Why would John have to say that? John 1:18

English: Jesus and Nicodemus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Apostle John had just finished saying,

“John *testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'" For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.” John 1:15-17 NASB

What the Apostle John had just said was almost too much to handle, and, keep in mind that John is addressing Jewish converts. A group that before receiving salvation seemed to struggle with the idea that Jesus was the Messiah/God in the flesh. He finished the thought with, “For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”

You can almost feel the tension in the air as they read this last statement.

I imagine the converts wanted to understand, but this needed to be chewed on for a moment. I can just picture John taking an intentional pause, breathing deeply, and then adding this next statement:

“No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” John 1:18 NASB

Why would John have to say that?

We have to go back to his opening lines and try to grasp how the minds received what he said. Some may have been wondering if Jesus still walked the earth. Besides, we are talking about the all mighty God, right?

You would think that the concepts the Apostle John was setting forth were already understood.

Even I can understand that the law of God came through the mouth of Moses, but if God conveyed what we typically see as anger and wrath through the law, then how do I embrace grace and truth, which almost seems in opposition to the law. Furthermore, how do I accept this “freedom” as being through Jesus, who was also here as God, or at least a representative of Him?

Let's try to grasp this for a moment.

• On two occasions Jesus spoke of how he and the Father are one. We find both of those detailed in John's Gospel: John 10:30 and John 17:22.
  When Jesus made the statement in John 10:30, the religious Jewish crowd (this probably consisted of the chief priests, elders, scribes, Pharisee, and Sadducees) reacted, and poorly. To them Jesus words were blasphemous, and, as you can see by their response, they were willing to stone Jesus to death.

John 10:31-33 NASB, The Jews, picked up stones again to stone Him. 32) Jesus answered them, "I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?" 33) The Jews answered Him, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God."

But what is the obvious problem for the religious Jews? They were not going to accept Jesus words. This is not true of all of them because of Nicodemus, one of the elders, came to Him by night. Nicodemus tells us that many believed. Believed what? Jesus word.

• Young's Literal Translation of John 17:22, gives another view of Jesus relating who He was when He said, “And I, the glory that thou hast given to me, have given to them, that they may be one as we are one;”
  Fairly direct, wouldn't you say?
• In Luke's gospel, chapter 22 verse 30, it is recorded that Jesus referred to the table of God as His table.

  “that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (NASB)

  
  
  But once again we have a problem.
  To whom is Jesus saying this? The disciples. We make the assumption that this means twelve men, but we find out that by the time the Holy Spirit fell on them all, there was as many as 120 who carried that title. If the message was that Jesus and God were one and they were excited about that aspect, then how and why would that have been prevented? Only through fear, intimidation, and threats, and that is exactly what the religious Jews did.
• I will end this rant with a passage from Mark's gospel.
  Held like a criminal before the high priest and elders, Jesus was challenged.

  Mark 14:60-64 NASB, The high priest, stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, "Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?"

  
  
  As you can see, He answered them with “I am.”

  61) But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" 62) And Jesus said, "I am; and you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN."

  
  
  Those listening, and they were listening intently, heard every word. It didn't take lengthy discussion because they understood the implications of every word, comma, and period, and yes, I know that the Greek has no punctuation. The list of accusations was already sufficient and substantial. As soon as Jesus said these words, “I am; and you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.” the high priest intentionally ripped his garments.
  From Kenneth Wuest's Word Studies in the New Testament, we get this: “This tearing of garments was an old sign of mourning or sorrow first mentioned in Gen_37:29. The law forbad the high priest from rending his garments in the case of private troubles (Lev_10:6; Lev_21:10), but when acting as a judge, he was required by custom to express in this way his horror of any blasphemy uttered in his presence.” - Me, this was, of course, their interpretation, not knowing that Jesus was God.

  63) Tearing his clothes, the high priest *said, "What further need do we have of witnesses? 64) "You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?" And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.

  
  
  We assume that this was the last straw for putting Jesus to death, but they had tried to kill him on many occasions. What we have to keep in mind is that death was a necessary price to pay for our redemption and a price that He paid willingly.

Now the question, why would the Apostle John have to say the things he said, comes full circle. Hopefully, I presented enough evidence to convince the Bereans among us, that Jesus was God. Do I fully grasp the concept? No, but I am not foolish enough to challenge the idea any longer, and my lack of understanding has created an insatiable desire to learn more completely these things the Jewish leadership understood – and yet repressed. This desire to know the God I choose to serve is the main reason I write, that and the horrific lack of knowledge we "followers" of Christ have about most anything when it comes to the Bible. Simply put, we choose to live in a world of fairy tales, such as David and Goliath, believing that David was just the cutest little twelve-year-old boy. Wake up! What fool would let a child attempt to defend a nation, knowing full well the horrors of enslavement that would befall all of Israel?

Setting the idea of fairy tales aside, the question now is, who do you say this Jesus is?

The answer is important, whether you believe it or not, because:

1. Jesus is coming soon to gather those who belong to him, back to himself.
2. This void left by a praying church will leave many here on earth to suffer the hateful indifference of a godless society; hell bent on the collection of riches. Their decisions, which we are already experiencing, include the killing of those associated with Christ.

While I am not the judge and do not know the hearts of those around me, God does, and the religious practices of these cult religions have shown them enough truth to understand that God is real and that the world around you, at this point, wants you dead.

All my life, practically living in the church, has sheltered me, to some degree, from the world. What that means is that I am thankful I did not develop a taste for most of what the world offers, like drugs and alcohol. What I did find myself consumed by was co-dependency, anxiety, depression, and a Viking-like anger that I used to keep myself safe (so I thought) from people who had the skills to push others around. [This idea of pushing people around is often subtle and done under the guise of people skills.] So, does growing up in church give me an advantage? Hardly, it puts you in the sights of individuals, who have a religious side to them but are almost as twisted and evil as the world.

I am not going to lie to you, growing up in the church was hard, it should not have been, but it was. Later on in life, after a wife cheated on me for the second time, I allowed myself to indulge in some Viking-like rage and ended up in a psych hospital for a month. Thankfully I learned some things about myself that enable me to walk calmly through most of those anger filled moments. To add to my grief, the psych staff asked me how long my parents had been alcoholics. Try to imagine the questions your mind throws at you in a moment like that, when, to my understanding, my parents have never touched alcohol and yet act like they guzzled the stuff. I still have trouble with it, and, have considered going to something like an Adult Children of Alcoholics group, just to see what help I could gain in understanding me.

All-in-all, I consider myself fortunate that I found Christ at such an early age because the life I lived in Christ gave me a foundation that was rich in a diversity that included: the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. Because of those experiences I have felt all the emotions, I associate with a God that loves me, but spread over many years. Feelings, by the way, buy you nothing in the long run as we are expected to live this life by faith. The problem with years of experience is that the time frame is broad enough for me to become almost numb to it, or at least not react appropriately to the moving of the spirit. It is in those times that I remind myself, as the song says, of all that he has done. Yes, I remind myself, not only from a historical point of view but also of how Jesus has shown up in my life as well.

Jesus, make me yours!!

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Some quick thoughts on hearing the voice of God.

On Monday of this week I got off early from work and went to the market. I was on the hunt for apples, particularly the ones that come in a bag, but this market seems to think that is beneath them. Whatever! Within a few seconds a lady wearing an apron comes around the corner and so I asked her if she knew anything about apples in a bag. Nope, but hey, stick around, we giving away a free paring knife in about five minutes, and she gave me a ticket to claim my free knife. You know I stuck around, besides I had just started my minimal shopping adventure. The knife demonstration began. Although they are impressive, and the paring knife is part of the package, I no longer wished to wait here anymore.
Now this is where the voice of the Lord part comes in. As I decided I no longer wanted to play this knife game anymore I hear this thought; take the aisle behind you, you can slip away quicker and fewer people will notice you leaving. I heard this twice, but since I am trying to learn to be less concerned with what people think about me I opted to merely make a quick left and walk away in front of everyone.
I made it about 10 feet when I hit a puddle of water that I did not see, slipped and slammed down upon my left knee. I ended up laying that puddle of water and probably had everyone looking at me.
Is there a point to this, oh absolutely. Listen to the voice, even if you think it your own. Tuck the foolish pride away in your back pocket, because you do not know what God/the Holy Spirit is trying to spare you from. BTW: That fall hurt a lot, but nothing is broken, I think.
When I was a wee bit younger, I chose to practice hearing God's voice. As I left church one night (I lived in a semi-rural area with a lot of orange groves around) I felt strongly that I was go over to this lady's house (I was trying to gain her attention and she was pretty). I argued with the voice/God about how stupid I felt about this idea but chose to go anyway. I had heard him say to me, "she will be there when you get there". I was fighting with God about this and not paying attention to the road. Suddenly I realized I was about to shoot past it, slammed on my brakes, and spun the car into the long drive way. She was right behind me and pulled immediately next to my car. I told you I was not paying attention. I apologized for scaring her and told her what God had just said to me.

While the conversation was less than productive, I think the point was God was trying to teach me something. I could not tell you that most of this sounded like much more than thoughts in my head, so you have to learn to make the distinction. I think that as you practice trusting him and responding to the sane voices you too will learn to do the right thing; I wish I had that day in the market.
Consider that there is a day coming soon in which a trumpet blast will call us away. I am practicing so that I can hear that call. I have every confidence that I will. I will let you in on a little secret; it sounds like a shofar. I so desire for you all to join me as I meet the one I have longed for, in the air. Turn your life over to the one who gave his life, for your life. That is essentially the ticket, and his name is Jesus Christ.
Have a blessed day
Oz

You have done and said things

Here it is Sunday morning, and I am having a tremendous battle with depression. I did not sleep well, and had dreams that included stressful people in my life to add to it. I brought this on myself. Still, I got myself ready to go to church.

I have been thinking about being here, at this church, everyday since I learned that I would have the day off. What I love about this place is their heart for worship and the spiritual freedoms I find or should I say found here. (To be perfectly honest, I could go without most sermons.) At this place though, worship always gets my batteries recharged.

That being said, the depression like feelings were overwhelming this morning. I was there, but not in a mood to participate. Just the fact that I came should demonstrate my willingness to allow God to bring about some form of healing in me.

Two things happened this morning in worship:

• During worship I suddenly got quiet. At that moment the Spirit began to speak to me – I will elaborate in a moment.
• The other thing is that someone, on stage, said, “nothing can separate you from the love of God.” Although that statement may be something that I am keenly aware of, (it has been a while since I dove into Romans.) and so remarkable that it should be a part of my everyday thinking, it did not cross my mind. Even if it had, would it have had the same effect prior to that moment?

As I stood in worship this Word began to come to me.

“You have done and said things that caused great devastation, not only to those around you, but to your mind and spirit as well.”

At this moment there are those that totally relate to what I just said, and I feel that I am compelled to remind you, Nothing can separate you from the Love of God. I truly felt that this is what I was supposed to post tonight.

As I stood, hearing this I said, “Lord my anger has surely driven people from you and made me look like a fool.”

As the Spirit replied, in my spirit I saw Peter in the garden that night slicing off the man’s ear.¹ God said to me, “in your time they call that attempted murder, and at the least assault, which carries a hefty prison term. Was I able to take care of that situation?”

Of course my answer was yes.

“Then give me the opportunity to take care of this, as well. As for those you feel you have chased away. They are in my hands and are not your concern. The choices they make concerning me are theirs alone.”

“There is nothing to difficult for me.”²

As he continued, he said, “just as management asked you to not be angrily involved with that other employee, and you did that. I want you to remember how relaxed you became once you realized that someone else was in control and you did not have to worry about him anymore.I am asking you now to no longer respond in anger, regardless of the situation, for there is no situation that I do not have a firm grip on the outcome. I am asking you to relax, listen to my voice inside of you, respond according to the voice of faith that I know you hear.

There is no situation that I will not step into on your behalf! There is nothing that prevents you from calling upon my name; as you do you get to relax and watch the mediator do what he does best; you will be stunned. I am telling you this because of my deep love for you, and the fact that my approach is close at hand.

The onslaughts are going to come with the purpose of distracting you from me, and the path that I have put you on. I urge to be awake and watch for me.

Listen for the trumpet blast, you will hear it.

“Many will read this and scoff. To those I say, sleep on. I will know where your allegiance lies. No man will be denied my life and presence who calls upon my name.”

Allow me to explain something to you. When I get a word from the Lord, it seems that I sometimes only get two or three words. Sometimes it is an impression of some need. Occasionally, I am just told to go and be obedient and He fills in the blanks. Although much of what I received was at church this morning, during a time I tend to be listening best, I was not in the best position to write this down. So let’s just say that some time passes and now you have the opportunity to recollect what was said.

One of my greatest desires would be to give the word exactly as I heard it, with clarity, and emotion, but in truth, much of that emotion is me.

If you are going to analyze the prophetic then you must remember that God uses people, and there is not a one of them are not broken; some are retrained under the masters hand, but still broken, so there is always a measure of humanness involved.

These broken people are the same ones that God used to convey this book we call the bible. An example: God told Jonah to convey a message to Nineveh. If you will read the book you will see that Jonah’s brokenness got involved, for he says, “even when you told me to go, I knew you be merciful to them.” What is the problem with that? Nothing, mercy is a good thing, and thankfully God showed mercy on all of us, by having Christ shed his blood for us, but Jonah had some strong motivations to have these people dead, and was probably rooting for it.

I will tell you then that I left there, drove for almost an hour, and stopped to eat. There I pulled out the pad and started transcribing what I remembered, and what he was now telling me as I wrote.

I you have not read my writings then you may not know my background, or should I say, heart. I was a young man when through combination of factors, I felt that God called me to be a prophet. In my minds eye I feel that God has called me to bolster staggering believers, those who may not even feel like believers, and those who are asleep. While this calling aspect may have happened over 30+ years ago I ran from it.

Now why would I do that? Well, one, most folks, like many of you, balk at the idea. And some can down right mean.

About seven years ago I made a foray into giving words that I felt were from the Lord publicly. While most were received well, there was a learning curve involved (I guess), and the last time I was really loud. Some took that to mean that God was mad at them, and they complained. (God will speak to you in a manner that you understand. If he snaps at you to get your attention, then you would be wise to think of him as a Father that is correcting you, and nothing more. I would recommend a positive response from you, should he speak to you like that, because he is all likelyhood trying to save your life from some non-sense.) Anyway, the complaints got me shut down by the pastor that had originally encouraged me. What an odd world, but money talks.

There is a point to this. God is calling me back again, and if he tells me to put a word from the Spirit on the blog, then I trust that he is speaking to someone directly. To be more direct, as I was receiving this word this morning, not only was I the target, but a brother that just recently found my blog, who lives in Greece, was heavily upon my heart. I could see your face “lizam”.

Father, I ask now in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son, who gladly offered himself up in our behalf, to step into the life of my Athenian brother. I do not know how bad off he is right now, but I am asking you Father to touch his body, his soul, his mind, and his pocket book. Help him, heal him, and cover his bills. Father there are so many of us that struggle with anger, because this world is not a perfect place and we are broken. Remind those that read this that you love them deeply, with an everlasting love, and that you have already proved your love for them on the cross. Make Jesus Christ and the power of his name real to them, and give them an isatiable desire for your word. Father if all they have for your word is my blog, then cause even the simplest passage that I put on here, bring a light into their life that is able to shine through to someone else. Father I ask that my words become something that they can use on a daily basis. I this is you Father then bring those to this place that need to hear you. Grow inside of them like some kind of a dynamo. As it spins, it creates more energy, and that energy is your life inside of them. Father, I ask that you fill their minds and hearts with visions of your glory, and if they do not know hook them now, and pull on them, until they find a believer to tell them about the Love that I have found in you.

The Spirit and the bride say come!³ Behold, he is at the door⁴. Awaken and watch for his coming. I long so much for you to be there, and not have to go through the tribulation that is coming. Look around you, and you can see the devastation approaching. Some already have it at their doorstep, and we need to pray God’s protection over them when ever possible.

Those who have a heart for him will come.

1John 18:10 Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear.

2Jeremiah 32:17 ...there is nothing too hard for thee:

3Revelation 22:17 BBE And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him who gives ear, say, Come. And let him who is in need come; and let everyone desiring it take of the water of life freely.

4Revelation 3:20 KJV Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Signs that we are to watch for regarding His coming.

Somewhat based on Pastor Chuck's blog. (Honestly, it has been a while, and I do not remember which Chuck I was referring to.)

Luke 21:6,7 "As to these things which ye are beholding, days are coming in which there shall not be left stone upon stone which shall not be thrown down. And they asked him saying, Teacher, when then shall these things be; and what is the sign when these things are going to take place?

What were the disciples looking at? 

The temple.

This is a parallel story to Matthew's account.

Matthew 24:1-3 Darby: " And Jesus went forth and went away from the temple, and his disciples came to him to point out to him the buildings of the temple. (2) And he answering said to them, Do ye not see all these things? Verily I say to you, Not a stone shall be left here upon a stone which shall not be thrown down. (3) And as he was sitting upon the mount of Olives the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be, and what is the sign of thy coming and the completion of the age?"

Consider that some time has passed, but in comparison to world literature this time frame is nothing. Matthew had firsthand experience with the Lord, and Luke is passing along second-hand information. Matthew's occupation would have meant taking notes in detail, and Luke, the doctor, was a detailed man also.

The first response out of Jesus' mouth, in Matthew's account, is, "see that no one mislead you."

Who was Jesus speaking to? 

His own followers, who we believe numbered about 120, but then there were almost always the twelve.

One of the immediate examples of deception may have been with Judas Iscariot. It is believed that his motive may not have been one of rebellion, but an attempt to motivate Jesus to act out in the role that Jewish zealots were looking for, a warrior king.

One of the things that demonstrates the parallel of these two accounts is the similarity in message.

Luke's account also shows Jesus' first response to the question about the temple as, "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and, 'The time is near.' Do not follow them."

Based upon the directive and apparent danger demonstrated by Jesus' statement, let's look at that.
Watch out that you are not deceived.

Deceive: To mislead the mind; to cause to err; to cause to believe what is false, or disbelieve what is true; to impose on; to delude.

Deception comes in so many ways. People will scream loudly about how corrupting some movie is, but the oddity is that the thing they are screaming about is so obvious that it is ridiculous. 

Although I cannot remember the name of the movie, there was one that portrayed Jesus as a homosexual; I did not waste my time watching it. 

Have I watched alien movies? 

Yes, I think they are fun, no less fun than Star Trek. 

Do I need to be careful? 

 You bet, for Star Trek was designed to convey the idea that man was good and did not need God. It also filled my mind with concepts about God that, even all these years later, force me to READ my Bible so that I can see the true image of the almighty, and I have found Him to be more merciful than I ever imagined.

What is really scary about deception is the subtle things. Think about what makes a magician good at his craft: deception. They do not saw anyone in half; you go to prison for doing that, but they will draw your attention away from the truth.

Yes, I have watched the Ellen DeGeneres show, and yes, I am aware that she is a proclaimed lesbian and an advocate of alternative lifestyles; she is also funny. 

Does that mean that I follow her advice, or worship her? No.

Oprah Winfrey told people that she was raised in church, and yet advocated that all people have God within them, are good, and need to look inwardly, instead of upwardly, for the answers. She seemed to do good things for impoverished children in Africa, and a few here in America, so it is difficult to ascertain if she is doing anything blatantly harmful. You see, here may be an example of such subtlety that people easily get sucked into. 

Why? 

Because she is believable, likeable, powerful, and well-spoken.

Jesus said, "For many will come in my name."
This is not as obvious as it seems. 

One of the things that I became accustomed to, growing up in church, was the prophetic. I am not afraid of prophecy, because Scripture tells me that Jesus' actions and His word are the Spirit of prophecy. He, by the way, came to save me, not destroy me, and that is the message that some prophets want to convey. 

The problem with the prophetic was delivery. 

Was the heart of the message sincere? 

The habit, learned from listening to someone else, I suppose, was to tag it immediately with "Thus Saith the Lord", when really the delivery person should have said, "this is how I feel about it."

The deception involved with such a statement is that the hearer, if they are not attuned to the Word, it

(Folks, I am going to throw this in for free. God has said all that he needs to say through the scriptures. Scripture answers every question, and speaks to every moment in life. So for someone to get weird and creative is just pushing their luck and yours. I have ventured out in giving words to the church body, and people publicly. I cannot remember a time when you could not have found the things that God had me convey to the hearer in Scripture. I personally think that is very cool, for it takes tremendous pressure off me, I do not have to get creative, and it is the safest things to do. Delivery can give the words a negative impact upon the hearer, but the Holy Spirit will smooth that out with practice. God brought you through life, scarred and all, to make you the person that you are today for a reason. Should you respond to his call and give a word to someone, there is no way that you are not going to have a piece of your personality involved. And do not think that God is unaware of that fact. It might be the primary reason he spoke to you about giving that word out.)

forces the untrained ear to attribute somebody else's junk with an importance that it does not deserve. 

If God wanted your attention, it could come in a whisper; it will typically verify what you already perceived in your spirit and will usually touch you deeply. 

There is no deception involved or needed.

What this coming in my name could imply is a veil of religion. 

Religion often cloaks itself to look like a godly thing. 

The Christian Science "church" near me has meetings to teach on spirituality, awareness of the god in you, and they even have an "uplifting service", but they do not teach that one needs to accept the King of Glory into their life as the one who purchased life for them, and that he is coming back again.

Claiming 'I am he'
For a short time, here on a local radio station, there was a man who had the Jesus Christ radio show. He spoke as though he was Jesus, and would say things like, "when I did the miracle of changing the water into wine this is what I was saying". He seemed to be very knowledgeable with scripture, but just the fact that he portrayed himself as Christ was certainly off, and at the very least dangerous. Outside of this character, I have never heard of anyone so stupid as to do that, and yet Jesus said it was important for us to watch out for. 

How is that even possible?

People may demonstrate power; Santeria priests and voodoo witch doctors demonstrate power (Isn't it odd that in church we deny God any power?), and yet they do not claim to be the Christ.

There is only one that concerns me, and I believe should be taken very seriously, ISLAM. 

The Qur'an teaches, and their prophets have spoken it, that one will come named Jesus Christ. 

Now why is that odd? 

We people "of the book", as Islam refers to us, should know that, for Jesus told us himself he would come again.

The Islamic Jesus Christ, we know him as the anti-Christ, is:
1. A Jew - That should get somebody's attention, for Islam proclaims that the Jew is the enemy. 

Those who oppose Islam are the enemy. Those who acknowledge Islam, proclaiming Allah to be the true god, and Mohammed as his messenger, can serve a purpose under Islamic rule. The fact that he is a Jew adds a heightened sense of awareness to me, and it should to you too. 

Scripture tells us that the antichrist deceives even the elect. 

Who are the elect?

Jesus' response was to Jews, and he spoke words that they were meant to understand. Jesus was talking about Jews, mentally and morally superior Jews, who will be deceived by this person.

2. Islam says he will come on a white horse. 

There is only one scripture in the bible that they will agree upon, and it is this, for they believe it speaks of the Jesus Christ of Islam and fulfills their prophecy, not ours.

Revelation 6:1-2 NIV:  "I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come!" (2) I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest."

This rider does not come to save; he comes to conquer. 

He does not come with a sword in his mouth; he has a bow, and this does not imply redemption in any form; it is unleashed deception, along with punishment.

Those that wish to fight with me on this point will say something like, this is a depiction of Jesus coming in glory, riding a noble steed, to conquer his enemies at the end of the world. 

I responded with, Isn't deception a scary thing? 

For if you believe that, then you have not invested any time whatsoever in reading the Scriptures, for you would know that Jesus will come in the clouds, land on the Mount of Olives, split that hill in two, and out of his mouth will come a sword to slay his enemies. 

He, Jesus Christ, the risen one (which, by the way, Islam does not believe in), will arrive at the end of the seven years of Great Tribulation to judge the earth's inhabitants. 

Surprisingly, he will show more mercy than you ever thought was possible.

Read what Islam says about Jesus and the Antichrist.

Jesus in Islam: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

- In Islam, Jesus (Arabic: عيسى ʿĪsā) is considered to be a Messenger of God and the Masih (Messiah) who was sent to guide the Children of Israel (banī isrā'īl) with a new scripture, the Injīl or Gospel.[1]

- The belief in Jesus (and all other messengers of God) is required in Islam, and a requirement of being a Muslim. The Qur'an mentions Jesus twenty-five times, more often, by name, than Muhammad.[2][3]

- It states that Jesus was born to Mary (Arabic: Maryam) as the result of virginal conception, a miraculous event which occurred by the decree of God (Arabic: Allah).

- To aid in his ministry to the Jewish people, Jesus was given the ability to perform miracles (such as healing the blind, bringing dead people back to life, etc.), all by the permission of God rather than of his own power.

- According to the popular opinion and Muslim traditions, Jesus was not crucified but instead, he was raised up by God unto the heavens. This "raising" is understood to mean through bodily ascension.

- Muslims believe that Jesus will return to earth near the day of judgment to restore justice and to defeat Masih ad-Dajjal ("the false messiah", also known as the Antichrist).[4][5]

- Like all prophets in Islam, Jesus is considered to have been a Muslim (i.e., one who submits to the will of God), as he preached that his followers should adopt the "straight path" as commanded by God. 

 - Islam rejects the Christian view that Jesus was God incarnate or the son of God, that he was ever crucified or resurrected, or that he ever atoned for the sins of mankind. The Qur'an says that Jesus himself never claimed any of these things, and it furthermore indicates that Jesus will deny having ever claimed divinity at the Last Judgment, and God will vindicate him.[6]

- The Qur'an emphasizes that Jesus was a mortal human being who, like all other prophets, had been divinely chosen to spread God's message. Islamic texts forbid the association of partners with God (shirk), emphasizing a strict notion of monotheism (tawhīd).

 - Numerous titles are given to Jesus in the Qur'an and in Islamic literature, the most common being al-Masīḥ ("the messiah". Jesus is also, at times, called "Seal of the Israelite Prophets", because, in general Muslim belief, Jesus was the last prophet sent by God to guide the Children of Israel. 

- Jesus is seen in Islam as a precursor to Muhammad, and is believed by Muslims to have foretold the latter's coming.[5][7]

If you have read this information taken from Wikipedia, provided by Islam in an effort to provide you with the truth about their so-called peaceful religion, you noticed a reference to the Antichrist, the Islamic Dajjal. 

Our scriptures tell us that there will be two, not one,  prophet standing in the street prophesying in the last days. Islam considers these to be the Antichrist. 

Why? 

Because they speak out against the deception that Islam will be spreading. Their version of Jesus will slay these two. Again, if you have done your homework, you know that after three days these two prophets come to life again. What a shocker that will be.

You will have also noticed many things that will cause a tremendous number of people to question their beliefs.

How could it be that Jesus Christ could be a Muslim? 

Many will believe that it was all a lie and fall into the trap of Satan himself.

This is not about a man or a religion; this is about the deceiver of the world, Satan. 

If you have read this and become angry, then you need to know that your anger needs to be redirected, and you need to pray that God opens people's hearts and minds to receive him. 

People need to be aware that the end is upon us.