There Be Some that Trouble You

This post takes on an ominous sounding tone as it progresses; one that I didn’t expect to be present.  Therefore, I’m inserting  this opening paragraph beforehand; just as a “heads up.”  I always strive to be edifying and encourage all to draw ever closer to the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that I would not be in the category of “some that trouble you” as it’s not my desire to be troubling to any.

John 20:27-29  “Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.  And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.  Jesus saith unto him, Thomas because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”

Acts 1:9-11  “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.  And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;  Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing into heaven?  this same Jesus, which is taken up from among you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”

The historical acount concerning the ressurrection of Jesus Christ has been under assault ever since the elders gave large sums of money to the soldiers in exchange for their claiming that the body of Jesus was stolen by his disciples.  Throughout the ages, misconceptions about this have been proposed along with an array of doctrines telling of “another Jesus.” One who remained on earth, had physical offspring, was a great prophet but not God, and a plethura of other claims which contradict the biblical account.  My sister has been involved with a particular group for many years and if you discuss things with her on the surface, it sounds like they’re preaching the same Jesus.  If you dig in with deeper questions, however, you’ll learn of their belief that Jesus was once a man like us; not the creator of all that is.  (John 1:10)  They are preaching another Jesus; one that is contrary to the Savior who came from glory to pay for our sins with his own blood.

This past year or so has witnessed a most incredible phenomenon.  There was the book and motion picture “The DiVinci Code which proclaims that Jesus went on to have physical offspring who’s descendants are alive today.  Then there was the “discovery” of the so-called “gospel of Judas” (a contradiction of terms in itself) manuscripts which seek to call into question the authority and accuracy of scripture.  And in the last couple of days, this claim by James cameron that folks have unearthed the tomb of Jesus and  have DNA evidence supporting the claim.  Normally, I wouldn’t give this story the time of day since it runs so contrary to scripture.  yet it’s been all over CNN, folks are talking about it, and it seems that many undiscerning may buy into it.  There seems to be a “racheting up” if you will of the rhetoric which would seek to destroy the faith in Jesus Christ; the Savior of “whosoever will call upon his name.”  I want to link to a blog where I first heard of this latest claim as the individual who wrote it has been blessed of God with a track record of being “ahead of the curve.”

www.cumby.wordpress.com/2007/02/24/james-cameron-claims-to-have-found-the-crypt-of-jesus-christ/

To one who is born again and has the Holy Spirit abiding within, the falsehood concerning such a story seems obvious.  I have heard some question “why give the story the time of day even?”  I do so because for many who are outside of the household of faith, these stories make sense.  I have had people in my own family ask me “how do we know that Jesus had no children?”  The biblical acount is questioned as logic seems to dictate otherwise.  This jump-starts the imagination and when Hollywood dramatizes the lie in theater, those who are not grounded in truth will succumb to error.  “Grievous error” because if Jesus isn’t who he claims to be in the bible, we are yet in our sins.  As we look to the days ahead, the lies will become more deceptive and truth increasingly obscured by the array of claims and counter-claims. 

This is a secular example; one that will reveal my age somewhat, but I remember the opening scene of the second Indiana Jones movie when the brawl is taking place in the night club.  Billie is chasing this huge diamond across the floor when a bucket of ice hits the floor.  The diamond is now hidden because of the hundreds of ice cubes that look almost like a diamond.  This is how deception works.  The more deceptions, the more obscured the truth becomes.  It’s a serious situation because to those who are not born again, logic is a primary factor as they try to decipher truth from error.  All deceptions will pander to this “logic” for the most part and the element of flesh will be ever present.  The idea that the physical descendants of Jesus are with us today will stir the imagination of many and call into question the biblical account of things.

One thing to remember.  Jesus is God manifest in flesh.  He is from everlasting to everlasting.  He created all that we see and take hold of and while he was in a physical body, he “never sinned.”  He was tempted in all points like as we are but was yet without sin. This very fact is under assault by an elaborate portrayal of falsehoods.  One comment that came into an earlier post on this site makes mention of the idea that “DNA evidence supports this latest claim.  Science is a seemingly sound method of determining truth from error in a world where natural understanding is trumpeted.  The following passage explains why I consider this topic so important.

Matthew 24:23-24  “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo here is Christ, or there; believe it not.  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”

While the most recent story doesn’t have signs and wonders, it does fall into the category of “Lo here is Christ.”  The passage about signs and wonders tells us that in days to come there will be “false Christs which are accompanied by false signs.  If a persons trust in the bible can be loosened, they’ll fall for the signs that seem to validate another.  It’s like bringing down a tall building.  First they go in, compromise key components of the structure and strategically place explosives throughout.  Then, when the charges are detonated, the building comes down straight to the ground, leaving behind a very small debris field. 

In conclusion, I truly believe that in the coming days, there will be deceptions so convincing that we will literally have to stand by faith while the gale-force winds of logic and common sense are swirling about.  Such is the case now, but it will take on a whole new dimention once largescale supernatural happenings on the other side enter the fray.  This happened when the children of Israel were in Egypt as on a number of occasions the magicians “did so with their enchantments.” 

Luke 21:18  “But there shall not an hair of your head perish.”

I place that verse in here because this post has taken an unintentional “ominous” tone.  If we are in Christ, he will be with us no matter what and the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth; regardless of what the enemy comes up with.  This I am most confident of.  He’ll give us the measure of faith needed to stand and his grace will be sufficient for any situation.  This I bring up because of a dream that I had going into monday morning.  I am one who rarely has dreams that are remembered in the morning.  Even the cold-pizza dreams are forgotten by the time that I awaken.  As a result when a dream is remembered, it’s notable and when it involves this topic, it grabs the attention. 

Sunday afternoon was a time when we were running about tending to natural matters. (not bad things; just matters of life in general.)  My focus throughout the day was on the physical; not where I would prefer to be.  This state of mind carried into the dream.  In the dream, I was with a house church up in Three Rivers which was meeting in an attached garage.  The assembly was invaded by folks and in my spirit I knew that they were going to demand that we either deny Christ or be killed.  I found myself fleeing into what looked like an attic.  Others were taken but I escaped.  This disturbed me as I felt that I shouldn’t be running.  I found myself on some type of a landing; hidden for the moment and suddenly trying to get back into a spiritual frame of mind with only moments remaining before I was discovered.  I knew that if I had been in prayer and close to the Lord Jesus prior to this event taking place, I wouldn’t have been rattled. 

It’s imperative that we walk in the Spirit at all times.  This is what I gathered from this dream and what I know to be true.  We have the Holy Spirit abiding within and should never be fearful of physical events.  I need to wrap up this post which has now wandered all over the map.  We look ahead and see things taking place in the physical world which are indeed disturbing.  We see our faith in Jesus, who saved us from sin, being attacked from every angle.  The attacks are distressing as we know that there is no other way to eternal life except through Jesus Christ.  I pray that this post would not be distressing to any who are in Christ, but rather, that we would all draw ever closer to the Author and Finisher of our faith. 

Romans 8:28-31  “And we know that all things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.  What shall we then say to these things?  If God be for us, who can be against us?”

IF GOD BE FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?