Christianisation of the Roman Empire (CW107)

  World War 3 is at Hand

Vision of Constantine

    The Christian historian Eusebius Pamphilus, who later became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima, described what happened to Constantine: "He saw with his own eyes in the heavens the Cross arising from the light of the sun, carrying the message 'In Hoc Signo Vincesa' in Latin, meaning 'In This Sign Conquer'. Then in a dream Christ visits Constantine and gives him a battle strategy that helped him win."

   Constantine saw the vision of the Cross arising from the light of the sun and he was to conquer the whole Roman Empire to Christianity with the Gospel of Christ.

    For God to hand the enemies over to Constantine was easy, but to win the Roman Empire to Christ, he must trust Jesus, the Sun of righteousness and the Light of the World.

   To be the light of the world, Christ must have taught him to walk in humility and love in order to win over the trust of the equally powerful Pagan Emperor Licinius of the Eastern Roman Empire and the hearts of the powerful Pagan Roman Senate.

Mat 5:16  "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

Then in a dream Christ visits Constantine and gives him a battle strategy that helped him win.

  In his dream, Jesus must have taught him to set up the council of bishops similar to the council of Apostles and elders of Jerusalem in order to re-establish the Christian's doctrine to reunite the divided churches.

Christianity Legalized

  In 312 A.D, Constantine attributed the victory over his rival Maxentius to the God of the Christians in front of the powerful Pagan Roman Senate.

  On February, 313 AD Constantine in humility with the Pagan Eastern Emperor Licinius obtained the Senate's approval to sign the edict of Milan proclaiming religious tolerance in the Roman Empire thereby removing the persecution of Christians and the return of all confiscated properties.

Heresies facing Constantine

   By the 4th Century A.D, there was little agreement about Christianity's beliefs and teachings, the nature of Jesus and God, what writings were sacred, or even how to worship. There was a wide variety of views, many of which were later declared heresies.

Council of Nicaea

   Immediately after legalising Christianity, he invited 1,800 persecuted bishops from around the empire to provide the basis for a unified Church.  

   The Council of Nicaea in 325 AD with 384 bishops and presided by Bishop Hosius of Cordova made several decisions, including:

1. The Nicene Creed

The council created the Nicene Creed, a statement of faith that affirmed the divinity of Christ. The creed used the Greek term homoousios, which means "of one substance", to declare that Christ was of the same substance as the Father.

2. The date of Easter

The council established a unified date for Easter, which is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. This separated Easter from the Jewish calendar and created a distinctly Christian celebration.

3. Banishment of Arius

The council banished Bishop Arius and his followers, who denied the divinity of Christ and declared their teachings heresy.

Following the Council's advice, Constantine set aside December 25 for Christians to celebrate in unity the birth of Jesus (Christmas), and declared Sunday (the Lord's Day in Rev 1:8) for Christian to worship the Almighty God.

   He was a Saint more than a Conqueror.

 

After his death in 337 A.D, his son Theodosius I in 380 A.D declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.

New Testament Books

    The Council of Rome in 382 A.D canonised the present 27 New Testament books (written in Greek) from amongst 50 false Gospels and hundreds of heretic and demonic records, which were all banned.  

  Unfortunately unlearned, heretics and Satan's agents had used and are still using these demonic false books to discredit and blaspheme our Lord Jesus, His Apostles and also His faithful servant Constantine.

The Calling of Paul (CW106)

 World War 3 is at Hand

While we wait for Iran's  annihilation and its regime change to start World War 3, let's check our own Christian faith, doctrine and knowledge of Him and His words.

Salvation of Gentiles

    Before the Gentiles were brought into His salvation, Jesus ensured that they were taught the truth from His words without any wrong doctrine nor heresy.

Acts 9:15  But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he (Paul) is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel."

   God chose Saul (Paul) a Pharisee of Pharisees, who was godly and zealous to please God by imprisoning Christians who were considered as God's enemies.

   For three years in Arabia, our Lord Jesus personally through revelations taught Paul. After that Paul met up with Peter, who confirmed that his doctrines were the same as those taught to them by our resurrected Lord before He went back to heaven.

Gal 1:11-12  But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Old Covenant Made Obsolete

Heb 8:13  In that He says, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

  At the death of Jesus, the veil of the temple was torn signifying the end of the Old Covenant for God had left the temple.,

Circumcision of new Gentile converts

Acts 15:1  And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."

   Paul knew that the New Covenant of the blood of Jesus had made the Old Covenant obsolete, so he refused to have the new Gentile converts circumcised.

   The Council of Jerusalem confirmed Paul's doctrine and forbade new converts from keeping the obsolete Old Covenant which was made with the Israelites only.

Acts 15:28-29  For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.  If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.

Gospel of Grace

Luke 24:46-47  Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise  from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

   For anyone to become a Christian, he must believe and understand the Gospel of grace or the message of the cross.

Water Baptism

Mat 28:18-20  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore  and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

    Before Any Christian is baptised, he must believe and understand the Triune Godhead or Trinity:

1. The Father was the Creator of heavens and earth

2. The Son was the Word made flesh. He died on the cross for the propitiation of our sin. On the third day He rose from the dead.

3. The Holy Spirit lives in every born again Christian. He empowers him with His anointing, gifts, truth and guidance.

   So before the Gentiles were harvested into His kingdom, there was a type of Christian Creed which is similar to today's Apostles Creed.

   Every Christian is also taught to observe all the commands of Jesus.

So every born again Christian equipped with the Apostles' Creed, Jesus words and the indwelling of Holy Spirit can  mature in Christ and they will be empowered with truth and wisdom to overcome distorted truth, erred scriptures, false gospels, heresies, lies and deceptions of Satan.

Heresies in the Early Church (CW105)

  World War 3 is at Hand

While we wait for Iran's  annihilation and its regime change to start World War 3, let's check our own Christian faith, doctrine and knowledge of Him and His words.

Glorious Apostolic Age

    Jesus' disciples were persecuted initially by the Jewish leadership and then by the Romans for 300 years until Emperor Constantine, the first Christian Roman Emperor.

    During the Apostolic age, the church flourished with sound doctrine taught by Jesus' disciples. They protected His truth by rejecting heresies of those new rich Pharisees converts.

   The Holy Spirit inspired some of His disciples to pen the 4 Gospels and the 23 Epistles, recording the truth of Jesus' birth, divinity, commandments, words and teachings for our understanding, guidance and spiritual growth.

Earliest Christian Heresy

Acts 15:5  But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses."

    Some covetous Pharisees (Luke 16:14-15) wanted the new Gentile converts to keep the Mosaic Law so that they too could follow the Law again.

   As a Jew, he only needs to pay 10% of his income as tithes and the rest of the money is his to keep. As a Christian, he owns nothing, for all, 100% belongs to God, as he is only God's steward.

   When they witnessed the disciples selling all they had and laid the money at the Apostles' feet they were worried.

   Since then, various depraved rich and covetous Christians produced erred texts and false Gospels and epistles to deny the divinity of Jesus thereby demoting Jesus to be a creature rather than the Creator, Almighty God Himself.

   These rebellious Christians only want Jesus' grace of salvation and the Holy Spirit's anointing, gifts and empowering but not Jesus' words. They kept the Mosaic Law for financial blessings.

Luke 24:44-45  And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.

    We thank God that after His resurrection, for forty days our Lord Jesus taught His disciples how the New Covenant of His blood replaced the Old Covenant.

   The Council of Elders in Jerusalem, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, insisted  that Christians must not keep the Law.

    Paul's epistles are doctrines taught by the Lord Himself, they all complement His words. In line with the commands by the Council of Elders, some of Paul's writings specifically condemn the keeping of the Old Covenant such as Sabbath, Feasts, Jewish traditions, etc.

Heresies in Churches

Acts 20:29-30  For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.    

   After the Apostolic Age, Satanic false Apostles (untransformed rich and powerful Pharisees and Scribes) in the leadership of churches defiled His church.

   By the 2nd and 3rd Century A.D, the church faced many heresies including; Docetism, Adoptionism, Arianism and Gnosticism.

   By the 4th Century A.D, there were about 50 false Gospels (Gospels of Thomas, Marcion, Mary Magdalene, Barnabas, etc.)  and hundreds of false Epistles.

   All these heresies denied the divinity of Jesus and the Triune Godhead, resulting in Jesus' words being treated as inferior to the Law of Moses.

Mat 5:11-12  "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

    As Jesus' apostles and disciples were recording the teachings of Jesus, these false Apostles and historians produced false, damaging and heretic records, books and epistles to discredit (say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake) our Lord Jesus, His faithful Apostles and later on, even Emperor Constantine.

Earliest Deceptions of Satan (CW104)

   World War 3 is at Hand

While we wait for Iran's  annihilation and its regime change to start World War 3, let's check our own Christian faith, doctrine and knowledge of Him and His words.

Gen 3:2-3  And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' "

    When God created Adam and Eve in His image, they only have to obey His words to have eternal life and stay in fellowship with Him.

Keep My Words and Live

Prov 7:1-2  My son, keep my words, and treasure my commands within you. Keep my commands and live, and my law as the apple of your eye.

    It is the will of God from the very beginning that men believe and keep His words to be saved and enjoy the abundant life.

  To prevent men from being saved, Satan started to corrupt the word of God starting from within the garden of Eden itself and making the truth in His words ineffective .

Deceptions of Eve

Gen 3:4-5  Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

   The devil twisted God's command to deceive Eve. With a more logical and beneficial proposal, it changed her attitude of distaste and dislike to that of admiration for the forbidden fruit leading to her downfall.

Gen 3:6  So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

Falsehood of Scribes

Jer 8:8  "How can you say, 'We are wise, And the law of the Lord is with us'? Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly works falsehood."

    Later, the Devil used false scribes to corrupt His words. The Torah and Prophets were often distorted by the devil to deceive the Jews and the Priesthood. All detected flawed copies were to be burned, destroyed or banned.

  Satan also sent the false prophets to confuse them and even the priests were lawless. Unfortunately, the Jews loved the lies and deceptions, which is similar to today's carnal and unlearned Christians.

Jer 5:30-31  "An astonishing and horrible thing has been committed in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own power; and My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?"

   

Prophets sent by God

Jer 7:25  Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have even sent to you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them.

    But God sent His true prophets to admonish, judge and rectify these corruptions. So the many rejects (false and erred scriptures) were to be burned, destroyed or banned. Unfortunately, these rejected erred scriptures are kept as religious relics and later used by depraved and heretic Jews and non Jewish historians (agents of Satan) to corrupt His pure words.

Canonised Books of the Old Testament

   It seems that as far back as Erza and Nehemiah, the 39 books of the OT were being canonised until about the 3rd Century BC.

  These are some of the rejected false and demonic Old Testament books.

  Book of Enoch

  The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan

  The Secrets of Enoch

  The Psalms of Solomon

  The Odes of Solomon

  The Letter of Aristeas

  The Story of Ahikar

Translation of Old Testament

   God preserved His pure words by getting the Old Testament written in the fading Hebrew language into Greek for common Jews then no longer understood Hebrew.  

   The Greek Pharaoh of Egypt Ptolemy II commissioned the translation of the Old Testament into Greek in the third century BC. The translation was done by 72 Jewish scholars from Jerusalem, and is known as the Septuagint, which is Latin for "seventy".

   The Septuagint was used to translate the Old Testament into other languages for over two thousand years. It was widely used by Greek-speaking Jews, and later by Christians.

Was Jesus born on 25th December? (CW103)

   World War 3 is at Hand

While we wait for Iran's  annihilation and its regime change to start World War 3, let's check our own Christian faith, doctrine and knowledge of Him and His words.

Could Jesus be born in Winter in Bethlehem?

Luke 2:10-11  Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.

   Bethlehem enjoys the Mediterranean climate of the hot and dry summers and the mild and wet winters. Snow is a rarity. Winter enjoys an average temperature of 5°C - 12°C (just like springtime in Europe).  

   In winter, good and caring shepherds will take their flocks out in the night to feed on the dewy fresh grass, this was the time when suddenly the angels announced the birth of the Saviour Jesus.

    Since Christianity was illegal, there was no public celebration of Christmas for almost 300 years until the reign of Constantine, the first Christian emperor.

Humility in Jesus' Birth

Luke 2:7  And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

1. Born in the animal shed

    God ensured that all the hotels were full so that Jesus was to be born in an animal shed like any animal. Jesus was born as the Lamb of God.

John 1:29  The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

2. Covered in swaddling cloths – all newly born lambs meant for sacrifices were wrapped with swaddling cloths to prevent them from blemishes. Jesus was born to be sacrificed for man's sins.

1 John 2:2  And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

3. Laid in the manger – the manger was used for holding the feed and possibly water for feeding the sheep and also other livestock.

    Our Lord Jesus was prepared as food for His sheep. Jesus is the bread of life and the living water and His words is our spiritual food. We only need to believe, read, understand and keep His words.

John 6:48  "I am the bread of life."

Good Shepherds celebrated Jesus' Birth with the angelic hosts.

Luke 2:13-14  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"

Word Made Flesh

Luke 22:19  And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, " This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."

    When Christians partake of the bread (His body or Word) during the Holy Communion,  our Lord Jesus reminded us to remember that He was the Word made flesh at His birth (Christmas).

    Thank God that not only Christians but the whole world accepts Christmas as the Christian festival in remembrance of the birth of Jesus.

   But unfortunately, unlearned and misled Christians think that winters in Bethlehem are very cold and blanketed with snow (shown on Christmas cards). Having been deceived, they refuse to celebrate Christmas thereby rejecting Jesus the Messiah as the Word made flesh.

    God has provided the whole month of December (Christmas-tide) the opportunity for us to evangelise non Christians.

John 1:14  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Why was Christmas held on December 25?

    Our early fathers - the Councils of bishops, who were imprisoned and tortured for their faith in Jesus, formulated the Nicene Creed in 325AD and later canonised the 27 New Testament books of the Holy bible.

    At their advice, Emperor Constantine adopted December 25 as the day to celebrate the birth of Jesus so that Christians throughout the whole world can celebrate Christmas together in unity and in harmony.

War in Ukraine (CW102)

   World War 3 is at Hand (Update)

US Ballistic Missiles struck deep inside Russia soil

   Ukraine's military used American-made ballistic missiles this week to strike into Russia for the first time, according to senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials. US President Biden on November 18 had given permission to do so in a major shift of American policy.

Will Putin keep his earlier warnings to NATO that Russian nuclear missiles will nuke their cities if any of their arsenals are used to attack Russian soil?

Formation of USSR

   The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917, when the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, overthrew the Russian Provisional Government. Founded in 1922 as a confederation of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Transcaucasia (comprised of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia), the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) eventually grew to 15 republics—and a world-wide superpower with 130 ethnic groups

Breakup of USSR

1991 AD -  Economic weakness, political stubbornness, and the growth of nationalism were the causes for the disintegration of the Soviet Union into 15 Republics.

Ukraine SSR

December 1, 1991  Ukraine the second-largest country in Europe by land-mass and a sizable population of ethnic Russians became a sovereign state.

April 3, 2008  Russia objected to Ukrainian NATO Membership.

Start of Ukraine War

2014 AD   Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia occupied and annexed Crimea from Ukraine and supported pro-Russian separatists fighting the Ukrainian military in the Donbas war.

Russia Invasion of Ukraine

   In 2021, President Zelensky cracked down on pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarchs, including Viktor Medvedchuk, a close friend of Putin. Subsequently, Putin deploys increasing numbers of troops near the Ukrainian border and publishes an article claiming that Russians and Ukrainians are "one people."  

   One of Putin's demands was that Ukraine never be admitted to NATO – a request rejected by the Biden administration resulting in Russia launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24. 2022.

2024  Since 2022, NATO led by US had already poured hundreds of billion to support Ukraine. At the latest NATO summit, it will send more financial support, fighter jets, missiles, drones and arsenals along with experts to train the Ukrainians.  At the same time, US will station ICBM missiles in Germany to deter (or attack) Russia.  Russia rebuked NATO's decisions.

Note   In 1990 NATO had only 16 members. Today it has expanded to 32 members with the increase mainly from the former USSR.

What will be the outcome of the present War in Ukraine?

Mat 24:6a  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled

   Our Lord prophesied that there will be wars (and rumours of wars), that may lead to great destruction and possibly the annihilation of all mankind.

   However, He comforted us not to fear nor worry (not troubled) even if they developed into World War 3. (see that you are not troubled)

Note  This Ukraine war is frightening for it can be extensive and deadly for both sides (NATO and Russia) are extremely strong and also armed to the teeth with nuclear weapons.

Mat 24:6b  for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

   Our Lord also prophesied that these fearful and frightening wars will escalate to become the destructive and horrific nuclear World War 3 _(must come to pass)_ that it is like the end of the world.

    He also comforted us that the destructive World War 3 will not lead to the end of the World (the end is not yet).

Thank God that our Lord  Jesus will always protect and  nourish His faithful servants.

This Ukraine War will end up to be part of World War 3

https://youtu.be/oYiT_H13Vio?si=yegFu6d3iPJMwNh3

Did Israel attack the Iranian Nuclear Facility? (CW101)

  World War 3 is at Hand (Update)

The Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali is constantly warning Israel and its US allies that if they attack any of its nuclear facilities, he will send his full arsenal to wipe out Israel and all US military presence in the Middle East

Present Situation in the middle East

1. US has military bases in almost all the Arab nations in the middle East

2. US recently deploys aircraft Carrier fleets and the UK deploys warships to patrol the Mediterranean Sea, Persian Gulf and Red Sea.

   At this moment, the West is constantly striking the Iranian bases in both Syria and Iraq.  

   Iran is surrounded by US military bases, UK warships and the invincible US Carrier fleets and its annihilation looks certain.

Earlier Iranian Aerial Attacks of Israel

1st. Iranian Aerial Attack

   On April 13, Iran unleashed a barrage of missiles and drones on Saturday night and early on Sunday, targeting Israel in retaliation for April 1's suspected Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus, which killed 13 people.

   Iran's massive aerial attack marks the first direct strike by Iran on Israeli territory from Iranian soil. Iran called the attack 'Operation True Promise'.

   The Israeli military also said the vast majority of the projectiles were intercepted outside the country's borders with help from the warships of the US, the United Kingdom and France. Jordan also shot down some of the missiles aimed at Israel as they were flying through Jordanian airspace.

   US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Sunday that the US also intercepted "dozens" of missiles and drones launched at Israel from Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

1st Israeli Retaliation

   On 19 April 2024 the Israeli Air Force launched airstrikes targeting an air defense facility within Iran. The limited airstrikes targeted an air defense radar site at an airbase near Isfahan, in central Iran.

2nd Israeli Attack

   On October 1, Iran launched about 180 ballistic missiles at Israel, which it said was in response to the deaths of Haniyeh, Nasrallah and Nilforoushan.

   

2nd Israeli Retaliation

  Israel launched direct strikes against Iran on October 26 . in a high-stakes retaliation to Tehran's ballistic missile barrage earlier this month.

From the attached news, Israel's prime minister said that it had hit part of Iran's nuclear programme during last month's strikes, carried out in response to a missile attack.

  One former Israeli official said the strike destroyed "sophisticated equipment used to design the plastic explosives that surround uranium in a nuclear device and are needed to detonate it", according to the report.

Benjamin Netanyahu told Israel's parliament that "a nuclear Iran poses a massive threat to our existence..."

Coming 3rd Iranian Attack ?

   Will this Israeli attack of the Iranian nuclear facility provoke Iran to use all its arsenals to attack Israel and all US bases in the middle East as Iran constantly reiterates?

    If so, then Israel and the West will neutralise all the Iranian arsenals. Then conquer and ransack Iran and change its regime to start World War 3..

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy0l1ep34pro