God-Faith-Religion Mountain
God, Faith & Religion Mountain Overview
The God-Faith-Religion Section emphasizes that a genuine relationship with God is more than merely a set of beliefs or an intellectual agreement; it is a transformative journey guided by the Holy Spirit. This relationship is not static; rather, it is an ongoing process of growth and transformation that provides hope and inspiration to everyone who undertakes it.
The Christian God reveals Himself through various names, manifesting as the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the Angel of the Lord.
God desires for people to acknowledge that He exists, express our love and gratitude to Him in praise, worship, and submission because He redeemed us from our transgressions and defilement of His creation, obedience to His Law (Torah) and Covenant principles, live a life that reflects His character and quickly and sincerely repent when we fall short of any of the points listed.
God is not interested in dead religion, meaningless rituals, or animal sacrifices. The scriptures reveal that Jesus frequently confronted the Pharisees and Sadducees, who managed the Temple in Jerusalem, regarding their man-made oral traditions (Halakhah) that contradicted the Torah. Rabbi Jesus referred to these religious leaders as whitewashed tombs. He aimed to bring God's Kingdom to earth and restore our relationship with God, often calling Him "Abba," which translates to "Daddy" in English. Turning away from our old lives and surrendering to God's will is the beginning of our journey toward the Kingdom, not the end.
Jesus invites believers in His Kingdom to reach out to unbelievers, encouraging them to become new disciples. The goal is to help these new followers develop a mindset aligned with Jesus, enabling them to reflect and embody the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. If you find that this vision resonates with your desire for acceptance and transformation in life, Jesus is the one you should pray to and seek a relationship with.
What to expect. Even after a person decides to follow Jesus and becomes part of God's Kingdom, they remain saved but still broken individuals until their new spiritual identity fully emerges, which does not entirely reflect God's attributes.
Churches are like spiritual hospitals, filled with individuals undergoing transformation and healing. This dynamic can make it difficult for people to connect with God and truly reflect His image. While ministers, pastors, and clergy preach about transformation, they sometimes fall short in caring for distressed believers. Simply sharing Christian teachings or knowledge does not heal wounded hearts, souls, spirits, or bodies.
A genuine relationship with God begins with the understanding that He loves us so much that He came to earth to save all who trust in Him from being separated from this love. He accomplished this through Jesus, and by placing your faith in Him alone, you can experience this salvation. Jesus called all His disciples who wished to be great in the Kingdom of God to become the servants of all.
Today, many of the foundational aspects of Religion, Faith, and God have become relatively dormant, and alternative beliefs have arisen to take their place. The Fires of Revival that once fueled these mountains have ceased to reshape their landscape. However, as seekers of truth and disciples of Jesus, you can play a crucial role in revitalizing these dormant mountains. By exploring the parts of the Mountain that are still active and bearing fruit, you can contribute to the revival of the spiritual landscape.
Evaluating Three Faiths
Three monotheistic religions include Islam, several sects of Judaism (Ultra, Orthodox, Reform, Secular, Humanistic), and hundreds of denominations of Christianity. Judaism and its Christianity (Jesus is Messiah) branch are far older revelations of God than Islam is.
If you practice something other than Christianity, consider carefully how your religion deals with the issue of human sin, e.g., doing evil things or living apart from God's principles and suffering the consequences of your evil.
God revealed His character to mankind in the Holy Writings of Judaism and Christianity, which were received thousands of years ago. Very old copies of the Hebrew and Aramaic Scriptures dating back to 1,400 B.C. were found in caves near the Dead Sea in Israel in 1948.
Compare that to the Qur'an from the 600 A.D. era. It has been changed several times by Sunnis and Shiites to fit their evolving cultural needs, and 75% of Islam's Scriptures have been lost or can't be independently substantiated. Which will you put your faith in?
Authenticity
We know God by experiencing Him as Jesus (Yeshua), the living Word of God, by the written Word spoken to our ancestors, and by encountering His Holy Spirit within us. We must be obedient to what He expects of us if we want His blessings, although we are free to do whatever we want. This section will focus on what the written Word of God is and why it is important.
What provides a more accurate description of ancient events, ancient documents or newer documents written thousands of years later? The oldest copies of the ancient Hebrew Scriptures were discovered in various caves in Qumran, Israel (near the Dead Sea), between 1946 and 1956 A.D., and collaborate the previous documents that were copies and several thousand years newer. Over 15,000 fragments of over 850 manuscripts were discovered that carbon dates back to the third century BC. The Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) were written in ancient Hebrew and Aramaic, and newer ones in Greek and Latin. With very few exceptions, the Hebrew Scriptures were identical to and validate the Hebrew (Masoretic texts) that existed at the time of Jesus' birth, including the Torah, the Psalms, Isaiah and the other Prophets, which were copied by Scribes into a newer version of Hebrew over the centuries.
This agreement between older and newer copies negates Islamic rhetoric about the impurity of earlier Hebrew Scripture and reveals it as a falsehood. Jewish scribes were accurate in preserving and transmitting the Masoretic Scriptures. In comparison, Islam's revelation to Mohammod) in 600 A.D. of the Quran, which cites other, more ancient holy books, none of which still exist in any form.
The earliest books of the New Covenant, which are part of the Scriptures, were written in the Greek language by Jesus's Apostles after Pentecost - generally before 90 A.D.- and copies survive today. They were also inspired by God through His Holy Spirit to these Apostles, who, though separated by location and time, wrote consistent parallel accounts of the events in Jesus' time.
The conclusions above are paramount: Hebrew and Christian Scriptures are 1) authentic, 2) accurate, and 3) unchanging documentation of the words given to Moses and others by God passed down to us with minimal transcription errors.
Any prophet or religion that questions Hebrew Scripture authenticity is either not informed about the Dead Sea Scrolls, uneducated or intentionally distorting the truth to lead people away from the Almighty God of Abraham, named Yahweh or Ha'Shem (The Name), substituted in deference to God's Holiness.
Attacks on Biblical authenticity from Islam raises questions about their motivations and credibility. When comparing parallel accounts of the Hebrew Scripture (Bible) and the Qu'ran - attributed to Muhammad, the Qu'ran is said to condense the previous three Islamic holy books - the Tawrat (attributed to Moses), the Zabur (attributed to David) and the Injeel (attributed to Issa/Jesus) none of which remain today. Lost documents have no way of being verifyied or proven that they have not been changed. This is particularly important in Moses's Genesis accounts of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, which are adulterated in the Qu'ran to make it appear that God told Abram to sacrifice Ishmael, not Isaac.
God's Loving but Costly Solution
Human sin cannot be tolerated by a Holy and Righteous God, which causes separation between us and the God who loves and created us. Man's sin put God in an abhorrent position, and He knew it before He created us, but created us anyway. Why would He do that unless there were a solution for the sin issue?
God's solution is Jesus (Yeshua) coming as our Messiah to absorb the penalties for our sins. That action satisfied God's decreed need to deal with sin and enable us to be clean and holy, as God intended. Only the Kingdom of King Yeshua/Jesus has that solution.
No matter which religion you trust, it must deal with the issue of atonement for sin in order for there to be a chance for the human race and individuals as well. For a loving relationship to be restored, someone has to bridge the gap sin creates, and no sinful human can do that. Atonement can't be made by humans doing good works. Only the Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit could do that.
For those who do not accept God's solution, all that remains is God's judgment, and the punishment of forever banishment and separation from God.
Ancient Israel
Ancient Israel was a nation chosen by God from among the nations to be His special people who would reflect His character to the rest of the nations. He established and then rescued them several times from calamities and nations. He sent prophets to them to warn them of the consequences of their transgressions, but they killed or spurned the prophets. God gave them a time of peace under King Solomon, but as they deviated more and more from His Ten Commandments, He allowed them to be conquered by various nations, including Egypt and Babylon.
They continued with a yearly animal sacrificial system, shedding the blood of an innocent lamb that took upon itself the sins of the people of Israel. This was performed in the Temple by the High Priest from among the Levites. The day was/is called Yom Kippur. The sacrifice did not release Israel from the penalty for their sins, but it did delay the punishment for another year. This delay tactic provided time for God to send His Son, a new Adam, who would become the one-time, permanent payment for all human sin and obliterate the sin account of mankind by paying it in full.
But Israel made a fatal mistake and did not receive their sent Messiah. As the high priest of the Sanhedrin turned Jesus over to the Romans, who found no fault with him, the Israeli people took upon themselves and their children, the sin of putting Jesus, an innocent man in the eyes of Rome, to death (see Matthew 27:25). Immediately following Christ's crucifixion, the veil in the Temple was torn in two, revealing the Holy of Holies, which did not contain the Ark of the Covenant, showing that the Holy Spirit was not present. Within decades the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, ceasing all temple sacrifices for sin Atonement.
Israel Reborn in 1948
The history cited above left Judaism as an empty, ritualistic only, religious system, that had no actual relationship between Jews and the Living God. It remains so until this very day. Two thousand years later, the United Nations, following on the Belfour Declaration (1917) after WW I (1948), decreed the reestablished of the "State of Israel" to be a sanctuary of Jews from all over the world after their attempted extermination by Adolf Hitler and the Islamic Muftis in Jerusalem, which had failed when Hitler lost WWII.
Ezekiel War
Once the State of Israel was established, some Jews realized Jesus was/is the Messiah and began worshipping Him as Messianic Jews. Others continued in streams of Judaism and are currently unsaved, separated from God, and still awaiting the Messiah. Since 1948, End-Times prophecies in both the Old Covenant and the New have been rapidly fulfilled; only a very few prophecies remain unmet, including 1) the Rapture of the church, 2) the judgments of God on the Earth, 3) the world war described in Ezekiel 38, 4) the return of the Messiah, and 5) the Messiah's inauguration of His 1,000-year Millennial reign. Judaism has nothing to offer people today, but they remain God's beloved people whom He will soon save again through the return of the Messiah (Yeshua/Jesus). The fastest way to enter a living relationship with God today is by becoming a Christian, being baptized, and being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Kingdom Believer Rapture
In order for Satan and the imprisoned angels that are held in chains to be released again on the earth, the Restrainer (God's Holy Spirit) must be removed from the Earth. However, God's Holy Spirit is entangled with every Kingdom believer in their born-again hearts and physical earthly bodies. So when the Holy Spirit is removed, those He is entangled with will be drawn up from the Earth with Him. This is called the Rapture of the saints (Kingdom believers). See the Deeper Dive section for more information. God's Timeline shows that this event will happen soon. Are you prepared? Being left behind means going through the Tribulation.
Tribulation
The Time of Tribulation is also referred to as Jacob's Trouble. It is described in Jeremiah 30:7, Daniel 9:27, Mark 13:14 and Matthew 24.
Descriptions of these Days are unsettling, especially for Jews and unbelievers. God's restraints has been removed. Satan is loose and unrestrained, and war, pestilence, and disease are rampant. Everything will be not as it seems, and people can be easily misled or misdirected. Many Jews will turn to Messiah/Yeshua for help in these troubled times.
Emergence of Antichrist
Antichrist will rise to power during a period known as the Great Tribulation, which lasts for 3.5 years (42 months). Antichrist is a powerful and malevolent leader who will deceive many through signs and wonders, ultimately leading a global rebellion against God. The Antichrist’s reign will be marked by intense persecution of believers and widespread chaos, culminating in the Battle of Armageddon (the final battle). This period is seen as a test of faith for humanity, with the Antichrist’s actions serving as a final challenge before the return of Christ.
2nd Coming of Jesus/Yeshua
Unlike Jesus' first coming, His second coming is marked with great power and glory and will occur at the end of the seven years of Tribulation as He descends on the Mount of Olives. All humanity will see this take place and signal the end of all conflicts on earth. His coming also begins the 1,000 year year reign of peace called the Millennium. During this time, Jesus will judge the nations and establish His Kingdom of righteousness and justice here on earth. This event marks the ultimate triumph of Good over evil.
New (Third) Temple
The Second Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Currently, an Islamic Mosque is located there. A New Temple, the Third Temple, will be built after the Jewish people return to Jerusalem (which has already occurred). The site anticipated for use is the Temple Mount, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located. There are reportedly many ritual objects already prepared, and priests are being trained in their duties. The building of the Temple will restore the Lord's presence and a period of peace and renewal that will end abruptly when the Anti-Christ seats himself in this Temple's most Holy place and declares that He is God and defiles the Temple again.
God, Faith & Religion Mountain Summary
Summary Points
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Our society is divided between those with a religious or spiritual perspective and those who are indifferent or openly hostile toward God or anything spiritual or holy.
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A new revival is occurring globally and in the USA, offering hope during these End Times.
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Current global events have brought humanity back to a situation reminiscent of the Tower of Babel. (See Genesis 11:4).
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Kingdom believers trust that God will intervene in human affairs as He did at Babel, with the anticipated intervention called the Awesome (or Terrible) Day of the Lord.
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A second event, the Rapture, will remove the Holy Spirit from the visible realm, including everyone in whom the Holy Spirit resides. It is unclear where this fits in the events described in the books of Revelation, Daniel, and Ezekiel.
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The seven-year Tribulation period might begin anytime between 2029 and 2064, but only God knows the exact timing.
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The plagues and natural and supernatural deaths of those not Raptured will be traumatic and painful, leading to a significant loss of life on Earth.
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Natural disasters such as solar flares, floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and magnetic fluctuations will increase in frequency and intensity, along with cosmic changes.
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Jesus/Yeshua will then return with raptured believers to reign for 1,000 years, and the New Jerusalem, a structure from the spiritual realm, will descend from Heaven and manifest itself in the current Nation of Israel.
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If you already have a relationship with Jesus/Yeshua, continue to deepen your knowledge of Him and understand what will happen on Earth during the Last Days.
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If you do not have a relationship with Jesus/Yeshua, seek out gatherings of believers offering Revival events or other opportunities to learn more about Him and current events.
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Use resources such as the Daniel Place to discover who Jesus/Yeshua is and how to develop a relationship with Him.
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Remember that the Last Days will be intense, but God is ultimately in control and is accessible to all who call on His Name. Be encouraged!