Posted on 04/17/2014 11:35:37 AM PDT by SkyPilot
You’ve already been directed to what the prophecies have to say about the messiah. You have also been directed to the FACT that there were Jews of Jesus day who came to understand these to be speaking of Christ. If you like, you may continue in your refusal to accept these OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES that foretell messiah just as many of the religious leaders of Christ’s day did. All this serves to show is that you are as unwilling to accept these as they were.
Many Jews of Jesus’s day came to believe. Many Jews of our day have come to believe, as well. Those who do not have missed their messiah.
There always WERE people who had a humbler attitude towards God. That knew that by faith they would be saved. The king and psalmist David was one of them. Jesus came and announced it explicitly.
There were two visions of messiah that were clashing here. One was as a man who would bring Jews to the proud position they thought they deserved. The other was as a heavenly healer.
But there are two different kinds of Old Testament scriptures that foretell the messiah:
1. The kind you can identify by comparing them to parallels in the New Testament, and
2. The kind you can identify without the comparison.
Do you understand?
There is only one Almighty God in Heaven, the creator and sustainer of the universe.
Meanwhile, man has been worshipping all kinds of gods and deities throughout human history. Africans, Arabs, Chinese, Indians, Jews, Tibetans - you name it, all have had their own gods or religions.
What is the chance any of these gods actually represent the one and only? Next to zero.
Fortunately, believing in God does not require accepting the dogmas of ANY organized religion. A lot of atheists would likely abandon their position if only they realize it.
Yes, exactly! So what I'm asking is, if your vision was the first type, what signs would you be looking for to identify this Messiah?
Popular acclaim would be one of them... which is why Jesus seemed to fit that mold. Until He said things that those of the first view never expected to hear Him say.
Basically they were trying to ride along on Jesus’ miracles but fit Him into their mold. When He refused to fit, that’s when the mood of many turned and Jesus got herded into His crucifixion.
Anyhow. There were a lot of phony Messiahs on the scene ready to claim title to being that leader unto pride. Who wouldn’t want to be such a thing? But Jesus’ story is the only one that ended the way it did. He’s executed, buried... then He’s GONE... and then shows up to over 500 people in the span of a few weeks.
There probably were some phony Messiahs about... But there was certain criteria. What was that criteria?
A few things to ponder:
1. Is God playing favoritism with the Bibles notion of a chosen people? Or is it simply because Yahweh was an ancient Hebrew god?
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2. If A has a child who, out of ignorance or for spiteful reasons, does not recognize or acknowledge A as his parent. Would A want the child to die, or worse, suffer eternally because of it? Most people would still love the child, no matter what. Could God be any worse than a human parent?
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3. If A owes me money, someone else can pay on As behalf and Im made whole. But if A punched me in the face, I will never accept it if B offers to let me punch him in return. Why would God think it is justice to punish someone as payment for someone elses transgressions?
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4. But our sins must be paid for, one way or the other; according to the Bible, but God so loves us
. Then why cant God simply forgive our sins, the same way we are told to forgive others? Moreover, God being omniscient surely understands most of our sins are the direct result of being human, not because of a motive to harm others. Could it be the charges against us are trumped up and actually sound more like the scare tactics commonly used by organized religions?
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5. Regardless, we are all sinners and destined to die; not to mention the fact that we are born sinners thanks to Adam and Eve. Given such a grim reality, why would God allow the human race to perpetuate? God can put an end to it all and perhaps start over. Instead, the Bible says God is content to let more born sinners loose on earth and to give them a savior.
But men had lived for millennia in places like China before Jesus even appeared on the scene. Sadly, these people are all eternally damned without a savior, along with untold numbers of others who for some reason either did not receive the message or made the wrong choice.
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6. If knowing and accepting such a plan of a savior is so important it means life or death for every human being, you can bet God will leave nothing to chance and will make that knowledge an innate part of our being. Just like migrating birds know exactly what to do and how to navigate, or how lowly animals know to save a kill to bring back to their young even against their own survival instinct.
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7. The Bible also says children are a gift from God. That is all good and well. But does anyone remember being asked whether they want to be born as a sinner, to be given as a gift? Since we are not inanimate objects like a box of chocolate, does this gifting event sound right without our prior consent?
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Some people like to say Gods way is higher than our ways and that it is not for us to understand everything. Fine, but if God is not in a position to provide answers to our questions concerning the need for a savior, then it is safe to say God did not ask us to make any life or death choice regarding such savior.
Everything that I post is backed up with chapters of scripture that you chose to disregard because it doesn't fit your fake “Jesus.”
Nothing new here.
>> “Were you aware that to sincere Christians, everything undertaken for the sake of the Lord is an offering to the Lord?” <<
That is the kind of anti-scripture that I mean.
Yehova does not accept nor respect the mixing of your Paganism with his word. You may be sincere, but you are sincerely wrong. Your offering was offered to idols, and is not pleasing to Yehova.
Yehova gave us his feasts for our good, to educate us in his plan, and your rejection places you in receipt of his promise of Revelation 3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
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Choices, choices.
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Why not?
If you were a Math teacher, and kept asking the class what 3+7 is; and rejected every answer of 10 that was given you; the principle may want to review your tenure...
Apparently they believed that God cursed Solomon’s descendant, King Jehoiachin, saying that none of his descendants would inherit the throne (Jeremiah 22:30).
In every case it has been shown to be deception.
HMMMmmm...
There are sometimes when a fella just has to say...
The world has put such cynicism into us; that we are all looking for a catch.
It appears that the only enemy he has to prove something to is you.
Again I ask, "What do YOU want for Him?"
Ah; but you are wrong again.
I’ll give the benefit of a doubt.
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