Joseph and The Birth of Christ

This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:18-21 NLT)

A friend told me that his Wesley Methodist church pastor had once preached the Christmas story through the eyes of Joseph.

Joseph was a troubled man. First, he thought his wife was unfaithful and an angel had to appear in a dream to convince him otherwise. Then the birth of Jesus coincided with the census and he had to bring his family back to his hometown in Bethlehem and there was no lodging available and Jesus was born in a manger. Later the family had to flee to Egypt to avoid the wrath of king Herod. While so much were happening, Joseph was definitely doing God's will.

So you can be in the centre of God's will and still be full of trouble.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7 KJV)

When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up!" he said. "Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him." (Matthew 2:13 BSB)

Vanity

For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. (Ecclesiastes 2:26 ESV)

What do workers gain from their toil? (Ecclesiastes 3:9 NIV)

Everywhere on earth I saw violence and injustice instead of fairness and justice. (Ecclesiastes 3:16 CEV)

There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless. (Ecclesiastes 8:14 NIV)

Are You Envious Because I am Generous?

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 'You also go into my vineyard,' he said, 'and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went.
He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing.
About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?' he asked.
'Because no one has hired us,' they answered.
So he told them, 'You also go into my vineyard.'
When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last ones hired and moving on to the first.'
The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when the original workers came, they assumed they would receive more. But each of them also received a denarius.
On receiving their pay, they began to grumble against the landowner. 'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.'
But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Did you not agree with me on one denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you. Do I not have the right to do as I please with what is mine? Or are you envious because I am generous?'
So the last will be first, and the first will be last." (Matthew 20:1-16 BSB)

Everyone has a certain idea of justice. If I put in more effort, I expect more reward. If I do not get it, I feel wronged. How do you feel when someone who put in less effort than you get the same reward as you?

However, when we face God, we may not want to talk about justice. We will prefer that God to be merciful. But some feel that they are good and demand justice from God. Since all have sinned, justice from God means hell for men.

Grace is unfair. We do not get what we deserve. We deserve hell but Christ died for our sins. Whether we sin more or sin less, we get the same pardon from God if we believe that Jesus had died for our sin.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 NASB)

Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:22-24 NIV)

How then can I answer him or choose my arguments against him? Even if I were in the right, I could not answer. I could only beg my Judge for mercy. (Job 9:14-15 CSB)

David's Reaction to Nathan's Parable

So the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to tell David this story: "There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor. The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle. The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man's own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man's lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest."
David was furious. "As surely as the Lord lives," he vowed, "any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity." (2 Samuel 12:1-6 NLT)

Two things we can learn from David's reaction:

1. We judge more harshly for other people's sin.
David's reaction to Nathan's story was the rich man must die, the rich man must repay. He was very judgemental because he did not know he also committed the same sin.

2. We may not be aware of our own sin even if we were not told directly.
David was totally unaware that he had committed the rich man's sin until Nathan pointed out to him explicitly. That is why sometimes when we are too shy to call a spade a spade, the sinner may thing that he is just a regular good guy.

Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but fail to notice the beam in your own eye? (Matthew 7:3, Luke 6:41 BSB)

And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. (2 Samuel 12:7a KJV)

Ordo Salutis

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30 ESV)

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. (1 Peter 1:1-2 ESV)

Order of Salvation

1. Foreknowledge
2. Predestination / Election
3. Call
4. Justification
5. Glorification

I cannot find any Biblical basis for the Arminian order of salvation, which is 1) outward call 2) faith / election, 3) repentance, 4) regeneration, 5) justification, 6) perseverance, 7) glorification.

Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. (Romans 8:33 ESV)

For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him. (Ephesians 1:4 CSB)

I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. (John 17:9 ESV)

Job Did Not Believe in Karma

Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited me against him, to destroy him for no good reason." (Job 2:3 CSB)

Don't you know that ever since antiquity, from the time a human was placed on earth, the joy of the wicked has been brief and the happiness of the godless has lasted only a moment? (Job 20:4-5 CSB)

Zophar the Naamathite believed in karma. He said that Job was suffering because he had done something wicked and he was now suffering the consequences.

Job said that karma was not true. He said the wicked continue to prosper even though they were wicked and he was suffering even when he did nothing wrong. So he wanted to take up his case with God.

Why do the wicked continue to live, growing old and becoming powerful? Their children are established while they are still alive, their homes are secure and free of fear; no rod from God strikes them. (Job 21:7-9 CSB)

"Rabbi," his disciples asked him, "why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents' sins?" (John 9:2 NLT)

The Subtlety of Faith - God vs Works

But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my works. (James 2:18 CSB)

There is a subtle difference between having faith in our works and having faith in our God.

A friend shared with me that some troubles happened to him. He had taken some action which he thought was right but now it went wrong. His action is very logical. If I were in his shoes, I would do exactly the same thing. And he added that before taking action, he had prayed about it.

I may be wrong, but he gave me the impression that he expected right results because he had done the right actions (i.e., praying to confirm that is God's will). Thus now he is very confused and upset.

While it is true that following God is right, it may sometimes lead to unexpected results. We have to make sure that our faith is in God and not our right actions. We should just do the right thing and leave the results to God.

Jesus's disciples followed Him, but they ran into a storm. Right action, wrong result.

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. (Matthew 8:23-24 ESV)

The First Resurrection - 3

"And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it's here now, when the dead will hear my voice - the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live. The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son. And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man. Don't be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God's Son, and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment. (John 5:25-29 NLT)

People dies daily but resurrection occurs in batches. Jesus was the first man to be resurrected to life (1 Corinthians 15:20). The last group of saints to be resurrected will certainly be the millennium saints for the Great White Throne judgement (Revelation 20:12). What about those in between? Are there resurrections between the firstfruits and the Great White Throne judgement? According to the Bible, there will be a first resurrection (Revelation 20:6) before the millennium and those resurrected will reign with Christ for a thousand years.The trumpet will sound, believers will be raised imperishable in the twinkling of an eye and meet Christ in the air (1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

Obedience is Better than Sacrifice

But Samuel declared: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams. (1 Samuel 15:22 BSB)

Why We Need to Read the Bible and Go to Church

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31 KJV)

If we are saved by believing that Christ had died for our sin, why do we need to read the Bible and go to church? This is really due to our sinful nature and our deceitful heart. We can believe in something and then change your mind later. We can deceive ourselves. We need to strengthen our faith by knowing who we believe, why we believe and experience His grace. While we are saved by faith, we are assured of our salvation by our personal knowledge of God and our experience of His grace.

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9 BSB, NIV)

And finally, there is another reason why we need read the Bible and go to church. We are exhorted by the word of God to do so.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV)

Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (Acts 17:11 NIV)

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. (Hebrews 10:25 NLT)

Knowing God will lead us to know ourselves. Knowing ourselves will lead us to depend on God's grace to grow in faith and assurance of our salvation.

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5-8 CSB)

Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won't be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. (Ephesians 4:14 NLT)

Strengthening Our Faith

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. (1 Corinthians 15:3 NLT)

And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." (Acts 16:31 ESV)

The Bible teaches that you are saved by believing that Christ had died for our sin. If that is sufficient, why do we need to read the Bible and go to church since it does not add anything to our salvation? This is really due to the nature of faith. You can believe in something and then change your mind. That is why we are saved by God's grace through faith, and not by our faith in God. So we need to strengthen our faith so that we will not fall away. We can strengthen our faith by knowing who we believed and who we are.

For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. (2 Timothy 1:12 KJV)

The First Resurrection - 2

Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:6 NIV)

There will be two resurrections. The first resurrection is the resurrection of life and the second resurrection is the resurrection of condemnation. But is the first resurrection a single event? I believe there are at least three first resurrections.

1. Firstfruits (Leviticus 23:9-11)
   But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 15:20 CSB)
   Jesus was the first man to be resurrected to life. All the other who was raised from the dead, like Lazarus, died again. But what about Enoch and Elijah?
   
   
2. Yom Teruah (Leviticus 23:24)
   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)
   After Jesus was resurrected and at the sound of the last trumpet, all the saints since creation, those who have fallen asleep and those who are still alive will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17). These will include Old Testament saints, Christian saints and tribulation saints. They will reign with Christ for a thousand years (Revelation 20:6).
   
   
3. The Great White Throne Judgement (Revelation 20:11)
   I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God's throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. (Revelation 20:12 NLT)
   The last group of saints to be resurrected in the first resurrection will be the millennium saints. These are people who will be saved during the millennium rule of Christ. I could not find any Leviticus 23 Feast link to this resurrection. This judgement will have both the first and second resurrection.

The Last Trumpet and God's Wrath

The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever. The twenty-four elders, who were seated before God on their thrones, fell facedown and worshiped God, saying, We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty, who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. (Revelation 11:15-17 CSB)

At the seventh and last trumpet, the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of God and His wrath has come in the form of seven bowls.

The nations were angry, but your wrath has come. The time has come for the dead to be judged and to give the reward to your servants the prophets, to the saints, and to those who fear your name, both small and great, and the time has come to destroy those who destroy the earth. (Revelation 11:18 CSB)

Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath on the earth." (Revelation 16:1 CSB)

Is the rapture of the church a separate event from the second coming of Christ to Jerusalem to rescue the Jews? I believe so. When will the rapture of the Church happen? I think the rapture will occur at the last trumpet. The church will not suffer from the wrath of God, but the Church has to go through the Great Tribulation with Israel. After all, the Church is grafted into Israel through the tribe of Ephraim.

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)

He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. (Matthew 24:31 CSB)

For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 CSB)

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33 KJV)

But Israel will not believe until the nations surround Jerusalem.

Truly I tell you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God." (Mark 14:25 BSB)

For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord'!" (Matthew 23:39 CSB)

I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early. (Hosea 5:15 KJV)

Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son. (Zechariah 12:10 BSB)

When Israel repents, the Lord will come with the saints from heaven and land on mount Olives. He will defend Jerusalem against the nations that surround it.

Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations as he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, forming a huge valley, so that half the mountain will move to the north and half to the south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for the valley of the mountains will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones with him. (Zechariah 14:3-5 CSB)

It was about these that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied: "Look! The Lord comes with tens of thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly concerning all the ungodly acts that they have done in an ungodly way, and concerning all the harsh things ungodly sinners have said against him." (Jude 1:14-15 CSB)

The First Resurrection And The Second Coming

And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2 BSB)

Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. (John 5:28-29 ESV)

We know that there are two coming of Christ and two resurrections. The first coming of Christ is to save the world and the second coming of Christ is to judge the world. The first resurrection is the resurrection of life and the second resurrection is the resurrection of condemnation.

But my question is how many first resurrections are there? I know of at least two. Christ's resurrection as the first fruits and then those at His second coming.

For since death came by man, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward, those who are Christ's at His coming. (1 Corinthians 15:21-23 MEV)

Then I know that all who were asleep will be resurrected before those who are still alive, but we can consider this as the same time, with the sound of the trumpet.

For we say this to you by a word from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord's coming will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel's voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 CSB)

And there will be the tribulation saints who will be martyred during the great tribulation. Their resurrection is clearly part of the first resurrection.

When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had held. They cried out with a loud voice, "How long, O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" Then a white robe was given to each of them, and they were told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers should be completed, who would be killed as they were. (Revelation 6:9-11 MEV)

Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 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 20:4-6 ESV)

Finally, we will have those who are saved and died during the millennial reign of Christ. These should be resurrected after the millennium, together with those unsaved people, but still considered as first resurrection because theirs is a resurrection of life.

For those who believe that the seconding coming of Christ is divided into two phases, one in the air (the rapture) and another landing at Mount Olives, then there will be four first resurrections:

1. First fruits - Jesus;
2. Resurrection of all the saints both asleep and alive during the rapture;
3. The tribulation saints;
4. The millennium saints.

But for those who think that rapture and landing on Mount Olive happen at the same time sequentially (last trumpet), then there will be three first resurrection.

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall 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 imperishable, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52 MEV)

But if all the saints are resurrected during the seconding coming of Christ with spiritual bodies, then who will be left to populate the millennium?

Second Coming - Is There Two Parts?

The second coming of Christ is the most certain event of the future. But are there two phases, once in the air (rapture) and once landing on Mount Olives?

Rapture (resurrection) of the Church at the sound of trumpet
For we say this to you by a word from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord's coming will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel's voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 CSB)

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall 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 imperishable, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52 MEV)

Coming with the clouds, landing at Mount Olives, to save Israel
Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations as he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, forming a huge valley, so that half the mountain will move to the north and half to the south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for the valley of the mountains will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones with him. (Zechariah 14:3-5 CSB)

They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven." (Acts 1:11 CSB)

I continued watching in the night visions, and suddenly one like a son of man was coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him. (Daniel 7:13 CSB)

Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:30 ESV)

And Jesus said, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." (Mark 14:62 ESV)

For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. (Matthew 16:27 ESV)

And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. (Mark 13:26 ESV)

And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. (Luke 21:27 ESV)

Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. So it is to be. Amen. (Revelation 1:7 CSB)

Stupidity Masquerading as Wisdom

Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. (Colossians 2:8 NLT)

A Facebook friend of mine posted this:

Open-minded people don't care to be right, they care to understand. There's never a right or wrong answer. Everything is about understanding.

My response to his post:
"I will accept your view that 1 + 1 = 3 as long as you do not force me to give up my view that 1 + 1 = 6. With this, mathematics will never progress and there will be no modern technology but at least we have understanding at a primitive level."

I find it fascinating how people do not treat truth with priority. They are quick to embrace anything that sound philosophical and wise. They accept statements without thinking. This also answer the question why science and all the benefits of modern civilisation come from Europe and from not the other ancient civilizations such as China and India. Christian based European civilization learnt from the Bible to emphasize on truth and reaped the benefits of truth.

"Peace is such a precious jewel that I would give anything for it but truth" - Matthew Henry (1662-1714)

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6 KJV)

No Prophet Can Claim Credit for Prophecy Coming True

For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21 ESV)

No prophet can know the future, unless God revealed it to him. Therefore, whatever God has revealed to the prophet, it is the word of God and the prophet cannot claim credit for knowing the future.

However, the maker of this YouTube video gave credit the prophet for knowing the future. Was he mistaken or was he taught by his prophet?

Is USA a Christian Country?

Someone asked me if USA a Christian country. So how do we define a Christian country?

Well, USA is the biggest exporter of pornography. USA is also the biggest exporter of missionaries and Christian literature. So what do you think?

If you are not sure what to think, maybe we can look into the Bible to see if we can get an answer. The Bible is a very biased book, biased from God's point of view. There is no neutrality in the Bible.

King David is a liar (1 Samuel 21:2-3, 1 Samuel 21:13, 1 Samuel 27:10), an adulterer (2 Samuel 11:2-5, 2 Samuel 11:26-27) and a murderer (2 Samuel 11:14-25). But God said that he is a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22).

So what can we conclude from this?

1. David is a sinner but God covered his sin retrospectively through the death of Jesus;
2. Since David is man after God's heart, so God must be a liar, an adulterer and a murderer.

Frankly speaking, a non-Christian may find conclusion 2 logical.