A Bit More of 1 Peter(Into chapter 2! and a little about Peter too!

4Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.6Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,

“ Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”

Jesus as a living stone is superior to the OT temple. This is also a subtle attack on the idols that were made of wood and stone that were worshiped by gentiles before coming to Christ. Jesus is greater than the traditions handed from the early fathers, Jesus is greater than the temple in Jerusalem, Jesus is greater than any of the idols that were worshipped by the Gentiles. Jesus is the cornerstone of this new building of God, which is the church. The English word church is derived from a Greek word -kuriakos, which means, belonging to the Lord. But it stands of another Greek word ekklesia which denotes an assembly. Church in modern usage is applied to local congregations as well as the individual believer. Also the church is all believers. The church is not a political,social, or economic entity. It is a called out assembly of believers. Jesus is the foundation or the cornerstone of the church. The church is the body of Christ. The church is the spiritual house referred to in verse 5. The church receives its life from Christ through the Holy Spirit. The church is nourished through the reading of God’s Word through which that life is manifested.

7Therefore, to you who believe,He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,

“ The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone,”

8and

“ A stone of stumbling
And a rock of offense.”[e]

They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.
9But you area chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;10who oncewere not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

A little more about Peter, Peter knew first hand the effects of persecution, he had himself been beaten often and jailed , and seen had seen fellow Christians die and the church scattered.  It is because Peter knew Christ and nothing could shake his confidence in that he knew no matter what his salvation was secure. Peter wrote these letters to the scattered church that was suffering for there faith, to give comfort, guidance, and hope, and urged them to remain loyal to the Lord. Peter commands those that were suffering under Nero’s persecution, to continue to live holy lives, to reverently fear and trust God, to be honest and loving.  And to become like Christ.  Jesus is the cornerstone on which the church is built, and as such the those who have come to Christ are a part of God’s Holy Priesthood. Jesus was rejected by men and as Christians( Christ-Ones) we will be rejected too. Those who reject Christ , their rejection iof Him will cause them to stumble and fall.  

Check out ULHQ Face Book Page

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Our Radio Shows- a very diverse program of music and some educating and entertaining talk shows

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/universallifechurch

And check out my Facebook Page – Empty Cross Ministries

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Also if you want to know more about Peter and his life, Brother Michael has an excellent article in the ULC Newsletter about just that!

http://ulcnetwork.socialgo.com/magazine/read/official-universal-life-church-newsletter—1-072012_2218.html

Also if you are looking to wed in the near future and are in need of someone to officiate   and are in the central Indian area email me at emptycrossministries@yahoo.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Beast is Beat!!

The Beast and His Armies Defeated

¹⁷ Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God,^[h] 18 that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of allpeople, free^[i] and slave, both small and great.”
¹⁹ And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. ²⁰ Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. ²¹ And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.

God here is dealing His judgement on the unholy trinity. The antichrist (the leopard beast) and the false prophet ( the lamb beast) meet their doom. They are thrown in the alive into the lake of fire where they will suffer for all eternity.  The dragon (satan) meets his doom in chapter 20.

¹⁷ Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God,^[h] 18 that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of allpeople, free^[i] and slave, both small and great.” –  The angel tells the birds to gather and feast on the carcasses of those in the  fallen army that opposed Christ.  

¹⁹ And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. ²⁰ Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. ²¹ And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.

This is a drawing of the battle lines. The greatest confrontation in history is here in this verse.  It is the beast and the false prophet that have gathered the armies and the governments of the earth that are under the rule of the anti-christ- they in their pride and rebellion think they have come of their own volition- but the fact is that God has summoned them here to the battle in order to defeat them. The victory was won when Christ died on the cross  for the sins of the whole world, and rose from the dead. There is no fight! The evil leaders are immediately taken prisoner and cast into the Lake of Fire, sent to their judgement and thus the forces of evil are annihilated. The Lake of Fire is the eternal destination of all unbelievers, the beast and the false prophet are the first to suffer torment in the lake of brimstone.  Apparently all unbelievers that suffer death now go to Hades (Matt 16:18) and Jesus has the keys (1:18)  to both Hades and death.  And they will remain in Hades until Death and Hades are emptied  and cast  into the Lake of Fire. 

Revelation 1:18

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁸ I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

We now come to chapter 20, where satan is bound for 1,000 years. Before we get  to that we need to look what is called the Millennium.  This chapter is the only one in the Bible that actually mentions a thousand reign of Christ.  But there are passages throughout the scriptures that allude to a time of peace when Christ will reign on the earth as King of King and Lord of Lords. One is Is 11:6-

Isaiah 11:6

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁶ “ The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them

There are three views on the Millennium:

1. Amillennialism- the 1,000 years is figurative and represents an eternal amount of time.  That this is the current reign of the redeemed with Christ in heaven. That the present day form of the kingdom of God is followed by Christ’s return, a general resurrection, and the White Throne Judgement. Then Christ will reign over the perfect new heaven and new earth for all eternity.

2. Premillennialism- the present form of God’s kingdom is presently very rapidly approaching the return of Christ, which occurs after the 7 year tribulation. When Christ returns, satan will be bound in the abyss, then the first resurrection will occur.  The the redeemed in heaven return to earth with Christ and will reign with Him for a literal 1,000 year period.  This time period will initially be a predominately time of peace, as the period progresses the earth will be repopulated with people that have free will, over time though their hearts will become hardened through pride and confidence in self.  God will loose satan for a short time at the end of the literal 1,000 years.  Satan will make one last stand to war against God. God will send a consuming fire that devours  satan and all who have joined him. The satan is thrown into the lake of burning sulfur for eternal torment.  This is followed by the White Throne Judgement and then a second resurrection of the millennial age saints.  The finally, God establishes the new heaven and the new earth where He will dwell with His people for all eternity.

3. Postmillennialism- assumes that eventually the whole world will accept Christ which will result in a long period of world peace called the millennium, which is followed by Christ’s second coming, the resurrection of the dead, the White Throne Judgement, and the establishment of the new heaven and new earth.

We will pick up in Chapter 20 next time- until then- may God richly bless you!

Finality of Bab…

Finality of Babylon’s Fall

21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore. 22 The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore. 23 The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.”

21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore.. 22 The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore.

These verses show how swiftly and violently Babylon’s judgment will come. This is a lament from an angel, and this angel is powerful enough to toss a huge mill stone that weighs thousands of pounds into the sea.

23 The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived.

After this the only times “the voice of bridegroom and bride” is only heard regarding the ” the marriage of the Lamb” and the Ne Jerusalem. Sorcery literally means magic arts, and is referred to in 9:21 as the sins of all humankind, this is a reference to Babylons influence as causing all nations to become corrupt.

24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth.”

There are two possibilities here, one is that the blood of the slain refers to to all those martyred for the cause of Christ throughout all of history or it could refer specifically to those who were martyred during the tribulation, specifically those martyred during the reign of the beast.

We will pick up next on Chapter 19 until then may God richly bless you!