​Christian persecution today


​Christian persecution refers to persistently cruel treatment,
​often due to religion or deeply held beliefs
​
Jesus told Christians to spread the word of Christianity,
and acknowledged that this may put them in danger.


And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.
Matthew 10:22
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​There are still some circumstances in the 21st century, where Christians are persecuted because of their beliefs. One example is the bombing of Christian  churches around the world. 
​
Christian Freedom International and Open Doors are examples of organisations in the UK who help persecuted Christians.

Their work in helping these Christians has involved: 
​

• training Christians and church leaders to support them through the trauma they may have suffered
• providing advice and support to Christians who have been victims of disaster 
• speaking on behalf of Christians to help raise awareness of the situation they are in

​'Christians in America and Europe are persecuted. This is not the wild claim of right-wing alarmists but the sober contention of the Bishop of Rome. Standing where St Peter was crucified, preaching on the feast of St Stephen in 2016, Pope Francis described how Christians in the West have come to face a form of “polite persecution” that “takes away from man and woman their freedom, as well as their right to conscientious objection”.
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“Jesus has named the head of this ‘polite’ persecution: the prince of this world,” Francis said. “And when the powerful want to impose behaviours, laws against the dignity of the son of God, they persecute them and go against God the Creator. It is the great apostasy.”

One of the most curious aspects of polite persecution is the refusal of many Christians to acknowledge its reality. If any Christian in the West says that the Church there faces persecution, one of his co-religionists is sure to accuse him of overstating the case. Herein lies the great insidiousness of polite persecution. Rather than being conducted by sword-and-sandals tyrants employing brutal means, it is very often enforced by Christians themselves, in order to flatter and serve their secular betters. Time and again they rush to denounce other Christians as “hateful”, “insensitive” and “bigoted” – in a word, impolite.'

This dynamic was especially pronounced in the case of the Covington Catholic students. When the students were denounced as racist-misogynists because they had joined the March for Life and wore Trump hats, Bishop John Stowe of Lexington wrote an op-ed suggesting the students had chosen to “uncritically ally” with Trump. He apparently did not watch the full video, in which the Covington students can be seen mocking members of the Black Hebrew Israelites for their gay-baiting and racist remarks. The Covington boys are not exactly the alt-right avatars some fevered imaginations assume all Trump supporters must be.

Christians should think twice about engaging in this form of self-policing.

While acknowledging that refinement is preferable to rudeness, and eloquence preferable to crudity, they must stand with their co-religionists who, in sincerely trying to defend the faith, are attacked for incidental violations of political correctness. To do anything less is to become complicit in a form of persecution that is also a kind of class war.

What Christians should urge each other to advance in is the properly Christian virtues of faith, hope and charity.

​These virtues will, when expressed in moments of perfect peace, also radiate respect, compassion and sensitivity.

When the world hates the Church – as, alas, it always has – faith, hope, and love will sometimes seem rude, insolent or cruel. No one who loves peace could celebrate this fact, but neither could any realist deny it.

Western Christians have little reason for self-pity in the face in polite persecution. We have known that the Church will always be persecuted – that this is almost a mark of the Church – and that the real peril is not any penalty a Christian might suffer, but the temptation to join the persecutors in hounding those Catholics who choose to suffer for Christ.
​
As Pope Francis reminds us, polite persecution is real.

​But none of its threats remotely approach the torments suffered by our brothers dying as Christians have always died – at Rome, Tyburn and the Libyan seaside.'

​


Article:

https://catholicherald.co.uk/the-dangerous-rise-of-the-polite-catholic/
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 One of the decisive proofs for the divine origin of the Bible is the prolific presence of predictive prophecy. Particularly impressive is the way God prompted numerous spokesmen to foreshadow New Testament events during the four millennia preceding Christ’s arrival on Earth. Not only did the Old Testament prophets predict that Jesus would be born and then die an atoning death, they also anticipated the establishment of the Church of Christ. What’s more, the 8th-century B.C. Messianic prophet Isaiah meticulously documented the fact that a “new name” would be given to the followers of Christ. This new name stands in stark contrast to the host of religious names and titles that mere humans have invented over the past 2,000 years. Nevertheless, God pre-planned in eternity to bestow upon the followers of Christ the name “Christian.” 

​So, how Is the Bible historically accurate?... Do we have the correct books in the Bible today?... Hasn't the Bible been changed by men over time? 

As Christians, we believe the ultimate authority is the word of God. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit will lead us in all truth (John 16:13). It also affirms that God will preserve his Word, meaning his Word will supernaturally be kept pure (Psalm 12:6-7).

There are many things Christians can research, both in God's word and externally, to build a good case for the reliability of the Bible. Namely, canonization of the Bible, historical accuracy of the Bible, Messianic prophecies, and New Testament manuscripts.


Canonization of the Bible 

One of the most important issues when it comes to the Bible is the number of books. Protestant Bibles contain 66 books. Whereas, Catholic Bibles hold 73 books, the Ethiopic Bible has 83. Who is correct? As Christians, we know the voice of God by the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The issue of Canon, meaning: an authoritative list of books accepted as Holy Scripture, can be broken down into three categories:
The first is Community Determined (Roman Catholic Model), the second is Historically Determined (A Historical Investigation Exclusively), and third as Self Authenticating (Studying the content within the Bible).

The Self Authenticating Model, as Michael Kruger professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary calls it, should be the model Christians follow. It leaves no neutral ground for the skeptic and sets Jesus and his Word as the authority.



There are three questions we can ask when it comes to recognizing which books should be biblical canon.  


1.) Apostolic Origin: 

Was this book written by an apostle or an associate of an apostle?
When we review the list of books, can we connect any of the authors to the original apostles in the first century? This is important because it gives weight and trust to the book in question. If we have a book with an unknown writer, it should lead us to investigate this text a little more.


2.) Corporate Reception: 

Was the early church receptive to this book in the 1st century? 
If the book in question was rotating among the early church and accepted as the Word of God, it can be trusted. Origen, an early church father, produced a list of books in the New Testament by 250 A.D.


3.) Cross Reference:

Do these books agree with each other and with God’s voice? 
This is important because if a book agrees with another book, we are able to see unity in Scripture. Many books found in the Catholic Bible contain historical errors and contradictions. This is important to note because God does not contradict himself (Numbers 23:19).

We don't pick and choose which books belong in the Bible; we recognize the voice of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. We look at the content within these books and build a reasonable case. We also ask important questions and allow God to lead us in the path of truth.


​Historical Accuracy of the Bible

The Bible describes events and places throughout thousands of years of history. Many of these places and events are verified from Archaeology. Archaeology cannot prove if the Bible is the inspired word of God, but it can show us if things found in the Bible are true or false. By excavating biblical sites, archaeologists have proven many facts claimed in the word of God.


Example 1: Lysanias

Critics had a problem with Luke 3:1 where it speaks of "Lysanias" as being the governor/ruler of Abilene during the time of John the Baptist. This was counted as an "error" in the Bible until an inscription was found with the name "Lysanias" as a ruler in Abilene. This discovery introduced the theory of two rulers with the same name – one about 50 years prior to the one mentioned in Luke 13.


Example 2:The Hittites

Critics have claimed the Hittites (Genesis 15:20, Exodus 3:8, Joshua 1:4) were mythical people. But by the end of the 19th century, monuments were discovered by William Wright proving that these people did exist. The Bible was right once again.


Example 3: Pontius Pilate 

Many scholars began to doubt the existence of Pontius Pilate throughout history. That all changed in 1961 when a piece of limestone stone was discovered that had inscribed the name "Pontius Pilate.” An Italian archaeologist, Dr. Antonio Frova, came across this discovery while excavating an ancient Roman theatre in Caesarea, Israel. In 2018, archaeologists also identified “a 2,000-year-old copper alloy ring bearing his name,” according to this New York Times article.



Example 4: Isaiah and the Dead Sea Scrolls

The Dead Sea Scrolls was one of the greatest discoveries in modern times. Before this 1947 discovery, many skeptics questioned the copies of Isaiah in the Old Testament. Skeptics said the book had been changed and revised by men throughout the centuries. It wasn't until scholars dated the Great Isaiah Scroll (one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls found in 1947 in the caves of Qumran), that they discovered the book of Isaiah’s amazing accuracy. The Dead Sea Scrolls copy of Isaiah dates 1,000 years prior to the copy previously possessed.


Messianic Prophecies  

Many religions have books that claim to be the truth, but only the Bible contains verified prophecies. Fulfilled prophecy is solid evidence that God is the divine author of The Bible.
​
Isaiah 7:14 says, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." Centuries later, we read in Matthew 1:18,25 that Mary was indeed a virgin, yet she delivered Jesus into this world.

Not only was this child prophesied to be born from a virgin, but he was to come from Bethlehem, according to Micah 5:2. In Matthew 2:1 we discover that this exact prophecy happened, Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

The crucifixion was a major event in history, but is this a prophecy? Yes. In John 19:23-24 we get a picture of how Jesus was crucified: soldiers cast lots for his garments and pierced his hands. We see the same language and detail prophesied in Psalms 22 many centuries before the historical event.

​

New Testament Manuscripts

Critics always look for new ways to attack the New Testament and its reliability. Many say it’s not reliable as a historical document despite having over 5,600 Greek copies in possession today, which is more than we have of the work of Homer, Plato, Lucretius, and Aristotle.

In addition to this, the New Testament is about 99.5% textually pure. This means the variants are grammatical and minor that occurred in copy over time, but there has been no change in teaching or doctrine. This should give us confidence that we follow true teachings passed down by Jesus and the Apostles.

As Christians, we must believe the word of God and trust in God’s Spirit of truth to “guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13). Our foundation must start with this truth in mind. If we root our ultimate authority in history or external data, it can change or put us on shaky ground with a skeptic because it goes through human hands to determine what is reliable and what is not. As Christians, we must believe the ultimate authority is the word of God.
This article is adapted from the author’s free video series, “Is The Bible Really Complete?”
​

Edward Antonio is the Founder of Elevating Your Life and a student of theology and church history. He lives in Orange County, CA and is part of Harvest Christian Fellowship. Find him on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/mredwardantonio/ or answering Bible questions at: https://elevatingyourlife.org/.

Paul and Revelation:
​
​Paul and Revelation: Building the unified, multi-ethnic church

1. The biblical world was multi-ethnic, and numerous different ethnic groups, including Black Africans, were involved in God’s unfolding plan of redemption.
2. All people are created in the image of God, and therefore all races and ethnic groups have the same equal status and equal unique value.
3. Inter-ethnic marriages are sanctioned by Scripture when they are within the faith.
4. The gospel demands that we carry compassion and the message of Christ across ethnic lines.
5. The NT teaches that as Christians we are all unified together “in Christ,” regardless of our differing ethnicities. Furthermore, our primary concept of self-identity should not be our ethnicity, but our membership as part of the body and family of Christ.  
6. The picture of God’s people at the climax of history depicts a multi-ethnic congregation from every tribe, language, people, and nation, all gathered together in worship around God’s throne.

At the center of Paul’s theology is the doctrine of justification by faith. That is, believers are forgiven their sins and are justified before God by the grace of God through faith in Christ. Yet Paul also develops the consequential and practical outworking of this doctrine. Since we all come before God based on what Christ has done for us rather than what we have done, then we are all equal before him. Paul stresses this in passages such as Galatians 3:28, “There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; you are all one in Christ Jesus.” The slightest notion of ethnic superiority is a denial of the theological reality of justification.
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Furthermore, Paul’s emphasis is not just on equality, but on unity. Thus in Colossians 3:11 he writes, “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.” Likewise in Ephesians 2:14-16 Paul stresses that in Christ groups that were formerly hostile (like the Jews and Gentiles) are now brought together in unity in one body.

Paul is not just commending toleration of other ethnic groups in the Church, he is teaching complete unity and common identity among the groups. He proclaims that we are all members of the same family, parts of the same body. Once we have been saved by faith and brought into Christ, then our perception of our self-identity must change, leading to a radical shift in thinking about other groups of people within the faith as well. Our primary identity now lies in the fact that we are Christians, part of Christ and his kingdom. This overshadows and overrides all other identities. Thus the primary identity for us, whether we are White Christians or Black Christians (or Asian or Latin American, etc.) is that we are Christian (“in Christ”).

​This should dominate our thinking and our self-identity. We should now view ourselves as more closely related to Christians from other ethnicities than we are to non-Christians of our own ethnicity. We don’t just tolerate each other or “accept” each other; we realize that we are connected together into one entity as kinfolk, brothers and sisters of the same family, united and on equal footing before God, and only because of what God has done for us. This does not obliterate the reality of skin color or cultural differences. What it changes is where we look for our primary self-identity. Our ethnic distinctions should shrink to insignificance in light of our new identity of being “in Christ” and part of his family.
​
This unity is brought to a climax in the Book of Revelation. Central to the climactic consummation presented in Revelation is the gathering of multi-ethnic groups around the throne of Christ. Revelation 5:9 introduces this theme by proclaiming that Christ has redeemed people “from every tribe and language and people and nation.” This fourfold grouping (tribe, language, people, nation) occurs seven times in Revelation (5:9; 7:9; 10:11; 11:9; 13:7; 14:6; 17:15). In the symbolic world within the Book of Revelation the number four represents the world while the number seven represents completion. Thus the seven-fold use of this four element phrase is an emphatic indication that all peoples and ethnicities are included in the final gathering of God’s redeemed people around his throne to sing his praises. 

​Building the unified, multi-ethnic church
At the center of Paul’s theology is the doctrine of justification by faith. That is, believers are forgiven their sins and are justified before God by the grace of God through faith in Christ. Yet Paul also develops the consequential and practical outworking of this doctrine. Since we all come before God based on what Christ has done for us rather than what we have done, then we are all equal before him. Paul stresses this in passages such as Galatians 3:28, “There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; you are all one in Christ Jesus.” The slightest notion of ethnic superiority is a denial of the theological reality of justification.

Furthermore, Paul’s emphasis is not just on equality, but on unity. Thus in Colossians 3:11 he writes, “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.” Likewise in Ephesians 2:14-16 Paul stresses that in Christ groups that were formerly hostile (like the Jews and Gentiles) are now brought together in unity in one body.

Paul is not just commending toleration of other ethnic groups in the Church, he is teaching complete unity and common identity among the groups. He proclaims that we are all members of the same family, parts of the same body. Once we have been saved by faith and brought into Christ, then our perception of our self-identity must change, leading to a radical shift in thinking about other groups of people within the faith as well. Our primary identity now lies in the fact that we are Christians, part of Christ and his kingdom. This overshadows and overrides all other identities. Thus the primary identity for us, whether we are White Christians or Black Christians (or Asian or Latin American, etc.) is that we are Christian (“in Christ”).

​This should dominate our thinking and our self-identity. We should now view ourselves as more closely related to Christians from other ethnicities than we are to non-Christians of our own ethnicity. We don’t just tolerate each other or “accept” each other; we realize that we are connected together into one entity as kinfolk, brothers and sisters of the same family, united and on equal footing before God, and only because of what God has done for us. This does not obliterate the reality of skin color or cultural differences. What it changes is where we look for our primary self-identity. Our ethnic distinctions should shrink to insignificance in light of our new identity of being “in Christ” and part of his family.
​
This unity is brought to a climax in the Book of Revelation. Central to the climactic consummation presented in Revelation is the gathering of multi-ethnic groups around the throne of Christ. Revelation 5:9 introduces this theme by proclaiming that Christ has redeemed people “from every tribe and language and people and nation.” This fourfold grouping (tribe, language, people, nation) occurs seven times in Revelation (5:9; 7:9; 10:11; 11:9; 13:7; 14:6; 17:15). In the symbolic world within the Book of Revelation the number four represents the world while the number seven represents completion. Thus the seven-fold use of this four element phrase is an emphatic indication that all peoples and ethnicities are included in the final gathering of God’s redeemed people around his throne to sing his praises. 

​THE BIBLE’S UNIQUE DESIGN

Ten Reasons to Trust the Bible –

​Reason 1

The Bible has a “unique” design. Indeed, it is one-of-a-kind — like no other book that has ever been written. There is nothing like it and it has no equal. This can be seen in a number of ways:

1. It Was Fifteen Hundred Years in the Making
From the composition of the first biblical book until the last, a period of about fifteen hundred years elapsed. The Old Testament was written between 1400 and 400 B.C. The books of the New Testament were written from approximately A.D. 40 to A.D. 90.

Thus, we have about fifteen hundred years from the writing of the first book to the composition of the last book.

2. The Bible Was Written by Many Authors from Various Occupations
Thousands of years ago, God chose certain men to receive His divine Words and then record them for humanity. In total, over forty different human authors wrote the books of the Bible. These writers came from a variety of backgrounds and occupations.

These people included shepherds, Hosea and Amos, fishermen Peter and John, a former tax collector, Matthew, a doctor, Luke, and a military general, Joshua. At least four of the writers lived in the royal household: the kings, David and Solomon, a prime minister, Daniel, and a cupbearer, Nehemiah.
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Only a few of them, such as Paul, Luke, Daniel and Moses, received the finest education of their time. In sum, each of these authors had unique experiences and each one of them was different in their character or makeup.

3. Scripture Was Written in Different Literary Forms with Different Writing Styles
The Bible consists of a number of different literary forms. Scripture is a collection of letters, sermons, laws, poetic descriptions, narratives of historical events, prayers, praise, practical sayings and the warnings of the prophets.
The sixty-six books also contain a wide array of writing styles that express the entire range of human emotions.

Therefore, what we find in the Bible is a wide range of literary forms as well as different literary ability on the part of the authors.

4. The Biblical Books Were Written upon Three Continents
The books of the Bible were composed upon three different continents—Africa, Asia and Europe. For example, the writings of Ezekiel were composed in Babylon (Asia); Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible in the Sinai desert (Africa); and the Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the believers in Philippi while in Rome (Europe).

5. Scripture Was Composed in Different Physical Circumstances
There were a variety of circumstances in which the Biblical books were composed. Moses, for example, wrote while leading the children of Israel through the wilderness. Jeremiah penned his book while in a dungeon in Israel. Ezekiel composed his work while a captive in Babylon.

The Apostle Paul wrote several of his letters while in a Roman prison. John the evangelist wrote the Book of Revelation while banished to the island of Patmos. Obviously, there was not one particular place or circumstance in which all of the biblical books were composed.

Though many other religions had a certain place where the ‘divine word’ was revealed, this is not the case with the Bible. The God of the Bible was able to reveal Himself in many different places and over an extended period of time.

6. Three Different Ancient Languages Were Employed in the Writing of Scripture
The Bible was written in three different ancient languages. The Old Testament was written mostly in Hebrew with some parts composed in Aramaic—a language similar to Hebrew. The New Testament was originally written in Greek.

7. There Are Many Different Subjects Covered in the Bible
The Bible also covers a variety of diverse subjects. Some of these subjects were historical, what has happened in history, while some of the subjects were prophetical, what will happen in the future. These subjects include such things as: the existence and nature of God, the creation of the universe, how human beings originated, the meaning of human existence, the purpose of our existence, the final destiny of humankind and the planet earth.

8. They Wrote about the Unknown Future
Many of the biblical writers wrote about events that were to happen in the future. These events were unknown to humans, but known to God. While not every biblical author addressed events in the future, many of them did. Therefore, the Bible is a book that contains a number of different predictions of future events from a variety of different writers.

9. The Biblical Writers Received Their Message in Different Ways
There is also the fact that the writers of Scripture received their messages in different ways. God directly told some writers what to say. Others were given their message in visions and dreams. Still others were given divine inspiration when they wrote.

And finally, there were others whom God directed to record historical events as well as God’s interpretation of the events. The point is this: the writers of Scripture received God’s Word in a number of different ways.

The writer to the Hebrews noted this when he wrote:
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. (Hebrews 1:1-2)
God spoke at different times, in different ways and to different people.

10. Most Authors Did Not Know One Another
Because the Bible was written over a period of fifteen hundred years, most of the writers did not personally know the other writers of Scripture. Neither were they familiar with their writings. For example, the Old Testament authors would have been unfamiliar with the New Testament writers and writings. Indeed, it was not composed until 400 years after the Old Testament was completed.

Therefore, since most of the writers were separated from one another by both time and space, and were not personally acquainted with each another, there is no chance that they could have conspired together.

Conclusion:
We Would Expect Chaos to Result from These Diverse CircumstancesHence, the Bible was written over a period of fifteen hundred years by forty different human authors from various backgrounds who wrote in different languages, upon different continents, in different circumstances, upon different subjects, including the unknown future, and in different literary forms. These authors, for the most part, did not know each other. With all of these contrasts, one would expect something chaotic and disjointed when their writings were assembled into one book.

The Amazing Thing: There Is One Unfolding Story in Scripture
Yet the Bible is a unity; one unfolding account from beginning to end in complete harmony and continuity.

The Old Testament is incomplete without the New Testament, and yet the New Testament does not make sense without the Old Testament. Together the two testaments give a harmonious account of the dealings of God with humanity without any contradiction. Jesus made this clear when He said the following:

Scripture cannot be broken. (John 10:35)
There is one system of teaching, and one plan of salvation.
Scripture Is Christ-CenteredThere is more. The main theme of the Bible is the Person of Jesus Christ. Both the Old and New Testaments testify to Jesus Christ as the Lord of Glory.

Jesus Himself told the religious rulers of His day that the Old Testament Scriptures spoke of Him.

The Gospel according to John records Jesus saying the following:
You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me... If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. (John 5:39,46)According to Jesus, Old Testament history is His story.

He is the theme of the Old Testament.
On the day Jesus rose from the dead, He walked alongside two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus. During their conversation, the Bible records Jesus explaining how the Old Testament spoke of Him.

We read:
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. (Luke 24:27)The resurrected Christ explained that the Old Testament predicted His coming.

Later on that day, Jesus said the following to His disciples:
This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. (Luke 24:44)
Thus, according to Jesus, the Hebrew Scripture is all about Him.
As we shall see, the evidence demonstrates Jesus’ claim to be true.
The Old Testament—Preparation for the Christ: the Promise of His ComingAfter the creation and fall of humanity, God promised to send a Savior. He established an elaborate system of sacrifices that looked forward to the coming of the Savior or Deliverer.

The Old Testament prepares for the coming of the promised Deliverer—also known as the Messiah. The prophet Isaiah spoke of this. He wrote:
A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” (Isaiah 40:3)
The theme that runs throughout the entire Old Testament is the establishment of the kingdom of God through the reign of the Messiah. The Old Testament looks forward to His coming.

The Gospels’ Manifestation of the Christ: the Proof of His ComingThe gospels record the manifestation of the predicted Messiah. The New Testament testifies of the arrival of the One promised in the Old Testament.

We read John saying about Jesus:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1,14)

The Messiah came as promised.
John the Baptist testified that Jesus was the One who would take away the sins of the world.

The Bible says:
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)
Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy regarding the promised Savior.

Acts—the Propagation of Jesus’ Message: His Message Goes Out to the Entire WorldThe Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, came into the world as had been predicted in the Old Testament. However, Christ was not accepted by His people. The Bible tells us that Jesus died on a cross for the sins of the world and three days later rose from the dead. Forty days after His resurrection, He ascended into heaven.

Before returning to heaven, Jesus told His disciples the following:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
They were instructed to tell others the gospel, or good news, of His death and resurrection. The propagation of the message of the risen Christ is recorded in the Book of Acts.

Paul—the Explanation of Jesus’ Coming: the Two Comings of Christ Explained
Why did the Christ, or Messiah, have to die when He came into the world?
Was this something that the Old Testament had predicted?
Yes, it was. In his letters, the Apostle Paul, gives the explanation of the two comings of Christ.

He wrote to the Colossians:
I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness-- the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:25-27)
The “mystery” or “sacred secret” has now been revealed. The Old Testament Scripture actually spoke of two different comings of Christ into the world. The Christ, or Messiah, would come the first time to die. Jesus fulfilled this prediction at His first coming. Scripture records how He died for the sins of the world but then rose from the dead three days later. Later He ascended into heaven.

However, our world will see Jesus again. Indeed, the Bible says that He will come a second time to the earth. The same Jesus who was crucified and rose from the dead will return to our earth to rule over it. This is what the Old Testament also predicted. The Apostle Paul was the man chosen by God to explain these two comings of Christ.

Paul emphasized that Christ now resides in those who believe in Jesus by means of the Holy Spirit. This promise is given to everyone who believes in Him. This includes Gentiles (non-Jews) as well as Jews.

Revelation—the Consummation of All Things in Christ: Jesus Christ Will ReturnFinally, we come to the Book of Revelation, which records Christ coming back to rule and reign upon the earth. The Bible says:
“Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen. (Revelation 1:7)
All things that have been predicted in the Old and New Testament will be consummated in the return of Jesus Christ.

To sum up, the Old Testament records the preparation for the coming of Christ while the Gospels record His coming or manifestation. The Book of Acts chronicles the propagation of the gospel (the good news) concerning Jesus Christ and the letters of Paul explain the two comings of Christ as well as the implications of the gospel for our lives. The Book of Revelation describes the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the establishment of His eternal kingdom. Again, it is all about Him!

The Bible glorifies Jesus Christ and centers on Him. It provides one harmonious message from beginning to end, and this message is all about the Lord Jesus.

A Challenge to Duplicate the Unity of the Bible in Modern Times
Those who do not consider the harmony of the Bible as something amazing should accept the following challenge:
Locate twenty people, all living at the same time, who all speak the same language, who have the same amount of education and come from the same social background. Put them in separate rooms and ask them to write their opinion on only two controversial subjects, such as the nature and existence of God and the purpose of life here on earth.

Would you expect their writings to agree? Would you find one unfolding account from beginning to end with no contradictions or distortions? Not at all! You would expect to get about twenty different opinions.

Then how can we explain the unity of the Bible?
The Bible consists of forty authors, not twenty, writing over a fifteen hundred year time span, not writing at the same time, writing from different educational backgrounds, in different languages, from different cultures and writing on many different subjects (including the unknown future).

Yet, they write with complete unity and harmony. The way that the Scriptures have been composed argues against their unity, yet we find that there is an intelligent design throughout the pages of Scripture.

Conclusion: There Is One Author Who Is Behind All of the Books; God HimselfThe explanation that the Bible gives for its remarkable unity is that God has divinely inspired the process.

The one author of the books of the Bible is God the Holy Spirit. The Bible says the following:
All Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16)
The claim is that all Scripture is “God-breathed.” This means the authority of God is ultimately behind the composition of each book.

Peter wrote about how all of Scripture is divinely inspired. He said:
Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:20-21)

Ultimately, the Scriptures are not of mere human origin.

Hence, the harmony of the Bible can be understood by realizing that the ultimate author behind the books is God. This fact puts the Bible in a class by itself.
It is evidence like this that led the great archaeologist, W. F. Albright, to make the following conclusions with respect to the Bible:
The Bible towers in content above all earlier religious literature; and it towers just as impressively over all subsequent literature in the direct simplicity of its message and... its appeal to men of all lands and times.
(W.F. Albright, The Christian Century, November, 1958)

Therefore, the unique design of the Bible is truly a wondrous thing. It is different from all other books that have ever been written. Throughout its pages, it clearly shows that an Intelligent Designer is behind each and every Book.


Summary – Reason 2

The Bible’s Unique DesignThe Bible has a unique makeup. It is different from any other book that has ever been composed. Over forty different authors wrote the various books over a period of fifteen hundred years. These authors came from all walks of life with different experiences, different levels of education and different personal makeup. They include fishermen, shepherds, a doctor and a former tax collector. These differences are reflected in their writing styles.

The biblical authors lived on three different continents—Africa, Asia and Europe. They also wrote under a number of different circumstances—including persecution and prison. The authors of Scripture wrote in three different languages—Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. The Bible was written in a number of different literary forms such as narrative, poetry and law.

The writers of the various books cover many different topics such as the existence of God, the creation and purpose of humankind, the explanation for the origin of evil and the coming of the Savior. They also wrote about the unknown future.

In addition, the writers received their messages in a number of different ways including dreams, visions and direct revelation. Also, the writers of Scripture, for the most part, did not even know one another.

Yet when their writings are put together there is one harmonious account from beginning to end with Jesus Christ as the main character. What is the best explanation for this feature? It is the one that the Bible gives about itself—it is the Word of the living God.

In fact, Jesus Himself testified to the unity of the Scripture. He said that the Old Testament was all about Him. While it looked forward to His coming, the gospels record the fulfillment of these promises.

​The Book of Acts records the message of Jesus going out to the world. The New Testament letters provide the explanation of the two comings of Christ while the Book of Revelation records the consummation of all things in Christ.

Consequently, when we examine the Scripture, we find clear evidence of intelligent design from beginning to end. This unique design of the Bible is a true wonder.

'It frightens and saddens me that something as big and as utterly public as Nazism could be the object of so much politically-motivated obfuscation.

No,
Nazism was Not an 'expression of Christianity.'

Nazism's roots could not be more obvious. Nazis themselves announced publicly and often their thought processes.
​
The Big Lie never dies. Good people must always resist it. And we must invite our friends to learn the truth. '

Article: 

​http://bieganski-the-blog.blogspot.com/2014/05/nazisms-inspirations-and-foundations.html



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Article:

https://creation.com/countering-christophobia


To whom do we attribute the accomplishments of Western civilization? For several decades, post-modern intellectual elites and their followers in the general culture have considered this a question that shouldn’t even be asked. In their minds, the ‘achievements’ of the West have been the oppression and impoverishment of people of colour (who were all peaceful egalitarian folk, of course), along with environmental destruction. And often these charges are laid at the door of Christianity, with its alleged intolerance, racism and sexism.
Carroll and Shiflett’s book is the perfect antidote to these charges. In one sense, it is a more accessible companion to the more recent book by Rodney Stark, For the Glory of God, reviewed last issue.

The authors demonstrate that despotic tyranny, slavery, racism and environmental destruction have been practised all around the world for most of history.

​ Only in the West, however, did humanity begin to rise up against these behaviours. And it was Christians, and often only Christians, who led the charge against them.
​ They describe the commonest, broad charges against Christianity and turn them back on critics. In the process they document some of the intemperance that passes for journalism, and the peculiar ignorance of history evident in the works of critics.
​
If the writings of sociopolitical pundits, essayists and commentators are any indication, it has been our observation that since ‘September 11’, the post-modern paradigm has begun to crack. On that day, the Western world was reminded that large parts of the globe have not risen above barbarism and tyranny. There seems to be a renewed realization that what the West has achieved in terms of egalitarianism, human rights, technological advancement and freedom is, in fact, unique and quite remarkable.
​
So that brings us back to the original question; to whom do we attribute the accomplishments of Western civilization? The standard line of modernist secularists is that it was the Enlightenment sceptics who broke the shackles of Christianity’s Dark Age thinking, and brought about scientific discovery and the equality of all people.

But the authors show that this cannot be maintained. The Roman world and the rest of pagan Europe knew nothing of universal equality. It was introduced to Rome by the Apostle Paul, who declared that ‘There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male or female.’ So, when in 1776 Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, he could write words such as ‘we hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal’ and, as the authors put it, ‘expect his readers not to laugh out loud’ (as they would have done in most places and times).



Christians led the way to abolish slavery

The antislavery forces in the USA were influenced by William Wilberforce (1759–1833), who tirelessly fought for 50 years against slavery in Britain, basing his opposition on biblical morality. Wilberforce realized that the dominion mandate of Genesis 1:28 did not extend to fellow humans. He also understood that 1 Timothy 1:10lists ‘slave traders’ (andrapodistes) with murderers, adulterers, perverts, liars and other evil people. Paul also encouraged Philemon to free his escaped slave Onesimus (Philemon 16), and ordered masters to treat their slaves in the ‘same way’ as they were treated, and not to threaten them (Ephesians 6:9). Such practice would see the end of slavery.

Wilberforce, in turn, had been influenced by the preaching of John Newton (1725–1807), who wrote the famous hymn Amazing Grace. Newton, in his earlier days, had been a slave trader himself before his conversion to Christ. After conversion, he first insisted that slaves were treated humanely, then came to see that since the slaves were also created in the image of God, the slave trade was wrong, regardless. He left the trade, became friends with the great evangelists George Whitefield and the Wesleys, became a minister, and testified to King George III about the atrocities of the slave trade.

Another prominent antislavery activist in Britain was Granville Sharp (1735–1813). He was almost single-handedly responsible for a law that a slave became free from the moment he set foot on English territory. He also founded a society for the abolition of slavery. He was also a joint founder of the British and Foreign Bible Society and the Society for the Conversion of the Jews. A noted Greek scholar, he published a detailed and accurate study, discovering a rule of grammar that’s accepted by the majority of Bible translators today and now bears his name. But the existing English translations had overlooked this rule; thus, as he pointed out, they obscured the deity of Christ in places like Titus 2:13 and 2 Peter 1:1, which should say ‘our (great) God and Saviour Jesus Christ’.

Because of their tireless efforts, Britain not only abolished slavery, but used her gunboats to enforce the ban on other nations—i.e. she imposed her morality on others! [Ed. note: A new book Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire’ Slaves by Adam Hochschild (2005) explains more. Thomas Sowell summarizes: 

‘The anti-slavery movement was spearheaded by people who would today be called “the religious right” and its organization was created by conservative businessmen. Moreover, what destroyed slavery in the non-Western world was Western imperialism.’]Christianity on Trial points out that pagan philosophers, like Aristotle, regarded some people as natural slaves, and ‘Enlightenment’ philosophers hostile to Christianity such as Hume and Voltaire believed in inferiority of dark-skinned people. Darwinism added to the problem. Moreover, and a shock to sceptics, statements such as ‘Things have come to a pretty pass when religion is allowed to invade public life’ were used by the 19th-century UK Prime Minister Lord Melbourne to support the status quo of slavery. Doesn’t this sound like something comfortable in the mouth of a representative from the ACLU (the misnamed American Civil Liberties Union)?
​


‘Hitler was a Christian!’ Annihilating atheist arguments


NO, Nazism was not derived from Christianity, 
​
NazismOpposed Christianity

All Dictatorships use force, propaganda, and indoctrination to enforce
''man-made ideologies'

Often, under the 'disguise of religion''


The authors also rightly point out the error of trying to paint the Nazis as Christian, and document the stridently anti-Nazi statements by the Confessing Church and Pope Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli) and their work in saving lives. [Ed. note: Rabbi David Dalin’s book The Myth of Hitler’ Pope (2005; see summary article by Dr Dalin, A Righteous Gentile: Pope Pius XII and the Jews) documents that Pius saved more Jews than Schindler, hiding them in his papal holiday residence and encouraging many Jew-rescuers. But the revisionists think they know better than the many leading Jews of his day for his role in saving more Jews than Schindler. Pius’ admirers included Chief Rabbi Isaac Herzog of Israel, Israeli Prime Ministers Golda Meir and Moshe Sharett, and Israel’s first president Chaim Weizmann. Especially notable is Israel Zolli, Chief Rabbi of Rome who converted to Catholicism and took the baptismal name Eugenio in the pope’ honor.] 

In this section it would be better if some quotes were more thoroughly documented. But the authors’ conclusion is totally in line with the opening address of the leading prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials, Justice Jackson; e.g. ‘The Nazi Party always was predominantly anti-Christian in its ideology’, and ‘carried out a systematic and relentless repression of all Christian sects and churches’.9 It is also consistent with the enormous amount of documentation by American Prosecutor General William Donovan, which showed that the Nazis also planned to systematically destroy Christianity.

If the Nuremberg documentation weren’t already enough, a book published after Christianity on Trial should clinch matters. Richard Weikart, Associate Professor of Modern European History at California State University, Stanislaus, wrote From Darwin to Hitler.11 He documents how Darwinian biologists and social thinkers in Germany believed that Darwinism overturned traditional Judeo-Christian and Enlightenment ethics, in particular that of the sanctity of innocent human life. But while they supported moral relativism, they substituted the absolute of evolutionary ‘fitness’.It is actually no accident that Nazism originated in the country where liberal theology was spawned. Hardly surprising—they got rid of biblical absolutes, and had to replace them with some other absolutes, so why not the absolutes of the intelligentsia of their day? 
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​Conversely, while there was a Confessing Church (i.e. that believed the Bible) opposed to Hitler, they were in such a minority that the young German-born Ernst Mayr (later one of the leading evolutionists of the 20thcentury) could say, ‘Indeed, in Germany at that time there was no Protestant fundamentalism.’

‘Greenie’ gripes
​Christianity on Trial also counters much of the anti-Christian propaganda from certain influential sections of the environmentalist movement. For instance, the historian Lynn White Jr said in this context: ‘Christianity [insists] that it is God’s will that man exploit nature for his proper ends.’ Indeed, the dominion mandate is often savaged, because it records God commanding man to have dominion over the earth. However, the Hebrew word for dominion is radah, and 1 Kings 4:24–25 says that Solomon’s radah resulted in peace, safety and ‘each man under his own vine and fig tree’. So the type of radah must be decided by context. Since this was spoken by God into an Edenic situation, before the Fall, it is especially hard to imagine any sort of destructive or ruthless implication.

​The book points out that Christianity has had a positive effect on the environment.Conversely, the book shows that pagan and communist countries have often had baneful effects on their environments. Consistent evolutionary thinking, of course, cannot permit the notion that the whole of creation is focused around mankind, so it seeks to portray such an attitude as arrogant anthropocentrism (man-centredness). Interestingly, the idea that because man is nothing special, we should treat other species with special favour suffers from an ironic inconsistency. Since these other species are all ‘out for themselves’, why should mankind, if we are ‘just another species’, not do likewise? In other words, it is the very uniqueness of mankind which gives us the capacity to exercise special care, benevolent radah.

Antidote to anti-Christianity
​After this book, it may be fairly said that those who try to portray Christian history as one long period of tyranny and superstition have not the first clue what they are talking about. 



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