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The title of this piece is about two phenomena put in an apparently non-sequential order. But the phenomena in question are physical as well as spiritual in nature. The consideration of family ecosystems with attending personal experiences and that of others, indicated that two or more individuals born in the same family unit, turn out with different behavior characteristics, belief systems and perception, is proof that belief and faith are not inherited phenomena. On the contrary, there is suggestion that they are not intrinsic component of an individual make-up or gene, but extrinsic, from a source outside the individual.

However, this extrinsic source is not nature [otherwise referred to as nurture], unless nature is synonymous with a supernatural Being or Source. If it were nature, then it follows that all individuals exposed to this same natural environment would posses identical behavior characteristics, belief systems and perception, which is not the case. Therefore, nurture does not explain belief and faith. Even though it might partly explain belief, but it does not provide an explanation for faith.

Nobody lives forever, everybody born of a woman dies. In addition to this, when Paul said in Romans 3:23; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, this includes those who are born this very moment. This seems beyond human comprehension, but it is God’s truth, which explains why some or all individuals of a family unit end up with belief in God, but no faith in God or faith bestowed upon them by God. This was succinctly put by Paul in Romans 12:3; For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

Thus, this indicates that God has chosen those that He gives measures of faith, and this has nothing to do with the family unit an individual is born into and is not inherited. However, what is inherited is sin, all the way from Adam and Eve. The Scripture confirmed this in Genesis 3:20; Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. And the curse on Eve in Genesis 3:16; To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” While the curse on Adam was stated in Genesis 3:17-19; To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

In light of this, the meaning of the words of the Holy Spirit through King David in Psalm 51 verse 5 can be understood; Surely, I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. This in turn provides the backdrop for Paul in Romans 5:12; Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all people, because all sinned.

Having understood how an individual is sinful at birth, and that it is God Himself who chooses those He bestows measures of faith to, which is synonymous to those that are saved, as testified to by Jesus Christ Himself in John 17:6; “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Then, Peter’s testimony under the influence of the Holy Spirit is brought into light in 1 Peter 2:9; But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. This selection is a culling of those that receives the gift of Salvation. They had been chosen even before they were born.

They have been chosen to receive the Gift of eternal life which is according to Jesus Christ in John 17:3; Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. The ramification of this gift is elaborated on, by Paul in Romans 5:15-17; But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

Judgement can be defined as the process of forming an opinion or evaluation by discerning and comparing. It can also be defined as the formation of an opinion after consideration or deliberation. When talking about judgement day, most people point to the scripture in John 12:47-48; “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day.

Since judgement is a process, and not a singular action, the last day taught by Jesus Christ in the above text can be understood in the context of the Scripture in Romans 2:4; Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? This implies that God is patient and extends opportunity to everyone up till the last moment, as confirmed by the Holy Spirit through apostle Peter in 2 Peter 3:9; The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. Furthermore, the last day of the judgement process is the part when the verdict is delivered, not when the process starts.

With this in mind, then we realise that the judgement process starts, the moment an individual is conscious of their actions and or the consequences thereof. Thus we understand Paul’s epistle to the Romans in Romans 2:12-16; All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares. Here the day referred to by Paul is the day the verdict is given.

Scripture goes on in Romans 2:17-23 that; if you rely on the law and boast in God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—  you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonour God by breaking the law? When a so-called general overseer of “new age” Pentecostal church in Nigeria railed against the application of the Company and Allied Matters Acts, CAMA in churches, one wonder whether the Bishop is either ignorant or his Bible does not contain the Scripture text “Law” of God in Mark 12:17; Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” Indeed the case of the blind leading the blind.

Religious leaders will do well to realize that adoration and hero worship by their blind congregation, who elevate them to the position of gods in their lives, such leaders ultimately will be weighed against God Almighty (the evaluation will be, their deeds on the one hand versus God’s deeds on the other hand, and not versus that of other men). True chosen predestined co-inheritors with Christ have the laws of God written on their hearts and minds, and are not adored or recognized by the world or blind masses, they do not have congregation numbered in hundreds of thousands in so-called religious countries that are either the poverty capital of the world, in spite of their church attendances or nations ruled by despots, liars and representatives of the prince of this world. According to Romans 2:29; circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God. Rounding up, we realize that judgement is here now, for all who are conscious of their behaviour, words, and actions, according to our Lord Jesus Christ in John 12:31; Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. While, the verdict is given on each individual’s last day.

#JerusalemMountMoriah

#AlAqsaMosque

#Golgotha

In light of the breaking news that “Israel and UAE establish ‘full normalization of relations”, and as part of the deal ‘Israel will ‘suspend’ its West Bank annexation plans as part of a peace agreement with the United Arab Emirates’, the deal is called “The Abraham Accord”.

Calvary, or Golgotha, was, according to the canonical Gospels, a site immediately outside Jerusalem’s walls where Jesus was crucified. The canonical Gospels use the Koine term Kraníon when testifying to the place outside Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified.

Al-Aqsa Mosque, located in the Old City of Jerusalem, is the third holiest site in Islam. The mosque was built on top of the Temple Mount, known as the Al Aqsa Compound or Haram esh-Sharif in Islam. Muslims believe that Muhammad was transported from the Great Mosque of Mecca to al-Aqsa during the Night Journey.

Abraham is one of the most foundational characters of the Old Testament in helping us to understand the Gospel. He lived 4000 years ago traveling from what is modern-day Iraq to live as a wanderer in what is modern-day Israel. Cities and names from his era are referenced in ancient tablets preserved for us today. So the setting of his account is entirely historical. There is no evidence from archaeology to dismiss his account and there is rather good reason to take this account seriously.

So I would like to look at a well-known part of the account of Abraham, the part where God asked him to sacrifice his one and only son, Isaac, for whom Abraham had waited many years, and on whom all his hopes for his future progeny rested.  This story is also known as the binding of Isaac.

So Abraham encounters his greatest test and it gives us a ‘peek’ into the Gospel.

The sacrifice looking to the future

We can see from the account that this was a test for Abraham, yet it is also for us.  But to ‘see’ this we need to note a few observations from the account.  Here is the pertinent portion of the account:

Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place ‘The LORD Will Provide’. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.” (Genesis 22:13-14)

Notice the name that Abraham gave to that place where the test occurred. He named it ‘The LORD will provide’. The question we need to ask is: ‘Is that name in the past tense, present tense or future tense?’ It is clearly in the future tense [see also John 8:56]. And to be even more clear the comment which follows (which Moses inserted when he compiled this account into the Jewish Torah about 500 years later) repeats “…it will be provided”. Again this is in the future tense and thus looking to the future.  But this naming occurs after the sacrifice of the ram (a male sheep) in place of Isaac. Many who read the account think that Abraham, when naming that place, is referring to the ram caught in the thicket and sacrificed in place of his son. But when Abraham names the place the ram is already dead, sacrificed and burnt. If Abraham is thinking of the ram – already dead, sacrificed and burnt – he would have named it ‘The LORD has provided’, i.e. in the past tense. And Moses, if he were thinking of the ram that took the place of Abraham’s son would have commented ‘And to this day it is said “On the mountain of the LORD it was provided”’. But both Abraham and Moses clearly give it a name in future tense and therefore are not thinking of that already dead and sacrificed ram.

Where the sacrifice happened

So what are they thinking about then? If we look for a clue we see that the place where God told Abraham to go at the beginning of this Sign was:

Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” (v.2)

This happened in ‘Moriah’. But where is that? Though it was a wilderness area in Abraham’s day (2000 BC), a thousand years later (1000 BC) King David established the city of Jerusalem there, and his son Solomon built the First Jewish Temple there. We read later in the Old Testament historical books that:

Then Solomon began to build the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David (2 Chronicles 3:1)

In other words, ‘Mount Moriah’ in the time of Abraham was an isolated mountain top in the wilderness but 1000 years later through David and Solomon it became the central and capital city of the Israelites where they built the Jewish Temple. And to this very day it is a holy place for the Jewish people.

Jesus and the Sacrifice of Abraham

And here we find a direct connection to Jesus and the Gospel. We see this connection when we consider one of the titles attributed to Jesus.  Now Jesus had many titles associated with him.  When the interplay of titles ‘Son of Man’ and ‘Son of God’ used at the trial of Jesus Christ is looked at. And perhaps the most well-known title of his is ‘Christ’. But there is another title given to him that is not as well known, but hugely important. We see this in the Gospel of John when John the Baptist says:

The next day John (i.e. John the Baptist) saw Jesus (i.e. Jesus) coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me’”. (John 1:29-30)

In other words, Jesus was also known as ‘The Lamb of God”. Now consider the end of Jesus’ life. Where was he arrested and crucified? It was in Jerusalem (which as we saw is the same as ‘Mount Moriah’). It is very clearly stated during his arrest that:

When he [Pilate] learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at the time.’ (Luke 23:7)

In other words, the arrest, trial and sentencing of Jesus happened in Jerusalem (= Mount Moriah).

Back to Abraham. Why did he name that place in the future tense ‘The LORD will provide’? How could he know that something would be ‘provided’ there in his future that would so precisely mirror the drama of the scene he enacted on Mount Moriah? Think about it – in that drama Isaac is saved from death at the last moment because a lamb dies in his place. Two thousand years later, Jesus is called ‘Lamb of God’ and is arrested and dies on the same spot!  Both Abraham and Moses claimed that it was revealed to them by God.

A Divine Mind Reveals Himself

And indeed it is as though there is a Mind that is connecting these two events separated by 2000 years of history. But what makes this unique is that the earlier event is pointing to the second event two thousand years later.  We know the earlier was configured to point to the later because the name given by Abraham and Moses was ‘The LORD will provide’ i.e. it looks to the future.  The figure illustrates how the earlier event alludes to the later one and was configured to remind us of the later event.  This is evidence that this Mind is revealing Himself to us by coordinating events though separated by thousands of years.  This is evidence that God has spoken.

But this account is also pertinent to us for more personal reasons. At the end of the exchange God declares to Abraham that

“…and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed because you have obeyed me” (Genesis 22:18)

If you belong to one of the ‘nations on earth’ (and you do!) this has to concern you because the promise is that you then can get a ‘blessing’ from God himself!  Even only a possibility of a blessing from God should move us to investigate further.

But how is this ‘blessing’ given? This points to Jesus, the offspring of Abraham.  Just like the ram saved Isaac from death by dying in his place, so the Lamb of God, by his death, saves us from the power of death.  The Good News of the gospel is foreshadowed beyond that of chance coincidences in the remarkable account of the sacrifice of Isaac on Mount Moriah, the same spot where 2000 years later it ‘was provided’

Why is nothing explicit stated in the Scriptural account in Genesis, but more hinted at. There are several (many) places where explicit statements are given (again you can judge on a case-by-case basis). But critics take these and then argue that the Gospel writers made up their accounts to make them fit the explicit predictions. But one answer to this objection to the explicit statements are the widespread occurrence of ‘hints’ like in this account for which it is difficult to ‘make up’ Gospel accounts to make them fit. So the Old Testament provides different kinds of foretelling. Some are explicit, some are hints, some are metaphors etc. so that in this tapestry a watertight case that addresses various kinds of objections can be developed. Explicit predictions address the kind of objection people raise against this type of hint, while hints address objections against the making up of ‘fulfilments’ etc. So the fact that this single account is more-or-less a ‘hint’ should not be cause either for discouragement or rejection. It should whet our appetites to make us ask ‘Is there more?’ and then we can consider the overall case.

References: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/13/politics/israel-united-arab-emirates-normalization-trump/index.html

https://considerthegospel.org/2013/02/14/the-sign-of-abrahams-sacrifice/?gclid=CjwKCAjwydP5BRBREiwA-qrCGs3BjH6Ugt-vpb9vltuZpk1wK6KniWzKgw3iebniRjc_ThwwhS4KVRoC-3YQAvD_BwE

In an episode of a BBC programme called “The Big Questions”, some years ago in UK, and an Australian TV political pre-election campaign debate between prime ministerial candidates [ ten or twelve years ago] on the subject of homosexuality (one of the “Christian” politician had Old testament views on homosexuality), an interesting subject matter arose, and this was; God of the Old testament was different from the God of the new testament.

People have often said that the God of the Old Testament is a vengeful, fearful, and cruel God. While the God of the New Testament is a loving God, God of Grace, of Truth, of Life. Gentle, caring, compassionate and forgiving.

Those that contrast and compare God in the Old and New Testaments in this manner are usually those engaged in practices and activities frowned upon by God in by the way, both the Old and New Testaments, and are seeking to justify themselves, just because the emphasis in the New Testament is on Love.

What is however, being ignored is the key point; the whole Bible is the story of the Love of God for the works of His Hand, including man. For those that chose to ignore the Old Testament and concentrate solely and use the New Testament, the account of man in the New Testament bears grim reading. Not only did man chop off the head of John the Baptist, they mocked God, derided Him, whipped Him (to the point of death), torture Him and eventually crucified Him (the most gruesome and excruciating form of murder, killing imaginable, not only in those days, but even up till present day). And these activities were done, not only to God, but also to His friends, followers, believers, and associates, some of whom were stoned to death, some were burnt alive, some were torn apart and killed by wild beasts (such as Lions, bears, etc). these forms of cruelty were documented not only by the Bible, but also by historical books of the then Roman empire.

So, in a comparison of God of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, and man, man comes out worse in all scenarios. Therefore, think twice before you approach the concept of God with regards to the Old covenant and the New covenant. God is the same God who made the Old covenant and the New covenant, persevering, patient, magnanimous, gentle, kind, providing, forgiving, righteous and Holy. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Saying that there is an old covenant and a new covenant, or a dispensation of the Law and a dispensation of Grace, is actually a misnomer. There is one dispensation, one covenant; in the Old Testament, God made a covenant or introduce His plan of His covenant of sacrificing Himself [the mock version or trial run of “sacrificing” Isaac] for the sins of humanity, to Abraham, and He told Abraham that He, God was going to step into time and humanity, to execute His plan to save humanity through the line of Abraham. In the New Testament, that is exactly what God did. That is called Grace, One Grace, one story, one God, one Man, one covenant, one dispensation, one Love.

“For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels”

Mark 8:38 – 9:1; If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”

Mathew 16:27-28; For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Luke 9:26-27; Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

Righteousness of God

1 Corinthians 1:30; But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,

Romans 1:17; For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”

2 Corinthians 5:21; He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Jeremiah 23:5; “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely. And do justice and righteousness in the land.

Jeremiah 33:15; In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth.

Jeremiah 23:6; “In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, ‘The Lord our righteousness.’

Jeremiah 33:16; In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the Lord is our righteousness.’

Hebrews 7:2; to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace.

Psalm 5:8; O Lord, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes; Make Your way straight before me.

Matthew 6:33; But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 12:18; “Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

Reference: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Christ-Our-Righteousness

The Love of God that is in Christ Jesus

John 3:16; “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8; But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

John 16:27; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father.

Titus 3:4; But when the kindness of God our Saviour and His love for mankind appeared,

1 John 3:1; See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

Romans 8:35; Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Romans 8:38-39; For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 14:21; He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”

Romans 5:5; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Ephesians 3:17; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

1 John 4:9; By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.

Ephesians 2:4; But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

Romans 8:37; But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

Romans 1:7; to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

John 14:23; Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.

John 17:23; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.

1 Timothy 1:14; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.

Reference: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/God~s-Love-In-Christ

The Holy Spirit is the “Father” of Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is the Righteousness of God. God expressed Himself, His Love in the human form of Jesus Christ. So the statement, “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels”, can be read as “For the [human expressional form of God] is going to come in [the Holy Spirit’s glory] with His angels”. One God known as the Father, Jesus Christ and also as the Holy Spirit.

The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, The Love of God, And the sweet fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forever more, Amen.