Christ's longing at the well

"John 4:7,9 There came a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus said unto her, Give Me to drink. Then said the woman of Samaria unto Him, How is it that you, being a Jew, ask drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

Not a very encouraging opening, but beneath the exterior of

superstition and ignorance, Christ recognized the spiritual need and longed to open to this benighted soul the treasure of the Father’s love. 

He did not ask her to come again when He would be feeling rested and refreshed, or suggest that, if she could get together a sufficient congregation to make it worthwhile, He would speak to them on some very important truths, but to this single individual He proceeded to make known His work and character." 

E.J. Waggoner

Papal Notes - Green Wine of Rome

And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. Revelation 13:3

"At least 217 people have already lost their lives in one of the deadliest flash floods in Spain’s modern history, and many more

remain unaccounted for. Rescue workers are searching in homes, apartment buildings, shopping centers, and parking garages for more victims of the floods that came after four consecutive days of torrential rain hit the eastern region of Valencia, Spain.

Catholics were quick to blame the natural disaster on climate change and are urging the European nation to adhere to Pope Francis’ climate encyclicals Laudate Deum and Laudato Si’. ARCORES, the International Solidarity Network of the Augustinian Recollect Family and a religious order of the Catholic Church, published the following on October 31, 2024, which connects the recent environmental tragedy to the Pope’s climate message:

• “The catastrophic floods that claimed more than 90 lives (now 217 and counting) and left dozens missing in Valencia, Spain, highlight the seriousness of the climate crisis.”
• “Despite this, many people are still reluctant and confused when it comes to accepting the reality of the climate crisis.”
• “As Pope Francis states, ‘despite all attempts to deny, hide, gloss over or relativize the issue, the signs of climate change are here and are ever more evident.’ (Laudato Deum, 5).”
• “We encourage communities and institutions to make calls for solidarity and to act in favor of the victims, as Pope Francis reminds us in Laudato Si’ with a sense of solidarity that is at the same time an awareness of living in a common home that God has lent us.”

Here we see how Rome’s faith-driven climate agenda is being pushed upon Europe as the solution to the natural calamities taking place in our world. Catholics are actually lobbying political leaders to adopt Laudate Deum and Laudato Si’ as the solutions for the environment.

Here is the real problem with the Pope’s climate message, which will have a part in the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Laduato Si’ section 237 reads:
 “On Sunday, our participation in the Eucharist has special

importance. Sunday, like the Jewish Sabbath, is meant to be a day which heals our relationships with God, with ourselves, with others and with the world. Sunday is the day of the Resurrection, the “first day” of the new creation, whose first fruits are the Lord’s risen humanity, the pledge of the final transfiguration of all created reality. It also proclaims “man’s eternal rest in God” (Laudato Si’ #237).

Rome is working tirelessly to spread her wine throughout the world.
There will be two clear voices being heard as we enter the final crisis. Apostate Christianity’s call that Sunday is the solution to saving the planet and the warning message found in the Third Angel’s Message against the mark of the beast." 

AdventMessenger

Creation Moment 11/7/2024 - Get a load of this Headline

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind,..and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:12 

"The first sentence in a recent evolutionary news story set the stage for the rest of the article: “Flowers like hibiscus use an invisible blueprint established very early in petal formation that dictates the size of their bullseyes—a crucial pre-pattern that can significantly impact their ability to attract pollinating bees.” 

---Such a statement could easily have come from a creation science publication. 

After all, blueprints come from the minds of architects or engineers and are not cobbled together by mindless processes." 

ICR

The breach

And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. Isaiah 58:12

“The Sabbath is a golden clasp that unites God and His people. 

But the Sabbath command has been broken. 

God’s holy day has been desecrated. 

The Sabbath has been torn from its place by the man of sin, and a common working day has been exalted in its stead. 

A breach has been made in the law, and this breach is to be repaired. The true Sabbath is to be exalted to its rightful position as God’s rest day.” 

E.G.W.

On the Streets of Babylon: Monsters spotted on the Streets

Babylon is fallen, is fallen,..
Come out of her, My people,
Revelation 14:8/18:4

There seems to be "Monsters" spotted on the Streets of Babylon...

"Church by the Glades in Coral Springs, FL, led by David Hughes, is

the embodiment of instituting worldly entertainment in the pathetic hope of catching the attention of wayward goatlings and luring them into staying.
During their October 27 sermon series on ‘Mind Monsters, this SBC megachurch decided to put on what seems to be an original production that features an explorer being chased around by one mummy monster before the entire stage is filled with the creatures clad in linen doing a choreographed dance across the stage.
When the bible isn’t enough, nothing is ever enough." 

Protestia

Creation Moment 11/6/2024 - The Cole-Turner Heresy based on Evolution

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them... 2 Peter 2:1

"While Sandberg and Bostrom advance transhumanism from a secular framework, Cole-Turner endorses technologically transforming humanity based on evolutionary theology. Far from being a “closet theologian,” Cole-Turner’s bio reveals the scale of his influence—including over seminaries, evolutionary teaching initiatives, and a funding body backing major theistic evolutionary organizations.

Although Cole-Turner affirms that “secular transhumanism” is

incompatible with Christianity, he also declares that “Transhumanism is a Christian concept”—aspects of which have been secularized.

Foundational to this framework is the premise, “[Theology] that engages science must be willing to revise its own ideas in light of current, well-founded insights.” 

Believing human evolution to rank among these insights, Cole-Turner rejects the teaching that God specially created a historical Adam whose sin inaugurated death and suffering.

*Cole-Turner instead teaches that God used evolution to produce a “good but also disordered” creation filled with chaos, pain, and imperfection long before humans existed. Despite recognizing that “only Adam and Eve can explain why we all need Christ,” Cole-Turner concludes that “what is theologically necessary is scientifically unsupportable.”

This compromise leads Cole-Turner to significantly reinterpret core Christian doctrines. Cole-Turner proposes (among other possible scenarios) a “gospel” wherein Jesus “saves us by completing humanity rather than reversing the fall.”

Cole-Turner’s (rather heretical) version of “Jesus” saves humanity by converging all humans into “a unified global community” that ultimately merges with God and the universe. This concept of eschatology resembles the views of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a Jesuit priest and evolutionary biologist who profoundly influenced New Agism.

Attempting to alter our “fearfully and wonderfully made” intricacies (Psalm 139:14) will foreseeably yield unexpected consequences, implying that transhumanist projects are at best unwise. 

Contrary to Sandberg’s view that humans flourish by pursuing morphological freedom, a Biblical view suggests that humans flourish by embracing God’s designs for us." 

AIG

IN the NEWS - Gates on an AI Religion

"Bill Gates, the mega-rich billionaire who was exposed as a frequenter of Jeffrey Epstein’s Little Saint James island, has announced on Reid Hoffman’s podcast that a new religion should be created, centered around Artificial Intelligence.

Gates told Hoffman on his Possible podcast, “The potential positive path (of AI) is so good that it will force us to rethink how should we use our time. You can almost call it a new religion or a new philosophy of how do we stay connected with each other, and not be addicted to these things that will make video games look like nothing in terms of the attractiveness of spending time on them.”

Gates, who claims to be a Roman Catholic, seemed to claim that humankind’s technological advances will create a God-like problem solving ability. He told Hoffman, “It’s fascinating that issues of disease, and enough food, and of climate — if things go well — those will largely become solved problems.”

Of course, Jesus told us the poor will always be with us (For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have Me. Matthew 26:11), God controls the weather and Bill Gate’s efforts to “prevent disease” through his Vaccine Colonialism has led directly to the deaths and caused millions of vaccine-injured people to be harmed." 

Protestia

Creation Moment 11/5/2024 - Sophisticated Molecular Machines

Male and female created He them; and blessed them... 

Genesis 5:2

"Cells swim using machines, copy themselves with machinery, ingest food with machinery. In short, highly sophisticated molecular machines control every cellular process. 

Thus, 

---the details of life are finely calibrated 

---and the machinery of life enormously complex." 

EN&V

Matthew 24 SERIES Page

And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple; and His disciples came to Him for to show Him the buildings of the temple. Matthew 24:1

vs. 1

Dig Deeper: Matthew 24 SERIES: vs. 1

vs. 2

Dig Deeper: Matthew 24 SERIES: vs. 2

vs. 3

Dig Deeper: Matthew 24 SERIES: vs. 3

vs. 4,5

Dig Deeper: Matthew 24 SERIES: vs. 4,5

vs. 6,7,8

Dig Deeper: Matthew 24 SERIES: vs. 6,7,8

vs. 9,10

Dig Deeper: Matthew 24 SERIES: vs. 9,10

vs. 11

Dig Deeper: Matthew 24 SERIES: vs. 11

vs. 12

Dig Deeper: Matthew 24 SERIES: vs. 12

vs. 13

Dig Deeper: Matthew 24 SERIES: vs. 13

vs. 14

Dig Deeper: Matthew 24 SERIES: vs. 14

vs. 15-20

Dig Deeper: Matthew 24 SERIES: vs. 15-20

vs. 21 pt.1

Dig Deeper: Matthew 24 SERIES: vs. 21 pt.1

vs. 21 pt.2

Dig Deeper: Matthew 24 SERIES: vs. 21 pt.2

vs. 22

Dig Deeper: Matthew 24 SERIES: vs. 22

vs. 23-27

Dig Deeper: Matthew 24 SERIES: vs. 23-27

Unbelief + Self Exaltation

"The first chapter of Romans, after its introduction, can be summarized as 

---the condition of man without God, 

---and how he gets in that condition. 

The cause of this condition can be stated in one word—unbelief. Coupled with unbelief is self-exaltation; without faith, humility. 

---They lost God, "because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened." Verse 21. 

---They attributed everything to themselves, and as self was advanced, faith in God decreased, till they were in the darkness of idolatry." 

E.J. Waggoner

Creation Moment 11/4/2024 -Deuterostomia

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools... 

Romans 1:22

"The purpose of the category of Deuterostomes may simply be to appear to support a narrative. 

Q: How many people will really ask for evidence as to whether it does or not?

"According to current systematic theory, everyone reading this right

now belongs to the taxonomic category Deuterostomia. This refers to the “second opening”: the group was originally defined with respect to the embryological appearance of the anus (first opening) versus mouth (second opening), a trait no longer considered diagnostic. Deuterostomia is still around as a systematic grouping, however, and it is showing signs of strain. At present, three phyla belong to Deuterostomia: chordates (that’s you), echinoderms (e.g., sea urchins), and hemichordates (acorn worms).
The origins of Deuterostomia represent a long-standing mystery: … – (Paul Nelson, February 21, 2023)."

....Dr Steven Benner at JPL admit to a group of scientists and other employees that the problems in his field are so vexing, it was almost enough to make one become a creationist." 

UncommonDescent

Matthew 24 SERIES: vs. 23-27

"Matthew 24:23-27 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth; behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

This is a very important and much-abused part of this great prophecy. Its connection and obvious intention are generally quite disregarded; when it is used, it mostly so applied as to teach the opposite of the idea presented by the Savior. Because of the importance of its testimony on the question under consideration, we feel warranted in noticing it at some length.

---They who deny our position, and contend for a figurative or

spiritual coming of the Son of man, are the very ones against whom the warning is spoken. 

Some say the Lord came in 70 AD, at the overthrow of Jerusalem. Then in that day they could in truth say, Matthew 24 23 Lo, here is Christ... But our Savior said,  ...believe it not.

And some say His coming is at the death of a saint,—that the coming of Christ to each one is at his death. Even learned ministers say so. If that be so, His coming is not a public event, but is literally “in the secret chambers.” To this also the Savior says,  ...believe it not.

They who take the Scriptures literally, who believe the coming of Christ:
• Is a literal, personal, visible coming; 

• Is yet future; 

• Will be with wondrous power and glory, such as to strike His enemies with awful dread; And that at His coming: 

• “All kindreds of the earth will wail because of Him,” when “every eye shall see Him;”

• The graves will be opened and the dead will be raised; 

• The living saints will be changed to immortality, and all be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. 

They, we say, who believe these things cannot be deceived by false christs and by counterfeit comings, because they cannot counterfeit these events, while they who spiritualize His coming, or make it mean anything whatever but a person visibly coming, are open to the deceptions against which the Savior warns us." 

A.T. Jones

Bane of Mankind

"The deception of thinking that they have life in themselves has been for ages, and is still, the bane of mankind. 

This deception is couched in the conception of the immortality of the soul. 

Vast multitudes of the human race, and indeed the whole human race, naturally, as it is, have come under the power of that deception—of thinking that they have life themselves so certainly that even the Lord himself cannot deprive them of it. 

Through the deception in which they are involved, they have come to believe that a part of themselves is “immortal,” and, logically enough, that, therefore, it is “a part of God”—and then the conclusion, “How can God destroy a part of Himself?” By that argument they convince themselves that the Lord himself could not destroy them, if He wished to.

The whole human race is naturally under that deception. 

---And the way in which they came under this deception is precisely the way in which they came under the deception of sin.

Q: For what was it that the deceiver said to the woman, to get her to

depart from God into sin? What was it?—“Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be like God.” 

You will be like the divine, and not subject to death. That was the original proposition in the original deception that brought us under sin; that was the original deception into which the race went by that “one man,” by whom came sin and death." 

A.T. Jones

Days of the Dead and "Ghosts" vs. God

"Although many affirm that Samhain was the origin of modern-day Halloween, it is significant to note how many cultures throughout the world have celebrated a “day of the dead” (often with sacrifices), occurring at the end of summer and fall. There seem to be too many parallels to call these similar celebrations a coincidence.

For example, in the Americas, there is the Mexican Day of the Dead

(El Día de los Muertos) that goes back to the ancient festival of the dead celebrated by Aztecs and the more-ancient Olmecs. 

Brazilians also celebrate Finados (Day of the Dead). Bolivia has the Day of the Skulls (Día de los Natitas).

In Asia, there are similar festivals. For example, the Chinese celebrated the Ghost Festival, which was a day to pay homage to dead ancestors. 

The Japanese celebrated something similar called O-bon or merely Bon. 

Even Vietnam has a variant of the Ghost Festival called Tet Trung Nguyen. 

In Korea, there is Chuseok or Hankawi, in which deceased ancestors are ritualized. 

In Nepal, there is the cow pilgrimage called Gia Jatra to honor the recently deceased. 

In the Philippines, there is the Day of the Dead (Araw ng mga Patay), where tombs are cleaned and repainted. 

Death is a terrible reality for all of us—not something to celebrate or treat as fun. 

*Death is the punishment for sin. 

Since all of us are sinners (Romans 3:23), we must realize that death is coming. 

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)." 

AIG

Creation Moment 11/3/2024 - Simply Put

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 2 Peter 1:16

"If a rational God is not responsible for human minds, and instead they were cobbled together by unguided evolutionary processes, we should not expect them to be trustworthy. 

Since our minds are generally trustworthy, though, the evolutionary worldview must not be correct." 

CMI

Matthew 24 SERIES: vs. 22

"Matthew 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

The Papacy was clothed with civil power to punish heretics for 1260

years; and had not the period of tribulation of the elect in the providence of God been shortened, the martyrdom of the church would have continued to 1798, in which event, according to the Scriptures, no flesh of the elect would have been saved."

 A.T. Jones

Point of the Transfiguration & the Saints

"Adam Clarke makes an interesting point about this story, to wit, that Moses and Elijah demonstrated two ways of receiving a glorified body; 

(1) by being translated without seeing death, as in the case of Elijah, or 

(2) by dying but then later being resurrected and given a glorified body, as in the case of Moses. 

Perhaps one of the purposes of the story is to show us that both routes lead to the same end result:

"Elijah came from heaven in the same body which he had upon earth, for he was translated, and did not see death, 2 Kings 2:11. And the

body of Moses was raised again (Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. Jude 9), as a pledge of the resurrection; and as Christ is to come to judge the quick and the dead, for we shall not all die, but all shall be changed, Behold, I shew 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 trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 1 Cor. 15:51-2. 

He probably gave the full representation of this in the person of Moses, who died, and was thus raised to life (or appeared now as he shall appear when raised from the dead in the last day), and in the person of Elijah, who never lasted death. Both their bodies exhibit the same appearance, to show that the bodies of glorified saints are the same, whether the person had been translated, or whether he had died."

--Properly understood, the story of the transfiguration provides support not for the doctrine of immortal souls freed from a body, but rather for the teaching that the redeemed dead will be resurrected with glorified but very real bodies." 

F.D. Nichol

Creation Moment 11/2/2024 - That 98–99% figure of Human / Chimp DNA

"According to God’s Word, man and chimps were separate creations by God. In Genesis 1:24–25, we read of God creating the land animals by His spoken word “according to their kind” (which would include the kind that chimps belong to). 

In Genesis 1:26–27, we read of the creation of the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, not only as separate creations from the animals but also as unique creatures because they alone were made in the image of God. So clearly, from a Biblical perspective, man didn’t evolve from any creature. 

*This is very different from the evolution story, and both cannot be correct.

The 98–99% figure comes from comparing only DNA between

humans and chimps that “aligns.” 

This refers to any genetic sequence that is similar enough (although not a 100% match) that a computer program can align them. And within this aligned region there is only one type of difference that evolutionists typically count. 

These differences are called substitutions. 

For example, human DNA might have a T but chimp DNA in the same location has a G. Evolutionary ideas propose that the common ancestor of humans and chimps likely had a G in that position but a mutation changed the G to T in the line that eventually led to humans. These types of differences account for the often-touted 1–2% difference between human and chimp DNA.

Q: What about the other differences within the aligned DNA, such as gaps where whole sections of human DNA have no match to the sequence in chimp DNA (and vice versa)?
A: There are other differences as well that total approximately 16%. That’s 480 million base differences!
Q: What about the DNA that does not align? 

A: Millions of DNA bases outside the aligned regions in human DNA have no match in chimp DNA and vice versa. Approximately 4% of human DNA has no alignment to chimp DNA. That’s a glaring 20% total difference between human and chimp DNA!

Q: If there are so many other differences besides substitutions, why do scientists typically focus only on the 1–2% difference? 

A: Time. 

Proposed evolutionary processes require slow, random processes. To account for all the other differences in the DNA, there would need to be more time since humans and chimps supposedly shared a common ancestor. The current ape-to-human time frame of six million years is simply not enough time.

In addition, even if there was more time and those mutations could occur, they don’t do what evolution needs them to do. Mutations don’t cause the gain of novel traits—the gain of genetic information—necessary to change from one kind of organism into another.

---DNA is more than just a sequence of bases. It’s a library that encodes the information on how to produce all the proteins necessary for each living organism. Genes are distinct sequences of DNA that encode the information for making the proteins, but a lot of other regulatory information is encoded in the DNA, determining when, where, how much, and under what conditions those proteins are produced. Chemical tags modify DNA and influence how the genes express the proteins. These tags are referred to as epigenetic markers because they exist outside of (epi-) the actual sequence of DNA (-genetics).

Genetic evidence confirms that man and chimps do not share a common ancestor and is consistent with the Biblical account of creation." 

AIG

Matthew 24 SERIES: vs. 21 pt.2

"Matthew 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 

The “great tribulation” mentioned here is that of the church of Christ, and not the tribulation of the Jews at the destruction of Jerusalem. We offer the following reason: 

GREATER THAN ANY PREVIOUS SUFFERING It is a fact that

the tribulation of the Christian Church, especially under the reign of the Papacy, was greater than God’s people had suffered before “since the beginning of the world.” 

The tribulation of the Christian church has been greater than it will ever be again. True, a time of trouble “such as never was,” spoken of in Daniel 12:1, is coming upon the wicked; but we find in the same verse this blessed promise, Daniel 12:1 ...and at that time your people shall be delivered. 

--The tribulation of the Jews at the destruction of Jerusalem was not greater than the world will ever witness. The vials of Jehovah’s unmingled wrath are yet to be poured out, not upon the people of one nation only, but upon the guilty inhabitants of all nations." 

A.T. Jones

IN the NEWS - The FOOLISH Taking Root

I have seen the foolish taking root: Job 5:3

"Animal-rights activists never quit. The Nonhuman Rights Project, having lost cases seeking writs of habeas corpus for chimpanzees and an elephant named “Happy” in New York, has now brought a case in Colorado. It was properly tossed out of court at the trial-court level.

This advocacy thrust is known as “animal standing.” 

The idea is to allow animals to sue in their own name — represented

by animal-rights ideologues, of course. This is precisely what the current suit is about, naming the Nonhuman Rights Project as the guardian of five elephants — currently located in the Colorado Springs zoo — to bring the case and take control of their care after the writ of habeas corpus “frees” them from supposed wrongful detention.

The Colorado supreme court agreed to hear the appeal, which will be argued on October 24. From the CBS News story:
Fern says her group has filed a lawsuit against the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo on behalf of the zoo’s elephants, arguing that the animals are suffering in captivity at the Colorado Springs Zoo and should be released.
“The elephants do not want to be held captive, and they want to be free,” said Fern."

Q: How would Fern know what the elephants want? 

The animals have lived in the zoo — which has a sterling reputation — for years. Moreover, if a writ of habeas corpus is issued, the elephants won’t be free. Their care will just be transferred to a different human organization.

The ultimate goal of animal rights organizations

Understand, animal rights isn’t the same as animal welfare. The former is an ideology that sees no moral distinction between humans and animals. In PETA’s alpha wolf’s infamous slogan, “A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy.”

It would only take one radical court to make terrible history. Let us hope that the Colorado supreme court tosses the case. If it allows the elephants to sue, no use of animals or animal industry will ultimately be safe." 

MindMatters

Monthly Viewer Update {October 2024}

      Monthly Viewer Update {October 2024} {49,769}

Where YOU Are Viewing From

TOP 10 Nations

#1 U.S.A. (76.5%)

#2  Canada (7.1%)

#3 Singapore (3.0%)

#4 India (1.1%)

#5 Russia (1.0%)

#6 Germany (0.6%)

#7 South Korea(0.6%)

#8 Israel (0.5%)

#9 China (0.5%)

#10 France (0.5%)

All Others of the 185 Remaining Nations (8.7%)

The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.

Deuteronomy 33:27

Leading among Others were  Italy, Bangladesh, , Switzerland, 

 Indonesia, Brazil

Top 5 Viewed Posts of the Month

1- It isn’t fair

2-  The Cry of Sinners: Same as the Cry of the Demons

3- Why frogs?

4- Crumbling of Darwinism

5- Principals of John the Baptist vs. Labor Unions of Today

Creation Moment 11/1/2024 - Who, What, and Why of Creation

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Revelation 4:11

Who: In eternity past, God spoke the physical universe into existence. “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). Unlike the triune Godhead, the matter-space-time universe had a specific beginning.

What: God spoke into existence what previously had not existed (Hebrews 11:3). The Hebrew words bara (divine creation through God’s command) and yom (the day-by-day pattern of God’s creation work) remove any wiggle room for evolutionary insertion into the first chapter of Genesis. 

Why: Man’s creation is listed separately because he was created in God’s image. “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them” (Genesis 1:27). God’s purpose for the entire material universe was humanity. “The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat” (2 Peter 3:10).

 Everything will eventually be uncreated except for humanity." 

ICR

Puritan Corner - Translate It

"When we come to be religious, we lose not our pleasure, but

translate it."
by Thomas Manton (1620-1677)
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 

2 Corinthians 12:10

Matthew 24 SERIES: vs. 21 pt.1

"Matthew 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not, since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 

IT IS CONTENDED that the greatest tribulation that ever befell the Jews was in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. Against this we interpose two objections: 

--Not Fulfilled in the Destruction of Jerusalem

First, it is by no means clear that the overthrow of Jerusalem by the Romans was the greatest tribulation the Jews ever suffered. All the scenes of horror described by historians, as occurring at that time, are by the inspired records ascribed also to the conquest of the Babylonians. See the Lamentations of Jeremiah, especially: Lamentations 4:10 The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children; they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people. Also, Daniel 9:11-13 The curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against Him. And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us, and against our judges that judged us; by bringing upon us a great evil; for under the whole heaven has not been done as has been done upon Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us. 

The Gathering of the Saints Second, at the coming of Christ, as noted in Matthew 24, the elect of God, the saints of Christ, will be gathered…Matthew 24:31 ...from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 

--This cannot be referred to the destruction of Jerusalem. 

Nothing occurred at that time to which it will possibly apply. 

Paul, speaking of the coming of Christ, mentions the same fact, as follows: 2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him. 

Q: How did the Lord come to Jerusalem at the time of its overthrow?

A: We are answered, “It was a figurative coming.” 

Q: If it was not literal and actual, what was the nature of the figure used? 

A: It is said that He visited the Jews in judgment; that Titus, or the Roman army, really executed the judgment upon the doomed city. 

--Then the coming of Titus, or of the Roman army, is represented as the coming of Christ? Was it a fact, then, that the saints of God, the followers of Christ, from the four winds, were gathered together unto Titus, in that day? This must have been so if the coming of Titus represented the coming of Christ, or if Christ came figuratively in the person of Titus. 

It is as sure as the Scriptures are true that the saints will be gathered unto Christ in the day of His coming; which did not occur, even in a figure, at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem; for the saints, instead of being gathered unto Christ, or to any person or thing which came to Jerusalem as His representative; were scattered from the city, fleeing from the presence of that which represented Christ! So absurd is that theory. 

The fact of Christ’s coming, and the gathering of the saints at that time, being stated alike in Matthew 24 and 2 Thessalonians 2, proves that these chapters refer to the same time and event.

Paul cautions his brethren not to look for the coming of Christ until the man of sin is revealed. 

Q: Who, or what, is that man of sin? 

--Paul wrote this about eighteen years before Jerusalem was overthrown. 

Q: What arose within these eighteen years which filled the outline of this prophecy? 

A: Nothing at all. The, old and well-accepted view of the Protestant reformers,— that this man of sin is the “supreme pontiff” of Rome,—is every way reasonable, and to produce a harmony of the prophetic scriptures, is unavoidable. 

Notice these points: 

1. Paul wrote only eighteen years before the overthrow of Jerusalem, but he looked forward to the future for the revealing of the man of sin. The elements were then already operating, but hindering causes had to be removed. Consequently, as he said, the coming of the Lord was not “impending” in his day. 

2. It was not merely a sinful man to be revealed, there were many such then; “that man of sin”—who legalizes and enforces sin, not merely one who breaks law, but one who overrides and breaks down law—such has been the character of the Roman pontiff

3. Exalting himself above God. This he has done, not, merely by assuming the prerogatives of God, but by legislating on the law of God, which can be done only by a superior, in fact or assumed.
4. Claiming to be God. See the titles which have been given to, and assumed by, the pope; and most recently, the assumption of infallibility. These, and other specifications of prophecy, have been fulfilled by the popes of Rome, and by no other." 

A.T. Jones