JERUSALEM Who’s City Is It?

May 15, 2023/in Articles /by Steve

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. 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.

Bible Passages

Here is a brief overview of some relevant passages. You might like to look them up for yourself to see the full wonder of the purpose of God with Jerusalem. The first is a passage with a location which is easy to remember:

“Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her” (Ezekiel 5:5).

God is speaking and here He states that HE has chosen the location of the city. Clearly it is HIS city and the Lord God Himself takes ownership of it. The passage does not say that Jerusalem is in the middle of hills and valleys, which would be true. Nor is the point that it is in the midst of villages and towns, which is also true.

It states that God has set this city in the midst of ‘nations and countries’. That gives the statement a truly international status which, as we shall see, is perfectly appropriate in the light of what is due to happen there. This was said about Jerusalem at a time when cities such as London, New York, Paris and Moscow did not exist. Other great cities did: cities like Babylon, Nineveh, Thebes and Alexandria. They each had been, were, or were becoming, great cities of the ancient world. Yet it is Jerusalem of which the prophet speaks. Perhaps we can imagine the scorn in the mind of some non-believers at that time that such a small and apparently insignificant city should be chosen. Read more

Jesus: God the Son or Son of God?

March 15, 2023/in Articles /by Steve

Jesus: God the Son or Son of God?

What does the Bible say?

Before Jesus Christ appeared, the writings of the Old Testament had for centuries been revered by the nation of Israel (the Jews) as the revelation of their God who had delivered them from Egypt at the Exodus. What impression had they gained about the nature of God? The answer is clear from the following quotation:

“Having affirmed the existence of God, Judaism really lays down only one basic idea about Him which is a recognised dogma – the Unity of God. ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One.’

This is immediately a negation of the polytheism of the ancient world with its numerous deities. It is a repudiation of the idea that there are two gods or two creative sources of existence, one of good and the other of evil. It is also a clear denial of the idea of a trinity – three gods in One which is the established doctrine of Christianity. For Judaism there can be absolutely no compromise at all in this fundamental concept of the Only One God who is the ultimate creative source of all life and death, the elements of nature and history and the power behind all forces, physical and spiritual.” (C. Pearl and R. Brookes, A Guide to Jewish Knowledge, pages 96,97)

To this day the orthodox Doctrine of the Trinity remains a great obstacle for any Jew inquiring into the Christian religion.

In these days of hazy ideas, we need to remind ourselves that the Old Testament we possess is the same collection of writings revered in Jesus’ day as the word of God. Jesus himself described them as “the law, the psalms and the prophets” and said that in them were prophecies of himself. In Psalm 2 we read:

“Thou art my son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” (verses 7,8) Read more

GOD RULES IN THE KINGDOM OF MEN

March 2, 2023/in Articles /by Steve

GOD RULES IN THE KINGDOM OF MEN

Daniel 4:30-32

^“30The 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? ³¹While 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. ³²And 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.

No matter what look at whether it is the rise of the successive Kingdoms of man from Babylon, Medo Persia, Greece, Rome or the rise of the EU or BREXIT or the latest 2016 USA Presidential Elections we can see God’s hand in all of this ensuring that His Purpose overall is and will be accomplished despite what man my think or do.

Through all of the Bible we are told that Israel is central to God’s purpose, so that whatever happens with Israel we can be sure that God’s hand will be involved somehow either in allowing it to happen or in saving His people from an otherwise dangerous situation. Read more

Carbon 14 Dating how reliable is it?

February 24, 2023/in Articles /by Steve

Carbon 14 Dating how reliable is it?

Problem:

Dating methods (currently Carbon-14) are cited as definitely proving that man has been on the earth for at least 30,000 years. This age for man conflicts with Biblical chronology which dates the beginning of man’s existence on the earth about six thousand years ago.

Solution:

In order to critically appraise the claim that C-14 “definitely proves” the age of man to be at least 30,000 years, a description of C-14 dating is required:

The C-14 method of dating is used to determine the age of vegetables and animal remains. The procedure rests on the fact that cosmic radiation in the upper atmosphere leads to the formation of a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic weight of fourteen, instead of the normal weight of twelve (C-14 instead of the normal C-12). Atmospheric carbon contains a small amount of radio-active C-14 which decays at a fixed known rate, but is continuously replaced by the formation of more C-14. The rate of breakdown is calculated in terms of the “half-life” which for carbon is 5,568 (plus or minus 30) years. After this amount of time, only half the original amount of C-14 will be left; after about 11,400 years, a quarter. Plants, by means of photosynthesis, and animals, by respiration and feeding on plants and one another, incorporate atmospheric carbon into their tissues, a process that is assumed to cease when the tissues die. As the C-14 disintegrates in the dead tissues and is not replaced, the ratio of non-radioactive carbon-12 to C-14 will slowly change, and its value at any time will depend on the time that has elapsed since the tissues died. Thus the age of the tissues can in principle be determined by comparing the ratio of non-radioactive carbon to C-14 in the tissue and in the atmosphere.¹ Read more

God is in CONTROL of this WORLD

December 29, 2022/in Articles /by Steve

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 we 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.

God in Control

One of the fallacies of human governments today is that they think they are in control. This, of course, is brought about by humanistic thinking that man is the master of his own destiny. Even though the problems which confront civilization today seem insurmountable, man is confident in his own ability to solve them and bring about a better world.

The Bible, however, gives us a different and more realistic perspective. It shows us that God is in control and that events in the world are unfolding according to His predetermined plan.

At a time of national unrest when the future of the nation of Judah seemed to be in the balance, the prophet Isaiah gave this word from God:

“Remember this, and show yourselves men; recall to mind, O you transgressors. Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,’ Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it” (Isaiah 46:8–11)

“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10–11).

Although these words were spoken specifically about ancient kings – of Assyria, Babylon and Persia – who went about trying to accomplish their own desires, they give us a timeless insight into the fact that it is God who is really in control. Read more

Signs which Jesus Gave

September 24, 2022/in Articles /by Steve

Signs which Jesus Gave

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 Reborn

Probably 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).

The Fig Tree

Immediately after these prophetic words in the Olivet Prophecy we have these words:

Then he spoke to them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away” (Luke 21:29–33).

In Scripture, the fig tree is symbolic of the nation of Israel. For example: I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness;

I saw your fathers as the firstfruits on the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal Peor and separated themselves to that shame; they became an abomination like the thing they loved (Hosea 9:10).

For a nation has come up against My land, strong, and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the fangs of a fierce lion. He has laid waste My vine and ruined My fig tree; he has stripped it bare and thrown it away; Its branches are made white (Joel 1:6–7).

Further, Jesus told another parable about the nation of Israel using the same metaphor of a fig tree (Luke 13:6-9) and acted out another parable to the same effect when he cursed a fig tree which had become unfruitful (Mark 11:12-14). What Jesus was predicting was that the nation of Israel – pictured as a fig tree – would again revive and would do so at a time when many other nations were also achieving independence. That is exactly what has now happened to the nation of Israel. Read more

Days of Noah and the Coming of Christ

July 20, 2022/in Articles /by Steve

The Days of Noah and the Second Coming of Christ

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)

The teaching echoed by both Christ (Matthew 24:37–39; Luke 17:26–27) and Peter (2 Peter 3:6–7) in the New Testament speaks of the destruction of mankind by flood and then by fire at the time of Chris’s return.

“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37–39, NIV)

“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.” (Luke 17:26–27, NIV)

The parallels between the days of Noah and the Second Coming are described by the apostle Peter as well:

“Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.’ For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice [“deliberately forget,” NIV] that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.” (2 Peter 3:3–7, NAS) [Bold, emphasis added] Read more

WORLD-WIDE CLIMATE CHANGE

June 7, 2022/in Articles /by Steve

WORLD-WIDE CLIMATE CHANGE

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

Four key climate change indicators set new records in 2021, a new report shows
Greenhouse gas concentration; sea level rise; ocean heat; & ocean acidification
World Meteorological Organization published State of the Global Climate report
It confirmed that past seven years have been the warmest seven years on record

By SAM TONKIN FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 18:00 AEST, 18 May 2022 | UPDATED: 18:13 AEST, 18 May 2022

Four key climate change indicators reached record highs last year, a damning new report has revealed, as experts warn that global warming is ‘leaving no corner of Earth untouched’.

Greenhouse gas concentrations, sea level rise, ocean heat and ocean acidification all broke records in 2021, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Its State of the Global Climate in 2021 report also confirmed that the seven years from 2015 to 2021 have been the warmest since the industrial revolution, with 2016 being the warmest year on record.

WMO Secretary-General Professor Petteri Taalas said it was further evidence that ‘our climate is changing before our eyes’.

He also added that it was ‘just a matter of time before we see another warmest year on record’.

Despite the reality of Climate Change and the problems it is presenting to the world, we need not fear as God has a Plan and a Purpose with this Earth and Mankind upon it. SEE THIS ARTICLE God’s Purpose with the Earth Read more

God versus Man

March 1, 2022/in Articles /by Steve

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?

The Average Man

Look at the average man in the developed world. He has a good life, good job. There are people who are less important than he is. In his own little sphere at home, he is the boss (or thinks himself so). His wife and children respect him, and look to him for guidance and protection. He seems to be the centre around which the whole universe turns. You can see what a feeling of complacency this makes. His ideas about himself can get all out of proportion. He does not travel much and has little comprehension of the earth’s immensity. He does not recognize that there are seven billion others like him, each of whom feels he is the centre of the universe.

The Christian Man?

Take this modern man, however, and make a Christian out of him and see his feeling of self-importance grow.

This man of mediocre ability has the opportunity and privilege not given to many; the privilege of standing up and being listened to. He has become a kind of guardian of other people’s morals.

There’s a touch of the martyr about him too; he doesn’t allow himself to do some of the things that other people do, so he stays out of politics and avoids the military. This is painless because of the society in which many people live which is built around the rights of minorities. All this lends special importance to him. He’s respected by his friends, does not harm anyone, may even do good works. He says his prayers, which are mostly repetitious, night after night, automatically, often swiftly, to God his kindly benefactor and may make some trivial personal requests. Read more

GOD RULES IN THE KINGDOM OF MEN

February 12, 2022/in Articles /by Steve

GOD RULES IN THE KINGDOM OF MEN

Daniel 4:30-32

^“30The 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? ³¹While 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. ³²And 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.

No matter what look at whether it is the rise of the successive Kingdoms of man from Babylon, Medo Persia, Greece, Rome or the rise of the EU or BREXIT or the latest 2016 USA Presidential Elections we can see God’s hand in all of this ensuring that His Purpose overall is and will be accomplished despite what man my think or do.

Through all of the Bible we are told that Israel is central to God’s purpose, so that whatever happens with Israel we can be sure that God’s hand will be involved somehow either in allowing it to happen or in saving His people from an otherwise dangerous situation.

The Nation of Israel is God’s Witness to this world Read more

My Father’s House has many Mansions

January 21, 2022/in Articles /by Steve

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

Bible Teaching and Christian Life

January 21, 2022/in Articles /by Steve

Bible Teaching and Christian Life

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?

January 21, 2022/in Articles /by Steve

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

January 3, 2022/in Articles /by Steve

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 Race of Life

December 22, 2021/in Articles /by Steve

The Race of Life

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