Passion 4 Him

( Disclaimer: Dave Hunt believes the Old Testament saints will ALSO accompany the Church at the Second Coming. I have not yet come to that conclusion, but I remain open )  At the end of Revelation 19, the Second Coming of Christ in power and glory to destroy Antichrist (as in 2 Thessalonians  2:8) is described, and we are told that “the armies which were in  heaven followed him... clothed in fine linen, white and clean”  (verse 14). This is the clothing of Christ’s bride, the church.  So it must be she who accompanies Him, in keeping with the  promise that once we are caught up “to meet the Lord in the air so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). That conclusion is confirmed by Paul’s declaration that “the saints shall judge the world” (1 Corinthians 6:2) and David’s statement that the saints will “execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people” (Psalm 149:7).  We have confirmation in other Scriptures of the saint...

 “ nor will they say, ‘ Look , here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For  behold , the kingdom of God is in your midst.”Luke 17:21 Within this “ little Lukan apocalypse ” we find side-by-side teachings that demonstrate the twofold nature of God’s kingdom. The realized nature of the kingdom is seen in  Luke 17:20–21 . In fulfillment of the OT promises God’s kingdom is seen by Jesus and Luke as having already arrived so that the Pharisees’ question in  Lk 17:20  reveals the same error as the statement in  Lk 14:15 . Questions involving the future coming of God’s kingdom must not lose sight of the  already-now dimension  of the kingdom.  Already now  the kingdom has come, and the  future not-yet dimension  of God’s kingdom will be shared only if one  now  enters the kingdom in its present manifestation. Wiersbe  - The Jewish people lived in an excited atmosphere of expectancy, particularly at the Passover season when...

 Some defenders of the Roman Catholic Church argue that the Magisterium is the rightful interpreter and authoritative teacher of Scripture because the Church gave Christianity the Bible. If it were not for the Church, they argue, no one could know with certainty even which books belong in the Bible. This argument is based on faulty assumptions. The early Christians did not receive the Bible from the Roman Catholic Church. They received the Bible from the Holy Spirit, who inspired it. Catholics who argue to the contrary are not representing the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. Speaking of the books of both Testaments, the First Vatican Council stated: These books the church holds to be sacred and canonical not because she subsequently approved them by her authority after they had been composed by unaided human skill, nor simply because they contain revelation without error, but because, being written under the inspiration of the holy Spirit, they have God as their aut...

 Roman Catholicism teaches that God has appointed bishops as the teachers of the Catholic faith [77, 888-892]:  In order that the full and living Gospel might always be preserved in the Church the apostles left bishops as their successors. They gave them “their own position of teaching authority.” —Second Vatican Council The teaching authority of the Church resides in the bishops and is called the Magisterium, from the Latin word for master. Only the bishops of the Church have the right to judge the true meaning of revelation and to teach it with authority [85, 100, 939]:  The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ. —Second Vatican Council Catholics, therefore, are to obey the bishops even as they would Christ Himself [87, 862]: …the bishops have by divin...

When providence appears to frown, most of us are apt to be depressed.  It is true that some possess a more mercurial temperament than others, their feelings  undergoing a change as frequently as the barometer does in fluctuating weather, one day in the mountain top, the next in the slough of despond. Yet, even those more stable and equitable are liable to be cast down in spirit when faced by a trying situation and everything seems to be against them. If it be human to err, it is equally human to be dejected when our  circumstances are distressing and our experience be a painful one. We shall, therefore, raise the inquiry, “Is it wrong to be cast down?” That is a question which does not admit of an unqualified yes or no in reply. It depends upon the cause and occasion of such despondency,  upon the duration thereof, upon the  accompaniments and effects of the same. If lowness of spirits were something sinful  per se, then it would necessarily follow that G...

  The heart of God's Gospel is the treasured doctrine of justification. This is the hinge upon which the gates of heaven open and close. Anyone who is wrong about justification is wrong about the Gospel. The Gospel is good news because it reveals the only way a condemned sinner on death row can be declared righteous and set free. Jesus Christ satisfied divine justice so that God could be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Rom. 3:21-28). The sinless Savior went to the cross as a substitute for His people. He endured the wrath of God in the place of sinners who would repent and believe His Gospel.   Catholicism Totally Rejects Biblical Justification Roman Catholicism directly opposes God's Word on the doctrine of justification. At first, the papists obscured this core doctrine of the Gospel from its people, then later corrupted it with "infallible" dogmas at the 16th century Council of Trent. We must warn Catholics and everyone else, that if they ...

  On a day the apostolic church celebrated the resurrection of its glorious Head, the apostate church mourned the death of its controversial head. As with anyone who passes into eternity, the pope now knows the truth. He must have been shocked when he found out he was never the Holy Father, the Head of the Church, or the Vicar of Christ. Now he knows Mary will be no help, there is no purgatory, and indulgences will not deliver him. What Would He Tell Catholics Now? Francis may now be experiencing what the rich man in Luke 16 endured. After the rich man died and found himself tormented in the flames of Hades, he begged for someone to tell his family the truth so they would not end up in a place of torment. The pope may now be making the same request. We can only wonder what he would tell Catholics if he could return? Perhaps Francis would tell his flock that the sacrifice of the Mass is a blasphemous ritual that dishonors Jesus and His perfect, all-sufficient, and finished...