In Death All Are Equal

One man dies full of vigor, completely secure and at ease. His body is well nourished, and his bones are rich with marrow. Yet another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, having never tasted prosperity. But together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover them both. (Job 21:23-26 BSB)

All men are equal at death. He might have been a rich man, a powerful dictator, a beggar, a murderer or claim to be a god, a buddha, a prophet or whatever, at death, they are all equal. They do not come back again. Almost nobody came back to prove that he is more equal than others. But there is one exception, only one who came back from death.

Today is Resurrection Sunday. We commemorate a unique event in history - the resurrection of Christ. All men are born of two parents and died. Jesus was uniquely born of a virgin, crucified to death, and then resurrected on the third day. This event serves as evidence of Jesus' divine nature, setting Him apart from others who simply made claims that they are gods or buddhas or some other supermen, without any proof to support them.

Why do we listen to men, born of one man and one woman, fusion of sperm and egg, who after speaking great things, claiming to be somebody great, die and return to dust, like all men before and after him? He who cannot conquer death is like me, and no better than me. Why should I listen to him?

Why not believe in the only one in the world, who was born of a virgin, died and was resurrected, and will be returning again? Believe in Him who had conquered death, proving Himself to be different from all men.

He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. (1 Corinthians 15:4 NLT)

Nothing Before the Rapture?

Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20 NLT)

And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. (Mark 13:10 NIV)

This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14 CSB)

No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. (Mark 13:32 BSB)

For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. (1 Thessalonians 5:2 BSB)

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 NIV)

Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52 CSB)

This website Is there anything that must happen before the Rapture? - AskBible.org says rapture can happen anytime without warning.
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The answer is - nothing. There is nothing that must happen before the rapture - the rapture is imminent. We at AskBible.org believe this is what the Bible teaches. Let us see why.
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The rapture is imminent. But something will precede the rapture. The gospel must first be preached to all nations. If Christians are raptured before that happened, who is going to preach? So, the rapture will only occur near the end.

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him: We ask you, brothers and sisters, not to be easily upset or troubled, either by a prophecy or by a message or by a letter supposedly from us, alleging that the day of the Lord has come. Don't let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits in God's temple, proclaiming that he himself is God. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 CSB)

Don't let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. (2 Thessalonians 2:3 CSB)

A Christian Testimony

Our Lord and God, you are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because you have created all things, and by your will they exist and were created. (Revelation 4:11 CSB)

Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God. (Hebrews 11:10 NLT)

All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. Now those who say such things show that they are seeking a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:13-16 BSB)

A Christian's ultimate testimony is to testify that God always has his or her good in His mind. It will not be about how holy the Christian is and how good he or she is. Good deeds do not save a Christian. Bad deeds do not damn them. It is how God transform them should be the focus because it glorifies God.

Do We Need the Bible in the Millennium?

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (Matthew 24:35 NIV, CSB)

LORD, your word is forever; it is firmly fixed in heaven. (Psalm 119:89 CSB)

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8 ESV)

From Adam to Moses, there was no Bible. From Moses to John the Apostle, the Bible was work in progress. From John the Apostle onwards, we have the complete Bible.

During the millennium, the Word of God will dwell among men and rule the nations together with the saints. Do we still need the Bible?

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14 CSB)

The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. (Hebrews 1:3 CSB)

Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:6 ESV)

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (Jeremiah 31:33 ESV)

Israel 1948 And Biblical Prophecy - 3

"Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations. I will show how holy my great name is - the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord. For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land. (Ezekiel 36:22-24 NLT)

He began by saying to them, "Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled." (Luke 4:21 CSB)

Is Israel's existence today in the land of Canaan a fulfilment of God's prophesy? The Zionist Christians said yes, the Anti-Zionist Christians said no.

So how do we know who is right? Let us look into the past to see the future.

Is Jesus the fulfilment of God's prophesy on the Messiah? The Christians said yes, the Jews said no.

Why did the Jews object to Jesus as a fulfilment of God's prophesy on the Messiah? The Jews believe that the Messiah will come to rule Israel as the King. But Jesus came and partially fulfilled God's prophesy on the Messiah and then declare that He will fulfil the rest (becoming King) in a second coming. The Jews objected to the fulfilment God's prophesy on the Messiah by instalments. The Messiah must fulfil all prophecies in one go.

Why did the Anti-Zionist Christians object to Israel's existence today in the land of Canaan as a fulfilment of God's prophesy on the restoration of Israel? Anti-Zionist Christians believe that the Jews must fulfil the conditions given in Deuteronomy 30:2, that is, to obey God completely in one go before they can come back to the land of Israel. The Anti-Zionist Christians objected to the fulfilment God's prophesy on the restoration of Israel by a gradual process. It is obvious that today's Jews in the land of Canaan reject Jesus as the Messiah. They are not Christians and may even be anti-Christians since they were persecuted by European Christians for about 1000 years.

Dating Palm Sunday And Good Friday

I just got this book from church, "A Resolved Chronology of Acts and Paul's Epistle" by Lim Seng Hoo. In it the date of Palm Sunday was given as 6 April 32 AD and 11 April 32 AD as Good Friday.

Let me also summarize my previous posts on this subject and the dates.

In Precise Date and Time of Jesus's Death, Jesus died precisely on 3 April AD 33 at 3:00 pm (Good Friday).

In Calculating Gabriel's Formula of 483 Years - Time of Messiah's Arrival, Palm Sunday was on 30 March AD 33, the very day of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. An alternate date, 6 April 32 AD, was given in Calculating Gabriel's Formula of 483 Years - Time of Messiah's Arrival - 2. This alternate date is the same as the date given by Lim Seng Hoo's book.

In Dating the End of Daniel's 69 Weeks, Palm Sunday is on 6 Nisan AD 33.

Finally, in Dating Palm Sunday, there is no date. Just an affirmation according to Barnes' Notes on the Bible that the triumphant entry and crucifixion will happen after the completion of 62 weeks.

Sir Robert Anderson (6 April / 10 Nisan and 11 April AD 32)
Dr Harold Hoehner (30 March and April 3 / 14 Nisan AD 33)
This book, Oxford Bible Church - Appendix 2: Anderson-Hoehner Interpretation (a Critique), said both Anderson and Hoehner were wrong.

God's Will And Hardened Hearts

The Lord answered Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet. You must say whatever I command you; then Aaron your brother must declare it to Pharaoh so that he will let the Israelites go from his land. But I will harden Pharaoh's heart and multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. Pharaoh will not listen to you, but I will put my hand into Egypt and bring the military divisions of my people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the Israelites from among them." (Exodus 7:1-5 CSB)

So Joshua took all this land - the hill country, all the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the foothills, the Arabah, and the hill country of Israel with its foothills - from Mount Halak, which ascends to Seir, as far as Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and struck them down, putting them to death. Joshua waged war with all these kings for a long time. No city made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites who inhabited Gibeon; all of them were taken in battle. For it was the Lord's intention to harden their hearts, so that they would engage Israel in battle, be completely destroyed without mercy, and be annihilated, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. (Joshua 11:16-20 CSB)

Did God ask Moses to tell a lie when He asked Moses to ask the Pharaoh for a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to God? No. If the Pharaoh had accepted the request, it would be so. But it was God's will that the Israelites were to leave Egypt. So God hardened the Pharaoh's heart and he did not accept the request. Finally after the death of all the first born in Egypt, the Pharaoh expelled all the Israelites from his land.

Likewise when the Jews were offered about 50% of Palestine in 1947 by the United Nations, they accepted. If the Arabs had also accepted it, it would be so. But it is God's will that the Jews are to get all of Palestine. He stated it in the Bible and the Koran. So He hardened the hearts of the Arabs, who now called themselves Palestinians, to fight both the Jews and Allah, until they are driven out of the land.

The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble. (Proverbs 16:4 ESV)