Question of the Week

What Is the Prophetic Significance of Israel’s Peace Treaty with the U.A.E?

Question of the Week: What is the prophetic significance of the peace treaty between Israel and the U.A.E/Saudi Arabia?

There are two equal and opposite mistakes people make when looking for prophetically significant events in the news. Their standards are either so low that anything qualifies as a fulfillment of prophecy, or their standards are so high that prophecy as a whole is no longer relevant to their Christian life. Both are making the same mistake. The dismissal and mishandling of scripture. Therefore the solution is being properly informed concerning what to look for.

Is peace in the Middle East prophesied in the Bible? Yes. Is that all we are told? No. The prophecies in the Bible aren’t vague generalities in order to give them wiggle room if reality ends up catching up with their claims. They are so specific that it actually ends up putting itself in dangerous positions. If the circumstances, nations, locations, and even individuals don’t end up living up to the claims the Bible makes about them, the entire credibility of Scripture is put at risk. However, falsely claiming this event or individual was what the prophecy had in mind and ended up failing is misrepresenting the passage. This is what brings us to exactly what kind of peace in the Middle East is predicted in the Bible as well as the events that are going to follow.

“And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”
Daniel 9:26-27 (NKJV)

There’s a lot to unpack from this passage. The setting and initial audience is the prophet Daniel. Tested according to the standard laid down by Moses. If he were to say anything inaccurate in the name of God, he would have been taking his life into his own hands. If we were to claim he was lying, there would need to be the sort of means, motive, and opportunity to support that claim. Daniel was a captive in a foreign land with an entirely different religious demographic. Pursuing any kind of status among the Jews would accomplish nothing since they were all captives like he was. If he was looking for status, he’d be making claims about the Babylonian pantheon. He had nothing to gain for himself in making up claims about the God of Israel, and everything to lose among his fellow Jews as well. The only reason people have given to dismiss Daniel’s words is a bais against the supernatural. The assumption that there is nothing beyond the material prohibits the possibility of predicting the future to this degree of accuracy. Yet true to his Jewish blood, he continues to communicate and clarify the promises the God of Israel has been making about the Messiah since the founding of their nation regardless of the biases of Daniel’s critics.

The claim in this prophecy centers around the first and second comings of the Jewish Messiah. The word “week” in the language this was originally spoken in was translated using the term used to describe 7 days. However, words in two different languages don’t necessarily carry the same meaning. In Daniel’s spoken language, week means a unit of 7. In this context, it’s referring to 7 years. The 62 + 7 weeks (see verses 24-25) add up to a total of 69 weeks of years or 483 years. From the time the order is given to rebuild Jerusalem (445BC by Artaxerxes Longimanus according to the Babylonian calendar) Using the Jewish Lunar Calendar given the context and audience of this prophecy, we lose about 5 years along the way. When we subtract 445 from 483 including the 5 leap years, we are brought to the day Jesus of Nazareth entered Jerusalem in 33AD. This is a very broad summary and can be a question on its own. However, to understand the last two verses of the prophecy, it is necessary to grasp what has been said by the first two.

Daniel goes on to claim that after this event, the Messiah will be cut off. Literally, he will be executed. History affirms that Jesus was executed the week He entered Jerusalem at this time. With 69 of the 70 weeks fulfilled, Daniel claims the last week will begin when a prince from the people who destroyed the Jewish Temple will make a covenant with many, resulting in the beginning of that final week. There are graphic details given within this passage as well as the two chapters that follow Daniel 9. These are all quoted in the Book of Revelation as being fulfilled in the final Antichrist.

“There shall arise in his place one who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom; but within a few days he shall be destroyed, but not in anger or in battle. And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue. With the force of a flood they shall be swept away from before him and be broken, and also the prince of the covenant. And after the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people. He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a time.
Daniel 11:20-24 (NKJV)

And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months.
Revelation 13:3-5 (NKJV)

Both texts speaking of this final ruler clarify he will establish his authority peacefully. It won’t last, but it will be built on intrigue rather than force of arms. Just like the prior passage in Daniel clarifies.

So to summarize what has been said so far, the peace in the Middle East that Christians are associating with this agreement will include the following. It will be an agreement that will last 7 years. It will involve the entire world. It will be based on the universal admiration and trust of the man who establishes it. And it will mark the beginning of the final week of Daniel, also known in Jeremiah as Jacob’s Trouble and the New Testament as the Tribulation Period.

What has actually taken place in recent news? A ceasefire was declared between three nations, (Israel, the U.A.E, and Saudi Arabia), for an undetermined period of time based on their mutual distrust of Iran. In short, this isn’t the peace spoken of by Daniel that will mark the beginning of the Tribulation. The Rapture of the Church hasn’t happened yet. This peace deal wasn’t based on the global admiration and trust of the man who wrote it. And the agreement between these nations isn’t set to any specific time period. Let alone 7 years.

It has been wisely observed that Israel should always be our focus when it comes to the prophetic calendar. However, don’t mistake foreshadowing for fulfillment. And likewise, don’t dismiss everything involving prophecy because some people haven’t been reading their Bibles carefully before posting videos and blogs about it.

Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,
Matthew 24:46-50 (NKJV)

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

Email your questions:

questionsforhope@gmail.com

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Watch our Frequently Asked Questions on YouTube.

Is it possible for a Christian to be “handed over to their sin?”

Question of the Week: Is it possible for a Christian to be “handed over to their sin?”

There are two relationships we have with God. We are either in the category of a Christian, and considered legally righteous before Him entirely due to the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ. Or we are in the category of a non-Christian, and legally culpable for our sins. In these two types of relationships, there are two ways that God judges our sin in this life. For those in the category of a non-Christian, God judges their sin by allowing them to sin. This is what’s referred to as being handed over to their sin.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Romans 1:18-25 (NKJV)

This is how God judges a non-Christian. In their willful exchange of the Creator for the Creation, God judges them by allowing them to do so. He doesn’t force anyone into a relationship with Him, but functions as the Judge of all the Earth whether they acknowledge Him as such or not. His judgment to the non-Christian is allowing them to see why He calls those actions, attitudes, and aspirations less than His best for them.

The question remains if this is possible for a Christian. The answer is no, in the sense of how Romans 1 describes the state of the non-Christian in judgment before God. If anything else, the standard God holds those who know better is much higher than that held to non-Christians.

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife!And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you.For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
1 Corinthians 5:1-5 (NKJV)

Paul the Apostle addresses a situation where sin is tolerated within the church, by an individual who is never once referred to as a non-believer. They are certainly acting like one, but are never referred to as such. Paul’s verdict isn’t to hand this man over to his sin like Romans 1, but to hand him over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh. The purpose is so that his spirit may be saved. The severity of this judgment can’t be understated. Christians are held to a higher standard, and thus see harsher immediate penalties for their sin because they know better.

And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
Luke 12:47-48 (NKJV)

This may frighten some people, especially those who are struggling in an area of sin. However, we need to understand that this is actually a source of great comfort for the Christian. If God let us get away with our sin, (handing us over to it) He would be treated us like non-Christians and thus no longer in a saving relationship with Him. If a Christian is called out and called out harshly for their sin in this life, God is treating them like a loving Father treats His children.

And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.
Hebrews 12:5-8 (NKJV)

God hands non-Christians over to their sin by respecting their decision to reject Him. This is impossible for a Christian to do, or they’d be a non-Christian by definition. You can’t reject Jesus and follow God. God judges Christians who pursue lifestyles of sin by treating them like His children. He disciplines them. It can be through taking away His peace from their hearts, or as severe as taking away His spiritual protection from them entirely. The purpose is to restore us to Him. However, this is only if we take it that far. Christians sin just as often as non-Christians, but have one apt and immediate response we can make that is not available to non-Christians. Or they’d become Christian by definition.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:8-9 (NKJV)

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

Email your questions:

questionsforhope@gmail.com

Follow Twitter: @ScottR4HFollow on CCF Facebook: facebook.com/ccftucson
Watch our Frequently Asked Questions on YouTube.

Should Christians pursue other careers or learn to be content where they are?

Question of the Week: If a Christian is unhappy where they are working, should they pursue another career or learn to be content where they are?

The answer to the question is one of attitude rather than circumstances. If we are looking for peace and happiness apart from God, then it won’t matter where we are are working or how we’ll we’re treated there. The solution is to seek contentment where you are at by serving God rather than men in those circumstances. If we are pursuing God but simply can’t find His peace where we are at, then you’re being given a hint that He’s calling you elsewhere. The focus needs to be on the goal rather than the motivation or lack thereof.

Paul the Apostle presented two scenarios where people were feeling discontent. In the first century, over half the Roman population was composed of slaves. Some by force, others to pay off debt, but freedom from those circumstances wasn’t available to everybody. When addressing the people who were victims of the fallenness of man and ended up in that circumstance regardless of their person decision on the matter, he called them to make the most of it by serving the perfect master. God could give them His peace and contentment even in the worst of circumstances if their attitude and heart were to please Him first.

Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men,knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.
Ephesians 6:5-8 (NKJV)

On the other hand, Paul also addresses those who had the opportunity to pursue freedom and if it was wrong to consider pursuing that kind of change in their lives. To them, the focus remains on their relationship with Jesus above their circumstances.

Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called.Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it.For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ’s slave.You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.Brethren, let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called.
1 Corinthians 7:20-24

Note that Paul doesn’t address what needs to be done, but what ought to be done given the goal they have in mind. Wherever someone would find themselves, slave or master, they’re still serving God. If they can do so while free, they should pursue it. If they can do so where they are currently, they should remain there. Christians had no political power and remained a persecuted minority within the Roman Empire until the 4th century. They couldn’t enact the abolition movement or address the topic of slavery in any meaningful sense. Therefore, Paul’s focus is to make the most of their circumstances. If they are a slave, they should consider themselves slaves of God rather than their earthly master. If they have the opportunity to pursue freedom, they should do so if it gives them a greater opportunity to serve the perfect master. The terms change but the application remains the same. If you have a boss that you can serve as if they were Jesus, do so. If you have the opportunity to pursue your relationship with and service to Jesus elsewhere, you should do so. That’s what needs to be our focus. Whoever we’re serving and wherever that service is done, it should be done as if it were to Jesus.

Our focus shouldn’t be to find peace in our careers. We won’t find it. Our solution to problems shouldn’t be to move away from them. We carry all of the baggage that gave us a lack of contentment with us wherever we go. Our focus should be to serve Jesus where we are. If we examine our hearts and motives for seeking new careers and find them in line with our pursuit of Him, then we should go wherever Jesus is calling us. If we’re simply experiencing a lack of motivation or even discouragement, we shouldn’t seek new circumstances. We should seek a closer relationship with Jesus wherever we are through whatever we are doing.

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

Email your questions:

questionsforhope@gmail.com

Follow Twitter: @ScottR4H

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Watch our Frequently Asked Questions on YouTube.

Does Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 teach that there is no consciousness after death?

Question of the Week: Does Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 teach that there is no consciousness after death?

When reading any book of the Bible, it is important to ask three primary questions before even engaging with the text.
1. What kind of book is it? History, Poetry, or Prophecy?
2. Where does the full statement in the text begin?
3. Does the Bible say anything else that would support our conclusion?

The answer to the first question is Poetry. The book of Ecclesiastes was written by King Solomon towards the end of his life where cynicism and disappointment became the defining characteristic of his life. He describes this state as living “under the sun.”

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun?
Ecclesiastes 1:1-3 (NKJV)

This sets up the literary context as a guide for how this passage should be handled. Poetry can present doctrine. For example, Psalm 51:4 is the basis for our understanding that only God can forgive sins. However, this is further verified elsewhere in the Bible when the God of Israel expresses His desire to forgive Israel’s sins and Jesus uses this as one of His first claims to deity. However, Poetry can also simply be the author expressing their emotions to God. We need to know whether a truth statement is being made, or simply being set up later in the passage. Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 is indeed a statement found within scripture. But in order to understand what the statement actually is, we need to read the full statement before coming to conclusions about the point actually being made.

This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; Nevermore will they have a share In anything done under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 9:3-6

The full statement turns out to be an observation repeatedly referencing the setting in Chapter 1 and verse 3. Under the sun is emphasizing a life separate from God. In this state, the only thing you have going for you is the fact that you haven’t died yet. Once that takes place for someone who only lives for this world, then they’ve lost everything. That’s why he makes the contrast between a mighty creature like a lion and a detestable creature like a dog. The dog is better off than the lion because it’s still alive. That’s his point. If you’re under the sun, you’re only worth something if you’re producing something. The question is if there’s an alternative. This is what brings us to the end of the book.

Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them”
Ecclesiastes 12:1

This is the point of the entire book. Solomon had no pleasure in life because he wasn’t serving his Creator like he had in his younger years. You can find further context to this time and his transition into hedonism in the book of 1 Kings.

Solomon isn’t giving a description of the afterlife. He is making an observation about death. Death for the non-believer is the end of everything they have and ever will accomplish. The Bible as a whole presents a very different picture for those who are living under the Son, rather than the sun.

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

Email your questions:

questionsforhope@gmail.com

Follow Twitter: @ScottR4H

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Watch our Frequently Asked Questions on YouTube.

Is Jesus the Son of God like a child is a father’s son?

Question of the Week: Can you please explain where Jesus came from? Is Jesus the real son of God like a child is a father’s son?

Jesus is called the Son of God in Christian scripture. In order to properly define this, we need to be careful to let the Bible define it’s terms rather than assume our definitions for them. The word “son” describes a relationship. This can either be a biological description of their origins, or a description of their relationship with another person. When referring to Jesus as the Son of God, the Bible isn’t saying that God the Father biologically sired Jesus through Mary like anti-Christian cults have tried to claim in the past. In order to support this claim, we will do the same thing anyone should do when making claims about God. Confirm it based on what He said about Himself.

Was Jesus the biological offspring of the Father? No. There are truth claims made about who and what God is by nature that make this impossible.

“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4:24 (NKJV)

Speaking to the Samaritan woman after she asked Him a question about where one properly worships God, Jesus clarifies that God in His fullness isn’t bound by time and place. He is Spirit. Therefore, not biological. If you aren’t a physical being, you can’t physically sire offspring.

Was Jesus biologically produced by the Father? No. There are truth claims made about Jesus that would make this comparison to human existence beginning at their birth inaccurate.

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting.”
Micah 5:2 (NKJV)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (…)
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:1-3, 14 (NKJV)

In both the Old and New Testaments, we have clarification about the child named Jesus, who would be the Christ. First, it is established by the prophet Micah that the child to be born in Bethlehem’s “goings forth” were from everlasting. Literally eternity. He is the only child who existed before He was born, and existed from eternity into the past. This is affirmed in the beginning of John’s Gospel by clarifying the Word, that was God, became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus’ origins were the same as the Father’s. They existed for eternity together. This sharing of divine attributes between Jesus and the Father are the foundations for the doctrine of the Trinity. That there is one God with a unique nature including multiple persons. This is what brings us to the final fact to properly understand what the Bible means when it calls Jesus the Son of God.

Was Jesus conceived through sexual reproduction? No. Jesus is the only person in the human race to enter this world entirely through a woman without the involvement of a man.

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.”
Luke 1:30-37

Referencing the prophecy in Genesis 3:15, the angel Gabriel clarifies to Mary exactly how she is going to become pregnant without a man. The Father isn’t mentioned in producing Jesus, but rather the Spirit going to her and overshadowing her. There is no reason to read into this a sexual interaction given the data we already have. Neither the Spirit or the Father are biological beings capable of having sexual intercourse with Mary. Jesus already existed at the time of His biological conception and already had existed from eternity. The only ones who would require this as the means by which Jesus entered this world are those reading into the text the pagan understanding of the gods having sons. Pagan deities are indistinguishable from humans apart from their power. The God of the Bible, who adopted human nature in the person of Jesus Christ as the second member of the Trinity, explicitly stated that He would enter this world through a virgin. (Isaiah 7:14) The God of the Bible, who adopted human nature in the person of Jesus Christ as the second member of the Trinity, explicitly stated He relates to God as His Father. (John 8:29) The God of the Bible, who adopted human nature…You get the point. Jesus claims the sort of things that only God can rightly say about Himself. He is called Creator, the Final Judge, the Giver of Eternal Life, the First and the Last, the I AM, and many other things that only the God of the Bible can rightly claim about Himself. Therefore, we rightly conclude that Jesus is God. Yet at the same time, Jesus is called the Son of God who relates to God as His Father and can function independently from Him as a person when He adopted human nature in a moment of human history. Since we can’t reconcile this by stating Jesus began to exist through a biological relationship, nor can we rightly claim that Jesus was produced from the Father through physical means, we understand that Jesus meant His relationship with God the Father is like a Son does with His Father. It’s a term describing their relationship within the Trinity.

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

Email your questions:

questionsforhope@gmail.com

Follow Twitter: @ScottR4H

Follow on CCF Facebook: facebook.com/ccftucson
Watch our Frequently Asked Questions on YouTube.

Follow us on our social media platforms!

What Is the Prophetic Significance of Israel’s Peace Treaty with the U.A.E?

Is it possible for a Christian to be “handed over to their sin?”

Should Christians pursue other careers or learn to be content where they are?

Does Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 teach that there is no consciousness after death?

Is Jesus the Son of God like a child is a father’s son?

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