Random Thoughts on the Really Good News

"Lazarus, our friend, has found REPOSE, but I am going that I should be awakening him out of SLEEP."  The disciples, then, said to Him, "Lord, if he has repose, he shall be saved."  Now Jesus had made a declaration concerning his DEATH, yet they suppose that He is saying it concerning the REPOSE OF SLEEP."  Jesus, then, said to them with boldness then, "Lazarus DIED." (John 11:11-14) When Lazarus died, he is said by Jesus to have gone to sleep - not to heaven. "Now Jesus, again crying with a loud voice, lets out the spirit."  And lo! the curtain of the temple is rent in two from above to the bottom, and the earth quaked, and the rocks are rent,  and the tombs were opened. And many bodies of the REPOSING SAINTS were ROUSED,  and, coming out of the tombs AFTER HIS ROUSING, they entered into the holy city and are disclosed to many." (Matthew 27:50-53) Jesus died and was put to repose in the tomb - asleep as was Lazarus. After His body wa

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."  (Proverbs 3:5-6) "Have faith in God" ... "Now faith is an assumption of what is being expected, a conviction concerning matters which are not being observed ..."  (Mark 11:22...Hebrews 1:1) We are to TRUST in the Lord and have FAITH in what He SAYS. It is sad to see our world filled with those who are trusting in politicians and having faith  in what they say - whether liberal or conservatives. NONE OF THEM have the power to do what they say. So, I simply TRUST in the one being who can  be trusted, and I have FAITH that He will  do what He says. “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.   She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus,  because He will save His people from their sins.”   (Matthew 1:20-2

T he Hebrew word  Sheol , and the Greek words  Hades, Gehenna  and  Tartarus  (each translated  “hell”  or  “hades”  in most English versions of the Bible) do not refer to a place of eternal conscious torment called hell. What  about Luke 16:19-31 - the rich man and Lazarus?   That is a parable spoken by Jesus in a series of parables beginning in Luke 14:7. Jesus was addressing the Sopherim (Scribes), Pharisees and Sadducees - religious leaders of the Jewish people similar to modern day Christian pastors, evangelists, and teachers. Jesus told His disciples that He spoke to them in parables because these religious leaders had not been  “granted to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven” .  The  “Kingdom”  He was referring to is the Kingdom of Israel that God has promised to reestablished by the Messiah on the earth. These religious leaders rejected Jesus as the Messiah of Israel. So, Jesus spoke to them in parables about what would happen to Israel because of their rejection.  The

Two Inescapable Truths about Blasphemy and Adding to Scripture  Truth #1. Blasphemy of the holy spirit will not be pardoned in this age or the next.  Truth #2. If you add to what God has said in the book of Revelation, God will add to you the plagues found in therein.  "Every sin and blasphemy shall be pardoned men, yet the blasphemy of the holy spirit shall not be pardoned. And whosoever may be saying a word against the Son of Humanity, it will be pardoned him, yet whoever may be saying aught against the holy spirit, it shall NOT be pardoned him, neither in this age nor in that which is impending."  (Matthew 12:32)  "I am testifying to everyone who is hearing the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If ever anyone may be appending to them, God shall be appending to him the calamities written in this scroll."  And if ever anyone should be eliminating from the words of the scroll of this prophecy, God shall be eliminating his part from the log of life, and out of th

“The Earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it” (Psalm 24:1). This verse declares that all the people who have ever lived on this planet are the LORDS! We should not fall into the trap of thinking that Christians are the only ones who are HIS. Consider the term “lost" - it is a declaration of ownership. When “Christians” refer to the lost, they should realize that they are acknowledging God’s ownership! Humans may be made to feel lost - but none of us are ever truly lost. For now we are sinners, all of us, and fall short of the glory of God - but the free gift of God is eternal life. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our LORD...And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those He has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day." (Romans 3:23, 6:23; John 6:39)

 " Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." (Luke 24:45-47) The only way to "understand the Scriptures" is for Jesus to open your mind. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12:2) When Jesus opens your mind you will see the plan of God for humanity was for the Messiah to "suffer and rise from the the dead" . And you will see the Devine result of His suffering, death, and His resurrection - to provide the way for humanity to "inherit the kingdom of God"