FAITH

FAITH

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Luke 18:8b (NIV) When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?

Believing The Truth

Faith is believing in what is true. Faith has two elements: 1) being convinced of the truth, being certain of reality, having evidence of unseen things, and 2) believing, hoping in, embracing, seizing the truth. Heb 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Heb 11:1  Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Heb 11:1  Faith... makes us certain of realities we do not see.
Heb 11:1  Now faith means that we are confident of what we hope for, convinced of what we do not see.
Heb 11:1 Now faith is a well-grounded assurance of that for which we hope, and a conviction of the reality of things which we do not see.

While faith requires being convinced that what we believe in is true, just knowing the truth is only half of faith. God's word must be hoped for, embraced, seized! Luke 17:5  The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you."

Believing is not exactly the same as faith. For belief to be faith, it must light on what is certainly true. Yet Scripture gives examples of situations where belief alone is required, even commanded. There's no time for evidence collection, to wait, to hear, for certainty. Just believe. Like Peter walking on the water--don't think, act! God even requires us to believe in him when, temporarily, the evidence looks bad: to trust. [We will study belief and trust separately.] God requires belief and trust in moments of human weakness, but faith is what makes us strong. Faith is the state of being convinced about what we hope for.

How To Get More Faith

Contrary to popular teaching, faith is not mental delusion, presumption or self-deception, but a work of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Rom 10:17  Faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
Rom 10:17  Faith, you see, can only come from hearing the message, and the message is the word of Christ.
Rom 10:17  And this proves that faith comes from a Message heard, and that the Message comes through having been spoken by Christ.

New-Age Faith

Eze 13:6  ... they expect their words to be fulfilled.

C.S. Lewis: "We must not encourage in ourselves or others any tendency to work up a subjective state which, if we succeeded, we should describe as "faith", with the idea that this will somehow insure the granting of our prayer.... The state of mind which desperate desire working on a strong imagination can manufacture is not faith in the Christian sense. It is a feat of psychological gymnastics."

Websters: CREDULITY \ CREDULOUS    1) Naive, not critical, believing on slight or uncertain evidence. 2) A tendency to believe too readily, especially with little or no proof.

Belief detached from the truth is not faith. Believing in what is not from God, not true, believing in "the word of your own imagination", or even the "word of Satan", is deception pure and simple. Calling this deception "faith" does not make it so.

A.W. Tozer: "I do not recall another period when "faith" was as popular as it is today. If only we believe hard enough we'll make it somehow. So goes the popular chant. What you believe is not important. Only believe... What is overlooked in all this is that faith is good only when it engages truth; when it is made to rest upon falsehood it can and often does lead to eternal tragedy. For it is not enough that we believe; we must believe the right thing about the right One. 2 Thes 2:10b-11  They perish because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.

"It is no sin to doubt some things... it may be fatal to believe everything. Faith never means gullibility. Credulity never honors God. The healthy soul, like the healthy blood system, has it's proper proportion of white and red blood cells. The red corpuscles are like faith: they carry the life giving oxygen to every part of the body. The white cells are like discernment: they pounce upon dead and toxic matter and carry it out to the drain. In the healthy heart there must be provision for keeping dead and poisonous matter out of the life stream. This the credulous person never suspects. He is all for "faith".

The Way Of Faith For Thomas... And Us

Rom 14:5b  Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
Mat 24:4-5  Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many."
Mark 13:5-6  "Be very careful that no one deceives you. Many are going to come in my name and say, 'I am he', and will lead many astray.
Luke 21:8  He said, "Take care that you are not misled. For many will come claiming my name and saying 'I am he'."
John 20:25-28  When the other disciples told him [Thomas] that they had seen the Lord, he declared, "... I will not believe it." A week later... Jesus... said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
John 20:31  These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Believing The Gospel Truth

Col 1:5b-6 ... that hope that first became yours when you heard the message of truth. This is the Gospel itself, which has reached you as it spreads out all over the world. Wherever that gospel goes, it produces Christian character, and develops it, as it has done in your own case from the time you first heard and realized the truth of God's grace.
Col 1:23  This reconciliation assumes that you maintain a firm position in the faith, and do not allow yourselves to be shifted away from the hope of the gospel, which you have heard....

C.S. Lewis: "The battle is between faith and reason on one side and emotions and imagination on the other.... Supposing a man's reason once decides that weight of evidence is for Christianity. I can tell that man what is going to happen to him in the next few weeks. There will come a moment when there is bad news, or he is in trouble, or is living among a lot of other people who do not believe it, and all at once his emotions will rise up and carry out a sort of blitz on his belief. Or else there will come a moment when he wants a woman, or wants to tell a lie, or feels very pleased with himself, or sees a chance of making a little money in some way that is not perfectly fair: some moment, in fact, at which it would be very convenient if Christianity were not true.

"Now faith... is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.... Make sure that, if you have once accepted Christianity, then some of its main doctrines shall be deliberately held before your mind for some time every day. That is why daily prayers and religious reading and churchgoing are necessary parts of the Christian life....

"If you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have been reasoned out of it by honest argument? Do not most people simply drift away?" Heb 2:1-3  We ought, therefore, to pay the greatest attention to the truth that we have heard and not allow ourselves to drift away from it. For if the message given through angels proved authentic, so that defiance of it and disobedience to it received appropriate retribution, how shall we escape if we refuse to pay proper attention to that greater salvation which is offered us? For this salvation came first through the words of the Lord himself.
2 Tim 2:15-17  For yourself, concentrate on winning God's approval, on being a workman with nothing to be ashamed of, and who knows how to use the word of truth to the best advantage. But steer clear of these unchristian babblings, which in practice lead further and further away from Christian living. For their teachings are as dangerous as blood-poisoning to the body, and spread like sepsis from a wound. Hymenaeus and Philetus are responsible for this sort of thing, and they are palpable traitors to the truth...
2 Tim 1:12b-14  I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you, guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit that lives in us.

Abraham, an Example of Faith

Rom 4:18-21 Abraham, when hope was dead within him, went on hoping in faith, believing that he would become "the father of many nations". He relied on the word of God which definitely referred to "thy seed". With undaunted faith he looked at the facts--his own impotence (he was practically a hundred years old at the time) and his wife Sarah's apparent barrenness. Yet he refused to allow any distrust of a definite pronouncement of God to make him waver. He drew strength from his faith, and, while giving the glory to God, remained absolutely convinced that God was able to implement his own promise.
Rom 4:22-25  This was the "faith" which was counted unto him for righteousness. Now this counting of faith for righteousness was not recorded simply for Abraham's credit, but as a divine principle which should apply to us as well. Faith is to be reckoned as righteousness to us also, who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered to death for our sins and raised again to secure our justification.

Faith To Crucify The Flesh

A.W. Tozer: "The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. And we must not select a few favorite passages to the exclusion of others. Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian.

"True faith requires that we believe everything God has said about Himself, but also that we believe everything he has said about US. Until we believe that we are really as bad as God says we are, we can never believe that He will do for us what He says He will do. Right here is where popular religion breaks down." Luke 9:23-24  Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it."
John 11:25-26  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
Gal 5:24  You cannot belong to Christ Jesus unless you crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires.

As God calls each Christian to "die to self" and promises "new life", the flesh protests: "What if it doesn't work? What if I'm left empty-handed? What if God isn't faithful?" But we have the gripping example of Jesus's faith--when He let the life drain out of Him on the cross--with the attitude, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" And about that much easier thing His Spirit is convicting you to give up now, this same Jesus says from the cross: "Follow me!" Heb 12:1-3  Surrounded as we are by these serried ranks of witnesses, let us strip off everything that hinders us, as well as the sin that dogs our feet, and let us run the race that we have to run with patience, our eyes fixed on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith. For he himself endured a cross and thought nothing of its shame because of the joy he knew would follow his suffering; and he is now seated at the right hand of God's throne. Think constantly of his enduring all that sinful men could say against him and you will not lose your purpose or your courage.

A Life Of Faith

Heb 11:6  Without faith it is impossible to please God....
Heb 11:24-27  By faith... Moses... refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He preferred sharing the burden of God's people to enjoying the temporary advantages of sin. He considered the "reproach of Christ" more precious than all the wealth of Egypt, for he looked steadily at the ultimate reward. By faith he left Egypt; he defied the king's anger with the strength that comes from obedience to the invisible king.
Heb 10:32,35-39  ... in the face of suffering... do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
2 Cor 4:8-10 We are hard-pressed on all sides, but never in despair. We are persecuted, but are never deserted; we may be knocked down but we are never knocked out! Everyday we experience something of the death of Jesus, so that we may also show the power of the life of Jesus in these bodies of ours. Yes, we who are living are always being exposed to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be plainly seen in our mortal lives.
2 Cor 4:16-18  This is the reason we never lose heart. The outward man does indeed suffer wear and tear, but every day the inward man receives fresh strength. These little troubles (which are really so transitory) are winning for us a permanent, glorious and solid reward out of all proportion to our pain. For we are looking all the time not at the visible things but at the invisible. The visible things are transitory: it is the invisible things that are really permanent.
1 Pet 1:6-7  This means tremendous joy to you, even though at present you may be temporarily harassed by all kinds of trials. This is no accident--it happens to prove your faith, which is infinitely more valuable than gold, and gold, as you know, even though it is ultimately perishable, must be purified by fire.
Eph 6:16  Above all be sure you take faith as your shield, for it can quench every burning missile the enemy hurls at you.
Heb 11:1  Faith means that we have full confidence in the things we hope for, it means being certain of things we cannot see.
Rom 4:16  The whole thing, then, is a matter of faith on man's part and generosity on God's. He gives the security of his own promise to all men....
Job 13:15  Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him....
Job 19:25  I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes--I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

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Letting Go: Forgiveness and Prayer

As humans, we get hurt, angry, and even sometimes can't let go of it. Human nature and sinful nature drives us to seek anger, arguments, and retribution. This is being worldly ad foolish in God's sight, as mentioned in 1 Cor 3:19.  We displease our Father when we lash out as children and those who are worldly. The only way to overcome these desires and behaviors is by continualy seeking him and walking with him in the light of his Word.

Every Word of God is flawless (Prov 30:5). We are required to forgive, as Christians, many times over. Matt 6:14 says, "If you forgive men when they sin against you, then will your Father also forgive you."  That is powerful. We know that we cannot be forgiven if we do not forgive others. Think about that and then pray- prayer is the key. Only when we humble ourselves in prayer and prayer of the Word, can we change our reaction to those who anger us and sin against us.

Prayer at it's humble and most basic, is asking. Like the prayer of a child- running to their Father for help, we rediscover how to run to our Father. It does not need to be perplex, difficult. Our thirst should be deep and our eagerness enormous, in seeking a prayer life with God. What good news it truly is that our inadequacy is the key to swinging the door wide open to His adaquacy! Only Jesus could have thought of a plan like that! I am reminded of Ps 6:9, "The Lord accepts my prayer." Amen for that, right?

Remember this though: Praying with self-will and a demanding spirit blocks prayer. God absolutely refuses to violate our free will. So, unless self- will is voluntarily given up, even God cannot be moved to answer prayer.
Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane is a pattern set for us. " Dear Father...Please let me not drink this cup. Yet it is not what I want but what You want." (Luke 22:42).  Even when Christ was looking at the painful death by crucifixion, He never forgot the presence and power of God.

So, , we must seek God's will before praying over his Word and making requests- seek to be Christ like. We must also obey the Word and follow it. Finally we must love one another.
"Let my prayer come before you, listen to my cry, O Lord." Ps 88:2

Why does God say 'no' to our prayers?

Some Christian's prayer life is automatic. Most often because they have suffered and do not believe God cares or heard their prayers.
"And being in agony, Jesus prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground." (Luke 22:44)
Feeling as though God does not hear our prayers, challenges our faith. Looking back, throughout my life, stories from others come to mind. Some of these people plead with God through tears. When God did not answer the way they thought He should, several  lost faith. I will share my story.
I was devestated and nearly destroyed by the loss of my eight year old son. I was even traumatized and understandably so. That reality was terrifying and I lost faith for several years.
During his illness, Jake's spirit and faith never waivered. Many people came to know Christ through his life and example of faith. His job here was finished and he claimed the greatest of rewards: eternity in Heaven. During his illness, I did not have many conversation with my husband concerning this subject, even in Jake's final hours. The sacred had been ripped from our lives very quickly.
Having a child with Cerebral Palsy was difficult but so rewarding. A blessing. Eight years was too little to have him here.
So, why does God sometimes say no to our prayers? I don't have the answer. No one does. But what we do have is the knowledge that when we coninually pray, we may not understand the 'why', It is changed to 'Be with me, Lord'. He is there to hold us through the difficult time when He does not answer as we like.
William T. Sleeper wrote:

Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,

Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come.

Into to the joy and light of Thy throne,

 Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of the depths of ruin untold,

Into the peace of Thy sheltering fold,

Ever Thy glorious face to behold,

Jesus, I come to Thee.

Remember our Savior was fully man, and suffered as a man would, though he was sinless. even when Jesus knew God would not deliver Him, He still knew God was with Him.

Great is Thy faithfullness, Lord!

Continuing Revelations Part 2

Religious and political setting of Revelation:


Within the confines of the ancient Roman Empire, Christianity began in an era of relative peace. The emperors of the time generally followed a policy of liberal religious toleration. This enabled early Christians to evangelize far and wide, both throughout and beyond the empire.

But the situation gradually changed. The Romans introduced and enforced emperor worship in the empire. Suddenly Christians found themselves in an intolerable situation. Jesus, not the emperor, was their ultimate master. They understood that the Scriptures prohibited the worship of anything or anyone besides the true God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Soon incredible pressures were brought to bear on them to participate in the holidays, games and ceremonies honoring the reigning emperor as a god.

Their refusal to participate in emperor worship put them into direct conflict with the authorities at all levels of the Roman hierarchy. By the time Revelation was written, some Christians had already been executed because of their beliefs. Christians everywhere, especially in Asia Minor, encountered wide-ranging ridicule and persecution.
Adding to Christians' plight, Roman officials, after Jerusalem's destruction in A.D. 70, ceased to view Christians as just another sect of the Jews. The religious tolerance Rome had extended to them disappeared.
Christians were now often regarded as a subversive and potentially dangerous religious group. Rome saw their teachings of a coming kingdom and a powerful new king as a threat to the stability of the empire. By this time Emperor Nero had already falsely branded Christians as the perpetrators of the great fire in Rome. Their future looked grim.

The apostle John, imprisoned on the island of Patmos near the coast of Asia Minor during a later wave of persecution near the end of the first century, explained that he also was suffering persecution, that he was their "companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 1:9). John fully understood the stress they endured. Yet he reminded them of their goal—the Kingdom of God. He emphasized the patience and faith they must exercise to endure opposition and abuse until the return of Jesus the Messiah to permanently deliver His servants from persecution and grant them salvation.

This is the context in which Jesus revealed to John when and how this satanic persecution, already responsible for the murder of loyal and faithful servants, would be permanently stopped. He pointed out that the roots of the problem go back to the beginning of humankind—to the birthplace of this age of man so filled with human sin and evil.


The archdeceiver:

In the Garden of Eden man first encountered "that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world" (Revelation 12:9; Genesis 3:1). That evil being's deception has been so successful that most people scoff at the idea that a devil even exists. But the writers of the Holy Scriptures regarded his existence and power as an unquestionable reality. They reveal him as the unseen driving influence behind evil and suffering. 
The book of Revelation sums up the impact the devil has, not just on Christians but on all mankind, from the time of John until the return of Christ. It reveals that the ancient conflict between the forces of good and evil will be resolved.
As I said earlier, John told early Christians that the book of Revelation includes both "the things which are, and the things which will take place after this" (Revelation 1:19). Its prophetic fulfillments began in the days of the apostles and extend to our day and beyond.

(More to come on Revelations and The Day of The Lord in Prophesy..thanks for being patient, Mandy)

The Holy Spirit As Our Friend

I'm sure there's a reason God placed the verse, Romans 8:14, on my heart today. It is a promise that reads, " For as many are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God."
Many people think of the Holy Spirit as an ethereal influence- something ghostly, perhaps, that is there to produce a warm and loving feeling within us. That is far from true. The Helper is no influence, He is a person; one of the three Persons of the Godhead; possessing all the attributes of God. He has a mind, a will,and knowledge.
You can find Biblical backing for all these attributes: He speaks, He Prays, He teaches, He commands, He forbids.
The Holy Spirit is a friend we can come to know and love, deliberately submerging himself in Jesus,yet works at being inconspicuous. What a loveable characteristic! His personality is transparent, allowing Jesus' love to shine through.
It is the Spirit's work to reveal the Lords personality to us; to place us in awe and lead us; to bring Jesus and His word to remembrance.
My challenge then would be to invite Him. Pray for His presence; be still and wait- sadly these two words aren't in many people's vocabulary. God has been very patient with us and we owe him no less, espescially if the reward we reap is eternal.

En Espanol:
Estoy seguro de que hay una razon Dios puso el versículo, Romanos 8:14, en mi corazon hoy. Es una promesa que dice: "Porque todos los que son guiados por el Espíritu de Dios, estos son hijos de Dios." Mucha gente piensa en el Espíritu Santo como una influencia etérea, algo fantasmal, tal vez, que esta allí para producir un calentamiento y sentimiento de amor dentro de nosotros. Eso esta lejos de ser verdad. El ayudante no es influencia, es una persona, una de las tres Personas de la Divinidad; posee todos los atributos de Dios. Tiene una mente, una voluntad, y el conocimiento. Usted puede encontrar el apoyo bíblico para todos estos atributos: El habla, reza, que enseña, el ordena, el prohíbe. El Espíritu Santo es un amigo que podemos llegar a conocer y amar, deliberadamente se sumerge en Jesús, pero trabaja en discreto ser. Lo que una característica adorable! Su personalidad es transparente, permitiendo que "el amor de Jesus brille a traves. Es el Espíritu de trabajo para revelar la personalidad Lores para nosotros, para colocarnos en el temor y nos conducen, a traer a Jesús y su palabra a la memoria. Mi reto sería entonces invitar a el. Ora por su presencia; estar quietos y esperar con tristeza, estas dos palabras no estan en el vocabulario de muchas personas. Dios ha sido muy paciente con nosotros y le debo nada menos, espescially si la recompensa que cosechamos es eterno!

What do you think Heaven is like?

"Heaven is a place, just as much a place as is New York or Chicago." Charles Ferguson Ball said.

Everyone wants to know about heaven and most people want to go there. Nearly 80% of all Americans believe there is a place called heaven. That's encouraging because it tells me that even in this skeptical age there is something deep inside the human heart that cries out, "There's got to be something more. Something more than the pain and suffering of this life. Something more than 70 or 80 years on planet earth. Something more than being born, living, dying, and then being buried in the ground. Sometimes we talk about a "God-shaped vacuum" inside the human heart. I believe there is also a "heaven-shaped vacuum," a sense that we were made for something more than this life. We were made to live forever somewhere. In a real sense we were made for heaven.
If you are walking with Christ and experiencing the Holy Spirit, you more than likely believe this and know this.

Not only do most Americans believe in heaven, most people expect to go there when they die. If you took to the streets of Chicago and asked, "Do you think you will go to heaven when you die?" the vast majority of people would answer, "I hope so," or "I think so," or perhaps "I think I've got a good chance. Not very many people would say they aren't going to heaven. Perhaps one modest point is in order. Whenever you talk about living forever somewhere, it would help to know for sure where you are going. After all, if you're wrong about heaven, you're going to be wrong for a long, long time.
The only things we can know for certain about heaven are the things revealed in the Bible. Everything else is just speculation and hearsay. The Bible tells us everything we need to know and I believe it also tells us everything we can know for certain about heaven.

Online Bible Study – New Testament and Old Testament Studies, GuidesTopical StudiesWhat Is Heaven Like?


What Is Heaven Like?

Dr. Ray PritchardShare this [Content provided by Keep Believing Ministries.]



"Heaven is a place, just as much a place as is New York or Chicago." Charles Ferguson Ball



Everyone wants to know about heaven and everyone wants to go there. Recent polls suggest that nearly 80% of all Americans believe there is a place called heaven. I find that statistic encouraging because it tells me that even in this skeptical age there is something deep inside the human heart that cries out, "There's got to be something more. Something more than the pain and suffering of this life. Something more than 70 or 80 years on planet earth. Something more than being born, living, dying, and then being buried in the ground. Sometimes we talk about a "God-shaped vacuum" inside the human heart. I believe there is also a "heaven-shaped vacuum," a sense that we were made for something more than this life. We were made to live forever somewhere. In a real sense we were made for heaven.



There is another fascinating statistic I should mention. Not only do most Americans believe in heaven, most people expect to go there when they die. If you took a microphone to the streets of Chicago and asked, "Do you think you will go to heaven when you die?" the vast majority of people would answer, "I hope so," or "I think so," or perhaps "I think I've got a good chance. Not very many people would say they aren't going to heaven. Perhaps one modest point is in order. Whenever you talk about living forever somewhere, it would help to know for sure where you are going. After all, if you're wrong about heaven, you're going to be wrong for a long, long time.



With that as background, I turn now to consider some of the most frequently-asked questions about heaven. But before I jump in, I should make one preliminary point. The only things we can know for certain about heaven are the things revealed in the Bible. Everything else is just speculation and hearsay. The Bible tells us everything we need to know and I believe it also tells us everything we can know for certain about heaven.



I. Where is heaven?



There are three things I can tell you in answer to this questionof where Heaven is. The most important fact is that heaven is a real place. Listen to the words of Jesus on the night before he was crucified:
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am (John 14:1-3).
Twice in three verses Jesus calls heaven a place. He means that heaven ("my Father's house") is a real place, as real as New York, London or Chicago. The place called heaven is just as real as the place you call home. It's a real place filled with real people, which is why the Bible sometimes compares heaven to a mansion with many rooms (John 14:1-3) and sometimes to an enormous city teeming with people (Revelation 21-22).

The Bible also tells us that heaven is the dwelling place of God. His throne is there, the angels are there, and the Lord Jesus Christ is in heaven. Philippians 3:20 says very plainly that "our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ." That's why Jesus told the thief on the Cross, "Today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43).
Third (and this is fascinating), the Bible hints that heaven is not as far away as we might think. Because heaven is a real place, we sometimes think it must be outside our present universe - which would mean that it is billions and billions of light years away. However, it's very clear that the early Christians understood that they would pass immediately from this life into the presence of Christ in heaven. How can that be possible if heaven is beyond the farthest galaxy? Hebrews 12:22-24 tells us something amazing about what the gospel has done for us:
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
In comparing Mt. Sinai with Mt. Zion. Under the old covenant no one could come near God except under very strict conditions. That's why the mountain shook with thunder and lightning. [ three times the writer of Hebrews uses a Greek word that means "to come near" or "to approach closely.] But now in Christ we have been brought near to heavenly realities. Think of what he is saying:


We're not that far from heaven.

We're not that far from the angels.

We're not that far from our loved ones in heaven.

We're not that far from God.

We're not that far from Jesus himself.

Heaven is a real place, it's where Jesus is right now, and it's not far away from us...

Understanding Revelation: Part 1

Human efforts at predicting the future are notoriously inaccurate. Self-proclaimed  prophets have been proven wrong time and time again. But there is a sure way to know what the future holds. It's written in advance in the pages of the Bible.


The book of Revelation—the last book in the Bible—is, to many people, its most confusing. They find it is both puzzling and mysterious. But it doesn't have to be. The book's very name means 'a revealing'—to unveil, to open to understanding what otherwise could not be comprehended. A way to gain understanding. Its first verse tells us it was written to reveal "things which must shortly take place."
 
Revelation contains many fundamental keys to that understanding, and the book of Daniel contains keys that help us understand the book of Revelation.


Notice Daniel's explanation of one of his visions: "Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, 'My lord, what shall be the end of these things?' And he said, 'Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end." (Daniel 12:8-9)
Contrast this with God's purpose for the book of Revelation. God the Father gave the prophecies contained in the book of Revelation to His Son, Jesus Christ. He passed it to Christ in the form of a scroll sealed with seven seals (Revelation 5:1). But as John—who wrote the book under God's inspiration—tells us in his concluding chapter, an angel specifically commanded him, "Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book …" (Revelation 22:10).

John explains that God the Father gave most of the book of Revelation to Christ in the form of a scroll sealed with seven seals.
"And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne [God the Father] a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, 'Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?' And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it … But one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals'" (Revelation 5:1-5).
Here is the key to understanding the book. Jesus alone can unlock the meaning of its symbols, visions and descriptions. The first verse of this book announces that it is "the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him" (Revelation 1:1). Christ reveals its meaning. He unlocks its seals. But how does He do it?
Two factors are crucial. First, the keys to unlocking the content of seven seals must be explained by Jesus Himself in His own words.

Second, the Bible tells us that "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God" (2 Timothy 3:16). Therefore we can expect clarification of some symbols in the book of Revelation in other parts of God's inspired Word.
By relying on the Bible's own consistent interpretations of its symbols and figurative language, we can have confidence that our understanding is based on God's inspired Word rather than on our own opinions (2 Peter 1:20). After all, revealed knowledge is what the book of Revelation is all about.

Remember, God told Daniel that some of the things revealed to him in visions were sealed, hidden until the time of the end. But then He added: "Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand" (Daniel 12:10). At the time of the end God intends that those He calls "the wise" will understand these prophecies.

So who are the wise in God's sight?


Those who scorn the concept that the Bible is divinely inspired, choose to see its symbols as contradictory and confusing. They perceive no value in them. Because they scoff at the idea of God's inspiration, they are blind to prophetic understanding. They choose to be ignorant of what God reveals about the future (2 Peter 3:3-7).
On the other hand, God tells us that those who respect Him and keep His commandments are the ones who are truly wise. As the Scriptures explain: "The fear [respectful awe] of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments" (Psalm 111:10). Scripture also tells us that "the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple" (Psalm 19:7).

The book of Revelation gives us many of the keys that unlock prophetic understanding because it faithfully follows the principle that the Bible interprets itself. Therefore, only those who believe that the Bible is inspired by God and trust what it says will be able to understand the significance of what is revealed in the book of Revelation.