A Key Concept for Personal Spiritual Growth Is Understanding God's Holiness.

God chose us before the foundation of the world. In Christ, He blessed us with every spiritual blessing so that we may reflect the grace of His character and seek His holiness.

Holiness is not a state of perfection that we struggle to achieve. It is continually becoming more like Jesus, a state achieved daily through the power of the Holy Spirit as we fellowship with God in prayer and through His Word. Holiness is the result of beholding the beauty of Christ’s character.

God’s holiness consists largely of two major elements. First, it includes His righteous, pure character that is intrinsically part of His nature. God cannot act contrary to His own nature; so, His actions are always righteous, pure, and just. Second, God’s holiness sets Him apart from all created beings. His love, graciousness, goodness, justice, and compassion are infinite. There is no one else like Him in the entire universe (Lev. 19:2; Ps. 47:8; 1 Pet. 1:15, 16).

Meditating upon God’s holiness leads us to reflect His holiness in our own lives (2 Cor. 3:18). Ellen G. White states clearly, “It is a law of the mind that it gradually adapts itself to the subjects upon which it is trained to dwell.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 596.

How do we even begin to grasp the holiness of God when our nature is fallen and corrupt and His is uncompromisingly holy?

His holiness defines Him as singular and separated from the world of sin and death that we humans experience. Yet, here is the most amazing thing: God offers us the opportunity to participate in His holiness. That’s part of what a covenant relationship with Him is about. “ ‘Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” ’ ” (Lev. 19:2, NKJV). Or, as the book of Hebrews says: “ ‘Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. . . . For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people’ ”(Heb. 8:8–10, NKJV). In these texts we can see the connection between holiness, covenant, and law. We cannot be holy apart from obeying God’s law, and we obey His law only as He Himself, the Holy Spirit, writes His law in our hearts and minds. What a sacred privilege is ours: “that we may be partakers of His holiness” (Heb. 12:10, NKJV), which we express by loving obedience to His law.

The Reality of Escaping Death.

DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY
ONLY AFTER JESUS RETURNS!

Nobody can or will escape death.  The reality is as certain as life itself.  Most are uncertain of the meaning and interpretations of death vary considerably among Christians and non-Christians alike. 

There is a belief that the dead are really still alive and that death simply opens a door into a larger life, unexplained but still believed by many.  There are others who say that death is finale, that everyone who dies just cease to exist.

There are many who search for the answers to death and to suffering and blame God saying He is the one responsible for even allowing it to happen.  That God is the one who is the major contributor to all the pain, suffering and heartbreak in the world.

Where do the dead go?  Do they go to heaven or hell or do they just exist in a certain level of consciousness until the God of the universe decides it is time to judge them?  Can the dead communicate with us, hear us, see us?  Do the dead come back to life sometime in the future?

The answers are contained in the story of creation and to understand you need to follow the story from the beginning to the end of this age.

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WHAT HAPPENED TO ENOCH?

If you take each Hebrew word from the original scripture and translate them with the most common usage, in the spirit of the rest of the scriptures, while at the same time completely ignoring secular philosophies and contemporary Doctrine, it reads, “Enoch walked God, God took”, (Chanowk halak 'elohiym 'elohiym laqach). The Hebrew word “halak” interpreted “walk” can also have the common translation, “ to live” as in “a manner of life” or “a way to live your life”. The Hebrew word “laqach” has a translation that says “to take from, take out of, take away, be removed from ”. So this verse would actually say: 

• “Enoch lived a life according to God and God eventually took him away or removed him from that life, Enoch died." 

Putting it in context with what the rest of the scriptures teach, this interpretation of the scripture makes more sense and is telling us that Enoch had a relationship with God and God recognized him as a righteous person but eventually God had to remove Enoch.

In Genesis 5:24 God is telling us that a righteous person lives his life a certain way. If you ignore the interpretation that this scripture is proof of heaven, we can see that this ties in with what Jesus was trying to tell Nicodemus in John chapter 3. Nicodemus thought that Jesus was teaching that a person had to be literally born, as in from the womb. 


Jesus was actually teaching that in the Jewish sense, being born again was when one brings another person over to his way of life, to convert someone. He said that this change was not simply being baptized by water but a person had to change his spirit. He had to change the vital principal by which he feels, thinks, and decides. A person needed to change his actions and his relationship with God.


Enoch was made righteous by living his life according God’s ways. Some time in our future Jesus Christ will return to earth and set up His kingdom, here on earth. It will be at that time that Enoch will be resurrected and will once again “walk with God”.

BIBLICAL PROPHECY CLEARLY PREDICTS WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FUTURE.

BIBLICAL PROPHECY CLEARLY PREDICTS WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FUTURE. Daniel 9:24-27   (24) Seventy weeks [of years, or 490 years] are decreed upon your people and upon your holy city [Jerusalem], to finish {and} put an end to transgression, to seal up {and} make full the measure of sin, to purge away {and} make expiation {and} reconciliation for sin, to bring in everlasting righteousness (permanent moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation) to seal up vision and prophecy {and} prophet, and to anoint a Holy of Holies. (25) Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem until [the coming of] the Anointed One, a Prince, shall be seven weeks [of years] and sixty-two weeks [of years]; it shall be built again with [city] square and moat, but in troublous times. (26) And after the sixty-two weeks [of years] shall the Anointed One be cut off {or} killed and shall have nothing [and no one] belonging to [and defending] Him. And the people of the [other] prince who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood; and even to the end there shall be war, and desolations are decreed. (27) And he shall enter into a strong {and} firm covenant with the many for one week [seven years]. And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and offering to cease [for the remaining three and one-half years]; and upon the wing {or} pinnacle of abominations [shall come] one who makes desolate, until the full determined end is poured out on the desolator. Amplified® Bible "Daniel the prophet receives an intriguing prophecy from the archangel Gabriel in this passage, known as the Seventy Weeks Prophecy, for Gabriel gives a seventy-week time frame for the coming of the Messiah. He divides the first sixty-nine weeks into two periods, the first of seven weeks and the second of sixty-two weeks. "The prophecy shows that the Messiah would die, "but not for Himself." That is in perfect agreement with the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ! He gave Himself to redeem us from our bondage to sin and death (Galatians 1:3-5; Ephesians 2:1). "Next, the prophecy says He would "confirm a covenant with many." Is this not what He did? Did He not become the Mediator of a new and better covenant (Hebrews 9:15)? When He instituted the new symbols for the Passover, Jesus says about the wine, "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28; see Mark 14:24). "Then Gabriel prophesies that the Messiah would bring to an end to the need for ritual animal sacrifices and offerings. The writer of Hebrews plainly states, "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins" (Hebrews 10:4). Christ's sacrifice was much more effective: "Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption" (Hebrews 9:12). "The angel says the Messiah would accomplish this "in the middle [midst, KJV] of the week." Obviously, its primary meaning refers to the middle of the seventieth week, or literally, three and a half years, the exact length of Christ's ministry. However, as we have seen, God fulfills His prophecies perfectly. Not only did Jesus' ministry last for three and a half years, but He also died on a Wednesday, the exact middle day of a week!" (Richard T. Ritenbaugh, http://www.theberean.org/)

OBEDIENCE OF GOD'S LAW IS WHAT "CAUSES" SANCTIFICATION.

MOST PEOPLE HAVE THE CONCEPT OF "SANCTIFICATION" BACKWARDS.  A PERSON DOES NOT FOLLOW GOD'S LAWS BECAUSE HE IS SANCTIFIED, A PERSON IS SANCTIFIED BECAUSE HE FOLLOWS GOD'S LAWS.  (Leviticus 11:44-45:)     Exodus 31:13   (13) Say to the Israelites, Truly you shall keep My Sabbaths, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you [set you apart for Myself]. Exodus 31:17 (17) It is a sign between Me and the Israelites forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and earth, and on the seventh day He ceased and was refreshed. Amplified® Bible The Hebrew word translated sign means "mark" or "evidence." The Sabbath day is the mark God gave His people to identify them as His own. By it, the folk of Israel would know the Source of their sanctification. To sanctify is "to set apart for holy service," or more basically, "to make holy." God's purpose for Israel from the start was to set it apart from other peoples by giving it His laws and His statutes. God has a special relationship with Israel. Speaking through the prophet Amos to "the whole family [i.e., all the tribes] which I brought up from the land of Egypt" (Amos 3:1), God reminds the people that, "you only have I known of all the families of the earth" (verse 2). God revealed His law only to Israel. When He did so, He made it clear that Israel would "be a special treasure to Me above all people, . . . a holy [sanctified, set apart] nation" (Exodus 19:5-6), if the people "obey My voice and keep My covenant" (verse 5). The theme is repeated in Deuteronomy 7:6: "For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, . . . [who] has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth." (See also Deuteronomy 14:2.) God prefaces the "Holiness Code" of Leviticus 18 and 19 by commanding Israel to be separate from other nations. This meant acting in a way different from that of the Gentiles, not walking "in their ordinances." Leviticus 18:3-4: According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ordinances. You shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances. . . . In Leviticus 19:2, He makes His purpose clear: "You shall be holy [set apart], for I the LORD your God am holy." God's purpose, the intent behind all His laws, is to create a people like Himself (Genesis 1:26), a people sharing and reflecting His most salient attribute: holiness. Sanctification is also the purpose behind God's often-denigrated physical laws. Consider, for example, the reason why God imposed the dietary law, as stated in Leviticus 11. God does not cite the maintenance of health as a reason to obey the dietary laws; the Scriptures do not specify that obedience of these laws will cause good health or prevent disease (though this is a secondary, albeit unmentioned, benefit). Rather, God concludes His dietary laws with a statement of His holiness and a command for His people to be like Him. Leviticus 11:44-45: For I am the LORD your God. You shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and shall be holy; for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on the earth. For I am the LORD who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. Obedience to God's law plays a crucial role in bringing about this sanctification. It is not that a people become sanctified (somehow, by God's grace) and, as a result, start obeying God's law. God's Word does not support the Protestant concept that sanctification imputed by God's grace mysteriously empowers one to obey His commandments. They have it backwards. Rather, obedience to the law causes sanctification. Law-keeping and sanctification become intrinsically connected: To obey God's law is to be sanctified. By its nature, law-keeping brings about sanctification. In a national context, God states that obeying His laws creates a people unlike others on the earth, a people set apart from others, a holy nation. National sanctification produces what Balaam saw in Israel: "A people dwelling alone, not reckoning itself among the nations" (Numbers 23:9). If commandment-keeping separates people from the nations while connecting them to God, disobedience of God's law has exactly the opposite effect. Commandment-breaking separates a people from God, and connects them to the ways of the nations. Individuals who disobey God's law become like the "world," the kosmos of the New Testament (I John 2:15). (http://www.theberean.org/, http://www.theberean.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/About.website, Charles Whitaker)

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This Easter Week Christians Need to Remember....

 

Jesus Christ’s Promise; He said, “I will come again”!

“I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:2-3).

“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:” “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:” (Matthew 25:31,34).

“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” (Hebrews 9:28).

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”  (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

“Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11).

“For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be... And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Matthew 24:27-31).

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ;” (Titus 2:13).

Just remember what the Easter season is all about.  It is about Jesus saying, “I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:3).