Month: October 2014

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Itching Ears Continue to Want to be Scratched

 

 By GF Herrin

People may ask me, “why do you think we are living in the End Times?” To that question, I must say that in addition to our living in a time where the nation of Israel has been re-formed and Jerusalem once again belongs to the Jews, we are also today seeing the fulfillment of specific Scripture that warns us of widespread apostasy within the church and false teachers who will tell people whatever they want to hear.

Paul writes, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Tim. 4:3-5).

We have seen this passage fulfilled directly through several mainline churches’ reluctance to take a stand against homosexuality and same sex marriage. In fact, apostate churches such as the United Church of Christ, who sued the state of North Carolina back in May to overturn the voter enacted law banning same sex marriage stand as a clear example of a church turning completely against God’s word, which commands Christians to stand for the truth:

“Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Tim 4:2).

In addition to denominations such as the Episcopal church, which was a forerunner in blessing homosexual couples and has openly encouraged pastors active in the lifestyle, groups such as the Metropolitan church have dis-regarded Scripture passages forbidding homosexuality (Rom. 1:26-28; 1 Cor. 6:9). Also, congregations such as the apostate Holy Trinity Lutheran church in Charlotte, who have actually celebrated the recent allowing of same sex marriage in North Carolina, have openly encouraged disobedience to Scripture, also, with their stance.

Why have many churches fallen away from standing for the truth of Scripture? There seems to be a couple of reasons. The prevailing attitude of churches that encourage homosexuality seems to be one that emphasizes grace over the Law. While it is true that the grace of God brought about man’s salvation from eternal damnation (God the Father was not obligated in any way to send His son, Jesus to die for sins), it does not provide believers a license to sin (see Rom. 6:1-2, 15-16; Gal. 5:13; Jude 4).

The other attitude seems to be one of thinking that homosexuals are born “that way” and that Scripture does not apply here. So, since certain people are born with an innate attraction to the same sex, it must be considered “OK” if they act on their impulses and engage in sexual activity with that one person that they are committed to. But is attraction to the same sex not unlike a heterosexual man who may be predisposed to enjoy the viewing pornography? After all, a man might feel a great sense of excitement and arousal when he views certain pictures or videos involving women in various stages of undress. Shouldn’t he then be allowed to act on how he feels in various ways? And what if he is attracted to young girls? Shouldn’t it be ok if he has sex with a young girl as long as he is committed to her?

It seems to be a slippery slope. Plus, (given the scriptural references where Jesus spoke out against sexual activity in a non-monogamous relationship – Matt. 5:27-28; Matt. 19:4-5) this attitude of since “I was born this way”, seems to me to be an idol that stands between a believer and God. If you say that Scripture does not apply here or it must have been wrong, how do you then differentiate between what is true in Scripture and what is not? Were Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul wrong when they wrote of Jesus’ dying on the cross for sinners? Were they wrong when they spoke of the literal physical Resurrection of Christ as a typology of all born again believers who have put their trust in Jesus for their resurrection in the age to come (John 3:3; 11:24; 1 Cor. 15:13-19)?

In a recent conversation with a celibate believer who had come out of the homosexual lifestyle to follow Christ, it was apparent that Christians must reason together and evangelize to all in a spirit of love and not condemnation. In speaking biblical truth we must point them to Christ. We also need to put homosexual acts in the category of yet another sin (see Rom. Chapter 1, and 1 Corinthians chapter 6 for many others) that must be repented from in order to be born again. Ultimately, the goals of the Christian life should be to glorify God, to live holy, and to live out God’s true purpose for our lives.

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Historical References for the Resurrection and the Events of the New Testament

By GF Herrin

    It is part of human nature to want to possess concrete evidence in order to confirm historical events that have taken place in the past. Archaeology, in its own way, is like a picture in time of an event that occurred in the past. It is evidence that points to the validity of actual historical events that took place long ago.

Biblical archaeology provides evidence for facts that previously may have been believed to be unverifiable. Archaeological documents composed by non-Christians provide even more confirmation of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Christian apologist Josh McDowell states: “Archaeology does not prove the Bible is the word of God. All it can do is confirm the basic historicity or authenticity of a narrative. It can show that a certain incident fits into the time it purports to be from” (Josh McDowell, The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict, 370). While Archaeology does not prove that the Bible is the word of God, it does provide a picture of Jesus as a historical figure. And as the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

With this picture concept in mind, below are several ancient historical references that give us a clear confirmation of the Resurrection and the Events of the New Testament. It can be ascertained from these references that Jesus existed, He worked miracles, and He was believed to have been resurrected after being put to death by Pontius Pilate (Gary Habermas, The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ, 1996, 189 – 90; 195 – 96.). In addition, this documentation presents solid evidence that Jesus was already worshipped as God by the time of the first century. These unbiased historical references are important because they validate the New Testament as a reliable chronology of the life and mission of Jesus Christ and His early followers.

One of the earliest known references to Christ comes from the Jewish Pharisee historian, Flavius Josephus, who became a court historian for Emperor Vespasian in Rome after Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman Army in AD 70. Josephus wrote several books detailing the history of the Jews. One of his works, Antiquities, describes events in Jerusalem during Pilate’s time as governor. This historical reference pre-dates other known Roman extra-biblical references to Jesus. In this passage written between AD 90 – 95, Josephus writes:

“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, – a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was (the) Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named for him, are not extinct at this day” (Flavius Josephus, Antiquities 18.3. The Works of Flavius Josephus. trans. William Whiston).

We can discern the following important facts from the passage:

1) Jesus performed good works/miracles and was recognized as a virtuous man.

2) He had many followers comprised of both Jews and Gentiles.

3) He claimed to be and was recognized as the Messiah by some.

4) He was sentenced to die and was crucified by Pilate.

5) His disciples claimed that He was resurrected from the dead and that they had seen Him.

6) He was founder of the “tribe” of Believers who took His name.

Another Josephus passage from Antiquities refers to the event of the death of James, the brother of Jesus: “So he (Ananus) assembled the Sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others [or some of his companions]; and, when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned” (Josephus, 20:9). Clearly, in this passage there is the connection of James as a brother of Jesus. Also, there is a clear reference to Jesus being recognized as the Messiah.

The earliest known extra-biblical Gentile reference to Christ comes from the Roman historian, Cornelius Tacitus, (ca. AD 55 – 120), who lived through the reign of six emperors. Tacitus’ book, The Annals, which was written around AD 115, covers the period of Roman history from AD 14 to AD 68. Tacitus’ account describes the period during which Emperor Nero attempted to blame the great fire in Rome of AD 64 on the Christians (F. F. Bruce, Are the New Testament Documents Reliable?,1946,114).

Tacitus writes:
“Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures…on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular” (Cornelius Tacitus, The Annals of Imperial Rome, trans. Michael Grant, 1973, 365).

This passage from Tacitus is important for a couple of reasons:

1) It provides early confirmation of the biblical reference that Jesus was put to death by Pontius Pilate (Matt. 27:26; Mark 15:15; Luke 23:24 – 25; John 19:16). Tacitus’ reference to “the extreme penalty” is a confirmation that Jesus paid for His “crime” by dying. That it is referred to as “the extreme penalty” could also confirm that Tacitus viewed crucifixion to be the most horrible form of capital punishment carried out by the Roman Empire (Gary Habermas and Michael Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus,2004, 49).

2) The passage provides early evidence (from a Gentile government official no less) in the belief in Jesus as Deity. The phrase “mischievous superstition” likely refers to the belief in Jesus as the Messiah/God– man.

A parallel account to the Tacitus reference is given by the Roman historian Gaius Seutonius Tranquillas, the general secretary for Emperor Hadrian (AD 117 – 138). Seutonius also refers to the great fire in Rome and the punishment inflicted on Christians by Nero. An earlier account by Seutonius during the time of the Emperor Claudius (AD 41 – 54) refers to the early Jewish Christians who were expelled from the city in AD 49. This ancient reference provides further evidence for an early belief in Christ. The account also serves as verification of the passage in Acts 18:2, which describes Aquila and Priscilla’s departure from Rome because of Claudius’ demand that all Jews leave the city.

Another early reference to Christians and the crucifixion of Jesus is from the second century Greek satirist, Lucian, who writes:

“The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day – the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account…You see, these misguided creatures start with the general conviction that they are immortal for all times, which explains the contempt of death and voluntary self-devotion which are so common among them; and then it was impressed on them by their original lawgiver that they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws. All this they take quite on faith, with the result that they despise all worldly goods alike, regarding them merely as common property” (Lucian, The Works of Lucian, trans. A.M. Harmon, 2001, 11-13).

In this passage, we see historical confirmation that by the second century Jesus was commonly worshipped as God. Also, we see a reference to Jesus as a teacher who was crucified for the “rites” that He espoused. In addition, this passage provides confirmation in the early belief in life after death for believers who have put their trust in Christ. The passage also speaks of the early Christians’ identification as a unique family within itself and their collective denial of false gods.

Other secular passages that refer to the crucifixion, activities of early Christians or decrees or ordinances concerning them include references by Africanus, Pliny the Younger, and Emperors Trajan and Hadian. Altogether, these passages provide us with unbiased and reasonable historical proof that Jesus was who the Bible said He was. These passages also provide us information that is completely consistent with the teachings found in the New Testament.

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The Lunar Tetrad of 2014-15

blood red moon

Eye on the End Times

Question: what do we know about the first time Jesus came to live among us?

There were signs, right?

The three Magi saw the star and knew a King would be born.

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him” (Matt. 2:1-2).

God said that the stars in Heaven were to serve as markers or signs.

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; (Gen. 1:14).

What do we know about the people during His first Coming?

Well, for the most part, The Jews were not looking for Him! So, they did not know the time of His coming. In what I believe to be the most haunting passage in the New Testament, Jesus said to the Jews, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes…because you did not know the time of your visitation” (Luke 19:42-44).

But, what do we know about the time before at the end before the Messiah’s Return? Well, we know that Jesus himself said there would be signs before His second coming, also.

“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;” (Luke 21:25).

“The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord” (Joel 2:31).

Four Lunar eclipses that are occurring in conjunction with biblical Feast days during 2014-15 would seem to serve as a type of sign, wouldn’t you think? After all, Scripture says, regarding the biblical Feasts, “These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at their appointed times” (Lev. 23:4).

If, for some reason, you have not heard of this amazing astronomical event (the lunar tetrad), here is the time table for the Lunar and solar eclipses events of 2014-15:

There will be four blood red moons (two have already happened) that will fall on four biblical feast days over the next two years….

This is extremely rare but not without precedent.

The other times it has happened in history they have served as monumental omens for events following soon after in the nation of Israel.

 

Here are the dates for the four that fall in 2014-15:

Passover                                    April 15, 2014

Feast of Tabernacles             October 8, 2014

Passover                                    April 4, 2015

Feast of Tabernacles             September 28, 2015

 

Two solar eclipses connected with God’s Holy Days in 2014-2015, also will occur:

Adar 29/Nisan 1(new year)     March 20, 2015

Feast of Trumpets                   September 13, 2015

 

Some History around what has happened in the past when blood red moons have occurred on Feast days: 

1949/1950- the years following Israel’s re-gathering as a nation -  and a time during which the new nation fought for its survival in a war of Independence

1967/1968 – Jerusalem was liberated on June 7th, 1967 and as a result of the Six-Day War, for the first time since 70 AD, the city belonged to the nation of Israel.

Before that, you have to go back to 1493/1494 for four successive lunar eclipses on Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles” – a time right after the Jewish expulsion from Spain and the opening up of the exploration of America, a country where millions of Jews live today.  See: http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/apr2012/denish419.htm

Prophecy in the News, writes, “This is most unusual. It is a rare occurrence for four lunar cycles on successive Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) observances. It will not happen again for hundreds of years. Four lunar eclipses occurring on the Feast of Tabernacles and Passover in two successive years are phenomenal. But add to them two solar eclipses on the two days that open the Jewish year Adar 29/Nisan1, just two weeks before Passover, and Tishri 1 (Rosh Hashannah) – is uncanny. On each of these six Jewish Holy Days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give her light. Will this happen again in the 21st century? No.”

Now, I am not Date Setting for the Rapture of the Church, here (although I believe I received a word from the Lord concerning the general timing of His return 6 years ago). Since these are Feast days that we are talking about, and Jews everywhere were commanded to observe them, we could more likely be talking about an event that is significant to Israel. While it is possible that the Rapture could occur, maybe it is more likely that a war impacting Israel may take place. What I am referring to is more properly understood as “Stage setting”. There are quite a few significant events that have taken place the first lunar eclipse occurred on April 15th. I will write on that in my next post.

The key thing I want to mention here is that the Bible instructs us to be actively looking for Jesus’ return!

 

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20).

“Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them” (Luke 12:37).

“Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matt. 24:4)

“looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,”(Titus” 2:13).

“Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things (Christ’s Coming), be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;” (2 Pet. 3:14).

 

Most people today will not be looking for him. Many churches completely disregard the study of End Times prophecy, thinking that it is too difficult to understand. Scripture is clear that people (some professing Christians even) will doubt the Return of Christ. I have witnessed scoffing and sneering from both non-believers and so-called scholars alike. A Duke divinity professor commented recently in a disparaging way casting his doubt on the validity of the doctrine of the Rapture. Folks, you may have all the biblical knowledge in the world, but it doesn’t mean that you know Jesus! And similar to Christ’s first coming when there was only a small number who knew the timing of His arrival (Luke 2:34, 38, John 1:39; 3:29) so it will be in the end. Take care to keep yourself from the entrapments of this world (look for a future post on the necessity of staying from idols).

Remember, “and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mark 4:19).

Beware of the biblical illiterate among us: “knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Pet. 3:3-4).

Maranatha!

The Ossuary of James
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The Ossuary of James

 

Archaeological Evidence for Jesus’ Life, Death, and Resurrection

By GF Herrin

     In the Spring of 2002, Andre Lemaire, an expert on ancient Semitic scripts, was shown photographs of several ossuaries acquired by a collector who was an acquaintance. The collector had acquired one particular ossuary from a dealer in East Jerusalem. The collector had been told that the ossuary came from Silwan, an Arab village just east of the City of David (the old city of Jerusalem). There was an inscription on the side of the ossuary that says: “Ya’akov bar Yosef achui d’Yeshua”. In English: “James son of Joseph, brother of Jesus” (Hershel Shanks and BenWitherington III, The Brother of Jesus, 2003,11 – 12).

Many believe that this ossuary is the actual bone box of James, the brother of the Lord Jesus. Subsequent tests have proven it to be consistent with a box which has an ancient origin. Laboratory tests have analyzed the patina (the film formed from chemicals seeping onto it while being stored for hundreds of years in a cave) covering the ossuary and concluded that the inscription did not display any inconsistencies with material found on the rest of the ossuary. Paleographers who have analyzed the inscription first hand have found no sign of forgery, either. “The inscription is written in the Jewish script, it was done with a sharp instrument and I think it was done by the same hand. It is an authentic inscription,” Prof Gabriel Barkay of Bar-Ilan University explained.. Owner Oded Golan cites expert evidence from the trial showing the patina – a biological crust formed on ancient objects – inside the grooves of the inscription.”There is no doubt that it’s ancient, and the probability is that it belonged to the brother of Jesus Christ,” said Golan (from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/25/burial-box-earliest-reference-jesus, December 2013).

It seems reasonable to date the ossuary as having originated in the first century. Biblical archaeologist and commentator Merrill Unger writes: “Not a single one of the numerous Jewish tombs in the region of Jerusalem can be dated to the period after AD 70. All inscribed ossuaries hitherto found in the vicinity of Jerusalem belong to the period 30 BC to AD 70” (Merrill F. Unger, Archaeology and the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1962), 25). It is widely believed that James died in AD 62 (Shanks, 166 – 68). The first century historian, Josephus’ account in Antiquities provides historical evidence of the circumstance of his stoning which was overseen by Ananus (Flavius Josephus, Antiquities 20.9. The Works of Flavius Josephus. trans. William Whiston, 1901).

In addition, the fact that the discovered ossuary is inscribed with the name of deceased’s brother is in itself unusual. Most Jewish ossuaries in the area near Jerusalem from the first century mention only the deceased person’s name and his father’s name. However, in some cases there were exceptions if the deceased was associated with some good work for which he was well known. For example, one ossuary inscription referred to “Simon (Shimon) as the builder of the sanctuary temple” (Shanks, 77). It seems to be the case that James’ family wanted to honor him by associating him with his well-known brother, Jesus.

Biblical Archaeology Review editor Hershel Shanks provides a thoughtful analysis of the likelihood of all three names (James, Joseph, and Jesus) appearing on any ossuary from the first century period near Jerusalem. His analysis concludes that the odds of this occurring is amazingly only ¼ of 1%.[1] Given the fact that the odds are so low for all three names appearing together, and given that the ossuary has been verified as being an ancient inscripted first century antiquity found in the area where James had lived and died, it seems likely that this ossuary belonged to James, brother of our Lord. This discovery provides further verification of the historical reliability of the facts of the New Testament and ultimately of the resurrection of Christ.

 

 

 

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The Importance of Sharing the Love of Jesus when Sharing the Gospel

 By GF Herrin

It is of utmost importance that when we share the Gospel with people that we not only present the clear message of man’s depravity and hopelessness without saving faith in Christ, but that we also show and live out the love of Jesus so that people can see the difference that His presence has made in our lives.

I was talking to a neighbor who had been laid off from his job whose previous boss was a professed Christian. This boss espoused Christian values and even eventually left the business world to devote himself to full time mission work in a third world country. However, to his employees, he didn’t demonstrate the meekness and kindness expected of a Christian and was even called “mean” by salesmen who called on him.

Similarly, at an Octoberfest in Hickory, NC, over the weekend, a street preacher spoke fervently in a condemning fashion, reasoning that given the state of America’s wickedness (i.e. rampant abortions being the norm and same sex marriage now being legal), “the lovey dovey message of the Gospel hasn’t worked in America.” It may be true that the God is Love message may have supplanted the God is Righteous, Holy, Majestic, Perfect, Omniscient message. However, His grace should always be preached and offered to any person who repents with a contrite heart.

In a world that can be so cold, uncaring, and cruel, it is of paramount importance that we Christians stand out as a different type of people – in a good way. There is a lyric from a Christian song (“We are One in the Spirit, by Peter Scholte), that I learned when I was a boy, that says, “They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love”. The apostle Paul wrote, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal” (1 Cor. 13:1). A colloquialism I learned when I was a salesman long ago says, “People don’t care how much you know until they know that you care”.

We must demonstrate caring to others and live love out our faith wherever we are in the mission field, even if it is in a business environment or in a worldly occupation. If you are working a job that you may not particularly care for, it doesn’t give you license to complain and be sarcastic no matter what the tasks you have to do. Paul writes, “Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:14-15).

To control our actions and demonstrate love for others no matter what the circumstances, we must ultimately tame our tongues. This requires wisdom and the careful thought that a mature believer needs to develop. James writes, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom” (James 3:13).

J. Ronald Blue writes, “To achieve ‘righteousness’, spiritual maturity, practical holiness, – the theme of the book of James – a believer must learn to speak with care. Winsome speech comes from a wise spirit. A controlled tongue is possible only with cultured thought. A mouth filled with praise results from a mind filled with purity.

A believer should stand confidently, serve compassionately, and speak carefully. He should be what God wants him to be, do what God wants him to do, and speak as God wants him to speak.”(p. 829, J. Ronald Blue in John Walvoord and Roy Zuck’s New Testament Bible Knowledge Commentary).