God is in CONTROL of this WORLD
This article about Bible prophecy explains that God is in control of the world and has a glorious plan for its future.
As this article unfolds he will consider what prophecy is and look at some of the things it says about the Time of the End. Even though the immediate future for the world looks quite depressing, the good news is that there is a sure promise of a better time to come, when God’s kingdom is established here. Read more
The Lord Jesus Christ gave various signs to help us identify the days immediately preceding his return to earth. Many are contained in what is known as the Olivet Prophecy – recorded in Matthew chapter 24, Mark chapter 13 and Luke chapter 21.
A Nation RebornProbably the greatest sign that Jesus gave concerned the rebirth of the nation of Israel. This came to pass in 1948, after almost 2,000 years during which the Jewish people were dispersed among nations all over the earth. Jesus predicted that dispersion when he warned that Jerusalem would be overthrown by the Romans.
“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near … For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled … there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles…” (Luke 21:20–24). Read more
The question of the true ownership of Jerusalem has often been posed and people who believe in the authority of the Bible as the Word of God will know that the real answer to this age-old query is to be found in the pages of Scripture. There, and there alone, we will find God’s position on the matter. The question, “Does Jerusalem belong to Arab, Jew, Palestinian or Turk?”, becomes irrelevant when considered from a Biblical standpoint.
Read the rest of this article and discover the true owner of Jerusalem and the land of Israel/Palestine in the light of Bible Prophecy.
Jerusalem – Who’s City Is It?
The question of the true ownership of Jerusalem has often been posed and people who believe in the authority of the Bible as the Word of God will know that the real answer to this age-old query is to be found in the pages of Scripture. There, and there alone, we will find God’s position on the matter. Read more
There are two earth-shattering events which cannot be explained on the basis of uniformitarianism. The first was the creation of the world and the second event was the worldwide flood. It was the second of these two events, the flood, which was the basis for Peter’s comparison with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the final destruction of the world.
What can humanity expect in the near future—at the Second Coming of Christ? Like it was in the days of Noah, today’s world is filled with political corruption, lying, slander, public displays of depravity, violent crimes, abortion, theft, adultery, drug-taking, drunkenness, gambling, and greed of all kinds, not to mention wars, rumors of wars, and terrorism. Does this sound familiar? (Refer to Romans 1:18–22.) Just like in the days of Noah (antediluvian period – Age of Conscience), “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” (Genesis 6:5, NIV) Read more
Our climate is changing before our eyes’: Greenhouse gases, sea-level, ocean heat and ocean acidification all reached record highs in 2021, damning WMO report reveals
God versus Man
Human pride is the greatest enemy in the relationship between God and mankind. It will deceive the heart of man every time and thus obscure the difference between God and man.
Worlds Apart (God Reveals Himself to Us)
Many agree in theory that but for Jesus Christ the relationship between God and man is tenuous indeed.
The man and ant comparison is inadequate. The gap between God and man is the difference between the finite and the infinite. It is the difference between One who can see millions of light years in space, and one whose vision is limited by the horizon.
Everyone acknowledges this great difference in theory, but what happens in life? Where does God fit in?
How is He thought of? Read more
GOD RULES IN THE KINGDOM OF MEN
Daniel 4:30-32
“30 The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour
of my majesty? 31 While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. 32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.”
As we look down through history we can see how God’s hand has been engaged among the nations making this passage a reality among the Kingdoms of Men to serve God’s Purpose.
Yes man might think he is in control of his own destiny and that is true when it comes to believing in God of not and living forever or dying forever.
But God has a purpose with man and this earth and that purpose has been revealed in the Bible for all to read and learn of. More than 3000yrs ago we have specific prophecies spoken by God that have all come to pass and are yet coming to pass in the very world we live in today. Read more
My Father’s House has many Mansions
“In My Father’s House are Many Mansions…”
This is a passage of Scripture, in John chapter 14 verse 2, which causes some people to believe that Jesus was offering a place in heaven but, as Mark Buckler explains, the Lord had something quite different in mind.
Jewish Book
Many of us easily forget, when we read the Bible, that it is a Jewish book, written mainly by Jewish writers about Jewish people. It is so easy for us to read it with two thousand years of ideas and interpretations in our minds that we forget to ask a simple question:
What did the writers of this passage understand by it when they wrote it and what did their readers or hearers understand?
So, when Jesus talked about the many rooms in his Father’s house, what did he mean by this and what would his hearers have understood?
Incidentally, this is a passage that is often read in church funeral services and today it is thought to promise an inheritance with God in heaven. Is that what Jesus meant?
God’s House Read more
There were some people living in Corinth in New Testament times who were sceptics. They did not believe in any other world than this world, they
saw no evidence for any other life than this life, and out of this belief they formed this proverb:
“Let us eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.”
They lived lives which were wholly sensual and transient and that way of life arose directly out of their philosophy.
By contrast, the Bible records the lives of many people who were transformed by the things they came to believe, people like the apostle Paul.
He started out as someone who hated the very sound of the name of Jesus of Nazareth and was determined to persecute his followers and have them executed, if need be. Read more
Do Christians Need Priests?
Bible Teaching About Church Organisation
FOR many people the organisation and traditions of religion create large barriers to its acceptance. Believing that God can be worshipped acceptably by an individual in a forest or on a mountain – places which bring readily to mind His awesome creative power – they shy away from grand robes and imposing buildings. When it is suggested that somehow God cannot he properly worshipped other than through a human intermediary and according to set rites, their worst fears are confirmed. The hierarchy of priests (cardinals, archbishops, bishops, canons, etc.), is confusing to them and also suggests that there are two categories of worshipper – priests and lay people. Possibly, even that those who claim to be ordained by God are more favoured than everyone else.
Churchmen argue that priests and the church speak on God’s behalf; they interpret God’s commandments for men, and plead with God on man’s behalf; only they are allowed to bless the sacraments of communion: the bread and wine shared by worshippers in remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice. They claim that today’s priests are the rightful successors to the Lord Jesus Christ and his apostles; that God speaks today through the church as He spoke in earlier centuries through prophets and apostles. Read more
Pagan Influence on Mainstream Christian Teachings
In this article, we shall demonstrate that most of the practices of today’s mainstream “Christianity” as well as most of its beliefs were only introduced into the religion as a regrettable outcome of an excessive undue willingness to compromise with the surrounding pagans in order to attain their support and conversion. This was the same paganism Jesus fought so valiantly during his lifetime to destroy. This will be proven, by the will of God, through the writings of Christians themselves. We shall demonstrate how all of these practices and beliefs were well established among many other pagan cults centuries before the arrival of Paul and his “visions.”
The expanse of land between the river Nile and the river Euphrates was home to the Jews for centuries before the coming of Jesus. During this period, this land fell under the rule of many empires, including the Babylonians, the Persians, and the Romans, all of whom had extensive contact with many other cultures and beliefs. We shall see in what follows that the religion of Jesus was revised and modified after his departure through the influence of all of these cultures and beliefs and how it now bears characteristics of many of these religions, including Buddhism, Roman and Greek worship, Hinduism, Persian and Egyptian beliefs, in addition to Judaism and many others. Read more
The world of the First Century, when the New Testament was written, was in many ways very much like today’s world. For example, people loved to watch athletics and First Century athletes were stars, just like today!
Bible writers often used pictures from everyday life that were designed to catch the attention and make their readers think. One of the pictures that’s often used is the picture of life as a race.
“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown” (1 Corinthians 9:24–25). Read more
THE REAL JESUS CHRIST
True Christian faith is centred around the work of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. His life, death and resurrection form the basis for God’s plan of salvation.
It is vital to understand the real reason for Jesus Christ, his true status as Son of God and how we can benefit from his work. Jesus prayed to His Father just before his cruel death:
“This is eternal life, that they (true believers) may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent” (John 17:3).
The Virgin Birth
Over 2000 years ago the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary with this message:
“You will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest…Then Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I do not know a man? [i.e. she was a virgin]. And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:31-35).
Through the Holy Spirit (God’s breath/power) acting upon her, Mary conceived Jesus while still a virgin. Thus Joseph was not the true father of Jesus. Without the Holy Spirit acting upon the womb of Mary, Jesus, the Son of God, could not have come into existence.
Jesus was “begotten” by God (John 3:16), rather than created as Adam was originally. This explains the closeness of God’s association with Jesus and also helps explain his natural aptitude for the ways of God his Father. Read more
The Meaning of Life
Throughout time, men and women have asked the big question:
❖ What is this life all about?
❖ Is there a purpose or meaning to it?
To answer these questions, we can turn to the Bible message and see that it is still relevant to us living in the 21st century. We will look at what the Bible tells us about the meaning of life, then go on to consider the Bible message to us personally.
We will consider the meaning of life in three sections:
❖ Where did we come from?
❖ What is life all about?
❖ Where are we going?
Then we shall look further at God’s plan and the promises which He has made.
Where Did We Come From? Read more
The LOGIC of Faith
The LOGIC of Faith – The Inspiration of Scripture
Inspiration
The Evidence of Peter
The Evidence of the Prophets
How God revealed Himself through Prophets
Balaam – Jeremiah – Amos
Visions and Events
Style
Conclusion
Inspiration
To anyone studying the Bible it is of vital importance to know where the ideas in the Bible came from. If they are merely the opinions of ancient clerics then they are of historical interest but there is no need to take them especially seriously today. If, on the other hand, they represent the words of a higher authority, then they provide a guide to life that must not be ignored.
The Bible makes claims for itself. For example:
2 Timothy 3:16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
This passage tells us that the Bible is inspired by God. However, to understand this claim it is necessary to decide what is meant by the word inspiration. Read more