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LESSON 1:
We live in days when everything is
upside down!
Isaiah said such
times would come.
"Woe unto them that call evil good, and
good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" Isaiah
5:20
Well, here's an
example of such perverted thinking.
A new so-called
"Gospel" has been "discovered!"
It is called the
"Gospel of Judas!"
Of course, it is
not a real Gospel at all!
It is NOT
inspired!
It is NOT a part
of Scripture.
But there is
something that it does accomplish!
It takes Judas
the Disciple, the traitor, and makes him into a hero!
This is a classic
case of transforming evil into good!
Such things as
these occurring in the world of theology have excited me in
reference to a Text of Scripture, John 12:4-6.
It presents a
quick glimpse at Judas, one of several pictures John shares with
us.
"Then saith one of his disciples, Judas
Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, Why was
not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the
poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because
he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein."
John 12:4-6
The scene
concerns one of Jesus' many social events. It happens six days
before the Crucifixion. Jesus had come to Bethany, nearly a
suburb of Jerusalem and home to Mary, Martha and Lazarus. This
is Lazarus whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
That evening
"There they made him a supper; and Martha
served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with
him." John 12:2
Jesus at table!
At that great
meal something happened, something astounding!
"Then took Mary a pound of ointment of
spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and
wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the
odour of the ointment." John 12:3
This is worship!
In fact, every
time we see this Mary in Scripture, she is at the feet of Jesus!
In Luke 10:38-39
we read: "Now it came to pass, as they
went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain
woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had
a sister called Mary,
which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word."
See her at His feet?
When her brother
Lazarus had died, Mary also fell at Jesus' feet!
"Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him,
she fell down at his
feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my
brother had not died." John 11:32
Now in our
context here ... Mary, again at the feet of our Lord, adores and
anoints Him with some very expensive perfume! Like incense
offered to the Saviour, she lavishes Him with honor and value
and worth! Read John 12:3 again ... "Then
took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly,
and
anointed the feet of
Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house
was filled with the odour of the ointment."
It is at this
occasion, this meal, this "worship service," that the incident
we are about to study occurs.
Lord willing, we
shall study more about the Disciples in general and Judas in
particular tomorrow.
Until then, spend
some time at the feet of Jesus!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 2:
The man named
Judas is identified simply as one of Jesus' Disciples. Some
ultra liberals deny this fact, but they also deny the whole
Bible practically!
That noun
"disciple" is interesting. It is spelled "mathetes" and means "a
learner, pupil or follower" of a teacher. It is found 269 times
in the New Testament, all of which are translated in some "discipling"
manner.
These men are
listed in Matthew 10:2-4 and Luke 6:13-16 and again in Acts 1.
There is Bible reason to believe that there were two men named
"Judas" among the Twelve. Luke lists for us:
"Judas the brother of James, and
Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor."
The name
"Iscariot" likely means a "man" ("iysh" in Hebrew) from "Kerioth,"
a small town of Judah. Bear in mind that most of the Disciples
were from Galilee, not Judah. It is briefly mentioned in Joshua
15:25.
The name Judas
is a form of the noun "Judah" and means praise!
However it
appears to me that once Judas betrayed the Lord, other men with
that name spelled it differently ... so as not to be identified
with such disloyalty! Thus we have the Epistle of JUDE in
Scripture, not Judas!
We are told
that Judas the traitor is "the son of Simon." There are at least
10 different men so named in Scripture. The name means "hearing"
or "heard."
The point is
this: Judas is a specific historical man who sold our Lord for
thirty pieces of silver.
And He is not
a hero!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 3:
The enemies of
Scripture are trying to completely re-write the Life of Christ.
They are even now saying that the Jesus of the Gospels is
NOT the real Jesus of history!
They have
reconstructed His Virgin Birth, His Temptation victories over
Satan, His miracles and preaching and ... especially ... His
Death, Burial and Resurrection!
They are
robbing Jesus of the miraculous ... and substituting instead the
rational! That is, things that can be easily explained, readily
comprehended by the natural mind!
A new group of
"Gnostic" writings have been discovered, one quite recently.
These question the very deity of Jesus, His Godhead.
They also make
one of the Bible's notorious villains into an absolute hero! I
mean Judas Iscariot!
I read a few
days ago where a so-called "scholar" took great pains to explain
that Judas did not really "betray" our Lord! He suggested that
the verb used for "betray" in the King James Bible has been
"slanted" or "spun" or "interpreted" to make Judas look bad! He
is quite sure that "betray" is NOT the right translation for "paradidomi."
Well, let's
look at the verse he is using. "Then saith
one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which
should betray Him ...." John 12:4
John here is
introducing a comment Judas made, a remark disagreeing with
Jesus allowing a woman to worship Him lavishly!
Judas, John
writing later than Jesus' Ascension, is made known to us by
association. He was the one who betrayed our Lord!
Now, let's do
examine that verb.
"Should
betray" is the verbal unit here. It translates "paradidomi," the
Greek verb. This consists of two words fused together. "Para"
means "alongside." Then "didomi" means "to give." When taken
together the meaning is plain: to give someone over to the side
of another. To deliver up!
Now, granted,
the context must play an important role in discerning any word
with such a vast range of meaning ... but it is clear here that
John means nothing good about Judas as he describes him so
clearly!
In the King
James Bible "paradidomi" is used 121 times. "Deliver" is the
rendering of the word 53 times and "deliver up" another 10
times. But it's "give over" 2 times and "give up" 2 times but
it's "betray" 40 times!
Dear friends,
when Judas committed "paradidomi" against Jesus, he gave Him
over to the enemy! He gave Him up to certain crucifixion! He
outrightly betrayed Him!
And even if an
honest Greek scholar or falsely called moderate preacher had
honest doubt about the verb, he could also read that Judas was
paid 30 pieces of silver for his deed! That fact alone proves
that betrayal is the issue! He sold Jesus for money!
Furthermore,
Judas' reaction after his crime, after his sin, is evidence of
his guilt! He thought better of his wicked deed! He tried
unsuccessfully to return the blood money! Then he killed
himself! Combined these all surely illustrate the deeds of
a traitor!
Listen to me
today.
Forget this
liberal garbage that is being published in our day and time.
We don't need
those "new" so-called Gospels anyway.
We have the
only four that are inspired: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John!
The King James
Bible needs no correction.
And Judas is a
wicked man who died lost and went a place of eternal torment!
Judas is NOT a
hero at Calvary.
Jesus is the
Hero, the Saviour, the Redeemer, the Substitute, the Son of God!
His Blood
atones, better yet, washes away our sin!
Adore Him
today!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 4:
"Worthy is the Lamb!"
So cry the
multitudes around the Throne of God, the Throne in Heaven.
Right now they
are adoring and worshiping Him!
"Worthy is the
Lamb!"
Revelation 5:12
records their very words: "Worthy is the
Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom,
and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing."
Once when Jesus
was eating a meal in the home of three of his friends, one of
His hosts came to Him and anointed His feet with a very
expensive perfume!
Furthermore she
dried His feet with her hair, honoring and adoring Him as God
the Son!
Here's how the
Holy Spirit recorded it: "Then took Mary a
pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the
feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house
was filled with the odour of the ointment."
Then one of
Jesus' Disciples, Judas the traitor, spoke against such a lavish
display of love!
"Then saith one of his disciples, Judas
Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, Why was
not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the
poor?" John 12:4-5
Judas was upset!
He in his mind
could not justify wasting so much money on so lowly an action!
Judas was a
pragmatist. Things had to make sense and be practical to suit
his tastes.
But surely such a
devaluation of worship, at any cost, is an indicator of a far
more serious deficit in one's life!
To Judas Jesus
was just not worth three hundred pence!
A "pence" or
penny was an amount of money equal to one day's labor for a
common shepherd or tent-maker or grape gatherer. Three hundred
pence would have equaled nearly a year's salary!
The "poor" were
far more important!
Judas was a man
of commerce!
The verb "sold"
translates "piprasko" and basically means "to travel" or "to
traverse" as does a salesman who goes from city to city.
The noun
"ointment" is spelled "muron" and likely comes from the old word
"myrrh." This herb was generally used to help embalm and prepare
dead bodies for a proper respectful burial. Mary had the faith
and foresight to sense Jesus was the Saviour Who had come to die
for our sins! She also knew that He too was the Resurrection and
the Life! In this sense she really was far ahead of most of the
disciples in discernment and comprehension!
Myrrh has a
distinct healing property. It also can be a great cleansing
agent. It is an anti-inflammatory and antiseptic agent too.
Additionally it can greatly reduce certain forms of distress.
Now it is true
that the word "poor" as translated speaks of those who are in
abject need! Extremely impoverished! "Ptochos" actually carries
the idea of being reduced to beggary. Destitute! But Jesus did
once reminded us: "For ye have the poor
always with you; but me ye have not always." Matthew
11:26
The very idea
behind "honour" and "worth" and even "woship" is just that ...
the "weight" or "value" one places upon an individual!
To worship Jesus
... even with a three hundred pence price tag ... is nothing
when compared to His eternal Value and Preciousness!
He is more
valuable than all the gold of earth and stars of heaven and
treasures of the sea!
After all, Paul
reminds us that in Jesus "are hid all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Colossians 2:3
Judas did not
understand!
He did not value
the Lord Jesus as he should have!
And to any person
who lacks appreciation and adoration for the Lord ... I would
say "be careful!"
For along with
salvation always ultimately comes honor and respect and proper
evaluation for Jesus!
And Judas didn't
have it!
Do we?
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 5:
I have often said
that the best commentary on the Bible ... IS the Bible!
So often Scripture explains itself.
While this is true in all of the
Bible's sixty six Books, it is particularly true in the Gospel
of John!
John, writing under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, is an excellent teacher!
For example, in John 1:38 we read
these words: "They said unto him, Rabbi,
(which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest
thou?" Here the material in parentheses is an exposition
of the term "rabbi."
Once again in
John 4:7-8 we are enlightened as to why Jesus asked the
Samaritan woman for a drink of water. That was a strange
request. John explains: "There cometh a
woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to
drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy
meat.)"
A
self-explanatory example is built into John 9:7.
"And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by
interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed,
and came seeing." Now we know what "Siloam" means!
And due to the
fact that the New Testament mentions several ladies named Mary,
John 11:1-2 explains: "Now a certain
man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of
Mary and her sister Martha. (It was that Mary which
anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her
hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)" Thank you, John.
And while I am
skipping several good examples, John 19:17 explains:
"And he bearing his cross went forth into
a place called the place of a skull, which is called in
the Hebrew Golgotha." And of course, yet to this very day
any good Greek lexicon will tell you that "Golgotha" does mean
"skull!"
But in one of the
fourth Gospel's amazing "Judas" Texts, we discover yet another
case of John's interpretive skills. I mean Holy Spirit inspired
interpretation too! "Then saith one of his
disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should
betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred
pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared
for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and
bare what was put therein." John 12:4-6
Look!
The reason Judas
so objected to Mary's costly anointing of Jesus was ... his
greed, his selfishness, his stealing!
In John's
exposition here we learn that: Judas was not really concerned
for the poor! And we also discover that he was a thief! This
word is "kleptes" as in our English noun kleptomaniac! We also
here are taught that Judas was the treasurer of the group! He
"had the bag." He supervised the Apostolic treasury, taking
anything he wanted too!
None of these
facts put Judas in a very good light!
But, guess what?
So far as has
been publicly revealed to date, the newly popular "Gospel of
Judas" does not mention these facts at all!
Today's "new" and
"contemporary" teaching about Judas is that instead of being a
"traitor," he was really a "hero!" Some even go so far as to say
that he did Jesus a favor by turning the Saviour over to the
enemy! That Judas nobly and sacrificially gave himself ... to
help fulfill God's Will!
Folks, that is
NOT what the Bible says!
As we get closer
and closer to the Return of Jesus, what the Bible calls "evil"
is more and more being called "good!"
That even
includes Judas!
And John's great
"explanation" habit helps prove the true character of the man
who betrayed our Lord! The man who felt so much remorse and
guilt that he ended his own life! The man whom Jesus said had "a
devil!" See John 6:70-71. "Jesus answered
them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it
was that should betray him, being one of the twelve."
With battles such
as this raging in our rebellious world, Romans 3:4 must be our
hermeneutical plumb-line or standard.
"Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar."
Amen!
I'm sticking with
the Bible!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 6:
"He was a thief."
That's what John
said about Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus.
The noun for
thief is "kleptes" in Greek and is derived from the verb "klepto"
which just means "to steal."
It's the verb
here that is so interesting.
It's a form of "eimi"
in Greek, the central verb that expresses "being." But it is
framed in the "imperfect" tense, suggesting a state that began
in the past but has lasting consequences.
Judas had been
stealing for a while!
Now Jesus talked
about thieves more than one might think. He included them in his
parables. He even reminded us that Heaven has no thieves! He
taught that a man or woman who tried to get eternal life through
any means other than Christ Jesus ... is a thief and a robber!
He furthermore
described Himself as anything but a thief!
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to
destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they
might have it more abundantly." John 10:10
And the Lord
certainly validated Moses' commandment:
"Thou shalt not steal." In fact, our Lord wrote that
commandment!
Ladies and
gentlemen, what about us today?
Are any of us
thieves?
"No," I hear the
resounding cry!
But, wait a
minute.
Do we take pay
for time we are not working ... down on the job? That could be
at least a form of stealing.
Do we "sneak"
things from work to our homes? After all, the pay scale is so
low anyway! Ask the Lord. That might be stealing too.
Gossip is a thief
too! It certainly can steal someone's good reputation! How much
loose talk is belched forth ... without the perpetrator even
thinking to verify his story?
Students, have
you ever "stolen" a right answer from someone's test paper, or
homework sheet?
Of course, in
today's world, even the idea of "stealing" seems questionable.
Is the "theft" politically correct or not?
To "steal" from
the environment is anathema, unforgivable!
But to "steal" an
unborn baby's life is perfectly fine! In fact, it is an
expression of liberty and freedom, the mama's!
Crazy!
But I do know
this.
Judas was a
thief!
And he is in Hell
today!
The great Apostle
Paul preached: "Know ye not that the
unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not
deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,
nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
nor thieves, nor
covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall
inherit the kingdom of God." 1st Corinthians 6:9-10
No thieves in
Heaven!
How honest are
we?
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 7:
The Disciple Judas, Judas Iscariot,
betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ.
Judas was an evil
man.
John 12:6 tells
us: "He was a thief, and had the bag, and
bare what was put therein."
By having the
"bag" is meant the fact that Judas was the treasurer of the
Twelve! He "had" it! The verb "echo" means "to hold on to"
something! Judas may have been possessive of his little job! He
may have been desirous of money ... or power ... or fame!
The
verb "bare" here is spelled "bastazo"
and usually has the idea of carrying a rather heavy load! I
think Scripture is telling us that Judas was money hungry!
Greedy! He has spent as little as possible and had amassed some
real cash!
Maybe he loved
"control!"
I suspect Judas'
goals were very unlike our Lord's goals!
Now, for today I
want to mention that little word for "bag." It is unique, only
being found twice in the whole Bible. It is spelled "glossokomon"
and actually contains the Greek word for "tongue," glossa!
A "glossokomon"
was a small box or bag that was originally used to hold a
"mouth-piece" for a musical instrument. Get it? "Mouth" and
"tongue" are so closely related! It later came to mean a
container in which one could keep anything, maybe even the whole
instrument.
But visit with me
the other Text where this word for "bag" is used! There we will
learn even more about Judas! I will clearly mark our word.
"I
speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the
scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath
lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before it come,
that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I
send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that
sent me. When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit,
and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that
one of you shall betray me. Then the disciples looked one on
another, doubting of whom he spake. Now there was leaning on
Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter
therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be
of whom he spake. He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him,
Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give
a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he
gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the sop
Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou
doest, do quickly. Now no man at the table knew for what intent
he spake this unto him. For some of them thought, because Judas
had the bag,
that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need
of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the
poor. He then having received the sop went immediately out: and
it was night." John 13:18-30
Here we learn
that Judas "lifted up his heel" against Jesus! Jesus quoted
Psalm 41:9 and applied it to Judas: "Yea,
mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my
bread, hath lifted up his heel against me." Also
we are told that Judas "betrayed" Jesus! Our Lord Himself used
that word. Then after Jesus positively identified Judas as the
disloyal traitor, using the sopped piece of bread, Judas went
out into the "night!" This word is an "indicator" of spiritual
darkness for sure!
I've written this
today to show you what a clear and unmistakably negative view
the Bible takes of Judas. He was lost. He is in a place of
torment today. He never believed in Jesus with saving faith.
Jesus said this in John 17:12, obviously referring to Judas:
"While I was with them in the world, I
kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept,
and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the
scripture might be fulfilled."
Yet in our age,
the Bible critics and God haters have found a new text, a new
so-called gospel! It names itself "The gospel of Judas!" It has
not yet been published, but has allowed a few official "leaks"
of its content.
It says that
Judas was not wicked, but good!
Not a villain,
but a hero!
Not selfish, but
a martyr!
I n
other words, it proclaims a very different Judas than does the
Bible!
Why would anyone
want to make the Bible out to be a lie?
To ask that
question is to answer it!
Could it be that
they hate the Bible; its Message and its Author, Almighty God?
Furthermore, the
Gospel of Judas apparently presents a new plan of salvation!
Yes, man no
longer is a sinner there! He needs no Saviour!
Jesus is merely a
light, one of many.
He, again Jesus
is meant, can and will show men and women what awesome "good"
really indwells the human being!
Jesus the Prophet
will help man to discover and ignite the spark of deity that
resides within each specimen of humankind!
No!
No!
No!
There is only one
way to be saved!
Peter explains it
perfectly in Acts 4:12.
Speaking of Jesus
he says: "Neither is there salvation in
any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among
men, whereby we must be saved."
Amen!
I'll trust God's
Word any day over the words of some partial manuscript whose
date is long after the time of Christ.
John wrote:
"Who is a liar but he that denieth that
Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father
and the Son." 1st John 2:22
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 8:
Have you ever heard this?
Many of the
old-time preachers thought it to be true.
In fact, the
"Anti-Christ" was a special point of interest to them.
Whereas nowadays
many preachers do not even give him a second thought.
I do realize that
the old fundamentalists, especially us dispensationalists, had
some wild ideas about the Anti-Christ.
I mean ideas
concerning his identity!
Guesses have
ranged from Hitler to the Pope to Mussolini to some wild present
day politicians!
Well, I am going
to introduce you today to what may be a new line of thought.
I do not teach
this dogmatically!
It is merely a
possibility.
I could be
speculating way too much.
Although I've
certainly heard my Uncle, an evangelist, preach this back when
he was alive.
Preach what,
Brother Bagwell?
The possibility
that Judas Iscariot could be the Anti-Christ!
Now, don't laugh
yet.
The Anti-Christ
is the devil incarnate. He is empowered by Satan. And Jesus
clearly called Judas a devil! "Jesus
answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve,
and one of you is a
devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of
Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the
twelve." John 12:70-71
Also our Lord
called Judas the "son of perdition!" And that's the exact title
Paul used for Anti-Christ a few years later. Listen as Jesus
communes with His Father in prayer: "While
I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those
that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but
the son of perdition;
that the scripture might be fulfilled." Jesus is speaking
of Judas here in John 17:12. Now hear Paul on the Anti-Christ:
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for
that day shall not come, except there come a falling away
first, and that man of sin be revealed,
the son of perdition;
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God,
or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple
of God, shewing himself that he is God." 2nd
Thessalonians 2:3-4
Then, when Judas
died, we are told something strange. We know he did not go to
Heaven. Then he is in Hell we would say. I certainly agree. Yet
the Scripture says this of Judas when he died:
"This ministry and apostleship, from which
Judas by transgression fell,
that he might go to his
own place." Acts 1:25
See that?
Judas went to
"his own place!"
That sounds
unusual.
We are told that
of no one else in the whole Bible as far as I can tell.
Could it be that
Judas will be resurrected in the last days and assume the role
of Anti-Christ?
Now do remember,
others will be resurrected during the tribulation period. The
two witnesses of Revelation 11 come to mind and perhaps even the
Anti-Christ himself as described in Revelation 13!
I of course
realize that no
human yet knows the positive identity of Anti-Christ.
I am here just
matching a few Bible facts and parallel terms and coming to a
conclusion that might be possible.
But I do know
this.
If Judas were to
be the Anti-Christ, things would be a lot smoother as he assumes
world-wide control of the nations of earth IF he could somehow
be transformed from a traitor into a hero!
And,
astonishingly, that's exactly what the newly discovered Gospel
of Judas is said to do!
Of course various
heretics of history have always had nice things to say about
Judas!
But Jesus didn't!
"Devil" and "Son
of perdition" are hardly terms of endearment!
Neither does Paul
say anything kind!
Nor the whole Bible,
anywhere!
Surely we are
living in the last days!
Jesus is coming
again!
Will His Return
mean safety and deliverance for you?
Or will you
instead "believe the lie?"
Think about it.
(And even if a Bible student cannot agree
that Judas might be the Anti-Christ, he would have to believe
that the "spirit" of Judas is active in Anti-Christ. Judas is a
picture or a type or a symbol of Anti-Christ. Still the main
point of today's lesson remains in force. Today's world is
demonically being prepared to accept a monstrosity of a man to
be their leader, a charismatic Satan figure! One who promises
peace, but brings world-wide war! Nowadays heroes are being
turned into villains and villains into heroes!)
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 9:
Yesterday we talked about the
Anti-Christ.
Enough of him!
Today I want to
talk about the real Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ!
He is the eternal
Son of God!
Scripture tells
us He was involved in creation itself! The creation of the
world!
He also was born
of a virgin! Miraculously so! By the direct act of God! About
two thousand years ago!
He lived a
sinless life!
Never one bad
thought! Nor a single lustful glance! Absolutely without sin!
He worked
miracles, preached astounding sermons, loved the outcast and
generally "went about doing good!"
Then it happened!
Well, it did not
just "happen" really. It was planned ... from eternity past!
The Cross of
Calvary!
Jesus died,
shedding His precious Blood, that sinners might be saved!
Born again!
He then was
buried for three days preceding His Resurrection!
You heard me
right!
He literally
physically arose from the grave!
This miracle is
an attestable fact of history. Being seen of many hundreds of
witnesses, Jesus was provably alive after His cruel death!
Forty days later
He ascended to Heaven!
There He now sits
at His Father's Right Hand!
Praying,
interceding for you and me, dear Christian friends!
And, best of all
... He's coming back again!
Coming to get us!
What good news!
Why would anyone
want to talk about Anti-Christ when the Lord Jesus is described
so fully and beautifully in the Word of God!
Praise Him today!
Thank Him today
for saving you!
Worship Him!
After all, as
Paul summarizes: "And without controversy
great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the
flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto
the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."
1st Timothy 3:16
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
FORGET JUDAS ... I'LL
TAKE JESUS! HE IS THE DARLING SON OF GOD ... AND MY PERSONAL
SAVIOUR!
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