-Revelation 13 : 8 GOD's WORD Translation
The first time Jesus Christ came to this world both the political system of the Romans as well as the religious establishment in Judea ( Israel ) composed mostly of : Pharisees and Saducees greatly opposed Him and both of those corrupt 'political and religious powers' then and there were directly complicit of His death on the cross. ( John 19:11 ) When Jesus Christ 'RETURNS' He is going to reign from Jerusalem 'BUT' not before He does away totally with all the failed and corrupt governments of this world, as well as with all of the false religions and false prophets; for the entire government of this world shall be upon His shoulders ! ( Isaiah 9:6 ) Jesus Christ is : King of king's !
The truth is that 'NO' man on this planet knows the exact date of birth of JESUS CHRIST; 'BUT' what most can 'NOT' deny is that Jesus Christ was born on this planet some 2000 years ago to a Jewish young lady named Mary and to Joseph a carpenter. ( Due to numerous factors; such as changes in the Julian Calendar in 1580's by Roman Popes, we long ago lost thee real and EXACT knowledge of the correct day and time of our present time* Additionally, the new calendar adopted and implemented by the Roman Catholic Popes through the centuries was not implemented uniformly across all of Europe until the 18th Century and even according to the Jewish Calendar we are in the year 5777 ) Using historical records and markers about the Roman Empire and its Roman leaders ( Reign of Herod & Roman census*) most experts who have studied the subject tell us that our LORD Jesus Christ year of birth was most likely in 2 B.C.
Nobody is going to be CONDEMNED to hell because they never got to know : Jesus Christ's real birthday nor His physical description !!! ( It is not a doctrinal point of salvation*) The Holy Spirit chose 'NOT' to focus so much on the physical appearance of Christ so that all could focus on His message of the 'Kingdom of GOD' and Salvation; than on secondary things that seem to divide us more so than unite us in Christ !!! ( John 12 : 48 ) Thee most important thing is that we : Obey, Abide and Live out the words of Jesus Christ !!! Most revolutionary movements have in the past tried to 'Paint' Jesus Christ as being a : 'Black African American Revolutionary, a white Communist Revolutionary like Che Guevara and the list goes on; GOD knew that man is very much into idolatry and that is why GOD chose 'NOT' to leave any physical image of Jesus Christ behind !!! ( The Image of the Shroud of Turin is 'NOT' Jesus Christ Resurrected; shame on those Christian's who are promoting that False Roman Catholic artifact !!! ) The 'True Worshippers' of GOD will worship GOD in 'Spirit and in Truth' without the need of any : Images, Statues, Icons or any other physical representation of our Creator !!! ( John 4 : 24 )
Thee most IMPORTANT thing in all of this is that JESUS CHRIST was born !!! Had Yeshua never been born, GOD had every right to utterly destroy any and all trace of this rebellious creation from His Universe !!! It was 'NOT' that our sovereign Creator: GOD was doing an 'Experiment' on planet earth with Adam and Eve; the Biblical truth is that GOD foresaw Lucifer's rebellion as well as Adam and Eve's disobedience and GOD Himself solved it all in eternity past 'BEFORE' He even began to lay out the very foundation of this planet earth !!! Devout atheists and conspiracy theorists believe that Jesus Christ never existed and that he was invented by either the Romans or the Jews of those days to 'Pacify' the poor and most Jews; additionally other atheists believe that the story of Jesus was just a mixture of a 'Pagan Deity Recycled.' The truth is that GOD gave us all 'Freewill' those who willingly choose to REJECT GOD's only plan of salvation; will die with and in their own sins !!!
Before we go any further on this subject it is critical that we 'ALL' understand that the LIVING WORD of GOD : JESUS CHRIST had already 'PRE-EXISTED' before Yeshua was born as a child to Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem !!! There are several 'Christophonies' in the Old Testament that prove to us that Christ the WORD of GOD had already appeared and taken human form on this planet way before the WORD of GOD took on the form of 'Baby Jesus' ( Genesis 3 : 8 & several others*) Our LORD : Jesus Christ even 'Confirmed' this : Truth, Fact and Reality; when he stated to a very angry Jewish crowd that 'BEFORE' Abraham was, I AM !!! ( John 8:58 )
According to the best historical evidence 'MOST' biblical and historical evidence appears to point to the last days of the month of September as the most likely time period when our LORD Jesus Christ was born. Biblically speaking; we know that Elizabeth ( John the Baptist mother ) was in her six month of pregnancy when Jesus was conceived ( Luke 1: 23-24 ) Assuming that John's conception took place near the end of June, adding nine months brings us to the month of March as the most likely time for John's birth. Adding another six months ( the difference in age between John's and Jesus ) gives us late September as the most likely date of birth of our LORD Jesus Christ.
Because Mario Romano is 'NOT' scared of any 'atheists attacks' on the Gospel of our LORD Jesus Christ and because he himself is after all the truth that GOD will allow him to absorb and learn; it is that this servant of GOD once in a while will include how other 'Non-Believers' perceive Christianity. Most atheists do 'NOT' understand why GOD is so 'Bloody' why couldn't GOD choose a less violent method of saving mankind ? ( they ask*)
The 'Blunt Truth' is that GOD, to begin with did 'NOT' have to create us down here on planet earth to begin with !!! When Adam and Eve sinned; GOD could have very easily destroyed this entire planet together with Satan and all the Fallen Angels that were already lurking outside of the Garden of Eden !!! The Holy Scriptures reveal to us rather clearly that GOD's thoughts and ways are 'NOT' comparable to the thoughts of us puny mortal human beings !!!
When this student of Theology takes a 'Step Back' so to speak and let's it all 'Sink In' Mario Romano understands that GOD our CREATOR 'NEVER' gives up very easily on any of His creations !!! As we study the destruction of most of the world's population in the Genesis Flood we learn that GOD was very patient and that He gave everyone ample time to REPENT and yet only 8 people heeded His warning !!! We see the same thing in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; there weren't even 10 righteous people in the city !!! ( Genesis 18 : 32 ) Additionally, this student of Bible Prophecy knows that GOD was very patient with Lucifer and the Angel's that Lucifer was DECEIVING before He ordered them cast down to earth !!! ( For Lucifer to have deceived so many Angels must have taken a long period of time within eternity; Lucifer supposedly was doing many things 'Behind GOD's Back' Lucifer somehow forgot that GOD was omnipresent !!! )
Mario Romano does 'NOT' claim to understand it 'ALL' !!! What he does understand is that this is one very 'Messed Up Planet' and having studied what : Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Agnostics and numerous others believe in; this 'Sinner' chose by his own 'Free Will' to believe that JESUS CHRIST is the only real TRUTH !!! Mario very, very strongly believes that whatever one chooses to do with JESUS CHRIST will ultimately 'AFFECT' their soul for all of eternity !!! This human being believes that Jesus Christ is more than a : Prophet, more than an Archangel, more than one of many other gods and much more than one of many ways to heaven and to eternal life as many on earth presently believe !!! JESUS CHRIST is GOD in human flesh, JESUS CHRIST is the ONLY WAY to the FATHER and to eternal life !!! All those who reject Jesus Christ will die in their sins; very truly GOD sends no one to hell, people choose to go there out of the life decisions that they make here on earth amongst the living.
One of the most repetitive questions that this student of Theology hears on Christian radio stations that focus on apologetics is the question about 'What about those who never got a chance to hear the gospel somewhere deep in the African Bush or in the Amazonian Rainforest ? The truth is that the vast majority of humanity that has ever been born on this planet is 'Presently' alive today in 2017, never in the history of planet earth has there been so many human beings alive as in the present 7.5 Billion+ humans and 'YET' with the Gospel of Jesus being proclaimed by almost every communication medium ( Radio, T.V. Printed Tracts, Bibles, Missionaries etc ) Most of humanity 51%+ has 'REJECTED' the true Gospel of Jesus Christ !!! GOD is fair and He is going to judge all those who in other ages never heard the Gospel or of the Bible; GOD gave every human being a 'CONSCIENCE' and GOD is going to judge them accordingly; the problem is in the here and the now where Islamic Governments as well as Communist China & others* have enacted laws that almost if not prohibit the dissemination of the Gospel of Jesus Christ into such political & religious territories !!!
This student of Theology started recalling the recent 'Hollywood Movies' that he has seen about Christmas through the years and noticed how virtually all of them had 'NOTHING' to do with Jesus Christ; most if not all of those movies celebrated a wacky family gathering that took place on December 25; virtually all of them promoted Santa Claus in one way or another 'BUT' Jesus Christ's actual birth was 'NOT' the center of their focus, the greatest gift that GOD our Creator bestowed upon all of humanity was : overlooked and ignored at least by the promoters and producers of those movies !!! Even the great 1946 'Classic' It's a Wonderful Life movie with James Stewart celebrates Christmas without Jesus at the center. If there is a reason why we should all be grateful it should be because of the promise found in the Prophecy of Isaiah 7: 14, had that never taken place 'NOBODY' would be celebrating anything on this planet !!!
Yes, once upon a time some 2000 years ago GOD took on the form of a child in some stable in Bethlehem in Judea ( Israel ) Jesus was born to die, He came to pay the full atonement for the sins of this world ( 1 John 2:2 ) and every human being who has ever been born on planet earth was given the opportunity of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Lucifer 'NEVER' believed that GOD would do such a thing for fallen mankind 'BUT' GOD stepped out of eternity and descended on this : remote, violent 'backwater of a planet' and paid the full and total price for the redemption of many !!!
This vessel of GOD knows that some Christians honestly believe that Christmas should not be celebrated by true Christians; the truth of the matter is that true Christians celebrate Jesus Christ at every opportunity and December 25 should 'NOT' be the exception in as much as we are in this world full of darkness and violence we should proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ at all times and at all opportunities***
As this student of Theology studies Christmas it is sad that some believers are against celebrating the birth of the true Savior of the World : Jesus Christ. 'YES' Yeshua was 'NOT' born on December 25 'BUT' if there is one day worth celebrating amongst all the other useless holidays that are celebrated all over this planet it should be the one in which 'Hope and Salvation for Humanity' was born in Bethlehem of Judea. Without that 'HOLY DAY' no one would of been able to celebrate any other day here on earth; GOD our CREATOR in effect spared this planet and all of humanity from total destruction; despite our : rebellion, disobedience and sinful nature GOD nevertheless sent His only begotten son so that all those who believe in Him would inherit eternal life !!!
In conclusion, it is very sad and tragic that the vast majority of those who Jesus Christ ( Yeshua) came to save initially 'Our Jewish friends' have rejected Him through some 18 Centuries and some 23+ generations !!! It is somewhat amazing that today in this 2017 there are some 150+ Million born again believers in Jesus Christ alone in Communist China and only about 360,000+ Messianic Jews world wide !!! GOD still has an 'OPEN' invitation to 'Whoever' chooses to accept His invitation of eternal life via JESUS CHRIST; if you are still breathing you are still eligible 'REGARDLESS' of your : racial background, social and economic status or past sins 'IF' we confess our sins to our Creator and Repent; GOD has promised to forgive us of all of our sins through Jesus Christ; the offer is 'ONLY' rescinded when death comes then it is too late !!!
By : A sinner saved by grace via Jesus Christ. Once upon a time; GOD personally took on the form of a human being; theologically speaking GOD owes 'NO' one nothing; GOD didn't have to create us all here on planet earth and GOD could have very easily wiped out all of His creation including the Angels and started all over again 'BUT' GOD allowed Satan's rebellion to follow its course so that to some degree all of His creation could grasp and understand that given the opportunity Satan would try to kill his very own CREATOR as Satan did with his Roman minions on Golgatha !!! Obviously GOD can 'NOT' be killed for HE is an ETERNAL SPIRIT, what we all should learn is that GOD 'LOVES' all of His creation; like a Father loves all of His children. GOD does 'NOT' gives up so easily for He has all of eternity to FOREPLAN against the deviant and rebellious actions of some of His created beings. Eternity will record that 'Once Upon a Time' before the foundation of a planet called earth GOD did the unthinkable before the observant multitudes of Angelic hierarchies who stood in awe on what GOD Himself did on a Cross at Calvary for a rebellious and disobedient creation that didn't fully appreciate Him to begin with !!! ( Glory to GOD in the Highest, Thank GOD for His Grace & Mercy ! )
