Reflections on ISIS (II)

Dear friends:

ISIS's cruelty continues to bother us, however Jesus did warn us of coming persecutions for believers. Here below is a very good article from Quest Study Bible, one of my favorite study Bibles, to share with you.

Did Jesus promise complete physical protection? 

( Luke 21:18)

No. In fact, he told of coming persecutions: believers would be hated, persecuted by religious and political leaders, betrayed by family and friends, and some would even be killed (vv. 12–17). James (Ac 12:1–2), Peter (Ac 12:3–5), Stephen (Ac 6:8–15; 7:54–60) and many other apostles (Ac 4:1–3; 5:17–18, 40) suffered beatings, imprisonment and death because of their faith. But after warning of the coming persecution, 

Jesus promised, Not a hair of your head will perish. How does that square with the warnings of persecution?

It was a figurative way of saying that though their earthly bodies could be killed, their spirits would live forever. If they remained true to the faith, they would be ensured of life everlasting (Lk 21:19). Furthermore, God would assist them in times of persecution, giving them the right words to say and the wisdom to know how to respond (v. 15). Jesus’ primary focus was on the spiritual results, not the physical outcome. That’s why, though Christian martyrs have been beheaded, not a hair of their heads perished.

Zondervan, (2011-12-06). NIV Quest Study Bible: The Question and Answer Bible (Kindle Locations 281289-281292). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Also think about this Bible verse: Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ( Matt 10:28)

Further comment from reader Zen on Reflections on ISIS:

Also Luke 21:5-28 is another passage where Jesus foretells wars and persecution. Verse 19 says by your endurance you will gain your lives. Verse 28 says after the Son of Man (Jesus) comes in a cloud with power and great glory, now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, your redemption is drawing near. 

May God give grace and endurance to His persecuted church and mercy on our fallen and shattered world.

Reflections on ISIS Beheadings

Dear friends:

Can you see the evil hand behind all these cruelty acts of ISIS? If you have hard time to believe in the existence of God because of all the evil things on earth, perhaps you can believe the devil and fallen angels existing? Yes, our world is not yet rid of the terrible influences of the devil through those evil empires and their dictators...etc. Actually,  the whole world lies in the evil one as 1John 5:19 told us.

Do you think the relatives and friends of those recently crucified ISIS victims would put up a cross at their front yards to remember their lost loved ones? Of course not! Common sense dictates that they won't do such a stupid and senseless thing to remind themselves how their loved ones had been crucified by ISIS. 

Think again, why the very shameful symbol of cross has been lift up and put on top of most Christian churches today? It has stirred up so much hatred that nowadays China is pulling the church crosses down in Shanghai and other provinces. And Christians are commanded by Jesus to remember His death in Holy Communions every Sunday,( once a month, or once a quarter, depending on the policy of different churches and denominations.) Isn't that very odd and strange, that Jesus wanted Christians to remember His death, not His birth?? The reason is His death has taken away our sins and He has risen from death and lives forever to be our Lord God. It is because of Jesus' resurrection, His cross has become a glorious symbol. ( Since Jesus preexisted before His birth in the past eternity, His birth as God incarnate was not the beginning of His life at all. He is an everlasting God and He self exists from past eternity to future eternity! That is why Jesus our Lord God is so unique! )

Here below is my sharing in my Sunday School class last Sunday, an instant inspiration that morning out of CNN news report about the 3rd beheading by ISIS. .

Just share my thoughts associated with ISIS 3rd  beheading with you. Any comments from you are very welcome! (BH)

Recent horrible beheadings of American journalists and British Aid worker by ISIS brought the beheading of John the Baptist to my mind.

So we looked up Matt 14:1-12 that recorded John the Baptist was beheaded by the request of Herodias' daughter Salome who followed her mother's wicked request of John's head out of her deep hatred towards John's open denouncement of her marital affairs.

（ note: Since John the Baptist openly denounced Herod for having left his lawful wife, (the daughter of the Arabian king Aretas), and then cohabiting with Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip (Luke 3:19-20). On his birthday, Herod made a feast for dignitaries, the elders and a thousand chief citizens. Salome, the daughter of Herod, danced before the guests and charmed Herod. In gratitude to the girl, he swore to give her whatever she would ask, up to half his kingdom.

The vile girl on the advice of her wicked mother Herodias asked that she be given the head of John the Baptist on a platter. Herod became apprehensive, for he feared the wrath of God for the murder of a prophet, whom earlier he had heeded. He also feared the people, who loved the Jesus' Forerunner. But because of the guests and his careless oath, he gave orders to cut off the head of St John and to give it to Salome.）

Then the narration moves forward to Jesus feeding 5000 people, Verse 12 is easily neglected by our hurry reading, right?

How I'd like to hear Jesus' comment and explanation about the beheading of John the Baptist, yet Jesus was silent.( I am disappointed but perhaps Jesus as a human being also was overwhelmed by sadness so He couldn't talk let alone comment at all??) In Jesus' earthly life, He did weep twice publicly. That means our Lord shares our human pains, He does care. However, God didn't rescue John the Baptist from being beheaded. Why? Only God knows. We don't have perfect answer. Isaiah (53:3) tells us that the suffering Messiah would be "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief", so there could be tears in Jesus' private life.

(John 11:35 "Jesus wept." This is arguably the shortest verse in the Bible. It records the anguish of the Lord over the sorrow of his friends at the death of Lazarus.   Another incident is recorded in Luke 19:41 when regarding Jerusalem from afar, Jesus wept over it knowing what would befall the inhabitants of the city because of their rejection of him.  The bottom line  is that it is recorded specifically that the Lord wept twice.)

When the tower in Siloam fell and killed some people, Jesus didn't explain the reason why either but warned us to repent or else we all likewise perish.

Jesus said :"...Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? 5"I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." ( Luke 13)

So  911 by Al Qaeda  and  beheadings, crucifixions by ISIS are all wake up calls for us to repent.

Hebrews 11, the chapter of faith does list those who were killed, yet their faith is still speaking even though they were dead. Perhaps the assumption to expect rewards for our good deeds in this life is a wrong assumption, at least it is only a partial true assumption. Bad things do happen to good people, right? Many righteous people do suffer and lose their lives just because they are outspoken against the evil, immorality and injustice. Bible encourages us to suffer for Christ's sake and Christians should be prepared to enter the kingdom of God with many hardships. With this kind of understanding and anticipation, we won't be easily knocked down by hardships or persecutions whenever we encounter them.

Indeed, Daniel was saved from the Lion's Den, yet God did allow many early Christians to die in the mouth of lions and to be burnt alive on the stacks during roughly 300 years of Roman persecutions. Those early Christian martyrs' genuine and pure faith in God shined through those burning fire and Lion's mouths. That kind of pure precious faith is the foundation of Christianity. God hasn't guaranteed us miracles all the times. Daniel's 3 friends have the highest level of faith in God, they believed God would save them from the highly heated furnace, yet even if God didn't save them, they would still determine not to bow down to the golden statue King Nebuchadnezzar II had set up and ordered all his subjects to bow and worship. 

Well, here comes my favorite Bible verses, Romans 8:35-39 ( of course, dear friends, I understand if you haven't accepted Jesus into your life, this wonderful love of Christ doesn't apply to you. Smart you, don't you want to have this eternal guarantee that God's love will be with you forever, even beyond this life? This surely is the best offer from God I hope you don't miss to get in this life time. Just turn around and accept God's eternal offer in Christ would suffice. Time is running out, better hurry!! )

35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”^j

37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^k neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Hallelujah! No one and nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Death is not the end point, we need to stretch our horizon beyond the death--looking forward to being with our Lord forever. Praise the Lord!!

Dear friends, don't you want to have this kind of eternal blessings--never separating from the love of our Creator God and Jesus Christ our Lord ?

( note: A Call to Repentance Luke 13

1 Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2And Jesus said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? 3"I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? 5"I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.")

Who is the Karma Judge? (Reincarnation Rethink)

 

Dear friends:

If you believe in reincarnation, you better know who is the karma judge, right? If all of us are re-incarnations of prior human beings, how do we account for the growing population? Where do “new” humans come from?

If achieving “nirvana” means that we will be liberated from the illusion of consciousness, how then will we know (be conscious of) our achieving this “nirvana”? How can we be “conscious” of this, if “consciousness” will no longer exist?

There are a few related questions and issues for you to think about. Thanks to a homicide detective J Warner Wallace who lists 12 plus issues in the following link 22 Important Questions for the Buddhist Worldview. 

Here I will just post a few below for you.

...3. If our present suffering is the result of bad karma from a prior life, what is the real present remedy for suffering in this life?

Can all suffering be alleviated in this life through our efforts with the Eight Fold Path? Why engage in any effort related to the Eight Fold Path, if the only true benefits are to be realized in the next life?

4. Who is the Karma Judge?

If, as Buddhism teaches, there is no personal God interacting with His creation, who determines whether or not a person has done something to merit either “good” or “bad” Karma? If this decision is made at the end of one’s life, who is actually making the decision? How can an impersonal force “decide” anything? Who is the final judge of Karma, and mustn’t this judge by necessity be a personal being (capable of making a decision)?

5. If achieving “nirvana” means that we will be liberated from the illusion of consciousness, how then will we know (be conscious of) our achieving this “nirvana”? How can we be “conscious” of this, if “consciousness” will no longer exist?

Our existence outside the material, physical world, presumes a conscious existence in which we can “realize” our enlightened condition. How can we be conscious of this if consciousness will no longer exist?

6. If there is no transcendent “self” or “soul”, how do we transcend this life in order for reincarnation to be possible?

If reincarnation is true, it makes sense something of our true identity would move from one life to the next. What is this “something” if not a soul? Who (or what) moves on from this life to the next?

7. What real evidence do we have that reincarnation is true?

Why is there not consistent evidence for the notion of reincarnation? On what evidence is this idea based, aside from the writings of Buddha? While we have good philosophical reasons to believe in the existence of the soul, what philosophical reasoning brings us to the conclusion that reincarnation is true?

8. If all of us are re-incarnations of prior human beings, how do we account for the growing population? Where do “new” humans come from?

Reincarnation implies all of us were here before, in a prior life. But if humans can only be reincarnated from prior humans, how is it the global population is growing? If humans can be reincarnated from other animals, does this mean the total animal population on earth has always been constant?...

In conclusion, every worldview has to be both internally and externally consistent. The challenge for Buddhism is to account for a system of judgment and reward (Karma) without a personal judge who has the ability to decide whether an individual has achieved something noble or committed something despicable. The very judge required by a Karma system is, in fact, lacking from Buddhism altogether. In addition, there are many open philosophical questions related to the first question of all worldviews (“How did we get here?”), and the system seems to lead (in many formations) to a sense of despair and hopelessness...

- See more at: http://coldcasechristianity.com/2014/22-important-questions-for-the-buddhistic-worldview/?

For those who read Chinese, a couple related links from my Chinese blog for you below.

一位深入禪宗醫生的大開悟?

阿彌陀佛 的 真相 (轉貼

Is Allah A Moon God ?

Allah Moon God

http://www.billionbibles.org/sharia/allah-moon-god.html

Is Allah the God of the Bible, or is Allah the moon god of ancient pagan Arabia?

While "Allah" could refer to God literally, the Allah of Islam is the moon god of ancient pagan Arabia.

The Arabic word for "god" is "ilah", while "al" is the Arabic for "the". Therefore, "Allah" combines "al" with "ilah" and removes the "i", to literally means, "the god".

But much like "YHWH/Yahweh/Jehovah" is the personal name of the God of the Bible, "Allah" was also the personal name given to the moon god, the highest of the 360 pagan idols worshipped in Mecca, Muhammad's home town (see Muhammad False Prophet.

What evidence is there that Islam's "Allah" is the pagan moon god of ancient Mecca?

Consider what the pagan Arabians did to worship their moon god, Allah; they prayed while bowing towards K'abah, the "house of Allah" in Mecca that houses a meteorite - a stone from space - several times a day, visited it once a year, and walked around it several times during their visit.

To worship their Allah today:

•  Muslims pray bowing towards the K'abah in Mecca five times a day.

•  About two million Muslims visit Mecca every year and walk around the K'abah (the black cube, which is 40 feet tall, on the right).

•  The Muslim "holy" month of Ramadan starts at the sighting of a new crescent moon.

•  Perched atop churches across the world is the cross, the symbol of the sacrifice made by our God. Perched atop mosques across the world is the crescent moon (above), the symbol of Allah whom Muhammad chose as the god of Islam.

When confronted with the details above, Muslim typically re-assert that "Allah" still means "al" + "ilah" - i.e., "the" + "god" - and is same as the God of the Bible, not the moon god of pagan Mecca. They even point out that Arabic Christian Bibles uses "Allah" to refer to God.

The "Allah" in the current Arabic Christian Bibles is literally "the God" and does refer to the God of the Bible. Advise Muslims that if this is really the "Allah" they are worshiping, then they should stop bowing down toward a meteorite five times a day and the crescent moon should neither start their "holy" month of Ramadan nor top their mosques. If the Allah they are worshiping is the God of the Bible, then they should worship Him as the Bible instructs.

note:a Religion of Peace??

...Quran began to be written when Muhammad led only a small group of followers in Mecca and had no military power. The parts of the Quran written during this period were not belligerent and only sought recognition for his new religion.

After Muhammad moved his group to Medina and became a powerful warlord, his Quran became belligerent and intolerant towards non-Muslims (see War Against Islam).

Muslims today employ Taqiyya and claim that Islam is still a Religion of Peace, but they know that through Naskh, the early non-violent verses in the Quran have been abrogated by the later violent verses, which apply to the Muslims of today.

Explaining the Trinity

Halal Meat