THE BLESSED LORD JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH IS ALMOST HERE. HE IS COMING EVEN SOONER THAN WE EXPECT!!!

BELOVED BRETHREN, DO DILIGENTLY PREPARE YOURSELF, EARNESTLY PREPARE YOUR HEART, YOUR MIND, YOUR SOUL, YOUR SPIRIT, AND YOUR BODY BY REPENTING AND CONFESSING BEFORE THE LORD AS A SIGN OF HUMILITY, ALWAYS PLEADING THE BLOOD OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST UPON YOUR WHOLE BEING.

DEAR SOUL, REPENT AND BE GENUINELY CONVERTED, THAT YOUR PLACE MAY BE FOUND WITH THE LORD JESUS WHEN HE SHALL APPEAR IN HIS GLORY.
INDEED, TIME IS ABSOLUTELY OVER AND FOR A FACT, JESUS CHRIST THE LORD OF HOST IS ALMOST HERE TO CATCH UP HIS FAITHFUL ONES UP INTO THE HOLY HEAVENS AS HE HAS PROMISED IN HIS WORD.

BELOVED BRETHREN, THE HOUR HAS COME FOR SCRIPTURES TO BE FULFILLED, THE LONG AWAITED, PROPHESIED AND PREACHED SINCE, RAPTURE EVENT IS ABOUT TAKING PLACE IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND!

RAPTURE

RAPTURE IS A TERM THAT HAS BEEN ADOPTED TO DEFINE AN END-TIME  EVENT DISCLOSED IN THE HOLY BIBLE.THOUGH, THE WORD MAY NOT BE DIRECTLY RECOGNIZED IN THE BIBLE, YET, THE VERY DEFINITION STANDS OUT TO MEAN SOMETHING PECULIAR.
RAPTURE MEANS: "BEING CAUGHT UP"  ALL OF THE SUDDEN, BEING TAKEN FROM EARTH TO HEAVEN AS DESCRIBED IN 1 THESSALONIANS 4:13 - 18.
In essence, it means the act of transporting a person from one sphere of existence to another, esp from earth to heaven.

AS IT IS WRITTEN IN THE PROPHETS, BY CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD AND SAVIOR HIMSELF, AND ALSO BY THE APOSTLES OF THE LORD, IT WILL SURELY COME TRUE.
ISAIAH 26:19 - 21,
¹⁹ Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
²⁰ Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
²¹ For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

IN JOHN 14:2-3, JESUS ASSURED US OF A BEAUTIFUL HOME HE WAS GOING TO PREPARE FOR US. HE MADE IT MORE CLEARER AND VIVID. ACCORDING TO JESUS' STATEMENT, THERE WAS INDEED A HOME IN HEAVEN, EVEN THE KINGDOM OF ALMIGHTY GOD, WHERE HE(JESUS) WAS A PART OF.

John 14:2-3King James Version (KJV)

² In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

1 Corinthians 15:51-58

 ⁵¹ Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,⁵² In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.⁵³ For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.⁵⁴ So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.⁵⁵ O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

 

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

 ¹³ But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.¹⁵ For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.¹⁶ For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:¹⁷ Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.¹⁸ Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

BELOVED BRETHREN, NOTE THAT, OF ALL THESE AFOREMENTIONED SCRIPTURES, WE ARE BEING DIRECTED TO A SPECIAL DIVINE EVENT THAT WILL CHANGE THE COURSE OF THINGS IN OUR PRESENT WORLD.

INDEED, GOD IS ABOUT TO VISIT THE EARTH ONCE AGAIN AND RENDER HIS RIGHTEOUS JUDGEMENT UNTO THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF MEN, AND HIS CREATION AS A WHOLE.

THE LORD, AS A MATTER OF FACT, HAS DONE IT BEFORE. IN THE DAYS OF NOAH, GOD PUNISHED THE EARTH BECAUSE SIN AND INIQUITY WAS ABOUNDING AMONG MEN, YET, THE LORD SAVED THOSE THAT OBEYED HIS WORD THROUGH NOAH AND SECURED THEM IN THE ARC. 

GENESIS 6:13

And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

ONCE AGAIN, GOD CAME OUT AND DESTROYED THE TWIN CITIES OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH BECAUSE THEIR SINS WERE TOO GREAT TO HOLD BACK THE  RIGHTEOUS ANGER OF GOD, YET, ONCE AGAIN, GOD SAVED SOME FEW RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE, LOT AND HIS TWO VIRGIN DAUGHTERS.

 Genesis 19:24&25

²⁴ Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;²⁵ And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

 

ONCE AGAIN, THE SOVEREIGN LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, IS ABOUT TO PUNISH THE EARTH IN THE EVENT RECORDED IN THE SCRIPTURES AS THE "GREAT TRIBULATION", THIS EVENT WILL SEE TO THE MOST HORRIFIC TIMES THE EARTH HAS EVER ENCOUNTERED SINCE THE WORLD WAS CREATED!

 JESUS HAS WARNED US ABOUT THIS END-TIME EVENT, AND AGAIN, HE HAS ASSURED US OF RESCUE, JUST AS IN THE PREVIOUS EVENTS THERE WAS A RESCUE.

DEARLY BELOVED, RAPTURE IS AT HAND, JESUS IS ABOUT SNATCHING OUT OF THIS DARKENING, SIN SICKED WORLD, HIS READY, OBEDIENT AND FAITHFUL BRIDE, WHO HAVE SANCTIFIED THEMSELVES AND WASHED CLEAN THEIR GARMENTS OF SALVATION THROUGH HIS PRECIOUS BLOOD.

ARE YOU TRULY PREPARE?..

BELOVED, ARE YOU REALLY READY TO MEET THE LORD JESUS SHOULD IN CASE HE TURNS IN ANY MOMENT FROM NOW?..

Amos 4:12 King James Version

 ¹² Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

 JESUS SAID;

¹⁷ From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

 YES, YES AND YES INDEED, LET US ALL EVERYWHERE REPENT BECAUSE, NOW THE TIME HAS COME FOR JUDGEMENT TO BEGIN WITH THE BELIEVERS.

1 Peter 4&17

 ⁷ But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

 ¹⁷ For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?¹⁸ And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

 JESUS DECLARED IN JOHN 14:6,.. 

⁶ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

    HE MEANT THAT, REGARDLESS YOUR RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION OR COMMITMENT, RELIGION DOESN'T SAVE ANYONE BUT RATHER, SALVATION IS ALL THAT MATTERS. THIS GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE IS FOUND IN NO OTHER THAN JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH!

ACTS 4:12

¹² Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

John 1:12

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

 Today, beloved, the door is opened to you to receive the most worthy and precious gift anyone can ever offer to you.

This gift is ETERNAL LIFE from GOD, through faith in JESUS CHRIST of Nazareth.

Romans 6:23 

"...; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Recieve this gift today and walk in the newness of Life so that you can prepare your heart and your life for the imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to Rapture His Bride into Heaven.

Pray with me now, from the depth of your heart and truly meaning it, tell God how sorry you are for all your wrongs, sins, faults and mistakes. Invite Jesus in your heart and life and ask Him to be the LORD and SAVIOUR of your Soul. Ask the Jesus to give you the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit, who will guide, teach, instruct and direct your paths into righteousness always.

Say with me;

Precious Jesus, 

I acknowledge today that you are LORD and savior of all mankind, 

and today I have recognized my shortfall,

I repent and turn away from all sin. 

Please cover me with your precious blood, 

and establish your word in my life,

that I may be found in righteousness and holiness 

and write my name in your book of life 

and baptize me with the power of the Holy Spirit 

in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. 

AMEN.   

 God bless you for making the decision, from today, you are counted among the LORD'S people.

Find a Bible believing and teaching Church, join them and disclose your new relationship found in Christ to the brethren.

Stay connected, read your Holy Bible always, pray constantly and increase in  the Knowledge of God in Christ Jesus. Amen!

 

THIS IS WHAT HUMANITY AS A WHOLE NEED TO KNOW, THE LONG AWAITED REVELATION!!!

ETERNITY

Do you know that you will outlive the sun? Do you know that when the earth and the stars have all passed away, you will just be beginning your end-less day? (Jesus said in Matthew 24:35 that,. "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."
Once you are born, you will never seize to live. You will live forever: You will be alive Eternally.
Eternity has no end. This is a solemn and fearful truth. Suppose it were possible to tie a rope from earth to heaven and an Ant were to go to the heaven using the reope and back to earth on the rope. When an Ant has done that a hundred times, then a small fraction of Eternity has passed.
You will still be alive. Suppose a small boy were to empty an ocean(SEA) with a Cup, the time it will take the boy to complete that task is an infinitesimally Small part of Eternity. If, again, a grain of sand represents one day, all the grains of sand on the seashores will represent a small, negligible part of Eternity!
If a bird went to sharpen it's beak once every year at a mountain, when the bird wears out the mountain in this way, only an insignificant  part of Eternity would have passed. In short, Eternity is the Lifetime of a never-dying God!
And you will live for Eternity. You will be alive Eternally as God will be alive Eternally. Once born, a person remains conciously alive forever. There is "the resurrection of LIFE" and "the resurrection of DAMNATION". (Isaiah 57:15 says"
For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

Psalm 90:2 says"
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlastinAnd many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
g to everlasting, thou art God."

Job 36:26 says"
Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out."

Deuteronomy 33:27 says"
The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them."

Daniel 12:2 says"
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

John 5:29 says"
And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."

Revelations 20:11 - 15 says"
 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."


This may shock you. I pray it does. Every sinner will end up in the Infernal Hell and every saint will end up in Supernal Heaven. You will live foever in heaven or hell. There is no Neutral place.
Nothing like purgatory; Jesus never talked of anything or anywhere like this. Somebody said, "I am on the fence". There is no fence.
You are either a Christian or a sinner. You are either on the narrow way or the broad way that leads straight to hell. You will live with either God or with Satan. You will live with God in Heaven or live in hell forever with  Satan.
Choose you this day". Where do you want to spend eternity? You can only answer with an action. Throw off this tract, or tear it to pieces, neglect its message and warning postpone the day or repentance  and continue in sin then you have answered the question one way. Eternity in hell is sure for every sinner who refuses or neglects to repent.                                                                                                                                                                 

Choose you this day''. where will you spend Eternity? In Heaven with God? Then you must Repent NOW. ''he that covereth his sins SHALL NOT PROSPER'' AMEN. ''But whoso confesseth and forsaketh them SHALL HAVE MERCY'' AMEN [Proverbs 28:13]. ''Seek ye the LORD'' .How? ''Let the wicked forsake his ways and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him RETURN unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him; He will abundantly  pardon [Isaiah55:6,7].God says you should seek Him that you may recieve forgiveness of all your SINS. Don't hide
or I cover anyone of them. God sees you and He says you CANNOT, WILL NOT proper if you do not Confess your SINS, Forsake the SINS and turn to God.

Life with God in Christ is an Endless Hope!
Life without God in SIN is a Hopeless End!

Do you want this Hopeful life? God is ready to give it to you now as you pray:
"Almighty God, I pray in Jesus Name that you should look down with mercy on me a guilty sinner. Forgive me these my SINS of ....(name them one by one, don't hide any). I promise never to go back to them again by your power and strength. Please make me your child now, and cleanse me from my SIN. I give my live to Jesus Christ and accept Him as my personal Lord and only saviour into my heart now. Thank you, O' God, for I believe you have answered my prayer. In the Holy Name Jesus Christ have I prayed. Amen".

Do this Now as urgently and correctly as you carry out a doctor's instructions. Turn away from all SIN and ask God to forgive and cleanse you. He will answer immediately if you pray with faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He will also change your life and set your feet on the narrow path of godliness and righteousness that leads to Eternal Life. Then Eernity with God in Heaven will be sure. Life with God in Christ is an Endless Hope!
Life without God in SIN is a Hopeless End!

"CHOOSE YOU THIS DAY!"

THE WORD OF GOD IS SHARPER THAN ANY TWO EDGED SWORD!!!

Is Jesus God?

TO BEST KNOW THE FACTUAL ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION BEYOND EVERY REASONABLE DOUBT, LET'S CONSIDER THIS;

Is Jesus God?

Have you ever met a man who is the center of attention wherever he goes? Some mysterious, indefinable characteristic sets him apart from all other men. Well, that’s the way it was two thousand years ago with Jesus Christ. But it wasn’t merely Jesus’ personality that captivated those who heard him. Those who witnessed his words and life tell us that something about Jesus of Nazareth was different from all other men.

Jesus’ only credentials were himself. He never wrote a book, commanded an army, held a political office, or owned property. He mostly traveled within a hundred miles of his village, attracting crowds who were amazed at his provocative words and stunning deeds.

Yet Jesus’ greatness was obvious to all those who saw and heard him. And while most great people eventually fade into history books, Jesus is still the focus of thousands of books and unparalleled media controversy. And much of that controversy revolves around the radical claims Jesus made about himself—claims that astounded both his followers and his adversaries.

It was primarily Jesus’ unique claims that caused him to be viewed as a threat by both the Roman authorities and the Jewish hierarchy. Although he was an outsider with no credentials or political powerbase, within three years, Jesus changed the world for the next 20 centuries. Other moral and religious leaders have left an impact—but nothing like that unknown carpenter’s son from Nazareth.

What was it about Jesus Christ that made the difference? Was he merely a great man, or something more?

These questions get to the heart of who Jesus really was. Some believe he was merely a great moral teacher; others believe he was simply the leader of the world’s greatest religion. But many believe something far more. Christians believe that God has actually visited us in human form. And they believe the evidence backs that up.

After carefully examining Jesus’ life and words, former Cambridge professor and skeptic, C. S. Lewis, came to a startling conclusion about him that altered the course of his life. So who is the real Jesus? Many will answer that Jesus was a great moral teacher. As we take a deeper look at the world’s most controversial person, we begin by asking: could Jesus have been merely a great moral teacher?

Great Moral Teacher?

Even those from other religions acknowledge that Jesus was a great moral teacher. Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi, spoke highly of Jesus’ righteous life and profound words.[1] Likewise, Jewish scholar Joseph Klausner wrote, “It is universally admitted … that Christ taught the purest and sublimest ethics … which throws the moral precepts and maxims of the wisest men of antiquity far into the shade.”[2]

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount has been called the most superlative teaching of human ethics ever uttered by an individual. In fact, much of what we know today as “equal rights” actually is the result of Jesus’ teaching. Historian Will Durant, a non-Christian, said of Jesus that “he lived and struggled unremittingly for ‘equal rights'; in modern times he would have been sent to Siberia. ‘He that is greatest among you, let him be your servant’—this is the inversion of all political wisdom, of all sanity.”[3]

Many, like Gandhi, have tried to separate Jesus’ teaching on ethics from his claims about himself, believing that he was simply a great man who taught lofty moral principles. This was the approach of one of America’s Founding Fathers, President Thomas Jefferson, who cut and pasted a copy of the New Testament, removing sections he thought referred to Jesus’ deity, while leaving in other passages regarding Jesus’ ethical and moral teaching.[4] Jefferson carried around his cut and pasted New Testament with him, revering Jesus as perhaps the greatest moral teacher of all time.

In fact, Jefferson’s memorable words in the Declaration of Independence were rooted in Jesus’ teaching that each person is of immense and equal importance to God, regardless of sex, race, or social status. The famous document sets forth, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights …”

But one thing Jefferson didn’t answer: If Jesus falsely claimed to be God he couldn’t have been a good moral teacher. But did Jesus really claim deity? Before we look at what Jesus claimed, we need to examine the possibility that he was simply a great religious leader?

Great Religious Leader?

Surprisingly, Jesus never claimed to be a religious leader. He never got into religious politics or pushed an ambitious agenda, and he ministered almost entirely outside the established religious framework.

When one compares Jesus with the other great religious leaders, a remarkable distinction emerges. Ravi Zacharias has studied world religions and observed a fundamental distinction between Jesus Christ and the founders of other major religions. All religions provide instruction for a way of living. But it is only Jesus who offers deliverance, forgiveness for sin, and transformation. “Jesus did not only teach or expound His message. He was identical with His message.”[5]

The truth of Zacharias’ point is underscored by the number of times in the Gospels that Jesus’ teaching message was simply “Come to me” or “Follow me” or “Obey me.” Also, Jesus made it clear that his primary mission was to forgive sins, something only God could do.

In The World’s Great Religions, Huston Smith observed that of all religious leaders only Jesus claimed to be divine.[6]

And that leads us to the question of what Jesus really did claim for himself; specifically, did Jesus claim to be God?

Did Jesus Claim To Be God?

So what is it that convinces many scholars that Jesus claimed to be God? Author, John Piper explains that Jesus claimed power which uniquely belonged to God.

“…Jesus’ friends and enemies were staggered again and again by what he said and did. He would be walking down the road, seemingly like any other man, then turn and say something like, ‘Before Abraham was, I am.’ Or, ‘If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.’ Or, very calmly, after being accused of blasphemy, he would say, ‘The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.’ To the dead he might simply say, ‘Come forth,’ or, ‘Rise up.’ And they would obey. To the storms on the sea he would say, ‘Be still.’ And to a loaf of bread he would say, ‘Become a thousand meals.’ And it was done immediately.”[7]

But what did Jesus really mean by such statements? Is it possible Jesus was merely a prophet like Moses or Elijah, or Daniel? Even a superficial reading of the Gospels reveals that Jesus claimed to be someone more than a prophet. No other prophet had made such claims about himself; in fact, no other prophet ever put himself in God’s place.

Some argue that Jesus never explicitly said, “I am God.” It is true that he never stated the exact words, “I am God.” However, Jesus also never explicitly said, “I am a man,” or “I am a prophet.” Yet Jesus was undoubtedly human, and his followers considered him a prophet like Moses and Elijah. So we cannot rule out Jesus being divine just because he didn’t say those exact words, anymore than we can say he wasn’t a prophet.

In fact, Jesus’ statements about himself contradict the notion that he was simply a great man or a prophet. On more than one occasion, Jesus referred to himself as God’s Son. When asked whether he thought it far-fetched for Jesus to be the Son of God, lead singer of U2, Bono, answered:

“No, it’s not far-fetched to me. Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: He was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets,… But actually Christ doesn’t allow you that. He doesn’t let you off the hook. Christ says, No. I’m not saying I’m a teacher, don’t call me a teacher. I’m not saying I’m a prophet….I’m saying I’m God incarnate.” And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet we can take.”[8]

Before we examine Jesus’ claims, it is important to understand that he made them in the context of the Jewish belief in one God (monotheism). No faithful Jew would ever believe in more than one God. And Jesus believed in the one God, praying to his Father as, “the only true God.”[9]

But in that same prayer, Jesus spoke of having always existed with his Father. And when Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father, Jesus said, “Philip, have I been with you so long and you don’t know me? Whoever has seen me, has seen the Father.”[10] So the question is: “Was Jesus claiming to be the Hebrew God who created the universe?

Did Jesus Claim To Be The God Of Abraham & Moses?

Jesus continually referred to himself in ways that confounded his listeners. As Piper notes, Jesus made the audacious statement, “Before Abraham was, I AM.”[11] He told Martha and others around her, “I AM the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he is dead, yet shall he live.”[12] Likewise, Jesus would make statements like, “I AM the light of the world,”[13] “I AM the only way to God,”[14] or, “I AM the “truth.”[15] These and several other of his claims were preceded by the sacred words for God, “I AM” (ego eimi)[16]. What did Jesus mean by such statements, and what is the significance of the term, “I AM”?

Once again, we must go back to context. In the Hebrew Scriptures, when Moses asked God His name at the burning bush, God answered, “I AM.” He was revealing to Moses that He is the one and only God who is outside of time and has always existed. Incredibly, Jesus was using these holy words to describe himself. The question is, “Why?”

Since the time of Moses, no practicing Jew would ever refer to himself or anyone else by “I AM.” As a result, Jesus’ “I AM” claims infuriated the Jewish leaders. One time, for example, some leaders explained to Jesus why they were trying to kill him: “Because you, a mere man, have made yourself God.”[17]

Jesus’ usage of God’s name greatly angered the religious leaders. The point is that these Old Testament scholars knew exactly what he was saying—he was claiming to be God, the Creator of the universe. It is only this claim that would have brought the accusation of blasphemy. To read into the text that Jesus claimed to be God is clearly warranted, not simply by his words, but also by their reaction to those words.

C. S. Lewis initially considered Jesus a myth. But this literary genius who knew myths well, concluded that Jesus had to have been a real person. Furthermore, as Lewis investigated the evidence for Jesus, he became convinced that not only was Jesus real, but he was unlike any man who had ever lived. Lewis writes,

“Then comes the real shock,’ wrote Lewis: ‘Among these Jews there suddenly turns up a man who goes about talking as if He was God. He claims to forgive sins. He says He always existed. He says He is coming to judge the world at the end of time.”[18]

To Lewis, Jesus’ claims were simply too radical and profound to have been made by an ordinary teacher or religious leader. (For a more in-depth look at Jesus’ claim to deity, see “Did Jesus Claim to be  God?

What Kind Of God?

Some have argued that Jesus was only claiming to be part of God. But the idea that we are all part of God, and that within us is the seed of divinity, is simply not a possible meaning for Jesus’ words and actions. Such thoughts are revisionist, foreign to his teaching, foreign to his stated beliefs, and foreign to his disciples’ understanding of his teaching.

Jesus taught that he is God in the way the Jews understood God and the way the Hebrew Scriptures portrayed God, not in the way the New Age movement understands God. Neither Jesus nor his audience had been weaned on Star Wars, and so when they spoke of God, they were not speaking of cosmic forces. It’s simply bad history to redefine what Jesus meant by the concept of God.

Lewis explains,

Now let us get this clear. Among Pantheists, like the Indians, anyone might say that he was a part of God, or one with God….But this man, since He was a Jew, could not mean that kind of God. God, in their language, meant the Being outside the world, who had made it and was infinitely different from anything else. And when you have grasped that, you will see that what this man said was, quite simply, the most shocking thing that has ever been uttered by human lips.[19]

Certainly there are those who accept Jesus as a great teacher, yet are unwilling to call him God. As a Deist, we’ve seen that Thomas Jefferson had no problem accepting Jesus’ teachings on morals and ethics while denying his deity.[20] But as we’ve said, and will explore further, if Jesus was not who he claimed to be, then we must examine some other alternatives, none of which would make him a great moral teacher. Lewis, argued, “I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say.”[21]

In his quest for truth, Lewis knew that he could not have it both ways with the identity of Jesus. Either Jesus was who he claimed to be—God in the flesh—or his claims were false. And if they were false, Jesus could not be a great moral teacher. He would either be lying intentionally or he would be a lunatic with a God complex.

Could Jesus Have Been Lying?

Even Jesus’ harshest critics rarely have called him a liar. That label certainly doesn’t fit with Jesus’ high moral and ethical teaching. But if Jesus isn’t who he claimed to be, we must consider the option that he was intentionally misleading everyone.

One of the best-known and most influential political works of all time was written by Niccolò Machiavelli in 1532. In his classic, The Prince, Machiavelli exalts power, success, image, and efficiency above loyalty, faith, and honesty. According to Machiavelli, lying is okay if it accomplishes a political end.

Could Jesus Christ have built his entire ministry upon a lie just to gain power, fame, or success? In fact, the Jewish opponents of Jesus were constantly trying to expose him as a fraud and liar. They would barrage him with questions in attempts to trip him up and make him contradict himself. Yet Jesus responded with remarkable consistency.

The question we must deal with is: What could possibly motivate Jesus to live his entire life as a lie? He taught that God was opposed to lying and hypocrisy, so he wouldn’t have been doing it to please his Father. He certainly didn’t lie for his followers’ benefit, since all but one were martyred rather than renouncing his Lordship (see “Did the Apostles believe Jesus is God?” . And so we are left with only two other reasonable explanations, each of which is problematic.

Benefit

Many people have lied for personal gain. In fact, the motivation of most lies is some perceived benefit to oneself. What could Jesus have hoped to gain from lying about his identity? Power would be the most obvious answer. If people believed he was God, he would have tremendous power. (That is why many ancient leaders, such as the Caesars, claimed divine origin.)

The rub with this explanation is that Jesus shunned all attempts to move him in the direction of seated power, instead chastising those who abused such power and lived their lives pursuing it. He also chose to reach out to the outcasts (prostitutes and lepers), those without power, creating a network of people whose influence was less than zero. In a way that could only be described as bizarre, all that Jesus did and said moved diametrically in the other direction from power.

It would seem that if power was Jesus’ motivation, he would have avoided the cross at all costs. Yet, on several occasions, he told his disciples that the cross was his destiny and mission. How would dying on a Roman cross bring one power?

Death, of course, brings all things into proper focus. And while many martyrs have died for a cause they believed in, few have been willing to die for a known lie. Certainly all hopes for Jesus’ own personal gain would have ended on the cross. Yet, to his last breath, he would not relinquish his claim of being the unique Son of God. New Testament scholar, J. I. Packer, points out that this title asserts Jesus’ personal deity.[22]

A Legacy

So if Jesus was above lying for personal benefit, perhaps his radical claims were falsified in order to leave a legacy. But the prospect of being beaten to a pulp and nailed to a cross would quickly dampen the enthusiasm of most would-be superstars.

Here is another haunting fact. If Jesus were to have simply dropped the claim of being God’s Son, he never would have been condemned. It was his claim to be God and his unwillingness to recant of it that got him crucified.

If enhancing his credibility and historical reputation was what motivated Jesus to lie, one must explain how a carpenter’s son from a poor Judean village could ever anticipate the events that would catapult his name to worldwide prominence. How would he know his message would survive? Jesus’ disciples had fled and Peter had denied him. Not exactly the formula for launching a religious legacy.

Do historians believe Jesus lied? Scholars have scrutinized Jesus’ words and life to see if there is any evidence of a defect in his moral character. In fact, even the most ardent skeptics are stunned by Jesus’ moral and ethical purity.

According to historian Philip Schaff, there is no evidence, either in church history or in secular history that Jesus lied about anything. Schaff argued, “How, in the name of logic, common sense, and experience, could a deceitful, selfish, depraved man have invented, and consistently maintained from the beginning to end, the purest and noblest character known in history with the most perfect air of truth and reality?”[23]

To go with the option of liar seems to swim upstream against everything Jesus taught, lived, and died for. To most scholars, it just doesn’t make sense. Yet, to deny Jesus’ claims, one must come up with some explanation. And if Jesus’ claims are not true, and he wasn’t lying, the only option remaining is that he must have been self-deceived.

Could Jesus Have Been Self-Deceived?

Albert Schweitzer, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1952 for his humanitarian efforts, had his own views about Jesus. Schweitzer concluded that insanity was behind Jesus’ claim to be God. In other words, Jesus was wrong about his claims but didn’t intentionally lie. According to this theory, Jesus was deluded into actually believing he was the Messiah.

Lewis considered this option carefully. He deduced that if Jesus’ claims weren’t true, then he must have been insane. Lewis reasons that someone who claimed to be God would not be a great moral teacher. “He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell.”[24]

Most who have studied Jesus’ life and words acknowledge him as extremely rational. Although his own life was filled with immorality and personal skepticism, the renowned French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78) acknowledged Jesus’ superior character and presence of mind, stating, “When Plato describes his imaginary righteous man…he describes exactly the character of Christ. …If the life and death of Socrates are those of a philosopher, the life and death of Jesus Christ are those of a God.”[25]

Bono concludes that a “nutcase” was the last thing one could label Jesus.

“So what you’re left with is either Christ was who He said He was—or a complete nutcase. I mean, we’re talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson….I’m not joking here. The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside down by a nutcase, for me that’s far-fetched….”[26]

So, was Jesus a liar or a lunatic, or was he the Son of God? Could Jefferson have been right by labeling Jesus “only a good moral teacher” while denying his deity? Interestingly, the audience who heard Jesus—both believers and enemies—never regarded him as a mere moral teacher. Jesus produced three primary effects in the people who met him: hatred, terror, or adoration.

The claims of Jesus Christ force us to choose. As Lewis stated, we cannot put Jesus in the category of being just a great religious leader or good moral teacher. This former skeptic challenges us to make up our own minds about Jesus, stating,

“You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”[27]

In Mere Christianity, Lewis explores the options regarding the identity of Jesus, concluding that he is exactly who he claimed to be. His careful examination of the life and words of Jesus led this great literary genius to renounce his former atheism and become a committed Christian.

The greatest question in human history is, “Who is the real Jesus Christ?” Bono, Lewis, and countless others have concluded that God visited our planet in human form. But if that is true, then we would expect him to be alive today. And that is exactly what his followers believe.

As a matter of fact, many Scripture references sums up to the conclusion that Jesus wasn't just a mere mortal man but more to that!

Scripture verses in the Torah spoke at length on the person, identity and Person of JESUS CHRIST even before He was revealed to the world in a Sacred way (His Virgin Birth).

According to the Torah, Jesus  was to be birthed by a Virgin and special attributes which are only accounted to God were to be identified in Him!

Isaiah 7:14 says "

 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."

Isaiah 9:6 says"

 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

According these qouted scriptures above, there evidence of JESUS' deity is revealed, Seeing clearly that God Almighty was the Inspirator herewith, for the Scriptures says in 1 Peter 1:21 that,...

 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Stunningly, these prophecies were accurately fulfilled in JESUS CHRIST of Nazareth!

Matthew 1:18 - 25 has this to say"

 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus.

Again, John 20:24 - 29 says" Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Colossians 1:12 - 27 says"

 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son [JESUS]:

 In whom[JESUS] we have redemption through his[JESUS] blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

 Who[JESUS] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

 For by him[JESUS] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

 And he[JESUS] is before all things, and by him[JESUS] all thing conssist.

 And he[JESUS] is the head of the body, the church: who[JESUS] is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he[JESUS] might have the preeminence.

 For it pleased the Father that in him[JESUS] should all fulness dwell;

 And, having made peace through the blood of his[JESUS] cross, by him[JESUS] to reconcile all things unto himself[JESUS]; by him[JESUS], I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he[JESUS] reconciled

 In the body of his[JESUS] flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his[JESUS] sight:

 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:

 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;

 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:

 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ[JESUS] in you, the hope of glory:

1 Timothy 3:16 says"

 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."

Revelations 1:5 - 8 says"

 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

 And hath made us[ANYONE WHO BELIEVES IN JESUS CHRIST] kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

 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.

 I[JESUS] am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Revelations 1:17 & 18 says"

 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

In conclusion it's much clearer that JESUS is what He claimed to Be, what the Holy Scriptures declares Him to Be and what is Believed on in the whole world that He Is, the Son of God Almighty, the Saviour of Humanity!

JOHN 3:16 says"

 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son[JESUS CHRIST], that whosoever believeth in him[JESUS CHRIST] should not perish, but have everlasting life.

BELOVED, THE CHOICE IS OURS, WHETHER TO RECIEVE THE LORD JESUS CHRIST INTO OUR HEARTS AND LIVES AS OUR ONLY LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOUR AND HAVE THE HOPE ETERNAL LIFE OR, REFUSE, REBEL AND REJECT THE GRACE OF GOD TO WILLINGLY GO ON TO FACE THE HOPELESS AND DAMNABLE FATE OF THEM THAT FORSAKE THE LORD?

John 1:12 says"But as many as received him[JESUS CHRIST], to them gave he[JESUS CHRIST] power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

To recieve JESUS into your heart and life as your Lord and personal Saviour, pray with me NOW;

“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”