The Real Issue 

     It's not the age of the universe or the length of creation days. The real issue is God. Either He created the heavens and the earth or He didn't.

Mrs. Donut in Pittsburgh was overseeing 50 Christians who volunteered to befriend children whose families were not so caring. Two other people each oversaw 50 volunteers. And there were those who oversaw the overseers. One of them had been the backup quarterback for Navy. Who could beat out Roger Staubach? Well, this backup and a friend later wrote Creation & Evolution 101 in 2001. Views will quote them this week beginning today. Everyone needs to know what they knew. Beginning with:

     "God is real because He made the world." - Romans 1:20.

     "God is real because He made you in his image." - Genesis 1:26-27 

     "God has given you a real life and real hope because He made you into a new person through Jesus Christ." - 2 Corinthians 5:17. 

     "There's nothing wrong with doubt, as long as you are truthfully seeking God for who He is, not for who you want him to be. You're never going to figure out God completely, which is part of the joy and excitement of the Christian life." - James 1:5. 

     "God breathed - inspired - into 40 different human authors to write down His message. - 2 Timothy 3:16. He got what He wanted. There are three creation accounts: Genesis 1 and 2, and Psalm 104, told by King David."

Tomorrow: Who, How and When

 The Abyss

     Part 3. If there is a hell, John the disciple would know. In John chapter 19, Jesus, dying on the cross, said to his mother who was there with John, Dear woman, here is your son. And to John he said, Here is your mother. Imagine the moment! 

     Decades later, Jesus appeared to (old) John. See Revelation chapter 1 for his incredible appearance. Then turn to Revelation 20-22 to see how our world ends...and a new world begins. 

     The abyss would be, in our dictionary, "an unfathomably deep place, a seemingly bottomless chasm, a deep fissure in the earth." It's for humans, "the second death," and the forever prison for Satan and the other fallen angels.   

     Rev. 20. Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. Anyone whose name is not found written in the book of life...was thrown into the lake of fire. Hell!  

     Rev. 21 lists some of the sins that will send people into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The last sin listed is "all liars," again in chapter 22.  

     Rev. 22, Jesus says, Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and go through the gates into the city. I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. If anyone adds anything to them (or takes away), God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 

Okay, my respected readers. If you want a summary of the Bible, read the first three chapters in the Old Testament and the last three chapters in the New Testament. Pick a gospel and read again the crucifixion of Jesus (the penalty He suffered for you and me). John saw the crucifixion on Friday, the risen Christ on Sunday...and Christ again in A.D. 90 or later. John obviously was led by the Lord, as were other authors of Scripture, writing long after the events.                                                                                                                   Truth wins! 

He Who Had Most to Say 

     Mark, a citizen of Jerusalem, associated with Paul, Peter and others, wrote: If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. - Chapter 9.

     Mark added: It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And, It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. 

     This wasn't Mark's words. He quotes the Son of God himself, Jesus.  

     Luke, also quoting Jesus, was a Gentile convert, the only non-Jewish author of two Bible books. Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. - Luke 12:5. As for the "rich man," In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. - Luke 16:23. 

     Matthew, a tax collector who became a disciple, quotes Jesus seven times about hell. Matthew 5:22, 29, 30, 10:28, 18:9, 23:15, 33.

     Anyone who says "you fool" will be in danger of the fire of hell. Wow! 

     And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

     Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

     Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel overland and sea to win a single convert, and...you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. 

     You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?     >  Two other verses are similar to Mark's.

     What about John? Didn't this disciple chosen to outlive all others have anything to say about hell? See you tomorrow. 

   ~ ~ ~ 

 "Just for the Hell of It" 

     As would say some guys in my school. Well, not in school. Walking home from school, this future blogger learned words Mom never taught me. So, is there really a hell? Most people might say "no." Otherwise, their lives would be different. American pastors seldom mention hell these days. Let's ask someone who certainly believed there is a hellish place of no return.

     The disciple Peter. He may have written the world's longest sentence (I counted 150+ words). Here is the key, in 2 Peter 2:4: For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment...the Lord knows how...to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment while continuing their punishment. 

     Well, Peter is one man, about 30 years after Jesus arose. Okay. Would you believe James, who wrote this 15 or so years after his half-brother Jesus returned to heaven: The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire and is itself set on fire by hell. James addressed this message to the 12 Jewish tribes, and he became leader of the Jerusalem church. In A.D. 62 he was martyred Jerusalem.

     Still not convinced there is a hell? When disciples and other leaders began to realize Jesus wasn't returning as soon as they expected, they began to write letters that became "books" of the New Testament. My understanding is the Holy Spirit took over. Those authors couldn't remember word for word all that Jesus and others said decades earlier. The Spirit also worked with Old Testament prophets. How else would Moses know how the earth was formed?

     If you need ultimate proof there is a hell, check out the ultimate voice, tomorrow on Views. 

 ~ ~ ~

God's Faithfulness and Character 

     One more time. "Replacement theology claims that God has revoked His promises to Israel. Twenty centuries ago, Paul addressed this directly: 'The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable,' - Romans 11:29. God's promises to Israel remain intact. They are not canceled or transferred." 

     "If God could revoke His promises to Israel, what confidence could believers have in promises to them through Christ? 'It is impossible for God to lie,' - Hebrews 6:18. 

     "When the church forgets Israel, arrogance often follows and it breeds antisemitism, again on the rise, by denying Israel's place in God's plan. Antisemitism is an affront to God's heart. His love for Israel has never expired and Genesis 12:3 still stands: 'I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you.' Antisemites hate what God loves."

     "If God were to break His covenant with Israel, how could we trust Him to keep His promises to us? Remember God's Word. Remember His promises. Remember whom He loves."

     "To our Jewish friends," Hawkins says, "while some voices within Christianity have forgotten, a vast majority have not. We stand with you. As Ruth once declared, so do we: Your people shall be my people, and your God my God' - Ruth 1:16." 

Tomorrow: Is there hell or not?

 

Israel Didn't Forget Israel  

   O.S. Hawkins  Part 2

     "For nearly 2,000 years of exile, scattered among often-hostile nations, the Jewish people remembered. Each Passover they retold the story of redemption. Even today, the mezuzah on doorposts of Jewish homes serves as a reminder of God's promise. History has shown tragic consequences when the Church forgets God's purposes and promises for Israel." 

     "Some claim God has rejected the Jewish because they rejected Jesus as Messiah. Yet scripture affirms the opposite. God promised Abraham an everlasting possession," (Genesis 17:8). And when Abraham entered the land...'all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever,' - Genesis 13:15.  

     "Later, God said to Jacob, 'I...will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession,' Genesis 48:4. See Ezekiel 37:25. God's covenant promises were not based on Israel's obedience but on God's faithfulness. In Romans 11, Paul dismantles the idea that Israel has been rejected. He asks, 'Has God rejected His people?' And his answer, 'By no means! God has not rejected his people whom He foreknew - Romans 11:1-2.    

     Howkins wrote, "In a culture where opinion often outweighs conviction, scripture remains clear. Replacement theology collapses under the weight of God's Word." 

     There must have been some "replacement" claims in the first century after Jesus rose from the grave and later rose to heaven. In Romans 11, Paul the Jew that Jesus (from above) led to the truth, wrote, 'Israel is the cultivated tree; Gentile believers are wild branches grafted in. Do not be arrogant toward the branches. It is not you who support the root, but the root supports you, - Romans 11:18." 

     "The branch does not replace the tree. The Church shares in Israel's spiritual blessings. It draws life from that root, not the other way around."

Conclusion tomorrow

The Church Forgetting Israel?

     President Trump did what other presidents declined to do: He moved the U.S. Embassy into historic Jerusalem. Question: Are some thinkers thinking Christianity has replaced Judaism? The issue is enormous, and people had better get it right.  

     "The vast majority of evangelical Christians remain steadfast supporters of the state of Israel. But a small but growing number have 'theological amnesia.'" O.S. Hawkins, chancellor, former pastor and author of 50 books, says, "This forgetfulness is alarming when antisemitism is rising worldwide at levels not seen since the Holocaust." 

     Stay with us. Hawkins will give us the truth from scripture.

     "Replacement theology: that God has rejected the Jewish people because of unbelief in Yeshua as Messiah. And that God revoked his covenant promises. Scripture reveals God's everlasting promises to His chosen people, Israel." Did God go back on his promises? 

     "The theology concludes that Israel has no future role in God's purposes, and that the Jewish state holds no greater Biblical significance than any other nation." That, for unbelievers in general, leads to antisemitism...and hatred...and murder by Hamas. People across the world call on Palestinians and whoever to destroy Israel. Why so?

     "In the Torah, God calls His covenant people to remember what He has done for them. When Joshua led Israel across the Jordan River into the Promised Land, they erected memorial stones so future generations would remember that 'all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty.'" - Joshua 4:24.

  Tuesday: 2,000 years of exile