Christmas Eve, almost Christmas Day - it's 11:44 pm as I begin to write this.
Those who celebrate Christmas do so for different reasons. To some it is a gift giving and getting holiday without any religious connotations. To others it's a very religious celebration of the day Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son was born. And still others keep the day knowing that it isn't the ACTUAL birthdate of Jesus Christ, but rather a day that was originally celebrated by pagans who worshipped the sun, celebrating the days growing longer once more after daylight growing shorter and shorter. When Christianity started to spread it mingled with pagan holidays- yes, more than one Christian holiday has pagan origins. Christians rebranded the celebration and substituted Christ's birth for sun worship.
I fall into the category of celebrating Christmas fully aware of the pagan origins of the day. I do NOT worship any pagan god, I do not worship the sun in any way- MY CREATOR, created that sun, I have no need to worship it at all, I worship MY CREATOR, the creator of the sun. I choose to celebrate the family aspects of Christmas and I choose to recognize that people want to celebrate the birth of the Savior, but I'll never say He was born on that day- but rather the day we choose to use as His birth date, not the actual day- and I'll say that IF I'm asked, or choose to write about it as I'm doing right now. I don't force God on anyone, I witness as He leads me to do so.
Have a blessed Christmas celebration as you allow it to hopefully remind you of our Lord and His greatest gift of all to mankind, Himself!
The follow excerpt is a very important truth that 131 years ago people didn't want to hear, and guess what, they still don't want to hear it- in fact maybe even more so today than 131 years ago. It's truth and if you want TRUTH, you'll study each and every verse given in this study. You'll pray for your eyes to be opened, for the Holy Spirit to guide you only to truth, I pray for this because I will always need the Holy Spirit to guide me, always!
The study will be in several parts, not sure how many at this point, but the following is only an excerpt.
God bless you! God bless us all! All through the amazing love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, now and forever! Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Father God! Thank you, Holy Spirit!
Amen!!!!!!!
1Jn 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jn 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
1Jn 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
*****
(EXCERPT) (Written 131 years ago)
The Immortality of the Soul, Is it a Scriptural Doctrine?
BY A. T. JONES.
[Pacific Press Publishing Association] [Oakland, Calif.] [September 1890]
[Bible Students' Library No. 70]
The doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul is one of the oldest and one
of the most widespread doctrines that has ever been in this world. It was
preached in the world before ever faith in Christ the Saviour was preached.
"The serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die;" and from that day to this that doctrine has been believed more generally by the children of men than has the truth of God.
Indeed, in our day the doctrine of the immortality of the soul has gained such favor among even those who profess the word of God as their standard of belief, that to deny it is considered by the majority of them as equivalent to a denial of the Bible itself.
But, instead of such denial being in any way a denial of the truth of revelation, the fact is that the truth of revelation can be logically and consistently held only by the total and unequivocal denial of the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul. This, the Scriptures plainly show.
I. THE RESURRECTION
There is no truth more plainly taught nor more diligently insisted upon in the
Bible than this: That the future existence of men depends absolutely upon either a resurrection of the dead or a translation without seeing death at all.
Paul's hope for future existence was in the resurrection of the dead. In speaking of his efforts to "win Christ," he says: "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." Phil 3:10, 11.
It was of "the hope and resurrection of the dead" that he was called in question by the council (Acts 23:6); and when he had afterward to make his defense before Felix, he declared that the resurrection of the dead was the end of his hope, saying: "And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust." Acts 24:15
Time and again Paul thus expresses his hope of future life. Nor is Paul the only one of the writers of the Bible who teaches the same thing. The resurrection of the dead is that to which Job looked for the consummation of his hope. Job 14:14, 15; 17:13-15; 19:23-27.
Job 14:14 If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.
Job 14:15 Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.
Job 17:13 If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness.
Job 17:14 I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister.
Job 17:15 And where is now my hope? as for my hope, who shall see it?
Job 19:23 Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!
Job 19:24 That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!
Job 19:25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
Job 19:26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
Job 19:27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.
David says: "Thou which hast showed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken [give life to] me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth." Ps. 71:20. And, "As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness." Ps. 17:15
And what shall we more say? For the time would fail us to tell of Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and Daniel, and Hosea, and Micah, and all the prophets and apostles, and of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for Jesus himself declared that it was the resurrection of the dead of which God spake when he said, "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."
More than this, Jesus pointed his disciples always to the resurrection of the dead, through which alone they could obtain the reward which he promised. In John 6:39-54 we find that no less than four times the Saviour, in giving promise to those who believe in him, sets it forth as the consummation of
that belief that "I will raise him up at the last day."
And in Luke 14:13, 14 we read: "When thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind; and . . . thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."
Paul, however, gives us, upon this subject, a straight-forward, logical argument, which leaves the doctrine of the immortality of the soul not a particle of ground to rest upon. The fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians is devoted entirely to an argument in proof of the resurrection of the dead. The apostle first proves, by hundreds of living witnesses who had seen him after he was risen, that Christ arose from the dead. Still there were some who said, "There is no resurrection of the dead," and in refutation of that idea, he introduces three points of argument, any one of which utterly excludes the doctrine of the immortality of the soul from any place whatever in Christian doctrine.
To be continued…
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