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Continued from // The Cross - Part III

The Cross jerked, bringing Jesus back to the moment. Slowly it began to move skyward. Weekly, Jesus looked right and left. On either side of Him, the other crosses were being raised. With a lurch, the Cross fell forward into the hole made for it, throwing Jesus against the nails. Groaning, Jesus looked Heavenward, looking for the Father. As Jesus gazed, the clouds darkened, darkness fell, and the Father left Jesus. In His desperation, Jesus cried out to His Father, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” But the Father did not hear Him; Jesus alone shouldered the burden of the sins of mankind.

There He was, nailed to the Cross, with two common criminals on either side of Him, and a sign above Him that mocked, “This is the King of the Jews.” Roman soldiers were about the crosses, three of them were casting lots for His clothes, ordinary people were passing by on the road and would throw insults at Him, and there was a small throng still lingering and insulting Him. In front of Jesus stretched the city of Jerusalem, with the Temple sparkling above the low-lying homes and shops. The sky was overcast, the sun was fading, the whole countryside looked bleak, as if it was mourning for the Son of God.

As the two men and Jesus hung on the crosses, the one of Jesus’ left began throwing insults as Jesus as well. “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” But the one of Jesus’ right rebuked him, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” He then turned to Jesus and pleaded, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And Jesus replied, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

At the sixth hour, there was a great thundering in the clouds, and the whole land became black as if it was night, and it stayed dark until the ninth hour. As the ninth hour rolled came, Jesus lifted His head heavenward and cried out, “Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit,” and, Jesus Christ the Lord, died. As the echoes of His cry died away, Jesus exhaled, and went limp. At that moment, there was a great earthquake. In the Temple, just as the High Priest was about to sacrifice the perfect lamb for the entire nation of Israel, the veil between the Court of the Priests and the Holy of Holies tore from top to bottom. The priests cried out in alarm, and turned to run out of the Temple. But there, on the hilltop, Jesus hung on the Cross, as if a lamb who was slain. Several of the priests fell down on the spot in worship of the true Lamb of God.

Continued on // The Cross - Part V

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Continued from // The Cross - Part II

The hammer came down with a thud, driving the nail into Jesus’ wrist, striking the medial nerve. Which sent excruciating pain through His arm and shoulder. The cry that came from him was painful even to hear – the hammer paused. Slowly, the echoes faded away. The Roman officer walked up to the soldier with the hammer and signaled for him to continue. After a deep breath, the hammer rose and came. The nail drove completely through Jesus’ wrist into the wooden cross. Again and again, the hammer rose and fell, each time followed by that same cry. Lethargically the Roman bearing the hammer went to Jesus’ other wrist. He readied another nail, and shakily raised the hammer. The hammer came down with a thud, again, driving into the medial nerve. Which sent excruciating pain through Jesus’ other arm. Every eye on the hill watched the hammer rise and fall, ramming the nine-inch spike through the prostrate man’s wrist. After the wrists, came the feet. Unable to stand up, the soldier picked up the third nail, and crawled to the foot of the Cross. His arms were visibly shaking as he placed the feet of Jesus on the cross. After two deep breaths, he raised the hammer, and brought it down on the nail head. Blood gushed forth as the nail penetrated Jesus’ feet and into the rough-hewn wood of the Cross.

With his job completed, the soldier tossed the hammer aside and crawled away, weeping. Some of the other soldiers laughed at him and readied the cross to be raised. When the soldiers’ laughter broke the silence, the crowd began jeering at Jesus again. “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One,” taunted one of the Pharisees. And another followed suit by shouting, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” But Jesus said in a shaky voice, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Upon hearing Jesus’ voice, a few of the jeering onlookers quieted down and walked off; their heads hung low in shame. Two of the soldiers jeered at the Roman for not being able to nail Jesus to the Cross. He replied in a quavering voice, “Don’t you realize that this is the Son of God?” Hearing a strange note in his voice, they left him alone.

As the Cross was made ready to be raised, Jesus felt the full weight of mankind creep upon Him. The sins of the entire world, past, present, and future were being laid upon The Perfect Sacrifice – Jesus. The burden felt like an actual weight, pressing Him downward. As the soldiers finished readying the Cross, Jesus’ thoughts drifted to every man and woman. He reflected on their lives, their emotions, and their choices; He felt their pain, both physical and mental. He grieved for their sins, praised their triumphs, and was filled with a love for each and every one. Even through the physical and mental pain, Jesus did not feel any anger or bitterness for anyone. He loved them all, no matter what they had done, or will do.

Continued on // The Cross - Part IV

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[digg=http://digg.com/offbeat_news/Is_the_Bible_Reliable] Christianity’s foundation is the Bible, plain and simple. Christianity stands or falls with its Scriptures. To disprove Christianity, many different nations and peoples have repeatedly attempted to discredit the Bible, but to no avail. Due to the constant attacks on the Bible throughout the years, Christians have meticulously researched and have discovered a sound way to uphold the Bible.

In an attempt to demonstrate that the Bible is the Word of God, the original manuscripts must be proven to be authentic. For if the original manuscripts are forged or altered, then no other argument can prove the Bible is the Word of God. Next the content must be examined. If the text changes from manuscript to manuscript, then how can we be sure to have the correct document? Or if the facts of the Bible are false, then again, how can the Bible be true? And finally, the events in the Bible must align with history. Again, if the events of the Bible don’t parallel history, then how can the Bible be true?

First of all, there are approximately 24,970 manuscript fragments of the New Testament within 226 years of the originals, and, except for some style and spelling differences, all 24,970 are identical (with an exception of two portions of text that was not in the original copies, but common in later manuscripts - which is noted in most Bibles). The Jews have kept part of the Old Testament in their Torah over the years, which wouldn’t have changed. Even so, those books couldn’t be proven to be the original text until the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls. With the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Old Testament was finally confirmed to have stayed the same since the days before Christ. Finally, the books in the New Testament were written between 50 AD and 95 AD, a 45 year difference. During that time, legends and falsehoods would not have been able to spring up. For, the eyewitnesses would have squashed these distortions of the truth.

Even if the Biblical manuscripts are authentic first century documents, the text must have a legitimate source to truly be the Word of God. For why would we have trusted someone from the Orient in 50 AD to write about Jesus’ teachings when the Gospel hadn’t reached the Orient? Eight different men wrote the New Testament. Their names were James, John, Jude, Luke, Mark, Matthew, Paul, and Peter. Out of those eight men, six had direct contact with Jesus, the two who hadn’t been with Jesus traveled for years with someone who had.

Since we have the original text, and the authors of the New Testament are legitimate authorities on the subject, the events of the Bible align with history. However, the events of the Bible align with ‘pagan history.’ The events mentioned in the Bible are genuine events, the places of the Bible are real places, and the people in the Bible are real people, including Jesus. Many ancient non-Christians agree in their writings that Jesus was actually a man and claimed to be God, such as Tacticus (The Annals of Imperial Rome), Suetonius (Life of Cladius, Lives of the Ceasers), Roman governor Pliny the Younger (Epistles), Greek satirist Lucian (On the Death of Peregrine), Syrian Mara Bar-Serapion (a letter). Even the Jewish Talmud mention’s Jesus! Finally, modern archeology has produced evidence for the authority of the Bible. The events, places, and people are verified from non-Biblical sources through examining the remains of past cultures.

Since the Bible is proven to be the same text back then as it is now, the writings to have come from legitimate sources, and the Bible’s events to align with history, we can conclude that the Bible declares genuine history. Now whether the Bible is the Word of God or not is a totally different matter, but even more so important. Man physically wrote the words of the Bible, there is no doubt about that. But, did God speak to humanity through them? Or were the authors of the Bible writing lies?

According to the Bible itself, the Bible is the Word of God. That is clearly stated by Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16a: “All Scripture is inspired by God (God breathed)…” But does what the Bible mean anything to some? No. But, the Bible is full of prophecy. Many of that prophecy has been fulfilled, some is yet to be fulfilled. The prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah both predicted the destruction of Babylon (Isaiah 13-14 and Jeremiah 51). And Babylon did indeed fall. Cyrus the king of Persia conquered Babylon the great in 539 BC. But, a good portion of the Bible’s prophecy is concerning the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The Old Testament has four hundred twenty five prophecies on Jesus alone, and Jesus fulfilled every one. Some of the prophecies are made to the date. For example, in the book of Daniel, Daniel predicted the exact day the Messiah would enter into Jerusalem (Daniel 9:25). Daniel claimed that 438 years after a decree to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, the Messiah himself would enter into that Holy City. Since the Babylonian calendar consisted of 360 days, there are 173,880 days in 438 Babylonian years. On March 5, 444 BC, the Persian king, Artaxerxes Longimanus, decreed that the city of Jerusalem should be rebuilt. Exactly 173,880 days later, on March 30, 33 AD (after accounting for leap years), Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.

Even the uniqueness of the claims of the Bible suggests its truth. No other religion in the world truly claims eternal life by faith alone. All religions require some form of “works” (having more good deeds than bad deeds - for example) in order to get into heaven. Some are more extreme than others, but they all still require some form of earning your way into heaven. The desire to work for something is human. Many people find it hard to accept large gifts for no reason. So man-made religions that are works based to feel adequate. But really, can a sinful, mortal man earn his way to be with a perfect God?

It is proven that we have the original text of the Bible, the authors of the Bible are legitimate sources, and the events in the Bible really happened. We have also made it clear through the prophecies and their fulfillments that some divine power has made itself known through these writings. Why shouldn’t it be the God that the Bible claims it to be? Why shouldn’t God’s Son, Jesus Christ, really be our Lord and Savior? Why shouldn’t He have really come to earth, died for our sins, and rose again? Since that is the case, it can be concluded that the Bible is true. And since the Bible is true, then Christianity is the Truth.

//Bring it World
-Brian Purkiss

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Continued from // The Cross - Part I

As the procession neared Golgotha, a new feeling began to creep up on Jesus, a feeling He never felt before. Jesus began to feel the inconceivable weight of man’s sin. The feeling grew as He neared the crest of the hill. The Weight of Mankind weighed Him down so He could hardly walk. After a few more steps, the procession reached the crest of the hill. Finally Jesus could bear it no longer; with a cry He collapsed under the Weight of Mankind. Next to Him, Simon cried out and fell underneath the Cross and the two were pinned. Soldiers shouted and the Cross was lifted. One soldier jerked Jesus to His knees and drug him to the place where He was to be crucified. The other lifted Simon to his feet, and gave him a shove. “You are free to go,” the soldier grunted. Simon hesitated, looking towards Jesus and their eyes met. Jesus’ eyes were filled with pain and anguish, such that is incomprehensible to mortal man. Simon could not bear to look into those eyes, and with tears pouring down his face, Simon dashed down the hill back to Jerusalem.

When the soldier drug Jesus to the spot where He was to be crucified, he threw Him down at the foot of the Cross and jeered at Him. “Here is your doom. Today you will go down to the fires of Hell just like any other man.” Jesus made no reply, but got on his hands and knees and, to the astonishment of all who looked on, willingly crawled onto the cross. The soldiers murmured and looked at each other, as if unsure what to do. After a few moments, one of the officers cried out, “What are you doing? Get these men up on their crosses!” It was if time snapped back into motion and the soldiers went to their deadly work. Men bustled about each of the three crosses, readying them to be raised. One soldier seized a hammer and three nine-inch nails and ran to Jesus’ cross. He tossed two of the nails to the ground and held up the nail to drive it into Jesus’ wrist.

As the soldier raised the hammer, his gaze wandered to Jesus’ face. Jesus turned His head and looked into the man’s eyes and held them. The soldier stared back, his face a mixture of astonishment and horror; he couldn’t take his eyes from his Savior. The officer, seeing the man’s bewilderment, shoved him to the ground yelling. “Hurry up! We only have so much time! Nail that man to the cross!” Shaking himself, the soldier plucked up the hammer and nail from the ground. Again he placed the nail on Jesus’ wrist, and after checking to see if the nail was placed properly, shakily raised the hammer above his head.

Continued on // The Cross - Part III

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Imagine for a moment, that fateful day in AD 33. Imagine the day when the Son of God took upon Himself the burden of mankind’s sin. Imagine the enormous load He took when he willingly shouldered the yoke of our sin. Imagine the pain he felt when he was beaten, whipped, abused, and nailed to the cross. Imagine that fateful day in AD 33…

His breath came in gasps, blood dripped from His body, the weight of the cross bore down on Him. Pain wracked His body from the innumerable whiplashes, cuts, and bruises; He was hardly recognizable. He could barely force His feet to move; with each passing moment, the energy drained from His body. But His Will was set; nothing could keep Him from the task at hand.

As he crawled forward, one of the Roman guards yelled and the whip snaked through the air. As it came down, an ear splitting crack split the air. The whip made contact with the back of Jesus’ legs and He cried out in anguish and pain, collapsing to the rocky ground. The man on the other side of the cross grunted and came down to his knees. Simon gasped in pain and tried to stand up, but the weight of the Cross was too much for him. The soldiers yelled, whips cracked, and the crowed jeered. After a few agonizing moments, two Roman soldiers stepped forward. One of them seized Jesus and jerked Him to His feet; the other lifted the Cross. In His pain, Jesus groped for the Cross, grabbed it, and shouldered the burden again. With grunts and groans of pain, the cross drug forward again.

As they moved forward, two other men, each bearing crosses themselves, began jeering at Jesus. “Why are you so willing to take your cross? Are you so eager to face the pain of the Cross? Curse God and die now!” Jesus made no reply, but looked them each in the eye in turn; they fell silent after a few moments under His gaze. Gradually, wailing could be heard. He stopped and turned. Following Him was a group of women, mourning for Jesus’ pain. Through the pain and gasps, Jesus spoke to them in a raspy voice, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘cover us.’ For if they do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Jesus turned back to His task and slowly, the ground began to slope upward and the city began to fall away.

Continued on // The Cross - Part II

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