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Following in the footsteps of the Acts of the
Apostles, written by St. Luke, Shepherd's Cross Christian Helps Ministry
exists by the grace of God to further the first century Apostolic tradition
serving in the Great Commission. |
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The Holy Bible And The Holy Scriptures Closed or Open
Part Three
Being called "an ardent environmentalist and proponent of causes," and was said to be "famous for his tempestuous personality, this episode opens showing Burgess Meredith acting in the roll of the main character, a bank teller, Mr. Henry Bemis passing his time while at work having a break. As this is occurring, the television show’s host Mr. Rod Serling's voice-over introduces him, “Witness Mr. Henry Bemis, a charter member in the fraternity of dreamers. A bookish little man whose passion is the printed page but who is conspired against by a bank president and a wife and a world full of tongue-cluckers and the unrelenting hands of a clock. But in just a moment Mr. Bemis will enter a world without bank presidents or wives or clocks or anything else. He'll have a world all to himself, without anyone.” After an H-bomb strike, Bemis finds himself as the lone survivor within his locality. By first facing and then bearing with his own angst courageously, Bemis comes across the public library which has been reduced to rubble. Being an ardent reader he witnesses a vast array of undamaged and readable books lying before him. With no one to either distract him or stop him, proclaiming he has enough books to last him several years and time enough at last to read them, Bemis embarks on his new journey choosing hardbacks from his treasure chest of books, sorting through and stacking them one upon another. Just as Bemis reaches to pick up his first book, loosing his balance, Bemis stumbles. Bemis’s was wearing reading glasses which now, due to his trip up, falls off shattering the lens. In tears, he picks up the remains of his glasses and sobs, "That's, that's not fair. That's not fair at all. There was time now. There was, was all the time I needed...” As this is occurring, the television show’s host Mr. Rod Serling's voice-over introduces the closing narration: “The best laid plans of mice and men and Henry Bemis, the small man in the glasses who wanted nothing but time. Henry Bemis, now just a part of a smashed landscape, just a piece of the rubble, just a fragment of what man has deeded to himself. Mr. Henry Bemis in the Twilight Zone.” Lucifer, O shining one, son of the dawn! (Isaiah 14:12) An anointed guardian cherub; on the holy mountain of God; walking about amidst fiery stones. (Ezekiel 28:14) You sealed up the sum of perfection, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. (Ezekiel 28:12) then the surprise, he lost. Just as with Bemis being unable to see having lost his sight with his glasses, Lucifer corrupted his knowledge (Septuagint), wisdom by his brightness, his splendor, his beauty. Ezekiel 28:17 Isaiah 14:12-15 Look how you have fallen from the sky, O shining one, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O conqueror of the nations! You said to yourself,”I will climb up to the sky. Above the stars of El I will set up my throne. I will rule on the mountain of assembly on the remote slopes of Zaphon. I will climb up to the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High!” But you were brought down to Sheol, to the remote slopes of the pit. Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But the dragon was not strong enough to prevail, so there was no longer any place left in heaven for him and his angels. So that huge dragon the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world, was thrown down to the earth, and his angels along with him.” Revelation 12:7-9 All Lucifer wanted was to be like The Most High. His beauty corrupted his knowledge, (Septuagint), his wisdom. Now getting what he wanted becoming in a sense, like The Most High, Lucifer now called Satan and the devil was ruling a kingdom of fallen angels and men. Satan’s payment for accomplishing his wish, eternal spiritual destruction from the presence of the Almighty spending eternity in a lake of fire. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are too, and they will be tormented there day and night forever and ever. Revelations 20:10 Until this historical event happens, even being in this corrupted fallen spiritual state, Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 2Corinthians 11:14 Mystery Solved Over How Sin Began And Continues To Exist In Our World Solved. Jesus stated regarding Satan, He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I am telling you the truth, you do not believe me. Who among you can prove me guilty of any sin? If I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? The one who belongs to God listens and responds to God’s words. You don’t listen and respond, because you don’t belong to God. John 8:44-47 The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. 1 John 3:8 For as in Adam all die (1Corinthians 15:2), sin like a foul spiritual virus quickly spreading like the plague, spreads its way through generation upon generation began manifestation itself, proving how malevolent sin really is. For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by the things of the flesh For the outlook of the flesh is death because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him. Romans 8:5-9 But the Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made humankind on the earth, and he was highly offended. So the Lord said I will wipe humankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth everything from humankind to animals, including creatures that move on the ground and birds of the air, for I regret that I have made them. But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord. Genesis 6:5-8 God Is Inspired To Start Fresh Through Noah And His Is Three Sons And Their Family. The earth was ruined in the sight of God; the earth was filled with violence. God saw the earth, and indeed it was ruined, for all living creatures on the earth were sinful. So God said to Noah, I have decided that all living creatures must die, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Now I am about to destroy them and the earth. Genesis 6:11-13 Noah built an altar to the Lord. He then took some of every kind of clean animal and clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma and said to himself, I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, even though the inclination of their minds is evil from childhood on. I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done. Genesis 8:20-21 While the earth continues to exist, planting time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease. Genesis 8:22 Still Satan continues to be the god of this world. In order to prevent mankind from following God he blinds them from the truth (2 Corinthians 4:3) creating in the place of truth an anti-Christ system of truth. 1 John 2:18, 22 4:3. Children, it is the last hour and just as you heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists52 have appeared. We know from this that it is the last hour. 1 John 2:18 Who is the liar but the person who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This one is the antichrist: the person who denies the Father and the Son. Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either. The person who confesses the Son has the Father also. 1 John 2:22-23 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses Jesus as the Christ who has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now is already in the world. 1 John 4:1-3 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, people who do not confess Jesus as Christ coming in the flesh. This person is the deceiver and the antichrist! Watch out, so that you do not lose the things we have worked for, but receive a full reward. 2 John 1:7 But I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by his treachery, your minds may be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus different from the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the one you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it well enough! 2 Corinthians 11:3-4 For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will correspond to their actions.2 Corinthians 11:13 -15 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are following a different gospel not that there really is another gospel, but there are some who are disturbing you and wanting to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we (or an angel from heaven) should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be condemned to hell! Galatians 1:6-9 Along with each of following religions there may be a sacred book, an oral tradition or simply a tradition in order to tell the story of and to pass down the traditions of the belief faith. The following are not exhaustive examples of names of religions, dates they were founded and the Sacred Texts they use. These are listed in the order listed on the website listed. For more information re the lists you may refer to the listed websites. The second list is Other Organized Religions. These do not list the founding dates or names of books used. They are used here to show as examples of the many other organized religions that may be available. Again for more information re the listed Other Organized Religions you may refer to the listed websites. Religion Date Founded Sacred Texts http://www.religioustolerance.org/worldrel.htm Christianity 30 CE The Bible Islam 622 CE Qur'an & Hadith Hinduism 1,500 BCE with truly ancient roots Bhagavad-Gita, Upanishads, & Rig Veda Buddhism 523 BCE The Tripitaka & Sutras Tribal Religions, Shamanism, Animism Prehistory Oral tradition Sikhism 1500 CE Guru Granth Sahib Judaism Torah, Tanach, & Talmud Baha'i Faith 1863 CE Alkitab Alaqdas Confucianism 520 BCE Lun Yu Jainism 570 BCE Siddhanta, Pakrit Zoroastrianism 600 to 6000 BCE Avesta Shinto 500 CE Kojiki, Nohon Shoki Taoism 550 BCE Tao-te-Ching Wicca 800 BCE, 1940 CE None Other Organized Religions http://www.religioustolerance.org/var_rel.htm These are smaller religions, with a well defined belief in deity, humanity and the rest of the universe. Caodaism Damanhur Community Druze Eckankar Elian Gonzalez religious movement Gnosticism Gypsies Hare Krishna - ISKCON Ifa, the religion of the Yoruba people of West Africa Lukumi Macumba Mowahhidoon Native American Spirituality Rom, Roma, Romani, Rroma, (a.k.a. Gypsies) Santeria Satanism; The Church of Satan Scientology Unitarian-Universalism The Creativity Movement (formerly called World Church of the Creator) The Yazidi branch of Yazdbnism But when the appropriate time had come, God sent out his Son, born of a woman Galatians 4:4 And we all agree our religion contains amazing revelation: He was revealed in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. 1Timothy 3:16 We Are Ambassadors For Christ. We Tell The World. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His plea through us. We plead with you on Christ’s behalf, Be reconciled to God! God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God. 2Corinthians 5:20-21 Our Scriptures Are Unique Above all, you do well if you recognize this: No prophecy of scripture ever comes about by the prophet’s own imagination, for no prophecy was ever borne of human impulse; rather, men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. 2Peter 1:20-21 Our scriptures are: the holy writings, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work. 1Timothy 3:15-17 Our Scriptures May Not Be Exhaustive However They Are Enough. Now Jesus performed many other miraculous signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31 Human Testimony From One Who Knew Jesus Personally Allow the behavior of Thomas the Apostle s be enough to motivate you to likewise surrender your will to Christ Jesus the resurrected Lord. Thomas walked with Jesus before He died Matthew 10:2-4 Heard Jesus when He cried John 11:14-16, 35 Jesus washed his feet at eventide John 13:12 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “Unless I see the wounds from the nails in his hands, and put my finger into the wounds from the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe it!” John 20:24-25 Eight days later the disciples were again together in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you! Then he said to Thomas, Put your finger here, and examine my hands. Extend your hand and put it into my side. Do not continue in your unbelief, but believe. Thomas replied to him, My Lord and my God! Jesus said to him, Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are the people who have not seen and yet have believed. John 20:26-29 How Could You Know How To Be Saved Unless In John’s Words Were Presented To You? Now Jesus performed many other miraculous signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31 How Could You Persevere In The Faith Unless We Had The Holy Scriptures? Our scriptures are: the holy writings, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work. 1Timothy 3:15-17 How Could We Have A Future Hope If We Did Not Have The Scriptures Available? For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. It trains us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, as we wait for the happy fulfillment of our hope in the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his, who are eager to do good. So communicate these things with the sort of exhortation or rebuke that carries full authority. Don’t let anyone look down on you. Titus 2:11-15 This is the disciple who testifies about these things and has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. There are many other things that Jesus did. If every one of them were written down, I suppose the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. John 21:24-25 For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will correspond to their actions.2 Corinthians 11:13 -15 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are following a different gospel not that there really is another gospel, but there are some who are disturbing you and wanting to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we (or an angel from heaven) should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be condemned to hell! Galatians 1:6-9 Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and firm in your faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you through an empty, deceitful philosophy that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him all the fullness of deity lives in bodily form and you have been filled in him, who is the head over every ruler and authority. In him you also were circumcised not, however, with a circumcision performed by human hands, but by the removal of the fleshly body, that is, through the circumcision done by Christ. Having been buried with him in baptism, you also have been raised with him through your faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead. And even though you were dead in your transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he nevertheless made you alive with him, having forgiven all your transgressions. He has destroyed what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. Disarming the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2:6-15 Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days these are only the shadow of the things to come, but the reality is Christ! Let no one who delights in humility and the worship of angels pass judgment on you. That person goes on at great lengths about what he has supposedly seen, but he is puffed up with empty notions by his fleshly mind. He has not held fast to the head from whom the whole body, supported and knit together through its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God. Colossians 2:16-19 If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits of the world, why do you submit to them as though you lived in the world? Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch! These are all destined to perish with use, founded as they are on human commands and teachings. Even though they have the appearance of wisdom with their self-imposed worship and false humility achieved by an unsparing treatment of the body a wisdom with no true value they in reality result in fleshly indulgence. Colossians 2:20-23 It’s All About Grace For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them. Ephesians 2:8-10 |
Shepherd's Cross Christian Helps Ministry