tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18172932074478332542024-03-14T08:19:53.823-07:00MY SAVIOUR MY LIGHTIt's all about Jesus. Anyone who believes in Him can say with full confidence in Him that He is his Savior...He is my Light. Surely, a person not knowing Him can neither see Light nor find Life. Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-32967408887523689542024-03-12T08:13:00.000-07:002024-03-14T08:19:21.724-07:00A GUIDE FOR THE MUSLIM BELIEVERS TO RECEIVE BAPTISM<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This guide is meant for
those Muslim brothers and sisters who put their faith in Jesus and want to
accept Him as their personal Savior. For all who believe in Jesus, it is a must
to confirm their faith through the ritual of baptism. However, it may be
extremely difficult for them in many Islamic countries to declare their faith
in Jesus or receive baptism. This is because accepting Jesus invariably involves
renouncing the Islamic faith. And, as it is, in Islamic nations, renouncing
Islam and accepting Christianity is a crime that is subject to capital
punishment.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The best way for such
Muslim believers is not to make their Christian faith public. If they happen to
find a minister from any church that they know about in order to get baptized,
it is good. But if they don’t know where to find help for the stated purpose,
or if it involves risk to their life, let me assure them not to be disappointed
at all. They can baptize themselves in their room without anybody knowing about
it. They may keep it secret even from their family members; since in many cases
the new believers are known to have been killed by their own family members.
This situation can be avoided by joining commonsense and practicality to faith.
But, before we proceed to discuss how a new believer with Islamic background
can baptize himself/herself in the guarded space of their private chamber or
room, it is necessary that he/she fulfill the following conditions that he/she
is required to. These are the conditions…<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 75pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">They believe that the God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob is the only true God and there is none other besides Him<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 75pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The only way to relate to this God is
through Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other way that leads to Him. This is
because Jesus is the Son of God and He alone knows God the Father. It is in His
hand to make known God the Father to all who want to know Him<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 75pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The relation to God is made possible
through the supreme sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. A person needs to know and
acknowledge the fact that Jesus died on the cross for him/her - for the sins
he/she committed. He not only carried away the sins of the mankind but also the
curse, diseases and death that were brought about by sin. Jesus’ coming back to
life three days after His burial is the hope all believers in Jesus have that
they also will come back to life mind, body and spirit on a day appointed for
it. And, just as Jesus is with God the Father, they also will be with Him one
day. It is one of the promises of Jesus that He has gone to the Father in order
to make a place for the believers, and when it is ready, He will return to take
them from the earth to be where He is<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Fulfillment of these
conditions constitutes what is called the Christian faith. If a believer has
it, the next step is to receive baptism. Baptism is a must. It initiates a
believer into the spiritual order.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This brings us to the
question regarding how to receive baptism in a place where renouncing Islam is
a crime punishable by death. As already stated, one need not make it public at
all. At the same time, he/she also needs considerable tactfulness to avoid all forms
of Islamic religious practices. For instance,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He/she
may pretend to do namaz but in actuality worship the God of the Bible or<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If
you are caught in a situation where you are given to eat the sacrificial meat
during Eid al-Adha. You may secretively ask grace on the food that is served
before you as is the custom among the Christian. But it is good if you excuse
yourself from participating in such rituals. If you stay separately from your
family, it becomes easier for you to excuse yourself from such festivities that
mark Islamic holy days. It certainly doesn’t mean breaking ties with your
family<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As
for burial, it doesn’t mean a thing if a ‘secret’ believer dies and is buried
according to the Islamic custom as long as he/she lives and dies with Christian
faith<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now is the time to instruct
you about how you can baptize yourself. Please note that there are three ways
in which baptism can be taken:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Take
a dip in a water tank or pond or stream of water or river. I very much
recommend that you take a dip in a body of water. Please find out a safe place for
the purpose. By safe I mean a body of water is not deeper than waist. Even if
you are a good swimmer, please don’t take risk<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sprinkle
water on your head or<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Pour
water on your head<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The last two ways of using
water are quite handy if you choose to baptize yourself in your room. But,
please remember that baptism is not about getting wet or taking a dip in water.
It is a religious ceremony and it has a specific order or way in which it can
be done.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Here is the exact order in
which you should conduct this ceremony:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Be
dressed in white<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Keep
water in a new glass that is to be used only once and never again. Don’t use a
glass that is used before. You may use bath tub if you have one. It gives you
the advantage of submerging your body in the water. If you use it, you conduct
the ritual where it is. But if you choose to baptize yourself in the shallow
part of a pond or stream or river, then the ritual will take place in the open
air right where it is<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Before
you sprinkle or pour water on your head, or you dip yourself in water, offer
this prayer to God:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">O
Lord God, here I come before You with the purpose of beginning my life anew in
the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Lord God, please remove my old self
and mold me into the image of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Embody faith,
hope and love in me through baptism. In Jesus I baptize myself…<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Here,
you sprinkle or pour water on your head or take a dip in the water.</span></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Your baptism is complete!</span></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Congratulations!</span><span face="Verdana, sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR</span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/stores/Bertrand-Hatia/author/B00W7E3BEO?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true">https://www.amazon.in/stores/Bertrand-Hatia/author/B00W7E3BEO?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true</a><br /></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-7498384993539819442023-06-05T14:48:00.001-07:002023-06-18T12:49:14.432-07:00A PRAYER FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE DENIED JUSTICE<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Dear Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I am Bertrand Wilson Hatia. I am a writer.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I am approaching
you with a suggestion that you seek help from Lord Jesus in your fight for
justice. It is useless putting faith in humans. When time comes, they let you
down. They may even try to benefit from your loss. It is Jesus who will never
disappoint you if you put your faith in Him and seek His help.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Please do this short prayer to Jesus with faith. Please note
that God listens to the faith of a devotee; He doesn’t listen to his prayers.
Prayers can be done without faith. Such prayers are meaningless in God’s eye.
Therefore, please offer this prayer with faith in Jesus:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Lord Jesus, the Savior of the mankind, I believe You are the
Son of God, and God has given all power and authority to You. I have come
before You with a request that You use the same on my behalf to grant me
justice for the wrong that I have suffered at the hand of people who are occupying
the positions of power.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Only You can help me in the present situation. Please alter
it, Lord. You are the Lord of all times and circumstances. If You will, You can
change my circumstances as well. Please listen to my prayer, Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In Your Mighty and Glorious name I pray, Amen. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Please note that this prayer can be done by
anyone who needs divine help in obtaining justice for him.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00W7E3BEO?ingress=0&visitId=19e9a9de-3c01-4254-9341-b7abe64e67ba">https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00W7E3BEO?ingress=0&visitId=19e9a9de-3c01-4254-9341-b7abe64e67ba</a><br /></span></b></p>Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-11739966107926666662022-11-04T12:06:00.000-07:002022-11-04T12:06:17.807-07:00WHY PEOPLE TRY TO STOP THE MESSAGE OF JESUS FROM REACHING OTHERS<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There are many people and organizations that are trying
their best to stop the message of Jesus from reaching those who need it. There
is a reason behind it. It is given in the Book of Romans, Chapter One, in the
Bible:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against
all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">who suppress the truth in
unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in (among) them</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">,
for God has shown it to them.” (Romans 1:18)</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The opponents of Jesus are </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">ungodly</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> and </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">unrighteous</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">.
The Book of John, Chapter 3, in the Bible says,</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does
not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the
truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have
been done in God.”</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus is the light.</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
The Book of John, Chapter 1 says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light
of men.”</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">That’s why His enemies must oppose Him and wish to see a
situation where darkness rules, helping them hide their evil deeds. But the
darkness cannot rule until and unless it overcomes the light – the thing that
the Bible says it can never do.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Therefore, the fate of evildoers is sealed. They are
destined for the wrath of God. This fate is terrible. The evil doers know it.
But their ego so sets them against God that they would rather embrace their
fate than to be in the good books of His for their own good.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, what they try to do now is to bring other people to
share their fate. Jesus was speaking exactly about people like these in the
Book of Matthew, Chapter 23, when He said,</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For
you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves,
nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.”</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The scribes and Pharisees were the people who were
standard-bearers of religion in Jesus’ time. Always, in history, it is exactly
such standard-bearers who use religion to serve their social, economic and
political interests. Their talk is religious and actions irreligious to the
extreme. In the same chapter of the Book of Matthew, Jesus also says this about
them:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you
travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him
twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It is their spiritual jealousy that does not want to
see others enter into life and live forever in unadulterated light (bliss)
through Jesus.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Dear friend, God of the Bible has a plan to live with
His people. He doesn’t want to live forever in His Heaven in ideal situation
and leave the mankind to live in a place which is infinitely inferior to His. He
loves you and wants you to be a part of His family, and to be with Him forever.
It is the co-existence with God in the Kingdom of Heaven that is called moksha
or salvation of the spirit.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As it is, nobody can achieve moksha by his own efforts
in this world. That, exactly, is the reason why Jesus came into this world with
a proposed deal between the mankind and Him. It was one of a kind bargain.
Neither before nor afterward had the world ever witnessed such an unequal deal on
the table. It was exactly this:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Your sins are mine. I take the punishment of your sins
on Myself on the cross and My righteousness is ascribed to you in the same way
that your sins are to Me. My righteousness in you puts you in right standing
with God; because now you are free from the bondage of sin. Now, you can be in the
presence of God, and live. All you got to do is believe in Me and accept My
sacrifice on your behalf.”</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Your faith in Jesus is your signature on this divine
deed. He has done His part. He is waiting for you to do yours. Think about
this…</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=aufs_dp_fta_dsk"><span style="font-family: georgia;">https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=aufs_dp_fta_dsk</span></a><br /></span></p>Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-23546355929454263182022-10-30T00:09:00.005-07:002022-10-30T00:09:48.182-07:00JESUS HELPS IF YOU ALLOW HIM TO<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So much anti-propaganda is going on and off media that
the non-Christian have come to form a preconceived notion against Jesus and
those who are involved in broadcasting His message to the world. Therefore, the
moment someone talks about Christ, at once they become on their guard, thinking
that he/she is trying to convert them to Christianity.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, who can make you change your religion against your
will? India is a nation where the Hindu are in majority, having a government
that has embraced Hindutva.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">People don’t understand or try not to understand a
simple fact that religion is a matter of faith, and a matter of faith is
profoundly personal. It has to do with YOU, and not with anyone else in the
world – no matter what. It is YOUR choice whether you want to have a religion
or not.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Another thing, a true religion is all about
FREEDOM…ESSENTIAL FREEDOM. I would like to quote here a biblical verse from the
Book of John in the Bible. It is spoken by Jesus Himself. Here:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If
you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you free.’”</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When a person is ‘spiritually’ free, he is free indeed;
because his spirit is the essential person. The mental and physical freedoms
are tied up to the spiritual. Whenever you hear about a person or religion that
imposes itself on people, know for sure that that person/religion is false. He/it
WILL fail one day, and that failure will be final. Be sure about it.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nothing false shall have permanence. That’s what the
Bible teaches. According to Bible, only TRUTH is eternal and it is embodied in
God. It is essential to relate with God in order to relate ourselves with
Truth. Only by relating with Truth, we can be true. And, as stated before, only
by being true, we can be free. That’s why it is important to search for God…and
relate to Him. That, exactly, is the purpose why we are preaching Jesus to you.
Our purpose is further clarified by what is written in the Book of Romans in
the Bible. I quote it here:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“For I am not ashamed of the gospel (Bible), for it is
the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and
also to the Greek (people in general who don’t follow the faith that is given
in the Bible).”</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Again, we preach Jesus (God) to you because you need
salvation – spiritual salvation. You are in bondage of sin, curse and death.
Only Jesus can set you free from these. So, Jesus is the starting point of our
journey in search of truth and liberty, and He is also the destination. He made
it clear when He said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.”</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The big problem is that there has come up people/organizations
that are determined to stop us from conveying Jesus’ message to you. What
exactly they are doing is </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">depriving YOU of your right to know or not to know
about what Jesus can do for you</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. You have the right to information, isn’t
it? If someone else is going to decide for you what you should know and what
not, you are certainly at the risk of losing your freedom. Freedom is the most
important thing from biblical point of view. Because only free people are free
to enjoy life…to live life in the way they desire.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If you have any question, feel free to contact me
via </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="mailto:bertrandhatia@gmail.com"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">audrephus@gmail.com</span></a></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=aufs_dp_fta_dsk"><span style="font-family: georgia;">https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=aufs_dp_fta_dsk</span></a><br /></div>Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-86243520568108128092022-08-22T09:13:00.000-07:002022-08-22T09:13:21.871-07:00IDOLS AS OBJECTS OF WORSHIP<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I am writing this blog especially for my Hindu friends.
And, it is intended to scatter the misunderstanding that occurs every time we,
the Christian, talk about idolatry being considered sin in the Bible. I have
made my explanation as brief as it is practically possible. Here…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">To make it simple, I would ask those Hindu readers who
are parents: “How you would feel if your children make your image and hang it
on the wall and daily burn incense stick before it, garland it, bow before it,
etc and altogether ignore your physical presence, altogether avoid paying you
respect directly as though you are not there at all?!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Well, that’s how God feels! He is the FATHER of us all.
He has created us; He supports us through our life; and He secures the life after
death that awaits us….He does everything for us. We don’t do anything for Him
nor do we give anything to Him to please Him; simply because all that we have
is from Him. The whole world is His, and everything in it. What we can give
Him? Nothing! All we can do is worship Him with truthfulness of heart. That’s
all! He doesn’t want anything else! Can we do at least this much for Him?
That’s the only way we can express our respect and thankfulness for all that He
has done for us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Another thing, we can respect Him in proportion to the
knowledge about Him that we have. It is quite understandable that some people
know more about Him and some people less. Those who try earnestly to find out
God, at some point of time in their search they DO encounter Him in some way.
Most people don’t want God for His sake! That’s the truth! They want Him
because they want, money, property, beautiful wife, nice children, success in
study, in business, etc. If they have all this, the purpose of having God is
served!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In other words, objects of their desire are more
important for them than God Himself! According to Bible, all that takes the
place of God is an idol. To make it even more simple, anything that is more
important in your sight than God is an idol. Idol is something that replaces
God from the position that rightfully belongs to Him!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">THINK ABOUT THIS…</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:</b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=aufs_dp_mata_dsk">https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=aufs_dp_mata_dsk</a><br /></span></p>Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-82875562800216531292022-06-14T09:15:00.002-07:002022-06-14T09:15:51.549-07:00THE TIMING OF THE RAPTURE<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">To,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My Fellow Believers in Jesus our Lord<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Dear brothers and sisters,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">After quite some time I am returning to writing. Had I
not felt irresistible inward pull to write it, I wouldn’t have. It is about the
timing of what we call the RAPTURE. I did talk about it before in my blog and
yet, because I got some new light on the topic, I must bring it to you. I have
no assertion to make. I never do. What I am trying to do is making known to you
some new thoughts based on some Bible verses. These thoughts crossed my mind
about five to six days back when I was taking bath! If you let me know what you
think about it, I will be no little thankful to you.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let me straightaway put them forth. Here…<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There are different views about when the Rapture will
take place: whether before the Great Tribulation or in the middle of it or
after it. There was a time when I thought that this event might possibly take
place at the time that the Lamb breaks open the Sixth Seal. This is because it
is exactly at this time that the world sees both God the Father and Jesus (God
the Son). I thought that the very first time the world would see Jesus again
would be at the time when He would appear in heaven to take the Church out of
the world – before the Great Tribulation starts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I thought the Rapture was a pre-tribulation event on
the basis of Jesus’ comparing the situation that would prevail at that time
with that of Noah. I thought just as God took Noah and his family out of the
world before the Great Flood began, Jesus would also take His Church out of the
world before the Great Tribulation starts. This thought would never fail to
elate me. It greatly relieved me from the worries about the woes that would
beset the people who would live through the terrible period of time under the dispensation
of the Antichrist.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But, the thought that recently struck me startled me
out of the self-complacency in which I was living. This thought was, Whether
the Death riding on the Fourth Horse of the Apocalypse could be the Antichrist.
What made me seriously think about this possibility was the shockingly close
comparison that this rider riding the pale horse bears with Jesus. Jesus
claimed to be the Life; so the Antichrist must be the Death! After all, the
latter would be the direct opposite of the former. The fourth horse rider is
named Death! Nothing in Bible is accident; neither is this piece of detail in
the Book of Revelation. See Revelation 6:8.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Another thing, it is indicated in the four Gospels that
the coming of Jesus to the world was also the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven
to them. If anyone would reject Him, it would tantamount to rejecting the
Kingdom of Heaven. Similarly, the Death that rides the pale horse brings with
it the Hades, which is the direct opposite of the Kingdom of Heaven! The
parallel between Jesus and the fourth horse rider of Revelation 6 is quite
striking.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The thing is that the appearance of the fourth horse
rider is before the opening of the Sixth Seal. If the events contained in the
Sixth Seal are indicative of the Rapture, then it simply means that the
Antichrist appears before the Rapture. And, if this is the case, then the
Church will have to go through the tribulation period!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What St. Paul has to say in Chapter 2 of 2
Thessalonians DOES seem to support this view. Let me quote it here:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in
mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as
though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for <i>that
Day will</i> <i>not</i> <i>come</i> unless the falling away comes first, and
the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts
himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as
God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As it is, we are already seeing the falling away and
opposition to God. People already have faith in the power of untruth and
corrupt practices in different aspects of life. They strongly believe that
success cannot be achieved by positive means in the present world. Even among
the Christian, there are very few who have taken stance not to give in to the
corrupt practices of the world no matter what.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Daniel 8:23 refers to the moral depravation that will
be prevailing in the world, and which is considered to be the very sign that
will show that the stage is ready for the appearance of the Antichrist. It
says,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“When the transgressors have reached their fullness,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A king shall arise,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Having fierce features,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Who understands sinister schemes.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Looking at the present day world, we cannot but have
the feeling that the transgressors are well on their way to reach the fullness
that is talked about in the above quoted verse. The New World Order is no longer
an idea. We are seeing it right before our eyes. And it is a matter of pride
among masses to proclaim that Satan is their god. He is the initiator of this
order. It is essentially his. So the question, now, is, How near the appearance
of Antichrist is?!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It is very much relevant for the believers in Christ to
know that most probably we are living in the time of the Third Seal. The First
Seal introduced what I would call neocolonialism. It seems to have begun with
9/11 attack on America. All big powers of the world, who had established
colonies in past, are again engaged in controlling their colonies in different
ways. The second rider seems to have done his bit and now we are hearing about
global food shortage and the soon-to-be-running-out stocks of wheat and oil.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Wheat, barley, oil….These are the things of which
special mention is being made in the description of the events that unfold when
the Third Seal is broken. The UN has even given the time period within which
this food crisis will take over the world. Shockingly, it is not more than four
to five months.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I am talking about what characterizes the period of the
Third Seal in order to imply that we are already in it! And the reason why I am
saying that we are possibly in the time of the Third Seal is to point my
readers to the fact that, if we are really in the time of the Third Seal, the
Fourth Seal is the next big thing. Looking at the pace with which things have
started happening since the start of the pandemic, it won’t be wrong to say
that the Fourth Seal or the Antichrist is right at our threshold.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=aufs_dp_fta_dsk">https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=aufs_dp_fta_dsk</a><br /></span></span></p>Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-46203502208103712402022-02-27T05:05:00.003-08:002022-02-27T05:05:34.179-08:00A Letter to My Muslim Friends – V<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>Let’s Relate to God</b></span></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Dear Friends,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This blog deals with some extremely important issues,
beginning with the mystery of worship. Mystery of worship is such that once you
start exploring it, at every stage of your progress in worship, you will be
awed by its greatness. Let’s take the first step toward it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">To begin with, what is worship? Sounds strange, isn’t
it? But, I assure you that once I move on in this brief discussion from where
we are now, you will understand why I ask this question. It is written in the
Gospel according to St. Matthew, chapter 8 from verses 2 to 4:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him (Jesus),
saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I had read this verse right from my childhood but never
understood its hidden meaning until very recently. The thing to be noted in
this verse is that a man suffering from leprosy comes to Jesus in order to get
healed from his disease. That is his purpose for approaching Jesus. I failed to
notice the import of the phrase ‘<i>worshiped</i> Him’. Where does worship
reside in his action? It is exactly in his attitude and speech. This is what he
says: “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What exactly he is doing here? He accepts that God’s
will is above all…it is supreme. That, exactly, is worship! …Accepting the
supremacy of God’s will. God’s will doesn’t fail. With His will goes His powers
and authority. Very often we hear some people say, “If I don’t do what I say that
I will, I am not Samuel or Suleiman or whatever it is.” Here, they emphasize their
capacity or ability to do what they say, and on that capacity depends their
real identity. But it is a fact that we fail at one time or the other. We are
bound to. That proves that we are human.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">By the same token, the fact that God never fails in
fulfilling what He wills proves that He is God. Therefore, when this leper says
that if Jesus wills it to heal him, He will certainly heal him. Of course, the
sick man himself wants to be healed from his disease; but he accepts that his
own will doesn’t matter. He also accepts that what really matters is that Jesus
wills it to heal him. If Jesus wills, He will certainly heal him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In other words, he asks Jesus to fulfill His will in
his life. That’s prioritizing God’s will in his life. God is glorified in his
acceptance of the fact that the will of God (Jesus) alone does not fail - no
matter what. <b>It is this kind of faith that makes worship.</b> <b>It is this
kind of faith that pleases God.</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Indeed, this man has a very peculiar way of declaring
his faith in God. He doesn’t <i>talk</i> about his faith in God. He doesn’t
tell Jesus how bad is the problem he is suffering from. Rather he says that if
Jesus wills, He can heal him. It glorifies Him. <b>Glorifying Him is worship.</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But this is not all! When we talk about God’s will, we
need to know His will. But how can we know the will of someone that we cannot
know? In the same way, how can we glorify God in a manner that befits His
Person if we don’t know Him?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">This is THE question.</span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If we don’t know God, we can’t know His will…we can’t
glorify Him. That, exactly, is the reason why God wants that we know Him. The
point is, He is not <i>unknowable</i>. And knowing Him doesn’t mean knowing
that He is God and lives forever in a place called Heaven outside the ken of
one and all. Rather He wants us to be acquainted with Him, be familiar with Him
and, finally, be related to Him. Yes! He wants us to become His relatives. He
wants to build a family and have us as part of His family. He wants us to <b>enjoy
Him for what He is</b> and He literally enjoys our company. He loves us. And,
He loves it to see us love Him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, we all know what family means to us. But if we are
to learn how God sees His family, it would literally humble ourselves by dint
of its greatness and uniqueness. Our understanding of a family is not even a
shadow beside the conception of family that God has. Please note that He wants
us to grasp His conception of a family.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Jesus puts it in simplest terms in the parable of the
prodigal son. I’d like to quote it whole from the Bible. It is found in Luke
15: 11-32. Here…<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them
said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So
he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son
gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his
possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a
severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined
himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed
swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine
ate, and no one gave him <i>anything</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my
father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with
hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, ‘Father, I have
sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called
your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.’<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And he arose and came to his father. But when he was
still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell
on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned
against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your
son.’<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the <b>best</b>
robe and put it on him, and put a <b>ring on his hand</b> and <b>sandals on his
feet</b>. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be
merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’
And they began to be merry.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This seemingly simple parable contains some very
important information:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="line-height: 115%;">The
father represents God<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="line-height: 115%;">The
father is someone that both the good son and the bad know. This is important.
It clearly states that both types of people know God. God is not someone
unknown<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="line-height: 115%;">Now
the question is, “If a person knows who the true God is, then why would he
desire to part with Him?” Proverbs 18 from the Bible has this answer to this
question: “A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against
all wise judgment.” It means a person who parts with true God is driven by his
desires to follow ungodly ways. He cannot fulfill his sinful desires as long as
he stays with God. So, he chooses to be away from God<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="line-height: 115%;">The
result of having his own way is that this prodigal son gains for a time being
all the fleshly pleasures and loses God’s blessings. He becomes a poor man.
Nobody gains anything when he loses God’s blessings. He only loses. Jesus
clearly states it in Matthew 12:30: “…he who does not gather with Me scatters
abroad.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="line-height: 115%;">When
he becomes poor, the time of famine starts. The world, of which company he
enjoyed dearly once, refuses to support him in his bad time. Thus, he gets
firsthand knowledge of the difference between the friendship with the world and
the relationship to God the Father. The world reduces him to the status of a
slave. As a slave, he is given the responsibility to feed the pigs. When he
would grow hungry, he would feed himself with the same pods that he used to
feed those pigs with. As a swineherd, he becomes just like those pigs. Now, he
realizes how stupid he was in rejecting the few responsibilities that he had to
shoulder as the son of the Father. After all, he was rewarded for shouldering
those responsibilities in such a way that it far outweighed the efforts
involved in fulfilling those responsibilities<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="line-height: 115%;">The
positive thing about this prodigal son is that he arrives to a decision to
return to the Father. This is important<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="line-height: 115%;">Significantly,
when this prodigal son is thinking of returning to his Father, he doesn’t know
how eagerly his Father is looking for his return all the time that he is away from
Him. He returns to his Father with a view to be granted a status of His slave
but the Father shows with His attitude that, while all the time that he ceased
to be a son to Him, the Father remained Father. Father didn’t change. Therein
lies the real hope of the prodigal son who represents the mankind that has
forsaken God. If we return to God, He is very much willing to accept us<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, let’s go deeper into the kind of relationship that
God eyes for us for eternity. Again, it is Jesus who discloses it to His
disciples in John 14:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“At that day you will know that I <i>am</i> in My
Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The most obvious meaning of this remarkable statement
of Jesus is that God wants us to be part of His life. When we discuss it
further, we realize how simplistic this meaning actually is. The significance
of this statement is well brought out by the imagery of the body of Christ. The
Church (the believers in Christ) is called the Body of Christ in Colossians
1:18, and Christ Himself is called the Head of this Body. When Christ says that
He <i>is</i> in His Father, the Church also <i>is</i> in His Father.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In other words, we, the believers in Christ are in
Christ and the Christ in God. Thus, we reside in God. The whole thing raises a
vivid picture of God as a building and Jesus and His followers are parts of
this building. To many, this might appear to be an abstract concept which it certainly
is not. I will move on to explain it further…<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Please refer to Revelation 3:12 where Jesus is talking
about the Church in Philadelphia (people who belong to this church):<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the
temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of
My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down
out of heaven from My God. And <i>I will write on him</i> My new name.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It is very interesting to refer to what Revelation
21:22 has to say about the temple in heaven:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“But I saw no temple in it (New Jerusalem), for the
Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If there is no temple in Heaven, how can we explain the
reward that Jesus says He would mete out to the members of the Church of
Philadelphia? He says that He would make them a pillar in the temple of God the
Father; how?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The thing is that it is the New Jerusalem that is
called the tabernacle of God in Revelation 21:3. Being pillar in the temple of
God means a place of importance in the New Jerusalem. The person who is made
pillar in the temple of God will never go out of this city. This city is in
Heaven, as we are informed in Revelation 15:5, and it is the same tabernacle of
God. When the New Jerusalem comes down to the New Earth, see Revelation 21:2,
the tabernacle of God takes place among men. That is the time when God will live
with men! And men will be related to God in the same way that a pillar in the
temple of God is related to the temple.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now, remember, who is the temple in the renewal of all
things? It is the God and the Lamb (Jesus) themselves! The New Jerusalem is no
longer considered the temple of God. Because it is not only the House of God,
it is also our own House. The difference between our house and His is
obliterated when He chooses to live with us. Now, the focus shifts from the
House (Building) to the Relationship.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This is extremely important to understand. It helps us
understand what it means to be a pillar in the temple! It indicates the kind of
existence that the members of the Church in Philadelphia will have when God
starts living with the mankind! They will directly see the face of God Himself...for
eternity!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What are the implications of this bit of information?!
You just have to remember what happens when the believers in Jesus will see Him
face to face when He appears in sky for the event we referred to as the
Rapture.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">After Jesus’ Ascension to Heaven, this will be the
first time that they will see Him face to face; but this time they will see Him
in the same glory that He had before the foundation of the Creation. During the
time of His First Coming, He was in the human form; during the time of His
Second Coming, they will see Him in His original divine form. And, when they <b>see
Him as He is</b> in His divine form, they will transform into His image. That
happens because they <b>see Him as He is</b>. How can this happen?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As I have said elsewhere, the body of Jesus represented
the ‘sinful’ mankind. When it was crucified and died on the cross and buried in
a grave, the ‘sinful self’ of the mankind (that believed in Jesus and accepted
Him) also died and buried in the grave. When Jesus was resurrected on the third
day, all the believers (who were dead before Him and those who weren’t dead but
would die after Him) too were resurrected! When the resurrected Jesus returned
to God the Father, so did all the believers in Jesus! There, in Heaven, Jesus
lives in the same glory that was His before the foundation of the Creation.
And, in Him, all the believers also live <i>glorified</i> life.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Hard to understand, isn’t it? Let me explain it
further. Jesus was the fulfillment of all the promises that God held out to the
mankind through Jesus. When we put our faith in Him, and accept Him as Savior,
we possess the <i>promises</i> we have in Him. At the appointed time, we also
shall possess the <i>fulfillment</i> thereof.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">To make it even simpler, the glorified self of the
believers is in glorified Jesus. We, the believers, on earth are but shadows of
our real self. When Jesus appears at the time of the Rapture, our glorified
selves will be REVEALED in us, making us also glorified like Jesus. This is a
big, big mystery that not too many people are able to grasp. But, here, you
have it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This, naturally, brings us to discuss in some detail
the glory of Jesus Christ. According to the Book of Hebrews 1:1-4, we have this
description of Him:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in
time past to the fathers (ancestors) by the prophets, has in these last days
spoken to us by <i>His</i> Son, whom He has appointed <b>heir of all things</b>,
through whom also He <b>made the worlds</b>; who being <b>the brightness of <i>His</i>
glory</b> and <b>the express image of His person</b>, and <b>upholding all
things</b> by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins,
sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better
than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name then
they.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As stated elsewhere, when we become like Jesus, we
become the sons and daughters of the God Most High. It means we shall become <i>gods</i>.
Children of God cannot be human. They are bound to be <i>divine</i>…bound to be
<i>gods</i>. Before we approach God in Heaven, it was must for us to become
like Jesus. That makes us worthy to be presented before God the Father.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When we have glorified existence in Heaven, we acquire
the capacity to be in the presence of God. Because our ‘glorified’ self is free
from sin. Because it is free from sin, it is <i>holy</i> and does not get
destroyed by the glory of His presence. Isn’t that amazing? But, rest assured;
this wonder doesn’t stop here. There is even more to the existence in Heaven
than we have discussed here.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What we gather from this discussion is that the
believers who belong to the Church in Philadelphia hold the promise of being
made a pillar in the temple, that is, God the Father and Jesus Christ. In other
words, their ‘self’ forms <i>part</i> of God and Jesus in Heaven, not the <i>whole</i>.
We are <i>gods</i>; we are not God. I hope you are able to understand this.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The thing is that this particular promise is given to
the believers belonging to the Church in Philadelphia. There are other
believers who belong to other churches. There are Seven Churches in the Book of
Revelation. The believers in Jesus will fall in one or the other of these
Churches in Heaven. And, each of the Seven Churches has a different reward from
God. What kind of reality we would have in Heaven when all these Churches
receive their respective rewards in Heaven from God?!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Well, it will require another blog to discuss it. As I
get time, I write on different topics. I will certainly write to answer the
question I raised here. I hope this discussion helps you in some way.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Please get in touch if you have any query. My Email:
audrephus@gmail.com</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: medium;"><b>BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO?ref_=dbs_p_pbk_r00_abau_000000">https://www.amazon.com/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO?ref_=dbs_p_pbk_r00_abau_000000</a></p><span style="font-family: Verdana, "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;"></span><p></p>Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-4561954449865562832021-11-14T14:38:00.004-08:002021-11-14T14:38:39.623-08:00A Letter to My Muslim Friends – IV<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Dear Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Once my neighbor, Bro. Alam, invited one Wali sahib, and few
other people who knew Koran, at his residence to hold discussion with me about
certain issues on which the Moslem and the Christian views differ from each
other.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">After we were introduced to one another, the discussion
started. It began with my asking the elderly Wali sahib about what Islam said
about Isa (Jesus). He said that he was one of the prophets. I asked him about
the purpose for which God sent him into the world. Wali sahib said that it was
to present the world with the Book of love. I asked him, “Do you have that book
of love?” He explained that the book of love didn’t literally mean a book but a
message of love. I asked him what was that message of love? “To love one
another,” he said. I asked him why God saw the need to send Isa with this book
since this message was already preached by countless people before Him. Was
there anything unique about this message of love that Isa brought into this
world? He said, “No.” Here, he stressed the specificity of the mission, not the
message.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Clearly, he didn’t know anything about that message of love
that God sent Jesus with into the world. There were many other issues that we
discussed on that day. I propose to deal one by one with them through different
blogs. Just now I would like to talk to you about that message of love that
Jesus had to convey to the world. It is exactly this:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son (Jesus), that whoever believes in Him (Jesus) should not perish but have
everlasting life.” – John 3:16<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The reason why we would have perished had God not shown His
love in this way is exactly this:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">“In this is love, not that we loved God, but
that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” – 1
John 4:10</span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">We were sinners. In other words, we were against God. The
very meaning of sin is to disobey God. To disobey God is surely not the
expression of love and honor. It is dishonoring God to commit sin. We have all
committed this sin. We disobey God one way or the other.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">But God is Holy and Just forever…That, exactly, was the
reason why our sins brought about separation between God and us. God can never,
never compromise with justice and righteousness. In order to compromise with
justice and righteousness, He has to change Himself – the thing that He cannot
do; simply because He is God and not human like us. This is the point that God
stressed in Malachi 3:6:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">“For I <i>am</i> the Lord, I do not change;<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.” – Malachi
3:6<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Now, here is a question: If God cannot change, it means that
our condition is hopeless! Because we are sinners, and we deserve punishment,
and the punishment for sin is nothing less than death. It is written in Romans
6:23:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">“For the wages of sin is death…”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">It is we humans who view sin as big or small; God sees it
for what it is, that is, rebellion against Him. People who rebel against God,
rebel against all that is good. Remember, God is good and the source of all
that is good.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Therefore, the Just God, when He sits on His judgment seat,
is bound to mete out death penalty to the entire human race. That would have
destroyed all of them…Then, why God says in Malachi 3 that because He does not
change the sons of Jacob are not consumed? The fact that He does not change
should have rather destroyed them all…destroyed us all!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">If we are to use human logic, in spite of the fact that God
loved us, His sense of justice should sacrifice His love for the sake of Divine
justice, isn’t it? This is because if He forgives a sinner, it means a sinner will
not receive the just punishment that he deserves for his sins. And if God is to
punish a sinner, it simply means that the sinner is not going to receive grace
from Him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Well, it is absolutely interesting the way Divine wisdom has
solution for each and every situation. It found out a way that would exact
Divine justice without sacrificing His love for the mankind. God decided that
He would put the punishment of our sins on Jesus (His Son) so that we don’t
have to die for our sins.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In order to put upon Him our punishment, it was must for Him
to take on a flesh-and-blood existence. Again, many people may not understand
why God the Son should take on a flesh-and-blood existence in order to bear the
punishment for our sins. Therefore, it is relevant for me to answer this
question from the Book of Romans. It is written in Romans, Chapter 7, that sin
dwells in our body which is made up of flesh and blood. Whenever we want to be
good or to do good, this sin becomes active and fights against our will and
forces us to do what is evil. Therefore, we want to do good, but we end up
doing what is bad.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In other words, we naturally do what we don’t want to do!
And we don’t do what we want to do! St. Paul makes it amply clear when he says
that this situation is there because there is one law working in our
flesh-and-blood and another in our spirit. The law that works in our flesh-and-blood
is the law of sin.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In other words, when we commit sin, it is not we who commit
sin but the sin that dwells in our body. Sin works itself out with our body.
Therefore, it was important for God to destroy the body that was exposed to all
sorts of sinful passions and replace it with <b>a glorified body</b> that wouldn’t
be exposed to sinful passions. Because the glorified body is not exposed to
sinful passions, Sin cannot dwell in it and live through it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The destruction of the body in which Sin made its
abode was to take place on the cross. <b>The body of Jesus represented the body
of the entire mankind</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">So, Jesus (God the Son) <i>did</i> take flesh-and-blood
existence and took birth through Mother Mary (Mariam) into this world. He took
upon Himself the punishment for our sins on the cross; He shed His holy and
precious blood on the cross to atone for our sins; and He died in our place. He
was buried in the grave but rose to life on the third day and lived on earth
for 40 days in the midst of His followers, proving in many ways that He was the
same Jesus who died on the cross. Now, the thing that remained for Him to do in
order to fulfill the divine plan for the fallen humanity was to ascend to
Heaven to His Father. So He did right before the eyes of His followers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">It was necessary for Him to ascend to His Father because if
He would go to the Father, He would be able to send the Holy Spirit on earth.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. The coming of the Holy Spirit was a very
important event because it marked a new phase in the plan of God.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In this phase, the Spirit of God helps the humanity to
develop in the spiritual realm to which we were introduced when we received
salvation of our spirit. For this purpose, the Spirit of God both dwells with
us and within us. He imparts to us the knowledge of God and this knowledge
brings about the necessary changes in our personality. The task of the Holy
Spirit is to prepare us in such a way that we are ready for the final phase of
the salvation that started with our spiritual salvation. This final phase
includes Jesus’ appearance in the sky and the believers in Jesus seeing Him
face to face. This appearance of Jesus in the sky concerns the event that is
called THE RAPTURE. At due time, we shall talk about it. For now, we shall
limit ourselves to the topic we are dealing with.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Something unimaginable happens at this time. When the
believers see Jesus face to face, in that very instant they undergo change in
the twinkling of an eye and they are transformed into the image of Jesus. They
acquire ‘glorified body’, which is called the salvation of the body in the
Bible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">With the salvation of the body, the process of salvation is
concluded. They pass onto the divine plane from the human. Now they are in the
possession of a divine nature that cannot be assailed by sin and death. This is
because this nature is not sinful. It is righteous. And, it is immortal. Now
the believers are ready to accompany Jesus to Heaven and be able to live in the
presence of God for eternity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In biblical terminology, with the salvation of the body, we
pass from human dimension into the divine! And we shall be granted the status
of ‘adopted’ children of God – adopted because actually we were not part of the
family of God but out of His grace He included us into His family so that we
may have share in all that is His.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Just consider what it means to be the sons and daughters of
God! It means just as the children of men and women are bound to be men and
women, the children of God are bound to be gods! This difference between God
and gods must be understood. It is an altogether different topic for which this
short blog does not provide enough room. I will certainly deal with it in a
different blog. What I would like to underline here is the fact that we shall
be in Heaven with God forever.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Therein lies God’s happiness – and also ours. In that state
He would be able to give us all the blessings that He intends to give us. When
we will talk about the nature of our existence in the presence of God in
Heaven, we shall also discuss what He wants to bless us with. If anyone has any
question to ask about this blog, please feel free to get in touch.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">My email ID is: bertrand.hatia@mysaviourmylight.org</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-89230082501127744252021-11-13T11:03:00.003-08:002021-11-13T11:04:42.125-08:00A Letter to My Muslim Friends - III<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Dear Friends,</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I am forced to change the topic on which I was writing
at present in order to write expressly to you. The matter I am dealing with is
quite serious because of its deceptiveness. There are some people who are
pretending to be the standard-bearers of Christianity and doing utmost harm to
the same. They are acting utterly deliberately. They know very well what they
are doing. I wish they haven’t succeeded in achieving their goals through
deception. They are deliberately attacking Islam and the God of Islam in such a
way that those who love Islam and its Godhead are bound to get hurt and respond
in like manner. This, exactly, is what these so-called Christian
standard-bearers are aiming to achieve. They want you to shy away from knowing
what you need to know about Jesus. My humble request to you is not to fall in
their trap and shy away from knowing the truth that you need to know NOW.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I am saying this to you because recently I watched a
video posted by Hear ‘n See Ministries. I tried to search for it just now but
it is simply not there! Or, maybe if it is there and I am not able to find it.
Anyway, what is important is the content of this video. It started by giving a
piece of information that was completely irrelevant to the subject of the
video. The irrelevant info had to do about the actual shape of the earth which
science deliberately distorted in order to deceive the humanity; and the
subject of the video had to do with Jesus of the Bible being the Dajjal of the
Koran.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">When I thought about why the narrator in the video began
the video with this irrelevant info, after some time I came to realize that the
photo of the earth that he presented to be the real shape of the earth faintly
resembled that of a skull. I may be mistaken in my perception. I rather wish I
am mistaken in my perception. But the question stands as it is. Did he want to
drop a clue about who he was? I don’t know about it.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Coming to the point, what made the narrator of this
video say that the Dajjal of Koran was the biblical Jesus? The YouTube video
image showed a photo of Dajjal beside the image of the one-eyed Christ from Mel
Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. In Mel Gibson’s film, it is shown that
Jesus suffers injuries in His right eye which remains close all through the
film.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Interestingly, Bible doesn’t say that Jesus’ right eye
suffered injury! Jesus forms part of the New Testament but the Old Testament is
full of prophecies regarding Jesus. So, there are also prophecies about the
wounds that Jesus actually received. This is because the wounds of Jesus have
specific meaning which is clearly put forth in the Book of Isaiah 53 where it
is written:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">“But He was wounded for our transgressions,</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">He was bruised for our iniquities;</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">And by His stripes we are healed.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">As for the wounds of Jesus, they are prophetically
described in the following verses from the Bible:</span></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-indent: -0.25in;">Piercing
of His hands and feet: See Book of Psalms 22:16</span></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
scourging on His back: See Psalms 129:3</span></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">None
of His bones were broken: See Psalm 34:20, etc</span></li></ol><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">When Jesus rose from death on the third day, one of His
disciples named Thomas wasn’t willing to believe that the resurrected Jesus
standing before him was the same as the one who died on the cross. So, he
demanded of Jesus that until and unless he would put his hands in His wounds,
he wouldn’t believe that He was the same Jesus that died on the cross. Jesus
asked him to put his hands in His wounds. Thomas did. When he found the wounds
on Jesus’ body, he believed that Jesus had indeed risen from death.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">In other words, the wounds on Jesus’ body were also
identifying marks. Nowhere in the Bible there is a mention of his right eye
having suffered injury. An attempt both from Mel Gibson and the narrator of
this video from Hear ‘n See Ministries to show Jesus as one-eyed tantamount to
casting the real identity of Jesus into mist! That’s terrible!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Another thing that should surprise any Christian who
has read Bible from cover to cover is this: On what ground this narrator drew
parallel between biblical Jesus and Dajjal of Koran? If he had to find a
counterpart of Dajjal in the Bible, it was to be found in the Book of
Zechariah, Chapter 11, and Verse 17. Here, in Zechariah 11, this person is
described as ‘worthless’. Let me quote the verses about this person:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">“Woe to the worthless shepherd,</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Who leaves the flock!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A sword </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">shall be</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> against his arm</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">And against his right eye;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">His arm shall completely wither,</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">And his right eye shall be totally blinded.”</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">This ‘worthless’ shepherd (leader of the Jewish state
in the time to come) will harm Israel, not help her. And he will be subject to
divine punishment because he is an evil person. His arm will wither and his
right eye will be blinded.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">When the narrator of the video from Hear ‘n See
Ministries compares biblical Jesus to Islamic Dajjal, that is the indirect way
in which he considers biblical Jesus to be the worthless shepherd of Zechariah
11 in the Bible!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">At first, I felt the narrator must be mistaken out of
his ignorance about what is written about this one-eyed evil person in
Zechariah 11. I wanted to correct his mistake by giving my opinion in the
comment section. But I was shocked to find the comments disabled! Why would he
do that? It would be quite naïve to think that he wanted to disable the
comments made by the Muslim. I firmly believe that this action of disabling the
comments is directed more against the Christians who would prove him wrong.</span></div>Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-24861192568104351732021-01-01T03:39:00.001-08:002021-01-01T03:40:54.748-08:00LETTER TO MY MUSLIM FRIENDS - II<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><b>WHO IS JESUS</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>PART 1</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>“Seek the Lord while He may be found,</i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #990000;"><i>Call upon Him while He is near.” – Isaiah 55:6 (Bible)</i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is a big, big question. Some people call Jesus a
prophet; some call Him a great man of His time like Gandhi, Socrates, etc; and
Christians call Him the Son of God and Savior of the mankind. I assure my
readers that the information you are going to receive through this blog will surely
interest, and also inform, you on the subject.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The angel that God sent to Mary, the Mother of Jesus,
informed her about Jesus in following terms in the Book of St. Luke, Chapter 1:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall
call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">called the Son of the
Highest</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">; and </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">the Lord God will give Him the</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">throne of His father
David</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">. And He </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">will reign over the house of Jacob forever</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">, and </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">of
His kingdom there will be no end</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do
not know a man?”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">And the angel answered and said to her, “</span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Holy Spirit
will come upon you</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">, and </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">the power of the Highest will overshadow you</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">;
</span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of
God</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The angel calls Jesus the Son of God. He also
explains why Jesus is the Son of God. The explanation about why King David is
called His father is in the following discourse.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">It is not difficult to understand that the children of men
are bound to be men. In the same way, the Son of God is bound to be God! Son of
God cannot be mere man! I will shed more light on the Divinity of Jesus in the
course of this blog.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The next important information about Jesus is provided in
the Book of St. John, Chapter 1, and Verse 1:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Word in the above-quoted verse is Jesus Christ Himself.
Before He was birthed into this world, before even the universe and this world
and all that is in it were created, Jesus was there. My Muslim neighbor found
this verse extremely difficult to understand. He asked me how this could be? I
made him understand the relationship between Jesus (the Son of God) and God
(God the Father) in the following terms:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">I told him, Bro. Alam, take a notebook and a pen and write
down the word </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">love</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> on it. Now read it…Can you fail to grasp the meaning
of the word </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">love</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">? He said, ‘No.” I asked him, “How is it that you cannot
fail to grasp the meaning of this word? This is because this word </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">love</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">
is actually born of the meaning that it conveys!”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Now, Bro. Alam, here is another question for you, ‘The word
</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">love</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> that you have written on paper actually exists on paper or between one
person and another?” He said, “Between one person and another!” I said, “Right!
But if it actually exists between them, then what it is that marks the paper?”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bro. Alam looked at me confusedly. So, I explained to him
further, “It is the word that objectifies the meaning. If the meaning cannot be
objectified thus, then it will be literally impossible for us to express our
love for one another. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary that the meaning is
objectified by the word. And, that’s how the meaning and the objectified
meaning have their places side by side. And, also, they are one and the same!”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Similarly, and this I’m saying to you, my Muslim friends,
Jesus is the Word and He was with God and He was God. God created all things by
speaking a Word. Jesus is the Spoken Word of God! God created all things
through Jesus!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">To put it plainly, Jesus was actively involved in creation
of the universe and our world. In fact, Bible talks about Jesus having created
‘worlds’ and not just ‘world’. There are other worlds beside our planet earth.
In due time, we shall know about it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Coming to the point, the real import of what is being said
hitherto is the Oneness of God the Father and God the Son. God the Father put
the Word in the womb of Mary through the Holy Spirit, as it is stated in the
paragraph quoted from the Book of St. Luke.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">In other words, the Holy Spirit conveyed the Word to Mary’s
womb. Jesus calls the Holy Spirit by the name ‘the Helper’. This Holy Spirit is
the third manifestation of the Godhead! Or to put it the other way, we are not
just talking about Oneness of God the Father and God the Son, we are also
talking about Oneness of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit!
At the same time, we are talking about three different persons through which
God manifests Himself. One God, three manifestations of the same God…That’s
what I am trying to explain.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">In the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 53, my meaning is made a bit
clearer. Here, Jesus is described as the Arm of the Lord (God the Father). And
in the Book of St. Luke, Chapter 11, Verse 20, Jesus describes the Holy Spirit
or the Spirit of God as the Finger of God. God created the worlds through Jesus
and Jesus did everything through the Holy Spirit.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">I am not talking about ‘three’ Gods; I am talking about
‘three manifestations’ of one God. Most of my Muslim friends have an issue with
this concept of God. To them I have to ask a simple question, “Just tell me who
we are? Let me quote Bro. Alam again here.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">On one occasion he said we were not just body but also
spirit. How very true it is! We are not just our body; we are also our spirit.
But the Bible talks about three dimensions of our existence. We are not just
body and spirit, we are also mind. So, we are mind, body and spirit.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bro. Alam talked about the lust of the body fighting against
the desire of our spirit to frustrate our spiritual aspirations. So, what he
wanted to say was the clear division that existed between the body and the
spirit. And both belong to the same person! How?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The answer to this question lies in the Book of Genesis,
Chapter 1, and Verse 27. Here, we are told that God created Adam in His own
image. Yes! Adam was created in God’s image. Though Adam was made from the dust
of the ground, he possessed the Divine nature that reflected God’s image in
him. That is the reason why Adam was called the supreme creation of God. Adam
was His masterpiece. The three aspects (mind, body and spirit) in his
personality reflected God’s image on human plane.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The reason why there was no contention between the body and
spirit in Adam’s </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">self</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> was that Adam had not committed any sin so far
and, therefore, his nature was not </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">fallen</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">. The clash between the body
and the spirit began after the </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">fall</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> of Adam from the state that
reflected God’s image. After the </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">fall</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> or after committing sin by eating
the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the clash
between the body and the spirit started. Therefore, the people who have a thing
called conscience are bound to experience spiritual conflict in their life.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The point I am making is exactly this: Though there is a
clear separation between our body and spirit and mind, they remain ours and
together they define our </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">self</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">. Exclude any one of the three aspects of
our </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">self</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">, and we lose the </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">wholeness</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> of being. That exactly is the
reason why God’s plan for the salvation of the mankind touches all the three
aspects of our being. Different aspects of our being do not make us three
different persons; rather they are three different manifestations of our self.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">So, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are
One. Therefore, on one occasion Jesus told people around Him, “I and My Father
are one.” (See John 10:30)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hebrews 1:1-4 offers more information about Him:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time
past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His
Son, whom He has </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">appointed heir of all things</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">, </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">through whom also He
made the worlds</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">; </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">who being the brightness of His glory and the express
image of His person</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">, and </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">upholding all things by the word of His power</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">,
when </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">He had by Himself purged our sins</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">, </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">sat down at the right hand of
the Majesty on high</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">, having become so much better than the angels, as He
has </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">His coming into the world in flesh and dying on the cross
were intended to destroy the image of the sinful man and restore the image of
God in man so that his connection to death is severed and his relation to God
and life is established again.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is not as easy to understand as it is said, and,
therefore, I think, it requires some explanation. Again, the dynamics of
language comes handy to explain the Word taking on flesh and suffering in flesh
to the extent of death.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">We have only to ask few simple questions: Why there is
word? Well, it’s there to build up language and through language communication.
Communication is needed to help us declare that we are very much there. It
helps us express who and what and why we are and what do we want. Word passes
between two or more individuals to complete the communication. One person needs
to convey his meaning through words and the listener/s is supposed to
understand them…and respond.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">If one doesn’t speak, another can’t hear nor understand
anything. It doesn’t build communication. Speaking a word is equivalent to the
speaker taking on the flesh of meaning that the opposite person can grasp with
his senses.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Similarly, it was necessary for the communication between
God and men open again. That communication was there at first but Satan
introduced a foreign language which mankind picked up. God was talking in the
language of life and righteousness but man lost touch with that language and
began to talk in a meaningless language of sin and death, wreaking havoc of the
whole creation.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">In order to have the communication between God and men
start again, it was absolutely necessary that either mortals die or the
language of sin and death dies. The former solution isn’t viable since God and
mankind can’t be reconciled in death. As it is stated earlier, God is the God
of life, not of death. So, only the second option remains.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">God found out a very unique solution by presenting life
and righteousness in flesh which is a signifier of sin and death to the
mankind. That’s why mankind failed to read God’s righteousness and life. They
only saw Jesus as man.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">But God has His own way to make us understand His
designs. He knew this all too well that the moment the signifier of sin and
death (that is, the body of flesh and blood) was removed on the cross, and when
the life and righteousness emerged victorious from the realm of death and
darkness (through resurrection of Jesus), mankind would be able to see this
light.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">That is the reason why He gave the image of man to His
Word in the same way that the First Man (Adam) was formed in His (God’s) own
image. Just as the first man, modeled on the image of God, remained man and not
God, the Word (or Jesus) taking on the image of man, remained God, and
therefore, referred to as God-man.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The moment the image of Man was destroyed on the cross,
the mankind (that would accept Jesus) lost the image of man which it came to
acquire when the first man (Adam) fell by committing sin. But still it wasn’t
possible for the mankind to recognize the God whom they mistakenly considered
to be a man who claimed to be God by claiming to be the Son of God. It was must
for Jesus to return to life after death and ascend to God the Father. His
resurrection fulfilled this verse from the Book of John, Chapter 1, and Verse
5: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Those who accept Jesus have the light and that light is
the life for them. Jesus restores life to them. Just as by </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">the first man
(Adam)</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> the whole mankind became sinful and died, through Jesus the whole
mankind attains to righteousness and eternal life. That is the reason why </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus
is called the Last Adam in the Bible</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">. (See 1 Corinthians, Chapter 15, and
Verse 45) God wants the Last Adam to be worshipped. Satan had refused to
worship the Last Adam (Jesus). All who refuse to worship Jesus follow in the
footsteps of Satan and, therefore, will ultimately meet with the same fate that
is Satan’s.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The reason why we need to worship Jesus is that it is by
worshipping Jesus that we worship the one true God. Nobody (after the Fall of
Adam) has ever seen God; therefore nobody actually knows God. The only way we can
know God is through Jesus. One of the most quoted verses spoken by Jesus is
this: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except
through Me.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The question is: Do you want to know God? Knowing God is the
ultimate knowledge. No other knowledge is greater than the knowledge of God.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Before I conclude, let me assure you that in my next letter,
I am going to bring you more revelation about Lord Jesus.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0">https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0</a><br /></span></p>Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-52473023004799896812020-11-21T10:45:00.002-08:002020-11-21T10:48:00.257-08:00LETTER TO MY MUSLIM FRIENDS - I<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dear Friends,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I am Bertrand, and I am bearing a very important message for
you. But before I convey it, let me request you to read my letter with open
mind. Here is my reason for requesting you to read my letter with open mind:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.mysaviourmylight.org/2020/02/how-great-price-people-are-ready-to-pay.html">https://www.mysaviourmylight.org/2020/02/how-great-price-people-are-ready-to-pay.html</a><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">I intend no harm because the message I convey is the Message
of Freedom. It is one of the most important gifts from God to the mankind. Just
consider the extent of the freedom that God granted to Adam and Eve in the
Garden of Eden in which He placed them after creating them! Though He didn’t
want them to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, He did
give them the ‘free will’ to eat that forbidden fruit. He asked them not to eat
it because if they would eat it, they would die. He didn’t want them to die. But
because He wanted them to follow His will by using their free will, He gave it
in their hand to choose to obey Him and live eternally.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He didn’t force them to choose life! He didn’t impose His
will on the mankind. What’s important is that He never will impose His will on us.
This is because He is God indeed! He does not need to impose Himself on us to
prove that He is God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Now, let’s consider why He gave such an extent of freedom to
the mankind. The thing is that God had created Adam in His image; therefore man
possessed divine nature. If God was not free, then the man He created in His
image also would not have been free! And if the man was not created to be
‘free’, then it would have meant that God’s creation was flawed. That surely
wasn’t the case. God’s creation was perfect; therefore Adam and Eve were
perfect. Perfection, according to Bible, must include freedom together with all
that is considered good.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Just consider a scenario in which a man would possess all
good qualities but was not free! His lack of freedom would have restricted the
workings of all other attributes which define goodness! Love, compassion, pity,
humility, holiness…All these good qualities would have been compromised without
freedom.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This point is very important: Lack of freedom would not have
compromised all that is considered bad in human nature. Adam and Eve had
nothing bad in their nature. As already stated before, God had created them
perfect. So, the lack of freedom would have compromised only the good that was
in their nature! Therefore, God gave ‘free will’ to Adam and Eve.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sadly, Adam and Eve listened to the logic of the Devil,
which put wrong construction on God’s motive behind forbidding them to eat the
fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil. He told them that God didn’t
want them to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil because if
they ate that fruit, they would be able to know both good and evil, and this
knowledge would make them equal to God. God didn’t want them to be His equal
and therefore He forbade them to eat that fruit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Devil very cleverly trapped them to shift their
attention from God’s instructions to his devilish logic. This is how Devil
always operates. He takes our attention off God and things Divine and settles
it on things diabolical.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Distracted thus, Adam and Eve used their ‘free will’ to
listen to Satan and disobey God. This choice led them to death from life. This
was what Satan actually wanted to accomplish. He wanted God’s creation to be
under bondage of sin, disease and death. Adam and Eve lost their freedom to
live their life. After eating the forbidden fruit their desire to live life
fully was compromised by all the sins that we see plaguing the world now.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The point I am making is this: <b>God stands for freedom;
Satan stands for bondage. If you see your freedom compromised, know for sure
that it is the work of the Devil. It can never be the work of God.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Please note that God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of
Eden after they committed sin. The big reason for His taking this step against
Adam and Eve was that in the same Garden there was the Tree of Life. If the
fallen mankind or the sinful mankind would eat the fruit of the Tree of Life,
it would have terrible consequences for the mankind. It would have perpetuated
their sinful status. Perpetuation of their sinful status would have made their
situation very like that of Satan.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In other words, it would have made the mankind utterly
hopeless. They would have shared the same fate that Satan is destined for. God
did not want this to happen. He did not want His plan for the mankind to end
that way. It would have meant a kind of victory for the Devil. God showed that
He was invincible and the Devil was a defeated foe by coming up with a fresh
plan of salvation for the mankind. In due time we shall talk about this plan.
For now we shall conclude our discussion on freedom.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Now, after the fall of the mankind, the only way the mankind
can free itself is by knowing truth! It is written in the Gospel According to
St. John, chapter 8, verses 31 & 32:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you
abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus also emphasizes the need for freedom for the mankind.
Interestingly, He talks about the only way to achieve freedom being none other
than TRUTH. But the problem with knowing the truth is that we cannot know the
truth without being true ourselves. But the fact is that we are not true! We
are not true because we are sinful.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Another thing, if we want to know the truth, we cannot find
it anywhere outside God Himself. Truth comes from God and if we trace this
truth with tenacity, we invariably end up finding it in God. To put it plainly,
if we follow the truth, it inevitably leads us to God. <b>If it does not lead
us to God, then it is not truth.</b> Therefore, Jesus said that if we know the
truth, the truth will set us free. Only God can set us free. But the problem is
that we cannot know God! The reason why we cannot know God is that we are
sinful.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">So, the main problem with us is this:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> We are
sinful. If we are set free from our sinfulness, then only we can become
righteous. But how can we become righteous?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the Book of Romans in the Bible, chapter 6, verse 23, we
are told that the wages of sin is death. So if we commit sin, we must die. Now
if we die for our sins, will our death mean that we are free from the sin that
caused death to us?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Now, <b>according to human justice</b>, if a person suffers
the punishment of his sin, his sin no longer remains. This is because he has
already paid the price for his sin. If his sin is to remain even after bearing
the punishment for it, then he has to undergo punishment for that sin again.
But we do not punish a person twice for the same sin, do we?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But justice in the spiritual realm does not follow the
paradigm of earthly justice. In spiritual realm, if a person suffers the
punishment for his sin, it would not make him righteous. His sinful nature
still remains in him. So if we have to die for our sins, then we shall die for
our sins; but we shall die while still in possession of our sinful nature.
Death does not and cannot put an end to our sinfulness. So we die in our
sinfulness. And with our sinfulness we can never enter Heaven. Heaven is the
place where only God and good can exist. So, we cannot help ourselves in any way
to enter into the presence of God. God is so holy that nothing evil or unholy
can ever exist in His presence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It is for this reason that we need Jesus. The very purpose
of Jesus’ life was to take upon Himself the sins of the world and to suffer
punishment for them. But that is not all! Jesus not only takes away our sins
from us, He also takes away our sinful nature! <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">This is important.</b> <b>This is what makes His sacrifice unique.</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-themecolor: text1;">Jesus’ body represented our
own body which housed both sin and sinfulness. When Jesus’ body was destroyed
on the cross, died and buried in the grave, it also indicated the end of our
sins and our sinfulness. On the third day, Jesus conquered death and rose to
life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">God gave the body of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as
a promise to the mankind - as a hope of glory that will mark our own existence
at the time appointed by Him. God has assured us that our sins are atoned for,
and, therefore, our sins are forgiven. He has also guaranteed that time would
come when He would give us the kind of glorified body that Jesus had after His
resurrection. Jesus is the proof of the veracity of God’s promise.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What does this mean? It means exactly this: If we accept
Jesus as our personal Savior, we have the promise that we already discussed above.
Our sins are already forgiven because of our acceptance of Jesus’ sacrifice.
And the sinful nature that still remains in us loses its power because of our
acceptance of Jesus. It is extremely important for us to understand this;
because it puts us in right standing with God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">What is there to understand is this: When we believe in
Jesus and receive Him, we achieve <b>spiritual salvation</b>. Please note that
with our spiritual salvation, the process of salvation actually starts. We are
not just our body. We are mind, body and spirit. And God will not allow any of
the three aspects of our existence to get destroyed. He will save us ‘whole’.
Our salvation starts with our spiritual salvation and concludes with the
salvation of our body that will utterly <b>free</b> us from our sinful nature
or sinfulness.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As a proof of our spiritual salvation, God sends His Holy
Spirit to dwell in us. This Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus. It is this
dwelling of Jesus’ Spirit in us that makes us righteous; that helps us fight
with the temptation to commit sin and overcome our sinful nature. We cannot
overcome our sinful nature by our own strength. But we, surely, can overcome it
with the help of the Holy Spirit in the same way that Jesus did.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This Holy Spirit helps us live according to the order of the
spirit and not according to the order of the body. In other words, we are
initiated into the spiritual order of things and assisted to continually grow
in it. In growing in spiritual order, our mind gets renewed and experiences
salvation. The more we grow into this spiritual order, the farther we move away
from the lusts of our eye and body and from the pride of life. So, it is a
process through which we attain to the spiritual maturity that God wants to see
in us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One day is appointed when Jesus will come again to take us
with Him to the Kingdom of Heaven. On that day the dead will rise from death,
and all who will be alive at the time will see Jesus face-to-face. When both
the people who will rise from death and those who will be alive at that time
will see Him, in that very moment they will undergo complete change and will
acquire the image of Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In other words, we shall be like Jesus Himself! We shall
have glorified body that will be free from sinful nature. It is called the
‘salvation of the body’. With the salvation of the body, the process of
perfection will be concluded. At this juncture, our total transformation will
make us fit to be adopted by God as His sons and daughters. As His adopted sons
and daughters, we shall share all the things that God had given to Jesus, His
Son. But the most important thing for us is that we shall enter Heaven to live
in eternal peace and joy in the presence of God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Dear Friends, just consider this! We shall be in the
presence of God! Yes! We shall see Him face to face! Yes! And the nature of our
worship will change into full experience and enjoyment of the Supreme Being of
God! Our worship will not be restricted to our attempt at pleasing God through
our worship. In Heaven the source of our joy will be the comprehensive
knowledge of God and living eternally in that knowledge in peace and joy that
cannot be grasped by human understanding nor described by human language.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Another thing, though we shall be in the presence of God, we
shall not die. This is because when we shall acquire the image of Jesus, we
shall exactly become like Jesus. But the question is, “Who and what Jesus
exactly was?” Of course, Jesus was a prophet but He was also a lot more than just
a prophet. He was and is the Son of God. Jesus did not have a human father. He
was conceived in Mary’s womb when the Spirit of God came upon her. Even you as
Moslem agree with the Christian in this respect. All that Mary did was to give
the Spirit of God the human shape! So Jesus was the Spirit of God in human
shape! That’s how He was and is the Son of God!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus Himself often called Himself the Son of Man because He
had this flesh-and-blood existence. He had the flesh-and-blood existence in
order to offer it as a sacrifice for the sins of the mankind. Jesus never
committed any sin though He had flesh-and-blood existence; because He overcame
sin and sinful nature through the Spirit of God which is also called the Holy
Spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus’ body did have the capacity to commit sin and yet it
remained sinless because Jesus kept it under subjection to God’s will through
the Holy Spirit. That is the reason why Jesus made a perfect sacrifice for
atonement of our sins. Jesus never committed any sin nor did He die in sin.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Therefore, His death accomplished what our death never
could. As stated before, if we die for our sin, we may die for our sin but we
die in sin. We die in sin because we die while still in possession of our sinful
nature. So we are not liberated in death. Therefore, we cannot go to Heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The only way we can go to Heaven is by accepting the fact
that Jesus died for our sins on the Cross, rose on the third day from death and
in His resurrection we have the hope of conquering death. We have to accept Him
as our personal Savior. He is the Way and the Truth and the Life. He is the
Door through which you pass from death to life.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0">https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0</a><br /></span></p>Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-54030427068349113932020-09-24T00:17:00.006-07:002020-10-03T08:52:46.452-07:00What Jesus Meant When He Said, "For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together." Part 5<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>PART 5</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Another important fact that begs our attention is the
identity of the glorious kingdom mentioned in Daniel 11:20. Is it the kingdom
of the North or Israel? There is nothing new or illegitimate about a ruler
imposing tax on his own country. Of necessity all rulers have to do that.
Therefore, it needs to be asked why the fact is highlighted that the king who
arises before the Antichrist imposes tax on the glorious kingdom. In fact, that
is the very mark that identifies this king. Is it because the country on which
he imposes tax is not his own? If he belongs to the line that rules over the
kingdom of the North, then it simply means that the glorious kingdom does not
refer to the kingdom of the North or the taxes he imposes on it crosses all
bounds of legitimacy.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">In other words, he might be a tyrant. Looking at the
present situation of the global economy, it cannot be ruled out that he is
forced to take such measures out of economic compulsions. But if the glorious
kingdom refers to Israel, then it simply means that Israel will lose her sovereignty
even before the king comes to power that imposes tax on her. And if this is the
case, then we have to acknowledge that the king who comes immediately before
him, who stands in the Glorious Land with destruction in his power, is the one
in whose time Israel loses her sovereignty! The implication is that the
prophecies concerning this king are not already fulfilled as it was suggested
before! But for reason already discussed before, he spares her from destruction.
In other words, he postpones it. Do we now see how important it is for us to
know which country is this glorious kingdom?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">As it is, if the above mentioned possibility comes true,
then this king never again gets the chance to destroy Israel; because he
stumbles and falls and is not to be found anymore. Even his successor does not
get chance to do anything more than impose tax on Israel. But things change and
become clear from the time that a vile man takes proceedings into his hands and
sits on the throne of the kingdom of the North. In spite of the challenge that the
king of the South puts up before him, this king is focused on waging a battle
that is against the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And his
main target remains to destroy the Abrahamic covenant, wherein the hope of
entire humanity lies. He wants nothing less than His throne and establish the
rule of sin and death sitting on it. In him we see the antagonism towards
Christ reaching its culmination.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Interestingly, he finds himself fighting against God bound
by physical limitations. Roughly 2000 years back, Jesus too was fighting
against Satan while in bodily form. This was the only time in eternity that Satan
saw his chance to win his battle against the Almighty. So he summoned all his
strength to trap Him in the weakest moments of His life, and learned by
experience that he was not His match even at the weakest time of His life. At
that time, the Devil himself was not bound by any physical limitations; because
he was fighting as an evil spirit. As it is, the body of Christ weathered the
worst that the Devil could do to Him, and emerged victorious both on the cross
and in the Resurrection.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Toward the end of the Age, the table is turned and now it is
the Devil who finds himself fighting against God while bound by the limitations
of flesh. This time when he faces the Son of God, he will see Him in all the
power and the glory that God the Father granted Him before the creation of the
world. So, even at this time the Antichrist is not ready to fight directly
against God; rather he characteristically chooses to assail Israel that exists
as fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant, and the Body of Christ, that is, the
Church that will be existing during the time of the Great Tribulation.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Just as the raptured Church, the Church during the
tribulation period will also be inseparably bound to this Abrahamic covenant,
referred to in Daniel as the holy covenant. That, exactly, is the reason why
the Antichrist is hell-bent on destroying the holy covenant.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">For this he relies heavily on the god of the fortresses that
is none other than Satan. Fortress is a name given to a place of worship
dedicated to any god anywhere in the world. This man of sin wants that Satan should
be worshiped as god and no other god beside him should be worshiped. Therefore,
he works against all gods of all the nations of the world. In other words, he
will put all religions under ban and overthrow the temples dedicated to the
gods – both known and unknown. But of paramount importance to him is to establish
himself above the God of gods, that is, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
whose sanctuary fortress will be in Jerusalem. That’s why though being constantly
challenged by the king of the South, he invariably turns to Israel after
dealing with the king of the South. And he tries to hurt Israel because of the
holy covenant. He is against the holy covenant because he is unholy and is
against the God who is holy.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The main reason why a reader gets confused when he reads
Luke 17:30-31 is that the Gospel according to St. Luke is focused on God and
not on His arch enemy. He shows God in action and not the Devil. He is entirely
dealing with God’s plan and how He implements on it. It is when we come to read
other prophetic books of the Old Testament and the New Testament that we get to
know about the other elements that get involved to fulfill it. We are in a
position to understand better the reality as it is presented by St. Luke when
we read it along with other texts of the Bible.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">For instance, when we read 2 Thessalonians 2, we come to
know that even the Antichrist receives power to dominate the world as a part of
the divine punishment on all who have chosen not to believe in the Truth and to
find pleasure in unrighteousness. It is a good news to all believers that at no
point of time the Devil is able to do what he wants to against God’s will.
According to Revelation 12:12, he also knows that he has a short time to do all
that he wants to. Therefore, when he is bent on doing it, he tries the worst he
is capable of.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">In the fulfillment of God’s time, when he comes to establish
himself as an abomination of desolation in the temple in Jerusalem, that is the
time when the Jew run away from the holy city to save themselves from him.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">This raises one very important question about what will
happen to the Church while Israel is secured in her refuge for the period of
three and a half year? The answer to this question is that the Church - or rather the Believers - during the Tribulation period will face the troubles and trials that would mark this period. The solution God that has for them (the elect) is probably shortening the days of trials that Jesus talked about in Matthew 24. The question is: How God would shorten these days of trials for the sake of elect? Does the answer to this question lie in the following passages from Revelation 8:12 and Revelation 11:15-18? Let me quote these two passages:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was
struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them
were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night." (Revelation 8:12)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Shruti; mso-bidi-language: GU; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">"Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud
voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms
of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” And the
twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and
worshiped God, saying:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">“We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Shruti; mso-bidi-language: GU; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The One who is
and who was and who is to come,</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Shruti; mso-bidi-language: GU; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Because You have taken Your great power and
reigned.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Shruti; mso-bidi-language: GU; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Nations were angry, and Your wrath has come,</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Shruti; mso-bidi-language: GU; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">And the time of the
dead, that they should be judged,</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Shruti; mso-bidi-language: GU; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">And that You should reward Your servants the
prophets and the saints,</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Shruti; mso-bidi-language: GU; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">And those who fear Your name, small and great,</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Shruti; mso-bidi-language: GU; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">And
should destroy those who destroy the earth.” (Revelation 11:15-18)</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Shruti; mso-bidi-language: GU; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The passage from Revelation 8 may mean shortening of days in one way. This may, in its turn, speed up the events described in Revelation 11. Acceleration of Divine Plan is expected from Revelation 8 onward. Interestingly, in the time when the seventh Angel sounds his trumpet, the mystery of God is FINISHED! And it is also the time to reward those who are His and punish those who are against Him. He has taken the reign in His hands and has started ruling. The one surprising element in the utterance of the 24 elders is the way they address God:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Shruti; mso-bidi-language: GU; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Shruti; mso-bidi-language: GU; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">"The One who is and who was and who is to come..."</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Shruti; mso-bidi-language: GU; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">It simply means that though God's rule has started, His coming is yet to take place. What does this mean? Probably, His Second Coming is referred to here. It would conclude the judgment on the renegade world. But it is not the same as the Rapture. In that case, what would happen to the Believers who would be living during the time of the Great Tribulation. One possible explanation may be that they might be living during the Great Tribulation but they may not live through it. The reason why I think along this line is that at this juncture, that is, the time of the Seventh Trumpet, is indeed the time of the judgment of the dead and of reward to be given to Gods servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear His name, small and great. This is clearly indicated in this verse: </span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Shruti; mso-bidi-language: GU; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Shruti; mso-bidi-language: GU; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">"And the time of the dead, that they should be judged,</span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Shruti; mso-bidi-language: GU; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints,</span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Shruti; mso-bidi-language: GU; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">And those who fear Your name, small and great..."</span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Shruti; mso-bidi-language: GU; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">It simply means that from now onward it is the time of reward, not of labor, for the people of God. What does this mean? And what exactly is the time when He takes reigns in His hands? I choose not to answer the first question first. Rather I choose to answer the second question first for the reason that you would know. Time is an extremely important factor in understanding these prophecies. Otherwise the events taking place in the context of time will be cast into utter darkness. But, again, I would stress that I have no assertion to make here. I am talking about the possibility. It leads me to think that the time when God and the Messiah take control of power and execute judgment may be the time when John sees the Lamb stand with 144,000 on Mt. Zion. See Revelation 14.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Shruti; mso-bidi-language: GU; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">This thought extremely confused me. Because I have been thinking that Jesus would actually descend on the earth at the end of the Great Tribulation. Before this He would appear in Heaven at the time of the Rapture to gather together the elect to Him. When He would descend to the earth at the end of the 7-year tribulation period, the world would see Him fight the Battle of Armageddon. Possibly, at this time it would see Him stand on the Mt. Olivet, not on Mt. Zion. See Zechariah 14. When the Feet of Jesus stand on Mt. Olivet, He is accompanied by all the saints, not just 144,000. The events of the Lamb standing on Mt. Zion with 144,000 and the Lord coming with all the saints to Mt. Olivet are different and indicate different times in which they are framed.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Shruti; mso-bidi-language: GU; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">What I am driving at is that Jesus may come down to the earth after the Seventh Trumpet is sounded and the First Bowl of God's wrath is poured on the earth. This may be the time indicated in Luke 17:30. It is possible that the Rapture is completed during this time - if the first one was partial. There must be a lapse of time between His coming (Luke 17:30) and the escape of the Jew (Luke 17:31).</span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
day that the Son of Man is revealed in Luke 17:30 is made a little bit clear
with its comparison with the time when Noah and his family were taken into the
Ark before the flood came and destroyed entire world. Noah entering the Ark
sounds very like the Church taken out of the world by Jesus. The remainder of the Great Tribulation may show the execution of judgment on the world that culminates in the Battle of Armageddon and casting of the beast and the false prophet alive into the Lake of Fire and shutting Satan up in the prison for the period of thousand years.</span></p></span></span></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">tribulation of those days</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> spoken about in Matthew 24:29-31 seems to be
indicating the tribulation time that is covered by the period of the Seven
Seals. It may include the time that lies between the First Seal and the Sixth
or between the Fifth Seal and the Sixth Seal. Because the signs that, according
to Jesus in Matthew 24, immediately precede His coming to take the elect out of
the world are almost the same as those given in Revelation 6:12-13.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
events described when the Sixth Seal is broken are quite interesting; because
we read something amazing here. Let me quote it:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Then
the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island
was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich
men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid
themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the
mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on
the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has
come, and who is able to stand?’”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">It
is a rational question to ask, If the sky is rolled up like a scroll, then how
can we explain the things that happen at the time of the Fourth Trumpet:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Then
the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the
moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third
of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
particular detail that begs our attention the most is the fact that in the time
of the Sixth Seal the world is seeing God the Father and God the Son directly,
the curtain of the sky being rolled up. And the people of the world are trying
to hide from them, saying, “For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is
able to stand?” It is clear that ‘the great day of His wrath’ is not the only
great day of the Lord.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Another
important thing to notice here is that the events in Matthew 24:29-31 and Luke
21:25-27 are global in scale, not local, limited to the land of Israel.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Still
another important thing to notice is that the Kingdom of God also comes in
stages. The first stage of its coming is announced in the time of the Sixth
Seal (See Revelation 6:17) and it is shown as established in Revelation 7:9-12.
The second stage of its coming is proclaimed in Revelation 11:15-18. The third
stage of its coming is proclaimed in Revelation 20:4-6.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">People
will run away from the abomination of desolation. Their flight will be just in
time; because when the one who makes desolate is there, he inaugurates a
dispensation of lawlessness that is directed towards destroying the Abrahamic
covenant. It covers the period of second half of the seven year tribulation
period. The first half of the tribulation period will be marked by
establishment of several ‘unholy’ covenants, which, in keeping with the spirit
of lawlessness, he would break. When at the end of the first half of the tribulation
he breaks one of these covenants which he would be establishing with Israel, he
will cause the sign of abomination of desolation to appear in Jerusalem.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">This
can be explained only if the day that the Son of Man is revealed is the time of
Rapture. It is very much possible that with the catching up of the Church in
heaven the day is over and the night begins, and with night also the time for
Jacob’s distress. It is the time of revelation of the man of sin and it is from
the man of sin that Israel is to save herself.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">1. In Luke, there is no mention of the people of
Judea who, in Matthew, are asked to run away to the mountains. So, it is
possible that the instruction Jesus gives to people who will be on housetops or
in their fields applies to those who belong to other parts of Israel.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">2. The time for the taken and the left is
specifically given. Jesus says </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">‘in that night’</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.5in;"> one of the two men in bed
will be taken and the other left; one of the two women grinding will be taken
and the other left; one of the two men in the field will be taken and the other
left. In other words, when the night starts, it is the time when the wrath of
God starts pouring on the world. Even the rule of the Antichrist is part of
God’s wrath on the people who rejected the truth. The left are the people who will
find themselves stranded in the night. This is not to say that they wanted to
escape night!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">They
were stranded in the night because, just like the taken, the left are also a
part of the night. They are children of night. The only difference between the
taken and the left is that the taken are not left and the left are not taken.
But if the left are not taken, it does not tantamount to their being at an
advantage compared to the taken.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">3. Jesus drew parallel between the time of Lot and
the time of the end. Drawing parallel between Noah’s time and the end-time is
one thing; and drawing parallel between Lot’s time and the end-time is quite
another. This becomes quite evident when Jesus asks His disciples to remember
Lot’s wife. And it is in connection with Lot’s wife that Jesus made this
sentence: “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his
life will preserve it.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">As
it is, as soon as the Angels brought Lot and his family out of Sodom, they ask
them to escape for their life. (The same instruction Jesus gives to the people
of Israel when they see the sign of abomination of desolation standing in the
holy place.) Also, they warned them against looking back. Lot’s wife worked
against this warning and became a pillar of salt. In Luke 9:62 Jesus says, “No
one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom
of God.” And Lot’s wife looked back because what she left behind her was no
small treasure. And, it was not just the treasure that she left behind; she
also left behind a way of life. That’s how serious it is! Matthew 6:21 says,
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Her heart was not
set on things having to do with the kingdom of God.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">In
Matthew 19 a rich young man came to Jesus and asked Him what he should do in
order to have eternal life. When Jesus asked him to follow the commandments, he
replied that he had been doing so from a very young age. Thereupon, Jesus asked
him to give away all that he had to the poor and follow Him. When the rich
young man heard this, he went away sorrowful because he had much wealth and his
heart was set on it. And just consider what idea he must be having about
following Jesus vis-à-vis his possessions! It is reflected in his decision to
choose his possession instead of following Jesus.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
instance of Lot’s wife seems to explain what Jesus might have meant to say in
Luke 17:33. The time in context of which Jesus says this, will be the time when
the Antichrist will establish himself in Jerusalem and unleash blasphemies
against God and a rule of terror over the people who are committed to the holy
covenant, and spread lawlessness among people who either forsake the holy
covenant or work against it. The elect will have to choose between life and
eternal life. Their choice will place them on the altar.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">While
the darkness continues in its attempt to overcome the light until the time
comes when a burning torch and a smoking furnace appear and pass through the
carcass. Isaiah 31:9 seems to have something important to say about fire and
furnace:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">“’He
shall cross over to his stronghold for fear,</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">And
his princes shall be afraid of the banner,’</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Says
the LORD,</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Whose
fire </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">is</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> in Zion</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">And
whose furnace </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">is</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> in Jerusalem.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Please note that the entire 31</span><sup style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">st</sup><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> chapter
of Isaiah is about God’s defense of Jerusalem. Of course, I don’t know about
the time the above mentioned verses refer to; but I am sure about the fire and
the furnace talked about in them that they are in Jerusalem.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0">https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0</a><br /></span></p>Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-90426457134719943782020-09-23T00:21:00.002-07:002020-09-23T23:59:44.777-07:00What Jesus Meant When He Said, "For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together." Part 4<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>PART 4</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">This sequence of events
helps us understand that there is an interval in time between verse 30 and verse
31 of Luke 17. Matthew 24 and Revelation 6 tell us about some of the things
that transpire in this interval but are not mentioned in Luke 17. One of these
things is appearance of the Antichrist on the scene as soon as the Church is
taken out of the world. But he cannot appear as long as the Holy Spirit is
there. And, He will remain in this world as long as the Dispensation of Grace
lasts. The Church is under this dispensation and all its spiritual needs are
supplied by the Spirit of God. He is there to help the Church to discern the
things divine.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">We are driven by our senses and these we are of no use to us
for grasping spiritual reality. Therefore, we cannot know who God the Father
is, who Jesus is, who the Holy Spirit Himself is, and what they do. And what we
don’t know, we don’t accept. Thus, even our saving faith is not ours but is
given to us by Him.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Holy Spirit is also given to the believers as the
guarantee of all the promises that are made by God in Jesus. The promises they
are given in Christ are embodied in different manifestations of God’s grace
through the Spirit of God.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Finally, the Holy Spirit seals us for the day of redemption.
(Ephesians 4:30) This redemption takes place at the time of the Rapture when we
shall see the Lord face-to-face. In the instant that we see Him face-to-face,
we shall be changed into His image. That’s redemption of our body.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Once we are led up to this point, the purpose of the
Dispensation of Grace is served and now is time for God to execute judgment on
the world that remains in the state of denial. The world remains in the state
of denial not because they don’t have ground enough to believe in God but
because they are essentially against Him due to their wickedness. Because they
cannot be good, they want evil to be glorified. But the fact is contrary to
their desire and so it inspires spiritual jealousy against God who is good and
the source of all that is good. Therefore, they choose to side with the Devil
who, like them, is God’s enemy.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">God who has appointed time for everything knows the time for
bringing the world to justice. Justice requires the period of Grace to be
brought to an end. Then will be the time for God’s wrath. So, immediately
before He starts executing His judgment, He takes the Holy Spirit and the
Church out of this world.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Here’s a question: If the Holy Spirit is taken out of the
world at the time of the Rapture, how can people who will be living through the
period of Great Tribulation believe in and accept Jesus? John 16:13 says,
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all
truth…” Jesus is the Truth. So without Him we cannot follow Jesus. Therefore,
what or who will support the faith of the people whom the Gospel will be
preached to during this time?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">It is true, the Gospel </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">will</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> be preached during this
time and there </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">will</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> be people who will hear and accept it – even if they
have to pay the price for it, which could be no less than their life. Without
the help of the Spirit, how they will be able to preach or accept the Gospel?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The answer lies in the fact that the people living through
this period are the people who will see the divine mysteries unraveled by God
Himself one after another right before their eyes. And they will be grasping
the spiritual reality with their senses, beginning from the time that the Sixth
Seal is broken, which shows them the heavens rolled up like a scroll so that
they can directly see both God the Father and God the Son.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">At the same time, they will see Jesus coming in the clouds
with great power and glory and the Church caught up to Him. Not just that, time
will come during this period that it may not be possible for a mere human being
to preach the Gospel to the peoples living through it. Therefore, it will be
preached to them directly by one of the angels from heaven, and every
individual will learn it in his own language. Consequently, they will not need
the Spirit of God to provide a ground for their faith in Jesus. It is we, the
Church, that need His help; because we don’t see the divine mysteries with our
own eyes and grasp them with our senses. We must grasp them spiritually since
they exist in the spiritual realm. But the Tribulation period will show both
the spiritual and physical realities exist together at the same time. It will
be a unique time in history which cannot be called human since it will be
dominated by the supernatural.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Coming to the point, the Rapture may take place before the
7-year tribulation period and, at the same time, the Holy Spirit will also be
taken out of the world. The Holy Spirit is the One who stops the Antichrist.
When He is gone, the man of sin appears and the tribulation starts. The
Antichrist falls between Luke 17:30 and Luke 17:31, and it is from him that the
Jew run away to save their lives.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">To be more specific, this is the time when the abomination
of desolation stands in the holy place in Jerusalem. This sign takes place in
the middle of the tribulation period, that is, three and a half year counting
form the time of the treaty that the Antichrist will strike with Israel and
many nations of the world.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The time before the political efforts of the Antichrist might
be a turbulent time, marked by big wars between the Kings of the North and the
King/Kings of the South, and Israel will find herself engaged in these
conflicts, willingly or unwillingly. Biblical scholars are of the view that the
prophecies regarding the wars between the kings of the North and the kings of
the South are already fulfilled. They also give us proofs for this view. But it
is also a fact that when they come to interpret the last of the kings of the
North, that is, Antiochus Epiphanes, they link him to the Antichrist. They
relate all that Antiochus did to all that the Antichrist will do towards the
end of the age. How?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">In fact, the angel who came to Daniel to tell him about the
whole set of events that we find from Chapter 11 to Chapter 12, says in Daniel
10:14:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to
your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to
come.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">As he goes on to speak in Daniel 11, he undoubtedly refers
to the time that ranges from the prophecies concerning the four kings of Persia
through Alexander the Great bringing to an end the Persian Empire to the Greek
Empire dividing into four empires. Daniel 8:23 frames the four empires that
were born out of the Greek Empire of Alexander in the time that covers the
period that shows the close of the human history. The kings of the North and
the kings of the South mentioned in Daniel 11 are the kings of the Northern
shoot of the Greek Empire and the kings of the Southern shoot of the Greek
Empire. It is these two divisions that remain at the center of political and
military upheavals that will mark this period. Daniel 8:23 is quite clear on
this.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">To be on the safer side, I choose not to say that in the
same way that the actions of Antiochus Epiphanes are prophetically repeated by
the Antichrist in the end time, the actions of the kings who precede Antiochus
will also be repeated by the political leaders who will precede the Antichrist.
However, there is a reason for saying that there is strong possibility that the
king immediately preceding the vile man of Daniel 11:21, seems to be the
seventh king of Revelation 17:10, who continues but for a short time. By this I
mean to say that the king of Daniel 11:20, who imposes tax on the glorious
kingdom, will appear before the Antichrist.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Here, it is important to stop and think about which country
this king belongs to. And who he is? Is he the successor to the throne of the
king of the North who fails in his attempt to destroy the Glorious Land through
what seems like a proxy war? It is surprising why he himself does not
straightaway act and destroy it. After all, he is already standing in the
Glorious Land with destruction in his hand! If he wants, he can destroy it.
What motives must be driving him to use someone else to destroy it? This
question is very important; because it leads to the possibility that the
Glorious Land is Israel and by roping in others to unite with him against her,
he wants them to be partakers in his aim of dissolving the holy covenant (the
Abrahamic) associated with it. This move exposes the essentially spiritual
nature of his battle plan. As it is, this plan does not come off well.
Interestingly, he suspends it temporarily in order to turn to wage war against
the coastlands to take them. It is at this juncture that he is challenged by
opposition from a king that we have ground to believe belongs to the west, even
Rome. Here, what I suggest is that this is the point from where the Roman
Empire of the end-time revives. The person responsible for that is the one who
challenges the king of the North. What makes me think along this line? To me,
answer to this question lies in these verses from Daniel 11:18-19:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">“After this he shall turn his face to the coastlands, and
shall take many. But a ruler shall bring the reproach against them to an end;
and with the reproach removed, he shall turn back on him. Then he shall turn
his face toward the fortress of his own land; but he shall stumble and fall,
and not be found.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">In the verses quoted above who turns his back on whom? Is it
the ruler who challenges the king of the North that turns his back on the defeated
king or the king of the North that turns his back on the defender of the
coastlands? We have a reason to believe that it is the victor that turns to the
fortress of his own land having successfully thwarted the ambition of the king
of the North. However, he falls in his own land. His successor is the one who
imposes tax on the glorious kingdom. But he does not last long and his place is
occupied by a vile man (the Antichrist) who does not deserve to be a king but
manages to be one by dint of intrigue. According to Daniel 9:26, the Antichrist
is a Roman.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">“And after the sixty-two weeks</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">And the people of the prince who is to come</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">After Messiah’s being cut off, the people who destroyed
Jerusalem and the sanctuary were the Roman. Therefore, the prince who is to
come is also the Roman. This explains why he is not granted the honor of
royalty. It belongs to the legitimate heir to the throne of the kingdom of the
North which is the northern division of the divided Greek Empire. Probably, he
is the one who is called the prince of the covenant in Daniel 11:22. But he is
denied his right to it by this vile man who is Roman and therefore has no right
to the throne of the kingdom of the North.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">However, he manages to intervene in the internal
affairs of the kingdom of the North, perhaps, as a peace-maker and by intrigue
gets hold of the kingdom of the North. From this point onwards we witness the
rise of the fallen Roman Empire. It is the iron part of the image that
Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream. The revived Roman Empire is the feet of that
image consisting of iron and clay. That it is made up of iron and clay suggests
that this Roman Empire will not be purely Roman but the Antichrist incorporates
other elements for practical purposes that he wants to serve. That’s what makes
it weak in some parts and strong in other.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0">https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0</a><br /></span></p>Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-48292387503866876782020-09-21T12:53:00.003-07:002020-09-21T12:56:24.345-07:00What Jesus Meant When He Said, "For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together." Part 3<p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">PART 3</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">To put it plainly, he will
be driven by the spirit of Satan. Therefore, it is written in Daniel 11, “…</span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">his
heart shall be <i>moved</i> against the holy covenant</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">; </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">so he shall do <i>damage</i>
and return to his own land</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">.” His heart shall be moved; his heart shall not
move him. And what shall move his heart? It is quite simple. 2 Thessalonians 2
calls him the man of sin and the son of perdition. The phrase ‘son of
perdition’ recalls to our mind Judas Iscariot who proceeds to betray Jesus
after Satan entered him. The man of sin is also driven by Satan who will
attempt to subvert the divine plan by hurting the covenant that God established
between Abraham and Him. This he will try to do in two-fold manner:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">1. Put an end to the daily sacrifices in the Temple
in Jerusalem and placing the abomination of desolation there and</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">2. Attempt to destroy Israel</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">These are the ways in which he will work against the holy
covenant. It is when Israel will come to face the worst existential crisis in
her entire history that the Jew will be seeking help from the Messiah. And
that, perhaps, will be the time when false christs will turn up to deceive them
– to utterly confuse them.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">If we read Matthew 24:26-28 closely, we cannot fail to
notice that Jesus talks about the vultures and the carcass in relation to false
christs. These false christs are the same vultures that came down on the
offering that Abraham made on the altar. The thing is that towards the end of
the age, there won’t be Abraham to ward them off but in his stead there will be
the people who know their God, the people who understand, that will rise up to
withstand them. We find their mention made in Daniel 11:32-35:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">“…</span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">the people who know their God shall be strong, and
carry out <i>great exploits</i></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">. And those of </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">the people who understand
shall instruct many</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">; yet </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">for many</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> days they shall fall by sword and
flame, by captivity and plundering. Now when they fall, they shall be aided
with a little help; but many shall join with them by intrigue. And </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">some</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">
of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">them</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">, and
make </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">them</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> white, </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">until</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> the time of the end…”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The same people are called ‘elect’ by Jesus in Matthew 24.
They will successfully frustrate these vultures, which include false christs,
false prophets, the people who forsake the covenant, and the people who do
wickedly against the covenant. Please note that the people who forsake the
covenant are bound to be the Jew and the Christian; otherwise how can they
forsake the covenant?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">As it is, the ‘elect’ will prevail against the vultures but
not without paying heavy price for it. Nevertheless they will fare far better
than the people who will fight on the side of the devil. This we learn from
what Jesus says in Matthew 24:22:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">“And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be
saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The situation would become so grim that the elect would face
total extinction. That explains why Jesus comes in so swiftly to shorten those
days and destroy in the Battle of Armageddon the side that is fighting against
the holy covenant. It will mark the end of the second half of the seven-year
Great Tribulation. It will also set off the Millennial Kingdom of the Messiah
on the earth.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">But when I came to read Luke 17:37, I got confused about the
meaning of the carcass-and-the-vulture sentence. I got confused because when I
read it in Matthew 24, it seemed to offer the reason why the Lord’s coming
would be so swift. The vultures seemed to mean the forces of darkness
(including the Antichrist) assailing the covenant of God with Abraham; and the acceptance
of the offering of Abraham by God seemed to stand as a sign for the
truthfulness of God’s promise.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">When Jesus speaks the same sentence in Luke 17, it was in
connection with the taken-and-the-left passage. Jesus talks about one of the
two men sleeping in the bed, one of the two women grinding mill, and one of the
two men in the field, being taken, and the other left. His disciples ask Him,
“Where, Lord?” The disciples wanted to know where the taken are taken. Because
the left are left where they are when the other is taken to the place that is
not explicitly made known to them. Jesus answers their question by the
carcass-and-the-vulture sentence. Upon reading this passage closely, I realized
that the taken were not the carcass. They were the vultures. It perfectly syncs
with the reading of the same sentence in Matthew 24.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">However, there are few additional details in Luke 17 which
provide deeper understanding of the entire set of end-time events. They are as
follows:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -45.75pt;">1. If the taken are bad people, it simply does not
mean that the left are good. Zechariah 14:16-19 provides some interesting
information about them. Let me quote it:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">“And
it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came
against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord
of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever
of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King,
the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain. If the family of Egypt will
not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague
with which the Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of
Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all
the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">This
passage clearly shows that the nations that will come up to fight against
Jerusalem will not be utterly destroyed when Jesus comes to defend His city.
The armies of these nations will be utterly destroyed there and then; but the
people belonging to these nations will still remain. These people are the left
which are talked about in Luke 17:34-36.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">These
people will enter into the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus on earth, see the Lord
in His glory, and will have to present themselves to Jerusalem to worship the
Lord and celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. Those who will not come to
Jerusalem to celebrate this Feast will be punished with a plague. It means that
there will be people who will not be willing to respect the Lord even after
knowing it clear as daylight that He is the Lord. This is very important;
because at this time there will be no Satan to cheat them into disbelieving
Jesus and believing in untruth, and encourage them to disown His authority.
They will be against the Lord by their own will!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -45.75pt;">2. Jesus’ instruction to the people to escape is
time-specific; because they are asked to escape </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -45.75pt;">‘in that day’</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -45.75pt;">. Here, it
is necessary that we do not confuse ‘that day’ of Luke 17:31 with the day of
Luke 17:30, the day when the Son of Man is revealed. Surprisingly, at the coming
of Jesus His people </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -45.75pt;">are</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -45.75pt;"> running for their life. Why?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">It
seems the only plausible answer to this question can be found in the
possibility that there is a lapse of time between Jesus’ coming and the Jew
running for their life. Luke 17:30 talks about Jesus coming for the Church, not
for the Jew. This is the time Jesus appears in the heaven to take the Church,
which also includes the Messianic Jew, out of the world. It is the Rapture, an
event which is similar to Noah being taken into the Ark before the flood came.
This is the hope that is offered to all </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">prepared</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> believers in Luke 21:27-28.
When the Son of Man appears in a cloud with great power and glory, the
believers look up and lift up their heads, because their redemption draws near.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
redemption this verse talks about is actually completion of the work that God
began with the redemption of our spirit at the time that we believed in and
accepted Jesus. The redemption of our body takes place at the time that we see
Jesus face-to-face and change in His image. That is the time we shall have
glorified bodies with which we can enter into the heavenly kingdom with our
Lord.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus
Himself makes the timing of the Rapture clear by giving us the signs which will
take place before it in Matthew 24:29-31:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Immediately
after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will
not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies
will be shaken. Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then
all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on
the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels
with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds,
from one end of the heavens to the other.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Many
think that the Rapture is the post-tribulation event based on verse 29. They
fail to see that the events associated with these signs are almost the same as
those which appear when the Lamb opens the sixth seal in Revelation 6:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">“I
looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake;
and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.
And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs
when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is
rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the
kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty
men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the
rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and
hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the
Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">This
passage from Revelation 6 offers some very useful information:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">1. It is for the first time that the world will see
God and the Lamb with their earthly eyes. It also sees the wrath of the Lamb.
It cannot be that they don’t know why He is angry.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">2. The people of the world perceive that day as the
great day of His wrath. But the Book of Revelation clearly shows that it is one
of the </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">great</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.5in;"> days of God that show His wrath accomplished in different
stages. This day is part of the period of the Seven Seals. There will be
another day that accomplishes it during the period of the Seven Trumpets. And
still another that will conclude His wrath in the period of the Seven Bowls.
So, we may say that the </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">great</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.5in;"> day of the wrath of the Lamb seen in
Revelation 6:17 is the first of the great days of the Lamb.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">3. Matthew 24 talks about all the tribes of the
earth mourn to see His appearance in clouds. Revelation 6:15-17 describes
additional information about their response to His appearance.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">4. The day the world sees God and the Lamb together
for the first time does not only raise the curtain on THEM and THEIR power and
glory. It also inaugurates a series of events which would eventually lead up to
the full revelation of the mystery of God. But apart from other reasons, this
day shows the Son of Man coming with power and great glory to take His elects
from the four winds. ‘From the four winds’ contains the suggestion that it is a
global event, not something that is limited to the land of Israel. We learn
about it from Matthew 24.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">5. The heaven being rolled up like a scroll is a
temporary event; because if it is not a temporary event, then it will be
difficult to explain the things that happen at the time of the Fourth Trumpet:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Then
the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the
moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third
of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0">https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0</a><br /></span></p>Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-78142042163101444412020-09-17T05:43:00.002-07:002020-09-21T12:36:00.883-07:00What Jesus Meant When He Said, "For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together."<p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">PART 2</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When I read this blog, I
thought that I had got the answer to the enigmatic sentence made by Jesus in
Matthew 24 and Luke 17. But, while reading the Book of Genesis as part of my
preparation to write my next book, I came across the mention made of the
vultures and the carcass in Chapter 15. But, here, the context in which they
appear is quite clear. Let me quote the whole thing:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing “I
go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? Then Abram said,
“Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This
one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be
your heir.” Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and
count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall
your descendants be.”</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for
righteousness.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of
Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit
it?”</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a
three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young
pigeon.” Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle,
and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.
And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.”</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark,
that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed
between those pieces. On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram,
saying:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“To your descendants I have given this land, from the river
of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—the Kenites, the Kenezzites,
the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the
Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” (Genesis 15:2-11;17-21)</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">As we see, this offering was demanded by God. Abraham
offered it. This offering was intended by God to be the sign for Abraham who
had asked Him, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” The smoking
oven and burning torch passed through the pieces of carcasses. (See Isaiah
31:9) By this covenant Abraham knew that God would do what He said. The
covenant was all about Abraham and his descendants inheriting from God the land
lying between the River of Egypt (Nile) and the River Euphrates.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Interestingly, when the carcasses were lying on the altar,
the vultures came down upon it so that Abraham had to ward them off. This was
his duty to see that what belonged to God must go to God alone and no third
party was to intervene in the matter.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So what the
vultures coming down on the carcass mean here? They were against the covenant
that God wanted to establish between Abraham and Him; and they were also
against the fulfillment of the sign that God wanted to establish in order to
prove to Abraham that what He said was true and would surely come to pass.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Thus, on one
hand they tried to withhold from God what was due to God; on the other, they
tried to undermine the ground which supported Abraham’s faith by doing
something that would not allow the sign of the truthfulness and certainty of
God’s promise from taking place.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Clearly, the vultures were the forces of darkness. They were
as much against God as the person that He chose to bless. Therefore, even after
Abraham’s zeal toward God denied them the chance to prevent the covenant from
taking place between God and him, they continued to work against it to undo it.
What’s more, this struggle between God and the enemy of God continues right
till the end of the age. Christ’s statement in Matthew 24 and Luke 17 bears
this out.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Daniel 11:20-35 supports this interpretation by supplying
some very useful information that clarifies its meaning. Speaking about one of
the long line of kings of the North, this chapter offers some useful
information that sheds light on the vultures making for the carcasses. I would
like to quote it here. Please note that some text is emboldened to draw your
attention to the point I am trying to make here.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“There shall arise in his place one who imposes taxes </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">on</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
the glorious kingdom; but within a few days he shall be destroyed, but not in
anger or in battle. And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they
will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize
the kingdom by intrigue. With the force of a flood they shall be swept away
from before him and be broken, </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">and also the prince of the covenant</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. And </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">after
the league <i>is made</i> with him he shall act deceitfully</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, for he shall
come up and become strong with a small </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">number</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> of people. He shall enter
peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he shall do </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">what</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them
the plunder, spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds,
but </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">only</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> for a time.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">He shall stir up his power and his courage against the king
of the South with a great army. And the king of the South shall be stirred up
to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they
shall devise plans against him. Yes, those who eat of the portion of his
delicacies shall destroy him; his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall
down slain. Both these kings’ hearts </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">shall be</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> bent on evil, and they
shall speak lies at the same table; but it shall not prosper, for the end </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">will</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
still </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">be</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> at the appointed time. While returning to his land with great
riches, </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">his heart shall be <i>moved</i> against the holy covenant</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">; </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">so
he shall do <i>damage</i> and return to his own land</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">At the appointed time he shall return and go toward the
south; but it shall not be like the former or the latter. For ships from Cyprus
shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">and return in rage
against the holy covenant, and do <i>damage</i></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">So he shall return and </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">show regard for those who forsake
the holy covenant</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. And forces shall be mustered by him, </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">and they shall
defile the sanctuary fortress</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">; </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">then they shall take away the daily <i>sacrifices</i>,
and place <i>there</i> the abomination of desolation</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">Those who do
wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery</b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">; but the
people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">great exploits</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">.
And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">for many</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering. Now when
they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with
them by intrigue. And </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">some</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> of those of understanding shall fall, to
refine them, purify </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">them</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, and make </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">them</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> white, </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">until</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> the
time of the end; because </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">it is</i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> still for the appointed time.”</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">These verses from Daniel 11 prove that in spite of political
and military maneuvering, the king who puts an end to the sacrifices in the
temple at Jerusalem and places there the abomination of desolation, will be
driven by an ambition that essentially lies in the spiritual realm, the same
ambition that made Satan rise against God. He cannot rest satisfied merely with
his political and military successes. These are used only to establish power
over the world and the peoples inhabiting it. This power is of no use unless it
helps promote his desire to overthrow the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and
himself occupy His position. His real motive is reflected in the act of putting
an end to the daily sacrifices and placing the abomination of desolation there.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0"><span style="font-family: georgia;">https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0</span></a><br /></p>Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-73716689564352536842020-08-26T00:58:00.003-07:002020-09-21T12:35:43.066-07:00What Jesus Meant When He said, "“For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.”<p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">PART 1 </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is all about why in Matthew 24 Jesus said to His
disciples, “For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered
together.” What did He mean when He said this? The same sentence is found in
Luke 17:37 as well.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This question has been haunting my mind since long and only
recently I came a bit nearer to understanding what Jesus actually meant when He
made this statement. Much of the confusion arose in my mind from my efforts to
put it in context of what immediately preceded it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In Matthew 24, replying to His disciples questions regarding
the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, the sign of His coming, and the end
of the age, Jesus gave them the whole timeline of future events which concluded
with His coming. The verse quoted above has to do with one of the signs
regarding His coming. The following verses provide us with the immediate
context for it:“Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do
not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. For as the
lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming
of the Son of Man be. <b>For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be
gathered together</b>.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t relate the emboldened
text to what preceded it, which had to do with the manner in which He would
appear. I thought His coming was the same event that I considered to be the
Rapture. The above quoted passage meant to say that His coming was as swift as
lightning because wherever the carcass was, there the eagles would be gathered
together. What did it mean? That Jesus wanted to come to take His church before
the vultures would have the chance to swoop down on the carcass wherever it
was?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I also happened to remember Matthew 11:12 in this connection,
which said,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom
of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">From the days of John nothing of greater significance ever
happened in human history than the violent taking the kingdom of heaven by
force. This was made possible because of Jesus who inaugurated the dispensation
of grace that replaced the Mosaic dispensation which shut doors on all the
violent people. These violent people were the undeserving who did not have the
strength to become righteous by the Law. When the Law worked, they died.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When Jesus came, He made it possible for them to attain to
the level of righteousness that God demanded of them in order to enter the
kingdom of heaven. It was the righteousness that came by faith and not deeds
because the latter were very weak. It was the faith that was strong. To be more
specific, it was violent.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This faith alone had the force against which the doors of
heaven could not prevail. That was the faith in Jesus – the faith that led to
His acceptance. And accepting/receiving Jesus meant entering heaven; because
Jesus was the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven was embodied in Him.
Therefore, all who accepted Him, entered the Kingdom of Heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thinking along this line led me to the question: Could the
eagles swooping down on the carcass be interpreted as the believers, whose
deeds weren’t perfect, who possessed the kingdom of heaven by dint of the force
of their faith? But it was difficult for me to thrust it down my throat to
compare the Kingdom of Heaven with a carcass and the believers as the vultures.
The whole scene is so gruesome to imagine! Both the vultures and the carcass
are considered unholy in the Old Testament.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, this sentence remained an enigma to me for a long, long
time. I got the breakthrough when recently I happened to read a blog that was
suggested to me by a lady I came across on twitter. This blog was about the
same sentence but the view it offered on it was based on Luke 17:37, where the
verses immediately preceded were spoken by Jesus and read thus: “I tell you, in
that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the
other will be left. Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken
and the other left. Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the
other left.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus’ disciples asked Him, “Where, Lord?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus’ answer was: “Wherever the body is, there the eagles
will be gathered together.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The authoress of this blog made a very interesting point.
According to her, Jesus’ reply had nothing to do with the Rapture. She found
the key to understand it in the days of Noah. People were eating, drinking,
marrying and being given in marriage, up until the day Noah entered the ark. In
Luke 17, “the Flood came and destroyed them all.” In Matthew 24, “the Flood
came and <b>took them all away</b>.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">According to her, Jesus was talking about the same people in
both passages – the wicked people who died in the Flood. In other words, in the
given context the meaning of ‘taken’ was ‘destroyed’. The point she was making
was that at Jesus’ coming, the wicked people would die and vultures would eat
their bodies. The word ‘taken’ did not indicate taken to heaven in Rapture. She
also evoked Revelation 19 and Ezekiel 39 in this context.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Revelation 19:17-18 reads thus:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with
a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come
and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh
of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses
and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both
small and great.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Shruti; mso-bidi-language: GU; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ezekiel 39:4 speaks about the fate of the armies
which will gather together against Israel: “You shall fall upon the mountains
of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will
give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be
devoured.”</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Shruti; mso-bidi-language: GU; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0">https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0</a><br /></span></p>Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-57797290326791007552020-03-21T12:29:00.002-07:002020-03-21T12:29:54.967-07:00A QUERY REGARDING THE TIMING OF THE RAPTURE - II<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hello Annette,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is part of a series
of communication we are having on the timing of the Rapture. Doubtlessly, the
reason you have put forth for your believing in post-tribulation Rapture is
very sound. Nevertheless there are still some loose threads that need to be
tied up. That’s what I think.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One of the loose thread
that I am talking about is found in the Book of Revelation, Chapter 3, verse
10. This is what it says,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Because you have kept My
command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall
come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If I am not mistaken, what
the Spirit says to the Church in Philadelphia concerning the reward which is
awaiting it for fulfilling God’s command has to do with the Great Tribulation
with which the whole earth will be tried. This promise is made especially to
the Church in Philadelphia. No other church is given such a promise. Other
churches have other promises.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My question to you is
this: If the Church in Philadelphia is kept from this hour of trial which shall
come upon the whole world, how is it kept from it? I am very much interested in
learning what you have to say on this topic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Also, I would like to
thank Mirtika for referring ccel.org to me for further study on the teaching of
the early church on the issue under discussion. I have browsed the site and I
find it extremely useful. I would also like to know what you have to say about
the verse that I have quoted above from Revelation 3. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0">https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-90256584892644482032020-03-15T13:57:00.000-07:002020-03-15T13:57:33.215-07:00A QUERY REGARDING THE TIMING OF THE RAPTURE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dear Friend,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On reading your blog
entitled The Carcasses, the Eagles and the Taken, I did get the first real
breakthrough in drawing closer to right understanding about Jesus’ saying to
His disciples: “For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered
together.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Immediately preceding this
verse, we read about one person taken and another left. Just like you I also
have been thinking that the taken are those people whom Jesus will catch up in
mid-air at the time of Rapture. I thought they would be taken to be with Jesus
where He was in the Kingdom of Heaven. By relating it to what happened in Noah’s
time, as described in Luke 17 and Matthew 24, you provided a fresh viewpoint
regarding who the taken were and what was the meaning of being taken.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However, yesterday
morning, while taking bath, all of a sudden, it occurred to me that comparison
of the people who would be taken, according to Luke 17 and Matthew 24, to the
people who were taken by the flood in Noah’s time, opened up my eyes to another
fact which, I think, I should bring to your notice.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Towards the end of your blog
you made this remark: If we don’t see the bodies of the Lord’s enemies being
eaten by birds, it’s not His coming. Now it needs to be made clear, here, what you
mean when you talk about His coming. Do you mean the Rapture or the Second
Coming? The Rapture is surely not His Second Coming; because Jesus does not
literally descend on earth at the time of the Rapture. He appears in heaven and
His people are caught up to Him to be where He is. The Second Coming is the
event during which Jesus literally descends on the earth. And it is at the time
of His Second Coming that the enemies of His will be destroyed and eaten by
vultures. There is a gap between the Rapture and the Second Coming.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At the time of Noah’s
Flood, the people who were ungodly were indeed taken by the Flood, but before
the Flood came, God took Noah and his family out from among them into the Ark.
It is only after the calamity had passed that Noah and his family came out of
the Ark and took possession of the earth. The whole sequence of events related
to Noah’s Flood make us think that just before God pours out His wrath on the
world during the Great Tribulation, He takes His people out of the earth to be
with Him, isn’t it? When Jesus leads His army to fight in the Battle of
Armageddon, it is His Second Coming.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This line of thinking forced
me to rethink over the meaning of “For wherever the carcass is, there the
eagles will be gathered together.” It made me question, “Who Jesus was actually
referring to when He talked about the carcass?” Was He referring to ‘the taken’
of ‘the left’? It seems quite possible the taken were taken to Heaven in
Rapture. And when the Great Tribulation starts after the Rapture, the left, who
are spiritually dead, will be facing the time of God’s wrath. The whole thing
culminates in the event of the Battle of Armageddon, which shows Jesus leading
the army of the saints against the ungodly. In the aftermath of the battle, the
world will see the earth filled with carcasses of those killed by Jesus, and
the vultures feeding on them.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I would like to know what
do you think about it.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0">https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0</a></span></div>
</div>
Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-63539083425096939132020-03-13T05:00:00.001-07:002020-04-20T05:44:11.975-07:00MAN’S RELATIONSHIP WITH SIN AND WOMAN<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sounds a bit strange,
isn’t it? Many consider sin to be an abstract moral principle; whereas woman is
real and exists in her own right. But, I assure my readers that by the time
they reach the end of this study, they would agree with me on points I intend
to deal with here.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Let me tell my readers
that sin also is a spirit (a spirit of harlotry) and exists in his own right. What’s
more, he has a desire toward human beings which does not include men alone but
also women. However, I will rather talk about man’s relationship with sin and
woman for the sake of convenience. I hope my readers won’t mind it.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I would like to begin with
Genesis 4:7 which says,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“If you do well, will you
not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its
desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fonline-marketing%2Fseo-services%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fonline-marketing%2Fseo-services%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1200" height="167" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VluWr17qjSY/XmtytXW26dI/AAAAAAAAARE/V0ZFxFlg3a8ahkPiJxTwLnU0GkKhAldbgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1054SEO_eb6c8955.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This verse is spoken to
Cain by the Lord Himself. When I read “And its desire is for you, but you
should rule over it”, it recalled to my mind the curse that God laid on Eve
after the Fall. This is what God told her in Genesis 3:16:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Your desire shall be for
your husband,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And he shall rule over
you.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This shows how sin relates
to a man. It relates with him in the same way that a woman relates with her
husband. Therefore, when man enters into relationship with him, he becomes one
with sin, and the whole relationship develops into a ‘dark’ spiritual family and
the dark spiritual family is part of a ‘dark’ society which already exists. Sin
belongs to it.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It needs to be understood
that every relationship involves a pact – it is bound by a pact. Those who
enter into relationship must commit themselves to this pact. Therefore, a
sinner is committed to a pact and abides by the rules and regulations which
govern this pact in the ‘dark’ spiritual world. Similarly, those who enter into
relationship with Jesus, abide by the conditions of the pact that binds
relationship in the divine realm.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the beginning this similarity
between the curse that God put on Eve regarding the kind of relationship she
was to have with Adam and the instruction He gave to Cain regarding the
attitude he was to have toward sin, literally confused me. I just didn’t know
about what to make of it. All I had was a vague feeling about the kind of relationship
that a man could have with sin and woman.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Upon pondering for sometime
over it, I realized that there were two kinds of relationship a man could have
with a woman: 1. Husband and wife and 2. Man and whore. When a man becomes one
with any woman who is not his wife, he enters into a relationship with a
harlot. It is a man-harlot relationship.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is a reason why when
Paul talked about a husband-wife relationship, he could not but relate it to
Christ’s relationship with the Church. The relation that Jesus has with His
Church provides the model on which the husband-wife relationship is based. The
second type of relationship is the illicit one and is modeled on the
relationship between a sinner and sin. While the former is based on
self-sacrifice, the latter on self-indulgence. One way leads in one direction,
the other in diametrically opposite direction.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fwriting-translation%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fwriting-translation%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="336" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aGO2a4RgGOo/Xmtzh1p1a7I/AAAAAAAAARM/N_6931ciyyQl3Krghtqrj5wsRuHoFPHZQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/356Content336x280_98356b2b.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When the woman is asked to
live in submission to her husband and the man to rule over her, it needs to be
understood what is meant by submission and subjection. Nobody can define it
better than Jesus Himself. This is how He defines it in Matthew 20:25-28:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“You know that the rulers
of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority
over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become
great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among
you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served,
but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus ruled by sacrificing
Himself on the cross for His bride, the Church, which is the Body of Christ. In
order to save His Body, Christ sacrificed His will, which would have led Him
away from the cross had He chosen to be driven by it and not by His Father’s
will. Had He walked away from the cross, we, the Church, His Body, would have
perished beyond any possibility of reclamation. Therefore, He chose to subject
His will to God’s (the Father’s) will, and went on to sacrifice Himself on the
cross.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the light of what Jesus
did for His Body, what St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:16-18 becomes quite
clear. This is what he says: “Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does
is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own
body.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the same chapter in
verses 16-17, he says, “Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is
one body with her? For ‘the two,’ He says, ‘shall become one flesh.’ But he who
is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is clear that the two
relationships yield different results. The husband-wife relationship tends to
produce this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Nevertheless she will be saved
in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with
self-control.” (1 Timothy 2:15)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This simply means that
even childbearing will not save her if they do not continue in faith, love and
holiness, with self-control. Self-control demands self-sacrifice. We cannot
control our ‘self’ without sacrificing it. The significance of her being saved
in childbearing can be known from the salvation of the Body of Christ.
Salvation, then, is the end-result. It’s out and out spiritual; therefore it is
eternal, holy and real. 1 Corinthians 6:17 says,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“But he who is joined to
the Lord is one spirit with Him.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The physical relationship
unites flesh and produces sin. It is out and out physical; therefore it is
mortal, unholy and false. Consider the following verses from James 1:14-15:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fprogramming-tech%2Fmobile-app-services%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fprogramming-tech%2Fmobile-app-services%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1200" height="167" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YeOhAPcKbeg/Xmtz_vo5GmI/AAAAAAAAARY/kw-PUJ4MJvYv8knNT1LbNUOyOHv2QqSSgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/2436App2_8eaea694.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“But each one is tempted
when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has
conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth
death.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Please note that the
desires that James is talking about here are not the desires of a person who
faces temptation. He is talking about the desires of sin that, as St. Paul
states in Romans 7, dwells in our body. This is very important to understand.
Let me quote it here:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“For I know that in me
(that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but
<i>how</i> to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will <i>to
do</i>, I do not do; but the evil I will not <i>to do</i>, that I practice. Now
if I do what I will not <i>to do</i>, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that
dwells in me.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The reason why this
happens is given in verse 8:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“But sin, taking
opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all <i>manner of evil</i>
desire.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Therefore our being driven
by our desires is actually our being driven by the desires of sin. Our allowing
ourselves to be led by our desires to do evil, is intercourse with sin whereby
we become one entity, and that entity is sin. We <i>do</i> become sin by
committing sin! It leads to the process of conception and childbearing.
Childbearing in this process does not mean beginning of life; rather it marks the
end of life.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is important to
understand how life and death are defined in two different realms which are
opposed to each other. Sin was dead apart from the Law (Commandments). See
Romans 7:8. When the Law came, sin revived. It is this revival of sin that was
called the birth of sin. I repeat for good measure that the sin which is being
birthed is our ‘self’ plus sin. It is we in relation to sin and sin in relation
to us. This relationship unites us into one entity that now we know is sin.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The next stage in the
development of this relationship is attaining to maturity by sin. When sin
attains to maturity, it brings forth <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">death</span>. The process of sin attaining to maturity could be defined
in the same way that Adam was led by Eve to see, touch and eat the fruit of the
Tree of Knowledge which was forbidden by God.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Once becoming sin, it is
necessary for us to die. It is the logical end of our relationship with sin. Do
we now see how difficult it was for us to be saved? It required none other than
God to save us from our hopeless condition.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And just consider what a
marvelous solution He came up with in order to accomplish it! It was
inconceivable for any human being right from Adam! It is one of God’s greatest
divine mysteries which stand revealed to us in the person of Jesus. I believe
this is something that nobody else can help us understand better except St.
Paul. And this is what he has to say in Romans 8:3-4:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“For what the law could
not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God <i>did</i> by sending His own
Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the
flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who
do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">God sent Jesus in the
likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin, not on account of the sinful man! Do
we now understand what it meant for Jesus to come into the world in the
likeness of sinful flesh? Surely, we cannot understand this without St. Paul
who wrote thus in 2 Corinthians 5:21:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“For He made Him who knew
no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fprogramming-tech%2Fwordpress-services%3Fsource%3Dside-menu" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fprogramming-tech%2Fwordpress-services%3Fsource%3Dside-menu" border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="336" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o81qM72kJ-s/Xmt0kY6BC9I/AAAAAAAAARg/AdPABIVWRPUPWvzuqKxokKX6XNtfbPreQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/3925affiliatesbannersWordPress336x280_1bb05da7.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This verse from 2
Corinthians 5 has dodged the understanding of many a biblical scholars. I came
across one pastor who quoted this verse to me. At that time I didn’t know its
meaning but I did want to know about it. So I asked him, “Pastor, would you
please help me understand this verse? How could Jesus, who was Good because He
was God, become sin? Can evil ever become good, and good become evil? And if evil
can never become good, it can never be saved. It is bound to end up in Hell.
Sin can have no place in Heaven. And if that is the case, then we are left with
only one explanation for this verse that a part of Jesus’ existence was lost
forever! That’s terrible conclusion to reach! Because Bible clearly informs us
about the fact that Jesus was resurrected Mind, Body and Spirit. No aspect of
His existence was lost forever. And that’s the truth.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That pastor had no answer
to my question. He himself didn’t know how Jesus could become sin. I praise the
Lord that He opened my eyes in due time to understand this divine mystery. I
could see that Jesus never committed sin to the extent that He fully fulfilled the
entire Law. Therefore, though in the likeness of sinful flesh, He remained
above sin and lived in accordance to the Law of the Spirit. Sin could never
rule Him.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He registered a decisive victory
by condemning sin in His flesh on the cross. That’s how sin died. And that’s
how we died; because we were sin. The likeness of the sinful flesh, that is,
sin, was destroyed on the cross and along with it we also died. It was the
likeness, the image, of sinful flesh that was destroyed. The likeness or the
image and flesh are two different things.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It was in the likeness or
the image that sin resided, not in the flesh. When Jesus’ body was destroyed on
the cross, it was actually the image (of sin) that was destroyed. That is the
reason why Jesus’ body did not perish in the grave but was rather glorified in
the resurrection. Christ’s resurrected body represents the divine image that He
restored to us.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When we saw sin, we came
to know sin. When we came to know sin, we came to know what sin was like. When
we came to know what sin was like, we changed into its likeness or its image.
Similarly, when we, who are saved through faith in Jesus, shall see Him next
time, we shall see Him as He is. We shall see what Jesus is like. When we shall
see what He is like, we shall change into His likeness or His image and become
like Him. Isn’t it great?<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The sinful flesh did not
affect Jesus’ deity in any way since He never became one with sin but remained
united with the Father by strictly abiding by His (Father’s) will. This saved His
flesh from seeing corruption in death. That’s how He destroyed sin on the cross
and death in the grave. He totally annihilated the Kingdom of Satan with His
resurrection. Hallelujah!<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So the point is, Jesus
became sin in a specific sense. His divine character remained intact at all
times. Therein, essentially, lies our hope. Because His righteousness became
our righteousness. It is because of being made right with God in this way that we
became united with God. In this oneness with God lies the salvation of our
mind, body and spirit. I would like to part with my readers with one last word:
Consider the <i>oneness</i> with God!<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0">https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0</a></span></div>
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Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-68450375293208846602020-03-07T04:20:00.000-08:002020-04-20T06:09:24.066-07:00COULD RAPTURE BE PARTIAL<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Rapture could be partial!
Not all the believers might be taken out of this world at the time our Lord
appears in heaven to gather in the harvest which would be ready at the End of
the Age. I have nothing to assert here. I am writing this post to put forth a
possibility. Consider this…<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I had already dealt with<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Whether
Rapture is a pre-tribulation or mid-tribulation or post-tribulation event and<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Whether
all the believers will be caught in mid-heaven when it happens<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fvideo-animation%2Fvideo-editing%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fvideo-animation%2Fvideo-editing%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="250" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lA47OHO0tZU/XmONjLox7tI/AAAAAAAAAQY/J1ntzGh-C0Erw6MAKsqmjeNJsVtFSSinQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/2651Videoeditingbanners250x250_33837d2a.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">in my book, SYRIA, IRAQ,
ISIS, ISRAEL & BIBLICAL PROPHECIES. I had given my reasons for why I thought
that Rapture could be partial in which most of the harvest could be gathered
before the Great Tribulation would start while the remaining harvest could be
gathered in the middle of the Tribulation. But recently, while I was working on
another blog post entitled INTERTEXTUALITY IN THE BIBLE – II, I happened to
come across what might be another evidence to support this possibility.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I was going through the
details regarding the three annual feasts for which God had demanded of Israel
that they must gather in Jerusalem each year to observe them. That the Passover
had to do with Jesus, I knew very well. But I didn’t know about the
significance of the other two feasts. It was only during the time I was working
on the above-mentioned blog that I returned to study them. It provided me with wonderful
insight into the importance of these feasts and I would like to share it with
my readers.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Of these two annual feasts,
the Feast of Firstfruits indicates the Resurrection of Jesus, and the Feast of
Ingathering or the Feast of Tabernacles probably indicates the event that we know
as Rapture. The latter is the last major feast according to the Hebrew
calendar. It celebrates the last harvest which takes place at the end of the
year. It is the end-of-the-year event. It reminds us of two things:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Even
in the wilderness, God did not let His people go without shelter and<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our
existence in this world is temporary.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We are moving toward our
ultimate destination, that is, the Kingdom of Heaven. Ingathering suggests
gathering of the people of the Kingdom at the end of the age. The one very
interesting detail I alluded to earlier regarding implication of Ingathering
for Rapture appears in Leviticus 23:22:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“When you reap the harvest
of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you
reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them
for the poor and for the stranger: I <i>am</i> the Lord your God.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fsearch%2Fgigs%3Fquery%3Dvfx%2520artist%26pos%3D7%26context%3Drecommendation%26context_alg%3Drelated_search_terms%26source%3Drelated_search_terms" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fsearch%2Fgigs%3Fquery%3Dvfx%2520artist%26pos%3D7%26context%3Drecommendation%26context_alg%3Drelated_search_terms%26source%3Drelated_search_terms" border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L2oNx7Plp0c/XmOOl8dtp3I/AAAAAAAAAQg/8V7FF7u4wZ4l7d1kQV-495WbSpBp_sC1ACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/5454Visualeffectsbanners768x1024_4d19772f.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is very much possible
that this verse gives us a reason why at the time of Rapture, some believers
might be left behind. It seems to suggest that they are left behind for the
sake of the <i>spiritually</i> poor who would be living on the earth at that
time; so that these believers might guide them into the path of truth. They
will be the source of spiritual sustenance for the poor and the stranger during
the period of Great Tribulation.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Daniel 11:32-35 probably
refers to these believers who are called part of the harvest which is growing
in the corners of the field in Exodus 23:22. They are the corners of a field
which is not to be reaped, and they are also called the gleanings left for the
poor and the stranger. I would like to quote these verses from Daniel 11. Here:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Those who do wickedly
against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know
their God shall be strong, and carry out <i>great exploits</i>. And those of
the people who understand shall instruct many; yet <i>for many</i> days they
shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering. Now when they fall,
they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by
intrigue. And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify
them, and make <i>them</i> white, <i>until</i> the time of the end; because <i>it
is</i> still for the appointed time.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the verses quoted
above, he that shall corrupt with flattery those who do wickedly against the
covenant is the Antichrist. And, the people who know their God, the people who
understand, are the faithful who will be left behind for the sake of the <i>spiritually</i>
poor and strangers.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fpro%3Fsource%3Dtop_nav" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fpro%3Fsource%3Dtop_nav" border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="480" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aEmSC78Z7-4/XmOPxRRMsJI/AAAAAAAAAQo/v3ea9CBkZvI3RXefzaC7d7vszIty12AWwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/485PRObannerscomputer2019480x320_c0b64d19.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There was time I thought only
those would be left behind who wouldn’t have the Spirit of God, like the five foolish
virgins of the parable in Matthew 25, who went out to meet the bridegroom with
lamp but without oil. I thought the same about the one who would be left behind
in the following verses from Matthew 24: Then two men will be in the field: one
will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one
will be taken and the other left.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But after considering in
depth the facts given in the Bible regarding the people who would be taken and
the people who would be left behind at the time of Rapture, I seriously began
to think that I might be erring in measuring all the left behind people by the
same rod.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now I have come to the
conclusion that if Rapture is partial, then it is very much possible that the
first harvest would take place right before the Great Tribulation starts, and
the last harvest in the middle of the Tribulation. I also believe that the
people who will not be gathered at the time of the first harvest will not all
consist of the people whose lamps will run out of oil. Rather they will also
include the people who will be so strong in their faith and deeds that they
would be able to weather the worst of times in human history and yet remain
loyal to their God. For that very reason God will let them remain on earth
during this time. Not only they will remain loyal to their God, they will also be
able to lead many to Him with their wisdom and understanding and steadfastness,
thereby save them from utter destruction.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0">https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0</a></span></div>
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Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-490528864142741732020-03-06T11:09:00.002-08:002020-04-20T06:22:14.933-07:00INTERTEXTUALITY IN THE BIBLE – II<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">God’s thoughts, His will,
His purposes, His plans…We cannot understand they are too great for the humans
to comprehend as long as we don’t first understand few of the countless things
that He has said or done. And the little that we understand will suffice to help
us know that He is God, Amen.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This blog post deals with
the miracle that Jesus performed at the pool of Bethesda. The first time I
realized that there was more in this miracle than met the eye was when I heard
Jesus telling the man, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse
thing come upon you.” I couldn’t but ask myself this question: This person was
totally invalid for 38 years and was not capable of even dragging himself into
the water of the pool when the angel stirred it. He was utterly incapable of
taking any physical action. Then how could he commit sin? Whatever sin he was
capable of committing was on mental plane which should not be deemed so serious
that the man who committed it deserved to be punished for 38 years with such a
disease!” One thought led me to another and soon I began to see the layers of
meaning that were hidden in the brief description of the event.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Let me begin by putting
the questions in the order in which they cropped up in my mind:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Why
it was that when the angel stirred the water of the pool, the very first sick
person who got into it would get healed? What was there in the angel’s stirring
the water? What did it mean?<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Why
only the first person to get down into the water would get healed? So many
people, like the person whom Jesus healed there, must be desperately seeking
cure of their diseases!<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Why
Jesus warned the invalid man not to commit sin anymore lest worst thing might
happen to him?<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What
sin he could commit in the given situation?<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I tried to find out
answers to these questions but got no real breakthrough. As usual, I prayed to
God to give me His wisdom, knowledge and understanding, and also sought help
from the Holy Spirit. After that I read the whole episode over again and the
very first thing that I noticed was that it was the time when people had
gathered to Jerusalem to celebrate some feast.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Also, it occurred to me to
learn the meaning of the name ‘Bethesda’.<b> </b>Straightaway I googled to
learn its meaning and learned that it was the ‘House of Grace’ or ‘House of
Mercy’, and that it was located near the Sheep Gate through which the
sacrificial lamb were brought into the Temple for sacrifice. That was the point
that clues to grasp the whole meaning of this miracle began to come to my notice
one after another.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fwriting-translation%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fwriting-translation%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="336" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GuX6yEHOSsI/XmJt8T7tBsI/AAAAAAAAAPY/CjeVUaQlKVwLmn4dKTllSaBBW8ccYIYOgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/356Content336x280_98356b2b.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At once I realized that
Jesus’ coming to the House of Grace was not a coincidence but fulfillment of
the divine promise, and that the angel’s stirring of the water of the pool
referred to the time of the Grace of God.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I also realized that the Feast
which Jesus and others had gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate might also have
bearing on this miracle. I guessed it was the Feast of Passover but thought it
better and safe not to depend upon assumption. So, I turned to study those
Feasts. I would return to discuss my find from this study; but before that I
would like to briefly tell you first about another interesting detail that the
‘House of Grace’ helped me understand. It was the sin that this man was
committing.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As I was thinking about it,
a very valid question arose in my mind which up till now had evaded me: Why in all
the years that he was lying down in the porch of Bethesda he couldn’t find even
one chance to get into the pool? This question opened my eyes to the
possibility that he wasn’t actually ready to receive healing in the way that
others around him were. When Jesus came to him and asked him whether he wanted
to get healed, the question He posed before him was quite revealing. We may
ask, “What kind of question is this? Who wouldn’t like to be rid of one’s
sickness? Who’d want to remain sick for so long?” But Jesus knew the man and
therefore the question He asked him was quite relevant.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We have the evidence of
the peculiar mindset of this person. When Jesus asked him whether he would like
to be healed, it was not the time the water was stirred but it <i>was indeed</i>
the time that Grace had visited him in the House of Grace. And just look at him!
He didn’t look at Jesus and respond to His question. Rather he indirectly told
Jesus he was looking forward to the waters of Bethesda for healing, and he
couldn’t receive it for the reason already given.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By this he made it amply
clear that when Jesus came to him, he didn’t look up to Jesus; similarly, when
the angel stirred the water of the pool, he wasn’t ready for that. For such a
long time, he kept on missing the point. That was his sin. The stirring of water
symbolizes the Grace of God. His mistake was the same as that of the city of
Jerusalem to whom Jesus said this in Luke 19:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“If you had known, even
you, especially in this your day, the things that <i>make for</i> your peace!”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fvideo-animation%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fvideo-animation%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z-hpltamnH4/XmJu7F19i8I/AAAAAAAAAPk/kBA8XcKpphwb6BnZ-TX9Pmaj0KT7T6NxgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/2826onlinevideo169_3afae077.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It was his day!…His day
for receiving the thing that would make for his peace! And he failed to grasp
it. He failed to look up to Jesus who brought to him in His person the Grace of
God. Isaiah 55:6 says,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Seek
the Lord while He may be found,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Call
upon Him while He is near.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This man failed to comprehend
the promise contained in Bethesda was fulfilled in Jesus who was standing right
in front of him. Jesus had come to him for a specific purpose which was stated
thus in Isaiah 55, and which also had to do with that man:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“For
as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And
do not return there,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But
water the earth,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And
make it bring forth and bud,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That
it may give seed to the sower<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And
bread to the eater,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So
shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It
shall not return to Me void,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But
it shall accomplish what I please,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And
it shall prosper <i>in the thing</i> for which I sent it.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As it is, man’s ignorance
cannot render God’s plan futile. Jesus was the Word of God who was sent into
the world to prosper <i>in the thing</i> for which He was sent. While that
infirm man was looking up to the promise that Bethesda signposted, Jesus
fulfilled it by healing him from his infirmity.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Nevertheless He warned him
not to remain in sin lest worst thing might happen to him. I could not have
understood the meaning of Jesus’ warning had my focus not shifted from the
physical condition of that man to the spiritual. It suggested that he could not
but know that God’s grace did not come cheap. That, exactly, was the reason why
only the first person to get down into the pool was healed. That is the reason
why Jacob strove so hard with God for his blessing. He knew the importance of
God’s blessing. Esau slighted his right as the firstborn, which included
Isaac’s blessing which ultimately was to come from God, counting it worth no
more than one-off serving of a stew.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fprogramming-tech%2Fmobile-app-services%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fprogramming-tech%2Fmobile-app-services%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1200" height="167" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-REJz08Pldqo/XmJvzBA9yTI/AAAAAAAAAPs/Qrwyc1Dvn7oIrRf7wqSPmNiomkRpAeI4wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/2436App2_8eaea694.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Returning to the
particular timing of this miracle that Jesus performed at Bethesda, it is
important that we know it; because it reveals to us another layer of meaning
that it contains. Having gone through the entire Gospel according to St. John,
I learned that the feast for which Jesus and Israel had gathered in Jerusalem
to observe was either the Feast of the Firstfruits or the Feast of Ingathering,
which is also called the Feast of Tabernacles. There are reasons why I believe
it was the Feast of the Firstfruits. Here are they:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Moving backward from this
particular feast mentioned in John 5, I started looking for the feast which
immediately preceded it. My search led me first to John 4:45 which referred to
a feast Jesus attended in Jerusalem. But it did not clearly name that feast. So
I kept tracing my way back through John 3 to John 2 where I read about the
miracle Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. According to John 2:11, it was the
first miracle with which Jesus began His ministry. From there I saw Him moving
to Capernaum where He did not stay for many days. His next destination was
Jerusalem because, it is stated there, the Passover was near. This was the
first of the three Passovers that Jesus observed in Jerusalem during His
approximately 3-year long ministry. And, it was during this Passover that He
performed many miracles.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Therefore, it stands to
logic that John 4:45 talks about the Feast of Passover that is mentioned in
John 2. This makes it clear that the feast during which the miracle of Bethesda
took place was surely not the Feast of Passover. It, therefore, stands to logic
that the feast mentioned in John 5 is either the Feast of the Firstfruits or
the Feast of the Ingathering. In order to ascertain whether it was the Feast of
the Firstfruits or the Feast of the Ingathering, we must of necessity turn back
to John 4.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is very much possible
that John 4:35-38 fits in the context of the Feast of the Firstfruits. It says,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Do you not say, ‘There
are still four months and <i>then</i> comes the harvest?’ Behold, I say to you,
lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for
harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life,
that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These verses work on two
levels, one physical and another spiritual. On physical level, Jesus indicated
the first seasonal harvest which was approaching in the next four months; on
spiritual level He was indicating the fact that the world was now ready to
receive Him and be saved to eternal life. If we draw upon the physical level,
it brings us to the month of Av, the fourth month according to the Hebrew
calendar. It is the month in which the Feast of the Firstfruits is celebrated
in Jerusalem.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fgraphics-design%2Fportraits-and-caricatures%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fgraphics-design%2Fportraits-and-caricatures%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1200" height="167" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YbTkQ8ec6kw/XmJxSPsqRoI/AAAAAAAAAP4/BL6kAV5NmLgWAAzRf4i6LGRpNNpRmI4sgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1831cartoon5_c810f749.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, we may safely conclude
from these references to the harvest festival that it was the Feast of
Firstfruits during which Jesus healed the man at Bethesda. And if it was
exactly this feast during which Jesus healed him, then it makes clear the
meaning of why only the first person to get down into the pool of Bethesda got
healed.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Feast of Firstfruits
indicated Jesus’ resurrection, the event which showed Jesus to be the
Firstfruits of all who were dead. In Him was fulfilled the promise of
resurrection of all who were already dead and all who would die after Him.
Getting healed from a disease was a physical manifestation of forgiveness of
sin, a spiritual sickness that brought salvation to the sinners of the world.
Getting down into the pool may be indicative of baptism into Christ’s death.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Christ’s healing the
invalid man and afterwards asking him not to commit sin perfectly fits with
what St. Paul has to say in Romans 6:3-4:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“What shall we say then?
Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who
died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as
were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were
buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from
the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of
life.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus’ warning that man
against committing sin also has to do with what He has to say in John 5:26-27:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“For as the Father has
life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has
given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus’ telling him worse
thing might happen to him unless he stops sinning shows Him in the position of
the Judge. The authority to judge was given to Him by God the Father just as He
received the authority to have life in Himself from Him, and He underlined this
fact by His warning.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally, we cannot close
this discussion without dealing with the angel who stirred the water of the
pool of Bethesda. The water of this pool did not have curative properties at
all times. Only when the angel would stir its water did it acquire them. Upon
closely reading this episode from John 5 with Exodus 23:25-26, the connection
between the angel of John 5:4, the Angel of Exodus 23 and Jesus becomes clear.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Please note that Exodus 23
also deals with the three annual Feasts in detail. And immediately after
dealing with them appears God’s instructions to Moses concerning how he and
Israel were to treat an Angel that He would send to them. Interestingly, there
are promises attached to following God’s instructions regarding this Angel.
This is so very significant that I must quote Exodus 23:20-23:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Behold, I send <b>an
Angel</b> before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place
which I have prepared. <b>Beware of Him</b> and <b>obey His voice</b>; <b>do
not provoke Him</b>, <b>for He will not pardon your transgressions</b>; <b>for
My name is in Him</b>. But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I
speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your
adversaries. For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites
and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the
Jebusites; and I will cut them off.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If Israel would follow
God’s instructions without fail, this is what God promised to them: “So you
shall serve the Lord your God, and <b>He will bless</b> your bread and <b>your
water</b>. <b>And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.</b> No one
shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number
of your days.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fvideo-animation%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fvideo-animation%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q1T3iM4l9eY/XmKe4mor_0I/AAAAAAAAAQE/HVTSg6_djVAd-DiI2ZOJNlKTGHQZpVr4ACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/5258Whiteboardbanners1024x768_a6587c05.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have emboldened the
phrases and sentences in the passages quoted above in order to draw your
attention to their implications. God had put His name in this Angel. Now,
whoever is there in whom God has put His name if it is not Jesus, His Son? And
He is given the authority to judge them. Judge cannot pardon transgressions.
Therefore, Jesus will not pardon transgressions when He sits in the seat of a
Judge.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Another thing, God
explicitly says that if Israel would serve ‘the Lord your God’ in the way that
He demanded of them, He would bless their bread and their water. <b>And He will
also take away sickness from the midst of them.</b> This exactly is what Jesus
does at the pool of Bethesda.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We have a fair reason to
believe that the angel who stirred the water of the pool was no other than
Jesus Himself, and at this time Jesus changed the pattern of healing at the
pool of Bethesda. He Himself directly chose the firstfruit from among the sick
who were there! In the form of healing Jesus restored life to that man through
His grace. Now if he would continue in sin, it would tantamount to disregard
for God’s grace, the sin that would inevitably entail His judgment. It would
expose him to something worse than what he had already endured. It may mean
either death or damnation of spirit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, this is what exactly happened
at Bethesda: Jesus came as the One who held the right from God the Father to
have life in Himself; and when He left the scene, He left it as the One who
held the right from God the Father to judge and to punish. The miracles He
performed weren’t just miracles; they were also signs which we cannot afford to
overlook.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0">https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0</a></span></div>
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Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-62476414018322178542020-02-20T11:48:00.001-08:002020-04-20T06:29:11.248-07:00THE CLASH OF OPPOSED WILLS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fonline-marketing%2Fseo-services%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fonline-marketing%2Fseo-services%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1200" height="167" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hG2rLvYNjnw/Xk7fbJ61jmI/AAAAAAAAAOo/Ni9ToUESijg7QtRW79GYaFrWCx0ZXt7ZwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1054SEO_eb6c8955.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The basic difference
between Jesus and people around Him was that Jesus was out to fulfill the will
of God the Father whereas the people around Him sought their own will. He
proved that He was the Son of God by subjecting Himself to His Father’s will
and setting His will on learning obedience to His Father through His sufferings.
In this He was led by the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of God. Jesus also called
Him the Spirit of Truth. Because He was driven by the Spirit of Truth, He meant
what He said, and His actions never contradicted His speech.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the other hand, the
people who opposed Him were driven by the spirit of the world. Ephesians 2:1-3
says this about it:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“And you He made alive,
who were dead in trespasses and sins, <b>in which you once walked according to
the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience</b>, among whom also we all
once <b>conducted</b> ourselves <b>in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the
desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath</b>,
just as the others.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fprogramming-tech%2Fmobile-app-services%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fprogramming-tech%2Fmobile-app-services%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1200" height="167" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AAUf7adKeNw/Xk7gMJPSb9I/AAAAAAAAAOw/J-bAQeg2gdE0xI83YY2F5-28Bx1jpT9WACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/2436App2_8eaea694.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This spirit made them sons
of disobedience. When he works in them, they invariably end up serving their
‘self’ through lusts of flesh, and desires of the flesh and mind. Bible calls
these desires evil. Because they center in their self, it renders them
absolutely limited in scope. Because their very ‘self’ is limited. In the light
of Jesus’ presence, they felt being exposed. They knew their reality so well
that in order to justify themselves and what they were doing, they took
recourse to false light, that is, hypocrisy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I would like to draw your
attention to the path they follow, led by their hypocrisy:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They
wanted to eat Passover, but they just ate it without believing in the Passover!
They had a form of godliness but denied its power.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They
said that according to the Law, Jesus must die. Ironically, according to the
Law, Jesus must indeed die! But they said that He must die according to the Law
because He was a sinner. The truth was that He had to die according to and in
fulfillment of the Law; because He was the Paschal Lamb which must be
sacrificed to redeem the nation of Israel and set her apart from the world (the
Egyptians). The Passover was a sign/promise of Jesus’ coming as the Passover
Sacrifice, and in Him the Passover was fulfilled with finality. He perfected
the Passover. By calling Him a sinner, they had insulted Passover which they
said they believed in and honored by making themselves holy so that they might
eat it. Actually, they were defiling themselves before taking Passover. It was
their way of hurting Passover.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They
called Him King of the Jews just to mock Him. Their king was Caesar.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They
did not want to consider Jesus as their king; therefore they called Caesar to
be their king.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They
knew that He was righteous; therefore they punished Him.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They
said, according to the Law, Jesus must die because He claimed to be the Son of
God. But in the Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 1, it is written: “You are the
children of the Lord your God.” Thus, they falsified the Law by which they tried
to condemn Jesus who was indeed the Son of God.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They,
by punishing Jesus for calling Himself the Son of God, and by evoking the Law
in doing so, declared that they were not the children of God. That was the
reason why they actually worked against the Law through their actions.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They
blackmailed Pilate by saying that if he would let Jesus go unpunished, he would
prove that he was not a friend of Caesar. In other words, they said that he
must prove himself to be Caesar’s friend. The same people were actually not
friends of Caesar. Therefore, they asked Pilate to free Barabbas instead of
Jesus. They <i>became</i> Caesar’s friend just because their enmity towards
Jesus was greater than that which they bore against Caesar. In forcing Pilate
to prove that he was a friend of Caesar, they made him an enemy of the One who
they knew was God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They did and did not mean
anything; they did and did not accomplish anything. It was Jesus who
accomplished all that He did. Hallelujah. Therefore, only what He did is
established forever; what His opponents did was destroyed along with them.
There is wisdom in being part of God’s plan. That’s the whole point. It
requires obedience to God.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0">https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0</a></span></div>
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Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-91105136129940374302020-02-18T03:56:00.002-08:002020-04-20T06:35:41.496-07:00THERE IS NO OTHER WAY OUT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We must lead a holy life<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dear Friends,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Today I come to you not as
a preacher or a biblical scholar; rather I come as a warrior who is defeated in
battle. My defeat has opened my eyes to see few facts regarding spiritual life which
I would like to share with you.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><o:p></o:p></b></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Very often in my life I
managed to attain to a spiritual status which made me indulge in
self-complacency. And it has been my experience that on such occasions I would consistently
fall into temptation, and that too so easily that after being overcome by it I
could not help wondering how terribly weak and miserable a being I was.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I spend considerable time
in reading Bible, praising God and doing prayers. I frequently observe fast.
But, nothing really helped me overcome temptations. It is truly frustrating. At
times my defeats literally make me a pessimist, bending me to view myself as a
confirmed failure and a good for nothing.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fwriting-translation%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fwriting-translation%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="336" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YtE2XBPVspY/XkvOwg3jZdI/AAAAAAAAAOA/py0TLqUrU9oxehTfQkhhjQG672kauvbdgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/356Content336x280_98356b2b.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The last time I lost my
battle, I underwent a lot of mental conflict as usual. And one thing I realized
was that it was easier to kill a Goliath than to stop oneself from sleeping
with a Bethsheba. King David loved God enough not to care for his life when he
challenged Goliath who insulted Him. But when it came to overcoming his lust upon
watching Bethsheba bathing, he failed. Not only he did not stop at violating
her chastity, he even went on to murder her husband who remained loyal to him
till the end.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There was time I used to
consider myself a better person than David. I was not mature enough then. It is
only after repeated failures in my spiritual life that my vision got clear
enough to enable me to see myself as I was. Of course, it did not help me
better myself. On the contrary, for such a long time I continued to lose my battles
that very often I thought of giving up my profession as a warrior and retire
myself to lead a civilian life. By civilian life I mean a life that is
confirmed to the ways of the world which lead people away from God. It makes
them friends with the world, and the Scripture says that friendship with the
world is enmity with God. That’s what it is.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But having once known the
truth and walked a long way in its light, it became impossible for me to
confirm to the ways of the world. So I tried to stick to the Way and the Truth
and the Life and kept on failing…consistently. I kept on doing what I did not
want to and did not do what I wanted to. I agreed with St. Paul when he said,
“O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”
Unfortunately, my agreement with St. Paul did not make me the man that he was. I
could not go beyond the ‘wretched man’ situation to be able to say,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“For to me, to live is
Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:12)<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, for a long time I
wondered how the solution he found in Jesus and in the Spirit of God worked
itself out so well in his life. I too believed in Jesus and accepted Him as my
personal Savior. I also received the Spirit of God as the guarantee of all the
promises that I found in Him. Yet I kept on committing sin! How?<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fmusic-audio%2Fvoice-overs%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fmusic-audio%2Fvoice-overs%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wu9-W4vwkGk/XkvPeXTSKGI/AAAAAAAAAOI/aoC6_5rcb6cB1WdQhH-y27OACQqD5TGEQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/925VO11_544ce9cd.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I did not find answer to
this question till I lived out more than half of my life. Then, all of a
sudden, one day I realized that all my life I saw only Jesus hanging on the
cross on my behalf, and thanked Him out of my heart of hearts for that. I
thought that if He had not taken upon Himself my sins and suffered for them on
the cross, I myself would have to die on the cross. It was the last thing I
desired.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I loved myself so much
that I never saw myself actually hanging there on the cross with Jesus! I did
not want to see myself hanging there even in my imagination!...Even after hearing
Jesus umpteen times say in Matthew 10: “And he who does not take his cross and
follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he
who loses his life for My sake will find it.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I never thought that there
was any need to be worthy of Him! I thought what He did for me sufficed to make
me worthy of Him! In other words, I never truly understood what actually He did
for me! How very strange and surprising, isn’t it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It rendered my faith as
good as dead! It could not lead me to bow down on my knees and say to God,
“…not my will, but Yours, be done.” I could not exercise my free will to
subject it to God’s will. Therefore, the Spirit of God could not help me in spite
of His willingness. How could He help me against my will?<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fvideo-animation%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fvideo-animation%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tl_ICSP4ofY/XkvQGPENIUI/AAAAAAAAAOU/XhVUdBzwSuIb5TsC2NA20_-rFMHco0e1QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/2826onlinevideo169_3afae077.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Only when we are ready to
do God’s will in our life, our belief in Christ’s supreme deed on cross is
confirmed. And only when we believe in Jesus in this way, the Spirit of God can
step into our life and fulfill all the promises that we have in Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Speaking from the point of
view of the present discourse, the Spirit of God takes us out of the order of
the body of sin and subjects us to the order of the spirit. Once in the order
of the spirit, the order of the body of sin has no hold over us. Then, and then
only, we are able to lead a holy life. There is no other way out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We must lead a holy life;
for that is the purpose why we are called.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is the greatest
challenge that we, as believers, can face in this world. And we can never meet
it adequately unless we receive help from the Holy Spirit. We can never receive
help from Him unless we seek it from Him. If King David wants to enjoy
Bathsheba’s beauty even though it is sinful, he will not seek the Holy Spirit
to help him overcome his lust. In that case, He will stand by and let him have his
will at his expense.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In this case, faith can
never reach its logical end. Therefore, if we truly believe in Jesus, we should
not mind denying ourselves. It is the way of life. It makes us worthy of Him,
and of all the benefits of the faith that we put in Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0">https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0</a></span></div>
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Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-76906836709816007492020-02-09T11:03:00.003-08:002020-04-20T06:41:06.196-07:00HOW GREAT A PRICE PEOPLE ARE READY TO PAY IN ORDER TO REJECT JESUS!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My little attempts to do
missionary work in my area gave me insight into religious attitude of many
people. The moment I talk about Jesus to them, they become defensive.
Straightaway they suspect me of attempting to convert them to Christianity.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, they take stance
against Jesus, I would not say against me because I do not preach myself. It
did not take long before I realized that they weren’t quite religious, and were
not so much driven by their faith in their religion as by their vain egotism.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fgraphics-design%2Fportraits-and-caricatures%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fgraphics-design%2Fportraits-and-caricatures%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1200" height="167" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BLweA7VS1nU/XkBVTX004xI/AAAAAAAAANg/migmUtniqOgIucexX_1Mq4rebPNyEB_NwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1831cartoon5_c810f749.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When they say ‘My
religion’, it is not the religion on which they put stress; rather it is the
word ‘My’ that is important. I follow this or that religion; how can anyone,
find fault with ‘My’ religion? They don’t care a hang for the ‘religion’; it is
important just because <i>they</i> follow it. What <i>they</i> think matters;
not the religion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Because they follow their
religion for themselves and not for the sake of religion, whenever anybody
finds fault with it, they think he/she is finding fault in them and in their
choice. So it is purely to stress their ‘self’ that they stand up for their
religion. And since they don’t know much about their religion, their attempts
to defend it are absolutely irrational. One good example of this is the
Anti-conversion Law in India.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In many parts of the
country, the missionary work has shown light to many, bringing them to Jesus.
The Hindu fanatics aren’t too happy to see this. Therefore, they have put in
place the Anti-conversion Law to check the influence of Christianity here. It
works by putting checks on the missionary work and also on the people who want
to embrace Christianity. It has made it mandatory for the people who want to
become Christian to make affidavit, stating that they are not changing their
faith for money or under pressure. When they make such an affidavit, they expose
themselves to persecution from the Hindu fanatics in various ways.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now, the Hindu who
consider this law to be an effective way to check the missionary work and stop
the Hindu from becoming Christian, are quite unmindful of the implications of
this law and how it affects them. They don’t see that it is not working against
Christ’s last instruction to His disciples to preach His gospel to the world;
rather it has compromised their own freedom to choose which religion they want
to follow! If it becomes impossible, the missionaries would stop the missionary
work. Simple! They are not going to lose anything.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fprogramming-tech%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fprogramming-tech%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="336" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aHQBkxtYXOw/XkBWDutBWZI/AAAAAAAAANo/KKl_w3DgAHke1DADcLBcCjjPP1mEw3dcACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/2716affiliatesbannersMobileDesign336x280_ea854de7.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But, just consider how
seriously the fanatic Hindu will find their own freedom compromised if in case
they themselves want to follow Christianity or any other religion in the time
to come! They have put in chains their own religious freedom; they haven’t put
hurdles in the way of Christian missionaries. They support such a law and they
are not even aware of the fact that they have willingly chosen to live under
‘spiritual bondage’! Even the British did not subject them to this kind of
bondage! The ‘spiritual bondage’ they have chosen for them is worse than any
other form of bondage conceivable under the sun.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Regarding such people Jesus
once quoted the Book of Isaiah in Matthew 13:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Hearing
you will hear and shall not understand,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And
seeing you will see and not perceive;<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For
the hearts of this people have grown dull.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Their</span></i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
ears are hard of hearing,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And
their eyes are they have closed,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lest
they should see with <i>their</i> eyes and hear with <i>their</i> ears,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lest
they should understand with <i>their</i> hearts and turn,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So
that I should heal them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">People don’t want to be healed!
The sickness that Indians have been suffering from is slave mentality. It
tell-tales a spiritual condition. That is the reason why in its entire history,
India has hardly experienced 70 years of freedom. It seems this freedom they
have found difficult to digest. Small wonder that they are well on their way to
lose it again. And this time that they lose it, they won’t have another chance
to get it back.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Coming to the point, Jesus
has come into the world to spiritually liberate it. He said that the Holy
Spirit that He would send into the world after His departure would lead people
to the Truth, and the Truth will set them free. Let me remind my readers of the
fact that Jesus has said that He is the Way and the Truth and the Life. We can
learn from His teaching that life is no life at all if it is not free. Bible
says that God created Adam and Eve to be free – free to enjoy His blessings.
Therefore, He gave them the ‘free will’. It is Satan who turned them into
slaves – slaves of sin, curse, diseases and death. They became full of sorrows
because of this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fmusic-audio%2Fsound-effects%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fmusic-audio%2Fsound-effects%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5bnNPAoYDII/XkBW7u13fiI/AAAAAAAAAN0/CO9X6kj85Gs1iqyF_suTMNv_Br4yEl9ZgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/3754SoundEffects_4b3ad908.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We, the missionaries, are preaching
the life which is not bound by sin, curse, diseases and death. We are preaching
the life that is eternal, holy and perfect – life full of endless joy. Jesus is
that Life. Accept Jesus; accept the life that is endless and marked by
unadulterated happiness. And the life that He offers is spiritual, not a
physical that ends one day. And the spiritual life He offers is lived in
Heaven, where God lives. Living together with God in the same place! Could you
imagine it! That’s what Jesus offers. Please do not be hard with yourself by
irrationally denying it. Leave aside your vain egotism. It will only destroy
your ‘self’ – mind, body and spirit.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0">https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1817293207447833254.post-17337092763357695742020-01-26T07:00:00.002-08:002020-04-20T06:51:53.265-07:00INTERTEXTUALITY IN THE BIBLE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Many have attempted to
show the awe-inspiring unity of the Holy Bible. I intend to do the same here
but in my way. And my purpose behind this small exercise is to point out to my
readers that if we fail to grasp this unity, we may end up compromising the
meaning of countless mysteries of the Bible.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For the stated purpose, we
are going to make a study of a miracle that Jesus performed in Bethsaida. It is
recorded thus in Mark 8:22-26:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2F%3Fsource%3Dtop_nav" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2F%3Fsource%3Dtop_nav" border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1200" height="167" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ixmEBGyoccU/Xi2g89rQrWI/AAAAAAAAAHc/EpabaxgwD9gO8-y4khGgnofsgcIete4BACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/487facebookgeneral1200x6281_fae7b883%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Then He came to
Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. So
He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had
spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And he looked up and said,
“I see men like trees, walking.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Then He put His hands on
his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone
clearly. Then He sent him away to his house, saying, “Neither go into the town,
nor tell anyone in the town.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As I was reading this
passage, it baffled me a little. Why Jesus spit on his eyes? And why the blind
man was not healed immediately and began to see things clearly when Jesus asked
Him what he saw? Why the blind man first saw men like trees and then, after
Jesus touches his eyes again, did he begin to see clearly? When I considered
this, I began to notice few more noteworthy details in this small episode:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus
did not straightaway give command and healed the blind man’s blindness. It sufficed
for Him just to give command to heal the sick. That’s what He did on other
occasions. Why Jesus spat on his eyes, and when he was not able to see clearly,
touched his eyes with his hands? Why the blind man began to see on second
attempt and not at the very first?<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus
took him out of the town of Bethsaida. Why?<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He
asked him what he saw. Why the blind man saw men like trees at first? Do men
looking like trees signify something? If it does, what?<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When the blind man began
to see, Jesus commanded him, “Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the
town.” However, Jesus did send the blind man away to his house. It simply means
that he did not belong to Bethsaida. Neither was it proper for him to be in
Bethsaida in the same way that it was not proper for Lot and his family to live
in Sodom and Gomorrah. This fairly explains why he was taken out of the city before
he was healed. It also explains why Jesus forbade him to tell the people of the
town about the incident.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is relevant here to
quote Matthew 11:20, 21:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Then He began to rebuke
the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did
not repent: ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty
works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have
repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.’”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fwriting-translation%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fwriting-translation%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="336" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xAWaSEFaX2A/Xi2ipRQrgvI/AAAAAAAAAHo/qAHSLu2CPN0cEoKtC146dDTBrosRRiOJACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/356Content336x280_98356b2b.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The mighty works Jesus did
were meant to establish that He was the Messiah. When He comes to a person or a
people, it means the Kingdom of Heaven has come to him or them. Whenever the
Kingdom of Heaven comes, either we accept or reject it. That is the purpose why
it comes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Repentance of sin and
acceptance of Jesus are the ways in which we may receive the Kingdom of Heaven.
Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum were the places where Jesus had worked so
much to make Himself known to them, and yet they rejected Him. Hence, He
pronounced judgment on them. Because they were already under the judgment, Jesus
distanced Himself from them.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When I considered these
issues further, it opened my eyes to how intricate and subtle are the inter-textuality
within the Bible. The problems I faced in understanding this miracle of Jesus
was because I could not see its relation to other texts in the Bible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At first, it reminded me
of many servants of God who said they had healing ministry. Umpteen times I saw
them sprinkling water, anointing with oil, praying over the sick and doing many
other things that you may be knowing about. After prayer when they would ask
the sick, “How are you now?” their reply would be, “I am still the way I was
before.” Thereupon the minister would start praying vehemently, full of sound
and fury, yet to no effect. Therefore, I was troubled to read this episode.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fmusic-audio%2Fvoice-overs%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fmusic-audio%2Fvoice-overs%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2O21Pb8_Ez0/Xi2jTC1vwZI/AAAAAAAAAHw/_jQwHErMXMgLKx6XUsW0A8gXpJYHrzafgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/925VO11_544ce9cd.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I was sure of one thing:
that Jesus was God and could do anything He liked. That, exactly, why I was so
puzzled over what happened in this instance. I racked my brains for a long time
without finding answer to the problem. I realized that only God could help me
understand this, and so I prayed to Him. Always when I pray to God to seek His
help in understanding the Scriptures, He invariably answers my prayers. And
every time I receive answer from Him, it surprises me beyond limit. This is
what happened this time also.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When I finished praying to
God, suddenly a thought passed through my mind, “The key lies in men looking
like trees walking.” I decided to search the Bible to find out tree symbolism
from it. After sometime I came upon this passage from the Book of Judges,
Chapter 9.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It was about Abimelech, Jerubbaal’s
son, born of a Shechemite concubine. He, with the support of his Shechemite
brothers on the distaff side, conspired against the sons of his father and
killed them all, 70 in number. But one of his brothers, named Jotham, escaped
the slaughter, and thus he addressed the men of Shechem standing on top of
Mount Gerizim:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Listen
to me, you men of Shechem,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That
God may listen to you!<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
trees once went forth to anoint a king over them.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And
they said to the olive tree,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">‘Reign
over us!’<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But
the olive tree said to them,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">‘Should
I cease giving my oil,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With
which they honor God and men,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And
go to sway over trees?’<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Then
the trees said to the fig tree,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">‘You
come and reign over us!’<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But
the fig tree said to them,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">‘Should
I cease my sweetness and my good fruit,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And
go to sway over trees?’<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Then
the trees said to the vine,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">‘You
come and reign over us!<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">‘But
the vine said to them,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">‘Should
I cease my new wine,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Which
cheers both God and men,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And
go to sway over trees?<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fprogramming-tech%2Fmobile-app-services%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fprogramming-tech%2Fmobile-app-services%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1200" height="167" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zzzof-wJbFw/Xi2kRNzcFkI/AAAAAAAAAH8/-ZxzMacwxeAu8UmSegR9k-bfdC3_-I-6QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/2436App2_8eaea694.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Then
all the trees said to the bramble,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">‘You
come and reign over us!’<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And
the bramble said to the trees,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">‘If
in truth you anoint me as king over you,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Then
come and take shelter in my shade;<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But
if not, let fire come out of the bramble<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And
devour the cedars of Lebanon!’”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This passage surprised me
a lot on several accounts but the important thing is that I learnt from it the
symbolic meaning of trees. They signify the kind of people who were fit to be
ruled by a leader like bramble that hurts anyone who touches it. The people of
Bethsaida belonged to this category. Jesus rejected them for the same reason
that the vine rejected the trees. He did not want to waste His new wine, which
stood for the New Testament in His blood, on the people who were not willing to
move forward from the Old Testament which guided them to the fulfillment of the
divine promise pertaining to salvation through Jesus – salvation that lay in
the atoning blood of His that He would shed on the cross.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They were blind people who
were forever willing to live in the promise of the coming of the Messiah but
not willing to accept the fulfillment thereof when the Messiah actually came to
them. They disowned Him! And they didn’t even know that by so doing they were
disowning the very tradition that they pretended to uphold. Such are the
spiritually blind. Jesus did not want them to see His work in the life of the
physically blind man. Therefore, He took him out of the city.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fonline-marketing%2Fseo-services%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fonline-marketing%2Fseo-services%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1200" height="167" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U7XS5DOQruo/Xi2k9huf59I/AAAAAAAAAIE/fcycIoNBjfMr0rIqoNrkhvz89TVGXkGLgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/1054SEO_eb6c8955.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Secondly, He spat in the
eyes of the blind man to make him see the fact that He had rejected Bethsaida.
The act of spitting on someone is tantamount to his insult. Here, Jesus does
not actually want to treat the blind man insultingly so much as making him know
His view of the people of this city. What Jesus did for him required testimony
from the man who was cured. But these were certainly not the people before whom
he was expected to testify what Jesus did for him. What Jesus did for him
proved that He was the Christ.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thus, the act of spitting
suggests rejection of the people of the city by Him. They neither believed in
the Old Testament nor in the New Testament. In this they weren’t in any way
different from the Church of Laodicea which is neither hot nor cold. I surely
do not mean to say that I consider belief in the Old Testament as a spiritual
state that is described as cold and the belief in the New Testament as a state
described as hot. It is the absence of commitment that is in question. Jesus underlined
this when He said in John 5:45-47:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Do not think that I shall
accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you
trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.
But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">God wants them to be
either hot or cold, and warns them that He would spit them out of His mouth for
their lukewarmness. His forbidding the blind man even from entering the city,
and telling them what had happened, is just a verbal expression of His symbolic
act of spitting in his eyes. In the eyes of the spiritually seeing blind man,
Jesus had rejected Bethsaida. That is the meaning of the act of spitting in the
eyes of the blind man.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But the surprise that
Jotham’s parable sprung on me did not stop here. I realized that it not only
represented reality symbolically, it also provided a paradigm to show what the
people of Bethsaida (Israel) were going to do after being rejected by Jesus.
Jotham’s prophecy was fulfilled in part when God sent a spirit of ill will between
Abimelech and men of Shechem. Abimelech did prove a bramble to the men of
Shechem whose fire consumed them. But it is the reference to the cedars of
Lebanon that extends his prophecy to include the rejection of the Messiah by
Israel, acceptance of the false one and the consequences of the wrong choice
that was willfully made.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fpro%3Fsource%3Dtop_nav" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fpro%3Fsource%3Dtop_nav" border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="480" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6k5k_XBuM6I/Xi2l5H_wo1I/AAAAAAAAAIQ/YnxeHLuQXuYaq1_FqFDoUrfDyjscSf6LACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/485PRObannerscomputer2019480x320_c0b64d19.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It states that the trees
go to the bramble to ask it to rule over them. Significantly, the bramble not
only accepts their proposal but also demands something, which if they would not
fulfill, would have serious consequences for them. The whole situation reminded
me of Israel asking for a king to rule over them. They did have the king they
wanted, but he came as a package. God described it to the old prophet in the following
terms in 1 Samuel 8:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“And the Lord said to
Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they
have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over
them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I
brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me
and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. Now therefore, heed their
voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of
the king who will reign over them.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So Samuel told all the
words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king. And he said, “This
will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your
sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some
will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands and
captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his
harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He
will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And he will take
the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them
to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give
it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants, your
female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his
work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. And you
will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for
yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And it was just as God had
forewarned them. Nevertheless the attitude of the people remained unchanged,
and will remain unchanged as the prophetic utterance of Jotham will go on to
prove.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Interestingly, what Jotham
had to tell to the people of Shechem was directly related to the people of
Israel who would come to live in the time of the Antichrist. Let me quote what
Jotham said to the Shechemite again for good measure:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Then
all the trees said to the bramble,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">‘You
come and reign over us!’<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And
the bramble said to the trees,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">‘If
in truth you anoint me as king over you,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Then
come and take shelter in my shade;<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But
if not, let fire come out of the bramble<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And
devour the cedars of Lebanon!”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The question, here, is:
What the Shechemite had to do with the cedars of Lebanon? If fire would come
out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon, how it would hurt the
Shechemite? Shechem did not belong to Lebanon!<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We have the answers to
these questions if we ask: What is meant by the cedars of Lebanon? We know the
symbolic meaning of the trees; now it is time to know a little bit about the
cedars of Lebanon.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fvideo-animation%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=66530&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fcategories%2Fvideo-animation%3Fsource%3Dcategory_tree" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-te33MACn6s8/Xi2msGeihPI/AAAAAAAAAIY/zaRY6sz_eMg1Lmm3eyCKENEDthvZAmDUQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/2826onlinevideo169_3afae077.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In Ezekiel 31, Lebanon is called
the Garden of Eden and the Garden of God. To be more precise, it is the name
given to those trees (angels) whom God threw out of His Garden. The same
chapter describes the cedar of Lebanon as the greatest in glory of all the
choice and best trees of Lebanon. The same cedar is also called the Assyrian whose
descriptions in different passages refer both to Lucifer and the Antichrist. That
these are the spirits and not humans can be known from the following verse:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Therefore thus saith the
Lord God; Because thou has lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his
top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have therefore delivered
him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with
him: I have driven him out for his wickedness….To the end that none of all the
trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their
top among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height, all
that drink water: <b>for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts
of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to
the pit</b>.” (Ezekiel 31:10-11, 14)<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Clearly, what the
emboldened text means to say is that the spirit beings who were cast out of the
Garden of Eden ended up in the same place where the children of men do. That
place is called the Pit. These fallen angels are called the choice and best of
the trees of Lebanon. The Antichrist is also a spirit but in body form.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While it is difficult to
say with any degree of certainty that other trees cast out along with the
Assyrian are also cedars, we can fairly say that those who dwelt under the
shadow of the cedar of Lebanon (the Assyrian) are also cedars from verse 17
which says,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“They also went down into
hell with him (the Assyrian or the cedar of Lebanon) unto them that be slain
with the sword; and <b>they that were his arm</b>, <b>that dwelt under his
shadow in the midst of the heathen</b>.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If they were his arm, then
they were also cedars…Arm of the cedar is bound to be cedar. Therefore, the
cedars of Lebanon indicate those who dwell under the shadow of the Assyrian. It
is significant that the bramble in the parable of Jotham in Judges 9 asks the
trees, who go to it with the offer of becoming king over them, to take <b>shelter
under its shade</b>. Verse 15 words the reply of the bramble thus:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“And
the bramble said to the trees,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">‘If
in truth you anoint me as king over you,<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Then
<b>come and take shelter in my shade</b>;<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But
if not, let fire come out of the bramble<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And
devour the cedars of Lebanon!’”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The trees asking the
bramble to rule over them must dwell in the shade thereof. The bramble is the
status to which the cedar of Lebanon is reduced by the time the people of
Israel, who rejected Jesus, come to him to anoint him king over them. It stands
to logic that the people who reject truth are bound to turn to untruth. Jesus
spoke about this when He said in John 5:42-43:<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“But I know you, that you
do not have the love of God in you. I have come in My Father’s name, and you do
not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These same people are
called a synagogue of Satan in Revelation 2:9; 3:9. The same are called the
cedars of Lebanon in Jotham’s prophecy and in Ezekiel 31:17. When they will
come to dwell in the shade of the bramble, they will face the consequences
thereof in full measure. That will be the time they will try to correct their
mistake with the result that the fire will come out of the bramble and devour
the cedars of Lebanon. When the Antichrist will break the covenant he made with
many for the period of 7 years, he will turn against Israel and set himself up
in the temple in Jerusalem as abomination that will unloose desolation on
Israel.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now let us stop and
consider where we have arrived from where we had started! When we read the
Bible, we must always be prepared for this. To the spiritually blind, it might
seem simple to the extent of being intellectually dissatisfying. But when seen
with one’s spiritual eyes open, it would just blow his mind with the explosion
of divine revelations contained in it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
would greatly benefit us if we humbly draw near to it with the purpose of having
our spiritual eyes open. It is vain to read it with the purpose of mastering
its mysteries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR:</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0">https://www.amazon.in/Bertrand-Hatia/e/B00W7E3BEO/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0</a></span></div>
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Audrey Hatiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813992985039206570noreply@blogger.com0