[The Virtual Church]
ONE MINUTE SUMMARY, Part I
by Jim Bramlett
The World's Greatest Book
The World's Greatest Person
The World's Greatest Secret
The World's Greatest Substance
The World's Greatest Name
The World's Greatest Message
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For more, see Part II
The World's Greatest Book
The Bible is the the most unusual book ever written and the best seller
of all time. An array of incontrovertible facts gives overwhelming evidence
of the Bible's divine origin and complete trustworthiness: (1) by virtue
of the number of copies or parts of ancient manuscripts extant, their closeness
in years to the original, and the agreement of scholars on their accuracy,
the Bible is by far the most reliable of all ancient works, much more so
than the next most reliable, Homer's Iliad; (2) it was written over a period
of about 1,600 years, on three continents, in three languages, and by some
40 authors ranging from peasants to kings. In spite of that, it has an
amazing consistency and continuity, making an external Guiding Hand an
obvious necessity; (3) the Bible uniquely claims itself to be divine, and
in its pages God speaks even in the first person; (4) prophecy and later
exact fulfillment give the Bible an internal authenticity; (5) the modern
science of archaeology has consistently confirmed the Bible's most minute
details, silencing previous critics and scoffers; (6) Jesus Christ Himself
believed and taught the Bible's complete accuracy, both before and after
His resurrection, even to the "jot" and "tittle," the smallest components
of the Hebrew alphabet; (7) while less conclusive without further research,
modern computer and mathematical analysis has revealed evidence of previously
hidden word and number patterns that could not have been placed by mortals
or occurred by chance-apparently a divine signature of the Creator to further
authenticate His work and to demonstrate His power. In conclusion, all
objective evidence supports the statement of the apostle Paul who said,
"All Scripture is God-breathed."
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The World's Greatest Person
Poverty, no college degree, little travel, no public office, and executed
as a common criminal while still young-yet almost 2,000 years later He
has had more of an impact on the empires, institutions, and the people
of the earth than any person who has ever lived- a Jew named Yeshua, orjesus,
whose visit to the earth was described before He was bom in great detail
by the ancient Hebrew prophets. He claimed to be God in human form. His
claim was substantiated by the fulfillment of an the prophecies of the
coming Messiah, by the supernatural power He displayed, by the divine authority
by which He spoke, and by His resurrection from the dead witnessed by many.
lEs claims about lemself would logically rule Him out as just a "good moral
teadier" or great prophet. He would have to be (1) a complete liar, (2)
a hopeless lunatic, or (3) the Lord, and there is no rational basis for
the first two. Jesus is distinctively different from all others who are
considered to be religious "founders." He claimed to be God, and lEs life,
actions, and words proved it. The others never made such a claim and in
most cases never even claimed divine revelation. Jesus claimed to be "the
Way." The others suggested "a way," primarily of ethical living. He personified
the summation of all valid ethics-love. He was resurrected, leaving an
empty grave. The others died as humans, and remained dead. Jesus punctuated
human history, and the influence of His life soon permeated the Roman empire,
setting the course for future civilizations, their institutions, and billions
of lives yet unborn.
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The World's Greatest Secret
There was a mystery, a secret, that was hidden throughout human history.
But hints of it were given and predictions were made through God's prophets.
Although the Hebrew prophets wrote as they were inspired, they really didn't
understand their own writings. They knew that God was unfolding a wonderful
plan but they could not grasp its full significance. It was a spiritual
truth hidden even from the angels. The prophets wrote about a son to come,
who would be born of a virgin, and who would be called "the mighty God,"
"the Prince of Peace," and "God with us." They gave the place where He
would be born, Bethlehem, and the actual timing of His arrival. They wrote
that He would be slaughtered as a sacrificial lamb as an offering for sin.
There were scores of other prophecies and prophetic symbolisms of a coming
and great Person and sacrifice. The secret was unveiled. All the messianic
prophecies were fulfilled in a Jew named Yeshua, or Jesus. When the prophet
John first saw Him, he exclaimed, "Behold, the Lamb of God." Jesus did
become a sacrificial lamb, died and was raised from the dead. After the
resurrection, He appeared to many and later to Paul, a Jew and Hebrew scholar,
dramatically changing his life. Paul and the other apostles carried the
revealed secret to the world, affecting the course of empires and history.
The secret is:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that
whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
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The World's Greatest Substance
Blood is a miraculous and life-giving substance. In an incredibly complex
60,000 mile network of vessels, blood delivers food to every one of our
one- hundred trillion cells. Then, on the return trip it picks up waste
for disposal, literally "washing" each cell. Without this constant food
supply, we could not live. Without this constant removal of waste, we would
die from poisoning. Amazingly, thousands of years ago, before any scientific
knowledge of the body existed, the Bible writers said that "the life of
the flesh is in the blood," and that the blood of Messiah washes and cleanses
us. The latter statement was made at a time when blood was thought of as
something that only soiled or stained. God apparently chose blood to represent
life and also to demonstrate death, the consequence of sin, unless "washed"
away or "cleansed" by the blood of his Son. From the Garden of Eden throughout
the Old Testament (Covenant), blood sacrifice represented a covering or
cleansing for human sin. It prophetically and symbolically pointed toward
the coming Messiah, the Lamb of God, who would be sacrificed as a substitutional
punishment for all humans who ever lived. At the last meal before His execution,
the Passover meal, Jesus said that His blood was the "blood of the new
covenant." He also said that consuming this blood, or truth, (by faith)
into our spirits gives us eternal life. Like human blood does physically-giving
life and washing away poisons, Jesus'blood does spiritually-giving spiritual
life and washing away spiritual poisons.
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The World's Greatest Name
It is the most revered, most feared, and most mysterious name in the history
of the world and is referred to as the "Incommunicable Name." It is so
revered and feared that millions of people have refused to even pronounce
it. Because of disuse, the mysterious name was almost lost in antiquity.
Other words have been substituted for it in both ancient and modem documents.
Most Bibles still avoid its use. A warning against its misuse occupies
a full ten percent of the Ten Commandments. It is the name of the Creator
of the universe, revealed to Moses some 3,500 years ago. The holy name
is: YHVM. For centuries the correct pronun- ciation has been obscure, but
scholars are now almost certain that the proper vowel insertions render
the name as "Yahweh." Due to overreaction to the stem wording of the commandment
and fear of inadvertently profaning the sacred name, ancient rabbis eliminated
its use altogether in temple worship. This began a tradition of word substitution
for the Creator's name which continues today. Whenjews see YHWH in Hebrew,
they pronounce it "Adonai, " the word for "Lord." Most English Bible--,
follow this tradition and translate YHYM as "the LORD." Jesus' real name
is "Yeshua," or the expanded "Yehoshua," meaning "Yahweh is salvation."
"Chfist" is not his last name, but is from the Greek word for the Hebrew
"Messiah," his title. The New Testament reveals that "Jesus is LORD." Technically,
however, the word "LORD" should be rendered "Yahweh," making the profound
statement that Jesus was the God of the Old Testament in human form, the
most astounding fact in human history. The sacred name itself is an additional
portrait of the incredible incarnation.
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The World's Greatest Message
Many people wonder about God. Where is He? Some are so oblivious to His
existence that they have declared Him "dead". This speaks of their own
condition more than God's. Most people know and admit that He exists but
sense a separation from Him. That is a valid feeling, because the Bible
declares that there is, indeed, a separation between God and humanity.
Actually, a chasm exists that man cannot bridge. It is because of God's
purity and holiness and man's impure and imperfect nature. Like oil and
water, the two natures cannot mix. Nothing man can do, such as good works
and good intentions, will enable him to bridge the chasm. Only God can
bridge it. And He did it through his Son. "Religion," generally, is a man
trying to reach up to God. But in Christ, God reached down to man.
God is just. Sin must always be recompensed. But God is also love. To
be consistent with His own attributes, God wisely chose a method to "reconcile"
humanity to Himself that would not contradict His nature. He would become
our substitute and take our punishment Himself, thus bridging the chasm
for those who would accept His sacrifice and act of substitution. He would
become a Son and suffer death for every human. This amazing plan was foretold
through the Hebrew prophets. All the prophecies were fulfilled in Yeshua
(Jesus), who summarized this message of reconciliation when He said:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever
believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
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