Author: hillturnfs

I’ve just completed an investigation of the gospels and at the end of each gospel I included how each writer died. It occurred to me maybe everyone doesn’t know how all the Apostles died including some of the most noteworthy disciples of Christ. I thought I’d include a list here how some of the early followers of Jesus died.

PETER – The Apostle was imprisoned in Rome by the Emperor Nero who had him crucified upside down in 67 AD.

MATTHEW – The Apostle was preaching the gospel of Christ in Ethiopia and suffered martyrdom by the sword.

JAMES THE LESSER – The Apostle was thrown from the top of the temple and when that didn’t kill him he was beaten to death with a club.

JAMES THE GREAT – The Apostle was put on trial in Jerusalem and sentenced to death. James was beheaded.

BARTHOLOMEW – The Apostle was also known as Nathaniel. Bartholomew was preaching the gospel of Christ in present day Turkey. Bartholomew was flayed to death by a whip while in Armenia.

ANDREW – The Apostle was crucified in Patras, Greece for preaching the gospel of Christ.

THOMAS – The Apostle was on one of his missionary trips to India to preach the gospel when he was stabbed to death with a spear.

JUDE – The Apostle was also known as Thaddeus. Jude was killed by arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.

PHILLIP – The Apostle was beheaded in Turkey for preaching the gospel of Christ.

SIMON THE ZEALOT – The Apostle was sawn in half in Persia for preaching the gospel of Christ.

MATTHIAS – The Apostle chosen to replace Judas Iscariot was stoned for preaching the gospel of Christ and then beheaded.

JOHN – The last of the original disciples of Jesus did face martyrdom in Rome where he was boiled alive in a huge basin of oil. However, John was miraculously delivered from death by God (remember God needed John to write his gospel and the book of Revelation). John was also sentenced to work in the mines on the Isle of Patmos but ultimately John died of old age as the only Apostle not to suffer martyrdom.

PAUL – The Apostle was imprisoned in Rome and beheaded by the Emperor Nero in 65 AD.

MARK – The writer of the book of Mark and disciple of Christ was preaching the gospel in Alexandria, Egypt when he was martyred. An angry mob bound Mark’s feet and he was drug through the streets of Alexandria by a team of horses.

LUKE – The writer of the book of Luke and disciple of Christ was hanged in Greece for preaching the gospel.

JOHN THE BAPTIST – John was the prophesied forerunner of Christ. John was imprisoned by Herod and later beheaded.

STEPHEN – This disciple of Christ was stoned to death in Jerusalem for his faith.

The above individuals are just some of the famous people from the Bible that we know were killed in service to God. The number of unknown Christians who were martyred in the early days we’ll never know but there were a lot. Today in America Christians aren’t persecuted like they were back then but the day will come when they are so we need to be prepared to meet that challenge. Revelation tells us Christians will one day be beheaded for not renouncing their faith in Christ.

Some Old Testament prophets called to service by God were also slain:

ISAIAH – Killed with a saw by Manasseh, King of Judah.

ZECHARIAH – Slain in the temple by Joash, King of Judah.

JEREMIAH – Stoned to death in Egypt by Jews living there.

EZEKIEL – Slain in Chaldea by the chief Jew living there.

HABAKKUK – Stoned to death in Jerusalem by Jews.

AMOS – Tortured and killed with a staff by the priests of Bethel.

The gospel of John is totally different from the three synoptic gospels. We know the synoptic gospels were all written within a few years of each other. Mark was written first and then Matthew and Luke both used Mark as a template to follow when writing their gospels. The synoptic gospels covered the who, what, when and where of the life of Jesus in pretty much the same order so in many ways all three gospels are very similar. The Apostle John was familiar with the synoptic gospels but he was also aware that there was a lot of the story of Jesus left untold. John didn’t want to repeat what what had already been said. John was much more concerned with the how and the why of Jesus’ life. We’re not sure when the gospel of John was written. We know it was after the destruction of the temple in 70 AD because of certain references in the text. We also know it was written before John wrote the book of Revelation which was around 95 AD. The best guess is John wrote his gospel in Greek around 90 AD while he was living in Ephesus, a Roman city in Asia Minor, which is now present day Turkey.

By the time John wrote his gospel 15-25 years after the synoptic gospels the church had changed in many ways. What started as a small Jewish movement in Jerusalem had gone out into the wider Gentile world and the church had become overwhelmingly a Gentile movement. Christianity was suffering from growing pains and needed some clarification and there were heresies arising within the church that needed to be addressed. We know that the writers of the synoptic gospels each had a targeted audience in mind but with John his intended audience was the entire world. The purpose of John’s gospel was to make it clear to everyone that Jesus is the Word, God in the flesh. John emphasized that Jesus is the Son of God whose death and resurrection give eternal life to all who believe in him. John gives us the “how” and the “why” of eternal life and John’s gospel has been used to lead more unbelievers to salvation than any other book of the Bible with the possible exception of the book of Romans which is my personal favorite.

More than 90% of John’s gospel is not found in any of the other gospels. John places his emphasis on the identity of Jesus as the Son of God and how we, as believers, should respond to his teachings. The consistent theme of John is the deity of Jesus. Seven times in John we read where Jesus refers to himself with the phrase “I am”, claiming the personal name of God as his own. Jesus is declaring to the world that he is God. John always portrays Jesus as being in charge and knowing all future events before they unfold which, of course, he does because he is God and the author of history. Of all the gospels, or any other New Testament book for that matter, John most clearly teaches the deity and preexistence of Christ. I think the reason for this is the Holy Spirit had been very active in John’s life for a long time and as a result John was made more aware of the spiritual truths of the kingdom of God than any other living person. More than 90 times John uses the terms “knowing” and “believing” God as the keys to salvation. Along with the gospel of Matthew, John provides the most striking proofs of Jesus’ messiahship which it does by narrating the seven “I am” messianic signs. The gospel of John also taught the difficult concept of the triune Godhead which requires acute spiritual perception. For all of these reasons, John is known as the spiritual gospel.

John wrote his gospel because he wanted to address the entire three and a half years of Jesus’ ministry because the synoptic gospels only focused on the last year of Jesus’ life. John doesn’t mention the parables of Jesus but instead focuses on long discourses where Jesus taught his disciples about the kingdom of God. John does the best job of giving distinct personalities to each of the disciples. By the little extra details John provides in his gospel you can tell he was a witness to those events and is recalling them from memory. John presents Jesus as God acting in human form. It’s clear in John’s gospel that John has greater spiritual perception and understanding of the kingdom of God than the other gospel writers. John is careful in his gospel never to mention himself by name but he does give us clues when he refers to himself as the witness or the disciple whom God loved. Most people don’t realize that John was most likely Jesus’ first cousin because his mother was thought to be the sister of Mary, mother of Jesus. At any rate, John was illiterate and at the end of his life dictated his gospel to preserve his eyewitness testimony of the life of Jesus Christ and the glory of God. John was the only Apostle not to suffer a martyr’s death. John wrote the book of Revelation around 95 AD on the Isle of Patmos and died a few years later around 100 AD of of old age.

In addition to there being four gospels, another proof that the Bible was authored by God is the fact that Luke, a Gentile disciple of Christ, wrote one of the gospels in addition to the book of Acts which is a history of the early church. The 39 writers who wrote the other 64 books of the Bible were all Jewish men. Why would God use a Gentile in his Word? I see two reasons. First, God wanted to show his salvation plan for man included Gentiles as well as Jews. Second, God wanted to reveal the gospel of Christ to a Gentile audience therefore he needed a Gentile writer. In the ancient world Jews and Gentiles were suspicious and untrusting each other. No Gentile was likely to put much stock in Jesus as the Son of God unless they heard it from a fellow Gentile and vice versa, That’s one of the reasons why we have the Jewish gospel of Matthew speaking to the Jews and the Gentile gospel of Luke speaking to the Gentiles. The gospel of Mark was a special case. There you had the Jewish Mark writing his gospel for the Gentiles in Rome at their own request because they had heard Peter preach the gospel of Christ and had become believing Christians. Rome was the seat of the Roman empire and the largest city in the world at the time so it was filled with Gentiles eager to receive the gospel message of Jesus Christ.

The first Christians were converted Jews in and around Jerusalem but once the faith moved out into the wider world it became almost exclusively a church comprised of Gentiles. Luke was actually part one of a two-part history of the church that he authored. Since that history was a Gentile history only a Gentile could tell it and have a Gentile audience believe it. God again used Luke to write the book of Acts which was part two of the history of the church. Who better than a Gentile to chronicle the growth of the early Gentile Christian church? Only God could coordinate the two books of the Bible essential to Gentiles and have them both written by a Gentile so they would be believed. God is in total control of his creation and nothing happens without God’s consent. Luke’s gospel is carefully researched and written in Greek by someone good with words. Luke was both a physician and a scholar. Luke was also a disciple of the Apostle Paul and accompanied Paul on some of his missionary trips. Luke was even imprisoned with Paul for two years in Caesarea. Luke makes it plain in his gospel he wasn’t an eyewitness to the life of Jesus Christ but he affirms that he thoroughly investigated the ample evidence available on the life of Jesus. Luke interviewed all the eyewitnesses he could find who actually saw the miracles Jesus performed and heard his teachings.

Luke was believed to have been written after Mark and Matthew and sometime in the early AD 70’s. There’s no doubt Luke carefully documented the findings in his gospel because there was tons of evidence and he knew all the players personally. Luke wrote his gospel narrative in an orderly sequence but perhaps not in a strict chronological order (because he wasn’t there). Luke’s portrait of Jesus is well balanced and skillfully emphasizes Jesus’ divinity and perfect humanity. Luke wrote his gospel to strengthen the faith of believers and to challenge the misconceptions of unbelievers, especially the Gentiles for whom it was written. Luke seldom quotes the Old Testament and while Luke is the longest gospel it’s the easiest to read. 60% of Luke’s gospel is unique and contains stories found nowhere else. Thus, there’s a great deal that readers of Scripture would not know if the third gospel were not in the Bible. For instance, Luke is the only gospel with a description of Jesus’ ascension into heaven.

Luke gives special emphasis to prayer because he considered prayer one of the most precious things in the world. The gospel of Luke is noted for its portrayal of the importance of women in a time when women were treated as second class citizens. Luke praises God more than any of the other gospels. Luke shows supreme interest in the poor, the outcasts and the downtrodden of the world. The most outstanding characteristic of Luke is that it’s the universal gospel. All barriers are down. Jesus Christ is for all people without distinction. A Jewish person would not have written Luke. Of all the gospels Luke best shows the infinite sweep of God’s love for man, his special creation. Luke answered Jesus’ call to preach the gospel to all nations. Luke was from Macedonia so he returned to Greece to preach the gospel of Christ where he suffered martyrdom by hanging.

The book of Mark was written by John Mark, a Jew from a prominent Jerusalem family some time between 55-70 AD, while in Rome where Mark was a disciple of the Apostle Peter. As a young man Mark accompanied his uncle Barnabas and the Apostle Paul on their first missionary trip. Later, in Rome as Peter’s disciple and personal secretary Mark was always present when Peter preached the gospel of Christ to the Gentiles who lived there. Mark not only heard Peter preach often he had numerous private conversations with Peter where he learned intimate details of the life of Jesus that he later recalled from memory as he wrote his gospel. Peter was illiterate as were all the disciples of Jesus except for Matthew.

The Gentiles in Rome asked Mark to write down everything Peter was preaching about Jesus so as to preserve the eyewitness testimony of Peter, greatest of the apostles. Mark probably wrote his gospel shortly after Peter’s death in Rome in 67 AD. The Emperor Nero had Peter crucified upside down on a cross. Mark’s gospel was written in Greek which was the common language of the civilized world. Since Mark was writing his gospel for a mostly Gentile audience he rarely quotes from the Old Testament. The hallmarks of the Greek style of writing are realism and simplicity. Mark’s goal was to write down and report all of the facts of Jesus’s life as he knew them even if he was unsure of the exact order of events (because he wasn’t there). Mark’s gospel is a straightforward, dramatic narrative about Jesus emphasizing Jesus’ actions and deeds while also stressing Jesus is the divine Son of God.

Matthew, Mark and Luke are known as the synoptic gospels. The word synoptic comes from two Greek words which mean “to see together.” There three gospels can be compared side by side and much of the material is the same and with pretty much the same events in the same order. Much of the wording is even identical. In fact, only 24 verses in Mark do nor occur somewhere in Matthew or Luke. However, each of the gospels are different enough to show they were not written by the same person. The evidence points to the gospel of Mark being written first and then used as a guide by Matthew and Luke when they wrote their gospels. Matthew and Luke changed the order of events slightly as they recalled them. Matthew and Luke also fitted in extra material as they saw fit. Mark is the essential gospel because it’s the first and most complete record of the life of Jesus.

Mark’s theme is to identify Jesus as the Son of God and at the same time summon people to repent in faith to the good news of Jesus Christ. Mark also strives to show us the human side of Jesus. More than any of the other gospels Mark emphasizes the passions and emotions of Jesus. Mark gives us a strong picture of both the humanity and the divinity of Jesus. After all, Jesus was 100% man and 100% God. The first coming of Jesus to the earth was as a suffering servant and Mark is the gospel that best portrays that. As you read Mark you can feel Mark’s awe, astonishment and excitement because he knew Jesus was God among us. Mark knows he’s writing down the greatest story ever told. The story of God coming to earth to redeem his fallen creation from sin and restore their fellowship with God so that man can have eternal life in heaven in the presence of Almighty God.

Because Mark served two apostles, Peter and Paul, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that Mark was an important disciple of Christ in his own right. Mark was involved in much of the work of the early church and Mark was a gifted preacher of the gospel as well. As a disciple Mark responded to Jesus’ command to preach the gospel to all nations. Mark moved to Alexandria, Egypt where he founded the Christian church there. Mark was martyred for preaching the gospel while in Egypt. Mark had his feet bound by an angry crowd and he was drug by his heels through the streets of Alexandria by a team of horses.

The gospels present independent, coherent narratives centering on the messianic mission of Jesus Christ which culminates in his death on the cross and his resurrection. Each of the four gospels are necessary in the story of Jesus because they each have a distinct structure and literary plan with a particular theological emphasis. Each gospel highlights a different aspect of Jesus’ identity and mission. Viewed together the four gospels provide a comprehensive testimony of the most remarkable man who ever lived, the God-man Jesus Christ, who came to earth from heaven to secure salvation for those who place their trust in him.

The book of Matthew is placed as the first gospel in the Bible because it’s the Jewish gospel and God’s original plan was to bring salvation to the Jew first and then the Gentile. Matthew is the bridge between the Old and New Testaments. Matthew weaves Old Testament prophecy of the Messiah with New Testament fulfillment of those prophecies in the person of Jesus Christ. The Bible contains over sixty prophecies about the promised Messiah which Jesus fulfilled and Matthew covers just about all of them. Matthew refers back to Old Testament prophecy about sixty times with statements such as “was fulfilled” and “so that what was spoken might be fulfilled.”

Matthew was a Jew writing his gospel in Hebrew between 60-70 AD with a strong Jewish perspective to convince other Jews that Jesus was the promised Messiah of the Old Testament. All Jews knew the Messiah would be a direct descendant of King David so Matthew began his gospel with a genealogy of Jesus’ bloodline from Abraham through King David and finally to Joseph. Many people don’t realize it but if the rule of the kings of Israel had not been broken Joseph the carpenter would have been the rightful king of Israel as a son of David. Jesus, as the adopted son of Joseph, was the legal heir to the throne of Israel. Most people are also unaware that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was also of the Davidic bloodline. Jesus was heir to the throne of Israel both legally through Joseph and by blood through his mother Mary. God was making it clear to everyone from every angle that his Son Jesus Christ was King of the Jews.

As an Apostle of Christ and one of the twelve original disciples of Jesus Matthew saw the miracles Jesus performed and heard his teachings about the kingdom of God. Matthew wrote his gospel to preserve his eyewitness testimony about the ministry of Jesus. Matthew’s gospel emphasizes certain theological truths. First, Jesus is the Messiah, the long-awaited King of God’s people. Second, Jesus is the new Abraham, the founder of a new spiritual Israel consisting of all people who choose to follow him. We refer to this as the church, the kingdom of God, consisting of both believing Jews and Gentiles. Third, Jesus is the new Moses, the deliverer and instructor of God’s people. Fourth, Jesus is the Immanuel, the virgin-born Son of God who fulfills the promises of the Old Testament.

The gospel of Matthew has given us the entire salvation plan for man from Genesis to Revelation. Matthew reveals God’s future plans for his church and kingdom. Matthew contains the five discourses of Jesus outlining many of his teachings which is why Matthew is known as the teaching gospel. Scripture is quoted from Matthew more often than any of the other gospels. Matthew is especially strong concerning end time events and the Second coming of Jesus Christ. Matthew’s dominating theme is that of Jesus as King. Matthew writes his gospel ultimately to demonstrate the royalty of Jesus as the promised Messiah, the Lion of Judah, and the Son of Almighty God. On the Mount of Olives before ascending back to heaven Jesus gave his disciples the Great Commission, which was to preach the gospel to all nations. Matthew went on to preach the gospel of Christ in Ethiopia where he suffered martyrdom by the sword.

God really hates Satan because of all the souls he has led and is leading straight to hell. From God’s commandments we know that he hates lying, cheating and stealing. God hates pride which was the original sin that caused Lucifer’s fall from heaven. When I read the Bible one of the things that really stand out is to me is how much God hates adultery. I judge how important something is to God by how often it’s mentioned in the Bible and the Bible has many verses warning against the sin of adultery and the dire consequences for those who commit adultery. You can also tell when God really hates something if he calls it an abomination, which is what God calls homosexuality. I’ll never be politically correct on my blog and I’ll never post anything I don’t personally believe. I’m here to call balls and strikes so let me refer you to the plain language of Leviticus 18:22, which states, “You shall not lie with a male as a woman. It is an abomination.” Could God be any clearer? We may have to accept homosexual marriage as the law of the land but as Christians we should not personally condone it or get too comfortable with the idea. As Christians we are in the world but not of this world. Our citizenship is in heaven which is where we belong. We are only visiting here on earth during our “testing time” to see whether we will choose to serve God or Satan.

Pope Francis recently gave his approval to homosexual marriage, which is a travesty. All Popes are full of pride and self importance as they wear royal robes and live a life of luxury in the Vatican palace. People have to bow and kiss their hand and call them “holy father”, a title reserved for God alone. Popes are self appointed vicars of Christ and they claim they’re infallible in matters of faith and Christian doctrine. Popes claim that they know the mind of God better than God does which they say gives them preeminence over what God says and the right to countermand the Word of God. Popes claim only they can forgive sin and decide who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. Can you not see the pride and arrogance of these sinful men who have the temerity to usurp the power of God? The Catholic clergy is the modern day equivalent of the Pharisees of Jesus’ day and he called them a brood of vipers. If you lay out the tenets of the Catholic church and compare them with what the Word of God says you’ll see they are polar opposites on just about every issue important to God. You’ll be able to clearly see that all Popes are leading people away from the truth of God’s Word which puts them squarely on God’s bad side where they’ll face the wrath of God on the last day.

The best way not to get on God’s bad side is to follow this simple rule: love what God loves and hate what God hates. If you run everything you do through this filter you can easily stay in your lane. We don’t have to guess what God loves and what God hates because God tells us clearly in his Word, our Holy Bible. God loves for us to be obedient to His 129 commands contained in the Bible (some are redundant). God loves those who fear him. The biblical meaning of fear is to look upon God with reverence, awe and respect. In short, we are to love God with all our heart. God loves a humble heart in those who reach out to him in daily prayer. God loves a faithful servant who always tries to do what’s right in the eyes of the Lord. God loves it when we repent and ask for forgiveness because God loves to dispense mercy. Most important of all, God loves Israel like a father loves his firstborn son.

Israel is the son who broke God’s heart through disobedience. Israel is currently being punished for their rejection of Christ in what we refer to as the church age which began at Pentecost in 33 AD and will end when Jesus comes in the clouds and raptures the church in the air before taking believers back to heaven. This 2000 year period we are currently living in is also known as the time of the Gentiles and it’s almost over. The rapture could occur at any moment and and when it does come it’ll start the clock ticking on the last seven years of human history which will culminate with the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ who will set foot on the Mount of Olives accompanied by the angels of heaven and all the saints (which is us). This last seven year period in history is known as the tribulation because God will pour out his wrath on sinful mankind during this time. God’s love remains steadfast for Israel, his chosen people, who will go through the tribulation but a remnant will be saved and reconciled to God on the Day of the Lord. Christ will then judge the nations and set up his millennial kingdom.

The Jews knew from prophecy that their King, the promised Messiah, was coming to them. The Jews were expecting their Messiah to be a conquering King coming in glory and power to save them from Roman oppression. When Jesus came as a suffering servant it didn’t fit the Jewish paradigm so Jesus was rejected and sent to his death on the cross. The Jews didn’t understand that Jesus was coming to the earth twice, the first time as a suffering servant and the second time as the King of Kings they were expecting. The Jews were jealous of their God and didn’t want to share him. The Jews didn’t understand that Jesus needed to come the first time to die on the cross as payment for the sins of all men, both Jew and Gentile, and to set up his church, the kingdom of God. When the Jews had Jesus crucified God temporarily cut off his dealings with Israel and then turned to the Gentiles to establish the kingdom of God on earth.

John 1:14 – And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…full of grace and truth.

Luke 19:10 – For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Mark 10:45 – For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.

Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

There’s a popular misconception in some Christian churches that the church has replaced Israel as the apple of God’s eye. It’s what they want to believe but it has no scriptural basis. It’s just wishful thinking. God is never wrong and God never makes mistakes. God also never changes his mind. If you want proof look no further than God’s Word. Don’t get on God’s bad side by being against Israel or by disparaging or discriminating against Jews. In the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, one enduring theme is God’s love for man, his special creation, and for the Jews in particular as his chosen people. Don’t get me wrong, God loves Jew and Gentile alike but it’s Israel that’s the apple of God’s eye. I’m a Gentile and I can live with that. In heaven God will love Jew and Gentile equally as children of God.

Malachi 3:6 – For I the Lord do not change.

One reason I’ve heard for people’s hatred of Jews is that they killed Jesus. It was the Jewish leaders who wanted Jesus crucified but they didn’t have the authority to put Jesus to death. You can’t blame the whole Jewish nation for the crimes of a few. It was the Romans, our modern day Italians, who actually condemned Jesus to be crucified and then nailed spikes into the wrists and feet of Jesus and hung him on a cross to die an agonizing death. Why don’t we hear any hatred toward the Italians because they’re the ones who actually killed Jesus? We don’t because it doesn’t fit Satan’s narrative of wanting to stir up mankind’s hatred toward the Jews so they can be destroyed. Satan hates God but can’t touch him so he does the next best thing by trying to destroy what God loves, his chosen people. Satan also can’t touch us physically but he can influence our minds and the weak-minded wind up being manipulated into hating Israel and winding up on God’s bad side. God commands us to love the Jewish people. On the last day we will stand before God to give an account of our treatment of Jews. Nothing happens on this earth without God’s permission. Ultimately, God killed Jesus to redeem us from our sins and Jesus gave His consent.

Romans 5:8 – But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Ecclestiastes 12:13 – Fear God, and keep His commandments; for this is man’s all.

2 Corinthians 5:10 – For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

When I learn about or hear a Christian disparaging Jews or Israel I cringe inside. Any Christian who is truly a believer who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior cannot be against Jews or Israel. How can they be? We Christians have our salvation and eternal life in heaven because of the blessings of Abraham, the patriarch of the Jewish people. Christ is a direct descendant of Abraham. Jesus was, is, and always will be a Jewish rabbi in heaven. So if we hate Jews we’re saying that we hate our King and we hate the very people who have allowed us to enter heaven in the first place. Does that make any sense to you? It doesn’t to me.

When we get to heaven the second in command will be King David, also a Jew. The twelve Jewish Apostles will have exalted leadership positions in heaven. They will sit on thrones and will rule over the Jewish remnant in heaven. All the prophets and important disciples like Paul, Mark, Barnabas and Stephen will have high positions in heaven and they are all Jewish men. All Jewish holidays will be celebrated. To put it bluntly, when we get to heaven Jews will be running the joint. If you’ve persecuted Jews during your lifetime on earth and you still manage to make it to heaven your previous actions will be known by all the Jews in heaven for the rest of eternity. You’ll be forgiven, of course, but the Jews will always remember how you persecuted them on earth. Keep that in mind the next time you have an evil thought against anyone Jewish. Push back against Satan’s attempt to influence your mind toward a hatred of the Jews. You’ve been warned of the danger so guard your mind against Satan or wind up on God’s bad side.

Ephesians 4:30 – Do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, He has identified you as His own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

One of the strongest proofs to me that our Holy Bible is indeed God’s Word is the fact that there is a fourfold gospel consisting of the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Keep in mind that back in the first century there were no books available to people and writings of any kind were scarce. Very few people could read or write. Instead, the culture at that time consisted of an oral tradition of telling stories and spreading news by word of mouth. The ancient Jewish belief that was set forth in the Old Testament and later corroborated in the New Testament was that the truth of any matter must be established by two or three eyewitnesses. No Jew would accept anything as true unless they saw or heard it themselves or there were sufficient witnesses to overcome the potential bias of any one witness.

Deuteronomy 17:6 – Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness.

Deuteronomy 19:15 – One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.

Matthew 18:16 – But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

John 8:17 – It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.

2 Corinthians 13:1 – By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.

There was no way God was going to violate his law and allow the “good news” of the life of Jesus, his beloved Son, to be brought before a sinful mankind in need of salvation without the requisite number of witnesses to establish the truth. Only two witnesses were required but three was much better. That’s why we have the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke which chronicle the life, ministry and death of Jesus Christ. These three witnesses validate the truth of Jesus to the Jewish mind. All three gospels were written around the same time and sometime between 50-70 AD.

In the early days of the church there were no Bibles or written materials to preach from. Services consisted of the oral telling of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ along with prayer and singing. This was made possible because there were many in the church who had first or second hand knowledge of the miracles and teachings of Christ. When the gospels were written they simply put into writing what had been taught in the churches for over 20 years. If the written gospels had strayed from what was being taught in the churches they would have been rejected out of hand. The gospels were consistent with what the churches had been teaching and the gospels became the written texts for church services going forward. By their universal acceptance by the church membership the gospels were, in fact, eyewitness testimony from the thousands of Jews living in Palestine who experienced the life of Jesus firsthand. These people saw Jesus’ miracles and heard his teachings and had their lives changed by his message.

The final gospel of John was written 20-40 years after the first three gospels. That allowed the early church time to grow and spread to the point where further instruction on church doctrine and clarification of Scripture was necessary to stamp out heresies and illuminate more spiritual truths. The first three gospels were consistent with God’s law requiring three witnesses to establish the truth of any matter. The fact that there is a fourth gospel well after the first three I find wholly consistent with a God waiting to share spiritual truths with his creation when they were ready to receive it. All the disciples of Jesus were martyred for the glory of God except John. It’s obvious God kept the Apostle John alive into old age so he could write his gospel. Jesus told all his disciples they would all drink from his cup (suffer martyrdom) while alluding to the fact that John would not die until he saw Jesus in all his glory and this occurred on the Isle of Patmos some time around 95 AD when Jesus appeared to John and instructed him to write the book of Revelation. When I see the four gospels I see the mighty hand of God.

Every believer reaches that “ah ha!” moment in their life when they suddenly realize there is a God in this world and His Son is Jesus Christ. That certain knowledge affects everyone differently. For some the magnitude and majesty of God is overwhelming, like an onrushing locomotive with the horn blaring. For others God is a soft whisper in their soul or a gentle breeze. For most people their reaction to the certain knowledge of God lies somewhere between these two extremes.

For me it was the train coming down the tracks, which was a personal call to arms. Being the planner and problem solver that I am, I launched into full investigation mode. What does God expect of me? Our ultimate goal is to live our lives in a manner that pleases God and to avoid anything that displeases Him. The Bible says you cannot please God without faith so the first thing you have to do is to believe that God exists and that he is a rewarder of those who love him. The second thing you must do to please God is obey his commands; the most important of which is to witness for Christ and to do good works.

You can’t obey God’s commands if you don’t know what they are so the first order of business for any believer is to immerse themselves in God’s Word so you will know what God expects of you. God will hold you accountable. Very few Christians actually study God’s Word. The Bible contains 129 commands from God that believers are to obey (some are redundant). Anyone dedicated to knowing God and obeying his commands must read the Bible daily with prayer and meditation so the Holy Spirit is active in their lives revealing the truth of Scripture. Believers must read their Bibles cover to cover multiple times so they know God’s Word intimately. God is communicating with us when we read the Bible and when we pray we are talking directly to God and according to Scripture God hears our every word. Two-way communication with God is vital for a healthy relationship.

God tells us what he expects of believers in the Old Testament:

Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, O man, what is good: and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

The above verse is the essence of the Christian faith and we should etch it in our hearts. It’s my favorite Bible verse along with John 3:16. Let’s break down Micah 6:8 so we clearly understand what God is telling us. In other verses of the Bible God has explained what is ‘good” so we don’t have to guess what God means here in Micah 6:8.

Psalm 14:1 – The fool has said in his heart, “there is no God.” They are corrupt. They have done abominable works, there is none who does good.

Psalm 14:3 – They have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one.

Psalm 37:3 – Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

Those who believe in Him God calls “good”. In a double meaning, God also commands believers to do good works. Twice in the above verses God calls unbelievers corrupt and the dictionary defines corrupt as evil or very immoral. On the other hand, God calls believers just the opposite which is “good” and “moral”. An abomination is a Bible term used to describe a thing which God hates or finds disgusting. A person wishing to please God should obey His commands, emulate Christ in all their actions and above all, love what God loves and hate what God hates. God asks three things of believers:

1. To act justly – If someone is just they act with justice which the dictionary defines as the quality of being morally right and fair. A person’s character and behavior matter most to God and their actions should meet God’s standard. God places in everyone’s heart the ability to know right from wrong and through prayer God will help us emulate Christ.

2. To love mercy – God is faithful to us and in his mercy he has forgiven us of our sins and by his grace he has granted us eternal life. We are to love God for his mercy toward us and we must show that same love and mercy to others.

3. Walk humbly with God – We are to acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and Savior and then obey God’s commands. We are to witness for Christ and do good works during our brief time on earth in order to build up treasures in heaven that will last an eternity. In the Old Testament the statement walking with God meant living in humble obedience to God’s will. We may not be able to obey all of God’s commands all of the time but we should strive to obey God to the best of our ability while asking for forgiveness when we fall short. The Christian faith is a marathon not a sprint and we are to persevere in doing good works.

Genesis 6:9 – Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.

Genesis 5:24 – And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

In summary, to please God always strive to do the right thing as your conscience dictates. Love your God for the mercy and grace he has shown you unto salvation. Be obedient to the commands of your God. If you do these three things God will be satisfied according to Micah 6:8, and on the last day you will hear Jesus say, “Well done good and faithful servant.”

Biblical truth: Anyone who wants further knowledge of Christ will receive it.

Never underestimate God’s desire to save as many people as possible, not as few as possible. God is inclusive and not exclusive. Our loving God is merciful and tenderhearted and if there is any way to get us to heaven without violating His holiness or justice He will do it. That attitude that God has toward His children makes all the difference. Throughout the Bible we repeatedly see God’s compassion for those who need His forgiveness.

Ezekiel 33:11 – “As I live” says the Lord God, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?”

Luke 19:10 – (Jesus speaking) – For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

1 Timothy 2:3-4 – For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Although God desires everyone to be saved it requires action on our part to be saved. To receive the gift of salvation God requires the believer to “come to the knowledge of the truth about Jesus Christ.” We see an example of this in the Bible story of God sending the apostle Peter to witness the gospel to the Roman Centurion Cornelius. This gentile believed in God and was searching for the path to God so the Lord ensured he received it. Do you remember the Bible story about the Holy Spirit sending Philip to the road to Gaza to intercept the chariot of the Ethiopian eunuch returning home after worshipping God in Jerusalem. This court official believed in God but didn’t know how to go about being saved until Philip shared the gospel of Christ with him and led him to salvation. God will always provide an answer for those who earnestly seek Him.

2 Peter 3:9 – The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

I don’t believe in coincidences. When God sees someone embrace the natural revelation of Himself God will ensure that person receives the gospel message of Christ through a personal witness, through a missionary, a television or radio program, a Christian tract, the internet or some other means. God is the author of history and He coordinates all things to the benefit of those who would serve Him. That’s why it’s so important for us to be personally prepared to give our witness. God could call on us at any time to be His instrument to give someone eternal life through our witness. If we bless others God will bless us in return. If God desires something it comes to pass because with God nothing is impossible.

Acts 1:8 – (Jesus speaking) – But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.