ECCE

      We are currently in the month of Elul on the Hebrew calendar. This month is dedicated to repentance and our return to the LORD in preparation for the fall Feasts of the LORD that will begin soon.  This period of repentance is called teshuvah , or "Return", when we repent for our sins and return to the Lord, and to His commandments. Jesus told a young man who questioned Him that the two great commandments of the Law were to love God with all our heart, mind and strength, and also to love our neighbor as ourselves. These two commandments are those which the whole Law and the prophets fulfill.      The month of Elul is mentioned in scripture. Nehemiah and the workers, with permission from the foreign ruling king, were re-building the wall of Jerusalem after the people's return from exile. During the course of building the wall, Nehemiah was falsely accused of planning rebellion against the foreign king by some of the inhabitants of the land. These e...

      The central truth of Christianity is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Many now however are turning away from belief in that truth, even some in the Church. Even ancient civilizations, such as the Egyptians believed in a kind of life after death. In this age, though, Nihilism, the philosophy that life holds no meaning, and no hope has taken hold.       Jesus made clear the promise of eternal life, everlasting life, from the Father in heaven: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is co...

      We are continuing our study from last week of The Unveiling By and Of Jesus Christ, which is a study of the Book of Revelation. We ended our study last week with the Church of Ephesus in Ch. 2. The seven churches to which Jesus sent His messages were located on a wealthy trade route area of western Asia. Today, we will begin with Jesus' message revealed to John for the Church at Smyrna: "And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you in prison, that you may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto t...

      The Book of Revelation has caused consternation as people have tried to interpret it. "Revelation" means "unveiling". It is unveiled by Jesus and we will see what Jesus intends to unveil to the Church. This Book begins: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly ( tachos - quickness, speed: [when it happens it will happen quickly]) come to pass, and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word ( logos - word uttered by a living voice [see Jn. 1:1 , speaking of Christ]) of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth ( anaginosko - read, to distinguish, to recognize, to know accurately), and they that hear ( akouo - hear, to attend to, perceive, understand) the words of this prophecy, and keep ( tereo - keep, attend to, guard, hold fast {do it, observe it]) those things which are written ...