Friday, 4 October 2024
Sunday, 25 September 2022
"Ye Shall Die in Your Sins" This is one of many verses which exposes a modern error concerning the Atonement.
There are some who teach that on the Cross Christ bore all the sins of all men. They insist that the entire question of sin was dealt with and settled at Calvary. They declare that the only thing which will now send any man to hell, is his rejection of Christ. But such teaching is entirely unscriptural. Christ bore all the sins of believers, but for the sins of unbelievers no atonement was made. And one of the many proofs of this is furnished by John 8:24: "Ye shall die in your sins" could never have been said if the Lord Jesus removed all sins from before God.
"Then said they unto Him, who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning" (8:25). We believe that this is given much more accurately in the R.V., especially the marginal rendering: "They said therefore unto Him, Who art thou? Jesus said unto them, Altogether that which I also speak unto you." This was a remarkable utterance. The Pharisees had objected that Christ's witness of Himself was not true (v.13). The Lord replied that His witness was true, and He proved it by an appeal to the corroborative witness of the Father. Now they ask, "Who art thou?" And the incarnate Son of God answered, I am essentially and absolutely that which I have declared myself to be. I have spoken of "light": I am that light. I have spoken of "truth": I am that Truth. I am the very incarnation, personification, exemplification of them. Wondrous declaration is this! None but He could really say, I am Myself that of which I am speaking to you. The child of God may speak the truth, but he is not the Truth itself. A Christian may let his "light," shine but he is not the "Light" itself. But Christ was, and therein we perceive His uniqueness. As we read in 1 John 5:20, "We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true," not "Him who taught the truth," but "Him that is true."
Page 443; A.W. Pink's Exposition of the Gospel of John.
No doubt the above will shatter the illusions of many who believe they have the 'freewill' to come to Christ. Notwithstanding the above, it is true that a person presented with the Gospel who rejects it, he or she is a Christ rejecter! (see John 12:48). For, it is only "My sheep" that will "hear My voice" John 10:27. That are His that were predestined to do so, His elect. The "tares" we read of in Matthew 13, 25, and 7:21-23 never rejected Christ, no they accepted Him on their own terms. Or perhaps, "inviting Him into their hearts" (as if that could be done!). The Gospel of Christ never was an invitation, but a commandment, for God "commandeth all men everywhere to repent." Acts 17:30. Nevertheless, "many are called, but few are chosen." Matthew 22:14.
Secker of Tewkesbury said it right; "Repentance, though it be the act of man, is but the gift of God."
Work that one out with human logic if you can! Little wonder the apostle said, "His ways are past finding out!" Romans 11:33.
Friday, 23 September 2022
Luke 23:17
(For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.) Luke 23:17.
The time honoured Authorised Version (KJV1611) based on the Received Text (to the best of my knowledge) is the only translation that contains this verse without any footnote being required. If Luke's were the only Gospel that contained the account of Barabbas the context with verse 17 omitted would make no sense whatsoever. Without verse 17 it reads thus (verses 16-19):
I will therefore chastise Him, and release Him. And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: (Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.)
Whyever ask for Barabbas to be released? What bearing has this man to do with the narrative? It is obvious that it can only be explained by the so-called 'missing' verse which informs us that it was a custom to release a prisoner at the feast time; one no doubt popular with the people.
The vast majority of all modern translations either have a footnote appended to Luke 23:17 with an explanation or ignore the verse altogether, as the popular ESV (English Standard Version) does.
For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89.
Friday, 19 August 2022
The Literal Three Day and Three Night Gap in the Four Gospels
So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, the guard being with them. Now late on the sabbath day, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
Matthew 27:66-28:1 (RV).
Matthew is obviously referring to the weekly sabbath in 28:1 and not the high sabbath on Wednesday 15th Nisan, therefore there must be three days and three nights (a full 72 hours) between Matthew 27:66 & 28:1.
And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where He was laid. And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint Him.
Mark 15:47-16:1.
Mark obviously means sabbaths plural, for he couldn't have meant only the Sunday sabbath, else how could the women have obtained the spices in so short a window of opportunity? So there is a full three days and three nights between the two verses in regard to the high sabbath, but not the weekly sabbath, which was just ending, and at the crack of dawn the women hastened to the tomb with the spices they had previously prepared on the Preparation day.
And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments: And on the sabbath they rested according to the commandment. But on the first day of the week, at early dawn they came unto the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared.
Luke 23:56-24:1 (RV).
Luke's narrative also has a clear three day and three night, 72 gap between the verses under consideration.
There then because of the Jews Preparation (for the tomb was nigh at hand) they laid Jesus. Now on the first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, while it was yet dark, unto the tomb, and seeth the stone taken away from the tomb.
John 19:42-20:1 (RV).
Again, we can see a clear three day and three night, literal 72 hour gap between the entombment of Jesus very early on the Wednesday high sabbath (15th Nisan) and His rising very early on the first day of the week, Sunday.
The synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark & Luke) have the Lord's entombment, and rising from the tomb narratives, between the very end of their respective penultimate chapters and the beginning of their last chapters, whereas John has one extra chapter.
When the regular Saturday sabbath expired, on the very next day (Sunday), the two Mary's and Salome came to the tomb at the crack of dawn to anoint the Lord. There are exactly 72 hours from very late on the Preparation, the 14th/15th Nisan on Wednesday evening and very early on18th Nisan, Sunday morning. The Lord having been crucified "between the two evenings" (14th & 15th Nisan)** fulfilling the type perfectly as depicted in Exodus 12:6. In Luke 23:53-55, we read that the Lord's body was in the tomb very late on the Preparation, for we are told "the sabbath drew on", that is it was fast approaching. The women witnessed "how His body was laid." But there is a considerable difference between being in a tomb, and being entombed, So the question remains; at what point in time was the stone rolled into position? Would any venture to say this didn't happen even one second into the new day? Mark 16:9* certainly confirms His resurrection took place "early on the first day of the week." Those with a Judaizing tendency (therefore denying the plenary inspiration of Mark's long ending in the Received Text), tend to argue for a very late seventh day Saturday resurrection from the standpoint that the Jews, including their leaders (Chief priests and the Pharisees) would have rested according to the commandment (Luke 23:56), yet we find these hypocrites engaging with Pilate on their very own high day (John 19:31) about making the tomb sure with a guard! (Matthew 27:62-66). Such was the inveterate and implacable nature of Christ's enemies who chided His disciples for plucking a few ears of corn on the sabbath!
There are two sabbaths in the Gospel crucifixion, burial, and resurrection narratives; the high sabbath on the Thursday, and the weekly sabbath on the Saturday, and also a literal 24 hour "three day and three nights" entombment. The Scripture doesn't say if the two Mary's and Salome intended to anoint the Lord at His burial, but Matthew and Luke confirm their presence at the tomb when the stone was rolled in its place, so it is possible they may have done so (Matthew 27:61, Luke 23:55-56). I believe there is a three day (literal 72 hour) "gap" between Luke 23:56 and 24:1, as the context reads that "the sabbath" in verse 56 is not the seventh day sabbath. This is more obvious in John 19:42-20:1, as there is no mention at all of the weekly sabbath, but not Mark 16:1-2, for Mark says "when the sabbath was past" (the Greek plural: sabbaths were past) the latter sabbath being the weekly sabbath, this is because if he meant only the high sabbath, when it had expired, it would bring us on to Monday 18th Nisan. Likewise, with Matthew 28:1(RV), it reads "late on the sabbath day as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week"; the simple reading makes it clear that the sabbath referred to in this verse is the weekly sabbath (the AV omits day).
The three day and three night gap in the Gospel narratives mirror perfectly what the Lord proclaimed in Matthew 12:40; confirming a literal 72 hour entombment demolishing the apologetic very small part of Friday, whole of Saturday, and very small part of Sunday theory.
Many Reformed exegetes were at pains to explain the verses under consideration, Dr. Gill said of Mark 16:1 that they may have "came to anoint the sepulchre; His body being anointed before, and wound up by Joseph and Nicodemus." But Gill confesses "it seems most likely, that they came to anoint His body", just as Mark says! Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Matthews Henry and Poole, likewise had great difficulty with this, for they didn't see a three day gap in the Gospel narratives under consideration, as they believed in the Friday crucifixion. Notwithstanding, it is evident that the women intended to have His body anointed again as Luke 24:1 confirms, such was their love for Him.
Here in 2022, the night being far spent, we latter day Christians can be somewhat dumbstruck at the lack of faith in the Lord's resurrection by His disciples, and also the women who came to His tomb expecting to anoint a dead body! We may think to ourselves "why were you so dull of hearing? The Lord plainly said He would "after three days rise again." Mark 8:31. Nevertheless, when His glorious Holy Spirit came down after the Lord's ascension in Acts 2: they were but changed men.
If the aforesaid disciples and the women had the hindsight of the knowledge subsequently bequeathed to us in the ensuing centuries since passed, then they could be rightly charged with folly, but we can lay no such charge upon them.
*The two oldest Greek manuscripts and some other authorities, omit from ver. 9 to the end. Some other authorities have a different ending to the Gospel.
The above is taken from the margin in the 1881 Revised Version (Interlinear Bible).
16:9-20 OMITTED or bracketed in most Bibles (with variations). Although missing in the Vatican and Sinai manuscripts, it is found in almost every Greek manuscript which contains Mark's Gospel. In addition it is quoted by Church Fathers including Irenaeus and Hippolytus in the second and third centuries (thus predating the two 'old' manuscripts, Vatican and Sinai).
The above is taken from A Textual Key to the New Testament, A list of Omissions and Changes. (Trinitarian Bible Society).
To those who would reject the "long ending" in Mark's Gospel in order to support the Saturday sabbath, I would ask, do you find anything else in the so-called long ending you disagree with? More than this, the whole tenor of the New Testament supports the Sunday resurrection. Certainly Mark 16:9 is the only verse in the entire NT that says categorically "He was risen early on the first day of the week." But, as said elsewhere, I cannot believe for one single second that God would have let a spurious text remain in the Received Text down through the centuries, all the Martyrs, Reformers, and others believing on it. Mark was a very concise writer, whose Gospel was shorter by far than the other evangelists, yet some would shorten it further!
**Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: and ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at even. Exodus 12:5-6 (RV).
In the Hebrew at even means between the two evenings. What two evenings? Clearly, this is between the two evenings the Lord Jesus was crucified, that is between the evening of 14th & 15th Nisan, fulfilling perfectly the Passover sacrifice in Exodus! The 14th Nisan was Wednesday, so the Great Sacrifice had to take place on the evening of this day, and before the next evening on 15th Nisan.
Monday, 25 July 2022
More Thoughts On Matthew 12:40
For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Matthew 12:40.
No one would doubt that the crucifixion narrative was a fast moving event: that is the events leading up to it, and those immediately prior to His burial. He died ("gave up the ghost") at the "ninth hour", and if we assume it took three hours (more likely; a while longer) for Joseph of Arimathea to dialogue with Pilate, and have His body taken down from the cross, and "wrapped in a clean linen cloth", then finally securing the "sepulchre" with a "great stone" (all these actions being doubtless reverently performed), then this would put His entombment "in the heart of the earth" well past the twelfth hour, that is on Thursday morning, and His resurrection (at the crack of dawn) on Sunday morning.
But, "the heart of the earth" signifies something altogether different than a tomb above the ground.
There has been much debate as to whether man is a bipartite or tripartite being; many theories being postulated for both views. To paraphrase A.W. Pink, "it is not easy to discern the spirit from the soul." Are they both the same? The principal Scripture for advancing the tripartite view is 1 Thessalonians 5:23, "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." This verse appears to make a clear distinction between the "spirit and soul", and indeed Hebrews 4:12 teaches that the 'two' entities are so close that they are to be compared with the proximity "of the joints and marrow"! These latter two joined so close together that you would need a surgeon's scalpel to "divide them asunder"! Little wonder the last quoted Scripture drives home the fact that God's Word "is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Ecclesiastes 3:21, and 12:7 only speak of "the spirit of man", and "the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."
I say this to illustrate the 'difference' between the spirit, soul, and body in regard to our Lord's sojourn "in the heart of the earth." The phrase "in the heart of the earth" suggests a place far down deep below; far lower down than what Jonas experienced "in the whale's belly", for the Earth's ocean floors are high above "the heart of the earth". Jonas only went as low as "the bottom of the mountains." Jonah 2:6.
The body of the Lord Jesus was entombed above the earth in a "sepulchre" Matthew 27:60, so it is evident that His body did not go down to "the heart of the earth", but His Spirit/Soul did, as confirmed by 1 Peter 3:19, Ephesians 4:8-9: At what point in time did the Lord's Spirit/Soul depart down to "the heart of the earth"? Surely, it must have been at the precise moment He "gave up the ghost." Mark 15:37? that is instantaneously. In contradistinction, His body obviously tarried a considerable time afterward before being interred in the sepulchre through the efforts of Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:57-60). Therefore, when we try to determine the precise time the Lord Jesus spent "in the heart of the earth", we can only do so with regard to His Spirit/Soul, not His body. The moment when His Spirit/Soul was reunited with His body was again an instantaneous event, as was their departure. But at this instantaneous moment He was still entombed, awaiting an angel to roll away the stone. How we can determine that period of time is impossible! But doubtless it wasn't very long.
"Now late on the sabbath day, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it." Matthew 28:2; an event which no believer would deny happened in a "twinkling of an eye" as it were! unlike the process that led to the interring of His dead body.
Having established that the crucifixion took place late on Wednesday evening (ninth hour) then the first night of the "three nights" that His Spirit/Soul went down to Hades/Sheol was obviously Wednesday, but this wasn't the case for His body.
His bodily resurrection (being released from the tomb) happened at the very dawning of the new day (Sunday) as recorded in Mark 16:9. Regarding the so-called "long ending" in Mark's Gospel, I cannot for one second believe that God in Christ would have allowed any spurious text to remain in the Received Text down through the centuries if it were not inspired by His Holy Spirit (Psalm 119:89). Also, let us not forget that when "the day of Pentecost was fully come" Acts 2:1 was on Sunday, the first day of the week when the Gospel would be sent forth to the nations. This was now the Christian sabbath, or rather the "Lord's Day", that is His resurrection day, the eighth day. On this day His disciples would now meet to "break bread" on the first day of the week, the old order had now passed away, the New Testament (a better covenant, which was established upon better promises." Hebrews 8:6) has now replaced the old, including the observation of the now defunct Jewish sabbath (observed only by unbelieving Jews!) which the modern day Judaizers would have us observe, and be under bondage to! Read the third chapter of Galatians. Furthermore, Acts 20:7 very clearly says in no uncertain terms that "upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread..." This means there was now a new sabbath! The new sabbath or rather "Lord's day" has long been observed in our land, continued through the balmy days of the puritans/Reformed Christianity. Sunday is now being questioned by some through the efforts of the Judaizers (who it would seem hate anything to do with the glorious Reformation). Again, the apostle clearly confirms the Pentecostal directive in 1 Corinthians 16:2, where the context teaches that the New Testament saints now observed the eighth day; that is the Lord's Day (Sunday), so-called because He was resurrected "upon the first day of the week."
Having previously established that the crucifixion took place late on Wednesday evening (ninth hour), the question is; to what evening do we accredit the first night of our Lord's sojourn "in the heart of the earth"? We have established that "the heart of the earth" cannot be the sepulchre which is above the earth, and that the precise moment He "gave up the ghost" (Ninth hour) was quite some time before His body was interred: so we must be very careful when trying to calculate the exact period our Lord sojourned down below; therefore how do we determine His "three days and three nights" sojourn? between His bodily death on the cross and bodily resurrection from the tomb? or between His physical bodily burial and resurrection? Most assume the Lord's internment in "the heart of the earth" only to refer to the period His body spent in the sepulchre, but clearly that is not the case, for if it were true, the Sunday resurrection would be plain and easy to prove, if we allow at least three hours from the cross to the grave.
Regarding the Lord's Spirit/Soul, the "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" must necessarily be calculated from the "ninth hour", that is three hours before the new day-our Thursday. The biblical Jewish day was divided into four parts, and the Lord said "Are there not twelve hours in the day?" John 11:9, meaning daylight hours: For at the Passover season, daylight and nighttime hours are approximately twelve hours apiece. So, in my estimation 72 hours from when our Lord "gave up the ghost" on the ninth hour on the Wednesday crucifixion would take us precisely to the ninth hour on our Saturday evening (the Jewish sabbath) the precise time of His Spiritual/Soul resurrection, but His physical body didn't rise until precisely three hours later, early on the first of the first day, that is our Sunday, when the angel "rolled away the stone". Does this mean that He rose on the fourth day? No, but nevertheless, the Lord said "after three days I will rise again." Matthew 27:63, Mark 8:31 (my emphasis). There is absolutely no mention in the Gospels anywhere of a fourth day in regards to His resurrection. Matthew 28:1 definitely posits "an angel of the Lord" coming at the very dawning of the new day to open the sepulchre. But, why? Obviously this was the way God ordained it! I ask "why" because surely the Lord had the power in Himself to roll the stone away from the door without any angelic assistance? The contiguity of the sabbath expiration and the Sunday resurrection is as close as "the joints and marrow". Previously I wrote that the "three days and three nights" (or the literal 72 hours) in the tomb should be calculated from the moment "He gave up the ghost" whilst still on the cross, but then His physical body rose from the grave after the sabbath, for Matthew 28:1 clearly states that the two Mary's were approaching the sepulchre "as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week".
The conclusion of the matter is that the Lord did indeed spend three full nights, and therefore three full days in the heart of the earth, as He said He would, according to Matthew 12:40. However, it is noteworthy that it is only Mark that says "after three days" the Lord will "rise again." Mark 8:31, 10:34 RV (emphasis mine). The other synoptic Gospel writers all say that He will "be raised again the third day." Matthew 16:21,17:23,20:19, Luke 9:22,18:33,24:7. The unbelieving tongue, however, quoted Mark's words; "after three days I will rise again." Matthew 27:63. The non synoptic Gospel writer, John 2:19 recorded His resurrection in relation to the true Temple (His body), yet the unbelieving Jews castigated Him for speaking the Truth!
Tuesday, 28 June 2022
The Three Literal Days in the Heart of the Earth and the Lord's Day (Sunday) Resurrection
This is a subject that I confess I hadn't studied in any great depth before, as much as more so-called 'important' topics in God's Book, beginning (as none would dispute!) with salvation. It is enough to know (and believe!) that "He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." 1 Corinthians 15:4; be these partial or full days. There are biblical arguments for "both sides of the fence" as it were, but as for me, I am now fully persuaded that our Lord and Saviour spent a full literal three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, as Matthew 12:40 avers.
If you would refer to my last post on this subject, I copied this from a book I purchased (for the miserly sum of 10p!) last month from a charity shop on the Western Isles where I live. I read it once, then twice, then thrice, checked out all the Bible verses quoted therein, and copied it letter and word by my fingertips on this ere blog to make sure I had fully understood its import before posting it. I hand sketched the crude diagram on my last post so to graphically understand it, not just for my own benefit, but for any whom God would send to this blog of mine.
Notwithstanding the above, regarding "The Lord's Day" (the first day of the week, or now the eighth or Resurrection Day), the Christian Sabbath is now on the day we call by the (pagan) name Sunday. There are many who would have us falsely believe that it was Constantine in AD 321 who instituted the Sunday Sabbath, when all this man did (for his own ends...) was institute what was plainly written in the Scriptures. The written word plainly declares that:
Upon the first day of the week (pagan Sunday!) when the disciples came together to break bread... Acts 20:7.
Upon the first day of the week (pagan Sunday!) let every one of you lay by him in store...1 Corinthians 16:2.
Did these Christian Jews dishonour the Jewish Sabbath day? Or Is the resurrected Lord; the Son of man Lord of the sabbath day or no? And He said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath. Mark 2:27-28. Today, the unbelieving (religious) Jews continue to observe the seventh (non resurrection-day) Saturday sabbath, confused Messianic Jews do the same; so what day is the Christian sabbath?
John wrote I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, Revelation 1:10. What day? His resurrection day.
Mark wrote Now when Jesus was risen early the first day (Sunday) of the week.. Mark 16:9.
The so-called long ending in Mark's Gospel (16:9-20) in the Authorized Version (Textus Receptus, the Received Text) has been removed (or bracketed with variations) from many modern Bible versions. Although missing in the Vatican and Sinai manuscripts, it is found in almost every Greek manuscript which contains Mark's Gospel. In addition it is quoted by Church Fathers including Irenaeus and Hippolytus in the second and third centuries (thus predating the two 'old' manuscripts, Vatican and Sinai).
Gentile Christians have long honoured the first day of the week as the Christian sabbath, traditionally, and rightly so.
Monday, 20 June 2022
Was Jesus Really Three Days and Three Nights in the Heart of the Earth?
Was Jesus Really Three Days and Three Nights in the Heart of the Earth?
Lifted from pages 33-39 of FALSE VIEWS BY MODERN MAN by Ian R.K. Paisley.
MATTHEW 27:62
The A.V. reads:-
"Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate."
The T.E.V.* reads:-
"On the next day-that is, the day following Friday - the chief priests and the Pharisees met with Pilate."
Once again the Romish error that Christ was put to death on Friday is written into the text. This, of course, is without any textual warrant whatsoever.
The following statement from the able pen of the late Dr. R.A. Torrey should be studied in this connection:-
WAS JESUS REALLY THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE HEART OF THE EARTH?
By Dr. R.A. Torrey.
Matthew, in the twelfth chapter of his Gospel and the fortieth verse, reports Jesus as saying: "As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale ("sea monster", R.V. margin), so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." According to the commonly accepted tradition of the Church, Jesus was crucified on Friday, dying at 3 p.m., or somewhere between 3 p.m. and sundown, and was raised from the dead very early in the morning of the following Sunday. Many readers of the Bible are puzzled to know how the interval between late Friday afternoon and early Sunday morning can be figured out to be three days and three nights. It seems rather to be two nights, one day and a very small portion of another day.
The solution of this apparent difficulty proposed by many commentators is that "a day and a night" is simply another way of saying "a day", and that the ancient Jews reckoned a fraction of a day as a whole day, so they say there was a part of Friday (or a very small part), or a day and a night; all of Saturday, another day, or a day and a night; part of Sunday (a very small part), another day, or a day and a night.
There are many persons whom this solution does not altogether satisfy, and the writer is free to confess it does not satisfy him at all. It seems to him to be a makeshift, and a very weak makeshift.
Is there any solution that is altogether satisfactory?
There is.
First Fact.
The first fact to be noticed in the proper solution is that the Bible nowhere says or implies that Jesus was crucified and died on Friday. It is said that Jesus was crucified on "the day before the sabbath" (Mark 15:42). As the Jewish weekly sabbath came on Saturday, beginning at sunset the evening before, the conclusion is naturally drawn that as Jesus was crucified the day before the sabbath He must have been crucified on Friday. But it is a well-known fact, to which the Bible bears abundant testimony, that the Jews had other sabbaths beside the weekly sabbath which fell on Saturday. The first day of the Passover week, no matter upon what day of the week it came, was always a sabbath (Exodus 12:16; Leviticus 23:7; Numbers 28:16-18). The question therefore arises whether the Sabbath that followed Christ's crucifixion was the weekly sabbath (Saturday) or the Passover sabbath, falling on the 15th of Nisan, which came that year on Thursday. Now the Bible does not leave us to speculate in regard to which sabbath is meant in this instance, for John tells us in so many words, in John 19:14, that the day on which Jesus was tried and crucified was "the preparation of the Passover" (R.V.), that is, it was not the day before the weekly sabbath (Friday), but it was the day before the Passover sabbath, which came that year on Thursday. That is to say, the day on which Jesus Christ was crucified was
Wednesday.
John makes this as clear as day.
The Gospel of John was written later than the other Gospels, and scholars have for a long time noticed that in various places there was an evident intention to correct false impressions one might get from reading the other Gospels. One of these false impressions was that Jesus eat the Passover with His disciples at the regular time of the Passover. To correct this false impression John clearly states that He eat it the evening before, and that He Himself died on the cross at the very moment the Passover lambs were being slain "between the two evenings" on the 14th Nisan (Exodus 12:6, Hebrew and R.V. margin). God's real Pascal Lamb, Jesus, of whom all other Pascal lambs offered through the centuries were only types, was therefore slain at the very time appointed of God.
Everything about the Passover lamb was
Fulfilled in Jesus
(1) He was a lamb without blemish and without spot (Exodus 12:5). (2) He was chosen on the 10th day of Nisan (Exodus 12:3), for it was on the tenth day of the month, the preceding Saturday, that the triumphal entry into Jerusalem was made, since they came from Jericho to Bethany six days before the Passover (John 12:1-that would be six days before Thursday, which would be Friday),and it was on the next day that the entry into Jerusalem was made (John 12:12 and following verses) that is, on Saturday, the 10th Nisan. It was also on this same day that Judas went to the chief priests and offered to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:6-16; Mark 14:3-11). As it was after the supper in the house of Simon the leper, and as the super occurred late on Friday, that is after sunset, or early on Saturday, after the super would necessarily be on the 10th Nisan. This being the price set on Him by the chief priests, it was the buying or taking to them of a lamb which according to law must occur on the 10th Nisan. Furthermore, they put the exact value on the lamb that Old Testament prophecy predicted (Matthew 26:15, compare Zechariah 11:12). (3) Not a bone of Him was broken when He was killed (John 19:36, compare Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12; Psalm 34:20). (4) And He was killed on the 14th Nisan between the evenings, just before the beginning of the 15th Nisan at sundown (Exodus 12:6, R.V. margin).
If we take just exactly what the Bible says, viz., that Jesus was slain before the Passover sabbath, the type is marvellously fulfilled in every detail, but if we accept the traditional theory that Jesus was crucified on Friday, the type fails on many points.
Traditional View
Furthermore, if we accept the traditional view that Jesus was crucified on Friday and ate the Passover on the regular day of the Passover, then the journey from Jericho to Bethany, which occurred six days before the Passover (John 12:1) would fall on a Saturday, that is, the Jewish sabbath. Such a journey would be contrary to the Jewish law. Of course it was impossible for Jesus to take such a journey on the Jewish sabbath. In reality His triumphal entry into Jerusalem was on the Jewish sabbath, Saturday. This was altogether possible for the Bible elsewhere tells us that Bethany was a sabbath day's journey from Jerusalem (Acts 1:12; compare Luke 24:50).
Furthermore, it has been figured out by the astronomers that in the year 30 A.D., which is the commonly accepted year of the crucifixion of our Lord, the Passover was kept on Thursday, April 6th, the moon being full that day. The chronologists who have supposed that the crucifixion took place on Friday have been greatly perplexed by this fact that in the year30 A.D., the Passover occurred on Thursday. One writer in seeking a solution to the difficulty suggests that the crucifixion may have been in the year 33 A.D., for although the full moon was on a Thursday that year also, yet as it was within two and a half hours of Friday, he thinks that perhaps the Jews may have kept it that day. But when we accept exactly what the Bible says, namely, that Jesus was not crucified on the Passover day but on "the preparation of the Passover", and that He was to be three days and three nights in the grave, and as "the preparation of the Passover" that year would be Wednesday and His resurrection early on the first day of the week, this allows exactly three days and three nights in the grave.
To sum it all up,
Jesus Died about Sunset on Wednesday.
Seventy-two hours later, exactly three days and three nights, at the beginning of the first day of the week (Saturday at sunset), He arose again from the grave. When the women visited the tomb just before dawn next morning, they found the grave already empty. So we are not driven to any such makeshift as that any small portion of the day is reckoned as a whole day and night, but we find that the statement of Jesus was literally true. Three days and three nights His body was dead and lay in the sepulcher. While His body lay dead, He Himself being quickened in the spirit (1 Peter 3:18) went into the heart of the earth and preached unto the spirits which were in prison (1 Peter 3:19).
This supposed difficulty solves itself, as do so many other difficulties in the Bible as meaning exactly what it says.
It is sometimes objected against the view here advanced that the two on the way to Emmaus early on the first day of the week (that is, Sunday) said to Jesus in speaking of the crucifixion and events accompanying it: "Besides all this, today is the third day since these things were done" (Luke 24:21), and it is said that if the crucifixion took place on Wednesday, Sunday would be the fourth day since these things were done. But the answer is very simple. These things were done just as Thursday was beginning at sunset on Wednesday. They were therefore completed on Thursday, and the first day since Thursday would be Friday, the second day since Thursday would be Saturday, and "the third day since" Thursday would be Sunday, the first day of the week. So the supposed objection in reality supports the theory. On the other hand, if the crucifixion took place on Friday, by no manner of reckoning could Sunday be made "the third day since" these things were done.
There are
Many Passages in Scripture
that support the theory advanced above and make it necessary to believe that Jesus died late on Wednesday. Some of them are as follows: "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40). "This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days" (Matthew 26:61). Thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save Thyself" (Matthew 27:40). "Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while He was yet alive, After three days I will rise again" (Matthew 27:63). "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be killed and after three days rise again" (Mark 8:31). "They shall kill Him, and when He is killed, after three days He shall rise again" (Mark 9:13, R.V.). "They shall scourge Him, and shall kill Him, and after three days He shall rise again" (Mark 10:34, R.V.). "Destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands" (Mark 14:58, R.V.). "Ah, Thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save Thyself" (Mark 15:29). "Besides all this, today is the third day since these things were done." (Luke 24:21). "Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt Thou raise it up in three days? But He spake of the temple of His body. When therefore He was risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said" (John 2:19-22).
There is absolutely nothing in favour of Friday crucifixion, but everything in the Scripture is perfectly harmonized by Wednesday crucifixion. It is remarkable how many prophetical and typical passages of the Old Testament are fulfilled and how many seeming discrepancies in the Gospel narratives are straightened out when we once come to understand that Jesus died on Wednesday and not on Friday.
The T,E.V.* is however, prepared to write into the New Testament the Good Friday Romish tradition, although by so doing it makes the Testament to contradict its own plain statements.
Again, no wonder Cardinal Cushing, a leading Roman Catholic prelate in the U.S.A., is on record as saying that his "expert consultants did not seek a single change in the text of the T.E.V.* before approving it for Catholic use".
Moreover, the Cardinal, as R.C. Archbishop of Boston, gave the T.E.V.* his official approval and had his imprimatur inserted therein.
*The T.E.V. (Todays English Version) was renamed the Good News Bible in 2001.
Tuesday, 21 December 2021
The Ministry Of Silly Walks
This is how the 'United' Kingdom and its devolved governments are walking in the present day.
Winston Churchill once said "keep scientists on tap, not on top." Where are they now? Yes, "on top"! What is the current mantra? "We will follow the science!" Tragically, though the powers that be are totally deceived, (knowingly or otherwise) this 'silliness' is Satan's sinister work, for he was a murderer from the beginning. John 8:44, and let us not forget that the devil is in control, for God in Christ has ordained him to be the god of this age. 2 Corinthians 4:4.
"The Ministry Of Silly Walks" was a comedy sketch on Monty Pythons Flying Circus, a late 1960s, early 70s comedy series which parodied the UK governments ministries. It was so wacky, as was everything else they produced-brilliant satirical imitation of all events then taking place-but how far the declension has continued apace since! The Dead Parrot sketch was another of my favourites. John Cleese (aka Basil Fawlty/Fawlty Towers) played the part of a bowler hatted civil servant complaining about the fact that "the government spent far more on national defence than they did on the Ministry of Silly Walks"!
How prophetic! Where are we now? The government of the day is totally barking mad, truly the whole lot in their various ministries are walking according to "The Ministry Of Silly Walks" albeit in a metaphorical way! wanting to jab and test everyone in sight, from pregnant women, babies, children and adults alike, with lignocaine (a sorcerers poison)! One dose isn't enough! No! we are told we need a second, and a booster jab, and yet this won't stop the mythical Omicron! But, fear not! those sorcerers in white coats are busy at work developing more poison to jab us with! Oh, and how they want us all to go everyplace wearing masks, and shoving God knows what up our noses, and doing whatever else-"don't mix-keep apart"!
Don't participate with all this nonsense.
I have no doubt there are post coded placebo vaccines in various locations, for they don't want to kill everyone.
This video is only 3 minutes long, and you will also note folk in a long queue, queuing for what, I know not, but it is yet another dystopian prophecy of the draconian age we are in today.
Only The Lord Jesus can save us from all this madness, "close in with Him today" as the old saint John Bunyan was wont to preach-if you haven't done so already.
The literal rebuilding of Babylon cannot be afar off now, and after that metropolis has been rebuilt, the Lord Jesus shall destroy it and its king (antichrist) with the brightness of His Coming. 2 Thessalonians 2:8.
Wednesday, 23 June 2021
Truth Stranger Than Fiction?
Saturday, 27 February 2021
The Creed. The Wisdom of A.W.Pink (1886-1952).
There are two great basic truths which run through Scripture, and are enforced on every page: that God is sovereign, and that man is a responsible creature; and it is only as the balance of truth is preserved between these two that we are delivered from error. The Divine sovereignty should not be pressed to the exclusion of human responsibility, nor must human responsibility be so stressed that God's sovereignty is either ignored or denied. The danger here is no fancied one, as the history of Christendom painfully exhibits. A careful study of the Word, and an honest appropriation of all it contains, is our only safeguard.
We are creatures prone to go to extremes: like the pendulum of a clock in motion, we swing from one side to the other. Nowhere has this tendency been more sadly exemplified than in the teachings of theologians concerning the security of the Christian. On the one hand, there have been those who affirmed, Once saved, always saved; on the other hand, many have insisted that a man may be saved today, but lost tomorrow. And both sides have appealed to the Bible in support of their conflicting contentions! Very unwise and unguarded statements have been made by both parties. Some Calvinists have boldly declared that if a sinner has received Christ as his Saviour, no matter what he does afterward, no matter what his subsequent life may be, he cannot perish. Some Arminians have openly denied the efficacy of the finished Work of Christ, and affirmed that when a sinner repents and believes in Christ he is merely put in a salvable state, on probation, and that his own good works and faithfulness will prove the deciding factor as to whether he should spend eternity in Heaven or Hell.
Endless volumes have been written on the subject, but neither side has satisfied the other; and the writer for one, is not at all surprised at this. Party-spirit has run too high, sectarian prejudice has been too strong. Only too often the aim of the contestants has been to silence their opponents, rather than to arrive at the truth. The method followed has frequently been altogether unworthy of the "children of light". One class of passages of Scripture has been pressed into service, while another class of passages has been either ignored or explained away. Is it not a fact that if some Calvinists were honest they would have to acknowledge there are some passages in the Bible which they wish were not there at all? And if some Arminians were equally honest, would they not have to confess that there are passages in Holy Writ which they are quite unable to fit into the creed to which they are committed? Sad, sad indeed, is this. There is nothing in the Word of God of which any Christian needs be afraid, and if there is a single verse in it which conflicts with his creed, so much the worse for his creed.
Now the subject of the Christian's security, like every other truth of Scripture, has two sides to it: into it there enters both God's sovereignty and human responsibility. It is failure to recognize and reckon upon this which has wrought such havoc and created so much confusion. More than once has the writer heard a renowned Bible-teacher of orthodox reputation say, "I do not believe in the perseverance of the saints, but I do believe in the preservation of the Saviour." But that is to ignore an important part of the truth. The New Testament has much to say on the perseverance of the saints, and to deny or ignore it is not only to dishonour God, but to damage souls.
There have been those who boldly insisted that, if God has eternally elected a certain man to be saved, that man will be saved, no matter what he does or does not do. Not so does the Word of God teach. Scripture says, God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." 2 Thess. 2:13, and if a man does not "believe the truth" he will never be saved. The Lord Jesus declared, "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" Luke 13:3; therefore, if a sinner, does not "repent", he will not be saved. In like manner, there are those who have said, If a man is a real Christian, no matter how he may live in the future, no matter how far or how long he may backslide, no matter what sins he may commit, he is sure of heaven. Put in such a way, this teaching has wrought untold harm, and, at the risk of our own orthodoxy being suspected, we here enter a solemn and vigorous protest against it.
The writer has met many people who profess to be Christians, but whose daily lives differ in nothing from thousands of non-professors all around them. They are rarely, if ever, found at the prayer-meeting, they have no family worship, they seldom read the Scriptures, they will not talk with you about the things of God, their walk is thoroughly worldly; and yet they are quite sure they are bound for heaven! Inquire into the grounds of their confidence, and they will tell you that so many years ago they accepted Christ as their Saviour, and "once saved always saved" is their comfort. There are thousands of such people on earth today, who are nevertheless, on the Broad Road, that leadeth to destruction, treading it with a false peace in their hearts and a vain profession on their lips.
TBC.
Monday, 1 February 2021
The Great Reset, A Brief Analysis.
The Great Reset is an oft used term in certain quarters (illuminati's, Bilderbergers, call them what you will) to describe the New World Order after the covid 19 dust is now starting to settle; I believe the uncertainty will persist to around 2024. By then most will be so worn down, brainwashed and reset to accept once cherished freedoms of the pre covid 19 era will never return. The UK government is now spending money at a rate that is clearly unsustainable, the coffers will run dry, then what? Furlough schemes and other 'business support' measures of every type will have hitherto 'rescued' the people, but at what price? Remember, this is all planned (as far back as the 17th-18th centuries), but more recently, back in 2012 the 'enlightened' World Bank president Jim Yong Kim said:
"A 4- degree warmer world can, and must be avoided - we need to hold warming below 2 degrees ... Lack of action on climate change threatens to to make the world our children inherit a completely different world than we are living in today. Climate change is one of the single biggest challenges facing development, and we need to assume the moral responsibility to take action on behalf of future generations, especially the poorest." (They 'care' about them-I'm sure!)
In recent years we have had a great many 'global' conferences with climate change/'global' warming being very top of the agenda. Davos which hosts the World Economic Forum, an annual meeting of 'global' political and business elites since the 1970s under Satan's guidance (though they know it not: Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning) have been plotting how to bring about the New World Order, a "sustainable" future as they call it. Have the elite money men been visiting Davos for the scenery, or planning the Great Reset; which is it!? Many of these elite think the world population should presently be no more than 250-500 million, contrast those figures with the present world population of approximately seven billion! Such is their 'utopia', mass depopulation-'global' genocide!
When the planned covid 19 eventually wreaks total financial havoc upon the nations, they will turn to the lenders of last resort, the International Monetary Fund, which is itself dependent upon the World Bank. And with the aim of extinguishing personal and business debt, poverty etc., all the nations will be subject to draconian terms and conditions which I believe will so restrict personal movement; no more foreign holidays, people driving from north to south and east to west, even in their own countries, and of course, personal property rights will disappear! The mythical 'carbon footprint' must be eliminated at all costs, and Now! Remember we are constantly told that we live on a finite 'planet' that cannot support the continued population growth; a damnable lie! for God said Be fruitful and multiply. Every measure; vaccines, abortion controls, prescription drugs and many others will do their nefarious work. By the time the present vaccination madness fallout ends around 2024, the nations will be enforcing the new dystopian and permanent measures upon their people; The New World Order completed! This may be the very time when we see the prophesied ten kingdoms finally rise to prominence (ten horns: Daniel 7:7,20,24, Revelation 12:3, 13:1,17:3, 17:7, 17:12, 17:16). The ten horns answer to the feet that were of iron and clay Daniel 2:34, upon whom Christ the Rock will grind him to powder. Matthew 21:44. This coming immediately after Revelation 17-18 which prophesies of a literal rebuilt city of Babylon, which will be the great city and metropolis of Antichrist's kingdom. This literal city will literally rise out of this planned pandemic, be assured of this. Many struggle with a literal interpretation, but God hath said it. The builders left off to build the city Genesis 11:8, and they will return to finish it.
We don't need to be 'brain of Britain' to see that the four UK governments and throughout the world have totally nobbled the tourist, aviation, and hospitality industry, but kept manufacturing industry* and the transport hub alive to keep the supermarkets stocked, do we? I believe there will be a massive population cull in the next few months and years ahead; the pharmaceutical giants and scientists will not be held accountable for the coming mass slaughter (this side of the Lord's Return); governments have already granted them immunity against prosecution! We have already been told in advance that new strains of the mythical covid 19 virus can mutate at any time! Scientists and their backers can fool the masses at all times, hence the well known expression "blinded by science" The Bible calls it science falsely so called 1 Timothy 6:20. It is of note that in the wider context from v17-19 the inspired apostle warns against them that are rich in this world! But, of these that were highminded, they didn't trust in God but in their riches, and instead of Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come they did the exact opposite! The wealthy bankers financed and used the false science to their own destruction! Truly they be blind leaders of the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. Matthew 15:14. This 'pandemic' has been compared with the great wars, so the scientists and their backers won't be culpable for this mass slaughter, having already been granted indemnity by the government.
The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. Proverbs 22:7.
Apart from the elite super rich, everyone else is poor! And it will be found that the nations will be servant to the lender! THE BANKERS!
But have no fear; For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Matthew 16:26.
*Without industry, manufacturing, and trade, the future Babylon couldn't come to pass. There is talk of electric airplanes, but it is interesting that only ships are mentioned in Revelation 18. Truly we are in an age of great deception; the Lord warned against deception many times, especially in His Olivet Discourse immediately prior to His Return. I know not how many years we are from this but I have a feeling it will be within the next 20-30 years. It took approximately 20 years to build the modern city of Dubai (I visited in 2002), but the money behind the Babylon rebuild will make Dubai look like small change!
Saturday, 16 January 2021
Vanity Of Vanities All Is Vanity
Friday, 27 November 2020
The UK Government's Advice Emanates from the Pit!
We hardly need seek out alternative media for updates as to what is going on today? We need look no further than the 'mainstream' BBC News to get all the info!
Covid: Don't hug elderly relatives at Christmas warns Chris Whitty.
Families have been warned against hugging and kissing elderly relatives at Christmas "if you want them to survive to be hugged again".
People "just have to have sense", said the UK government's chief medical adviser, Prof Chris Whitty. No, Mr Whitty, it is you that needs "to have sense"!
Both my parents have long since passed away, but would I have listened to Whitty's advice (or should I say command)? No, I would obviously totally and utterly reject it, for it is all based on "science falsely so called" 1 Timothy 6:20, as it appears nearly everything is today! But, wait a minute! surely with this satanic world government inflicted covid assassination going on, this is the time that elderly folk need visits, reassurance, and hugging etc., for it may be their last Christmas even if times were 'normal'? How much longer would they "survive to be hugged again" anyway??
Whitty's boss, Matt Hancock (UK health secretary) has already said "we will vaccinate hope into the people!" this on the 'positive' news on the vaccine front, and no doubt when the miracle vaccines (in all their multitudinous forms) are rolled out upon the population, it will be 'safe' to hug again. But, the question is, will many of the elderly be left to hug, and, more to the point, what will the vaccine have done to its recipients?
The popular government slogan (Protect the NHS) is but a synonym for PROTECT BIG GOVERNMENT, we don't care about the people! yet, many of the deceived masses think otherwise.
Whitty has been referred to by those familiar with him as a private person who refuses to discuss his personal life. (Wikipedia).
What is he hiding? The mind boggles!
Whitty's full title is Professor Chris Whitty CB FRCP FFPH FMedSci Hon FRCPCH Hon FFPM.
Quite a mouthful! I'm sure you agree? And no doubt, a knighthood and or peerage await him in due course!
What does God's word have to say about Whitty's long list of accreditations?
Let me not, I pray you, respect any man's person: Neither let me give flattering titles unto any man. For I know not to give flattering titles; Else would my maker soon take me away. Job 32:21-22.
I am sure Whitty's titles won't impress God on judgment Day!
Sadly, I do personally know some people that are following his satanic advice.
Thursday, 19 November 2020
Where on Earth is Jerusalem? A Study on Ezekiel 5:5 & 38:12.
Friday, 6 November 2020
The Truth is Hidden in Plain Sight!
"I can see the trees, but I can't see the wood!"
Have a look at your English £20 note (if you're in the UK!), you will see an image of Adam Smith (1723-1790), Smith was a Scottish moral philosopher and economist. A life long bachelor, he was influenced by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, and subsequently his writings went on to influence men such as Karl Marx! Smith wrote what came to be known as two "classic works"; The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) and An inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776). The latter was abbreviated to The Wealth of Nations in which he introduced his theory of absolute advantage. Clearly Smith was no Christian, and in some of his works he referred to the Great Architect of the Universe a term used by freemasons, but to the best of my knowledge wasn't one himself. He became widely known as "The Father of Economics".
We move on to 1977 when the Adam Smith Institute was created, the Institute "formed the primary intellectual force behind privatisation of state owned industries during the premiership of Margaret Thatcher and alongside the Centre for Policy Studies and of Economic Affairs advanced a neoliberal approach toward public policy on privatisation, taxation, education and healthcare. A number of the policies presented by the organisation were adopted by the administrations of John Major and Tony Blair and members of the ASI have also advised non-United Kingdom governments." (Wikipedia, bold type mine). "Think tank Transparify, which is funded by the Open Society Foundations, ranked ASI as one of the least transparent think tanks in the United Kingdom in relation to funding." (Wikipedia). The last quoted source goes on to write of ASI; "as highly opaque", one of a handful of think tanks that refuse to reveal even the identities of their donors." And that "The university of Bath, details the institute's funding by the tobacco industry. The Guardian report that the institute received three percent of its funding from the tobacco industry in 2013."
The Adam Smith Institute clearly is a very powerful organisation influencing the "corridors of power" in the UK and further afield. On its Wikipedia page the ASI president Madsen Pirie describes the activity of the organisation as "we propose things which people regard being on the edge of lunacy. The next thing you know, they're on the edge of policy." (Bold type mine). Scary stuff, reader?
The tobacco industry is a known funder of the ungodly ASI, that much we know. It is my belief that the Pharmaceutical Industry is also a major donor to the institute and that the two are in cahoots with the present UK government on the direction of "guidance", policies, and lockdowns that are happening all about us. It can be no coincidence that Sir Patrick Vallance (presently HM Govt's Chief Scientific Adviser) who stands alongside prime minister Boris Johnson presenting regular covid 19 updates with his colleague professor Chris Whitty (UK's Chief Medical Advisor), was head of research and development at the multinational pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) from 2012 to 2018, immediately prior to his role in government. Now, as mentioned elsewhere on this blog, the word pharmaceutical is derived from the Greek word for sorcery; pharmakiea. Yes, Big Pharma is Big Sorcery! witchcraft by another name, truly, these pharmaceutical giants are doing Satan's bidding. At this juncture, be not deceived, Big Pharma is destroying lives through influenza vaccinations and anti depressant drugs widely prescribed by your local GP. The numbers of those on antidepressants in the western world makes for truly sobering reading, and until this fake 'pandemic' hit us, I had no idea how high they were; with lockdown mania going nowhere anytime soon, I believe the figures will sky rocket.
From Adam Smith, I now turn to Barry Smith (1933-2002), the late Christian evangelist and author. Barry was very influential in my early Christian walk, I still have all his books, and would tune in to God TV whenever he would be preaching or being interviewed. He specialised on eschatology and the coming New World Order (NWO) which we are now in! and made many predictions of how events would pan out. Barry was from New Zealand, a school teacher by profession who left his employment to lecture on end time events and the lead up to the NWO and the coming one world government headed by Antichrist. He was a real personality, he could have cut it as a stand up comedian, and what an evangelist he was! But as I was growing in the Faith, I found his theology superficial; being of the Arminian persuasion and a Pentecostal Charismatic, but by no means of the hyper variety. Also his works seemed to me overly sensational, and there wasn't any real "meat on the bones" in his Bible teachings. I agree with 'Jewish' Christian writer Jacob Prasch when he wrote "Barry Smith was a first class evangelist, but a second class theologian", nevertheless, he was no fool, he did much extrabiblical research and joined many dots together.
I turn to page 40 of Barry Smith's The Devil's Jigsaw, and quote a short sentence:
NHS or the National Health Service comes under the umbrella of this group (ASI) as they devise ways and means to gradually ease the government out from funding national health.
This is exactly so I believe, what is going on under our very noses! They are using the 'pandemic' as a means to vaccinate, or should I say kill off large swathes of the population, with a particular emphasis on the 'vulnerable' (and they are!) groups, notably the over 60s. The vaccination they receive will be designed to hasten their demise. The truth is hidden in plain sight; remember the slogan; "Protect the NHS"? in other words "cull the useless eaters" and save the nation billions. I don't know how many will die this flu season, but I think the number could be in the millions; if this be true, just think how the nations coffers will be bolstered with all those pension and welfare benefit claimants dead? Whatever the outcome of this manufactured "second wave" be, I have no doubt that the scientists will have their defences ready. The mantra may be "the virus has mutated! we must develop a new strain to combat it!" The government's agenda is to "protect the NHS" (Marxist socialist ideology; cradle to the grave 'care' as they truly call it!). Aneurin Bevan, a socialist Marxist, of Cardiff founded the NHS in 1948; can any good fruit come from a rotten tree? No! Marxism sends people to the grave, then to the pit.
Vaccinations are based on false science, I write more on this in my piece The Coming Trial (October 9th 2020). False science is underpinning the world governments agendas; for are they not united in their fight against "global warming" and the threat of the 'planet's' diminishing resources due to over population? This "Green agenda" is of the devil, but then if people believe we are living on a tiny planet in listless outer space, it is not too difficult to see their reasoning, is it not? How better to believe the Earth is as long and wide as the first heaven! "God will provide".
There is talk of covid 19 stabilising" in various places in the UK as I write, but how things soon change? When the various lockdowns come to an end and people start to try and behave somewhat normally again, the governments will use the ruse "the increased mingling of the population has led to the devilish 'r number' increasing again!"
Tuesday, 27 October 2020
Wind, From Whence Does It Come?
It is popularly believed (and this, sadly among many professing Christians) that the every day wind we experience, be it a gentle breeze or a gale force blast is the result of 'naturally' occurring weather phenomena. Weather scientists have many and various theories as to what causes the wind and tides, one such being tidal locking. Tidal locking, so the theorists would have us believe, is the direct cause of the gravitational forces effected by the moon upon the Earth as it orbits our so-called 'planet'.
What does the Bible believing Christian think about this?
The first mention of "wind" in the 1611KJV Bible is in Gen. 8:1(b):
and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged.
This was true back then, so it is today.
In Gen. 41:6, 23, 27, it is said in Pharaoh's dream that God would use the wind for purposes of judgment when He blasted with the east wind. Likewise in Exo. 10:13 the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, six verses hence, the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind, and again in Exo. 14:21, the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night.
Thou didst blow with thy wind Exo. 15:10(a).
And there went forth a wind from the LORD Num. 11:31(a).
How thy garments are warm when He (God) quieteth the earth by the south wind Job 37:17.
For He commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof Ps. 107:25.
He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; He maketh lightnings for the rain; He bringeth the wind out of His treasuries Ps. 135:7.
I (God) will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy Jer. 18:17.
The above are just a sample of verses that teach it is God who is in direct control of the weather, many more could be added from the Old Testament, but, I think these should be adequate for this little study?
We move on to the New Testament;
and God in Christ rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm Matt. 8:26.
But the men marvelled, saying, what manner of Man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him! Matt. 8:27.
If we need anymore confirmation as to the folly of men's inability to determine the source of the wind apart from Scripture, the Lord's plain words in John 3:8(a) should suffice?
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou heareth the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and wither it goeth.
What shall we say to these things? Does the true believer take God's written word literally, or does he put his confidence in the hodgepodge theories of men based entirely upon false heliocentric science?
It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man Ps. 118:8.
God is upholding ALL things by the word of His power (my emphasis) Heb. 1:3, not some things, mark this well.
Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered Matt. 10:29-30 (my emphasis).
And He (Christ) is before all things, and by Him ALL things consist Col. 1:17 (my emphasis).
I write these things to encourage all who visit this blog to take God's written word literally when it makes plain sense to do so, otherwise we may be beguiled by the false teachings of men; science falsely so called: which some professing have erred concerning the faith 1 Tim. 6:20-21.
Granted, there are symbols in God's Book, but these symbols (generally used in unfulfilled prophecy, e.g. the ten toes and horns in Daniel and the Revelation) stand for something, which the Bible interprets for us if we would but obey the apostolic admonition; Study! 2 Tim.2:15. As Arthur W. Pink said "the Bible is not a lazy man's Book." So true! and let us cleave to it ever more in these evil days we find ourselves in?
Monday, 26 October 2020
War, What Is It Good For, Absolutely Nothing!
So the song goes. These lyrics came into my head the other day, and the song goes on to mention God, and the destruction of 'innocent' lives and so on.
Many Christians would probably think it right and proper to say that war is only good for "absolutely nothing". Nevertheless, many have a totally skewed understanding of who the Lord Jesus is, and what His purposes to accomplish on Earth are; conscientious objectors have opted out from military service citing "Blessed are the peacemakers" Matt. 5:9 to justify themselves for their actions.
Indeed, "Blessed are the peacemakers", the Lord said so Himself! Yet, "The LORD is a Man of war: The LORD is His name." Exo. 15:3. Did He contradict Himself, for it is written "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever." Heb. 13:8, and "verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am." John 8:58. Furthermore, the incarnate Deity said "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." Matt. 10:34. The apostolic exhortation of "rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Tim. 2:15, is needed as always, to make sense of otherwise plainly spoken texts that would appear to be contradictory.
It is important to understand that when God dealt with Old Testament Israel in the giving of the law He dealt with them corporately not individually, this is an important distinction, mark this well. Certainly, He did deal with Israelites as individuals in their various capacities as kings, priests, prophets, servants, etc. Remember, Jacob was an individual, Israel is a nation. When Jacob overcame, he was told by God; "Thy name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." Gen. 32:28. (my emphasis). This took place before God in Christ descended down upon Mount Sinai to give Israel all the commandments in Exodus 20-23; to which they had corporately replied "All the words which the LORD hath said will we do." and Israel "answered with one voice." Ex. 24:3 (my emphasis). When we come to the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5, the Lord was addressing "the multitudes" and "His disciples"; in other words individuals, not the nation of Israel. The Lord "Jesus came into the world to save sinners" 1 Tim. 1:15 (my emphasis); "sinners" are individuals like you and me. The Lord came the first time in humility, when He returns, it will be in glory as conquering King! "And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations." Rev. 19:15 (see also Isaiah 11:4, 2 Thess. 2:8).
Some are confused regarding Matt. 25:32;
"And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats."
B.W. Newton writes on this verse, "It is better to adhere to the proper and usual rendering of panta ta ethnee (all the Gentiles) in this passage. This expression, however, does not mean every individual Gentile on the earth, but is limited in the next verse to those who belong to the flock of the Great Shepherd, whether nominally or in truth - whether goats or sheep. The expression, "all the Gentiles," as limited by the next two verses, shows that it means all the Gentiles who professedly own Him as the Shepherd."
Friday, 9 October 2020
Quote Of The Day.
"The enemy here is not the clinical advice. The enemy here is a deadly virus that has killed a million people."
Professor Jason Leitch (Scotland's chief medical officer), BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme Friday 9th October.
He is telling the truth in plain sight; only he's got it the wrong way around!
The Coming Trial
Wednesday, 7 October 2020
To Be Literal Or Not To Be Literal, That is The Question.
Students of Bible prophecy lose much when they would follow the non literal, allegorizing, symbolic approach when trying to understand what God is saying in His written word. Not that there aren't symbols in the Scripture of Truth, nevertheless, the symbols represent something that God will reveal the truth to the diligent student, see Matt. 7:7-11. Arthur Pink once said "The Bible is not a lazy man's Book", few I venture to guess would disagree with him on this? It should be an accepted rule that "if the plain sense makes the most sense then it must be the best sense".
Dr. John Gill was a noted reformed Bible expositor who many Bible students refer to in the present day including the present writer. I have learned much from this most able expositor, especially from his studious research into the ancient Jewish commentators on the Old Testament. Nevertheless, we must ever be on our guard not to treat the writings of notable expositors as if they were God's very words. I have touched elsewhere on this ere blog on this topic before, especially in regards to the Genesis creation account.
And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. Revelation 16:8.
On this verse Dr. Gill writes;
"Not literally; and so designs not a violent heat, which shall go before, and be a preparation for the burning of the world..."
The only reason Dr. Gill couldn't take this verse literally is because he believed the heliocentric deception. In his exposition on Genesis 1:16 he writes "according to Sir Isaac Newton it is (the sun) 900.000 times bigger" (than the earth). To visualize an angel pouring a vial over something of that magnitude would be a stretch! But, if the sun and moon are tiny little (in comparison with the Earth) "lights" under the firmament, then all difficulty in taking verses like this in the Revelation literally disappear at a stroke!
For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. Isaiah 13:10.
Dr. Gill writes;
"This and what follows are to be understood, not literally, but figuratively...and the moon shall not cause her light to shine: by night, which she borrows from the sun." (emphasis mine).
"Borrows from the sun"? But! God didn't say that! God's word says the moon shall not cause her light to shine. (my emphasis).
It should be evident that "science falsely so called" 1 Tim. 6:20 has caused men to err in their understanding of God's word. I think it a fearful thing for men to prefix "not literally" to what God hath literally said, or no? If true believers can explain away what God has plainly said, is it any wonder that infidels mock the biblical flood account and a whole lot else beside?