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“Suffered…”

Terry Dashner (www.ffcba.com) The Bible is clear on this
point–Jesus suffered and died. He took nothing to numb His
body, nothing to alter His mental anguish, and nothing to cover
His wounded spirit. He suffered for our sakes and felt the
excruciating pain. Why was it necessary for Jesus to experience
pain? Why didn’t God allow His Son to die a natural death
without a cross? These are questions that are answered in the
Bible. Jesus didn’t merely die. He was tortured and murdered by
His own creation. This truth is beyond comprehension.
Nevertheless, it is true for all generations.

The Bible says in Isaiah 53 that Jesus was a man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief. Plato and the rest of the Greeks
worshipped truth, goodness, and beauty. Long before Christ came,
they said man’s sin derived merely from his ignorance. They
declared that if only they could see a perfect example of
ethics, morality, purity, and piety, they would, no doubt, fall
down and adore it and follow it breathlessly. But when He
came–the very incarnation of goodness and purity, with a
sinless and spotless life, the perfect Christ, the Crystal
Christ, the peerless One–man in all of his depravity took Him
and nailed Him to a cross. And buried Him out of sight!

The world in which we live is a suffering body, and it needed a
suffering head that could empathize with its pain and agonies.
So He came, the suffering Savior to His passion. We read that he
was exceeding sorrowful unto death. We read of His loneliness,
His agonizing prayers, His disappointment with His disciples,
His bloody sweat, the traitor’s kiss, the binding with cords,
the blows to the face, the plucking of His beard, the spitting,
the buffeting, the mocking, the scourging, the crown of thorns,
the heavy cross, the Via Dolorosa, the exhaustion, the collapse,
the stripping, the nakedness, the impaling, the jeers of His
foes and the flight of His friends, the thirst, the darkness,
the blackness of death. Indeed, He was a man acquainted with
grief. He suffered.

Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate we are told. This one
statement brings the Creed from religious dogma to historic
fact. With these words we have no finely conceived fable or
cunningly devised myth, but rather we have hard, cold history.
This fact of history is also found in the secular history of
Josephus. Josephus was a Jewish historian who wrote his works
during the first century. Tacitus, the principal historian of
the Romans of the first century, said, as attested: “Christ was
put to death as a malefactor by Pontius Pilate in the reign of
Tiberius.”

Now let me tackle the question: Why did Christ die? For one, He
died because of sin. If Adam and Eve had never taken the advice
of Satan and fallen, Jesus never would have come to die as a
man. If men were really good, as many people suppose themselves
to be, then Jesus Christ need never have died. If we could get
to heaven on our own merit, by our own good deeds, then why did
Jesus die? If merely following the Ten Commandments or living by
the Golden Rule we could ever enter into paradise, then to what
purpose did He suffer on the Cross? Secondly, there are the
justice and holiness of God to consider. In the early days of
our nation’s history, men who lived on the plains feared prairie
fires the most. There was no place to run, no tree to climb. He
was stuck in the path of the raging fire. Men eventually
discovered what to do, though. They would start a fire to burn a
large area ahead of the coming conflagration. When the prairie
fire came to them, it would not destroy them because the fire
would not burn where it had already burned. Man can only escape
the righteous justice of God by standing where His judgment
fires have already burned. Calvary’s Cross is where the judgment
of God was poured out for all mankind. Once His judgment was
poured out on Jesus, the sacrificial Lamb, His glorious Holy
Spirit raised Jesus from the dead and now through the atoning
work of Jesus Christ, we may live holy lives before God. When
God looks at the believer, He sees the willing and obedient Son
of God who died to set us free.

In conclusion, let me give you the third and most important
reason that Jesus suffered and died for man. He did it for this
reason: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish
but have everlasting life.” Jesus died to save you because He
loves you. Keep the faith!

Who is the Anti-Christ? Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, and even Barney, the purple dinosaur have been accused of holding this undesirable title. Are there clues to his mysterious identity or is the “Anti-Christ” just a fable of a man who holds no future credence? All one has to do is research the book of Daniel and Revelation, pay close attention to the news, and the characteristics of the beast known as the Anti-Christ will be revealed before your very eyes.

As believers in Christ, we are instructed to await the return of our Messiah, Jesus Christ not the Anti-Christ. In Islam, they are also awaiting the return of their Messiah called, the Mahdi. In Islamic prophecy, the Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will bring peace and justice throughout the world by establishing Islam as a global religion. The word Anti-Christ is first mentioned in 1st John: Chapter 2. In verse 22, Apostle John states, “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is the Anti-Christ who denies the Father and the Son.” According to Islamic beliefs, Jesus (Isa, in Arabic) was not the Son of God, but was a prophet, but will physically return to the Earth, and together with the Mahdi usher in world peace under the banner of Islam. In the book of Daniel, we are given more details concerning what to look for once the Anti-Christ steps onto the world stage. In Unleashing the Beast, Evangelist Perry Stone goes into greater details surrounding Daniel’s prophecy:

The Anti-Christ will sign a peace treaty with Israel for seven years.
The peace treaty will be signed after major wars in the Middle East.
The man who signs the treaty will be destroyed at the end of seven years.
In Islamic Prophecy they believe:

A peace treaty agreement will be signed and upheld for seven years.
The agreement will come after a major war.
The Mahdi will rule for seven years, then die.

Who is the Mahdi? Although Shi’ites and Sunnis disagree on a lot of issues, both religious fractions believe the Mahdi or 12th Imam, who went into occlusion in the ninth century at the age of five, will return. Even more critical, Shi’ites believe his return will be preceded by a cataclysmic war and chaospossibly a confrontation between the East and the West. Current Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad firmly believes that in forcing a clash of epic proportions with the West, the Mahdi will return within the next two years. In a speech last year in Tehran, Ahmadinejad contended, “The main mission of my government is to pave the path for the glorious reappearance of Imam Mahdi. May God Hasten His Reappearance.” Ahmadinejad has made it obvious to the world and the United Nations that Iran will and has the right to acquire nuclear weapons. Yet, President Bush declared that during his presidency he would not allow the country of Iran to develop nuclear weapons.

Look at the events in the world. The 9-11 attacks helped escalate an already tumultuous situation in the Middle East. In one attack, the world was changed forever. All of a sudden, three major religions were forced under a microscope by the world due to a senseless attack based in the name of the Islamic religion. According to the CIA World Fact book, there are 2.1 billion Christians, 1.6 billion Muslims, and 14.8 million Jews in this world. Some would argue, wondering how this terrorist attack could have happened if we all serve the same God? Believing these three religions serve the same God is a common but incorrect assumption. Christians and Jews worship the same God, Jehovah, while the Muslims worship, Allah. Aren’t they basically the same God? No. During his research for the book, Race, Religion, and Racism vol. 3, Evangelist, Dr. Fred K.C. Price notes that, “The Koran over, and over, and over, again quotes from the Bible. The Bible never quotes from the Koran.” In addition Price declares, “If they [Jehovah and Allah] are the same God, they should teach the same things of the same subject. They are not the same God if there are two completely different messages.”

In the New Testament, Christ taught, “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. (Matthew 5:44)”

The Jihad Verses from the Koran teach, “Fight in the way of Allah with those who fight with you…[2.191] And kill them wherever you find them, and drive them out from whence they drove you out, and persecution is severer than slaughter, and do not fight with them at the Sacred Mosque until they fight with you in it, but if they do fight you, then slay them; such is the recompense of the unbelievers.” (Sura 2 Verse 190-191)

In the New Testament, Christ proclaimed, “The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 11I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10: 10-11)

In stark contrast, the Jihad Verses from the Koran states, “Let those fight in the way of Allah who sell the life of this world for the other. Whoso fightesth in the way of Allah be he slain or be he victorious, on him. We shall bestow a vast reward.” (Sura 4 Verse 74)

On an interesting note, during the Age of Terror series on the Zola Levitt program, Walid Shoebat, a former Muslim terrorist explained why he believed the Anti-Christ will be a fanatical Muslim. When he read Apostle John’s cryptic 666 description (Revelations 13:18) in it’s original Greek manuscript, Shoebat claimed upon looking the ancient Greek symbols he immediately saw the word “bismillah” which means in the name of Allah. Can there ever be peace between different religious ideologies? For a season of seven years a man will rise up and build a bridge of false “peace” between all religions. Many evangelists agree that the rapture must take place before the Anti-Christ comes onto the world stage. 3 years after he signs the peace treaty with Israel, a great tribulation shall occur. For the Bible clearly says, “For God has not appointed us to [incur His] wrath [He did not select us to condemn us], but [that we might] obtain [His] salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah). (1 Thess. 5:9 AMP)” Just like Sodom and Gomorrah, the angels told Lot that they could not act until Lot left the city. The Lord is unable to pour his wrath onto the righteous.

But please don’t take my word for it. This article is not meant to attack anyone’s religion; the purpose of it is to discover the truth. In fact, I hope that you don’t believe me and become inspired to do your own research. The results may surprise you.

Recommended Sites:

http://www.shoebat.com/

http://www.voe.org

http://www.faithdome.org/

http://www.levitt.tv/

Nevada York, Author of Caught Up and Mahogany’s Revelation, released her latest book in July of 2004 to rave reviews from readers. Nevada’s published novels are an accomplishment that has been well worth the wait. Not willing to be deterred, her determination has bought about the publication of two memorable novels. http://nevadayork.com

Excerpts from fellowship about the real Jesus and the role of
Christians in society today:

If you understood that Yashua is the I AM - He not only had the
Canaanites destroyed for their pagan religious practices, He
sent Israel and Judah into captivity for refusing to follow His
biblical religion and as Yashua drove out of “My Father’s House”
the moneychangers with a whip in His hand! Certainly that was
met with raised eyebrows and shaking of heads, not to mention
FEAR! Yes, fear religion!

And anybody who is a Christian who dares to deny that Christ
will rule, as necessary with a ROD OF IRON, enforcing
PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, simply is either in denial or
woefully ignorant of the biblical King of Kings and Lord of
Lords who will soon reign on Earth from Jerusalem with TOUGH
LOVE!

You’re talking Old Testament.

I’m talking the Law and the Prophets that Yashua upheld
and will enforce when He reigns perfectly from Jerusalem with
TOUGH LOVE, giving different strokes for different folks.

Notice that God hasn’t ordered the execution of anyone since
Jesus walked the earth.

Yes, He has, time and again through the Law and the
Prophets that haven’t been made null and void by the tender
mercies of our God, the Sermon on the Mount, except for those
who are truly repentant as we can best determine with the help
of God. Why do you think it is written about the ministers of
State: “He bears not the SWORD in vain?” And that such ministers
of state are to enforce the Law of God, serving as the vengeance
of God? Romans 13 shows God has ordered the execution and
other forms of punishment upon lawbreakers since Christ, since
His Word remains true and hasn’t changed or been altered to
accommodate fickle men and fleeting societies.

Jesus never told us to establish any form of government on
earth. He clearly taught that His kingdom was not of this earth.
If He wanted a government here now, He would have made one here,
now. We, as disciples, are not called to rule here or even
govern here.

Now you sound like the traditional Wor
ldwide Church of God and those groups who have forsaken
it in droves since the Great Apostasy after the death of Herbert
W. Armstrong, concerning avoiding politics, shirking your
responsibilities, your civic DUTIES, failing to render to Caesar
what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s, and by such woeful
neglect and sinful negligence, have forfeited the reigns of
government to the wicked and then cry about how awful things
are! “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men
to do nothing.” I submit they’re not such good men or they would
do something!

Yashua revealed HIS Kin
gdom of God-Beings, the ruling Kingdom-Family of God
administering the Law of God, is yet future, that’s true, of
which He will be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. However,
as the I AM, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He has
established an earthly kingdom called Israel and Judah today,
our family of nations - the Ang
lo-Saxon and white peoples of Northwestern Europe with our
Jewish brethren. And to us, which includes those called
to be Christians now: “REMEMBER THE LAW OF MOSES MY SERVANT
WITH THE STATUTES AND JUDGMENTS” (Malachi 4:4).

God calls upon our Israelite family of nations to RESTORE HIS
LAW AND ORDER, and we’ll receive blessing to the degree we
love and obey and He will bless our NATIONAL EFFORTS that
reflect national repentance, learning to go by God’s Word as
LAW, trusting in His wisdom, rather than leaning to our own
understanding with all our different political parties of men.

We must recognize we are suffering national curses for national
disobedience and repent and avert further national disasters
(Daniel 9:11). God will draw near to us as we draw near to Him.
God’s Kingdom on Earth has always been through the physical
descendants of Jacob-Israel, and we’re to be a TYPE of the
future Kingdom of God-Beings that will reign over us as we reign
over other nations.

We are called to be Christ on earth. To show others by our
example, who He is. Would Jesus have advocated war? How about
slaughter?

Yes, we are called to reflect Christ on Earth, and our NATION is
called to reflect GOD on Earth, as a “Light to all nations,” a
MODEL NATION for others to follow, seeing our sound
mindedness and wisdom, peace and prosperity from following God’s
heavenly law here on Earth.

Christ would certainly advocate war, if and whenever necessary,
without hesitation, as revealed in the Law and the
Prophets, the Law of Moses that our peoples and professing
Christians have forgotten to our confusion and shame! Onw
ard Christian Soldiers!

This is where groups like the KKK confuse the heck out of
me. They obviously don’t know Christ. If they did, they’d know
that He’d never treat another human the way they do.

I don’t know a single member of the KKK and from personal
experience know how a group’s beliefs can be misrepresented by
hysterical mobs. If the KKK is biblical on this or that, I
support them on this or that. Where they’re not biblical, I
would say so and not offer support but call upon them to change.

The racist NAACP obviously doesn’t know Christ or they
wouldn’t judge everything falsely by the color of someone’s skin
rather than the content of character (while ignoring national
issues that are biblically based on ethnicity), and they
wouldn’t hold people down and under and back so they can keep
their self-important positions they’ve prostituted themselves
for at the expense of their own people whom they’ve sold down
the river, listening to the siren calls of the race hucksters
like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, both of whom should
move to Africa and lead the way and create
opportunities for others to follow. I would support them
expressing such creativity in action instead of always cursing
the real or imagined darkness rather than lighting a candle.

So many people claim to be followers of Jesus, then turn
right around and go against His teachings. Jesus taught us to
turn the cheek, love our enemy, bring peace and love to the sick
and hurting. Deliver others of demons and heal the sick. I see
none of this in our government body and I see very, very little
of this in the corporate church body.

God
’s one government has two branches. Jesus was talking to
individuals (Sermon the Mount) and He was talking to the NATION
(10 Commandments/Law of Moses) when He revealed how we are to
live. So many people claim to be followers of Jesus, then turn
right around and go against His teachings. He said to exp
el sworn enemies from our Land; to execute various
criminals and cleanse the Land, to wage war, if and whenever
necessary, and not to show the mercy of fools to nations or
individuals who hate our guts and would slit our throats their
first opportunity.

Yashua said to be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” He
was referring to an ATTITUDE, a willingness to go the extra
mile, out of our way, but not indefinitely! If we take all of
Yashua’s teaching on any given subject, rather than twist His
teachings into some hippy pacifism, you’ll see there’s a time
and a place, which is why He could act so violent and knock over
tables and chairs and drive both men and animals from the Temple
with a WHIP IN HIS HAND!

Certainly doesn’t fit the traditional false image, does it? His
harsh words against the religious leaders of His day certainly
weren’t smooth and pleasant to listen to, especially if you were
on the receiving end of His verbal attacks! And when He reigns,
He will rule with a ROD OF IRON and rebuke some nations, punish
others and even destroy some.

Folks would do well to not try to tell the REAL JESUS
about His teachings or to remember His Sermon on the Mount!
Jesus will perfectly exercise the Law of Moses tempered by
the Sermon on the Mount, as divine wisdom calls for, and
we’re called to whatever extent we’re offered in this life to do
the same, whether it’s in the home, office, pulpit or political
position. That’s why our kings, our rulers, are commanded by God
to read and study His Word daily that it may be the LAW OF THE
LAND, and they can be humbled by realizing they’re merely human
instruments of God’s grace, God’s rod and staff.