Jesus is the Stone

When Jesus came into Jerusalem on that grand entry day now called “Palm Sunday,” He was greeted with praises and adoration by the people, who lay palm leaves and their clothing before Him. The religious leaders were not pleased and demanded the disciples to have Him quieten the people down. Here is the response of Jesus: “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out” (Luke 19:40).

At the last great day of the Festival of Dedication, Hanukah, Jesus, the Rock of our salvation, stood outside the Temple and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38).

Are the rocks, the elements of nature, that is, crying out today in their own language? Romans 8:19-23 tells of that crying out of the physical elements of creation and why:

“For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God, for we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.”  

One future day there will be a new heaven and a new earth according to Revelation 21:1:

“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.”

Records show that there has been a marked increase in earthquakes of all sizes, storms of all kinds and of increased destructive intensity. I recently wrote about how these weather patterns have been blamed on the activities of man, that is, “climate change caused by human activity.” Almost overnight, it seems, man has created gigantic changes in the weather by increased carbon gas. What a great way to deceive people who do not want to believe that God is sovereign and that He is very present in our world today!

Satan, the great deceiver, has found a perfect way to hide the declared activities of nature that are happening. We are not to believe the prophecies of the Bible, that great upheavals of physical elements will preface the coming of the Lord to bring judgment upon a world that wants to forget that God even exists.

Not only is there the notion  to not think about the judgment of God that is coming, but the notion to set up a change in worldwide economic well-being by returning society to the survival challenges of two centuries ago—no use of natural resources available, except wind and solar power. Who can operate a vehicle on wind power, or even solar power, and do it in the abundance demanded by the population of the earth today?

Those prophecies in Luke 21 are not idle comments that Jesus made. They are already happening, as I pointed out above. In a prior article, I told of the giant ocean storm that was closing in on Hawaii (of course, man caused, right?) and how at least one church group actually prayed to the God of heaven and earth to cease the intensity of the storm and turn it away from its course that was set to hit the island, head-on. Then, before it closed in, the storm slowed down and turned away from the islands. The criticisms and hate mail the pastor got before then were totally silent when their prayers were answered. No one in the “God is no-where” crowd wants to acknowledge there is, indeed, a “God who is now-here.” The truth is too painful.

When Daniel wrote in chapter 2 of his prophecy, he identified that fourth kingdom; it was to be like iron, but partially of iron and partially of clay. Then he writes this:

“As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure” (Daniel 2:43-45).

The Stone that crushes the kingdom is the Christ of Calvary, who came at the time of that fourth kingdom in Daniel’s vision. (As John looked backward from his historical position, it was the sixth kingdom in chronological order.) Jesus spoke often of “the kingdom of heaven” and the “kingdom of God” that Daniel foresaw in the future, and is one day coming to pass.

That Stone is the one of whom He spoke in Hebrews 1:1-2: “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son….” 

That Stone is Jesus, the Christ, pictured as the final conqueror of the kingdoms and their source of power and authority—Satan. That Stone has the final say-so.

That Stone is the chief cornerstone the builders did not recognize and left it out of the temple they were building. Why would God allow that to happen, one might wonder? Perhaps it is a foretelling of the day that temple worship without the Cornerstone is more acceptable as a false, works-based belief, preferable to faith in Jesus, the Christ. But the Scripture says, “the just shall live by faith,” not works.

When Jesus stood on the steps of the temple, as told in John 7:37 above, He was crying out, “Salvation is not in there, it is out here with Me! Come to Me and drink the water of life.”

The creation that He made cannot help but cry out praises to Him and respond as He commands—roaring of the seas, shaking of earthquakes, rain, hail, wind and snow storms sound off in anticipation of His return and the redemption of those who have believed in Him.

Mankind’s finite mind cannot fully grasp the power of the very presence of the Creator, as incidents in Scripture indicate. One day, though, mankind will cry out in that Presence that Jesus Christ is Lord, for Philippians 2:9-11 tells us this:

“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

These thoughts bring to mind that age-old hymn, “Rock of Ages.” It starts like this: “Rock of Ages, cleft for me; let me hide myself in Thee….”

Contact email:  andwegetmercy@gmail.com

 

In eternity past, when Lucifer launched his warfare against the Sovereign of the Universe, God Almighty, control was the issue. Lucifer, that one some call the angel of light and worship him instead of God, being thus deceived, is the influence behind all efforts of mankind to deny the existence of God. The question is highlighted by that question implied by the attention-getter mentioned in prior articles: “God is no-where,” or, “God is now-here.” Which is it, and which is it going to be?

Isaiah 14:13-15 tells us this:

“For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.”

“I will, I will, I will,” Lucifer said. But God, who sees the end from the beginning, has the final say.

The atrocities of mankind are largely, perhaps totally, from person-to-person and all the way to people-to-people and nation-to-nation.

One of the readings in Scripture recently told of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah at Jerusalem in those days, who was noted as one who honored God. He was followed by his son, Jehoram. This one had several brothers but he was left the kingdom, as the eldest. Jehoshaphat gave treasures and cities to each of his six other sons. When Jehoram became king, he immediately murdered all of his brothers to solidify his kingship. What an act of atrocity, but that story was repeated before and after, over and over. Establishing certain control; that was the purpose. 

Let’s go back to the time of Moses and recall the situation that brought about his being salvaged from murder by his mother putting him in a basket that would end up in the hands of Pharaoh’s daughter, while her father had all the boys two years and younger of the Jews killed because the Jews were becoming so numerous that he thought his throne would be in danger.

Or, again, when the kings of the east came to Bethlehem to see this King of the Jews whose star they followed, King Herod was much afraid this new King would challenge his own rule. He ordered that all boys two years old and younger be killed, just as the Pharaoh had done. But Joseph took Mary and the baby Jesus to Egypt and escaped. The urge to control or the fear of losing control: Where does it end? That is the ongoing story of the ages.

Is there a parallel with this generation, where over 60 million babies have been aborted in America, not to ignore the many others so done in the whole world? The issue is allegedly about the rights of women, but the issue of control is borne out in the essential issue the opposition had against the nomination of Brent Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Aside from the fact of his expected conservative voting record on other issues, the reduction of population is one of the goals of the shadowy planned New World Order, for who can control over seven billion people, as well as nations which still retain their sovereignty?

In America, at least, it seems there is the surface give and take of politics while the subsurface quietly glides forward toward the state-control philosophies of Karl Marx and Saul Alinsky, among others.

Recently Hillary Clinton remarked, “You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for.” That is a principle right out of Alinsky’s playbook, “Rules for Radicals.” Pretend with subtle tones of authority that what you are doing in rebellion is what the opposition is doing. It was a ruse that Obama used regularly during his administration and even now.

It is no wonder, however, in Clinton’s case. She worked in Goldwater’s campaign in 1964, we are told; whether it was to help or to hinder is not mentioned. However, in 1969 her political science term paper was entitled, “All That Is Left Is…the Fight” (An Analysis of the Alinsky Method).

So it was a great disappointment when the recent election did not forward their planned destruction of American sovereignty and “what (we) stand for.” Obama’s statement I have reported many times, but it is strategically important in regard to the issue of control: “The end of the Republic has never looked better!” [1]

His reference to the coming 2017 Dinner that might not happen once “she,” the president, gets in office indicates much more is expected in regard to the “end of the Republic” than just a change in the occupation of the oval office. Apparently, had Hillary Clinton been elected, quick work would have been done to take full control of the nation for its destruction.

Where were the “watchers on the wall of the city,” and why have we not heard from them? However, God heard and upset their apple cart! It is an echoing truth that God is now here. To the believer, Psalm 46:1 gives great comfort and confidence:  “God is our refuge, a very present help in time of trouble.”

After all, if a people have a Declaration of Independence that tells them they have God-given rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” how will they give up those rights in order to be controlled by the state that is headed by an elitist bureaucracy? Not likely, at all.

It is an astounding fact that his statement has not been in the news, up front, at least, – throughout the nation, even around the world; for it is laced with treasonous tones, even blatantly so. But, it was said before a roomful of news correspondents, the cozy lap-dogs of the left, who never want to be caught with having revealed any truth about President Barack Obama. They would not repeat that phrase at all.

Behind the scenes, though, there is another force that seeks control, and has made major strides in that accomplishment. The history of money reveals some interesting developments that are readily denied, but results speak louder than words. (One of the Rothschild family in the early 1800’s is reported to have said, “Give me control of a nation’s money supply and I will not care what its laws are!”)

The Federal Reserve System in America is unique in that it is not Federal and has no Reserve. It is true that the president appoints a chairman to it, but there is no ownership of the system or any of its “funds” by the United States Treasury. To whom does the US owe its national debt of now almost $22 Trillion, and to whom does it pay interest to each year of one-third or more of our annual budget? It is a collection of independent international bankers. Any attempt to take away that relationship and have America’s financial needs met through the US Treasury department is quickly squashed in whatever manner is deemed necessary. Control, control, control!

Even the Golden Rule has been changed, updated to fit the reality of the day. Now it is, “He who has the gold rules.” (And the likelihood of any being in Fort Knox is a fantasy. Remember, President Reagan was not allowed to inventory the contents of Fort Knox.)

The kingdoms of this world are controlled by Satan. He so offered them to Jesus at that time of temptation if Jesus would fall down and worship him. The heads of the Beast of Revelation are identified by Daniel and John as kingdoms of power over the earth from its earliest history. Revelation 13:2 tells us, “The dragon (named in chapter 12 as Satan) gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.”

We have come almost full circle from the beginning of the warfare told of at the beginning of this article. Prophecies of the Bible are right on track with what is happening in the world today. The predicted “falling away” from the faith by many and related lawfulness by others is to come before Jesus comes and the world is left to the terrors of that evil one.

As the “times and seasons” seem to indicate, Jesus will return soon, not in years but possibly in months. Luke 17:26-30 and its following context indicate that the Son of Man, Jesus, will be back during a time of economic revival. That is why “today is the day of salvation,” for there may not be a tomorrow for many—even without regard to the Lord’s return.

After a thousand-year reign over the earth by Jesus the Christ, from Jerusalem, a final confrontation with that seeker of total control, Satan, the unrighteous ones, both alive and dead, who did not want God in their lives, will be cast into the lake of fire, along with Satan, to be tormented forever. It is simple to avoid that endless plight, for God has said that He “does not desire that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

In Philippians 2 the Scripture says that eventually, “every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” It is an issue of control—will you let Him have control now and be on the winning side or will you continue to resist Him to your doom? That is the question for non-believers. Believers, also, must let Him have control so that He may use us to get the Word to those outside of His grace.

Proverbs 10:22 tells us, “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich and adds no sorrow to it.”

End note: [1] Obama at DC dinner:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRuqj8aY-lQ

Contact email:  andwegetmercy@gmail.com