You know that saying, “If it sounds too good to be true it probably is?” I think that could be a reason why people don’t believe in Jesus.
But they believe in all these other ridiculous religions, like the Catholics, the Muslims, Islam, Christian Science, Jehovah’s Witness, Buddhism and all the others. Let alone the lunatics that believes in like David Koresh, Jim Jones, and Heaven’s Gate.
If people would read their Bible and talk to You then they’d see how true Jesus is. Not only will they understand it, they wouldn’t be able to denyit. Everything about Jesus is as plain as 2 + 2 = 4, more-or-less ad.
Yet, You aren’t that easy to understand. Getting to know You is a walk in the park, but understanding You, that’s a different story. But we don’t have to understand You fully, that’s what faith is all about. I think one of the most hardest things for us to comprehend is that we understand Jesus much more than You and You are Jesus. I won’t even start about the Holy Ghost, which is also You.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1).
Moses (Ex 2-Deut 34:8) and Elijah (1 Kgs 18-2 Kgs 2:11) both did incredible things. Moses was 120 years old when he died but was still in great shape and had perfect vision (Deut 34:7), and Elijah never died (2 Kgs 2:11), so I’m wondering…
Jeremiah 2
Israel’s Faithlessness
1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2:1-6:30 – it is generally agreed that these chapters are among Jeremiah’s earliest discourses, delivered during the reign of Josiah. The basic theme is the virtually total apostasy of Judah, leading inevitably to divine retribution through foreign invasion.
2:1-3:5 – The wickedness and backsliding of God’s people are vividly portrayed in numerous colorful figures of speech.
2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
“Love” – God’s people forsook Him and loved “strangers” (foreign gods), tragically abandoned their first love (cf. Rev 2:4).
3 Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the first fruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD.
4 Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel:
5 Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?
6 Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?
7 And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.
8 The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
9 Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children’s children will I plead.
10 For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing.
“Chittim” – represents the western nations and regions.
“Kedar” – represents the eastern nations and regions.
11 Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.
12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.
13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
14 Is Israel a servant? is he a home born slave? why is he spoiled?
15 The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.
16 Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head.
“Tachapanes” – probably the city later called Daphnai by the Greeks, located just south of Lake Menzaleh in the eastern delta region of Egypt and known today as Tell Defneh.
17 Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way?
18 And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?
19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
20 For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.
“The harlot” – ritual prostitution was a particularly detectable practice.
21 Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?
“Noble vine” – Jesus Christ.
“Strange vine” – all cults that defy Jesus Christ.
22 For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much sope, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD.
“Nitre…sope” – mineral alkali and vegetable alkali respectively. Sins can be removed and forgiven (see Ps 51:2, 7; Isa 1:18), but only when the sinner repents and confesses (Prov 28:13; cf. 1 Jn 1:7, 9).
23 How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;
24 A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.
25 Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.
“Unshod” – you wear out your sandals.
26 As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets,
27 Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.
28 But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.
“According to…thy cities and thy gods” – every ancient Near Eastern town of any importance had its own patron deity (cf. Acts 19:28, 34-35), and many towns were named after deities.
29 Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the LORD.
30 In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.
31 O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?
“Have I been a wilderness…a land of darkness?” – on the contrary, God has been with them always.
32 Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
33 Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways.
34 Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these.
35 Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned.
36 Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.
37 Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head: for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.
False Prophets
Be careful in whom you listen to because even if every word they speak comes straight out of the Bible, if they don’t preach “all” of the Bible, they leave out the scary parts, they have an alternative motive and they are not on the beaten path and are heading for destruction (Matt 7:21-23).
People like Rick Warren, many, many preachers, and others are like a car salesman. They show you the nice clean shiny vehicle, tell you it’s good on gas, great pick up, etc., etc., that it has no problems, it’s just like brand new, and a week after you buy it you realize that you are driving lemon.
Do you think Jesus lived an easy life? He had the toughest of all. None of the people that walked with God had an easy life, read about Paul in the book of Acts, Jeremiah in the book of Jeremiah. God/Jesus is perfect, but the walk with Him is not, it can be tough.
Jesus said:
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death (Rev 2:11).
Please listen to what I say, I’m an ex-con and know what I’m talking about. Before Jesus saved my soul I would sell:
a blind person a pair of eye glasses because if they wore them for a week, due to technology, these new lenses would recharge the recharge the cornea.
a car salesmen their own car.
a brand new three dollar bill to the bank president.
a book signed by Thomas Jefferson to the librarian even though the book was published in 1970.
a bottle of aspirin for $50 because the buyer somehow got the idea that within a week his penis would grow two inches. Was it something I said? Of course all my products had a 60 day money back guarantee, all you have to do is find me.
It is said, “You can’t con a con,” and I believe that, but the devil isn’t a con, he’s pure evil. He is smarter and tricker than us and much more powerful and he is the number one trainer of people like Rick Warren, the Pope, the Muslims, etc., etc.
This is what Peter and Paul said:
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction (2 Pet 2:1).
Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple (Rom 16:17).
There’s a difference between
a false prophet, a scammer, and an idiot
but the end result is the same
= YOU LOSE!
A scammer works for themselves to increase their bank account (that was me).
A false prophet works for the devil to enlarge the size of hell (Isa 5:13-15).
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die (Gen 3:4).
An idiot works for themselves or an organization to increase their bank account and world status, i.e., insecurity. These types of people/organizations run around spreading untrue information, information that does not glorify God, such as false religions:
- Catholics
- Muslims
- Islam
- Christian Scientist
- Jehovah’s Witness
- Buddhism
“And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord;
Thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts.
Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord.
They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.
Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The Lord saith it; albeit I have not spoken?
Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God.
Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:
Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the Lord” (Eze 13:1-8, 22-23).
…why were Moses and Elijah there during the Transfiguration of Jesus? (Matt 17:1-13) and exactly what was the Transfiguration?