I was asked to review the book "Will the World end in 2012, a Christian to the question everyone is asking".

As a Christian, I was very interested in reading this book as the subtitle peaked my interest "A Christian Guide to the Question Everyone's Asking". If you have not heard all the talk about December 21, 2012 as the possible end of the world, I assume you must be living in a cave in Ethiopia or something. As I read through the first several chapters, I was not sure where the "Christian's guide" was as it is more like a analytical analysis of all the 2012 so called prophecies that exist. All the details about the Mayan calendar all the way to the different religion's interpretations of end time prophecies.

Dr. Hundley does an amazingly good job summarizing each of the possible 2012 scenarios that everyone is talking about and gives his conclusion after each. Some being debunked and some being noted as reasonable. It is not until the last chapter that Dr. Hundley really brings up the fact that he is a Christian and points out what he really thinks about 2012 as being the potential end.

If you are looking for pure fact and details around all the 2012 mania, the book covers that. If you are looking, as a Christian, for what to tell others about the 2012 talk, it does does that extremely well at the end.

Quick read, very well researched and closes with a strong Christian message.

This book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Uncle Cleo

The Road to Emmaus

Luke 24:

9When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others.10It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles.11But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.12Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

13Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.14They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.15As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16but they were kept from recognizing him.

17He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?"

They stood still, their faces downcast. 18One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?"19"What things?" he asked. "About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."

25He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" 27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

28As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29But they urged him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them.

30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.32They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"

33They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." 35Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

Thinking about what the disciples and the others around Jesus must have been going through over the days after the crucifixion. There were now only the 11 remaining disciples (since Judas was now dead) , but several other people who had followed Jesus.

>>> What do you think they would have felt like

--- the day of the crucifixion?

--- the days after the crucifixion before the resurrection?

>>> What about when Mary Magdalene and Mary mother of James and Joanna returned from the tomb and told them that Jesus was alive and they had seen him?

Can you imagine the range of emotions all these people must have been feeling?

Who were these two guys that left for Emmaus? The Bible only tells us in this passage that one of them was a guy named Cleopas. No where else in the Bible is Cleopas ever mentioned, right? You can do a search and the only place you will find this name is in this passage.

Now, like Paul Harvey used to say, is the rest of the story...

Here is where things get interesting. You see, the name Cleopas is Chalphai in Aramaic. In Greek that can be transliterated as either Clopas or Halphaios--which in Latin is Alphaeus. Alphaeus, you may remember, is the name given as the father of James in the lists of 12 disciples in the gospels (Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15). So this is the same guy who wife was “the other Mary” mentioned in John 19:25 “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene “....

SO CLEOPAS / CLOPAS / ALPHAEUS are all the same guy, just different translations of his name or he could have been called differently by different people (think William VS Bill today). The key is that he was the husband of Mary, the father of James – So, this Cleopas is actually the brother of Joseph, the uncle of Jesus! Why is that significant? We are getting there..

So, these two guys, Cleopas and maybe Luke (not sure), are distraught, they are in disbelief, they are hurting, they are confused, numb, insert your own word here for what they could have been feeling. I mean, this guy they had really thought could be, just maybe, could be the Messiah, the chosen one they had read about. The redeemer of Israel. Now, they watched the mock trials, they watched as he died an excruciating death on the cross, not exactly the picture they had always had of the King of the Jews. None of this made sense anymore. They saw Jesus put in the tomb, they saw the huge rock placed there, Jesus was dead, the one they thought was the Messiah was DEAD – they knew it, they had seen it with their own eyes.

As they walk along, a guys comes up on them. They do not know him, never seen him (they thought). This guy asked “what are you guys talking about?”

"About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."

Notice, they are now saying “Jesus, a prophet”. Have they now lost all hope that He could have been the Messiah? I think so. The Messiah they had pictured, certainly would not have died, the Messiah they had in mind was a king, not a guy that would wind up on a cross being crucified with common criminals. You have to understand that they hadn't read the next few chapters in the New Testament. For them precisely everything they believed was being made a lie. Never mind that they had given the last several years of our lives to what seemed now to be a lost cause; all of their hopes and assurances for eternity and fellowship with God they had pinned to Him. They had learned from Him to speak of God in a new light; they had learned to speak to Him with a new confidence--because simply by their association with Jesus they had been assured of Divine favor. But if God would -after all He had done- abandon Him like this, then it was clear that all of their hopes had been misplaced. And now they were left to the same dilemma of sin and guilt which they had faced before He ever came along.

So, here is this guy that joins them and he has the audacity to ask them what they are talking about! Did this guy not know? Had he been living under a rock or something? Cleopas asked him “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days”. Cleopas has no idea who this guy is that seems to have no idea about Jesus and what has happened these last few days. Now remember, Cleopas is actually talking to his NEPHEW JESUS! I think it is significant that Jesus' own uncle, one of the people that knew Jesus best, that had known Jesus since birth, had watched him grow up, had seen Jesus excel as a carpenter and then at age 12 at the Temple stay around and later tell his parents that He was “about His Father's business”. Cleopas, knew Jesus as well as anyone, if anyone would recognize Him, it was Cleopas, yet he had no idea who this guy talking now to them was.

Now this guy tells Clepoas “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” Cleopas' heart had to skip a beat at this point! WHAT?? Wait just a minute.. Then this guy did something amazing, he started quoting scripture to them. He did not even have it in front of Him. HE was just quoting it, not only was He quoting it, He was pointing out to them what it meant concerning the true Christ. HE OPENED the scripture to them in a way they have never seen or read them before. He started showing them scripture by scripture, how each one of them was actually about Jesus.

I think He took them back to the very beginning and showed them that in the very Garden of Eden God had promised deliverance from the Tempter thru the bruising of the deliverer! He reminded them of the Passover in Exodus--which they had just gone in Jerusalem to commemorate. And He reminded them how God delivered their fathers from the Death Angel in Egypt through the sacrifice of a spotless lamb!

He reminded them of the Guilt Offering and Day of Atonement and the whole sacrificial system. " And why, he asked, did the sacrifices need to be repeated? Why was it necessary for the priest to make atonement every year? If the sacrifice made atonement, then why does it need to be offered again and again? Or was it designed to point forward to a Greater Sacrifice? He quoted the prophet Isaiah who said of the Messiah, Jehovah's Servant, that "God will make Him a guilt offering for the sins of His people. He said that God would bruise His servant and by His stripes effect the salvation of all of His people! There it was--Cleopas had heard it read in the Synagogue, but never really understood its significance.

But it was not just Moses and the prophets. He took them also to the Writings--the Psalms and so on. There He quoted the words of the Psalmist who said in prophecy, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Cleopas had heard those words himself only 3 days ago--Jesus quoted them while He hung there dying! He quoted parts of Psalm 16 in which David expressed such confidence that God would not allow him to rot in the grave--but he did decay in a tomb, this man reminded them. David, being a prophet, spoke of someone else--He spoke of Messiah!

And on and on He went through the Scriptures. In Jesus, He showed them, a whole stream of ancient anticipations found their answer and fulfillment. Jesus was that prophet like unto Moses. But He was also the deliverer Joshua. And He was Aaron the priest who offered sacrifice. Indeed, He was innocent Isaac who was offered by Father Abraham in sacrifice. He was the sacrificial lambs which for centuries had been offered in hopes of atonement. He was David the King. He was Noah by whom deliverance was brought to those who went with him in the ark. He was Jonah who was--mark it--three days in the fish's belly. In Jesus a whole stream of ancient anticipations had met their fulfillment.

Now, ole Cleopas' heart must really be pounding, he now sees that just maybe this Jesus he knew so well, could well have been the Messiah. He now finally understood, from this what this guy as so eloquently presented that these things he had witnessed over the last few days were actually exactly what was supposed to happen to the Messiah. But wait, Jesus was dead, wasn't he? The women that went to the tomb said Jesus was alive, but Cleopas had not seen it, surely, someone had just stolen His body, right? His own wife claimed to have seen Jesus risen, but surely she was just so grief stricken, she was delusional, right?

Ok, almost home.. this stranger was still with them. Cleopas convinced him to come in, after all it was getting late, the stranger agreed to come in. Now, this stranger, took the bread and broke it and gave thanks. Now, this was Cleopas' house, he was supposed to be the host, was he not? Why did this stranger take the bread and break it?

Now something miraculous happens, something wonderful happens, something completely unexpected happens, “Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight”. Not “they opened their eyes”, no, THEIR EYES WERE SUPERNATURALLY OPENED”. They now could clearly see Jesus. They could now see Jesus as they had never seen Him.

Cleopas, though he had known Jesus his entire life, now saw Jesus as He really was, he did not just see him as a man anymore, not as a “maybe Messiah”, he now saw the TRUE MESSIAH. No longer were there questions, no longer was there despair, no longer was there disbelief, no longer was there heartache. Now it was time to RUN back to Jerusalem and tell the others!

So, what happened here? This account, though small and barely mentioned elsewhere in the gospels, holds great significance. Part of the significance I think is to see if we can see the scriptures any better than Cleopas and so many others did. They had never seen Jesus in the Old Testament and until Jesus Himself revealed it to them, they never really got it. Even though Cleopas had actually witnessed all that Jesus had done His entire life on earth, He had not tied it all together UNTIL Jesus did it for him.

Now, even after Jesus had OPENED the scriptures to him, had fully explained all of what the prophets has foretold, showed him all the pictures painted in the old testament of the coming Jesus, Cleopas still was missing something. He still could not SEE Jesus – Jesus the Messiah and least not yet. Something miraculous had to happen. Jesus “opened his eyes”, then he was able to see Jesus in His glory, he was able to now for the first time, see his redemption.

I want you to notice the sequence of events here. Cleopas first had the scriptures opened to him. Today, the first thing we have to have opened to us is the same, the scriptures. We cannot start to understand the redemption story until we are able to have the scriptures opened to us. Cleopas was blessed indeed that Jesus opened the scriptures for him in person. Cleopas has read the scriptures, just like a lot of us have “READ” the scriptures, but they had never been opened for him. He had heard the sermons on the scriptures at the synagogue all his life, yet he had never fully understood until they were “opened” to him. If you are simply reading the Bible today, ask Jesus to open the scriptures to you. You will be amazed at the new insight you receive. You will see things you never noticed before. You will see that the scripture is alive.

Now, notice that even though now Cleopas received the scriptures and now the complete story of God's plan for redemption through Jesus Christ became clear. Cleopas still had another step to take. This step required a supernatural action from Jesus. As Jesus became the host, and broke the bread, Cleopas' eyes WERE OPENED. Cleopas now could not only understand, but could also see clearly God's plan. The act of fellowship with Christ is what caused this miracle. We are required to not only open our hearts to God's word, but also then be willing to fellowship with the risen Christ. To accept him as our savior to be able to then see Him in all his glory. The fact that this man that was as close to Jesus as anyone on the face of the earth did not recognize the Christ, tells us that even though we may see Jesus the man. We have to fellowship with Him to see the risen Christ. You can ask any muslim or buddhist who they think Jesus is and they will tell you that they believe he existed as a prophet – in other words, the can see the man Jesus, they cannot see the risen Christ though. They have not had fellowship with Christ, thus their eyes remain closed and oblivious to the real true risen Christ. A lot of them have even read the scriptures of the old testament at least (certainly the muslims have). Yet, they have not had the scriptures OPENED to them.

Where are you? Are the scriptures open to you? Do you embrace the living word of God as true and complete? Do you see Jesus all through the Bible as Jesus showed to Cleopas? That is the first step.

Have you asked Jesus to come in and fellowship in your heart? When you do, He will also open your eyes and you will then be able to fully see the fully risen Christ in all His glory.

Romans 13:1-3

¹Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.²Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. ³For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you.

God has commanded us to submit to governing authority, because God has established it to start with. YES, even the governing authority we are under now. The key thing to remember is as CS Lewis reminded Christians:

"human beings live forever while the state is only temporal and thus is reserved to comparative insignificance. To spend your time altering the state when you could be offering people eternal salvation is a bad bargain. To abandon the message that gives life to the eternal soul in favor of temporal change prostitutes the purpose of a believer's life. That would be like a heart surgeon abandoning his life-saving practice to become a make-up artist. The church needs to use all its power and resources to bring men and women to Jesus Christ. That's what God has called us to do.”

I urge you share the gospel with your friends and co workers. I challenge you to share your story of what God has done in you through Jesus Christ. This is how we will change the America and the world..

Carl

Why did Jesus fold the napkin?

I got this from a friend at work today.  It is definiately worth passing on..

 

The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes.

 

The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed separate from the grave clothes.

 

Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.

 

She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, 'They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where they have put him!'

 

Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see.. The other disciple outran Peter and got there first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in.

 

Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side.

 

Was that important? Absolutely!

 

Is it really significant? Yes!

 

In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition.

 

When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it.

 

The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.

 

Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table.

 

The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, 'I'm done'.

 

But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because..........

 

The folded napkin meant, 'I'm coming back!'

 

He is Coming Back!

Take Refuge!

In my study of the Old Testament, I started noticing God's instructions to Moses that once the Israleites reached the promised land, that they were to setup a number of "cities of refuge".  When they finally entered with Joshua, God detailed His plan for these cities.

Joshua 20:1-9

¹ Then the LORD said to Joshua: ² "Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, ³ so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood.

 ⁴ "When he flees to one of these cities, he is to stand in the entrance of the city gate and state his case before the elders of that city. Then they are to admit him into their city and give him a place to live with them. ⁵ If the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the one accused, because he killed his neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought. ⁶ He is to stay in that city until he has stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then he may go back to his own home in the town from which he fled."

 ⁷ So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. ⁸ On the east side of the Jordan of Jericho they designated Bezer in the desert on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan in the tribe of Manasseh. ⁹ Any of the Israelites or any alien living among them who killed someone accidentally could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.

I was able to pull a map of ancient Israel off the internet and I have highlighted these 6 cities.  First, note that the cities are easily accessible to anyone living in Israel and was open to not only Israelites, but to any "alien living among them".  Second, notice the number of cities, 6.  Remember 6, is the number of man.  Third, in looking at the Hebrew meaning of the names of these cities, it starts to draw a picture of Jesus:

Kedesh - Sanctuary

Golan - Passage/Revolation

Ramoth - Exalted or high place

Bezer - Strong

Hebron - Society/friendship/fellowship

Shechem - Strong Shoulders

The Bible is full of references of God being our "Refuge"

2 Samuel 22:3 The God of my strength, in whom I will trust;My shield and the horn of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence.

Psalms 46:1God is our refuge and strength,A very present help in trouble.

There are a LOT more, I'll let you find them.

The picture God started painting for us in these cities and their purpose point directly to Jesus in that:

1.  The refuge was easily accessible, very quickly to anyone, not just the Israelites.

2.  The refuge was a security to those who entered and those who entered would NOT be given up to those who pursued them (the "avenger of blood")

3.  God, from the beginning, had a very detailed and clearly understood plan for refuge to all.

4.  The number of cities I mentioned earlier was 6, the number of man.  God became man thru Jesus Christ and open the refuge to anyone, anytime, anywhere!

I praise God for really convicting me to spend more and more time in the Bible, He especially has pointed me to the Old Testament.  I really did NOT want to read the Old Testament, because I just did not want to go thru the begats and begots and then the laws and commandments (it is HARD reading).  But thru spending time there, a whole lot of things about Jesus are becoming so much clearer.  I knew there was prophecies in the OT about Jesus, but I am really seeing that the WHOLE Bible is really about Jesus and the plan of salvation for all of us.  I really now am starting to understand a lot of things in the New Testament from knowing what the Old Testament says.  

ALSO .. God has laid a co worker on my heart for some time now, he is muslim. I really did not know where to even start with him, but the other day (the day after I finally made it thru Deutoronomy by the way, which is the last book of the "Torah" in the Jewish faith)  God presented the opportunity to begin witnessing to this muslim friend.  Guess what I found out that I never knew?  THE MUSLIMS BELIEVE IN THE TORAH!!  This gives me at least a starting point of common knowledge.  I would not have had this common ground without God pushing me to read and understand (the best I can anyway) the Torah.  God is so good and leads us in ways that just amazes me.  Praise God!  This may be a hard and long process in witness, so please pray that God continues to present opportunites to talk and that I present the gospel the way God intends.

Carl

Why?

Living in Hunstville, Alabama, I deal daily with engineers.  now if you never have dealt a lot with these types, you should know that engineers need to understand why to every question presented them,  it is just their nature.  Well one engineer guy in particular that I have shared the gospel with got motivated enough to read the entire Bible in about 3 weeks (wow!) and told me afterwards, that about 1/2 of the story must simply be missing.  I tried to explain that are certain parts of the Bible that we simply have to take on faith and will never fully understand until we are in heaven. We have now had this discussion several times and today he told me something that happened to him a while back that makes me think of the wonders of God.  He said that after reviewing some equation he was asked to execute to, that he tried to get the PhD in charge to explain where the equation came from and why it applied.  After starting about three times trying to explain it to him, the PhD finally said "I don't think you have the math ability to understand, so just have faith that it is correct and will work", it did.  

Is that what God has to remind us sometimes, that we just are not wired to understand some things?  I think so.  In fact there a lot of things that I don't understand and I never will, like why a child dies, or why an obvious evil person lives and why certain people are rich and some really Godly people I know struggle to surive financially.  I don't understand how the world was created by God, I don't understand how the waters covered the entire earth during the flood, but I believe both things are true.  There is not enough room on the internet for me to explain the rest of the things I don't understand!

Don't lose faith simply because you don't understand, simply accept that you are not made to understand it all, but God does and God has a plan that is for the good, PRAISE GOD!

Mark 4:35-41

³⁵That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." ³⁶Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. ³⁷A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

 ³⁹He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

 ⁴⁰He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

 ⁴¹They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"

According to a recent report titled "More Americans say they have no religion":

"In 2008, Christians comprised 76 percent of U.S. adults, compared to about 77 percent in 2001 and about 86 percent in 1990. Researchers said the dwindling ranks of mainline Protestants, including Methodists, Lutherans and Episcopalians, largely explains the shift. Over the last seven years, mainline Protestants dropped from just over 17 percent to 12.9 percent of the population."

I urge you now more than ever to pray for this country.  People are hurting and are scared, there has never been a better time to witness to people and we as Christians need to be bold and be prepared to stand up.  We may even be called upon to give our lives for Christ.  Are you ready?  

Carl