Christian Times Magazine Issue 2 UK Edition by Christian Times Magazine & Bierton Particular Baptists

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D I S C L A I M E R

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EDITORIAL

WELCOME Cool to see you again in this issue.

ANIL ANWAR Editor-In-Chief

DAVID CLARKE Operations Editor

RAVEN YOUNGBLOOD Technical Editor

Welcome to the 2nd Issue of Christian Britain Issue 2 designed especially for people who really like News and Political articles and consider picking up a News & Political magazine. This is for readers who want to up-to-date with political, Religious and Entertainment News. While as a nation We aim to cut through the confusion and give you clear, sensible and reliable information and News from writers and experts that you can trust.

We want it to be entertaining and informative, at times contrary, but above all useful. Inside you’ll find a mixture of news, features and Monthly regular columns/articles on a wide range of News and Political related topics. I hope you enjoy this Issue 2 and do let us know if there are any article you’d like to see covered in the future. Issue 2 Leading article is The Resurrection of Christ by Terry Cropper.

CONTRIBUTORS Terry Cropper Zoe Selah Smith David Chilton Jennet Dr.Ken Matto

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CONTENTS 08

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST By Terry Cropper

THE WORD BECAME FLESH! By Zoe Selah Smith

THE BIBLE IS TRUE By Jannet

THE MODERN VERSION INCURSION By Dr. Ken Matto

WH A T R E A L L Y HAPPENED AT 70AD By Foreword by David Chilton

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THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST

photo Source: Son of God

The religious leaders thought they had silenced this Jesus movement. With the death of Christ, the Jewish leaders thought they had finally gotten rid of a rabble-rouser; and the disciples thought their hopes and dreams had come to an insoluble end. The chief priests and the Pharisees had gone to Pilate and had asked for guards to be placed around the tomb of Jesus, for they remembered that our Lord had said He would rise again after three days. That’s what the apostle Paul said. If you can blow up this one thing, you totally destroy Christianity. That foundation is the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Paul said, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, and your faith also is vain…. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17)

Pilate granted their request, and gave them guards “four men who watched for three hours, then relieved by four men for the next three hours, etc., for the next three days”. They also put a seal on the stone. A seal consisted of placing a cord across the stone and securing the ends with clay stamped with an official seal of Rome. If the seal was broken it would be readily apparent. This day for many in the city of Jerusalem, looked just like any other day as will except for Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, and the disciples the Rome guards along with the Jewish leaders who thought they had finally gotten rid of a rabble-rouser. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came to the sepulcher at the

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rising of the sun" (Mark16:1 ‑ 2 KJV). The body of Jesus was hastily prepared (probably with the assumption that further preparations could be made after the Sabbath) We know (after the Sabbath) that the women who prepared the spices felt it was necessary to apply more spices and ointment to the body, either as an additional show of honor and respect or out of necessity in order to finalize the process. (Luke.24:1). However when they arrived at the tomb with the necessary spices and ointment they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. (Luke.24:13) Now there is a problem. In spite of the religious leaders taking all necessary precautions and Pilate granting there request guards to watch the tomb they now had an empty tomb and no explanation except the truth of the resurrection. What started out in Jerusalem as just another day has turning into a day of pandemonium. The watch reported to the chief priests what had happened. (Matthew 28:11) Let’s stop here and educate ourselves a bit about the REAL Roman guard. The total number of the guards would have been from ten to thirty men. The soldiers did not get scared, deserted their post, run back into the city, and reported to the Jewish priests. They were not the kind of men to jeopardize their Roman necks by sleeping on their post they were Roman soldiers, not merely Jewish temple guards. The soldiers had very strict training the punishment for deserting one’s post or falling asleep while on guard duty was death. The fear of punishments produced faultless attention to duty, especially in the night watches. Since the penalty for falling asleep while on guard duty was DEATH, the last thing “all the soldiers guarding the tomb” would do was jeopardize their necks by falling asleep or admitting to anybody that they had fallen asleep. Roman soldiers would have NEVER used falling asleep on duty as an excuse. These were soldiers, Roman soldiers, and if they had “run away” to anyone they would have been put to death. The fact was they had an empty tomb. If Jesus’ tomb had not been empty, when the disciples began proclaiming his resurrection from the dead, their enemies would have simply marched to the tomb, produced the body and the disciples would have been laughed out of town.The only solution that makes sense was to make up a lie.The ruling Jews were evil, not stupid. It was at this juncture that

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the ruling Jewish leaders came up with a plan to destroy the faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. When the chief priests met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, "You are to say,'His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.' If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble. So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day. (Matthew 28:12-15 NIV). Notice the chief priests or the elders said, if this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." The trouble of death for faultless attention to duty. The Jewish leaders actually promoted this theory by bribing the Roman guards. But there are many reasons the disciples could not have moved Jesus’ body. The tomb was secured by the Roman guards. And the stone was large and heavy and could not have been moved without cooperation from the guards. The entrance of a Jewish tomb was quite small. Depending on the type of stone used, it could weigh between 1-2 tons (2000-4000 pounds). This is quite heavy, but two men could move it into place (Matthew 27:60). The more difficult task was removing the stone to open the tomb.Mark 16:3 describes the scene when Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome visit Jesus’ tomb: “They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’” The rolling stone was set inside a groove in front of the entrance, and secured from falling over by a stone wall that stood in front of tomb opening (the rolling stone was sandwiched between the tomb entrance and stone wall as the pictures below illustrate). Often, the groove was not level, but slightly sloped. To close the tomb, the stone would be rolled down the groove at a decline and come to rest in front of the entrance. To open the tomb, the stone would have to be rolled up the groove at an incline. Given the structure of such tombs, it would not have been possible for the disciples to simply push a 2000+ pound stone back up the groove at an incline without any noise and help from the guards. And there is no way the disciples had bribed the guards and stolen the body. None of them were expecting a

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resurrection, in spite of Jesus’ repeated predictions of such. They were confused, frightened, and depressed after the crucifixion and were huddled in secret. (John 20:19) Jesus’ first post-resurrection appearance was to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. (Matthew 28:9:10) The text says, “they held Him by the feed and worshiped Him”. During this appearance there were unmistakable proofs of the visibility, materiality, and identity of the resurrection body. Mary saw Christ with her natural eyes. (John 20:14) The text says, “she turned around and sees Jesus standing there.”The word sees Greek θεωρεῖ is a normal word for seeing with the naked eye. I look at, gaze, behold; I see, experience, discern; I partake of. Jesus who had been dead is now alive, demonstrated by the fact that the same body that once lay there in the tomb is now alive forevermore. So in both cases of the women, all the evidences of the visible, physical resurrection of the numerically identical body were present. They saw the empty tomb where his physical body once lay and they saw, heard and touched that same body after it came out of the tomb. When the eleven disciples went to Galilee, where Jesus had told them to go. They saw Jesus, and they worshiped him. But still had some doubts (Matthew 28:16) Certainly Peter was not speechless. Jesus definitely spoke with Peter in a later appearance when he asked Peter to feed his sheep (John 21:15, 16, 17) Mark confirms that Peter (and the disciples) would “see him, just as he told you” (Mark 16:7). Peter, of course saw the empty tomb and the grave clothes just before this appearance (John 20:6-7). So Peter experienced at least three evidences of the physical resurrection; he saw and heard Jesus, and he observed the empty tomb and grave clothes.These are definite pieces of evidence that the body that rose is the same, visible,tangible, material body he had before the resurrection There were two disciples, one of which was named Cleopas. They were walking to a place seven miles from Jerusalem, a small hamlet called Emmaus. “Jesus came up and walked along with them” At first they did not recognize who he was; they nevertheless clearly saw him. Jesus beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. When they finally realized who it was, the text says “he disappeared

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out of their sight.” Jesus’ resurrection body was as visible as any other material object. (Luke 24:13-35) They heard Jesus with their physical ears (17,19, 25-26). In fact, Jesus carried on a lengthy conversation with them. For “beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (vs. 27). Of course, they were not the only ones Jesus taught after the resurrection. Luke informs us elsewhere that “he appeared to them [the apostles] over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). During these times he “gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.” When Jesus appeared to the ten disciples, Thomas was absent. Thomas certainly encountered a visible, physical resurrection body with his natural senses. When Thomas touched Christ, he certainly saw his crucifixion wounds (John 20:27-29). The fact that Jesus still had these physical wounds from his crucifixion is an unmistakable proof that he was resurrected in the material body in which he was crucified. Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:6 says: “Jesus appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive and some have fallen asleep.” After that Jesus was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Paul’s words here are powerful because they tell us that the words of Jesus had such an effect on the five hundred people that they were willing to testify on behalf of the resurrection. Paul challenges his reader to check out what he is saying with this multitude of witnesses who saw and probably heard Christ after His resurrection. Jesus’ last appearance was to Paul (see 1 Corinthians 15:8). It is important to note that this appearance was no vision that occurred only within the mind of Paul. Paul called this an “appearance” (Gk. ὤφθη ), the same word used of Christ’s literal appearances to the other apostles (1 Corinthians 15:5-7). Since Jesus was seen on this occasion and others and he left such a lasting impression on them, it can be assured that they heard him speak. Why else would Paul imply their readiness to testify on behalf of the resurrection, saying in essence, “If you do not believe me, just go and ask them?” The evidence of Jesus resurrection was the

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changed lives of the many different witnesses. Paul’s career as a persecutor of Christians seems to have begun with Stephen, but it quickly spread to all of the Christians in Jerusalem (Acts 7:58– 8:3). Saul was not content to punish some and to drive the rest from the “holy city.” He did not want to merely contain Christianity or to drive it from Jerusalem; he wanted to rid the earth of Christianity and its followers. Thus, his opposition to Christ and His church took on a “missionary” spirit. Saul went to other cities where he sought to arrest Christians and to bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment. Damascus, a city some 150 miles to the northeast of Jerusalem, was one such city. Word was out that Saul would soon be arriving. (Acts 9:1-2) Paul says his aim was to “destroy” the Jewish ekklesia (Galatians. 1:13). What a shock Saul’s conversion must have been to both groups! (Acts 9:3-22) To the church, Saul turned out to be a friend, a fellow-believer, in fact, a flaming evangelist, who proclaimed Christ more clearly and powerfully than anyone had previously done in Damascus. The church did not shrink or suffer for Saul’s arrival, but it grew because of it. And the second group, of the religious leaders who hated him. Because of Paul’s radical change (of conversion) some of the Jews made a promise not to eat or drink anything until they had killed him. There were more than 40 of them who made this plan. (Acts 23:12-13) Perhaps nowhere else is the radical change (of conversion) in Paul’s life more readily evident than in his “encounter with the risen Christ and his attitude toward the saints. Saul sought them out to persecute, even kill them, as an unbeliever; but he sought them out to worship and fellowship with them as a Christian. More than that, he had a deep dislike and hostility toward Christians before his conversion. When we look at Paul’s great love and compassion for the saints, we have to remind ourselves of the hate he once had toward them. Only a radical conversion can produce this attitude in the life of a man like Saul: Later we read about Peter and John teaching the people and preaching Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. The next day, the rulers, elders, and scribes as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set Peter and John in front of them they

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asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them with boldness, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for the good deed we have done to this helpless man let it be known to you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. Now when the “rulers of the people and elders of Israel saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with Peter and John, they could say nothing against it. Did the council repent? They commanded Peter and John to go aside out of the council, and talked among themselves, saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. To make sure that it does not spread any further among the people, let us severely threaten them, not to speak in this name again. So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” (see the full account in Acts 4:1-20) Something happened over 2000 years ago, something that has changed the course of history forever. That “something” was so dramatic it completely changed the lives of “two women” and “eleven men” so all they could do was teach and preach what they “have seen and heard.” That something was the resurrection of our Lord and His empty tomb?

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The Word became Flesh!

The Word became Flesh! By Zoe Selah Smith Dear Friend, if your asking the question - How can the Word become flesh? How can you believe that a man was God? ...There is a reason why God came as a man, let us explore how and why God manifested himself in the flesh.

The Word of God “Christ was fully God and fully man in one person, and will be forever.” 1 There is a wide range of Bible scripture to support this, which we will discuss further.2 As Christians we rely on the Word of God, which is in the Bible, the Bible is the inspired written Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16).3 The Bible says, “In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God and the Word was God” (John 1: 1-5). “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14) . The Word is Jesus the Son of man, and the Son of the living God (Isaiah 9:6, Matthew 16:16) . “Jesus is

God in human flesh; He is not half God and half man. He is fully divine and fully man”4 “Christ’s incarnation is the foundation truth upon which Christianity rests. Jesus Christ is not God mutilated by the flesh, but God manifest in the flesh (1 Tim 3:16)”.5 Fully Man Conception

The Bible shows us that Jesus was conceived in the womb of his mother Mary, who was a virgin, without a human father by the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18-25, Isaiah 7:14).6 Gabriel the angel of God told Mary the mother of Jesus, “the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and

the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God (Luke 1:35). The virgin birth made it possible for Jesus to be fully God and fully

1W. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Nottingham: Intervarsity Press, 1994), 529. 2R. Zacharias, Beyond Opinion: Living the Faith We Defend (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Inc, 2007), 20

3 G. K. Harney, Organic Outreach for Ordinary People: Sharing Good News Naturally (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009), 46. 4M. Slick, “Jesus two Natures: God and Man” Christian Apologetic & Research Ministry, 1995 – 2010. Accessed at http://www.carm.org/jesus-two-natures, on 13th April 2010. 5 W. Best, Studies in The Person and Work of Jesus Christ (United States of America: W.E. Best, 1985), 33. 6 W. Grudem, Systematic Theology, 529. human”.7 Mary being a female would have only been carrying X chromosomes,(X & Y chromosomes would make a male) considering the fact that Jesus is male shows that this was a double miracle performed by God, because if Mary were to give birth as a miracle without God’s intervention she would have had to have given birth to a girl.8 How amazing is that! The Bible clearly shows that Jesus was fully human just as we are, but it also points out one important difference, that He was without sin, and has never ever committed sin. Some would argue that if Jesus did not sin, then He could not be human, because all humans sin. The Bible states that “God made Him who had no

sin to be sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21), also, because He was God it was impossible for Him to sin as God cannot sin.9 Why God had To Come Clothed in Flesh The Bible teaches that the devil was thrown out of heaven along with other angels, before the world was created (Luke 10:18, John 8:44, Isaiah 14:13). Jesus said, “He was a murderer

from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him” (John 8:44) .10 The devil also known as Satan, meaning “the adversary”, was given power and authority by God in heaven, after Satan and one third of the

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other angels rebelled against God they were thrown out of heaven, and now search for somewhere to exercise their power on earth.11 God created Mankind in His image (Genesis 1:2628) and give them authority over the earth and all that is in it. Mankind was originally created perfect and did not know sin, until Satan tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3) From that day on Man became a fallen being and lost communion with God, “He was alienated from God, his spirit died, his soul was blinded and perverted, His body made liable to disease and death, and the moral malady called sin entered the blood-stream of the human race. Thus man passed under the usurped control of Satan” (Acts 26:18, Colossians 1:13, Hebrews 2:14). “The human nature of Christ must be distinguished from the fallen human nature of man. Fallen human nature has no grace or truth in it, but the human nature of Christ was full of grace and truth” It was compulsory that Christ become fully human, but impossible for him to take on Adam’s sin because He was at the same time fully divine. “By never sinning, Jesus defeated Satan, since Satan could not get a hold on Him. Unlike the rest of the Earth’s inhabitants, although being tempted by Satan, Jesus never sinned and therefore never came under the authority of Satan. Jesus sacrificial death on the cross gives us a way back to God”.

7 W. Grudem, Systematic Theology, 530. 8 Clark, M, Dr. Introduction to Christian Doctrine Study Pack (Malvern: Regents Theological College, 2009), 66. 9 H. Bonsall, The Person of Christ (London: Christian Literature Crusade, 1967), 22. 10 H. Bonsall, The Person of Christ (London: Christian Literature Crusade, 1967), 22-23. 11B . Johnson, “Two Kingdoms – The Background to Why Jesus Came”, accessed at http://www.newchristian.org.uk/twokingdoms.htm l, on 17th April 2010. 12http://www.newchristian.org.uk/twokingdo ms.h tml 13 H. Bonsall, The Person of Christ, 22. The Humanity of Jesus

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Jesus had a human body; God prophesied through the prophet Isaiah that Jesus Christ, God the son would become a man (Isaiah 9:6). Jesus also said that God the Father had prepared a body for Him so that He could offer it up as a sacrifice for our sins (Hebrews 10:5) There are many more Bible passages that explain that Jesus had a human body just like ours, for example, the fact that Jesus became weary and sat down at the well in Samaria (John 4:6), when He was on the cross He became thirsty (John 19:28), He became hungry after fasting (Matthew 4:2), and He died on the cross, His body ceased to have life in it just as ours do when we die (Luke 23:26), The Bible also says that Jesus had human emotions and experiences, that He was tempted just as we are, yet was without sin (Hebrews 4:15). “As a man Jesus was completely dependent on God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, like any other human being. He looked to God for His needs. When dealing with men, the Bible does not say that He read men’s minds, which He was able to do through His deity, but rather that He perceived by the Holy Spirit through His human spirit that which was going on around Him (Mark 2:8). Jesus had a human soul just like ours that grew in wisdom and understanding (Luke 2:52); the same as our soul grows in wisdom and understanding.“Jesus came because He wanted a personal relationship with each one of us, through the power of the Holy Spirit He healed us and fed us, but in return we did not only kill Him by hanging His humanity on a cross; beforehand His back was whipped to the bone, His beard was pulled out of His face by hand so that, He was not even recognizable. He was then nailed to a cross while conscious and allowed to hang alive while bleeding to death until He died. Jesus suffered the worse kind of humiliation and painful death a man could ever endure. Jesus knows what it is to suffer and be rejected for He experienced it Himself”

14 W. Best, Studies in The Person and Work of Jesus Christ, 43. 15 W. Best, Studies in The Person and Work of Jesus Christ, 49. 16 http://www.newchristian.org.uk/twokingdoms.ht ml

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17 D. Kruse, “The Time is Now: Jesus is Fully Man”, 2003. Accessed at http://www.layevangelism.com/bastxbk/sections/s ect-3/sec3-5.htm, On 17th April 2010. 18 W. Grudem, Systematic Theology, 532. 19 http://www.layevangelism.com/bastxbk/sections/s ect-3/sec3-5.htm 20 http://www.layevangelism.com/bastxbk/sections/s ect-3/sec3-5.htm

The Deity of Jesus The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is God in so many ways, for example Christ sits on the throne with God (Revelation 4:2, 5:6), creating all that is (Colossians 1:16) He gives life (John 5:21) and receives worship (Revelation 5:13-13, 7:10).Jesus is said to be “in very nature God, but made Himself nothing, being found in appearance as a man He humbled Himself and became obedient until death, therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him that name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord”. (1 Philippians 2: 6-11). God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him; in Christ all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form (Colossians 1:19, 2:9). Jesus said that He is with us till the end of the age (Matthew 28:20); His name is also called “Emmanuel”, meaning “God with us” Jesus was God before He was born (John 1:1), He continued to be God after He was born because He forgave sin; only God is able to forgive sin (Mark 2:5-7). Jesus claimed divinity, saying before Abraham was born “I am” (John 8:58), God also told Moses from within the burning bush that His name was “I am” (Exodus 3: 1-15). After his resurrection He was God, Thomas called Jesus my Lord and my God (John 20:28) Furthermore, Jesus was about thirty years old when He began His ministry (Luke 3:23); in regards to His divine nature He eternally existed (John 1:1-2, 8:58). In His human nature Jesus became weak and tired (Matthew 4:2, 8:24, Mark 15:21, John 4:6). However in His divine nature He was omnipotent (unconquerable), omnipresent (everywhere) and omniscient (all-seeing) (Matthew 8:26- 27, Colossians 1:17, Hebrews 1:13). Jesus performed many miracles; one example is the scene on the Sea of Galilee where

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Jesus and the disciples were on the boat, Jesus had fallen asleep while a storm came, but Jesus was able to get up and rebuke the wind and the waves, and it became completely calm (Matthew 8:24-27).Finally, the deity of Christ was revealed to Simon Peter by the Holy Spirit; Jesus asked “who do people say I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”. Jesus replied, “Blessed are you Simon, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven” (Matthew 16:1317).

21 Clark, M, Dr. Introduction to Christian Doctrine Study Pack. 22 T. Johnston, “The Dual Nature of Jesus Christ”, 1998. Accessed at http://www.wcg.org/lit/Jesus/dualnature.htm on 18th April 2010. 23 W. Grudem, Systematic Theology, 552. 24 http://www.wcg.org/lit/Jesus/dualnature.htm 25W. Grudem, Systematic Theology, 558-559.

Jesus came to give us a way back to God “Jesus Christ was sent by the Father to be God revealed in the flesh for our salvation. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, fully God and fully human, two natures in one Person”.1 Tim. 2:5 says, "For

there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." Right now, there is a man in heaven on the throne of God. He is our advocate with the Heavenly Father (1 John 2:1). He is our Saviour (Titus 2:13). He is our Lord (Rom. 10:9-10). He is Jesus.

He is our Way Maker You might be reading this today and have maybe lost your way in life, or you have fallen into something that you cannot get out of, or maybe you have been believing the lies of the enemy like - “you have messed up, there is no hope, your never going to make it etc...”). If what you are believing about your situation does not line up with the word of God then it is a lie. The Word of God is truth and he has spoken promises over you. One promises is that

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The Word became Flesh!

he has plans for your life, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11) Jesus understands what you are going through, he was rejected, he was tempted, he suffered. Come to him with your problems today, and the peace that transcends all understanding will guard your mind and heart. Jesus is the way and the truth and the life, nobody can come to the Father

except through me Him. Jesus has provided a way for us to be forgiven, saved, healed, set free, and to be back in communion with Father God. If you would like to receive a way out of your situation today and a way back into the presence of God, where you can receive new life new hope healing and freedom, Start by saying this prayer - Lord Jesus I believe that you died and rose again. Forgive me for everything I have done that is not pleasing to you. I invite you into my life right now - show me the way so that I can receive new life new hope and be set free. Congratulations!!! ...If you just said that prayer you are a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come! The Bible says that the angels of God rejoice when a soul turns back to God, heaven is rejoicing over you right now! Now it is important to continue your walk with Jesus so that you can grow, go and tell somebody that you are born again, find another believer and/or Bible believing church and share your story.

26 http://www.wcg.org/lit/Jesus/dualnature.htm 27 http://www.carm.org/jesus-two-natures

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“WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AT 70 AD”

“WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AT 70 AD” Foreword by David Chilton (1951–1997) M.Div. PhD.

In this slim volume, Edward E. Stevens clearly and convincingly demonstrates that our Lord Jesus Christ predicted His Return within the lifetime of His first-century hearers. That fact presents Christians with a dilemma: If Jesus was wrong in His prediction (as theological liberals have been saying for many years), we have a much bigger problem than an academic theological issue regarding the doctrine of Eschatology – it means we can’t rely on Jesus for salvation, either! If we can’t trust Jesus in Matthew 24, we certainly can’t trust Him in John 3:16! As a well-known theologian recently said, “If Jesus is a false prophet, my faith is in vain.” But Mr. Stevens shows that Jesus fulfilled His promise, explicitly and to the letter, in the “great tribulation” of A.D. 70, in which God unleashed His covenant wrath against Israel, which had been threatened for centuries throughout the Old Testament Law and Prophets, and specifically applied to first century Israel in the Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament. I am particularly impressed by two arguments: First, Stevens provides a chart showing the harmony of Christ’s two separate discourses recorded in Matthew 24 and Luke 17 – demonstrating that any proposed division of Matthew 24 into two different “comings” is illegitimate, nugatory, and gossamer. Scripture foretells a Second Coming (Heb. 9:28) – not a third! Second, Stevens presses Christ’s declaration in Luke 21:22 to its limit: “Jesus said that all Old Testament prophecy would be fulfilled by the

time Jerusalem was destroyed.” The more I pondered the awesome implications of Jesus’ words, the more I realized their truly revolutionary significance for eschatology. Without exception, every event foretold by the Biblical prophets was fulfilled within that generation, as Jesus had said (Matt. 16:27-28; 24:34). Supplementing his Biblical thesis with testimonies from first-century witnesses such as the Jewish historian Josephus, the Roman historian Tacitus, the Talmud, and the fourthcentury Christian historian Eusebius, Stevens presents a powerful case that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ occurred in A.D. 70. David Chilton, M.Div., Ph.D. Author of three other works on Preterist eschatology, available from the same place you obtained this book: Paradise Restored (1985); Days of Vengeance (1987); The Great Tribulation (1987) Part 1 Edward E. Stevens (b.1951). Raised on a farm in Texas by a devoted Southern Baptist mother and Methodist father. This function of this article is to introduce a view of Bible prophecy which many have found extremely helpful in their Bible study. This view solves the riddles and anomalies which have always bothered students of Bible prophecy.

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It is a consistent position which refutes cultic doctrines often built on the prophetic passages; and makes the book of Revelation much easier to understand. It clarifies when (and why) the charismatic gifts ceased, and establishes when the NT canon was complete. It also demolishes the liberal attack on the inspiration of the New Testament, and is more conservative on most other issues than traditional views. There is no compromise of the essential Biblical doctrines of the Christian faith. The key to understanding any passage of Scripture has always been a good grasp of the historical setting in which it was originally written. Two thousand years from now our history, culture, politics and language will have changed dramatically. Imagine someone then having to learn the ancient language of “modern English” to read our newspapers! If they saw one of our political cartoons with a donkey and elephant, what would they think? How would they go about understanding it? Not only would they have to study the language, but also our culture, history, politics and economics. The same applies to Bible study. If we are really going to understand what all the “donkeys and elephants” (beasts, harlots, dragons, etc.) symbolize in the book of Revelation, we will have to seriously and carefully study the language, history, culture and politics of the First Century. Of course, this does not mean that the truths essential for salvation are that difficult to understand. Those essentials are couched in simple language that everyone can grasp. But there are numerous scriptures in the Bible which are “hard to understand” (cf. 2 Pet. 3:16), and Bible prophecy is one of those things which must be approached with much more attention given to the original historical context. One of the main purposes for this book is to provide a closer look at the historical framework of the New Testament. Let’s lay aside (at least temporarily) our traditional interpretations of the book of Revelation (since they have taken us nowhere) and look at another alternative. The mere mention of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 raises concern among Jewish people. The author wishes to reassure them that he does not cast guilt upon modern Jews for what some of their first century ancestors might have done. The author has no anti-Semitic bias toward the Jewish people at all, but rather a fond appreciation for the rich heritage they have given us and a sympathetic understanding of the

“WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AT 70 AD”

unspeakable anguish they have suffered throughout history. The world has much to learn from their history and religion, and much to thank them for. Apostle Paul stated that Israel was “beloved for the sake of the fathers” of our faith, and only enemies in the sense of their rejection of the gospel about Messiah Jesus. It was the Jews who were “...entrusted with the oracles of God.” As Jesus said, “...every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.” (Matt. 13:52 ) And it was through them that the Gentile world has received redemption, “for salvation is from the Jews.” (John 4:22) But it needs to be clearly stated that fleshly (racial, ethnic and nationalistic) Israel does not have a guaranteed place in the spiritual kingdom of Christ even though they might be fleshly descendants of Abraham or keepers of the Mosaic Law. The physical temple, priesthood and sacrifices were merely types and symbols of the spiritual realities we now have in Christ. A righteous remnant of faithful Jewish believers in Messiah Jesus were grafted back into God’s Olive Tree along with Gentile believers to form one Olive Tree. (Rom. 11:17-24; John 10:16) Christ has consummated all things in Himself and the true Spiritual Israel (the church, the Kingdom). The modern physical land of Israel is not “the true spiritual promised land,” nor are the modern fleshly descendants of Abraham the true “Chosen People.” Those promises are fulfilled in Christ and His spiritual kingdom (“the better heavenly things” – Heb. 9:23; 11:16; 12:22-28) which Christians already enjoy. Christians now live in the better country, and have a better temple and priesthood and better sacrifices. The physical sacrifices, priesthood and temple were destined to “disappear” or vanish away when their true spiritual realities arrived. (Heb. 7:12,18f; 8:13; 9:8-10; 2 Cor. 3:7,13; Mk. 2:21f; Col. 2:8-23) Futurists (especially the premillennial dispensationalists) believe that Christ failed in His mission to set up an earthly kingdom, and that He will have to come back, restore the old physical temple, priesthood and sacrifices, and try again. The prophecies about the establishment of the Kingdom were supposed to be fulfilled during a time when the temple and sacrifices were in

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operation, and since they believe the kingdom is not here yet, they believe the temple will have to be rebuilt and the sacrifices reinstated. That would make Christ’s priestly and sacrificial work on the cross meaningless and powerless. Non-Christian Jews laugh at this supposed failure and use it to suggest that Jesus therefore is not the Messiah. Their forefathers in the flesh rejected Jesus in His first coming because He didn’t fulfill the prophecies in the materialistic and nationalistic fashion they had expected. It is with significant similarity that premillennial dispensational futurists today are demanding the same kind of physical-literal fulfillment of the Second Coming passages. Are they making the same kind of mistake about the Second Coming that the Jews made about Christ’s first coming? Jesus repeatedly said His Kingdom is “not of this world” and that it would “not come with observation.” It was a spiritual entity. It has arrived. It is here now.

“WHAT REALLY HAPPENED AT 70 AD”

The worldview which comes out of the futurist position is defeatist, retreatist, escapist and pessimistic. It thinks things are just about over, so it has no consistent reason for improving conditions of society for the long-term. It is not interested in “polishing brass on a sinking ship.” It actually believes that things will get worse instead of better, so why fight it? Only the preterist view provides the correct optimistic long-term worldview to live by. Christians are finally beginning to seek alternatives to the futurist interpretation. This book introduces the preterist view. “Preterist” simply means past in fulfillment, that Christ has already fulfilled His promise to return and consummate redemption in Himself and His ongoing spiritual kingdom (the church).

Part 2 of this article to follow.........

We now live in it. This should be cause for pause for both futurist Christians and Jews. The futurist views of prophecy popularized by Walvoord, Lindsey and others have done much damage. The constant false predictions of the date-setters has disillusioned many, and provided ammunition for the critics of Christianity. Every generation thinks it is “the final generation.” The widely divergent views of Bible prophecy has not only confused Christians, but has disillusioned many to the point of leaving the faith altogether and even suicide. Liberal critics of the Bible use the failure of the predictions to undermine the integrity of Christ, the apostles and the inspired NT writings. There were cases of abortion in Korea where women believed the rapture or return of Christ was to occur before their babies could be born. Many atheists and agnostics use the failure of all these prophecies to heap criticism upon Christ and Christianity.

David Chilton

Ed Stevens

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The Bible is True

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The Bible is True

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The Bible is True

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The Bible is True

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The Modern Version Incursion

The Modern Version Incursion Dr. Ken Matto I wrote The Modern Version Incursion because there is a need in the church for Christians to see plainly that the modern versions of the Bible are counterfeits. God wrote one Bible, not three hundred! The Bible tells us plainly that God's word is forever settled in heaven, as Psalm 119:89 teaches. This means the word of God is established and firm in heaven. he modern versions attack the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith and especially attack the Lord Jesus Christ. The modern versions are based on the second-century Gnostic beliefs that were prevalent in Alexandria, Egypt. They disbelieved that Jesus was the Son of God and that He was not the incarnation of deity. What is really unhealthy is when the pastor of a church pushes these counterfeits and convinces their congregation that they are the most accurate. I sincerely desire Christians to look at their modern version and then compare it with the King James Bible and ask the question, why is theirs so different?

We will look at 747 verses, which should be more than enough to convince even the skeptic. Christians will search out a neighborhood to live in, check out a mutual fund or stock, research a car before they buy; but when it comes to Bibles, they couldn't care less what they use. It shows how Christian commitment is lacking, and the weakness of modern Christianity attests to that fact. If one uses a counterfeit, they will be weak in their walk. Since the 1901 ASV came out, the church has become so weak it needs to be put on life support. When you start making the comparisons in this book, you will see that Christianity has been sold a bill of goods.

AVAILABLE AT http://www.biertonparticularbaptists.com