The King of glory stooped low to take humanity. Rude and forbidding were His earthly surroundings. His glory was veiled, that the majesty of His outward form might not become an object of attraction. He shunned all outward display. Riches, worldly honor, and human greatness can never save a soul from death; Jesus purposed that no attraction of an earthly nature should call men to His side. Only the beauty of heavenly truth must draw those who would follow Him. The character of the Messiah had long been foretold in prophecy, and He desired men to accept Him upon the testimony of the word of God.
The angels had wondered at the glorious plan of redemption. They watched to see how the people of God would receive His Son, clothed in the garb of humanity. Angels came to the land of the chosen people. Other nations were dealing in fables and worshiping false gods. To the land where the glory of God had been revealed, and the light of prophecy had shone, the angels came. They came unseen to Jerusalem, to the appointed expositors of the Sacred Oracles, and the ministers of God’s house. Already to Zacharias the priest, as he ministered before the altar, the nearness of Christ’s coming had been announced. Already the forerunner was born, his mission attested by miracle and prophecy. The tidings of his birth and the wonderful significance of his mission had been spread abroad. Yet Jerusalem was not preparing to welcome her Redeemer.
With amazement the heavenly messengers beheld the indifference of that people whom God had called to communicate to the world the light of sacred truth. The Jewish nation had been preserved as a witness that Christ was to be born of the seed of Abraham and of David’s line; yet they knew not that His coming was now at hand. In the temple the morning and the evening sacrifice daily pointed to the Lamb of God; yet even here was no preparation to receive Him. The priests and teachers of the nation knew not that the greatest event of the ages was about to take place. They rehearsed their meaningless prayers, and performed the rites of worship to be seen by men, but in their strife for riches and worldly honor they were not prepared for the revelation of the Messiah. The same indifference pervaded the land of Israel. Hearts selfish and world-engrossed were untouched by the joy that thrilled all heaven. Only a few were longing to behold the Unseen. To these heaven’s embassy was sent.
Angels attend Joseph and Mary as they journey from their home in Nazareth to the city of David. The decree of imperial Rome for the enrollment of the peoples of her vast dominion has extended to the dwellers among the hills of Galilee. As in old time Cyrus was called to the throne of the world’s empire that he might set free the captives of the Lord, so Caesar Augustus is made the agent for the fulfillment of God’s purpose in bringing the mother of Jesus to Bethlehem. She is of the lineage of David, and the Son of David must be born in David’s city. Out of Bethlehem, said the prophet, “shall He come forth . . . that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity.” Micah 5:2, margin. But in the city of their royal line, Joseph and Mary are unrecognized and not honored. Weary and homeless, they traverse the entire length of the narrow street, from the gate of the city to the eastern extremity of the town, vainly seeking a resting place for the night. There is no room for them at the crowded inn. In a rude building where the beasts are sheltered, they at last find refuge, and here the Redeemer of the world is born.
Men know it not, but the tidings fill heaven with rejoicing. With a deeper and more tender interest the holy beings from the world of light are drawn to the earth. The whole world is brighter for His presence. Above the hills of Bethlehem are gathered an innumerable throng of angels. They wait the signal to declare the glad news to the world. Had the leaders in Israel been true to their trust, they might have shared the joy of heralding the birth of Jesus. But now they are passed by.
God declares, “I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground.” “Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness.” Isaiah 44:3; Psalm 112:4. To those who are seeking for light, and who accept it with gladness, the bright rays from the throne of God will shine.
In the fields where the boy David had led his flock, shepherds were still keeping watch by night. Through the silent hours they talked together of the promised Savior, and prayed for the coming of the King to David’s throne. “And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”
At these words, visions of glory fill the minds of the listening shepherds. The Deliverer has come to Israel! Power, exaltation, triumph, are associated with His coming. But the angel must prepare them to recognize their Savior in poverty and humiliation. “This shall be a sign unto you,” he says; “Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”
The heavenly messenger had quieted their fears. He had told them how to find Jesus. With tender regard for their human weakness, he had given them time to become accustomed to the divine radiance. Then the joy and glory could no longer be hidden. The whole plain was lighted up with the bright shining of the hosts of God. Earth was hushed, and heaven stooped to listen to the song,
“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, good will toward men.”
Oh that today the human family could recognize that song! The declaration then made, the note then struck, will swell to the close of time, and resound to the ends of the earth. When the Sun of Righteousness shall arise, with healing in His wings, that song will be re-echoed by the voice of a great multitude, as the voice of many waters, saying, “Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” Revelation 19:6.
As the angels disappeared, the light faded away, and the shadows of night once more fell on the hills of Bethlehem. But the brightest picture ever beheld by human eyes remained in the memory of the shepherds. “And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.”
Departing with great joy, they made known the things they had seen and heard. “And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God.”
Heaven and earth are no wider apart today than when shepherds listened to the angels’ song. Humanity is still as much the object of heaven’s solicitude as when common men of common occupations met angels at noonday, and talked with the heavenly messengers in the vineyards and the fields. To us in the common walks of life, heaven may be very near. Angels from the courts above will attend the steps of those who come and go at God’s command.
The story of Bethlehem is an exhaustless theme. In it is hidden “the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.” Romans 11:33. We marvel at the Savior’s sacrifice in exchanging the throne of heaven for the manger, and the companionship of adoring angels for the beasts of the stall. Human pride and self-sufficiency stand rebuked in His presence. Yet this was but the beginning of His wonderful condescension. It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God to take man’s nature, even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. Like every child of Adam He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were is shown in the history of His earthly ancestors. He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the example of a sinless life.
Satan in heaven had hated Christ for His position in the courts of God. He hated Him the more when he himself was dethroned. He hated Him who pledged Himself to redeem a race of sinners. Yet into the world where Satan claimed dominion God permitted His Son to come, a helpless babe, subject to the weakness of humanity. He permitted Him to meet life’s peril in common with every human soul, to fight the battle as every child of humanity must fight it, at the risk of failure and eternal loss.
The heart of the human father yearns over his son. He looks into the face of his little child, and trembles at the thought of life’s peril. He longs to shield his dear one from Satan’s power, to hold him back from temptation and conflict. To meet a bitterer conflict and a more fearful risk, God gave His only-begotten Son, that the path of life might be made sure for our little ones. “Herein is love.” Wonder, O heavens! and be astonished, O earth!
“His name shall be called Emmanuel…God with us.” (Mat 1:23) .
“The Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:6).
hope has a name
“There’s a song in the air!
There’s a star in the sky!
There’s a mother’s deep prayer,
And a baby’s low cry!
And the star rains its fire
While the beautiful sing,
For the manger of Bethlehem cradles a King.”
A few years ago a striking Christmas card was published, with the title, “If Christ had not come.” It was founded upon our Savior’s words, “If I had not come.” The card represented a clergyman falling into a short sleep in his study on Christmas morning and dreaming of a world into which Jesus had never come.
In his dream he found himself looking through his home, but there were no little stockings in the chimney corner, no Christmas bells or wreaths of holly, and no Christ to comfort, gladden and save. He walked out on the public street, but there was no church with its spire pointing to Heaven. He came back and sat down in his library, but every book about the Savior had disappeared.
A ring at the door-bell, and a messenger asked him to visit a poor dying mother. He hastened with, the weeping child and as he reached the home he sat down and said, “I have something here that will comfort you.” He opened his Bible to look for a familiar promise, but it ended at Malachi, and there was no gospel and no promise of hope and salvation, and he could only bow his head and weep with her in bitter despair.
Two days afterward he stood beside her coffin and conducted the funeral service, but there was no message of consolation, no word of a glorious resurrection, no open Heaven, but only “dust to dust, ashes to ashes,” and one long eternal farewell. He realized at length that “He had not come,” and burst into tears and bitter weeping in his sorrowful dream.
Suddenly he woke with a start, and a great shout of joy and praise burst from his lips as he heard his choir singing in his church close by:
“O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold Him, born the King of Angels,
O come let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord.”
Let us be glad and rejoice today, because “He has come.” And let us remember the annunciation of the angel, “Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11).
“He comes to make His blessing flow,
Far as the curse is found.”
May our hearts go out to the people in heathen lands who have no blessed Christmas day. “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and SEND PORTIONS TO THEM FOR WHOM NOTHING IS PREPARED.” (Neh 8:10).
Finding the light is not a doctrine – It is about a Person.
“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12
finding the light
If there is no light that you can see now; then look to where you last did see light, for even “while you are sitting in darkness; the Lord will be a light unto you. (Micah 7:8)
When temptations assail you, when care, perplexity, and darkness seem to surround your soul, look to the place where you last saw the light. Rest in Christ’s love and under His protecting care. When sin struggles for the mastery in the heart, when guilt oppresses the soul and burdens the conscience, when unbelief clouds the mind, remember that Christ’s grace is sufficient to subdue sin and banish the darkness. Entering into communion with the Savior, we enter the region of peace. MH 250 (1905).
The Healing Promises
“The Lord redeems the soul of His servants:
And none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate.”
Psalm 34:22.
“In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence:
And His children shall have a place of refuge.”
Proverbs 14:26.
“Zion said, Jehovah hath forsaken me, and
The Lord hath forgotten me.
Can a woman forget her sucking child,
That she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Yea, these may forget, yet will not I forget thee.
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands.”
Isaiah 49:14-16, A.R.V.
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee:
Be not not dismayed; for I am thy God:
I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee;
Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My
righteousness.” Isaiah 41:10.
“Ye that have been borne by Me from your birth,
That have been carried by Me from your earliest breath,
Even to your old age I am the same;
Even to hoar hairs I will carry you;
I have done it, and I will still bear you;
I will carry, and I will deliver you.”
Isaiah 46:3, 4, Noyes.
Nothing tends more to promote health of body and of soul than does a spirit of gratitude and praise. It is a positive duty to resist melancholy, discontented thoughts and feelings–as much a duty as it is to pray. If we are heaven-bound, how can we go as a band of mourners, groaning and complaining all along the way to our Father’s house? {MH 251.1}
Those professed Christians who are constantly complaining, and who seem to think cheerfulness and happiness a sin, have not genuine religion. Those who take a mournful pleasure in all that is melancholy in the natural world, who choose to look upon dead leaves rather than to gather the beautiful living flowers, who see no beauty in grand mountain heights and in valleys clothed with living green, who close their senses to the joyful voice which speaks to them in nature, and which is sweet and musical to the listening ear–these are not in Christ. They are gathering to themselves gloom and darkness, when they might have brightness, even the Sun of Righteousness arising in their hearts with healing in His beams. {MH 251.2}
Often your mind may be clouded because of pain. Then do not try to think. You know that Jesus loves you. He understands your weakness. You may do His will by simply resting in His arms. {MH 251.3}
It is a law of nature that our thoughts and feelings are encouraged and strengthened as we give them utterance.
While words express thoughts, it is also true that thoughts follow words. If we would give more expression to our faith, rejoice more in the blessings that we know we have,–the great mercy and love of God,–we should have more faith and greater joy.” {MH 251.4}
In reviewing our past history, having traveled over every step of advance to our present standing, I can say, Praise God! As I see what the Lord has wrought, I am filled with astonishment, and with confidence in Christ as leader. We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history. {RH, October 12, 1905 par. 22}
Its not wrong to fall down, or to make a mistake, or to utterly fail, or to suffer great tragedy. None of these things declare in any way who or what you are. It all just means you are still in the race.
But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. (Micah 7:7-8)
When darkness assails you, when care, perplexity, and doubt seem to surround your soul, look to where you last saw the light. Rest totally in God’s love, and in His protecting care. When the bleakness of the storm struggles for mastery in the heart, when guilt oppresses the soul, or doubts burden the conscience, when unbelief clouds the mind, remember, God’s grace is sufficient to subdue it all and to guide you into the region of true peace, where God’s grace will bring you patience, trustfulness, and melt away the restless waves of weakness. He will warm your heart with His own sweet Spirit; He will revive your soul.
If you are struggling right now, may you remember that tomorrow is another day. And that there is always hope. May you remember what a gift you are to the world, and that you are perfect just the way you are. May you remember that even when you feel lonely, you are never truly alone; for as the Bible says you are surrounded by angels who love you beyond measure.
“…those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again.” (Mark 13:19)
light in the clouds
Scripture tells us that the great controversy between good and evil, between Christ and Satan will reach a literal boiling point.
Think things are bad now?
Maybe its time to examine what Scripture tells us about last day events and how to be prepared. Jesus’ words here in Mark 13:19 are directly alluding to other passages in the Old Testament, showing us how the Bible is united on what is happening in the great controversy. Note here in the book of Daniel, for one example:
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which Stands for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. Dan 12:1
Several of the disciples marked the words of Jesus regarding a time of trouble such as never was since the world began:
“For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.” (Mat 24:21)
Even the beloved Psalmist has noted some promises we can count on during the coming world crises:
For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. (Psalms 27:5)
The major preparation needed for Jesus’ second coming is for us to be born again:
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” (John 3:3)
Here is how we are born again:
You have made yourselves pure by obeying the truth. Now you can have true love for your brothers and sisters. So love each other deeply—with all your heart. You have been born again. This new life did not come from something that dies. It came from something that cannot die. You were born again through God’s life-giving message that lasts forever. (1 Pet 1:22-23)
For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:4.
The Scriptures say, “Our lives are like the grass of spring, and any glory we enjoy is like the beauty of a wildflower. The grass dries up and dies, and the flower falls to the ground. But the word of the Lord lasts forever.” And that word is the Good News that was told to you. (1 Pet 1:24-25)
While Jesus, our Intercessor, pleads for us in heaven, the Holy Spirit works in us, to will and to do of His good pleasure. (Phil 2:13,Luke 11:13)
All heaven is interested in the salvation of the soul. what reason have we to doubt that the Lord will and does help us?
We who teach the people must ourselves have a vital connection with God. In Spirit and Word we should be to the people as a wellspring, because Christ is in us a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. Sorrow and pain may test our patience and our faith; but the brightness of the presence of the Unseen is with us, and we must hide self behind Jesus.
Talk courage to your church; lift them up to God in prayer. Tell them that when they feel that they have sinned, and cannot pray, it is then the time to pray.
Many feel humiliated at their failures, that they have been overcome by the enemy in the place of overcoming. Worldliness, selfishness, and carnality have weakened them, and they think it is no use to approach unto God; but this thought is one of the enemy’s suggestions. Ashamed they may be, and deeply humbled; but they must pray and believe. As they confess their sins, He who is faithful and just will forgive them their sins, and cleanse them from all unrighteousness (see 1 John 1:9). Though the mind may wander in prayer, be not discouraged, bring it back to the throne, and do not leave the mercy seat until you have the victory.
Are you to think your victory will be testified by strong emotion? No!
“this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).
The Lord knows your desire; by faith keep close to Him, and expect to receive the Holy Spirit.
The office of the Holy Spirit is to control all our spiritual exercises. The Father has given His Son for us that through the Son the Holy Spirit might come to us, and lead us unto the Father. Through divine agency, we have the spirit of intercession, whereby we may plead with God, as a person pleads with their friend.
Even you who are bad know how to give good things to your children. So surely your heavenly Father knows how to give the Holy Spirit to the people who ask him.” (Luke 11:13)
Jesus assures us of the essential role of The Holy Spirit in being ready for whatever comes our way:
Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. (John 14;24-29)
Jesus promised the disciples that the Holy Spirit would help them remember what he had been teaching them. This promise ensures the validity of the New Testament. The disciples were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ life and teachings, and the Holy Spirit helped them remember without taking away their individual perspectives. We can be confident that the Gospels are accurate records of what Jesus taught and did (see 1 Cor 2:10-14).
The Holy Spirit will always help us in the same way. As we study the Bible, we can trust him to plant truth in our mind, convince us of God’s will, and remind us when we stray from it. (1 Cor 2:10-14)
Don’t be fooled during these serious times we live in. If you are told or if you believe that Bible prophecy and other truths cannot be accurately determined, Jesus says the following that there is but one way for us to know for sure whats what:
People who really want to do what God wants will know that my teaching comes from God. They will know that this teaching is not my own. If I taught my own ideas, I would just be trying to get honor for myself. But if I am trying to bring honor to the one who sent me, I can be trusted. Anyone doing that is not going to lie.(John 7:17-18, ERV)
Those who attempt to know God’s will and do it will know intuitively that Jesus was telling the truth about himself. Have you ever listened to religious speakers and wondered if they were telling the truth? Test them: (1) Their words should agree with, not contradict, the Bible; (2) their words should point to God and his will, not to themselves. (Life Application Notes)
Many are deceived today in the same way as were the Jews. Religious teachers read the Bible in the light of their own understanding and traditions; and the people do not search the Scriptures for themselves, and judge for themselves as to what is truth; but they yield up their judgment, and commit their souls to their leaders. The preaching and teaching of His word is one of the means that God has ordained for diffusing light; but we must bring every man’s teaching to the test of Scripture. Whoever will prayerfully study the Bible, desiring to know the truth, that he may obey it, will receive divine enlightenment. They will understand the Scriptures.
“If any person is willing to do whatever God reveals to them in His Word, they will know what is true or not true.” John 7:17 {DA 459.1}
She will give birth to a son. You will name him Jesus. Give him that name because he will save his people from their sins.” All this happened to make clear the full meaning of what the Lord said through the prophet:(Mat 1:21-22)
But the Lord will still show you this sign: The young woman is pregnant and will give birth to a son. She will name him Immanuel.(Isa 7:14)
its about the cross
By coming to dwell with us, Jesus was to reveal God both to humanity and to angels. He was the Word of God,–God’s thought made audible. In His prayer for His disciples He says, “I have declared unto them Thy name,”–“merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,”–“that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” But not alone for His earth born children was this revelation given. Our little world is the lesson book of the universe. God’s wonderful purpose of grace, the mystery of redeeming love, is the theme into which “angels desire to look,” and it will be their study throughout endless ages.
Both the redeemed and the unfallen beings will find in the cross of Christ their science and their song. It will be seen that the glory shining in the face of Jesus is the glory of self-sacrificing love. In the light from Calvary it will be seen that the law of self-renouncing love is the law of life for earth and heaven; that the love which “seeketh not her own” has its source in the heart of God; and that in the meek and lowly One is manifested the character of Him who dwelleth in the light which no man can approach unto.
And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted. But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. (Isa 49:11,14-16)
engraved on His hands
This message is for the purpose of presenting to you the answer to your deepest needs, the living Christ.
The specific subject today is simply called Engraved On His Hands. OR, we could simply call this message “The Holiness Of Jesus In The Great Controversy. I’ll let people choose what to call it.
The walls of some Egyptian Tombs indicate to us that people branded Oxen,cattle and other animals as early as 2000 BC Spanish explorers introduced branding to The Americas as early as the 1500s. The branding of people such as slaves or criminals, was practiced in ancient and medieval times, and even continued as late as the 18th century in Britain and its colonies. Slaves would be identified by a permanent tattoo, sometimes they would even be branded by their “owners”.
In the book of Revelation, John saw God’s people with a mark or a seal in their foreheads. John also saw all the followers of Antichrist marked with a sign on their forehead or their hand. Bible prophecy reveals some startling things about the holiness of Jesus in the great controversy. The ages long battle between good and evil as depicted in Scripture.
Did you know that our Savior carries permanent marks in His hands that identify you personally? NOT just your name, but you! As in the whole person of you! JESUS says from the book of Isaiah:
Isa 49:16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.
This verse begins in the KJV with the word “behold” meaning to “look and see.” In fact, it means more than that. “Attention! Attention! Something very important is coming up here.
The word “behold” denotes for us wonder, excitement, admiration. Its like an ancient signboard that points the way to a very special place. Its like the label of an old treasure chest that says “treasures within.” Its like a news paper boy shouting “Extra! Extra! Read all about it!” God says “Behold!” God is telling us that He wants to say something important. “I want to show you something so spectacular that the whole world is going to be astonished, but even more than that; what I want to tell you is so marvelous that even heaven is filled with wonder and amazement! The power statement that Jesus has to announce is as follows:
“The names of sinners are engraved on His hands.”
Rebels, and sinners are so dear to our Savior, that they are engraved upon His very flesh! Even angels are filled with wonder. Those glorious beings who never sinned cannot even say that they are engraved upon the palm of His Hand. Its not just the names that are engraved upon His Hands. Its YOU. As in your whole person. Read the text! The names of sinners engraved upon the hands that created us! What angel has ever attained unto this dignity? To what angel was this honor ever awarded? This honor has only been given to the fallen human race.
“I have engraved YOU,” says Jesus “not just your name, but YOU! I have engraved who you are on the palm of My Hands.”
The preceding verses from Isaiah 49:16 tell us about the pessimism of God’s people when they were thinking “My God has forgotten me.” Haven’t we all felt like that at one time or another? We have so many problems that we sometimes will feel like crying out like Jesus even did, “My God. Why have you left me?” (Mark 15:34) But my friends, God never forsakes us. (Heb 13:5) God has never forgotten His people. It was their lack of faith that made them think of themselves as being forsaken. It was their unbelief that made them feel forgotten. Their doubts and fears were unfounded. And God says to them all:
“How could you think I had forgotten you when I have engraved you on the very palms of My Hands? How dare you doubt my constant remembrance when the memorial is in my very own flesh? When YOU are engraved on the palms of my hands?
Sometimes we see people in love, going out on a date of some kind. They come to a tree in the park, and decide to engrave their names on the trunk. I have often thought “why on earth do so many people bring knives with them on a date? Is there something I am missing? Maybe I better go buy a knife or borrow one from Wayne for my next date, if there ever is one.
But there is something more acceptable for us to note here:
Lovers will place a picture of each other on a dresser, or in the living room for all to see. But your picture is always with God. Jesus sees your engraving all of the time for it is engraven on the palms of His hands! Behold! There are two wonders surfacing here.
First, it is the faithfulness of God, and that is certainly a mighty wonder.
But there’s another wonder. Its the utter unbelief of His people. Jesus keeps His promises a thousand times and then at the very next trial, we begin to doubt Him AGAIN.
Jesus Himself has never given us reason to doubt. Jesus never fails. (1 John 4:8, 1 Cor 13:8) Jesus is not like a setting sun or a falling star. Jesus is not like a well run dry, or a melting vapor in the morning sun. Yet we are always weighed down by a constant anxiety and always molested with suspicions, disturbed with fears, violated with unbelief as if God had been some how careless or untrue to us.
Friends, God is faithful to a faithless people:
2 Tim 2:13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
Behold! Be ashamed of yourself and your cruel doubts.
Behold I have something to tell you. Its a gold mine. There are precious nuggets on the surface but if you will dig deeper you willf find even richer, deeper deposits of gold. There is so much wonderful truth coming that we couldn’t exhaust it even if we preached about it all day and all night.
“Behold. I have gravened you”
Who has done the engraving?
The Divine Artist, who is none other than Jesus Himself. Jesus said
John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
Who could possibly write on the hand of God? Only God Himself could do that. You can’t do it. Not through your supposed merit, your prayers, your repentance, not even through your doctrinal leanings. The engraving on His hands is not there by chance or by “fate.” The living hand of God, unprompted by anything but spontaneous omnipotent love, wrote your name, wrote my name, on His Hand. No angel could have written it there and if God wrote it, there could not possibly be any mistake about it because God does not make mistakes. If some human hand had written it, then it might be badly written, illegible, misspelled, but there is no error because God Himself wrote it.
And here is the BIG picture where we see that if God wrote your name there on His Hands, then no one could ever erase it because you made a mistake, or they dont like you. You are NOT a mistake! God doesn’t make junk! No one can cross out your name, cover it up, erase it, your worst enemy cannot do it, the devil himself cannot do it! All of the powers of darkness cannot erase those everlasting engravings on the Hands of the Master. Jesus.
When I think of it, it is so amazing that God should ever take notice of me. Let alone engrave the entirety of me on the palm of His hand. JESUS knows what we are, yet He wants us engraved forever on His hands! While we were yet sinners, Jesus died for us!
When God created the world, the morning stars all sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. But it doesn’t say anything about God singing. The angels sang at the birth of Christ. But does God The Father sing? Evidently when He created the world, there was nothing in that material world to make GOD sing, But when God speaks of His people, how they shall rest in His love, JESUS shall rejoice over you with singing. ” (Zeph 3:17) Here, the eternal Trinity bursts forth with singing! Can you catch the strain? Do you hear those high notes in four part harmony? God in trinity singing, shouting even, “I have done it! it is finished! I have engraven thee on the palms of my hands!
Now look at the next word. Behold, I have. Not I will, Not I might. Not maybe. But I have done it!
Jesus is The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Before you were born Jesus loved you.
YOU are an ancient inscription. Its from “everlasting to everlasting! behold! Thou art God!”
Jesus our Lord submitted His out-stretched palms to very cruel “engraving tools” the nails that pierced His flesh, His hands. But He had already offered Himself to die for us many centuries, many eons before, Way back. Farther than our human mind will ever be able to grasp. You were known to Him since “the foundations of the world and Jesus, was thinking of you before you were. “Behold I have engravened” and while we could tie a string around our finger to help us remember something, you can even write it on your hand but it soon wears off. But a tattoo or engraving marks the skin with a permanent reminder. We are engraved permanently on God’s hands. You may have your valuables engraved, with an engraving tool, your name is not easily removed, but God has our names engraved so permanently that even the powers of darkness cannot remove it. It is not just written there! We also see the song Is My Name Written There?
Well our name is recorded right in God’s Hand.
“I Have Graven Thee.”
Who am I that I should have such a prominent place? But it doesnt say “I have graven thy name,” your name is there but there is much more, it says “I have graven thee.” Its written in three different dimensions. Your picture is there, yet much more than that because your picture wont usually show your emotions or feelings, it can’t portray your personality, your motives, your emotions, all of this is a part of you and Jesus says
“I have graven THEE in the palms of my hands.”
You or I have never graven ourselves on the tablets of our own knowledge the way God has graven you on the palms of His hands. Our Lord knows us much better than we know ourselves. He made us. You don’t know the numbers of hairs on your head but the Bible says that God does. He knows a lot of things about us that we do not know. And God loves you just as if you were the only being in the universe. YOU will never have to compete with anyone or anything for His love. Your value to God is far beyond any human calculation.
It is said that a bar of steel made into horse shoes will be worth only around 25 dollars. If that same bar is manufactured into needles, then its value rises to 650 dollars. If that same bar of steel were made into delicate springs for high end watches, its value would increase to 500 thousand dollars. This bar of steel is made more valuable by being cut to its proper size, passed through the heat again and again, hammered. Manipulated, beaten, pounded and finished and polished until it is finally ready for its delicate task. What about that bar of steel when it is made into the nails used to hang Jesus on the cross? How much is that worth?
We too may go through suffering and trials but the more we are tried the more valuable we become. I recall saying to God more than once “Hey, I know you are refining me Lord, but may I add the thought that there must be an enormous amount of “gold” in me because there sure is a whole lotta refining happening here!” Yes friends, we are so valuable that God never forgets us, not even for a minute.
Jesus has graven us on the palms of His Hands, we are not engraved on the works of His Hands for many of those will end. Wax old as a garment. If you make it to my age you will start to discover aged T Shirts that are so thin you can see through them. Turned yellow with their age You will wonder why on earth you even wear them. BUT Gods Hands will endure forever. I am not engraved on a ring or in a seal of some kind. The ring might be laid aside or maybe slip off the finger but His Hands will endure forever. We are not engraved on some huge rock or monument. Earth quakes or other natural disaster could destroy that rock. Maybe bury it leaving the engraving obliterated, hidden. But His Hands will endure, world without end.
Friends, we are not engraved on the back of His hands. In strife and warfare it might be damaged. Even when God smites His enemies with His fist, His people are protected in the palms of His hands. Right in the most tender parts of the hands are made the inscription, the place he is most likely to look at the place enclosed by His fingers of wisdom, and He has pledged never to forget you. Does he say “I have graven thee on my hand?” No! He says hands. There are two hands two memorials on the judgment day there will be those on his right hand and those on the left.
I was having a Bible study with neighbor recently. We were discussing that text about Jesus separating the sheep from the goats. I wondered aloud why He even did that right left thing. My friend smiles and said: “Right is the opposite of wrong!” I learn so much from the people I study with.
To them He will say “Come ye blessed We are engraved on the right hand of blessing.”
But there will also be those on the left hand To them He will say, ‘Depart ye cursed,”
But Jesus will not curse me because I am engraved in the palm of that hand and the not just the one palm, both palms. As Jesus points to the lost with that left hand, we will be seen on the palm of both that right hand and left. There is so much more to this verse. It teaches that God’s remembrance of His people is constant. The hands are constantly in union with the mind and the body.
Solomon says “set me as a seal upon thy hand.” (Song 8:6, ERV)
In Bible times a man would never lay aside his seal. It was his official signature. He didnt sign his actual name but the seal was designed to affix a signature to a document. But even so, such a seal can be laid aside. But one can never lay aside the hand itself that Jesus has us engravened upon!
Your remembrance of God is intermittent at best. Too often we get distracted. And we forget Him but God never ceases in remembering you. His remembrance is never interrupted. Sometimes when I talk to important people, the phone keeps ringing in their office, causing interruptions. I really appreciate it when the person will instruct his secretary to “please hold all my calls. Then Ill know that Ill get his undivided attention.” My friends, you and I have God’s undivided attention during the entire course of the great controversy. Jesus is not bound to thinking only about one thing or working on only one problem at a time. God’s amazing mind can accommodate millions of interactions at a time. He is the great, many handed many eyed God who will never be called away suddenly on some important business that would make Him forget you and me. Thats just not going to happen!
God’s remembrance of you is very practical. We are written on His heart and that shows His great love for us. We are written on His shoulder, signifying His strength And we are written upon His hands which shows that His activity on our behalf will not be skimped on or forgotten. Jesus will work and show Himself strong. We all have friends who say we are on their minds but do not show it. Of others we could say “out of sight. Out of mind.”
I cant feel your pain. Maybe I can see the anguish in your face but Ill never be you. I cannot feel the magnitude of your anguish. Because I am not connected to your nerve endings, nor am I the One who created you. But because of the everlasting gospel, we should be able to atleast empathize with one another. The Bible tells us to “weep with those that weep” (Romans 12:5) A real, faithful friend will act in your defence. Every time an arrow of the adversary is shot in our direction He will lift up His hand for our every want and every need for He has an unlimited supply
The first astronaut left a flag on the moon as if to say “hey! The United States has been here!”
Now I don’t have my name there on the moon, but in one certain respect I guess I do! If my name is written on the palms of Gods hand, then perhaps everything he created has been touched with my name? Its on every planet. Every distant star. Jesus molds and holds the whole world in His palms and sends it spinning into orbit, and that whole time I am engraved on His palms! His remembrance is not only constant and practical. Its eternal! Our engraving on the Palms of His hands is a part of the everlasting gospel. (Rev 14:6-7) Its forever. No one could ever erase what is in God’s hands. We may very well defy all the devils of satanic legions to try to get at those palms but it just cannot ever be done. God’s remembrance can be very surprising. Is it any wonder that in our opening text he says “Behold!”
God’s remembrance of us is comforting. There is no sorrow known to us for which this wonderful text is not an antidote.
The thief on the cross said “Remember me when you come into your kingdom” Now that is a prayer that always receives an affirmative answer. Jesus wants us to remember Him And isnt this what the great controversy is all about. Rev 14 tells us to remember our Creator by keeping His 7th day of Creation holy. And we cannot keep the 7th day holy if we are not more than just a seventh day Adventist! We must become, we must be transformed Into being seven days an Adventist!
Jesus. He always remember us. Will we not do the same for Him? We have something very special, very unique that the angels dont have and they never will have! Just remember, when He says I have engraved you; He mean it in a collective sense as in all of us. His remembrance is so tender It is filled with everlasting love.
We often use the word sweet heart. But do you realize where that word came from? When a certain man from Scotland died his grieving widow kept his heart. She embalmed it and kept it in a small ivory casket wherever she went. And she called it her sweet and silent companion. Upon her death she had requested that her husbands heart be place on her chest, in her grave She wanted to show her tender remembrance of her husband. She took her husbands ashes and mixed them with water and drank that. Her reasoning was that she would become the living sepluchre of her dead husband. Yes I know thats really weird. How does that actually show her love to her husband? God does not ask us anywhere in scripture to become sepluchres of a dead deity. Or to fiddle around with a loved one’s corpse. But we are asked to become a temple of the living God. (1 Cor 3:16)
God shows His love to us in a celestial, everlasting, sympathetic way by engraving us into the palms of His hands. God has not engraved us on any precious stones or jewelry as star crossed lovers do. No rubies, diamonds, emeralds, or topaz. All such things will perish in the fires of the last days. Neither too will God use silver or gold. These too could tarnish and be corrupted. Or thieves could steal them. Not on brass because in time it would become illegible. Modern love songs tell of love letters in the sand. Now that may be very romantic but soon as a wind comes along it would be symbolic of the shifting nature of modern “love.” But God’s love letter isnt in the sand. It is engraved on His own hands.
David Livingstone loved the people of Africa. After 16 very hard years as a missionary there he returned to His native Scotland to speak to the students of Glasgow University His body was very emaciated by the ravages of some 27 fevers which had coursed through his veins during the years of hs service One arm hung useless at his side the result of being mangled by a lion Now he certainly had Africa engraved on His very flesh No one could doubt his love for that country because it was graphically expressed by more than words At one point he went back to Africa and when he died natives there removed his heart embalmed the rest of his corpse and they carried the body to a ship that took him to England where his body was entombed in a church there. But his heart remained there in Africa with the natives Literally. His devoted followers buried it in the roots of an old African tree and on the bark of that tree one of the natives carved neatly “Dr David Livingstone”
The heart of Jesus was broken on this planet but Jesus carried the marks of the nails back with Him to Heaven to be our permanent reminder of His sacrifice
A permanent reminder of those for whom the sacrifice was made. What monument did Jesus leave behind? No statues. No relics BUT a special people with His law written on their heart! A people with God’s seal on their foreheads! And in their hands! (2 Cor 3:3, Rev 9:4, Rev 13:16) In the very last chapter of the last of 66 books of the Bible John saw Gods people It is my prayer this beautiful Sabbath day that you and I will be among those whom the Bible says:
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it. (Rev 22:14) John 1:12 tells us that to those who receive Jesus as both Lord and Savior, He will give them the power to be or to become the sons and daughters of God. The Old Testament prophet Zecharia looking to the future painted the following vivid word picture:
And one shall say to him, What are these wounds in your hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of those who love Me.(Zech 13:7)
JESUS was wounded Jesus was killed by the hands of those who should have been His very best friends.
Your sins, my sins, were the cause of His suffering. Some day we will see those hands again and JESUS will bear the scars of the nails in His hands Those nail prints reveal His great love to us For you and I are engraved in the palms of His hands and THAT is the holiness of Jesus in the great controversy!
Credits:
1/ the late Pastor Henry Feyerabend who was my mentor and friend when I first became a Christian. He did a similar sermon years ago.
2/ Many other friends over the years shared some of these ideas with me
They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony…(Rev 12:11, NIV)
let your light shine
Every week there is a special day, set apart, sanctified, and blessed by God for anyone who desires truth, and to do whatever God says. (John 7:17-18, ERV)
Its called The Sabbath.
For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. (Exodus 20:11)
Therefore, when I say “Happy Sabbath” to people, I mostly mean that I wish them well, I wish them all the best that Jesus has to give.
I have often thought of the Sabbath as His crowning act of creation. Therefore, for me, it is a case of resting in His love on this special day, which by the way is not called “the law of Moses.” The commandment is specific and tells us it is
“The Sabbath of The Lord thy God.” (Exodus 20:10-11)
Let us rest in His “everlasting love.
Let us rest in the love of Him who has each one of us “engraved on the palms of His hands.” His nail-scarred hands. The hands that created the Sabbath, also made the tree that was used to make the cross where he was crucified. Let us rest in that love. (Eph 2:13)
I recently made a new friend in the town where I live. He was just some dude I met along the days journeys a couple of days ago. We had some Bible discussion for several hours. He just had this amazing thirst to know whatever he could learn about Jesus. It was so refreshing to share testimonies and scripture with him. At one point he told me that he prayed to Jesus the other day, and he said in his prayer:
“My Jesus, you have been so good to me even before I was saved. (Rom 5:8) What can I do for you now, my Lord?”
My friend told me that God answered him as follows:
“Nothing. Just go tell others what I have done.” (Luke 7:22, Luke 4:18-19, Mat 11:5, Mat 28:10, etc)
As with every Sabbath, this is a special day where I can praise God. I sometimes learn more from the people I study with than what I try to teach them. We spent hours sharing testimonies and scripture. My new friend also shared with me about sheep and goats. We were discussing about the part in the Bible where Jesus separates the sheep from the goats. (Mat 25:33) I said to him
“I have always wondered why Jesus put the “sheep” on His right, and the “goats” on His left. Any thoughts on that?”
My friend replied “yes,” and then he announced proudly:
“right is the opposite of wrong!”
Well my friend has sheep on his farm and we shared a good chuckle as I exclaimed
“so thats why you have sheep!”
At this point, my friend shared a powerful testimony:
“I caught my first fish 2 weeks after I was saved.” (see Mark 1:17)
At first I had no idea what he meant. And then as his story unfolded he told me this:
Two weeks after I was saved, my wife woke me up in the middle of the night and said with tears:
“I want to give my heart to Jesus”
Friends, have you caught your first “fish” yet?
What an “infallible proof” (Acts 1:3) this testimony was/is for the following scripture:
“Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved—you and all who live in your house.” (Acts 16:31)
My friends, God has a church. It is not the great cathedral, neither is it the national establishment, neither is it the various denominations; it is the people who love God and keep His commandments.
“Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20).
Where Christ is even among the humble few, this is Christ’s church, for the presence of the High and Holy One who inhabits eternity can alone constitute a church.
In summary, belonging to a specific denomination does not give anyone religious privilege or “authority”) for one reason being that the Bible says ALL authority has been given to Jesus. (Mat 28:18) Certain churches who claim to have THAT authority have wreaked more ruin and disaster on our poor earth than anyone, anywhere, anytime.
In preaching the doctrine of the second advent back in the 1800s, a Christian by the name of, William Miller, and his associates, had labored with the sole purpose of arousing people to a preparation for the coming judgment in Bible prophecy. They had sought to awaken professors of religion to the true hope of the church and to their need of a deeper Christian experience. They labored also to awaken the unconverted to the urgent need of immediate repentance and conversion to God.
“They made no attempt to convert people to a sect or party in any religion. Hence they labored among all parties and sects, without interfering with their organization or discipline.” {GC 375.1}
“In all my labors,” said Miller, “I never had the desire or thought to establish any separate interest from that of existing denominations, or to benefit one at the expense of another. I thought to benefit all. Supposing that all Christians would rejoice in the prospect of Christ’s coming, and that those who could not see as I did would not love any the less those who should embrace this doctrine, I did not conceive there would ever be any necessity for separate meetings. My whole object was a desire to convert souls to God, to notify the world of a coming judgment, and to induce my fellow men to make that preparation of heart which will enable them to meet their God in peace. The great majority of those who were converted under my labors united with the various existing churches.”–Bliss, page 328. {GC 375.2}
Jesus calls us to LET our light shine. Meaning that we already have it. (Isa 60:1)
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. (Deut 33:27)
eternal God our refuge
Receiving Christ as Lord of your life is the beginning of life with Christ. But you must continue to follow his leadership by being rooted, built up, and strengthened in the faith. Christ wants to guide you and help you with your daily problems. You can live for Christ by
(1) committing your life and submitting your will to him (Rom 12:1-2)
(2) seeking to learn from him, his life, and his teachings (Col 3:16)
(3) recognizing the Holy Spirit’s power in you (Acts 1:8, Gal 5:22)
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. (Deut 33:27)
Moses’ song declares that God is our refuge, our only true security. How often we entrust our lives to other things—perhaps money, career, a noble cause, or a lifelong dream. But our only true refuge is the eternal God, who always holds out his arms to catch us when the shaky supports that we trust collapse and we fall. No storm can destroy us when we take refuge in him.
To learn more about receiving Jesus tune in to the first meeting here: DISCOVER HOPE
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, (Col 2:6)
Isa 58:1 Shout as loud as you can and don’t stop. Shout like a trumpet! Tell the people what they did wrong. Tell the family of Jacob about their sins.
Isa 58:2 They still come every day to worship me, acting as if they want to learn my ways. They pretend to be a nation that lives right and obeys the commands of their God. They ask me to judge them fairly. They want their God to be near them.
Isa 58:3 They say, “We fast to show honor to you. Why don’t you see us? We starve our bodies to show honor to you. Why don’t you notice us?” But God says, “You do things to please yourselves on those special days of fasting. And you punish your servants, not your own bodies.
Isa 58:4 You are hungry, but not for food. You are hungry for arguing and fighting, not for bread. You are hungry to hit people with your evil hands. This is not the way to fast if you want your prayers to be heard in heaven!
Isa 58:5 Do you think I want to see people punish their bodies on those days of fasting? Do you think I want people to look sad and bow their heads like dead plants? Do you think I want people to wear mourning clothes and sit in ashes to show their sadness? That is what you do on your days of fasting. Do you think that is what the LORD wants?
Isa 58:6 “I will tell you the kind of day I want—a day to set people free. I want a day that you take the burdens off others. I want a day when you set troubled people free and you take the burdens from their shoulders.
Isa 58:7 I want you to share your food with the hungry. I want you to find the poor who don’t have homes and bring them into your own homes. When you see people who have no clothes, give them your clothes! Don’t hide from your relatives when they need help.”
Isa 58:8 If you do these things, your light will begin to shine like the light of dawn. Then your wounds will heal. Your “Goodness” will walk in front of you, and the Glory of the LORD will come following behind you.
Isa 58:9 Then you will call to the LORD, and he will answer you. You will cry out to him, and he will say, “Here I am.” Stop causing trouble and putting burdens on people. Stop saying things to hurt people or accusing them of things they didn’t do.
Isa 58:10 Feel sorry for hungry people and give them food. Help those who are troubled and satisfy their needs. Then your light will shine in the darkness. You will be like the bright sunshine at noon.
Isa 58:11 The LORD will always lead you and satisfy your needs in dry lands. He will give strength to your bones. You will be like a garden that has plenty of water, like a spring that never goes dry.
Isa 58:12 Your cities have been destroyed for many years, but you will rebuild them and their foundations will last for a long time. You will be called “Fence Fixer” and “Builder of Roads and Houses.”
Isa 58:13 That will happen when you stop sinning against God’s law about the Sabbath and when you stop doing things to please yourself on that special day. You should call the Sabbath a happy day. You should honor the LORD’S special day by not saying and doing things that you do every other day of the week.
Isa 58:14 Then you could enjoy the LORD. As the LORD himself says, “I could carry you up to the highest mountain and let you enjoy the land that I gave to your father Jacob.”
Christ is the reason we are now at peace. He made us Jews and you who are not Jews one people. We were separated by a wall of hate that stood between us, but Christ broke down that wall. By giving his own body, Christ ended the law with its many commands and rules. His purpose was to make the two groups become one in him. By doing this he would make peace. Through the cross Christ ended the hate between the two groups. And after they became one body, he wanted to bring them both back to God. He did this with his death on the cross. Christ came and brought the message of peace to you non-Jews who were far away from God. And he brought that message of peace to those who were near to God. Yes, through Christ we all have the right to come to the Father in one Spirit. So now you non-Jewish people are not visitors or strangers, but you are citizens together with God’s holy people. You belong to God’s family. (Eph 2:14-19)
Christ alone
Paul’s theology of Old Testament history is determined by his faith experience with the risen and glorified Christ Jesus.
In other words the full sense of The Old Testament Scriptures and types can only be properly understood by believers today from the position of faith in Christ. From the position of the cross in our lived experience. (Gal 6:14, Eph 2:13, Rev 12:10-11)
There is one great central truth to be kept ever before the mind in the searching of the Scriptures–Christ and Him crucified. Every other truth is invested with influence and power corresponding to its relation to this theme. The soul palsied by sin can be endowed with life only through the work wrought out upon the cross by the Author of our salvation. {FLB 50.2}
This is why Paul says in Gal 6:14 “God for I’d that I glory save in the cross of Jesus Christ my Lord.”
As Paul declared of his then Jewish contemporaries:
But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
Paul was clear in several ways, and he revealed in Scripture how that literal nation of Israel is not going to be complete without many others from other countries and cultures. 2 Corinthians 3:14-16 (KJV)This is why the Bible always talks about “every nation, kindred,tongue,and people when it talks about “the everlasting gospel.” (Rev 14:6-7,Rev 5:9, Acts 3:25,Mat 24:14, Dan 7:14,Psalms 67:2, Gen 22:18)
Paul stated in Rom 9:6
” its not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:” (Rom 9:6)
Many Christians adhere to an Israel Theology in the form of a rigid, inflexible system, closed to new information or more accurate facts. Presenting us all with a major puzzle. Such are stoically insting on a hardened view regarding their tortuous dichotomy of Israel and the church. They insist on their version of a “Biblical” classification that they say is made up of two opposing parts. (dichotomy) In this type of world view regarding Israel, the Church, and Bible prophecy, the Church really, can only hope for Heaven. While Israel, can only hope, apparently, for “Palestine” as their respective eternal inheritance. Yet the Bible says
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most miserable. (1 Cor 15:9)
Stand With Israel adherents provide no hope for the future life, as they clamor about with their dogmatic, sometimes very militant tortuous views on Israel in Bible Prophecy. It is easy to support their views by scripture alone. But not when they take just one or two texts in isolation from the rest of the Bible. “The rest of The Bible” tells us quite a different story as we have already seen above. Jesus Himself always taught that
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Mat 24:14)
Jesus said that before he returns, the Good News about the Kingdom (the message of salvation) would be preached throughout the world. Not just to the literal nation of Israel. The Bible is clear when it says
“every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.”
THAT my friends includes both Palestinians and literal Israel, Gentiles and everyone in between.
This was the disciples’ mission—and it is ours today. Jesus talked about the end times and final judgment to show his followers the urgency of spreading the Good News of salvation to everyone. All countries. All kingdoms. Every language. No one will be left out according to the everlasting gospel! Jesus said that before he returns, the Good News about the Kingdom (the message of salvation) would be preached throughout the world. This was the disciples’ mission—and it is ours today. Jesus talked about the end times and final judgment to show us all today the urgency of spreading the Good News of salvation to everyone who receives Jesus. (John 1:12)
In Scripture we are told how Jeremiah had related what God promised Israel. Israel was and is promised “a new covenant” whereby each Israelite would be able to know Jesus personally, through the forgiveness of sins. (Jer 31:31-34) The cross was central to ancient Israel as well. (Gen 3:15, Isa 45:24-25, Gal 6:14, Eph 2:13). God did/does state one main condition for this promise. You see, in The Old Covenant, so called, God gave the ten commandments, and the people responded by sayin “all that you have said Lord, we will do.” (Exodus 19:8) But when the people utterly failed to keep their promise, God put into play “a better promise” (Heb 8:6) That “better promise is found in Jeremiah:
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. (Jer 31:33)
The people, in trying to promise something they could not deliver, showed how they had serious “I” trouble. They wanted to be like God by trying to do what God would have to do. God’s reply was to direct them to the promise that he Himself would write His law on our hearts. This is the very gospel blessing that Jesus offers to both Jew and Gentile. Through the cross, the resurrection, and and His exaltation as The King Of Israel. (Acts 5:31). All. “Every nation, kindred, tongue, and people,” are welcome to partake of this “precious promise.” (2 Pet 1:3-4)
Today, Christians around the world look for a “better promise” than any literal country here on earth:
All these great people continued living with faith until they died. They did not get the things God promised his people. But they were happy just to see those promises coming far in the future. They accepted the fact that they were like visitors and strangers here on earth. When people accept something like that, they show they are waiting for a country that will be their own. If they were thinking about the country they had left, they could have gone back. But they were waiting for a better country—a heavenly country. So God is not ashamed to be called their God. And he has prepared a city for them. (Heb 11:13-16, ERV)
