THE 'DAMNABLE" NEGLECT OF CHRISTIANS

it seems that Christians avoid mentioning about Hell, even though Jesus spoke more about it than anybody in Bible. People need to be warned! Those on the fence, need to be serious about their commitment to Jesus Christ. As we continue our series on WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN JESUS RETURNS? WE READ OF THE LAST JUDGMENT AND A WHITE THRONE IN REVELATION 20:11-15.





 We read that before this throne are the dead, great and small, and the books are opened. "The dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books" (Revelation 20:12) WAIT A MINUTE? The Bible states, "By grace are you saved through faith, and not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8,9) The lost before the White Throne who face the "second death" 20: 5, 14, can only rest on their "own" works which come short of God's standard (Romans 3:23). It is only in Jesus that we are saved! "He became sin for us who knew not sin, that we might become the righteous in Christ Jesus" (II Corinthians 5:17).









 A GREAT ILLUSTRATION FROM ONE OF MY PROFESSORS, THE LATE FRANK SELLS When Jesus stood before His Father's throne He stated that on earth He did not sin in thought, word or deed. When Ross Lyon stands before the Father, I will say, "My Father while on earth I did not sin in thought, word or deed." You would say, I'm the biggest liar in the universe! No, divine bookkeeping as read in II Corinthians 5:17 states that Jesus took the penalty of my sin, while His righteousness is credited for me. THAT'S THE ONLY WAY ANY OF US WILL GET INTO THE NEW HEAVENS AND EARTH. "ANY ONE NOT FOUND WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE WAS THROWN INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE" (Revelation 2O:15) Why would a loving God torment a person in a lake of fire forever? Hell is the final product of a life that doesn't seek the Lord and lives like He doesn't exist (except when in trouble.) The Lake of Fire is the Lord's isolation dump, where those who did not want the Lord as central in their lives get what they wished: abandoned by God without any of the benefits of His benevolence.











 ARE THE FIRES OF HELL LITERAL? Since the devil, who is a spirit, is tormented in Hell (Revelation 20:10) and tormented forever, the fire is symbolic. That is the only way the Bible can describe eternal damnation is like being burned alive forever! It is worse than fire, as it goes on and on forever! Everyone alive right now faces an eternal "lake of fire" unless they see themselves as a sinner, turn their life over to the Living Savior, and trust HIm alone to forgive their sins and make them whole. Don't be deceived by those who ignore and question hell. Jesus taught more about eternal damnation then any one in the Bible. The Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ reveals the Lake of Fire! Finally, we need to pray, love and seek opportunities to tell those lost around us that there is safety only in Jesus Christ. 

ROSS

 I have more material in my latest book about Revelation on questions about degrees of hell? Is it fair to cast people into the Lake of Fire who never heard of Jesus and His gospel? Just click at the website at the end of this paragraph and you can open my book and read portions of it for free. Our ministry is to provide quality, easily-understood books for low cost. Revelation is paperback, 160 pages, and sells at Amazon for only 7.95 dollars.

THE EVIDENCE THAT JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD

Again and again my mind goes back to the solid claim that Jesus rose from the dead.  It's the basis of our faith.  Here's why we believe it! The Resurrection of Jesus--Truth or Tale? Military history uses the fact of eye witnesses and good documentation of an event to establish the reliability of an act.  I WANT TO SAY THAT THE SAME IS TRUE OF THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS!  Setwyn, historian at Oxford stated that the claim of Jesus Resurrection is as valid as ancient history can make it.  Kenneth Scott Lattourette of Yale, a twentieth century scholar, believed in the physical resurrection of Jesus. RUM GOOD! When C.S. Lewis was an agnostic, professor at Cambridge, he was entertaining a famous atheist in his apartment.  The atheist was looking into the fireplace and exclaimed, "The Christian claim that Jesus rose from the dead is rum good."  Shocked, Lewis reasoned that if a man who devoted himself to atheism could only say that the claim of the resurrection is good, there must be something to Christianity!  As Lewis investigated the claims, he found the "hound of heaven was pursuing him."  Not only was his intellectual curiosity satisfied, but he became a follower and open disciple of the Risen Jesus Christ! SIR WILLIAM RAMSEY, FORMER AGNOSTIC WHO BECAME A CHRISTIAN AFTER RESEARCHING THE EVIDENCE. ALSO BECAME THE "FATHER OF NEW TESTAMENT ARCHEOLOGY" IN THE 20TH CENTURY Others have pursued the truth of Jesus resurrection and found Him by faith.  These include historians, attorneys, scientists from the best backgrounds and schools.  WARNING!  IF YOU PURSUE THE TRUTH OF JESUS' RESURRECTION, IT MAY CHANGE YOUR LIFE! THE LETTER! I won't beat around the bush!  There is a letter in your Bible, that is backed by 5,000 Greek copies and 5,000 early translations, by the Apostle Paul.  No scholar doubts that Paul is the author of this writing.  Don't be prejudiced!  Just because it's found in the Bible, it is backed by more proof than any ancient document to be a letter from the Apostle Paul! THE STARTING POINT No matter what you hold, you base it on something! (As the great Christian thinker, Van Til pointed out.) You presuppose that logic is correct.  You presuppose that what you learned is correct.  That your engine in your car operates by a four-stroke cylinder compression--even if you don't have any idea what it is. You start with the belief that what the mechanics tell you, that there's an internal combustion engine in your car somehow works when you put the key in the ignition and turn it! So Paul starts by saying we believe that Jesus rose according to the Scriptures, I Corinthians 15:4.  The Bible always matches reality.  It is the starting point revealing God, creation, the laws of logic etc.  This miracle of a book states that Jesus rose. THE EYEWITNESS CONFIRMATION Paul then lists individuals who saw Jesus risen, including "five hundred brothers at one time, most of them who are still alive" v. 6.  These were people Paul could produce!  Not the looney kinds that "saw Elvis."  People of high integrity, who were willing to die because they saw Jesus.  They saw him not in a dream or hallucination, but with 499 other people.  So Paul lists individuals, and this crowd, vv. 4-8.  All of the Apostles who saw Jesus faced death.  In fact they were all killed but John, and he was thrown into a prison camp for 18 months as an old man.  As one lawyer put it, If you had 500 witnesses to a crime, who were known for their integrity, and were willing to die for what they testified, what do you think the verdict of any rational court would bring?! That's what Chuck Colson found out.  If everybody lied that Nixon knew about Watergate break in before it happened, all would be well.  However, the loyalists cracked and told all. Colson went to prison! If all of those 500 + knew Jesus was really dead, they would have cracked!  Not face torture, crucifixion, or being torn apart by beasts in the arena. WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THE TRUTH OF THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS? The late James Kennedy was pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, (My mother's favorite preacher, except for me.) Kennedy declared that some believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus like they do that George Washington was the first president the United States.  That's not real faith, only mental assent.  You need to surrender to Jesus as Lord and Savior, because he died for sinners and rose again.  This is your and my pathway, Jesus is all He claimed and He must have my trust and claim on my life! IF YOU CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH THAT JESUS IS LORD, AND BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART THAT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, YOU WILL BE SAVED.  FOR WITH THE HEART ONE BELIEVES AND IS JUSTIFIED, AND WITH THE MOUTH ONE CONFESSES AND IS SAVED,  Romans 10:9,10. Have a wonderful "Resurrection Day"! ROSS FOR MORE INFORMATION ON OUR NEW BOOKS JUST CLICK BELOW.  ALSO, WE'D REALLY APPRECIATE  BRIEF SENTENCE REVIEWS, IF YOU'VE READ THEM. To Go to Amazon Web Site, CLICK HERE

WILL THE CHURCH GO THROUGH THE GREAT TRIBULATION?

Our new book has 30 sections of life-application, gives you the 7 language keys, enabling you to understand Revelation (see Revelation 1:3), discussion questions for each chapter, and instructions for holding a successful group or Bible class.  You can read portions of this book for Free.  TOUCH HERE

JESUS TAUGHT THAT THERE WAS A GREAT TRIBULATION COMING!

 

Their shall be great tribulation...such as not been from the beginning of the world, until now and , no and never will be.    And   if  those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved"  (Matthew 24:21,22 ESV).

THE FOUR POSITIONS ABOUT THE CHURCH AND THE GREAT TRIBULATION

 

1. The church will be raptured (resurrected) before the Tribulation.  This is due to the fact that God is now doing something the church was not geared to perform:  bring the nations to worship the Lord (Rev. 15:4).  This will be a time of judgment and the appearance of the Antichrist, the ultimate evil leader and government of the world. He will be defeated by the judgments of the Lord and the nations will submit to the coming Lord from Heaven, Jesus Christ!  I've held every position on this at one time or another, but I've settled on this as the best representation of what the New Testament teaches.  Remember our Lord stated that no one knows the day or the hour of His coming, Matthew 24:36.  The Lord now can come at any time or day, and we should be ready for Him.  We do not have to wait for seven or three and half years before He comes for us.

 

2. The church will  go through a short tribulation and be raptured before the time of wrath.  This has been called the Mid-tribulation or Pre-wrath position.  This was taught by Dr. Buswell (my old theology professor) Dr. Barten Payne, and recently by Dr. Rosenthal.  I agree with Dr. Rosenthal that we should not give the impression that the church will escape all tribulation.  Look at the faithful who are facing beheadings, bombing, death etc. from the Muslim extremists.  Acccording to Papal records there have been more martyrs for Christ in the twentieth century than any century in history!

However, I do not agree that the tribulation is different than the days of the wrath of God.  Jesus taught and Revelation demonstrates that they are the same.

 

3. The church will go through the seven years tribulation.  Again, I look at the imminent coming of Christ as presented in the New Testament and just cannot see that we have a seven year period before the Lord could come back for us.  No, He comes "suddenly" see the book of Revelation.

 

After 50 years of teaching the Word of God I don't expect Christians will be uniform in there conclusions about when the rapture comes about.  However, a lady in our church emailed me this discerning comment.

We should be ready to meet the Lord at any day, and also be prepared in this life to face tribulation.

 

Next time I will pursue more the reasons why I believe in the any moment coming of Jesus!   

 

.

THE RAPTURE AND EINSTEIN

The Bible promises that the Lord will come and resurrect all believers.  The dead in Christ will rise first and then those who are alive.  The possibility for every generation is that "millions who are alive may never die."  Here is one passage about the "rapture", which is Latin for "caught up."
"The Lord himself will  descend from heaven...and the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive,who are left, will be caught up together with thenm in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air" (I Thessalonians 4:16,17 ESV).

HOW CAN THE LORD RESURRECT OUR BODIES IF THEY'VE BEEN TURNED TO DUST, OR BLASTED TO A MILLION PIECES, OR EAT BY FISH?

This question has been asked since the days of our Lord's ministry.  However, what was needed was science catching up to the Bible!  For an answer let's take a trip to Princeton Seminary.

 Princeton was until around 1940 the premier evangelical seminary of the nation.  One of its great theologians in the nineteenth century was Charles Hodge.  His three volume work of theology was still being used when I was in seminary (1960-1963)

 Dr. Hodge pointed out that the body changes all its cells (in one year except for the brain and cord).  How is it we  have the same body after a year.  His illustration was it resembled a wave in the sea.  The energy of the wave passes through the water and the water molecules don't travel with it.  In other words the energy of the wave keeps going changing its make up moment by moment.  HOWEVER, IT'S THE SAME WAVE!

Picture running your hand under a blanket.  Hodge, as a Bible-believing Christian spoke of the body as a form of energy!!

 Dr. Albert Einstein, who probably never heard of Hodge, on the Princeton University campus in the 1930's, discovered that all matter was a form of energy!

 In other words, your body is a cycle of energy.  ISN'T IT EASY TO BELIEVE THAT THE LORD CAN CALL UP YOUR UNIQUE ENERGY CYCLE (WITH IMPROVEMENTS) WHEN HE COME FOR YOU IN YOUR RESURRECTION!

That's why Paul writes about the rapture we already quoted by concluding with these words:  Therefore encourage one another with these words (I  Thessalonians   5:18, ESV)

ARE YOU MISSING GOD'S PROMISED BLESSING?

The Book of Revelation promises that all who read it and keep it will have the Lord's blessing!  Many of those who first heard the book had it read to them, because they couldn't read!  How is it that so many today find confusing and contradicting interpretations of this book?  THIS IS A BOOK WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND AND A MASSAGE WE NEED IN THESE DAYS OF EVIL, ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY, AND GROWING DANGER!

I wrote a new book on Revelation that takes the seven keys of language so all can understand it.  The big problem, even with scholars, is that they forget one or two of these keys!  You will have them with my new book.  Also, I have thirty sections of practical application, and discussion questions for each chapter.  There's even a section on how to have a great group study using the book. 

Just touch the key below the book picture and you will land in the book page at Amazon.  You can then read some of the contents inside the book.  If you would like the book you can purchase it from them for 7.95.  Finally, if you purchased the book, would you scroll down the section at Amazon and write a brief review.  Thanks so much.

CLICK HERE

 

WERE DINOSAURS ON NOAH'S ARK?

Noah's Ark was 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.  The Titanic was 300 feet longer and Today's Queen Mary II was more than twice as long.  However, the ratios  of dimensions of the ark are the same as modern ships.

Could the Ark Hold All the Animals

The ark had three stories and if we put all the land animals on the ark by today's classifications that would be 35,000 animals.  THIS WOULD ONLY OCCUPY 28% OF THE SPACE.  (See the Genesis Flood  by Morris and Whitcomb, P & R press.  They just published their  50th Anniversary edition.  Another contemporary version is the two volume 1100 text, rather technical by geologist Andrew Snelling, Earth's Catastorphies, can be order from Answers in Genesis.)

O.K. WHAT ABOUT THE BIG DINOSAURS?

According to the museum of natural history, there were about 50  basic types of dinosaurs.  In their immature stage (which is when they are very productive) they would average about the size of sheep.  So holding ot a young earth and dinosaurs living during Noah's time, THERE IS NO PROBLEM THAT THE ARK COULD HOLD ALL THE ANIMALS INCLUDING DINOSAURS. By the way it's estimated there are now 10,000 scientist in all fields that believe in a young earth.

I believe that this miracle probably also caused the animals to have a hibernating-stupor so they could manage the ride of one year.   

 

WHY DID GOD CAUSE SUCH A DISASTER?

The Bible tells us that the world was filled with violence continually, Genesis 6:13.  The Lord had to wipe out this corrupt race and bring about a new beginning with the family of Noah.  The flood and the ark are used by our Lord when He speaks of His return to earth.  The world will be going about its normal activities, ignoring the Lord, when suddenly just like Noah's flood, They were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:39).  Make sure you have a real, faith-based relationship with Christ, based upon repentance and trust in our Risen Lord.

EVIDENCE FOR THE FLOOD

It is all around us!  We have fossils of sea life on top of mountains.  The top one third of Mount Everest contain sea fossils.  Sand from the Jersey Shore is found in Western California.  Layers and layers have been suddenly put down.  We see trees that are within various strata, showing these layers came about suddenly. 

 

Speaking of fossils, they only occur by a catastrophe.  A dead body will decay and be digested by living microorganisms above or beneath the earth.  It's only by a sudden catastrophe that a carcass in entombed in mud where there are no worms etc. to eat away at the body. Incidentally,  95% of fossils are from sea life.

  The Water of the Flood

If there were no land barriers to the ocean, it would fill the earth a mile high!  The rain clouds during that time were probably greater, because of the green house effect of vegetation which we see in ancient times  through geology.

The waters from the deep, may not be only underground rivers and streams,but also disruptions from the separations of fault lines (tectonic plates) causing eruptions

sea floor and tsunamis.  Incidentally,  the water on top of such a huge wave would be calm allowing the ark to ride on it.

Some creation scientists also see evidence of meteor bombardment during the flood, which may have loosened the plates (Snelling, Answers magazine, January, 2012).

NEXT TIME WE WILL BE TURNING OUR STUDIES ON PROPHECY.  I WANT TO PRESENT AN INTERESTING TOPIC, THE RAPTURE AND EINSTEIN!

ROSS LYON 

Were Dionosarurs and Humans Alive the Same Time?

 

Dinosaur Blood Found in Frozen Femur

I doubt if this dinosaur (female tyrranasaurus Rex) lived 65 million years ago!  Put a couple of raw steaks in your freezer and see how long they last!  If we believe the world was created some 6000 years or so in the past, then dinosaurs had to be alive when people lived on earth. 

 

I don't have hard evidence for this, but several facts do match the claim for a young earth.  

HISTORY DEMONSTRATES HUMANS KNEW OF DINOSAURS

A volume written by a naturalist in about AD 1000, shows animal drawings that resemble dinosaurs.  Cave dwelling drawings also depict figure that resemble dinosaurs.

The various dragon myths may have arisen from the ancient encounter with dinasaurs.

ONE GREAT EVIDENCE IS THE BIBLE ITSELF! 

The book of Job depicts the life of a faithful follower of God, a Gentile, who lived sometime in the era of Abraham or before.  The Lord explains that while He let Job suffer, He alone knows what He is doing, as demonstrated by the power and wisdom of His creation.  

"Behold the behemoth. which I made with you, he eats grass like an ox...he moves his tail  like a cedar...his bones are like bars of iron..." (Job 10:15).

Some of the newer translation use the word "elephant" or "hippopotamus."   Have you ever seen the "swiggely" tall of a elephant or hippopotamus?  The description in Job matches a dinosaur like an Aptosaurus!

 Here's some life-size models of an Aptosaurus.  

As of today, no human remains have been found with any dinosaur.  It may never be found.  1) I doubt any human would want in the neighborhood of an Aptosaursus! ("Honey the dinosaur stepped on the house again!") 2) Most fossils are sea creatures.  Human remains or animals including dinosaurs are within the 1% of fossil finds. We'll talk more about this when next time we will talk about the evidence of the flood.

The point that I want to make is that there is evidence that matches that the dinosaurs lived when humans existed on earth.  This matches the claims of a young earth as well.

Now we need to look at whether or not dinosaurs were on the earth!  And what happened to the dinosaurs.  (Next time's article).

Ross Lyon, D.Min.

Geology and a Young Earth

The amount of salt and sludge that empties from earth's rivers into the sea is too small an amount if the earth were 4.5 billion years.

 Stalactites and Stalagmites could not be formed over millions of years.  That would mean water with lime etc. would have to flow precisely in the same spot for thousands of years!  These forms are made by catastrophes not "gradualism' (the dogma of geology.)  A major catastrophes would be Noah's flood (which I will go into at another time), rapid melting of the ice age ( young earth scientists believe there was one ice age which only existed 200-700 years).  At any rate these cave formations do not argue for a 4.5 billion year old earth.

  Mt. Saint Helens, a moderate volcano, erupted in the 1980's creating canyons which would have taken millions of years by  gradual erosion.  Newly formed lava has been dated by the clocking methods to be millions of years old instead of a month old.

DATING METHODS ARE PROGRAMED BY THE DOGMA OF GRADUALISM

Various elements and compounds will lose their electrons or change (decay) over time.  If the dogma that what appears today has always been and catastrophes are not taken into account, then faulty conclusions will be arrived at.

A team of scientists taking the various means of dating instruments found that there were millions of years of variation by the "clocks" that are used.  Again, most of this can be due to the 150 year old dogma of "gradualism."

DIAMONDS ARE A YOUNG EARTHERS BEST FRIEND

 

Recently, scientists have been able to blow open diamonds!  What did they find?  Carbon 14!  Carbon 14 decays after 5000 years! The samples taken were judged to be about 2,000 to 4,000 years old, not millions of years!  In other words the existence of diamonds formed by pressure on coal doesn't necessarily take millions of years.

I'VE JUST GOT STARTED!   I want to cover strata, the Grand Canyon, and dinosaurs next, and yes Noah's flood.  I use to believe that the earth was millions of years old.  One Christian has stated that even a universe of 13.7 billion years does not give enough time for all we see today.  Well, its all a miracle.  I just believe it is even more supernatural if we take some of these observances and show they match a miraculous six day (24 hours) creation!

I'd love to hear from you, and if you disagree, I won't burn you at the stake.

Ross Lyon