05.10.2019 EZRA AND ZERUBBABEL: MAKING SENSE OF HISTORY
“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah” Ezra 1:2
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah (and Esther) are historical books which confirm to us the faithfulness of our God; the covenant-keeping God.
“Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.” Deuteronomy 7:9
A covenant is different from a promise; a promise can be either fulfilled or not fulfilled (though God always keeps His promises) and is not legally binding. In contrast, a covenant has a legal framework. If I covenant to do something for you, I am bound by law to do it and you can take me to court if I do not do what I covenanted to do.
A covenant can be conditional (both parties involved make a legally binding promise) or unconditional (one party – God Himself – legally binds Himself to provide for the other party).
Our God is the God of promises. But more wonderfully, He is the God of covenants. Throughout the Bible, we find His unconditional covenants – examples are the covenants with Noah, Abraham and David. But the most wonderful covenant is the Everlasting Covenant, the covenant of grace, by which the omnipotent God binds Himself legally to us, to remove our sin and restore righteousness within us. He has sworn by Himself to do this (Hebrews 6:18).
Historical setting of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah:
When the children of Israel were unfaithful to God, they broke their commitment to a conditional covenant found in Deuteronomy chapters 27-29…’If you will diligently obey my voice…the Lord God will set you high above the earth (28:1)…’If you do not obey the voice of the Lord…the Lord will bring and the king whom you set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone (28:15, 36).
In Deuteronomy 30:1-9 we see the love and grace of God. He promises to restore His people if they return to Him and obey His voice (30:2, 3). All God’s covenants have their basis in God’s unconditional love.
‘If you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you.’ Deuteronomy 30:2, 3
Judah became unfaithful to God and Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians and many of their people taken captive to Babylon (Jeremiah 39:1-9). Daniel and his three friends are those we know who were in the Babylonian captivity.
But God promised Jeremiah in a vision that after 70 years of captivity, God would restore His people (Jeremiah 25:11; 29:10))
For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. Jeremiah 29:10
God promised that Cyrus the Persian, destroyer of Babylon would command the restoration of Jerusalem.
Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, and he shall perform all My pleasure, saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,” and to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.” ’ Isaiah 44:28
Towards the end of the 70 years of captivity, Daniel intercedes for his people with God – Daniel 9:1, 2.
Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a [a]house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem. And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem. Ezra 1:2-4
The first return of the Jews to Jerusalem was during the reign of Cyrus about a year after he subdued the Babylonian kingdom in 539 BC. About 50,000 of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin along with priests and Levites under the leadership of Zerubbabel (a direct descendant of King David) and Jeshua (Ezra chapters 1-3). They set about rebuilding the temple but abandoned it after the foundations were laid due to opposition from the local people.
Sixteen years later, God raised up Haggai and Zechariah (Haggai chapter 1 and Zechariah chapter 1) who challenged the people that they were neglecting the things of God, particularly His temple. This time the people responded and the temple was completed about 20 years after the first return of the exiles.
Sixty years passed and then a further group of Jewish exiles returned to Jerusalem under the leadership of Ezra in 457 BC. Ezra was a priest and descendant of Aaron. He set about restoring the moral and spiritual life of his people in Jerusalem (Ezra chapter 7-10). There was discouragement on every hand but Ezra persevered.
Nearly ninety years after the first return of the exiles, the walls of Jerusalem were still not built and desolate.
“The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.” Nehemiah 1:3
At this time God raised up Nehemiah who had a prominent position in the court of the Persian king – he was the king’s cupbearer. Fourteen years after Ezra’s return, Nehemiah waits upon God with weeping and mourning. The Lord gave him opportunity to speak to the king, who not only gave him permission to go to Jerusalem, but provided him with resources for building the walls and gates of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:1-9).
The Time of Ezra and Nehemiah
| 538 – 515 BC | 483 – 473 BC | 457 BC | 444 – 425 BC |
| First return of exiles from Babylon | Second return of exiles | Third return of exiles | |
| Zerubbabel | Esther | Ezra | Nehemiah |
| Ezra 1 – 6 | Book of Esther | Ezra 7 – 10 | Book of Nehemiah |
Persian Kings
| Cyrus | 559 – 530 BC – first return |
| Cambyses | 530 – 522 |
| Smerdis | 522 |
| Darius I | 521 – 486 |
| Ahasuerus | 486 – 464 – Esther |
| Artaxerxes I | 464 – 423 – second and third return |
| Darius II | 423 – 404 |
Spiritual Application – the Gospel in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah
The book of Ezra typifies Christ’s work of forgiveness and restoration. The book of Nehemiah also portrays Christ in His ministry of restoration. Like Nehemiah, Christ gives up a high position in order to identify with the plight of His people; He comes with a specific mission and fulfils it and His life is characterized by prayerful dependence upon God.
By the end of the book of Nehemiah, everything is restored except the King. The temple is rebuilt, the walls of Jerusalem reconstructed, the covenant is renewed and the people are reformed.
How is it with us, God’s people, spiritual Israel, today?
We say we are waiting for the King to return. Have we fulfilled the conditions?
- Where do our interests lie? In the world or in God’s kingdom? Are we concerned that God’s kingdom on earth, the church, is a witness to His Name? Ezra and Nehemiah and Zerubbabel were keenly interested in the restoration of God’s kingdom.
- Have we recognised the spiritual ruins in our own lives and in the church? Have we wept and mourned like Nehemiah over the problems we see in ourselves and in the church? Have we ‘sighed and cried’ (Ezekiel 9:4) over the sins of spiritual Jerusalem? No restoration or rebuilding can occur in our individual lives or the life of the church until we recognise our spiritual condition and repent.
In Revelation 3, the church of the last days is called to repent for just such a reason… “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked…be zealous (eager) and repent.” Revelation 3:17,19
- Once we recognise the need for spiritual revival and re-building in our hearts, we must begin it in our homes and the places in close proximity to us(read Nehemiah 3).
- Ezra and Nehemiah were great intercessors. Do we pray and intercede for ourselves, our people and the world church which is God’s chosen instrument to be His witness to all the nations?
- Have we renewed our covenant with God? God has made a covenant with us; He has sworn by Himself (Hebrews 6:13-18) to forgive, restore, renew and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Do we live in a faith relationship with God, knowing that what God has covenanted to do, He will perform.
- Is the message of the sanctuary – the message of the true gospel – being restored by us?
- Are the walls of salvation – the walls of praise, witness and testimony erected in our church?
- We are the temple of the living God. Have we repented of our unfaithfulness and are we allowing the Holy Spirit to cleanse our lives of sin and selfishness daily?
- Have we set our hearts on true reformation? To live (like Ezra and Jesus) do God’s will in everything – and with that goal to ‘live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God’ – both the written Word (the Bible) and the Living Word – Christ who reveals His will to us through the Holy Spirit.
For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek (study) the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel. Ezra 7:10
He (Christ) said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” Hebrews 10:9
- Whenever the people of God say, “Let us arise and build,” Satan says, “Let us arise and oppose.” Are we prepared for spiritual warfare? Do we know how to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, taking the whole armour of God (which is Christ) and stand against the Devil and powers of darkness (Ephesians 6:10-18).
As in the days of Nehemiah, our final victory is certain when we allow God to do the work.
So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God. Nehemiah 6:15, 16
For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness. Romans 9:28
- When King David had gained the victory over his foes, he sent a message to his brethren in Judah, “Speak to the elders of Judah, saying, ‘Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house, since the words of all Israel have come to the king, to his very house? You are my brethren, you are my bone and my flesh. Why then are you the last to bring back the king?’ 2 Samuel 19:11, 12.
Today, David’s greater Son, Christ Jesus has won the ultimate victory over Satan, His ultimate foe. He has destroyed the works of the devil; sin and death (1 John 3:8, 1 Corinthians 15:55-57). We are ‘of His bone and of His flesh’ (Ephesians 5:30).
Let us hear the voice of our King and Saviour asking us today, “Why are you the last to bring back the King? The world has overflowed its cup of wickedness; why are you not allowing Me to make you a godly and holy people, a witness to the world of My love?”
Let us respond in repentance and devotion and full consecration to the will of God so that we will restore the pure gospel in our church; the good news that Christ Jesus provides forgiveness and righteousness and makes us a true witness to a world that is perishing. Let us be ‘the restorers of the breach’, the proclaimers of the true gospel, the gospel of the Kingdom and let us be a living witness and testimony of the power of the gospel (Revelation 14:6, Matthew 24:14). When we arise and build the walls of spiritual Zion, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the King will return to claim His own.
Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Paths to dwell In. Isaiah 58:12
In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks. Open the gates that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in.
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in Jehovah, the Lord, is everlasting strength. Isaiah 26:1-4
For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns…I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give Him no rest till He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth. Isaiah 62:1, 6-7
Hi,
I wanted to share some very important news that has been spreading around the internet concerning our future well being.
We are approaching a future of a one-world cashless society in which they will mandate us to have an RFID microchip implanted in our body. This chip will contain all our personal information and we will lose much more of our privacy because of the tracking capabilities.
More importantly, did you know that this was all prophesied almost 2000 years ago by a man named Jesus? Don’t believe me? Keep reading…This may be the most important thing you will ever read.
“He (the false prophet) causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666” (Revelation 13:16-18).
Revelation 13:16-18 is speaking of the end times, and this could only be speaking of a cashless money society, which we have yet to see, but are heading towards. Why? Because we could still buy or sell without receiving the mark among one another if physical money was still currency. It logically deduces itself to this reason.
This mark could not be spiritual, because the word references two different physical locations stating one “OR” the other.
This is where it really starts to come together. It is shocking how accurate the Bible is concerning this RFID microchip. These are notes from a man named Carl Sanders who worked with a team of engineers to help develop this RFID microchip in the 90’s.
“Carl Sanders sat in seventeen New World Order meetings with heads-of-state officials such as Henry Kissinger and Bob Gates of the C.I.A. to discuss plans on how to bring about this one-world system. The government commissioned Carl Sanders to design a microchip for identifying and controlling the peoples of the world—a microchip that could be inserted under the skin with a hypodermic needle (a quick, convenient method that would be gradually accepted by society).
Carl Sanders, with a team of engineers behind him, with U.S. grant monies supplied by tax dollars, took on this project and designed a microchip that is powered by a lithium battery, rechargeable through the temperature changes in our skin. Without the knowledge of the Bible (Brother Sanders was not a Christian at the time), these engineers spent one-and-a-half-million dollars doing research on the best and most convenient place to have the microchip inserted.
Guess what? These researchers found that the forehead and the back of the hand (the two places Revelation says the mark will go) are not just the most convenient places, but are also the only viable places for rapid, consistent temperature changes in the skin to recharge the lithium battery. The microchip is approximately seven millimeters in length, .75 millimeters in diameter, about the size of a grain of rice. It is capable of storing pages upon pages of information about you. All your general history, work history, crime record, health history, and financial data can be stored on this chip.
Brother Sanders believes that this microchip, which he regretfully helped design, is the “mark†spoken about in Revelation 13:16–18. The original Greek word for “mark†is “charagma,†which means a “scratch or etching.†It is also interesting to note that the number 666 is actually a word in the original Greek. The word is “chi xi stigma,†with the last part, “stigma,†also meaning “to stick or prick.†Carl believes this is referring to a hypodermic needle when they poke into the skin to inject the microchip.”
Mr. Sanders asked a doctor what would happen if the lithium contained within the RFID microchip leaked into the body. The doctor replied by saying a terrible sore would appear in that location. This is what the book of Revelation says:
“And the first(Angel) went, and poured out his vial on the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore on the men which had the mark of the beast, and on them which worshipped his image” (Revelation 16:2).
The Bible tells us we cannot buy or sell without the mark of the beast, or the number of its name. This number is identified as 666. The Bible tells us to calculate the number 666. How do we calculate 666?
This is where it gets really interesting. Calculating the number 666 has been long debated throughout the centuries, but has now been revealed in these last days by God. What I will show you confirms itself with the Bible the true meaning to calculate 666.
Throughout the Bible, God uses the number 3 as confirmation of things. Here are a few examples:
“For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one” (1 John 5:7 NKJV).
“and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:4 NKJV).
“…Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” (Revelation 4:8 NKJV).
Now what is interesting is the the mark of the beast is described in detail in three separate verses (Revelation 13:16,17,18), and each verse lists three different examples of the given topic. The last three being the number 6 being used three times in a row. This is a key point to unlocking how to calculate the number 666.
What does it mean to count? It means to add up. So how could we add up 666? Remember my previous point about God confirming in threes. So logically, what would be the best way to count the number 666? To count it equally in threes based off the number. We cannot count it equally as 600+60+6, this would also bring us back to the start. We cannot count it as 600+600+600, or 60+60+60, because there are no zeroes in between or at the end of 666. The only logical option is 6+6+6=18. What is interesting is that the verse that reveals for us to count the number itself is verse 18, being the third verse out of three verses that describe the mark of the beast. What is 18 divided by 3? 6. So 3×6=18, or 6+6+6=18.
Another interesting point is the only two other combinations (making a total of three possible combinations) for placing a “+” symbol in between the 6’s are 66+6=72, and 6+66=72. Add both 72’s together and you get 144. Why the number 144 is interesting is because the verse following Revelation 13:18 is the first time in the Bible where the 144,000 are being described in detail:
“Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads…” (Revelation 14:1).
Now if you add up all three numbers by counting 666 by moving the “+” symbol around in all three possible combinations, it would be 72+72+18=162. What is interesting about the number 162, is, if you divide 144,000 by 162, you get 888. The name of Jesus in Greek gematria adds up to 888. The New Testament was orignally written in Greek. Revelation 14:1 not only mentions the 144,000, but also the Lamb who is Jesus.
Now what is interesting about the number for Jesus, 888, is that if you apply this same formula, you get 8+8+8=24. Why the number 24? Revelation chapter 4 tells us there are 24 elders seated around the throne of God. This is the same throne where Jesus sits:
“Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads” (Revelation 4:2-4).
Now if you take 8+8+8=24, and 8+88=96, and 88+8=96, you get 24+96+96=216. Take 144,000 divided by 216 and you get 666. Remember that this was the same exact formula to get the number 162 out of counting 666 that brought about the number 888 when dividing 144,000 by 162. It is perpetual.
With using the same formula of counting by adding the “+” symbol in between the numbers, why do all these numbers relate in such a way?
Another interesting point to note is that if you add up all the numbers from 1 to 36, it totals 666. The number 36, as in three sixes? Could this be a hint that we should add up three sixes instead of perceiving the number as six-hundred sixty six?
So what could this mean? Well we know in this world we are identified by numbers in various forms. From our birth certificate to social security, as well as our drivers license, being identified based on a system of ruler ship. So it is possible that this RFID microchip will contain a new identification that has a total of 18 characters.
Could this be the name of the beast, the number of its name? The one-world beast system that is identified by 18 characters? This would fit scripture that speaks of a mark that we must have to buy or sell in our right hand or forehead, and that it also contains the number of the beast, during a future cashless money society.
Go to: http://voice-truth.com to see all the proof!
The Bible warns us in the end times that a false prophet will rise up doing miracles to deceive many to receive this mark:
“Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image” (Revelation 19:20).
No matter the cost, DO NOT TAKE IT!
“Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name” (Revelation 14:9-11).
We are living in very prophetic times with major Biblical prophecies being fulfilled. When Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as capital of Israel in December of 2017, this was a big step to bring about the Third Temple prophesied in the Bible.
The Bible tells us that the Antichrist will seat himself in this temple:
“…and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).
In the Islamic religion, they have man called the Mahdi, known as their messiah who they are waiting to appear. There are many testimonies from people online who believe this man will be Barack Obama who is to be the biblical Antichrist. I myself have had strange dreams about him. He came on stage claiming to be a Christian with no affiliation to the Muslim faith, but was later revealed by his own family members that he indeed is a devout Muslim.
His real name is said to be Barry Soetoro, and he had his name changed to Barack Obama. But why?
Jesus says, “And He said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven'” (Luke 10:18).
In Hebrew, the word Barack means “lightning”, and the use of Bama (Strongs Hebrew word 1116) is used to refer to the “heights” of heaven.
The day following the election of Barack Obama (11/04/08), the winning pick 3 lotto numbers in Illinois (Obama’s home state) for 11/5/08 were 666.
Obama was a U.S. senator for Illinois, and his zip code was 60606.
Regardless, whoever seats himself in that Third Temple in Jerusalem declaring himself to be God IS THE ANTICHRIST. DO NOT BE DECEIVED.
Why do we need Jesus?
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
Our good works cannot save us. If we step before a judge, being guilty of a crime, the judge will not judge us by the good that we have done, but rather the crimes we have committed. If we as fallen humanity, created in God’s image, pose this type of justice, how much more a perfect, righteous, and Holy God?
God has brought down His moral law’s through the 10 commandments given to Moses at Mt. Siani. These laws were not given so we may be justified, but so that we may see the need for a savior. They are the mirror of God’s character of what He has put in each and every one of us, with our conscious bearing witness that we know that it is wrong to steal, lie, dishonor our parents, and so forth.
We can try and follow the moral laws of the 10 commandments, but we will never catch up to them to be justified before a Holy God. That same word of the law given to Moses became flesh over 2000 years ago in the body of Jesus Christ. He came to be our justification by fulfilling the law, living a sinless perfect life that only God could fulfill.
The gap between us and the law can never be reconciled by our own merit, but the arm of Jesus is stretched out by the grace and mercy of God. And if we are to grab on, through faith in Him, He will pull us up being the one to justify us. As in the court of law, if someone steps in and pays your fine, even though you are guilty, the judge can do what is legal and just and let you go free. This is what Jesus did almost 2000 years ago on the cross. It was a legal transaction being fulfilled in the spiritual realm by the shedding of His blood, with His last words being, “…It is finished!…” (John 19:30).
Now why did Jesus have to die for us?
Because God is Holy and just, the wrath that we deserve could not go unnoticed. Through the perfect righteousness and justice of God’s character, it must be dealt with, it must be quenched and satisfied.
For God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23). This is why in Isaiah chapter 53, where it speaks of the coming Messiah and His soul being a sacrifice for our sins, why it says it pleased God to crush His only begotten Son.
This is because the wrath that we deserve was justified by being poured out upon His Son. If that wrath was poured out on us, we would all die and go to hell. God created a way of escape by pouring it out on His Son who’s soul could not be left in Hades, but was raised and seated at the right hand of God in power.
So now when we put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14), God no longer see’s the person who deserves His wrath, but rather the glorious image of His perfect Son dwelling in us, justifying us as if we received the wrath we deserve, making a way of escape from the curse of death.
Now what we must do is repent and trust in the savior, confessing and forsaking our sins. This is not just a head knowledge of believing in Jesus, but rather receiving His words, taking them to heart. Where we no longer live to practice sin, but rather turn from our sins and practice righteousness:
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
By doing so we may become transformed into the image of God through faith in His Son Christ Jesus Who is willing to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask of Him:
“Most assuredly, I (Jesus) say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ (John 3:5-7).
“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His” (Romans 8:9).
What are you waiting for? Our Father in heaven only wants the best for us, restoring everything this world has stolen from us. This is what it means to be “holy”. To be made whole.
He is waiting to hear from you. That God given tongue to speak language, through faith, pray to Him, ask Him to forgive you by confessing your sins and be willing to forsake them; that you accept the sacrifice of His Son Jesus on the cross, and that you want His Holy Spirit living inside you transforming you into a child of God.
Jesus says, “but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him (the Holy Spirit) will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
Did you know that Jesus spoke more about hell than anyone else, even more than He spoke about heaven?! For this very reason He came to die for us, to rescue us from this place that we deserve.
He describes hell as a real place where,
“Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:44).
And where,
“There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth…” (Luke 13:28).
Jesus tells us who to fear,
“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).
“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’
Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’
And He said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.'” (Revelation 21:1-8).
Out of all the world religions, how can we be sure the Bible got it right? The scientific data has established and continues to support that the universe once had a beginning in which space, time and matter were created. Many know this as the big bang.
“The non-biblical religions tell us that god or god’s create within space and time that eternally exist. The Bible stands alone and says that time and space don’t exist until God creates the universe.” – Astronomer (Phd) Hugh Ross
The Bible not only got it right that space, time and matter all came into existence at the beginning of the universe, it also states in 7 different places that the universe is expanding thousands of years before scientists discovered these things.
Did you know that the real Noah’s Ark was discovered in the location where the Bible told us it would be, as well as having the correct dimensions? As well as proof for the destruction of Sodom Gomorrah and the Exodus account of the Red Sea crossing?
The Bible is the most translated and read book in the history of the world, full of predictive prophecies, matching what we find in the book of nature. Wouldn’t you expect God’s word to be so?
This information and more can all be found here: http://voice-truth.com
God loves you!