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

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.

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

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

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

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

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