I Understand That You Espouse Post-Mid Imminent Tribulation, Is That Right?

How Can We Convince People That Post-Mid Imminent Tribulation Is The Real One?

Question: I have come to understand from all your end times previous posts that you are espousing post-mid imminent Tribulation, can you give a outline of how we could convince people that this is the real doctrine to be believed in our times, and not the other man made doctrines which confuses and makes us shaky and contentious among ourselves. Thanks in advance!

Answer: Greetings in Jesus wonderful name!

Yes you are right, I am espousing post-mid imminent Tribulation. Because I believe that this is the only one that fits a literal interpretation of all of what Jesus, Paul, Peter, James and John talked about in the Scripture as the end time eschatology which means, 'a branch of theology concerned with the final events in the history of the world or of humankind, and also the part of theology concerned with death, judgement, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind.' This is the only presentation that you can literally interpret without reading in to the Scripture the idea of many different people from many different times in which they understood it culturally rather than literally.

Generally Jesus told that for every Christian that they will face tribulation in all generation living in this world which hates them for no reason except for following Jesus in their lives (Mark 13:13; Matt 10:22; Luke 21:17; John 15:18; 16:33). Paul the apostle also told that, "through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22) and "all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (2 Tim 3:12). But the one specific Tribulation that is going to happen at the time of the end is separated and highlighted by all writers from all other generation general kind of tribulation that all spoke about. First of all when we speak about Tribulation in the New Testament context, the only specific Tribulation which the Bible speaks about in a variety of words used by different writers which all pinpoint to the same unprecedented cataclysmic end time hardship that is going to come in all the earth which Jesus spoke as the "Great Tribulation.., Tribulation.., that Day come of you unexpectedly....it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the earth, if someone else comes in his own name, you will receive him...[to start the Tribulation of God.] " (Matt 24:21; Mark 13:19; Luke 21:34-35; John 5:43). Paul spoke of this Tribulation as, "saved from wrath (Rom 5:9), "Jesus...delivers us from the wrath to come" (1 Thess 1:10), "as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they [i.e. left behind unbelievers] shall not escape" (1 Thess 5:3), "this Day should not overtake you as thief because you are not in darkness" (1 Thess 5:4), God will repay with "tribulation for those who" trouble the believers not knowing the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to obey it, "when He comes, in that Day" (2 Thess 1:6, 8, 10). John the apostle also spoke about this end time Tribulation saying, "the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole earth" (Rev 3:10). Peter the apostle also spoke about this day of Tribulation saying, "Where is the promise of His coming?...the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water...the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night" (2 Peter 3:4, 6, 10). The apostle James said that "the coming of the Lord is at hand" (James 5:8). In other words, all the writers in the New Testament concentrated on the coming of the Lord, because Jesus has promised to Rapture His people away from the world, before the Tribulation on the earth will be kick started with the Antichrist and the wrath of God which will follow it will continue and end suddenly, because if the Tribulation will continue until the Second Coming of Jesus to the earth, no flesh would be left alive (Matt 24:22).

For example, what did Jesus tell about Tribulation:

"15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. 23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together." (Matt 24:15-28).

Note the context in which Jesus speaks about the whole end time message in the above Scriptures clearly, in fact He is speaking chronologically in which it will all unfold:

(i) Matt 24:15 - Jesus tells all the believers to look for the mid-point of the Daniel's 70th week spoken by Daniel the prophet standing in the Holy Place (Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:9, 11-12), apostle Paul agreed with this message of Jesus and told the believers to look for these following important signs before which "the day of Christ" to rapture the Church will not come. First he pointed out that unless the falling away comes first when they say "peace and saftey" (1 Thess 5:3) in the first part of the Daniel's Seventieth week, and then "the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition" (2 Thess 2:3) exactly in the mid-point called by Jesus as "the abomination of desolation" (Matt 24:15), the rapture will not take place before these events take place.

(ii) Matt 24:16 - Jesus tells all believers from Judea to flee away to the mountains because the persecution of Antichrist will start from Jerusalem. As Paul points out that at mid-point, "[Antichrist] who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." (2 Thess 2:4). Once Antichrist will boast himself as the messiah and the savior of the world, the first thing he will do under the guidance of the False Prophet will be to implement the idea to seal all the human beings who will worship him and give their allegiance to him as god through worshiping the image of the beast which will speak with the very voice of Satan (Rev 13:11-18), all others will be pursued in haste and will be put to death by the sword of the guillotine (Rev 13:10). We know that Muslims will be one among the Antichrist, so they will not have to be killed as they will accept this mahdi as their redeemer. But true Christians and those born again Messianic Jews are those whom Jesus tells to flee to the mountains at that time, because even though they will be hungry or without food for sometime, eventually they will all be raptured before the Tribulation will start.

(iii) Matt 24:17 to 19 - Jesus further tells all the believers, "17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!" (Matt 24:17-19). When Jesus says "let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house" and " let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes", it does mean that the earthly concern has no time for priority, because the Judgment of God through Tribulation is ready to break out as the Antichrist will start to seal up people with his mark which will bear the name of the beast or the number of his name on all humans, which will be implemented by force on all people as they will proclaim to all the world that this one mandatory religious dogma is for the prosperity and safety of all humans under Satan, which will be placed right on the spot of the foreheads of people or on their right hand as a mark that all should follow and worship Antichrist or else cease to exist on earth to die by sword (Rev 13:16). Even Jesus referred this same imagery in the writing of Luke to Lot's wife who had earthly concern and turned back to see when God already told them who are escaping out of Lord's judgment not to look back upon the burning Sodom (Luke 17:29-33). In others words, earthly minded people who have no faith will be left behind, but those heavenly minded people of faith will be rescued by the Lord Jesus Christ before the Tribulation could start to fall on the earth (2 Peter 2:6-7, 8-9; Ezek 16:49-50). Jesus further said, "woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days" because the babies need constant milk from their mother to survive if they go in to hiding, and also we know that they might raise their voice and start crying to thus reveal themselves out of their hiding place. Also we know that only if the mother eats enough nutritious food, she will be able to provide the baby with the sustenance through her milk. How terrible will be the time when the secret intelligence officers try to pursue those who are in need to put their seal upon them or else kill them? But thank God, the Lord has instructed us all believers to watch and pray, so that we may be counted worthy to escape all the Day of Tribulation that will come as a snare upon the whole wide earth (Luke 21:34-36).

(iv) Matt 24:20 to 21 - Jesus further says in context to Tribulation and the escape of it by the believers, "20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be." (Matt 24:20-21). So the question may arise, what winter or Sabbath Jesus is speaking about? Why should not the flight of rapture not take place during the winter or Sabbath? Later we will see what it is, but the answer to "Why should the flight of rapture not take place during the winter or Sabbath?", Jesus himself gives the answer to it in the next verse by saying, "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be." So we as believers know that our flight of rapture should be before the winter or Sabbath of Tribulation, because if we are earthly minded at this time, we will be caught up with the world and will enter in to Tribulation like 'Lot's wife' who had a divided heart and turned back to be caught in the Lord's judgment (Col 3:1-4). The Sabbath day of Millennium starts with the rapture of the Church and the Tribulation on earth (2 Peter 3:10, 8, 9). The summer is the great harvest of souls in which the gospel will be preached in all the world with signs, wonders and miracles, and then the end will come to start with Tribulation in all the earth, this is the winter season which our Lord Jesus is referring to (Matt 24:14; Rev 14:6-7; Jer 8:20). Divided heart was the reason Lot's wife looked back, as her heart was set on earthly things and it made her to disobey the word of the Lord which was given as a warning to them and to all of us. A person can be saved religiously, yet their heart can be far away from the Lord. So we should heed the warning of the Lord Jesus to "Watch and Pray" so that we might be saved not only in our spirit (1 Cor 5:1-5), but also truly saved from the world and the judgment of the Lord that is coming upon the whole world (1 Samuel 7:3; 1 Kings 18:21; Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 6:24; James 1:8; James 4:4; 4:8; 1 John 2:15; Revelation 3:15-18).

(v) Matt 24: 22 - Jesus further said, "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened." (Matt 24:22). One thing that we should never forget to remember is the goodness of God, while the Church saints who have received the gospel and obeyed the word of Jesus to "Watch and Pray" will be raptured, those fleshly believers who will live like the world will be left behind during the Rapture. God's concern for his children is so great, that when they the children of God come to realize that they were left behind on earth because of their earthly minded life, they will come to realize their mistake and then they will have only one choice, to go further in their earthly life of survival by faith so that they will go hungry and thirsty in to hiding or else show themselves openly to ask for food and sustenance, and risk being caught up by the Antichrist vigilance and secret intelligence team, who will take them to authorities who will tell them to receive the seal or die for their faith. These Tribulation saints will choose to die by the sword when they are caught (Rev 13:7-8, 9-10; 14:9-13; 7:13-17; 12:17), or else survive in the midst of hunger and thirst and nakedness during the Tribulation in hiding (Matt 25:31-46). But God's love for His children on earth will make Him reduce the time of the Tribulation for the sake of the Tribulation saints left behind, so that some of them with faith may be left when Jesus comes to the earth to rule on earth for a thousand years (Luke 18:1-8). Thank God in the midst of God's greatest judgment, He shows mercy to those who fear Him and trust in His mercies like Samson (Jud 16:28-30), that is our God (Hab 3:2; Psa 103:13, 17).

(vi) Matt 24:23 to 28 - Jesus continues saying, "23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together."" (Matt 24:23-28). These are a clear description of the Tribulation times, so we know that "false christ and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect", which are chilling words from Jesus that should make the children of God on earth who are the Tribulation saints to be very careful during the time of Tribulation, if their names has not been written on the Book of Life, they will be deceived by the deception as the very deception will be sent by God to separate the wheat from the chaff (Rev 13:8; 2 Thess 2:9-12; Matt 3:12; Luke 3:17; 13:24-30). But as we know when Jesus says, the deception of Antichrists and false prophets will be at loose to deceive during the Great Tribulation that, "if possible, even the elect" they will try to deceive, which means to us we know, things not possible with man which is to get saved from sin is only possible with God (Matt 19:26; Luke 18:27), which does mean that those who were and are saved by God before or even during the Tribulation of those days cannot be deceived by the deception of the world, and they will even die during the Tribulation receiving the grace of God than to accept the mark of Antichrist for the Glory of God (Rev 13:10).

Islam will search for its mahdi and will finally find its False Prophet in the desert without fail as their anti-climax hero of the end time, Roman Catholicism will find the last pope as the mystery man who will seem to make them secure and prosperous for a certain time in the inner room inside Vatican, to very soon get judged by God even during the time of Tribulation (Matt 24:26-27; Rev 17:11-18; 18:1-24; 19:1-6).

When Jesus said, "For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together." (Matt 24:28), it means that Jesus is speaking about the resurrection of the righteous saints will at the end of the Tribulation will become nothing but the carcasses on this earth, but just when all the evil oppression over the people of God by the Antichrist, Satan and the False Prophet will be over, they will want to fight against the very Lamb of God Jesus Christ Himself, and thus will come to destroy Jerusalem the city of the King Jesus (Matt 5:34-35, 37), that is when Jesus Himself along with all the saints of heaven will descend to fight them to make them a carcass for the eagles and all the birds of heaven as a feast of the supper provided by the Great God (Rev 17:14; 16:12-16; 19:11-21; 13:10).

So the imagery "For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together," is not just limited to Second Coming of Jesus in which the resurrection of Tribulation saints will happen (Rev 20:4-6), but also the same has been used to describe the Rapture of the Church before the Tribulation could start by the writer Luke as in both the cases people who had been dead are raised back to life in a new glorious resurrection, which brings a brand new metaphysical body that is eternal to transcend physical time, space and matter to make each one of them fly like a eagle upon the skies and not be restrained by gravity of the old body and the old earth (Luke 17:20-37; Isa 40:28-31).

So by God's grace let us "watch and pray", and get ready to be raptured as the heaven seekers Church of Jesus Christ and escape all the Tribulation that is coming upon the whole earth to test those earth dwellers of the world (Rev 3:10; Heb 11:13-16).

Much Blessings....

Did The Serious Judgmental Old Testament God Change As The Loving God Of Grace And Mercies In The New Testament?

Why God Denied The Defective From His Presence?

Question: In Leviticus 21, God wants his priest to be whole.....person having any defect can't serve Him...can't give the food for God...but may eat of it. In Old Testament....in those olden days God was like this..... Is this the same today?

Answer: Greetings to you in Jesus wonderful name! You are speaking mainly from the verses of Leviticus 21:16-24, "16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Speak to Aaron, saying: ‘No man of your descendants in succeeding generations, who has any defect, may approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For any man who has a defect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any limb too long, 19 a man who has a broken foot or broken hand, 20 or is a hunchback or a dwarf, or a man who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scab, or is a eunuch. 21 No man of the descendants of Aaron the priest, who has a defect, shall come near to offer the offerings made by fire to the LORD. He has a defect; he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. 22 He may eat the bread of his God, both the most holy and the holy; 23 only he shall not go near the veil or approach the altar, because he has a defect, lest he profane My sanctuaries; for I the LORD sanctify them.’” 24 And Moses told it to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel."

Why should a defective person not offer bread to God?

All the Old Testament Scriptures symbolically described about a spiritual New Testament law of the Spirit which is the freedom in believing the gospel that is coming to free them from the law of sin and death which is effect of keeping the law (Rom 8:1–2). I mean the Law itself is not sinful (Rom 7:7). However, the Law defined sin and stirred up our natural rebellion against God’s rules, resulting in sin and death (Rom 7:13).

So we know that a defective person physically in the Old Testament was made to represent a spiritually defective person of unbelief of a evil heart in the New Testament (Heb 3:12; 2 Kings 5:26-27; Num 12:9-10), and also we know that the law got culminated in Christ Jesus who was not defective physically and not even one bone was broken when he was sacrificed before God on the Cross as a spiritual lamb (John 1:36; 19:36), and He had no sin and did no sin to be the only perfect acceptable sacrifice to God for our sins (1 Pet 2:22; 1 John 3:5; 2 Cor 5:21; Heb 10:5-9). The unleavened bread speaks of the total sinlessness of Jesus Christ.

Paul says twice very clearly, "For whatever things were written before [in the Old Testament Scripture] were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." (Rom 15:4) and "6 Now these things became our [Old Testament] examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted... 11 Now all these things happened to them as [Old Testament] examples, and they were written for our admonition [in the New Testament], upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." (1 Cor 10:6, 11).

So the crux of the matter is, a defective person with sin should not offer the bread to God, because God hates sin as it destroys man and makes Him a rebel against His holy ways. It makes him disobey Him and His Word, and also causes disregard in ones heart for His holy name, so now because Christ Jesus was sacrificed for our sins to forgive all of our sins of the past, present and future, we as the friends and child of God should now "Cleanse out the old leaven of the carnal selfish old nature that we may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened [in the spirit (Eph 4:23-24; Rom 7:22; Philemon 1:6, 25)]. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed to make us new within and help us walk by the power of the new life of heaven and the nature of God." (1 Cor 5:7).

John 6:32-35 Jesus said to them, "32 I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 34 Sir, they said, "from now on give us this bread." 35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

Jesus died on the Passover day. For centuries this day had foreshadowed His dying for our sins as the sacrificed Lamb of God, and He commands His followers to keep the symbolic Passover as a remembrance or memorial of His sacrifice for us (Matthew 26:26-28; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). The Feast of Unleavened Bread, like the Passover, was revealed to the Israelites at the time of the Exodus (Exodus 12-13), and over the course of these days, the Israelites left the slavery of Egypt. In the New Testament, we get saved from sin by believing in the death of the sinless Passover Lamb of God who is Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, which symbolizes freedom from the slavery of the sin, but after that we are keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread which is the removal and avoidance of leavening (an agent such as yeast that causes bread dough to rise in baking) was to symbolize our coming out of sin and the old Egyptian mind set of carnal flesh that encouraged it (Rom 7:15, 23, 25). Eating unleavened bread symbolized taking in God’s righteousness of faith in Jesus Christ (Rom 1:17; 4:5-6; Gen 15:6; Rom 3:9)— instead of having faith in one's own righteousness which comes through the law within our soul mind, so therefore coming out of sin is to rely on Christ by faith to accepting ourselves as the person we formerly were being figuratively put to death and buried with Christ and then, in effect, rising with Christ into a new way of living by allowing our spirit mind to influence our soul mind by renewing it by the voice of the Spirit that comes from our spirit man through the Word of God — which is His way (Heb 10:20).

The Scripture says, “Abel, on his part also brought the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard” (Genesis 4:4-5), because Abel offered his offering with faith and Cain did it with a evil heart of unbelief (Heb 3:12; 11:4; 1 John 3:12). So Abel's offering was accepted and Cains offering was rejected. What it does teach us is that, a person sending a defective person or gift to God rather than the best of his flock of children that God has given him or her, is a sign that sin rules his life rather than faith in God that will always want to give the best to God who has given him all. God did not tell the above instruction, i.e. not to let defective person come in to His Holy and most Holy Presence to offer gift to insult them, but to teach them a spiritual lesson that faith is prerequisite to please God always in their lives (Heb 11:6).

So let us always give the best to God with faith and clean out the old leaven of sin nature which spreads and influences wrongly everything around it, through the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, and through confessing our sins to God and overcoming it through the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 5:6-7; 1 John 1:7, 9). The offering of bread to God is the service we offer to others in the name of Jesus by declaring to them the Gospel through our words and life we live for God by faith in Christ Jesus now (Luke 11:5-13). Also it is the meditation of the Word of God that we do to have communion with God to build our faith and offer it to God acceptably through Jesus Christ (Psa 19:14; 104:34).

Even the defective Levite who is born defective not because of his own will or parents will but to reveal the Glory of God to the earth, if he has faith, he is allowed to eat the Holy Bread because only the “clean” or faithful Levites could eat of God’s provisions for the Levites, and this group includes the defective people (Lev 21:22). Even David and his fighting men ate the holy bread from the temple when they were in hunger, because they had faith in God and revered Him (1 Sam 21:6; Matt 12:3-4, 7-8). Faith trusts in the mercies of God, and humbly accepts that everything that God gives is out of His benevolence and goodness of which we are not worthy by our works of any kind or intensity or time frame. This attitude pleases God always. There were several reasons a Levi who is unclean would not have been permitted to perform the sacrifices, and yet still would have been considered a faithful obedient child of God because of God's new mercies and grace given each day anew even to eternity ahead (Lev 21:1-20; Jude 1:21; 1 Tim 1:16).

So what have we learnt through all this?

"Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:16, NIV). In other words, no matter what our needs are, now we can approach the very throne of God with faith, because unlike the Old Testament times which restricted the sinful and defective from entering the Presence, we have a High Priest Jesus Christ who has consecrated and have made us holy through His very sinless blood, so through faith in Him and His sacrifice, God has given every child of God the privilege to enter the very Presence of God in heaven (Heb 10:14; 12:22-24; 9:24; 6:19-20; Rom 8:34). Through the blood of Jesus, we cannot be anymore conscious of our sins which have been already forgiven and forgotten by God when we confess it by faith or have confessed it already (Heb 10:17-18; 9:14). So we as the child of God whether defective or not through sin can now be bold through the blood of Jesus to approach the very Presence of God in heaven through our faith. The Great Protestant Reformer Martin Luther boldly declared, "Be a sinner and sin strongly, but more strongly have faith and rejoice in Christ." In other words, this great man of God knew the real meaning of what it is to approach the throne of God through the blood of Christ again and again and again to make such a statement that a religious nut will condemn him any moment and declare it as a blasphemy. So praise God that the sinful and defective people of faith are welcomed in to the Presence of God now freely, while much to the dismay of those religious fervent law-keepers who are denied in to God's Presence because they think wrongly in unbelief that God is indebted to them, because they keep the law even now in our times. God is a no man's debtor at the end of the day and is never partial to any one person (Rom 2:11; 11:35-36; Acts 10:34).

Yes God has not changed at all in the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament times, hear what God reveals about Himself through His Word, "God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?" (Num 23:19, NIV).

The same Jesus the Son of God who lived during the Old Testament times and appeared to people of God as a Angel of God, commander of God, friend of man, wisdom of God which are all pre-incarnate appearance and revelation of Christ, is the same today and also will be the same in the future as the Scripture reveals that, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Heb 13:8).

Also James the apostle further says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." (Jam 1:17).

From the concrete evidence shown above from the Scripture we come to know that God has not changed, but the covenant promise of God which was old and worked by law keeping to reveal sin in man, has now been replaced with a new covenant promise of God which works by faith, and that which depends on the mercies of God rather on one's work to please God. God desires to show mercy, and does not want man to live by his own works which actually instead of attracting them to God, takes them away from God who hates pride which makes humans think that God is indebted to Him if he had been religious and have kept the law (Rom 10:4-5; Heb 8:13, 7-9). God says, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice" (Hos 6:6; Matt 9:13). In other words, if we want to move beyond sacrifice to mercy, we need to get our hearts involved. The demand of the NT is much much higher than that OT, that no human can add up his imperfect works to stand before the NT law. The standard of righteousness has been raised to the highest level, and thereafter had been fulfilled by Jesus as a sinless perfect man who ever lived and pleased God. God substituted the life of Jesus on behalf of every believer who lives by faith in Him, to now live in love and liberty towards God and fellow humans in Christ Jesus. So the quality of life lived in the New Covenant made in the blood of Jesus actually lifts us high to take us to heaven and be seated with Christ (Eph 2:6), and then brings heaven back to us on earth and gives us a mission to spread the very Presence of heaven as its ambassador in all the earth (Matt 6:9-13; 28:18-20; 2 Cor 5:20). Now we as the heavenly Ambassador of Christ on earth disburse the fragrance of Christ (2 Cor 2:15), which is the Presence of God from heaven to all the world around us in our Character, life, living, joy, peace and righteousness (1 John 4:4; Matt 5:13; Rom 14:17).

May we bring glory to God through our lives lived on earth through our faith!


Much Blessings....

Did Jesus Really Respect His Mother Properly?

Why Did Jesus Not Call His Own Biological Mother As 'Mother!' Fondly?

Question: Why did Jesus not call His own biological mother as 'Mother!' fondly, in all the Gospels? Is it not a sign of disrespect towards her?

Answer: Greetings in Jesus wonderful name!

Here in the verse below we see a maternal and the physical mother of Jesus Christ through whom Jesus came in to this world,

Matthew 1:18, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.”

Calling someone as 'Mother!' or dear "Mum or Mama or Ma', is a sign of Love and also respect towards her. We all do this to our natural mothers in our lives as a sign of our affection towards them. Even the Bible says and reveals the same and higher kind of maternal love towards their children from the side of the mother who always remembers to comfort her child of her womb in many different ways no matter what may come and go in her life, or even how many decades passes by (Isa 66:13), in certain exceptional circumstances and cases when they fail, a person is guaranteed by God that even if their mother's natural love and affection may fail towards her child, the supernatural affection of His Love and Comfort will never fail to continue to uphold them in their life (Isa 51:12; 49:15). A special bond is formed between the mother and child when she chooses to feed the helpless baby at her breast where she begins to have a special compassion on the child she has borne, that bond always continues to the end of life. This special bond happens the moment a woman bears the child and it increases as she feeds the helpless baby to make it grow healthy and independent (Isa 49:15). Without these natural affection, man is no better than living an animal existence. But thank God, that we are created in the image of God, and do become a child of God when we choose to accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour of our lives (Gen 1:26-27; Gal 3:26; John 1:12). O what a wonderful promise of God!

So as we have seen above, there must have been a child and mother bond for Jesus too in the natural. As Jesus was also a helpless baby born in the hardship of lying in a manger covered in swaddling clothes, having no place other than that at that time (Luke 2:12). Even we are told that Mary the mother of Jesus kept all the supernatural things that happened in the life of Jesus Christ from the time of birth to his adulthood at the age of thirty years as a precious memories that were close to her heart (Luke 2:51).

John 19:26-27, “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.”

In the verses above we see that Jesus whom until that time had Mary as his physical mother, took his responsibility as the first born son of the family who is indebted to take care of his mother, gave the same responsibility to the youngest disciple of His i.e. John.

In the Old Testament, the firstborn son was the one who normally received a double inheritance, and was the one who would inherit his father’s role as head of the family. This is not a rule, but a principle that God set initially, as we know that it was changed in both the life of Isaac and Jacob in whose life they chose the second child rather than the first born one (Gen 25:21-26; 48:13-22; 35:22; 49:3-4). The term firstborn therefore has two main meanings, one is physical first and then the spiritual (1 Cor 15:46), one is the first son to be born of his father in the natural and the other is the first born Son who is the spiritual One who has been appointed by God to be in authority over all things (Col 1:13-23; especially verses 15, 18). In other words, the spiritual first born Son was never born but was given to us as the baby in the manger, as Jesus was never created, He was eternally existent before he became one among humans (John 1:1-3), the spiritual 'firstborn' name for Jesus shows a new relationship between that of God and Jesus which the Scripture indicates by saying, "“Thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee” (Hebrews 1:5a) and “I will be a Father to Him, And He shall be a Son to Me” (Hebrews 1:5b), which happened exactly after the resurrection of Jesus when He ascended to heaven and was installed as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords over the whole universe and the earth (Acts 13:32-35, 37-39; Heb 9:23-24; 10:12-13; 9:12; John 20:17, 19).

So Mary took care of Jesus, and Jesus as the natural first born son and a perfect human took care of Mary for thirty years, but then once in to the ministry of the Father, we see the eternal Son again taking His rightful place of honor as a servant among men but as the eternal spirit among them (John 8:58; 13:13-15; 15:20; Matt 10:24; Luke 6:40).

That is why we see Jesus calling Mary as 'woman', where He during his ministry on earth knew who He was within as the eternal Son of God (Matt 16:16). Therefore we see in the following verses Jesus calling Mary as 'woman' is in no way was a disrespect to her, but rather Jesus was revealing to Mary that before she brought Him in to this world, He was the one as the Creator of her brought her in to this world.

"4“Woman, why does this concern us?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do” whatever He tells you." (John 2:4-5).

"47 Someone told Him, “Look, Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to You.” 48 But Jesus replied, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” 49 Pointing to His disciples, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers.…" (John 12:47-49).

So we know that Jesus did not call His mother, as mother during his ministry time, because He has set His foot on the path of fulfilling His Father's will, knowing that He had come from heaven to fulfill His purpose on earth and that He is going to return to heaven again after his death and resurrection to further fulfill God's will for His life (John 13:3; 16:28). This fact of his ministry life is no indication or evidence that He never called his mother as mother in the natural, but rather in the first 30 years of his life, he had no ministry but to serve His mother, father, brothers and sisters by doing his natural father's business of carpentry (Mark 6:3; Matt 13:55-56). In all these things he showed that he perfectly obeyed his earthly father, mother and served his family, which again points us to know with implicit evidence that He must have called His Mother as Mother within the first 30 years of his life (Luke 2:41-52). The way Mary asked Jesus when He was found in the temple of Jerusalem doing Father's business at the age of twelve, "Son, why have you done this to us? Look you father and I your mother have sought you anxiously." (Luke 2:48), shows that Jesus called his mother as mother and his earthly father as father clearly. So Jesus was very obedient to his father and mother, till the day he left to do His Heavenly Father's business at the age of thirty, hence we see that Jesus must have been the most respectful person towards his father and mother more than any other person who ever lived because He had no sin in him from the day he was born till the day he died for us all (1 Pet 2:22; 1 John 3:5; 2 Cor 5:21; Luke 2:51-52).


Much Blessings....

Law Walking Or Grace Giving?

Tithe And Offerings, Or Cheerful Giving That God Loves?

Question: "God told the Israelites they were robbing Him in two ways: in their tithes and in their offerings. The word tithe means one-tenth, and it refers back to a time even before the nation of Israel existed, when God conveyed the expectation that man would recognize His sovereignty by giving a tithe.

In Genesis 14:17-24, Abraham offered Melchizedek, the king of Salem, a tithe because of the victory God had given him and the blessing that God had bestowed upon him. Abraham offered a tithe to Melchizedek, who was the forerunner to Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ is greater than Melchizedek (Hebrews 7). If Abraham had to offer a tithe to Melchizedek, and Jesus is the follower of Melchizedek, then how much more do we have a responsibility to honor the sovereignty of Christ who is the King of the world?

Leviticus 27:30 says that the tithe is "holy to the Lord." The tithe doesn't belong to us; it belongs to God. The tithe teaches that there is only one Creator and Sustainer, and it's not us.

While the tithe is mandatory, the offering is voluntary. We determine the amount of the offering, and it is from the heart. But an offering is never an offering until we have given the full tithe. We must first give what God expects [i.e. Tithe], and then we can give over and above that expectation to reflect a heart of love, gratitude, and rejoicing [i.e. through voluntary offering]. If we don't give to God out of obedience and gratitude, it shows that something is wrong with our hearts."

The writing within the quotes above is that of a dear Pastor who lives for the Lord. What do you think he is revealing, the law or grace, voluntary gift or mandatory tithes, salvation by works or faith?

What is your take on the above writings? Do you agree with it.

Answer: I have come to see the NT [New Testament] as something greater than OT [Old Testament], where from the Scripture God proves the same. Scripture says, "liberality" "causes thanksgiving through us to God" through the proof of the New Testament ministry which is the salvation of souls and building of the lives of the saints, who will then pray for your blessings, and as a result, eternal blessings will be imparted to your spiritual account in righteousness (2 Cor 9:11). Liberality in giving is directly influential enough for the spread of the kingdom of God and in the collection of heavenly treasures for those who do out of love for God. 

Will not the ministry of the Spirit be more glorious than that of Moses who instituted the rule of Tithe (2 Cor 3:8)? By all means the ministry of the Spirit will be more glorious, because grace is greater than the Law. The Law came through Moses, but truth and grace came through Jesus Christ, of whose ministry the Spirit of God is continuing to the saints of God in the Church (John 1:17; 15:26-27; 16:7, 13-14; 14:17).

Tithe is not mandatory in the NT, but during OT it was. Paul the apostle reveals in the Scripture, "How much you sow towards God financially through money or talent or anything else will be that which will get multiplied and come back in return as a blessings from God, so the Lord loves a cheerful giver who chooses to give voluntarily out of his love for God." (2 Cor 9:6-7, Paraphrased). But generally through the harvest we get, we can come to know whether we have sowed to the Lord and His kingdom work abundantly or sparingly. Praise the Lord! Voluntary gifts whether regularly done or once in a while collected from those who are blessed by the Word are the one that the New Testament tells to use as a financial support for the minister of the Word of God to carry on God's mission for the Church and his life (Gal 6:6-10).

Two things from Old Testament the apostles never repeated, one is the keeping of Sabbath [i.e.] Holy days and Festivals, and the other is Tithe (Col 2:16-17).

So we should be careful to do the same.

Yes God told the Israelites that they have robbed Him in two ways, "tithes and offerings", but why did He tell them that they were robbing Him, because they had no faith in their heart to believe that God was their provider who provided all things they have already. So God was revealing to these people that their unbelief led the protection of His to be removed from their lives, so that devourer destroys the fruit of their ground and the vine fail to bear for them in the field (Mal 3:11). God wanted them to have faith and try Him, so that the curse upon the nations infertile drought and lack of fruitfulness can be overturned again by God. As we know that in the Old Testament one should obey the law sincerely before God can see their seriousness of intent, and see their failure and hopelessness to bless them supernaturally (Mal 3:8-10), this is what had happened in the repentance call of Malachi the prophet to the people of God in those times he lived. The same cannot be applied to the Church, because the law is not of faith and faith cannot be mixed with law of works (Gal 3:12). If someone chooses to keep the law of "tithe and offering" by taking it from Malachi, then as he works out, the wages that comes out of his life are not counted as grace by God, but rather as a debt that he must pay to God (Rom 4:4). No saint in the Church of the New Testament should set aside the grace of God, or else by practicing the law, they have made the death of Christ to have become useless in their own lives (Gal 2:21). No man can pay back the infinite debt we owe to God if we choose to walk by the law mistakenly, because all things originate in God and He is no man's debtor (Rom 11:35-36). We humans are good receivers, if we do it with a thankful heart. Grace makes God the greater giver, and us the greatest receivers in humility. Pride keeps us away from grace, humility positions us to receive grace instead!     

Did God tell Abraham to Tithe? No the Bible clearly says that the law came through Moses, so Abraham was not following any law of tithing on spoil or on anything else. Abraham’s tenth was only in the nature of a voluntary (free will) offering of thanksgiving to Melchizedek God for the deliverance of his people from captivity (Gen 15:18-24). Symbolically it can be a special one time tithe of Abraham for his entire generation of children and faith children (Heb 7:4, 6-7, 9-10). In fact, Abraham himself had never again met this mysterious priest of God named Melchizedek after that one instance or have seen him again, until it was later revealed that of the line of Melchizedek Christ Jesus came in to the world (Heb 7:6). In fact, this Melchizedek was told as the one who was "made like the Son of God, and remains a priest continually" in heaven which reveals it was the Father in heaven who met the father of faith Abraham for the only and only time through a visible image like the Son of God (Matt 6:9; Heb 7:1-4; Rom 4:16). No man has seen the Father in glory or can see Him in the zenith of his glory (John 1:18; 1 John 4:12; Exo 33:20; 1 Tim 6:16; Heb 12:14), as we do not as mere humans have the capacity to handle the glory of our Creator, the same is applicable to Jesus who left his glory in heaven when he became a man to live among us and shown God to us visibly (John 14:9; 5:17-30; Php 2:5-8). In fact, Jesus did not just leave the glory of God before he became a baby on earth, but much before the world began (John 17:5), so that he could reveal himself in various ways and means to the people of God who will live by faith. He it was who said in John 5:39, “You [Jewish people] diligently study the Scriptures [which at that time were the 39 books of the Tanak/Old Testament].... These are the Scriptures that tes- tify about me.” That should settle the question. But even more famously, Jesus rebuked Cleopas, and that other unnamed disciple, as they walked along the road to Emmaus on that first Easter Sunday, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory? And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, [Jesus] explained to them what was said in all the [Old Testament] Scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:25-27). So the tithe of Abraham was a voluntary one that he gave to this heavenly priest as a thankful gratitude for the victory God gave to him on the battle field, and not out of the law as there was none at that time till angels mediated and Moses received the law of God and gave it to people (Gal 3:17, 19, 18; Deut 33:2).

In the Old Testament, Leviticus 27:30 says that the tithe is "holy to the Lord," in the New Testament, God says, "19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." (1 Cor 6:19-20, NIV). What does it teach us? It shows us that we only give to God, what has already been given to us. So give to God cheerfully and not grudgingly, this concept of giving, the man after God's own heart who is David understood better than anyone else to utter the following words, "But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us!" (1 Chron 29:14) and also he said the following, "I will not offer ... offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing." (2 Sam 24:24, ESV). Have we today in the New Testament have the understanding of David, because this is the right New Testament concept of giving? The right attitude in heart, before the offering is done. Which is greater, the Old Testament obligation of Tithe to fulfill or the New Testament offering of our everything to God and then out of it giving cheerfully whatever we can give, and carry on building the kingdom of God by love towards God and men which fulfills all law (Rom 13:9-10; Matt 22:36-40)? New Testament is the higher level without a iota of doubt!

God instructed Moses to collect an offering from “whoever is of a willing heart” (Exod. 35:5), and the text frequently informs us that this was the case (cf. 35:21, 22, 26, 29). Every indication of our text is that the people gladly gave their gifts so that the tabernacle could be built.

In fact, the text informs us that the gifts exceeded the need, so that Moses was requested by the workers to command the people to stop giving (Exod. 36:2-7). My reasoning of the above giving phenomenon in the time of Moses is to bring out a great truth hidden in it. The reason behind such a generous and cheerful giving has come out of the grateful heart of the people of the nation of Israel, because they remembered how God delivered them all out of the slavery of Egypt, and above all when they thought that it was God who made them plunder the gold and silver and bronze and whatever they asked of all the Egyptians as per his instruction and help, they were moved in their heart to be grateful to the Lord through their giving back to what He has given them (Exo 12:36). So according to me the heart behind the giving shown here was above the law of tithing, that is what Paul the apostle also tries to emphasize and bring the truth of the importance of the good heart behind the giving that give value to the offering or tithe in the sight of God, than the tithe or offering itself given as a means to an end for the survival (2 Cor 9:11).

In fact, as the Christians have freely received the salvation of the Lord and deliverance from sin through the good news of the birth, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph 1:13-14; 2:8-9; 1 Cor 15:1-4), therefore we ought to have a grateful heart towards God and have faith in his provision (Rom 8:31-32). We should all as Christians give, not with a expectation for blessing or protection or to avoid the curse or any other reason for ourselves, but the only reason for giving to God should be because we are already blessed with all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places through Jesus Christ and that all our past, present and even future sins have been forgiven forever by God, with promises from Him that He will never remember it against us unlike the Old Testament (Eph 1:3; Heb 10:17-18). The simple and acceptable prayer of offering a Christian can make is to say the following, "O dear Father in Heaven, thank you for all the goodness you have shown to me of which I am least worthy (Gen 32:10), help me live and serve you. I am offering my body including my money, home, properties, whatever I have or own to you, use whatever you want and help me continue to serve you acceptably by helping me renew my mind with your Word continually according to your will in Jesus wonderful name! (Rom 12:1-2)". So we know from the above, that God demands not what we have with us now in the New Testament times, rather all we have with us He asks us to submit it as a living sacrifice which is our reasonable service for the great things Jesus has done for us. Jesus demands our heart desire and its function, will we not give our money which is only a part of the whole if we are truly living for Jesus (Luke 16:10-11, 12-13)! That is why New Testament is always higher than the Old Testament way of life, which in actuality when compared is very inferior and ready to vanish away (Heb 8:13).

The above offering of Israelites for the building of Tabernacle is thus a pattern for the offering of the NT that God uses to build the living tabernacle of men where he chooses to stay and work for the Glory of God (2 Cor 6:16-18). But people can start with the Tithe as the Minimum which they can be taught to give as a bare minimum, but even that should not become a law. In NT, grace giving of voluntary offering should be emphasized.

While in the Old Testament God commanded to his people to, ".... make a [physical] sanctuary for [Him]... so that ...[He] may dwell among them," (Exo 25:8), the New Testament concludes that OT was only a shadow and now there is no command for a physical structure to be built, but only the people of God who are considered as that tabernacle in whom God promised to dwell and move among them in our times (2 Cor 6:16-18). So this shows us a new living way which is totally different from the Old Testament which only has an outline of the New Testament truth (Heb 10:20).

While all were free to give or not to give during the time of Moses, the text strongly suggests that there were few, if any, who refused to have a part in contributing toward the construction of the tabernacle (Exo 35:23-28). This is our pattern for the NT Church. If we emphasize grace giving, no one will refuse to have a part in contributing toward the construction of the living tabernacle of God which are the people of God themselves. Therefore even if the Church takes a weekly offering, no saint should ever be maligned and pressured to give out of a obligatory sense like in the Old Testament, but "each of the [NT saints voluntarily]... is to set something aside and save in keeping with how he prospers [for the tithes or offerings to be taken in the Church gathering]." (1 Cor 16:2). In other words, "the disciples, every man according to his ability" (Acts 11:29), should give offering with a cheerful attitude that will cause God's heart to rejoice (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4). In other words, God sees the heart that offers, than the offering itself. But the prime message and prayer of the Church for the saints is, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers." (3 John 1:2). When the saints come to the understanding within the Church, that it is God who has given them everything they have and prospers them, it will be easy for them to give to God what He has already given to them in their lives.

God neither loves the tithes and offerings, nor the cheerful givings, but rather he loves the person who gives cheerfully with a thankful heart during the present New Testament times. Thus those people who give are more blessed by God directly in all aspects of life and spiritually, than the receiver who receives the blessing of God through them (Acts 20:35). In other words, the hands that keeps itself open shall have no lack, because when God blesses someone and you are ready to be his vessel, what blessing flows to others actually flows through you, so you shall have no lack in anything (1 Tim 5:18-17). Thus grace giving and not law's demand should ever be used to receive support in the New Testament Church for sustaining and for the extension of the Kingdom of God.

Last but not the least, I would like to tell you, Do not listen to the “TV evangelist”, pastors in the church, or any man or a woman of God who say they are prophets and apostles telling you to sow your seed for your need? Promises, promises… but those kind of coercion are not based on the word of God, in fact, Paul the apostle writes and warns the true believers saying, “For there are many unruly, vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the law-keeping kind: whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake” (Titus 1:10-11). In other words, a preacher or a teacher of the Word of God who does his job for the sake of collecting money without the right motive which comes from God is doing it against the will of God, and therefore they should never be entertained by true believers who will come to be deceived by them if they willingly let them so, and in doing so they will miss more of the blessings of God which have been already given for free from God to all of them, from the first to the last.

Much Blessings.....