Blasphemy Against God and Moses!

Chapter seven of Acts represents Stephen’s defense, but not just for himself, but of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God with Jesus as Lord or the Messiah. The accusation against him is stated twice in Acts 6, once in verse-13 and then for a second time in verse-14. It is worded differently, but, nevertheless means the same, and in reference to this the high priest (probably Annas) asks Stephen: “Are these things so?”

 

Jesus’ Coming and Paul

In Matthew 24:3 the Apostles asked Jesus what would be the sign of his coming or parousia (G3952). Jesus told them that his coming could not be hid (Matthew 24:27), and it would come upon the people suddenly when they least expected it (Matthew 24:37-39). Recently I wrote that Peter, James and John believed and taught Jesus coming would be in their expected lifetimes in the 1^st century CE. What did Paul believe and teach? Did he agree with those who knew Jesus the longest, or did he teach something different?

 

As Lightening Comes out of the East

Jesus told us that his coming could not be hidden, for “as the lightning comes out of the east and shines even to the west, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:27). I think the very fact that Jesus tells his disciples to beware of the possibility of deception (Matthew 24:24-26), that a veil of sorts would be upon his coming, but how could a veil be on Jesus’ coming if it couldn’t be hid? Nevertheless, if there were no veil, why would Jesus include a sign to show his coming had occurred? Why would we need a “sign” if Jesus were speaking of his Second Coming to this earth, as modern Christianity has come to perceive it, and was exercising his great power as the Son of God at Jerusalem?

 

What Does the Olivet Prophecy Answer?

In Matthew 24:3 the disciples came to Jesus and asked him three questions. First, when would all the terrible things he mentioned take place, Secondly what would be the sign of his coming, and finally what sign would there be to show the end of the age. Did you ever wonder why the disciples asked these three particular questions at this particular time? Well, we need to understand what prompted the disciples to ask these questions, if we are ever going to be able to understand Jesus’ reply.

 

Then shall be Great Tribulation

In the Olivet Prophecy Jesus pointed to a time of great persecution. Not only were God’s people persecuted, but this particular event would be like no other in history either before or afterward. Notice what Jesus said in Matthew:

 

Jerusalem Surrounded by Armies

In Luke 21:20 of the Olivet Prophecy, Jesus predicted that Jerusalem would be surrounded by armies just before its destruction. At this time his people were to flee to the mountains. Josephus tells us that this occurred in 66 CE. The Roman general, Cestius, had taken part of the city. He burned the new city and had taken the upper city and encamped at the foot of the Temple wall. Josephus claimed that had he continued, the war would have come to a quick conclusion,[1] but “…without having received any disgrace he retired from the city, without any reason in the world…”[2] It was after this time that “…the most eminent of the Jews swam away from the city, as from a ship when it was going to sink.”[3]

 

Delivered up to be Persecuted and Killed

One of the things Jesus predicted would occur that does not necessarily point to the time of the end is the persecution of the elect, or those who have believed the Gospel. Persecution and the act of killing believers in Christ have been occurring off and on somewhere in the world since the time of Stephen’s death. According to the Scriptures, immediately after Jesus resurrection and ascension into heaven, the church would experience safety for about 3 ½ years (Revelation 12:13-14). Although the disciples were beaten at least once after Pentecost, 31 CE (Acts 5:40), no one lost his life to persecution until the death of Stephen.

 

The Apostle John and the End Times

The apostles spoke of the last time or the last days as though they would occur in their expected lifetime. Were they wrong? If they were wrong about this, how can we conclude anything that they have told us is true? James wrote of the last days as days of judgment upon those who defrauded others of what belonged to them, and refused to share what they had with the poor (James 5:1-5). Peter also spoke of our eternal inheritance, that is, our salvation or eternal life, which was reserved for us in heaven and was ready to be unveiled in the last time (1Peter 1:4-5, 20). Just before his death, Peter also spoke of the scoffers who would deny Christ, and they would come in the last days (2Peter 3:1-5). Just after James’ death, his brother Jude wrote of ungodly men who had crept into the church pretending to be brethren, but they loved this world and sought to take advantage of and separate the brethren for their own gain, and Jude claimed this was prophesied for the last time (Jude 1:3-4, 15-19). What happened? It seemed that all of a sudden things began to fall apart. Did this all this occur at once simply by chance or was there an unseen hand behind everything?

 

The End of All Things Is at Hand!

So says Peter in his first epistle to the five Roman provinces that today are in modern Turkey (1Peter 4:7). What did he mean? The Apostles are accused by some to have preached that Jesus would return in their lifetimes. Is this so? If they did and Jesus hadn’t returned, wouldn’t that make them false prophets? After all, Moses said that if a prophet arises and speaks something the Lord has not said, and if the matter doesn’t come to pass, the Lord has not said it, then that man is a false prophet, and we should not fear him or believe what he says (Deuteronomy 18:20-22). So, what about Peter? When he spoke of the appearing of Jesus (1Peter 1:7, 13) and the end of all things being at hand (1Peter 4:7), was he saying Jesus would return to this earth in his generation?

 

The Gospel is not the Prosperity Gospel!

James warns Christians that God will show no mercy toward those who do not practice mercy when judging others (James 2:13). But, what does James mean when he speaks of Christians judging other Christians? Well, he explains in verse-1 that we are not to express our faith by judging with partiality. In my opinion the translators have erred in the phrase “Lord of glory” or “glorious Lord” (depending upon the translation). First of all, the word Lord is added by the translators; it is not in the Greek, so to whom does the Greek word doxa (G1391) refer, to Jesus or to those to whom James wrote his epistle? Secondly, when James refers to having respect of persons, he seems to be referring to the Scriptures in the Old Testament (Leviticus 19:15; Deuteronomy 1:17; 16:19; 2Chronicles 19:7; Proverbs 24:23; 28:21), and in each case it refers to “having respect of persons” concerning judgment. The Greek word translated glory, which the translators used to describe “the Lord,” can also be translated opinion or judgment[1] and used with “respect of persons.”

 

The Millennium and Reigning with Christ

Revelation 20:4, 6 says the faithful will “reign with Christ for 1000 years.” How does this configure with what we are told in Revelation 22:5, namely that we shall reign forever and ever? If our reign is but for 1000 years, how can that be construed to be forever? This is but another way in which we deny the word of God when we change the words of Scripture to make them sound better or more sophisticated. Let God be God, and we’ll have no trouble understanding what he tells us.

 

Does the Millennium Last for 1000 Years?

Six times the phrase a thousand years is mentioned in Revelation 20:1-9. The Scriptures refer to only two other separate references to a period of one thousand years, but I have never seen where these Scriptures were ever taken into consideration when devising a doctrine about the Millennium.

 

The Restoration of Sodom

Jude tells us in his short letter that Sodom is under the judgment of “eternal fire” (verse-7). It is obvious that the fire that destroyed Sodom is not still burning, so it seems ludicrous to describe it as eternal fire. The fire lasted as long as there was fuel to burn. The word translated eternal is aionios (G166) and would be better translated as age-lasting or simply age, depending upon the context requirement. It has to do with an unknown period of time. It cannot be measured until it is completed. Paul uses the word to describe the length of Philemon’s life in Philemon 1:15. Certainly we should be able to conclude that Onesimus, Philemon’s slave who escaped and whom Paul had brought to Christ and is sending back to Philemon—certainly—this man could not be Philemon’s slave forever. First of all, ultimately we all are Christ’s. We belong to him, not to one another. So, the same word used for eternal fire in Jude merely means however long it takes before Philemon expires in the flesh, or until he decides to set Onesimus free, which is Paul’s obvious hope.

 

Original Sin

It seems inevitable that the very first comment I receive when I mention the words Original Sin is: “The term is not in the Bible.” This is true. However, we use many words in our religious beliefs that are not in the Bible, i.e. the Hebrew Scriptures comprising what is known as the Tanakh. The word ‘Tanakh’ is derived from the Hebrew letters of its components, namely the Torah (the Law), the Nevi’im (the Prophets) and the Ketuvim (the writings). The words anthropomorphic and Talmud are not found in the Hebrew Scriptures. However, what Jew will not take the writings of the rabbis into consideration when reading the Scriptures? What rabbi will reject anthropomorphism when teaching about the appearances of YHWH to men and women in ancient history? Furthermore, the sacred calendar is not found in the Bible, yet it is absolutely necessary when computing the Holy Days and worshiping and obeying God as he commanded in Torah (the Law).

 

What Did Judas Expect to Gain by Betraying Jesus?

In two earlier posts I tried to show that Judas was devoted to Jesus (viewed HERE) but became increasingly drawn away to a **more important** objective (viewed HERE). I also claimed, and I believe the Scriptures show, that Judas did not intend for Jesus to be killed. That was not part of his plan. He was evidently surprised by the outcome of the trial before the Sanhedrin and tried to get Jesus released and cast the money, which he received for his part in the agreement, on the Temple grounds and left the scene. He visibly regretted what he had done, and found he could no longer control the outcome, as he presumed he could. Let’s recall a few events that had taken place and consider what may have been going on in Judas’ heart, and perhaps we can draw from this a lesson we can apply in our own lives.