COMBINATION OF [1]  THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND A VIDEO AN INTRODUCTION TO 1 SAMUEL,  [2]  THE CULMINATION OF THE END TIMES

[1]       SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [536B]

John 8:42 Jesus (Yeshua) said to them, " Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me." (Authorized King James Bible; AV).

Jesus (Yeshua) said he comes from God. The flesh cannot be speaking for the flesh was created. So Jesus (Yeshua)'s spiritual being came from God. Jesus (Yeshua) did not send himself, he did not come on his own, but before he was on earth, God sent him. Jesus (Yeshua) was sent by God into the world, so Jesus (Yeshua) is before the world with God.  He is referred to a Pr. 8:22-31, “The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.  23  I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.  24  When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.  25  Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:  26  While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.  27  When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:  28  When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:  29  When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:  30  Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;  31  Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.

VIEW A VIDEO OF AN INTRODUCTION TO 1 SAMUEL, CLICK FOLLOWING: https://www.jw.org/en/library/videos/books-of-bible-intros/book-of-1-samuel/


[2]        THE CULMINATION OF THE END TIMES:

INTRODUCTION:

Many wonder about the culmination of the end times, when it will come, what part will Christians play in it, how vast the destruction will be, how and why wickedness will be destroyed, does destruction of the wicked violate the principle of 'agape' love, and most of all how to survive.   This great destruction that will shortly be upon us is known to many as Armageddon and will do away with all present political systems and replace them with direct rule by God's (YHWH) appointed agent, Jesus (Yeshua) Christ.   

However,  Just as in times past, such as the days of Noah, the righteous will be delivered while the wicked are being destroyed as shown at Matthew 24:37-39, "And as were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man.  38 For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark." (American Standard Version; ASV); And affirmed at 1 Peter 3:20, "that aforetime were disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is eight souls, were saved through water." (ASV).   So let's learn what will occur.

PRESENT POLITICAL SYSTEM IS UN-RIGHTEOUS AND WILL BE REMOVED:

The present political system is under control of the ruler of this system of things, Satan the Devil, and will be destroyed as revealed at Revelation 16:14 & 16, "for they are spirits of demons, working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the gread day of God, the Almighty,  16 And they gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew Har-Magedon. " (ASV); And this is further amplified at Revelation 19:19, "And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse, and against his army." (ASV) here speaking of the army of God (YHWH) under command of his appointed agent, his Son, the Son of God (YHWH), Jesus (Yeshua), who is shown as sitting on the horse when the political powers make war against him.

Now what is meant by referring to Jesus (Yeshua) as his Father's (YHWH's) agent?   Clearly it is vital we grasp this concept early in this discourse so we can understand the Biblical facts better; As we will later vividly see, Jesus (Yeshua) was not carrying out his own will, but the will of the superior one who sent him with respect to him leading the armies of God (YHWH) is the destruction of the powers to be of this wicked system now existing.  In fact Jesus (Yeshua) said, Matthew 4:10, to Satan when he was being tempted, "Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." (ASV); and Jesus (Yeshua) said, John 14:28, "Ye heard how I said to you, I go away, and I come unto you.  If ye loved me, ye would have rejoiced, because I go unto the Father; for the Father is greater than I." (ASV); Clearly these both show that Jesus (Yeshua) considered his Father (YHWH) greater than himself, but there are those who mistakenly say they are one and the same, preposterous!  In an attempt to prove their error they use Colossians 1:16-19, "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;" (Authorized King James Bible; AV).  Clearly they overlook that verse 19 says, "For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;" showing two distinct beings or individuals, and the Jewish Law of Agencies or Schaliach Principle or their error would probably be self evident to them.

Some may find this a difficult concept, but is is similar to someone giving another a Limited Power of Attorney making him an agent to carry out an assigned task as did His Father (YHWH) at 1 Corinthians 15:22-28, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all." (AV), testifies that God (YHWH) had given his Son, Jesus (Yeshua) over all except himself when the scripture says "it is manifest that he is excepted."   Clearly showing they were distinct individuals and that the Father (YHWH) was the superior one; hence they were not CO-EQUAL.

HAR-MAGEDON WILL BE A WAR OF DIVINE EXECUTION:

Some think that true Christians will have a part in this war and the slaying work; however, this is NOT the case as shown at 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh  4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds;" (ASV); And reaffirmed that true Christians would play no part at Romans 12:19, "Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto the wrath of God: for it is written, Vengence belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord." (ASV); Actually the fight true Christians NOW have just prior to the climax is detailed at Ephesians 6:12, "For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (ASV).   

That this war at the climax of the end times will be a war of divine execution by God (YHWH) using his only begotten Son, Jesus (Yeshua), as the appointed leader of his armies, in keeping with the Schaliach Principle is made clear at Jeremiah 25:31-32, "A noise shall come even to the end of the earth; for Jehovah hath a the wicked, he will give them to the sword, saith Jehovah.  32 Thus saith Jehovah controversy with the nations; he will enter into judgment with all flesh: as for of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest shall be raised up from the uttermost parts of the earth." (ASV); And affirmed at the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy." (ASV); And at 2 Zephaniah 3dam, prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy o:8, "Therefore wait ye for me saith Jehovah, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble Thessalonians 1:6-9, "if so be that it is a righteous thing with God to recompense affliction to them that afflict you,  7 and to you that are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire,  8 rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not his is testified to in Jude 14-15, "And to these also Encoh, the seventh from Anthe gospel of our Lord Jesus:  9 who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might." (ASV); And tes,  15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their works of ungodliness which they have ungodly wrought, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." (ASV).


15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their works of ungodliness which they have ungodly wrought, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." (ASV).

This period of time, although short, will be dramatic unlike any ever known as revealed at Revelation:15-17, "And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and the chief captains, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman and freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains;  16 and they say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:  17 for the great day of their wrath is come; and who is able to stand." (ASV).

WHY THIS WAR IS NECESSARY AND DOES NOT VIOLATE GOD'S (YHWH'S) CHIEF ATTRIBUTE OF LOVE:

Many wonder why this war is necessary.  It is necessary so as to clear wickedness from the earth, to prove God's (YHWH's) right to rule beyond question, to both magnify and clear God's (YHWH's) name, and to destroy wicked entrenched political opposition to God's (YHWH's) kingdom.   FIRST, we will deal with the need to remove wickedness from the earth as shown at Psalms 37:10-11, "10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and he shall not be.  11 But the meek shall inherit the land, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." (ASV); And at Psalms 145:20, "Jehovah preserveth all them that love him; But all the wicked will he destroy." (ASV); And at Proverbs 2:21-22, "For they that are upright shall dwell in the earth, and the simple shall continue in it.  22 But the wicked shall be destroyed from the earth: and they that do unjustly shall be taken away from it." (Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible; DRCB); And at Isaiah 11:1 & 4, "And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root.  4 But he shall judge the poor with justice, and shall reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall slay the wicked." (DRCB), clearly showing the wicked will be done away with.

SECOND, It is necessary to prove, once and for all, God's (YHWH's) sovereignty and his unquestionable right to rule as shown at Psalms 83:17-18, "Let them be put to shame and dismayed for ever; Yea, let them be confounded and perish; (ASV)  18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH [(YHWH)], art the most high over all the earth." (AV); And affirmed at Daniel 2:44, "And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." (ASV).   Ans a Isaiah 32:1 states, "Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness and princes shall rule in justice." (ASV); And at Psalms 45:16, "Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, Whom thou shalt make princes in all the earth." (ASV).

That God (YHWH) will take over the rule of the earth and use his appointed agent, Jesus (Yeshua), the Son of God (YHWH),  to run it is made clear at Revelation 11:17-18, "sayhing, We give thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who wast; because thou hast taken thy great power, and didst reign.   18 And the nations were wroth, and thy wrath came, and the time of the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear thy name, the small and the great; and to destroy them that destroy the earth."  (ASV); And at Isaiah 46:8-11, "Yea, thou heardest not; yea thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened; for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb.  9 For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.  10 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.  11 For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it; for how should my name be polluted? And I will not give my glory unto another." (AV).

THIRD, To both magnify and clear God's (YHWH's) name as is vividly shown at Ezekiel 38:23, "And I will magnify myself, and sanctify myself, and I will make myself known in the eyes of many nations; and they shall know that I am Jehovah." (ASV); And affirmed at Psalms 74:10 & 18, "How long, O God, shall the adversary reproach?  Shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever.  18 Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Jehovah, And that a foolish people hath blasphemed thy name." (ASV).   Clearly then it is required for God (YHWH) to clear his name as further shown at Isaiah 5:16, "but Jehovah of hosts is exalted in justice, and God the Holy One is sanctified in righteousness." (ASV); And in fact we actually pray for this outcome when we pray the 'Lords prayer' as shown at Matthew 6:9, "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name." (ASV); And affirmed at Psalms 145:21, (Psalms 144:21 in the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible), "My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever; yea, for ever and ever." (DRCB).

FOURTH, To destroy wicked entrenched political opposition to God's (YHWH's) kingdom as revealed at Revelation 19:11 & 16 & 19, "And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon called Faithful and True; and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.  16 And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.  19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against his that sat upon the horse, and against his army." (ASV); And this all in keeping with Jesus (Yeshua) being his Father's (YHWH's) agent in keeping with 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, ""But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them that are asleep. 21 For since by man [came] death, by man [came] also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ's, at his coming. 24 Then [cometh] the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be abolished is death. 27 For, He put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is excepted who did subject all things unto him. 28 And when all things have been subjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all."  (ASV).  It is to be noted that his Father, Almighty God (YHWH) has put his Son, Jesus (Yeshua), over all, except himself as pointed out at in 1 Corinthians 15:27 above, and given him all he needs to carry out his commission.

And that he, Jesus (Yeshua) has been given this authority by his Father (YHWH) is clearly shown by Revelation 17:12-14, "And the ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet; but they receive authority as kings, with the beast, for one hour.  13 These have one mind, and they give their power and authority unto the beast.  14 These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they also shall overcome that are with him, called and chosen and faithful." (ASV); And re-affirmed at Psalms 2:2 & 5-6 & 9, "The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against Jehovah, and against his anointed saying,   5 Then will he speak unto them in his wrath, And vex them in his sore displeasure:  6 Yet I have set my king, Upon my holy hill of Zion.  9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." (ASV).

Corinthians 15:27 above, and given him all he needs to carry out his commission.

And that he, Jesus (Yeshua) has been given this authority by his Father (YHWH) is clearly shown by Revelation 17:12-14, "And the ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet; but they receive authority as kings, with the beast, for one hour.  13 These have one mind, and they give their power and authority unto the beast.  14 These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they also shall overcome that are with him, called and chosen and faithful." (ASV); And re-affirmed at Psalms 2:2 & 5-6 & 9, "The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against Jehovah, and against his anointed saying,   5 Then will he speak unto them in his wrath, And vex them in his sore displeasure:  6 Yet I have set my king, Upon my holy hill of Zion.  9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." (ASV).

DESTRUCTION OF THE WICKED DOES NOT VIOLATE GOD'S (YHWH'S) CHIEF ATTRIBUTE OF LOVE, BUT IS REQUIRED BY IT:

This destruction of the wicked is necessary in the interest of showing his chief attribute of love to the righteous ones who have been abused, harassed, and worse by the wicked ones.   All righteous ones experience abuse from the wicked and God (YHWH) being a righteous God (YHWH) must bring this to an end, but he takes no delight in having to do so as shown at Ezekiel 18:23, "Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked?  Saith the Lord Jehovah; and not rather that he should return from his way, and live?" (ASV); And is affirmed at Romans 9:22, "What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering vessels of wrath fitted unto destruction." (ASV); And at Psalms 37:28, "For Jehovah loveth justice, And forsaketh not his saints; They are preserved for ever; But the seed of the wicked shall be cut off." (ASV).

Of course some feel God (YHWH) has been slow about bringing destruction to the wicked, but in reality he has been patient as shown by 2 Peter 3:8-9, "But forget not this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (ASV); And at Luke 18:7-8, shows when justice comes, it will come speedily, "And shall not god avenge his elect, that cry to him day and night, and yet he is longsuffering over them?  8 I say unto you, that he will avenge them speedily.  Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" (ASV).

THE CLIMAX OF THE END TIMES OR ARMAGEDDON WILL COME SUDDENLY:

It will come during the marked generation as shown by Matthew 24:34-36 & 43-44, "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished.  35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.  36 But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only.   43-44 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken through.  44 Therefore be ye also ready; for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh. " (ASV) clearly showing all would occur in this marked generation and that in the 1 st. Century even Jesus (Yeshua) did NOT know the exact time, but only his Father (YHWH).

As alluded to in Matthew 24:44 above, the climax of the end times will arrive as testified to at 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3, "For yourselves know perfectly that they day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.  3 When they are saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in no wise escape." (ASV); And affirmed at Revelation 16:15, "Behold, I come as a thief.  Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame." (ASV); And at Proverbs 6:12-15, "A worthless person, a man of iniquity, Is he that walketh with a perverse mouth;  13 That winketh with his eyes, that speaketh with his feet, That maketh signs with his fingers;  14 In whose heart is perverseness, Who deviseth evil continually, Who soweth discord." (ASV); There fore as Luke 21:34-35 says, "But take heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you suddenly as a snare:  35 for so shall it come upon all them that dwell on the face of all the earth." (ASV).

THE CONCLUSION AND HOW TO SURVIVE:

FIRST, one must be a meek and righteous person as shown at Zepheniah 2:2-3, "before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of Jehovah come upon you, before the day of Jehovah's anger come upon you.  3 Seek ye Jehovah all ye meek of the earth, that have kept his ordinances; seek righteousness, seek meekness; it may be ye will be hid in the day of Jehovah's anger." (ASV);

SECOND, those wishing to be saved on this day need to per Joel 2:32, "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as Jehovah hath said, and among the remnant those whom Jehovah doth call." (ASV).

THIRD, we must be loving our God (YHWH) with all our might  as shown by Psalms 145:20, "Jehovah preserveth all them that love him; But all the wicked will he destroy." (ASV).

FOURTH, we must accept his Son, the Son of God, Jesus (Yeshua) as our savior as testified to at John 3:16, ""For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life." (ASV); And re-affirmed at Romans 5:9-10, "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him.  10 For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by his life." (ASV).

FIFTH, we must seek after wisdom as shown at Ecclesiastes 7:11-12, "Wisdom is as good as an inheritance; yea, more excellent is it for them that see the sun.  12 For wisdom is a defence, even as money is a defence; but the excellency of knowledge is that wisdom preserveth the life of him that hath it." (ASV).

SIXTH, we must let others know about God (YHWH) and his Son, the Son of God (YHWH), Jesus (Yeshua) since Romans 10:10 clearly shows, "for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (ASV); And given as an assignment to all true Christians at matthew 24:14, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." (AV).

SEVENTH, expect to be among the few in number who will be, per Matthew 10:22, "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved." (ASV).

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIBLE AND RELIGION – BOTH TRUE AND FALSE – AT   WWW.JW.ORG

COMBINATION OF [1]  THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND A VIDEO INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS,[2]  WHO OR WHAT IS THE ANTICHRIST?

[1]      SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [538B]

But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.  23  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.   Galatians 3:22 – 23, [authorized King James Bible; AV]

Yes, Almighty God (YHWH) is impartial, and none is better than the other due to race or nationality.  This is made plain at Romans 3:9, [AV] “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;”  Jesus (Yeshua) was sent forth to redeem all obedient men per Galatians 4:4 – 5, [AV] “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,  5  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” 

VIEW A VIDEO INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS AT:  https://www.jw.org/en/library/videos/books-of-bible-intros/book-of-1-kings/   

[2]   WHO OR WHAT IS THE ANTICHRIST?

INTRODUCTION:

Many through history from when the Apostle John wrote 1 and 2 John until today have wondered who the Antichrist is, and many have said it is this one or that one, but let's look at the facts.    First, the words of both Jesus (Yeshua) and the Apostle John clearly indicate that the Anthchrist is not a single person, but is a composite of many including false prophets, and false religion whose principle objective is religious deception.

At 1 John 2:18, the Apostle John wrote, "Little children, it is the last hour: and as ye heard that antichrist cometh, even now have there arisen many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last hour." (American Standard Version; ASV). By the last hour, John evidently meant that of the Apostolic age as he was very old and all the other apostles had died, and that there would be a falling away. John's statement shows that there are many individual antichrists, though all together they may form a composite person designated "the antichrist." Per 2 John 7, " For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist." (Authorized King James Bible; AV). However the expression 'hour' refers to a period of time of undetermined length. Thus, He thus did not restrict the appearance, existence, and activity of such antichrist to some future time only but showed that the antichrist was then present and would continue on per 1 John 4:3, "And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." (AV).

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF 'ANTICHRIST' AND WHO DOES IT GO AFTER?

'Antichrist' has the meaning of being against or instead of Christ; therefore, in its all incomposing sense refers to all who oppose and/or falsely claim to be the Christ or his representatives.  Jesus (Yeshua) said at Luke 11:23, "He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth." (AV).   Clearly showing all not with him were against him.

Since at the time the Apostle John wrote, Jesus (Yeshua) had been dead and resurrected to heaven for over 60 years; therefore, the activities of the Antichrist must be understood per Matthew 25:40-45, "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:  42  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:  43  I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.  44  Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?  45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me." (AV), to apply to his faithful footstep followers, the genuine (true) Christians.   Therefore, today, the Antichrist goes after the footstep followers of Jesus (Yeshua).

THOSE ACCUSED IN THE PAST OF BEING THE ANTICHRIST:

Let's look at some who have been called Antichrist in the past and by whom:

One of the first accusations of a group being the Antichrist was made by Pope Gregory I (590-604 AD.), according to epistles #1 and #B 13:1, called all those within the
Catholic church who forbid working on the Saturday Sabbath, 'Antichrists.'[reference - Sabbath Diagnosis: A Diagnostic History and Physical Examination of the Biblical Day of Rest By Gary Hullquist, Page 371].   Interestingly this was answered recently as follows, <<""No; it never was changed, nor could it be, unless creation was to be gone through again: for the reason assigned must be changed before the observance, or respect to the reason, can be changed!! It is all old wives' fables to talk of the change of the sabbath from the seventh to the first day. If it be changed, it was that august personage changed it who changes times and laws ex officio-I think his name is DOCTOR ANTICHRIST."[source - Alexander Campbell, The Christian Baptist , Feb. 2, 1824, vol. 1, no. 7.].>>.

Another early example was, In the year 1524, at a town in France, called Melden, one John Clark set up a bill on the church door, wherein he called the pope Antichrist. For this offence he was repeatedly whipped, and then branded on the forehead. Going afterward to Mentz, in Lorraine, he demolished some images, for which he had his right hand and nose cut off, and his arms and breast torn with pincers.[reference - The Testimony of the Spirit Concerning Antichrist by Michael Bunker (http://www.historicist.com/articles2/spiritantichrist.htm)].

And the list of those accused of being the Antichrist is a very long one.    In addition, to the examples given above, those labeled Antichrist have included Jews, the Roman emperors, the Catholic popes, etc.   For example, when Emperor Frederick II (1194-1250) decided not to join a Crusade on behalf of Pope Gregory IX who called him the antichrist and excommunicated him, and his successor, Pope Innocent IV excommunicated him again.   In response Emperor Fredrick declared Innocent IV to be the Antichrist. [reference - The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Crusades, By Paul L. Williams].

Now, the Antichrist is a deceiver and a liar who, in the composite sense, is bent on destroying a person's relationship with Jesus (Yeshua) and his Father, the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, creator of all there is.  Therefore, the Apostle John warned at 1 John 4:1-3, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.  2  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:  3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." (AV). 

Likewise, Jesus (Yeshua) warned against false prophets and deceivers at Matthew 7:15-16, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.  16  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" (AV).   Now let's see how we can identify this vicious deceiver.

THE SPREADING OF RELIGIOUS LIES:

At 2 Timothy 2:16-18, the Apostle Paul warns against the teachings of apostates, such as Hymenaeus and Philetus as follows, "But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
17  And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;  18  Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some." (AV).   What were the lies that these two were spreading?   They were teaching the false doctrine that the resurrection was only a symbolic one and that Christians had already been resurrected in a spiritual sense.   This was a clear rejection of Jesus' (Yeshua's) promise of a literal resurrection of the dead under the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, creator of all there is, Kingdom rule per John 5:28-29, "Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.  29  And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him." (AV). 

This was not the only example of false prophets pushing the false doctrine of a purely symbolic resurrection.   The Gnostics combined apostate (counterfeit) Christianity and merged it with Greek philosophy and Oriental mysticism.   They held to a false doctrine known as Docetism under which all physical matter is evil, and that Jesus (Yeshua) did not actually come in the flesh, but only seemed to have a human body.   As the Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia put it, <<"In Christianity, Docetism (from the Greek d???? [dokeo], "to seem") is the belief that Jesus' physical body was an illusion, as was his crucifixion; that is, Jesus only seemed to have a physical body and to physically die, but in reality he was incorporeal, a pure spirit, and hence could not physically die. This belief has historically been regarded as heretical by most Christian theologians.
This belief is most commonly attributed to the Gnostics, who believed that matter was evil, and hence that God would not take on a material body. This statement is rooted in the idea that a divine spark is imprisoned within the material body, and that the material body is in itself an obstacle, deliberately created by an evil lesser god (the demiurge) to prevent man from seeing his divine origin. Humanity is, in essence, asleep."[source - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]>>.

The Trinity is another false doctrine which is still being spread.  This false doctrine, lie, is no where mentioned in the Bible.  To try and 'prove' this none Biblical god, Trinitarians use questionable translations of John 1:1, but conveniently miss the point that this is "a singular anarthrous predicate noun preceding the verb," that is, not just that the noun theos lacks the Greek definite article.  Similar Greek construction such Mark 6:49,
Mark 11:32, John 4:19, John 6:70, John 8:44a, John 8:44b, John 9:17, John 10:1,
John 10:13, John 10:33, John 12:6 as usually have an inserted either an "a" or "an" there in most translations.

But we need not get so technical as a quick application of logic to the usual questionable translational construct for John 1:1 quickly shows that it can in no way support a trinity god.  Let's look at why.  John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.) (AV) - now to have a trinity of anything, one must have THREE like items and only two spirit creatures are mentioned, not three, hence no trinity.   In addition, someone can NOT be with someone and be that person also..

This false doctrine obscures the relationship of the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, creator of all there is, with his Son, Jesus (Yeshua), and was a masterstroke of the Antichrist.  It makes it difficult to "draw close to God" as encouraged by James 4:8, "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." (AV). [sources & references - Laing, Gordon Jennings. "Survivals of Roman Religion.". New York: Cooper Square Publishers. 1963, The Encyclopedia of Religions, Carter, Jesse Benedict. "The Religious Life of Ancient Rome: A Study in the Development of Religious Consciousness, from the Foundation of the City Until the Death of Gregory the Great." New York: Cooper Square Publishers. 1972. (page 16-19), Pelikan, Jaroslav. "The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition" (100-600). Chicago: U of Chicago P. 1971. Vol. 1 of "The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine." 5 vols., heraldmag.org., Morodenibig, Naba Lamoussa. "Light From the Trinities.", Edersheim Bible History (page 59-62), New Catholic Encyclopedia, (Vol. XIV, 306), International Encyclopedia of the Bible," Vol. 5, (page 3012), McClintock & Strong's Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, Vol. 6, Lamson, Newton & Durant, Will, "Caesar and Christ," cited from Charles Redeker Caesar and Christ, W. Duran (page 595), ENCYLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, 11th Edition, Vol. 3, (page 366),  Payne, Robert, "The Holy Fire: The Story of the Early Centuries of the Christian Churches in the Near East" (1957), BETHUNE-BAKER, J,F. "An Introduction to the Early History of Christian Doctrine". Methuen; 5th Ed., 1933, ENCYLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, 11th Edition, Vol. 3, (page 366); David, Francis and Blandrata, Georgio, "De falsa et vera unius Dei Patris, Filii, et Spiritus Sancti cognitone" [Latin](The False and True Knowledge of the Unity of God the Father, Son, and Holy spirit), 1566 A.D., by Francis David and others, Eklof, Todd F., "David's Francis Tower, Strength through Peace," (06-16-02), The New Encyclopedia Britannica: " Micropædia, Vol. X, p. 126. (1976), Parkes, James, "The Foundation of Judaism and Christianity," 1960, Durant, Will. "Caesar and Christ." New York: Simon. 1944. Vol. 3 of The Story of Civilization. 11 vols. 1935-75, and Durant, Will, "Age of Faith,"].

Also, the ancient Jewish practice of substituting titles for the divine name such as Lord and God is a false practice and flies in the face of what all pray for when they say Jesus (Yeshua) prayer found at Matthew 6:9-10, "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.  10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." (AV) when they do NOT know his name and/or use it, even though in the original scriptures it occurs over 7,000 times.[references - Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 1; Greek Septuagint (Fouad Inv. 266)].   Clearly any attempt to turn the the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, creator of all there is, into a nameless mystery is a mystery is an act of gross disrespect for our Creator, and a direct violation of what the Apostle John wrote at Revelation 22:18-19, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:  19  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." (AV). 

REJECTION OF GOD'S (YHWH'S) KINGDOM BY THE ANTICHRIST:

The activity of the composite Antichrist was foretold to greatly increase in the ultimate days of the end times at 2 Timothy 3:1, "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come." (AV).   The modern day deceivers and false prophets seek to mislead every one in regard to Jesus' (Yeshua's) role as the King of the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, creator of all there is, Kingdom which is a heavenly government that will soon rule over the entire earth per Daniel 7:13-14, "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.  14  And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." (AV); and Revelation 11:5, "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever." (AV).   

Some religious leaders falsely preach that the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, creator of all there is, Kingdom is a condition in the heart of men which is a view that finds no basis in the Bible per Daniel 2:44, "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." (AV).   In addition, Jesus (Yeshua) clearly stated at John 18:36, "Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence." (AV) that his kingdom has nothing to do with the nations of this world.

In fact, the Bible clearly shows that Satan the Devil is the ruler of this world at John 14:30-31, "Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.  31  But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence." (AV), and 2 Corinthians 4:4, "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." (AV).

Because the religious leaders support the political systems of this world, they have been likened to a symbolic great harlot called in the Bible, 'Babylon the Great,' who is per Revelation 17:4-6, "And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:  5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.  6  And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration." (AV).   She is symbolically 'drunk' with the blood of the saints in that she as a collective composite has both opposed and persecuted those proclaiming the truth with respect the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael's, creator of all there is, Kingdom.   She also practices symbolic harlotry by supporting the rulers of this world ruled by the ruler of this system, Satan the Devil.   This symbolic woman is of course the false religions of the world, and a major part of the composite Antichrist per Revelation 18:2-3, "And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.  3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies." (AV); and James 4:4, "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." (AV).

REJECTION OF GOD'S (YHWH'S) STANDARDS OF MORALITY:

Many of the members and clergy of the world's religions practice gross immorality of the most base types.   In addition, they preach to 'tickle the ears' of their members and NOT to put forth Bible truths.   Bible standards and truths are shoved out the door, so to speak, but this was foretold at 2 Timothy 4:3-4, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;  4  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (AV).   These are false prophets, deceitful workers who like their leader keep transforming themselves into apostles of Christ per 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.  14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.  15  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works." (AV).

As previously mentioned, their works involve loose conduct and violations of Romans 1:19-28, "Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.  20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:  21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,  23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.  24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:  25  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.  26  For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:  27  And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.  " 28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;" (AV).   We now see a large number of religious leaders adopting and/or condoning loose morals in a brazen disregard for high moral principles.   Recently the Episcopal church of America choose <<"- The Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori was empowered to take charge of the Episcopal Church on Saturday in a Gothic sanctuary filled with well-wishers and the acrid smell of hot wax and incense, becoming the first woman to lead a national church in the Anglican Communion's roughly 500-year history." ...Her selection as the 26th presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, the denomination's highest office, was hailed as a breakthrough for women and for the inclusion of gays and lesbians, which she supports."[ source - First woman takes helm of Episcopal Church, By Louis Sahagun, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer on 11/05/2006]>>.

But let's look at some more even flagrant violations of morals. Among both apostate (counterfeit) Christians and members of Islam some practice deviant forms of sex and both religious groups say this is wrong, but wink at its practice.   On 11/02/2006, one leading Evangelical leader was uncovered to be publicly denouncing homosexuality as condemned at Romans 1:27, "and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another, men with men working unseemliness, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was due." (Authorized King James Bible; AV); here is the news account of this winking at wrong doing by The Rev. Ted Haggard, <<"CATHERINE TSAI, Associated Press Writer (11/03/2006), COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A leading evangelist and outspoken opponent of gay marriage has given up his post as president of the National Association of Evangelicals while a church panel investigates allegations he paid a man for sex.   The Rev. Ted Haggard resigned as head of the 30 million-member association Thursday and also gave up leadership of his New Life Church pending the investigation into allegations he had monthly trysts with a gay prostitute over the past three years...

"I just know that there has been some admission of indiscretion, not admission to all of the material that has been discussed, but there is an admission of some guilt," Ross Parsley told KKTV-TV of Colorado Springs.
Parlsey did not elaborate, but in an e-mail addressed to congregants, he wrote that the church's four-member board of overseers had since met with Haggard.   "It is important for you to know that he confessed to the overseers that some of the accusations against him are true. He has willingly and humbly submitted to the authority of the board of overseers, and will remain on administrative leave during the course of the investigation," the e-mail stated. A copy was obtained by KMGH-TV in Denver...

[outted by]Jones, who said he is gay, said he was also upset when he discovered Haggard and the New Life Church had publicly opposed same-sex marriage.  "It made me angry that here's someone preaching about gay marriage and going behind the scenes having gay sex," he said.

Jones claimed Haggard paid him to have sex nearly every month over three years. He said he advertised himself as an escort on the Internet and was contacted by a man who called himself Art, who snorted methamphetamine before their sexual encounters to heighten his experience...

At the time, Haggard said that he believed marriage is a union between a man and woman rooted in centuries of tradition, and that research shows it's the best family unit for children.">> [[Note, the Los Angeles Times also had a very telling article on this, "Evangelical leader steps down amid allegations The Rev. Ted Haggard denies a man's public charges that the pastor of a mega-church had been paying him for sex.  By Stephanie Simon, Times Staff Writer (11/03/2006).]].

Of course this is no isolated case.  The cases are so numerous that the accounts would definitely fill a library rack many meters or yards long.   Some references on this dysfunction would be "The Church and the Homosexual Priest Facing the challenges and accepting the gifts offered by homosexual priests in the Catholic Church" by James Martin - in The National Catholic Weekly, The Changing Face of the Priesthood, Rev. Donald B. Cozzens, Prince Charles Praises Openly Gay Anglican Priest, by Terry Vanderheyden, published Oct 11, 2006, by LifeSite News:, etc.

And this wrong practice is not limited just to apostate (counterfeit) Christians but the winking at violation of Romans 1:27 carries over into Ialam where gay members of Islam actually operate a web site implicitly implying Muhammad (pbuh) may have been gay, called Gay Egypt>com which states, "sponsors 3,500 forums for 175 million GAY muslims & their admirers across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, & Worldwide."

Gay Egypt said this of Muhammad (pbuh), <<"These essays reveal a forgotten history including the amazing saga of the Prophet Muhammad [(pbuh)]and Zaid Ibn Haritha. A story which has been suppressed in order to justify the persecution of gays in the name of Islam.

Zaid was a slave, a wedding gift from Muhammad's [(pbuh)'s] wealthy older bride Khadija, so there was no question of adultery under Sharia law. When the Prophet eventually freed Zaid, he proclaimed a formal partnership or union, equivalent to a marriage. Zaid became, in effect, a "male wife" who was equal in status to Khadija.

First with Zaid, and later with Ali, Muhammad [(pbuh)] formed a bond which was even closer than those of his ten "heterosexual marriages." Love that was tested through extreme adversity and martydom. [source - http://www.gayegypt.com/archivesonly.html]>>.

Of this organization, Newsweek said,<<"GayEgypt.com "pokes fun at Egypt's autocratic regime with an irreverence no domestic site would dare express,">>, and the The Middle East Times said, <<"GayEgypt.com has emerged as a key source of information and communication for the gay community in Egypt.">>.

Interestingly Islam is winking at this and doing nothing about Gay Egypt.com, nor are members of Islam protesting what most would take as a serious attack on their prophet's moral character; yet they rioted over silly cartoons of Muhammad (pbuh).   Makes one wonder does it not?

GUARD AGAINST BECOMING A VICTIM OF THE COMPOSITE ANTICHRIST AND CONCLUSION:

Test all things and test them for validity per 1 John 4:1-3, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.  2  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:  3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." (AV).    Be like the Beroeas of the first century who carefully examined the scriptures to be sure that what the Apostles were telling them was the truth per Acts 17:10-11, "And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.  11  These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." (AV).   Yes, while eager to learn, check what you are being taught is the truth per John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (AV).

Do NOT be influenced by popular views, but be sure all is in keeping with truth per Philippians 1:9, "And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;" (AV).

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIBLE AND RELIGION – BOTH TRUE AND FALSE – AT   WWW.JW.ORG

COMBINATION OF [1]  THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND A VIDEO INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES. [2]  MUSLIMS DECEITFULLY ATTACK THE APOSTLE PAUL

[1]  SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [540B]

For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.  33  And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.  34  And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.  35  But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.  36  Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.  Luke 36:32 – 36, [authorized King James Bible; AV]

The scriptures show at Mark 4:25, [AV] “For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.”  That Jesus (Yeshua) had been given great power by his Father, Almighty God (YHWH) is clearly shown at Matthew 14:36, [AV] “And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.”  And that some power had left him is shown by Mark 5:30, [AV] “And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?”

He not only used his power to show mercy to people, but he per Matthew 5:2 - 11, [AV] “And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, 3  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4  Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.  5  Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.  6  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.  7  Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.  8  Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.  9  Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.  10  Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  11  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.”  He also delivered many from their trouble as foretold by Psalms 107:6, [AV] “Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.”

A VIDEO INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES. CLICK:
https://www.jw.org/en/library/videos/books-of-bible-intros/book-of-1-corinthians/


[2]   MUSLIMS DECEITFULLY ATTACK THE APOSTLE PAUL

INTRODUCTION:

Many Muslims deceitfully attack the Apostle Paul with misleading and untrue accusations.   They make such claims such as accusing him of being a self-proclaimer instead of proclaiming Jesus (Yeshua) Christ.   In doing so they overlook and/or are ignorant that Jesus (Yeshua) Christ was the one who personally selected the Apostle Paul as he saw much good in him even though at the time of his selection he was actually persecuting Christ genuine (true) footstep followers.   Now let's look at the Biblical account of his personal selection by the resurrected Jesus (Yeshua) Christ at Acts 9:1-22, "And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,  2  And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.  3  And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:  4  And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?  5  And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.  6  And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.  7  And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.  8  And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.  9  And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.  10 ¶  And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.  11  And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,  12  And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.  13  Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:  14  And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:  16  For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.  17  And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.  18  And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.  19  And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.  20  And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.  21  But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?  22  But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ." (Authorized King James Bible; AV).   

Of course, immediately after is dramatic conversion by none other than Jesus (Yeshua), himself, many of the disciples and apostles still doubted his conversion as testified to at Acts 9:26-27, "And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.  27  But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus." (AV).   Therefore, there can be no doubt that he was personally selected by Jesus (Yeshua) to be a proclaimer of the good news or gospel with respect to Jesus (Yeshua) and the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, creator of all there is, Kingdom.

Now let's view some of the deceitful and misleading things some Muslims say about the Apostle Paul.

MISLEADING AND DECEITFUL THINGS SAID ABOUT THE APOSTLE PAUL BY SOME MUSLIMS:

Let's look at some of the misleading and deceitful things some Muslims are saying wrongly about the Apostle Paul in their own words.

COMMENT 1, which we shall examine.
<<" Galatians 1:6 ''I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a DIFFERENT GOSPEL...'' You said there was no other gospel, who is the deceiver now?. As i said before that there was another gospel and when Paul heard and saw it he got very angry. Im still of the opinion that the other gospel was the real gospel of Christ and Pauls gospel was not so inspiring because the Galatians started to reject Pauls gospel and accepted the DIFFERENT GOSPEL." [source - A Sunni Muslim]>>.

First, Let's look at Galatians 1:6 in context and see how wrong this Sunni Muslim is, Galatians 1:1-9, "Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)  2  And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:  3  Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,  4  Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:  5  To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  6 ¶  I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:  7  Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.  8  But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.  9  As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." (AV), clearly the Apostle Paul was speaking of false gospels at Galatians 1:6 that some were starting to listen to instead of the gospel of Christ, i.e., some were perverting the gospel of Christ per Galatians 1:7.

Now let's get a better understanding of the above Bible scriptures by looking at a dictionary definition of 'gospel' is several dictionaries:

[1] The American Heritage(r) Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. Defines gospel as follows:

NOUN:
1. often Gospel The proclamation of the redemption preached by Jesus and the Apostles, which is the central content of Christian revelation. 2a. Gospel Bible One of the first four New Testament books, describing the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and recording his teaching. b. A similar narrative. 3. often Gospel A lection from any of the first four New Testament books included as part of a religious service. 4. A teaching or doctrine of a religious teacher. 5. Music Gospel music. 6. Something, such as an idea or principle, accepted as unquestionably true: My parents' rules were gospel.

ADJECTIVE:
1. Of or in accordance with the Gospel; evangelical. 2. Of or relating to gospel music.

ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English, from Old English gdspel (ultimately translation of Greek euangelion) : gd, good; see good + spel, news.

[2]  Easton Bible Dictionary, a religious dictionary, gives two definitions for gospel.

Gospel - a word of Anglo-Saxon origin, and meaning "God's spell", i.e., word of God, or rather, according to others, "good spell", i.e., good news. It is the rendering of the Greek evangelion, i.e., "good message." It denotes (1) "the welcome intelligence of salvation to man as preached by our Lord and his followers. (2.) It was afterwards transitively applied to each of the four histories of our Lord's life, published by those who are therefore called 'Evangelists', writers of the history of the gospel (the evangelion). (3.) The term is often used to express collectively the gospel doctrines; and 'preaching the gospel' is often used to include not only the proclaiming of the good tidings, but the teaching men how to avail themselves of the offer of salvation, the declaring of all the truths, precepts, promises, and threatenings of Christianity." It is termed "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24), "the gospel of the kingdom" (Matt. 4:23), "the gospel of Christ" (Rom. 1:16), "the gospel of peace (Eph. 6:15), "the glorious gospel," "the everlasting gospel," "the gospel of salvation" (Eph. 1:13).

Gospels - The central fact of Christian preaching was the intelligence that the Saviour had come into the world (Matt. 4:23; Rom. 10:15); and the first Christian preachers who called their account of the person and mission of Christ by the term evangelion_ (= good message) were called _evangelistai (= evangelists) (Eph. 4:11; Acts 21:8).
There are four historical accounts of the person and work of Christ: "the first by Matthew, announcing the Redeemer as the promised King of the kingdom of God; the second by Mark, declaring him 'a prophet, mighty in deed and word'; the third by Luke, of whom it might be said that he represents Christ in the special character of the Saviour of sinners (Luke 7:36; 15:18); the fourth by John, who represents Christ as the Son of God, in whom deity and humanity become one. The ancient Church gave to Matthew the symbol of the lion, to Mark that of a man, to Luke that of the ox, and to John that of the eagle: these were the four faces of the cherubim" (Ezek. 1:10).
Date. The Gospels were all composed during the latter part of the first century, and there is distinct historical evidence to show that they were used and accepted as authentic before the end of the second century.
Mutual relation. "If the extent of all the coincidences be represented by 100, their proportionate distribution will be: Matthew, Mark, and Luke, 53; Matthew and Luke, 21; Matthew and Mark, 20; Mark and Luke, 6. Looking only at the general result, it may be said that of the contents of the synoptic Gospels [i.e., the first three Gospels] about two-fifths are common to the three, and that the parts peculiar to one or other of them are little more than one-third of the whole."
Origin. Did the evangelists copy from one another? The opinion is well founded that the Gospels were published by the apostles orally before they were committed to writing, and that each had an independent origin

[3] World English Bible Glossary, gives the following definition for gospel,

Gospel means "good news" or "glad tidings," specifically the Good News of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection for our salvation, healing, and provision; and the hope of eternal life that Jesus made available to us by God's grace.

So as we can see, 'gospel,' has the meaning of "good news" or "glad tidings;" therefore, the Apostle Paul was clearly simply warning all to only accept the 'good news' that originated with Jesus (Yeshua) Christ as shown by Galatians 1:7-9, and definitely NOT a proclaimer of gospel as the Sunni Muslim was deceitfully implying.   Let's consider the dictionary definition of 'proclaimer.'

PROCLA'IMER, n. One who publishes by authority; one that announces or makes publicly known.[source - Webster's 1828 Dictionary]

COMMENT 2, which we shall examine.
<<" And yes Paul did get very angry when he found out people where dumping his gospel for a different gospel which many x christians call the ''Genuine Gospel of Christ'''[source - A Sunni Muslim]>>.

First, as we previously saw looking at Galatians 1:6 in context, Paul was warning all to only accept the genuine "good News" or gospel that emanated from Jesus (Yeshua) Christ, and NOT some other gospel that emanated from a source controlled by Satan the Devil per 2 Corinthians 4:4, "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." (AV).   Galatians 1:7-9, "Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.  8  But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.  9  As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." (AV) where he makes very clear that he is not proclaiming another gospel other than the gospel or 'good news' that emanated from Jesus (Yeshua) Christ, but CLEARLY warning others NOT to accept any other gospel except that which originated with Christ.   But as usual, there are deceitful individuals who will take a scripture, in this case Galatians 1:6 out of context and misleadingly try to make it seem that it is saying just the opposite from what its original writer/speaker intended.

That is why the Apostle Paul wrote the following about the Bereans, Acts 17:10-11, "And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.  11  These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." (AV).   Basically the Apostle Paul was congratulating the Bereans on their diligence in carefully searching the scriptures daily to see that what he told them was the truth in keeping with John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (AV).

COMMENT 3, which we shall examine.
<<" You are not dealing with the facts that Paul told Timothy to hold onto the translation which includes the extra books of the Catholics and Paul said they are all inspired. Please show us solid evidence that Paul told Timothy to hold onto the original Old Testament, im looking forward to your evidence

I see that you are trying to protect your faith by being deceitful as Paul the self acclaimed deceiver has instructed you to do so. I appeal to the christians that are not deceitful to research for them selves of the scripture Timothy knew from childhood, which is a translation. Iris, I can understand you cannot accept that Paul was wrong to say what he said to Timothy. You will not find ''mans words'' in the Glorious Quran, Ameen."[ Source - a Sunni Muslim]>>.

Just another deceitful and misleading item by this Sunni Muslim.   Notice, he calls Paul a self acclaimed deceiver and tries to call the Apocrypha books inspired canon which they are not.   Let's first consider what the Apocrypha is.

[1] Easton Bible Dictionary, a religious dictionary, gives the following definition for Apocrypha.

Apocrypha - hidden, spurious, the name given to certain ancient books which found a place in the LXX. and Latin Vulgate versions of the Old Testament, and were appended to all the great translations made from them in the sixteenth century, but which have no claim to be regarded as in any sense parts of the inspired Word.

(1.) They are not once quoted by the New Testament writers, who frequently quote from the LXX. Our Lord and his apostles confirmed by their authority the ordinary Jewish canon, which was the same in all respects as we now have it.

(2.) These books were written not in Hebrew but in Greek, and during the "period of silence," from the time of Malachi, after which oracles and direct revelations from God ceased till the Christian era.

(3.) The contents of the books themselves show that they were no part of Scripture. The Old Testament Apocrypha consists of fourteen books, the chief of which are the Books of the Maccabees (q.v.), the Books of Esdras, the Book of Wisdom, the Book of Baruch, the Book of Esther, Ecclesiasticus, Tobit, Judith, etc.
The New Testament Apocrypha consists of a very extensive literature, which bears distinct evidences of its non-apostolic origin, and is utterly unworthy of regard.

[2] Smith's Bible Dictionary, a religious dictionary, gives the following definition for Apocrypha.

<<" Old Testament Apocrypha ._The collection of books to which this term is popularly applied includes the following (the order given is that in which they stand in the English version); I. 1 Esdras; II. 2 Esdras; III. Tobit; IV. Judith; V. The rest of the chapters of the book of Esther, which are found neither in the Hebrew nor in the Chaldee; VI. The Wisdom of Solomon; VII. The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus; VII. Baruch; IX. The Song of the Three Holy Children, X. The History of Susanna; XI. The History of the destruction of Bel and the Dragon; XII. The Prayer of Manasses king of Judah; XIII. 1 Maccabee; XIV. 2 Maccabees. The primary meaning of apocrypha , "hidden, secret," seems, toward the close of the second century to have been associated with the signification "spurious," and ultimately to have settled down into the latter. The separate books of this collection are treated of in distinct articles.">>

[3] Irivng Hexham's Concise Dictionary of Religion, a religious dictionary, gives the following definition for Apocrypha. 

<<" APOCRYPHA: in Greek this means "hidden things" and is a term applied to both JEWISH and CHRISTIAN writings which were excluded from the official CANON of SCRIPTURE".>>.

As can be seen from all of these definitions, the Apocrypha are spurious writings NOT by the claimed writers, NOT in harmony with the inspired scriptures, etc.   

In fact with respect to the Septuagint, LXX, there were different versions, some contained some of the Apocrypha and others did not, but all contained all of the inspired books of the Bible.   One encyclopedia said this,
<<" Septuagint: A page from Codex vaticanus, the basis of Sir Lancelot Brenton's English translation.
The Septuagint (or simply "LXX") is the name commonly given in the West to the ancient, Koine Greek version of the Old Testament translated in stages between the 3rd to 1st century BC in Alexandria. It is the oldest of several ancient translations of the Hebrew Bible into Greek. The name means "seventy" and derives from a tradition that seventy-two Jewish scholars (LXX being the nearest round number) translated the Pentateuch (or Torah) from Hebrew into Greek for one of the Ptolemaic kings. As the work of translation went on gradually, and new books were added to the collection, the compass of the Greek Bible came to be somewhat indefinite. The Pentateuch always maintained its pre-eminence as the basis of the canon; but the prophetic collection changed its aspect by having various hagiographa incorporated into it. Some of the newer works, those called anagignoskomena in Greek, are not included in the Hebrew canon. Among these books are Maccabees and the Wisdom of Ben Sira. Also, the LXX version of some works, like Daniel and Esther, are longer than the Hebrew.[1] Several of the later books apparently were composed in Greek." [source - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia] >>.

Of the Apocrypha books, the encyclopedia said several of these books were apparently composed in Greek; whereas, all of the inspired books of the Old Testament were composed in ancient Hebrew.   This being a feature that immediately identifies them as spurious.

Paul NEVER said any of the Apocrypha were inspired as this Sunni Muslim deceitfully says.    In fact, as we previously say in Galatians 1:1-9, the Apostle Paul warned against perverted gospels, i.e., spurious ones such as the books of the Apocrypha.    However, this Sunni Muslim deceiver is trying to twist the meaning of 2 Timothy 3:16, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" (AV).   He is trying to falsely imply that the Apocrypha is part of what the Apostle Paul was referring to which of course is very unreasonable and illogical to the extreme and especially so if 2 Timothy 3:16 is looked at in context, 2 timothy 3:12-17, "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.  13  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.  14  But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;  15  And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.  16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:  17  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." (AV).   He, the Sunni Muslim, is one of those covered by 2 Timothy 3:13.

Now in other comments by this same Sunni Muslim he has inferred that Timothy had and learned from a copy of the LXX containing the Apocrypha as he only knew Koine Greek which is of course untrue.   His father was a Greek, but his mother was a Jew who spoke Hebrew.   His mother, not his father, was the one who taught him, and this fact was recognized by the Apostle Paul at 2 Timothy 1:1-5, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,  2  To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.  3  I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;  4  Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;  5  When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also." (AV).

Undoubtedly his mother Eunice would have regularly taken him to the Synagogue where he would have listened to Rabbis reading the sacred inspired scripture per the canon of Ezra or Jerusalem canon so the inspired scripture the Apostle Paul was referring to in 2 Timothy 3:16 would have been only the inspired scripture and NOT the spurious Apocrypha.

In addition, scripture in those days was NOT written/printed in books as it is today, but was hand written on scrolls which made copies very expensive.   Therefore, it is highly unlikely that young Timothy had a personal copy of of the scriptures, let alone a copy of the LXX containing spurious Apocrypha.

Timothy undoubtedly knew exactly which writings the Apostle Paul was speaking of .   For example, I often use the Catholic New American Bible (NAB) which contains some Apocrypha books, but I well know which books are the Holy Scriptures as did Timothy, and which are spurious Apocrypha.   In other words, this Sunni Muslim is implying that Timothy was both stupid and gullible, a fact NOT in anyway supported by scripture as quite the contrary is supported by scripture.

CONCLUSION;

Members of Islam get irrationally insane over silly cartoons, a speech in a university where the Pope quoted from something a Byzantine Emperor said which they mistook as the Pope trying to insult them - which he was not trying to do, and other minor and silly nonsense.   However, they feel it is okay to tell untruths and deceitful things about the Apostle Paul - what a double standard they have as shown in this article.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIBLE AND RELIGION – BOTH TRUE AND  FALSE – AT    WWW.JW.ORG

COMBINATION OF [1]  THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND A VIDEO ON THE BOOK OF EZRA, [2]    WHY JESUS (YESHUA) HAD TO DIE AND BENEFIT TO MANKIND

[1]       SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [542B]

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;  4  Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;  Psalms 103:3 – 4, [authorized King James Bible; AV]

King David was a righteous man, but not a perfect man.  He admitted to the Prophet Nathan that he had sinned as recorded at 2 Samuel 12:13, [AV] “And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.”  But the prophet let him know that he would not die from his illness, but would strengthen his per Psalms 41:3, [AV] “The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness”

Yes, Almighty God (YHWH) strengthens the broken hearted as revealed at Psalms 147:3, [AV] “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.”  And the Prophet Micah shows he is a God of tender mercy at Micah 7:18, [AV] “  Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.”

VIEW AN INTRODUCTION TO BOOK OF EZRA VIDEO, TO TO:  https://www.jw.org/en/library/videos/books-of-bible-intros/book-of-ezra/


[2]       WHY JESUS (YESHUA) HAD TO DIE AND BENEFIT TO MANKIND:

INTRODUCTION:

Some contend that Jesus (Yeshua) did not die and/or did not need to die, but this will be shown to be false in three parts.

THREE PART SHOWING THAT CHRIST HAD TO DIE FOR MANKIND AND THAT HE DID:

FIRST, Let's look at one unbelievers comment on the subject, and then read the facts on same.
<<" willingness of jesus christ to die for our sins
peter and the two sons of zebedee were with jesus christ before the elders of the people and the chief priests came to take him to be crucified. jesus at this point talked to peter and the two sons of zebedee as in matthew 26:38 "then saith he unto them, my soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me." then jesus went a little further away from them and prayed to god as in matthew 26:39 "and he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, o my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as i will, but as thou wilt."

it is very clear from the above verse in matthew 26:39 that jesus had no intention of dying. in this verse it is shown that jesus was praying strongly (matthew mentions jesus repeating this prayer three times) to have this death removed from him. had jesus christ been sent to be crucified, he would not have hesitated to be killed at all. ">>.

WRONG, First, he knew he was going to be betrayed and die as shown by Matthew 26:20-25, "Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.
21  And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
22  And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?
23  And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.
24  The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.
25 Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said." (Authorized King James Bible; AV)

Second, He also knew that Peter would deny him three times as recorded at Matthew 26: "Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.
32  But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.
33  Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.
34  Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
35 Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples." (AV)

Third, Then the scripture you mentioned, but in context, Matthew 26:36-46,  "Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.
37  And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
38  Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
39  And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
40  And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
41  Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
42  He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
43  And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.
44  And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.
45  Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
46 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me." (AV)
Which clearly shows Jesus (Yeshua) as an obedient Son that knew he had to die as a ransom sacrifice for all of mankind as shown in his prayer when he said, ", O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done." Clearly indicating that he wanted his Father's, the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, creator of all there is, to be done even if it involved his death as a human.

SECOND, Some believe that Jesus (Yeshua) is His Father, the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, creator of all there is, which of course he is not.   That is why the Bible calls him the Son of God at many diverse places such as at Matthew 8:29, 14:33, 26:63, 27:40, 27:43, Mark 1:1, 3:11, 15:39, etc.   Ones that fail to recognize this fact wrongly believe he is his own Father, but the fleshly side or form.   Of course they forget several facts as follows:

[1] No one can see the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, creator of all there is, and live as recorded at Exodus 33:20, "And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live." (AV)

[2] That the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, creator of all there is, is invisible; whereas, his Son Jesus (Yeshua) was seen by many, 1 Timothy 1:17 says, "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen." (AV)

[3] And the apostle John said clearly at John 1:18, "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." (AV)

THIRD, Now let's consider why Jesus (Yeshua) had to die, and did die by execution by the Romans as recorded at Matthew 27: "And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,
34  They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.
35  And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.
36  And sitting down they watched him there;
37  And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
38  Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.
39  And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,
40  And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
41  Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
42  He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.
43  He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.
44  The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.
45  Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
46  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
47  Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.
48  And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.
49  The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.
50 ¶  Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
51  And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
52  And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
53  And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
54  Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
55  And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him:
56  Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children.
57 ¶  When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple:
58  He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.
59  And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
60  And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.
61  And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.
62  Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,
63  Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.
64  Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.
65  Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.
66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch." (AV)

Now why did he have to die?   Let's look at why this was necessary.   It was because the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, creator of all there is, law required like for like.   

[1] A ransome price corresponds to the perfect human life lost by Adam's disobedience had to be provided.

1 Timothy 2:5-6, "For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, [himself] man, Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself a ransom for all; the testimony [to be borne] in its own times;" (American Standard Version; ASV)

Philippians 2:5-6, "but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; 8 and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient [even] unto death, yea, the death of the cross." (ASV).

1 Corinthians 15:22, "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive." (ASV).

[2] Christ died to provide a ransom to open the way to everlasting life for all who would believe:

Ephesians 1:3-7, "Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ: 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love: 5 having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved: 7 in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace," (ASV).

John 3:16-18, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him. 18 He that believeth on him is not judged: he that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God." (ASV).

1 John 4:9-10, "Herein was the love of God manifested in us, that God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins." (ASV)

John 3:36, "He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. " (ASV).

1 Timothy 2:5-6, "For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, [himself] man, Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself a ransom for all; the testimony [to be borne] in its own times;" (ASV).

[3] The Need of mankind for a ransom to free us from bondage to sin and death:

Romans 5:12, "Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned:--" (ASV) as I previously told you.

Romans 3:23, "for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;" (ASV)

Psalms 49:7-9, "None [of them] can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him; 8 (For the redemption of their life is costly, And it faileth for ever;) 9 That he should still live alway, That he should not see corruption." (ASV).

Psalms 51:5, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me." (ASV).

[4] The price paid for release from bondage to sin and death;

Matthew 20:28, "even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." (ASV).

Romans 3:24, "By God's grace, without earning it, all are granted the status of being considered righteous before him, through the act redeeming us from our enslavement to sin that was accomplished by the Messiah Yeshua." (The Complete Jewish Bible, Jewish Net Testament Publications; TCJB).

Hebrews 2:14-15, "Therefore, since the children share a common physical nature as human beings, he became like them and shared that same human nature; so that by his death he might render ineffective the one who had power over death (that is, the Adversary) 15 and thus set free those who had been in bondage all their lives because of their fear of death." (TCJB).

[5] The ransom was paid by Christ with his human life blood poured out in death:

John 10:11, ""I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." (TCJB).

Ephesians 1:7, " In union with him, through the shedding of his blood, we are set free - our sins are forgiven; this accords with the wealth of the grace" (TCJB).

1 Peter 1:18-19, "You should be aware that the ransom paid to free you from the worthless way of life which your fathers passed on to you did not consist of anything perishable like silver or gold; 19 on the contrary, it was the costly bloody sacrificial death of the Messiah, as of a lamb without defect or spot." (TCJB).

Revelations 5:9, "and they sang a new song, "You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals; because you were slaughtered; at the cost of blood you ransomed for God persons from every tribe, language, people and nation." (TCJB).

[6] Christ died, not due to sin, but as a sacrifice on behalf of mankind;

Hebrews 7:26 & 9:25-26, "This is the kind of cohen gadol that meets our need - holy, without evil, without stain, set apart from sinners and raised higher than the heavens; " & "Further, he did not enter heaven to offer himself over and over again, like the cohen hagadol who enters the Holiest Place year after year with blood that is not his own; 26 for then he would have had to suffer death many times - from the founding of the universe on. But as it is, he has appeared once at the end of the ages in order to do away with sin through the sacrifice of himself." (TCJB).

1 John 4:10, "Here is what love is: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the kapparah for our sins." (TCJB).

1 Peter 2:22, "who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:" (ASV).

[7] After Christ was resurrected, he presented the value of his sacrifice to his Father, Almighty God (YHWH), in heaven:

Hebrews 9:11-12 & 24, " But Christ having come a high priest of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, 12 nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption. " & " For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us:" (ASV).

Ephesians 5:2, "and walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odor of a sweet smell." (ASV).

Romans 8:34, "who is he that condemneth? It is Christ Jesus that died, yea rather, that was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." (ASV).

[8] The Purpose and benefits of the ransom:

Isaiah 53:12, "Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors: yet he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." (ASV).

Hebrews 2:9, "But we do see Yeshua - who indeed was made for a little while lower than the angels - now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by God's grace he might taste death for all humanity. " (TCJB).

Galatians 1:4, "who gave himself for our sins, so that he might deliver us from the present evil world-system, in obedience to the will of God, our Father." (TCJB).

CONCLUSION:

So as we can see, those who claim he did not die or a ransom for the wrong committed by Adam are in gross error.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIBLE AND RELIGION – BOTH TRUE AND FALSE – AT   WWW.JW.ORG

COMBINATION OF [1]  THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND A VIDEO OF AN INTRODUCTION TO ESTER, [2]  DISCOURSE ON QUICK PROOF THAT THE BIBLE IS DIVINELY INSPIRED:

[1]       SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [544Ba]

That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.  Proverbs 22:19,  [authorized King James Bible; AV]

We must trust in Almighty God (YHWH) and not be haughty as stated at Proverbs 18:12, [AV] “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.”  Yes we must have a reverent fear of the Lord per Psalma 34:9, [AV] “O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.”   So per James 4:10, [AV] “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”

VIEW A VIDEO FO AN INTRODUCTION TO ESTER, AT:  https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/esther-introduction/ 

[2]       DISCOURSE ON QUICK PROOF THAT THE BIBLE IS DIVINELY INSPIRED:

INTRODUCTION:

The proof that the Bible is divinely inspired, unlike Bible knockoffs, is found in the Bible and confirmed by secular history and archeology as you well should know.   The Bible was written by over 40 divinely inspired men whom the Creator, God (YHWH), the actual author of the Bible but not the knockoffs, inspired these faithful men to put his thoughts into the words of men.   Another proof of course is the amazing candor found in the Bible which is entirely out of line with all other ancient books in which the prophets such as Jonah even recorded their own shortcomings and wrong doings instead of covering them up as was the standard practice of rulers and the false prophets in ancient times.

You will NOT find this candor and honesty in other ancient religious books such as the Rib Veda, the Egyptian Book of the Dead, Urial, etc.   Nor will you find it in the Bible knockoffs such as the Book of Morman-Joseph Smith never listed his shortcomings, the Quran-Muhammed never listed his shortcomings, the Writings of David Korash of the Branch Dividians-David Korash never listed his shortcomings, etc.   Why?   Because these were all writings of men and/or of things they had copied from the Bible in distorted form, and not by divinely inspired scribes as were the writers of the Bible who in effect were just secretaries so to speak of the Creator, God (YHWH).

SOME FAIL TO COMPREHEND THE BIBLE WHILE USING BIBLE KNOCKOFFS:

Now with regard to how other none divinely inspired writers such as Joseph Smith and Muhammed 'borrowed' from the Bible is clear when you read either of their work products, i.e., the Book of Mormon or the Quran.   With respect the work product of David Korash, unlike the others, he did give credit to the source for his work.   Now let's look at a passage in the Bible and the equivalent passage in the Quran so this borrowing with out credit can be clearly seen.  Let's look at Luke 1:35, "And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God." (American Standard Version; ASV).  Now let's look at the 'borrowed' passage in the Quran at Sura 3:47, "She said, "My Lord, how can I have a son, when no man has touched me?" He said, "GOD thus creates whatever He wills. To have anything done, He simply says to it, `Be,' and it is."

Interestingly although both the Quran's  'Be' and the Bible's (in some translations only) overshadow both refer to exactly the same thing, but use different words, some Muslims do not comprehend this and think overshadow has bad connotations which of course it does not. Both these passages refer to God's (YHWH) using his active force or power referred to in the Bible as Spirit or Holy Spirit to implant the life force of his only begotten Son, that we know as Jesus (Yeshua) into the womb of the virgin Mary as recorded in Matthew 1:18-25, "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. 20 But when he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for it is he that shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, And they shall call his name Immanuel; which is, being interpreted, God with us. 24 And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took unto him his wife; 25 and knew her not till she had brought forth a son: and he called his name JESUS." (ASV). Now some may not understand just what this force or power of God (YHWH) is so here is a brief explanation.

WHAT FORCE OVERSHADOWED MARY?

Now let's get an understanding of what this power or Spirit or Holy Spirit of God's (YHWH's) is his active force or power and emanates from him and is a force completely controlled by him, and is capable of giving him feedback and gathering for him information. 

But first let's see why the Spirit is indeed God's (YHWH's) active force or power from an understanding of the ancient word 'pneu'ma' translated Spirit or Holy Spirit in English.  The neuter Koine Greek word for spirit (pneu'ma) is used with the neuter pronoun "it" since it is lacks gender.   This fact is conveniently over looked or hidden by most Trinitarian translators of the Bible as admitted in the  "New American Bible Catholic Bible,"  regarding John 14:17: "The Greek word for 'Spirit' is neuter, and while we use personal pronouns in English ('he,' 'his,' 'him'), most Greek MSS [manuscripts] employ 'it.'"   So when the Bible uses masculine personal pronouns in connection with pa·ra'kle·tos at John 16:7, 8, it is conforming to rules of grammar, not expressing a doctrine.   And in Ancient Hebrew the word here rendered Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, or Spirit which is translated from 'ru'ach' meaning "breath; wind; spirit."   In Latin, it is spiritus, and in Sanskrit, 'prana' which means both "breath" and "spirit."  And the pertinent definition in the Funk & Wagnalls Standard College Dictionary (ISBN 0-308-10309-2 and 0-308-10310-6) clearly states, (4) <Often Cap.> In the Bible, the creative, animating power or divine influence of God...[etymology-[<Old French, 'espirit' <Latin, 'spiritus' bredth, spirit <'spirare' to breathe].  So we can see it, the Holy Spirit or Spirit is truly God's (YHWH's) active force or power and not a spirit being as are Almighty God (YHWH) and his Son, Jesus (Yeshua).  This point is very well made in the New International Version at Luke 1:35, "The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[1] the Son of God." (The New International Version; NIV). Sure shows that the Holy Spirit is nothing but God's (YHWH's) active force.

Now from the study of science and technology we know that with respect a force there can be four possibilities or possibly five applicable questions, which are as follows:

(1) Is it an uncontrolled force?

(2) Is it a controlled force?

(3)  Is it controlled, but without feedback?

(4)  Is it controlled, but with feedback?

Is it direct or indirect feedback?

However 1 Corinthians 2:10-12 shows it to be a controlled force with feedback that appears to be direct feedback, "But unto us God revealed [them] through the Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11 For who among men knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of the man, which is in him? even so the things of God none knoweth, save the Spirit of God. 12 But we received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from God; that we might know the things that were freely given to us of God." (American Standard Version; ASV), clearly showing that the "spirit which is from God,"  and God "revealed [them] through the Spirit," and uses it to search all things, thus showing it is a controlled spirit capable of feedback.  God (YHWH) has complete control over his power or force and can choose its fields of operations as testified to at Romans 8:14, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." (ASV) clearly showing he can use to lead individuals and that it belongs to him.   And John 16:13 clearly shows it as a force, "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth: for he shall not speak from himself; but what things soever he shall hear, these shall he speak: and he shall declare unto you the things that are to come." Since it is quite clear that it is a controlled force, "shall not speak from himself; but what things soever he shall hear, these shall he speak,"

Clearly it is a controlled force used by God (YHWH) to do many things as testified to at Acts 10:19-20, "While Peter was meditationg on the vision, the Spirit said to him, 'There are two men looking for you.  20 Get up and go down, and without hesitation go on with them, for I have sent them.'" (The New Testament by Charles B. Williams); And the fact that it is a closely controlled force is further affirmed at Acts 16:6, "And the Spirit bade me go with them, making no distinction. And these six brethren also accompanied me; and we entered into the man's house:" (ASV); And at Acts 13:2-4, "And as they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. 3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.  4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus." (ASV); And at Acts 15:28, "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:" (ASV) clearly indicating direct feedback to and response by God (YHWH); which is further shown by Ephesians 4:30, "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, in whom ye were sealed unto the day of redemption" (ASV) which once more indicates that is gives direct feedback and it reacts to the feelings of God (YHWH) from which it emanates thus a tightly controlled force or power.

IMPORTANCE OF THE BIBLE:

But some may ask of what importance has the Bible been through the ages.  This will be done in 6 parts borrowed from "Civilization and the Bible."

1) Our entire civilization as we know it is actually built on the ability to store information in one form or another and to pass it on to others for their use. This storage can take many different forms such as books, memory cores and disks, scrolls, clay tablets, writings on stones and artifacts, etc. Storage of the repository of human knowledge and better reasoning ability are the things that set humankind apart from all other species that inhabits this planet. We know what happened in the past and can learn from the past because of our store of knowledge. Without this ability to store knowledge we would not know anything about the Roman Empire, the various ancient dynasties of the Chinese or the scientific findings of the past that we have built on and developed on in a synergistic way to continually advance. This sets us apart from all the other concurrent inhabiting species of this planet; take the common cat, this animal has coexisted with mankind during are entire existence, but it lacks the ability to pass on anything more than the most rudimentary information to the next generation and it has NOT advanced; we see no great cat cities or developments by this species and we never will.

2) Our advancement was made possible by this ability to build on our collective knowledge in a continuing progressive upward path. We name things and this name is accepted as valid my others and our knowledge is added to. Take for example the color we call red, why is it red? It is red only because we collectively decide to use this term for it and to reference it to artifacts such as color chips, vases, etc. that are that color. Could we prove anything is red apart from our collective knowledge of what is red and our artifacts? Definitely not since it is only red due to our collective knowledge and our artifacts. Without our collective knowledge and our artifacts we would be just like the lesser animals having only a here and now existence. Of course there are those among us that differ with our collective knowledge and question the obvious of what we know or have learned as a society. The Flat Earth Society (London and California) maintain that the earth is flat and not round and there are still some primitive people that believe the earth is not only flat but carried by a great turtle through the cosmos and also those who maintain man has never gone to the moon. However, are their beliefs reasonable in the light of knowledge accumulated by society and the artifacts now possessed by society, the answer is a resounding NO.

3) Also, are advancement is built on our ability to classify our knowledge. Many things are as we classify them. These classifications are not intrinsically right or wrong, but a method of ordering our collective knowledge into a coherent form for better understanding. In other words it is humanities attempt to take a group of disconnected information and put it into some order so we can better understand it. Of course one can disagree with classifications used and maintain that standard classifications are inadequate in one way or another, but he/she does thins strictly on the basis of the collective body of human knowledge. For example, take the classifications of several forms of deviant sex, pedophile, homosexual, and heterosexual deviant sex practitioner. Our collective knowledge is that a heterosexual relates to one who has sexual desires toward a member of the opposite gender; a homosexual relates to one who has sexual desires toward a member of his own gender; Pedophilia relates to a sexual perversion in which children, either sex, are the preferred sexual object. Now one could maintain that pedophilias are neither homosexual or heterosexual deviant sex practitioners as they are driven by different behavior motivations, i.e., power and control in addition to sex, than deviant sex practitioners who prefer adults. While their behavior motivations are different, they, depending on the gender of the victim and the perpetrator would be either heterosexual pedophiles or homosexual pedophiles; note, as previously mentioned this classification is apart from the differences in underlying motivation due to how we have collectively set up the classification in our collective body of knowledge.

4) Since God created us and everything else in the universe and new our makeup since he had made us, he caused men under his direction or inspiration to write a collective body of information to tell us of his requirements, laws and principles; of the history of his people with whom he had concluded a covenant with; to tell us salient items to occur in the future, prophecy; and to inspire us. For example, the history given in the Bible was intended to show how when his people kept his laws and principles all went well with them and when they disobeyed how he brought punishment on them. This history also showed how punishment was executed on wicked nations before our modern era. All this was for the purpose of adding to our collective knowledge so we could learn from it and act in an intelligent manner on it if we were so disposed. Whereas, prophecy, the foretelling of history in advance, had basically a two fold purpose of first advising us of what would happen in the future and in most cases why and the second was so we would indeed know that his addition to our collective knowledge was indeed from him and the writers of it were indeed inspired. In fact, one mathematician once took the hundred of scriptures in the old testament concerning Jesus, prophecy related to him, and calculated that the possibility of them all being fulfilled by coincidence was so great as to be mathematically impossible.

In addition to prophecy to show the Bible is inspired and from God is the many recorded eyewitness accounts recorded in the Bible and elsewhere that relate to the life and times of Jesus. For example, the accounts written by Josephus, a first century Jewish historian employed by the Romans, clearly acknowledge Jesus (see "The Jewish Antiguities" by Josephus) and many of his activities/accomplishments as do other contemporary historians such as Tacitus, a Roman historian in "The complete works of Tacitus, " and numerous others. "The New Encyclopedia Britannica states: "These independent accounts prove that in ancient times even the opponents of Christianity never doubted the historicity of Jesus." The Jews, however, did not accept Jesus and the "Encyclopaedia Judaica says, "The Jews of the Roman period believed [the Messiah] would be raised up by God to break the yoke of the heather..." but they did admit his existance and many of the powerful works he did.

5) Some specific examples of its inspiration were the prophecy at Jeremiah 49:17-18 17 "Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof. 18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it." Note, Jeremiah's recording was finished by 580 B.C. The prophecy was fulfilled when the Edomites were driven from Palesting during the 2nd century B.C. by Judam Maccabaeus, "The New Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia. There are many more examples such as this that can be found in reference books in all major libraries for any who should care to do further research in the repository of collective knowledge of our civilization.

6) Therefore the Bible is proved as reliable by are repository of collective artifacts, many from archeological discoveries, that verify Biblical facts and details, and our collective repository of recorded knowledge external to the Bible. As previously noted this can be checked out at any major library with a little research on the part of any interested individual who wishes to do his/her homework. [source - Civilization and the Bible  by Iris the Preacher 2001].

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIBLE AND RELIGION  - BOTH TRUE AND  FALSE – AT   WWW.JW.ORG