Ezekiel’s Vision: God’s Spaceship Identified!

http://www.revelationillustrated.com

Of the many fascinating scriptural descriptions of heavenly things, chapters 1 and 10 of Ezekiel is by far the most stunning and complex. Ezekiel had to describe in the Hebrew language something he saw – something so incredible and foreign as to defy description. Yet describe it he did, though the account leaves modern commentaries equally confused, with some indulging in various allusions on the subject.

If we really want to understand what Ezekiel experienced, we need to allow the Bible to be our guide. Ezekiel begins by describing an incredibly fiery spectacle. “And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself [a fire inside a fire], and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire” (verse 4).

This was some of the most intense brightness you can imagine — a mass of fire concentrated in a vast cloud, so that the flames might be more distinctly observable. Yet the fire never escaped from the cloud (Adam Clarke’s Commentary). The fire “infolding” forms a circle of light, with flames moving round and round and following each other in rapid succession (Barnes’ Commentary). The color of amber in the center of the cloud is from the word ηλεκτρον, translated as very bright, and  made of gold and brass. (John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible).

The living creatures – Cherubims

UFO enthusiasts describe the vision as a perennial example of ancient contact with extraterrestrial beings — supposed alien astronauts who visited the Earth in antiquity. However, they gloss over some important facts in trying to tie down this vision into the physical sphere. Let’s consider the living creatures within the flaming cloud. Though having the form of men, they have two sets of wings, four faces, and feet like calves’ hooves. Our aficionados believe that the four faces are the faces of different alien beings looking out of different windows of the spacecraft. This however is a somewhat crude and simplistic description, especially in light of Ezekiel being very precise and particular in describing what he saw.

“Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass. And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle” (verses 5-10).

By comparing the description of the living creatures in Ezekiel to that of the living creatures that surround the throne of God in Revelation 4, one quickly realizes that the scenes witnessed by Ezekiel were visions of God and His spiritual host of heaven..

“As with the cherubim flanking the Holy of Holies, the wings of the living creatures in Ezekiel’s vision touch each other. Solomon overlays the cherubim with gold, while the living creatures sparkle like burnished bronze. The four faces of the creatures in Ezekiel’s vision too hearken back to the cherubim and to Solomon’s temple. Lions and bulls are frequently mentioned as part of the imagery of the temple interior (1 Kings 7:25, 29, 36). Cherubim were often depicted as having men’s heads, the bodies of either lions or bulls — sometimes a lion’s fore parts and a bull’s hindquarters (hence the calf’s feet of living creatures of Ezekiel 1:7) — and the wings of eagles sprouting from their lion or bull shoulders.” (engforum)

The ordinary angels apparently resemble men. But cherubim (Michael or Gabriel) are not ordinary angels—“every one has four faces.” So the living creatures of Ezekiel’s vision were not bizarre four-faced space aliens. Nor were they a depiction of different alien species looking out of the portholes of a spaceship. They were cherubims.

If those who want to see the living creatures as space aliens would read more of Ezekiel they would find an almost identical vision in Ezekiel 10:20. There the prophet clearly identifies the beings as cherubim, and says in verse 15 that they were the living beings he saw in his first vision.

“This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they were the cherubim.”  All four were intertwined as one for “their wings were joined one to another” (Ezek 1:9).

The appearance of these living creatures (cherubim), was apparently highly impressive—they were lit up like fire, with lightning coming out of the fire! Not an ordinary sight.

“….their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning” (verse 13).

Now, these cherubim had a job to perform, which meant they transported this vehicle, evidently at the speed of light.

“And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning” (verse 14). “And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings” (verses 14, 24).

Ezekiel saw this great, luminous vehicle with wings and revolving wheels moving at lightning speed. It never had to turn; it would move instantly in any direction—like lightning darting around. This vehicle was so awesome Ezekiel had trouble even explaining it.

Vision contained throne and appearance of God

Now focus on the next couple of points, because they are truly breathtaking!

Ezekiel’s vision included a view of God’s throne. “Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne” (Ezekiel 10:1).

Look closely at what was on top of God’s amazing transportation system.

“…. and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it” (Ezek. 1:25-26).

Imagine – the great God of Ezekiel1- sitting on His throne on top of this amazing transportation system, looks like a man. Study Genesis 1, and you know that mortal man was made in the image and likeness of God. Is there a connection?

Do you want to know what God really looks like? Read on closely.

“And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain [a rainbow], so was the appearance of the brightness round about.

This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.

And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake” (Ezekiel 1:27‑28).

Compare this description with Revelation 1 to get an idea of how impressive God is to behold! This is the God of the Bible. This is not some nebulous cloud, or little Lord Jesus in a manger. This is the God of the Bible! This is what He looks like and how He travels. Do you know this God?

Wheel within a wheel

http://www.biblical-art.com

Beside each Cherub a wheel was set with another ” wheel in the middle of a wheel”.

So what is the significance of the wheels?It may be that it is unusual for a wheel to be associated with our modern view of a throne. The Commentaries make it to be one traversing inside of the other. They determined four directions to which the Spirit beings were darting to whatever direction they were commanded (Ezek. 1:16, 17), without turning. As for the “engineering” aspect of the wheels, our human understanding can’t help much since we are dealing with supernaturally-composed matter.

The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary gives this description:

” . . . each wheel was composed of two circles cutting one another at right angles, ‘one’ only of which appeared to touch the ground (“upon the earth” ) “.

The biblical description, “a wheel in the middle of a wheel”, however, would indicate the one inside to be smaller than the other.

Two more important facets are depicted. The first facet is that the “rings were full of eyes” (verse 18).

The other facet of the wheel was their rings (rims) were high and dreadful (verse 18). As far as the geometrical shape is concerned it is not clear whether it means a fantastic size of spokes (wheel diametrically large) or the depth of the ring.

Conclusion

It’s easy to speculate on the subject of this vision because we really don’t have all the answers. It is only when the vision is rendered in translation, rather than in the original Hebrew, that makes it possible for us today to mistake angels for spaceships. What we do know is that God gave the vision so that we could visualize somewhat in our minds eye the glory associated with this great Being, His appearance and His mode of travel.

If anyone has doubts that Ezekiel’s vision is of God enthroned upon the cherubim, consider what Ezekiel says in the final description in this passage (verse 28): “Such was the appearance of the glory of the LORD.”

Then, a few verses later in chapter 2, it was said to Ezekiel, “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me” (2:3). It is ironic that Ezekiel recognized this vision to be a message from God, yet over 2,500 years after this vision, modern-day UFO hunters want to “reinterpret” Ezekiel’s original understanding of what he saw. Ezekiel’s description of the vision ties in perfectly with other apocalyptic writings such as Daniel and Revelation.

The entire vision is not something taught in modern denominational religions. It should be though, because it would make God distinctively more real than the fuzzy image portrayed by most pastors and ministers, as well as UFO enthusiasts. Meditate on the description of the spectacular vehicle God rides in. This is God’s spaceship, and this vision should make the God of the Bible come alive to you.

Our Upside-Down Mad World!

Editors Comment: The following article comes from The Trumpet.com and it is a must read for those trying to understand our current upside down world, where good is evil, sin is virtue, left is right and war is peace. It showcases a world seemingly gone mad, where confusion reigns, disguised as common sense.

To quote a small paragraph from the article: “We take the side of science [as opposed to the supernatural] in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism. … Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door.”

Yes, anything at all, no matter how absurd will do if it does not acknowledge God. That is why we worship little green men, paganism, demented heroes, hostile religions, deviant sexuality, upside down authority, intellectualism, abortion, anti-disciplinary stands, socialism, radical environmentalism, political correctness, liberal doctrines and so on. It’s a mad, mad world….Read the article to be amazed.

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The Upside Down World

by Joel Hilliker

http://www.mindboxofmarkbrewer.com

Back in April, a street-corner preacher in Britain mentioned to a passing shopper that the Bible calls homosexuality a sin.

The comment got him thrown in jail.

An atheist homosexual policeman contended that since Dale McAlpine’s remark was loud enough to be overheard, he had broken the Public Order Act—a law passed in 1986 to control violent rioters and football hoodlums. Police carted McAlpine off, and he spent seven hours in a cell for causing “harassment, alarm or distress.”

It was quite the crackdown, considering what happened elsewhere on Britain’s streets at about the same time. After an Israeli official gave a lecture at the University of Manchester, she was attacked by pro-Palestinian protesters. Police responded to this provocation by escorting the official from the premises in a police car. The protesters climbed onto the hood of the vehicle and tried to break the windshield. They were not prosecuted. Apparently in Britain, this is “protected speech.” Welcome to the Upside-Down World.

Is Man An Animal?

Editors Comment: The following article is from the Trumpet.com and has some very interesting points to make regarding the distinction between man and animals. The author addresses the fact that man is a physical being, with a spiritual attribute and that of the whole man, the mind is the all important factor between him and animals. Science forgets that the body is merely the physical vehicle which the mind directs. With mankind, it is by thought; with animals, it is through instinct. Looking for the connection is simply grasping at the thin end of the straw. The article is well worth the read if you’re interested in the subject.

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psycnet.apa.org

Science is exposing a shocking new truth, columnist Mark Morford declared this past summer: “In the wilds of nature, to not have some level of homosexual/bisexual behavior in a give

n species is turning out to be the exception, not the rule” (San Francisco Chronicle, July 1, 2009; emphasis his).

You know where he’s going with this. “[E]ither humankind is part of nature and the wanton animal kingdom, a full participant in the messy inexplicable glories of the flesh and spirit and gender play, or we are the aberrant mistake, the ones who are lagging far behind the rest of the kingdom ….”

Morford’s in-your-face arrogance is maddening. But he appears to have science on his side. “[A]s many as 1,500 species of wild and captive animals have been observed engaging in homosexual activity,” noted Scientific American in June 2008. “Researchers have seen such same-sex goings-on in both male and female, old and young, and social and solitary creatures and on branches of the evolutionary tree ranging from insects to mammals.”

Science, according to Morford and his ilk, has solved the contentious question of homosexual behavior in humans: Homosexuality is a scientifically proven, therefore irrevocable, fact of life. To oppose it is to oppose nature itself.

The truth, however, is not that simple. This argument—which is patent liberalism masquerading as objective science—is riddled with flaws.

Animal or Human?

Morford’s reasoning is premised on one of the most pernicious errors ever peddled by science. Canonized into scientific lore long ago, then pumped relentlessly by modern education into believing minds, this lie has been sold as undeniable fact, an irreproachable law of science. What is it?

That man is an animal.

Check any modern biology textbook—they all say the same thing. Humans, Homo sapiens, are classified as members of the animal kingdom. Scientists classify man this way because of similarities between the physical characteristics and workings of some animals and the physical characteristics and workings of humans.

What about the gargantuan—and, at least to scientists, inexplicable—mental differences? Animals don’t think or reason, write, read, listen to music (let alone compose it or perform it), drive cars, or understand mathematics and chemistry. They lack the mental capacity to do any of these beyond even the most rudimentary level.

Aren’t the extreme differences between the mind of animals and the human mind greater than the meager similarities between the physical makeup of humans and some animals? Of course. Yet rather than give us our own kingdom, scientists lob humans into the animal kingdom.

A Slippery Slope

The unqualified classification of man as an animal is founded on an error and ends in moral confusion, and, ultimately, social breakdown.

Consider Morford’s reasoning, borne of this error. Many scientists and intellectuals like Morford, using this as their premise, have moved far beyond merely studying the physical similarities between humans and animals. Today we have “advanced” to the point of actually studying the behavior of animals to determine what is normal and abnormal behavior for humans. Since, Morford says, animals the world over supposedly engage in homosexual behavior, he reasons it’s neither unnatural nor abnormal for humans to practice homosexuality.

Such reasoning is more pervasive than you might imagine. Regarding such human proclivities as promiscuous sex, single motherhood, even child rearing, leading scientists and intellectuals are actually looking to animals to determine what is normal behavior and what is not.

Tragically, this “progression” has resulted in the sweeping acceptance, even promotion, of animalistic behavior in human society!

Where does it end? Many animals practice cannibalism—does this mean human cannibalism is all right? Animals fight and kill each other all the time—does this justify fighting and murder among humans? Of course not, reasonable people would reply. Yet scientists and radical liberals use precisely this logic to justify homosexuality.

Increasingly, this reasoning is being used to undermine the traditional family. A growing contingent of anti-family, anti-traditional radicals argue that since no other animals possess the marriage institution, why should humans? Some, in an effort to undermine the traditional role of the human male, argue that while male animals are generally involved in conception, most never stick around to protect, provide for and educate their progeny—so why should men be any different?

Such pitiful reasoning exposes the absolute degeneracy of the human mind today.

Humans laud themselves for being smart and progressive. We can easily recognize the vast gap that separates us from other living creatures—the uniqueness of our intelligence, our culture, our ability to think and reason, and our countless impressive achievements. Yet despite these magnificently unique qualities, we willfully lump ourselves in with the dumb animals.

We possess the most powerful instrument on the planet: the human mind. It sets us miles apart from every other life form. Yet we look to animals—creatures devoid of any ability to think or reason, creatures driven by basic instinct—as a means of determining human morality and conduct, and establishing societal norms.

There is an explanation for such thinking: Mankind has been deceived into rejecting divine revelation from God!

We Have Been Deceived!

The classification of humans as animals, and the resulting justification of animalistic behavior among humans, goes beyond being illogical and perverted.

At its core, it is motivated by an evil spirit being who is determined to undermine and destroy the existence of God, the traditional “Christian” beliefs, morals and institutions that underpin many Western societies, and, most importantly, the incredible potential God has created within every human being.

Unsurprisingly, Morford, like many of the scientific surveys, failed to define how “homosexual behavior” was classified among animals. Animals do not have the varied and complex emotional make-up of human beings. Just because two bottlenose dolphins are seen briefly mounting each other, this does not make them homosexual. Did two squirrels wrestling make them homosexual? If the definition of “homosexual behavior” is as broad as it appears, then it’s no surprise the figures are so high.

And if animals are exhibiting homosexual tendencies, we would strongly challenge the notion that God made them to do so. God created this planet flawless, meaning it was created within the boundaries of His law. This is why, after six days of labor, God looked back on His handiwork and said it was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Just look at the way animals behaved in the Garden of Eden, before the curses associated with man’s sin entered the world (e.g. Genesis 2:19). Then look at the prophecies of how they will behave again once God’s Kingdom is established and those curses are removed (e.g. Isaiah 11:6-9). God did not make the animals wild, violent and bloodthirsty. They exhibit those qualities—as man does, sadly—because they are in the thrall of this world ruled by the devil (e.g. 2 Corinthians 4:4).

So not only are scientists stupidly looking to the creature rather than the Creator for their instruction in how to live (e.g. Romans 1:25), but they are studying and exalting a Satan-inspired perversion of the behaviors God intended animals to exhibit! “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (verse 22).

We ought to be looking up to the majestic throne room of God and gleaning instruction on how to live from the Being infinitely superior to us in morality, character and conduct. But this evil spirit, using science and other instruments, encourages man instead to turn our gaze downward into the world of brute animals—be they homosexual scarab beetles, or promiscuous dogs, or filthy baboons—for insight and instruction into human behavior.

Instead of relying on God’s Word, mankind relies on his own materialistic observations and classifies himself as little more than a brute beast aimlessly walking this Earth. Can’t we recognize the absurdity of such thinking?

The God Kind

The Bible explains in detail why God made man. It reveals our purpose for existence. It provides instruction on ideal human conduct. It shows our ultimate potential.

Consider God’s instruction in Genesis 1:26-27. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth …. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him: male and female created he them.”

Did you notice how clearly God delineates the human kingdom from the animal kingdom?

We’re just scratching the surface. In verse 25, God explained how He made each species of animal after its own kind, the “cattle after their kind,” and “every winged fowl after his kind.” But read verses 26-27 again: God made man after the God kind!

He didn’t just create humans as a separate kingdom higher than that of the animals; He created humans after the God kind, with a colossal potential that no animal can ever have. Notice what the late Herbert Armstrong wrote about this potential: “This revealed knowledge of God’s purpose for mankind—of man’s incredible awesome potential—staggers the imagination. Science knows nothing of it—no religion reveals it … and certainly higher education is in utter ignorance of it” (Incredible Human Potential).

If you’re weary of science and education forcing your gaze downward, it’s not too late to begin casting your gaze upward, into the realm of hope and truth, the realm overflowing with divine instruction and guidance. If you’d like some help, request, then study, our free book The Incredible Human Potential. •

Our Incomprehensibly Large Universe!

The Hubble telescope has shown us countless billions of galaxies in areas of the universe which we once thought were empty. For example, by focusing on a small speck in the sky in an area that was thought to be void of stars, astronomers soon discovered that this small speck actually contained 1,500 galaxies! And remember that each galaxy can contain untold millions of stars and some astronomers now believe that there may be as many galaxies in the sky as there are stars in our own galaxy.

Space travel

In an effort to learn more about space, mankind has put men on the moon and brought them back home safely, built a space station where astronauts can stay for months at a time. But space travel carries some great risks, and is quite costly. And these adventures of man into space are merely flying hundreds of miles into the sky—they come nowhere close to probing the true depths of space!

After reaching the moon, astronomy’s next goal is to put a man on Mars—a planet in our solar system about 150 million miles from Earth (compare to the moon at only 240,000 miles away). Even if this journey is successful, the trip of 150 million miles is a mere jog compared to the vastness of space. We might intrude into space, but we as humans cannot even begin to conquer it. Getting to Mars is only one planet of a vast solar system, part of an even larger galaxy—one of trillions of galaxies in this huge universe which are billions of light years away from Earth.

Light travels at over 186,000 miles per second; a light year is how far light can travel in a year moving at 186,000 miles per second, which figures out to be close to 6 trillion miles. (To travel just one light year at 100 miles per hour, it would take almost 7 million years.) Another measurement astronomers use is an au (astronomical unit). An au is the distance between the Earth and the sun—about 93 million miles.

The Giant Milky Way

All the space vehicles, manned or unmanned, still travel within our one galaxy—the Milky Way—one of millions or billions of galaxies. The Milky Way is considered a giant galaxy and contains about 400 billion stars. It is a spiral galaxy, which means that from a distance it looks like a pinwheel, or a big disc in the center with flat arms going out in all directions.

To get an idea of how vast this galaxy is, to travel the distance from the outer end of one disc to the outer end of another would take 100,000 years traveling at the speed of light.

Located on one of these discs—which is rotating around the center of the galaxy—is our solar system: the sun, moon, Earth and the planets. The star of our solar system, the sun, is located about two thirds of the way out from the center of the galaxy—roughly 28,000 light years from the center. Whereas it takes the Earth one year to orbit the sun, it takes the sun 250 million years to make just one orbit of the center of the galaxy.

Unmanned Spaced Probes

Voyagers 1 and 2 were launched in 1977 to explore where nothing from Earth had ever been before. Now they each are much farther from Earth than any space vehicle has ever been. Speeding outward at more than 38,000 miles per hour, both continue to send back scientific information about their surroundings through the Deep Space program.

Voyager 1 remains operational, currently pursuing its extended mission to locate and study the boundaries of the Solar System, including the Kuiper belt and beyond. Its original mission was to visit Jupiter and Saturn; and it was the first probe to provide detailed images of the moons of these planets.

“Voyager 1 is currently the farthest human-made object from Earth, and as of August 28, 2009, it is about 110.94 AU (16.596 billion km, or 10.312 billion miles) from the Sun, and has passed the termination shock, entering the heliosheath, with the current goal of reaching and studying the heliopause, which is the known boundary of the solar system. If Voyager 1 is still functioning when it finally completes the passage through the heliopause (effectively becoming the first human-made object to leave the solar system), scientists will get their first direct measurements of the conditions in the interstellar medium. Its primary targets were the planets Jupiter and Saturn and their associated moons and rings; its mission was the detection of the heliopause and particle measurements of solar wind and the interstellar medium. Both of the Voyager probes have far outlasted their originally-planned lifespan. Each probe gets its electrical power from three radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), which are expected to continue to generate enough electric power to let the probes keep communicating with Earth at least until the year 2025.” (Wikipedia)

By that time, Voyager 1 will be more than 12.4 billion miles from the sun. In some 296,000 years, if Voyager 2 was still traveling, it would pass Sirius, the brightest star in our sky, at a distance of about 4.3 light years (25 trillion miles).

Even more amazing were the Pioneer projects. Pioneers 10 and 11 were launched in 1972 and 1973—the fastest man-made objects to leave the Earth, launched at the incredible speed of 32,000 miles per hour. That is fast enough to pass the moon in 11 hours, and Mars’s orbit (50 million miles away) in just 12 weeks.

“Pioneer 10 (also called Pioneer F) was the first spacecraft to travel through the asteroid belt, which it entered on July 15, 1972, and to make direct observations of Jupiter, which it passed by on December 3, 1973. By some definitions, Pioneer 10 has become the first artificial object to leave the solar system. It is the first human-built object to have been set upon a trajectory leading out of the solar system. However, it still has not passed the heliopause or Oort cloud. The last weak signal from Pioneer 10 was received on January 23, 2003, when it was 12 billion kilometers (7.5 billion miles) from Earth. It is now heading in the direction of the star Aldebaran (about 68 light years away) in the constellation Taurus at roughly 2.6 AU per year. It will take Pioneer 10 over 2 million years to reach it. (Wikipedia)

Pioneer 11 was to go on after passing Jupiter 400 million miles away. Using this giant planet as a sling shot, Pioneer 11’s speed now reached 108,000 miles per hour. By 1979, Pioneer 11 flew within 13,000 miles of Saturn. In November 1995 the last communication from Pioneer 11 was received, as the Earth’s motion carried Saturn out of the view of the spacecraft antenna. Pioneer 11 is now headed toward the constellation of Aquila, just northwest of the constellation of Sagittarius and may pass near one of the stars in the constellation in about 4 million years.

Conclusion

We can barely begin to imagine how vast our universe is by how vast our own galaxy is! Manned and unmanned spacecraft can barely cover any significant ground in the area called “space.” Despite the incredible speeds of some of these vehicles, they are still millions of years away from the closest stars. The more we venture out into space, the more the immenseness of it staggers our imagination. That’s why I find it amusing when scientists make definitive statements about something that is so hard to comprehend. It’s better to keep the attitude humble, allow God to reveal truth to us and realize on our own, we really don’t know what we are talking about.

The Power Of Parental Example

http://www.ehow.com

“He’s the spitting image of his father.”  — “He’s a chip off the old block.”   — “Like mother, like daughter.”

Expressions like these reflect that we tend to follow the example set by our parents.  How good or how bad an example do you set as a parent?

Children are richly blessed in life if they have good examples to follow. This leaves you as a parent with a major question to answer: By following your parental example, where will your children end up?

To help answer that question, let’s look at some ways that your children learn from your example. Here are several traits you may occasionally exemplify, and what those examples will produce in your children.

Hostility

A child living with hostility will learn to fight. Have you ever been out somewhere and observed children who punch, scratch, pinch, push, bully, swear at and tattle on other children?

If this is their behavior in public, then what must the example they see at home be like?  Are your children guilty of such conduct? If so, from whom do they learn it?

Parents who stand on the sidelines of sporting events yelling and urging their children to win at all costs — and who get upset and angry when their children lose — are teaching a spirit of competitiveness. They are also teaching that winning is all that matters.

Do you know parents who will only play sports if they can win all of the time and who are extremely irritated at losing? They will not play with people they cannot beat. Ever wonder what attitude their children will adopt toward fair play and being able to lose gracefully?

Why not teach children by example, that winning, though important, is not the supreme goal? Playing the game in sportsmanlike fashion and showing concern for the other players is most important.

Children exposed to bad sporting examples quickly absorb the message that to solve a problem you argue and fight. What a pity they are not rather learning that peace comes from practicing the principles that make for peace (Jas. 3:18).

Criticism

A child who lives with constant criticism will learn to grumble and complain. Is the family dinner table a place for gossip, criticism and cynical remarks? If it is, then children are learning to be complainers.

Do you have gripe sessions in front of them? If you must air grievances, do it privately, away from young, impressionable minds. This may take restraint on your part when you have the urge to be critical. Better still, overcome such negative habits.

Certainly, you should teach your children to accept criticism — it’s a tool for growth — but criticism should always be constructive and be given in a spirit of love.

Disregard for law

It is surprising to see the extent to which some “Christians” flout vehicle speed laws and parking directions. Some apparently feel that traffic regulations are “only man’s laws anyway.”

What is of greater concern about such disregard, beyond that you could wind up hurt physically, is that you are nourishing a belief in your heart that you are above law. This teaches children double standards. Derogatory remarks about authority figures — whether police, teachers, government officials or ministers — also set a bad example.

Paul warns, “Obey those who rule over you” (Heb. 13:17) — even when you consider the rules inadequate or foolish. Your purpose is to learn to submit to authority. If you don’t set the example, how can you expect your children to submit to you? Disregard for law and order encourages rebellion.

Unequal love

Isaac grew up in a family atmosphere that reflected unequal love toward his half brother Ishmael (Gen. 21:8-11). Eventually Ishmael was forced out of the camp and separated from his father, Abraham, because of Sarah’s and Hagar’s feelings against each other.

In time, Isaac had his own family — twin sons — Esau and Jacob. But personality differences took root in the family because Isaac favored Esau while Rebekah gave more of her love to Jacob (Gen. 25:28). This led eventually to Jacob’s taking Esau’s birthright by deceptive means worked out by his mother. Not the best example of family togetherness. But where did Isaac learn to conduct his family this way?

Favoritism

If you practice favoritism, your children will learn to be partial. Continuing with the above story, we read that Jacob had many children from his two wives and their handmaids. But the child Jacob loved most was the youngest, Joseph.

The problem with this was in being so open about it before the others, culminating in the special gift of the coat of many colors (Gen. 37:3-4). This produced family jealousy and rivalry.

Of course, Joseph’s dreams and his approach in telling his brothers didn’t help matters either (verses 5-11). The end result of Jacob’s practicing partiality was that Joseph was sold into Egypt as a slave.

Joseph, himself, was partial years later in Egypt when he gave a banquet for all his brothers. Guess who got the biggest share of food? Benjamin, the youngest, was openly favored (Gen. 43:34).

This resurrected a family resentment that resurfaced at the death of Jacob. Joseph’s brothers became fearful, thinking that with the patriarch out of the way, Joseph would take revenge on them (Gen. 50:15).

Hypocrisy

Children see through hypocrisy, especially in the Christian example you set. Do you say one thing — or even tell your children to do one thing — while you yourself do something else?

Does your child know and see that you pray, study the Bible, fast, get anointed when you are sick and serve others? Or does he see a show at Church services each week and general disinterest the other six days? Whatever you practice, your children see and tend to copy, whether for the good or bad.

But what if you yourself have been the victim of bad parental influences and find yourself struggling to change?

God gives encouragement through the prophet Ezekiel. As long as you are willing to take heed to your ways, to consider right and wrong and seek to change faults, you can avoid being an injurious example to your own children (Ezek. 18:14-17, 27-28). You can, if you are willing to make the effort, teach them God’s way.

Joseph and Mary must have set a fine example for Jesus. God the Father must have been especially mindful that a right kind of family environment would be needed to nurture and admonish Jesus during His boyhood years.

With the help of this fine family example, Jesus grew up to be “in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52).

Could there be a better goal in child training than this, that as a result of the godly family environment you create for your children, they grow up to be “in favor with God and men”? How richly blessed your children will be if this happens. And what a commendation for you as a parent!

If your family environment reflects criticism, hostility, ridicule and competitiveness, your child will learn to fight, to feel shy and guilty, to be spiteful and hateful and perhaps be destined to end up as an ineffective parent himself.

But if your family environment reflects tolerance, encouragement, praise, fairness, honesty, security and approval, your child will learn acceptance, patience, confidence, justice, faith and to find true and enduring friendships.

The parental example you set has great impact upon your children. Make your example a good one!

Source: The Good News, May 1983

Invasion From Outer Space: Truth Stranger Than Science Fiction!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk

On October 30, 1938, several hundred thousand Americans experienced the most shattering scare of their lives. The Columbia Broadcasting System was airing its regular program, Mercury Theatre on the Air. The music of Ramon Raquello and his orchestra was suddenly interrupted by the terse voice of an announcer stating that several explosions of incandescent gas had been observed on the planet Mars. The gas was said to be hydrogen and moving toward the earth with enormous velocity.

The regular musical broadcast was then resumed. Thousands remained glued to their radios awaiting further developments. They were not disappointed. Before long, the music was again interrupted for another bulletin. Still more announcements followed. Authentic sounding reports were coming in from observatories around the nation. Thousands, perhaps millions, of minds were now focused on the red planet.

The announcer then stated that a meteorite had fallen on a farm in the neighborhood of Grovers Mill, New Jersey.
What could it be? Thousands tingled with excitement. Reports continued to come in. “Mobile units” were dispatched and listeners were treated to “on the spot” reports.

A vast pit was said to have been created by what appeared to be a large cylinder which had fallen from space. The cylinder was apparently made of some strange yellowish-white metal and was described as being some thirty yards in diameter!

Hundreds of automobiles began to converge on the site, beaming their headlights directly into the pit with its strange visitor. Shortly, a curious “humming sound” was said to have emanated from the confines of this bizarre space vehicle. Before long, the end of the cylinder began to slowly unscrew. A gasp went up from the surrounding crowd as the end of the cylinder fell off.

By now the vast CBS radio audience was on the edge of its collective chair as they anxiously awaited further developments. What was inside the sinister cylinder? Shortly, the announcer’s voice again crackled across the airways. He breathlessly described the emergence of a nightmarish creature “large as a bear” with tentacles and a hide that “glistened like wet leather.” The crowd that had gathered at the pit fell back in terror.

Radio listeners were then subjected to the sound of hissing followed by intensified humming coming through their speakers. The broadcaster then described a sinister machine that was rising out of the pit commanded by the hideous creature. Without warning, a jet of flame sprang from a mirror mounted atop the eldritch machine. Dozens died as they were hit by the searing heat-ray. Fields, barns, woods turned to flame. The holocaust spread rapidly. Automobile gas tanks exploded. Death and destruction were everywhere.

The Great Hoax

Of course, such an invasion never actually took place. The whole thing was phony. It was all carefully planned by the now-famous actor Orson Welles and scripted by the ingenious writer, Howard Koch. Welles narrated the broadcast with such convincing effectiveness that millions had thought that the Martians were really on the march! Near panic had seized the vast radio audience. The broadcast became the most famous and perhaps most notorious script in the history of radio.

But it wasn’t all Welles’ original idea. Nor did Howard Koch dream up the invasion. It had all originated with another, Wells — H. G.

How It All Began

In 1898, the English novelist H. G. Wells made literary history with his novel War of the Worlds. It was the first serious treatment of the space-invasion theme. Since that time, his War of the Worlds has set the pattern for thousands of space-invasion stories.

Today, the concept of the alien invasion has become one of the richest and most varied of all the categories of science fiction. Since Welles’ broadcast in 1938, thousands of such tales have emanated from the fertile minds of science-fiction writers. Multiple possibilities have been explored.

But in spite of the colorful variety of situations and characters encountered in space invasion stories, certain factors are common to most. For example, you can almost always bank on the invader being of superior intelligence to man. His technology is usually developed to a high degree of sophistication. The typical aliens’ mental powers often border on the supernatural. Telepathy and ESP are frequently discussed.

Methods of transportation are rarely conventional from an earthlings viewpoint. The invaders move about in glass bubbles, mysterious saucers and disks, tripods and bizarre rockets. Time machines and teleportation are frequently used devices. The sky is rarely the limit in this area.

And the invaders weaponry would chill the soul of any human general. Strange rays and beams pierce the earth’s atmosphere dealing death and doom everywhere they strike. Man’s weapons are traditionally helpless against the superior armaments of the invading alien.

But why do the invaders invade? Frequently it is to colonize the earth and set up a government of extraterrestrial beings.

Usually, the alien conquest is successful until the eleventh hour. Then some freak occurrence brings defeat to the invading beings and the earthlings triumph.

At least that’s the usual formula. And with one notable exception, it’s not too far from the truth of what actually is going to happen!

A Real Invasion Coming

Science fiction is one of the most popular forms of modern literature. It is read by millions. Movies, television series, comic books, magazines, all contribute to the public consumption of science-fiction themes. Isaac Asimov, the noted writer, once stated that science fiction is “the only kind of literature that fits this age.”

But Asimov is wrong.

Science fiction is a combination of the known and the unknown. There is another form of literature that is even more relevant to this day and age and which is strictly limited to that which may be known. It does not dabble in speculation or far-out imaginings. And it is far more meaningful to this age than any science fiction that has ever been written!
It is called the Bible.

Now wait! Don’t go shrieking off into some philosophical solar system! Let’s give it an honest look first.

The Bible is not a book of fiction. It is a book of facts. It contains history written in advance of its occurrence. It is a volume of revealed knowledge, impossible for mankind to arrive at by conventional means. It is the Maker’s

Instruction Book — the Word of God.

The Book contains an account of a coming invasion from space that will far eclipse all such fictional invasions envisioned by men. And, more amazing, its writing was inspired by the Invader Himself! (II Tim. 3:16.) Surprisingly enough, this invasion will also fit the formula (with a few noteworthy exceptions!) for all such invasions as envisioned by science-fiction writers.  Let’s look into it.

Details of the Invasion

Does anyone know precisely when this invasion will take place? No!
“But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father” (Mark 13:32).

No human knows exactly when the predicted invasion will occur. Only the great Master-Mind of the universe — God the Father — knows.

But don’t forget. Mark wrote in the first century A.D.!

Nearly 2000 years have elapsed since these words were originally spoken. The situation could be different now! Perhaps plans are even now being drawn up for the certain arrival of the Son of God and His army.

The Nature of the Invader

Will the coming invader be human? In Numbers 23:19 we find that “God is not a man.” He is not human!
Well, what is He then? “God is a Spirit,” answers John 4:24.  God is not a mere mortal. He is a supernatural spirit being! And as such, God is of markedly superior intelligence. (What Creator is not superior to His creation?)

Notice Isaiah 55:8-9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
God thinks and operates on an entirely different plane than does man — a much higher plane. Read the book of Job (chapter 38; 40:1-2). Gain a small glimpse into the mental capacity of God! Enough said.

The Return of Jesus Christ

Biblical revelation tells us that a powerful, super-intelligent spirit being will eventually invade this earth. But from what point in the universe will the invasion be launched? The Scriptures are specific. “… Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels” (II Thess. 1:7).

Here we see the returning Christ leaving heaven and being revealed to the naked eye of those on the earth (Rev. 1:7). Heaven is the residence of God — the Master Control Center of Operations for the entire universe.

But where is heaven?

The Word of God speaks of three distinct “heavens.” The first is the atmosphere surrounding the earth. The second is the known universe containing the galaxies, solar systems, etc. But there is a third heaven. The Apostle Paul referred to it in II Corinthians 12:2. He was explaining how he had been taken there in a vision (verses 1, 7) so vivid that he was unable to discern (at the time) whether his experience had been actual or merely visionary.
This heaven is the present residence of God and His angelic army. “… For God is in heaven …” (Eccl. 5:2).

Spirit Space Travel

A careful analysis of the twentieth chapter of John reveals that Jesus Christ and His angelic host are capable of extremely rapid space travel — faster than the speed of light!

Christ said to Mary Magdalene: “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father …” (John 20:17). Now note that on the same day Christ had been able to travel to the Father and return: “And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet …” (Matt. 28:9).

Spirit, of course, is not hampered by the constraints of the material universe. But just how does God normally travel throughout the universe? Does He utilize some special vehicle or does he simply “free fall” through space?
In the book of Ezekiel we are given a hair-raising glimpse of a bizarre vehicle. Read the entire first chapter of the book of Ezekiel for yourself.

See if you can figure it out! This strange vehicle with its wheels and multicolored precious-stone ornaments is occupied by a Being “like” a man. Its crew is made up of spirit beings called angels. It appears to be a portable throne which is conducted throughout the universe by spirit power!

The last half of Revelation 19 pictures Christ’s second coming to this earth. His space flight is symbolically shown to be on a white horse. His angelic army is also symbolically descending upon white horses (Rev. 19:11-15). In reality, He may actually use the means of transport pictured in Ezekiel 10.

But, whatever the means, when is the general time setting of His second coming? Many scriptures show it will occur in what the Bible describes as “the end time.”

When Is the End Time?

We have already seen that no human can know the day or hour of His second coming. Jesus Himself, however, revealed that His servants can discern the general time period. “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things [the signs described in Matthew 24], know that it [Christ’s second coming] is near, even at the doors” (Matt. 24:32-33).

The question is: Are we in that time period shown in Matthew 24? Are we in the end time? Are the sure signs of this prophecy occurring all around us today? The answers should be clear!

Source: The Good News, November 1973