Kingdom Ready Blog

Modern day Judaism – especially Counter Missionaries, like to dismiss that the “Suffering Servant” of Isaiah 53 perfectly fits Jesus of Nazareth. The typical response from them is that Isaiah 53 is about the nation of Israel and not the Messiah. Therefore Jesus doesn’t fit it because it is not even about him in the first place.  But is that really proper exegesis?  Does the text really point to Israel? Or does it more properly belong to the promised human Messiah?

The following is another new article from my website. 

It is amazing how many people who call themselves “Christian” don’t actually know what the word means. A “Christian” is a follower of Christ, but like most people, I did not know what the word “Christ” meant for many years. Like some, I assumed that it was part of his name. Others know that it is a title, but don’t know exactly what it means. The fact is, however, that the word Christ comes from the Greek word christos, which means “anointed one.” It is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word, mashiyach from which we get our English word, Messiah. The titles Messiah and Christ mean exactly the same thing: an anointed one.

I thought the following article was a good one about following Jesus and not making a Jesus that we like better than the real one.  I know I often try to rationalize some of the difficult sayings of Christ to make them fit better what what I think Christ really means and wants – and while I still think that “sell all you have” may not be to each Christian across the board, I must allow the spirit of Christ to show me which areas of my heart, life and even my stuff need to be sold or thrown out.

In my last post, Steve Taylor put forth the challenge to examine what Jesus meant by the Kingdom of God in order to unlock a deeper understanding of the Bible. This article, by Anthony Buzzard, presents a foundational look at that crucial subject.

One of the most remarkable phenomena in the history of human thought is the way in which the obvious can be hidden from both scholar and layman. The history of Christian thought demonstrates a signal example. Jesus Himself constantly taught that His Gospel Message would be hidden from the masses, whose minds were blinded by the counter-interests which would preoccupy them and prevent complete devotion to Him (Matt. 13:11-17).

Over the years, there has been a trend to remove the “Christ” out of Christmas.  I remember when I was a little girl, people writing, “Merry X-Mas” on cards, yet we still went to Christmas programs at our public school, and sang Christmas carols like Joy To the World, Silent Night, The First Noel.  Now, our school has a “Holiday Program” and merchants tell their clerks to wish customers, “Happy Holidays” rather than say the words, “Merry Christmas.”  You see, the very word “Christ” is offensive to some and they would like to see it completely removed from our vocabulary.  If you don’t think so, then you are probably not familiar with the ACLU…  The sad thing is, while most Christians know that the “Christ” word is important to defend, few of them realize the importance of its meaning, especially at Christmas time when Christians celebrate the Messiah’s birth.

Written by Pastor Steve Taylor
(Originally posted on the website of Lakeshore Bible Church.) 

“I can’t understand the Bible!” is a common complaint voiced by many who open its pages. Yes, it is hard to understand IF you don’t have the key that unlocks its mysteries. You are about to have in your hand the crucial but much-neglected key that Jesus offers to unlock the mysteries of the Bible:

Recently here on Kingdom Ready there’s been a discussion on whether or not after being resurrected from the dead, one has a body that is actually “physical” or is immaterial.  The following paper by tektonics.org goes pretty in-depth into this subject and brings up many interesting points.

On the Nature of The Resurrection Body

The Kingdom in the Prophets (Continued)

Jerusalem has been under the control of the Gentiles since the time of Daniel, as illustrated by his visions of the successive Gentile empires. But a time will come when it will be trodden underfoot, and Israel will turn back to God, at which time the Gentile kingdoms will be subdued by God’s Kingdom.

Matthew 23:
38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Going way WAY back into some old-school literature this week with a pamphlet that is 65 YEARS OLD! This one-time radio sermon was broadcast just a few months after the close of World War II in November of 1945!  I thought I would bring this sermon tract into the digital age and give it new life as it is a great explanation of how Paul’s famous expression is NOT a support for the immortal soul belief - but is instead a Resurrection truth like all of Paul’s other writings. 

Enjoy! 

PAUL’S DESIRE TO DEPART AND TO BE WITH CHRIST

by

VICTOR L. HARRISON

Radio Pastor and Evangelist

This is from the 21st Century Reformation website:

Anthony Buzzard gives an extraordinary presentation to a conference of Bible students in Tennessee. Professor Buzzard gives a succinct evaluation of five prevailing views regarding Jesus Christ. He leads us through a consideration of the: (1) Trinitarian view; (2) the Arian view; (3) Binitarianism; (4) Oneness and (5) the “One God” view. In the end, Anthony makes a persuasive case for “View No. 5″:  that Jesus is the Christ of God, God’s literally begotten human Son. Anthony Buzzard’s “Five Options in Christology” has been one of the most popular features presented on 21stcr.org. It is too good to miss.