What is the true Religion?
A few years ago I
met a wise man who told me He knew the truth about God, life, the universe and
everything but He wouldn’t tell me what it was. Instead he said (with a twinkle
in his eye) this truth was written in my heart and after he told me a short
story I would tell him the answer. It went something like this: Imagine you had been sent to prison for 20
years for a serious crime. Whilst incarcerated there over the years you had
seen the dark and disturbing sides to human nature. So much so that by the time
your release date came around you were ready to leave behind your past and
begin a new life. When the day arrives you find yourself walking down towards
the prison gates and there stood before you are two men. One is tall, dark and
handsome, wearing an Armani suit, Italian designer shoes, sunglasses, with
slick back hair and an electric smile, basically a very flash sort of guy. And
he says to you “Welcome home after all this time, I am a friend of your
father’s and I want to make you an offer you cannot refuse. I can give you a
brand new start with power, riches and influence in this world...” and he
motions to the open door of the black limousine next to him. For a moment you
consider what he has said as images of wealth, a nice house, sports car,
travelling, beach holidays, parties, food and drink, immediately flash through
your mind. “I could do with a little R+R and better luck” you say to yourself
after all this time. But before you reply you look at the second man. Now he is
small, dowdily dressed, with clothes that don’t match, uncombed hair, and
overgrown beard but he has honest eyes and a warm smile. He doesn’t say
anything to you, but all at a sudden jumps in front of you just in time to
catch the bullet aimed at you from the gangsters across the street you were
involved with before you went to prison who were waiting to get their revenge.
And he dies in your arms so you can live. The question is, the same question I
was asked years ago: which out of the two men do you trust the most?
Have a think about that for a minute before
reading on….
If you chose the
man I think you did this is because the truth is written on your heart with
tongues of fire by God’s holy angels. God is love and He does not send any soul
into this world without knowing how to recognize him in action. To prove my
point if you ask a Jew, a Buddhist, a Muslim, a Hindu or a Christian the same
question 99% of them will choose the same man you did. Why is that? Well at the
level of the heart we all intuitively recognize the fundamental law of the
universe: self-sacrificing love. Exactly what the Son of God Jesus Christ came
to teach us. This is why 99% of the human race at the level of their heart, whether
they know it or not, are Christ-ians (followers of God’s self-sacrificing
love). Despite their hearts telling them this, many remain understandably
confused in their heads about their own religious heritage and family
loyalties. Take a mother and a baby for instance. Everything she does for her
child is a labour of loving self-sacrifice. This is Christ in action. It is the
right thing to do. You know it without even needing to think about it. It’s the
same with religion and why we are here on earth. Christianity is hardwired into
our souls. It would have to be because there can only be one God from whom all
men and women proceed and so we carry this legacy of our common Father in our
hearts…This way of self-sacrificing love written on the hearts of all mankind
and evident in poignant moments of our own lives is quite the opposite of doing
our own selfish thing, getting what we want or running after self-fulfilment
and personal enjoyment. And if this is true and selfishness is the opposite of
self-sacrificing love then reason states that it can’t be coming from God. But
if it is not coming from God, then where is it coming from...?
Without wanting to
alienate anyone reading this or the good aspects to the religions they belong
to lets ask ourselves some simple questions:
The
Jewish religion, Judaism, has at its heart the hope of the coming of a
liberating political messiah and king who will give the Jewish people ruler
ship of the whole world and everlasting prosperity in the name of God. Does
this sound more like the worldly promises of the first man or the
self-sacrificing love of the second do you think?
The
Muslim religion, Islam has at its heart a similar project of conquering the world
for Islam to bring about the religious supremacy for all its adherents. Again
does this sound like the worldly promises of the first man or the
self-sacrificing actions of the second?
The
Hindu religion has at its heart the pantheistic veneration of God in worldly
created things, men, animals, the sun, the weather and even avatars in the form
of men and women. Does this worship of
the things of this world have more to do with the worldly promises of the first
man or the self-sacrificing love of the second man do you think?
Buddhist
spirituality is a system of self-mastery, ethics and mental meditation
techniques designed to extinguish all human desires in order to withdraw oneself
from the sufferings of this world. But does this flight from suffering of
Buddhism have more to do with the worldly promises of the first man or the
self-sacrificing love of the second man who embraced suffering so you could
live?
Christian
spirituality has at its heart Jesus Christ, the word of God Almighty having
assumed a weakened human nature out of compassion for His creatures who
sacrifices Himself to pay for their sins. Again does this compassionate
suffering have more to do with the worldly promises of the first man or the
self-sacrificing love of the second
Which of these
spiritualities is written on your
heart in light of the man you trusted the most?
Again have a think about it for a minute
before reading on…
But there are
good people in all religions aren’t there?
Lets imagine for
a second that you are travelling to London, you take a wrong turn and find
yourself stranded in the countryside of Coventry. In your confusion, you raise
a quick prayer to God for help and watch and wait. Not long after a station
wagon pulls up beside you with a father, mother and her 6 sons in the back
wondering if they can help. Upon explaining your situation you discover that
each of her sons has a different set of directions to London but what you don’t
know is that only one of them will get you to your destination. Only the father
of the family knows which set of directions is the right one. But He is silent
and each of his sons is passionately trying to persuade you that their set of
directions is the right one to follow. Now remember, they are all nice boys,
but you need to get to London. The Father would not be doing a very good job as
head of the house if he did not gently but firmly silence the squabbling sons
for just long enough to send the one with the right information to your window
to give you the directions would he? Well it’s the same with religion…
Look at it
another way. Imagine the desire of a loving father to be reunited with his estranged
son who was separated from him, let’s say, during wartime evacuations. The son may
have been raised over the years by different foster parents without ever coming
to know him. But his natural father has every right to make himself known to
his offspring. The same is true with the
great controversy in the heavens where Almighty God the Father had wonderfully
created the universe and all the angels in it, and one rebellious angel started
going around taking credit for creating it by sowing weeds among His wheat
seedlings and setting up religions to himself. How much more then should the rights
of God the father prevail in reaching out to men misled by false religions?
Has
God actually sent his own Son to show us the way?
Read
the following passage of scripture for a minute and think about where you would
find it, who it refers to and MOST IMPORTANTLY when it was written..?
“He was wounded
for our iniquities; he was bruised for our sins: the chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and by his bruises we are healed. All like sheep have gone
astray, every one hath turned aside into his own way, and the Lord hath laid
upon him the iniquity of us all. He was offered because it was his own will and
he opened not his mouth; he shall be led like a sheep to the slaughter, and
shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer, and he shall not open his mouth”
This piece of scripture was actually a
prophecy written by the prophet Isaiah dated 800 years before the coming of
Christ. (Isaiah 53:5) It makes you
think doesn’t it…
Some people claim that Jesus Christ was just
a man who founded another world religion. But there is something strangely
unique about Him not shared by Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Confucius, Buddha,
Mohammed, Bahá'u'lláh or the leaders of other religions. His divine nature,
birthplace, home town, life, programme of his mission, His betrayal,
sufferings, redemptive death, resurrection and ascension to heaven were all
pre-announced in precise detail many hundreds of years before. If Jesus Christ
was a fraud we have to ask ourselves how could He have engineered His
birthplace, the starry sign in the heavens above it to mark the occasion or His
name Yeshua (Jesus) when He had no control over where He was born or his parents
decisions? Or what about the afflictions He endured and the manner of his
death, would a fraud go to these lengths to ensure fame? The book of psalms
written by the Jewish King David say that the messiah will be pierced through
his hands and feet for sin, centuries before the Romans even invented
crucifixion as a punishment.
According to the mathematician Dr Peter
Stoner the odds of fulfilling just 48 of the hundreds of Old Testament
prophecies like these about the messiah in one lifetime is 1 chance in 1 x 10144
chances. Given that 1 x 10144 is a number larger than the number of
atoms in the universe, the probability of Jesus Christ fulfilling just 48 of
the ancient prophecies concerning the messiah in one lifetime would be less
likely than randomly selecting one pre-selected atom out of all
the atoms in the universe! And yet when examine the facts Jesus Christ
fulfilled them all and more. Read on for more….
|
Prophecy “The time is
coming – it is Yahweh who speaks – when I will forge a new covenant with the
people of Israel and Judah. It will not be like the one I made with their
ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt…I will put
my law within them and write it on their hearts…And they will not have to
teach each other, neighbour or brother, saying: “Know the Lord,” because they will know me from the
greatest to the lowliest, for I will forgive their wrongdoing and no
longer remember their sin” (Jeremiah 31:31-34). |
Fulfilment
“
And taking the chalice, he gave thanks and gave to them, saying: Drink ye all
of this. For this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed
for many unto remission of sins” (Matthew 26: 27-28). |
|
Prophecy A Light shall shine upon us this day: for
the Lord is born to us: And He shall be called Wonderful, God, Prince of
Peace, the Father of the world to come: of Whose reign there shall be no end”
(Isaiah 9: 2-6) |
Fulfilment
“And the angel said to them, ‘Do not be
afraid, for behold, I bring to news of great joy which shall be to all the
people; for today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you, who
is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign to you: you will find an
infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger’.” (Luke 2 : 10-14) |
|
Prophecy “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you
a sign. Behold a virgin shall be with child and bring forth a son and they
shall call his name Emmanuel which means God is with us” (Isaiah 7: 14). |
Fulfilment
“Now the
generation of Christ was in this wise. When as His Mother Mary was espoused
to Joseph before they came together and she was found with child of the
Holy Ghost” (Matthew 1: 18 – 25). |
|
Prophecy “I shall see him but not now: I shall
behold him, but not near. A Star shall rise out of Jacob and a sceptre
shall spring up from Israel and shall strike the chiefs of Moab and shall
waste all the children of Seth “ (Numbers 24: 17). |
Fulfilment
“He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most
High. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father: and
he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. And of his kingdom there
shall be no end.” (Luke 1: 34). |
|
Prophecy “The
sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh till He
come that is to be sent and he shall be the expectation of all nations”
(Genesis 49: 10). |
Fulfilment
“And Jesus Himself was
beginning about the age of thirty years being (as it was supposed) the son of
Joseph who was of Heli…. Who was of Aminadab who was of Aram who was of Esron
who was of Phares who was of Judas” (Luke 3: 23: 33). |
|
Prophecy “And there shall come forth a rod out of
the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon
him: the spirit of wisdom and of understanding the spirit of counsel and of
fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and of godliness. And He shall be filled with the spirit of
the fear of the Lord. He shall not
judge according to the sight of the eyes nor reprove according to the hearing
of the ears. But He shall judge the
poor with justice and shall reprove with equality the meek of the earth. And
He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and with the breath of
His lips He shall slay the wicked. And justice shall be the girdle of His
loins and faith the girdle of His reins”
(Isaiah 11: 1-5). |
Fulfilment
“The
book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of
Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac. And Isaac begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Judas
and his brethren…And Obed begot Jesse.” (Matthew 1: 1-5). |
|
Prophecy “Behold the days shall come saith the
Lord and I will raise up to David a just branch and a king shall reign
and shall be wise and shall execute judgement and justice in the earth”
(Jeremiah 23: 5). “For a child is born to us and a son is
given to us and the government is
upon his shoulder and His name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor God the
Mighty, The Father of the world to come, the prince of peace. His empire
shall be multiplied and there shall be no end of peace; He shall sit upon
the throne of David, and upon His kingdom; to establish it and strengthen
it with judgment and with justice from henceforth and for ever; the zeal of
the Lord of Hosts shall perform this” (Isaiah 9: 6-7). |
Fulfilment
“And Jesus Himself was
beginning about the age of thirty years being (as it was supposed) the son of
Joseph who was of Heli…Who was of Melea who was of Menna who was of
Mathatha who was of Nathan who was of David” (Luke 3: 23). |
|
Prophecy “And
thou Bethlehem Ephrata art a little one among the thousands of Juda: out of
thee shall come forth unto me that is to be the ruler in Israel: and His
going forth is from the beginning from the days of eternity” (Micah 5: 2). |
Fulfilment
“When Jesus therefore was born in
Bethlehem of Juda in the days of King Herod, behold there came wise men
from the east to Jerusalem” (Matthew 2: 1). |
|
Prophecy “The voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare
ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the wilderness the paths of our God
“ (Isaiah 40: 3). |
Fulfilment
“And in those
days cometh John the Baptist preaching in the desert of Judea and saying do penance
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by
Isaias the prophet saying: A voice of one crying in the desert: prepare ye
the way of the Lord, make straight His paths” (Matthew 3: 1-2). |
|
Prophecy “At the first time the land of Zabulon and
the land of Nepthali was lightly touched: and at the last the way of the sea
beyond the Jordan of the Galilee of the gentiles was heavily loaded. The people
that walked in darkness have seen as great light: to them that dwelt in the
region of the shadow of death, light is risen” (Isaiah 9: 1). |
Fulfilment
“And when Jesus had heard that John was
delivered up, he retired into Galilee: And leaving the city Nazareth He came
and dwelt in Capharnaum on the sea coast in the borders of Zabulon and
Nepthalim” (Matthew 4: 12-13). |
Speaking
in Gods name
|
Prophecy “I will
raise them up a prophet out of the midst of their brethren like to thee and I
will put my words in His mouth and He shall speak to them all that I shall
command Him. And He that will not hear His words which he shall speak in
my name I will be the revenger” (Deuteronomy 18: 18-19). |
Fulfilment
“For he whom God hath sent speaketh the
words of God: for God doth not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loveth the Son: and he hath
given all things into his hand. He that believeth in the Son hath life
everlasting: but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life: but the
wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3 : 33). |
All
things subject to Him
|
Prophecy “What is man
that thou art mindful him? Or the Son of man that thou visitest
Him? Thou hast made him a little less
than the angels, thou hast crowned Him with glory and honour and hast set
him over the works of thy hands. Thou hast subjected all things under His
feet, all sheep and oxen: moreover the beasts of the fields” (Psalms 8: 2 –
8). |
Fulfilment
“And Jesus coming
spoke to them saying: all power is given to me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:17.). |
|
Prophecy “The Lord said to my Lord: Sit thou at my
right hand: until I make thy enemies thy footstool. The Lord will send forth the
sceptre of thy power out of Sion: rule thou the midst of thy enemies. With
thee is the principality in the day of strength: in the brightness of the
saints: from the womb before the daystar I begot thee. The Lord hath sworn
and He will not repent: Thou art a priest forever according to the Order of
Melchizedech. The Lord at my right hand hath broken kings in the day of His
wrath. He shall judge among the nations, he shall fill ruins, He shall crush
the heads in the land of many” (Psalm 110: 1-6) |
Fulfilment
“Where the forerunner Jesus is entered for
us, made a high priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech” (Hebrews 6: 20). |
|
Prophecy “Take courage and fear not for your God
will bring the revenge of recompense. God Himself will come and save you.
Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf be free:
for waters are broken out in the desert and streams in the wilderness”
(Isaiah 35: 5, 6). |
Fulfilment
“And Jesus went about all the cities and
towns, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom and
healing every disease and every infirmity” (Matthew 9: 35). |
|
Prophecy “I will open my mouth in parables.: I will
utter propositions from the beginning” (Psalm 78: 2). |
Fulfilment
“All things Jesus spoke in
parables to the multitudes: and without parables He did not speak to them”
(Matthew 13: 34). |
|
Prophecy “Behold my servant I will uphold Him my elect, my soul
delighteth in him: I have given my spirit upon Him: He shall bring forth
judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry nor have respect to person,
neither shall His voice be heard abroad. The bruised seed He shall not
break, and smoking flax he shall not quench; He shall bring forth
judgement unto truth. He shall not be sad nor troublesome till He set
judgment in the earth and the islands shall wait for His law” (Isaiah 42:
1-4). |
Fulfilment
“Now
I Paul, myself beseech you, by the mildness and modesty of Christ: who
in presence indeed am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward
you” (2 Corinthians 10: 1-2). |
|
Prophecy “Rejoice greatly O daughter of Sion, shout
for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem: Behold thy King will come to thee, the
just and saviour: he is poor and riding on an ass and upon a colt the foal of
an ass” (Zechariah 9:9). |
Fulfilment
“And
the disciples going did as Jesus commanded them. And they brought the ass and
the colt and laid their garments upon them and made him sit thereon. And
a very great multitude spread their garments in the way and others cut boughs
from the trees and strewed them in the way. And the multitudes that went
before and that followed cried saying: Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed
is He that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest” (Matthew
21: 2-7). |
|
Prophecy “The kings of
the earth stood up and the princes met together against the Lord and against
His Christ…The Lord hath said to me: Thou art my son, this day I have
begotten thee. Ask of me and I will give thee the gentiles for thy
inheritance and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession” (Psalm 2:
2). “But the Lord shall arise upon thee and
His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall walk in thy light
and kings in the brightness of thy rising” (Isaiah 60: 3). “Behold my servant I will uphold Him my
elect, my soul delighteth in him: I have given my spirit upon Him: He shall
bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry nor have respect to
person, neither shall His voice be heard abroad. The bruised seed He shall
not break, and smoking flax he shall not quench; He shall bring firth
judgement unto truth. He shall not be sad nor troublesome till He set
judgment in the earth and the islands shall wait for His law” (Isaiah 42:
1-4). “And now saith the Lord, that formed me
from the womb to be His servant, that I may bring back Jacob unto Him and
Israel will not be gathered together and I am glorified in the eyes of the
Lord and my God is made my strength. And He said: It is a very small thing
that thou shoudst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to
convert the dregs of Israel. Behold I have given thee to be the light of the
Gentiles that thou mayest be my salvation even to the farthest parts of the
earth. Thus saith the Lord the redeemer of Israel, His Holy One, to the soul
that is despised, to the nation that is abhorred, to the servant of rulers:
Kings shall see and princes shall rise up, and adore for the Lord’s sake,
because He is faithful and for the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee” (Isaiah
49: 5-7). |
Fulfilment
“For so the Lord hath commanded us: I have set thee to be the
light of the gentiles that thou mayest be for salvation unto the utmost part
of the earth. And the gentiles hearing it, were glad and glorified the word
of the Lord; and as many as were ordained to life everlasting, believed. And
the word of God was published throughout the whole country” (Acts 13: 47-49
). |
|
Prophecy “Why
then is this people in Jerusalem turned away with a stubborn revolting? They
have laid hold on lying and have
refused to return. I attended and hearkened; no man speaketh what is good,
there is none that doth penance for his sin…How do you say: We are wise, and
the law of the Lord us with us? Indeed the lying pen of the scribes hath
wrought falsehood. The wise men are confounded, they are dismayed and taken:
for they have cast away the word of the Lord and there is no wisdom in
them….They are confounded because they have committed abomination…therefore
shall they fall among they that fall; IN THE TIME OF THEIR VISITATION THEY
SHALL FALL saith the Lord” (Jeremiah 8: 5-12) |
Fulfilment
“And
when He drew near, seeing the city, He wept over it saying: If thou hast
known and that in this thy day, the things that are to thy peace; but now
they are hidden from thy eyes. For the days shall come upon thee and thy
enemies shall cast a trench about thee and compass thee round and straiten
thee on every side. And beat thee flat to the ground and thy children who are
in thee: and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone: BECAUSE THOU
HAST NOT KNOWN THE TIME OF THY VISITATION” (Luke 19 41-44) |
|
Prophecy “For even the man of my peace in whom I
trusted, who ate my bread hath greatly supplanted me” (Psalm 41: 9). |
Fulfilment
“…and Judas Iscariot who betrayed Him”
(Matthew 10: 4). |
|
Prophecy “And
I said to them: If it be good in your eyes, bring hither my wages and if not
be quiet. And they weighed for my wages thirty pieces of silver” (Zechariah
11: 12). |
Fulfilment
“And said to them: what wilt you give me
and I will deliver him unto you? But they appointed him thirty pieces of
silver” (Matthew 26: 15). |
|
Prophecy “And the Lord said to me, cast it to the
statuary, a handsome price, that I was prized at by them. And I took the thirty
pieces of silver and cast them into the house of the Lord to the statuary”
(Zachariah 11: 13). |
Fulfilment
“And
casting down the pieces of silver in the temple he departed” (Matthew 27: 5).
|
|
Prophecy “And the Lord said to me, cast it to the
statuary, a handsome price, that I was prized at by them. And I took the
thirty pieces of silver and cast them into the house of the Lord to the
statuary” (Zachariah 11: 13). (Statutory is synonymous with potter) |
Fulfilment
“and after they had consulted together
they bought with them the potter’s field to be a burying place for strangers”
(Matthew 27: 7). |
|
Prophecy “Awake O sword against my shepherd and against
the man that cleaveth to me saith the lord of hosts: strike the shepherd and
the sheep shall be scattered” (Zechariah 13: 7). |
Fulfilment
“Now all this was done that the scriptures
of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then the disciples all leaving Him,
fled”(Matthew 26: 56). |
|
Prophecy “Unjust witnesses rising up have asked me
things I knew not; They repaid me evil for good to the depriving me of my soul”
(Psalm 35: 11). |
Fulfilment
“And the chief priests and the whole
council sought false witness against Jesus that they might put Him to death.
And they found not whereas many false witnesses had come in.” (Matthew 26: 59
– 60). |
|
Prophecy “He was offered because it was His own
will and He opened not His mouth: He shall be lead as a sheep to the
slaughter and shall be dumb as a lamb before His shearer and he shall not
open his mouth” (Isaiah 53: 7). |
Fulfilment
“And
when He was accused by the chief priests and ancients he answered
nothing” (Matthew 27: 12). |
|
Prophecy “Who a hath
believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? And he
shall grow up as a tender plant before him, and as a root out of a thirsty
ground: there is no beauty in him, nor comeliness: and we have seen him, and
there was no sightliness, that we should be desirous of him: Despised, and the most abject of men, a
man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity: and his look was as it were
hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our
infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought him as it were a
leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our
iniquities, he was bruised for our sins: the chastisement of our peace was
upon him, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone
astray, every one hath turned aside into his own way: and the Lord hath laid
on him the iniquity of us all. He was offered because it was his own will,
and he opened not his mouth: he shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and
shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer, and he shall not open his mouth.
He was taken away from distress, and from judgment: who shall declare his
generation? because he is cut off out of the land of the living: for the
wickedness of my people have I struck him. And he shall give the ungodly for
his burial, and the rich for his death: because he hath done no iniquity,
neither was there deceit in his mouth. And the Lord was pleased to bruise him
in infirmity: if he shall lay down his life for sin, he shall see a
long-lived seed, and the will of the Lord shall be prosperous in his hand.
Because his soul hath laboured, he shall see and be filled: by his knowledge
shall this my just servant justify many, and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore will I distribute to him very many, and he shall divide the spoils
of the strong, because he hath delivered his soul unto death, and was reputed
with the wicked: and he hath borne the sins of many, and hath prayed for the
transgressors”(Isaiah 53) |
Fulfilment
“The next day, John saw Jesus coming to
him; and he saith: Behold the Lamb of God. Behold him who taketh away the sin
of the world… The next day again John stood and two of his disciples. And
beholding Jesus walking, he saith: Behold the Lamb of God” (John 1: 29). |
Beaten,
wounded, spat on.
|
Prophecy “I have given my body to the strikers and my
cheeks to them that plucked them: I have not turned away my face from them
that rebuked me and spit upon me” (Isaiah 50: 6) |
Fulfilment
“Then they spit in His face and buffeted
Him and others struck His face with the palm of their hands” (Matthew 26: 67). |
|
Prophecy “They have dug my hands and my feet. They
have numbered all my bones” Psalm 22: 16). |
Fulfilment
“And when they came to the place called
Calvary they crucified Him there” (Luke 23: 33). |
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Prophecy “Therefore will I distribute to Him very
man and He shall divide the spoils of the strong, because He hath delivered
his soul unto death and was reputed with the wicked and He hath borne the
sins of many and hath prayed for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53: 12). |
Fulfilment
“Then they crucified with Him two thieves
one on the right hand and one on the left” (Matthew 27: 38). |
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Prophecy “And after 62 weeks Christ shall be slain and
the people that shall deny him shall not be His. And a people with their
leader that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary and the end
thereof shall be waste and after the war the appointed desolation” (Daniel 9:
25-27) |
Fulfilment
“And when they were come to the place
which is called Calvary they crucified Him there and the robbers one on the
right hand and one on the left” (Luke 23: 33). |
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Prophecy “They have parted my garments amongst them
and upon my vesture they have cast lots” (Psalm 22: 18). |
Fulfilment
“The soldiers therefore when they had
crucified Him took His garments and they made four parts to every solider a part,
and also His coat. Now the coast was without seam woven from the top
throughout. They said then one to another: Let us not cut it but cast lots
for it whose it shall be” (John 19: 23-24). |
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Prophecy “And they gave me gall for my food and in
my thirst they gave my vinegar to drink” (Psalm 69: 71). |
Fulfilment
“And they gave Him wine to drink mingled
with gall. And when He had tasted he would not drink….And immediately one of
them running took a sponge and filled it with vinegar and put it on a reed
and gave him to drink” (Matthew 27: 34:, 48). |
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Prophecy “O God my God look upon me why hast thou
forsaken me?” (Psalm 22: 1). |
Fulfilment
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with
a loud voice Eli Eli Lamma Sabacathani? That is, My God, My God why hast thou
forsaken me?” (Matthew 27: 46). |
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Prophecy “Many are the afflictions of the just but out
of them all will the Lord deliver them. The Lord keepeth all their bones not
one of them shall be broken” (Psalm 34: 20). |
Fulfilment
Then the Jews because it was the Parasceve
that the bodies might not remain up on the cross on the Sabbath day for that
was a great Sabbath day bes`ought Pilate that their legs might be broken and
that they might be taken away. The soldiers therefore came and they broke the
legs of the first and the other that was crucified with Him. But after they
were come to Jesus they saw that He was already dead, they did not break his
legs” (John 19: 31-33). |
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Prophecy “And I shall pour out upon the house of
David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of prayers
and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for
Him as one mourneth for an only son and they shall grieve over as the manner
is to grieve over the firstborn” (Zechariah 12: 10). |
Fulfilment
“But one of the soldiers with a spear
opened His side and immediately there came out blood and water” (John 19:
34). |
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Prophecy “And it shall come to pass that in that day,
saith the Lord God that the sun shall do down at midday and I will make the
earth dark in the day of light” (Amos 8: 9). |
Fulfilment
“Now from the sixth hour there was
darkness over the whole earth until the ninth hour” (Matthew 27: 45). |
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Prophecy “And He shall give the ungodly for His
burial and the rich for His death because He hath done no iniquity neither
was there deceit in his mouth”
(Isaiah 53: 9). |
Fulfilment
“And when it was evening there came a
certain rich man of Arimathea named Joseph who also Himself was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate
and asked the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded that the body should be
delivered. And Joseph taking the body wrapped it up in a clean linen cloth.
And laid it in his own new monument which he had hewed out in a rock.”
(Matthew 27: 57 – 60). |
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Prophecy “Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell;
nor wilt thou give thy holy one to see corruption”(Psalm 16: 10). |
Fulfilment
“Foreseeing this he spoke of the
resurrection of Christ. For neither was He left in hell, neither did His
flesh see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised again whereof we are all
witnesses” (Acts 2: 31). |
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Prophecy “The Lord is among them in the Holy place
in Sinai. Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive; thou
hast received gifts in men” (Psalm 68: 18). |
Fulfilment
“And when he had said these things while
they looked on He was raised up and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
And while they were beholding Him going up to heaven behold two men stood by
them in white garments” (Acts 1: 9). |
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Prophecy “And I beheld therefore the vision of the
night, and lo, one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven and he
came even to the Ancient of days: and they presented him before him. And he gave
Him power and glory and a kingdom and all peoples, tribes and tongues shall
serve Him, His power is an everlasting power that shall not be taken away:
and His kingdom that shall not be destroyed”( Daniel 7: 14). |
Fulfilment
At the end of the age… |
Jesus Christ was
the Divine God-man unlike the founders of other religions…
So I know the universal law of
self-sacrifice is inscribed on my heart which tells me where the true religion
is to be found, that this is God’s law of love that Christ showed us on the
cross, that His coming was foretold in many places in the Old testament and
fulfilled to the letter in the New Testament, but how do I know Christ was God?
Could He not have just been a messenger or wise leader like the founders of
other big religions like Buddha, Krishna, Mohammed…? Read on for more…
“For a child is born to us, and
a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder: and his name
shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, GOD the Mighty, the Father of
the world to come, the Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)
Again this was
wrriten by the same Old Testament prophet Isaiah 800 years before Christ said
anything about Himself. It tells us that the ancient prophets or messengers of
God who foretold the birth, life and sacrifice of the way-shower would in
fact be God Himself united to a human nature. That only God’s own sacrifice
for sin, the Divine Lamb, would be enough to redeem the whole race of fallen
men. We know this because Christ Himself says He is God….
“Philip said to him: Lord, show us the
Father and it is enough for us. Jesus saith to him: Have I been so long a time
with you; and you have not known me? Philip, He Who Has Seen Me Has Seen The
Father. Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in
me?” (John 14:9).
His followers
also hailed Him as God in human form. His closest Apostle St.John begins his
life story of Christ in this way
“In the beginning was the
word, and the word was with God, AND THE WORD WAS GOD. The same was in the beginning with God. All
things were made by him: and without him was made nothing that was made. In him
was life, and the life was the light of men….AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH,
AND DWELT AMONG US (and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only
begotten of the father), full of grace and truth.” (John 1: 14).
Christ
refers to His own Divine pre-existence to the creation of the universe with God
and as the Godhead.
“Father I will that where I am they also whom Thou hast given Me
may be with Me; that they may see My glory which Thou hast given Me, Because
Thou Hast Loved Me Before The Creation Of The World” (John 17: 24).
“And
Now Glorify Thou Me, O Father With Thyself, With The Glory Which I Had Before
The World Was, With Thee” (John 17: 5)
And St.Paul his
preacher to the rest of the world refers to Him in the same reverential terms…
“We wait for the blessed hope -
the glorious appearing of Our Great GOD And SAVIOUR, Jesus Christ”
(Titus 2:13)
“Whose are the fathers, and of
whom is Christ, according to the flesh, who is over all things, GOD Blessed
For Ever. Amen.”(Romans 9:5)
More later….
To
find out how to be SAVED read the following short Catholic
Presentations….
1. Does God believe in atheists?
2. What is the true religion? (You are Here)
3. Finding
the true Church of Christ
4. Are you going to Heaven or Hell?
5. Catholic Presentation on Hell
6. The Good News and the Bad News