Posts filed under ‘Judaism’
Wolves? Who is Heidi Baker?
In Acts 2, when actual tongues of fire sat upon the heads of the disciples gathered in the upper room, did it hurt? Was there screaming as though their skin was burning off? There was only one sound that the Bible records: a mighty rushing wind (Acts 2:2). There was no screaming of the disciples when the Holy Spirit descended. None. The disciples then went outside and spoke in tongues (known languages by those who heard them though unknown at the time to the speakers).
Being Sincere But Sincerely Wrong
The hatred and jealousy from the religious leaders kept them from seeing the truth about Jesus. This very same thing happens to people the world over today…every day…as roughly 150,000 people die into eternity, most without Jesus (Matthew 7:13). This was the primary reason for their constant attacks on Him. Motivated by Satan through and cooperation of their pride, they did whatever they could to stop Jesus. This ultimately resulted in God allowing them to wrongfully arrest, convict, and execute Him, God using the evil devices of demons and people to work out His plan of salvation. Not even Satan understood that he was actually assisting God though he worked against Him!
Jesus Shows Us How NOT to Retaliate
Jesus actually rebuked His disciples for wanting to destroy the Samaritans. Jesus was living the example of His own preaching from the Sermon on the Mount. He also seemed to understand this rejection by the people of Samaria as the Father’s will for Him and used the situation as a sort of compass to determine what His next step was going to be. The text tells us He and His disciples simply went to another village.
Zechariah’s Near and Far Visions, Pt 3
If we live according to the desires of our sin nature (even after we have received salvation), we will continue to “die.” We will die spiritually because our fellowship with God in Christ will be broken. Out of fellowship, we will begin to act no different from those who are lost. However, if we do what we are obligated to do – put to death the deeds of the body by submitting ourselves and our desires to God – then we will continue to live and even grow spiritually.
Jonathan Cahn’s The Paradigm
Dominionism is the belief that if Christians work hard enough to spread the Gospel and turn people to Jesus, a domino effect will occur throughout society that will change America into a nation that glorifies God. I don’t see this in Scripture at all. I see things getting worse and worse until the Tribulation occurs wreaking the worst persecution on earth that has ever been or will ever be. This will be “cut short” by the physical return of Jesus, who will then set up His Millennial Kingdom where He will rule with a rod of iron for 1,000 years. He will literally show the world how it is done.
Author Dan Brown’s New Concept of God Isn’t New
Dan Brown’s assertion that God will become fully antiquated and outmoded due to science and the growing area of artificial intelligence is a comment made by a man who is offering absolutely nothing new. What he ultimately espouses – cosmic consciousness – is something that has been around since nearly the dawn of time. It is New Age, the belief that all human beings are interconnected and if we could simply understand this “truth,” we could then become “one” in spirit and ultimately, in consciousness. Once this is achieved, there is nothing that humanity could not do.
Zechariah’s Near and Far Visions, Pt 2
Clearly, the angel’s words (who simply reiterated what the Lord was saying), point to the future when the Lord’s words will find fulfillment. If we look at Israel since the time of Zechariah, there has been no time during which the above texts has found fulfillment. Yes, we can look at Israel today and understand that there are many unwalled villages (kibbutz), where there appear to be communal gardens and vineyards shared by people living in homes nearby. However, if we take the two verses as a while, the full force of the meaning of these verses has not been, nor is in effect. There is a constant danger against the people living in Israel from outside forces who wish to see that nation destroyed.
Zechariah’s Near and Far Visions, Pt 1
In the Bible, a “horn” is normally understood to mean “power,” whether from an individual, a group of people, or an empire. Commentators of course disagree on the exact meaning, with some believing the “four horns” represents all Gentile powers (v. 21), to the four corners of the earth, while others believe these horns are representative of Babylon, Medes-Persians, Greece, and Rome (from Daniel 2, 7). Regardless of the exact meaning, it likely refers to Gentile powers that God used to scatter the Israelites from their Land after continued rebellion. However, as is always the case, God holds these “horns” responsible for the way they treated His peculiar people.
Habakkuk Comes to Terms with God’s Sovereignty
There are three chapters to Habakkuk. If you have not read the book in a while, please do so. We see the prophet go from frustrated, to confused, to understanding, to acceptance, to a greater awareness that God is fully sovereign. The prophet was humbled (which is the natural outcome of grasping the truth of God’s sovereignty), because God stooped to reveal to Habakkuk what he needed to know. That knowledge was not simply for Habakkuk alone or God would not have told him to write it down. It was for Habakkuk’s Jewish contemporaries, as well as Jews who came after them, and it is for us today.
Why Does God Use Other Nations to Oppose Israel?
Whether we’re dealing with a minor prophet like Micah, Nahum, Joel, or another, the truth is very clear. God will use whatever He chooses to use in order to purify and perfect the nation that He created and whose original leaders entered into an irrevocable covenant with Jehovah Himself. God originally dealt with Israel’s leaders who set things in motion. All who are born into that nation share the responsibility (and the guilt when falling), of carrying on that covenantal relationship. God is certainly very much aware of the fact that at some point, His promises to Israel will be completely fulfilled. All nations who seek Israel’s harm will be dealt with by God, in His way and in His time.
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