BoldGrace

I have been asked to comment on Mathew chapter 25.  Let me say to start that I am not here to deal with every verse in this chapter because that could take volumes but I will sum up what I think is the bottom line.  Allow me to quote the last verse of that chapter:

Matt 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

If you read the entire chapter it is clear that Christ is speaking about the same coming of judgment that I believe happened in 70AD.  A clear spiritual division happened at the cross.  A new heaven and new earth appeared on the day of the Lord, but the old heaven and old earth continued along side for a short time.  The old heaven and old earth had its final reckoning when the temple came tumbling down.  Let’s go back to chapter 24 and see the connection to all of this:

Matt 24:29-34 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

In the mind of God (the Kingdom of pure thought) there is a clear division of what mankind’s situation is.  Within all of us are ten virgins.  Five are wise and five are foolish.  Within all of us there is the man who uses his talents well and the man who squanders his talent.  Within all of us there is the person who feeds the hungry, takes care of the sick, and visits those who are in prison, and then within all of us there is the person who really cares nothing at all about the plight of those less fortunate.  Within all of us there is that which needs shut out, destroyed, cast into the lake of fire along with the power of all delusion and lies that we have dreamed up (the devil). 

Paul gives us the perfect example of what I am talking about by bringing our redemption and salvation down to a personal level.  Listen:

1 Tim 1:12-17 I thank him who has given me strength for this, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful by appointing me to his service, though I formerly blasphemed and persecuted and insulted him; but I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the foremost of sinners;  but I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience for an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Saul (who is now Paul) represented the old man of sin, the old heaven and old earth, the foolish virgins, the man who squandered his talent, the cold uncaring person, but Paul (who used to be Saul) represents the NEW MAN who has had the old man put out, cast into the lake of fire, and all his delusions of a self righteous life was completely and utterly destroyed. 

And the best part of what Paul (the New Man) says is that he is the example of Jesus Christ’s perfect patience.  Yes, God will never allow anything other then our perfection to enter the Kingdom of pure thought.  A Kingdom where Love, joy, peace, and patience are what rule our thoughts.

Paul never claimed that it was his belief that got him to this new heaven and new earth (the land of MERCY).  In fact, he said it was his unbelief….."but I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus."

Every single human being that has ever lived has acted IGNORANTLY IN UNBELIEF.  Thank God we have a Father that loves us so much that he will sift out all the garbage that we have allowed into our lives.  Even if you go all the way back to Adam & Eve you will see the two sides of mankind.  After mankind was created God said:  "And it is good, very good."  But after mankind believed the lie (a lie is an illusion) he hid in the bush.  Now wasn’t he still good, very good?????   And yet there was now a foolish part added to who man THOUGHT he was.  Please read Mathew 25 again slowly and ask yourself the following questions:

• Don’t I see within myself the VERY GOOD that God has said all along is there?
• Don’t I hate the illusions I have gathered in my life that make me think so poorly of myself?
• Don’t I want God to separate the the sheep and the goats within my own existence?
• Don’t I want the unwise virgins in my life to be shut out?
• Don’t I want the lazy, greedy person in me to see he gains nothing by that way of life?
• Don’t I want God to end this horrible conflict within me and show me the beauty and power of my true inner man?

If we are honest with ourselves we will see the GREAT CONFLICT which wages war within, but the GOOD NEWS is that the BEST PART OF WHO WE REALLY ARE has never been in danger and will eventually be completely rescued by the bright light of REALITY.

If you accept the traditional view of Mathew chapter 25 then all I can say to you is BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID.  Or you can trust in a PERFECT GOD who will never let us down and who does not depend on us to accomplish his PERFECT WILL.  The God who has never lost sight of what He created and always knew that he would bring each and everyone of us back to the REALITY of who we really are. 

Yes, I believe in judgment.  I believe when Christ was lifted up that he took upon himself all the fearful judgments that had mankind still hiding in the bush self condemnation.  We can come out NOW.  We have a New Heaven and a New Earth.  A place where the Kingdom of Love, joy, and peace takes the place of fear, judgments, condemnation, and self righteousness.  You wonder why I am negative toward the organized church?  LOOK WHAT THEY TEACH and ask yourself "Is that how you really want to live?" 

You know what my answer is and I hope at the very least that this post will give those who live in fear by what their preachers are teaching them on this chapter to see that God truly is a God of PERFECT LOVE, and perfect love will CAST OUT ALL FEAR.

Hello friends! I haven’t written for a while, so I thought I’d let you know what’s on my mind. I was flipping through the channels this morning, relaxing a little bit before having to head out to a meeting. I landed on one of those televised church services, and heard a preacher say something like, "it is your responsibility to get your flesh in order so you will be found acceptable on that final day. And, glory to God… you’re in the right place to do that!"

Huh?

Now I’m sure this preacher is a highly trained religious scholar, and cares deeply for the people who support him in his ministry of reconciliation. But, what in the world is he talking about?

It seems to me that one of the main problems with modern Christianity is that they are hell-bent (excuse the pun) on perfecting themselves, and everyone around them… no matter what. The way I see it, God built this illusion called "the universe" and put us into it for some reason. All that is physical, is temporary. The only thing real in all this is the Spirit… our spirit, and God’s spirit (which is probably the same thing). The physical will be destroyed by the physical. There is no way to avoid it. We are all here for a time, and during that time, we will all learn the things we were put here to learn. There is no way to avoid it.

Some of the things we will learn will bring us great joy, and wonderful peace. Other things will cause us incredible grief and terrible pain. No matter what. Most of that pain will come from Christians — sorry, just kidding. But, the point is, we will experience all the things that our spirit needs to experience before this earth will bring our physical flesh to destruction. Don’t worry about it, it must happen. It cannot be avoided. But look forward to all those experiences, as they bring us closer to the place we need to be. The flesh will return to the dust it came from, and the spirit will soar into newness… maybe one step closer, or immediately to, the One who created us.

You can worry. You can panic. You can work hard to try to avoid all those experiences, both good and bad… but you will only be kidding yourself. You can”t avoid them. You just can’t. No amount of panic or worry will make any difference. Lessons will be learned. Life will be experienced.

To me, that’s what the story of Christ is all about…. that we must realize that we live in two different worlds. One is a illusion, and one is real. The problem is, we strive to perfect the illusion, forsaking the real. We want to make the physical "right", not seeming to understand that it never can be. It was designed that way. Jesus kept talking about the Kingdom of Heaven, and how it was "so close". And He talked about putting our trust in the "unseen" and opening our minds to the realization of the illusion of the flesh. If we can only understand how close heaven really is, we would find our spirits slipping into its peace, and placing less and less importance on the physical world.

It’s not to say that the decisions we make in the physical world won’t affect our physical lives… we will prosper from our correct decisions, and we will suffer for our incorrect decisions. But not everything that happens to us will be in our control. Sometimes (as Geo says), its just life on earth! This brings me back to the lessons we must learn. Even the worst decision… the decision that will bring an end to our physical world, can’t harm us. Leaving this world will be the best thing that ever happened to us. It will free us to finally experience life in the spirit, free from the illusion… free from the training ground of life-experiences we were here to have.

For those of you squirming in your chairs, no… I’m not about to kill myself. I don’t need to. Now that life is in proper perspective, I relish every moment. I do look forward to the end, and the great separation of spirit from flesh… I think it will be the most amazing part of my life. But, understanding how temporary, and how much of an illusion this earth-life truly is, I can look forward to all experiences - good and bad, great and insignificant. They all bring me a step closer to freedom. And truly, just knowing that… is freedom! 

Let the world bring on what it will! I am at peace, trusting in the Creator who will return me to himself… uniting me with the Source of my spirit… making me one with His Life! That is something to shout about, and it is something to quietly savor. It is the essence of the Gospel of Christ. And it is the message so overlooked by the church that claims to be His.

For all of you out there who are troubled during your journey, let me share something special that someone I admire gave to me during a rough moment in my life. It is a poem written by Tim Murtaugh.

Gentle Words of Encouragement

Spend every day preparing for the next.

As you reach forward with one hand, accept the advice of those who have gone before you, and in the same manner reach back with the other hand to those who follow you; for life is a fragile chain of experiences held together by love. Take pride in being a strong link in that chain. Discipline yourself, but do not be harsh. The pleasures of life are yours to be taken. Share them with others, but always remember that you, too, have earned the right to partake.

Know those who love you; love is the finest of all gifts and is received only to be given. Embrace those who truly love you; for they are few in a lifetime. Then return that love tenfold, radiating it from your heart to fill their lives as sunlight warms the darkest corners of the earth. Love is a journey, not a destination; travel its path daily. Do this and your troubles will be as fleeting as footprints in the sand. When loneliness is your companion and all about you seem to be gone, pause and listen, for the sound of loneliness is silence, and in silence we hear best. Listen well, and your moments of silence will always be broken by the gentle words of encouragement spoken by those of us who love you.

Thank you Mom

John T made the following comment about Jesus:

I wonder what Jesus was thinking about prior to being nailed to a cross and suffering unimaginable pain. Must not have been very positive. I don’t think life is as simple as just thinking the “right” thoughts.

Allow me to give my opinion as to what Jesus was thinking. 

First of all I believe that Jesus represents a perfect man with perfect love.  We know that perfect love casts out ALL fear so one thing we know he wasn’t thinking was thoughts of fear.

Could it be true that He was not very positive as he hung on the cross suffering?  It is my opinion that He couldn’t have been anything else but positive because it was His pure thoughts that got him through the pain.  Anything less would have caused him to scream out and beg to be let go. 

We also know that he had thoughts of forgiveness.  Didn’t he say in the midst of his suffering "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." 

The more I have thought about John’s question the more I believe it is about the RIGHT THOUGHTS.  Jesus had a clean cup without the baggage of organized religion.  His pure thoughts allowed him not only to hang on that cross and stay positive but it was the same thoughts that allowed him to heal people at every level, both spiritually and physically.

Matt 9:2-6  Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."  At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!"  Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?  Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?  But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . . ." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home."

Jesus asked the Very Religious People who entertained evil thoughts, what was easier to do:  to say, "Your sins are forgiven," or to say, "Get up and walk".

Isn’t it strange how it’s always the very religious who "ENTERTAIN EVIL THOUGHTS"?  When you are around church folks there is always a sense that you are being judged at some level.  Granted not all christians are this way,  but I believe the greatest evil thoughts are found in the organized church.

In the mind of Jesus with his pure thoughts both actions were the same.  To heal physically or to heal spiritually were equal.   With Jesus there could only be right thoughts because all his thoughts were pure.  It has nothing to do with any circumstance we are going through.  Jesus is showing us a new way to see this life.  He’s not telling us we will avoid difficult circumstances, but rather it will be our "RIGHT" thoughts that get us through them.

When I visualize Jesus on the Cross I see the most beautiful vision of a man who was the MASTER OF THIS THOUGHTS.  He took one of the most terrible scenes imaginable and turned it into the most POSITIVE vision that the history of mankind could every have.  How’s that for positive thoughts?

There is a reason why Jesus told us the following:

Mark 10:14-15

14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

15 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

 

Luke 10:21

21 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.

  

Matt 23:25-26

25 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

Remember from the last post that I believe the Kingdom we are to seek is the Kingdom of pure Thought that lies within each of us.  This is why Jesus said the Kingdom belonged to children.  Their thoughts have not been polluted by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil yet. 

Jesus goes on to say this Kingdom of Pure Thought is hid from the wise and learned.  By the way, he was talking about a VERY religious people.  Religious people’s thoughts are so polluted by what’s good and what’s evil that they are completely blinded by the Kingdom of Pure Thought that already resides within them.

In the last set of scriptures I mentioned above Jesus tells these very religious people what they needed to do.  He says they needed to clean the inside of the cup.  The cup of a child is already clean because their thoughts have not yet been polluted with the idea that they need to do something to be pure.  They instinctively know they already are pure.  By cleaning the inside of the cup we are removing all the things that blind us from this kingdom of pure thought.   He gave us the answer of what needs removed in the scripture above.  "you have hidden these things from the wise and learned".  We need to get rid of our wisdom and our learning and start being the Master of our own thoughts. 

The wisdom and learning that blind people to the Kingdom are the things we have been taught from the tree of the knowledge of good & evil (religion).  God never wanted us to go down that road but we chose to anyway.  Jesus came to free us from our polluted thoughts and reveal to us the Kingdom of Pure Thought that EVERY single person has within them.

When you begin to reject this world’s view of what you should think and start to trust in your PERFECT creation you will be amazed at the peace you can have.  Be the Master of Your Own Thougts……Jesus WAS!!!!!!

Part III coming soon!

In the long ago in a time before time there was something that rose from beyond the limits of our minds.  We all know it intuitively to be true and yet when we try to understand we find ourselves to be in a state of believing unbelief.  We are left with our thoughts.  Whatever was in the time before time created us from thought and allowed each and every one of us to be the Master of our Thoughts.

Most of us just take our thoughts for granted but the reality is that our thoughts are the most powerful energy that we possess.  One can be in the midst of the deepest pain and a single thought can erase it.  We each have the ability to create thoughts that overcome all obstacles and bring great peace.  The great teachers throughout our history understood the power of knowing you are the Master of your Thoughts. 

Choosing what your thoughts are is the key to everything.  The average person has 63,000 thoughts every single day and it is impossible to manage them all.  So, what are we to do?  Jesus gives us some very good advice about letting go certain thoughts that many humans are plagued with.

Luke 12:24-31

24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!

25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life b?

26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

27 "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!

29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.

30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them.

31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

When Jesus tells us to "consider" he’s asking us to change the way we think.  He’s telling us to remove certain thoughts from our minds.  The thought he’s telling us to remove here is "WORRY".  Why?  Because the thoughts that come to us as a result of worry will add absolutely nothing positive to our lives.  On the flip side worry thoughts will attract a whole array of negative things, such as, poor health, lack of peace, and a loss of joy.

He’s also telling us that running after things you are worried about is not the way.  Thankfully he gives us all the answer to our worrisome lives and that is to seek his kingdom, and then these things we worry about will come to us rather then we running toward them.  But just what does he mean to SEEK HIS KINGDOM?

 First, He tells us His Kingdom is not of this world.  In other words it has nothing to do with the physical part of our creation.  And then he tells us where we can find this Kingdom……………..

Luke 17:20-21

20 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation,

21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within  you."

The Kingdom is not of this physical world and yet the Kingdom resides within us……….Wow, what could the Kingdom be?  I have strongly come to believe that the Kingdom within us that he tells us to seek in order to attract all that we need and want is OUR THOUGHTS.

This universe we live in was spoken into existence by thought because thought always precedes speaking.  Each of us humans were given the power of thought and the secret to our lives will be found when we realize the overwhelming power of what lies within us.

There is a good book on this that goes in to much more detail and I would highly recommend it’s reading.  As with all books you will find some things you agree with and some that you don’t but I am convinced it is worth the read.  The book is called the Secret.

I have believed for a long time that God is PERFECT and so is the PROCESS he has placed us in.  The spiritual laws we all live by are just as binding as the physical laws and one of the most important spiritual laws to understand is that we attract in our lives what we THINK, and the good news is that we are the master of our thoughts. 

I speak from experience when I say that accepting your position as Master of your Thoughts is possible under any circumstance.  Yes, it takes practice, and yes there are shortcuts you can learn, but that’s exactly what Jesus meant when he said "Seek his Kingdom".  The most important thing to know about Jesus was that HE WAS THE MASTER OF HIS THOUGHTS.  

And by the way, I don’t know of very many people who are involved in organized religion who are the Master of their own Thoughts.  There may be some, but most I have known are having their thoughts controlled by outside forces rather taking control themselves.

Take control of what is a God given part of your creation.  Seek this Kingdom of thought and then sit back and watch the miracles of life appear.  BE THE MASTER OF YOUR THOUGHTS.

I received an e-mail from Jason about some questions he had because of what he had heard a preacher say on the radio.  He said this preacher was going on and on about God keeping records and how we would be judged according to our deeds, yada yada yada.  Jason has asked me to comment on this so I will try my best.

First of all if you really want to understand all that the book of Revelation says you have to spend a great deal more time then I can in a brief post, but at the same time there are enough key passages that can make some things crystal clear.  The main point I want to make in this post is that the book of Revelations was never written for us.  It was written to the people of the first century and it had everything to do with the final destruction of the temple along with all that it stood for.  Allow me to share some of those clear passages.

Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Rev 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

The very first verse says clearly that this revelation of Jesus Christ was about things which must shortly come to pass.   It’s been over 2000 years since that was written…….just what does shortly mean?

The third verse says THE TIME IS AT HAND.   Again, it’s been over 2000 years……..Is the time still at hand?

The seventh verse says that those that pierced him would see him coming.   The very men who shoved the spear in his side……..are they still living today?

 Now let’s skip to the last chapter:

Rev 22:6-10 

6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. 

7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. 

10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

Again in verse 6 he uses the term "things which must shortly be done."   Does John understand shortly?

In verse 7 he says "I come quickly".   2000 years does not describe quick.

And in verse 10 John is told that the book of prophecy should not be sealed up….WHY?  "FOR THE TIME IS AT HAND."

 The point is that this book has nothing to do with what the preacher on the radio had to say about it.  Does anyone really believe God is going to judge us by OUR DEEDS?  If so, who is good enough and what is the purpose of grace (which means unmerited favor)?

The book of Revelations was written by the latest research at 68AD.  The destruction of Jerusalem and Temple along with that whole system of life was destroyed in 70AD.  These are facts.  Yes, I will be the first to admit that the book of Revelations is difficult but when you understand God’s judgments are always about LOVE you will always feel a peace that there is never a time we can’t trust him.  If it depends on our deeds we can never have peace.

The twenty-forth chapter of Mathew is often call the little book of Revelation because it also deals with some of the same judgments and catastrophic events.  I am going to print the first portion of that chapter and for those of you who are interested I want you to read through slowing and ask yourself some very simple questions.

Matt 24:1-34

1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.

2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

16 Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains:

17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:

18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

25 Behold, I have told you before.

26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:

33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

• Who is Jesus talking to?  You will see clearly he is talking to his disciples every step of the way not to someone 2000 years away.
• Did Jesus predict the destruction of the temple?  It seems verse two makes that crystal clear and we know from history that it happened in 70AD.
• When did Jesus say that all the things he was predicting would take place?    Didn’t he say clearly in verse 34 that the current generation would NOT pass away until ALL these things be fulfilled?  That means every thing he mentions from verse 1 to verse 34 would take place within a generation.  A generation in the bible has always been 40 years.  He spoke theses words around 33AD and the stones of the temple came tumbling down at 70AD——–THAT’S WITHIN A GENERATION.

The bottom line to all of this is that God was destroying the system of religion whereby man thought he could get right with God by doing and believing something.  God utterly and completely destroyed that system at the cross when Jesus was lifted up and drew ALL men unto himself. 

The writer of Hebrews talks about this new way and also how the old was would soon vanish.   Read verse 13 below and you will see that there was a period of time after the cross where the old system was still standing but would soon be removed.

Heb 8:6-13

6 But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.

7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.

8 But God found fault with the people and said b: "The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them,       declares the Lord.

10 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

11 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.

12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." c 

13 By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

Mathew 24 and the book of Revelation is simply talking about the removal of that old system in great symbolic language. 

And by the way, I want God to destroy every vile thing in me.  Just like a great rain cleanses the earth, God has provided us with a PERFECT process whereby we have the filth of our own delusions washed clean and our PERFECTION will shine through as our only real identity.

It makes me so sad to hear preachers such as the one Jason heard preach a message of fear and hopelessness.  We have a God to be proud of that will never hurt us and will always stand by our side. 

Jason,  As I said earlier I know I can’t do this subject justice in one short post but I hope I at have least given you something to feel hopeful and positive about a Loving Father who will never let you down.

ONE FINAL POINT:  If I have an enemy and I am able to turn him into a friend haven’t I destroyed my enemy?  Isn’t that what God has done for all of us?  Yes, I am glad God destroys!!!!!

We do a lot of back and forth on this site about the merits of churchgoing, but doesn’t it come down to a very simple question?

ARE YOU HAPPIER GOING TO CHURCH?

If you answer that question with a yes then by all means go to church.  If you answer it no then maybe you really need to take a long hard look at the real reasons you are attending.

As for me I can say without any doubts that I am much happier without it.  Those who know me best know that I gave church going 100% with a very positive attitude for over 35 years and now for the first time I can actually compare because I haven’t been attending any church since September of 2007. 

It really doesn’t matter to me what you choose to do because I believe that either way God will ultimately lead you to where you need to be.  It does matter to me to see so many people under the bondage of religion and putting on a face of happiness when in reality they would much rather be doing something else.

We at Bold Grace are simply offering those people who are not happy with church going an alternative to help them realize they can truly be happier without church.  For those who are happy then we are happy for you, but you don’t need to convince us.  We have all been there and done that and for us church going is never going to happen.