Promises of the Messiah

PROMISES OF "THE MESSIAH"

After God’s promise in Deuteronomy 18, many years passed with no prophet arising who seemed to match Moses. Yet God was not silent. He carefully guided history in the direction He had chosen. Along the way, God used prophets to give the meaning of His actions and to point ahead to what He planned. Again and again these prophets told of One to come. He would be the great King from David’s family line (2 Samuel 7; Psalm 89; Isaiah 11). He would serve as "Priest forever" (Psalm 110). Psalm 110 also spoke of this eternal Priest as David’s "Lord." This Priest and Lord would rule from the highest place, at God’s right hand. Similar prophecies showed that the coming Prophet, the coming Priest, and the coming King would be the same Person—the Messiah! 💖

IS JESUS THAT MESSIAH?

When an Israelite man was officially made a prophet or priest or king, oil was usually poured on his head. Such pouring was called "anointing," and served as a sign of the authority to lead. The Hebrew word Messiah means "His Anointed" (Psalm 2). This same word from the Greek language is Christ. Today most people who know the word "Christ" think immediately of Jesus Christ. This is because so many proofs point to Jesus as the One promised by God. Jesus fits the descriptions of the Messiah or Christ as foretold by the Old Testament prophets. Jesus also did the miracles of mighty power that we would expect of the prophet like Moses. He healed the blind, deaf and lame. He stilled storms and walked on the water. He even gave life back to the dead! At the town of Nain, Jesus met a funeral group going to bury the only son of a widow. When He saw the widow’s great sorrow, He went to the coffin. He touched it and called out, "Young man, I say to you, arise!" Many were present. They saw the boy arise from death! Luke 7:16 reports,

Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, ”A great prophet has arisen among us!” and ”God has visited his people!”

The people knew what they had seen. Jesus lived among them. Many were present to see His great works. Here were miraculous "signs" showing more clearly than ever the power that only the Creator has over His creation. Therefore Jesus really was "a great prophet." The people who saw these things reasoned correctly,

When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done? (John 7:31).

Here were the greatest teachings ever heard, and the greatest miracles ever seen. If Jesus was not the Christ, who could possibly do greater things?

So even at that time many realized that He had to be the Prophet (John 7:40). If so, that also meant He was the Christ. When Jesus came into the city of Jerusalem for the last time they welcomed Him as "the Son of David," "the King" and "the Prophet" (Matthew 21:8-11; Luke 19:37-38). 💡 

THE GREATEST SIGN

Jesus often foretold that He would be killed by the Jewish and Roman leaders (Matthew 16:4; 17:12,23; 20:18-19; 26:2). His death, He said, would be by crucifixion, in which a person was nailed to a wooden cross and left to die in great pain. He explained that His death would allow people to be forgiven of their sins (Matthew 20:28; 26:28). Yet, along with predictions of His death, Jesus promised that His greatest "sign" would be to return from death in just three days (Matthew 12:38-40; 17:23; John 2:19-22).

As is well-recorded by history, Jesus actually went on to fulfill that promise (Matthew 28; John 20; Acts 2)! Not even the greatest prophet, priest or king had ever dared to make such a promise for himself. And certainly none had been able to raise himself from the grave. Jesus, by God’s power, both predicted it and accomplished it. Could there be any doubt that the Prophet foretold by Moses had finally arrived?

Peter was one of the eyewitnesses of these things. He had once fled from the enemies who killed Jesus. But after Jesus had returned from death, Peter knew that death was not to be feared any longer. With the help of God’s Spirit, Peter stood before the same enemies and boldly declared,

”And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled… Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days (Acts 3:17-18; 22-24).

Peter quoted from the very passage we have studied—Deuteronomy 18. That passage, he said, looked ahead to Jesus Christ. Indeed, all the "prophets" had pointed forward to this one great Prophet! Since Jesus is the Prophet like Moses, He is now the Mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5). That is why we are told, "listen to him in whatever he tells you" (Acts 3:22).

What if we fail to listen to Jesus? We miss God’s most important message for life. We bring on ourselves this terrible result:

And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people (Acts 3:23).

Such a person can no longer belong with God and His people! This is a serious matter. Our lives depend on listening carefully to the Prophet like Moses.

LET'S SUM UP

God’s fiery presence is too great for us. We cannot bear to see and hear Him in a direct way. Therefore God speaks to us through a go-between (a mediator). For the Jews at Sinai that mediator was Moses. At that time God promised Another to come, a Prophet like Moses. The New Testament proves that this new Mediator is Jesus Christ. His message must be treated with full respect if we are to have life with God and His people.

Lord Most High, You dwell in light far too bright and glorious for us. In Your love for us, You planned ahead to meet our need for a mediator. How we thank You for sending the greatest Prophet and Mediator, Jesus Christ! Help us to be open to the words You gave to Him for us… ⚠

God spoken through Moses

GOD HAS SPOKEN THROUGH A PROPHET LIKE MOSES

And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him (Deuteronomy 18:17-18).

Deuteronomy 18, which gave a test for prophets, also gave this remarkable promise about another future Prophet. He would come from "among their brothers." That is, He also would be an Israelite (also called Hebrew or Jew). Of greatest importance was that He would be like Moses—this is how He would stand out so that people could recognize Him.

GOD'S GLORY TOO GREAT FOR MAN

Why was it so important to have this special Prophet like Moses? The same passage explained:

”The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb… when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die” (Deuteronomy 18:15-16).

Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai. God met the Israelites at this mountain, after they had left Egypt. He came down in terrible fire and smoke on the mountain. The whole mountain shook. Thunder boomed from mighty flashes of lightning. A trumpet call grew louder and louder, and then God Himself spoke!

His glory (described in Exodus 19 and Deuteronomy 5) was too great for them. The people trembled with fear. The fire and the voice of God were so awesome that the people thought they were going to die immediately. So they all begged Moses,

”You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” (Exodus 20:19)

God replied,

”They are right in what they have spoken.” (Deuteronomy 18:17; also 5:28).

For the people had seen that God was far too great for them to deal with Him directly. He "lives in unapproachable light" (1 Timothy 6:16).

ERV: God lives in light so bright that men cannot go near it.

They needed someone to represent them before God, someone to go between them and God. The first such go-between, or mediator, was Moses. He went to the people, taking to them God’s messages. But a mediator works to bring both sides together. So Moses also went to God. He took the needs of the people to God. In this way Moses did much good for his people. Yet God knew that people in the future also would need a mediator. So He promised in Deuteronomy 18 to send another Prophet from among the Israelites, a Prophet like Moses.

🌏 

WE NEED A MEDIATOR, NOT MEDIUMS

Deuteronomy 18 shows another important reason for a mediator. God knows that people need answers for solving life’s many problems. They need to make the best choices about how to live. God also knows that people often look for answers in the wrong places. For example, many turn to spirit mediums who claim to speak for the dead or for other spirits. Many also seek answers in witchcraft, spiritism, magic spells, omens, and other signs such as the stars. In Deuteronomy 18:9-14, God commanded His people not to use these methods (also Leviticus 19:31; 1 Chronicles 10:13; Isaiah 8:19; Acts 19:19; Revelation 21:8). Was He trying to keep them from finding spiritual answers? Actually, God was keeping them from these methods because they give false answers, which harm people (Isaiah 47:8-15; Jeremiah 27:9-10).

God’s love went even further. Rather than stopping the search for answers, God opened the way for all the answers that all people need. For immediately after speaking against mediums, God promised to send the Prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18: 15-19). People do not need "mediums" because God gives His Mediator! God assured them,

I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him (Deuteronomy 18:18).

Unlike messages from mediums, this message would be true. This message could be fully trusted and followed. For this message would be God’s own words. "Everything" from God would be faithfully passed along to the people by the Prophet like Moses.  🍓

NO PROPHET LIKE MOSES

Weren’t all prophets "like Moses"? No. Even at the time of Moses there were other prophets, such as Miriam and Aaron. Yet God made it plain that Moses was quite different from them. God spoke to Moses in a more open, direct and personal way. This is what God said:

If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses… With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord (Numbers 12:6-8).

Joshua came after Moses. Yet even in the passage which speaks of Joshua’s greatness, Deuteronomy ends with these words,

And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do… and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror [fear] that Moses did in the sight of all Israel (Deuteronomy 34:10-12).

Clearly, the other prophets were not like Moses. God was more direct with Moses. God used him as His special agent and lawgiver. Because of His unique authority, all other Israelite prophets, from Joshua on, taught their people to follow "the Law of Moses." The coming Prophet would serve, like Moses, as God’s Mediator with special authority to give God’s commandments to the people. God would speak directly with the new Mediator. And here is another important point: From Deuteronomy 34, we learn that being truly "like Moses" had to include showing miracles of mighty power. 🌹 

Why we need the blood of Jesus

Hebrews 10:1-14

Anyone who has read through the book of Leviticus can’t help but notice the emphasis on sacrifices. There were prescribed animals for different kinds of personal and national offerings, as well as for occasions like the Sabbath and feasts. Why did God require this? And why was He so specific about the details of worship?

There were three lessons God was teaching Israel through His law.

• God is holy and separate from sinful man.
• Sin is costly, requiring a payment or sacrifice.
• There is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood.

All the laws, ceremonies, priests, and offerings in the Old Testament were a shadow of the good things to come. None of the animal sacrifices could actually take away sin. While serving as a reminder of sin, those offerings also pointed ahead to the Lamb of God: Jesus Christ came to be the final sacrifice. He gave His life at Calvary, bringing complete forgiveness for all sin.

We who live on this side of the cross may be tempted to think too lightly of our sins because we have never sacrificed an animal or seen blood flowing from the throat of an innocent lamb because of our wrongdoing. Nor did we watch the crucifixion of our Lord as He hung on the cross, bearing God’s judgment for our sins. The only cost we actually see involves the consequences we suffer for our rebellion and disobedience.

As difficult and painful as it may be, let’s seriously consider what our sins cost the Savior. If we allow our hearts to be broken, our worship and gratitude will overflow, and we’ll respond by living a holy life.

Mighty Conqueror.

Conquering the Unconquerable

Jesus told His disciples that He would rise from the dead. By actually doing so—by conquering the unconquerable—He not only proved the truth of that one statement but also validated everything else He ever said. The resurrection earned and deserves our trust for all that Christ ever claimed, promised, warned, and predicted.

Because Jesus is alive, we have the awesome certainty that our God is actively involved in our lives. In fact, we see evidence of His living through us. We pray and God answers; we watch Him work in people’s hearts and change lives; we ask Him to cleanse us from our sins, and we walk away forgiven—the guilt is gone, and we experience a profound sense of restored fellowship with our Father. Why? Because He is real. And when something is true, you don’t have to worry about defending it. You simply live it out, trusting God, and He will take care of the results.

Because Jesus died in our place and rose again, we are God’s forgiven children—and what He has done for us can never be undone. John 10:28-30 promises, “I give eternal life to [my sheep], and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” Do you hear the permanence and guarantee of that promise? No one—not even you yourself—can snatch you from the Father’s hands once you are His.

John 3:16 also promises, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life”—period. God didn’t say “except” or “if.” He said “eternal life.” That means forever, irrevocable, 100 percent sure. And He offers it to whomever will believe. Because Jesus rose from the dead, we can journey forward with the assurance that if we trust Him as Savior, we will live and reign with Him forever.

May our risen Savior remind you today and every day of the certainties of the cross and His resurrection, and may He encourage your heart deeply, abundantly, and with never-ending joy.

A Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of Your Son and for the eternal life He purchased on my behalf at Calvary. If ever I doubt Your love for me, help me remember that You spared nothing—not even Jesus—to make a way for me to be with You forever. Help me live in the light of the gospel, dead to sin and raised to a new life with Christ. And with that new life, use me as Your ambassador to share the good news of salvation with others. Amen.

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He lives. Jesus is alive

6. 🙌 Because He Lives

The fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead gives us the absolute, unquestionable ⚠foundation for everything else we believe.
First of all, we have the confidence of knowing our 💖God is alive. Jesus was not simply some itinerant preacher or teacher; He claimed to be the Messiah, the Son of the living God (Matt. 16: 16-17). The Lord told His disciples that to see Him was to see the Father (John 14:9); and in fact, that was one of the reasons He came—to reveal the heavenly Father so we could understand what He’s like.

All other belief systems have their so-called gods, but we know where their leaders are buried, which calls into question their “divinity.” Christ rose from the dead to validate and settle once and for all that our God🙏 is the only true God, the Creator of all things. He who made each of us can’t be fashioned by us. The One we worship is alive—not dead, inanimate, or an idea dreamed up in the mind of man. Think about it: Unless you ♨believe that Jesus Christ is 🍇risen from the dead, then you either worship something else or nothing at all, a situation Isaiah considers foolish and Paul calls pitiable. Why? Simply because people without the living Christ have no assurance of anything.

You might be wondering, Well, if Christ is alive, then where is He? What’s He doing? Scripture reveals very clearly that Jesus is seated at the Father’s right hand, interceding on our behalf (Heb. 7:25; 10:12).  He’s a living God who cares, loves, hears, and answers our prayers. He’s our forgiving Lord, continually advocating on our behalf. What’s more, the Lord Jesus is God the Son, who is preparing a place for each of us who believes in Him (John 14:2). He’s also the risen Savior who promised His disciples that, though He was going away, He wouldn't leave them as orphans—Jesus assured them He would send the Holy Spirit to teach 🍎and guide each of His followers until He returned (John 14:16, 18).

So today, every single believer is indwelt by⛅ the living Spirit of God, beginning the moment he or she receives Christ as Savior. As Christians, we’re sealed forever🏆 unto the day of redemption when we’re called home to heaven. Our God is alive and active in and through the lives of His children, and He’s ready to save any who are willing to 🔊confess sin and receive the gift 🎁of forgiveness He so freely gives.

The Resurrection

⛅ 5. 

The Resurrection—Why It Matters

What if Jesus Christ hadn’t risen from the dead? Where would that leave us? What assurance would we have about anything in life? Our confidence, thoughts about death, and our hopes for existence after this life would all be affected.

God knew Jesus’ resurrection would raise many questions in our minds; that’s why He led Paul to provide us with some answers. In 1 Corinthians 15:14, the apostle addresses the main issue: What if the resurrection didn’t really happen? He writes, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.”

This means if the resurrection hadn’t occurred, our faith would be empty and without foundation; we'd be false witnesses, spreading lies; all our efforts for the faith would be worthless; and reading Scripture and sharing the good news would be a total waste of time (1 Cor. 15:17). All Christ-followers who’d died believing they were destined for eternal life would've simply perished, their hope of heaven nothing more than a delusion (1 Cor. 15:18).
Worst of all, we'd still be living in our sins (1 Cor. 15:17), still under guilt, and owing our lives as the penalty our transgressions deserved (Rom. 6:23).
Paul sums it up this way: “If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied” (1 Cor. 15:19).

Thankfully, our 😃hope extends beyond this life because 😇Jesus truly has risen from the dead. 
God, in His wisdom, left us undeniable ⚠evidence. For starters, the tomb was guarded by Roman soldiers, who faced imminent death if they failed to carry out orders. Though this precaution was to prevent Christ’s followers from stealing the body and falsely claiming He’d risen (Matt. 27:62-66), the tomb nevertheless ended 🎯up empty. Another indication is that of changed🙏 lives—something significant has to have taken place for Christ’s fearful disciples to become bold♨ proclaimers of the gospel despite violent threats (John 20:19).
Mat 28; luke 24; mark 16; john 20.

Most importantly, Jesus 💡Himself promised He'd rise from the dead (Matt. 16:21). He claimed to be one with the Father (John 10:30), so either He was and is the Son of the living God, or else He was a liar. The record shows, however, He never told an untruth (John 14:6). Everything He promised or predicted 🌷came about, just as He said it would, except for those prophecies that are still to come (such as His second coming). These, too, will one day 💥occur exactly as He’s foretold, for there’s nothing false about the sinless Son of God (John 7:18).

Sanctification

⛅4

Sanctification & Access to God

At the moment of salvation, Jesus sanctified😇 you with His blood by applying it to your life (Heb. 13:12). This means you were set apart as God’s child to live for Him from that time onward. The best way for me to describe sanctification is to compare it to a period that comes at the end of an event. You were😇 saved, redeemed, justified, reconciled, 🙌and sanctified, period. But this period does not end. It turns into a line that continues 🙏throughout your life.

Sanctification is the process by which the Lord is continually⚠ transforming His children into the image 🍎of Jesus Christ. The entire Christian life is in that line; it just keeps lengthening as we 🎯grow in godliness, obedience, and understanding.
Salvation is not the endpoint but the beginning 🎄of God’s purposes for believers. His goal is to renew every area of our lives so that we can become His valuable servants and🌹 ambassadors of Christ to a lost world.

This process will continue throughout life because the Holy Spirit resides 🔥within every believer, guiding and empowering each one to move forward. He'll never leave us—there’s always another step to take in our progress toward 😃Christlikeness and fruitful service for the Lord.

Key to that progress is being able to confidently enter the Holy Place by the blood of Jesus (Heb. 10:19-22). In the Old Testament, the Holy of Holies was the inner room of the tabernacle or temple where God dwelt above the ark of the covenant. The high priest was the only one who could enter this most holy place, and he could do so only once a year to make atonement for himself and the nation. After carefully preparing himself with sacred rituals, he would enter with animal blood to sprinkle on the mercy seat.

Today, the only reason Christians can approach God is because, spiritually speaking, they're covered in the blood of Jesus. When Jesus offered His life as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, the veil of the temple—which separated God from the people—was torn in two from top to bottom. Mat 27:51. Heb 10:20.
This supernatural event signified the Father’s acceptance ⚠of Christ’s sacrifice, which opened the way to His presence.

Because we’ve never participated in the Old Testament sacrificial system, we usually take for granted our access to the Lord. There’s now no need to sacrifice a lamb when we want to approach God. Each time we enter the Father’s throne room in prayer, it’s as if Jesus looks to us and says, “Here’s one of Ours … the blood has been applied.”

Justification

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8 ESV
Justification & Reconciliation

The Word of God alerts us that the wrath of God will rightly fall on sinful mankind (Rom. 5:8-10), but those who are justified by the blood of Christ will be saved from that dreadful punishment. Justification means that the Father accepts the death of His Son as full payment for our sin (Rom. 3:23-26). Jesus is a satisfactory substitute because He is the sinless Lamb of God.

Furthermore, we are declared righteous in the Lord’s eyes. Think of justification as a legal transaction in which Jesus placed all of our iniquities on His account and then paid it in full. Next, He took the record of His perfect life and transferred it to our account. Now when God looks at us, all He sees is Christ’s perfection. We are no longer guilty but are declared legally righteous, even if we don’t always act like it.

What an awesome privilege to be righteous in the Lord’s eyes! Now, that doesn’t mean believers can go out and do anything they want. Remember, “You have been bought with a price; therefore, glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:20). We are children of God, but if we start acting like children of the devil, our loving heavenly Father will be faithful to use discipline and bring us back to our senses. The gift of righteousness should motivate us to live a life that reflects our blameless standing before God.

When a relationship characterized by separation and alienation becomes one of acceptance and restoration, that change is known as “reconciliation.” The moment Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord, the relationship between God and mankind was broken, but the Father took the initiative to bring restoration by sending His Son into the world. Through the blood of His cross, Christ made reconciliation possible by establishing peace between God and man. Beyond that, He presents us blameless before the Father (Col. 1:19-22). All the barriers have been removed, and an intimate relationship with the Lord is available to every believer.🌏
Source intouch ministry. Dr Charles Stanley.

The blood of Jesus

Matius 26:1

Devotion for paschah / easter

🍎 The Precious Blood of Jesus

When was the last time you heard a sermon or sang a song about the blood of Jesus? Some churches today find the concept antiquated or even gruesome. Songs that mention “the blood” have even been removed from hymnbooks. Yet without it, there’s no hope of a relationship with God, no assurance of salvation, and no confidence that our prayers are heard.

Scripture never shies away from the mention of blood. In fact, it runs like a red thread from Genesis to Revelation. If you eliminate the references to blood from the Bible, all that remains is a book of history and literature. Anything God considers this important should never be disregarded.

Leviticus 17:11 tells us that God gave blood to make atonement because the “life of the flesh” is in it. The word “atonement,” as it is used in the Old Testament, means “covering.” Through the sacrificial system of worship established by the Lord, the sins of mankind were covered by the blood of innocent animals.

The seriousness of sin is revealed by the monumental cost of atonement—the penalty is death; and it must be paid by either the guilty one or an acceptable substitute. To cover transgressions, the animals offered had to be unblemished and perfect. Every sacrifice on the altar was a fulfillment of the death penalty required by God’s law.

The sacrificial system taught people that the Lord is holy, transgressions must be punished, and atonement for sin takes place only through the shedding of blood. This arrangement was a foreshadowing of what was to come. Because animal sacrifices can only cover sin, an “ultimate lamb” was needed to remove all of man’s iniquity.

One day as John the Baptist stood by the Jordan River, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” walked onto the scene of human history (John 1:29). The perfect sacrifice for sins had arrived. He was “foreknown before the foundation of the world” and came to earth to fulfill the Lord’s awesome plan of redemption by shedding His precious blood (1 Peter 1:18-20).

Jesus wasn’t just a man; He was the Son of God clothed in human flesh. His birth was supernatural because he was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin. Since no sin was transferred to Him through an earthly father, Jesus was the perfect, spotless Lamb of God—His was the only flawless life and, therefore, the only suitable sacrifice for the guilt of all mankind.

📚 Redemption & Forgiveness

Apart from the blood of Christ, no one can have a relationship with the heavenly Father. Because God is holy, our sin blocks any chance of connection with Him. But in love, He planned and initiated a course of reconciliation with fallen humanity. The blood of Jesus provides all that we need to draw near to the Father.

To “redeem” means “to buy something back.” Jesus Christ came to the cross for the primary purpose of purchasing us from a life of slavery to sin. Maybe you think you’re a pretty good person and don’t feel enslaved to sin. But no matter how moral a person may seem, every human being has a sin nature (Rom. 3:23).

To set us free, a price had to be paid. But to whom? Jesus didn’t pay off the devil; He paid the price that God required in order to satisfy His holy justice. According to Ezekiel 18:20, “The person who sins will die.” The cost of our redemption was the blood of the perfect Son of God—and He made this sacrifice in our place. Because the Father accepted Christ’s payment, we’ve been set free from bondage to sin and have received the power of the Holy Spirit, who enables us to live in the freedom of obedience to the Father.

Now when it comes to forgiveness of our sins, most people have the idea that the Lord will forgive them simply because they ask Him. What they may not understand is that the basis for His pardon is not their request, but Christ’s payment for their debt. The Lord cannot forgive wrong just because someone asks. His holiness will not allow Him to overlook sin; it must be punished. His justice will not allow Him to forgive trespasses without a payment.

Only with the substitutionary death of the perfect Son of God does the Father have a legitimate basis by which He can forgive whoever comes to Him in faith and repentance (Eph. 1:7). There is nothing we can do to earn His forgiveness. Our pardon is granted only when Christ’s blood is applied to our lives.

🌷

666 number of the beast

Mark of the Beast

DiAne Gates  GriefShare

World War II German soldiers managed to tattoo numbers on the arms of every Jewish prisoner, but a time in this world when everyone on the earth would receive a mark either on their right hand or in their forehead—how could that be?

In the span of my generation, what sounded like an impossibility in The Book of the Revelation written in approximately 90 A.D., today’s technology has made a reality.

During that last Passover meal with His disciples, Jesus told them, “From now on I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am He” (John 13:19 NAS).

He instructs us to read, hear, and heed the signs of His coming—to be ready—are you?

1.  Who is this beast who requires a mark?

The Book of Daniel tells us there will be a number of beasts. But the angel Daniel saw prefaced all this information with a single comment: “And he said, ‘Behold, I am going to let you know what will occur at the final period of the indignation, for it pertains to the appointed time of the end’” (Daniel 8:19 NAS).

“And in the latter period of their rule, when the transgressors have run their course, a king will rise insolent and skilled in intrigue, and his power will be mighty, but not by his own power, and he will destroy to an extraordinary degree and prosper and perform his will; he will destroy mighty men and the holy people. And through his shrewdness he will cause deceit to succeed by his influence; and he will magnify himself in his heart, and he will destroy many while they are at ease. He will even oppose the Prince of princes. But he will be broken without human agency” (Daniel 8:23-25 NAS).

Daniel’s beast, according to Revelation 13:1-3, is Beast #1, the anti-christ. And Beast #2 is identified in Revelation 13:11 as the false prophet—a religious leader who has all the power of Beast #1 as long as he’s in the presence of this first beast.

2.Where does he come from?

God left a message in Daniel 7 so we would know a fourth beast/kingdom will devour the whole earth and crush it. And out of this kingdom, one will rise who is different from all the rest and he will subdue three kings. Keep your bookmark in the 7th, 8th and 9th Chapters of Daniel and go to Revelation Chapters 13-20.

“And he will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time” (Daniel 7:23-25 NAS).

So where does Daniel’s beast come from? Out of an end times, one world government, where he rises over many kings, but finally subdues the last three. The Book of Revelations gives us a final preview of what’s coming, not to scare us, but to help us connect the dots… and be ready. When Jesus speaks to the churches in Chapters 2-4 of Revelation, He repeats seven times, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” And that’s us folks. We’d best listen up!

3. When does beast #1 appear?

The angel Gabriel gave Daniel the message of what’s called the 70 weeks of Daniel—a countdown on God’s time clock of the ages—the clock began ticking with the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. And that decree was issued by Cyrus in 538 B.C.

Daniel 9:26-27 tells us, “…the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary” (the city is Jerusalem, the sanctuary is the temple… does this mean there will be a new Jewish temple during the time of the beast? Let’s read on.) “And he (the prince who is to come) will make firm covenant with the many for one week (seven years), but in the middle of the week (3 ½ years) he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”

Revelation Chapter 13 gives a more detailed description. But we know this beast is the anti-christ and God gives him power to rule over the whole earth for 42 months. And he brings another beast with him.

4. Who does beast #1 bring with him?

Why Beast #2, of course. He looks like a lamb, but speaks like a dragon. This beast is identified as the false prophet—the religious leader of this end-time prophecy. He has no power of his own, but in the presence of Beast #1, he has all of the power of the first beast. And he orders all the earth to worship Beast #1. He performs signs… even making fire appear to come out of heaven. He is a deceiver who builds an image that all who are alive on this earth must worship. He is even given power to make this image breathe and speak. And if the people don’t fall down and worship this image they are beheaded. (Revelation 20:4 NAS)

And Revelation 13:8-9 tells us “…all who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear.”

5. Who gives the beast power?

Revelation 16:13 adds information about these two beasts by letting us know after God’s bowl judgments begin, the power source behind the two beasts joins them in a desperate attempt to defeat the Sovereign God of all Creation. And this third one is none other than the serpent—the dragon of old—Satan. We see the picture of unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouths of these three unholy ones—spirits of demons going out to gather the kings of the earth to war of the Great Day of God.

6. What is the "mark of the beast"?

Beast #2 who caused the image of beast #1 to be constructed has issued an order that everyone—small or great, rich or poor, free or slaves—be given a mark on their right hand or in their forehead. This makes my mind shift into overdrive. A few years ago, a chip was invented that holds all a person’s information. Alarm bells screamed in my head when teens were urged to have these chips implanted in their hand so when they decide to party-hearty their information can’t be stolen, and to persuade parents, if their child were in harm’s way, they could be tracked.

During this 42 month period, a person without the name of the beast or the number of his name will not be able to buy or sell. Revelation 13: 18 says: “… the number is that of a man; and his number is 666.” Think for a moment about what that indicates. Probably a cashless society. Those who refuse the mark won’t be able to buy groceries, gas, medicine—nothing. They will have no way to earn what they need, because without the mark of the beast, there will be no banks or places to store earned wealth.

And with the technology of our time, what should that provoke within each one of us? Urgency! An immediate need to share the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all within our sphere of influence.

7. Why the mark?

From the beginning, the serpent—Satan—has desired to be like God. His unholy trinity mocks The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. God’s Word tells us: “Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8 NAS).

Tucked back in Leviticus 19:28 we find these words: “You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead, nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the Lord.” But God gives everyone the choice—to trust Him or not. But receiving the mark ends all choice.

“If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God…and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lord. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name” (Revelation 14:9-11 NAS).

8. What happens to those who refuse the mark?

Many will come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ during these years of tribulation, but the cost of that choice will be their life.

Revelation 6:9 gives us a glimpse of those who’ve been martyred because of their faith in Jesus. God has safely cloistered them under the altar, where they ask Him, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” They were given white robes and instructed to rest until the number of those who were to be killed, as they had been, was completed.

Revelation 7:15 tells us: “For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple… they shall hunger no more… for the Lamb… shall be their shepherd… to guide them to springs of the water of life; and God shall wipe every tear from their eyes.”

9. What happens to the beasts?

And now the good news! Revelations 19 and 20 record the closing hours of this age. I invite you to read these final chapters to visualize the great victory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Beasts 1 and 2 are seized by the mighty angels and pitched alive into the lake of fire and brimstone.

Then another angel comes down out of heaven, holding the keys to the great abyss. He seizes and binds Satan and throws him into the abyss. This angel shuts and seals this bottomless pit over Satan where he is bound for 1,000 years so he can no longer deceive the nations of the earth.

But after 1,000 years, this devil of old must be released for a short time… and I’m not going to tell you the rest of the story. Revelation 20-22 are worth the read! These chapters are easy to understand and God promises a blessing to all who will read, hear, and heed the words of the prophecy of Revelation. Jesus warns: “For the time is near” (Revelation 1:3 NAS).

10. What's God's message for you and me about this mark?

“Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and ‘Let everyone who names the name of the Lord abstain from wickedness’” (2 Timothy 2:19 NAS).

I know the messages of Revelation and Daniel make the eyes of unbelievers roll and they turn us off with a chuckle. But those who choose to turn from God in no way invalidate His instructions to us to go and make disciples. We are to share what our Lord has and is doing in our lives.

The study of the Revelation of Jesus Christ will become clearer as the Day approaches. In my lifetime, I’ve seen technology develop that allows us to see what happens across the globe in real time. In the 11th Chapter of Revelation, God told us the whole world would look on the dead bodies of the two witnesses and rejoice. When I was a young girl, I wondered, Lord, how can that happen? Now I know. I wondered how anyone or anything could track the population of the whole earth… but now we have computers programed to do just that. They already track your shopping habits, your online exchanges… what’s next?

Time is short! God has been merciful. Repentance is urgent. Judgment is imminent. Jesus is near—even at the door.

Wife, mother, and Mimi, freelance artist and photographer, DiAne Gates writes for children, young adults, and non-fiction for adults through her blogs, http://dianegates.wordpress.com/ and www.floridagirlturnedtexan.wordpress.com. She also facilitates a GriefShare support group. DiAne’s award winning

Israel and the Bible prophecy

Intersection of Life and Faith

Israel and the Bible: 4 Miracle Prophecies Christians Should Know About

• Adrian RogersLove Worth Finding

"Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion, for the time to favor her, yea, the set time is come. For Thy servants take pleasure in her stones and favor the dust thereof. So the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord and all of the kings of the earth Thy glory. When the Lord shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His glory." Psalm 102:13-16

People sometimes ask me, “Pastor, why do you keep going back to the land of Israel?” Because I love the land and I love her people.They are God's chosen people, a people of destiny. I go to Israel for two reasons.

One, I love her past. I love to look back and see the land where my Savior lived and walked and talked. I love to study the Bible on location. It causes the Bible to burst aflame in your hands.

Two, I want help in understanding the present and the future, because there is Bible prophecy yet to be fulfilled. Keep your eyes on Zion, God's holy land. As the Jew goes, so goes the world. The Jews are God's yardstick, God's outline, God's blueprint, for what He’s up to in the rest of the world.

The land of Israel, I believe, is the most important spot on earth. The most important city is not Washington or Moscow, but Jerusalem. The most important land, believe it or not, is not America but tiny Israel, about the size of New Jersey.

What does the Bible have to say about Israel?

Israel: the geographic center. “See, I have set thee in the midst of the nations (Ezekiel 5:5). Israel, called “the navel of the earth,” is strategically located at the hub of three continents.

Israel: the revelation center. From this land, the land of Moses, the prophets and the apostles, came the Word of God.

Israel: the spiritual center. In Bethlehem Jesus was born. In Nazareth He grew to maturity. In Galilee He walked and taught on the mountainsides and beside the Sea. In Jerusalem our Lord was crucified, buried and rose from the dead. From the Mount of Olives He ascended. And to the Mount of Olives He will return; His feet will first touch down upon the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4).

Israel: the prophecy center. Prophecy is “pre-written history.” The land of Israel is the only land belonging to God’s people. The details of their future are minutely recorded in the Bible. If you want to know what God is doing, study Israel and her people.

Israel: the storm center. The Middle East, specifically Israel, is the world’s greatest trouble spot. The Bible says “Jerusalem will be a burdensome stone for all people” of the world[CAP1] [CA2] - (Zechariah 12:3), and indeed we see in the daily news the gathering storm clouds of Armageddon.

Israel: also the peace center. We’re told to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6). There will never be peace on earth until there's peace in Jerusalem, until Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, rules and reigns from Jerusalem. When we're praying for the peace of Jerusalem, we're praying, “Even so, come Lord Jesus.” We want our Lord to reign from Zion, to sit upon the throne of his father David.

Israel: one day will be the glory center. When our Lord returns, all nations of the world will come to Jerusalem to worship (Micah 2:3). Jerusalem will be the capital city not only of Israel but of the entire world, and the Word of the Lord shall go forth from Zion (Isaiah 2:3). Jesus will reign from Jerusalem (Luke 1:32). Israel is at the center of God’s plan.

As we look at Israel, I want you to see four miracle prophecies about this land.

1. The prophecy of Israel’s miraculous generation (How Israel came to be a nation)

In Genesis 18:18 God gave Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, the promise of a son—and descendants. He said, “Abraham, through your son all the nations of the world are going to be blessed” (Genesis 12:3, 22:18). When Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90, God gave them a miracle child. Every Jew alive today is the direct result of a miracle birth. Therefore, our precious Jewish friends should have no difficulty believing in the virgin birth because every one of them is here because of a miracle birth. That's the miracle of the generation of the Jewish people.

Then God promised Abraham a land for His people. God Himself gave Abraham the land we call Israel. And He gave it irrevocably. (Genesis 12:1, 15:16, 15:18-21, Deuteronomy 9:4)

The prophecy of Israel’s miraculous preservation, part 1

Not only did God bring Israel into being as a miracle nation, but God keeps Israel as a miracle nation. Psalm 89shows God’s heart on this.

18 For the Lord is our defense; and the Holy One of Israel is our king…. 20 I have found David My servant; with My holy oil have I anointed him: 21 With whom My hand shall be established: Mine arm also shall strengthen him. 22 The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him. 23 And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him. 24 But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him: and in My name shall his horn be exalted…. 27 “Also I will make him My first born, higher than the kings of the earth. 28 My mercy will I keep for him forevermore and My covenant [an unbreakable promise] shall stand fast with him. 29 His seed also will I make to endure forever and his throne as the days of heaven.”

God declares the descendants of David shall endure. Looking down through the tunnel of time, He foresaw (v. 30) that if David's descendants 30 “forsake My law and walk not in My judgments [and by the way, they have forsaken God's law and not walked in His judgments] 31”If they break My statutes and keep not My commandments,” [they have broken His statutes, they have not kept His commandments], then God says, “32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes. 33 Nevertheless,” [highlight the word “nevertheless] “My lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer My faithfulness to fail, 34 My covenant will I not break nor alter the thing that is gone out of My lips, 35 Once have I sworn by My holiness that I will not lie unto David. 36 His seed shall endure forever and his throne as the sun before Me. 37 It shall be established forever as the moon, even like the faithful witness in the sky. Selah.” [Selah means “pause and think about that.”]

God has said:

the Jews would be disobedient—and they were,

the Jews would be disbursed—and they were,

the Jew would be discredited—and they were,

but you could no more destroy the Jewish race than you could destroy the sun, the moon and stars. They may be chastised, they may suffer, but God said, “I will keep My word to David, his seed shall endure” (v. 29).

Jeremiah 31:35-37 confirms this.

35 Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, And its waves roar (The Lord of hosts is His name): 36 “If those ordinances depart from before Me, says the Lord, then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever.” 37 Thus says the Lord: “If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done,” says the Lord.

The prophecy of Israel’s miraculous preservation, part 2

If you want to get rid of the nation Israel, you will first have to get rid of the sun, moon, and stars. In other words, God is saying, “I'll tell you when I'll cast off Israel: the same day you can tell Me how high is ‘up.’ I'll cast off Israel the same day you can show Me what this earth suspended in space is resting upon. You’ll have to pluck the sun, moon, stars from My heaven before you can annihilate this nation.”

They exist as a miracle nation. They stand beside the graves of their persecutors.  They live on. When they returned, the land was a rock-filled desert. Zion now is blooming as a rose.

Every Jew is here today because of God's keeping, preserving power upon His chosen people.

Throughout history, Satan, Israel's ancient foe, has tried to eradicate this nation and obliterate this promise, but he could not do it.

Egypt’s pharaoh could not diminish God's chosen people.

The Red Sea could not drown them.

Jonah's whale could not digest them.

Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace could not burn them.

The gallows of horrible Haman could not execute them.

The dictators of this world have not been able to annihilate them.

The nations of this world have not been able to assimilate them.

When other peoples have been taken from their homelands, when they have been scattered, soon they’ve been absorbed, assimilated—swallowed up, so to speak—into the culture of their new location and cannot be traced.

But for nineteen centuries the Jewish people, wherever they were found, kept themselves together, maintaining their traditions, laws, statutes and even language. God preserved them as a nation, an identifiable people.

God said He would “visit their iniquity with stripes” and indeed He has. They suffered unmentionable atrocities under Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great and the Greeks, Nero and the Romans, under the Turks, and Hitler. Under Russia they have and are now suffering. Under the Arab nations they have and are suffering. But they have endured because God's Word prophesied they would endure.

The prophecy of Israel’s miraculous restoration, part 1

After centuries in exile, God once again brought His people back into their land. In my estimation the most amazing thing that has happened in recent history has not been the end of World War II or placing a man on the moon, but the day when Israel was reborn, reconstituted as a nation.

Through the prophet Amos, God said,

“And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the way cities, and inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards and drink the wine thereof; and they shall also make gardens and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.” (Amos 9:14-15)

God says, “I'll bring them back and plant them there, and no one will uproot them.” God has brought them back to stay, regardless of what anyone says about it.

The prophecy of Israel’s miraculous restoration, part 2: military miracles

May 14, 1948, Israel’s declaration day of independence, I was playing high school football. Little did I realize the impact of that moment—God’s fulfillment of Bible prophecy. At that moment, 650,000 Jews were surrounded by six Arab states and 40 million enemies who had sworn by Allah that they would exterminate Israel, drench the soil with Israeli blood, and drive them into the sea. With a fury, immediately five Arab armies swept down from the east toward the west and on to Tel-Aviv.  But God miraculously preserved this little nation. Before that time, a Jew was subject to arrest for even carrying a gun. But by the time the UN called for an armistice, these people who were supposed to be “pushed off into the sea” were 150 miles into Egyptian territory. How did that happen?

The Israelis secretly took old automobiles and buses to sheds, where they welded boiler plates to the sides to make tanks. They took hoe handles and broomsticks and painted them to look like guns to appear better armed. 

As Arab legions advanced through some groves, they encountered thousands of beehives.  The Israelis are beekeepers.  After all, you can’t have a land flowing with milk and honey without bees.  And it just so happened in the attack, these hives were overturned. Millions of bees swarmed out and began stinging. They dropped their modern weapons in consternation and fled. Later, when the bees went back into their hives, the Israelis went out and picked up the much-needed weapons. 

At the same time, coming from the north, others from Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq attacked across the Jezreel Valley.  When they got to the middle of that valley, a strange sickness like dysentery disabled them.  They were so weak they couldn’t fight.  At that same moment, here came the Israelis with the weapons they had picked up from the battle of the bees.  An American newspaper ran this headline, “The Bees Fight for Israel.”  They captured those who were sick in the valley of Jezreel. The record reports that on one occasion, 20,000 Arabs were captured by 400 Israelis. 

Don’t give Israel credit for that.  God said, “I will bring them again into their own land.”  I don’t think the Israeli cause has always been just.  I don’t think the American cause has always been just. I don’t think the Arab cause has always been just. I don’t think you can say any cause is always just if man has to do with it.  But God is over the affairs of men. God rules in the affairs of men. And God said, “I will bring them back.” God brought them back.

Similar things happened in the Six Day War in 1967. Again it seems God wasn’t neutral. Jordan, Egypt and Syria united with one stated goal: “Wipe Israel off the map.”  But it was over in six days. Outnumbered 80 to one, God gave His ancient people victory.

The same was true in 1973, the Yom Kippur War. Israel’s enemies invaded on Israel’s holiest day, when no one would expect it. God again seemed to intervene when both Israeli and Syrian forces reported strange events that caused Israel’s enemies to surrender. 

The Bible predicts that in the last days the same will happen when Russia invades the Middle East. Russia will be brought to her knees on the mountains of Israel. Ezekiel 38 and 39 relate this amazing prophecy.

When the battle of Armageddon is fought, when the forces of anti-Christ gather once more against Jerusalem, God will again come to the rescue of His people in that great, final war for Israel and her survival. What we see today is a foretaste of that.

“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about when they shall be in siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. In that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people. All that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.”  Zechariah 12:2-3

When that battle comes, Zechariah says the LORD will fight for Israel.

 In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. (12:8-9) 

4. The prophecy of Israel’s miraculous regeneration

Look what happens in their hearts after all this occurs.

“And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications, and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for Him as one mourneth for his only son and shall be in bitterness for Him as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” Zechariah 12:10

What a day that will be! The eyes of God’s people will be opened. With deep mourning, they will recognize their Messiah as the one their forefathers pierced.

…there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.  (13:1)

God will remove the idols from Israel once and for all (v. 2). Then He will bring those remaining through the fire,

 …and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on My name, and I will hear them: I will say, “It is my people,” and they shall say, “The Lord is my God.” (13:9)

One of the signs that Jesus Christ is coming soon is the sign that Zion is being built up.

We long for this day! This is Israel’s glorious future—and you may be sure, God is going to bring it to pass.

How Israel and the Jews have shaped history

As you study history, you learn that the indestructible Jew has left his indelible mark upon history. The Jewish people are not great in number. Of the world’s population, they are only 0.2%. That’s not two percent.  That’s less than one-fourth of one percent. Yet did you know that 22% of Nobel Prize winners have been Jews? In 2013, six of the 12 laureates were Jewish. Think of that.

Abraham’s descendants consistently win high percentages not just of Nobel Prizes but other awards in medicine, health, music, and public life. What a mark they've made upon our world.

Did you know it was a Jew who financed Christopher Columbus when he set sail for the west? Of his crew members, the first to set foot on American soil was a Jew. Did you know that a Jew, Haym Salomon, financed General George Washington in our Revolutionary War?

Have you ever taken an aspirin? Friedrich Bayer, whose company developed aspirin, was a Jew. Were you vaccinated for polio as a child? The injectable and oral polio vaccines of Salk and Sabin were so effective, the disease has been all but eradicated.

Has the dentist ever deadened your tooth before he started to drill? Alfred Einhorn, who developed Novocain, was a Jew. If you're an anti-Semite, the next time you go to the dentist, why don't you say, “Just drill away, don't deaden my pain.” Have you ever had local anesthesia? Its inventor, Carl Koller, was a Jew.

When you developed an infection, the doctor prescribed streptomycin, developed by Waksman, a Jew. Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, was a Jew. Are you a student of philosophy? Spinoza was a Jew. Do you appreciate the Salvation Army? Its founder, William Booth, had a Jewish mother.

It's amazing to study the mark God's chosen people have made on the world. Jews can be thanked for the discovery of electromagnetic waves, the transistor, the first laser, oral contraceptives, antihistamines, anti-leukemia drugs, the electron microscope, vaccines against cholera and bubonic plague, the camera phone, nuclear fission reactor, sound-on-film technology, the discovery of neurotransmitters, the process by which we do MRIs, the Hepatitis-B vaccine, the first exact map of the moon—and do you like American music? Thank George and Ira Gershwin, Aaron Copland, Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Leonard Bernstein, Lerner and Lowe, and Stephen Sondheim, to name only a few.

All history has been dramatically impacted by six Jews:  Moses, Paul, Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, and above them all, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Photo courtesy: ©Thinkstockphotos.com

Based on the articles Israel and Bible Prophecy What Does the Future Hold? Part 1 and Part 2, orginially published on OnePlace.com. Used with permission

Publication date: March 22, 2018