| |
|
 |
|
| |
THE CHRISTIAN DILEMMA:
GOD-CENTERED HOLY DAYS
OR MAN-CENTERED HOLIDAYS
This newsletter is a follow-up to last month’s issue in which I presented the evidence that both the New Testament and the New Covenant are marked with the underlying theme of the seven Feasts of the Lord, God’s true holy days that reveal the complete prophetic work of Christ on the earth. Since God has given such a preeminence to the theme of the Feasts of the Lord in Leviticus 23, it is my conviction that God’s people should be choosing to celebrate these God-centered holy days rather than the man-centered, pagan-based holidays that are so cherished, and even revered, by believers and unbelievers alike. We must ask ourselves as followers of Christ, should we be celebrating the very same holidays as do the unbelieving in Christ? Or might we ask, is this an area in which God’s people are so compromising with the unregenerate world, that there is little or no distinction manifested between a believer in God and the unbelieving, God-rejecting, populace of this world?
|
|
|
| ................................................................................................................................................... |
| |
THE UNDERLYING THEME
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT There are many different themes running through the
New Testament such as:
SALVATION BY GRACE… FAITH, HOPE, LOVE… DISCIPLESHIP…
EARLY CHURCH HISTORY… FUTURE PROPHETIC EVENTS…
However, I am suggesting that there is a single underlying theme,
a chronological and prophetic order to the contents of the
New Testament that has its origins in the ancient
Levitical law of the Old Testament.
Do you know what that theme is? This month’s newsletter is dedicated to proving that the Seven Feasts of the Lord found in Leviticus 23 is that underlying theme. This is a big newsletter containing 16 pages. Pages 2-3 as well as pages 8-9 are “centerfold” displays that you will need to open along with the main newsletter.
|
|
|
| ................................................................................................................................................... |
| |
"MAINTAINING A FOCUSED FAITH"
In light of the heavy emphasis God places upon the necessity of His people living a life of faith, we need to have “focused faith.” The word “faith” by itself is open to a wide interpretation of meaning and remains a nebulous expression until we place it next to definitive concepts such as is stated in the above passage from Hebrews 11:1. Now we have faith practically defined for us: Faith is to be the substance of the things we hope for, and the evidence of things we do not (yet) see. Note faith is to have both substance and evidence which prevents it from remaining a nebulous and undefined concept. Faith consists of things that are “hoped for” and things that are “not seen.” It is the conviction of this teacher of God’s Word that our faith is specifically to be focused upon the PROMISES of God as containing “things hoped for”, and that our faith is also to be specifically focused upon PROPHECY as revealing what is meant by “things not seen.” Proper focus upon these two concepts will enable us to live a life of focused faith that will be well-pleasing to God.
|
|
|
| ................................................................................................................................................... |
| |
GOD'S KEY TO RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH:
THE FOUNDATION vs.THE BUILDING 
This natural illustration of the construction of a foundation vs. a building to be built upon it is exactly what Paul uses to describe the relationship of Jesus Christ ( who is the foundation laid) to the Christian (who is the building to be built upon it). Paul is clear: the only foundation that can be laid is Christ and the believer is designated as “God’s building.” Paul also makes it clear that the foundation (the finished work of Christ) is the sole basis for the believer receiving eternal life, but the quality of building built by the believer will be the sole basis for eternal rewards received by the believer. Hear what the Spirit says to the churches: the foundation represents the finished work of Christ, but the building represents the yet-to-be finished works of the believer. God is looking for much more than Christ laying a solid foundation of salvation and eternal life in our lives. God is also looking for every believer to be busy building a building on that foundation. Eternal rewards are at stake! |
|
|
| ................................................................................................................................................... |
| |
"THE SHORTENED DAYS OF THE TRIBULATION"
Look carefully at the above statement from the lips of Jesus. It is not a suggestion that Christ makes, but a stated fact, "…those days WILL BE shortened." As a prophecy teacher for many years, I must admit that until recently I have never taken to heart the ramifications behind this prophetic statement of Jesus. To protect the lives of the elect, He is going to shorten the days of the tribulation. Either He is going to take away from the total number of days prophesied as encompassing the length of the tribulation, or He is going to literally shorten the length of the day itself. If Jesus simply takes away days from the tribulation then we have a myriad of complications with the rest of the prophetic Word. There are specific prophesied day counts throughout the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation pertaining to the length of the tribulation that must be fulfilled. Any shortening of those specific day counts will nullify the accuracy of prophecy. I would like to convince you that Jesus is going to drastically shorten the length of a day in order to shorten the time span of the tribulation. The ramifications are great.
|
|
|
| ................................................................................................................................................... |
| |
“IS AMERICA REALLY
ONE NATION UNDER GOD?”
(is it Jesus or Jupiter?)
We are a nation adorned with pagan images of the ancient Roman gods-NOT the God of the Bible! Christians are being fed a steady diet that this nation has a Christ-centered heritage laid by “Christian” founding fathers. The problem is that these founding fathers overwhelmingly chose imagery that does not belong to JESUS to mark this nation’s important places, but rather purposely selected those things that belong to the supreme Roman god, JUPITER to permeate its money and landmarks. In using the phrase, “In God We Trust” and “One Nation Under God”, it isn’t the God of the Bible that is being exalted, but rather it is the pagan gods of the ancient world of the Greek and Roman Empires that have been given the place of honor and recognition by our “Christian” founding fathers. In our last newsletter we looked at several striking comparisons between the laws and governmental structure of the ancient Roman Empire and its modern-day carbon copy, America. In this issue, I want to confront you with the evidence of all the Roman imagery that permeates Washington D.C. It isn’t Christian imagery that marks the Capitol, but rather it is Roman to the core! Awake Christian! America is the prophesied revived Roman Empire!
|
|
|
| ................................................................................................................................................... |
| |
CHRISTIAN! WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD?
Solomon gave warning that history repeats itself in saying, “That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun…it has already been in ancient times before us” (Ecc. 1:9-10). In ancient times, Israel, like the church today, had its eyes fixed upon being just like all the nations in the world. It wasn\'t good enough for God to rule over His own people, they decided they wanted to be just like all the nations around them. The politically-based religious-right segment of American Christianity is repeating the sin of Israel. They want a king of their own choosing. It is not sufficient that Jesus is already the King reigning over His Kingdom on earth. |
|
|
| ................................................................................................................................................... |
| |
UNDERSTANDING THE ONENESS OF GOD
There is a deep-seated reason why Judaism and Christianity remain diametrically opposed to each other: Judaism interprets the Shema ("Hear O Israel") prayer as containing a literal expression that there is only one God in existence-He has no Son of divine origin. Christianity holds a deviated concept that although the Shema proclamation speaks indeed of one God, He manifests Himself in three equally divine personages of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Often Christian theologians liken their view of God’s oneness to being like that of an egg: one egg comprised of three ingredients- the egg shell, egg white and yoke. Put them all together, and you have a simple way of seeing God as “one God” who can exist in three different manifestations. However, what I really want to accomplish in this newsletter is to demonstrate that “The Oneness of God” of the Shema prayer speaks of UNITY in the triune Godhead rather than either Judaism’s or Christianity’s literal, physical view of the oneness of God. If Christianity does not seek to correct the erroneous Jewish interpretation of the Shema (as well as their own view), then the spiritual blindness will remain a major stumbling block. The oneness of God speaks of UNITY!
|
|
|
| ................................................................................................................................................... |
| |
A GENUINE CONCERN:
GENTILE BELIEVERS CONVERTING TO
THE TORAH-OBSERVANT MESSIANIC MOVEMENT
The suddenly popular Torah-centered Messianic Movement among Gentile Christians is not a new thing. The believing Jews that Paul describes above held the same now popular belief of the necessity for Gentiles to keep the Law of Moses while at the same time believing in Jesus as the Messiah. I want to warn all Gentile Christian believers who are becoming enmeshed into this popular movement: The Torah-centered Messianic Movement is not based on the foundational beliefs of Christianity, it is flirting with a return to the deadly legalistic tenets of Rabbinical Judaism. |
|
|
| ................................................................................................................................................... |
| |
THE SECOND DEATH
Among the six basic foundational principles of Christianity listed above, I draw your attention to (5) the resurrection of the dead, and (6) of eternal judgment. I single these two out simply because these two foundational categories constitute the essence of the subject matter we are considering in this newsletter, "The Second Death", as well as the one that preceded it, "God’s Last Enemy: Death."
Our last newsletter dealt predominantly with what happens to both believers and unbelievers at the moment of death. We looked extensively at the fate of each when the resurrection of the dead (body) takes place. In this newsletter we want to continue that subject matter by looking at what follows the resurrection of the dead, namely, eternal judgment which is to follow. Our focus in this newsletter will be upon "the second death" that awaits all unbelievers. |
|
|
| ................................................................................................................................................... |
| |
As followers of Christ, we need a proper understanding of death. There is more to this subject than meets the physical eye. It is not just the physical act of death that constitutes death as being God’s enemy, but it is also the behind-the-scenes activity of the demonic spirit called "Death" which the Scripture singles out as being God’s last enemy that He will destroy.
The experience of death for a follower of Christ is not the same event as that which awaits those who reject salvation through Jesus Christ. Outwardly, in the physical realm, death looks to be the very same experience for believer and unbeliever alike, namely, the physical body dies. Nothing could be further from the truth. This newsletter is dedicated to revealing the stark contrast between the two.
|
|
|
| ................................................................................................................................................... |
| |
"IF: THE BIGGEST LITTLE WORD IN THE BIBLE"
The Bible is filled with what the apostle Peter called, "…exceedingly great and precious promises" (2 Pet.1:4). It has been estimated that there are over 5,000 such promises recorded in God’s Word that express His will for His covenant people, both Israel and the Church.
However, there are also 1,522 if’s recorded in God’s Word, many of which spell out the stipulations and conditions that are attached to those precious promises. An unconditional promise is an oxymoron. Often it is the "if’s" of the Bible that spell out for us what are the conditions attached to those exceedingly great and precious promises. This newsletter is dedicated to drawing your attention to what I like to call the biggest little word in the Bible.
|
|
|
| ................................................................................................................................................... |
