HISTORICAL VALIDITY OF JESUS CHRIST

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JESUS’ HISTORICAL VALIDITY

Does HISTORY really validate the New Testament Gospels to be true about Jesus: His first coming, His crucifixion, His resurrection, His coming again?

Non-Christian ancient sources confirm details of Christ’s death and some of His resurrection. Dr. Gary Habermas catalogued over 3,400 sources, many of whom are sceptical, or even critical of Christians, adding to their veracity. Here are seven of the three thousand four hundred: 1. Josephus 37-100 AD, 2. Suetonius 70-160 AD, 3. Pliny the Younger 61-113 AD, 4. Tacitus 56-120 AD, 5. Mara Bar-Serapion 72 AD, 6. Lucian 125-180 AD, 7. Babylonian Talmud. They all confirm key points of the gospel: 

1. Jesus died by crucifixion; 2. He was buried; 3. His death caused the disciples to despair and lose hope; 4. The tomb was empty three days later. 5. Hundreds of people saw the resurrected Jesus.

After Jesus’ resurrection, all of His disciples saw Him and had many experiences with Him, “for over 40 days” (Acts 1:3) – eating with Jesus in different places, and lastly watching Jesus ascend off the earth – “as they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9).

Rome’s most prominent Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus (37-100 AD) wrote about the resurrection of Jesus. He also recorded Jesus’ 12 apostles and many of Jesus’ disciples (1 Cor. 15:1-9) all went to their deaths, most as martyrs for continually claiming Jesus’ resurrection (1 John 1:1-4). Some people have died for what was a lie – but no one, much less hundreds, will die for what they ALL KNOW is a lie! The apostles and Jesus’ disciples all preached Jesus’ resurrection up to the time of their deaths.

Today – anyone can find out if Jesus is alive! Jesus made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, to indwell the spirit of everyone who repents of their sins against God and accepts Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. The Holy Spirit is their counsellor, teacher, and comforter.

“The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.” Proverbs 20:27

The spirit of a person was always meant to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The lamp of the Lord cannot function without the oil of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will convict us of sin. It is His job to make us like Jesus to enable us to be Jesus’ ambassadors on the earth.

“However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:9-11 

Thousands of Christians have been martyred for not denying their loyalty to Jesus Christ and many more will do so before His return. Jesus has warned us beforehand that prior to His return there will be a time of great tribulation for Christians.

There need be no question, historically or personally, about the resurrection of Jesus. If someone is willing to receive Him as their own personal Lord and Saviour they will receive the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit who will testify to the reality of Jesus and God the Father.   

The detail on the historical sources of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection was sourced from material provided by Jim McCotter – jimsbookstore.com

CAN WE TRUST THE GOSPELS?

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The Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—are four accounts of Jesus’s life and teachings while on earth. But are they historically accurate?

New Testament scholar, Dr Peter Williams, presents a powerful case for the historical reliability of the Gospels. He compares different accounts of the same events, assesses how accurately the four biblical accounts reflect the cultural context of their day, considers how the texts were handed down throughout the centuries, and examines evidence from non-Christian sources.

Dr Williams applies a series of tests covering topics which range from geography to personal names, tax to language, and weights and measures to botany. His conclusion is clear: It is highly rational to trust the Gospels.

Contents
1. What Do Non-Christian Sources Say? 2. What Are the Four Gospels? 3. Did the Gospel Authors Know Their Stuff? 4. Undesigned Coincidences 5. Do We Have Jesus’s Actual Words? 6. Has the Text Changed? 7. What about Contradictions? 8. Who Would Make All This Up?

This book’s title, Can We Trust the Gospels?, is carefully chosen. It addresses the question by looking at evidence of the Gospels’ trustworthiness. The great thing about trust is that it is something we all understand to a degree because we all exercise it. … It is a version of [this] everyday sort of trust that we are going to consider in this book as we ask whether we can trust the accounts of Jesus’s life …

Trusting the Gospels is both the same as trusting other things and different. It is the same in that we often have to evaluate the credibility of people and things in daily life. It is different in that the Gospels contain accounts of miracles and of a man, Jesus Christ, who is presented as the supernatural Son of God who can rightfully claim ownership of our lives. But before we consider such claims, we need to ask whether the Gospels show the signs of trustworthiness we usually look for in things we believe.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Peter J. Williams (Ph.D., University of Cambridge) is the principal of Tyndale House, one of the world’s leading institutes for biblical research. Previously a senior lecturer in New Testament at the University of Aberdeen, he is the chair of the International Greek New Testament Project and a member of the ESV Translation Oversight Committee.

WHAT COMES NEXT FOR YOU?

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For the present, by God’s grace and kindness, people can reject God but still receive the benefits of His common grace, including the enjoyment of loving relationships, natural and artistic beauty, and pleasure. However—and we need to be so warned—we live on borrowed time. This temporary situation will come to an abrupt end. Death but also judgement follows.

Have you accepted God’s offer of eternal life through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus? If not you need to seriously consider first the following two Scriptures then open or purchase God’s Word, a Bible. This is the only way you can discover the truth about the world in which we live and answers to the big questions, like why there is pain, death, and suffering. Below I have also given you three paragraphs from the Book of John to consider why you need to get a Bible if you do not have one. A New King James, ESV or a New American Standard are all excellent translations from my experience.

“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.“ Hebrews 9:27-28

This first Scripture reveals that Jesus is returning to earth to “save those who are eagerly waiting for him“. Revelation 8 and 15 reveal that He is also going to pour out His wrath upon those that have rejected Him with the trumpet and bowl judgments. God has given us many prophetic scriptures revealing the events that will proceed Jesus’ return. Those events are already happening, the first major one was the reestablishment of Israel as a nation back in 1948.

“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence, earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done… And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:11-12,15

This second Scripture shows those that had died and been raised to life to face Jesus at the white throne judgement.

BOOK OF JOHN

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:1-5

“The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:9-13

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness, we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” John 1:14-18

MASSIVE DECLINE IN AMERICANS WHO BELIEVE THE BIBLE IS THE ACTUAL WORD OF GOD

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It’s no secret the Bible is receiving less support in contemporary culture, but new statistics from Gallup showcase how much modern culture is impacting Americans’ views and perceptions of Scripture.  The survey, which has attracted attention since its release, contains several eye-opening findings.

Just 20% now believe the Bible is the literal word of God, down from 30% in 2011 and 24% in 2017. These statistics are remarkable considering 40% said the same in 1980. The steep decline puts definitive numbers to the moral slide many Christians have discussed over the past few decades. Meanwhile, there’s a new record high among Americans who believe the Bible is a collection of “fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man.” Just 10% held this view in 1980, though that proportion has swelled to 29% in 2022, the highest ever recorded by Gallup.

it appears the most notable development is the shift away from a literal approach and toward the belief Scripture is “fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man.” As Gallup noted, these findings coincide with a decrease in Americans’ perceived importance of religion in their lives. Just 44% said in 2022 religion is very important in their lives, down from 60% in 2002. It’s interesting to note that, during the same timeframe, the belief the Bible is the actual word of God also plummeted from 30% to 20%.

There is no doubt in mind that this has been due to academia swallowing the lie of evolution as the cause of the Cosmos. The prime mover for evolution was Charles Darwin who believed that natural selection was the mechanism by which evolution brought this complex world into existence. Natural selection can only select from what is already in existence it does not take us from GOO to YOU. The only other mechanism that science can add is mutation and yet mutation is the loss of information from the DNA. It does not add complex information once again to take us from GOO TO YOU.

Dr Dean Kenyon – From Darwinist to Creationist

In 1969, Dr. Dean Kenyon, a Professor of Biochemistry at Stanford University, co-authored the book entitled Biochemical Predestination which was adopted in the USA as a graduate textbook and was regarded as the seminal work on the naturalistic formation of living cells from the chemicals of the earth.
In the 1980s Kenyon realised that the discovery of DNA revealed that complex information on the DNA controlled all of the complex machinery that the electron microscope revealed is in every cell. There are manufacturing units that make all of the chemicals needed for life and transport devices to take these complex chemicals to where they are needed in the organism. All evidence of complex design that only an Intelligent Designer with an intelligence beyond our comprehension could construct.

It is beyond my comprehension that evolution is still being taught as fact in our schools and universities. For more evidence to support creation go to http://www.creation.com where you will find that many Ph.D. scientists are now proponents of Intelligent Design.

If you want the truth about this Intelligent Designer you need to go to His revealed Word to us. The Bible reveals that He controls everything that happens in His world and is capable of ensuring that what is in it is inerrant.

“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

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:1-5

PROOF BIBLE AUTHORS INSPIRED BY GOD

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Just look at what God revealed to Isaiah about Jesus. Isaiah the Prophet wrote a stunningly accurate portrait of Jesus’ all-encompassing work before, at, and after the cross.

BEFORE THE CROSS

In Isaiah 53, he states “Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed” (Isaiah 53:1). This is an accurate prediction: not many continued to follow Jesus after some of His hard teachings (John 6:66). Not many believed it in the end. At the Cross, they all fled. The crowds liked the fish and loaves of bread, but they were not willing to follow Him.

Jesus was a carpenter (Mark 6:3), and he probably looked just like any other Jew of the day. What does Isaiah tell us about Jesus’ physical appearance?  

“He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2).

The religious crowd despised Jesus for claiming to be Who He really was. Did Isaiah predict this happening?

“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” Isaiah 53:3

AT THE CROSS BEFORE AND DURING HIS CRUCIFIXION

When taken before the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilot we know that Jesus did not try to defend himself. Could Isaiah have been shown this simple fact?

“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.” Isaiah 53:7

Jesus took upon Himself the sins of the world, motivated by the love of God (John 3:16). Could Isaiah have been shown this 700 years before Jesus came to earth and in such detail?

“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:4-6

“Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; He has put him to grief; when His soul makes an offering for guilt, He shall see his offspring; He shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. Out of the anguish of His soul He shall see and be satisfied; by His knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and He shall bear their iniquities.” Isaiah 53:10-11

AFTER THE CROSS

Could Isaiah have been shown details of Jesus’ death and burial? Once again in astonishing detail. We know that Joseph of Arimathea was the rich man who gave Jesus his own grave (Matthew 27:60).

“By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.” Isaiah 53:8-9

Does God reveal anything about the ultimate destiny of the nation, Israel, which He established for His purposes?

“For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion, I will gather you. In overflowing anger, for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love, I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer. “This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be (forever) angry with you, and will not rebuke you. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:7-10

Israel has a glorious future ahead with Jesus ruling and reigning with the Saints during His Millennial reign on this earth. Will you be there? Start living eternal now ready for Jesus’ return.

“They (Saints) 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

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LAST DAYS DECEPTION

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In this message preached over eight years ago, David Wilkerson exposes and rebukes Kenneth Copeland and the prosperity preaching crowd. These false prophets have been exposed and there is no reason why any true believer should follow or listen to their preaching or teaching. The false teachers have repeatedly given false prophecies and have drained poor people of all their money with the false promise of prosperity.

Pastor David Wilkerson warred against the false prosperity gospel for much of his ministry. David Wilkerson passionately exposed the last day’s deception. He encouraged listeners to pray and seek God. He preached with anguish. Enjoy this sermon and share it with others.

ARCHAEOLOGY CONFIRMS THE BIBLICAL DATE OF THE EXODUS

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SUBMERGED RUINS OF 3,400-YEAR-OLD MITANNI CITY REVEALED BY DROUGHT

One reason this location is of great interest is that Mitanni is mentioned in the Bible’s book of Judges. In standard dating, the Mitanni kingdom ruled the northern Tigris-Euphrates region from before 1600 BC until about 1350 BC when it was overtaken by the Assyrian Empire. It became a weakened province of Assyria for about a century before fading from the historical record.

Mitanni’s history makes a strong argument against a late Exodus date (also known as the Rameses Exodus date) in the 1200s BC since there is good evidence that Othniel, one of Israel’s first judges, was fighting against a Mitanni invasion in Judges 3. A Rameses Exodus date would put the judge Othniel in the 1100s BC and about two centuries after Mitanni ceased to be a strong kingdom, thus showing that the Exodus must have been much earlier.

The following video produced by Creation Ministries is helpful in understanding the Bible and the archaeological discoveries that support Biblical events and dates. Can I suggest you go to http://www.creation.com and search “Bible and archaeology” where you will find that many archaeologists have found the Bible to be an accurate historical document.

Were the Bible’s stories made up long after the fact, or do the accounts preserve eyewitness testimony? See how archaeology supports the Bible.

BIBLICAL AUTHORITY CHALLENGED

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Päivi Räsänen, a Finnish Member of Parliament is facing prosecution for her role in creating a pamphlet promoting biblical teachings on marriage and sexuality. 

The prosecution insisted that “The Bible cannot overrule Finnish law,” and slammed Päivi Räsänen’s comments about homosexuality as “degrading,” and maintained that describing homosexuality as a “sin” can have a “harmful” effect. Paivi, on the other hand, has always maintained that she speaks in love, not hate. She has always said that all people are equal and all sinners, as is in accordance with Biblical teaching.

Finnish Member of Parliament Paivi Rasanen, accused of incitements against a minority group, arrives to attend a court session at Helsinki District Court in Helsinki, Finland January 24, 2022.

“The actions of the Finnish State in prosecuting Christians for holding to the clear teaching of the very words of Jesus regarding marriage and sex (Matthew 19:4-6) are egregious,” says the statement issued by the International Lutheran Council and joined by the bishops and presidents of dozens of Lutheran church bodies worldwide.

Sadly, they do not understand it will also bring the judgement of God on the nation.

Räsänen, a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, could face up to six years in prison after being charged with three counts of ethnic agitation related to statements she made expressing her beliefs about human sexuality and marriage.

The fool and sinner hate a reprover. The righteous love faithful reproof .” Psalms 141:5; Proverbs 9:8

GOD IS WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU GO

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Think about how Joshua felt when God told him to lead the Israelites into Canaan, drive out the pagan inhabitants, and secure the land as a homeland for His people.

In the natural, this would seem to be an impossible task but the key of course is revealed in the following Scripture:

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9 

God does not commission us without the promise of His presence and provision. We only have to be “strong and of good courage.”

How would you like to be Noah, being told to build an enormous boat as God was going to destroy every living creature on the earth save those on this boat Noah was to build. We are simply told that “Noah did this; he did all that God had commanded him” Genesis 6:22

How Long Was the Ark?

At approximately 510 feet long, it would take nearly one and a half football fields to equal the Ark’s length. That’s big enough that NASA could lay three space shuttles—nose to tail—on the Ark’s roof! 

How Long Was the Ark?

How Tall Was the Ark?

The roof of Noah’s Ark was more than 50 feet from the ground—higher than a modern four-story house. That’s plenty of space for three extra-tall inner decks as the Bible describes.

How Tall Was the Ark?
Truckloads of Cargo Space

The Ark had the same storage capacity as about 450 standard semi-trailers. A standard livestock trailer holds about 250 sheep, so the Ark had the capacity to hold at least 120,000 sheep.

“And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.” Genesis 6:13-22

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Are you confident that God is with you wherever you go? He will be if you are obedient to His commands. Moreover, you will know if you are not being obedient because you will experince His discipline. What form that takes varies widely but repentance is required to get you back on track. This is a word usually not spoken of in apostate churches.

Do you want times of refreshing from the Lord? If you do then repent.

JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

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Jesus, true God, and true man was born into this world to redeem all of His people: past, present, and future.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us, a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:6-7

Jesus, Christ, God, Holy, Spirit, Bible
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (which means God spoke to us).” Isaiah 7:14
“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” Micah 5:2
At the time Isaiah wrote his prophecy about the coming Saviour, the people of Israel were waiting for a king—the Messiah—to emerge and sit on the throne of David. Judgment was upon Judah at the time, and the nation had barely survived.

Just when the lineage of Jesse and his son, David, seemed all but gone—cut down like the trees of Israel—this passage in Isaiah indicates that the Saviour was yet to come out of a small shoot from the stump of Jesse and that eventually, He will rule the nations.
 “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” Isaiah 11:1
And for the people of Israel, where no hope seemed to be found, God used the smallest of beginnings to sprout up a lineage that led to the birth of our Savior Jesus. The second part of the prophecy is future, at Jesus’ second coming.

The prophecy by Isaiah is just one of 300 prophecies of Jesus first coming to earth and all proved accurate. There are 2000 prophecies of Jesus’ second coming including this one and many of them have already been fulfilled, Israel’s re-establishment as a nation back in 1948 was a prominent one. Another is the increasing apostasy in the church as it compromises with world values that are against God’s moral laws.