Excerpts from C.H. Spurgeon THOUGHTS ON THE LAST BATTLE NO. 23 from sermon that follows:
“The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the Law. But thanks to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:56, 57.
When my spirit goes, if God finds me hymning His praise, I shall hymn it in Heaven. If He finds me breathing out oaths [curses today], I shall follow up those oaths in Hell. Where death leaves me, Judgment finds me.
As I die, so shall I live eternally —
“There are no acts of pardon passed
In the cold grave to which we haste.”It is forever, forever, — forever!Ah, there are a set of heretics in these days who talk of short punishment and preach about God’s transporting souls for a term of years and then letting them die. Where did such men learn their doctrine, I wonder?
I read in God’s Word that the angel shall plant one foot upon the earth and the other upon the sea and shall swear by Him that lives and was dead, that time shall be no longer. But if a soul could die in a thousand years, it would die in time. If a million of years could elapse and then the soul could be extinguished, there would be such a thing as time. Talk to me of years and there is time. But, Sirs, when that angel has spoken the word,“Time shall be no longer,” things will then be eternal. The spirit shall proceed in its ceaseless revolution of weal or woe, never to be stayed, for there is no time to stop it. The fact of its stopping would imply time—but everything shall be eternal—for time shall cease to be!It well becomes you, then, to consider where you are and what you are. Oh, stand and tremble on the narrow neck of land between the two unbounded seas, for God in Heaven, alone, can tell how soon you may be launched upon the eternal future. May God grant that when that last hour may come, we may be prepared for it! Like the thief, unheard, unseen, it steals through night’s dark shade. Perhaps, as here I stand and rudely speak of these dark hidden things, soon may the hand be stretched and dumb the mouth that lisps the faltering strain. Oh, you who dwell in Heaven. Your Power supreme! Your everlasting King—let not that hour intrude upon me in an ill-spent season, but may it find me wrapped in meditation high, hymning my great Creator!
So in the last moment of my life I will hasten beyond the azure, to bathe the wings of this, my spirit, in their native element and then to dwell with You forever—
“Far from a world of grief and sin, With God eternally shut in.”
Hebrews 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
Verses above expanded: 1 Corinthians 15:52-58 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Excerpts from: THOUGHTS ON THE LAST BATTLE NO. 23 A SERMON DELIVERED ON SABBATH EVENING, MAY 13, 1855, BY THE REV. C. H. SPURGEON, AT EXETER HALL, STRAND.
By the grace of God, for all 63 volumes of C. H. Spurgeon sermons in Modern English, and 574 Spanish translations, all free, visit: www.spurgeongems.org
C. H. SPURGEON – JESUS CHRIST IMMUTABLE #848
Excerpts from C.H. Spurgeon from sermon that follows:
“Immutability is ascribed to Christ, and we remark that He was evermore to His people what He now is, for He was the same yesterday. Distinctions have been drawn by certain exceedingly wise men (measured by their own estimate of themselves), between the people of God who lived before the coming of Christ, and those who lived afterwards.”
“Those who lived before Christ were not saved with a different salvation to that which shall come to us; they exercised faith as we must; that faith struggled as ours struggles, and that faith obtained its reward as ours shall, as like as a man’s face to that which he sees in a glass is the spiritual life of David to the spiritual life of the believer now. Take the book of Psalms in your hand, and forgetting, for an instant that you have the representation of the life of one in the olden times, you might suppose that David wrote but yesterday. Even in what he writes of Christ, he seems as though he lived after Christ instead of before, and both in what he sees of himself, and in what he sees of his Savior, he appears to be rather a Christian writer than a Jew. I mean that living before Christ, he has the same hopes and the same fears, the same joys and the same sorrows, and there is the same estimate of his blessed Redeemer which you and I have in these times. Jesus was the same yesterday as an anointed Savior to His people, as He is today, and they under Him received like precious gifts.”
A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD’S-DAY MORNING, JANUARY 3, 1869, BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8.
FOR a very considerable number of years an esteemed and venerable vicar of a Surrey parish has sent me at the New Year a generous testimony of his love, and an acknowledgment of the pleasure which he derives from the weekly reading of my sermons. Enclosed in the parcel which his kindness awards to me is a text from which he hopes that I may preach on the first Sunday morning of the New Year. This year he sends me this golden line, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” I have preached from it before—you will find a sermon from this text in print (See #170, Volume 4—THE IMMUTABILITY OF CHRIST—by the grace of God, for all 63 volumes of C. H. Spurgeon sermons in Modern English, and 574 Spanish translations, all free, visit: http://www.spurgeongems.org). But we need not be at all afraid of preaching from the same text twice; the word is inexhaustible—it may be trod in the winepress many times, and yet run with generous wine! We ought not to hesitate to preach a second time from a passage any more than anyone going to the village well would be ashamed to put down the same bucket twice, or feel at all aggrieved at sailing twice down the same river! There is always freshness about gospel truth, and though the matter may be the same, there are ways of putting it in fresh light so as to bring new joy to those who meditate upon it.
Moreover, what if we should repeat our teachings concerning Christ? What if we should hear over and over again the same things “touching the King”? We can afford to hear them! Repetitions concerning Jesus are better than varieties upon any other subject. As a French monarch declared that he would sooner hear the repetitions of Bourdaloue than the novelties of another, so we may declare concerning our Lord Jesus; we would sooner hear again and again the precious truths of God which glorify Him than listen to the most eloquent orations upon any other theme in all the world! There are a few works of art, and wonders of creation which you might gaze upon every day in your life, and yet not weary of them; a great architect tells us there are but few buildings of this kind, but he instances Westminster Abbey as one; and everyone knows, who has ever looked upon the sea, or upon the Falls of Niagara, that look as often as you may, though you see precisely the same object, yet there are new tints, new motions of the waves, and new flashes of the light which forbid the least approach of monotony, and give to the assembling of the waters an ever-enduring charm. Even thus is it with that sea of all delights which is found in the dear lover of our souls!
We come then, to the old subject of this old text, and may the blessed Spirit give us new unction while we meditate upon it. Note first, our Lord’s personal name, Jesus Christ. Notice secondly, His memorable attribute—“He is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” And then let us have a few words about His evident claims derived from the possession of such a character.
I. First then, the personal names of our Lord here mentioned—“JESUS CHRIST.” “JESUS” stands first. That is our Lord’s Hebrew name, “Jesus,” or “Joshua.” The word signifies, a Savior, “for He shall save His people from their sins.” It was given to Him in His cradle—
“Cold on His cradle the dewdrops are shining,
Low lies His head with the beasts of the stall.
Angels adore Him, in slumber reclining,
Maker, and Monarch, and Savior of all!”
While He was yet an infant hanging on His mother’s breast, He was recognized as Savior, for the fact of God’s becoming incarnate was the sure pledge, guarantee, and commencement of human salvation. At the very thought of His birth the virgin sang, “My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.” There is hope that man shall be lifted up to God, when God condescends to come down to man! Jesus in the manger deserves to be called the Savior, for when it can be said that, “the tabernacle of God is with men and He does dwell among them,” there is hope that all good things will be given to the fallen race. He was called Jesus in His childhood—“The Holy Child Jesus.” It was as Jesus that He went up with His parents to the temple, and sat down with the doctors, hearing them, and asking them questions. Yes, and Jesus as a Teacher in the very first principles of His doctrine is a Savior—emancipating the minds of men from superstition, setting them loose from the traditions of the fathers, scattering, even, with His Infant hands, the seeds of truth, the elements of a glorious liberty which shall emancipate the human mind from the iron bondage of false philosophy and priestcraft. He was Jesus, too, and is commonly called so both by His foes and by His friends in His active life. It is as Jesus the Savior that He heals the sick, that He raises the dead, that He delivers Peter from sinking, that He rescues from shipwreck the ship tossed upon the Galilean Lake. In all the teachings of His middle life, in those laborious three years of diligent service, both in His public ministry, and in His private prayer, He is still Jesus the Savior; by His active, as well as by His passive obedience, we are saved. All through His earthly sojourn He made it clear that the Son of man had come to seek and to save that which was lost. If His blood redeems us from the guilt of sin, His life shows us how to overcome its power; if by His death upon the tree He crushes Satan for us, by His life of holiness He teaches us how to break the dragon’s head within us. He is the Savior as a baby, the Savior as a child, the Savior as the toiling, laboring, tempted man. But He comes out most clearly as Jesus when dying on the cross; so named in a writing of which the author said, “What I have written, I have written,” for over the head of the dying Savior you read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” There pre-eminently was He the Savior, being made a curse for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. After beholding the dying agonies of his Master, the beloved apostle said, “We have seen, and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.” On Calvary it was seen that the Son of Man saved others, though through blessed incapacity of love, “Himself He could not save.” When He was made to feel the wrath of God on account of sin, and pangs unknown were suffered by Him as our substitute; when He was made to pass through the thick darkness, and burning heat of divine wrath, then was He, according to Scripture, “the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.” Yes, it is on the cross that Christ is peculiarly a Savior; if He were nothing better than our exemplar, alas for us! We might be grateful for the example if we could imitate it, but without the pardon which spares us, and the divine grace which gives us power for holiness, the brightest example were a tantalizing of our grief! To be shown what we ought to be, without having any method set before us by which we could attain to it, were to mock our misery! But Jesus first draws us up out of the horrible pit of hell into which we were fallen, takes us out of the miry clay by the efficacy of His atoning sacrifice, and then having set our feet upon a rock by virtue of His merits, He Himself leads the way onward to perfection! And so is He Savior both in life and in death—
“That JESUS saves from sin and hell, Is truth divinely sure!
And on this rock our faith may rest
Immovably secure!”
Still bearing the name of Jesus, our Lord rose from the dead! The evangelists delight in calling Him Jesus—in His appearance to Magdalene in the garden; in His manifestation of Himself to the disciples when they were together, the doors being shut; He is always Jesus with them as the risen One. Beloved, since we are justified by His resurrection, we may well regard Him as Savior under that aspect; salvation is still more linked with a risen Christ because we see Him by His resurrection destroying death, breaking down the prison of the sepulcher, and bearing away like another Samson the gates of the grave. He is a Savior for us since He has vanquished the last enemy that shall be destroyed, that we, having been saved from sin by His death should be saved from death through His resurrection! Jesus is the title under which He is called in glory, for “Him has God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” He is today, “the Savior of the body”; we adore Him as the only-wise God and our Savior. “He is able also to save them to the uttermost who come unto God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them.” As Jesus He shall shortly come, and we are “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.” Our daily cry is, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Yes, and this is the name, the name, “Jesus,” by which He is known in heaven at this hour. Thus the angel spoke of Him before He was conceived by the virgin; thus the angels serve Him and do His bidding, for He said to John in Patmos, “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify these things.” The angels prophesied His coming under that sacred name; they came to those who stood looking up into heaven, and they said, “You men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven.” Under this name the devils fear Him, for didn’t they say, “Jesus we know, and Paul we know, but who are you?” This is the spell that binds the hearts of cherubim in chains of love; this is that which makes the hosts of hell tremble, and shrink back in fear! This name is the joy of the church on earth! It is the joy of the church above! It is a common word, a household name for our dear Redeemer among the family of God below! And up there they still sing it—
“Jesus, the Lord, their harps employ—
‘Jesus, my love,’ they sing!
Jesus, the life of both our joys,
Sounds sweet from every string.”
That man of God, Mr. Henry Craik of Bristol, who much to our regret was lately called away to his rest, tells us in his little work upon the study of the Hebrew tongue, as an instance of how much may be gathered from a single Hebrew word, that the name Jesus is particularly rich and suggestive to the mind of the Hebrew scholar. It comes from a root signifying amplitude, spaciousness, and then it comes to mean setting at large, setting free, delivering—and so comes to its common use among us, namely, that of Savior. But there are two words in the name Jesus; the one is a contraction of the word “Jehovah,” the other is the word which I have just now explained to you as ultimately coming to mean “salvation.” Taken apart, the word Jesus means JEHOVAH-SALVATION. You have the glorious essence and nature of Christ revealed to you as Jehovah, “I Am that I Am”; and then you have in the second part of His name, His great work for you in setting you at large, and delivering you from all distress. Think, beloved fellow Christians, of the amplitude, the spaciousness, the breadth, the abundance, the boundless all-sufficiency laid up in the person of the Lord Jesus! “It pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell.” You have no contracted Christ, you have no narrow Savior; oh, the infinity of His love, the abundance of His grace, the exceedingly greatness of the riches of His love towards us! There are no words in any language that can sufficiently bring out the unlimited, the infinite extent of the riches of the glory of Christ Jesus our Lord! The word which lies at the root of this name “Jesus,” or “Joshua,” has sometimes the meaning of riches—and who can tell what a wealth of divine grace and glory are laid up in our Immanuel? Mr. Craik tells us that another form of the same word signifies “a cry.” “Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King and my God.” Thus salvation, riches, and a cry are all derived from the same root, and all find their answer in our Joshua or Christ. When His people cry out of their prisons, then He comes and sets them free—He comes with all the amplitude and wealth of His eternal grace, all the plenitude of His overflowing power; and delivering them from every form of bondage, He gives them to enjoy the riches of the glory treasured up in Himself! If this interpretation should make the name of Jesus one particle dearer to you, I am sure I shall be exceedingly happy! What do you think—if there is so much stored up in the one single name, what must be laid up in Himself! And if we can honestly say that it would be difficult to give the full bearing of this one Hebrew name which belongs to Christ, how much more difficult will it be to give the full bearing of all His character? If His bare name is such a mine of excellence, what must His person be? If this, which is but a part of His garment, does so smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, O what must His blessed person be but a bundle of myrrh which shall lie forever between our breasts, to be the perfume of our life, and the delight of our soul?—
“Precious is the name of Jesus,
Who can half its worth unfold?
Far beyond angelic praises,
Sweetly sung to harps of gold.
Precious when to Calvary groaning,
He sustained the cursed tree,
Precious when His death atoning,
Made an end of sin for me!
Precious when the bloody scourges
Caused the sacred drops to roll,
Precious when of wrath the surges
Overwhelmed His holy soul.
Precious in His death victorious,
He, the host of hell overthrows,
In His resurrection glorious,
Victor crowned o’er all His foes!
Precious, Lord! Beyond expressing,
Are Your beauties all divine!
Glory, honor, power, and blessing,
Be henceforth forever Thine!
Thus much have we spoken upon the Hebrew name; now reverently consider the second title— Christ. That is a Greek name, a Gentile name—Anointed. So that you see you have the Hebrew Joshua, Jesus, then the Greek Christos, Christ; and so that we may see that no longer is there either Jew or Gentile, but all are one in Jesus Christ, the word Christ, as you all know, signifies anointed, and as such our Lord is sometimes called, “The Christ,” “The very Christ.” At other times, “The Lord’s Christ,” and sometimes, “The Christ of God.” He is The Lord’s Anointed, our King and our Shield.
This word “Christ,” teaches us three great truths of God. First, it indicates His offices; He exercises offices in which anointing is necessary, and these are three—the office of the King, of the Priest, and of the Prophet. He is King in Zion, anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows, even as it was said of old, “I have found David My servant; with My holy oil have I anointed him: with whom My hand shall be established: My arm also shall strengthen him. I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers; also I will make him My first-born, higher than the kings of the earth.” Saul, the first king of Israel, was anointed with but a vial of oil—David, with a horn of oil—as if to signify the greater plenitude of his power, and excellence of his kingdom. But as for our Lord Jesus Christ, He has received the Spirit of anointing without any measure—He is the Lord’s Anointed, for whom an unquenchable lamp is ordained. “There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for My Anointed.” Beloved, as we think of that name, Christ, let us reverently yield our souls up to Him whom God has anointed to be King; let us stand up for His rights over His church, for He is King of Zion, and none have a right to rule there but under and in subjection to the great Head over all, who in all things shall have the pre-eminence! Let us stand up for His rights within our own hearts, seeking to thrust out all rival objects, desirous to keep our souls chaste for Christ, and to make every member of our body, though it may have surrendered itself before unto sin, to become subservient to the anointed King who has a right to rule over it.
Next, the Lord Christ is Priest. Priests were anointed; they were not to undertake this office of themselves nor without passing through the ceremony which set them apart. Jesus Christ our Lord has divine grace given to Him that no priest ever had; their outward anointing was but symbolic—His was the true and the real! He has received that which their oil did but set forth in type and shadow; He has the real anointing from the Most High. Beloved, let us always look at Christ as the anointed Priest. My soul, you can never come to God except through the only ever-living and truly anointed High Priest of our profession! O never for a moment seek to come without Him, nor through any pretender who may call himself a priest! High Priest of the house of God, we see You thus ordained, and we give our cause into Your hands; offer our sacrifices for us! Present our prayers! Take our praises, and put them into the golden censer, and offer them before Your Father’s throne. Rejoice my brothers and sisters, every time you hear the name Christ, that He who wears it is anointed to be Priest!
So with regard to the prophetic office we find Elisha anointed to prophesy, and so is Jesus Christ the prophet anointed among His people. Peter spoke to Cornelius of, “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit, and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him.” He was anointed to preach the glad tidings, and to sit as Master in Israel. We hold no man’s teaching to be authoritative among us but the testimony of the Christ; the teaching of the Lord’s Christ is our creed, and nothing else. I thank God that in this church we have not to divide our allegiance between some venerable set of articles, and the teaching of our Lord. One is our Master! We declare no right of any man to bind another’s conscience, even though they are great in piety, and deep in learning; Augustine and Calvin, whose names we honor, for God honored them, they still have no dominance over private judgment in regard to the people of God. Jesus Christ is the Prophet of Christendom! His words must always be the first and the last appeal! This, then, is the meaning of the word “Christos.” He is anointed as King, Priest, and Prophet.
But it means more than that. The name Christ declares His right to those offices. He is not King because He sets Himself up as such; God has set Him as King upon His holy hill of Zion, and anointed Him to rule; He is also Priest, but He has not taken the priesthood upon Himself, for He is the propitiation whom God has set forth for human sin; He is the mediator whom the Lord God has appointed, and set to be the only mediator between God and man! And as for His prophesying, He speaks not of Himself—those things which He has learned of the Father, He has revealed unto us; He comes not as a prophet who assumes office, but God has anointed Him to preach glad tidings to the poor, and to come among His people with the welcome news of eternal love. Moreover, this anointing signifies a third thing, that as He has the office, and as it is His by right, so He has the qualifications for the work. He is anointed to be King; God has given Him royal power, and wisdom, and government; He has made Him fit to rule in the church, and to reign over the world. No better king than Christ! None as majestic as He who wore the crown of thorns, but who shall put upon His head the crown of universal monarchy! He has the qualifications for a priest too, such qualifications as even Melchisedec had not; such as cannot be found in all the house of Aaron—in all its length of pedigree. Blessed Son of God, perfect in Yourself, and needing not a sacrifice for Your own sake, You have presented unto God an offering which has perfected forever those whom You have set apart; and now, needing not to make a further offering, You have forever put away sin! And so is it with our Lord’s prophesying—He has the power to teach. “Grace is poured into Your lips: therefore God has blessed You forever.” All the words of Christ are wisdom and truth; the substance of true philosophy and certain knowledge are to be found in Him who is the wisdom and the power of God. Oh, that word, “Christ”; it seems to grow upon us as we think it over; it shows us the offices of Christ—His right to those offices, and His qualifications for them—
“Christ, to You our spirits bow!
Prophet, Priest, and King are You!
Christ, anointed of the Lord,
Evermore be You adored.”
Now, put the two titles together and ring out the harmony of the two melodious notes—Jesus Christ, Savior-Anointed. Oh, how blessed; can you see that our Beloved is a Savior duly appointed, a Savior abundantly qualified? My soul, if God appoints Christ a Savior of sinners, why do you raise a question? God set Him forth as a sinner’s Savior. Come then, you sinners, take Him, accept Him, and rest in Him! Oh, how foolish we are when we begin raising questions, quibbles, and difficulties! God declares that Christ is a Savior to all who trust in Him! My poor heart trusts Him—she has peace! But why do some of you imagine that He cannot save you? Why do you ask, “How can it be that this man shall save me?” God has appointed Him! Take Him! Rest in Him! Moreover, God has qualified Him, given Him the anointing of a Savior. What? Do you think God has not girded Him with power enough, or furnished Him with enough merit with which to save such as you are? Will you limit what God has done? Will you think that His anointing is imperfect, and cannot qualify Jesus to meet your case? O do not so slander the grace of heaven; do not do such despite to the wisdom of the Lord; honor the Savior of God’s anointing by coming now, just as you are, and put your trust in Him!
II. We shall now examine the second point, HIS MEMORABLE ATTRIBUTES. He is said to be the same. Now, Jesus Christ has not been the same in condition at all times, for He was once adored of angels, but afterwards spit upon by men! He exchanged the supernal splendors of His Father’s court for the poverty of the earth, the degradation of death, and the humiliation of the grave. Jesus Christ is not, and will not be always the same as to occupation. Once He came to seek and to save that which was lost, but we very truly sing, “The Lord shall come, but not the same as once in lowliness He came.” He shall come with a very different objective—He shall come to scatter His enemies, and break them as with a rod of iron! We are not to take the expression then, “the same,” in the most unlimited sense conceivable. Looking at the Greek, you will notice that it might be read thus, “Jesus Christ Himself yesterday, and today, and forever.” The anointed Savior is always Himself. He is always Jesus Christ—and the word, “same” seems to me to bear the most intimate relation to the two titles of the text; it does as good as say that Jesus Christ is always Jesus Christ, yesterday, and today, and forever; Jesus Christ is always Himself. At any rate, if that is not the correct translation, it is a very correct and blessed sentence! It is sweetly true that Jesus Christ is always Himself.
Immutability is ascribed to Christ, and we remark that He was evermore to His people what He now is, for He was the same yesterday. Distinctions have been drawn by certain exceedingly wise men (measured by their own estimate of themselves), between the people of God who lived before the coming of Christ, and those who lived afterwards. We have even heard it asserted that those who lived before the coming of Christ do not belong to the church of God! We never know what we shall hear next, and perhaps it is a mercy that these absurdities are revealed one at a time in order that we may be able to endure their stupidity without dying of amazement! Why, every child of God in every place stands on the same footing! The Lord has not some children best beloved, some second-rate offspring, and others whom He hardly cares about. These who saw Christ’s day before it came, had a great difference as to what they enjoyed while on earth in meditating upon Christ; but they were all washed in the same blood, all redeemed with the same ransom price, and made members of the same body! Israel in the covenant of grace is not natural Israel, but all believers in all ages! Before the first advent, all the types and shadows all pointed one way—they pointed to Christ, and to Him all the saints looked with hope.
Those who lived before Christ were not saved with a different salvation to that which shall come to us; they exercised faith as we must; that faith struggled as ours struggles, and that faith obtained its reward as ours shall, as like as a man’s face to that which he sees in a glass is the spiritual life of David to the spiritual life of the believer now. Take the book of Psalms in your hand, and forgetting, for an instant that you have the representation of the life of one in the olden times, you might suppose that David wrote but yesterday. Even in what he writes of Christ, he seems as though he lived after Christ instead of before, and both in what he sees of himself, and in what he sees of his Savior, he appears to be rather a Christian writer than a Jew. I mean that living before Christ, he has the same hopes and the same fears, the same joys and the same sorrows, and there is the same estimate of his blessed Redeemer which you and I have in these times. Jesus was the same yesterday as an anointed Savior to His people, as He is today, and they under Him received like precious gifts. If the goodly fellowship of the prophets could be here today, they would all testify to you that He was the same in every office in their times as He is in these, our days.
Jesus Christ is the same now as He was in times gone by, for the text says, “The same yesterday, and today.” He is the same today as He was from old eternity; before all worlds He planned our salvation; He entered into covenant with His Father to undertake it; His delights were with the sons of men in prospect and now, today, He is as steadfast to that covenant as ever! He will not lose those who were then given to Him, nor will He fail nor be discouraged till every stipulation of that covenant shall be fulfilled.
Whatever was in the heart of Christ before the stars began to shine, that same infinite love is there today! Jesus is the same today as He was when He was here on earth. There is much comfort in this thought; when He tabernacled among men, He was most willing to save: “Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden,” was the burden of His cry, and He is still calling to the weary and the heavy-laden to come to Him! In the days of His flesh He would not curse the woman taken in adultery, neither would He reject the publicans and sinners who gathered to hear Him; He is still merciful to sinners, and says to them yet, “Neither do I condemn you: go and sin no more.” That delightful sentence which so graciously came from His lips—“Your sins, which are many, are forgiven you”—is still His favorite utterance in human hearts. O do not think that Christ in heaven has become distant and reserved so that you may not approach Him! Such as He was here—a Lamb gentle and meek, a man to whom men drew near without a moment’s hesitation, such is He now! Come boldly to Him, you lowest and guiltiest ones; come near to Him with broken hearts and weeping eyes; though He is King and Priest, surrounded with unknown splendor, yet He still retains the same loving heart, and the same generous sympathies towards the sons of men. He is still the same in His ability as well as in His willingness to save; He is still Jesus Christ the anointed Savior! In His earthly days He touched the leper and said, “I will. Be you clean.” He called
Lazarus from the tomb, and Lazarus came. Sinner, Jesus is still as able to heal or quicken you now, as then! “He is able also to save them to the uttermost who come unto God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them.” Now that the blood is spilt, and the sacrifice is fully offered, there is no limit to the ability of Christ to save! O come and rely upon Him, and find salvation in Him now! Believer, it will cheer also you to remember that when our Lord was here upon earth He showed great perseverance in His art of saving. He could say, “Of them which You gave Me I have lost none.” Rejoice that He is the same today—He will not cast one of you away, nor suffer His little ones to perish! He brought all safe in the days of His flesh; He takes care to keep all safely in these, the days of His glory. He is the same today, then, as He was on earth.
Blessed be His name, Jesus Christ is the same today as in apostolic days. Then He gave the fullness of the Spirit; then, when He ascended up on high, He gave gifts to men—apostles, preachers, teachers of the word. Do not let us think we shall not see as good as days now, as they saw at Pentecost! He is the same Christ; He could as readily convert 3,000 under one sermon today as in Peter’s time; His Holy Spirit is not exhausted, for God gives it not by measure to Him. We ought to pray that He would raise up among us eminent men to proclaim the gospel. We do not pray enough for the ministry.
The gospel ministry is peculiarly the gift of the ascension. When He ascended on high, He received gifts for men and He gave—what? Why, men, apostles, teachers, preachers. If we ask for salvation, we plead the blood— why do we not ask for ministers, and plead the Ascension? If we would do this more, we should see raised up among us more Whitefields and Wesleys, more Luthers and Calvins, more men of the apostolic stock, and the church would be revived! Jesus is the same to enrich His people with all spiritual gifts in this year, 1869, as in the year when He ascended to His throne. “He is the same yesterday, and today.” He is the same, today, as He was to our fathers. These have gone to their rest, but they told us before they went what Christ was to them—how He succored them in their time of peril, how He delivered them in their hour of sorrow. He will do for us just what He did for them; some who lived before us went to heaven in a chariot of fire, but Christ was very precious to them at the stake; we have our martyrologies which we read with wonder; how sustaining the company of Christ was to those who lay in prison; to those who were cast to the lions; to those who wandered about in sheepskins and goat skins! England, Scotland; all the countries where Christ was preached have been dyed with blood, and ennobled with the testimonies of the faithful! Whatever Jesus was to these departed worthies, He is to His people today; we have only to ask of God, and we shall receive the same benefit. “Jesus Christ the same today,” says the text. Then He is the same today as He has been to us in the past! We have had great enjoyments of God’s presence; we remember the love of our espousals, and if we have not the same joys today it is no fault of His. There is still the same water in the well, and if we have not drawn it, it is our own fault. We have come away from the fire, and therefore we are cold; we have walked contrary to Him, and therefore He walks contrary to us; let us return to Him, and He will be as glad to receive us now as in our first moment of repentance. Let us return to Him! His heart is as full of love, and as ready to weep upon our neck as when we first came and sought pardon from His hands. There is much sweetness in the text, but I cannot linger longer upon that part of the subject. It is enough for us to remember that Jesus Christ is the same today as He always was. Now, further, Christ shall be tomorrow what He has been yesterday, and is today. Our Lord Jesus Christ will be changed in no respect throughout the whole of our life; it may be long before we shall descend to our graves, but let these hairs all be gray, and these limbs begin to totter, and these eyes grow dim—Jesus Christ shall have the dew of His youth upon Him, and the fullness of His love shall still flow to us; and after death, or if we die not, at the coming of Christ and in His glorious reign, Jesus will be the same to His people, then, as now! There seems to be a notion abroad among some that after His coming, Christ will deal differently with His people than now. I have been informed by a modern school of inventors (and as I tell you, we live to learn) that some of us will be shut out from the kingdom when Christ comes! Saved by His precious blood, and brought near and adopted into the family, and our names written upon the breastplate of Christ—and yet some of us will be shut out from the kingdom! Nonsense! I see nothing in the word of God, though there may be a great deal in the fancies of men, to support these novelties. The people of God, equally bought with blood, and equally dear to Jesus’ heart, shall be treated on the same scale and footing. They will never be put under the law; they will never come to Christ and find Him rule them as a legal Judge, and beat them with many stripes in a future state, or shut them out of His estate of millennial Majesty; He will give to none, as a mere matter of reward, such rule and government so as to exclude others of His redeemed family! They shall find Him always treating them all as unchanging love and immutable grace shall dictate; the rewards of the millennial state shall be always those of divine grace—they shall be such as not to exclude the very least of all the family, all shall have tokens of reward from the dear Savior’s hands! I know He will not love me today, and give me a glimpses of His face, give me to delight in His name—and yet after all, when He comes, tell me I must stand out in the cold, and not enter into His kingdom! I have not a shade of faith in the purgatory of banishment which certain despisers of the ministry have chosen to set up! I marvel that in a Protestant sect there should rise up a dogma as villainous as the dogma of “purgatory” and that, too, from those who say they are no sectarians! According to these people, we are all wrong but they; these are deeply taught, and can discover what the ablest divines have never seen! That Jesus will love His people in time to come as strongly as He does now seems to be a doctrine which if destroyed or denied, would cast sorrow into the whole family of God! Throughout eternity, in heaven, there shall still be the same Jesus Christ with the same love to His people, and they shall have the same familiar communion with Him, no, shall see Him face to face, and rejoice forever in Him as their unchangeably, anointed Savior!
III. Our time has failed us, and therefore just two or three words upon our Lord’s EVIDENT CLAIMS. If our Lord is “the same yesterday, and today, and forever,” then according to the connection of our text, He is to be followed to the end. Observe the seventh verse, “Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God; whose faith follows considering the end of their conversation.” The meaning being these holy men ended their lives with Christ; their exit was to go to Jesus, and to reign with Him. Beloved, if the Lord is still the same, follow Him till you reach Him! Your exit out of this life shall bring you where He is, and you will find Him then, what He always was; you shall see Him as He is. If He were a will-o’-the-wisp, forever changing, it would be dangerous to follow Him, but since He is ever and equally worthy of your admiration and example, follow Him evermore!
That was an eloquent speech of Henry the Sixth, of France, when on the eve of battle he said to his soldiers, “Gentlemen, you are Frenchmen; I am your King; there is the enemy!” Jesus Christ says, “You are My people; I am your Leader; there is the foe!” How shall we dare to do anything unworthy of such a Lord as He is, or of such a citizenship as that which He has bestowed upon us? If we are His, and He is truly immutable, let us by His Holy Spirit’s power persevere to the end, that we may obtain the crown!
The next evident claim of Christ upon us is that we should be steadfast in the faith. Notice the ninth verse: “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever; do not be not carried about with various and strange doctrines.” There is nothing new in theology but that which is false; all that is true is old, though I say not that all that is old is true. Some speak of developments as though we had not the whole Christian religion discovered yet; but the religion of Paul is the religion of every man who is taught by the Holy Spirit. We ought not, therefore to indulge for a moment the idea that something has been discovered which may correct the teaching of Christ! We must not even think that some new philosophy or discovery of science has risen up to correct the declared testimony of our Redeemer! Let us hold fast that which we have received, and never depart from “the truth once delivered unto the saints” by Christ Himself.
If Jesus Christ is immutable, He has an evident claim to our most solemn worship. Immutability can be the attribute of none but God; whoever is “the same yesterday, and today, and forever,” must be divine. Then, believer, bring your adoration to Jesus! At the feet of Him who was crucified, cast down your crown! Give royal and divine honors unto Him who stooped to the ignominy of crucifixion! Let no one stop you of glorying in your boast that the Son of God was made man for you! Worship Him as God over all, blessed forever!
He also claims of us, next, that we should trust Him. If He is always the same, here is a rock that cannot be moved! Build on it! Here is an anchor; cast your anchor of hope into it, and hold fast in time of storm. If Christ were variable, He were not worthy of your confidence, but since He is evermore unchanged, rest on Him without fear.
And, lastly, if He is always the same, rejoice in Him, and rejoice always; if you ever had cause to rejoice in Christ, you always have cause, for He never alters! If yesterday you could sing of Him, today you may sing of Him; if He changed, your joy might change, but if the stream of your gladness springs solely and only out of this great deep of the immutability of Jesus, then it need never stay its flow. Beloved, let us, “rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice.” And, until the day breaks, and the shadows flee away, till the blest hour arrives when we shall see Him face to face, and be made like He is, be this our joy that “He is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Amen.
PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON—Hebrews 13.
Adapted from The C. H. Spurgeon Collection, Version 1.0, Ages Software.
PRAY THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL USE THIS SERMON TO BRING MANY TO A SAVING KNOWLEDGE OF JESUS CHRIST!
By the grace of God, for all 63 volumes of C. H. Spurgeon sermons in Modern English, and 574 Spanish translations, all free, visit: www.spurgeongems.org
A Review of Cahn’s “The Oracle” – Is it God’s Truth? Fiction? or Heresy!?
There have been a lot of advertisements sent to me boasting about Jonathan Cahn’s latest book, The Oracle and how it reveals great mysteries, stunning the readers and more,
“Hailed as a mind-blowing masterpiece, The Oracle will reveal mysteries that are absolutely real, amazing, stunning, mind-blowing, and life-changing.” This is one quote from their site advertising, The Oracle Uncensored Collection.
But wait there is more! In an advertisement sent to my email, 9/15/2019 made this boast of Jonathan Cahn’s latest book “The Oracle” together with Tom Horn’s Skywatch TV:
“New York Times’ bestselling author Jonathan Cahn appeared on SkyWatch TV Sunday to discuss his much-anticipated revelation, The Oracle: The Jubilean Mysteries Unveiled. “The Oracle is the biggest, most all-encompassing mystery I’ve ever committed to unveiling—in many ways it is the mystery of the ages. It contains everything and everyone, from Moses to Mark Twain, from the prophet Jeremiah to President Donald Trump. It’s the mystery that lies behind the past, the present and what is yet to come. It contains what I believe is the master blueprint that explains the end times and what is taking place before our eyes in America and throughout the world. It even contains the mystery and blueprint for each of our lives,” says Cahn.”
Dare I say it like some of those really annoying ads on TV? There is still more but I will not trouble you with further boasting, here is the review that unveils the real um… shall I say real mysteries here!
The Oracle of Cahn – THE MYSTICAL NUMBERS OF RABBI CAHN
A Review of The Oracle: The Jubilean Mysteries Unveiled – By Herescope
And if the book wasn’t enough there is an entire collection:
Is any of this new for Cahn? Here is just a little more we’ve addressed in the past and with our friends:
Another Book Sweeping Christendom – The Harbinger – Is it Recommended Reading?
Is The Harbinger a Dangerous Fiction or In Essence Non-Fiction for America’s Future!?
Part 2 – Is The Harbinger a Dangerous Fiction or In Essence Non-Fiction for America’s Future!?
Beware of Faux Historian David Barton!?
Before you use any material from so-called historian David Barton, think about looking for another resource. Barton has a ‘history’ of getting history wrong… and sorry to say that is the tip of the iceberg with this fellow who is often quoted as a scholarly resource. As recently as this past month, I have seen a number of Christians I respect using Barton as a reference – my advice don’t do it! Parts of Barton’s work (attempting to revise American history for example) has in part been proven false, he is buddies with a variety of heretics/charlatans such as Kenneth Copeland and a list of others.
In my opinion, there is plenty of documentation showing Barton to be a fraud along with those you see him with on TV such as TBN, or hear him together with Mormon Glen Beck – who Barton considers a brother in Christ!
Here is one of the latest articles addressing Barton:
David Barton Appears on Jim Bakker’s Program, Does Prophecy and Dream Interpretation
For more of Barton’s escapades including his twist on American history see these articles:
Berean Research: David Barton prays an annointing on Glen Beck
Apprising Ministries: David Barton Controversy
Is “Rest in Peace” Biblical? A Serious Thought!
What exactly does R. I. P. mean to you? Most would reply “Rest In Peace.” But does that even exist? Let me explain what I mean.
One of the hardest things to face in life is a loved one dying. My grandparents, my dad, and very recently (May 18, 2019) my oldest brother have moved on from this world. Of these loved ones, I can only speak with certainty concerning three; my dad and brother were saved, but my maternal grandmother was not.
When Christians die their soul is immediately with the Lord in Heaven, but when unsaved people die, they are in torment in Hell. The bodies left on this earth are nothing more than decaying shells. From my point of view, there is no “resting in peace” for both the saved and the unsaved because the saved are with the Lord and rejoicing with all those who have gone before them, while the unsaved are awaiting judgment because they passed up the opportunity to be saved when they had the chance.
Those who do not believe John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Or John 3:16, 17 “For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” cannot rest in peace even if that was possible.
Resting in peace will be (for myself while I still live on this earth) knowing my saved loved ones are spending eternity in Heaven where I will one day reunite with them.
From this day forward I am declaring for myself that R. I. P. will mean “Rejoicing In Paradise.” Dad, Kurt, I can’t wait until I get to Rejoice In Paradise with you!
By, Kathy Beardsley
For more on this topic:
Rest in Peace? by Ligonier Ministries
Is it biblical to say ‘rest in peace’ (RIP) in regards to someone who has died? by Got Questions?
Could Jesus Have Chosen Differently?
I’m curious to know how well Christians really listen and think about the words of some of their favorite songs? Until the last couple years, I wasn’t drawn to sing a song solely because of the words, but more so because of the combination of the words with the tune and the music. Whether it was inspirational, upbeat, or slow, I didn’t take the time to think about what was actually being said. But after hearing a few songs with a phrase or two that I knew was in error scripturally, it got me to thinking about how many other songs slip in similar things. It surprised me just how many songs of old as well as many recent and current songs were scripturally inaccurate. It also got me to thinking how much these words may have influenced my doctrinal beliefs.
For instance: One of the old classics “He could have called 10,000 angels.” This, for those who don’t know, is in reference to Jesus dying on the cross and he could have called 10,000 angels to rescue him. There are several other songs inferring the same type of sentiment—He could have chosen to let us receive the punishment he bore in our place, etc.
The problem with that is, it would have been disobedience. Disobedience is sin! God the Father gave us Jesus, his perfect son in the flesh, to fulfill his plan of salvation for us. If Jesus had deviated in the least, at any point while he lived on this earth, he would have been in disobedience to his Father’s plan. Jesus would have been rendered imperfect and unworthy to bear our sins on the cross.
I have no doubt that the sentiment of these songs was written with the best intent, but they are misleading. The poetic liberty taken in some of these songs may seem to reinforce attributes of love and compassion, but in reality, Jesus’ perfect, unblemished nature and deity is diminished to the level of imperfect humanity. – by Kathy Beardsley
Abortion is not a right it is 1st Degree Homicide! The recent news shows just how barbaric it is and those very callous people who could take the lives of our most helpless! It is a shame and disgrace to America showing how so many have such low regard for human life. I pray for our nation that the blatant sinful acts of those in leadership will backfire and make abortion illegal again. Herescope’s article says more:
The Revival of Molech – And the Return of Bloody Barbarism
“And they build the high places of Baal,
which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom,
to cause their sons and their daughters
to pass through the fire unto Molech;
which I commanded them not,
neither came it into my mind,
that they should do this abomination,
to cause Judah to sin.”
(Jeremiah 32:35)
Don’t Be Foolish!
We or at least most of us have already heard or even know the Bible verse John 3:16 but how many know verse 17, and perhaps verse 18?
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 3:17-18 “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Simple believe on Jesus and be saved! Saved from what? A condemnation for refusing the greatest gift ever given to man and choosing to go our own ways! Open your eyes, look at this topsy-turvy world do you really think it has the answers for what is right or wrong, true or false, good or evil and so on? I certainly do not and at every turn our dependence on ourselves and our own strength fails us – maybe not immediately but it is always inevitable everything crumbles into ruin. Even the Universe all around us, Sun, Moon and Stars do not equate to a drop in the bucket to just how big it is and we are completely without control to what fate could destroy us in a flash from the sky originating in space.
So why is it so hard to swallow that there really is something bigger than us? Something we were made a part of and something that truly gives us purpose? Open your eyes! The simplicity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Creator of the Universe reaching out to us who He created in His image. Are you one of His children? Do you know what it means to be saved?
Below is an excerpt from the famous Preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon from 1860 and it is just as relevant today in 2018 as it was 158 years ago and I hope it acts as a wake-up call to some sleepy lost souls!
“Have I a man here who declares that he is pardoned and yet indulges in the sins which he pretends are forgiven? Sir, you have either deceived yourself, or else you are uttering what you know is untrue! He who is forgiven hates sin! We cannot be washed clean if we still persist in living up to our neck in filth. It cannot be possible that a man is pardoned while he still continues to wallow in abominable sin. “O yes,” but he says, “I am no legalist! I believe the Grace of God has made me clean, though I do go on in sin.” Sir, it is clear you are a legalist, but I will tell you what else you are—you are no child of God; you are no Christian; for the Christian is a man who uniformly hates sin! There never was a Believer who loved iniquity—such a strange thing as a pardoned sinner who still loves to be in rebellion against his God. “Yes,” but I hear another say, “Sir, that may be true; but I do not profess to be pardoned in any such way as you speak of. I believe my sins to be so small and little; that I have no need to go seeking mercy. Or if I seek it, I do not expect that I shall find it here. I dare say I shall fare as well as the best when I go into another world.” Poor fool! Poor fool! You are condemned already! The sentence of God has gone out against you— “Whoever believes not on the Son of God is condemned because he believes not.” And yet you, when your sentence is written out and your death-knell, perhaps tolling now, say your sins are little? They are so great, Sir, that the fires of Hell shall never expiate them and your own misery, in soul and body forever, shall never be a full equivalent for the iniquity you have committed against God! And so you don’t want to know that you are forgiven; you are content to take your chance with the rest? A chance, indeed, it is! But know, Sir, I feel so differently in my heart from you in that respect, that had I a doubt at this time about my sins being forgiven, I could not give sleep to my eyes, nor slumber to my eyelids, till I was assured that I had received God’s love in my heart. If at any time a doubt crosses my soul, I am the most wretched of beings! For surely, this is like light to the eyes, like friendship to the spirit, like drink to the thirsty and bread to the hungry—to know one’s self forgiven! Go out of this hall and say, “I am walking over the mouth of Hell and may slip in at any moment; I am hanging over Hell by a single hair and into a flame may be speedily hurled, yet I do not care whether I am damned or not.” Say it right out in broad English—say you are in doubt as to whether you shall go to Heaven or Hell—say, if you must go home today and in your upper chamber lie down on your narrow bed to die—say you are not sure whether you shall see the face of your God with acceptance and yet you are content! Speak like an honest man and like a fool, for such language is only the raving of a madman and a fool!
Oh, I beseech you, never be content until you have sought and found a Savior! Yes, and until you are sure you have found Him, do not be happy with a, “perhaps,” or a, “maybe.” Do not rest your soul on chances, but make sure work for eternity. I bid you, Sirs, by the solemnities of eternity, by the fires of Hell, and by the joys of Heaven—get your foot on a Rock and know it is there!
Do not make guesswork of it. Put it beyond all chance. O dying Sinner! Do not let it be a question with you whether you shall be saved or whether you shall be damned! O frail Man, tottering on the brink of the grave—do not let it be a matter of uncertainty as to whether Heaven shall receive you, or Hell engulf you! 
Be sure of it one way or the other. If you can make your bed in Hell; if you can endure the everlasting burning; if you can suffer the anger of God when He shall tear you in pieces like a lion, then go on in your folly!
But if you would have a portion among them who are sanctified; if you would see the face of Christ and walk the golden streets—be sure that you are in Christ—be certain that you are trusting Him and be not satisfied till that is put beyond all question, beyond all argument, and all contention!” (Bold or Italics emphasis mine)
The New Park Street Pulpit 1, Volume 6, www.spurgeongems.org – For Spurgeon Sermons online A SENSE OF PARDONED SIN, NO. 316, MAY 20, 1860, C. H. SPURGEON, AT EXETER, HALL, STRAND
Audio of sermon here: Sense of Pardoned Sin, A
PDF of the entire sermon here: #316 – A Sense of Pardoned Sin
The Force is a Farce – More Hollywood Lies!
Thoughts I pondered this morning… that I hope others find a blessing. Whether it is Star Wars and the force, or Harry Potter with some ‘magic,’ Hollywood is a hopelessly dark and lost place to find real power and truth to live by. Please consider this and what our kids and you are ingesting daily from them! – John
If the force depends on everything living where do you go when you die?
If the force is so powerful why can I find no real hope believing in it?
If the force is in and flows through everything why do I not see it or feel it?
If the force around you depends on life for energy then it is dying too.
There is no hope with the force, and if you had the power it is most often shown as a tool to manipulate people for some supposed greater good. In their words, it depends on your perspective of what is right or wrong.
The force also depends on some so-called mitochondrial things in our blood that can be measured so is that really a force or a manifestation of something foreign inside of you?
There is so much wrong with “the force” would you really want it with you for all the grief it causes the good side or dark side? The stories told by Lucas in Star Wars are dark and murderous!
In reality the force is more comparable to witchcraft, and innumerable myths then anything of truth. The force and everything like it, is really a farce to delude the feeble minds of men, women and children away from the real power of truth!
We’d rather digest some relativistic postmodern nonsense and think wow wouldn’t it be cool if I could have power to do that – imagine what I could do! And down the rabbit hole you go! All meaningless fantasies but if they are your truth, you are lost… seriously you are REALLY lost!
In this crazy world we live so many seek to escape from reality, whether it is with drugs or the ways Hollywood tells you to think. Movies, TV shows, and music are “the force” that claim to be there to just entertain, often they will include a grain of truth to draw you in, and your simple mind is twisted. The music leads our youth like a bunch of rats following a pied piper, copying their way of singing, speaking, dressing, and fads with hair, piercing and tattoos. They march their merry way into the darkness!
The force is another philosophy/religion and part of the string of lies coming out of Hollywood. They offer us no hope for what awaits us when we die except their meaningless thoughts woven into a variety of fantasies.
The force isn’t real and it has no power for you or for me. – That isn’t my opinion it is reality!
You won’t see or feel the force flowing through everything and it is a blind fool that follows it with blind faith – it is utterly dark and hopeless.
With all of its science fiction, Hollywood’s force is just more dead teaching the dead, more death in a dying world in a great and seemingly infinite universe that is in a state of decay. No wonder they promote zombies, vampires, and more!
While society is being entertained by Hollywood, we are being slowly drained of common sense then drawn into their vain ideas and philosophies. Vanity upon more vanity, ever wonder why some of those big names commit suicide!? Because there is no hope without truth!
But you may argue, I am a good person and am drawn to the good and light side of the force, yet I am telling you, you are blind to its vanity and you are without real hope – if that is your faith, it is a dead faith and you are another foolish victim of the Hollywood’s lies!
In this crazy world would you rather believe a lie or learn about the truth?
Would you be so bold to NOT be the individual that the world is telling you to be!? Would you dare to learn what is true? Would you dare to follow where only one man who has ever lived as true has gone?
The Force is no force at all, it has no wisdom or knowledge and those saying it say it is just some power within… it is really no power at all (whether it is Star Wars, Harry Potter, and etc.) It is not hope, it is not true faith and its concept of love is perverse lacking the ability to save a single soul!
The Force is altogether darkness there is no good side/dark side or white magic/black magic – and promotes the worst sort of lie painting it’s heroes as some sort of saints! While it may seem an attractive idea, it leads only to darkness and death. Besides all of that when you step back from it all you discover how very sad, depressing and gut ‘wrenchingly’ DARK the force or MAGIC is!
So, ask yourself, wouldn’t truth (no matter how hard to believe) be better than the force!?
Bible verses coming to mind and when searched:
1 Timothy 4:1 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;”
1 Corinthians 10:20-21 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.
John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
John 12:35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
John 12:46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
Acts 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Also fitting to the timing of this article – Hallowe’en – Should Christians Be Apart?*
Grammatical Error versus Intentional Misapplication
While there is no argument as to the definition of figurative or symbolic language, there is a clear difference between common grammatical error in the proper use of the terms, i.e. the correct term for the illustration given versus intentional misapplication of figurative terms for the purpose of creating a connection in which neither part has any relation, and also to separate a relation that IS clearly connected. A person who is quite skilled at intentional misapplication could make great use of it through the process known as eisegesis—an interpretation, especially of Scripture, that expresses the interpreter’s own ideas, bias, or the like, rather than the meaning of the text.
C. I. Scofield was guilty more often than not of eisegesic intentional misapplication, yet, he and his notes have acquired a celebrity status to the degree he is absolved of any personal wrong doing in his life. Despite the ample documentation proving the allegations for which there has been no documentation of his repentance, his notes became the final authority (even more so since his death in 1921). The Scofield Study Bible has been and continues to be used in churches, Bible Colleges and Universities to teach among other erroneous things, such as dispensationalism, the rapture and seven-year tribulation. For some, the defense of his notes, or the eschatological teaching within them is so dogmatic, lack of salvation or the disbelief of Christ’s return is implied if you don’t agree with them. Some have even gone so far as to sever relationships.
“One argument of defense was that Scofield did not write the notes. It is irrelevant how much of the notes are penned by Scofield’s hand. He is, on the one hand, having credit and fame bestowed upon him for them, but on the other hand, when issues of error arise he is defended as a nonparticipant. Scofield claimed thirty years of study and pastoral duty as well as being the editor of the notes. He approved of everything before it went to print. He also boasts of a,
“…wide circle of learned and spiritual brethren in Europe and America to whose labours he is indebted for suggestions of inestimable value.” Scofield Study Bible, Pocket Edition, page iv, 3rd paragraph.
They are highly educated people who should be well aware of the rules of English and the proper use of figurative terms, which brings us back to the original point of intentional misapplication.
To argue a case of misapplication by just spelling out a definition is as pointless as comparing apples to oranges. For example, if I said “the soup bone has been simmering for an hour” and “the dog’s bone is buried in the back yard” and the two sentences are related because they both speak of bones, you would probably give me a puzzled look as to how I came to that conclusion. Then someone comes to my defense by simply giving the definition of a bone. Would that convince you the two are related? Of course not, but that is what some have done with Scofield’s claim on all the “types” and figurative terms he says are connected as proof there is a rapture and seven-year tribulation. He also separates what should be connected partly because of the lack of similar wording, but mostly because it was necessary for his interpretation to be accepted. In order to win over as many as he could to his side of the fence, consistency of his view had to be maintained one way or another.
Ultimately, Scofield and friends manipulated the meanings and parts of speech to suit their teaching of eschatology and gain support of their version. In doing this, the chance was greater that the recipients of the teaching, by whatever means, would believe truth was in their grasp.
Some have said, “I never owned a Scofield Bible.” I can say, “I never owned a McGuffey Reader,” but it was the first to teach the phonics method in learning to read, which is how kids continue to learn to read today.
A person does not have to own a Scofield Bible to be taught the rapture/tribulation false doctrine contained in the notes.
Unfortunately, contrary to their belief, the acceptance of Scofield’s interpretation means students, pastors, teachers, etc., have also been manipulated and are continuing to teach the error in blind faith. Suffice it to say, if any other Bible version contains commentary supporting the rapture, etc., the original source from which they gleaned that teaching is Scofield’s Bible.
For more on Scofield and his notes click link below:
