Da Vinci Code
I had written the following excerpt (edited) in response to an e-mail exchange I had a year ago January regarding the Da Vinci Code. I thought perhaps it would be food for thought today.In these times that we are in it will be more and more difficult to be a marginal follower of Christ or for that matter a marginal "opposer". It's all or nothing. So it shouldn't be a surprise that opposition to Christ will become fierce. Scripture says that in the end times many will fall away. We shouldn't let anyone fool us into thinking that it's possible to take a relaxed or marginal posture. The Lord will make sure that fence sitters will fall off ... it'll be worse than what happened to Humpty Dumpty. __________________________________________________________________
" .... From my end, I've heard of the Da Vinci Code (the book), and I'm aware of the fact that it's an attack on the authority of scripture and the divinity of Jesus ... and there are many more, that have come and gone ... They eventually all fade into obscurity, as if they never existed.
No other book has been so attacked throughout history as the Bible.
... For example ... In A.D. 300 the Roman emperor Diocletian ordered every Bible burned because he thought that by destroying the Scriptures he could destroy Christianity. Anyone caught with a Bible was to be executed. But just 25 years later, the Roman emperor Constantine ordered that 50 perfect copies of the Bible be made at government expense. The French philosopher Voltaire, who denied the existense of God, boasted that within 100 years of his death, the Bible would disappear from the face of the earth. He is quoted as saying: "One hundred years from my day there will not be a Bible in the earth except one that is looked upon by an antiquarian curiosity seeker." Voltaire died in 1728, but the Bible lives on. Before the end of that century the Geneva Bible Society moved into his former house and used his printing presses to print thousands of Bibles. God always has the last laugh.
Recommendation ... Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell http://www.josh.org . An excellent book that discusses historical evidence with regards to scripture, the bible and the person of Jesus ... it's a book that answered huge questions for me when I was in my twenties (a long, long time ago).
When the Lord speaks ... His word never dies, it's full of life eternal, it gives life, it creates out of nothing. It also contains His perfect judgement and wrath as well as His unending mercy and loving-kindness ... He's described as being the personification of His Word ... it will survive and outlast any evil or untruth that is sent against it ... amazing!
John 1: 1-14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Isaiah 46:8-10 "Remember this, fix it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels. Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.
It shouldn't surprise us when people would want to discredit words like that ... it doesn't leave them much choice in terms of who they should follow or fear ... "
posted by Christoph Hermann at 4/11/2006 11:20:00 a.m.
2 Comments:
The Word of The Lord will prevail, The Creator is not concern about his reputation...Satan has been ocupied with it from since the Garden and he would love the atention good or bad.The more we talk and think about our AWSOME Creator-The Father, His Son our Redeemer and His Holy Spirit who indewls us to save us from ourselves, the less time we have to give to the defeated enemy!
The following speaks very clearly and without any ambiguity whatsoever ... I'm not sure Peter pulled any punches on the matter. ;o)
2 Peter 12:12-20, 2 Peter 2 (NIV)
"So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.
We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them- bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)- if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority.
Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord. But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.
They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, revelling in their pleasures while they feast with you. With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed- an accursed brood! They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey- a beast without speech- who spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness.
These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity- for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: A dog returns to its vomit, and, A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."
Post a Comment
<< Home