Category: God’s faithfulness

When the Fulness of the Time Was Come – 333’s 200th

Saturday, December 17, 2011

“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:4,5 KJV).

In the beginning God set the first man, Adam, on earth to “subdue [control] it,” to “have dominion” over it and everything on it (Genesis 1:28). Alas, Adam sided with Satan, joining the rebellion against God. The human race, now marred by sin, was unable to fellowship with its holy Creator God.

Fortunately, God promised mankind’s Redeemer in Genesis 3:15: a Man who would do what Adam failed to do—rule earth for God’s glory. Adam was “the figure [preview/type] of him that was to come” (Romans 5:14c). About 4000 years after Adam, the “him that was to come” finally came—Jesus Christ. How human history was forever impacted when that Redeemer came!

Jesus Christ’s birth was not some haphazard event of nature. God the Father had preplanned the exact moment of the incarnation of His Son, Jesus Christ (today’s Scripture). Recall that, unlike us, before His physical birth, Jesus Christ lived as a Spirit in heaven’s glory with His Father (John 1:1,2; cf. Micah 5:2).

When the appointed time came, at His Father’s behest, Jesus’ Spirit came to earth to indwell the body in the virgin Mary’s womb. For nine months, God Himself actually lived inside Mary’s womb! Being delivered, He lived a sinless life of 33 years, despised by His family (Israel) and the world. As one dear Christian brother explained, “That was the greatest life ever lived in a human body!”

No event in human history compares to the coming of Jesus Christ. As today’s Scripture teaches, the Lord Jesus became a small Baby… to become a grown man… to become Israel’s rejected Messiah… to ultimately die for us, the wretched Gentiles! God became a man, to “give Himself a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:6).

We are ever grateful that “when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son….”

Saints, we have reached a milestone – #200. WOW!

A Great Cloud of Witnesses

Thursday, November 17, 2011

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1,2a KJV).

In today’s Scripture, the author of Hebrews encourages believing Jews to endure the adversity and persecution of the future seven-year Tribulation.

The “great cloud of witnesses,” not our loved ones watching us from heaven, is actually the people of faith of chapter 11—Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, et cetera. God promised them an earthly kingdom (Matthew 25:34), yet Hebrews 11:39 says, “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise.” These saints are still waiting to see their kingdom, thousands of years later!

Believing Jews living during the seven-year Tribulation will be reminded of those saints of old who endured persecution and yet God was faithful in delivering them (Hebrews 11:33-38). These Tribulation saints are encouraged to endure those seven years—“the race” of today’s Scripture—by following the ensamples of the saints of old (that “great cloud of witnesses” of God’s faithfulness).

Hebrews 13:5,6 says: “…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”

Hebrews is not written to us members of the Church the Body of Christ, but we are comforted in that just as God will not forsake those Jewish believers enduring the horrible Tribulation, He will not abandon us in Christ (Romans 8:35-39).

God will keep His promise to those saints to bring them through the Tribulation and into their earthly kingdom, so we can be sure He will keep His promises that He made to us in Paul’s epistles! If God will comfort those believing Jews during the worst period of human history, surely, God will comfort us in our Dispensation of Grace, to one day deliver us and usher us into our heavenly kingdom. 🙂

The LORD Seeth Us Not?

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

“Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth” (Ezekiel 8:12 KJV).

Foolish man has deceived himself into believing that he can commit sinful deeds in the dark, and God will never see. The Jews into today’s Scripture (mistakenly) have that mindset.

In the context of today’s Scripture, the prophet and priest Ezekiel, in Babylonian exile, receives visions from God (verses 1-4). According to the succeeding verses, the LORD shows Ezekiel just how wicked his people are: “Go in, [Ezekiel,] and behold the wicked abominations that they do here [in God’s Temple!]” (verse 9).

As Ezekiel goes in, verse 10 says he sees “every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about.” Despite God judging them with the Babylonian invasion, Jews in Jerusalem have drawn idols on the wall surrounding the Temple! Furthermore, seventy elders of Israel are burning incense to these idols. In today’s Scripture, God repeats what these idolaters say, “The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.” (“We are getting away with our pagan worship!”; cf. Ezekiel 9:9)

God proceeds to show Ezekiel “greater abominations [sins].” Jewesses are sitting at the door of the north gate of the Temple, the LORD’s house. Verse 14 says these women are “weeping for Tammuz”… a pagan Babylonian god!

Then, Ezekiel saw “greater abominations.” In the inner court of the Temple, between the porch and the altar, 25 men have gathered. With their backs turned to the LORD’s house, they worship the sun (verse 16)! These Jews dare God, provoking Him to anger (verse 17).

Surely, God did see them and their evil deeds (after all, God is showing Ezekiel their deeds). Sinful man thinks he will escape God’s judgment, but he will not. No one has gotten away with anything… the LORD doth see us.

Unbelief, the Idiocy of Academia

Monday, November 14, 2011

“Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise” (1 Corinthians 3:18 KJV).

Of the ten major problems in Corinth, human viewpoint (wisdom) is the one that the Apostle Paul addresses in today’s Scripture. Understand that God is not anti-education: learning in and of itself is not evil. But, as the Holy Sprit through Paul teaches here, never expect to gain God’s wisdom by using human viewpoint (human intellect). Why?

Seminaries and Bible colleges are prestigious in man’s eyes, but God despises most of them because they are breeding grounds for unbelief. These institutions, where we would think faith in God’s Word would be encouraged, are oftentimes nothing more than glorified pagan temples that promote doubt in God’s Word! Furthermore, they emphasize the importance of the non-extant (non-existing) original Bible manuscripts instead of trusting the Bible’s existing manuscript copies.

For 2,000 years, heretical, educated minds have misled Christians, but Christians could retaliate by fleeing to the Bible’s doctrine. So, especially within the past 130 years, sinful academia (coupled with satanic influence) began to infiltrate the Bible itself! Bible scholars, “textual critics,” have emphasized scholarship and education to the extent that they have changed the Bible text! This is why Christendom has been deluged with nearly 200 modern “revised” (corrupted) English Bibles.

Textual critics believe that errors crept into the Bible over the centuries of its text’s transmission. Accordingly, they claim that God has commissioned them to “purify” His Word to its original readings. This is a blatant rejection of the promise that God would preserve His words perfectly forever (Psalm 12:6,7; Psalm 33:11; Psalm 100:5; Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33; et al.). God can do (and has done) without these arrogant, Bible-correcting “scholars.”

“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain” (1 Corinthians 3:19,20).

Beloved, clutch your King James Bible tightly, and never let it go!

The Worthless Résumé #2

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

“Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” (Philippians 3:8,9 KJV).

Saul of Tarsus, the most religious man of his day, had persecuted Jerusalem’s Jewish believers in Jesus Christ (Acts 8:1). Now, anger propelled him to pursue believing Jews in Damascus (northeast of Jerusalem).

En route, Saul realized that Damascus was not his only destination—he was headed to hell too! Despite his religious performance (described in Philippians 3:4-6), he did not have God’s righteousness. His religious works could not erase the fact that he was still a sinful son of Adam, a persecutor, and a blasphemer (1 Timothy 1:13,14).

In Acts chapter 9, the Lord Jesus Christ graciously discarded Saul’s worthless résumé and replaced it with something far superior: His (Christ’s) accomplishments on Calvary’s cross. Thus, Saul “suffered the loss of all things [his religious accomplishments]”—his religious activities “but dung” (today’s Scripture). Saul was now “in Christ”: He had been placed into Jesus Christ, and had God’s righteousness.

We who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, we should be ever grateful to our Saviour that our worthless résumés have been replaced with His well-pleasing résumé. We are saved by “the righteousness which is through the faith of Christ” (today’s Scripture). Christ’s faith never wavered. Unlike us, He always pleased His Father. “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17; cf. Mark 1:11).

As Christians, we are “the righteousness of God in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21). To wit, in Christ, we are just as pleasing to God the Father as Jesus Christ is! Wow! Like Saul, we realize that our religious activities will never give us this righteous position. It only takes the accomplishments of Christ to get us to heaven—anything less is “but dung.”

*Adapted from the poem “The Worthless Résumé.”

Oh That My Words Were Printed in a Book!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

“Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!” (Job 19:23,24 KJV).

The book of Job is perhaps the world’s oldest book. Written over 3,500 years ago, its protagonist is a believing Jew who is humbled through a series of satanic attacks (Job 1:6–2:10). Job, rebuking his friends (or “miserable comforters;” Job 16:2), declares in today’s Scripture that he wishes his words “were printed in a book!” Job knew not that the Holy Ghost would make this come to pass.

God, in His omniscience (all-knowledge), selected these events of Job’s life to become the theme for one of the books within His Book, the Holy Bible. Jewish Job was patient and faithful during his satanic attacks. How he suffered, but he refused to curse God (Job 1:20-22; Job 2:9-12)—in fact, Job worshipped God during his suffering (Job 1:20)!

From the New Testament book of James, we learn why Job is part of God’s Word. “Take, my brethren, the prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy” (James 5:10,11).

In the future, the believing remnant of Israel will have to endure suffering in the seven-year Tribulation. They need comfort and encouragement, so the books of Hebrews through Revelation address the period of time after the rapture (that is, the remainder of Israel’s prophetic program).

God preserved the words of Job in order to encourage Jews living 3,500 years in the future! WOW! James encourages the Tribulation Jewish believers to follow Job’s righteous example during suffering. Just as God brought Job through Satan’s attacks, so God will faithfully bring them through the Tribulation and into their kingdom.

This is just one proof that the doctrine of Bible preservation is necessary and forever.

A Land Flowing With Milk and Honey #2

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

“And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey” (Numbers 14:7,8 KJV).

God had been faithful in delivering Israel from Egypt. Now, He would bring her into an “exceeding good land.” But, Israel doubted God, and wanted to send 12 spies to explore that land. After 40 days of exploring Canaan, the spies return to Israel’s camp. Today’s Scripture records their confession before Moses and Israel.

Canaan, the Promised Land, was abounding with food and water, high agricultural productivity (“a land flowing with milk and honey”—the presence of milk-producing animals implied grasses and other vegetation; honey indicated pollinating creatures like bees). The spies showed Israel the large grape cluster, the pomegranates, and the figs they had collected in Canaan (Numbers 13:21-27). The 12 spies confirmed that God had indeed given them a very great land, but 10 spies feared military defeat by the Gentiles dwelling therein, so Israel refused to enter (Numbers 13:28–14:11). Thus, God, in His righteous anger, punished them via the 40-year wilderness wandering (Deuteronomy 1:21-ff.).

Today, the Promised Land does not exhibit the beauty it had in Moses’ day. It is desolate and barren. But, that will change at Christ’s Second Coming and the following earthly kingdom. The Promised Land will be restored, and the curse of sin will be broken (Isaiah 51:3; Joel 3:17-21, Micah 4:1-3; et al.).

According to Amos 9:11-15, “[Israel will] build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God” (verses 14,15).

One day, Israel will eternally dwell in her land, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”

A Land Flowing With Milk and Honey #1

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

“And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey…” (Exodus 3:8 KJV).

In today’s Scripture, the LORD in the burning bush tells Moses that He will deliver the nation Israel from Egyptian slavery and bring them into the Promised Land, “a land flowing with milk and honey.” The Bible uses this expression 20 times to describe Israel’s land (Palestine). What does it mean?

By the time of Numbers chapter 13, Israel has been delivered from Egypt and is sending 12 spies to explore Palestine. Moses instructs these spies: “And [see] what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the firstripe grapes” (verse 20).

In verse 23, the spies arrive at the brook of Eshcol, and cut down a grape cluster (“Eshcol” is Hebrew for “grape cluster;” verse 24). This one cluster of grapes is so enormous that two men must carry it on a pole! The spies also collect figs and pomegranates.

After 40 days of scouting, the spies return to Moses and Israel’s camp and show them Canaan’s fruit: “And they told him [Moses], and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it” (verse 27). “And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey” (Numbers 14:7,8).

Deuteronomy 11:10-12 and Deuteronomy 31:20 also confirm that “flowing with milk and honey” indicated Canaan was a land of high agricultural productivity (pollination, green grass, flowering trees, water resources, abundant food, et cetera). Just think…rebellious Israel refused to go in!

Redeem the Time to Do a Great Work

Saturday, October 22, 2011

“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15,16 KJV).

From 606 B.C. to 536 B.C. Israel was exiled from Palestine, taken captive by the Babylonians (the 70-year judgment God warned Israel about in Jeremiah 25:11,12). Exiled Nehemiah desires to rebuild Jerusalem and its city walls, which had been destroyed 150 years before. Circa 445 B.C., Artaxerxes king of Persia grants Nehemiah permission to return to Jerusalem with a party of exiled Jews (Nehemiah 2:1-9).

Not surprisingly, Arabs dwelling near Jerusalem are opposed to the Jews’ construction, so they begin to distract the Jews from their task of rebuilding (Nehemiah 2:10; Nehemiah chapter 4). One of these wicked Arabs requests Nehemiah to stop his work and come meet with him. Nehemiah’s response was simple (6:3): “And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?”

Nehemiah understood that God’s work was important. He was not going to waste his energy and time on an asinine matter like arguing with a fool! Likewise, as today’s Scripture declares, we should not waste our time, money, and energy. We have been given a limited amount of resources and a limited amount of time on earth. There is no time for frivolous living or arguing with individuals who care not to hear God’s Word.

God is doing a great work. We participate in that work by faith. “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” (Philippians 1:6). We submit ourselves to God and allow Him to use us to reach everyone we can with the good news of Jesus Christ. When we allow God’s Holy Spirit to work within us as we believe His Word, we will focus more on publishing His Word, and less on silly distractions like watching TV all day or wasting our lives with drugs and alcohol.

The LORD Thy God is a Jealous God

Thursday, October 20, 2011

“They [Israel] provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not. Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee” (Deuteronomy 32:16-18 KJV).

Scripture uses the title “jealous God” six times for JEHOVAH (Exodus 20:5; Exodus 34:14; Deuteronomy 4:24; Deuteronomy 5:9; Deuteronomy 6:15; Joshua 24:19). Jealousy (envy) is a sin when we commit it (Romans 1:29; Romans 13:13; 1 Corinthians 3:3; Galatians 5:21; et al.). But, just as there is a godly anger (Matthew 5:22; Mark 3:5; Ephesians 4:26), there is a godly jealousy, God’s righteous jealousy.

In the Old Testament, God continually reminded Israel that He was “jealous” over her. Today’s Scripture, a portion of the “Song of Moses,” is one example. Prior to going into the Promised Land under Joshua, Moses warned Israel of her previous idolatrous ways. Once Israel went into that land, they were to destroy the pagan heathens and their idols (Exodus 34:11-17). Yet, even in God’s Promised Land, the Jews established pagan shrines to worthless idols (1 Kings 14:22-24; Psalm 78:58)! The LORD wanted Israel to Himself, and yet they ignored Him and adored vain, inanimate idols.

The Apostle Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost, warned members of the Body of Christ in Corinth about provoking the Lord to “jealousy” by fellowshipping with devils (1 Corinthians 10:20-22). Paul was “jealous” over the Body of Christ, instructing us to avoid satanic deception by holding to the doctrine in his epistles (2 Corinthians 11:1-4).

Throughout the Holy Scriptures, over a dozen references describe God as “jealous.” God wants His people all to Himself—He does not want us mingling with the world’s idols (crucifixes, statues, religious paintings, selfishness, materialism, et cetera). In His omnipotence and omniscience, God is justified in being jealous over us because He alone deserves our praise, worship, dedication, and honor. After all, He is our Creator and our Saviour (if we have trusted in Him for salvation!).