CNN reported the story of a Florida pastor with the number "666" tattooed on his arm who claims he is divine. Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, who is called "daddy" by his followers, claims, "The spirit that is in me is the same spirit that was in Jesus of Nazareth." As Jesus told his followers, "Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is the Christ, or, Here; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you beforehand. If therefore they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the wilderness; go not forth: Behold, he is in the inner chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh forth from the east, and is seen even unto the west; so shall be the coming of the Son of man." (Matthew 24:23-27 ASV)
Miranda is not the first person to say he is divine and he will not be the last. Indeed there are some others even now who claim divinity. Take for instance this example from Siberia. And false Christs did not come on the scene after Jesus, but there were many before him. However, the key to knowing Jesus when he returns are his words from Matthew to his followers: like lightning comes from the east and is seen even unto the west. In other words, Jesus will be seen by everyone, all over the world, in an instant. Indeed, he warns us, do not go to far off Siberia to seek him, we WILL see him from where we are at.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
As lightning shines from the east to the west...
For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24:27 ESV)
Lightning is truly awesome. "Most people aren't aware of the incredible energy and power of lightning', says Brent McRoberts of Texas A&M University. It's true that some bolts of lightning are much stronger than others", he explains. "At any given moment, there are about 1,200 thunderstorms occurring all over the Earth, and it's estimated that each second, there are about 100 lightning flashes somewhere over our planet. A typical lightning bolt contains about 15 million volts of electricity and instantly heats up the air around it to over 60,000 degrees, with some reaching more than 100,000 degrees. That's why the total energy of a strong thunderstorm can exceed the energy released during an atomic explosion." (Citation)
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The Lord Jesus, in describing for his disciples his return to earth after his resurrection and a subsequent earthly history, the length of which is known only to God the Father1, says that his coming would be like the lightning of a thunderstorm. But we can imagine, as his Father is none other than the creator of the universe this will be like no other lightning and thunder the world has ever known. When we think of the energy of just one sun, like our own, which is around 10,000 degrees F at its surface and around 27 million degrees F at its core, and when we think that the universe is made up of billions and billions of suns, then we begin to see that the creator of all of this must be immensely powerful. Indeed since He has created all of this then His coming will be more explosive and far brighter than billions, if not trillion of stars. (We have not actually found the edge of the universe yet so we really don't know for sure the full number of stars. The image at left is the Hubble ultra deep field image from NASA.) It is easy for us to see why in the Book of Revelation John says that "...every eye shall see him."2
The full significance of what the Lord Jesus is describing becomes even more exciting when we consider what he told his disciples right after this: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.(Matthew 24:29,30 ESV)
WOW! Talk about a freaky event. Jesus mentions some days of tribulation and then he tells his disciples that right after those days there will be a day of total blackness. Think about it. Jesus says the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light and the stars will disappear. This means that for at least one day there will be absolutely no light on earth. Can you imagine it? People go to bed one night and as they wake up the next morning by time zones going east to west they wake up to total darkness. Have you ever been in total darkness. Without either the sun light, moon light or star light there will be complete blackness. Mankind will find themselves in darkness for at least one day. (Except for the followers of Jesus, because he is their light.) There was such a darkness on the earth once before, during the time when the Israelites were leaving Egypt. "And Jehovah said unto Moses, Stretch out thy hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days; they saw not one another, neither rose any one from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings." (Exodus 10:21-23 ASV)
Lightning is truly awesome. "Most people aren't aware of the incredible energy and power of lightning', says Brent McRoberts of Texas A&M University. It's true that some bolts of lightning are much stronger than others", he explains. "At any given moment, there are about 1,200 thunderstorms occurring all over the Earth, and it's estimated that each second, there are about 100 lightning flashes somewhere over our planet. A typical lightning bolt contains about 15 million volts of electricity and instantly heats up the air around it to over 60,000 degrees, with some reaching more than 100,000 degrees. That's why the total energy of a strong thunderstorm can exceed the energy released during an atomic explosion." (Citation)
The full significance of what the Lord Jesus is describing becomes even more exciting when we consider what he told his disciples right after this: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.(Matthew 24:29,30 ESV)
WOW! Talk about a freaky event. Jesus mentions some days of tribulation and then he tells his disciples that right after those days there will be a day of total blackness. Think about it. Jesus says the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light and the stars will disappear. This means that for at least one day there will be absolutely no light on earth. Can you imagine it? People go to bed one night and as they wake up the next morning by time zones going east to west they wake up to total darkness. Have you ever been in total darkness. Without either the sun light, moon light or star light there will be complete blackness. Mankind will find themselves in darkness for at least one day. (Except for the followers of Jesus, because he is their light.) There was such a darkness on the earth once before, during the time when the Israelites were leaving Egypt. "And Jehovah said unto Moses, Stretch out thy hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days; they saw not one another, neither rose any one from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings." (Exodus 10:21-23 ASV)
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