Sarawak

Today I have the opportunity to land at all major airports in Sarawak - Miri, Sibu and Kuching. All because MASwings delayed the Labuan - Miri flight by 100 minutes.

MASwings uses the ATR 72-500 to fly from Labuan to Miri.

East Gate

After landing on Mount of Olives, Jesus will enter Jerusalem by the East Gate.

After this, the man brought me back around to the east gateway. Suddenly, the glory of the God of Israel appeared from the east. The sound of his coming was like the roar of rushing waters, and the whole landscape shone with His glory. This vision was just like the others I had seen, first by the Kebar River and then when he came to destroy Jerusalem. I fell face down on the ground. And the glory of the Lord came into the Temple through the east gateway. (Ezekiel 43:1-4 NLT)

Then the man brought me back to the east gateway in the outer wall of the Temple area, but it was closed. And the Lord said to me, “This gate must remain closed; it will never again be opened. No one will ever open it and pass through, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered here. Therefore, it must always remain shut. Only the prince himself may sit inside this gateway to feast in the Lord’s presence. But he may come and go only through the entry room of the gateway. (Ezekiel 44:1-3 NLT)

Lift up your heads, O gates,
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
That the King of glory may come in!

Who is the King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
The LORD mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, O gates,
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
That the King of glory may come in!

Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts,
He is the King of glory.
(Psalm 24:7-10 NASB)

God's common grace

"for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5:45 KJV)."

In past generations He allowed all the nations to go their own way, although He did not leave Himself without a witness, since He did what is good by giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons and satisfying your hearts with food and happiness." (Acts 14:16-17 HCSB)

It is God's common grace that enables the world to flourish and prosper. However, the world thought that it is all the work of nature.

Second Coming - Predicted

"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." (Acts 1:11 NIV)

All these happened at a place called the Mount of Olives. But the same Jesus, who was taken away, will come back to Mount of Olives. This was predicted by the prophet Zechariah long before the birth, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Christ.

On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. (Zechariah 14:4 ESV)

Jesus is the special Man, who is the Son of Man and the Son of God, who had His life predicted in the scriptures, the only Man who claimed to be God, but did not, like others, just born and die. He had prediction, birth, death, resurrection and ascension.

Then I said, "Look, I have come. As is written about me in the Scriptures: I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart." (Psalm 40:7-8 NLT)

Follow the Lord

Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys the voice of his servant?
Let him who walks in darkness
and has no light
trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on his God.
Behold, all you who kindle a fire,
who equip yourselves with burning torches!
Walk by the light of your fire,
and by the torches that you have kindled!
This you have from my hand:
you shall lie down in torment.
Isaiah 50:10-11 ESV

Follow the Lord even when there is no light. Do not create your own light.

FEBC wins suit on Appeal

FEBC wins suit on appeal, point out that its doctrine is basically Presbyterian.

The Lord Cometh as a Thief in the Night

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. (Matthew 24:36 KJV)

Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. (Matthew 24:42-44 KJV)

But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. (Mark 13:32 KJV)

And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not. (Luke 12:39-40 KJV)

And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. (Acts 1:7 KJV)

For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. (1 Thessalonians 5:2 KJV)

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (2 Peter 3:10 KJV)

Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. (Revelation 3:3 KJV)

Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. (Revelation 16:15 KJV)

More Last Prophets

After John the Baptizer, more Last Prophets appeared. I know of three: Mohammed, Baha'u'llah and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.

Mohammed (570-632)
The first Last Prophet is Mohammed of Islam. The Koran in Surah 33:40 declare Mohammed as the "Seal of the Prophets".
"Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the Messenger of Allah, and the Seal of the Prophets: and Allah has full knowledge of all things." (Surah 33:40 Yusuf Ali Version). Muslims traditionally interpret this verse as meaning that Muhammad was the last prophet.

Bahá'u'lláh (1817-1892)
Bahá'u'lláh was born Shiite, adopting Bábism later in life. While he did not claim to be a last prophet, but he claimed to be the promised one of all religions (Maitreya, Messiah and Mahdi), and founded the Bahá'í Faith.

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1839-1908)
Some said that he never claimed to be last prophet, just a reformer. Others said that he claimed to be the Messiah and the Mahdi. I am confused.

"For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. (Matthew 24:24 NASB)"

"For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. (Luke 6:44 NASB)"

The Last and Greatest Prophet

John the Baptizer was the Last Prophet. "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; (Luke 16:16 NASB)"
His appearance was prophesised by another prophet, Malachi. "Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says the LORD of hosts (Malachi 3:1 NASB)"
Jesus declared that John the Baptizer was the greatest among the Old Testament prophets. "I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; (Luke 7:28 NASB)"
Unlike the boxer Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr), John did not proclaim himself to be the greatest. Instead, he declared, "He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:30 NASB)"

Vesak Day

Today is Vesak Day. It celebrates the birth (誕生), enlightenment (成道) and death (涅槃) of the Buddha. Like all famous men, he had birth, something significant, then death.

Vesak Day is the right time to talk about men, especially men who claimed to be more than human, but yet is born of a father and a mother, like every one of us, and die, like every one of us.

Many people like us to believe that they are more than human. The latest such person is Sai Baba. He was born of a father and a mother, like you and me, and he died on Easter Sunday 24th April 2011. His disciples buried him three days later, hoping that he would emulate Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead after three days. He did not and was buried. Someone in future can claim to be his reincarnation, but it cannot be proven objectively or legally.

Death is the leveller. You can be a great conqueror, a very wise man, a fool, a rich man or a beggar. One thing will happen to you. You will die. You can claim to be a god or a buddha, but if you die, to me, you are the same as me, same as all human beings who was born of a father and a mother and died. You failed to conquer the greatest enemy of all – death. I cannot believe you.

Jesus is another man who claimed to be God. What is the difference between Him and all the others?

First, He is not born of a father and a mother. He was born of a virgin.
Next, He died, but after three days He rose from the dead.
Finally, His birth, death, resurrection and second coming was prophesised.

Christianity is not a one man religion, unlike many religions, which have only one founder.

So the life of Jesus can be summed up as following:
Pre-birth prophecies, born of a virgin, death, resurrection, and future coming.

Same Strategy, Different Results

Both Low Thia Khiang and Chiam See Tong decide to walk out to their SMC to contest in a GRC. Low Thia Khaing managed to win big by retaining both the SMC and GRC. But Chiam See Tong lost both the SMC and the GRC.

Men are Born Slaves

Life is like a computer program. It is a series of if-then-else. Do you think you have freedom? Let us conduct an experiment. Stand up and jump. Which of you can jump and not fall back? None. All of you have to obey the Law of Gravity. Likewise is the Law of God in the moral realm. You think you have the freedom. But like the Law of Gravity, you really have no choice but to obey God's Law. God gave you a choice between two forms of slavery. Either you be the slave of God and live, or be the slave of sin and die (Romans 6:16). You cannot be free from God or sin. You can try to jump, but you will fall back into the arms of God or sin.

While the moral law of God is not like the scientific law of God, which is experimentally verifiable, but nevertheless, it is real.

When KJV Becomes an Idol

He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan. (2 Kings 18:4 NASB)

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live." And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived. (Numbers 21:8 NASB)

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. (John 3:14-15 NASB)

The bronze serpent was made by Moses at the command of God. but when it became an idol, King Hezekiah broke it to pieces.

When a translation becomes an idol, it is declared to be perfect. Then it becomes God. Then it has to be destroyed.

The Son of Man is the real Word, not the KJV.