ECCE

      The final or last words of a person are given great weight. Many reports of the final words spoken by atheists or the unrepentant are powerful in their regret and fear.      The final words of men of God in scripture are, on the other hand, life transforming in their glory. Stephen, who was stoned for His faith in Jesus Christ, said: "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God....Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep." (Acts 7:54-60, excerpt). The last words of Stephen's revelation and forgiveness remain powerful today and forever.      Peter wrote to the believers in Christ: "Finally, be ye all of one mind , having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil...but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto ...

      This ministry was named by the LORD after His everlasting covenant. This fall, the ministry will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. It is necessary to understand the importance and many facets of the everlasting covenant because, as we will see, it is not just an "Old Testament" term but is also present in the New Testament through Jesus Christ.      The first mention of the everlasting covenant is found in Genesis 9, as the LORD spoke to Noah: "And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh ; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth." (v. 15-16). The everlasting covenant was not just for Noah, but for all flesh, for every creature. The rainbow appearing in the cloud is not the covenant, but it i...

      We make life and death choices based upon the words out of our mouths. Proverbs 18:31 says: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." There is also a direct connection between what is in the heart, and what then comes out of the mouth: "Let the words of my mouth , and the meditation of my heart , be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." (Psalms 19:14). Scripture says that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. What are you speaking? Jesus said: "...A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh." (see Lk. 6:43-45). What are you speaking? Are the words out of our mouths really powerful enough to affect life and death?      James wrote that in the same way a small bit in the mouth...

     Genesis 1:1-3 tells us that from the beginning of creation God spoke the Word and earth was changed from a dark and empty void into a world inhabited by light and life. God first said ( 'amar - speak, said, command, utter, promise, appoint, call, certify): "Let there be light: and there was light." Within these first verses of Genesis, the aleph-tav , the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet, appear in the written Hebrew, which connects this creation to Jesus, who is The Aleph-tav or  Alpha and Omega in Greek, the First and the Last, The Beginning and The End.      We see the essential presence of Jesus in creation in the New Testament also in John chapter 1 where He is identified as The Word: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made ( ginomai - come into existence, made, finished) by him; and without him was not any thing made tha...

      As we view the current events in the world today, honoring fathers - fathers who raise us, spiritual fathers and God as our Father - is essential for our growth and wellbeing. The precept was so foundationally important that the LORD made it part of The Ten Commandments and also attached special blessings to the observance of this commandment: "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which thy LORD thy God giveth thee." (Ex. 20:12). The commandment is repeated with another blessing attached in Deuteronomy 5:16: "Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged , and that it may go well with thee , in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee." Not only does honoring this commandment come with the promise of long life, but it is also accompanied with the promise that it may go well with us in the land which we have been given.      Jesus gave a scathing commen...

            As men try to broker peace in the war-torn areas of the world, especially in the Middle East at this time, scripture tells us that a peace will not be lasting, as we will read.       Regarding the times in which we are now living, Peter wrote that in these last days, scoffers will deny the coming day of judgment of the LORD: "For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men...But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with a fervent heat, the earth also and the works therein shall be burnt up." (...