Tag Archives: earthquakes

BECAUSE YOU CARRY MY NAME,

Christian Life, ,

BECAUSE YOU CARRY MY NAME

“He went on, ‘Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Huge earthquakes will occur in various places. There will be famines. You’ll think at times that the very sky was falling.

“‘But before any of this happens, they’ll hunt you down, arrest you and drag you to court and jail. It will go from bad to worse, dog-eat-dog, everyone at your throat because you carry my name. You’ll end up on the witness stand, called to testify. Make up your mind right now not to worry about it. I’ll give you the words and wisdom that will reduce all your accusers to stammers and stutters.'” Luke 21:11-15 (The Message).

Reading Jesus’ words is like reading today’s newspaper. Both parts of His prediciton are happening all around us – conflicts and natural disasters on the one hand and  persecution of His followers on the other.

Wars, earthquakes, and famine are so common that only the biggest make world news. As for persecution, how much of it is ever reported in the mass media, and yet it goes on all over the world, from petty personal and family vendettas to national political policy to exterminate those who follow Jesus and refuse to embrace the official religion of that country. Jesus warned that it would happen “because you carry my name.”

Much of Jesus’ prophetic warning was fulfilled in the generation after His death, when Titus and the Roman army invaded Israel in AD 70, reducing the temple to rubble and slaughtering thousands of Jews across the land. Israel ceased to exist until its rebirth in 1948. 

Why is there such animosity against the name of Jesus? What has He done to cause such hatred against Him and His followers? Was He so evil that He and His disciples had to be obliterated? On one occasion He told His disciples, ‘I did not come to bring peace but a sword,’ implying that His coming was going to produce a sharp division between people.

To understand the reason for this great divide we have to go behind the scenes, back to the beginning. Before the creation of the earth, Satan made a bid to oust God. His rebellion was so serious that it resulted in the establishment of a rival kingdom. Satan and one third of the angels were evicted from God’s presence and exiled to the earth where they would operate until judgment day.

There are two unseen kingdoms at work in the world, God’s rule of love and freedom and Satan’s dominion of fear and force. Every person is influenced by one of these powers. That does not mean that Satan shares equal power with God. His presence on earth is part of God’s way of fulfilling His plan to build a family who freely choose to love Him for who He is and what He has done. Satan, on the other hand, uses deception to ensare people into slavery to him.

Jesus came to expose his lies and defeat him at the cross, inviting people to return to His Father by believing the truth about Him and His Father, receiving His forgiveness and submitting to His rule.

Satan’s hatred for God is expressed through those who are enslaved by his deception. He sows lies about God and His Son which turns them into God-haters. So vicious is people’s hatred for Jesus that they will stop at nothing to destroy those who carry His name, even murdering their own family members if they convert to follow Jesus.

And the reason? Because they “carry His name”. In Hebrew thought a name is a prophetic utterance of character. Everything that Jesus is, is enshrined in His name. To carry His name implies to be like Him. Christians who carry the name of Jesus are such a threat to Satan’s dominion that he will stop at nothing to destroy them. Since people who do not love God are under his influence, they are his tools to do his dirty work.

But Satan’s doom, and all those who follow him, is already secure. God has appointed Jesus, to whom He has given the highest name because of His victory through the cross, to be Lord. To Him, including Satan and all who believe his lies, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord! (Philippians 2:5-11)

LUKE’S GOSPEL – BECAUSE YOU CARRY MY NAME

Bible Study, , ,

BECAUSE YOU CARRY MY NAME

“He went on, ‘Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Huge earthquakes will occur in various places. There will be famines. You’ll think at times that the very sky was falling.

“‘But before any of this happens, they’ll hunt you down, arrest you and drag you to court and jail. It will go from bad to worse, dog-eat-dog, everyone at your throat because you carry my name. You’ll end up on the witness stand, called to testify. Make up your mind right now not to worry about it. I’ll give you the words and wisdom that will reduce all your accusers to stammers and stutters.'” Luke 21:10-15.

Reading Jesus’ words is like reading today’s newspaper. Both parts of His prediction are happening all around us – conflicts and natural disasters on the one hand and persecution of His followers on the other.

Wars, earthquakes, and famine are so common that only the biggest make world news. As for persecution, how much of it is ever reported in the mass media, and yet it goes on all over the world, from petty personal and family vendettas to national political policy to exterminate those who follow Jesus and refuse to embrace the official religion of that country. Jesus warned that it would happen “because you carry my name.”

Much of Jesus’ prophetic warning was fulfilled in the generation after His death, when Titus and the Roman army invaded Israel in AD 70, reducing the temple to rubble and slaughtering thousands of Jews across the land. Israel ceased to exist until its rebirth in 1948.

Why is there such animosity against the name of Jesus? What has He done to cause such hatred against Him and His followers? Was He so evil that He and His disciples had to be obliterated? On one occasion He told His disciples, ‘I did not come to bring peace but a sword,’ implying that His coming would produce a sharp division between people.

To understand the reason for this great divide we have to go behind the scenes, back to the beginning. Before the creation of the earth, Satan made a bid to oust God. His rebellion was so serious that it resulted in the establishment of a rival kingdom. Satan and one third of the angels were evicted from God’s presence and exiled to the earth where they would operate until judgment day.

There are two unseen kingdoms at work in the world, God’s rule of love and freedom and Satan’s dominion of fear and force. Every person is influenced by one of these powers. That does not mean that Satan shares equal power with God. His presence on earth is part of God’s way of fulfilling His plan to build a family who freely choose to love Him for who He is and what He has done. Satan, on the other hand, uses deception to ensnare people into slavery to him.

Jesus came to expose his lies and defeat him at the cross, inviting people to return to His Father by believing the truth about Him and His Father, receiving His forgiveness and submitting to His rule.

Satan’s hatred for God is expressed through those who are enslaved by his deception. He sows lies about God and His Son which turns them into God-haters. So vicious is people’s hatred for Jesus that they will stop at nothing to destroy those who carry His name, even murdering their own family members if they convert to follow Jesus.

And the reason? Because they “carry His name”. In Hebrew thought a name is a prophetic utterance of character. Everything that Jesus is, is enshrined in His name. To carry His name implies to be like Him. Christians who carry the name of Jesus are such a threat to Satan’s dominion that he will do everything he can to destroy them. Since people who do not love God are under his influence, they are his tools to do his dirty work.

But Satan’s doom, and all those who follow him, is already sealed. God has appointed Jesus, to whom He has given the highest name because of His victory through the cross, to be Lord. To Him, including Satan and all who believe his lies, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord! (Philippians 2:5-11)

The Beginning Of The End

Bible Study, , , ,

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple. Peter, James, John and Andrew asked Him privately, ‘Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?

Jesus said to them, ‘Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pangs.’ (Mark 13: 3-8).

What a golden opportunity for Jesus to give His disciples a timetable of the end times – but He didn’t. He could have, had He wanted them, and us, to have a countdown of events to the end of time. His response to His disciples is puzzling if we do not understand what He was telling them and why. He answered and yet He did not answer His disciples’ question. He told them what would happen, but He did not tell them when it would happen. Why?

Had He given them a timeline, it would have given them, and those who followed them an excuse to live carelessly and only come into line as the events took place that heralded His return. Jesus was wise. Instead, He gave them principles and warnings because His people had an assignment – to follow Him and to be replicas of Him and citizens of the kingdom of heaven in the midst of the darkness of a fallen world.

Deception is a formidable enemy – and we humans are very good at falling for the deception of others and deceiving ourselves as well. ‘Watch out for false messiahs.’ Jesus warned. Why do people fall for their deception so easily? Surely they are easy to detect? How can we protect ourselves from falling for deception?

God gave us an infallible test – prophecy! Remember John the Baptist’s question? ‘Are you the Messiah or do we look for someone else?’ What was Jesus’ response? Check the database. God had given a “database” of prophecies to His people of messianic “fingerprints” in their sacred Scriptures. All John had to do was to check Jesus against the fingerprints and he would have his answer.

How can we check the claims of those who insist that they are followers and representatives of Jesus? Jesus gave us the answer – examine their fruit. Do their lives measure up to their profession? Who do they represent – themselves or Jesus? There is a database of evidence in the Scriptures to help us identify true followers of Jesus.

The second warning – don’t get excited when natural disasters happen. These are what Eugene Peterson, in “The Message” paraphrase of the Bible calls “routine” disasters. They have always happened and they will always happen because the earth was corrupted by Adam’s disobedience. Jesus called them “the beginning of birth pains”. Nature is in labour. This is nothing new. Paul observed and wrote about it in his letter to the Romans.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time (Rom. 8: 22).

Wars are another phenomenon which have been going on since the Fall. Human greed was born in the hearts of men when Adam chose his own way over the will of God. Man is at enmity with God and men. He wants what is not his and he will take it when and where he pleases at the expense of others. Wars will continue until the end of time, as long as fallen man pits himself against fallen man.

It is true that there is an escalation of both natural disasters and human conflict, with warfare becoming more sophisticated and destructive of human life. Just as a woman’s birth pains increase in frequency and intensity, so the earth’s “birth pains” are likewise becoming more violent and intense, a sign that her labour will soon have its end result. Nevertheless, there is no way in which we can or should predict the time of His return.

Like the bridegroom whose return for his bride is set by his father when he is satisfied with his son’s preparation for the consummation of his marriage, so Jesus awaits the Father’s time to return for the church and to restore everything that was broken by the Fall.

The role of the bride is to prepare for His return so that, whenever the bridegroom comes, she will be ready. When He returns is not as important as that He will return, for He has promised. In the interim she has a task to do – to prepare her wedding gown so that she may take her place with Him in the beauty of His holiness.

Are you ready for Jesus’ return or will you be caught, like the five foolish virgins, unprepared for His coming, and left out in the cold?

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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