John, 

I have been contemplating the Jews​’​ expectation that the Messiah would come and set up an ​earthly kingdom.

Just a quick question where the scripture said ​”If you had know​n​ what Moses wrote​,​ you would have known me​.”  Is that translated correctly?

JWS

​==========

Hi Wendell. 

This is the verse.  Jesus said it.​

John 7:46-47: “For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.  But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?”

Hope that helps.

Pastor John

My question for you is simple. Please explain to me how you found god and what he has done for you?

Zach

==========

Hi Zach.

I apologize for the delay.  I thought I had answered your email, but then discovered I had not.

As for how I found God, I had no intention of serving Him; He decided that I would, and gave me feelings that I could not ignore, feelings of sorrow for sins committed, and sorrow for the damage I had done to others in the process.  With these feelings, I was able to repent from the heart.  In sum, He supplied what I needed in order for me to do what He wanted me to do.  In time, I would learn  that in His world, that is how it always is, and has to be.  He alone enables us to desire and to do His will.

As for what God has done for me, to tell all that would require too much space and time.  Maybe we can talk face to face sometime.  Hope so.  I will say, though, that He has completely re-configured my life and made it worth living.  I cannot sufficiently express my gratitude for His mercy and help.  I needed it all.

Often, the call of God comes in the form of curiosity.  For example, a person may have a simple question come to mind, as my cousin Earl did when he was in high school looking through a Bible picture story book about.  Earl just wondered, “Can these things really be true?”  That is how God got Earl to start seeking the way of eternal life.  So, if you find yourself having questions about the things of God, be thankful.  It may be more than human curiosity.  It may be Jesus, calling to your heart!

God bless, and please stay in touch!

Pastor John

John, 

I ran across these verses in Matthew 11, and I am not sure I understand them. Would you mind explaining verse 12?  In verse 14 what is the “it” referring to? Is the “it” referring to the fact that John is the “Elijah who is to come” or John’s message? (I included verses 10 and 11 for context.)

Thanks,

Tom

10. for this is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I am sending my messenger before your face, who shall prepare your way before you!’

11. Truly, I tell you, there has not arisen, among those born of women, a greater man than John the Baptizer; and yet, the least one in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

12. The kingdom of heaven is being earnestly sought, from the days of John the Baptizer until now, and the forceful are seizing upon it.

13. All the prophets and the law prophesied until John,

14. and if you are willing to receive it, this is Elijah who is to come.

15. He who has ears to hear, let him hear

Thanks, 

Tom

========= 

Hi, Tom.

Verse 12 has been the subject of a lot of debate for many years.  I see you have used our translation, which includes the following footnote at the end:  Or, “The kingdom of heaven is being treated violently from the days of John the Baptizer until now, and the violent are seizing upon it.”

Either of those translations is possible.  The kingdom of God must be sought (Mt.6:33), and the kingdom of God (or, those in it) is often abused, or “treated violently” (Acts 14:22).  And those seizing upon it may be understood as the seekers, earnestly, or “forcefully” sizing it, or understood as those abusing the kingdom (the violent).

The reason we went with the translation you quoted is that we felt to say that the kingdom of heaven is being treated violently has to be explained more than if we say there kingdom of God is being earnestly sought.

As for verse 14, the “it” is what follows, “this is Elijah who is to come”.  Jesus could have said, “If you are able to believe it….”  He knew it was a challenge for them to believe that.

Thanks for the questions.  Hope to see you soon.

Pastor John

John, 

I was just pondering the Beast in Revelation.  He needs to come for the nations to be trained into a concept of a world ruler. 

Currently nations don’t even consider that a possibility.

JWS

========== 

Hi, Wendell.

I think of it this way: the body of Christ needs the Beast to come so they might be disciplined to understand what it means to submit to the rule a king who has absolute power.  The divisions that exist among God’s children are proof enough that they do not know what it means to be under the control of an absolute power.  When the Beast comes, however, he will be used by God to teach them that lesson, and this to prepare them for the coming of the Lord.

Pastor John

Greetings, 

I read your book*, but need to be clear on your store house.

Also if I have an increase of say $1000 on my salary, am I to tithe on the increase or give the whole increase?

James

=========

Hi James.

Thank you for writing.

I am not clear on what you mean by wanting to be clear on “your store house”, but the answer to your question about the increase is simple enough.  God’s part is the tithe and offering of your increase, not the whole amount.

God bless you and yours.

Pastor John

*To obtain more information on Pastor’s John’s book titled Tithes and Offerings, please click on the link below.

http://www.pastorjohnshouse.com/books/tithesandofferings.html

John, 

Verse 18 of revelation 11 says that God will “destroy those that destroy the earth.”  What does that phrase mean?

 JWS

==========

Good question, Wendell.  I have wondered about that unusual statement many times over the years.  I assume that in this verse, John is using “earth” the way the prophets did occasionally, that is, as a reference to the people of the Lord.  Here is the section of the God Had a Son before Mary Did book which deals with that:

“The Earth” Will Never Hunger or Thirst Again

It will help to understand the next prophecy of the Son if one is aware that “the earth” is sometimes used prophetically as a reference to the people of God, just as “the sea” is sometimes used as a reference to people of the world.  We find instances of God’s people being referred to as “the earth” in Psalm 2:10, Isaiah 66:8, and Revelation12:16, while in Revelation 17:15, “the sea” represents the world’s “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and languages.”  Here in Isaiah 49, the Son reveals that the Father will answer his prayers for us and will give him power to raise “the earth” from the dead and to give them an eternal inheritance, never again to suffer hunger or thirst, or any such thing:

Isaiah 49

8. This is what the Lord [the Father] said: “In an acceptable time I will answer you, and in the day of salvation, I will help you.  And I will watch over you and give you for a covenant of the people, to cause the earth [God’s people] to rise to inherit desolate inheritances,

9. saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out!’  And to those in darkness, ‘Show yourselves!’  They shall feed along the roads, and their pastures shall be in all the high places.

10. And they shall neither hunger nor thirst, and heat and sun shall not beat upon them.  For He who pities them shall guide them, and by springs of water shall He refresh them.”

Thanks for asking.

Pastor John

PS. I think you will appreciate this, from Isaiah:

Isaiah 66

8a. Who has heard such a thing?  Who has seen such things?  Shall the earth be born in one day?  Shall a nation be born at once?