Armageddon and Beyond

Armageddon and Beyond – Pastor Rocky

While social tensions tend to increase and terrorist attacks happen almost daily, mankind continues to develop newer and frightening technologies with which to destroy itself. Will the prophesied “Battle of Armageddon” (good versus evil) bring destruction and death to our planet? Will this great battle end all life on earth?

The Bible states there will be wars and rumors of wars. However, none of the battles or wars the US has been involved in compare to the Battle of Armageddon. Millions of human beings will die and blood will run as a river. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 3:15-18, “Their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes”.

Today we live in a world that the threat of Nuclear War is very real. Worldwide, there are approximately a little more than 30,000 nuclear warheads. About 15,000 belong to Russia and 10,000 belonging to the United States. Between Russia and the United States, about 7,000 nuclear bombs can be fired with less than 15 minutes notice.

Although destruction will be on a massive scale never seen before, millions of lives lost, famines, starvation, great earthquakes, diseases, undrinkable water, and all the other prophecies covering the Battle of Armageddon, there is still hope. Beyond Armageddon, true Christians will have peace and serve God on a New Earth.

Although born as the son of a poor carpenter, Jesus will return as the King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16). Faithful Christians will inherit the Kingdom of God: “But the saints of the most high shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever and ever” (Daniel 7:18). First Corinthians chapter 15 states Christians will be resurrected, changed, given immortality, have glory and power, have a spirit body, bear the image of the heavenly man, and inherit all things. For 1,000 years we will reign as kings and priests. We will be spreading the Word of God and ruling under His authority.

Notice that God has promised his children they would inherit all things, not only planet earth but the entire universe (Matthew 5:5, Revelation 21:7, Romans 8:32). We will be able to travel instantly to far off galaxies. Time or space will not limit us.

After the thousand years, Satan will be released to deceive the nations. Those who follow the deceiver will be destroyed by fire from heaven (Revelation 20:9). Satan and his demons will be cast into the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41). Then the Book of Life will be opened at The Great Throne Judgement. Anyone who has ever lived and his name is not in The Book of Life, will be cast into The Lake of Fire (revelation 20:14-15).

So we have several choices. First, not believe in God but rather believe the Bible is just a bunch of stories put together. In this case, you are going straight to hell to suffer an eternity of torment and torture. Secondly, chose to serve Satan instead of God. In this case you will suffer the same as those that do not believe. Thirdly, believe in Jesus Christ and accept Him as your Lord and Savior. Walk righteously in His path and continually pray and seek the face of God, for the kingdom of heaven will be yours.

Pastor Rocky Lingerfelt

Being a Christian

I pray the first four posts I placed under Religion has opened your eyes. You have read a little about little known facts about the bible, what it takes to receive Salvation, the fact that Jesus is returning, and some prophecy including Armageddon. As we continue, we will be referring back to these areas.

However, first and foremost, I have to stress the fact of you admitting you are a sinner, asking Jesus to come into you heart, asking him to forgive you of your sins, leaving your sins at the alter, and begin a new life living for Jesus Christ.

*God is holy and righteous (Rom. 1:17)
*Man is sinful and his heart is evil (Gen. 6:5; 13:13; Jer. 17:9).
*All people know that God exists (Rom. 1:21)
*All people have sinned (Rom. 3:23a)
*All people are guilty before God (Rom. 1:18-3:8)
*Judgment is self-induced (Rom. 1:18-23)
*Sin dishonors God and contradicts His Holy character (Rom. 1:17)
*God will judge every person, Jew and Gentile (Rom. 2:5; 2:12-16)
*God never forgives any sin without full payment of the penalty for that sin (Rom. 3:25)
*Propitiation is the only saving solution to the fact of God’s wrath against sin. Propitiation is the appeasement of divine wrath by a sacrificial offering. Sending Christ to die for our sins was God’s amazing solution to the problem of how He could remain just (punish all sin) and still justify us (declare us perfectly righteous in His sight) (Is. 53:4, 5, 10, 11; Rom. 3:25)
*The gospel of salvation is a free gift that cannot be earned (Rom. 1:16, 17; 3:20, 23, 24, 28, 30; 4:5: 6:23)
*Saving faith can only come through hearing and believing the Bible’s message about Christ (Rom. 1:16; 10:14-17)
*Justified means to be declared righteous in God’s sight (Rom. 3:24)
*God imputes (imparts) righteousness to those who believe (Rom. 4:3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 22, 23, 24)
*Believers, who have been freely forgiven of sins because of Christ’s work, will be given degrees of reward in heaven. This is according to their actions in this life; heaven is the eternal home of born-again believers (Rom. 3:21-26; Mth. 16:27; 25:31-46; John 5:29; Rom. 14:10-12; 1 Cor. 3:10-15; 2 Cor. 5:9, 10; Rev. 7:15-17)

*Those who reject Christ will be judged for their sins. The consequences of willful disobedience are horrible indeed. The Bible speaks of an endless, conscious torment in hell (Rom. 2:6; Rev. 20:10, 15)

What does it take to be a Christian? The answer to that question sounds very simple at first. We need to believe that Jesus Christ is God’s Son, that He died for our sins and was raised back to life and then just ask Him to forgive us. Right? Well technically that is right, but in this article I want to look deeper and see if that is really all there is to it.

The reason I say that description is technically correct is because it is. That is all you have to do to have your sins forgiven and obtain eternal life, however, that technical answer assumes some things that many people seem to misunderstand.

First I want to address what separates most of the cults from true Christianity. In our definition of what it takes to be a Christian we said we must believe that Jesus is the Son of God. But what does that mean? It means that we must believe that Jesus is God, one of the Trinity. If we don’t then we do not know the real Jesus. The Jehovah’s Witness deny that Jesus is God. They believe He is Michael the archangel, the first of God’s created beings. Mormons believe that Jesus is a created being, the spirit brother of Lucifer. There are many more, but those should be enough to make the point. These groups are cults because they don’t preach the biblical Jesus.

Although members of these groups might say that they believe Jesus is the Son of God and that He died for their sins, they are not truly saved. Remember only the biblical Jesus can save a sinner. So you see, just knowing the words does not make a person a Christian. But you don’t have to be a member of a cult to misunderstand who the true Jesus is.

Jesus told us that the gate that leads to eternal life is narrow and few find it, but that the gate to destruction is wide and many will go through it (Matthew 7:13-14), so it should not surprise us that there are so many false gospels and false Christs out there.

Even if you understand who the biblical Jesus is, do you understand what He did for you? Again that sounds easy, He died for our sins, but is it that easy? Here we go again, technically yes, but that is not the entire story.

I won’t go so far as to call them cults, although many people do, but there are many ‘denominations’ out there which don’t understand what Christ did for them.

We need to understand exactly what biblical Christianity says Jesus did on the cross. Orthodox Christianity believes that Jesus took the full wrath and punishment for our sins by dying on the cross. That when He said “It is finished,” our redemption was finished. The full price had been paid for our sins. Now I want to explain some of the heretical teachings that are out there.

There is one group who teaches that our salvation was not complete on the cross, but instead that Jesus spent three days and nights in hell being tormented by the devil and his demons. They are dead wrong, the price of our salvation was not paid to the devil it was paid to God the Father. To believe that Jesus had to suffer torment at the hands of Satan and the demons, is to show you don’t understand what salvation is or for that matter who Jesus is and what He did to redeem us.

There are other groups which claim you have to be a member of their church to obtain salvation. Did their church die on the cross to forgive us of our sins? No and their church can’t save us, only Jesus Christ can. By adding membership in their church to what Jesus did on the cross, they are saying that what He did was not enough. If they think it was not enough, then they don’t understand Him, God the Father or salvation.

Another group says that you must be baptized before you are saved. Again they say that what Jesus did on the cross was not enough in God the Father’s sight; you must add to it by being baptized. Don’t miss my point here, I believe that we are commanded to be baptized as a sign of our dying with Christ and our faith that He will raise us from the dead, but it is not what saves us. If you add to what Jesus did in order to obtain salvation, you don’t understand exactly what He did in the first place.

Another group says that you must keep the Sabbath in order to be saved. Now I have no problem with someone who wants to keep the Sabbath, but if they link it to salvation, I have a major problem with it. If you add the work of keeping the Sabbath to what Jesus did on the cross then you are saying what He did was not enough. If what Jesus did was not enough we are all lost in our sins.

One group says that you can’t eat meat and be saved. You can’t find that in the Bible and again it is adding the work of vegetarianism to what Jesus did on the cross in order to obtain salvation.

I have even had people tell me that they question my salvation because I don’t use only the King James Bible. They claim if you are saved using any other Bible version you are not really saved. You know, I never read that the King James Bible hung on a cross to save me from my sins. Nor have I ever read in any version, including the King James version, of the Bible that what Jesus did on the cross was not enough unless I use one specific translation of God’s word. If it takes the King James Bible being added to what Jesus did then again you are saying that what Jesus did was not enough. I repeat if what Jesus did on the cross was not enough, then we are all lost in our sins.

You may be wondering, what difference does it make if people add to the gospel, after all they believe the basics. That is the point I have been trying to make, they don’t truly believe the basics, if they believe you have to add anything to what Jesus did. Either Jesus paid the full price of our redemption on the cross, or Jesus and something we have to do paid the price. They are mutually exclusive. I am not trying to say that a person who has believed that there has to be something added to what Jesus did on the cross cannot have true salvation. The Holy Spirit can convict someone of their sin and bring them to saving grace through Jesus Christ even if they don’t totally understand all the finer points of what Jesus did for them. I do believe, however, that once the person is saved the Holy Spirit will continue to work in their hearts and lead them in all truth. I don’t believe they would remain for very long under these false teachings. What I am saying is that if the person understands the two different ideas of salvation and then rejects the idea that Jesus’ death on the cross was all that was needed, then I believe they have denied the only One who can save them. Let me try to explain why I say that.

I want to use God’s word, because what I think does not matter, but what God says does. There are a couple passages I want to quote, but this is only a small portion of the many passages in Scripture that testify to the same thing:

(Acts 10:43 NIV) All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.

We must understand after becoming a Christian, we have to talk the talk and walk the walk. After accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we must turn away from our sinful ways and let all things become new. We must study the word, attempt to become Christ like, and let the old things pass away. The world will hate us as they hated Jesus. Our families, our friends, and Satan will attack us, mock us, make fun of us, and try to get us to go back to our sinful ways. Pray you stay in the will of God and let the Holy Spirit lead you in all things.

Salvation is freedom and eternal life. Lack of salvation is the grave and eternal torture and damnation! Which do you choose?

Pastor Rocky

(John 11:25-26 NIV) [25] Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; [26] and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Jesus said He was the resurrection and the life and that anyone who believes in Him will have eternal life. He did not say that anyone who believes on Him “and” anything. I want to make it clear that I am not saying that after we believe we no longer have to follow Christ, I think we do have to continue in the faith. I am trying to show that there is nothing needed for salvation other than to believe in the biblical Jesus. We are saved by faith through God’s grace. Period! If there was anything that Jesus was not able to pay on the cross, then He cannot be our Savior. There can be no “and” in the salvation message and still be the salvation message.

(John 3:36 NIV) Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him. What does it take to reject the Son? I say it means to deny that He paid the price for our redemption in full. To say that when He said “it is finished” it wasn’t somehow.

What I am trying to show is how seriously God takes this subject. Either you have salvation through His Son or you don’t have salvation. If you deny that Jesus’ death was the full payment for your sins, then you don’t have salvation.

Fourteen Signs Announcing the Return of Jesus Christ

Yes! Jesus Christ was crucified and died for us on Mount Calvary. But that was not the end. Three days after He died, He arose from the grave winning victory over the grave and death. He ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of the Father. Jesus constantly intercedes for us, and through prayer, we are forgiven for our iniquities. Oh how weak the spirit-man and strong is the flesh-man. We are fortunate to have such a loving and merciful God that the only color he sees when he looks upon us is “Red”. The “Red” is His only begotten son’s blood that washes our sins away and makes us appear holy unto God.

Jesus is coming back for God’s children. No man knows the hour or day of his return. Those that predict prophecy in stating when Jesus is returning is a liar and the truth is not in him. Jesus himself gave us signs and wonders to look for before his return. (Luke 21:36) Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.

1. Wars, Violence, and Lawlessness – Matthew 24:6-7 – Wars of all sorts, escalating violence, and increasing lawlessness is throughout the world. This is especially true of English speaking nations. Most nations of the world consider the United States as the biggest threat to world peace. On TV and in our newspapers we see mayhem, murder, rape, robberies, drugs, alcohol, abortions, same sex marriages, lesbianism, homosexuality, and much more. We as Christians have turned our backs and tried to ignore what our world is coming to.

2. Drought and Famine – Revelation 6:5-6 – lack of rain and lack of food – will be on this earth as never seen before. These will become much worse then we can imagine. The catastrophes of drought, famine, fire, and flood tend to go together. It is almost unthinkable that the United States, Canada, Britain, New Zealand, Australia, and elsewhere among the English-speaking peoples of the world would have restaurants close due to lack of food.

3. Earthquakes and Natural Disasters – There have been earthquakes in the past. But Jesus stated earthquakes would increase in number and magnitude and in diverse places (Mark 13-8 and Matthew 24-7). Yes! There have been earthquakes in the past. But nothing like what is to come. Los Angeles is considered as the media capitol of the world. More rotten, vile movies and TV shows featuring murder, mayhem, and illicit and perverted sex are produced here than any other place in the world. And, the San Andreas Fault runs along CA.

4. Disease Epidemics – A plague of disease epidemics is beginning to worry public health officials around the world. Aids is the most discussed because 2 of every 3 Africans have Aids. Millions have died and so many more are infected with this non-curable disease. The Ebola virus, “mad cow disease”, and many more seldom heard of just 10 years ago are worrying heath officials worldwide. Many old diseases such as malaria and TB and others are emerging as super, drug-resistant diseases that ignore penicillin and other drugs that once was used to combat them. Cancer and heart disease is steadily increasing because of our tainted water from the pollutants of our technological advances. New even deadlier diseases will arise for which there is no cure.

5. The Rise of an Aggressive, Fundamentalist Islamic Power – In the end times, the Bible predicts that there will arise, in North Africa or in the Middle East, one who will be able to unify, harness and lead a powerful block of nations in which Egypt will have a key role. Presently, the whole Islamic world in the Middle East and North Africa is being enveloped by a wave of resurgent Islamic fundamentalism. They are being funded by rogue states and terrorists organizations, trying to destabilize the Western part of the world.

6. An Ascendant European Union Seeks Global Primacy – Watch Europe! Revelation 13 describes the revival of a great military power. The Apostle John spoke of a beast having 7 heads and 10 horns rising up out of the sea. The seven heads represent the seven distinct revivals of this evil empire. The ten horns represent the ten leaders that make up the ten nations of this ungodly federation that will fight against the saints of God. These ten leaders will also fight against Jesus Christ at His return.

7. A Powerful Religious Figure Leads a Religious Revival – One of the definite signs of the End Times will be the arrival of a great false religious leader (Revelation 19:19-21). He will possess great charisma and will exercise very powerful influence over a political power. He will be the long prophesied, influential head of a great, militant church in Europe. The great false religious leader will rise very soon now. He will not deceive a few hundred like David Koresh or Jim Jones. This leader will deceive millions. He will perform miracles such as having fire fall from the sky. He will exalt himself above all that is called God. He will sit in the temple of God. He will display supernatural powers of all sorts (Revelation 13:13-14).

8. The Gospel Of the Kingdom of God Preached To All Nations – Matthew 24-14 – Jesus mentions another sign that must happen before His second coming. It is happening now! That is preaching the gospel to all nations of the world. This gospel is as a witness showing the world a testimony of God’s intentions.

9. Faith Again Becomes A Matter Of Life And Death – Watch for persecution of Christians and the Church of God that keeps His commandments (Revelation 12-17; 14-12). We will be delivered up and killed like the early Christians. It is the commandment-keeping Christians that will be persecuted and killed, not those masquerading or playing to be Christians. This society around us will become more hostile to God’s people and feel condemned by us. Are you a true Child of God or are you deep down just pretending to be a Christian?

10. A Crisis Strikes Jerusalem – Watch! The modern nation of Israel, populated by the descendents of the biblical tribe of Judah, plus remnants of Levi and Benjamin, will suffer great military losses with part of territory by enemies (Luke 20-23).

11. The Abomination of Desolation – When the city of Jerusalem is attacked and conquered, the foreign occupying power will begin what the Bible calls the “abomination of Desolation”. Please read Matthew 24:15-21

12. The collapse of the English-speaking nations – The Great Tribulation – Watch for the decline and conquest of the English-speaking nations. The bible reveals the worse, most indescribably terrifying time in the entire history of the world. This time will make the destruction and genocide of WW11 seem like a picnic on a beautiful summer day. Some of the scriptures supporting this are Luke 21:23, Matthew 24:21-23, Jeremiah 30:4-7, Mark 13, Ezekiel 36, Daniel 12, and Matthew 24:30. The pivotal scripture for understanding end-time prophecy is found in Leviticus 26.

13. Heavenly Signs and the Day of the Lord – Matthew 24:29 – After the tribulation the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its lights and turn into blood, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. Though our nation professes to be “Christian”, we are filled with deceit, vanity, violence, lies, and half-truths.

14. The Last Seven Plagues – Please read Revelation Chapter 8

As Jesus Christ told us, “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man (Luke 21-36)”. All these things must come to pass before the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior. Is your heart right? Have you accepted Jesus into your heart? Are you worthy to escape these things and stand before the Son of Man?

Prophecy Fulfilled

Prophecy Fulfilled

Humanity today is facing staggering crises of war, disease, pollution, drought and famine. Bible prophecy reveals that God is working through current events to bring about a time when the entire world will be at peace.

Have no doubt, Jesus will be coming back a second time. He is the God almighty that controls the nations. To his awesome power, we are as little grasshoppers. Yet, because he loves us so much, he created us in his image. He gave us free will. Because of our sins and iniquities, he sent his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die for the sins of the world. All God wants is for us to love Him as He loves us. Yet, we live in a sinful world that has turned their backs on God.

It is brother against father, daughter against mother, parents against their children, and brother against brother. Life holds no value to many. Taking a life has become a daily thing. The punishment is minimal. No more do we have the death sentence. An individual may be sentenced to life imprisonment. Yet, they are out in 3 years for good behavior. This is because our jails and prisons are way over populated. Approximately 2 million Americans are now serving jail or prison time. This rate is 5 times that of England, 6 times that of Canada, and 7 times that of Germany. Recently, the USA boasted of having the largest prison and jail population on earth.

Additionally, we have a suicide epidemic worldwide. The World Health reported in 2006 that more than a million people kill themselves each year. This doesn’t include the failed attempts. In many countries, suicide is the leading cause of death for young men between 15-24.

The Apostle Paul was inspired by God to look into the future to describe the last days as “perilous times”. These perilous times would be a time of materialism, moral degradation, and a false spirituality that denies the true power of a true God (2 Timothy 3:1-5”.

Close your eyes, now imagine for a moment a vision of the future. A variety of crises face a bewildered humanity. The world’s supply of food and clean water dwindles because of pollution. Millions face hunger and even starvation. Some areas struggle with unheard of winter storms while other areas wither in drought under a blazing sun. There will be massive earthquakes, volcanoes, and insect plagues. There will be ethnic tensions, massive unemployment, and urban crime. Devastating disease epidemics will afflict tens of millions! Antibiotics and other miracle drugs will become ineffective.

Militant Islam is galvanizing hundreds of millions of people in opposition against the Western democracies, even as the UA military is engaged in the “war against terrorism.”

These are just a few things to expect. Does any of it sound familiar?

The Only Way To Salvation

We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3-23). Yet, God has provided a way for us to have eternal life and to be with Him in heaven. He gave His only begotten son, Jesus Christ, to be born of a virgin birth so He would be sinless (sin is passed by the male to the female). Jesus was the purest Lamb of God and was sent to earth for two reasons. First, Jesus was sent to spread the Good News about God and Heaven. Secondly, He came to die for our sins.

Jesus preached about His Father in heaven, healing the sick, raising the dead, and love. Although sinless, he was falsely accused and arrested. He was tortured beyond the point where His own
mother could not recognize Him. His beard was pulled from His face, beaten with a whip that tore pieces of flesh from His body, and a crown of thorns placed upon His head. Although He was our Lord and Savior, He came into this world as the son of a poor carpenter. His people (Israel) rejected Him, spat at Him, belittled Him, ridiculed Him, and made a mockery of Him. Then Jesus was crucified on a cross at Mount Calvary. Jesus did all of this so we would have hope of eternal life filled with joy, happiness, no more sorrow, and no more pain.

THE ONLY WAY TO SALVATION IS TO ACCEPT JESUS AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR

Romans Road to salvation is Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” We have all sinned. We have all done things that are displeasing to God. There is no one who is innocent.

The second Scripture on the Romans Road to salvation, Romans 6:23, teaches us about the consequences of sin – “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The punishment that we have earned for our sins is death. Not just physical death, but eternal death!

The third verse on the Romans Road to salvation, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:8 declares, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus Christ died for us! Jesus’ death paid for the price of our sins. Jesus’ resurrection proves that God accepted Jesus’ death as the payment for our sins.

The fourth stop on the Romans Road to salvation is Romans 10:9, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Because of Jesus’ death on our behalf, all we have to do is believe in Him, trusting His death as the payment for our sins – and we will be saved! Romans 10:13 says it again, “for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins and rescue us from eternal death. Salvation, the forgiveness of sins, is available to anyone who will trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

The final aspect of the Romans Road to salvation is the results of salvation. Romans 5:1 has this wonderful message, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Through Jesus Christ we can have a relationship of peace with God. Romans 8:1 teaches us, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Because of Jesus’ death on our behalf, we will never be condemned for our sins. Finally, we have this precious promise of God from Romans 8:38-39, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Would you like to follow the Romans Road to salvation? If so, here is a simple prayer you can pray to God. Saying this prayer is a way to declare to God that you are relying on Jesus Christ for your salvation. The words themselves will not save you. Only faith in Jesus Christ can provide salvation! “God, I know that I have sinned against you and am deserving of punishment. But Jesus Christ took the punishment that I deserve so that through faith in Him I could be forgiven. With your help, I place my trust in You for salvation. Thank You for Your wonderful grace and forgiveness – the gift of eternal life! Amen!”

If you said this prayer and turned your life over to God, please either send me an email or make a comment here. Do not be shy, timid, weak, or ashamed of having accepted Jesus today. Many people claim to be Christians, yet a poll has proven that 2 out of every 3 individuals are not. Many know scripture, but few really know Jesus or have an intimate relationship with Him.

Do you know Jesus? I mean in a way that is loving and intimate! Your own personal relationship.

The Bible

The Old Testament

The Protestant Old Testament and the Hebrew Bible of Judaism share the same books and texts, but they are organized differently. The Jewish Scriptures number 24 instead of 39 books and are presented in a different order. The Hebrew Bible is called the Tanakh. The first five books are traditionally linked to Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) and are often referred to as the Law or the Torah (Judaism) or the Pentateuch (a Greek term, “penta” meaning five).

The Books of the Old Testament traditionally fall into five main groups:

The Torah: The first five books, attributed to Moses, describe the creation of the world, Adam and Eve, Noah and the flood, Abraham and the patriarchs, Joseph and the relocation to Egypt, Moses and the exodus from Egypt and 40 years wandering through the desert. In Exodus Moses receives the Ten Commandments. The book of Leviticus describes in detail God’s instructions for worship and living a holy life.

The next 12 books, Joshua through Esther, cover 1,000 years of history (roughly 1400 BC through 400 BC). It addresses the campaign to conquer the Promised Land, the time of the judges, the reigns of Saul, David and Solomon, the divided kingdoms of the North (Israel) and the South (Judea), the defeats by the Assyrians and Babylonians, the exile and ultimate return to Judea/Jerusalem.

Wisdom and Poetry: These timeless principles show how to enjoy success and blessing regardless of the political and religious circumstances into which a person is born. These are also called “books of poetry” because they are largely written as poetry, especially the books of Psalms and Proverbs.

Major Prophets: Four prophets are designated as the Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. They are “major” not because of rank, but due to the length of their prophetic books. Isaiah called Judah to repentance, which postponed the judgment of God for 130 years. Daniel and Isaiah both contain many prophecies about Jesus.

Minor Prophets: The 12 Minor Prophets were raised up by God at strategic times during the history of Israel to call people back to Him. They are “minor” only because their books are shorter. Although applications of these books are limited largely to the people to whom they were written, many blessings can be found there.

The complete OT was written over a span of about 1,000 years, from 1400 BC (the books of Moses) through about 400 BC (Malachi). Except for small sections of Daniel and Ezra written in Aramaic (the spoken language in Palestine from 200 BC through 200 AD), the OT was completely written in Hebrew.

The 27 books of the New Testament were all written in Koine Greek (“street” or common Greek) by eight men, three of whom (Matthew, John and Peter) were original disciples and eyewitnesses of Jesus of Nazareth. Paul was not a personal disciple but had a special post-resurrection encounter with Jesus. Paul also had numerous meetings with the original disciples.

The books of the New Testament cover a little less than 100 years, from the birth of Christ to John’s vision of triumph in the book of Revelation. Most emphasis – from a historical perspective – is upon the three-year ministry of Jesus from 30-33 AD.

The books of the NT can be divided into five groups:

The Gospels: The New Testament begins with four records (books) of the life and teachings of Jesus, called the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Most of what is known about the life of Jesus of Nazareth is found in these four books. Each one describes the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Some events are recounted in all four, but each biography presents Jesus in a slightly different light, the variations are determined by the audience and the writer’s intent. The four gospels provide a comprehensive, multi-facetted view of Jesus of Nazareth, known better as Jesus Christ.

Church History: The 28 chapters of the book of Acts record the birth of the church (after Jesus’ resurrection), how the faith was introduced to the non-Jewish believers, and the spread of the new faith through the Roman Empire through the efforts of Paul.

The Pauline Epistles: The majority of books in the New Testament are the 13 Pauline epistles. These were written by Paul (in the period 49-62 AD); some to churches he started, some to individuals, and others had a special message for a general readership. Paul, “the apostle born out of due time,” was the intrepid missionary of the early church who did more to spread Christianity than any man on record in the Bible. His dramatic conversion is a classic testimony to the power of Jesus Christ to change lives, for he was transformed from a Christ-hating opponent to a Christ-serving advocate.

His letters – which can be traced in history by linking them to events described in the book of Acts – give profound answers to questions and solutions to problems in the early Christian church. Almost every human need is covered.

The General Epistles: This collection of letters – written for a specific need or to a group not reached by Paul – cover general truths needed by God’s people of every era. Authors include James and Jude (both brothers of Jesus) as well as the apostles Peter and John.

Prophecy: The last book is a book of prophecy about the coming judgment of Christ, and is called Revelation, also the Apocalypse.

The bible, from the front cover to the back cover can basically be explained with 4 letters L O V E! God’s love in creating us in his image, his love in watching over us as a good Father, giving his only begotten son to die for our sins, and the blood of his Son to cover our sins once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Oh, what a great and merciful God we serve!

Trivia Question: What does the name Jesus Christ Mean? Please post you answer/comments

Little Known Facts About The Bible

I am honored and blessed to having been chosen to write for Kick Acts Magazine under Biblical. Your comments are most welcome. Should you need to contact me, my Email addy is: rocnlojo@yahoo.com.

I pray the subjects I place on here is sent forth with the Holy Spirit. The bible states that once God’s Word is sent forth, it will not come back void, Amen. The first few subject areas will deal with some basic issues, such as: Little know facts about the bible. If you have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, or if you are a new child with God, I pray these messages will lead you to Christ and/or strengthen your faith in God. For those of you that have been walking with Lord for quite some time, maybe you need some new wine, a fresh anointing, or even have questions that you have never asked or ever been answered.

Trivia about the Kings James Bible

Number of books in the Bible: 66
Chapters: 1,189
Verses: 31,101
Longest verse: Esther 8:9
Shortest verse: John 11:35
Middle books: Micah and Nahum
Middle verse: Psalm 118:8
Middle chapter: Psalm 117
Shortest chapter: Psalm 117
Longest book: Psalms
Shortest book: 3 John
Longest chapter: Psalm 119
Number of different authors: 40
Time to write the bible: 1,500 yrs
Number of languages the Bible has been translated into: over 1,200

Three Books of the NT does not end in Amen! The first one is Acts: What are the other two?

Obama’s Advisory Committee…

 

 

Good News, A Bastard steps down…”Van Jones”

 He used this quote in his resignation statement..”They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide.”

I saw enough video clips of this guy that show He is a racist and a extremist…so Dude, no one is smearing you but your self…

Here is  another quote from Van Jones…

‘The white polluters and the white environmentals are essentially steering poison into the people of colored communities. ”

Does that mean people of color don’t use the same resources? Dude come on…”We” all use the resources,it’ all up to us…not just the “white polluters”..

So good good bye and have a nice life….

Here is the link for his resignation

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090906/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_adviser_resigns

Here is the link for more stuff about him and his “belief” system…

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/29967/?ck=1

 

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Kakistocracy

Government under the control of a nation’s worst or least-qualified citizens.

We need to start using this term regularly, at least until the government bans its use.