I read this testimony and I thought I would share this since it is so great!!
Mike Evans in Lebanon ministering to soldiers ,
Jerusalem Prayer Team
"On October 23, 1983, twenty-nine years ago today, I was sleeping on the beach a stone’s throw away from the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. That morning the building was blown up, killing 221 Marines, 18 sailors, and thee soldiers. It was the deadliest single-day death toll for the US Marine Corps since the battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.
In 1983, United States citizens were taken hostage in Lebanon and terrorists were crossing the Lebanese border and killing Jews. The Lord spoke to me to go there and preach the Gospel to them, delivering them from the spirit of murder—knowing that their only hope was Jesus. When I arrived in Jerusalem, my traveling companion received a call from Israeli intelligence telling him that Sidon, the town that we had planned to visit first as we made our way to Beirut, was targeted for an attack at the time we would be there. He was told that we could not go.
When I got back to the hotel that evening, he was asleep. I woke him and said, “Get packed. We have to leave early in the morning.” He said, “No, I’m not going. Israeli intelligence called and said if we do, we’ll be killed. I can’t take the risk because my insurance would be cancelled. I’m not covered for a war zone.”
I smiled at him and asked, “Insurance or assurance? You need some blessed assurance.” I took a trash can, emptied it on the floor, and filled it with water. I then told him to get out of bed and place his feet in the can. He thought I had lost my mind as I washed his feet as Jesus washed the feet of the disciples. I believed that the spirit of fear would be broken. He wept and rejoiced as he said, “I’ll go with you. I’m not afraid.”
The attack happened minutes before we arrived in Sidon. We were there to minister life and grace to suffering souls, and God protected us. I went into Beirut with a team of three. I was determined not only to preach to the terrorists, but also to the Marines who were stationed there. I filled the trunk of the car with Bibles, passed those out, and shared the Gospel. I will never forget one young Marine who I led to Christ. I had a television camera with me, and we decided to let the Marines record Christmas messages to their families since they would not be home for the holidays.
The eighteen-year-old Hispanic man was from Wooster, Massachusetts. He said, “Mom, I’ve got great news for you. I know you’ve been praying I would find the Lord. Today I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior!” That was on October 22nd.
Early the next morning, I was jolted awake by one of the loudest sounds I’ve ever heard. A suicide bomber drove a truck onto the airport where the Marines were headquartered. He had hijacked the truck for the water delivery the Marines were expecting. He drove into the building and detonated the equivalent of 12,000 pounds of TNT. I experienced the shock wave and saw the fireball of the explosion.
Every terrorist in the city opened up with gunfire targeting anything that moved. I had rented an Avis vehicle in Jerusalem and had to get back to Nahariyya on the Israel border. It was inconceivable that anyone could get down that road. That night as I drove and prayed with the team, I took a wrong turn into the middle of a Hezbollah funeral. I could see the body being carried over their heads of the crowd and guns waving. Had they looked at our car and realized it had Jerusalem license plates, we all would have died on the spot.
As I sped away, I had no idea where we were going. I had followed the sea to Beirut, and now it was too dark to see. After taking another wrong turn, we began to pass UN checkpoints on the road to Damascus. We were being targeted by 135 mm shells being fired at us as spotlights swept over the car. We felt like the balloon targets in a dart-throwing contest at a carnival. Then—horror of horrors—we ran out of fuel. Charlie Weston and L.W. Dollar (one of my board members) looked at me and said, “We’re dead!” They knew there was no hope of survival.
I stepped outside with a screwdriver and removed the light from the license plate so no one would be able to see the distinctive Jerusalem plate. As we sat in the vehicle and prayed, suddenly an Arab came to the window. In the natural, it seemed he was about to blow our heads off. He lifted his hand which I thought held a gun but instead held a can fuel. He walked back to the gas tank and poured the gasoline into the vehicle. He came back and pointed to the button that would unlock the car door.
For some reason, I felt this was God and opened the door. He climbed into the passenger seat, and without saying a word, pointed in the direction we were to go. For thirty-two kilometers, our guide rode with us. When he saw the lights of Nahariyya in the distance, our guide held up his hand and indicated that I was to stop. He opened the door and stepped out, never uttering a word. We drove a few yards, where a lieutenant colonel stopped our car and looked at me with complete shock. He said, “I thought you were dead. I notified the prime minister’s office that you had been killed. There is no possibility that you could have gotten down this road alive, especially in an Israeli vehicle.”
I pointed behind us and said, “That man saved our lives.” There was no one standing there. There is no doubt in my mind that twenty-nine years ago today, an angel of the Lord divinely intervened and saved my life. Let me encourage you today to keep your eyes on Jesus and keep doing what God has put on your heart to do. God will protect you, no matter what you see or what the circumstances!"
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Second coming of Christ
"The prophecy about Messiah, based on books of Daniel, Isaiah, Zachariah"
"The One coming back"
Prophet Daniel had a vision "I kept looking into the night visions, and behold with the clouds of heaven One like a son of man was coming and he came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away, and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed."
But then we also know from the prophets that the Messiah will have to meet the other requirements ;he will be the descendant of David, born from a woman, one from among his brothers, born in Bethlehem. How is that all possible, prophet Daniel showing him coming in the clouds of heaven to conquer and rule , as the one to whom was given everlasting dominion and a kingdom. Prophet Isaiah talks about the one who will be born of a woman ( Isaiah 7;14), having the earthly life like ours, coming in a gentle and humble way to suffer (Isaiah 53) . The only way for all these verses to be true is that there would have to be two separate comings. The first followers of Jesus didn't understand that either, until after Jesus' death and resurrection when he told them that the Messiah came to suffer first before entering his glory.
Isaiah 53 talks about a servant who had to suffer and die before he was glorified and gives a purpose for that;
v.3 " the one despised and rejected by men" v.5 “wounded for our transgressions, crushed because of our sins, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wound we are healed“
The verse .6 explains ; ” We all like sheep went astray, we turned each one to his own way, yet Adonai laid on him the guilt of all of us."v.7 "led as a lamb to the slaughter....he opened NOT his mouth"
v.8. "cut off from the land of living, for transgressions of my people he was stricken”,
v.11. ” My righteous Servant shall justify many , for he shall bear their iniquities“
As the verse 10 says; He made his soul offering for sin .He made his life a quilt offering, sacrificed for us so that we may have God's forgiveness and life. Forgiveness of sins that we have in his blood shed for us.
Isaiah talks about him having his life back; " He shall see the labor of his soul, and be satisfied."
In the verse 12 Isaiah said; ” Therefore I will assign him a share with the great, he will divide the spoil with the strong for having exposed himself to death and being counted among the sinners."
Some Jews saw that the Messiah would have to suffer but they did not see his death and resurrection. Just before what we now clearly see as a classic prophecy about his suffering and death, comes Isaiah 52;13 which speaks of the exaltation of the Messiah " See my servant will act wisely, he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted"
While Daniel 7;13 speaks of 'son of man' coming in the clouds of heaven to bring justice, Isaiah also talks about the same suffering servant who will bring justice (verse 42;1 ) says; "Behold my Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom my soul delights! I have put my Spirit upon Him, He will bring justice to the gentiles. He will not cry out, nor raise his voice to be heard in the street (...) He will bring justice for truth."
We will read later about why all the scriptures haven't been fulfilled yet. All the great promises are still to come.
Old Testament scriptures talk about Messiah' glorious time in the future to come. Why couldn't it all together be accomplished at once? Had he come to bring justice right away, nobody would stay alive!
For it says; "all have sinned and fell short of the glory of God." We had to be justified by him to have clean heart, he had to die in our place, by that sacrifice we are saved from God's wrath. Restoration of hearts by forgiveness of sin comes first. He said himself " This is my body given for you ...this cup is a new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you" Luke 22;19-20
We can rejoice in the hope and peace we have in his salvation, many people are lacking living without Christ.
Ignoring that fact, we wonder why ALL the prophecy about Christ hasn't been fulfilled yet . Even Jesus' disciples asked him the same question;" When they had come together, they asked him saying "Lord will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?' And He said to them ' It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in his own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth." Acts 1;6-8
So 'Now' it is time of salvation. He took upon himself the sins of us freeing all who would accept His payment.
Who would be just enough to live forever? Without the Savior, nobody would!
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that
whoever believes in Him shall never perish but have everlasting life" John 3;16
His promise about everlasting life to those who trusted in Him was supported by his authority to give life; apart from healing others, he raised Lazarus and Jairus' daughter back to life. He was risen back to life after his death on the cross.
" John 10;17-18 "Therefore my father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again."
The roots for our beliefs are the same ; God's promise about the Messiah to come who would 'save ' their people. We can choose to see only one side of the whole picture skipping the suffering part, and expect only the glorious future or we choose to see the whole picture- all scriptures put together like a big puzzle. The first followers of Jesus were Jews who watching Jesus' life were able to see in him the lamb of God. They saw him being ascended to heaven on clouds, and angels coming down saying; " Man of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into the heaven? This same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven." Acts 1;11 " Behold he is coming with clouds and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him.Even so, Amen." Revelation 1;7
Look also how does Zachariah talk about the Messiah coming as the deliverer of Israel.
Zachariah 12-8-11
" In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them. It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son and grieve for him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem."
The question is 'why would they cry and mourn? Who was pierced??? Who suffered like the Isaiah 53 talks about? Who justified many by suffering for our sin? (Isaiah 53;11) By whose wounds we are healed?? Based on Isaiah 53;5, who would have to be "raised and lifted up and highly exalted " ? If the only one thing the Messiah was to accomplish was to come as the glorious deliverer of the nations, why it talks about him first raised and lifted up?
All scriptures in the Old Testament are pointing to Christ, all events relate to Him, all stories written have a meaning so that we would recognize Him; Abraham willing to offer his only Son as the sacrifice, Joseph' life in affliction, rejection by his own, saving their family and people when they came to him in need in the 'trouble years' and at the end he revealed himself to his family that he was one of their own.
The same it says about the Messiah; before he comes there will be really bad times, nations gathering around Jerusalem, his own people will finally recognize Him; Zachariah 12;10 " They will look on Me , whom they pierced..."
He is like an Noah's ark -in Him everybody can hide before the coming wrath of God.He is our Passover lamb, his shed blood for us keeps us from eternal death. The Jewish feast of Bikkurim ( first-fruits) points to Him. Paul tells the Corinthians that Jesus raised from the dead is the 'first-fruits' of those who have fallen asleep." 1 Cor 15;20
Feast of Unleavened Bread points to Him as Jesus called Himself " the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever." John 6;50 "Eating" as the symbol of trusting in him.
"The One coming back"
Prophet Daniel had a vision "I kept looking into the night visions, and behold with the clouds of heaven One like a son of man was coming and he came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away, and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed."
But then we also know from the prophets that the Messiah will have to meet the other requirements ;he will be the descendant of David, born from a woman, one from among his brothers, born in Bethlehem. How is that all possible, prophet Daniel showing him coming in the clouds of heaven to conquer and rule , as the one to whom was given everlasting dominion and a kingdom. Prophet Isaiah talks about the one who will be born of a woman ( Isaiah 7;14), having the earthly life like ours, coming in a gentle and humble way to suffer (Isaiah 53) . The only way for all these verses to be true is that there would have to be two separate comings. The first followers of Jesus didn't understand that either, until after Jesus' death and resurrection when he told them that the Messiah came to suffer first before entering his glory.
Isaiah 53 talks about a servant who had to suffer and die before he was glorified and gives a purpose for that;
v.3 " the one despised and rejected by men" v.5 “wounded for our transgressions, crushed because of our sins, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wound we are healed“
The verse .6 explains ; ” We all like sheep went astray, we turned each one to his own way, yet Adonai laid on him the guilt of all of us."v.7 "led as a lamb to the slaughter....he opened NOT his mouth"
v.8. "cut off from the land of living, for transgressions of my people he was stricken”,
v.11. ” My righteous Servant shall justify many , for he shall bear their iniquities“
As the verse 10 says; He made his soul offering for sin .He made his life a quilt offering, sacrificed for us so that we may have God's forgiveness and life. Forgiveness of sins that we have in his blood shed for us.
Isaiah talks about him having his life back; " He shall see the labor of his soul, and be satisfied."
In the verse 12 Isaiah said; ” Therefore I will assign him a share with the great, he will divide the spoil with the strong for having exposed himself to death and being counted among the sinners."
Some Jews saw that the Messiah would have to suffer but they did not see his death and resurrection. Just before what we now clearly see as a classic prophecy about his suffering and death, comes Isaiah 52;13 which speaks of the exaltation of the Messiah " See my servant will act wisely, he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted"
While Daniel 7;13 speaks of 'son of man' coming in the clouds of heaven to bring justice, Isaiah also talks about the same suffering servant who will bring justice (verse 42;1 ) says; "Behold my Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom my soul delights! I have put my Spirit upon Him, He will bring justice to the gentiles. He will not cry out, nor raise his voice to be heard in the street (...) He will bring justice for truth."
We will read later about why all the scriptures haven't been fulfilled yet. All the great promises are still to come.
Old Testament scriptures talk about Messiah' glorious time in the future to come. Why couldn't it all together be accomplished at once? Had he come to bring justice right away, nobody would stay alive!
For it says; "all have sinned and fell short of the glory of God." We had to be justified by him to have clean heart, he had to die in our place, by that sacrifice we are saved from God's wrath. Restoration of hearts by forgiveness of sin comes first. He said himself " This is my body given for you ...this cup is a new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you" Luke 22;19-20
We can rejoice in the hope and peace we have in his salvation, many people are lacking living without Christ.
Ignoring that fact, we wonder why ALL the prophecy about Christ hasn't been fulfilled yet . Even Jesus' disciples asked him the same question;" When they had come together, they asked him saying "Lord will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?' And He said to them ' It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in his own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth." Acts 1;6-8
So 'Now' it is time of salvation. He took upon himself the sins of us freeing all who would accept His payment.
Who would be just enough to live forever? Without the Savior, nobody would!
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that
whoever believes in Him shall never perish but have everlasting life" John 3;16
His promise about everlasting life to those who trusted in Him was supported by his authority to give life; apart from healing others, he raised Lazarus and Jairus' daughter back to life. He was risen back to life after his death on the cross.
" John 10;17-18 "Therefore my father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again."
The roots for our beliefs are the same ; God's promise about the Messiah to come who would 'save ' their people. We can choose to see only one side of the whole picture skipping the suffering part, and expect only the glorious future or we choose to see the whole picture- all scriptures put together like a big puzzle. The first followers of Jesus were Jews who watching Jesus' life were able to see in him the lamb of God. They saw him being ascended to heaven on clouds, and angels coming down saying; " Man of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into the heaven? This same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven." Acts 1;11 " Behold he is coming with clouds and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him.Even so, Amen." Revelation 1;7
Look also how does Zachariah talk about the Messiah coming as the deliverer of Israel.
Zachariah 12-8-11
" In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them. It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son and grieve for him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem."
The question is 'why would they cry and mourn? Who was pierced??? Who suffered like the Isaiah 53 talks about? Who justified many by suffering for our sin? (Isaiah 53;11) By whose wounds we are healed?? Based on Isaiah 53;5, who would have to be "raised and lifted up and highly exalted " ? If the only one thing the Messiah was to accomplish was to come as the glorious deliverer of the nations, why it talks about him first raised and lifted up?
All scriptures in the Old Testament are pointing to Christ, all events relate to Him, all stories written have a meaning so that we would recognize Him; Abraham willing to offer his only Son as the sacrifice, Joseph' life in affliction, rejection by his own, saving their family and people when they came to him in need in the 'trouble years' and at the end he revealed himself to his family that he was one of their own.
The same it says about the Messiah; before he comes there will be really bad times, nations gathering around Jerusalem, his own people will finally recognize Him; Zachariah 12;10 " They will look on Me , whom they pierced..."
He is like an Noah's ark -in Him everybody can hide before the coming wrath of God.He is our Passover lamb, his shed blood for us keeps us from eternal death. The Jewish feast of Bikkurim ( first-fruits) points to Him. Paul tells the Corinthians that Jesus raised from the dead is the 'first-fruits' of those who have fallen asleep." 1 Cor 15;20
Feast of Unleavened Bread points to Him as Jesus called Himself " the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever." John 6;50 "Eating" as the symbol of trusting in him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)