Look And Be Saved - 3

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live." So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. If anyone who was bitten looked at the bronze snake, he would live. (Numbers 21:8-9 BSB)

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. (Isaiah 45:22 KJV)

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. (John 3:14-15 BSB)

Just stumbled on this "Uncovering The Mystery of The Nehustan: The Bible WARNED Us - YouTube". Then I realized that I had so many references to the bronze thing (Nehushtan) in my blog.

Look and be saved! Salvation is that simple. But do not let what is good become an idol. Neither should we add to the method of salvation. Just look. That is all.

But if you want to choose a method of salvation that require that you do more than just look, you have many choices. Every false religion in the world requires some effort from you to be saved.

He removed the pagan shrines, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke up the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because the people of Israel had been offering sacrifices to it. The bronze serpent was called Nehushtan. (2 Kings 18:4 NLT)

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16 KJV)

Judgement Day - Bible vs Koran

Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.) Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4-6 NLT)

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. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:12-15 NLT)

And We place the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection, so no soul will be treated unjustly at all. And if there is [even] the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it forth. And sufficient are We as accountant. (Quran 21:47 Sahih International)

Jesus The Judge of The World

For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead." (Acts 17:31 NLT)

Unlike the false gods and false prophets of this world who made claims without proof, God authenticated the future judge of the world by resurrecting Him from the dead. Resurrection proved that Jesus is the Judge.

For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. (John 5:22-23 ESV)

First Fruits Coincides with Easter Sunday in 2023

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When you have come into the land that I am giving to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf bundle of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. (Leviticus 23:9-11 MEV)

Today is easter Sunday. We commemorate a unique event in history - the resurrection of Christ. All men are born of two parents. Some grew up to become founders of new religions and eventually died. Jesus was uniquely born of a virgin, crucified, 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.

This year's easter Sunday coincides with the festival of first fruits. Easter Sunday does not always coincide with the festival of first fruits, as you can see from Calendar of Hebraic Feast and Holy Days 2013-2027. The last coincidence was in 2020.

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 15:20 BSB)

Grace means No Equal Opportunity - 2

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9 BSB)

For you are a holy people belonging to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be his own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 7:6 CSB)

For you are a people holy to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 14:2 ESV)

When I was still a new Christian, I read from the Bible that God had chosen Israel. Then I thought to myself, "God is so unfair. What about the other nations?" As I grew older, I came to realize that equal opportunities are not always given to everyone for everything in life, not just in matters of salvation. Everything depends on your time and place in history.

For example, when I was young, I used slide rules to perform calculations in school, but my children used calculators. Similarly, while I had to visit a library and manually copy notes from reference books to do my homework, my children simply Google for information. And now, we even have the convenience of ChatGPT to help me rewrite some of these.

Many founders of false religions feared the charges of unfairness and tried to tell us that their gods or buddhas or supermen had given equal opportunity to all to believe. Only the God of the Bible told us the plain truth - salvation is by grace. There is no equal opportunity.

Why did God choose the nation of Israel? Because any man can write a book and claim that it is from God, but only God can create a nation.

Has any other god dared to take a nation for himself out of another nation by means of trials, miraculous signs, wonders, war, a strong hand, a powerful arm, and terrifying acts? Yet that is what the LORD your God did for you in Egypt, right before your eyes. (Deuteronomy 4:34 NLT)

Grace means No Equal Opportunity

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. (Colossians 2:8 ESV)

Do not be deceived by false religions and vain philosophies that teach about equality of men. This is the truth, which you can see for yourselves if you are not blinded:

1. All men are born unequal;
2. All men are not given equal opportunities;
3. All men are sinners and will receive God's justice.

In the context of this truth, the Bible tells us that salvation is by the grace of God. Not everyone will be given the opportunity to hear the good news.

"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you." (Matthew 11:21-24 ESV)

If you have the opportunity to hear the good news that Jesus had died for your sins, grab it. Believe it! You are better than a person who strike first prize in lottery. You have won something that you can bring beyond the grave. You have eternal life.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3 KJV)