Devil’s ministry: “Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I did it ignorantly in unbelief” (cf. today’s Scripture). What grace and love God poured out on Saul (verse 14), when he deserved God’s wrath poured out on him! Yes, Saul had led Israel in manipulating Moses to murder Messiah, but to him, God’s goodness gave great grace!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Who were the people who followed Jesus before Paul?”