INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE

                                                 

     The importance of the inspiration of the Bible is foundational to the Christian faith. If the Bible were just a collection of writings by men, without God's authorship, it would be spiritually worthless. The inspiration of the Word of God is the very basis for referring to the Bible as the Word of God. Through the fact of the inspiration of scripture we are able to know that the words contained therein are true and reliable. There are many proofs to verify the inspiration of the Bible.

One such proof is the fact that the Bible accurately deals with prophetic content. No other religious writing even dares forecast future events while the Bible not only predicts the future, but does so inerrantly. The Old Testament is filled with prophecy concerning the coming Messiah. Every one of those prophecies have either been fulfilled by the life of Jesus Christ or will be fulfilled at His second coming. One such example is found in Psalm 22 where we find David giving a very detailed description of a death by crucifixion hundreds of years before this type of capitol punishment even existed.

Another proof of the inspiration of the Bible is the cohesiveness of each of it's 66 books. Imagine endeavoring to put together a compilation of writings written over a 1500 year period by over 40 different authors and all of it with one common theme, the redemption of mankind through one person, the God/man, Jesus Christ. This would be an impossible undertaking if it were attempted by the power of man, but as Jesus told us Matthew 19:26 - “with men this is impossible but with God all things are possible. It is difficult to get four people together who agree theologically, yet the Bible was written by over 40 authors, most of whom never met, and yet were able to put forth the same message with out contradiction or error. This could only be accomplished by the power and inspiration of God.

Historical and Archaeological evidence also supports the inspiration of scripture. Indeed the Bible was written over a 1500 year period by over 40 different authors and amazingly does not contain one historical flaw or archaeological inaccuracy. In fact, many archaeological discoveries have been made by the direction of the Bible. One such discovery is the real Mt. Sinai discovered by archaeologist Ron Wyatt, in what is now Saudi Arabia. Wyatt used the Biblical account of the Exodus to discover the location of the Israeli camp in which Moses received the 10 commandments from God.

The Bible itself testifies as to it's own inspiration. II Timothy 3:16 tells us that “all scripture is given by the inspiration of God...” Although a self description does not usually hold any veracity, that is not the case in this instance. As the Bible has been tested and tried by almost every generation, it has maintained it's integrity under heavy scrutiny. This scrutiny testifies to the truth of the above verse. When the Bible has been found true under every verifiable measure, that which is not verifiable becomes acceptable by default.

What we find ourselves with is a solid accounting of God's plan and dealings with mankind, given to us by God Himself as He inspired ordinary men who made themselves available to His will. The Bible has been unsuccessfully attacked by it's critics for ages past and has stood up to all scrutiny. God continues to remove the evidence of those who would claim He does not exist or that His word is not true because that evidence is nothing more than false claims and baseless accusations.

BOOK REVIEW - THE LAST TEMPLAR BY RAYMOND KHOURY

SPOILERS - SPOILERS - SPOILERS


  This was the second book I have read by Raymond Khoury.  I came across Raymond Khoury at a library sale where two of his books were in the religious fiction category.  Overall I enjoyed the story very much as well as the subject matter.  As a conspiracy buff, I was definitely attracted to the secret society verses the Roman Church plot line.  As a student of the Bible, I felt the author was a little sloppy with his Biblical history.  On page 92 we read a very sketchy version of the building of the two Temples in Jerusalem.  The book states that the first Temple was started by David after God's command and completed by Solomon.  In reality, according to the only historical account, David desired to build a Temple for God but God would not allow it as David had shed too much blood.  God declared that Solomon would build the Temple.  David did gather the building materials and began the manufacturing of the items used in the Temple, but the Temple itself was completely constructed under Solomon's command.  The book also leads the reader to believe that immediately after Solomon's death, Israel was invaded.  This did not happen for hundred's of years after the death of Solomon.  Also, the book inaccurately states that the second Temple was built by King Herod.   The second Temple was constructed under the command of Ezra the priest as recorded in the Old Testament account of Ezra.  Herod later added on to the existing Temple.  While this may seem nit picky on my part, a book dealing with history should at least get it's facts straight.  When I read this mishandling of history I was unable to fully rely on the veracity of the rest of the historical content of the book.
     The basic story is the power struggle between the Vatican and the Knight's Templar, during the middle ages.  The knights had supposedly uncovered a writing of Jesus Christ in which proved that He was only a man and never claimed divinity nor Messiahship.  High ranking members of the Roman Church find out about the writing and due to unbelief on their part, believe it to be genuine without verification and embark on a deadly mission to suppress any knowledge of the book before it destroys the faith of all believers.
     The book deals with some very important issues of faith.  Also highlighted is the greed and corruption of the Vatican.  Unfortunately, Khoury completely ignores protestant Christianity as if it does not exist.  Khoury gives the impression that the Roman Church is the only voice in Christianity.  Khoury does a great job of exposing the faithlessness of the leadership of the Vatican while being sensitive to the adherents of the Catholic faith, many of whom are devout believers. What Khoury does not handle well is the Bible itself.  Presented throughout the book are arguments against the canon of scripture and especially the Gospel accounts.  Charges are made concerning the reliability of the 4 gospel accounts in the New Testament.  These arguments against the authenticity of the Gospels are easily destroyed by just a little bit of research into the early church.  The Gospels were written during a time when many eyewitnesses were still alive who could have, and would have, exposed the writings as fraudulent.  The fact that each of the 11 disciples who witnessed Christ's resurrection were killed for their testimony should prove that the testimony of the Gospel writers is true. Who would die defending a lie, certainly not 11 people telling the same lie.  Khoury also attempts to bring up other "gospel" accounts that have been proven to be counterfeit writings produced many years after the first apostles were dead.
     Overall I enjoyed the story and the plot line.  I was pleasantly surprised by the ending.  One item I felt was unnecessary was the gratuitous sex between the two main characters, it did not drive the plot or contribute to the story in any way, it was disappointing behavior by the male character who made much of his so called faith and relationship with God.
       I do not necessarily recommend this book based on the liberal use of foul language and the one sexual encounter that could have definitely been left out.  Otherwise, The Last Templar is a fast paced read that will satisfy any mystery/thriller fan.

UNHOLY TURMOIL IN EGYPT - PROPHECY IN THE NEWS

   The turmoil in the nation of Egypt has been a central news story for some time now. These events are also, seemingly, central to Bible prophecy and remind us that we are living in the last days.   First, a revolution that unseated long time president and one time ally of the United States, Hosni Mubarak, next the installation of he Muslim Brotherhood leader, Mohamed Morsi, and now a bloody military coup in which Egyptians are killing Egyptians for control of the government.  Prior to these events, Egypt has had a stabilizing effect in the Middle East.  Though a mostly Muslim country, Egypt has a large, and until recently, unpersecuted, Christian population.  For the most part, Egypt was a friend to the America, and peaceful toward Israel.
 
   The trouble started when as President Mubarak consolidated control over the country and became more of a dictator than a president, much as the the Shaw of Iran did back in the 1970's. As in the case of the Shaw, the people wanted Mubarak out and instead of the U S defending it's friend and ally and attempting to negotiate for better conditions in the country, bad foreign policy led to an extremist Islamic group taking control of the country.  In Iran, the Ayatollah, a Muslim pope, in a sense, runs the country, and in Egypt, Morsi, of the extremist group, the Muslim Brotherhood took over.
   
 The Muslim Brotherhood is an extremist Islamic group that advocates Sharia law. What once began as a humanitarian group, has now, almost 100 years later, become an advocate of Jihad.  The creed of the Muslim Brotherhood is:  Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. Qur'an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope. (emphasis added)  The Muslim Brotherhood is not a friend to America nor it's belief in personal freedom.  The Muslim Brotherhood does seem to be a friend to our president, which is somewhat disconcerting.

Unrest in Islamic countries is nothing new, anyone who reads the paper or watches national news knows that unrest in the Middle East is almost the norm.  What is notable is the fact that today's headlines concerning Egypt seem to be taken right from the pages of Bible prophecy.  The prophet Isaiah foretold these events almost 3 thousand years ago as they were revealed to him by God.  Look with me, if you would, at this passage from Isaiah 19:

Isaiah 19:2-4  And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians, and they will fight, each against another and each against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom; 
  and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out, and I will confound their counsel; and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers, and the mediums and the necromancers;   and I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a hard master, and a fierce king will rule over them, declares the Lord GOD of hosts. 

The next several verses pertain to the Nile river being dried up and having "bare spots". Interestingly, there is much turmoil over the Nile river as other nations are utilizing it's waters for agriculture and even low cost energy production, causing consternation in Egypt concerning the loss of water in the river itself.  Speaking of the Nile river going dry just a few years ago would have been laughable, but today is a growing concern as water rights treaties are being ignored or revisited.

The passage in Isaiah continues :

Isaiah 19:12-16  Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you that they might know what the LORD of hosts has purposed against Egypt. 
  The princes of Zoan have become fools, and the princes of Memphis are deluded; those who are the cornerstones of her tribes have made Egypt stagger. 
  The LORD has mingled within her a spirit of confusion, and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds, as a drunken man staggers in his vomit. 
 And there will be nothing for Egypt that head or tail, palm branch or reed, may do. 
  In that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with fear before the hand that the LORD of hosts shakes over them. 

This passage shows two notable things, first, the leaders of Egypt are the cause of the turmoil and confusion, which evident and second, that this turmoil will continue until the Lord returns.  If the events in Egypt today are indeed the fulfillment of this prophecy, there will be no quick solution.  Interestingly, verse 17 of the above passage refers to Judah being a terror to Egypt, could it be that these events are a build up to the events that would cause a world leader to broker a treaty between Israel and "the many" as the Bible tells us will happen just prior the the Great Tribulation?

We are certainly living in exciting times, as events foretold thousands of years ago are beginning to unfold before our very eyes.  Since 1948, the world seems to be back on the prophetic timeline and events are happening at an escalating pace.  We need to pray for the people of Egypt, especially the Coptic Christians who are experiencing escalated persecution.  As of this writing over 800 people have been killed due to government instability and the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood.  As in all things, faith in the God of the Bible through Jesus Christ is the only answer to true peace.

I encourage you to read the whole of Isaiah 19, especially the last verses that pertain to God bringing Egypt into a time of peace after the return of Christ.  Please join me in praying for our persecuted brothers and sisters in the Egyptian church and as always for the peace of Jerusalem.  I quote John the Revelator: "amen, come Lord Jesus!"

PERSON AND NATURE OF CHRIST - A THUMBNAIL SKETCH

The following essay is part of my exam for Systematic Theology as is the preceding essay An Overview of the Ministry of the Holy Spirit.  

    The person and nature of Christ, very simply put, is He is 100% God and 100% man. John 1:1 tells us that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. John further explains, in verse 14, that the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us. The Gospels of Luke and Matthew demonstrate the human ancestry of Christ while the Gospel of John and most of the New Testament writers demonstrate the deity of Christ. As demonstrated above, John specifically declares that Jesus is God in the flesh.

We find in the person of Christ all the attributes of God that are exclusive to God.

In His omniscience, Christ knows all things as demonstrated by Jesus revealing His knowledge of the Samaritan woman in John chapter 11. In His omnipresence, Christ is all places at all times as demonstrated in Matthew 18:20 when He declared that when 2 or 3 are gathered together, He is in their midst. If two or three are gathered in multiple places, then Jesus would have to be in more than one place at at a time in order for this to be truthful. In His omnipotence, Christ is all-powerful.

This is revealed to us in Matthew 28:18 when Jesus Himself declares that “all power is given unto me.” Paul also testifies to the power of Christ in relation to his own weakness, in 2 Corinthians 12:9. In His immutability, we see that Christ does not change. Hebrews 13:8 tells us that Jesus is the same “today, yesterday, and forever.”

These attributes are exclusive to God and all attributable to Christ, demonstrating that He is indeed God. His humanity cannot be denied due to the fact that He is born of a woman, descended from a specific family line traceable back to Adam, the fact that He is shown eating and drinking, the fact that he suffered pain and the fact that He was killed. All the evidence of scripture demonstrates that Jesus is God and man in every sense. 

AN OVERVIEW OF THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

      The Holy Spirit is the active agent of the God-head in the salvation of the lost. Prior to salvation, the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to convict the sinner of his lost state. In John 16 Jesus explains the ministry of the Holy Spirit to the lost. Jesus stated that the Holy Spirit will reprove the world of sin. This means that the work of the Holy Spirit amongst unbelievers is to reveal their sin and cause them to recognize a need for salvation through Christ. The Spirit accomplishes this through a number of ways. One such way is when the Spirit of God quietly speaks to the heart of an unbeliever, pointing out short-comings and failures. This is one reason why the self esteem movement is so dangerous as it deceives people into believing that they are good in and of themselves and there is no need for God or salvation. Self esteem teaching becomes the antithesis of the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of an unbeliever.

    

Another way the Spirit works in the hearts and minds of unbelievers is through the lives of believers of whom the Spirit dwells. As we are tabernacles of the living God, we are indwelt by the Spirit of God and are used to convey the message of God in both word and deed. I Peter 1:1 demonstrates this in the life of a believing wife as she bears witness of her faith through her godly lifestyle. This verse points out that at wife through her actions will demonstrate God to her unbelieving husband and that will supplant the Word of God in his life when he does not read the Word. As believers we are called to bear witness to Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. In Luke 12:11-12 Jesus tells the disciples that they need not worry about what to say when they are brought before rulers and questioned but that the Spirit would tell them what to say. We too must be in tune with the Spirit of God that we may be able to hear and speak the words He places in our hearts for the lost.

The work of the Spirit does not end when a person comes to salvation, the Spirit then indwells the believer and becomes a comforter, a guide and a counselor, bringing about the work of sanctification in our lives. Romans 8:29 tells us that we have been predestined to be transformed into the very image of Christ. That is the work of sanctification, the Spirit making us useful for kingdom work.

THE CONJURING - A MOVIE REVIEW

CAUTION - MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

  This film is based on a true life case of supernatural investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren.  In 1971, they investigated a haunting in a farm house in Rhode Island that turned out to be a demonic manifestation that, according to the current homeowners, continues to this today.  As far as movie quality goes, the film was well made, the acting was very good and the story moved along smoothly with not plot holes.   I would give the production a high rating.

The content of the movie, however, is another story.  I came out of the film with very mixed feelings.  While the scenes of the actual haunting seemed authentic, the movie veered off, for me, when it got into the demonic possession of the Carolyn Perron.  The basic plot of the film is the Perron family moves into a large farm house with a sinister past.  The farm house is haunted by past occupants and other various ghosts who died in connection with the house.  Famed demonologists, Ed and Lorrain Warren are called upon to help the family.  The story progresses to the point where Carolyn Perron becomes possessed by the evil spirit of a witch who committed suicide after sacrificing her baby to Satan.  Carolyn Perron then attempts to kill 2 of her 5 daughters as the Warrens race against time to rescue the children.  The Warrens are able to prevent the murder of the little girls and exorcise the demon from Carolyn Perron and everyone lives happily ever after.


     Normally, I would not give a film like this a second thought but due to the fact it was based on a true story, my wife, who hates horror movies, especially ones dealing with the demonic, showed an interest.  I checked the content on Internet Movie Data Base, which is a great resource for checking inappropriate content in films (http://www.imdb.com/) and checked out the review on Christian Spotlight on Entertainment (http://www.christiananswers.net/spotlight/home.html) and decided that we could give the movie a shot.

The film deals with many Biblical themes such as God, demons, prayer, and baptism, and puts these subjects in the proper light, for the most part.  To be honest, some scenes disturbed me to the point where I was actually wanting to get up and walk out of the theater on the ruse of using the rest room.  I do not scare easily, nor do movies based on supernatural occurrences affect me, but this movie contained material that hit pretty close to home for me on a personal basis, any one who has lived in a home that was  inhabited by an active demonic force would agree.  The presentation of the haunting was extremely accurate and realistic.  Where the film veers off into Hollywood fantasy was in the possession of Carolyn Perron.  By this point in the film, reality had departed.  The filmmakers knew that they needed to climatic ending so they wrote an exciting happy Hollywood ending.

The truth of the matter is that the Perron family lived in the house for 10 years and the activity never ended. No possession, no big exorcism, no big happy ending.   Others have occupied the home and have also reported strange happenings.  The film also failed to make the point that these manifestations were not the departed souls of dead people, but demons who had taken on the persona of those people to gain entry into the lives of the occupants of the home.  Haunting is real, the spirit world is real, most people's idea of what haunting and spirits are is false.  The Bible is very clear that to be absent from the body is to be present with the LORD.  If one is to believe the Bible one has to conclude that the spirits of the dead are not trapped here unable to move on.  The fact that the Warrens were called denonologists lends credence to the fact that they understood this truth.

I would not recommend this film to anyone unless they were grounded in the understanding that the demonic realm is very real and not to be dabbled in.  I was pleased that Biblical themes were dealt with properly, but was very disappointed that the film went for the schlocky possession/exorcism ending.  Overall I would give this film an A for production value, an A for entertainment value, and a C for redeeming content.  I am not sorry I saw it, but it is not something I would run out and tell people to go see.  

SMALLVILLE THEOLOGY - BLAME GOD

                                                     


        Having grown up reading Marvel and DC comics, I have a natural affinity to comic book heroes, especially Batman and Superman.  Up until recently, I either ignored or was oblivious to the blatant similarities between Superman and Jesus Christ.  Much has been written on this topic and I will not take the time to rehash it all here, except to point out one major device used in the Man of Steel film.  At least twice, Superman is referred to as the son of El, once by his mother and once by General Zod, the film's villain.  "Big deal!" you may say, well El is the Hebrew, shortened version, of the name Elohim, the very name used for God in the first verse of the Bible.  Genesis 1:1 reads "In the beginning, God (Elohim) created the heavens and the Earth."  Here are just a few references from scripture where El is used in referencing God:

1. EL SHADDAI - God all sufficient

2. EL ELYON - God most high

3. EL YESHUATI - God of my salvation (notice the Hebrew name of Jesus, Yeshua)

       These are just a few of the references to God in scripture where El is translated God.  Clearly the filmmakers knew what they were doing as the Messianic references were numerous. Also referenced throughout this film was the television show Smallville.  The first episode of Smallville purposely portrays Clark Kent as divine in at least 2 scenes.  The first, Clark Kent is in a cemetery where he steps in front of a statue of an angel seen here:



The second is even more blatant as it depicts Clark Kent as being crucified:



         

This is all fine, except,(as I finally get to my point) in as much as Smallville portrays Superman as a savior of mankind, it also goes on to make the point that the only salvation man needs is from the mess Superman has created in the first place.  Upon his arrival to earth, in Smallville, Superman's space pod arrives amidst a meteor storm that kills numerous people.  This results in many adventures in which Clark Kent must use his super powers to undo the negative affects of his arrival.  It seems that every villain he fights is made a villain due to exposure to Kryptonite, brought here along with his own craft.  The inference is that if Superman had not come to earth, there would have been nothing to save mankind from in the first place. This is classic "Blame God" theology.

     So often, we hear people ask, "why does God make bad things happen to good people", or "if God is so loving, (or good) why is there so much evil in the world."  The real question people are asking, what is really in the heart of those questions is, "If God is all powerful, the world would not be in this mess..." or even more personally, "If God is so loving and powerful, I would not be experiencing this pain in my life."  We want to blame God, and then ask Him to fix it.

     Before we blame God, we have to look at the origin of sin and suffering.  In the first chapters of Genesis, we see that God created a perfect world and called it "good."  It was not until man decided he would like to be "as God" and rebeled against God that the world began it's descent into chaos. Once we begin to entertain thoughts of blaming God for problems, global and/or personal, we diminish His character.

     We live in a society where personal responsibility has been all but vanquished.  We are led to believe that there are no, nor should there be, consequences for bad behavior, especially since we cannot necessarily judge anyone's behavior as bad anyway.  We are told that people should be free to choose to live however they please and that a Biblical view of sin and the consequences of sin is antiquated at best and downright mean and hateful.  Society wants us to believe that the only thing holding up progress is the narrow minded few who take a literal view of the Bible.

      While society wants to blame God for all the ills of the world, those of us who have been born again understand that God is the solution.  The evil intent of the hearts of men is the problem, we, as humans, are naturally selfish and greedy.  God offers us regeneration through Jesus Christ, the true Son of El.

REFLECTIONS OF GOD - TOO BE A FULL MOON FOR THE LORD

While preparing to lead our Thursday night study group, I was looking over the passage in Matthew 5 speaking of our being the light of the world:

Matthew 5:14 - 16  "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
  Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

As I read this passage it made me begin to consider what it truly means to be the light of the world.  We are not light by nature, nor do we generate light, but in I John 1:5 we are told that "God is light..."  This made me consider that we are the light of the world by proxy, meaning we are light in place of God meaning that we merely reflect the light that God shines on us.  In Psalm 118:27 we see, "The LORD(YHWH) is God and has made His light shine upon us."  We, as believers, reflect the light of God much the same way as the moon reflects the light of the sun and shines that light on the earth.

God is the true light, our lives should reflect that light, as we live and love in obedience to Him.  I pondered the sun and moon analogy further and realized that the moon, for the most part shines only at night.  In context, the world we live in is plunged in darkness due to sin, we are in a way living in a world of night.  The light we reflect form God is the only light in the world right now.

The moon passes through phases in which there are times when it give more light than others.  As the moon is positioned in just the right way every month or so, we get a full moon meaning the moon is reflecting the maximum amount of light due to it's position in relation to the sun and the earth.  We are the same way.  There are times when we reflect maximum light from the Lord and times we reflect very little, if any.  The times when we reflect the most are when we are positioned right with God and right in our relation to the world around us.  When we are truly pursuing God and fleeing from the draw of sin we give maximum reflection, in other words, we are most effective in christian walk.  When we are neglecting our relationship with God, when we are indulging in the pleasures of the flesh our reflective ability is greatly hindered.

My desire is to be a full moon, reflecting maximum light from God, every day.  I fail more than I care to admit, but God is just and faithful to forgive me and help me up each time.  Let's encourage each other to be the light of the world as we live our lives dedicated to serving the One who saved us.  Let us allow God to shine His light on the darkness of this world that we might be a guide to the lost helping them find their way to Jesus.

SPIRITUAL UNITY MEANS BEING A CHRISTIAN FIRST

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed by the following minister are not necessarily the views and opinions of this blog or it's author.

Recently, a minister from New York spoke to his congregation concerning the George Zimmerman trial and it's outcome.  What he said made me think about the divisions of people in America.  We divide ourselves by all sorts of titles and groupings, some harmless and some detrimental to the very fabric of our nation and even sadder, to the detriment of our calling to fulfill the Great Commission.  Please take the time to view the video on the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CUNUVhzFAQ

In the above sermon, the message is that the people in this particular congregation have identified themselves as a particular group and therefore their worldview is shaped, even dictated, by that identity.  The minister's point is that before they can think clearly, they have to identify with Christ and see themselves as Christians before they see themselves as any other group.  That message makes a great point and goes way beyond the context in which it is expressed.

As I considered the message and it's point that our self-identity affects our worldview it made me think of denominational division within the church.  It made me think about how we are so busy identifying with our particular brand of Christianity that we often lose sight of the Christianity part and get hung up on the brand name.  This is not a new problem, actually, the Apostle Paul had to address this very issue in the Corinthian church as some of them were hung up on certain Apostles rather than focusing on Christ.


1Corinthians 1:11- 17  For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 
 What I mean is that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," or "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Cephas," or "I follow Christ." 
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?   I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 
  so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 
 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.)   For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

I find it remarkable how often people I meet, when asked about their belief system, will name a particular denomination rater than identifying with the name of Christ.  " I'm Lutheran, (I follow Martin Luther), I'm Baptist (I follow the SBC), I'm Methodist (I follow Wesley), I'm Catholic (I follow the Pope) etc.  Paul explained to the church in Corinth that it was Christ who died for them, and with Him they should identify and follow.  These divisions can have some very dire consequences.   Just a few hundred years ago, representatives of the Roman church, in the name of the Pope, persecuted and killed other Christian sects who would not bow to the Papacy.  The following excerpt from Wikipedia shows just one example:

St. Bartholomew's Day massacre[edit]

An Eyewitness Account of the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre by François Dubois (1790 - 1871).

Main article: St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre

In what became known as the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of 24 August – 3 October 1572, Catholics killed thousands of Huguenots in Paris. Similar massacres took place in other towns in the weeks following. The main provincial towns and cities experiencing the Massacre were Aix, Bordeaux, Bourges, Lyon, Meaux, Orleans, Rouen, Toulouse, and Troyes.^[24] Nearly 3,000 Protestants were slaughtered in Toulouse alone.^[25] The exact number of fatalities throughout the country is not known. On 23–24 August, between about 2,000^[26] and 3,000^[27][28][29] Protestants were killed in Paris and between 3,000^[30] and 7,000 more^[31] in the French provinces. By 17 September, almost 25,000 Protestants had been massacred in Paris alone.^[32][33] Outside of Paris, the killings continued until 3 October.^[32] An amnesty granted in 1573 pardoned the perpetrators.

Not very long ago, Irish Catholics and Protestants were blowing each other up..in the name of ...What?  Could either side in Ireland have possibly been followers of Christ in anything but name only?  Could a person or group who is identified with and is committed to Christ kill in His name?  Impossible, Jesus NEVER taught us to kill our enemies or those with whom we disagree.  Jesus taught us to love one another, to bless those who persecute us, to repay evil with good.  How different would the world look if the church got just that right?  

Where does change begin?  It begins with me, it begins with you, it begins as those who claim the blood of Christ actually identify with Him first and foremost.  It begins when churches full of people begin to realize that their brand is not necessarily right about everything and we knock down the walls of denomination and division that keeps us from true fellowship and even more important, true evangelism.  Discipleship unto Christ is the key, but first we must become true disciples ourselves and that starts when we see ourselves as belonging to Christ rather than a certain group.  

AN OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK OF ZEPHANIAH

                                      

The book of Zephaniah opens introducing the prophet as the great great grandson of King Hezekiah. This means that he is the distant cousin of King Josiah, the king reigning over Judah at the time of this prophecy. This book follows the same pattern of many prophetic writings which first pronounce judgment on Israel, then judgment on Israel's enemies and then God's blessing poured out on Israel. This follows the same pattern that will play out when the anti-Christ takes power. First Israel will come under great persecution and judgment, then Christ will return and pour judgment out on the enemies of Israel and then He will set up a kingdom on earth centered in Jerusalem where Israel will be blessed and served by all nations.

Judah had become very sinful in the years after the death of King Hezekiah. Certainly Zephaniah grew up hearing of all the reforms Hezekiah brought to Judah and how Hezekiah brought the people back to the LORD. Hezekiah's son, Manasseh, led Judah into more sin than any other king before him. Even though Manasseh repented at the end of his reign, it was too little too late as the hearts of the people were bent on sin and idolatry. Manasseh's son Amon followed in his father's footsteps and sinned in the sight of the LORD. Amon only reigned 2 years when he died and Josiah became king at the age of 8. It was under Josiah's reforms that Judah turned back to the LORD and postponed His wrath. God was furious with the people of Judah because they had turned so strongly to pagan practices that the judgment was sealed. Due to Josiah's dedication to God and undoubtedly, the effects of the prophecies Zephaniah, the people turned their hearts back to God, if only temporarily, and enjoyed a brief time of peace before being dominated and overthrown by Babylon.

The judgments in the first chapter Zephaniah deal specifically with idolatrous behavior. The prophets of Baal are addressed as is the god Milcom and various pagan practices. It seems that as a culture, the Jews were still holding on to a form of worship for God, yet mixing in all the evil practices of the nations around them. This is reminiscent of the modern church in America. We know all the right things to say at our religious gatherings and on our religious holidays but the rest of the time we are indistinguishable from the world around us. The first chapter of Zepheniah clearly shows what God thinks of such behavior. God pronounces terrible judgment on Judah and that judgment does not just affect God's people but the whole world would be negatively impacted.

This worldwide impact draws a great parallel to the events described in Revelation concerning the time of the great tribulation. This time is referred to as the time of Jacob's trouble by the prophet Jeremiah. During this time, Israel will be punished for rejecting God as a nation. For 7 years, Israel and the whole world along with it, will suffer the wrath of God poured out on the earth. The book of Zephaniah was written as a dual prophecy, one concerning immanent events and one concerning the times of the end.

As we look at the second chapter of Zephaniah, we see that at some point, God turns His attention and wrath on the enemies of Judah. Specific nations are named as being marked for destruction. These nations are the very nations that came against Judah during God's chastisement. This shows that even though God is willing to allow His people to suffer for a period of time in order to bring them back to Himself, He is not willing to allow those who harm them to go unpunished. God's judgment on Judah is not to destroy them form the face of the earth, but to teach them that He demands that they be holy and committed to Him. God made too many promises concerning Israel to allow them to be wiped from the earth. Even though there was about 1878 years that the nation of Israel did not even exist, God reestablished the nation in 1948, specifically because of promises made to Abraham and David.

This portion of Zephaniah's prophhecy also testifies to the end time events, namely, the battle of Armageddon. At this time, all the enemies of Israel will be gathered together in order to destroy Israel from the earth once and for all. Jesus will return and annihilate the armies of the enemies of Israel. These enemies will be completely destroyed and not one who is opposed to God or Israel will be permitted to live or enter into the new kingdom ruled by the LORD Himself. Revelation 19 describes this incredible event as Christ comes down from heaven to rescue His beloved Israel. In Matthew 25, Jesus describes how those who enter the kingdom will be chosen. Not one who is unworthy will enter.

The final chapter of the prophecy of Zephaniah shows God's heart and intention toward His nation. God not only promises to rescue Judah from their enemies but to bless them abundantly as a nation. We see in this passage that God will not only pour out His blessing on Judah when the time of chastisement is over, but other nations will bless and honor Judah as well. Zephaniah declares that there will be great rejoicing in Judah because of God's deliverance and blessing!

The duality of the prophecy points directly to the time when Christ will reign from Jerusalem. At that time, all the nations of the earth will come and pay tribute to Christ and His people Israel. Israel will receive all the land promised to Abraham by God, David will reign alongside king Jesus and rule over the people as God had promised that David's throne would be everlasting. The nation of Israel will be at peace and rest for 1000 years of joy and prosperity. God's faithfulness to His people will be proven and all those that hope in Him will be vindicated.

The overall message of this prophecy is that God demands holiness and purity from those who are called by His name. When His people fail to live up to their calling, He will discipline them. Though God is not adverse to causing His people anguish to correct bad behavior, He will not allow others to bring harm to His people. Those who attack God's people will be destroyed. And finally, God will remain true to His word and bless his people and establish Israel as His kingdom to be served by all other nations on the earth.