The True Meaning Of The Passover

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The Passover is perhaps the most important occasion of the year for true Christians, and this is why there is a dire need to understand its true meaning. If our observance of that memorial is off, it can affect the entire holy day season and the entire year.

Many assume that this first service of the Holy Day season (one of the most powerfully symbolic ceremonies in all of God’s plan), represents the forgiveness of our sins, washing our slate clean. But is this really what Passover is all about?  Do we go to the Passover to have our sins forgiven? No we don’t, as the Passover is a MEMORIAL of the crucifixion of Christ. All of our attention should be on the Lamb of God who was sacrificed for us and who paid the penalty for our sins (John 1:29). We have to get our minds on our own difficulties, inadequacies, sins and limitations and focus on the price that was paid for those sins. If we do that right, we will realize how vile those sins are, that they costs the life of our Creator.

The symbol of the broken unleavened bread during Passover (I Cor. 11:23-24) reveals that Christ’s  body was broken for us so that we can be healed and raised to eternal life, as well as having our physical bodies healed in this degenerate world. He would take those physical penalties Himself so that we can have life more abundantly. So He gave His body to be broken and smashed. We have to focus on what the Lamb went through, so that we can be healed.

All in this world have earned only the death penalty. As Christians, we cannot bring these sins into the family of God. He cannot have the dross of bad character – self-will, impatience, self-trust – in His family. Christ made it possible to put those evils to death, so that we can live. If we break the law, we can have the opportunity to repent. So Christ died for us.

Proof That Extraterrestrial Life Exists!

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Millions are being spent in an attempt to contact other life in the universe. What will be found?

We look up into a black sky, dotted with millions of stars, and we wonder — is there life out there? Are there other creatures similar to life on earth? Are there life forms totally different from ours?  Or is there no life at all in outer space? Is planet Earth unique?

These questions have puzzled mankind for centuries. Even modern men are bewildered about mysterious places such as Nazca in Peru and the Bermuda Triangle.

Science fiction writers have capitalized on our natural curiosity and have produced hundreds of books, magazine articles and movies on the subject of life in the universe.

Throngs have seen such movies as E.T. — The Extraterrestrial and Star Wars. People are intrigued by futurist movies and wonder if someday there will indeed be Star Wars with beings from other planets.

What Has Been Discovered So Far?

Efforts to contact life beyond our planet have, up to now, yielded nothing. We have been able to send manned spacecraft into earth’s orbit. We have been able to send men to the moon and return them safely. Every effort of the various space programs has so far demonstrated no form of physical life exists, or ever did, other than our own life on planet Earth.

Fulfilled Messianic Prophecies Prove Bible Is Accurate!

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For the gospel writers, one of the main reasons for believing in Jesus was the way His life fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. Following is a list of some of the main prophecies:

1. Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem – Old Testament, Micah 5:2 – New Testament, Matt. 2:1–6, Luke 2:1-20
2. Messiah was to be born of a virgin – Old Testament, Isaiah 7:14 – New Testament, Matt. 1:18-25, Luke 1:26-38
3. Messiah was to be a prophet like Moses – Old Testament, Deut. 18:15, 18-19 – New Testament, John 7:40
4. Messiah was to enter Jerusalem in triumph – Old Testament, Zech. 9:9 – New Testament, Matt. 21:1-9, John 12:12-16
5. Messiah was to be rejected by His own people – Old Testament, Isaiah 53:1,3, Psalm 118:22 –  New Testament, Matt. 26:3-4, John 12:37-43, Acts 4:1-12
6. Messiah was to be betrayed by one of His followers – Old Testament, Psalm 41:9 – New Testament, Matt. 26:14-16, 47-50, Luke 22:19-23

Seven Sabbath Miracles

Over the centuries, the Jewish religious leaders had added rule after rule to God’s law. For example, God’s law said the sabbath is a day of rest (Exod. 20:10-11), but the religious leaders added to that law, creating one that said, “You cannot heal on the Sabbath” because it is work.

Seven times Jesus healed on the Sabbath. In doing this, He was challenging these religious leaders to look beyond their rules to their true purpose – to honour God by helping those in need. Would God have been pleased if Jesus ignored these people?

Here are the seven distinct Sabbath miracles:

1. Jesus sends a demon out of a man – Mark 1:21-28
2. Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law – Mark 1:29-31
3. Jesus heals a lame man by the pool of Bethesda – John 5:1-18
4. Jesus heals a man with a deformed hand – Mark 3:1-6
5. Jesus restores a crippled woman – Luke 13:10-17
6. Jesus heals a man with dropsy – Luke 14:1-6
7. Jesus heals a man born blind – John 9:1-16

Why Did Jesus Have To Die?

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The Problem: we all have done things that are wrong, and we have failed to obey God’s laws. Because of this we have been separated from God our Creator. Separation from God is death; but, by ourselves, we can do nothing to become united with God.

Why Jesus Could Help: Jesus was not only a man; He was God’s unique Son. Because He never disobeyed God and never sinned, only He can bridge the gap between the sinless God and sinful mankind.

The Solution: Jesus freely offered His life for us, dying on the cross in our place, taking all our wrongdoing upon Himself, and saving us from the consequences of sin – including God’s judgment and death.

The Results: Jesus took our present and future sins upon Himself so that we could have new life. Because all our wrongdoing is forgiven, we are reconciled to God. Furthermore, Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the proof that His substitory sacrifice on the cross was acceptable to God, and His resurrection has become the source of new life for whoever believes that Jesus is the Son of God. All who believe in Him may have this new life in union with Him.

God's Unusual Communication Methods

One of the best ways to understand God’s willingness to communicate to people is to note the various methods, some of them quite unexpected, that He has used to give His message. Following is a sample of them and the people He contacted:

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Jacob, Zechariah, Mary, Shepherds — contacted by angels — Genesis 32:22-32, Luke 1:13, 30, 2:10

Jacob, Joseph, Baker, Cup-Bearer, Pharaoh, Isaiah, Joseph, Magi — contacted in dreams — Gen. 28:10-22, 37:5-10, 40:5, 41:7-8, Is. 1:1, Matt. 1:20, 2:12-13

Belshazzar — contacted via writing on the wall — Dan. 5:5-9

Balaam — contacted through talking Donkey — Numb, 22:21-35

People of Israel — contacted through pillar of cloud/fire — Exod 13:21-22

Jonah — contacted through being swallowed by a fish — Jonah 2

Abraham, Moses, Jesus at His baptism, Paul — verbal contact — Gen. 12:1-4, Exod. 7:8, Matt. 3:13-17, Acts 18:9

Moses — contacted through fire in bush — Exod. 3:2

People of God today — contacted through God’s Son — Heb. 1:1-2

The Ouija Board: The Danger Of Opening Another Dimension!

Throughout history man has been obsessed with his mortality, fascinated by what lies beyond this life. The ouija board is probably the most famous tool used for communication with the “other side.” It is known as a spirit board or talking board, a flat board marked with letters, numbers, and other symbols. It has long been a popular method of attempting to contact the dead, and is probably the only product sold on a large scale for this particular purpose. It is a piece of compressed wood, sold at virtually all toy stores and occult supply and book stores. Many of its users regard this activity as simply a novelty for parties and other such gatherings, without fully realizing the potential dangers.

The Ouija board can and often does work. Advocates say that it, like other forms of divination, is a legitimate means to discover insight, wisdom, and self-truths and to communicate with discarnate beings. But what many do not realize is that they are not contacting spirits of dead people, but actual demons – fallen angels. These are not NOT beings of a lower Astral worlds merely claiming to be angels, or famous people.

Tarot Cards: Readings Into The Unknown!

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With the advance of what is called the New Age Movement, there are many getting pulled into dangerous dark side activity. Many Christians have not read the Bible in its complete entirety and are thus not aware of the strict warnings that God has given about being involved in any form of occult activity. Most of these warnings go back in the Old Testament.

One of the greatest stories in the Bible is the story of Moses and God’s chosen people pulled from slavery out of Egypt, and their journey into the Promised Land. Before entry, they were given strict warnings and guidelines by God as to what they could do and could not do. One of those warnings was not to engage in the pagan practices of the people who were already inhabiting parts of the Promised Land. God knew these people were evil and had the horrible practice of sacrificing their own children to appease their gods. Some of these people were involved in heavy occult type activity. If practiced, any of these could easily lead Israel astray from the knowledge of the true God.

The warnings that God gave His people back then still apply to all of us in this day and age. The Bible says that God does not change, and this includes all of His ways and all of His warnings. The trouble is, most Christianity today is a shallow practice of lip service, rather than actions based on biblical commands. 

Witchcraft And Magic: Dangerous Paranormal Psychic Powers

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Interest in witchcraft is a popular focus of current occult attention. Those involved in witchcraft today look upon it as a religion of magical techniques — intended to produce paranormal psychic powers resident in the human mind.

“Witch” comes from the Anglo-Saxon wicce. Wicce comes from the German root wic, “to turn or bend.” The original connotation of wicce is possibly “someone with the power to turn [change] things.”

Some say that Wicca [witchcraft] is really a method of enlarging your mind to develop ESP awareness. They state it doesn’t deny God and is meant to be used for helping others.

Such an alleged difference between so-called white versus black magic is one major distinction discussed in much of occult literature. White magic is supposed to be the use of magic for socially beneficent ends. Black magic is supposed to be the use of magic for malevolent ends. Most magicians basically view magic as a value-free “technology-of-the-supernatural” (or “supernormal”). They believe that their own motive really determines whether their use of magic is for good (white) or evil (black). Most contemporary witches stress that they perform only white magic.

What is the difference between white and black witchcraft?

Witchcraft focuses a great deal on ritualism — involving candles, magic circles and such like. But few witchcraft advocates today believe there is magic force in the ritual itself. Rather, they use props and a ritual as a means to focus what they feel are natural powers of the human mind.

The Origin Of Astrology

Astrology is by far the biggest area of popular occult attention. Probably two thirds of books printed on occultism deal with the subject of astrology.

In the 1950’s, only about 100 papers carried horoscope columns. Twenty years later, over 1200 daily newspapers regularly catered to the subject. Statistics claimed that about 10,000 full-time and 175,000 part-time astrologers in the U. S. served some 40,000,000 in their American audience. Another 40 million dabbled in it. Shops carried astrological recordings, calendars, ashtrays, hairstyles, sweat shirts, and thousands of merchandise items linked to the zodiac. Astrology pulp magazines sold millions of copies monthly.

The popular musical Hair with its hit song of Aquarius and its own well-publicized company astrologist gave special impetus to the movement. In 1969 the Dell Publishing Company alone had some 49 horoscope publications in print and sold over 8,000,000 copies of its annual astrological dope sheet.

Today, the number of astrological adherents has increased exponentially. It has been estimated that up to 1 billion people on earth today believe in or follow astrology to some extent. The practice has gained appeal through public endorsement by a wide variety of celebrities who range from Hollywood stars to members of the political and intellectual communities.

Nostradamus: Are His Predictions Accurate?

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How did the 16th century psychic Nostradamus map out the future of the past four centuries? Or did he?

The summer of 1981 witnessed a strange sequence of events in Europe. Earlier that spring, against a Western tide of political conservatism, a socialist swept into power in France. Then came the near assassination of a Pope. And to the surprise of many, riots erupted in England.

Unrelated events? At first glance, it would seem so.

But a new translation of a medieval book of prophecy rocked Europe when it appeared to predict the above three events nearly four centuries in advance.

“Roman Pope do not approach the city in which the two rivers bathe,” reads an English translation of the obscure French writings of the 16th-century medical doctor Michel de Nostredame — better known as Nostradamus. “Your blood and that of your followers will flow near this place when the rose will flower.”

Mysterious Poetry

This verse is from Nostradamus’ 16th-century book The True Centuries — a book divided into 10 sections of about 100 verses or quatrains. This particular verse is number 97 from book II.

At first, these words would appear to be a meaningless jumble. But M. Jean-Charles de Fontbrune (a pseudonym), a French pharmaceutical executive, claims to have interpreted the “rose” in the latter part of the verse. He shocked Europe by claiming it as the party symbol of French President Francois Mitterrand. During the 1980-81 French campaign, President Mitterrand would often hold aloft a freshly cut rose as the symbol of forthcoming prosperity.

Where Was The Garden Of Eden Located?

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The Garden of Eden (Hebrew גַּן עֵדֶן), is described in Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God.

The Genesis creation story relates the geographical location of the garden of Eden to four rivers (Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, Euphrates). This is why many Christians (as well as scholars and archeologists) have assumed that the original garden was located somewhere in the Mesopotamian region (around present day Iraq) where the modern Tigris and Euphrates rivers flow.

Where is the Garden Of Eden today? Simple answer – it’s buried! The Bible records a worldwide flood centuries after Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden. As described in Genesis 6-9, the global flood would have been so catastrophic, that it would have completely torn apart and restructured the surface of the globe, with no place surviving untouched. The pre-Flood world, and thus the Garden, ceased to exist—it perished, as 2 Peter 3:6 confirms.

Is The Sabbath True With Man's Changes To The Calendar?

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Over the millenia, mankind has used many methods to chronicle time. The Roman calendar now in use has undergone some changes, but the weekly cycle was not altered with those changes. The original Roman calendar, introduced during the days of Julius Caesar, 45 B.C., was imperfect since it was based on the premise that the year was exactly 365’/4 days long. To maintain the pattern an addition of an extra day to the month of February was made every four years. However, it was later found that the year was 12 minutes and 14 seconds shorter than this.

A correction was made during the time of Pope Gregory XIII in the 16th Century by dropping ten days from the calendar. Thus in 1582, Thursday, 4 October was followed by Friday, 15 October. Notice that the weekly cycle was not altered. The Hebrew calendar used from the time of Christ till now preserved the same seventh day of the week (Friday sunset to Saturday sunset) as it was in Christ’s time. The Jewish people, through the centuries of migrations and persecutions, have never lost the Sabbath day. Nor do most Christians doubt the fact that Sunday is the first day of the week. There is no real debate on this point. The problem is with whether or not we will follow the example of our Savior and keep the same Sabbath that He kept (Mark 2:28).

The Meaning Of God's Tabernacle For Christ's Church Today

possessthevision.wordpress.coThe theme of God's tabernacle runs through the Bible like a continuous stream. The tabernacle, and its expanded form as the Temple, stands in the center of God's plan.

Anciently, God was very detailed in how He should be worshiped by ancient Israel, giving instructions for His tabernacle (Exod. 25-27 and 30). It sat in a courtyard (100 cubits long  x 50 cubits wide) enclosed by curtains (Exod. 27:9), with a gate 20 cubits wide at the front.

The courtyard contained an altar of 5 cubits x 5 cubits (Exod. 27:1-8), a laver (bronze basin where priests washed their hands and feet – Exod. 30:18-19).

It also contained a central tent (30 cubits long), which was divided into two sections by a veil, with the front section being the “holy place”(Exod. 26:33), and the section behind the veil called the most holy place, or the holiest of all (Heb. 9:3).

The most holy place represented God’s throne room in heaven. The ark of the covenant, with the wings of the cherubim spread overhead, was in this section (Exod. 25:10-22, 26:33-34).  Inside the ark were the tables of stone on which God had written the Ten Commandments. The lid of the ark, which was called the mercy seat, was where the Eternal – the One who later became Jesus Christ – manifested Himself.

Around the tabernacle was a section curtained off from the rest of the Israelite camp. No uncircumcised person was allowed to enter. The circumcised Israelites could enter and offer their sacrifices on the altar provided they were not ceremonially or spiritually unclean.