Most atheists and agnostics that I’ve met and talked to over the years have for the most part been decent, law-abiding people. Some of them have actually been seekers, in which case I more than likely witnessed to them, which is always my goal.

While these folks are mainstream nonbelievers, there are many others who are blinded by love of money, sexual gratification and downright criminality; and their numbers are growing by leaps and bounds in our present-day society.

Some hardcore atheists deny the existence of God for fear of judgment. Many atheists and some agnostics insist on carrying on with their hell-bent lives, wallowing in addictions, sexual deviancy and other vices. They don’t want to know what the Word of God says about such things and the price to be paid for doing so. The Word of God is anathema to them.

Many of these people think they are cool, self-sufficient, knowledgeable and well read. But what is it they read? Chances are they read fiction and/or textbooks that offer no rest to the human soul. Such are the people they prefer to watch daily on talk shows and comedy platforms trying to be cool and with it. Yet they too are just other spiritually blind people who have no idea what the scriptures say, and can only guess.

Some scoffers are becoming more and more fearful of the things that lie ahead and have no answers of condolence for humanity with science or manmade philosophies and religions. If you are one of these, you are neglecting the most important book in the world, one on which your very future depends.

In the whole world, the Holy Bible is the only book that claims to be the Word of God. In it you will find your reason for being, what’s expected of you, how the earth came into being and many other things pertaining to life.

An example is this, written by the Apostle John: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God and there was nothing made that was made without Him.” (The Apostle John was referring to Jesus Christ.) “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory as of the only begotten Son of God, full of grace and truth.”

There you have it; we were spoken into existence by Jesus Christ through God.

The Holy Bible tells us in the book of Job that the earth hangs in space and is not flat, as was believed by “intelligent” scientists in the distant past. Christopher Columbus was aware of this since he lodged with the Monks in Spain and read scripture before setting sail toward the New World.

The Holy Bible speaks of the evil inclinations that plague us, and why. It tells us that Satan, who lives in another dimension these days, wreaks havoc among humanity as we give him license to do so, just as in the Garden of Eden.

It tells us about the history of the world and where the Garden of Eden was located. (It was located at the headwaters of the Pishon, Gihon, Hiddekel, and Euphrates.) Bet you didn’t know that.

It gives us the Ten Commandments to live by, for our own good and so much more. (Notice what happened when we took the Ten Commandments out of our public institutions.)

The Bible tells of the curse that homosexuality will visit upon those that practice it. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of such behavior.

Ignoring the warnings of the Bible do not make it untrue. Reality exists no matter what a person thinks, and life goes on without you. Human thought is faulty; we place things and pleasure above everything else. Our society is unraveling at the seams with every conceivable fad or passing fancy.

The Bible is the only book that tells us what lies ahead because of disobedience and disbelief. These warnings come through the prophetic words written within its pages. But without spiritual discernment through the Holy Spirit, it’s impossible to interpret scripture properly. Jumping up and down just isn’t going to cut it. Saying meaningless and repetitious prayers don’t either.

Intermingled with other words of wisdom and knowledge is the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who died for the sins of mankind and stands ready (even at the door) to welcome us in when we repent and are willing to follow Him. “For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Repentance toward God and receiving Jesus Christ into your life is the only way to receive the Holy Spirit, who will give you spiritual discernment as you read Scripture. Upon receiving Jesus, He will send this comforter (Holy Spirit) who begins cleaning house, and you are able to resist the wiles of the devil. This doesn’t happen immediately, but little by little – as you come to rely on God’s promises that can only be found in His Word, the Bible.  As you read and study the scriptures, you will gain strength and understanding; and as a byproduct you gain assurance of salvation and peace of mind as well.

Isn’t it time that you decide to receive and follow Christ? Like the Bible says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall have eternal life.” “For as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God.” And of course, the beloved John 3:16.

The Holy Bible is at your very fingertips, even on your laptop and cell phone. Blessed are they who read it and abide by it.

With Bible-believing churches becoming ever harder to find, I’d like to suggest my Bible-based church located in Naples Florida, where you can receive livestreaming Bible messages anywhere in the world on Sunday at FBCN.org at 9:30 a.m. EST., taught by my pastor, Hayes Wicker.

YBIC

Jim Towers

jt.filmaker@yahoo.com    www.theprophecies

bookandmovie and www.dropzonedelta.com

Messianic Jews 

In the early seventies, I was in Hollywood pursuing a career in the movie business as a SAG union actor. I had received Christ just six years before and was attending Beverly Hills Baptist Church.

Although I had learned about the Jewish faith, Moses and the Ten Commandments and such, over time I also learned that the twelve apostles were also of the Jewish faith and that Dr. Luke may have been the only Gentile of the group of mostly earthy but Godly men. Of course, the main subject (Jesus) of the New Testament was also a Jew – humanly speaking.

Beverly Hills Baptist Church was rather small and intimate but somehow managed to attract guest speakers, probably because of the name.

In any case, that is where I first met and heard of Jewish converts to Christianity. It was the first time I ever met any Jews for Jesus, one of them being Lois Lapides. He and another young man were heading up a group of believers in Yeshua ha Mashiach (Jesus Christ). Since I was the most vocal and evangelical person in the church, we spent the day together along with another young man from the congregation, who I now suspect was a Jew.

This was the eye-opening experience that led me to set up a mission station in a Dunkin Donut shop in Miami sometime later. At the time, this was a place where many retirees came to socialize throughout the day and night. Many of the regulars were Jews who live in the adjoining apartments and condos.

Being one who was never shy about my faith, I had decided to make friends and share the gospel with anyone who would listen. During my years of stopping by there daily, I did make many friends. It got to the point that some would refer to me as pastor. No one seemed threatened by me, and I always tried to have an answer to their deepest questions.

It got to the point where my Jewish friends were inviting me to their homes or maybe going to the movies together. Many of them had been professional people at one time, and I learned a lot from them. All were non-threatening, and most were pleasant. There was one exception though, and this man had been a lawyer and councilman. He was a type A personality just as I am, and he always stood his ground. I handled him with kid gloves, and we got along fine after a while.

Ugene finally opened to what I had to say, and we talked about aviation and law as well as spiritual matters. This went on for a number of years, and I thought I hadn’t made any headway with this hardheaded soul. A few years later, after I had moved away, I went to visit an old friend of mine; and he told me that Ugene had become a Messianic Jew and that he had recently died. Knowing that he was going to die, he had my friend Richard sneak some matzo crackers and Mogen David wine into his private hospital room so that he could take communion before he died.

Today, The Jews for Jesus movement has expanded and branched out into what we now know as Messianic churches across the country and the world. According to some sources, many Millennial Jews are finally accepting the fact that Jesus was and is the Messiah and are even celebrating Christmas and Easter.

My contention is that this is happening in fulfillment of prophecy, and that those Jews who are as yet undecided are going to recognize and receive Christ during the tribulation period, hence the 144,000 evangelists who will turn many to Christ during those hellish times; and many will pay with their lives.

One of my favorite chapters in the Bible to convince Jews of Jesus Christ being our Savior is Isaiah chapter 53 in its entirety. Anyone reading this prophecy will conclude that Jesus was indeed the Christ – the long-awaited Messiah. Another verse is from the book of John in the New Testament where the Apostle John says,

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God….He came unto HIS OWN (the Jews) and His own received Him not, but as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God….” John nailed it in the very first chapter.

The “People of the Book – Jews” are a special people in the eyes of God; as a matter of fact, they are referred to as the Apple of God’s eye in the Bible. Thus, the Bible says, anyone cursing them (Jews) will be cursed by God, and anyone blessing them will be blessed of God.

We followers of Christ must realize that they are just as much in need of a Savior as the rest of us (Gentiles), since they too are capable of grievous sins. You might even say that they are a microcosm of humankind, the best of the best and worst of the worse. Nevertheless, they are God’s chosen people and we should recognize them as such, since it was through them that we are introduced to the one and only God – Jehovah, the Ten Commandments, the oracles of God and prophetic scripture.

NOTE:  Mike Pence heads up a delegation of prominent U.S. Christians to meet with prominent Jewish leaders in the coming days – in Israel – the two most persecuted religions in the world.

On movies:

“The Darkest Hour” was historically correct and could have been better lit (I can understand the nuance of having the movie dark at times, but it was a little overdone). At times the English brogue was hard to understand, but Gary Oldman’s performance was outstanding. Being a war movie, however, there was not enough action for me. I’m sure there was a lot going on at the time.

Clint Eastwood is a multi-talented artist (second only to Mel Gibson), so he should have known better than to let the true-life heroes of his latest film “15:17 To Paris” cajole him into letting themselves star in this film. There was no emoting (showing of emotion such as fear, hope, desire, etc.). The same can be said for the children in the film. Furthermore, much of it was like a travelogue. It could be that Clint was challenging himself in the belief that he could pull a performance out of these untalented real-life heroes. Mel Gibson can do it, but it is a very hard – if not impossible thing for others to do.

YBIC

Jim Towers

You can reach me at jt.filmmaker@yahoo.com  www.thepropheciesbookandmovie and  www.dropzonedelta.com.