Podcasts about eternal state

Welcome to Episode #211 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our third of eight episodes in our Twenty-Seventh mini-series entitled Response to Sermon on the Mount. In our last episode, we discussed The Rock, Jesus mentioned in Matthew 7:24 upon which Jesus mentions in verse 25, the foundation had been laid. That Rock, being specifically Lord God Almighty of the Old Testament, and the foundation being Jesus Christ as identified by Paul in 1 Cor. 3:10-11. The house being built upon the foundation is according to Paul a temple of God and to Peter a spiritual house of God. Let's remind ourselves of these passages. Matthew 7:24-25 – “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16 – According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. …16 Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?1 Peter 2:4-5 – As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.On today's episode, we're going to look at the significance of what we discovered as it relates to the house not falling as the rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew, beating against the house we're building. Let's first look to before the beginning of this current terrestrial existence we are now experiencing. I'm speaking of before the flood in Noah's days. Genesis 6:5-7 – The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”I think it would be reasonable to say that at that time, man was in full-out rebellion against God. Inflamed with the lusts and desires of the flesh, man was drunk with unsatiated madness, questing to fulfill his yearnings and passions. We know nothing of this type of life beyond what is written in the Bible, as the antediluvian world was totally destroyed by the flood. The surface of the earth dramatically changed, and the ancestry of all mankind is tied to Noah's three sons and their descendants. We could spend a whole lot of time here, but we won't beyond mentioning Genesis 6:8 - But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. The critical item we want to pick up about Noah is plainly stated in two short verses. Genesis 6:9 – These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. Genesis 7:1 – Then the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.The teaching of Righteousness is presented throughout the Scripture. It is not something petty or unimportant, but is critical for learning if one wishes to become mature in their faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and the knowledge of God. What we know of here at this point is that Noah was righteous before God in the generation in which he lived. 

Welcome to Episode #210 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our second of eight episodes in our Twenty-Seventh mini-series entitled Response to Sermon on the Mount. In our last mini-series, we overviewed Matthew 7:24-27. In this overview, I pointed out how Jesus was saying something much greater than what appears on the surface. Of course, I could say this about any passage in the Bible, any word in the Bible, any Letter and even any space between the letters. While men and women have attempted to plumb the depths of what is hidden in the Scriptures, I can say without hesitation that no one has yet even scratched the surface of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge it contains. I doubt even the most powerful AI we could ever conceive would melt down long before the contents were fully revealed.All that to say, on this episode we also will only be scratching the surface as we look at the rock mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 7:24. Let's read the entire massage for context. Matthew 7:24-27 – “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”We got into this a little on our last episode when I read Paul speaking of the foundation of our faith in 1 Corinthians 3:9-17 – You are God's field, God's building. 10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. 16 Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.Each of us are building a house, God's temple, where the Holy Spirit indwells us. Once we are reborn by the Holy Spirit, he will never leave us. Our life now and into eternity will be by empowered by the Holy Spirit. We are now and forever experiencing eternal life. Although now still residing in a body of death, at God's time and choosing, he will take us from our bodies and bring us to paradise until we receive our resurrection bodies at the return of Christ. When thinking about this, being with Jesus rather than remaining in the body, Paul noted in Philippians 1:23-24 – I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.Paul notes our bodies being the temple of God also in 2 Corinthians 6:16 – For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.Peter also mentions Jesus as a living stone and we as living stones, each in spiritual houses of God. We'll see this stone imagery later in this episode. 1 Peter 2:4-6 – As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” This is a good time to repeat Matthew 7:24-25 – “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.Our foundation is Jesus Christ and him crucified for our sins/trespasses, raised from the dead for our justification, and ascended to the right hand of God in heaven. In 1 & 2 Corinthians, Paul says the house we're building is the temple of God. Peter, in 1 Peter 2,  says we are building a spiritual house and that we are a holy priesthood. John writes of Spirit Baptized believers in Revelation 1:5-6 – To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.  

Welcome to Episode #209 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our first of eight episodes in our Twenty-Seventh mini-series entitled Response to Sermon on the Mount. In our last mini-series, we took six episodes to cover all of Matthew 7, except the sermon's closing passages, Matthew 7:24-27 and 7:28-29. We'll cover these passages in this mini-series.I encourage you to imagine yourself having just heard Jesus' Sermon on the Mount that began with Matthew 5:3 – “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven; and ended with Matthew 7:23 – And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'.Imagine you just heard Jesus deliver this sermon; not a word slips past your mind or drops to the ground. Off the top of your head, what strikes you as most important? Or, did you sense Jesus was speaking to someone else? As I've mentioned a couple of times in prior episodes, I have changed my views on the Sermon on the Mount several times, each time taking a more conservative approach to the text's applicability to life in the kingdom of heaven now, and not yet. One of the keys to my changing views resides in the significant closing statement Jesus makes and the crowd's response. Both of which, when taken together, are worthy of exploring over an entire mini-series. We'll take them a verse at a time.On today's episode, we're going to introduce Matthew 7:24-27. Let's jump right in.  Matthew 7:24-27 – “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”What we will explore today is Jesus identifying the gateway into an intimate relationship with God our Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus prayed to his Father the night he was betrayed, saying, John 17:3 – And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Jesus had said earlier of eternal life in John 6:40 – For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. John says earlier in John 3:36 – Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.Did you note a shift in that third passage? Let me read John 3:36 again, Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.Let me restate this slightly to make clear. Those who believe in Jesus have eternal life. Those who do not OBEY Jesus shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on them. Why is that so significant?Jesus has identified in Matthew 7:24-27 two builders who both “HEAR” the words of Jesus (a wise builder and a foolish builder). The wise builder hears Jesus' words and puts the into practice. The foolish builder hears the words of Jesus and does not put them into practice. The wise man builds his house on the rock, while the foolish man builds his house on the sand. There are consequences to the choice of foundations, we will explore later. 

What is meant by a new heaven and a new earth? Listen to this message to learn about eight judgments and four resurrections. Find out why there are so many unbelievers at the end of the Millennial Kingdom. Begin a study of two books: the book of Man's Works and the Lamb's Book of Life. See that there is only light (i.e., no darkness) in the Eternal State. Hear a description of the New Jerusalem. Marvel at what is coming in the future for those who put their trust in Christ.

What is meant by a new heaven and a new earth? Listen to this message to learn about eight judgments and four resurrections. Find out why there are so many unbelievers at the end of the Millennial Kingdom. Begin a study of two books: the book of Man's Works and the Lamb's Book of Life. See that there is only light (i.e., no darkness) in the Eternal State. Hear a description of the New Jerusalem. Marvel at what is coming in the future for those who put their trust in Christ.

Welcome to Episode #208 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our eighth of eight episodes in our Twenty-Sixth mini-series entitled Return to the Sermon on the Mount. On today's episode, we're going to take a break and catch up with where we've been in this mini-series during a Walk on the Beach with DrZ. This morning's walk is like perfection. Water is crystal clear and glistening atop the swales, silently moving ashore. There's a slight north wind that will keep this morning's temperature in the mid-60's till at least 1 PM. And finally, all the Spring breaks for area schools and colleges are over, so we have a tranquil, deserted beach all morning.We did things a little differently this week: a large group of walkers arrived well before sunrise to share a quiet time of prayer and journaling as we sat at individual lap desks with lamps out on the beach. We saw a setting moon and a rising sun on opposite horizons while listening to the rush of waters along the surf line and hearing the word of God speak into our hearts. We've gone in and had a cup of coffee, mingled with the new arrivals, and are back on the beach ready for a walk. So glad you've joined us, we've got a lot to cover.All right, looks like everyone's here and alert. We'll head west with the sun at our back. You can look toward the sunrise now, and appreciate the wonder of a morning on the beach, it never gets old, and be glad not to be walking into that constant low sun angle glare. We'll turn when the Navy arrives. More on that later. We've just completed seven episodes on Jesus' closing instructions to his disciples for his Sermon on the Mount. These instructions are found in Matthew 7, following the meat of his message found in Chapters 5 and 6, which we covered in mini-series 19, 20, and 21. I've spent the last three months meditating on Matthew 7:1-23, preparing the episodes for this mini-series. There is one small section of Matthew 7 left that we'll cover in mini-series 27. This particular chapter of Matthew may be the most important Chapter for a Christian who desires to live out the life in the Spirit, Jesus promised and provided for those who would believe in him. This is not about a religion, a denomination, or da body of individuals gathered in a building or auditorium for what is called church. Jesus provided very specific instructions, encouragement, and warnings in this chapter, found in both the Old and New Testament passages. If we aren't careful, we may continue to do as I've done most of my believing life thinking, there's not much here for me. I admit and confess right now, I could not have been more wrong.Which reminds me to note to all you listening, to confirm everything I say by the scripture. Just because I say something does not supercede the authority of the scriptures. Be good stewards of your faith as were the Bereans in Acts 17:11 – Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 

In Episode #207 of the Way of the Bible podcast, we continue our examination of the closing words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, focusing on one of the most sobering and revealing passages in all of Scripture: Matthew 7:21–23. In this teaching, Jesus draws a sharp and eternal distinction between those who merely claim to follow Him and those who truly belong to Him.Jesus declares that not everyone who calls Him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of the Father. This statement immediately challenges assumptions about what it means to be a disciple. Many equate discipleship with outward expressions—words, works, or even spiritual activity. Yet Jesus dismantles this notion by describing individuals who prophesy, perform miracles, and cast out demons in His name, but are ultimately rejected with the words, “I never knew you.”This episode explores the deeper meaning behind doing the will of the Father. Drawing from John 6, the will of God is revealed not as a list of external actions, but as a call to believe in the One He has sent—Jesus Christ. This belief is not merely intellectual agreement, but a genuine, Spirit-enabled faith that transforms the heart. It is a faith that entrusts one's entire being to Christ and results in true righteousness.The discussion connects this teaching to the broader biblical narrative, particularly the concept of righteousness by faith. Beginning with Abraham, who believed God and was credited with righteousness, and continuing through the writings of Paul in Romans, the episode highlights that salvation has always been rooted in faith rather than works. While works may accompany true faith, they are not the foundation of it.A key emphasis in this episode is the role of the Holy Spirit. True belief is not self-generated but is enabled by the Father and brought to life through the Spirit. This explains why some who hear the message respond in faith while others do not. It also underscores the necessity of a transformed heart, rather than mere outward conformity.The episode also addresses the reality that false disciples exist within the broader community of believers. In a world with thousands of denominations and countless interpretations, the presence of those who claim Christ but do not truly know Him should not be surprising. This reality reinforces the importance of personal discernment and a genuine relationship with Christ.Ultimately, this teaching leads to a deeply personal question: Is one's faith rooted in authentic belief and relationship with Jesus, or merely in outward expression? The difference is eternal.As Jesus' words make clear, the issue is not whether we know about Him—but whether He knows us.

Welcome to Episode #206 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our sixth of eight episodes in our Twenty-Sixth mini-series entitled Return to the Sermon on the Mount. We've been marching along instruction after instruction of this closing Chapter of Jesus' sermon until last episode when we expanded upon the word “Enter” to make significant the otherwise impossible entrance into the throne room of God's Grace.Jesus, in these closing snippets of instruction, gave his disciples boardroom-type insights into the kingdom of heaven. In particular, keys to knowing God the Father through the Holy Spirit by knowing increasing in the knowledge of the Son of Man, Son of God, Jesus Christ our Lord. I have been trying for the past several days to find the words that would sufficiently describe the deep things God our Father delivers to us regarding Jesus through his Holy Spirit, but have not yet found them. So, let us just continue where we left off in the Sermon on the mount.Matthew 7:15-20 – “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.SIDEBAR: Jesus just dropped another huge block to discipleship and hearing from God. Who are you listening to? I pray you, as a listener, are like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 – Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. No matter what another person or I may say, always affirm your faith and what you hear by the Scriptures and affirmation by the Holy Spirit! False prophets are real and in our midst today, and God allows them to do exactly what he intends through them.Let's examine this sidebar. Prophets and their prophecies have been integral to the Biblical narrative since the very beginning of mankind on the earth. Prophets followed two specific paths, which sometimes merged in certain individuals. Some prophets revealed and explained the word of God already spoken and/or recorded to earlier generations to the people in their own day. Other prophets heard the Lord's word and instructions firsthand and either repeated them to the people through an oral tradition or recorded them in writing.Peter tells us the work of the prophets who recorded what they heard from God in 2 Peter 1:20-21 – Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.This being carried along by the Holy Spirit was evident both in hearing the word of the Lord first-hand, in repeating the word of the Lord, and in giving the instructions of the Lord. The words and instructions from God entrusted to the prophets were both contemporary with the prophets and concerned people and events in the future that had not yet occurred.  Isaiah provides one of the most telling of God's prophetic statements in Isaiah 46:10 – I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.'

Welcome to Episode #205 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our fifth of eight episodes in our Twenty-Sixth mini-series entitled Return to the Sermon on the Mount. On our four episodes so far on this mini-series, we've been speaking of the veracity of Jesus' preaching to the crowds regarding the kingdom of heaven and the importance of having ears to hear. This week will be no different, as we take a deeper dive into the first part of last week's passage and look at what it means to “Enter!”Let's begin by reading the passage for our last episode to give us some context for today.Matthew 7:13-14 – “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.Last episode, we hammered home the reality Jesus was pointing out to the crowd as he was winding down his talk focused on the kingdom of heaven. Specifically, there are only two places a person can go after their departure from this life. To destruction through the wide gate and easy way that many are upon. In fact, all humanity is born such that this road to destruction is the way all take unless something changes the course of a life. I believe that if an infant or child, from conception, dies before reaching the age of innocence (the age at which God chooses to judge an individual based upon what they've consciously done), then that child, by the mercy and grace of God, enters into the kingdom of heaven. Once a child passes that age, they are of their own making, born into sin and death, already walking on the wide and easy way leading to destruction.Of their own making refers to our individual responsibility to our conscience regarding right and wrong, and our consciousness of God in regard to who we are ultimately answerable to. The end of the age of innocence of a child is fluid and is greatly influenced by the actions of others. This is a universal reality, not respective of culture or nationality. It is a sad part of the human experience, and part of what Jesus came to make right.A keyword Jesus used in this passage to point a hearer to the possibility of escaping the road to destruction and finding the gate to the hard way that leads to life was the word Enter. In Greek, that word is eiserchomai - ice-er'-khom-ahee. This word means both a physical entry into a space as well as a spiritual and or metaphysical entry into a physical and or metaphysical space. For example, a spirit entering our bodies, and/or our spirit leaving our bodies to enter a new space for occupation. See 1 Corinthians 15 for more details.When we die a physical death, our spirit that God gave us returns to him for judgment of what we've done in the body, whether good or evil. For the believer, that judgment will be at the judgment seat of Christ and concerns our rewards given for divinely ordained and orchestrated works done through Christ that advance the kingdom. 2 Corinthians 5:10 – For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.For the unbeliever, that judgment will occur at the Great White Throne judgment in Revelation 20:11-15 – Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the

Welcome to Episode #204 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our fourth of eight episodes in our Twenty-Sixth mini-series entitled Return to the Sermon on the Mount. On our first three episodes of this mini-series, we've been reintroduced to the veracity of Jesus' preaching to the crowds regarding the kingdom of heaven and the importance of having ears to hear. This week will be no different, as Jesus again identifies a reality that few choose to accept as true.Let's just jump right into the mix and see what comes out by the end of this episode. Matthew 7:13-14 – “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.If you are a believer, you've likely heard this passage and also memorized it at some point, hoping to figure out exactly what Jesus was referring to in regard to the two gates. One narrow and the other wide. One that is hard and found by few, and one that is easy and many are upon it. One leads to life and the other leads to destruction.Like many of Jesus' teachings, there are only two options. There is no third gate, or a fence to sit on, or a rest stop for weary travelers. Two gates, everyone is on one or the other. From an odds perspective we all would be far more likely to be found to have taken the wide gate, on the easy way, that leads to destruction. And in fact, we all entered the world by the wide gate and were on the easy road heading for destruction at one time.

Welcome to the Grace in Focus podcast. Today, Bob Wilkin and Ken Yates are answering a question about fictional books which speculate about the eternal state. Are there any good […] The post Do You Have Plans to Reprint “The Omega Reunion” or Any Other Writings About the Eternal State? appeared first on Grace Evangelical Society.

Welcome to Episode #203 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our third of eight episodes in our Twenty-Sixth mini-series entitled Return to the Sermon on the Mount. On our last episode, we addressed Jesus telling us, even today, to ask, seek, and knock. I've been doing that earnestly in the area of what is holy, which we encountered in our first episode of this mini-series regarding judging others. Matthew 7:6 – Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.This is something I learned from experience and not from my own will power, a morning quiet time, and journaling. I read the Bible cover to cover for 34 plus years and never considered journaling; it wasn't who I was. Doing the St. Ignatius Spiritual exercises a couple of years ago taught me the practice. Now one hundred and twenty-eight weeks later, I've yet to give up an hour, more or less, every morning, mining the scriptures and speaking with God about what he shows me. Over the past two weeks, I've been going through the master class notes on the topic of holy found in the scriptures. Yesterday, in my quiet time, I was offered to take a deep dive with Jesus himself into this deep well of precious treasures and stones of vibrant colors. Which I will do and hopefully share on a future mini-series. But first, today's passage.Matthew 7:12 – So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.This verse is commonly referred to as the Golden Rule. If taken out of context, you can make it mean a lot of things it was not intended to mean. The last part of the verse gives us the standard to which we should compare our effort in this regard; that standard being the entirety of the Law and the Prophets found in the Old Testament.

Welcome to Episode #202 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our second of eight episodes in our Twenty-Sixth mini-series entitled Return to Sermon on the Mount. We are in the final Chapter of Jesus' sermon on the mount. In our last episode, we addressed not judging others. I hope you discerned from that episode that Jesus was not merely speaking to his disciples and others gathered below him, but addressing us, believers, throughout the span of church history.Today, we take a step up, if that were even possible from where we were on our last episode, to a high peak in scriptural instruction that impacts everything. Given our short format, I can only lead you to this upwelling spring of living water. It will be up to you after this episode to drink fully of this water of life and experience transformation as mountains begin to move at your request, hidden treasures are revealed along the path, and ancient doors into secret chambers are unlocked and swung open at your touch.Let's start with the passage.Matthew 7:7-11– “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Welcome to Episode #201 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our first of eight episodes in our Twenty-Sixth mini-series entitled Return to Sermon on the Mount. We veered off the path of the Sermon on the Mount after completing Matthew Chapter 6 on Episode #169. In the interim episodes between then and now, #170 to #200, We dedicated four mini-series to the Return of Jesus Christ. Today, we jump back on the path listening to Jesus' instructions to his disciples and a gathered crowd.Let's start with the passage.Matthew 7:1-6 – “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. 6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

Revelation 20:11-21:8: Dive into the final things with this study of the eternal state. Learn about the Great White Throne judgment and the glorious New Jerusalem.For the study resources and manuscript go to messiahbible.org

Welcome to Episode #200 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our eighth of eight episodes in our Twenty-Fifth mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ. Wait a minute, did I just say 200th episode, WaHoo!!On today's episode, we're taking a Walk on the Beach with DrZ. We'll be joining a manageable group gathered in the beachside yoga pavilion at Seaside along Highway 30A, to hear from me, DrZ, and enjoy a mid-morning brunch catered by Bud and Ally's. We arrived just moments ago, and are enjoying sparkling Shirley Temples and mimosa's after a brisk walk from the public parking area and beach entrance just east of the Water Color Resort. The brunch buffet will be served when I finish this presentation. Let's jump in.

Welcome to Episode #198 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our sixth of eight episodes in our Twenty-Fifth mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ [4]. Today's episode will be in keeping with the theme of tying together all we've covered up to this point over the last 29 episodes. While winding down this topic we'll open a can of clarity on the topic of the blessed hope found in Titus 2:11-14 – For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.There are a lot of cross-references and theology in this passage, we are going to skip getting to the nugget of our blessed hope found in Titus 2:13 – “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” Before we get there, I recently heard a pastor who validated and upheld much of what I've encountered on my walk with Jesus and in the Holy Spirit's sanctification. All is not as it seems in a realm of covered in darkness where light pours forth from heaven through vessels of clay. Paul noted of his experience of God's light is shining in his heart in 2 Cor. 4:8-10 – We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 

Would you like to know what your future will be in God's plan for history? Listen to this message to learn details about these events. Find out there are differing views on when the major events occur and that the pre-tribulation, pre-millennial views are the ones found when these chapters in Revelations are interpreted in a literal, physical, actual way. As for timing, see what the Scripture means when it says an event is “near.” Learn about the Church Age, the Rapture, the Second Coming of Christ, the Millennial Kingdom, and the Eternal State.

Welcome to Episode #197 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our fifth of eight episodes in our Twenty-Fifth mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ [4]. On today's episode, we will continue tying together all we've covered up to this point over the last 28 episodes. Today, we will begin winding down this topic by addressing the Four Views of the End Times predominant within the Christian church. The four views include Amillennialism; Postmillennialism, Historical Premillennialism, and Dispensational Premillennialism.I have emphasized throughout these episodes and mini-series that I am convinced the Dispensational Premillennial view is the most historically and scripturally supported. However, this view, as I've just introduced, is only one of four, and the smallest accepted within the church. While some denominations define their eschatological positions regarding the return of Christ, many simply acknowledge that Jesus is returning and offer resources for those interested in researching further.This question of how and when Christ will return has been debated by Christians, clergy, and scholars alike since the earliest days of the church. The central passage around which the debates swirl is found in Revelation 20:1-6, where a thousand years is mentioned four times. Two times a thousand year is used in reference to the duration of Satan being locked up  with no influence in the world, followed by two more times for a thousand year reign of Jesus on the earth. Let's read it for completion:Revelation 20:1-6 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. 4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.The four major views differ primarily on:•          The timing of Christ's return relative to the millennium•          Whether the thousand years is literal or symbolic•          The relationship between Israel and the Church•          The timing of the rapture relative to the tribulationI will be providing the scriptural, historical, and theological foundations of each view. While also reminding you, the position I support is Dispensational Premillennialism. 

Welcome to Episode #196 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our fourth of eight episodes in our Twenty-Fifth mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ [4]. On today's episode, we will continue tying together all we've covered up to this point over the last 27 episodes. Today, we address the rewards for faithful obedience more fully.On our last episode, we covered Jesus' last words to the church found at the end of the Bible in Revelation 22:12-21. On today's episode we're going to unpack for greater clarity what Jesus was speaking of in Revelation 22:12 – My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. What is Jesus speaking of as a reward, and what does the reward have to do with things a person has done? This is where we will be camping out today.

Welcome to Episode #195 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our third of eight episodes in our Twenty-Fifth mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ [4]. On today's episode, we will begin to tie together all we've covered up to this point over the last 26 episodes. And yet it is a topic you hear very little about, except when forces within the body stir up strife, bringing division. I hope you can see why by now. I also hope that, while it may seem like a lot of time has been spent on this podcast about a relatively obscure topic, you have come to recognize that the return of Jesus is the central theme of both the Old and New Testaments. Now imagine this four-part mini-series as a 50+-part mini-series, and you would likely have enough episodes to do justice to a complete overview of the book of Revelation. If you have been given the idea that the Bible is too complex and disjointed to make any sense, you have been deceived. The Bible is the most tightly packed and integrated message system filled end to end with Spiritual words that are spiritually discerned, whose author is God. Words are not enough to describe that by which all other things seen and unseen are defined, described, manifested, and have their being, [the Word of God]. Keys to the Bible's validation are the prophetic texts in both the Old and New Testaments. From the first word to the last word of the Scriptures, they are inerrant in their original communication. Libraries are filled with books by scholars and laymen alike who have tried but never plumbed the depths of the riches of wisdom and knowledge hidden between the covers of the Bible. It is beyond any one person's comprehension and only reveals what God, through Jesus, superintends by the Spirit for a person to understand.I am convinced, as have innumerable others who have studied the text, that our personal interactions with the Bible and Holy Spirit are fully reliable. And in that vein of overwhelming belief and trust in the words and Spirit of God, I present the I AM Coming Soon crescendo of the Bible found in Revelation 22:12-21.

Welcome to Episode #194 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our second of eight episodes in our Twenty-Fifth mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ [4]. On today's episode, we will continue exploring the reason for a Christian's anticipation of the second coming of Jesus. That reason is tied up in the prophetic fulfillment of Isaiah 25:8 as referenced by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:54 – Death has been swallowed up in victory.Isaiah 25:7-8 – On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever.This is a profound topic, Death, so we've taken it in two parts. On our last episode, we addressed the origin of death and why it is so hideous and has eternal consequences. In today's episode, we'll explore how Jesus conquered death and offers eternal life to all who believe. We'll also take a forward peek to the end of time, and see that Death itself will be cast into the eternal lake of fire, where it will remain forever and ever.What we learned on our last episode was that, since time immemorial, mankind has sensed we are not where we once were. We seem to claw and yearn for a land far away. James Hilton, in his 1933 novel “Lost Horizon,” pictured this place as Shangri-La, a mythical, earthly hidden paradise in an idyllic valley of eternal youth and peace. We ignore what we know to be true. God exists, as evidenced in creation, and only he can tell us the Way to return home. In our self-absorbed ignorance, we follow the deceitful lies of the devil who took us captive from birth to do his will because of our fear of death.Yet, with every step we take to fulfill the devil's will, we constantly hear the ground seemingly crying cry out, awaiting our demise and return to dust. In our modern world, we've reduced our contact with the horror of it all by sticking our old and infirm into long-term care facilities, which leaves them locked up and away from view. We are like the wandering children of the streets in the story of Pinocchio. We are attracted by the trinkets (money and power), games (he with the most toys in the end wins), and candy (sex, drugs, and rock and roll) provided by the devil's groomers who lead us onto the slavery ship from which there is no natural means of escape – destination death, the grave, condemnation by God and eternal punishment. This, by the way, is the end of everyone born after the age of innocence, as a result of the sin of Adam. We are all infected; no one is immune to the bloodline sin and condemnation of Adam. ABSOLUTELY NO ONE. But what about Jesus? AHAH!! You had to ask, didn't you? Here is where the first deception is implanted. In the words of the devil in the garden, appearing to Eve as a serpent, “Did God really say” (Gen 3:1), and “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman (Gen 3:4). To hide his deception, the devil used a double entendre in his overall assessment of the situation. Listen to this sly devil. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Gen 3:5). On the one hand, Eve could think God was holding out on her, not wanting her to be like God. And why shouldn't she be? She was of Adam, who was made in the image and likeness of God. She's only one bite away from being like God. On the other hand, Eve could think God wants her to eat the fruit and be like him. Why else would God have created her? It may have been evident to Eve that Adam was holding out on her. It was Adam who told her not to eat or touch the fruit. God's desire would naturally be that Eve would be like God, knowing good and evil. So, either way, Eve, looking at the situation, had one choice: eat the fruit. Which she did and nothing happened.Eve then gave the fruit to her husband, Adam, who was with her. God had commanded A

Welcome to Episode #193 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our first of eight episodes in our Twenty-Fifth mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ [4]. On today's episode, we will begin to explore the reason for a Christian's anticipation of the second coming of Jesus. That reason is tied up in the prophetic fulfillment of Isaiah 25:8 as referenced by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:54 – Death has been swallowed up in victory.Isaiah 25:7-8 – On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever.This is a profound topic, Death, so we're going to take it in two parts. On this episode, we'll address the origin of death and why it is so hideous and has eternal consequences. In our next episode, we'll explore how Jesus conquered death and offers eternal life to all who believe.With that, let's jump into the deep end. The devil is a liar and has been deceiving mankind from the beginning. Jesus speaks of this in John 8:44 – You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He [devil] was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him [devil]. When he [devil] lies, he [devil] speaks his [devil] native language, for he [devil] is a liar and the father of lies. Did you hear all that? Jesus is affirming the devil is not only a real being; he is actively acting as a deceiving and disruptive force in the world and in our lives daily.This is where, sadly, for most in the visible church and many believers, a disconnect happens in their faith that directly impacts their walk of faith. When referreing to the devil in this John 8 passage, Jesus is referring to the creation narrative presented in Genesis Chapter 3. In that passage, the devil [called the serpent in Genesis 3] deceives Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, which she gives to Adam who was with her, and when Adam ate the fruit, both Adam and Eve died spiritually. The devil murdered them both and has continued murdering humanity up to this very day with his lies and deceptions.For completeness, the devil has several names in the Bible, which are identified in Revelation  20:2 – He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.What I am speaking of is the devil's agents in the world and in the church who have convinced most in the visible church that the creation narrative, and to be honest, most if not all of the five books of Moses and Old Testament prophetic texts are myths made up by ancient writers. The devil deceives those holding such positions that they are above the Scriptures, above God himself, as Jesus, who is God, mentioned to those opposing him. They thought they were so superior to Jesus that they had him crucified.Let me hit this a little harder before I continue, as the basis of my presentation proceeds from the creation narrative. In the John 8 passage just quoted above, Jesus told the Jews he was speaking with that they were children of the devil. How can that be? Isn't everyone a child of God? The simple answer is NO! Everyone is not a child of God. Everyone was created individually by God after the image of Adam who was created in the Image and likeness of God. Eve herself was of Adam, taken from his rib.Let me demonstrate this once again using the words of Jesus, who would know the truth. Jesus told a parable about seeds sown on four different types of ground and how those seeds responded to the word of God.  For the seed sown on the first type of ground Jesus explains in Luke 8:12 – Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 

Welcome to Episode #192 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our eighth episode in our Twenty-Fourth mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ [3]. On today's post Thanksgiving Week 2025 episode, we will be taking A Walk on the Beach with DrZ and summarize the content of this mini-series and areas we can focus on for future investigation into this topic the great snatching away, the Harpazo, the Rapture of the church. Let's just jump right into the middle of the mix at a beach house along 30A. So glad to have such a big group with us this morning. I realize this is an important topic, especially given the signs of the times. But I also recognize a special draw to just walk on the beach this gorgeous Thanksgiving week morning here along 30A. It's one of those mornings, after the water was totally flat yesterday, to have a light surf of clear emerald waves with white foam caps that take your breath away. The calming sounds of rushing waters will beckon us to enter into the conversation.I'll meet you all behind the beach house in ten minutes. That should give me enough time to go around and greet everyone personally. We'll have plenty of time for follow-up conversations and perhaps a surprise or two after our walk this morning.Looks like everyone is here. As we make our way out to the beach on the boardwalk, we'll pause at the large landing across the top of the dune and take in the view before descending to God's stadium floor. The floor where two worlds collide and intersect, but where no creatures are shared. With that, let's get walking.Alright, everyone, stop and take a look up and down the beach. What a glorious sight God has provided for us today. You can plainly see in the morning light the shimmering waters of deep blue, blue, and emerald-green with splotches of light tan where the sandbars lie just below the surface. Along the water line and inland, wide and deep snow white sugar sand as far as the eyes can see in both directions. Alright, let's head down to the stadium floor… Check out these crystal clear waters up close. The white foaming surf and cool, but not cold, feel of the clear water that quickly turns emerald ten feet off shore. We'll head toward the mid-morning sunrise and turn back to the West in a little over a mile. What is interesting but rarely considered is that there is another entire ecosystem with creatures that match and or surpass even the greatest or most unusual land creatures on earth. Water covers approximately 71% of our planet, with 91.5% of that water in the oceans. Yet we know little about the vast ocean spaces and the creatures that live there, and their habitats. We share the same oxygen but in totally different environments. There is a tiny crustacean called the hadal amphipod that lives in the deepest parts of the Mariana Trench up to 34,500 feet or 6.5 miles deep. The pressure at that depth is 15,350 pounds per square inch, which is 1000 times greater than the pressure at sea level. And yet there they...

Welcome to Episode #191 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our seventh of eight episodes in our Twenty-Fourth mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ [3]. On today's episode, we will begin with background on the state of Eschatological thinking today, and then compare the Rapture of the church and the Second Coming of Jesus on the Day of the Lord. We will then begin an exploration into what's happening in heaven after the church is taken off the earth and before the tribulations on earth begin. I've been saying since the beginning of these mini-series on the return of Jesus, that the signs of the times are lining up such that if something as paradigm-shifting as the Rapture were to occur, it would not be outrageous and unexplainable. And yet, so few, and I mean very few, in the visible church today are even aware of such a thing called the Rapture. Let me start there and work toward the materials for today.It wasn't always this way. I'd presented on Episode #189 a boatload of New Testament rapture passages validating that the snatching away/Rapture of the church was the eschatological position of Jesus, his apostles, and the early church fathers through the second century. The eschatology of the church was radically, or better yet, hard-wired to drop this view and pick up another when the church married the world under Emperor Theodosius I. The marriage idiom for the church is critical when thinking of the Bible. This marriage happened when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in 380 AD. Prior to that, during the church's engagement period to the world, Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity with the Edict of Milan in 313 AD. This ended the state-sponsored persecution of Christians and began a period of religious tolerance of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire. Constantine built churches, declared Sunday a public holiday, and granted the church legal and financial advantages. You could say the visible church, in which the bride of Christ is hidden, exchanged remaining pure for the anticipated return of Jesus for enmeshment and acceptance in the world, and to reengage opportunities to indulge in the idolatries of the world from which had been forsaken by the teachings of the epistles for almost 300 years. Why would it do that?

Welcome to Episode #190 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our sixth of eight episodes in our Twenty-Fourth mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ [3]. On today's episode, we will explore the second coming of Jesus in contrast to the greatest news for the church —the Great Snatching Away, or Rapture of the church. On our last episode (#189), we addressed a plethora of New Testament passages that speak of the return of Jesus Christ for his bride, the Church. Jesus is coming back aerially, the same way he went up in Acts 1:9-11. Jesus is returning to snatch believers off the earth before the tribulation that is to follow, which will come upon every person remaining on the earth. That tribulation ends on the Day of the Lord, when Jesus returns bodily to judge the world and establish his kingdom that will have no end.

Welcome to Episode #189 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our fifth of eight episodes in our Twenty-Fourth mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ [3]. On today's episode, we will continue expanding on the greatest news for the church —the Great Snatching Away, or Rapture of the church (Harpazo in Greek). 

Welcome to Episode #187 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our third of eight episodes in our Twenty-Fourth mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ [3]. On today's episode, we will continue expanding upon the greatest news for the church, the Great Snatching Away, harpazo/rapture, the resurrection/translation of the bride of Christ.We'll start with a quick context reminder and then hit our lesson for today, which will be the first half of 1 Corinthians 15. But before then, why the harpazo/rapio, the great snatching away? The reason for the great snatching away in the Bible is to remove the church from the world before God judges the world with great tribulations and wrath. We will address that near the end of this mini-series. The New Testament writers, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, clearly wanted the body of Christ to know that Jesus was coming back and to anticipate his return at any moment. The normal Christian life, as described in the epistles, is not sitting on one's hands in regard to one's faith life while playing with trinkets in the world, passing away the time to break the boredom of communing with God. The normal Christian life is to live your new life in the kingdom, a holy and righteous life of love for God and neighbor as we wait for our Savior, the bridegroom, to appear in the sky above to take us, his bride, home.John the Baptist spoke of the church and Jesus in John 3:29 – The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.In the New Testament, Jesus is the bridegroom, the church is the bride, and the Old Testament saints, including John the Baptist, are friends of the bridegroom. It says of the bride of Christ in Revelation 19:6-8 – Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God's holy people.)Jesus spoke to his disciples in the Upper Room discourse about his wedding preparations to bring home his bride. John 14:1-3 – “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2  My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3  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.  We know that Jesus, our bridegroom, went away physically on the day of his ascension into heaven. Acts 1:10- They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”As Jesus went up in the ascension, so shall he return in like manner. We see that in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 – For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God.That catches us up on what we need to know for today's episode. We'll do some tying up of loose ends after our next episode, where we finish an overview of 1 Corinthians 15. And before we get to the first portion of 1 Corinthians 15 for today, let's put what Paul is about to address in context.

Welcome to Episode #186 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our second of eight episodes in our Twenty-Fourth mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ [3]. On today's episode, we will continue expanding upon the greatest news for the church, the Great Snatching Away, of the church before tribulation, the great tribulation and wrath, and the Day of the Lord.Before we get started today, I want to add some additional context to our discussion to avoid confusion. There are several views on the events and timing of the events mentioned in scripture about Jesus' return. The far majority of these views believe Jesus is going to bodily return. There is a view that his return will be merely spiritual; which we will not deal with here. But the other views regarding his bodily return, I must at least mention.The view of eschatology (view of the end times) I am presenting here is called the premillennial pretribulation rapture view. It is the view taught by Jesus in the gospels and the book of Revelation and by the apostles in their letters and epistles. It teaches that believers are "harpazo'd or raptured" to heaven before Israel signs an agreement with its neighbors that begins a seven-year period of intense persecution of the Jews and an outpouring of the wrath of God called the tribulation. This tribulation ends in great tribulation on the Day of the Lord, when Jesus will return bodily to the earth with all the church saints to judge all mankind on the earth and to establish a literal 1,000-year (millennial) reign. This view has as its foundation the method of biblical interpretation that views prophecies as still unfulfilled and to occur in the future.Our last episode we had an overview of the first phase of his return, which is aerial, for the purpose of snatching away the bride of Christ before the coming judgment of God. The judgment and wrath of God will be in tribulations, the great tribulation, and finally the Day of the Lord, when Jesus bodily returns in the second phase to save a remnant of Israel and judge the world in righteousness.  We spoke of how this first phase snatching away is not uncommon in the Scriptures, with two examples in the Old and five examples in the New Testament (Enoch, Elijah, Jesus, Philip, Paul, the body of Christ, and John). Paul says the Harpazo [Greek], the Rapio [Latin, from which we get Rapture] is a mystery. Are you unaware of this significant upcoming event in the church?We noted on our last episode the basis for the harpazo/rapture was established in John 3. In this chapter, Jesus noted a significant difference between those who believe and gain eternal life and those who do not believe and remain condemned already. In John 14, Jesus provides some important details of the harpozo and ties them in prophetically (via pattern fulfillment) with the Jewish wedding ceremony. Jesus is the bridegroom, the church is the bride, and John the Baptist and all Old Testament saints are friends of the bridegroom. (John 3:27-36, John 14:1-14) I mentioned last episode, and will continue emphasizing during this mini-series, that we have to understand with our heart, mind, and soul that heaven is a real place. A supernatural place beyond dimensionality where God dwells. We and all of creation and the cosmos with us, experience existence in a four-dimensional space-time reality. We observe and have been taught that our observations are fact: you live, you suffer, you die, and that's it. Entropy, time, and chance rule: everything is subject to corruption and decay.This teaching denies God, who is: Spirit, an unquenchable fire, who dwells in unapproachable light. Jesus, who is God in the person of the Son, came to earth to make a way for mankind to escape our enslavement to the devil in this four-dimensional prison of darkness, sin, and death. This escape is both for those who have died, now asleep in Christ and for us who believe.

Welcome to Episode #185 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our first of eight episodes in our Twenty-Fourth mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ [3]. On today's episode, I will introduce the Great Snatching Away of the Church, the Harpazo [Greek], or Rapio [Latin]; aka the Rapture. A snatching away before tribulation, the great tribulation and wrath, and the Day of the Lord.The first mini-series of this trilogy primarily addressed Jesus' return to judge the world and establish his millennial kingdom. The second mini-series primarily addressed the role of Israel in the world today prophetically, in specific regard to the return of Jesus to end the trampling of Jerusalem by the Gentiles. This third and final mini-series addresses primarily the first of two phases of the Return of Jesus Christ.The first phase will be an aerial return of Jesus to snatch away his bride, the church, from before the coming judgment of God, which involves global tribulations and wrath. The second phase of Jesus' return will be physical on the Day of the Lord when he vanquishes his enemies with just a word from his mouth. We are going to focus on the first of these two phases: the aerial return for the taking away of the Bride of Christ.A snatching away is not unfamiliar in the scriptures. It was recorded twice in the Old Testament (Enoch and Elijah), and five times in the New (Jesus, Philip, Paul, the body of Christ, and John). This is perhaps the most exciting yet most misunderstood or most forgotten teaching in the Bible. And when you think of who is blinding the minds of unbelievers, it is not a mystery why this critical message of the Bible is ignored in the church even today.We have to understand with our heart and soul that heaven is a real place. A supernatural place beyond dimensionality where God dwells. We and all of creation of the cosmos with us, experience existence in a four-dimensional space-time reality. Where we observe, you live, you die, and that's it. We live in a world where entropy rules; where everything is subject to corruption and decay.Yet, recent scientific discoveries and theoretical calculations suggest that what we are experiencing is actually a projection from another dimension beyond the four we exist in. What the Bible is teaching is God has made a way from the beginning to get us from our captivity within these four-dimensional walls to the heaven of heavens, beyond dimensionality, where God himself resides. That's what we're going to talk about on this mini-series.The key-word for this concept in the Greek New Testament is Harpazo. In the Latin translation this Greek key word is translated Rapio from which we get the common term Rapture. This word is used many times in the New Testament. The two main uses are found in 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15, both of which we'll introduce on our next episode. Today, we're going to focus on some of the background for this coming event.The word harpazo in Greek is defined as: to seize, carry off by force, to snatch out or away. What we are going to be discussing during this mini-series is Jesus coming back aerially in the sky to snatch out of this world his bride, the church, before the wrath of God is unleashed on the earth in tribulations which eventually culminate in the great tribulation and the Day of the LordAs I've described in the past, the position I am presenting is commonly called the premillennial pretribulation return of Jesus Christ. It is the oldest view in the church. I encourage you to do your own research on this topic as we'll discover, knowing his return could be imminent makes a huge difference in how we view our lives today. And with that big word dropped, let's get started.

Welcome to Episode #184 of Way of the Bible podcast. This is our eighth of eight episodes in our Twenty-Third mini-series entitled, The Return of Jesus Christ. On today's episode, we'll be taking a walk on the beach with DrZ to overview our past seven episodes and comment on what we've learned on this second of a trilogy of mini-series to address this topic.

Welcome to Episode #183 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our seventh of eight episodes in our Twenty-Third mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ [2]. Today's episode, our seventh in this second mini-series on the Day of the Lord, will address the Regathering of Jews in Unbelief in Israel. A prelude to the tribulation, the great tribulation, and the Day of the Lord.There are four common views, theologically, regarding Israel's role in the world today, the return of Jesus, and the end of time. These views would be of no consequence if it were not for the fact that Israel was reestablished in 1948 as a sovereign nation-state in the global community. Israel has not been a sovereign nation-state since Babylon conquered the southern kingdom of Israel (Judah) and deported a remnant into captivity between 605 and 587 BC. The reconstitution of Israel over two millennia after it was obliterated is so unique that it should make us pause to wonder.I'll mention the four common views of the role of Israel in the world briefly and then discuss a less common fifth option that I adhere to. The first view is called replacement theology, in particular amillennialism, which does not see the nation of Israel to be of any consequence prophetically. In this view, Israel rejected their messiah and forfeited any rights and all privileges associated with former promises and covenants with God. In this view, Israel is just another of the rebellious nations in the world. The church has replaced Israel in prophetic history in regard to the promises and covenants. The nation of Israel today is just a random historical event.The second view believes the prophetic texts which say Israel will once again be a restored nation to God, but the current Israel is not it. The reason being, the far majority of Jews living in Israel are agnostic or secular in their beliefs of Judaism, with few who have faith in Jesus. This view believes there is a time coming when, prophetically, Israel will come to a final restoration with God in the land of promise through faith in Jesus.The third view believes Israel today is going to fulfill the prophetic texts of a final restoration with God in the land of promise. In this view, prophetic texts that speak of a divine tribulation and the wrath of God were fulfilled in the Holocaust of WWII. What we are seeing today in Israel are just the first stages of this final restoration.The fourth view believes there will be a series of tribulations and wrath of God against Israel, including the holocaust, that will prepare Israel for final restoration with God. The nation of Israel today, while a unique incident, may not be the final nation of Israel that God raises up for restoration of a remnant of Jews to God. The fifth view, which again is the one I hold, believes the current nation of Israel established in 1948, will experience tribulation and the wrath of God along with the rest of the world. What will end the great tribulation will be a remnant of Israel calling out to Jesus for redemption. This redemption will coincide with the judgment of the world and the restoration of the nation of Israel with God. King David, as the prince of Israel will rule over the Jews in the land, and the people of the surrounding nations. Jesus himself will rule the entire world from a temple on the world's highest mountain, just north of Jerusalem.The prophetic scriptures are clear and plain. First, there is going to be a regathering of Israel in unbelief back to the land in preparation to go through the great tribulation that is coming upon the whole earth. This will be a judgment of unbelief in Israel, along with the unbelief in the rest of the world. Again, this unbelief is in Jesus. 

Welcome to Episode #182 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our sixth of eight episodes in our Twenty-Third mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ [2]. Today's episode, our sixth in this second mini-series on the Day of the Lord, will address what Paul may have meant when he said in Romans 11:26, “All Israel Will Be Saved.”The salvation of “ALL” that is Israel is central to the return of Jesus Christ on the Day of the Lord. Let's look at the context of the statement by Paul from Romans 11:25-32 – I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, 26 and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. 27 And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” 28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, 29 for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. 30 Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you. 32 For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.In Romans 11, Paul is closing a can of worms of the doctrinal issue that has severely divided the Church since the Reformation. Paul began Chapter 9 expressing anguish over his own people, the Jews, who were rejecting the gospel of Jesus. He then went on from Chapter 9 through 11 to point out the reason for their rejection. In these three chapters, the Holy Spirit had Paul lay a clear doctrinal landmine that has been picked up by theologians of every generation who have used it in an attempt to blow up unity within the body of Christ. We are not going to look at that today.Paul made it clear at the opening of his letter to the Romans where the Jews stood in terms of the Gospel. Romans 1:16-17 –  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.Here's the key before we go any further. All mankind is born into sin and death. All people, nations, tribes, languages, etc., Jew and Gentile alike stand condemned before God unless redeemed by the Lamb.The reason Jews and Gentiles alike are repulsed from each other is the dividing wall of hostility between us, which is the Law with its ordinances and regulations (See Eph 2:14-16). Let me see if I can summarize it such that I can continue without getting bogged down. This topic, by the way, is critical in understanding who we are in Christ and our relationship to the Father. But I digress. After the flood, when the nations rebelled at Babel, God chose one man from among the nations, Abram, and covenanted with him to give him a people, a land, and a seed who would bless all nations. The people were the descendants of Jacob, his grandson, whose name God changed to Israel.

Welcome to Episode #180 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our fourth of eight episodes in our Twenty-Third mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ [2]. On today's episode, we'll return to the Old Testament passages and look at the period of time most written about in the Bible, the return of Jesus Christ to judge the world in righteousness on the Day of the Lord [4].As I introduced last episode, and really, throughout the history of this podcast, what we are chasing through the Scriptures is directly related to a matter-of-fact statement God made to the serpent when pronouncing a curse on him in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:15 – And I [God] will put enmity between you [the serpent] and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”The prophetic Scriptures tell of a day yet to come when Jesus, the offspring of the woman, will do away with the serpent who enslaves mankind to do his will because of their fear of death. Because Adam ate the forbidden fruit in defiance of God's command, sin entered the world and death through sin. In consequence, corruption to decay also came upon the entire created cosmos. Jesus Christ was sent by God the Father to bring salvation to all mankind, to be the judge of all mankind, and to reconcile all things in heaven and on earth back to himself (back to God). The most important passage to remember also contains the likely most recognizable verse. Listen carefully to John 3:16-18 – For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.Jesus did not bring universal salvation (everyone is saved and goes to heaven – universalism). He brought salvation to all who would believe. As verse 18 plainly states, “whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.” Jesus is returning to judge the world in righteousness (judge those who do not believe) and establish his kingdom of heaven on earth. We'll cover on a future episode soon the Harpazo', the snatching away of belivers, as we will not be here when the wrath of God is unleashed on the earth.A little bit more background before we get into today's readings and lesson. Why in 2025 do we give a rip about what is happening in Israel or about the Jews? Why not just let the region work it out? If it includes driving out and/or exterminating the Jews from the River to the Sea should we let it be so? Oh my friends, let us never consider such a thought, or support those who do. Pray, and I mean pray for Jerusalem and the people of God who live there and be blessed. Psalm 122:6-9 – Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure. 7 May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.” 8 For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.” 9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity.In order to know what is happening today, we need to know our context to the whole. We are not merely living in a linear timeline, but is a space-time continuum that God sees from the end to the beginning. All things in creation are unfolding without error as described in his holy word. So let's get up to speed where we are, and why we need to focus on what is happening in Israel today!

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Welcome to Episode #179 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our third of eight episodes in our Twenty-Third mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ [2]. On today's episode, we'll look at New Testament passages that speak of the most written about time in the Bible, the return of Jesus Christ to judge the world in righteousness on the Day of the Lord [3].What we are chasing through the Scriptures is directly related to a matter-of-fact statement God made to the serpent when pronouncing a curse on him in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:15 –  And I [God] will put enmity between you [the serpent] and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”The prophetic Scriptures tell of a day yet to come when Jesus, the offspring of the woman, will do away with the serpent who enslaves mankind to do his will because of their fear of death. Because Adam ate the forbidden fruit in defiance of God's command, sin entered the world and death through sin. In consequence, corruption to decay also came upon the entire created cosmos. Paul, in speaking to his understudy – Timothy, describes the condition of those opposed to the gospel in 2 Timothy 2:26 – Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. This is where I get “being taken captive to do the devil's will.”The writer of Hebrews speaks of mankinds enslavement to the devil in Hebrews 2:14-15 – Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.A coming global leader who will be the offspring of the devil will arise in the days ahead. He will charm and deceive the world and become it's leader. In jealousy and wrath he will order the peoples and nations of the world to conduct genocide on both Jews and Christians in the world at that time. He and an army he will be leading to attack Jerusalem will be destroyed in a moment by a word from Jesus' mouth on the Day of the Lord. The Day Jesus returns to judge the world in righteousness and redeem a remnant of Israel still in the land. 

Welcome to Episode #178 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our second of eight episodes in our Twenty-Third mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ [Part 2]. On today's episode, we'll continue our look at Old Testament passages that speak of the most written about time in the Bible, the return of Jesus Christ to judge the world in righteousness on the Day of the Lord.Before we get there, let's remember a couple of things. First, I am not here to convince anyone to believe the eschatological position I adhere to (view of the end times or the end of time). Based upon my own studies, I hold to a pretribulation and premillennial view, which ascribes to the aerial return of Jesus for the snatching away of His bride before the wrath of God is unleashed. I'll cover this in detail on later episodes.There are at least four and as many as six, alternative eschatological positions out there. Each having their own scriptural basis', historical applications, and theological understandings. Of all the positions, the one I hold is the oldest and now least held within Christendom today. You can think of my view as the remnant of eschatological entropy. I encourage you not to believe just because I say so, but to do your own research and see where the Scriptures lead. Hopefully, I'll give you an inkling of the many places to look for the answers, as there are answers. But there is also tension in the Bible, purposefully placed there by the Holy Spirit for His reasons yet disclosed.Here's the maxim to remember. Your epistemology (how you know what you know; your theory of learning), determines your hermeneutics (how you approach the Bible, Liberally-The Bible is interpreted metaphorically and allegorically; Or Conservatively-The Bible says what it means and is interpreted to mean what it says). Your hermeneutics determines your Eschatology (What happens at the end of all time – The end of the story). Your Eschatology determines your Ecclesiology (Role of the Church – the Body of Christ – in the world until the END).And it is within that maximal web that the dispersion of end-time views originates. And the beginning of the dispersion occurs immediately in the first three chapters of the Bible. The Creation account. Is this metaphorical, allegorical, a myth, or did it happen as the Scriptures insinuate? (Adam, the first man, is included in the genealogy of Jesus in Luke 3:38; Jesus quoted verses from Genesis 1 and 2, saying in Matthew 9:4-6 – “Haven't you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,' 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”).   All this to say that as I proceed, I am presenting text, believing God meant for the text to be understood to mean what it says; unless otherwise noted. God used man and the language of the day at the time the texts were written to communicate to us in 2025 what he wants us to know. God sees all things at the same time from the end to the beginning. Thus, He was able to give prophetic utterances by the Holy Spirit to the writers who were guided by the same Spirit to write what was given to them to write. My studies have convinced me that even the letters and spaces between the letters were all preordained by God and contain unphantonable treasures of wisdom and knowledge for those willing to look.  With that, let's jump into a few passages on the Day of the LORD. The first one is from Isaiah. I included it in an earlier episode, but it is one worth repeating. Listen as the extent of the destruction on this day. The scale is not just local but is global in scale. God is coming to judge the world and the sinners in it. The earth itself will wobble on its axis of rotation…

Welcome to Episode #177 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our first of eight episodes in our Twenty-Third mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ. On today's episode, we'll begin our look at Old Testament passages that speak of the most written about time in the Bible, the return of Jesus Christ to judge the world in righteousness on the Day of the Lord.Central to our last miniseries, this miniseries, and at least one more mini-series on the topic of the Return of Jesus Christ, is the Harpazo, or snatching away, of the Church before the great tribulation that is coming upon the entire world. Not one nation, people group, or person will be untouched by the wrath of God to be unleashed upon the earth.Rest assured believers, we will not be there when the wrath of God is unleased, as the Bible clearly says in multiple places. And we'll go into that in detail in the weeks ahead, but not yet in this miniseries.We are still building the foundation, the bulk of which is found in the Old Testament. So let's get started.

Welcome to Episode #176 of Way of the Bible podcast. This is our eighth of eight episodes in our Twenty-Second mini-series entitled, The Return of Jesus Christ. On today's episode we'll be taking a walk on the beach with DrZ to overview our past seven episodes and comment on what we've learned on this first of several mini-series to address this topic.Today's walk is going to be a little different to those in that past, but not completely out of the ordinary. We will not be walking the beach this morning as the heat and anticipated crowds over the Fourth of July weekend opened the opportunity to consider different options.A friend of the podcast has a concierge service that caters to the rich and famous and not so famous yet equally well endowed. One of those clients is a Way of the Bible podcast listener. During the summer, he parks his Gulf Craft Majesty 140' yacht at the San Destin Warf and Marina. He's out of the country with his family for the next few weeks and asked if we'd like to use it for this week's walk. As so here we are…All this to say, in a moment we'll be joining thirty-plus people already gathered in the main deck salon and dining area. Everyone is ready to start and just awaiting our arrival, so here we go. 

Welcome to Episode #175 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our seventh of eight episodes in our Twenty-Second mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ. On today's episode, we'll continue to scratch the surface of Old Testament prophetic texts in the book of Daniel that speak of the return of Jesus. We are likely living in a period the Bible refers to more than any other. The judgment of the world and the return of Jesus Christ on the Day of the Lord. I asked at the beginning of our last episode, “Are you ready for this?” The return of Jesus Christ. I ask it again. Are you ready? There are so many prophetic plates spinning wildly that all point to a world conflagration. We now have two escalating conflicts in the world and two others about to emerge. Israel and Iran are trading missile launches and fighter bomber sorties over the production of weapon-grade plutonium. The USA stepped into the conflict with a bombing raid of our own on three high-value nuclear targets in Iran. Russia and Ukraine are still killing one another in large numbers on battlefields as well as indiscriminately bombing cities of both nations. The United States and the European Union both have their fingers in this conflict as they try to isolate Russia and weaken its power on the global scene.With northern Europe and the Middle East in states of high tension, China has an excellent opportunity to expand its global power footprint by reclaiming the island of Taiwan. At the same time, North Korea has returned to firing missiles into the ocean to once again make its neighbors aware of their nuclear capabilities.Why is any of this important? Hasn't the world always been in conflict? The answer to this last question is a definitive, NO. The world hasn't always been in conflict. Up until WWI, all wars on the planet were local or regional. Neighbors fighting neighbors for territorial dominance. WWI changed all that when suddenly there was a global disturbance between nations centered in Europe. Many historians do not believe the war ended at the signing of the Armistice of November 11, 1918 but was continued in WWII.  During WWII, the German regime murdered over fifteen million people, including six million Jews, which was a third of their entire population globally. The holocaust was not a one-off but a continual threat the Jews have faced since their dispersion into the world following the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD. Just look up their history, and you'll see they are an often-hated, persecuted, and hunted people, no matter where they settle in the world. Yet through millennia, they have proudly retained their genealogical and national heritage.In the early 19th Century, a Zionist movement began to actively resettle Jews from around the world in a new Israel in the promised land. This Zionist movement was successful in having a British declaration made to that effect in the early 20th Century (Re: Balfour Declaration of November 2, 1917). The land of Palestine, which encompassed Israel, was partitioned to the British after WWI as their spoil of war. Following WWII, and the dissolution of British control over the region, the delegates of the United Nations set aside a small portion of the British partition along the Mediterranean Sea for the nation of Israel. Amid local objections and inflamed emotions, the nation of Israel declared its independence on May 14, 1948. Through subsequent short conflicts with other nations, Israel acquired control over additional disputed lands, including the city of Jerusalem.Since its formation in 1948, Israel has become a powerful nation in the neighborhood and possesses nuclear weapons. It is a continual state of expansion as Jews from around the world migrate to this tiny country. Latest estimates indicate over nine million Jews are currently in Israel. This number constitutes almost one-third of all Jews in the worl

Welcome to Episode #174 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our sixth of eight episodes in our Twenty-Second mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ. On today's episode, we'll scratch the surface of Old Testament prophetic texts that speak of the return of Jesus. We are likely living in a period the Bible refers to more than any other. The judgment of the world and the return of Jesus Christ on the Day of the Lord. Are you ready for this?We can't go back until we start at the end. What do I mean? God revealed to Israel through the prophet Isaiah a key to all God given prophecy. Isaiah 46:10 – I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.'When God provides a prophetic word to the prophet to speak, God is not guessing what will happen. Nor will he artificially orchestrate something to happen to meet the prophetic vision apart from his will. Nor can anyone change the prophetic vision of God. Before we get to the Old Testament, let's take a look at the Bible as a whole. I know it seems like one step forward and two steps back each episode, but hopefully, this summary will give clarity as we continue to explore why Jesus is coming back.The Bible starts with the creation narrative in Genesis 1-3. I encourage you to accept the narrative as written, including the creation of man from the dust of the earth and woman from the rib of man. If you consider it, otherwise you diverge widely from the context and meaning of life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In this narrative, we see creation, inference of a fall in the spiritual realm, the fall of mankind, and the identification of the fix to rebellion in heaven and on earth – seed of the woman. Next, we blast through mankind's first two thousand years of history from Genesis 4 to 11. We see in this historical narrative mankind's wickedness, angelic interference, the flooding of the earth to cleanse both human and animal kingdom genome, the continued wickedness of man, the dividing of mankind into seventy nations by language distortion. From Genesis 12 to the end of the Old Testament period is another two thousand years. God establishes an irrevocable covenant with Abraham to make of him a nation of people, with a land, and a descendant through whom all nations would be blessed – the seed of Abraham. The covenant is affirmed with Issac and Jacob. God makes a conditional covenant with the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob to give them the promised land if they obey God's covenantal laws. God establishes a covenant with David for a descendant who will sit on his throne and a kingdom that will have no end – seed of David. The New Testament reveals that the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, and the seed of David are all fulfilled in the person Jesus Christ, the Son of God/Son of Man. Jesus' life of ministry demonstrated he was the spotless lamb of God through whom all the sins of the world were paid for on the cross of Calvary. The apostles affirm the sacrificial work of Jesus and that salvation and eternal life are now available to both Jews and Gentiles who believe the gospel. The hanging chad is the covenantal promise to Abraham and the Patriarchs of a people and a land and the covenantal promise to David of an earthly kingdom.What was not revealed since the creation of the world, but was revealed to the apostles of Christ was the Mystery of God. The mystery of God was that Jews and Gentiles alike who believe in Jesus are adopted by God as his children, are reborn by the Holy Spirit, together collectively are the bride of Christ, and are the manifestation of the body of Christ in this world.

Welcome to Episode #173 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our fifth of eight episodes in our Twenty-Second mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ. On today's episode, we're going to take a closer look at the end of all things or the end of time in relation to the World, the Flesh, and the Devil. We're talking judgment, the wrath of God!This will be our fifth bite of the Return of Jesus Christ apple and I'm beginning to see we're eating something a lot bigger, like an elephant. While it's much larger than I imagined, it still has to be swallowed one bite and chewing at a time. From here on I'm going to try and stick within the confines of the Scriptures, which are our guides with the aid of the Holy Spirit, and out of the realms of philosophy, sciences, and hyperspaces.But I will have to add this before we continue. The Bible is not just a book. It is an interdimensional message hidden in a matrix of integrated books, languages, words, letters, and yes even spaces between the letters. The books that encompass the Bible were seen in their entirety along with all creation until eternity future before Genesis 1:1. Each space, letter, word, language, and book were intentionally synthesized in space-time history through human agents as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. This messaging system from God has been translated and preserved for millennia. The person without the Holy Spirit reads only flat words on flat pages. Much like a hologram when illumined by the laser with which it was created, the text of the Bible when illumined by the Holy Spirit reveals full color wisdom, imagery, beauty, and mathematical precision beyond our space-time dimensionality.The Scriptures in their origin were and remain perfect, although copies have experienced minor deteriorations that keep scholars publishing papers. These deteriorations have little or no impact on the message the Bible is communicating. I give all that as an introduction to our topic today, because our topic today stretches from the first to last line in the Bible. From, Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” To, Revelation 22:21 – The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen. It would take at least one book, if not two, to just scratch the surface of the message revealed by just these two verses, Genesis 1:1 and Revelation 22:21. Let me see if I can do it in one short episode.

Welcome to Episode #172 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is the fourth of eight episodes in our Twenty-Second mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ. On today's episode, we're going to take a look at what Jesus said about his coming back in the New Testament. Jesus was clear that he came the first time as the suffering savior of the world and would be returning a second time in righteousness to judge the world. This was well understood by the Apostles, early disciples, and the early church. Over time, as Jesus' return was delayed, from a human perspective, individuals in and out of the church began to spiritualize Jesus' comments and imagined an ending quite different than what the New Testament writers understood.  I've spent two episodes trying to provide some background for the difficulty we as humans have in comprehending who Jesus is and why he came the first time. We have to overcome that difficulty first before tackling Jesus' coming back. I've used the expression, make your head hurt, several times in prior episodes to emphasize a point. In the modern and now post-modern worlds, the spiritual realm is not readily accepted. And because of that, over the centuries and millennia, the significance of the word of God, like entropy we covered on our last episode, always increases toward disorder and/or chaos. Each generation has to learn on its own the significance of the word of God to guide them on their spiritual walk with Christ. In that regard, let's speak about where every generation has to begin. 

Welcome to Episode #171 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is the third of eight episodes in our Twenty-Second mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ. On today's episode, we're going to take a second high level flyover of the Bible to continue the case for why Jesus is coming back. What we'll discover today is that there is more to the story than we've been told. Once we see this, the question becomes, “Has the withholding of this information been intentional or a misalignment that over time, took us far away from the intended target?”When you're starting with infinity and forever, the hardest thing to do is to know with certainty where to start. Which reminds me, one of the reasons modern science knows that the cosmos is not eternal is based on what science shows.  In the realm of science, there is a field called thermodynamics that concerns itself with the fluidity of relationships between heat, work, temperature, and energy. Certain maxims of thermodynamics are considered so undeniable, they are considered to be unchangeable laws found in nature. The second law of thermodynamics concerns a concept called entropy. Entropy in simplest form is work accomplished by ordered molecular motion. Think of the Budweiser Clydesdale horses hooked up to the beer wagon versus the same team of horses running loose in a ten-acre paddock. Which of the two teams of horses at the same moment in time just described (hooked to a wagon or running loose) is capable of performing more work than the other?We observe, the more organized the energy, the more work that can be done. The more organized, the more work, the Lower the entropy. Disorganization or randomness of the energy results in a higher entropy, meaning less work can be done. Once you get this, “knowing what entropy is,” everything you encounter in life will suddenly begin to make sense. The second law of thermodynamics assumes a closed system. We established this on our last episode that modern science considers the cosmos a closed system. According to modern science, our four-dimensional space-time is a sealed box. Nothing can either enter or exit the box. However, for about the past two decades science has been having a branding crisis as there is now evidence the box may be leaking. But the mainstream public will never hear about that if science can help it. In this closed system, the 2nd Law of thermodynamics states that entropy (a measure of disorder or randomness) will always tend to increase. Or put another way, no matter how many times you clean your house, it will always move toward a state of greater disorder and randomness. According to this Law, given enough time, all energy within the cosmos will reach equilibrium, bringing the temperature of the cosmos to a level where there is no gradient in temperature. In this environment where energy is equally distributed, no work can be done. But that's not what we are experiencing.The postulation goes that if the cosmos was eternal, it would already have had enough time to suffer this heat death and should not exist at all as we now experience it. Therefore, the cosmos by inference, must have had a beginning. It is not eternal.DrZ, that was a lot of I've never thought about and don't see the tie-in to the topic. Great observation and glad you think that, because that's just the crack in the floor that reveals a huge rabbit hole below. I urge you to let your head hurt a little as you consider what is really going on around you. All is not as it seems. We'll take a quick peek under the pavement and then dig into some healthy content.