Category: Resource Notes

Next week on May 14 we will celebrate the 70th year of Israel as an independent nation.

The rebirth of Israel after almost two thousand years stands as an amazing fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Numerous scriptures refer to an end time role for the Nation of Israel. Even the date of Israel’s formation can be calculated from the scripture in Revelation 11: 1,2 which speaks of a “42 month”, or 1260 year, “Age of the Gentiles” to be measured from the time the Temple Mount was lost to unbelievers. From the time the Dome of the Rock was constructed on the Temple Mount, 687, until 1947, the year the U.N. voted to establish Israel, exactly 1260 years had passed.

Some thought that Jesus would return within a generation of the formation of Israel based on Luke 21:32, where Jesus said that this generation would not pass away before His prophecy of the end had happened. After the Second Coming did not happen on the 40th anniversary in 1988 some stretched the Biblical idea of a 40 year generation to 70 years. Now that 70 years has passed, it may be good to remember that a major theme of Luke 21 was the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, which began when the gates were shut against Roman general Titus on Passover of 70 AD, exactly 40 years on the Jewish calendar after Jesus was crucified.

Let us also remember that for the Advent of Christ the nation of Israel was reborn at the time of the Maccabees in 165 BC, 160 years before Jesus was born and 190 years before His ministry began. A similar period for the Second Coming would span the years 2108 to 2138. Better still it is best to remember that no one knows the day or hour of Christ’s return.

The survival of Israel against overwhelming forces is one of the greatest modern miracles of God. Israel has fought wars in 1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973, and has emerged victorious every time. She has fought many smaller engagements and has endured sustained terrorist activities. The Hand of God has been evident, as described by The Prophet Zechariah, who speaks of Jerusalem as an “Immovable Rock” and a “Cup that sends the surrounding peoples reeling” (Zechariah 12:2,3).

Today Israel is still surrounded by its enemies. Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS, Al Queda and Iran are sworn to Israel’s destruction. As of now Israel’s enemies are fighting among themselves, but the Islamists are still pushing for an end to their peace with Israel. For those who subscribe to a historical interpretation of Revelation, the situation is described in Rev 9:1-11, the fifth trumpet, as a 150 year war with the Arabs. We can expect not peace, but another 80 years of warfare in the Middle East.

The end will come after Israel is defeated by the Antichrist (Zechariah 14:2 and Rev 11:7). But Jerusalem will rebel against the Antichrist and he will gather the nations to fight at Armageddon (Megiddo, in Israel) (Rev 16:16). Then, when all seems lost, Christ will return to the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4 and Acts 1:11, 12) and destroy His enemies (Zechariah 14:3 and Revelation 19:19-21). Only then will peace come to the Middle East and the world (Zechariah 14:9 and Revelation 20:1-6).

Nevertheless, we must continue to pray for the Peace of Jerusalem. When they have peace so will we.

This year’s focus for the National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 3, is to be Christian Unity.

Jesus himself started the Christian Unity Prayer Movement when He prayed that the believers would be united in Him and united with each other so the world would know that God sent him (John 17:20-23).

Almost since the beginning of Christianity, believers have quarreled about Christian doctrine and church government. The first Jerusalem Council served as an example of a favorably resolved dispute (Acts 15). However, other disputes resulted in division and treatment of opponents as non-Christians. For example, some Protestants who believe in salvation only through faith will recite many doctrinal differences with Catholics, claiming those make them un-Christian although Catholics share their belief in salvation only through faith. The critics have forgotten the words of the apostle Paul, “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you” (Rom. 15:7).

Instead of myriad doctrinal tests, the apostle Paul tells how to know if we are in Christ:

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. —Romans 10:9–10

In other words, those who are justified by faith and say so are in Christ. If you are in Christ and those with whom you disagree are in Christ, you are united with them in Christ whether you admit it or not.

Although our unity comes through Christ, many denominations and doctrines create a great diversity within the body of Christ. Lutheran theologian Oscar Cullman said, “Unity in the church . . . is unity in diversity . . . recognizing others in all their variety as true Christians.” Pope Francis has said, “Unity brought by the Spirit can harmonize every diversity.” Unity in diversity recognizes the contributions of other streams of Christianity and blends them together in a symphony of harmony. It is a unity of the Spirit, not in doctrine or church government.

The church has come a long way since the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when being a Protestant in France or a Catholic in England could be a death sentence. The French Edict of Nantes, in effect for less than a century, and the English Act of Tolerance were important steps toward Paul’s admonition to accept brother Christians. The revivalists of the Great Awakening and the second Great Awakening first transcended their denominations, achieving a forerunner of unity in diversity. The Charismatic movement brought about spiritual unity, as Christians across many denominations shared in the same experiences and often worshiped together.

Even so, much remains to be done to bring together the body of Christ. Today one of the worst schisms in the American church has arisen between the social gospel and the evangelical gospel, and the accompanying politicization of faith. We must come together to care for the poor and needy while reaching the lost with the love of Jesus. We must also transcend politics, guiding both of our political parties to embrace Christian policies.

After the Pope sent a video of reconciliation to Kenneth Copeland in 2014 many national and international church leaders joined together in Christian unity. However, the urgent need to unite the body of Christ now must be communicated from the national leadership of movements and denominations to the local churches. The city fathers must become champions of unity, bringing the body of Christ together to impact their communities.

The prayer of Jesus in John 17 is not only about unity. It is for unity with a purpose,

“So that the world may believe” (John 17:21).

Let us join with Jesus in His prayer for unity on this National Day of Prayer.

The American people are beginning to awaken to the freedom they have given away. It is now clear the FBI, the Justice Department, the IRS and other Government agencies have been persecuting people for their political and religious views. Our courts have trampled on the religious definition of marriage and the so called “Progressives” want to use the power of government to force us to participate in gay marriage. This targeting of “incorrect” viewpoints is not “progressive” at all, as it contradicts our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and in fact regresses us back to the Spirit of the infamous Spanish Inquisition.

The Inquisition was the prototype of totalitarian systems designed to eliminate all belief contrary to the Politically Correct beliefs of the authorities. In the case of the Inquisition, the Politically Correct belief was a form of Roman Catholicism. Later emulators of the Inquisition Spirit tried to force compliance with the French Revolution, Nazism, and Communism. Today the Spirit of Inquisition is rising in places like Venezuela, Turkey, and Russia where Democracies are being converted into authoritarian Governments. And the same trend is beginning to appear in the U.S., where the Politically Correct “Progressive” beliefs in Big Government, sexual “freedom”, and secularism are targeting those who believe in limited Government and who hold Christian views.

The methods of the Inquisition Spirit have varied little down through History. First, the authorities gain control of the Law Enforcement mechanisms of society either directly, as in the case of the Communists, or indirectly, as in the Spanish Inquisition. Secondly, the power of Government is used to find those who may have opposing views. Those who come to the attention of the Government, whether “Guilty” or not, are then made into an example to terrorize the population into compliance. Often the victims of the Inquisition Spirit are not told why they were targeted and, like the Tea Party IRS applicants in 2012, simply left in legal limbo.

Sad to say, in the U.S., with its legacy of freedom, the Inquisition Spirit is growing strong. The current American manifestation began on college campuses, where “Progressives” have ended academic freedom and used the Inquisition Spirit to eliminate all politically incorrect speech, as was evident by riots when Conservatives are invited to be speakers. The media’s longstanding bias against Conservatives is spreading to businesses, as in the case of a man fired by Google for expressing his beliefs. Now people with religious convictions against abortion have been targeted by Obamacare, those who believe in traditional marriage have been forced to participate in gay marriage ceremonies, and schools were told they cannot protect the privacy of their female students. Persecution has come to America.

As intercessors, we must realize that we do not struggle against the individuals, but against the Inquisition Spirit itself. We must pray that the Lord will bless our enemies with the knowledge of the Lord and a desire for freedom. We pray that the Spirit of Inquisition will be turned back in our Government and business, and we pray for a revival of Christianity and freedom on the college campuses where the Inquisition Spirit began.

Above all we pray that America will remain a free country where we can worship God without Government persecution.

This week on April 22, known as Earth Day, we will be once again subjected to claims that global warming will bring catastrophic changes. It is time that we exposed these claims to the sunlight to find out the truth about climate change.

Let’s start with the sun itself, which is the generator of about 500 degrees of “Global Warming”. The sun is a variable star and its increases in energy output correspond to increases in the number of magnetic disturbances called sunspots. During the last half of the 20th century the number of sunspots and sun’s energy output were at their highest levels in 300 years. The corresponding temperature increases brought global temperatures up to levels last seen during the Medieval Warming Period, about 1,000 years ago.

At the beginning of 2017 astronomers issued a warning that solar energy output was decreasing and that we could be facing another “Maunder Minimum.” During the “Maunder Minimum”, from 1645 to 1715, there were very few sunspots and the earth suffered through one of the coldest periods of the global cooling episode from 1315 to 1850 known as the Little Ice Age. The temperature drop during the Maunder Minimum led to shorter growing seasons and freezing of the Thames River and Boston Harbor. At the beginning of the Little Ice Age in 1315, cooler temperatures brought 7 years of flooding and famine as the cooler atmosphere lost water vapor. Global cooling, not global warming, may be the real threat.

While annual weather is subject to large variations, the earthy weather of 2017 seems to have changed following the change in “Solar Weather” (i.e. sunspots). The average global surface temperature dropped almost one degree Fahrenheit in 2017 according to the U.K. Meteorological Department. We have seen record rainfalls, a sign of global cooling, from storms like Harvey, which dumped 4 feet of rain in Southeast Texas, and record flooding in California, France and other places. Record cold snaps hit Singapore, South East Asia, China, and the U.S., with blizzards still occurring in the Great Plains. Artic Sea ice coverage was up 8 percent in 2017 and there was in rise no sea level in 2017.

Atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, blamed for the global warming probably caused by the sun, are growing at a lower rate since 2002. There is also a very beneficial effect of increased a carbon dioxide on plant growth according to an article the November 12th 2016 Economist Magazine. Since 1982 new green growth, primarily in the far north, has covered an area twice the size of the U.S. Higher levels of carbon dioxide also cause plants to grow up to 40% faster, indicating that the campaign to reduce carbon dioxide could lower food production.

Only God knows how the climate will change, whether by cooling or warming, in the years ahead. Yet in the face of our uncertainty and ignorance of the climate, global warming has almost become a religion for some. And those who stray from climate orthodoxy are turned over to the inquisition-like attacks of the true believers. We need the sunlight to shine on the question of climate change so we can learn the unvarnished truth.

Let us pray that the policies of the climate extremists, who would impoverish millions in the developed world and lock billions into poverty in the underdeveloped world, will be tempered by humility and compassion for the poor. At the same time we pray that God will protect us from the authoritarian government advocates and crony capitalists who use climate change to increase their power and wealth.

As people of prayer we know the Master of the Climate (Psalms 135:7). Let us humble ourselves and seek His face, and ask that He relent from sending climate calamity (Joel 2:13), whether by warming or cooling.

And let us remember on Earth Day that “The Earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1)

The spring 2018 issue of Biblical Archeology Review announced the retirement of its founder Hershel Shanks after 43 years of service.
Mr. Shanks is an example of the impact a dedicated layman can make on the scientific, historic, and religious world. Trained as a Harvard lawyer, he fell in love with Biblical Archeology on a Sabbatical to Jerusalem in 1973. It was Shanks who led the crusade to get the Dead Sea scrolls released by the scholars who had kept them under wraps for 50 years. He also covered the major archeological controversies where the religious and political fault lines of the Holy Land are played out.
One of the major fault lines comes between the religious and the secular world views of scholars. The secular scholars are constantly attacking the work of earlier Christian and Jewish archaeologists, with a “Minimalist” school which argues that such Biblical figures as David are mythological. Another line of attack comes from Palestinians who, for political reasons, want to deny Jewish history and try to prevent archaeologists from digging up the Jewish past. There is also an occasional conflict between Jewish and Christian acceptance of findings.

While the BAR, as it is affectionately known, is a secular, not religious, publication, they do try to fairly present the issues. They gleefully reported an artifact which substantiated the existence of the “House of David”, to the chagrin of the Minimalists. In their January/February 2014 issue, they published an article which proves that the site of David’s palace in Jerusalem has been found. Some years back the BAR demolished Palestinian political arguments by proving that the very name of Palestine was derived from the Greek word for “wrestler”, which translates into the national Hebrew name of “Israel” (He wrestles with God). In their January/February 2016 issue they exposed a New York Times article which falsely cast doubt on the historicity of the Jewish temples, a favorite technique of Palestinian propaganda. In the May/ June 2017 issue, eminent archeologist William G. Dever exposed the fallacies of the “Minimalist” view in his article entitled “Whom Do You Believe – the Bible or Archeology.”

Our prayer is that secular, political, and religious attacks on Biblical archaeology will not be allowed to obscure the truth of God’s word. We thank Hershel Shanks for his leadership and pray that BAR and Biblical archaeologists will continue fearlessly stand up to those who want to rewrite history to suit their agendas.

And we thank the Lord that He has left us plenty of evidence to confirm the veracity of the Bible as the solid rock on which our faith can rely.

As Jesus hung on the cross, struggling painfully for each breath, He uttered seven short, powerful statements showing who He was and what was happening, and encouraging those who would follow Him. It was His last sermon.

1. “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
Jesus is not only practicing the forgiveness He preached (Matthew 5:44), He is asserting His divinity as God who forgives sin (Psalm 103:3). Beyond that, however, He is announcing the beginning of the New Covenant under which our sins will be forgiven (Jerimiah 31:33, 34).

2. “I tell you the Truth, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43)
Jesus’ promise of life to the criminal on the cross tells us that He has authority over Heaven (Psalm 115:16), He will conquer death (Psalm 16:10), and through Him we also will live (John 14:19). He is the priest of the New Covenant because of His indestructible life (Hebrews 7: 16, 17).

3. “Dear woman, here is your Son… here is your mother” (John 19:26, 27)
Jesus took time to entrust His mother into the care of the beloved Disciple John, fulfilling the Scripture at Psalm 69:8 that He was estranged from His brothers and showing us that God expects us to honor our family (Mark 7:10-13). We are also reminded that Jesus was the “Seed of Woman”, the Savior born to a virgin promised in Genesis 3:15.

4. “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (Mathew 27:46)
Many of those who heard Jesus, and many commentators since have failed to understand that Jesus is quoting the Hebrew title of the 22nd Psalm. Jesus sends us to Psalm 22 to show us that 1000 years earlier it was prophesied that Jesus would be mocked (Psalm 22:6-8) and even prophesying the very words of His mockers (Mathew 27:41-43). In one sense, He was mocking His mockers. The crucifixion is also described, as His hands and feet were pierced (Psalm 22:16), His clothes were divided by casting lots (Psalm 22:14), and it was difficult to speak (Psalm 22:15).

Yet Psalm 22 is not a picture of forsakenness or despair, but is instead a declaration of victory. God did not despise the suffering of Jesus (Psalm 22:24). Rather, God used it to purchase eternal life (Psalm 22:26) and promised that all nations will come to Jesus (Psalm 22: 27, 28). Jesus is telling us that He knew the price and gladly paid it.

5. “I am thirsty” (John 19:28)
This is another fulfillment of prophecy (Psalm 69:28), when the suffering Savior is given vinegar for His thirst. Yet in the midst of His pain and distress, Jesus used Psalm 69 to tell us that those who seek God will live (Psalm 69:12), and the God does not despise the suffering of His people (Psalm 69:33). There is also the promise that His people will rebuild Judah (Psalm 69:35, 36), an apparent reference to His promise to return.

6. “It is finished” (John 19:30)
To fully understand this statement, we believe that we need to look to the prophet Daniel. He foretold the coming of the Anointed One who would come 483 years (69×7) after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem (458 B.C.), or 26 A.D., and then be “cut off” in the midst of the next 7 years (Daniel 9:25, 26). Jesus is telling us that He has fulfilled Daniel’s prophecy to finish transgression, put an end to Sin, atone for wickedness, bring eternal righteousness, seal up prophecy, and anoint the Holy One (Daniel 9:24). This is the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

7. “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 43:46)
The last words of Jesus on the cross are taken from Psalm 31. He is telling us that we can take refuge in God (Psalm 31:1-4) and that we can trust God with our life (Psalm 31:15). Our times are in His hands (Psalm 31:19-22) and He preserves the faithful (Psalm 31:23, 24).

With His last sermon Jesus told us what He was doing even as He was doing it.

Can you join Him in saying “Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit?”

This week on March 23rd will mark the 2022nd anniversary of the birth of Jesus.

That’s right. We believe that we can put together the prophecies, historical data, astronomical data, and scripture to pinpoint the birth of Jesus to March 23, 5 BC.

We know from Luke 3:23 that Jesus was about 30 when He began His ministry. The prophet Daniels tells us the year of Christ’s anointing would come 69 7’s, or 483 years, after the decree which sent Ezra to Jerusalem in 458 BC. (Daniel 9:25) Doing the math, and remembering that there is no year “0”, Daniel’s prophecy says Jesus would begin His ministry in 26 A.D. This year is backed up by two dates from Scripture. John the Baptist began his ministry in the 15th year of Tiberius, 25 AD, (Luke 3:1) and Jesus cleared the Temple the first time 46 years after Herod began renovating it (John 2:20) in 20 BC (According to Josephus), or 27 AD. Thus, many Bible scholars believe that 26 AD is the year Jesus began his ministry. If He was 30 years old, remembering again that there is no year “0”, He would have been born in 5 BC.

Jesus would have been born either in the Spring or Fall of the year according to the Scripture surrounding the birth of John the Baptist. John’s father, Zechariah was a member of the priestly order of Abijah (Luke 1:5) which, according to Rabbinical sources, ministered at the Temple in May and November. The Angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah in the Temple, and Zechariah would have gone home and probably conceived John the Baptist in June or December, who would have been born 9 months later in March or September. We know from Scripture that John the Baptist was six months older than Jesus (Luke 1:26) so Jesus would have been born in September or March of 5 BC.

To find the exact time of year we look to Astronomy and Archaeology. We know that there was a star which appeared when Jesus was born and that Magi from the East, possibly following the prophetic teachings of Daniel the Magi (Daniel 2:48), came looking for Him (Mathew 2:1,2). The Chinese also saw the Star, identifying it as a Nova which appeared in the Spring of 5 BC and burned for 70 days. Dating the star of Bethlehem to the spring of BC means that John the Baptist was conceived in December of 7 BC, Jesus was conceived in June of 6 BC, John the Baptist was born in September of 6 BC, and Jesus was born in March of 5 BC.

King Herod, the tyrannical ruler of Judea, had interviewed the Magi when they arrived in Jerusalem. According to our research, described in The Stars of His Coming, (get free download at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qa0m17n2q1f6gvv/AAAil7jgo8QIJHAmaHZEdbtya?dl=0 ) there were signs in the Sun, Moon, and Stars surrounding the birth of Jesus beginning with Zechariah in 7 BC. The Magi would have testified to the same date, and for that reason Herod ordered all of the Children under 2 years old in Bethlehem to be killed. Josephus tells us that there was a Lunar Eclipse on Passover and that Herold died later that year. This lunar Eclipse, or Blood Moon, occurred on March 23, 5 BC. The Blood Moon occurred in the Spring of 5 BC, concurrent with the Star of Bethlehem, but one additional piece of evidence is needed to suggest that this is the day Jesus was born.

We find it in Revelation 12:1, 2, which describes a sign in the Heavens, a woman clothed in the Sun with the Moon at her feet, at the moment of Christ’s birth. The woman clothed in the Sun is the Zodiacal constellation Virgo (The Virgin), which promises that God will send a savior through Virgin birth. Astronomical research shows that the Blood Moon of March 23, 5 BC occurred while the Moon was in the feet of Virgo. Thus, Revelation 12:1, 2 presents us with a picture of the night sky when Jesus was born, and that night was March 23, 5 BC.

Of course we know that the whole world will continue to celebrate the birthday of Jesus on December 25. In its way, it is fitting to celebrate the advent on the old Roman winter solstice, when it all began with the conception of John the Baptist around the winter solstice of 7 BC and signs in the Sun, Moon, and Stars begin to appear.

Even so, it is nice to know His real birthday so we in His family can honor Him on His actual birthday.

Happy Birthday Jesus!