The last Book of the New Testament begins with these marvelous words: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass ….” Revelation 1:1

Note that clause … “to show things which must shortly come to pass.” Things that have not yet happened, transpired.

And that situation (revealing future things), in the most accurate sense of the word, constitutes BIBLE PROPHECY. “Unveiling the future,” according to God’s Perfect Perspective.

And this is the Same God Who “touched” Daniel, the PROPHET, by the way. A God Who knows the end from the beginning! “But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.” Daniel 2:28, the Man of God speaking to King Nebuchadnezzar.

Actually in the Bible, being able to “reveal the future” is one of the very traits of Deity, of a Real God! Here is Isaiah the PROPHET making fun (mocking) the false idols of his day. “Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen.”They can’t, but our God can!

Then Isaiah becomes even bolder, decimating those false gods and goddesses. “Let them declare us things for to come. Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods.” Isaiah 41:22

Furthermore, the mark of any true (human) PROPHET (in the Old Testament) was … “When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.” God’s Law, Deuteronomy 18:22

Listen to Jonah, a real PROPHET, for example … “And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God.” God had revealed to His man the future for Nineveh. And the whole City repented, within forty days! They KNEW that God KNEW.

I suppose this particular thought is on my mind this morning because beginning tomorrow night I am to preach a four Service “Bible Prophecy Conference.” The Lord willing, I plan to preach verse-by-verse through one of Scripture’s many Prophetic chapters. (What a host of Material … from which I have to choose!)

Yes, we serve a God Who knows our future!

Including the day we shall die.

Psalm 31:15 … “My times are in thy hand.” David praying to the God he loved so fervently.

And Psalm 139:16, describing a baby yet in his/her mother’s womb, says of God: “Thine eyes did see my substance (fetus, embryo), yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.”

The line here, “which in continuance were fashioned,” uses words which specifically mean: “My DAYS (‘yom’ in Hebrew, literally ‘hours’) WERE FRAMED, FORMED (‘yatzsar’ in Hebrew, meaning ‘shaped as the potter does to the clay’) by God’s Hands!”

Does God know the future?

Isaiah certainly thought so! He often spoke of God … “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done.” Isaiah 46:10

Yes, assuredly … He knows!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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I have felt led for a few weeks to preach some … from the little Book of Colossians. Every year I try to preach “Paul” (his Corpus, his Writings) a week or two.

There is perhaps no other New Testament Epistle so “Christ-centered” as this one! (“Christo-Centric,” the theologians call it.)

The little Book has 4 chapters, a total of only 95 verses. Each Sentence is power-packed!

The more I think about preaching Colossians, I’ll just plan to have our printer prepare us a little “Colossians” Bible Portion. A small “booklet” containing the whole Epistle. And I will challenge the congregation to read that little thing (Colossians) over and over again!

Will some of you pray for me as I continue in this endeavor?

Oh, by the way, my favorite verse from the Epistle, I think (though this is subject to change) …

“And He (our Lord) is the Head of the body, the church: who is the Beginning, the Firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the Preeminence.” Colossians 1:18, all about Jesus!

Amen!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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Apply the verses anyway you choose … but Jeremiah 31:35-36 contains one of the greatest Promises in all the Bible. Pledges from Almighty God that will be literally fulfilled!

“Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name. If those ordinances (the sunrise, the moon’s phases, and the stars’ movement, etc.) depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.”

God just vowed that as long as the sun gives light during the daytime, and the moon and stars shine and twinkle at night … Israel will continue to be a Nation on this earth! (Well, merging other Bible Passages … on the “new earth” as well!)

The eternality of God’s people, the Jews!

Yet Texts like Psalm 83:4 lists a confederacy of Nations who plan to destroy Israel! Who bind themselves together to say … “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.”

Wow!

Looks like a battle is going to occur.

Between God … and a group of anti-Semites! Jew haters!

“Israel no more,” they shout!

“Israel forever,” God says!

I know where my loyalties lie!

The Word of the Lord will come to fruition!

This Scripture will be authenticated!

GOD BLESS ISRAEL!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

The Nation who gave me Jesus, as far as His humanity is concerned! Jesus, of the Tribe of Judah!

The Nation whose writers were used of the Holy Spirit to give me an inerrant Bible!

And the Nation who is the “apple of God’s Eye,” Deuteronomy 32:10 and Zechariah 2:8.

So be it, Lord.

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The Bible is clear.

“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” Exodus 20:12, where the verb “honour” actually means “to let them (one’s parents) have great WEIGHT in one’s life!” Listen to them. Obey them. Hold them in high regard!

Later Paul, reiterating this Command, calls it … “the first commandment with promise!” Read it please … “Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.” Ephesians 6:2-3

But my main interest today is JESUS … and His Relationship to Mary and Joseph. What kind of Son was our Saviour, in His Humanity?

Again, the Bible leaves no doubt.

Jesus was only 12 years of age when this Event occurred. Mary and Joseph have just returned to the Temple to find Him, having inexplicably lost Him for several days! “And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.” Luke 2:48

Then immediately in verse 51 we are told: “And he (Jesus) went down with them (Mary and Joseph), and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them.” Where the verb “was subject” means He “lived UNDER their authority.”

Wow!

And even late in His earthly Life (but do remember Jesus is coming again) our Lord highly honored His Mother, from the Cross even! (Likely by then Joseph was dead.)

From Calvary’s Beams … Jesus asked John (the Disciple, the Apostle) to care for His mother the rest of her life! Here’s the interchange: “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus HIS MOTHER, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw HIS MOTHER, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved (John), he saith unto HIS MOTHER, Woman, BEHOLD THY SON! 27 Then saith he to the disciple (still John), BEHOLD THY MOTHER! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.” John 19:25-27

Wow, what respect!

I am simply showing you that Jesus (from an early age to His very death) obeyed the Command about honoring His Parents! (Though do remember, Jesus literally is the Son of God, Virgin Born!)

So surely … we have the same obligation yet today.

By the way, I see no age limitation on that Command. All one’s life he or she (son or daughter) should obey it to the fullest!

And if Mom and/or Dad are dead?

Honor their memory, their legacy, their character!

Hold them in dear, sweet memory!

In so doing, you will automatically (by example) teach your children to do the same!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Jesus was loved by those around Him, including Mary and Joseph … “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” Luke 2:52

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Paul wrote the exhortation, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: “In every thing GIVE THANKS.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18, where the verb “to give thanks” is actually an imperative, a command from the Lord!

Jesus Himself certainly did so. At the grave of Lazarus, for example. “Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I THANK thee that thou hast heard me.” John 11:41

And the Old Testament Psalmists were extremely thankful people, if you remember. As in Psalm 30:4 … “Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and GIVE THANKS at the remembrance of his holiness.”

One could even make the case that the Book of Philippians is (in essence) an elongated “Thank You” Letter from Paul to the Church in that faraway Gentile City! Especially the last chapter of that great Epistle. “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication WITH THANKSGIVING let your requests be made known unto God.” Philippians 4:6

This too. The Apostle Paul had even developed a system of thought (which takes much discipline) so that whenever he even “remembered” a Christian Brother or Sister … he immediately (automatically) thanked God for that person! “I THANK my God upon every remembrance of you.” He often penned such words.

By the way, I just discovered this little “gem” in Scripture. These words, a “string” they now call them: “A Psalm to thank the LORD.” (1 Chronicles 16:7) David actually wrote Psalms to do that, JUST TO THANK GOD!

Wow!

I guess that I sort of developed this little Bible Study (Meditation) while laying in bed earlier this morning. Because today Debbie and I will mail our monthly “Newsletter” (which is really a “THANK YOU” letter to those who have helped us financially this past month). Who have supported our Bible Preaching Ministry in any way.

I always record (preach) a fresh CD Sermon to mail to our “supporters” as well. We decided years ago that if anyone “helped” us stay on the road, proclaiming God’s Word, we WOULD BE THANKFUL for both the giver and the gift! (Yes, 12 Sermons a year!)

We want to go “the second mile” in expressing our thanks! Both to the Lord and to those He leads to help us follow His Will for our lives.

Oh, I must close the Lesson for today.

By the way, THANK YOU for visiting us today and for studying God’s Word here from time to time!

Can you think of someone God would have you THANK today? If so … please do so!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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