I Still Call It Dominion Day

In spite of the Canadian Government calling Canada's day of confederation Canada Day, I still like the old name much better. We Canadians used to celebrate Dominion Day before Pierre Trudeau's Liberals gave it the tacky name it now has.

The word "dominion" is used many times throughout the Bible. Genesis 1:26 (BBE) tells how God gave us the job of managing his creation. "And God said, 'Let us make man in our image, like us: and let him have rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every living thing which goes flat on the earth.'"

The founders of Canada wanted to keep this thought in the minds of the citizenry by inscribing Psalms 72:8 on the base of the Parliament building. The Bible in Basic English renders the verse as, "Let his kingdom be from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth."

This also was a reminder to Canadians that Christ is the ultimate king and our laws are based on his teachings. Sadly, people ignore and reject him, making up their own laws.

We also read in Psalms 145:13 (BBE) that God's dominion is eternal. "Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and your rule is through all generations."

And what a joy it is that death has no power over our Master. Romans 6:8 and 9 (BBE) states of him, "But if we are dead with Christ, we have faith that we will be living with him; Having knowledge that because Christ has come back from the dead, he will never again go down to the dead; death has no more power over him."

Because he rose from the dead, we also rejoice in the promise of our own bodily resurrection. Revelation 20:6 (BBE) promises, "Happy and holy is he who has a part in this first coming: over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will be ruling with him a thousand years."

I personally suspect that people want to erase biblical knowledge from the citizenry so that they'll only trust in human dominion. We read countless times in the Bible how those attempts failed. This is one point I hope to make in my book called You Think You're Going to Heaven?On Thursday, I'll post about American liberty and the freedom we believers have in Christ.

On Thursday, I'll post about American liberty and the freedom we believers have in Christ

Saturday Song: Lenny Kravitz, "The Resurrection"

Though Lenny Kravitz is a Christian, he also is a well-respected rock star in his own right. Neither is he afraid to sing about the Lord. I'm glad because I both love Christ and good rock music.

Take a listen to Lenny's song here.

Each Easter, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ. But why should this matter so much? It certainly mattered to the early Christians. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:19, (KJV) that, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."

We have the hope of our rising from the dead because of what Christ did to pay our death penalty. Romans 6:23 KJV) tells us, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

But why should we be held guilty because of Adam's sin? Because he represents us all and he failed to obey God. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:21 (KJV), "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead."

Revelation 20:6 (KJV) explains why this rising to life eternal is so important to us who obey Christ. "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."

I hope you liked what I wrote and this beautiful tribute to Christ's resurrection.

On Monday, I'll be posting about how the Christian life is like bowling.

The 'God Used Evolution' Error

Did God use evolution to create the universe and everything in it? Believe it or not, some professing Christians claim he did. They do so to harmonize science with the Bible. But such a ham-fisted process to create anything is an impossibility.

Scripture is clear, right from the start, that God made everything. Genesis 1:1 leaves no room for doubt. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

When anything is created, it doesn't happen of its own accord. Every effect, like the universe, must have a cause which caused it.

Another error those people make, albeit inadvertently, is that they minimize human value through their errant supposition. Genesis 5:1 (KJV) explains why human life is valued over the animals and plants. "This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;"

Since this is so, the killing of a human isn't mere termination of a creature's life but murder. Genesis 9:6 (KJV) clearly states this truth. "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man."

And contrary to some, gender isn't fluid but set at conception. Sex is binary, as Mark 10:6 (KJV) shows. "But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female."

Furthermore, God thought it proper to work through the lineage of Israel to send the Messiah to save us from our sinful rebellion against him. Jesus could have beamed down and made himself a body before being crucified. Yet, as Paul wrote in Philippians 2:7 (KJV), "But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:"

The Father also knew that the law he gave Moses was impossible for flawed beings to obey. Romans 8:3 (KJV) states, "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:"

But knowing all this, how can liberal Christians deny God's creative power? Jesus himself explained this mystery in John 3:19 (KJV). "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."

Jesus also showed Martha, and all who think that the resurrection is a mere event in the distant future, who he actually was. John 11:25 (KJV) reads, "Jesus said unto her, 'I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:'"

It's abundantly evident that we humans were meant to have relationships and fellowship with our creator. Chance can't do that with us. Neither is happenstance able to plan the future functionality of any creature. In fact, those who obey the Lord will be part of his government. Revelation 20:6 (KJV) foretells, "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."

We can also see in 2 Peter 3:11 (KJV) that we will remain after the old universe disintegrates in fervent heat. "Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,"

This truth will be part of my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? If we are mere beasts, morality is relative and no horrific act can be judged as evil. But since we are made in the likeness of God, he has the right to correct us or condemn us if we won't obey him. He made everything, from blue giant stars right down to neutrinos.

You might enjoy my Saturday Song post. It's based on a song from the sixties about a girl who said one thing but continuously did something else.

How many Resurrections Are There?

We who place our faith in Christ know that he was the prototype of resurrection. The problem is that some Christians think there will be two separate resurrections, one for the righteous and one for the wicket. The difference being that these folks think they happen at different times.

From what Jesus himself said, it sounds to me like both happen at once.  In John 5:28 and 29, the Bible in Basic English says, "Do not be surprised at this: for the time is coming when his voice will come to all who are in the place of the dead, And they will come out; those who have done good, into the new life; and those who have done evil, to be judged."

In this passage, Christ is showing the difference between the fate of the righteous and the wicked. Where people go astray on this matter is when they assume that John Nelson Darby's view of eschatology is the only correct biblical view. For millennia, Christians believed in only one great resurrection at the end of the age.

When Jesus returns, it won't be to snatch people away for seven years as some believe. Instead, he'll come as a conquering king returning to his subjects. In ancient times, the people of a kingdom would come out of the capitol city to greet their victorious sovereign and his army. Then they would proceed into the city to celebrate.

This is what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 (KJV), "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

But some will argue that Revelation 20:6 (KJV) says, "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."

People assume that the thousand years are literal, not figurative of a long time. The "first resurrection" is really us being made spiritually alive in Christ through his death and rising again, thus guaranteeing our resurrection to life eternal. The second resurrection happens at the same time but is different in the fate of those wicked souls. The "second death" is eternal damnation for those who refuse Christ's magnanimous gift of salvation.

There was a time when I didn't know how to read the Bible in context. Thanks to gifted Bible scholars, I do now. My book, How I Was Razed, shows how I was once fooled by a charismatic preacher and liberated by proper exegesis. Read more about my journey to freedom at Amazon.