Tag Archives: faith

The Kingdom of Heaven

What is the Kingdom of Heaven?

It is God’s wonderful rule. It is so good that it is called the good news (gospel) of the kingdom–a desirable state.

It is a lifestyle into which Jesus called his disciples to enter and to live under. It is so precious, so important, that people are urged to enter it, no matter what it may cost (Mat 13:44-45).

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Most certainly I tell you, unless you turn, and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.  Whoever therefore humbles himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 18:3-4

Let’s look closely at this passage:

Context:

This passage is part of a larger discourse in Matthew 18, often called the “Discourse on the Church”.”

The immediate context is that the disciples asked Jesus, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1). Jesus responds by calling a little child to stand among them (Matthew 18:2) and then speaks the words in verses 3-4.

Key Words and Phrases:

“Truly I tell you” (Amen lego humin): This term Jesus often used as for a solemn affirmation that what follows is important and true.

“unless you turn and become like little children”: Turning, the first step, is critical. The Greek word for “change” (strepho) can also mean “turn” or “convert.” It implies a fundamental transformation. The requirement is to become like a child.

“you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”: This is a strong statement about the necessity of this transformation for entering the kingdom of h  eaven and the salvation it brings.

“whoever humbles himself like this little child”: The Greek word for “humbling oneself ” (tapeinose) refers to humility, lowliness, or a state of being humble.

“is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven“: Jesus contrasted the world’s view of greatness (power, status) with the kingdom’s view — humility and childlike dependence.

What is it about a little child that Jesus should ask people to become in order to enter this kingdom?

It is humility. Lack of pride. Absence of self-reliance. Total trust in our heavenly Father.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do and he will show you which path to take.

Interpretation

The child is used as an example of humility, trust, and dependence. In the ancient world, children had low social status; they were dependent and without pretension.

Jesus is not saying that adults should be childish (immature) but childlike in their faith — trusting, humble, and without arrogance.

To “become like little children” means to abandon self-sufficiency and pride and to rely completely on God.

The transformation (“turn”) is a necessary condition for entering the kingdom — it is a call to conversion.

The reversal of values: the greatest in the kingdom is the one who is humble like a child.

Theological Themes:

Humility: Essential for discipleship and kingdom citizenship.

Kingdom access: Entry into the kingdom requires a change of heart and attitude.

Greatness in the kingdom: Defined by service and humility, not by power or status.

Application:

As followers of Jesus we must embrace humility and dependence on God.

Christian communities should value and practice humility, service, and care for and honour the weak.  

In the ancient world, children were considered weak and vulnerable. They are still vulnerable today.

Conclusion


Jesus uses a child as an object lesson to teach that humility and childlike trust are essential for entering and being great in the kingdom of heaven.

Today, this teaching still challenges worldly notions of control, power and status and calls for a transformation of the heart.

How to Conquer a Death Cult

by Andrew Torba

There are moments in history when the veil is lifted, and the true nature of an ideology is laid bare for all to see. The aftermath of the cowardly assassination of Charlie Kirk was one of those moments. While patriots across America mourned the loss of a bold voice for freedom, truth, and the future of our nation, the Left erupted in celebration.

They laughed. They cheered. They shared memes. They hailed the murderer as a hero. They desecrated the memory of a man gunned down for the simple act of speaking truth.

This is not an anomaly. This is not the work of a few bad apples. This is the logical endpoint of liberalism: a death cult that worships at the altar of destruction.

At its core, this ideology venerates death. It champions the right to end innocent life in the womb, rebranding the slaughter of the unborn as “healthcare” and a sacred right. It encourages the chemical and surgical mutilation of healthy young bodies, a grotesque parody of medicine that severs the individual from their own biological reality. It pushes policies that dissolve the fundamental bonds of family and community, leaving isolated, atomized individuals adrift in a meaningless sea of consumer choices and state dependency.

Now, they celebrate political assassinations.

This is who they are. This is what they believe in. There is no life in their ideology only decay, degradation, and death. They cannot create, so they destroy. They cannot build, so they tear down. They cannot defend truth, so they silence those who speak it.

Charlie Kirk was a threat to them not because he was violent, not because he preached hatred, but because he represented something they despise: life, vitality, courage, and a future for our people. He stood for the America they are trying to erase. In their twisted world, the murder of a young man with a family, friends, and a mission is cause for joy. In their moral vacuum, the blood of the innocent is just another tool in their war against God, nature, and order.

We see you. We see your hatred. We see your emptiness. We see the hollow, lifeless eyes of a movement that has nothing left to offer but destruction, and we will not be silenced. We will mourn Charlie. We will honor his legacy. We will continue his work. And we will remember this moment, the moment the death cult showed its true face to the world.

They think this will frighten us into submission. They are wrong. It only strengthens our resolve.

For we are the builders. We are the defenders. We are the bearers of life, faith, and hope. We will never stop fighting for the future they are so desperate to destroy.

The modern liberal worldview is a hollowed-out edifice built upon a foundation of nihilism and resentment. It is not merely misguided; it is, in its essence, a metaphysical rebellion against creation itself. Its pillars are not principles of life, order, or continuity, but glorifications of decay, fragmentation, and ultimate negation.

This is not an accident. A culture that severs itself from its spiritual and biological roots—from faith, from heritage, from the natural order of the family—has nothing left to affirm. Having rejected the sacred, it can only profane. Having rejected creation, it can only dismantle.

This is the death cult. It masks its emptiness with the language of “compassion” and “progress,” but its fruits are everywhere: fatherless homes, soul-crushing addiction, mental illness on an epidemic scale, and a culture that produces young people so deracinated and hopeless that they cheer for murder.

They offer no future, only an endless, sterile present of managed decline. They cannot create beauty, so they deface monuments. They cannot produce harmony, so they amplify chaos. They cannot foster life, so they defend every manifestation of death.

Our response cannot be mere political opposition. It must be a total and profound rejection of their entire worldview. We must be the unequivocal champions of life. We must build large, faithful families. We must create beautiful and lasting things. We must reaffirm our connection to God, to our people, and to the land. We must be so generative, so life-affirming, and so filled with purpose that their culture of death simply withers in the shadow of our vitality.

They celebrate the darkness because they have forgotten what the light looks like. It is our duty to shine it so brightly that they are forced to remember, or to look away.

The spirit of the age does not knock politely at the Church’s door; it slithers in directly from the pulpit. The same death cult that celebrates murder in the streets and glorifies mutilation in the classroom has found a comfortable home within the compromised walls of modern Christianity. It has exchanged the robust, world-conquering faith of our fathers for a weak, effeminate, and apologetic social club, a chaplaincy to the very regime that seeks our destruction.

This infiltration is a betrayal of our entire history. Look to the men who built Christendom. They were not managers of decline. They were not anxious pleasers of the world. They were conquerors. They were kings, knights, saints, and martyrs who carved civilization out of wilderness and darkness with the sword of truth and the shield of faith. They understood that the Gospel was not a suggestion; it was a mandate to reclaim every inch of creation for Christ the King.

This was a masculine Christianity. It spoke of order, justice, duty, and victory. It built cathedrals that scraped the heavens, universities that pursued divine wisdom, and legal systems based on eternal law. It tamed empires and baptized cultures. It did not ask for permission from the world; it commanded the world to bend the knee.

Now, look at what we have been given. A Church that has traded its crown for a begging bowl. A faith that preaches “tolerance” instead of truth, “dialogue” instead of discipleship, and “inclusion” instead of repentance. It busies itself with ESG scores, climate change rituals, and draping rainbow flags over the cross in a pathetic attempt to gain the approval of a world that will always despise it.

This weakness is a theological and spiritual sickness. It is a failure of nerve and a failure of faith. It is the direct result of a Church that has abandoned its masculine, commanding nature and instead embraced the world’s feminine, receptive values of passivity, feel-good therapy, and endless compromise.

We see it in the pulpit, where the fire of prophecy has been replaced by the damp squib of motivational speaking. We see it in the seminary, where future shepherds are taught to be bureaucrats rather than warriors. We see it in the pews, where men are given no mission, no challenge, and no standard to strive for and so they leave.

This must end. The roots of this parasitic ideology must be ripped out, burned, and salt poured into the earth where they grew.

We must return, with unapologetic fervor, to the Christianity that built the West.

We must preach a God who is a Father, a King, and a Judge not a vague, affirming force. We must call men to be saints, not therapists; to be leaders of households and nations, not passive observers. We must reclaim the arts, the laws, the sciences, and the governance of our people as our rightful domain, given to us by God to steward for His glory.

This means cleansing our institutions. It means defunding and disempowering every committee, diocese, and seminary that trades in this death-cult poison. It means supporting only those bishops and pastors who act like fathers and generals, not like corporate spokesmen. It means building parallel networks of education, media, and community that operate wholly outside the corrupt systems of the world.

We are not called to be a quaint subculture. We are called to be a conquering army, baptizing the nations for the glory of God. The same faith that once turned the Roman world upside down is still there, waiting beneath the layers of weakness and compromise. The remnant remains intact. It is time to rediscover it. It is time to stop managing our retreat and start planning our advance.

The world offers death. We must offer life, fierce, abundant, and eternal. We must be so strong in faith, so clear in truth, and so bold in action that the world has no choice but to once again reckon with the power of the God we serve.

Do not let the fire in your belly die. The righteous anger, the profound grief, the clarity of purpose that Charlie Kirk’s martyrdom ignited within you. This is not a fleeting emotion to be forgotten with the next news cycle. This is a sacred fuel. Guard it. Nurture it. Feed it with prayer, with action, and with an unbreakable resolve to ensure his death was not in vain.

Let this flame forge you into a sharper tool for this battle, a more formidable wall against the advancing darkness. The world wants you to get tired, to get comfortable, to forget. Do not give them that satisfaction. Honor Charlie’s memory by making this fire the eternal pilot light of your spirit, guiding your every thought, word, and deed until the work is done and our people are once again free, sovereign, and thriving under God.

Andrew Torba
CEO, Gab AI Inc
Christ is King

Published in Bold Christian Writing

The Man of Lawlessness

Introduction

Shortly after writing 1 Thessalonians, the apostle Paul received a report (2 Thess. 3:11) that the Thessalonian church had accepted the strange claim that “the day of the Lord has come” (2:1–2). Paul sent them a second letter in A.D. 49–51. He was probably in Corinth at the time. This letter was addressed to the Thessalonians.2000 years ago when these people and Paul were expecting Jesus’ imminent return in their lifetime. It was seriously relevant to the Thessalonians. It is not relevant for us as 2000 years have passed but it useful for our studies and the truth is always relevant.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-9

  1. Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him.
  2. Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. 3 Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the son of destruction.

Paul here assured the Thessalonians that a great rebellion against God and therevealing of a man who opposes God and exalts himself above everything that is called God must occur before Jesus’ return. Jesus told the disciples in the Olivet discourse (Mat 24:10-12) about this falling away.

4 He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.

Paul described this “man of lawlessness” as being empowered by Satan, performing signs and wonders, and deceiving many (verse 9).

Who was this son of destruction? Was it the Roman general Titus who entered the Jerusalem temple?

Josephus wrote that Titus entered the Holy of Holies with his generals in A.D. 70. (Wars, 6.4.7.) Shortly thereafter, Titus was worshipped in the Temple as was customary of someone declared imperator. As Josephus wrote, “And now the Romans . . . brought their ensigns to the temple and set them over against its eastern gate; and there did they offer sacrifices to them, and there did they make Titus imperator.”(Wars 6.6.1)  A metallic image of Vespasian and Titus was also worshipped at that time. Images of the emperor and his favourites were regularly attached to the Roman ensigns at that time. 


5. Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes.

Jesus had spoken about these things to the disciples in the Olivet discourse, Matthew 24:15-16: “So when you see the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place, then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains”. Daniel, during the Babylonian captivity, had written about this happening just before His return. Jerusalem and the temple were to be destroyed and countless numbers of Jews would perish at the hands of the Romans.

Paul had told the Thessalonians about all this when he visited them previously. They already knew so he didn’t have to repeat what he had said. But Paul didn’t repeat it in this letter so it is difficult for us to know what was ‘holding him back’ from his appearing. We are left to assume that Paul never bothered to record this information in writing.


7 For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendour of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie

Paul wrote to them about this lawlessness being already at work—the hidden, evil Satanic forces at work in the world opposed to God and His people.

So who or what is the one holding the man of lawlessness back? Many attempts have been made to identify this person or entity.

I believe the only possible explanation is that God is the restrainer, as He is the only one who can restrain Satan. God restrains evil and eventually turns unrepentant sinners over to indulge in evil (Romans 1:20-24, 26, 28). And Job reveals that God prevents Satan from certain activities (Job 1:10-12). Only God can restrain evil and the man of lawlessness.  

Paul said the one who is holding it back would step out of the way. When that would occur then the man of lawlessness would be revealed and the Lord Jesus would overthrow him and destroy him by the splendour of his coming. 

But does it really matter that we today know the identity of the one who Paul believed restrains him? That wasn’t Paul’s issue in this letter. His concern was that the Thessalonians were worried they had missed the Lord’s coming and to reassure them that they would not miss out.

We may be curious of course. And for those today, even after 2000 years, who believe the Satanic lie that Jesus is yet to return, it arouses a lot of comment. The man of lawlessness has indeed been revealed and the Lord Jesus long ago overthrew him.

You Ignore My Son

“You have ignored my Word, my plan, my purpose. Above all you have ignored my Son. My Son, who has given His life for you, my Anointed One, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

You have not listened but have continued with your traditions and useless religious programmes.

You have ignored what He taught, what He demonstrated as your example, to follow Him and His lowliness.

You have ignored His way, neglected His power always available from the Holy Spirit.

What did my Son start on the earth? What did he command his followers?

Make disciples!

Instead you have trusted in what the world has to offer. How can you treat Him like this? You should be ashamed of your apathy, of your lifeless sermons, keeping your seated membership in ignorance and in straightjackets, bound up in practices I never intended.

Who told you to build ‘churches’?—that word is an abomination to me.

You give yourselves a name, an identity, a constitution, an incorporation. You build buildings and spend money on things that are perishing. You rely on money and serve it as your master when I have called this Mammon and warned you that you cannot serve me and mammon at the same time.

Like the world, you use their marketing strategies, and thus compete with rival pathetic pseudo-religious corporations. You appoint CEOs and call them ‘senior pastors’. Where is this in the teaching of my Son or in the doctrines of the apostles?

Like the world, I see jealousy, ambition, merchandise, control, titles, vainglory.

You try hard to follow me in YOUR way but not in MY way. So you end up doing it YOUR way.

You strive when my yoke is easy, my burden light. You are labouring for wages and not out of love for me.  

You ignore Truth and prefer to believe lies like expecting some future rapture experience after my Son actually returned 2000 years as He promised!

And the lie that you believe about this nation you call Israel when you are the chosen race, the holy nation, My own people.

Yet I still love you even as you ignore me, as my love for you is forever and inexhaustible.”

Jesus Has Come

Jesus came back within the generation of his peers!

Please look up and study very carefully Matthew 24 :32–34.

And when you’ve studied this passage carefully, perhaps you will come to a different opinion when you can understand that Jesus came back within the lifetime of many of his contempories.

Was Jesus mistaken? The esteemed writer C S Lewis said Jesus was mistaken! Jesus did not come back as he said (See his book “The World’s Last Night”). That is also the view of many liberal scholars and Islamic writers. This discredits Jesus. They fail to look at the rest of the New Testament.

Christ has already come back long ago. He came at the ‘end of the age’ i.e., the end of the Jewish (Mosaic) age, the end of the Old Covenant. It was NOT the end of the world or the end of history. It was the end of Judaism. Jesus came when Jerusalem and the Jerusalem Temple were utterly destroyed (the great tribulation). It was a divine visitation. 

This is just unbelief period, plain and simple. This unbelief is so dishonouring of our Lord. it must break his heart. Of course, he is so forgiving. That’s amazing.

Let’s think about Peter, James and John listening to Jesus, when He spoke of the sign of Jesus’ coming:

 30 And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the land. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from the four winds—from the end of the sky to the other. 32 Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. 33 In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door. 34 I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place.  (Matthew, 24:30-34)

How did these disciples and other apostles such as the apostle Paul respond to this information? That’s very easy! We can tell how they responded by their writings in the NT. They wrote unaminously of Jesus’ coming using terms like “right at the door,” “soon,” “near” and “at hand”. These do not mean 2000 years.

Right?

The first believers “waited eagerly” for his appearing (1 Cor 1:7-8, Gal 5:5 , Phil 3:20, 2 Tim 4:8, Heb 9:26-28).

Question: But could the disciples have possibly thought that by ‘generation’ Jesus meant something else far into the future, like some today who twist the scriptures saying that ‘generation’ here meant ‘race’ (the Jewish race) or others that say that by ‘generation’ Jesus meant some future generation who would see the signs of the end. No!

How can I say that? Because they took his words plainly and seriously as we can see in the rest of the New Testament!

Let God be true and every man a liar (Rom 3:4). Truth matters, evidence matters. We have been told a terrible lie. How can we behave so unfaithfully, ignoring what Jesus actually said?

Have you been brainwashed, deceived, indoctrinated? People will believe whatever they hear and do whatever they’re told by famous commentators, commentaries, or pastors. They have all been groomed by ‘dispensationalism,’ and they will follow that to the edge of a cliff.   If you’re still oblivious to the fact that you’ve been brainwashed into some sort of cult, it’s probably because you’ve already been indoctrinated.

Time to wake up. It’s time to stop waiting for the ‘rapture’. Time to spread the word of God.

Jesus came—Period

This will be brief.

Please look up and study very carefully these three passages from Matthew’s Gospel.

Firstly, Matthew 10:23. Matthew 16:27 to 28 and Matthew 24 :32 to 34.

And when you’ve studied these carefully, perhaps you will come to a different opinion when you can understand that Jesus came back within the generation of his peers.

The alternative is that Jesus was mistaken. That was the view of the esteemed C S Lewis—see his book “The World’s Last Night”. It is also the view of many liberal scholars and Islamic writers.

This discredits Jesus.

No. Christ has already come back long ago. He came at the ‘end of the age’ i.e., the end of the Jewish (Mosaic) age or the end of the Old Covenant.

It was NOT the end of the world or the end of history. It was the end of Judaism.

Jesus came when Jerusalem and the Holy Temple were utterly destroyed (the great tribulation). It was a divine visitation or Parousia. 

The very novel ‘rapture’ doctrine was created around the 1830’s by an exclusive Brethren Englishman, John Nelson Darby and propagandised by an American criminal called ‘Dr’ Cyrus Schofield who created the Scofield Reference Bible. Today millions of ‘Bible believing’ people believe this Satanic teaching. It is against the Kingdom of God and leads to pessimism and a ‘I wanna get outa here’ mentality.

Read Matthew 23 37-38 where Jesus addressed, castigated the Jewish leaders:

“As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time—from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you killed in the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar. I tell you the truth, this judgment will fall on this very generation.

 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate.”

They eagerly awaited! 

The first Christians were awaiting the imminent return of the Saviour with great eagerness and joy. We know this from many texts in the writings of Paul in the New Testament, that they expected this momentous event ‘soon’ and possibly in their lifetime.

Recently while having coffee with a young friend, she said she was eagerly waiting for Jesus’ return. She gushed “I can hardly wait for the Rapture to come!” So young with much of her life still ahead of her! A life she could be spending serving her King here. Instead she wanted ‘out of here’.

Are you like her, awaiting the ‘soon’ return of Jesus?

Let’s examine some of Paul’s words written about 51 AD to the Thessalonians (1:9 -10):

 . . . . you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is, Jesus who rescues us from the wrath to come.

Paul, writing to believing Christians living in the Roman city of Thessalonica, expected with them, an imminent, soon return of the Lord. That is a fact.

Please read that passage again. Paul believed they (and Paul himself) were waiting for Jesus to come from heaven. Let the implications of that sink in.

Yair I know. That’s a challenge.

As we read this letter today, bear in mind we are reading mail written to believers living 2000 years ago. We must resist the temptation to think we are being addressed by Paul or by the Holy Spirit. Many people think it applies to us today. That is absurd.

This praise of the Thessalonians from Paul and Silvanus doesn’t make sense unless Jesus actually returned in their generation a long time ago. If he did not, nothing in that letter was of any benefit!

Paul knew and believed that Jesus was coming back before his generation had passed away. Of course, following Jesus’ words, Paul did not know “either the day nor the hour” of his return. But he and all the apostles knew it would occur while many would still be alive. Jesus had said it. (Mat 24:30-34)

Were they mistaken? Or more seriously, was Jesus mistaken?

If they were mistaken then their faith was in vain. For all Paul had taught these Thessalonians would have been a waste of time! That would mean the END of the Christian faith. Despair. Hopelessness. Eternal life gone. Resurrection gone. All gone. No one would be following Jesus today!

Please think logically about this.

Let me ask you who still await Jesus’ coming a very important question.

Do you really, seriously, logically imagine that those same real believers who eagerly read Paul’s words, were then terribly disappointed because if they continued to notice others of their community, one by one, passing away while Jesus still had not come, as Paul taught!

If Jesus still had not come then–which is what many modern believers seem to hold—and when the last one of those original Thessalonian believers would have passed away, can you imagine the consternation, the feelings of utter despair and loss of trust in God that would have followed?

Today, some 2000+ years have passed since those original Thessalonian believers were alive. So if you hold the view that Jesus is yet to appear a second time, it logically follows that the faith of Paul’s readers must have been totally in vain. Destroyed.

Then, no one would have ever heard the gospel! The Christian message would be dead in the water from that point.

Come on. Think about it for a minute: If Jesus’ coming was near for these believers, it cannot be near for us, can it? And if Jesus’ coming is still coming near for us today, you must conclude Paul was in gross error.

Do you see the problem? Your problem?

Ask yourself this question: if those Thessalonians were wrong by expecting Jesus to come within their lifetime, why didn’t Paul correct them? Why didn’t he write ‘no, you’ve got it wrong, Jesus won’t be coming for a long, long, time!’

But Paul did not correct them. Instead he continued to encourage them as he wrote this letter to encourage them and then followed it with another letter, which we call Second Thessalonians, with further encouragements about Jesus’ imminent return in judgment on His enemies, unbelieving Israel!

Can you see how illogical it is to expect Jesus to return a second time today if ithat event was promised for the Thessalonians? There wont be a third coming either.

If you trust Paul’s letters were and are the true Word of God, your belief is logically impossible.

Israel today

Teri Kempe wrote an article for the Daily Declaration Australia. see https://dailydeclaration.org.au/2024/11/05/why-do-people-hate-jews-and-israel/?utm_source=mailpoet&utm_medium=email&utm_source_platform=mailpoet&utm_campaign=your-daily-digest-newsletter-total-posts_2

Here are my comments.

There are too many criticisms I could make of this article. However I will limit these to just two or three.

The state known today as “Israel” is NOT God’s chosen instrument. Of course, under the Old Covenant through Israel all the nations would be blessed by the seed of Abraham. The promise was made to Abraham and because we believe in his seed Jesus (Mat 3:9, Rom 4:13-25, Gal 4:28-31), we enjoy living in the New Covenant inaugurated by the Lord Jesus. See Galatians 3:29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.

In the New Covenant documents the people of God are those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:4-10 , Titus 2:14, Heb 3:6, Heb 8:13). Jesus said to the people of Israel their end had come (Mat 21:43, 23:29-38).

From the time of Christ’s crucifixion in 30 AD to 70 AD, God gave the disobedient Hebrews 40 years to repent and accept Jesus as the Messiah. Paul explained why God patiently waited (Rom 11: 28-31). Then 40 years later all unbelieving Jews perished.

Yes, many Christians have accused Israel of genocide against the people of Gaza and Lebanon and for good reason. See e.g., https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/col-macgregor-the-top-priority-for-israel-is-to-make-gaza-unlivable-expel-all-survivors/

As Christians, we have a divine calling (Isaiah 62:6-7) . Under the New Covenant. Our divine calling is to follow Jesus, be filled with the Holy Spirit and make all his disciples, “teaching them to follow all that I commanded you.”

Gleanings from Hebrews: Meeting Together

The author of the Letter to the Hebrews was a Hebrew Jesus follower, a leader or apostle in the new Jesus movement that was created in the Pentecostal outpouring of the Holy Spirit in about AD 33 (Acts 2).

The letter was written sometime around AD 62-66. Hebrews 1:2 calls it “the last days”, an expression meaning the End Times, that is the last days of Israel as the people of God. 

It was written when Jesus’ followers were new Christians though still identified as Jewish. They were the true people of God, people “who remain confident in their hope in Christ” (Hebrews 3:6). These believers were opposed and persecuted by those fake Israelites, who refused to accept Jesus (Hebrews 10:32-36) and as a consequence were under the judgment of God.

Please note, Hebrews was not written to us but it can be useful for us, it can be very important for us.  The letter is full of warnings not to fall away—important for us today.

Many passages in this letter affirm that the recipients were the real people of God who met together and not those who rejected Christ

But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ”. (Hebrews 3:4-6) Thus God says all who remain confident in our hope in Christ are the true people of God! This is true for us today despite those who hold the ridiculous myth that Israelites are “the people of God”.

See also Hebrews 3:13-14:  You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. 

These readers were expecting his soon, second-coming Kingdom. See Hebrews 9:27-28: . . . . after Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, he will appear a second time, not to bear sin but to bring salvation.

It’s important to see this letter was not written to us. Though not to us, it can be very important for us.  The letter is full of warnings not to fall away. For today’s Christian this is just as important.  For “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.” (Heb 13:8).

Now looking at Hebrews 3:13-14:  You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. 

For those first believers, it was still “today” because “tomorrow” they expected Jesus’ return, and the age to come! But for us today, the Word of God still insists that we warn each other every day.

Now let’s look at Hebrews 10:24-25.

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Our author here emphasizes the importance of community and mutual encouragement among those Century 1 believers, and especially because the Lord’s coming for them was imminent.

For us today, we may not be expecting the Lord’s soon coming as they did, yet what God says here is critical to be applied.

Ask yourself.

Do you, does anyone, today seriously consider ways to motivate fellow believers to such acts when gathered together? No, hardly ever. People leave that up to their pastor or minister. You may legalistically attend “church”. But the Lord wants us to meet together (Grk ekklesia) rather than attend a ‘service’ or organisation. In church services how can we possibly encourage one another, sitting in pews and relying on a minister? Satan has convinced today’s churchgoers to be inactive—many waiting for some mythical soon ‘rapture’ event.  Many churchgoers just sit, observe or go to sleep in church services. Whereas these first century believers were to be salt of the earth and the light of the world as Jesus taught and eagerly awaited his imminent return.

This is the main, if not the only, passage in scripture that clergy use to urge people to “come to church”. The sole one! And then what to pastors do? They do everything and the people do nothing.

Again see Hebrews 12:15. Here’s another ‘each other’ just one of about 100 :  Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God.

God’s word commands us to act and make arrangements to care for one another in our believing community. How do we do that? Certainly not by relying on the gifting of some overworked pastor.

So how can we today obey God’s word and actually do as he says?

There is no better way than to meet together in an informal setting of fellowship and community and allow the gifts of the Holy Spirit to be present.

You can start meeting with one other believer and Jesus promises to be with the two or three! Matthew 18:20

You can start or join a home church—look up www.oikos.org.au, people who “see a movement of God where simple churches are started in houses, cafes, work places, clubs, parks, markets, schools – making Jesus accessible to every Aussie and impacting every corner of our nation”.

We can use the phone to exhort and pray. We also can use email posts and social media, ‘Zoom’ sessions as many believers do.

But let’s do it!

Are We Still Sinners?

The Bible states that humans are naturally inclined towards disobedience and rebellion against God. Christians also believe that salvation from sin is achieved through faith in Jesus Christ, who died on the cross to atone for the sins of humanity. That changes everything!

However many want to think of themselves as sinners. So a lot of church liturgy demands confession, that assuming we always need forgiveness

Jesus does not go on accusing people of sin or calling us sinners!

Consider John 3 16-17:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  God’s picture of us now!

Consider the adulterous woman in John 8: Where are those who condemn you? Go and sin no more! (a promise not command).

Consider many of the parables: pictures of how God sees us! E.g., more joy in heaven over one who repents than over the 99 who need no repentance; the lost (prodigal) son; the Pharisee and the tax collector—who is justified?

Yes, Jesus did refer to some people as ‘sinners’ in the Bible. It was the church leaders, Pharisees who called some people ‘sinners’. For example, in Matthew 9:10-13, Jesus is criticized by those religious leaders for eating with tax collectors and ‘sinners’. Jesus responds by saying, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but ‘sinners’.”

Consider Paul:

Sin is something we experience, yes; but it’s not who we are. We have a choice! We can choose to say ‘NO’ to sin, even as we battle against it.  The Christian says “choose life.” Stop sinning!

But I say,  walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other,  to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit,  you are not under the law. . . . .   24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. see Galatians 5:13-26.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.” Eph 2:10

Romans 5 says we have all sinned but and come short of the glory of God, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Fit for eternal life! And while we were enemies Christ died for us.

Consider 1 John 1: “. . . our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” God is a loving Father who wants to bless His children. We are not his enemies, through Jesus we are his friends—He sees you as a friend! We have opened the door to Him and He has come in. This is our identity!

Consider famous Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s response to Richard Dawkins 2023

Her spiritual journey from Islam, to atheism to Christianity is extraordinary. Richard Dawkins criticised it, highlighting Christianity as being “obsessed with sin.” But Hirsi said I find that Christianity is actually obsessed with love. And that the figure, the teachings of Christ as I see it, and again, I’m a brand new Christian, but what I’m finding out — which is the opposite to growing up as a Muslim and the message of Islam — but the message of Christianity I get is that it’s a message of love, it’s a message of redemption, and it’s a story of renewal and rebirth.

And so, Jesus dying and rising again for me symbolises that story. And in a small way I felt like I have died and I was re-born.

I quote from a good article from the highly recommended Daily Declaration:

Tony Baines says it so well in this 9 May 2024 article:

“What is the true identity of man?

To discover that, we need an infinite, infallible reference point – God Himself.

Human beings cannot tell you what your true identity is. That can only be uncovered by going to someone infinite and infallible outside ourselves. You have to see yourself through the eternal eyes of God.

When we learn to see that way, we can view everything through love.

He is the One who saw you before time began. He sees your new creation spirit (Eph 2:10).

And when we see that new creation spirit, our eyes and ears open to Heaven’s possibilities. We can live out of the reality of our new identity, through His grace and truth.

Knowing our new inner identity (2 Cor 4:16), we can get to know the Holy Spirit through prayer. Our progress in building this relationship with God depends on several factors. What is our willingness to surrender to Him? What time will we give Him?

God is unchangeable and self-sufficient. He doesn’t live in the constraints of time. He lives in the realm of eternity.

Before you were lost in Adam, you were found in Christ Jesus. He chose you before time began and before you ever sinned (Rev 13:8). Let’s remember that we are unconditionally loved – and forever in His love (Eph 1:13–14). We are blameless in His sight, highly esteemed, adopted in His beloved Christ (Eph 1:6). This is the true identity of the one who has been born again (1 Peter 1:23).

Learn to see yourself through the eyes of the eternal God. If you see yourself through the wrong lens, it will introduce you to a world of shadows, following in the fallenness of Adam. In that place, we get lost in shame, blame, confusion and fear.

But if you hold to the true gospel of Jesus Christ, you will see yourself through the eyes of God — the One who held you in Himself before time began. You will see yourself in the new creation image of Christ (Eph 3:16).

If you do that, you’ll know your value and identity. You are blameless and without accusation in His sight through His glory and grace. Always!”

Prayer

“Jesus, we need You. Please help us Holy Spirit. Come in like a flood, help us love. May we have an overwhelming compulsion to dive deeper into the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

Holy Spirit, would You beautifully begin to reveal deep revelations of emotional healings necessary for each of us. May Your glory come upon us so strongly that wounds are healed and strongholds are torn down.

Please manifest Yourself within the new creation born inside every beloved believer. Let us deepen our foundational identity in Jesus. May we learn to cast aside our old selves, and instead live out the true reality of the new creation spirit.  Amen.”