THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD
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e have considered the spiritual dimensions of both Yaweh and His angelic host on the one hand and Satan and his entourage on the other. This spiritual realm is, for the most part, hidden to the ordinary person. In the Gospels, the accounts of the words and works of the Messiah are recorded in minute detail. But these words are largely ignored and little studied by the world today. Much of the Gospel of John is concerned more with the thoughts and ideas of the Messiah than with where he went at a given time and what he did there. I would like to highlight some of these utterances and reflect on their profound implications, bearing in mind that this was no ordinary man, but an emissary sent by Yaweh.
The opening of the Gospel of John is a beautiful and poetic piece of literary work.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.
In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
There was a man sent from God whose name was John.
The same came for a witness to bear witness to the Light that all men through him might believe.
He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness to that Light.
That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.
He came unto his own, and His own received Him not.
But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in His name.
Which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory and the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Gospel of John 1:1-14
It is by the way of this Word that Yaweh is made known to men, and it was His Son, the Messiah, who revealed Him by way of His words and His works.
John the Baptist is mentioned in this passage. He was a first cousin of the Messiah. In a parallel discourse in Luke 3, he makes a statement which has relevance to our study of the end-of-time prophecies.
John answered, saying unto them: “I indeed baptise you with water, but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose. He shall baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
Luke 3:16
There are two baptisms here. One with water, the other with fire â the Holy Spirit. Many Christian churches put great emphasis on the former. In the Church of Rome, water baptism is essential if the infant is to escape the eternal fires of hell should it die prematurely. In some evangelical Christian churches, baptism by full immersion is carried out when adults or teenagers accept Jesus as their Lord. But many of the mainstream churches ignore the baptism of fire spoken of by John the Baptist. This is a spiritual baptism which only became known after the Messiah had risen from the dead and ascended to the Father. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended on the twelve Apostles. Tongues of fire sat on them and they spoke in tongues for the first time ever as they were infilled with spirit.
In the third chapter of John, the Messiah instructs one of the rulers of the Jews in this spiritual baptism. This man had to come to the Messiah under cover of darkness, for had it been discovered that he was collaborating with Jesus, he would have been cast out by the remainder of the ruling Jewish hierarchy.
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.
He came to Jesus at night, and said: “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.” In reply, Jesus declared: “I tell you the truth. No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked.
“Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born.”
Jesus answered: “I tell you the truth. No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying âyou must be born again.'
The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the spirit.”
John 3:1-8
The Greek word translated as “born again” here is
anothen,
which literally means “
born from above
.” This refers to spiritual rebirth, which equates to baptism by fire. This baptism of fire supersedes baptism by water, for pouring water over someone's head does not necessarily produce a change in that person's heart. Later on in this same chapter, the Messiah sets out what we need to do to bring about this spiritual rebirth and gain access to the kingdom of God. This next verse is probably the best known in the entire Bible:
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only
Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have
eternal life.
John 3:16
This simple promise is reiterated many times by the Messiah.
I tell you the truth. Whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
John 5:24
It matters not what a person did in the past or whether that person belongs to any particular creed or to none. This promise is to any who wish to avail of it and it is unconditional. For those who accept and believe the word of the Messiah, all the future blessings of Yaweh are theirs and they will have their place in the future Holy City, the New Jerusalem. But for those who do not accept His Word and refuse His offer of eternal life, a bleak future lies in store. At the end of the Gospel of Mark, a conversation the Messiah had with eleven of the Apostles is recorded. This took place after his death and resurrection but before his ascension.
Later, Jesus appeared to the eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
He said to them: “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.
Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
Gospel of Mark 16:14-16
In the King James Version of the Bible, the word condemned is translated as “damned.” This exhortation from the Messiah could not be clearer. If you believe, you are saved. If you do not believe, you will be condemned.
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It is probably fair to say that many people in the world have yet to be convinced that the Messiah is right. I suggest that they would be well advised to read the Scriptures, beginning with the Gospel of Matthew. Just read what is written and listen to the words. Begin at chapter one and continue through to the end of the New Testament. You will be amazed at what you will learn and at how much you did not know. For many of us have had little or no instruction in this, the greatest of all literary works. It is no wonder that people are despondent, for it is written in Proverbs 29:28:
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
In this next passage, the Messiah speaks of himself as being the “bread of life.”
When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him: “Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus answered: “I tell you the truth. You are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.
Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
Then they asked Him: “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered: “The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent.”
So they asked him: “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: âHe gave them bread from heaven to eat'.”
Jesus said to them: “I tell you the truth. It is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.”
Then Jesus declared: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
But, as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.
For I have come down from heaven not to do my will, but to do the will of Him who sent me.
And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that He has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
John 6:25-40
All that is required to partake of this Bread of Life is to believe. And all that is required to avail of the River of Life is to believe. The work of God is to believe in the Messiah whom He sent. So often in religious orthodoxy, rules and regulations and traditions and doctrines and dogmas of men have to be observed in the cause of salvation. But with the Messiah, all is simple: Believe and thou shalt receive the gift of eternal life. This promise has been held out to us for all of 2,000 years, but the majority of our religious leaders have led us in the opposite direction: away from the light and into the darkness.
At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said: “I praise you, Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children.
Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.
All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”
Then he turned to his disciples and said privately: “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”
Luke 10:21-24
Those who believe in the Messiah will be included in the Rapture, the next major happening, which will usher in the seven years of the Great Tribulation. Many of those known to each of us â family members, friends, acquaintances â will have to remain on the Earth to endure the turmoil in the period leading up to the Battle of Armageddon. During this time of Tribulation, many will turn to the Messiah and put their trust in Him. The Antichrist, meanwhile, will demand total allegiance, and those who resist his authority and refuse to accept his mark will be hunted down and killed. In this way, many who believe will die in these times.
But, for now, we can look forward to the gathering together or Rapture of the saints; those of us who believe in the Messiah:
“My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand.”
The Messiah, as quoted in John 10:27-29
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We are approaching the final chapters of the Greatest Story Ever Told. The prophecies pertaining to the “last days” or “end times” are beginning to be fulfilled. This planet is being driven towards the edge of the abyss. The world will be cast into a terrible turmoil before it is is reborn into Paradise Regained. It is a time-bomb whose fuse has long since been lit. The hoofbeats of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are clearly to be heard by all who have ears to hear. In the meantime, those of us who choose to put our trust in the Messiah can comfort one another in the sure knowledge that we will be gathered up from this sphere before the holocaust begins. In this, we are truly blessed.