Nobody is more detail oriented than God. God knows every hair on our head, every cell in our body and every thought we will ever think in our lifetime, before he spoke the universe into existence. God planned all along to share his truth with his special creation (us). God’s Word is his truth and in written form we refer to it as the Holy Bible. God cannot tell a lie therefore the Bible is the inerrant word of God. When God says something will happen in the Bible it always comes to pass. Nothing is impossible with God. God is the author of history. God wrote the Bible over a span of 1500 years (1400 BC to 100 AD) using a series of ghost writers (prophets) who wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. God chose his prophets carefully and God put his words in their mouth. The words written in the Bible were exactly what God wanted said while graciously allowing the personality of each writer to shine through. The only true wisdom is contained in God’s Word. Studying the Bible allows a gracious God to give us knowledge, understanding and wisdom. We don’t extract truth and wisdom from the Bible on our own. It is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit of God when we are spiritually ready to receive it.
Isaiah 30:21 – Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it.”
2 Peter 1:21 – For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 – All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Peter 1:19 – And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
There are numerous Scriptures in the Bible that confirm the prophets were instructed to write down God’s testimony in a book. Why did God do it? Because God in his love, mercy and grace wanted to leave us the Bible as an instruction manual for a successful life. To please God in this world we must be obedient to God’s commandments. If we don’t know our Bible thoroughly we won’t know what God’s commandments are. We can’t obey what we don’t know and ignorance is no excuse. We must become more righteous through regular Bible reading and/or Bible study and we must also do good works. We need to help the poor, the needy, the orphan, and the widow; but the primary good work for God is witnessing for Christ. As we can see from 2 Timothy 3:16-17, the Bible is the only source we have or will ever need to accomplish the plans God has for our lives.
Isaiah 7:14 – Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
Isaiah 33:6 – Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation; the fear of the Lord is His treasure.
Isaiah 5:20 – Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
Colossians 3:2 – Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
We ask ourselves, “Why am I here?” God answers that question in the Bible. God put us on this earth to make the free will choice whether to serve God or Satan. It’s a binary choice that must be made by all of us. It’s one or the other. We can’t opt out. We can’t “not decide.” If we don’t make the positive choice to serve God before we die then we will have automatically chosen to serve Satan by default. Those who choose to serve Satan, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, will go to hell forever. The Bible tells us all we need to know about God and how to make the choice to serve him through the “sinner’s prayer.” God graciously gives salvation unto eternal life to all who profess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. There is no other way to heaven except through Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.
Acts 4:12 – Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
Hebrews 10:10 – By that which we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Romans 1:16 – For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also the Greek (Gentile).
1 John 2:25 – And this is the promise that He has promised us – eternal life.
Think about it a moment. We have seventy short years of life on this earth, if we’re lucky, in order to decide where we’ll be spending eternity. How long is eternity? Our minds cannot grasp how long “forever” is. A hundred trillion years is only a day in eternity. Think of that length of time in the fires of hell in constant pain and agony! The horror of it is unthinkable! It’s unfathomable to me that anyone would voluntarily make that choice. It makes no sense to me whatsoever yet the vast majority of people will take the path straight to hell. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord; and so should you. Remember, you must choose God before your heart stops beating because after that your “testing time” on earth is over and you’ll no longer have the choice where you’ll be spending eternity. Those who die with unforgiven sin on their books go to hell immediately upon their death. You must avoid that fate at all costs! Satan is the god of this world and he’s doing everything in his power to hide the truth of God from you. Don’t let Satan blind you to the truth! Don’t be fooled by Satan! Don’t let Satan harvest your soul! Seek God’s salvation while he may still be found!
Isaiah 45:22 – Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
Romans 1:20 – For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.
Hebrews 9:27 – And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.
Joshua 8:30-31 – Now Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool.”
When God chose a prophet it was final. A person chosen by God to be a prophet couldn’t say no. Prophets obeyed the call of God or they were disciplined until they came into obedience. The best example I can think of is the prophet Jonah, who ran from God and tried to escape having to preach to the people of Nineveh. Jonah ended up in the belly of a whale for three days until he relented and served God as commanded. The prophet Elijah also comes to mind when he fled from Queen Jezebel and asked God to let him die. God told him to suck it up and get back to the Lord’s work. That’s good advice for all disciples of Christ. We are to be obedient to the Lord always and persevere in whatever earthly ministry the Lord has given us to do.
Some of the greatest prophets of God were not chosen to write a book of the Bible. Elijah and Elisha come to mind. However, when God did select a prophet to write a Bible book they wrote it because they simply had no other choice. Each writing prophet wrote his Bible book exactly as God commanded it to be written, down to the last word and punctuation mark, because they couldn’t disobey God. Each prophet wrote his book knowing they were under the hand of the Holy Spirit and that they were writing holy Scriptures that were a part of God’s Word. Prophets didn’t always understand everything they were required to write but they obeyed God. The prophets shared revelations about the earth that were not proven scientifically for thousands of years. The prophets told us the earth is round and hangs on nothing. The prophets told us there are ocean currents and mountains under the seas. The prophets told us everything we see is made of things we can’t see (invisible atoms). All these revelations are further proofs of God.
Hebrews 1:1 – God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets.
Hebrews 4:12 – For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joint and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Isaiah 30:8 – Now go, write it before them on a tablet, and note it on a scroll, that it may be for time to come, forever and ever.
Jeremiah 20:9 – Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not.
God always does as he pleases and God always gets what he wants. There may be chaos going on in the world around us but God is still in control of his creation and everything is proceeding as God planned it to happen. When we serve God our eternal souls are safely in God’s hands and nothing can take us from him. That is the peace of God. In the Bible it says to expect tribulation but if we persevere in our faith our eternal home will be in heaven with God the Father when we die. If we always keep that in mind we’ll be able to persevere in service to the Lord and make it safely to our eternal home some day. By his written word God intended to reveal himself to us, his special creation. The Bible serves as our guide for salvation, for wisdom, and for fellowship with God the Father. Think of the Bible as our owner’s manual; our instruction manual on how to be righteous before God.
Isaiah 44:24 – Thus says the Lord, your redeemer, and He who formed you in the womb: I am the Lord, who makes all things, who stretches out the heavens all alone, who spreads abroad the earth by Myself.
2 Corinthians 5:1 – For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
Jeremiah 36:2 – Take a scroll of a book and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel, against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah even to this day.
Habakkuk 2:14 – For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
Of all the books of the prophets in the Old Testament I like Isaiah the best. The book of Isaiah was written by the prophet around 680 BC. The New Testament writers quoted Isaiah more than any other Old Testament book. This is because Isaiah gives us the most extensive prophetic message about the coming of Jesus Christ to die on the cross for the sins of man. The entire Bible is about Jesus from start to finish. Every book of the Bible has the thread of Jesus woven into its fabric, especially the gospels. The Old Testament can be summed up as “Jesus prophesied” and the New Testament as, “Jesus fulfilled.” Let’s examine some of the messianic Scriptures from Isaiah:
Isaiah 9:2 – The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.”
We know that God is the source of all the illumination in the universe. Without the light of God there would be utter darkness. We know the word light in this verse is referring to God because they use the adjective “great” to describe the light. God is the only “great” light. The Israelites were the only monotheistic nation in ancient times and they worshipped the one true God, Jehovah, and as such they were aware they walked in the light of Almighty God. Everyone else in the world was a Gentile who walked in darkness because they were without the light of God. God is Spirit and for people to have seen God in the flesh means they saw Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah and Son of God. Jesus is God in the flesh.
“Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.”
In Scripture God often repeats a truth twice in the same verse using a slightly different context the second time to help drive home the message. The Israelites who lived in the light of God knew they would go to heaven when they died. The Gentiles living in darkness were under the shadow of death because when they died they would suffer eternal death in hell. Again, a light refers to the advent of Jesus Christ upon the earth. To the Jew hell is referred to as “outer darkness.” By using the present tense words “have seen” and “has” in this Scripture God is saying the light of God and his salvation are ongoing even in our day and going forward until the Last Day, when Jesus Christ returns to earth again (the second coming) to set his foot on the Mount of Olives. At that time Jesus will judge the nations for their sins against the Lord and usher in his millennial kingdom on the earth.
Isaiah 9:6 – For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be on His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
The names of God are always capitalized so we know we’re talking about a divine person. Jesus Christ will set up his millennial kingdom at his second coming and will rule the world from Jerusalem.
Isaiah 9:7 – Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever.
Not only will Jesus rule on earth for 1000 years, Jesus will be King over the kingdom of God forever. Endless increase and endless peace mean heaven will be a place of bounty; full of love, wonder and joy. Nothing is better than living in heaven forever in the presence of God so let us continually praise God in prayer for our salvation. Let us always rejoice with our lips in the goodness and greatness of Almighty God!
Isaiah 42:1 – Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in who My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; he will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
God is proclaiming that his son Jesus Christ is coming to the earth to bring forgiveness of sins and salvation to the Gentile as well the Jew; for those who believe.
Isaiah 53:12 – Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
When we say Jesus is our Savior we’re not kidding! Sin cannot enter heaven so only Jesus dying on the cross for our sins can save us from what we deserve, which is eternal death in the fires of hell. Jesus took our sins upon himself because he is the only sinless sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus died in our place so we wouldn’t have to. Jesus didn’t have to come to earth to die a horrible death on the cross in our place. Jesus could have said “no thanks” which would have resulted in our spending eternity in hell because of our sins. Jesus died so that we can live with God in heaven forever. So you see, we owe everything to Jesus! Jesus loves us so much he was willing to lay down his life for us and for that sacrifice Jesus is deserving of our praise, honor and worship forever.
1 Peter 2:9 – But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
Isaiah 43:13 – Indeed before the day was, I am He; and there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who can reverse it?
Isaiah 46:4 – Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
Isaiah 1:18 – Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
All religions are mutually exclusive. All religions claim they’re the one true path to God; therefore only one religion can be true and all other religions must be false. How can we tell which religion is true? How can we spot the false gods and fake religions? A common denominator among all false religions is they were all devised by arrogant, prideful and sinful men, all under the influence of Satan, in an attempt to reach up to God by their own devices. All fake religions require their followers to do good works in order to reach heaven and then their adherents are never assured of going to heaven for what they do. This keeps all the people working continuously on the treadmill of life to serve their earthly masters. That includes all the world religions except Judaism and Christianity.
Romans 8:16 – The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
Romans 8:14 – For as many as are lead by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
1 John 3:1 – Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!
Philippians 3:20 – For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Only our God Jehovah does just the opposite by reaching down from heaven to save us by his love, mercy and grace and not by the works of man. Salvation unto eternal life is a free gift of God. That is the uniqueness of the Judeo-Christian vision of God. The only caveat is we must meet God with a humble and contrite heart. We do that by realizing the greatness of God and our own sinfulness. We can achieve that by frequent prayer and regular Bible reading. Don’t fall for Satan’s great lie that there are multiple paths to God. There is only one way to God and heaven and that is through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Only God’s Word can show you the way to get there.
Isaiah 66:1-2 – “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist,” says the Lord. “But on this one I will look: on him who is poor (humble) and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.”
2 Peter 1:20 – Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation.
1 Peter 5:8 – Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
James 4:7 – Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
The marvelous truth in Scripture is this: God intends for each of us to abandon our own efforts to save ourselves and to humbly receive His gift of eternal life, given by grace, received by faith in Jesus Christ, through the work of His Holy Spirit. It’s a very simple concept. So simple in fact that people think there must be a catch. There’s no catch. God made us to live with him forever in heaven as royalty, as children of the Most High. That is the destiny of those of us who believe in Christ Jesus. As such, we are aliens and strangers on the earth. Scripture confirms that our true citizenship is in heaven. God loves us dearly and he eagerly awaits our return home to him. We must make that choice by our free will.
At conception God reaches down from heaven with his fingers and gives each of us a part of himself (our spirit). Since God is eternal, so is the spirit he gives us. Our physical bodies will grow old and die so that in the end only our eternal spirit remains; the real us. We belong to God so our eternal spirit eventually returns where it came from (heaven) and to the Father who created us. That’s why we’re all citizens of heaven. However, there’s a major sticking point. God doesn’t allow sin in heaven. We saw that when a third of the angels in heaven joined Satan in rebelling against God. These fallen angels were defeated and banished from heaven because they sinned against God.
Because of Adam’s fall from grace in the Garden of Eden all men are born with a sin nature. God doesn’t allow sin in heaven so if we want to return home our sins must be forgiven, or washed away, by the blood of Christ. This cleansing is achieved by faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, as a free will choice. If we die in our sin without asking God for his saving grace he will not allow our eternal spirit to enter heaven. Instead, Jesus will judge us for our sins and the wages of sin is death (eternal death). Jesus will sentence all sinners with unforgiven sin to an eternity in the lake of fire along with Satan and his fallen angels.