The governments of the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union and many others across the world, are striving to overcome the devastating problems that unscrupulous seekers of power and/or indulgence are bringing to millions.

The title of this article was the nature of our invitation to readers of ‘The Rugby Register’ local advertising magazine, and anyone else who cares to drop in, to share with us our investigations into what can be done to mitigate or even escape from the apparent disasters that lie ahead.

First we must recognise the complexity of the problem and we have found a table that helps very much in that respect.

Just looking at these problems it immediately becomes apparent that they are caused by many different people and nations. Is there a place to go to deal with worldwide problems like these. Well, the horror of World War II, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history, involved more than 50 nations fighting on land, sea and in air in nearly every part of the world. The end of this war led to a meeting of the leading nations of the world in San Francisco. Within months 29 nations formed the United Nations on October 24, 1945, and now it has 193 member states and a very grand charter. Let’s have a look!

What grand aspirations and how miserably it has failed!

When you look at the history of civilization on the earth there seems to be little hope of success. The Egyptians, Jews, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans and all empires down the ages gained their power by fighting, killing and oppression.

Ancient scrolls found in a series of caves in Palestine

However, in the late 1940’s some extensive scrolls were discovered in a series of caves. Wikipedia tells us “researchers have assembled a collection of 981 different manuscripts – discovered in 1946/47 and in 1956 – from 11 caves.”

Paraphrasing Wikipedia, hundreds of professional researchers and scientists have worked on these largely Hebrew manuscripts, many of which are in fragments, to piece them together, date and translate. Below is an example of one of the larger scrolls.

Why are we telling you about these ancient scrolls? Well, It is because in looking at the modern world we have been unable to find the answer to our question, “Who controls our future ?”, if anybody in particular does in the modern world. By looking further afield, we found that manuscripts have been discovered that demonstrate the Old Testament of the Bible is a very old book and that it contains some amazing information.

We have been looking, very briefly, at the content of the caves discovered in the 1940s near the Dead Sea in Palestine. Wikipedia describes even more interesting to us, the contents of some caves found in 1957 plus, in the same area.

One of those researchers is Steve Rudd who had joined workers in several Archaeological sites in the Middle East as part of the team digging, co-ordinating their work schedules and compiling very detailed reports. Steve Rudd has compiled a long and detailed report of the content and age of some of these scrolls.^{[see end of this article]}

The first cave in this you collection was called “Cave of Horror” because it contained the skeletons of Jews, including women and children, apparently hiding from results of the national revolt from the Roman occupation in 135 AD.

Rome had promptly brought in their ruthless armies to destroy and carry off captive many thousands Jews out of their land and ban them from living there. This community of Jews had hidden in the “Cave of horror” and leaving the cave would have meant surrendering to the Romans below. They did not want to do this and when their food stores run out they buried their precious scrolls at the back of the cave, burnt their possessions in the cave and starved to death.

The “Cave of Horror”, when discovered find in 1957, was named “Nahal Hever” and the main manuscript labelled, 8HevXllgr “Dodekapropheton”.

Analysis of the new batch of manuscripts (mss) revealed they were of the Greek ‘Septuagint’ translation of the Hebrew, described by Wikipedia as, “the Hebrew Torah (Old Testament) … translated into Greek at the request of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–247 BCE) by 70 or 72 Jewish scholars: six scholars from each of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.” The long translation process of the Septuagint was completed by 132 BCE.”

It is these manuscripts made at least 50 years before Jesus was born that we want to tell you about. Steve Rudd realized the amazing significance of the manuscripts and built a website detailing all the work that was done on them. Below are some extracts downloaded from his website. ^{[see link to it given at the end of this article]}

Here we have a few of the pieces of mss of the ‘12 Minor Prophets Manuscripts’ dated 50 BC (copy mss) by a team of experts.

The prophet Micah was active during the last half of the 8th century BC so he wrote hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus. The translation of fragments highlighted here together with many more in other of our articles on this website are very significant. Here is a summary of parts of one of them.

What the Bible tells us

The Romans had occupied the land of Israel and put their man, Herod, an Idumean, on the throne. It is quite possible you will have heard how wise men came looking for a baby born to be king and thought Herod would be able to help them find him. Matthew 2 records they asked

²Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. ³ When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

As Herod wasn’t a Jew, and wasn’t religious he called the high priest and his associates to explain.

⁴ And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

They were able to tell him straight away.

⁵And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, ⁶And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

You have already seen a copy of what the prophet Micah wrote long before Jesus was born.

Micah 5 ² But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. [Old Testament]

They had in their hands a copy of one of the many prophecies about Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. Reading a little further in Matthew 2 we see …

⁹ When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was … ¹¹ And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.  ¹² And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

So there really was a child, Jesus, there. But see what was going on in the palace.

¹⁶ Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.

Herod did not want to worship Jesus as he pretended to the wise men. He wanted to kill him to avoid any competition for the throne. This too was prophesied in the Old Testament, this time by the prophet Jeremiah active around 600 BC.

Jeremiah 31 ¹⁵Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. [Old Testament]

Ramah is an area where Bethlehem, Jesus’s birthplace is situated.

¹³ … Behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child too. ¹⁴ When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: ¹⁵ And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

And here is what the Old Testament prophet, Hosea, prophesied guided by God, over 750 years before Jesus was born.

Hosea 11 ¹When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

So there we have 3 prophecies in the Old Testament that were fulfilled in these few verses in Matthew ^{[New Testament]}.

Note: Jesus was uniquely God’s Son because Mary’s pregnancy was by a miracle – no man was involved. As the Angel who told her she would have a son said.

Luke 1 ³⁴ Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? ³⁵ And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Returning to Old Testament prophecy, Alfred Edersheim, an 18^th Century Bible Scholar in his book, “The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah” ^{[still available]}, found 456 Old Testament verses referring to the Messiah or His times. Conservatively, Jesus fulfilled at least 300” of those prophecies in the 1^st Century.

So we have an amazing Truth

Adding together all the Hebrew and Greek Dead Sea Scrolls that historical, scientific and archaeological experts have confirmed are genuine and were originally written well before Jesus was born, we have fragments from every book of the Old Testament except for the Book of Esther. Isaiah is complete and a number are substantially so.

Thus, the Old Testament is undoubtedly a book of TRUTH, and it provides, for those who read the Bible the answer to our opening question.

WHO CONTROLS OUR FUTURE ?

It certainly is not man … …

Proverbs 16 ²⁵ There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

God uses His Word the Bible to explain His purpose in creating the earth.

2 Peter 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

He goes into great detail largely in the Old Testament and this passage from Isaiah giving us a good start into learning the future He is going to establish on the earth in place of the ruination and hopelessness that man is bringing the earth to.

^5​​  I​​ am​​ the​​ LORD, and​​ there is​​ none else,​​ there is​​ no God beside​​ me: … …​​ ⁷​​  I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the​​ LORD​​ do all these​​ things. … … ¹⁸ For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. ¹⁹ I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob*, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.    Isaiah 4   _{*One of the forefathers of Israel}

The earth or civilization certainly will not be destroyed, however near man seems to be bringing that about.

²⁹  The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever. Psalm 37

We could go on at length about these things, but the article would be far too long. So below links to articles that you might find interesting.

This presentation is one many on this website.  The subjects included in it listed below might be an interesting follow up to the one above at some convenient time.  To view please Ctrl+Click on any.

1. Why does God allow suffering
2. Remarkable changes are coming
3. He is risen (resurrection)
4. The Good Shepherd of his sheep
5. Following the Good Shepherd
6. Earth full of knowledge of God’s glory

PLUS another demonstrating THE BIBLE IS TRUE.

How can Israel be God’s witnesses?

Earth full of knowledge of God’s glory

Why are we here?

Many scientists say the purpose of life is first survival, followed by reproduction. The New York Times says ‘The universe doesn’t care about your purpose’, and leading physicist Lawrence Krauss in his latest book says, the fact that we evolved on this planet is just a “cosmic accident”. But we have far better facts to put before you on our website. And you have probably joined us from our Home Page by invitation.

Of course, science does not say anything. It is ‘certain people’ who use it, that say things. A more accurate assessment of science is one given by Professor Carl Sagan (1934 – 1996). He was a famous American astronomer, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, science populariser, and science communicator in astronomy and other natural sciences.

He said, “Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.”

“Albert Einstein, was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time, made the following profound statement.

“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”

And we support the view of many scientists that true religion and science go hand in hand especially as the claim that the truth of the Bible is based wholly on faith is false.

Hebrews 11 ¹ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Let us show you an example.

First you need to be aware of the make up of the Bible. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so let us give it a try.

`

If you are not familiar with the Bible, please have a good look at the above diagram. You will see that the Bible is written in two parts – the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament tends to be called the Hebrew Bible because it was written down and preserved by the Jews for centuries. They kept copies of their Bible in the temple in Jerusalem and their synagogues across the country long before Jesus was born.

What the Bible tells

We can read in the Bible in the first book of the New Testament how one day some men came from outside Israel to see Herod, the king, in Jerusalem. It is quite possible you will have heard about it, even if you have never read a page of the Bible.

Matthew 2 ¹Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

They had a question about a king and thought he would be able to help them.

²Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. ³ When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Herod wasn’t a Jew, and he wasn’t religious. So he called the high priest and his associates to explain.

⁴ And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

They were able to tell him straight away.

⁵And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, ⁶And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

We will stop here a moment to be sure that you appreciate the significance of the priests words. This is what the prophet Micah wrote around 500 years before.

Micah 5 ² But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

You can read it for yourself in any Old Testament Bible in Micah chapter 5. And this was not just a lucky guess. There are many prophecies about Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. Let’s just read a little further in Matthew 2 .

⁹ When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was … ¹¹ And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.  ¹² And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

So the child, Jesus, was really there. But see what was going on in the palace.

¹⁶ Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.

Herod did not want to worship Jesus as he pretended to the wise men. He wanted to kill him to avoid any competition for the throne. This too was prophesied in the Old Testament.

Jeremiah 31 ¹⁵Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in *Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.

Did Herod succeed in killing Jesus. Of course, not.

¹³ … Behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child too. ¹⁴ When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: ¹⁵ And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

And here is what the Old Testament prophet, Hosea, wrote,

Hosea 11 ¹When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

Prophecy proves the Bible is true and God is our Creator.

We have identified above at least three fulfilled prophecies in the second chapter of Matthew.

• The Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem
• Herod’s attempt to murder Jesus
• The removal of Jesus into Egypt to escape Herod.

The only way this is possible is if there is an all knowing, all powerful, Creator God, in charge of what happens on the Earth and what is recorded in the Old and New Testaments.

Isaiah 45 ¹¹  Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me. ¹²  I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.

Thus, the basis of belief in our God (Heb: Yahweh) as Creator and Sustainer of all life and things throughout the universe, is not blind faith. It is based on the evidence of prophecy in the Old Testament of what happened later in the New Testament. Faith comes into our dealings with God as our Heavenly Father.

Why we are here.

Now the answer is straightforward!

Genesis 1 ¹  In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. ²  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. ^{3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.}

And He tells later,

Isaiah 45 ¹⁸  For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.

So He had a purpose with the Earth and it involved people. In fact, if you read the first chapter of Genesis it describes the whole clothing of the earth with vegetation, trees, insects, animals, and so on, right up to man at the top.

Genesis 1 ²⁷  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. ²⁸  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

The highlighted phrase tells us that God needs thinking beings that can understand Him. The word ‘image’ in Genesis in the original Hebrew is ‏צֶלֶם‎ and means ‘similar’, rather than, ‘the same as God’. The similarities God gave human beings includes a mind that could think, reason, remember and have emotions in the same way as God can, and the ability to communicate with Him.

We suggest that God did not want to live in isolation, but rather with people around Him that are responsive and appreciative of what he does for them. For example, Moses was a man who showed much concern for his Heavenly Father.

God had chosen the nation of Israel to be His own people. He made a promise to them that He would love and care for them if they would do the same for Him. The blessings He lavished upon them, with the promise of even better times to come were amazing. And yet within a little time they were worshipping an idol that they had made and behaving abominably before Him so that God threatened to destroy them and start again with Moses. But rather than glow with pride, Moses’ first thought was for his Heavenly Father.

Exodus 32 ¹¹  And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? ¹²  Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. ¹³  Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. ¹⁴  And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

That is the kind of mutual relationship that God is looking for. Appreciation of what He does for people in return for remarkable protection and wonderful benefits top come.

John 3 ¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

We shall receive a new transformed body like the body Jesus now has.

1 John 3:2 ²  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

What an amazing body to have. But we must do our part to receive that huge honour of a body like Jesus with the ability to do the things he has done in the past and will do in the future, but plus much more. So let us hear and respond faithfully to the words of Jesus.

Mark 12 ³⁰  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. ³¹  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~

If you would like to know more about these important matters, we have Bible talks and invite you to come and listen to one. They are held every Sunday, God willing, and the coming subjects can be found on the “Sunday Bible talks details” page at the top of the page.  (Please us red arrow on right.)   We also have more articles and some audio and video recordings covering many Bible topics in our “Bible study” section.

Artificial Intelligence

Wikipedia reports “Artificial Intelligence” (AI) is intelligence demonstrated by machines”. AI tells of “the formation of our universe and the evolutionary events which created life as we know it.”.

But hear what God says,

“I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.”        Isa 45:12
~                                           ~   ~   ~   ~   ~
.                                     Artificial Intelligence

We emphasise, AI is not truly intelligent, but rather, it is well-designed to perform specific tasks within a set of man-made rules. AI lacks the ability to think independently, and understand the nuances of human speech and behaviour.

Professor Crawford has published a number of scientific books on her subject area. Her latest book, “Atlas of AI,” was published by Yale University Press in May 2021, and has been described as “timely and urgent” by Science.

”AI is made from vast amounts of natural resources, fuel, and human labour. And it’s not intelligent in any kind of human intelligence way. It’s not able to discern things without extensive human training, and it has a completely different statistical logic for how meaning is made. Since the very beginning of AI back in 1956, we have made this terrible error, a sort of original sin of the field, to believe that minds are like computers and vice versa. We assume these things are an analog [equivalent] to human intelligence, and nothing could be further from the truth.”

One of the most fundamental aspects of human consciousness and intelligence is the ability to understand the subtle art of language, from sarcasm to figures of speech. Robots simply cannot do that, which is why we can be confident true artificial intelligence will be impossible to develop. Here is the foundation to our confidence.

.                          Our God and Heavenly Father.

Turning our thoughts to God, the designer, creator, and sustainer of the universe, the situation is so very simple. As we have indicated,

¹⁸ For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob [Israel], Seek ye me in vain: I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.       Isaiah 45

As man’s creator God knows exactly what He has made. Especially as He has made man to be part of His purpose with the Earth.

²⁷ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.       Genesis 1

That tells us that God needs thinking beings that can understand Him. The word ‘image’ in Genesis in the original Hebrew is ‏צֶלֶם‎ and means ‘similar’, rather than the same as God. The similarities God gave human beings includes a mind that could think, reason, and have emotions in the same way as God can, and the ability to communicate with Him.

So intricate is His understanding of man that he knows the thoughts of man,

¹ O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. ² Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.      Psalm 139 

God can even foresee the actions of people as we will see in the quote below. It describes the future actions of the army of a nation that is the enemy of God’s people – Israel.

¹⁰ Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: ¹¹ And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, ¹² To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.      Ezekiel 38

You will see that those few verses describe the attack of one nation on another people in detail, and thus a prophecy, in this chapter and the next, of a war which is yet to come.

This war is not the subject of this article which is aiming to give you an idea of how the Bible describes life on our planet Earth as wholly the work of God and completely under His control.

Obviously, this is only a short description of a small part of the workings of life on earth which is under the control of a greatly superior intelligence to human beings and their inventions.

Now, there is a very important thing we must emphasise about God’s book from which we learn about Him and His purpose with the world. It contains absolute proof that it is a book of truth, and that God exists.

The Old Testament contains many prophecies of the coming of the Lord Jesus to the earth and it was complete before his birth. When Jesus was born the Old Testament was in the hands of many Jews around him and therefore they had read it and were expecting Jesus. Here is an amazing example in an incident remembered every year by millions of people! It is recorded in Matthew 2.

.                          THE TRUTH OF THE BIBLE

Soon after the birth of Jesus, we can read wise men wanted to see the child. They came to king Herod and asked,

² Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.        Matthew 2

Herod called the priests to ask if they knew about this and they referred him to their scriptures, now known as the Old Testament, and the prophet Micah who lived over 700 years before Herod’s day.

Prophecy: Micah 5: ²  But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

 ⁴  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. ⁵  And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, ⁶  And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel       Matthew 2

We know from the New Testament that is where Jesus was born!

It is clear that even the priests, who reject Jesus, as the prophesied Messiah they were expecting – the Jews longed for a king and deliverer from the Romans.

But when Herod heard this he saw him as a possible rival and wanted to kill him. So, he sent soldiers into the Bethlehem area to kill all the children under two years old, a second prophecy (Jeremiah 13:15 ) thus fulfilled, but for time we will move on to a third fulfilled prophecy.

Also an Angel warned Joseph, the ‘father’ of Jesus, of the danger and sent him to safety In Egypt.

Prophecy: Hosea 11 ¹  When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

 ¹⁴  When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: ¹⁵  And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. Matthew 2

There are many fulfilled prophecies from the Old Testament in the New Testament. Thus, the Bible itself contains undeniably fulfilled prophecies.

And interestingly, there is outside support for the truth of the Bible in the form of the “Dead Sea Scrolls”. The BBC broadcast a programme with that title in their series “IN OUR TIME” on Thursday, 4th May 2023 now available on “BBC sounds” (on line). The many scrolls found in the caves on the shores of the Dead Sea included at least fragments from every book of the Old Testament except for the Book of Esther and up to a nearly complete one of Isaiah, all date back to at least 250 BC. Many are older.

.                                          Conclusion

So, we can assure you that true “Artificial Intelligence” does not, and cannot exist in the universal realm of The Supreme Intelligence of Almighty God.

¹⁷ Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.  1 Timothy 1

¹⁵ … who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; ¹⁶ Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen. 1 Timothy 6

Most of the many Bibles in the world never leave the bookshelf or are banished to the bottom of a cupboard. This is sad because Jesus said the Good News it contains is “like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” As soon as he recognised the value of it he wanted it at all costs.

The Bible is a treasure that men have died to save from it’s enemies. William Tyndale (see left) was burnt at the stake for translating the Latin Bible into English so the common man could read it; when he cried, “Lord open the king of England’s eyes.” (From an Elizabethan edition of Foxe’s Martyrs.)

What can the Bible reveal to the reader that is so valuable? Jesus likens it’s message to a farmer who unexpectedly finds treasure in the field he rents that is so valuable he totally changes his life to claim it? And Jesus adds power to that with another short parable.

⁴⁵ Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: ⁴⁶ Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Matthew 13

This time a merchant searching for a pearl more valuable than those he had, to someone who was looking for the true way to future life and when he found the gospel Jesus taught, he gave up all other ideas or future life that he had heard, like the Law of Moses, because he could see Jesus was offering “The Truth”.

¹⁴ … Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, ¹⁵ And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. Mark 1

Jesus brought the true hope of it eternal life to his people, Israel, so let us follow the gospel of the kingdom of God Jesus taught. When Jesus’ disciple Thomas could not understand how to follow him, …

⁶ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14

If you don’t know much about the great treasures to be discovered in the Bible that can thrill and amaze the reader we hope that by introducing you to it you will want to dig further to learn more about it for yourself. We can tell you it is essential to read Jesus’ own words for yourself, as many who claim they can tell you what he says get it wrong. That is why there are so many different churches and chapels today

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

DON’T RELY ON ANYONE ELSE

Writers of commentaries or paraphrase versions of the Bible tend to impose their own views upon the Bible. Using such sources alone is very unlikely to accurately reflect the contents of the Bible.

We use the Bible throughout all our articles to show you the Gospel message.

Today there are many versions of the Bible. The serious Bible student must use a translation that remains faithful to the original language. We are using the well-established King James Version of the Bible. When using any additional material apply the test that the Bible itself advises …

“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20

START WITH AN OPEN MIND

The key to this article is those words of Jesus we quoted above, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”^{John 14:6} Let’s think about those three matters.

First, “The way” to what? Jesus said in that same quotation from John 14. “No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” God told Moses what His purpose was,

²¹ But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord. Numbers 14

Just think of that! a world without wickedness, or evil, or ugliness.

³⁸ But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off. Psalm 37

And how does Jesus offer, “The Truth”?

⁴⁹ For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. John 12

And always remember God does not, and cannot lie.

¹⁹ God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Numbers 23

And finally, how is Jesus “The Life”?

¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3

Make no mistake – the value of his offer is vast and we can only give you a brief look into its wonder in this article.

OUR PERSON

Resurrection

²⁸ Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, ²⁹And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. John 5

A new body

²¹ who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. Philippians 3 NKJV

A new life without suffering, distress or death

⁴  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21

THE WORLD TO COME

Unspoilt beauty of the countryside and the characters of the population

¹⁴ For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2

Animal Kingdom at peace 

⁶ The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. ⁷ And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. ⁸ And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. Isaiah 11

Contrast that with the world today – war, earthquake and terrorism,

to the world when Jesus returns and rules the world from Jerusalem.

Peace and harmony for all

⁴And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.  Isaiah 2

The true worship of God will be desired by the survivors.

² And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. ³ And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.  Isaiah 2

The situation in the world that will bring Jesus back.

You may be wondering how such huge changes can be brought about in our world today. Especially as the conditions in the world are going to get worse before they get better!

This is predicted by a number of prophets like Joel, Zechariah, Isaiah, Daniel and others, including Ezekiel where God speaks to Gog, which leads a band or alliance, of nations in the Middle East to attack Israel – whose people, only in the middle of the last century, returned to their land to escape the murderous intent of Hitler.

God’s message continues.

⁵ Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: ⁶ Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee. ⁷ Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. ⁸ After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. Ezekiel 38

This chapter is well worth a read, with a good atlas at your side, to see what nation is the leader of the many peoples described in this prophecy (vs 6-8).

And this is only one of the prophets that between them give a detailed description of a large fighting force who will attack God’s people of Israel. See these verses from Zechariah 14.

² For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captFivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

Clearly, Israel will be in great trouble, and something must be done to save God’s people from destruction. Zechariah immediately tells us God will act urgently as He has in the past.

³ Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. Zechariah

The new life that we have been showing you is a huge change from the war that the prophets predict. Obviously, someone with great power will be needed to save Israel from destruction and bring about the marvellous changes in the Earth we have begun to outline. Especially as many powerful nations will resist giving up their soverFeignty at all cost. A good example of such a leader is Vladimir Putin the present President of Russia.

Maybe you have worked out who will save Israel’s saviour.

³⁰ And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹ And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Matthew 24

The return of Jesus to the earth and all that he must do is a large, detailed subject and beyond the scope of this article. It is also a very interesting subject since those to whom Jesus gives eternal life are vitally involved. But, if there is enough interest we will undertake that task, God willing, very soon. Do let us know if you have any comments about this article or future articles using our comments box at the top right of this page.

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A Bible Reading Plan and Guide consisting of fourteen booklets each containing guidance notes for four weeks of the twelve-month plan.

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Understand the Bible for themselves. This plan is therefore designed to introduce the reader directly to God’s message and the accompanying guidance notes highlight the straightforward teaching of the Bible, deal with difficulties which people have expressed in the past and draw attention to many examples of divine authorship which reinforce the absolute assurance that this is the Word of the Living God.

A copy of the first issue, together with a bookmark of the year’s reading plan. Questions about what you read in the Bible can be asked in the “Contact Us” box on this website, by phone or by post.

What made the Apostle Paul suddenly eager to bring the Gospel to all?

Well, God can see into the mind’s of men and women.
 ¹ O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. ² Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. ³ Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.            Psalm 139

As evidence of this truth, God gave the power to know what people were thinking to Jesus on a number of occasions such as when he healed the man who was ‘sick of the palsy’. He then answered their ‘evil thoughts’ with a miracle showing he had the power from God to do both.
² And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. ³ And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. ⁴ And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? ⁵ For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? ⁶ But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. ⁷ And he arose, and departed to his house.     Matthew 9

There we have of proof of what has been said. The men said nothing – just had an evil thoughts: Jesus read their thoughts and answered them. Then he did a miracle to show he had power from God to do these amazing things.

Now let us turn to the apostle Paul, initially called Saul. God, who had the power to read the minds of men and women, would know that Saul had a character suitable for enthusiastically preaching the gospel. As Paul said in later life,
 ³  I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.           Acts 22

Many people believed in the promises in “the perfect the law of the fathers”, and had a zeal toward God. This was demonstrated by the crowds that came to John the Baptist, because,
¹⁵  … the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were ‘The Christ’, or not.               Luke 3

If you read on in Luke 3 you will see that John told them that he was not ‘the Christ’, but that ‘Christ the Messiah’ would soon come. The trouble was that many did not believe that Jesus was ‘the Christ’, especially the religious leaders of the day.

But when …
1.   … the resurrected Jesus, who had been murdered by the combined forces of the Jews and Romans, met Saul face to face on the road to Damascus,
 ³ … suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: ⁴ And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? ⁵ And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. ⁶ And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.     Acts 9

2. … Later one of Jesus’ followers called Ananias restored Paul’s sight by a miracle.
 ¹⁷   … and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. ¹⁸  And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.          Acts 9

3.   And recovering from the shock of his experience, in the care of his new found Christian brothers, he was soon convinced that Jesus was the Christ – the Messiah and Son of God.
 ¹⁹  … he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. ²⁰  And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.                                                                                            Acts 9

As the result of another important and valuable experience of Paul, he told the Galatians that to complete his preparation for preaching to the Gentiles he had a revelation of Jesus, who taught him the things of the Gospel of Kingdom of God.
 ¹¹  But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. ¹²  For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.                                                                                Galatians 1

Apparently, they met in the wilderness for a period of strengthening and preparation for the work God intended to do which would meet with much persecution. For he was to be …
¹⁵  … a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: ¹⁶  For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.                                                                             Acts 9

Paul realised his life, like a number of other prophets and teachers was, wholly in their Heavenly Father’s hands.
 … it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, ¹⁶  To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: ¹⁷  Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.                                                                                  Galatians 1

He certainly had a very hard life and suffered from much hardship as he was provoked into revealing to his unjust critics.
 ²⁴  Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. ²⁵  Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; ²⁶  In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; ²⁷  In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. ²⁸  Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.         2 Corinthians 11

If we ask ourselves, “Why did he do it?”  We suggest, on good authority, it is undoubtedly for the same reason as Jesus suffered.
²  … Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.                                                                                  Hebrews 12 

He did it for the joy and beauty, the anticipation and satisfaction, of the promised things to come compared to what this world had to offer him, and all of like precious faith to him.

Paul, writing to the believers at Corinth compared a Christian’s life to an athlete’s, but with an important difference …
²⁴  Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. ²⁵  And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. ²⁶  I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: ²⁷  But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.                                                       1 Corinthians 9

All, not just one, can win the race to life if they compete according to the rules. And Paul was convinced that whatever sacrifice was involved in following Jesus paled into insignificance when compared to the glory to be revealed when Jesus returns to this Earth to establish God’s Kingdom.  
¹⁸  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.                                                                              Romans 8 

What the world offers is worthless by comparison, in his opinion!.
⁸  … I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,                                                                       Philippians 3 

That’s in the sense of relative valuation. Everything that men and women value in the world that is in the hands of men and women is but refuse, whilst the Kingdom of God is priceless and the man or woman appreciating its true value is prepared to give up everything for a place in it. 
⁴⁴  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: ⁴⁶  Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.        Matthew 13

Paul goes on to tell us that receiving the commendation of Jesus on the day of judgement will only follow a responsible life of worthwhile work when he might well say, 
¹⁷  … Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.     Luke 19 

The change of body that will be given to those who are accepted by Jesus to help him establish the Kingdom of God will be amazing. Paul contrasts it with the hopeless nature of the body that most men and women put their trust in which will always let them down.
¹⁸  For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: ¹⁹  whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame–who set their mind on earthly things. ²⁰  For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹  who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.            Philippians 3 (NKJV) 

The result will be wonderful.
Revelation 21 ⁴  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

No wonder Paul and all true Christians put their trust In the promises we have from God in His Word in this Bible presentation.

We will take just one more piece of advice from Paul.  
¹³ Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, ¹⁴  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.       Philippians 3 

This was Paul’s aim in life and it should be ours also if we wish to receive the amazing reward a faithful life of belief in Jesus and obedience to his teaching will bring,

Followers of Jesus should never think they have ‘done enough’ (apprehended) to receive the reward. This is not decided until they meet the judge – the Lord Jesus Christ. The parable of the sheep and the goats – Matthew 25:31-46 – tells us the kind of words the faithful (the sheep) hope to hear’
³⁴  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.          Matthew 25

The scriptures witness, not only to the marvels of the future reward promised the faithful, but also to the lives of men and women like Paul who were prepared to suffer the loss of anything that competed against the honour of serving Jesus in the future. May we be like minded, prepared to put the failures of the past behind us, in our desire to press on towards the hope the kingdom.

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We wish you well in your Bible reading and study

The Bible is the most widely circulated book in the world. Yet despite sitting on more bookshelves than any other book, its contents remain a mystery to many. This need not be the case for you. Whilst it is not an easy task, it is possible for virtually anyone to grasp the basic themes of the Bible. It requires time and dedication, but the great treasures to be discovered there can thrill and amaze the reader. Detailed study reveals the Bible to be an intricately woven tapestry of interlinking ideas in repeating patterns that reinforce the reliability of the whole.

Just as a single atom provides a pattern for a vast solar system, so the Bible reveals patterns that are embedded in the finest detail and in its.

READ THE BIBLE YOURSELF

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

Perhaps the most important step to take in approaching the Bible is to recognise that the more you put in to reading and studying it, the more you will get out of it. Investing your time in this way brings the reward of knowing that the task is done properly, thoroughly and to your personal satisfaction. There is no substitute for finding the message of the Bible for yourself.

“These [the Berean Jews] were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Acts 17:11

This is a task that requires hard work and individual care and commitment.

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”                                                                            2 Timothy 2:15

Jesus tells us this literally means ‘ploughing a straight furrow through the word of truth’

“And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”                                                                     Luke 9:62

DON’T RELY ON ANYONE ELSE

Writers of commentaries or paraphrase versions of the Bible tend to impose their own views, or those of the organisations they represent, upon the Bible. Using such sources alone is very unlikely to accurately reflect the contents of the Bible.

Today there are many versions of the Bible. The serious Bible student must use one that remains faithful to the original language. The publishers of these “Stepping Stones to Truth” use and recommend the well established King James, or Authorised Version of the Bible. When using any additional material apply the test that the Bible itself advises …

“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20

START WITH AN OPEN MIND

A good deal of ‘misinformation’ is spread about the Bible, generally by those who are not familiar with its contents. As you begin the task of reading and understanding the Bible try to put aside whatever you may have previously heard about the Bible and come to it with an open mind ready to accept what it really says.

Jesus encouraged this approach when he said:

“Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”                                                                                Matthew 18:3

Like a child, read with eager curiosity, and a mind ready to absorb all that it encounters. Come to it with an enquiring mind for Jesus promises,

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Matthew 7:7

The relationship that we can build up with God through the Bible is summed up by Solomon in the book of Proverbs,

“It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.” Proverbs 25:2

This verse shows that God has deliberately made the Bible a challenge to prove our commitment to understanding His ways. It also hints that the reward for successfully searching for Him and finding his purpose is a position of rulership.

DON’T TRY TO MAKE THE BIBLE PROVE ANYTHING

To take an idea of your own and then try to find verses that prove it, generally leads to confusion. Maybe a verse can be found that can be interpreted in a way that seems to support your idea. The problem is that this interpretation, more often than not, contradicts other scriptures and obscures the Truth. It is almost as though the Bible has been written in such a way as to catch out people who attempt to impose man-made ideas upon it. The Apostle Paul commented on this:

“… because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” 2 Thessalonians 2:10-11

Over the centuries, by misquotation and abuse, the Bible has been used to justify all manner of atrocities and corrupt behaviour. You must simply and honestly search for the Truth the Bible contains. If you respect the Word of God and accept its Divine origins, the contradictions and confusion disappear.

READ THE WHOLE BIBLE

Like any major task, it is essential to use a well structured plan, which breaks it down into manageable pieces. [See the Bible Reading Plan offered at the end of this presentation]. Perhaps because the Bible is so large, many people cut corners and concentrate on certain parts, ignoring large sections of it.

For example, the Old Testament is often seen as irrelevant to an understanding of Christianity. This means the reader is accepting some parts of the Bible and rejecting others. The Old Testament is as vital a part of the message of God as is the New Testament, which quotes extensively from the Old Testament. The Apostle Paul says.

“Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Galatians 3:24

Understanding the law, the name the Jews give to the first five books of the Old Testament, greatly enhances our understanding of Christ and his teachings.

Jesus rebuked the men and women of his time for not paying enough attention to the Old Testament. He said:

“Search the scriptures [the Old Testament when the New Testament was written]; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” John 5:39

If we search the scriptures as Jesus counselled, we will find how wonderful the word of God is.

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”                                                            Psalm 19:7-9

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God offers men and women a part in His marvellous purpose with the earth that He reveals in His word, the Bible. Since benefiting from the great blessings God offers is dependent upon fulfilling certain conditions He lays down, it is essential that all who would have a part in His glorious purpose read and understand the Bible for themselves. This plan is therefore designed to introduce the reader directly to God’s message and the accompanying guidance notes highlight the straightforward teaching of the Bible, deal with difficulties which people have expressed in the past and draw attention to many examples of divine authorship which reinforce the absolute assurance that this is the Word of the Living God.

A copy of the first issue, together with a bookmark of the year’s reading plan. Questions about what you read in the Bible can be asked in the “Contact Us” box top right of this page.

The following Bible presentation can be read as standing on its own, or, as a continuation of a series on sin and it’s consequences which can all be found immediately below the present one if you wish to read them before this one.

Introduction

We intend to tell you about things that in the light of conditions today could seem impossible – a fairy tale – even fantasy.  So, we will start with one that is sadly all too realistic, but happily can lead to infinitely better things.

One day towards the end of his ministry when Jesus was prophesying of times to come, he said …

⁹  But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. ¹⁰  Then said he unto them, earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.                                       Luke 21
Jesus went on to describe coming troubles at different times that would get worse and worse reaching their climax in the battle of Armageddon in the Middle East.  But this is not the time, nor do we have the space to look at the prophecies of wars at that terrible time when many nations will suffer greatly.  Our interest now is in how Jesus told the crowd before him those wars would conclude … …
²⁵ … … and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring^;26  Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. ²⁷  And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸  And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.                                                                                    Luke 21
Jesus will then return from heaven to save his people from destruction
³⁰  And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.      Matthew 24
This seeming digression from our main subject is necessary so that you appreciate the huge changes needed to bring the world the state God ultimately intends for the earth …
¹⁵  … the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.                                                Revelation 11
This long awaited part of God’s purpose will certainly happen.  The scriptures tell us these changes are huge!  But we have the assurance from His past actions that they will occur…
³⁷  For with God nothing shall be impossible.                                           Luke 1
After all, He did create the Universe and mankind upon Earth!
We can show from the scriptures how these essential great changes will be achieved. For this will necessitate the removal of power and influence from  wicked, godless world leaders, it being transferred to Jesus Christ, the son of God, who will rule over God’s Kingdom on earth. But this requires a separate presentation.  Let us know if you would like to see this, but for the time being the subject we wish to deal with is …   

The earth filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD

In this series of Bible presentations, (listed at the end of this one), we have seen that a loving God created the world, and men and women in it, who are like himself to the extent that they can communicate with Him intellectually and appreciate what He has done and is planning for them.  He reveals His great work of creation and the amazing benefits of being part of His plans for the future, there will be some who will grow to put their trust in Him and love Him^{October 2021} as a child does his father by appreciating what He is doing for them; choosing to obey Him because they want to contribute to making His plans a reality; believing in His mercy that they may have  part of the glorious new world that will, in due time be, “filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD.”  So, let us now look at what God promises those who follow His Son faithfully to the best of their ability.
Clearly the first thing that needs to be changed for the Earth to be filled with “the knowledge of the glory of God,” is man himself.  We know, and have discussed in this series of presentations, the strong-willed nature God has given man to enable him to show the genuineness of his love for his Heavenly Father. But we also know that man is capable of great evil as well. We may remember that the apostle Paul describes his nature like this … …
¹⁸  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. ¹⁹  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.   Romans 7 
God created the world for His own glory as our header quotation shows.  We have seen that believing men and women have an essential a part to play in that purpose. Clearly it will be necessary to remove from this world  sin and death.  The process begins with the selection of those who are to assist Jesus in establishing the Kingdom of God on the Earth.  Step one is a marvellous miracle.
²⁸ Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, ²⁹ And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.                                                                            John 5
Now many men and women will have responded to the call of God, in the Old Testament through the prophets, in the New Testament through Jesus and the apostles, and since their day through the reading of the Bible. But not all will have remained faithful so there will need to be a judgment of the faithful and unfaithful.
¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.                                       2 Corinthians 5 
The unworthy will be returned to the grave as God decides, but we are interested now in the future promised those judged worthy of the amazing blessings of eternal life.
²⁰  We look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: ²¹ Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.      Philippians 3
We are promised the same everlasting body Jesus received  when resurrected to eternal life – a most remarkable and marvellous change.
¹⁶  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3
This means we are no longer subject to sin and death, pain, suffering and much more.
²⁹ He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.  ³⁰ Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: ³¹ But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.                                               Isaiah 40
Many are the practical benefits of all those for whom a merciful Jesus forgives weaknesses and failings. Additionally they will enjoy  the companionship of their fellow ‘Saints’ who are not chosen by the religious leaders of the day, but by our Heavenly Father.
⁵  Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.                                                                              Psalm 50
There are many scriptures describing the earth under the reign of Jesus Christ. The following is a good outline for our purposes in this article.
¹³  I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man [Christ and his saints now resurrected with immortal life to work for God’s glory] came with the clouds of heaven,[with God’s angels a glorious host] and came to the Ancient of days, [Jesus fulfilling his Heavenly Father’s long promised plan] and they brought him near before him. ¹⁴  And there was given him dominion, [rule over the whole earth as his empire] and glory, and a kingdom [Israel, the Kingdom of God, centred in Jerusalem as capital of the world], that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.         Daniel 7

We will pause for a moment to consider the personal benefits of eternal life.
♦ Freedom from temptation, pain, suffering and death.
♦ No more anxiety, stress or worry.
♦ Never being lonely, having many loving, lovely companions.
♦ Being reunited with loved ones who have believed the Gospel.
♦ The ability to meet those remarkable characters we have read about in the Bible and grown to know and love.
♦ The ability to enjoy the unspoilt beauty of nature, the sunrise in the mountains, animals at play, dolphins leaping in the seas, bird song filling the air, the splendid colours and perfumes of flowers, shrubs and trees in a world free from pollution.
♦ Being able to teach an eager mortal population to know, reverence and worship, the one true and glorious God.
⁶ And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.            Revelation 14
[Note: the Greek word translated Angel actually means messenger and isn’t always an Angel from God. We anticipate from other scriptures that the Saints will assist in this work.]
♦ The honour of assisting Christ in the government of the world.
²⁶  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: ²⁷  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.                                                               Revelation 2

How will we be occupied in the Kingdom?
Bearing in mind that Jesus is to return to the world when Israel is under attack from the nations around her and she is about to be destroyed, his first task will be to conquer the enemies of Israel.  The way God has decided to carry that out is a long story which we must leave for another occasion, for the task of overcoming the many nations that will oppose him will be huge and too complicated to describe now but we are prepared to tell you on another occasion.  What is important is that the surviving mortal population will be those that accept Jesus and his rule. So the world will undergo drastic change.
³  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.                                             Isaiah 2
The honour and satisfaction of helping Jesus in the great works to be achieved will surely be great. Particularly because under the rule of Jesus, peace and harmony between peoples will be the key to life.
⁴ And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.                                                                         Isaiah 2

This means the removal from the world of …
♦ All the horrors of war.
♦ Every sort of armament and weapon.
♦ The heartache of caring for the victims and associated loss of life.
♦ A massive saving in resources and manpower.
And the conditions in the world will be changing as the peoples of the world set about clearing away all evidence of evil, wickedness and godlessness.

The following scriptures describe in lovely language some of the marvellous changes it will be a joy to experience throughout the world in the Kingdom Age.
¹ The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. ² It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God. Isaiah 35
⁶ The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. ⁷ And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. ⁸  And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.               Isaiah 11

The following Bible presentation can be read as standing on its own, or, as a continuation of a series on sin and it’s consequences which can all be found immediately below the present one if you wish to read them first.
You may notice in this article references to earlier subjects in this series that follow this one in date order.

Introduction

If this is the first time you have seen one of our regular messages in The Rugby Register magazine or visited our website and read one of our monthly articles, you may be wondering why we are recommending that you ‘follow Jesus Christ’, who was born over 2000 years ago. Well, it is because in this troubled world, where there is so much suffering, poverty, killing and several billion people starving, plus continuing destruction of the environment that is so bad that the Secretary General of the United Nations has said, “We are on a catastrophic path.  We can either save our world or condemn humanity to a hellish future,” with the Guardian newspaper adding to that report, that the majority of scientists consider “the world’s governments are currently failing to avert a grim fate.”
Therefore, we, as a community of Christians, wanted to show our readers, the rot that seems to have set in will be reversed by the Creator. He has amazing plans for the earth and will not allow it to become uninhabitable by men and women.

¹⁸  For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.                                  Isaiah 45
²⁹  The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.      Psalm 37

We started with the common criticism often thrown at Christians, “Why does God allow suffering?” and, “If God is all powerful, all knowing, and all loving, why do bad things happen to people?”  That was in October last year since when we have developed a series of monthly Bible presentations to show that it is an inevitable part of God’s amazing, wonderful purpose with the earth.  To read them you can go to the October 2021 presentation below, and work chronologically through them all there.

Following the Good Shepherd

So far in this series of presentations we have shown that a loving God created the world and men and women wishing that some, appreciating what He is doing for them, might show Him their love. ^{October 2021}  Unfortunately, we find creating men and women with the freedom to love also leads to many problems caused by those who don’t love Him.

We have seen in recent months that God gave the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, a simple, but important command, breaking of which meant they would die.  Sadly, they disobeyed and death for all was brought into the world. ^{(November 2021)}  Fortunately, God had foreseen this would happen and had provided in His plan the means to overcome sin and break down the barrier to future life enabling God to reward those who loved and served Him. ^{(December 2021)}  This hard-won victory was achieved by God’s own son, Jesus Christ, who did no sin and became the first to be resurrected to eternal life. ^{(January 2022)}  Now we need to deal with what men and women must to do to gain the same reward as Jesus – resurrection to eternal life and an amazing future life.

We have already seen that Jesus likens himself to a shepherd and those who believe in him are his sheep that follow him.  We have many examples in the Bible of how Jesus collects his followers.  At the beginning of his ministry Jesus collected many followers. For example, there were James and John, two of his twelve special followers and disciples

²¹  And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. ²²  And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.                                                                                                       Matthew 4

That did not mean they gave up fishing completely.  They still needed to contribute to the family income, but they now had a new priority in life.  They learned the gospel Jesus taught, watched how he lived, and strove to obey him.  On one occasion an interesting young man to see Jesus.

¹⁶  And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?  ¹⁷  And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.                           Matthew 19

They discussed what the commandments were.  Then …

²⁰  The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?  ²¹ Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. ²² But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.            Matthew 19

Jesus could see that his possessions were more important than the commitment that was necessary to follow him.

Clearly, to follow Jesus we need to know how he lived. So, let us look at how Jesus started his ministry.

¹³  Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. ¹⁴  But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? ¹⁵  And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. ¹⁶  And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: ¹⁷  And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.                        Matthew 3

How important this event was to Jesus!  He was baptised by full immersion in water to fulfil all righteousness as his first public act and his Heavenly Father witnessed to the fact that Jesus was uniquely His Son and what He had done had well pleased Him. 

Then Jesus was led into the wilderness for a final period of preparation after which …

¹⁴  … Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, ¹⁵  And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.                                                            Mark 1

And in view of the importance his Father had attached to baptism we find …

¹  … that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, ²  (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)              John 4

So began a great work for Jesus and his disciples, the apostles and faithful men and women down the ages to the present day.

¹⁴  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.                                          Matthew 24

What do you know about baptism?  Probably, that it is carried out in various different ways in churches and ‘Christian’ communities as illustrated.

The apostle Paul spent many years bringing men and women to salvation through Jesus Christ and we feel that it is very useful to look at an example that took place in Philippi where Paul and Silas had been thrown into prison for preaching the gospel in that city.

²⁵  And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. ²⁶  And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bands were loosed. ²⁷  And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.                                          Acts 16

The jailer was about to kill himself because any Roman soldier who had prisoners in his care and allowed any to escape was put to death.  The record continues.

²⁸  But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. ²⁹  Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, ³⁰  And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

Paul and Silas had been in the city for a good few weeks and spread their message far and wide amongst the population. Clearly the jailer had heard and understood he needed to do something to be saved

³¹  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. ³²  And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. ³³  And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.     Acts 16

Paul and Silas made sure that all the household knew and understood the gospel and only then were they baptised being taken to where there was sufficient water for immersion  As Jesus had said, …

⁵  … Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.                             John 3

Baptism is a rebirth to new life in Christ in which the oen baptised promises to obey Jesus and his commandments .

There is a true saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words”, so we are going to use some to demonstrate that the four principles involved must be understood and therefore can only apply to an adult mind and full immersion.

We hope that all who have read this article carefully will appreciate that Bible baptism, as preached by Jesus and the apostles, must be by total immersion as no other way can be an effective seal of the covenant the candidate needs to make with the son of God.  Here is a summary of the four steps.

After all, the benefits being offered for faithful service to Jesus and his and our Heavenly Father are enormous. But that is another story as this presentation has reached its limit in length. So, our intention is to deal with that next month. Please remember any questions regarding this presentation or any Bible matters including those dealt with on our website, in our comments box top right, will be welcomed and answered.

Please be assured that we only respond to questions and comments and will not approach you again unless requested.

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This presentation is one of a series.  Those before it are listed below.  Please click on any you wish to go to.

1. Why does God allow suffering? – October 2021
2. Remarkable Changes are coming – November 2021
3. He is risen (Resurrection) – December 2021
4. The Good Shepherd of his sheep – January 2022

PLUS two reasons why we know THE BIBLE IS TRUE.

Who knows the future? – February 2021 
How can Israel be God’s witnesses? – April 2021

This article can be read stand alone, or, as the next in a series on ‘sin and it’s consequences’ which can be found immediately below the present one if you wish to read them first.
You will see in this article references to earlier subjects,  They follow in date order

In our previous article we looked at how Adam and Eve brought death into the world by not obeying God’s simple command.

¹⁷  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.              Genesis 2

When God speaks, it will happen or He would make Himself a liar which He is not.

¹⁹  God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?         Numbers 23

So, as we saw last time Adam and Eve had decided their future and ours.  As God explained to Adam … …

¹⁷  Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, … …  ¹⁹  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.                Genesis 3

And so all Adam and Eve’s descendants inherited their mortal nature.

¹² Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.                Romans 5

Eventually, the day came when the angel appeared to a virgin called Mary and spoke with her as recorded in Luke 1:26-38 which we recommend you read as it says so much about the mission of Jesus.  Some key extracts are …

³¹  And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. ³²  … the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: ³³  … of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Here, Mary interrupted to ask,

³⁴  …, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? ³⁵  And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

A wonderful miracle – God’s power the Holy Spirit was to cause the conception. But what would her fiancé, Joseph, think about it?  God had anticipated his reaction as Matthew informs us..

²⁰  But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ²¹  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.                        Matthew 1

So much Information is contained in these verses that we must pause and take stock.

Jesus was Son of God, uniquely, miraculously conceived by the power of God, and Son of man through Mary.

⁴  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law.                     Galatians 4 

This meant he was born to carry out his Heavenly Father’s purpose to “save his people from their sins.” AND he had the nature of man being “made under the law” – meaning he lived under the same condemnation as Adam, Eve, and all men and women.  Let’s be clear what that meant for Jesus.

 ¹⁴ Since then we have a great high priest, … … Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.                                                                                                                   Hebrews 4

It means that Jesus was a man a mortal being.  He had the same nature as all of us, being subject to temptation, pain and suffering, and he would in due course die.  And he born with a unique mission.

¹⁹ Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.                 John 5

This meant that whatever he said – all his teachings – he had learned from his Heavenly Father.

⁴⁹  For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.  ⁵⁰  And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.                                                                                                                                John 12

We hardly need remind you of the contrast between Jesus and other men and women, but I will to emphasise the contrast.  Firstly the universal situation.

¹²  Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:                 Romans 5

You might think to yourself, it’s one thing to say such words came from God, but how do we know that is true.  The Apostle Paul writing to Timothy, was inspired to write to a young, but fellow teacher.

¹⁶  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: ¹⁷  That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.                       2 Timothy 3

Inspiration is how God breathes into the minds of His writers what He wants them to set down in His book, the Bible.  Therefore God was  in control of all those who wrote His important message to man kind.  (We have two articles in this series that demonstrate the truth of the Bible. ^{See the end of this presentation.})

The Apostle Peter informs us how it happened.

²⁰  Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.  ²¹  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. (better ‘Spirit’).                    2 Peter 1

Therefore, they cannot write their own ideas because God’s Holy Spirit is their guide, as you see in the quote above.   God’s power will not let them write anything except His true message.

Now let us think about Jesus and compare him to all other members of the human race.

JESUS                                  MEN and WOMEN

Why subject to death?       Because he had Adam’s         Because they had Adams                                                                       mortal nature.                         mortal nature.

What was the                      “Tempted as we are,                     ALL HAVE SINNED
fundamental difference      YET WITHOUT SIN.”           and all short of the glory of God
between them?                       Hebrews 4:15                                 Romans 3:23

Law: “the wages
of sin is death”                     NOT AN OFFENDER                   ALL ARE OFFENDERS
Romans 6:23

Law: “God, that                   Whom God hath raised up           
cannot lie, promised …”     loosed the pains of death                Therefore all die                              Titus 1:2                            not possible he holden of it.                                                                     

Before Jesus was born all who worshipped God were governed by the law of Moses or it’s earlier equivalent. But that law only contained rules about how to live and the punishments that went with them if they were disobeyed.  So, as Paul wrote to the Galatians^2:16,  “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law,” he went on at length in his epistles to describe how God made it possible for men and women to escape from condemnation under the law.

Reading all of the quotation above from Titus, it is easy to understand why God, seeing, a man or woman who was really working hard to please God, could not just say, “I’ve changed my mind about sin and death, I’ll give you eternal life.”

²  In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;   Titus 1

God’s promises are precious.  He promised Adam and Eve death if they broke His law.  We have already seen that God has promised that eternal life is something that He will give to certain men and women.  So, we can see that if God could just change a promise He has made about death, He could change His promise about a way to receive eternal life. That would mean that future life and all things are uncertain.  So we need to know precisely how the life of Jesus changed things.

In our table above we can see clearly man stays in his final resting place because of his sins. Jesus, as he lay in his tomb had nothing to condemn him except his inborn nature as Paul tells us,

³  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:                         Romans 8

Jesus, in the same body of mortal nature as we have, overcame sin in a unique victory.  He was tempted precisely as we are and yet totally sinless, in thought word and need.  He obediently gave to his Heavenly Father his human body as a perfect sacrifice despite false accusations, unjust punishments and the most severe physical and emotional pain and suffering we can imagine.

Jesus submitted to death because He had mortal nature.  But he was not personally worthy of death.  He was a righteous man.  He died to destroy temptation and condemn sin.  He was the Lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice, therefore His Father could not justly allow his to remain in the tomb and he was resurrected to eternal life.

¹⁸  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; ¹⁹  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:                1 Peter 1

So Jesus has redeemed us.  He gave his life for sin to save those who are striving to overcome sin in their own lives, and in that way has brought the hope of life and immortality to light through his Gospel.

¹⁰  But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:             2 Timothy 1

This information was not new when Jesus was born into the world. Those who listened to the prophets knew he was coming.  We would recommend reading Isaiah 53.  For instance, speaking of our redemption he wrote,

⁴  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. ⁵  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. ⁶  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. … … ¹¹  He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.                             Isaiah 53

What an amazing man Jesus was when we consider what he was willing to do to make possible the forgiveness of our sins and give us a hope of life.  Surely, that thought alone makes us want to follow our shepherd as obedient sheep that we may share with him the joys and wonders to come when Jesus returns. See what encouragement the apostle Paul gave his friend Titus and is willing to give to all men who read his letter.

¹⁴ … … Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.                 Titus 2(NKJV)

A people who are,

¹³  looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, Titus 2

We look forward, God willing, to explaining  how we become faithful followers, and disciples of Jesus whom he will bless with the marvellous reward of eternal life in his glorious Kingdom in our February Rugby Register message and linked article on this website.  If you wish to contact us before then on this subject you can do so on our contact us/ask questions panel at the top right of every webpage.  We look forward to hearing from you.

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Please bear in mind  that these are short articles designed to whet the appetite of the reader for deeper study.  So please be ready to ask questions in the Comments Box at the top right of this page using the arrow on the right. We only respond to questions and comments and will not approach you again unless requested.

1. Why does God allow suffering? – October 2021
2. Remarkable Changes are coming – November 2021
3. He is risen (Resurrection) – December 2021

PLUS two reasons why we know THE BIBLE IS TRUE.

Who knows the future? – February 2021 
How can Israel be God’s witnesses? – April 2021

Happy and contented reading.  But if not content, please remember our   Comments Box   and if Happy, tell us that too.