Acts 4:12; “And there is Salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved.” (ESV, all emphasis mine)

Acts 10:34-35; “So Peter opened his mouth and said, ‘Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation, anyone who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him.'”

John 14:6; “And Jesus said to him, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”

First and foremost, do any of the above passages say there are “many ways to Heaven”? Second, do any of them say only certain races or tribes or groups are the only ones bound for Heaven? To clarify the second question, John 10:16; “And I have other sheep that are not of this [Jewish] fold. I must bring them [everyone else] also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one Shepherd.”

Everything so far is in plain and easy-to-understand language. Do not complicate what the Father has given us. Jesus had the most problems with the scribes and Pharisees who believed they were to be worshipped as they were so “righteous and pious” in their own eyes, and they created rules and regulations for everyone else to follow. Matthew 23:24-25; “You blind guides; straining out a gnat, and swallowing a camel. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.”

Before He ever came to this earth as a human and became lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:7-9), our Savior knew what He would have to endure to pay our sin debt. Isaiah 53:5-6; “But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace; and with His wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – everyone – to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

The very basic “what it is” has been described in several places for us in the New Testament books. It gives why Jesus came, what He was here for, and what our role is in our eternal Salvation.

First, John 3:16-18; “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” We have to understand that God’s love is so pure and perfect that sometimes it’s hard to realize just how deep it is.

John 3:17; “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.” God has no illusions; only He could possibly provide a sacrifice pure enough to satisfy His own demand for perfection.

John 3:18; “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned; but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

Is there anyone else who is righteous enough that they do not really need a Savior? Romans 3:10; “None is righteous, no not one.” Romans 3:23; “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Then, of course, Romans 6:23; “For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

For those who may believe that Jesus died only for the so-called righteous; Romans 5:8; “but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

The next question may be: so if we’re all tainted with sin, how do we get “justified” to be called saved? First of all, in John 17, Jesus prayed to the Father to sanctify or declare holy the disciples He was about to leave behind. In verse 20, He stated, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word.” That applies to every living soul on this earth, from that moment all the way to the end of the Millennium. All who are reading this right now are included.

Now, for our requirement to be saved and have the Holy Spirit dwell within us, there are very simple and uncomplicated steps. Jesus told of the Spirit He would send in John 14:15-17 when we receive and accept Him as our Savior.

Romans 10:9-13 are the verses that give us the ABCs: “because if you confess (admit) 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…”

Once again, for those who may be mute, God “hears” all of their thoughts and knows the condition of their hearts. Those who believe in His Son actually speak volumes to Him in their minds.

“…For the scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who call on Him. ‘For all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.'”

So, looking at these verses, what is our obligation in our Salvation? Admit we are sinners in need of a Savior; Believe Jesus is the only One who is our Savior; Call on Him to forgive and rescue us, and we are saved – that’s it.

Ephesians 2:8-9; “For by grace you are saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast.”

Through the grace provided to all who will receive and accept Jesus, we receive the mercy from the Father for all our sins. This can’t be bought; it can’t be earned.

On the other side of the coin, is it not obvious that all who reject Jesus as their Savior will have to answer for every sin they ever committed? That will be done at the very long line at the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15. No true believer will be in that line.

The time to call on Jesus is right now, as all the signs of the end of this age are here at the same time for the first time ever. All who will have called on Him will rise up at the sound of the Trumpet of God and the shout from the archangel to meet our Jesus in the air. This could take place at any minute now.

Once a person takes their final breath on this earth, either through death or by Rapture, their eternity is set. It’s an individual and personal choice, and God will force no one either way.

It is what it is; receive and accept is Heaven; reject is hell – there is no other option. Please consider carefully where you would prefer to spend eternity. We hope to see you with us at the feet of Jesus.

Come, Lord Jesus!

huebshman46@gmail.com

(Isaiah 65-66; 2 Thessalonians 1)

To anyone who believes that God is finished with Israel, I say that you need to read your Bible through a different lens. The popular misconception – willingly construed, it seems, in many instances – is that because Israel was complicit in the death of Jesus, God finally had enough of His Chosen People and unchose them. Among other things, this leads many to reinterpret the Old Testament by declaring that every reference to the nation of Israel is actually to the future New Testament church. Talk about anti-Semitism! This is about as wrong a way of understanding God and the overall Biblical narrative as any ever concocted.

We have only to consider the history of Israel to see the truth. Yes, Israel was rebellious and disobedient throughout her history. Yes, God gave her over to her iniquities time and again to bring judgment upon her. But He also continually promised to restore her. The questions are: Did God restore Israel during the Church Age? Will He bring about a final restoration? To that, we can respond Yes and Yes.

In all of human history, no nation that had been completely destroyed and its people scattered has ever come back into existence. Yet, Israel did. In fact, the reestablishment of her as a nation was an absolute miracle of God. He foretold it, and He brought that prophecy to fulfillment. Isaiah 66:7-9 states:

“Before she was in labor she gave birth; before her pain came upon her she delivered a son. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment? For as soon as Zion was in labor she brought forth her children. Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?’ says the Lord; ‘shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?’ says your God.”

Can anyone dispute that this passage speaks about the rebirth of Israel that miraculously occurred on May 14, 1948? Of course, it’s evident to most of us that this resulting nation is secular, yet God intends to turn the hearts of the people to Him. Among other passages, Zechariah 13:8-9 speaks of this time of redemption that happens at the end of the Tribulation:

“In the whole land, declares the Lord, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive. And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.'”

Is God through with Israel? Well, if you can read, it should be evident that the answer is a resounding No!

Let’s return to Isaiah above for what I’d like to convey and analogize in this essay.

The passage speaks of the birth process. In Israel’s case, that had actually occurred over a number of years. God had to shape the circumstances in the world to bring all the necessary pieces of the puzzle into alignment for this one-day fulfillment. World War 1 resulted in the Balfour Declaration. World War 2 resulted in the extreme persecution of the Jews. These events led to the sentiment that Jews needed their own homeland and that it should be where it had historically been in OT times. During these years, many Jews had also returned to that God-forsaken piece of real estate that Mark Twain in his book, Innocents Abroad (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004SQTBKC/) declared:

“The further we went, the hotter the sun got, and the more rocky and bare, repulsive and dreary the landscape became…. There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country.”

“Many are Israel’s forsaken places, and great is the desecration. The more sacred the place, the greater the devastation it has suffered. Jerusalem is the most desolate place of all.”

These returning Jews had a lot of work to do because God had cursed Israel for a time so that no other people would find it a pleasant place to settle.

All this set the stage. The labor of a woman for Israel’s rebirth was the analogy God used. Birth pains had been growing, increasing in intensity. Suddenly, on a single day, through a miraculous set of circumstances, Israel was born on May 14, 1948. God said He would do it, and He did. He did it for a purpose because He wasn’t finished with Israel as a nation. The church was the church; Israel was Israel. Biblically, although there is a joining of believers in faith in Jesus Christ, each is dealt with separately.

Now, consider again what God said in Isaiah 66:9:

“Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?’ says the Lord; ‘shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?’ says your God.”

This is a critical point in understanding Bible prophecy. In fact, it is vital for us to realize that when God begins the birth process, He will bring it to completion.

What is the nature of that process? For a woman, when the birth pains begin, they signal the impending event of delivery. The contractions grow closer together and increase in intensity. Eventually, the pain is overwhelming, and birth quickly happens. Once labor begins, it doesn’t stop. A woman does not go into labor and then go out of it. It’s a forward-moving process that must be completed.

Why do I bring this up? How did Jesus describe what would happen at the time of His return? In the Olivet Discourse, He explains the various signs that will take place prior to His coming. In Matthew 24:8, Jesus says:

“All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.”

All that happens in the run-up to Jesus’ reappearing and inserting Himself again into human history He likens to the birth process. Again, what is that like? As I noted above:

For a woman, when the birth pains begin, they signal the impending event of delivery. The contractions grow closer together and increase in intensity. Eventually, the pain is overwhelming, and birth quickly happens.

When the process begins, there is no stopping it. Times will grow worse; the world will become darker. All necessary circumstances contributing to Jesus’ return will intensify and grow closer together, and they will not relent.

What this means is that there will be no Nineveh revival. There will be no Great Awakening. This side of the Tribulation, there will be nothing that changes the hearts of men in any universal manner. Will there be pockets of people turning to faith in Christ between now and the Rapture? Absolutely. But no worldwide resurgence of belief will halt the inevitable march toward God’s judgment upon this world, i.e., the culmination of birth pains and the delivery of God’s wrath.

Before that happens, the Lord has promised to remove His true church, the Bride of Christ, from this hour of trial that is coming (Revelation 3:10).

This is our blessed hope. Nothing will delay these things because the birth process is in play. The signs are evident and available to all with eyes to see and ears to hear. Soon, and very soon, Jesus will bring us home!

Note: The Lord put it on my heart this year to write a daily essay relating to my practice of Reading Through the Bible in a Year. Last year, that resulted in my producing the Awaken Bible Study Notes, a 4-volume set correlating with each quarter’s readings. This year in my writings, truly through the grace of God, I’m producing the 4-volume Awaken Bible Commentary and Reflections series. Volume 1, which covers January – March (Genesis 1 – Judges 5; Matthew 1 – Luke 7), is now available on Amazon in both paper and Kindle e-book formats at this link:

Awaken Bible Commentary and Reflections series Volume 1

If these daily writings have been a blessing to you, I hope that you’ll acquire this first book and the subsequent ones as I finish editing them. My intent in all I write is to bring God the glory and to make His people think.

As in the Study Notes from last year, the Commentary and Reflections delve into the prophetic and supernatural nature of God’s Word, a combination you simply won’t find elsewhere. They attempt to show the parallels to our times and the peril from the past when God’s people turn away from Him and His commands. Scripture is very much a blueprint for today.

——————————-

Gary W. Ritter is a lay pastor, Bible teacher, and prolific author. His Whirlwind Series comprises three books: Sow the Wind, Reap the Whirlwind, and There Is a Time. These books are contained in the collected volume of the Whirlwind Omnibus. Gary has written many other Christian thrillers that will challenge you, and which you can learn about at his website:www.GaryRitter.com.

Recently, Gary wrote a novella for the new Kindle Vella platform called Tribulation Rising: Seal Judgments – The Coming Apocalypse. This seven-part short work can be found at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099Z462WD. You can also watch Gary’s video Bible teachings on Rumble at his Awaken Bible Prophecy channel: https://rumble.com/c/c-783217.