Savior in the Old Testament

Jesus says they should have recognized Him from the Scripture.

John 5:39-40
39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.
NKJV

Peter says that ALL the prophets spoke about Jesus.

Acts 3:24
24 Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days.
NKJV

Acts 10:43
43 He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name."
NLT

God called Him the seed of a woman.

Gen 3:15
15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel."
NKJV

Abraham called Him a lamb.

Gen 22:8
8 And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went together.
NKJV

Jacob called Him the Angel who has redeemed me.

Gen 48:16
16 The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil,
NKJV

God Called Him the Angel in the cloud that would go before them.

Ex 23:20-23

"Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21 Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. 22 But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off.
NKJV

Jesus was in the Pillar of Cloud by day and in the Pillar of Fire by night.

Num 14:14-15
They have heard that You, LORD, are among these people; that You, LORD, are seen face to face and Your cloud stands above them, and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.
NKJV

Moses called Him a prophet like me.

Deut 18:15
"The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren.
NKJV

Samuel called Him The Angel of the Lord and The Judge.

Judg 2:1-2
Then the Angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: "I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said, 'I will never break My covenant with you.
NKJV

Judg 11:27
27 Therefore I have not sinned against you, but you wronged me by fighting against me. May the LORD, the Judge, render judgment this day between the children of Israel and the people of Ammon.'"
NKJV

Nathan (or Gad) called Him Savior.

2 Sam 22:3
3 The God of my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation,
My stronghold and my refuge;
My Savior, You save me from violence.
NKJV

Job called Him my Redeemer (some versions, my Vindicator.)

Job 19:25
25 For I know that my Redeemer lives,
NKJV

David called Him my Redeemer and Savior.

Ps 19:14
O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.
NKJV

Ps 106:21-22
21 They forgot God their Savior,
Who had done great things in Egypt,
22 Wondrous works in the land of Ham,
Awesome things by the Red Sea.
NKJV

Solomon called Him a Redeemer.

Prov 23:11
11 For their Redeemer is mighty;
NKJV

Isaiah called Him Redeemer and Savior.

Isa 43:14
14 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer,
The Holy One of Israel:
NKJV

Isa 43:3
3 For I am the LORD your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
NKJV

Jeremiah called Him Redeemer and Savior.

Jer 14:8
8 O the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble,
NKJV

Jer 50:34
34 Their Redeemer is strong;
The LORD of hosts is His name.
NKJV

Ezekiel called Him LORD, sanctifier of Israel.

Ezek 37:27-28
28 The nations also will know that I, the LORD, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore."'"
NKJV

Daniel called Him the Ancient of Days.

Dan 7:22
22 until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.
NKJV

Hosea called Him the Holy One and Savior.

Hos 11:12
But Judah still walks with God,
Even with the Holy One who is faithful.
NKJV

Hos 13:4
4 "Yet I am the LORD your God
Ever since the land of Egypt,
And you shall know no God but Me;
For there is no savior besides Me.
NKJV

Joel called Him LORD who acquits them of the guilt.

Joel 3:21
21 For I will acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted;
For the LORD dwells in Zion."
NKJV

Amos called Him the Pride of Jacob.

Amos 8:7
7 The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
"Surely I will never forget any of their works.
NKJV

Obediah calls Him the King.

Obad 21
21 Deliverers will go up to Mount Zion in Jerusalem to rule over the mountains of Edom. And the LORD himself will be king!"
NLT

Jonah draws a picture of Him as our Teacher.

Jonah 4:9-11
9 Then God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?"

"Yes," Jonah retorted, "even angry enough to die!"

10 Then the LORD said, "You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. And a plant is only, at best, short lived. 11 But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city?"
NLT

Micah called Him the One to be Ruler in Israel.

Mic 5:2
2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting."
NKJV

Habakkuk called Him Your Anoined.

Hab 3:13
13 You went forth for the salvation of Your people,
For salvation with Your Anointed.
NKJV

Zephaniah called Him a Mighty Savior (some versions Mighty One.)

Zeph 3:17
17 For the LORD your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty savior. He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will exult over you by singing a happy song."
NLT

Zechariah called Him the Branch and your King.

Zech 3:8
For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.
NKJV

Zech 6:12-13
12 Then speak to him, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, saying:
"Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH!
From His place He shall branch out,
And He shall build the temple of the LORD;
13 Yes, He shall build the temple of the LORD.
He shall bear the glory,
And shall sit and rule on His throne;
So He shall be a priest on His throne,
And the counsel of peace shall be between them both."'
NKJV

Zech 9:9
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.
NKJV

Malachi calls Him the Sun of Righteousness.

Mal 4:2
2 "But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.
NLT

Mary the Mother of Jesus called Him Savior.

Luke 1:47
47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.

The Names of God

There is a large amount of information on the Names of God. I will merely scratch the surface enough for you to be able to determine which name of God is being used and why it is important to know the names of God.
There are two Hebrew names from which most of the names of God are built. The first is El. Meaning God. I think its use is much the same as 21st Century America uses “God.” It is generic and can mean anything that the user wants it to mean: such as Mother Nature, a cosmic force, or the sum of all peoples love, etc. So the Hebrews were very inclined to add a suffix to the name in order to define which God they were talking about. The word for God used in Gen 1:1 is Elohim meaning “strong one”. The form of the word is plural, indicating plentitude of power and majesty. The word could be translated as the plural of majesty. So one could say Gen 1:1 says, “In the beginning the Majesties created…”
Anyone see a problem here? The Hebrews believed in One True God. Moses is the hero of the Hebrew people and Moses wrote a plural form for the word God in the beginning. As one theologian put it to me, “They didn’t understand it, but they knew better than to change it.” The important thing to note here is that the word allows for the New Testament revelation of the Trinity of the Godhead.
For the purposes of a simple layperson anytime you see the word God by itself you can assume the Hebrew word used is Elohim. Not totally accurate but close enough as all names are talking about the same God. Other compounds are actually spelled out in the text. El Elyon for instance means God Most High. Look at Gen 14:22 and you will see “God Most High” in the text. So you don’t really need to know that it is El Elyon, just be aware that whatever Hebrew word was used it means “God Most High.”
The second base compound word is YHWH. This is the word the Hebrews valued so highly that they would not pronounce it. While reading the scriptures the Hebrews would pause when reaching the YHWH and then say “Adonai.” We put vowels in the word making it Yahweh and have no problem pronouncing it. The meaning of the YHWH is “I am that I am.” The name first appears in the second chapter of Genesis so was well known to the Hebrew people when passed down from generation to generation in their oral tradition. When God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush, this is the name He called Himself so the Hebrews knew exactly who had sent Moses.
The YHWH is translated into English as LORD. Notice the capital letters. When there are compound names associated with it like YHWH Jireh (or Jehovah Jirah from the Greek) then once again the whole meaning is translated into the English. Look at Gen 22:14. You will see imbedded into the verse “The LORD Will Provide”. It is not a sentence, it is a name. Notice all the capital letters. Again, you don’t really need to know that it is YHWH Jireh, just be aware that whatever Hebrew word was used it means “The LORD Will Provide.”
The last word you need to know is Adonai. Adonai is translated as Lord. Notice the lack of capital letters. The most famous use of this is in Psalm 110:1. “The LORD says to my Lord…” In English this looks rather silly, but with your new found knowledge you now know to read it, “YHWH says to Adonai…” This is another Old Testament allowance for One God in multiple Persons.
Now that the surfaced is scratched we ask, Why do I need to know the names of God? Look at John 3:18. You will see imbedded in the verse a command to “believe in the name…” What does it mean to believe in the name? The names, as you have seen, have meanings. You need to believe what the names are telling you. So which name does John 3:18 tell us to believe in? “… in the name of God’s one and only Son.” Which leads us to ask, what does the name Jesus Christ mean?
Matt 1:1 leads off with the name of Jesus Christ. The notes of your Study Bible tell you that Jesus is from Jeshua which means “the Lord is salvation.” Christ means “anointed one.” So we must believe that Jesus Christ is “the Lord is salvation” and “the anointed one.”
So what’s in a name? Now you know.

The Question of Original Sin

Are humans born sweet and innocent, but learn how to be sinful or are we born with a sinful nature? This is how I phrase the question of Original Sin. I heard an illustration that makes it rather clear, I think.
Once upon a time there was an old woman who owned a farm. On this farm she had a chicken coup. Surrounding this farm was a wooded area that was inhabited by weasels. The weasels liked to eat the chickens. So the old woman would set traps for the weasels. When she caught one, she would get her hoe that was filed down to a sharp point and kill the weasel.
One day she happened upon a nest of baby weasels. She did not say, “Oh what cute little weasels, they have never done anything wrong. They are so sweet and innocent. I will just let them be.” She said to her helper, “Go and get my sharpened hoe and I will stay here and make sure the babies do not get away.”
The point is that a weasel is going to be a weasel and humans are going to be humans. Unless we change from the inside out by the power of the Holy Spirit and put on a different nature (the nature of God by faith in Jesus Christ) then we will suffer the same fate as the baby weasels.

The Healing Rooms of Louisville at the City of Hope Have First Testimony of Healing

The Healing Rooms of Louisville KY openned last week. The City of Hope located at 1909 Standard Ave has its first testimony of a healing. Larry says he was at the City of Hope for other reasons than the healing room but ended up getting some of his hearing in his right ear, which never had any hearing before.

The current schedule is:

Wed - City of Hope, 1909 Standard Ave., 1pm-3pm

Evangel at 6900 Billtown Rd., 5pm-7pm

Thurs - Evangel North, 1430 Cedar St., Clarksville, IN, 6pm-8pm

Fri - Evangel at 5400 Minors Lane, 5pm-7pm

Sat - Evangel North, 1430 Cedar St., Clarksville, IN 12 noon-2pm

Come and see the power of God either by receiving a healing or learning how to prayer for the healing of others; body, soul, and spirit.

The Healing Rooms of Louisville welcomes you.

What is the Bible all about - Mick's Theology

There is One True God.

Deut 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!
NKJV





Apart from Him there is no other.

Isa 45:5-6 5 I am the LORD, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, 6 That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other; NKJV (Actually all of Isaiah chapter 45 is good)

He is Spirit.

John 4:24 God is Spirit, NKJV

He created all things, spirit and material. Nothing exists that He did not make.

John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. NKJV

One of God's greatest angel's decided to sin and was thrown out of Heaven onto the earth.

Isa 14:12-15 12 "How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. 13 For you said to yourself, 'I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God's stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. 14 I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.' NLT

God created mankind in God's own image.

Gen 1:27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. NKJV

Satan tempted mankind and mankind chose to sin and is now separated from the Creator God by sin.

Gen 2:16-17 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." NKJV

Gen 3:1-7 3:1 Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the creatures the LORD God had made. "Really?" he asked the woman. "Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?" 2 "Of course we may eat it," the woman told him. 3 "It's only the fruit from the tree at the center of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God says we must not eat it or even touch it, or we will die." 4 "You won't die!" the serpent hissed. 5 "God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it. You will become just like God, knowing everything, both good and evil." 6 The woman was convinced. The fruit looked so fresh and delicious, and it would make her so wise! So she ate some of the fruit. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her. Then he ate it, too. 7 At that moment, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they strung fig leaves together around their hips to cover themselves. NLT

The wages of sin is death.

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death… NKJV

The Creator God has then made a way back to Him by taking the punishment for sin upon Himself for us.

Isa 53:4-6 4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. NKJV

He did this in the form of Jesus Christ the Son. Jesus paid our sin debt for us by suffering, dying on the cross, and raising again from the dead.

1 Cor 15:3-4 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, NKJV

Now that Jesus has ascended to the Father, He has sent us the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of the Truth that Jesus is the Promised Savior.

John 16:7-11 It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. NKJV

It is by having faith (which means trusting) in Jesus that we are saved.

Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. NKJV

It is not just any kind of faith that saves us, even the demons believe, but it does them no good. A saving faith is the kind of faith that changes us from desiring to do bad things into desiring to do good things.

James 2:19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe — and tremble! NKJV

James 2:16-17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. NKJV

When we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior then our spirit, that was dead (meaning separated from God by sin), becomes alive, new (meaning connected to God by the Holy Spirit.)

Eph 2:4-5 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

It is the person of the Holy Spirit (who is God), who lives in us, in our new, living spirit.

Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

1 Cor 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

But our minds and our bodies are not immediately renewed.

Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. NKJV

Rom 8:13-14 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. NKJV

The work of the Holy Spirit is to sanctify us, meaning He renews our minds and curbs our fleshly desires. He is recreating us into the image of Jesus Christ.

2 Thess 2:13 because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,

2 Cor 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

We assist (or allow) the Holy Spirit to do this when we practice the disciplines. I think the three most important disciplines are prayer,

1 Thess 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

scripture (read, study and memorize),

John 17:17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

Ps 119:11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

Ps 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

and witnessing.

Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.

We know this “sanctification process” is happening when we “naturally” demonstrate the fruits of the Spirit. It just flows out of us without us even trying to be good, it just becomes who we are to do good.

Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

If we have the power of God “in us”, then what do we have power over? We have power over the most destructive force in the universe, which is “sin.” We have the power to stop sinning.

Rom 6:6-7 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin.

That is enough to get you started. Just be aware, there is more. I will cover this in the future under something I like to call, "Something More."

The Healing Rooms of Louisville with International Association of Healing Rooms

Healing Rooms open this week in Louisville, KY. Associated with the International Association of Healing Rooms

http://www.healingrooms.com/




The current schedule is:

Wed - City of Hope, 1909 Standard Ave., 1pm-3pm

Evangel at 6900 Billtown Rd., 5pm-7pm

Thurs - Evangel North, 1430 Cedar St., Clarksville, IN, 6pm-8pm

Fri - Evangel at 5400 Minors Lane, 5pm-7pm

Sat - Evangel North, 1430 Cedar St., Clarksville, IN 12 noon-2pm

Come and see the power of God either by receiving a healing or learning how to prayer for the healing of others; body, soul, and spirit.

The Process of Sanctification

I define the Process of Sanctification as the process of changing one’s personality into the likeness of the personality of Jesus Christ.
I give credit to the accomplishment of this process entirely to the Holy Spirit. Our part in the process is to make ourselves available to the Holy Spirit so that He may accomplish His good work in us. This work will be completed in that day when we meet Jesus Christ Himself.
The only question then is: How do we make ourselves available to the Holy Spirit? Answer: By practicing the disciplines! The disciplines are not spelled out specifically in the Bible. This has led to many people developing their own “list” of disciplines. This is a very worth while exercise, which may be why they are not specifically listed. My list looks like this:
1. Prayer, with the goal of praying continuously2. Scripture; read, study, memorize and pray them (supercharging your prayers)3. Witnessing: in word and in deed
I break here to emphasize that these three are the most valuable of all the disciplines. If one were to only focus on these three, then one would do very well indeed. Twelve are hard to memorize, but just remembering these three is not so hard.
Why are these three more important?
Prayer: because it is the only one that can be done 24 hours a day. Yes, by practicing “praying continuously” prayer begins to penetrate your sleep and affect your dreams. C. S. Lewis said that anything that is living is either growing or it is dieing. So when we speak of a Spiritual Life we speak of something that is either growing or it is dieing. If you spend 15 minutes in Bible Study per day, great! You were growing for 15 minutes, but if you do nothing else you are dieing for 23 hours and 45 minutes. Praying continuously then is “the” way of growing all day long.
Scripture: because it is the anointed word of God. Get the Word inside you and it changes you from the inside out. You will not have to “act” like a Christian, you will “become” more Christlike. John 17:17
Witnessing, because it is part of the salvation process (Romans 10:9-10).
4. Meditation5. Worship6. Communion7. Repenting8. Giving9. Fasting10. Forgiving others
All of the above are disciplines that we initiate. The last two are initiated by God.
11. Challenges in life12. Punishment
I think Finney got it right when he said, he “believed that sanctification only occurred through the constant appropriation of faith through Christ. Christ then enabled the Christian’s moral self to become like His own.” The question then becomes, “how does one constantly appropriated his faith through Christ?” Practicing the disciplines is (in my humble and uneducated opinion) the “how.”

Assurance of Salvation

Assurance of Salvation

How can I know for sure that I am saved? I got this answer from Les Feldick Teaches Through the Bible. It is a national television show. I hope it is as comforting an answer to you as it is to me.

There are only two types of spirits; The Spirit of Christ and the spirit of the anti-christ. Poor, pitiful creatures that we are, we have both spirits living in us. Our minds are the battlefield where these two spirits are at war with each other. So to determine which spirit has the upper hand in you, you need only answer these three simple questions.

1. Do you enjoy spending time in prayer?
2. Do you enjoy spending time in reading the Bible?
3. Do you enjoy spending time with people who enjoy prayer and the Bible?

If the answer to all three of these questions is “Yes,” then the Spirit of Christ dominates in you because prayer, the Bible, and Christ’s people all have the Spirit of Christ.

If you said “No” to all three, then you are dominated, but not yet defeated by the spirit of the anti-christ.

If you said “Yes” to some and “No” to others then I would say that the Spirit of Christ is becoming dominate in you, but you still have a lot of growing to do. So start reading the Bible and Praying more often (with the goal of praying continuously) and watch yourself change from the inside out. Understand that this work of sanctification will not be complete until we see our Savior face to face.

Read the Bible for Yourself

I used to think that I did not need to read the bible because I grew up in the church and had heard all the stories. So what is the point in reading them? When I began to read them for myself in 1999, I found that I had not heard all of the stories nor were the stories that I had heard written the way I had heard them. Here are some examples that may entice you to read them for yourself.

Did you know there is a story about Isaac in the bible? Not a story about Abraham and Isaac. Not a story about Isaac and Jacob and Esau. A story about Isaac, as the leader of the clan, after Abraham and before Jacob and Esau. If not, then there are stories in the bible that you have not heard; see Genesis chapter 26.

Did you know that Jesus was not born in a manger? I still hear “Jesus was born in a manger” frequently in Sunday School. Go look it up; Luke 2:6. The manger is a feeding troth not a building.

The Ten Commandments are written in Ex. 20. If you read Ex 19 you will not see Moses on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights. You will not see any reference to 2 stone tablets. No writing on tablets with the finger of God. You will see God coming down on the mountain and speaking the Ten Commandments to the people. Where did the tablets come in? Read the rest of Exodus and Deut. 5. By the way, there are two sets of two tablets.

The Garden of Eden story is interesting. Remember the story? God created Adam and Eve and told them not to eat from the tree in the middle of the garden. They ate and were kicked out of the garden. Is that right? If you read it for yourself you will find that there are two trees of importance in the garden and that one of them pops up again in The Revelation.

You have heard that the bible says, “The last shall be first and the first shall be last.” Well in Matthew 19:30 it says, “But many who are first will be last and many who are last will be first.” There are actually four different times this line appears in the Gospels. It is interesting to see all four in their different forms and the differences between other translations.

There are many other interesting things waiting for you in the bible. I hope that these have sparked an interest in you.

Something More

Having good bible knowledge is cool but I found that something more happens when you read the bible for yourself. I have found that you begin to change from the inside out. I am fully convinced that the bible is the anointed Word of God. If you get His Word in you for the purpose of knowing Him more fully then His Holy Spirit uses those words to recreate you into the image of Jesus Christ.

You no longer have to try to be a good person because “you are a Christian and you are supposed to be good.” What happens is you become a good person. You get the spirit of Jesus Christ in you and you become more loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. You do not become perfect but you will notice that you are changing and growing into His Perfection, which will be completed on that day when we meet Him face to face.