Kingdom Tidings March/April 2005

The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (1) if true, gives credibility to the following claims of Christian theology. These are:

2. The truthfulness of all of Jesus' miracles and claims to be the Son of God (John 5:17-19; Romans 1:4), the Jewish Messiah (John 2:18-22, 4:25-26), and His being the world's only Saviour from sin (John 14:6).

4. The future bodily resurrection of all people to heaven or hell at the second coming of Jesus from heaven (Matthew 25:31-34, 41; Acts 17:31).

5. That Jesus' resurrected body is a type and a firstfruit of the resurrected body that a believer in Him will have eternally in heaven (Romans 6:5; 1 Corinthians 15:20-23; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 John 3:2).

There are four types of evidence for Jesus' bodily resurrection from the dead. These are:

That the New Testament (N.T.) is a generally reliable source for Jesus (which for the most part is denied by the Jesus Seminar) is attested to by the Biblical archaeologist Dr.Joseph Free, (2) the Biblical scholar Dr. Josh McDowell, (3) the classical and N.T. scholar Dr.F.E. Bruce, (4) the philosopher Dr.Norman Geisler,(5) and the historian Dr.John Montgomery. Dr.Montgomery (Ph.D. in History), says,

"What, then, does a historian know about Jesus Christ? He knows, first and foremost, that the N.T. document[s] can be relied upon to give an accurate portrait of Him, and that this portrait cannot be rationalized away by wishful thinking, philosophical presuppositionalism, or literary maneuvering."

"To express skepticism concerning the resultant text [copies] of the N.T. books is to allow all of classical antiquity [the writings of the Greeks and the Romans - such as Plato and Aristotle] to slip into obscurity, for no documents of the ancient period [before 476 C.E.] are as well attested [to] bibliographically[from written sources] as is the N.T."(6)

Some examples of the bibliographical attestation to the N.T. are Bishop Clement of Rome (35-100 C.E.) - who knew the apostle Paul (Philippians 4:3), Bishop Ignatius (50-107) - who knew the apostle John, and Bishop Polycarp (69-155) - who also knew the apostle John. Altogether, they quote from seventeen N.T. books, including Matthew, Luke, Acts, Romans, and 1 Corinthians - which Clement attributes to Paul. Also, Bishop Papias (60-130) - who wrote five books on early Christianity (now mostly lost) and who knew Polycarp and who was taught by some of the other associates of the apostles, mentions Mark as having written his gospel, and that the source for Mark's gospel was the preaching of Peter (see also 1 Peter 5:13). He also says that Mark made no mistake when remembering the preaching of Peter for his gospel. And he says that Mark was careful not to include anything fictitious (false) in his gospel. Lastly, the Christian Biblical scholar Irenaeus (130-200) - who was taught by Polycarp, quotes from and attributes the four gospels to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. He also quotes from and attributes the Book of Acts to Luke - who knew the apostles (Luke 1: 1-4) (The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1, see index).

The evidence for Christ's crucifixion,death, and bodily resurrection from the N.T. is as follows:

2. The apostle Peter when speaking to the men of Israel at Jerusalem (Acts 2:22-24, 31-32; 3: 15), and when he spoke to the Roman centurion Cornelius (Acts 10:39-41). Here Peter says in verses 39-41,

"And we [the apostles] are witnesses of all the things which He [Jesus] did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem.And they also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. [But] God raised Him up on the third day, and granted that He should become visible... to us, who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead."

That we can believe Peter here is attested to by his claim in 2 Peter 1:16. Here he says,

"For we [the apostles - such as Matthew and John] have not followed cunningly devised myths, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty."

3. The apostle Paul when speaking to the pagan philosophers at Athens (Acts 17:31), and when he wrote to the church at Corinth. In 1 Corinthians 15: 1-7, he says that Christ was seen after He arose from the dead by Cephas (Peter), by James (Christ's brother), by the twelve apostles, and by over 500 Christians at one time -most of whom he says were still alive when he wrote to them at about 56 C.E.

That Christ was crucified, died, and was raised bodily from the dead was a common belief among all the ancient Christian writers. Some of these men are Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Polycarp, Papias, Irenaeus, Quadratus (c.125), the philosopher Aristides (c.125), the philosopher Justin Martyr (100-165), the scholar Tatian (c. 160), the philosopher Athenagoras (c. 177), the church historian Hegesippus (110-180), the historian Theophilus (c. 180), the historian Clement of Alexandria (150-215), the judicial scholar Tertullian (160-225), the historian Julius Africanus (160-240), the Biblicalscholar Origen (185-255), the church historian Eusebius(260-340), and the Biblical scholars Jerome (c.400), Augustine (c.400), and John Chrysostom (c.400).(11)

"Jesus... arose after [H]is death, and exhibited the marks of [H]is punishment, and showed how [H]is hands had been pierced by nails" (The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 4, p. 455. For more information from Phlegon, see Vol. 4, p. 437 and p. 445).

There have been thousands of scholars of the modem era (since the 16th century) who have believed in Christ's crucifixion, death, and bodily resurrection. Some examples of these scholars are:

1. Frank Morison, a lawyer, at first regarded Christ's bodily resurrection as a myth. However, after he studied the evidence for Christ's bodily resurrection, he changed his mind and wrote a book in defense of Christ's bodily resurrection called, Who Moved The Stone?

2. Hank Hanegraaff, a theologian, wrote on Christ's crucifixion, death, and bodily resurrection as an historical fact in his book, Resurrection.

3. Dr. Gary Habermas, a philosopher, wrote on Christ's crucifixion, death, and bodily resurrection as an historical fact in his books, Did Jesus Rise FromThe Dead? and The Resurrection of Jesus: An Apologetic.

4. Dr. Paul Maier, a professor of ancient history, wrote on Christ's crucifixion, death, and bodily resurrection as an historical fact in his books, In The Fullness of Time and First Easter.

5. Dr.Pinchas Lapide, an Orthodox Jewish Biblical scholar, wrote on Christ's crucifixion, death, and bodily resurrection as an historical fact in his book, The Resurrection of Jesus: A Jewish Perspective.

6. Dr. Henry Morris, a scientist, wrote on Christ's crucifixion, death, and bodily resurrection as an historical fact in his books, Science and the Bible, Defending the Faith and Many Infallible Proofs.

"There is more historical evidence for Christ's crucifixion, death, and bodily resurrection than there is for nearly all the other events of ancient history."

In light of the evidence for the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead one would be wise to take heed to Him when He said,

"And this is the will of Him [God] that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son [Jesus], and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up on the last day" - (John 6:40).

For more historical evidence for Christ's crucifixion, death and bodily resurrection, see the above and the below mentioned books. Also, for a refutation of all the theories that deny Christ's bodily resurrection from the dead, see Evidence That Demands a Verdict, chapter 10, pp. 241 -270 or pp. 232-260, and The Resurrection Factor; chapters 5 and 6 - by Josh McDowell.

(1) Christ's crucifixion, death, and bodily resurrection are all denied as historical events by the growing religion of Islam (The Koran 4: 157). For a refutation of Islam, see The Islamic Invasion, by Dr.Robert Morey; and The Islam Debate, by Dr.Josh McDowell.

(3) The New EvidenceThat Demands a Verdict and More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell.

(11) The writings of these church fathers are found in The Ante-Nicene Fathers and The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers.Not all the above men mentioned Christ's crucifixion, death, and bodily resurrection in their extant writings (many of which are now lost). However, their belief in these is obvious given the stand that they took for the Christian faith.

For a philosophical defence of Biblical Christianity, see He is There and He is Not Silent, Escape From Reason and The God Who is There by Dr. Francis Schaeffer. Also, for a defence of the historical roots of N.T. Christianity and for a refutation of the idea that N.T. Christianity borrowed from the religious myths of the Greeks and the Romans, see The Gospel and the Greeks by Dr. Ronald Nash; and Jesus Under Siege by Dr. Gregory Boyd.

It is unfortunate that many preachers, in their ignorance, teach so many false doctrines. One such false doctrine is the statement that Jesus Christ was not of pure Israelite blood; they say one of His ancestors was Ruth, a Moabitess. From the use of this term they believe that she was racially, not just geographically, a Moabite. In this they are greatly mistaken. The territory of the Moabites was originally east and north east of the Dead Sea. It extended from the Arnon River on the south to the Jabbok River on the north. Then their territory went from the Dead Sea and the Jordan River on the west, across the plains and foothills, into the mountains to the east. From the name of the people who lived there, it was called Moab. It kept that name for many centuries after all the Moabites were gone from it.

When the Israelites entered the Promised land, after their 40 years wandering during the exodus, the land of Moab was the first land they conquered. Yahweh had commanded Israel to totally exterminate the occupants of the lands they were to settle. In Moab they did so. At this time, about 1450 B.C. Sihon, king of the Amorites, had conquered and occupied the kingdom of Moab and was its ruler when the Israelites came in. In Numbers 21:25,29 we read,

"For Heshbon was the city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon. Woe unto thee Moab! Thou art undone, 0 people of Chemosh: he hath given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon, king of the Amorites."

TheIsraelites conquered the land of Moab,killing all the people found there. We read in Deuteronomy2:32-34,

"Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz. And Yahweh, our God, delivered him before us: we smote him and his sons and all his people. And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men and the women and the little ones of every city: we left none to remain."

From here, the Israelites advanced northward into the land of Ammon. Numbers 21 :33-35 describes it.

"And they turned and went up by way of Bashan:and Og, the king of Bashan, went out against them, he and all his people, to the battle at Edrai. And Yahweh said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon, king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon. So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left alive: and they possessed his land."

This entire area of the Jordan river was settled by the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh, after all the original inhabitants, Moabites and Ammonites, had been killed or driven out. In Deuteronomy 3: 12-16 Moses tells us,

''And this land which we possessed at that time, from Aroer which is by the river Arnon, and half mount Gilead and the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and to the Gadites. And the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, being the kingdom of Og, gave I unto the half tribe of Manasseh. And unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites I gave from Gilead even unto the river Arnon half the valley,and the border even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon."

All of this was accomplished about 1450 B.C.; from this time on this was purely Israelite territory. This was even more so than the land west of the Jordan River because in the old lands of Moab and Ammon none were left alive. Today, Anglo Saxon Americans who live in California are called Californians. Bearing this name and living in a former Mexican territory doesn't make them Mexicans. Likewise, pure Israelites living in the old land of Moab were often called Moabites, just as those who lived in Galilee were called Galileans.

Three hundred years later, about 1143 B.C., we find evidence that the Israelite occupation of the lands of Moab and Ammon, was still unbroken. In Judges11: 12-26 we read,

"And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon saying, what hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight in my land? And the king of the children ofAmmon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore, restore again those lands peaceably. And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon, and said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah: when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red Sea, and came to Kadesh; then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of Edom would not harken thereto. And in like manner they sent unto the king of Moab: but he would not consent. Then they went along through the wilderness and compassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab. And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon, king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place. But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel. And Yahweh, God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country. And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan. While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years, why therefore did ye not recover them within that time?"

The Israelites had held unbroken possession of the land of Moab and Ammon all that time.

Right in the middle of this period about 1322 B.C., or 130 years after the Israelites of the tribes of Reuben and Gad had occupied the land of Moab, Elimelech a man of Judah, with his wife Naomi and his two sons were driven by famine out of Judah. Ruth 1:1 records that he "went to sojourn in the country of Moab." Note the accuracy of that expression, it doesn't say among the people, but in the country of Moab, which was occupied by Israelites exclusively. Elimelech's sons married women of this country, one of them being Ruth, who became an ancestor of David and through David, an ancestor of Christ. She could not have been of any race except Israel, for no others lived there.

Indeed, it could not have been otherwise, because from the beginning Yahweh very strongly condemned the Moabites and Ammonites. In Deuteronomy23:3 Yahweh commanded,

"An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of Yahweh; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of Yahweh forever."

In the tenth generation there could be as little as one part in 1,056 of Moabite blood. Even still, a person with even one part in a thousand of Moabite blood could not enter into the congregation of Yahweh forever.

Yahweh was always consistent in this as in other matters. In Zephaniah 2:9 we read,

"Therefore, as I live, saith Yahweh the God of Israel, surely Moab shall be as Sodom and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah."

Jeremiah chapter 48: the whole chapter is a condemnation of the people of Moab. In prophesying the triumphant return of Christ, Isaiah 25: 10 tells us,

"For in this mountain shall the hand of Yahweh rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under Him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill."

Certainly Yahweh would not take from a people, whom He condemns like Sodom, a woman to be an ancestor of Jesus Christ.

Never let anyone tell you Christ was of mixed ancestry. Yahweh was so insistent that even the least peasant, among His people Israel, must keep the bloodline pure, under penalty of being cut off from His people for violation of this law. The Messiah said in Matthew 5: 1,

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfill".

We have the clearest proof, both as God the Father and as God the Son; Yahweh was consistently true to His own commandments. Ruth was a pure Israelite, from the land of Moab, but not from the race of Moab.

The horrendous pictures that have filled our newspapers and TV screens since December 26th 2004 should surely have been a wakeup call. A massive earthquake beneath the ocean off the coast of Sumatra Indonesia set off a series of huge tidal waves - TSUNAMIS which claimed the lives of as many as 250,000 people not only in Indonesia but in Thailand, Shrilanka, India, the Maldive Islands, the Nicobar and Andaman Islands and even reached as far as the Somali Coast of East Africa.

Ordinary people, many of them tourists enjoying a winter holiday on these paradise regions of South Asia, perished in a moment of time; 1/3 of the victims were children. Millions have been left homeless in the wake of the disaster, families have been torn asunder, businesses wiped out and entire villages have disappeared. Newspapers have described the disaster as being of "Biblical proportions." This kind of statement is in itself a challenge, for it demonstrates that even an unbelieving world still recognizes that God and his Word are awe-inspiring.

The horrific scenes we have witnessed must surely give us a glimpse at what it must have been like when the flood-waters of judgement came upon the world of Noah's day.

No wonder Jesus warned us in His Olivet Sermon that in the days prior to His return, the nations would be in distress and perplexity, the great waves of the sea roaring with intensity. (LUKE 21:25). You have lived to see these prophecies being fulfilled. YourBible is more up to date than next week's newspaper headlines.

They report that Earth's rotation may have been permanently accelerated by the Tsunami and that our planet is spinning one millioneth of a second faster and has tilted by an inch on its axis. Now read what the prophecies of God's Word declare:-

"Therefore I will shake the heavens and the earth shall remove out of her place in the wrath of the Lord of Hosts and in the day of this fierce anger." - ISAIAH 13 :13

"The foundations of the earth do shake, the earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly, the earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard." - ISAIAH 24:18-20

The Tsunami is only a type of what is yet to happen in God's great judgement day.

For those of you who study Bible Time Cycles you will note that this event took place in the 121st year since the great Krakatoa disaster of 1883 which also occurred in Sumatra. We have therefore passed the period of 120 years. This was the time taken by Noah to build the Ark of Safety - 120 in Bible Numerics is the number of Warning of Impending Judgement - have we now passed the point of NO RETURN?

Whilst our hearts go out to those who suffer, the disaster presents us with a call and warning. Unbelievers need to repent and because the time is short and the days increasingly evil, we must be about our Father's business of preaching this Good News of the Kingdom (MATTHEW 24:14).

For when Christ returns there will be no more death, sickness, wars or human tragedy.

For more details on the Tsunami and other current events be sure to order "Worlds in Chaos" by Pastor Campbell, available on CD or cassette.

"Many years ago, with the Holy Spirit as my guide, I entered the wonderful Temple of Christ. I entered the portico of Genesis, walked down through the Old Testament art galleries, where pictures of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Isaac, Jacob and Daniel hung on the wall.

I passed into the music room of Psalms, where the Spirit swept the keyboard of nature until it seemed that every pipe and reed in God's great organ responded to the tuneful harp of David, the sweet singer of Israel. I entered the chamberof Ecclesiastes, where the voice of the preacher was heard, and into the conservatory of Sharon; and the lily of the valley's sweet-scented spices filled and perfumed my life.

I entered the business office of Proverbs and then into the observatory room of the Prophets, where I saw telescopes of various sizes pointed to far-off events but all concentrated on "THE BRIGHT AND MORNING STAR".

I entered the audience room of the King of Kings, and caught a vision of His glory from the standpoint of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; and passed into the Acts of the Apostles, where the Holy Spirit was doing His work in the formation of the infant Church. Then into the correspondence room, where sat Paul and Peter, James and John, penning their Epistles.

I stepped into the throne room of The Revelation, where towered the glittering peaks and caught a vision of the King sitting upon the Throne in all His glory, and I cried."

Widow of Pastor Albion Gaunt, Joy was a B.I. speaker, Writer and Publisher of "These Bible Days."

You must visit our new Open-Bible Ministries Online Resource Centre from where you can listen to available talks and download them to your computer in MP3 format or purchase them as audio CDs or even MP3 CDs. We plan to increase the number of talks available from this new Resource Centre over the coming weeks while still maintaining our cassette tape facility for those folk who need this medium.

In the above messages recently added to and available from our Open-Bible Ministries Online Resource Centre, Pastor Alan looks at events shaping up on the international scene, particularly in the Middle East, and compares and aligns them with Bible prophecy, showing yet again that the Word of God is more up to date than tomorrow's newspapers and a real source of comfort in these dark days in which we find ourselves living.

You need to read:

Islam in Prophecy - £1.50

The Great Tribulation - £1.50

Will The Jews Rebuild the Temple? - £1.25

The Stem of Jesse - £1.25

Israel The Bride- £0.75

The Apocalypse and Daniel - £2.00

Light From Nahum - £0.50

Light From Philemon - £0.75

The Millennium - £0.75

The Secret Rapture - Is it Scriptural? - £0.50

(An excellent series in two parts in which Pastor Campbell examines these two "Trumpets" of the Book of The Revelation in detail, showing clearly the Historicist Interpretation of these prophecies and their fulfilment in the events of history.

"Worlds in Chaos"

"England's Reign of Terror"

"Four Men Who Saw heaven Opened"

"The Hidden History Surrounding World War II" -

"A Fresh Look At Iraq"

"Iran in History and Prophecy"

"The Joy of the Lord" - (1)

"The Joy of the Lord" - (2)

"The Forgotten Signpost of Prophecy"

"A Fresh Look At Russia"

Any of the above titles available for a Suggested Donation of £UK 2.00 or $US 3.00 (Plus Postage) from: