Our Bodies Are a Living Sacrifice

12/28/2019 12 Comments

Our body is a living sacrifice to God

In our present dispensation, can anyone still offer a sacrifice to God? How? And what should we offer?

It is very evident today that many pastors ask their members to offer money and other material things for sacrifice. So it is but sensible to find out from the Bible if those are the rightful offerings and sacrifices that a Christian is required to offer God.

There are many sacrifices that can be read in the Bible, like the sacrifice of different kinds of animals. But it must be understood that when the Lord Jesus Christ came they were all stopped.

HEBREWS 10:5-7 (KJV) says,

5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body has thou prepared me:
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast no pleasure,
7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

When the Lord Jesus Christ came to earth He said that God no longer wants sacrifices and offerings similar to what the Israelites had done. Remember that the Israelites sacrificed animals and offered them to God for different intentions. Those sacrifices are no longer what God requires from us because He had given the body of the Lord Jesus to be sacrificed.

When the Lord Jesus Christ came, He had something in Him which was to be sacrificed, and that was His body. His body was nailed on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. This is the reason why we do not need to sacrifice animals anymore because the ultimate sacrifice had been rendered by the Lord Jesus Christ.

HEBREWS 10:10 (KJV) says,

By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

What the Lord Jesus Christ had done was a sufficient sacrifice. The offering of His body was once for all. But why do many pastors today teach people to sacrifice animals and, most especially, money? It is because it will profit them; it is because they have a great love for money.

If we want to offer sacrifices now, we have to see to it that our sacrifices are in accordance with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

ROMANS 12:1 (RSV) says,

I appeal to you therefore, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

This is the sacrifice taught to us by the Lord Jesus Christ. The verse tells us that we can present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God, which is our spiritual worship to Him. The question is, how can we present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God?

ROMANS 6:13 (KJV) says,

Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

To become a living sacrifice, we have to use ourselves as instruments of God’s righteousness. We need to be the instruments of God in doing good to other people. Just like what Job did.

JOB 29:15 (KJV) tells us,

I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.

Job used himself, his members or the parts of his body, to serve other people. He became an instrument of God’s righteousness. He became eyes to the blind and feet to the lame; meaning, he served the helpless and those in need. Job did good things to other people. In that way, he was able to sacrifice his own body as an offering of righteousness.

Therefore, in our dispensation, sacrifice is not only offering money and other material things as many pastors insist. According to the Scriptures, our body can be offered as a sacrifice to God by doing good and by showing kindness to others. AMEN!

12 Comments:

Christ's Existence Began in Eternity, Not in the Womb of Mary. Period.

12/21/2019 11 Comments

Jesus existed before he was born

When and where did the existence of the Lord Jesus Christ begin? Did His existence only begin when He was conceived by Mary, as what the Iglesia ni Cristo of Manalo believes?

This particular belief of this religious organization is expressed in an article featured in their official publication, Pasugo, which says,

Translation:
Had there been a Christ in the beginning before the establishment of this world? The answer is clear based on what the angel told Mary, that she would conceive and give birth to a son whose name would be called Jesus, Luke 1:31. From the answer given by the angel, the existence of Christ started in the womb of the Virgin Mary.


The INC of Manalo is claiming that Christ’s existence began only when Mary was told by the angel, “thou shalt conceive in thy womb” Implying that prior to Mary’s conception, there was no Christ yet that was in existence. But if you are to go over what Luke 1:31 says, “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS” you will realize that the verse did not say that Christ’s existence started only in the womb of Mary.

Scientifically speaking, human life does not begin in the womb of the mother but from the loins of the father. A person’s identity starts from the bosom of his father. Although his DNA, which is the blueprint of our being, comes from both his mother and father; yet, biblically speaking, what comes from the father has a greater impact.

HEBREWS 7:9-10 (KJV) says,

9 And as I may so say, Levi also, who received tithes, payed tithes in Abraham.
10 For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.

Spiritually and scientifically, Levi started from the loins of Abraham; he was already in the loins of Abraham 450 years before his birth. This implies that scientifically speaking, one’s DNA may come from as far as the 7th to 10th generation backward.

According to science, a living cell is formed out of the 23 chromosomes from the father and another 23 chromosomes from the mother. Actually, all the cells in our body, like the cells in our bones, in our ligaments, in our flesh, etc. have 46 chromosomes. Only the sperm cell of a man and the egg cell from a woman contain 23 chromosomes each; all the other cells have 46. But when the sperm cell and the egg cell unite, a new cell with 46 chromosomes forms. This new cell will later become a fetus, which after nine months will be born as a new human being.

The point that I am trying to drive at is, although Levi was yet to be born 450 years later, he was already in the bosom of Abraham. Meaning, the DNA that was already in Abraham would be transferred to Levi 450 years later. Proving that literally and scientifically, our beings do not really begin from the womb of our mothers. That is why it is scientifically wrong to say that Christ’s existence started only when Mary conceived Him in her womb. And it is also very wrong, spiritually speaking. Why? Because Christ’s existence did not start here on Earth!

HEBREWS 10:5 (KJV) says,

Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:

The verse is referring to the Lord Jesus Christ. “when he cometh into the world” means that He did not originate from this world. But when He came into this world, a body had been prepared for Him. What body was that? It was the body that was conceived by Mary. That was the body that started from Mary – the physical body of Christ.

JOHN 1:14 (KJV) says,

And the Word was made flesh...

If Christ did not begin from this world, where then?

MICAH 5:2 (KJV) says,

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

According to the prophecy of Micah, from Bethlehem shall come forth He who would rule Israel, and this ruler came from everlasting, where the Father begot Him.

PSALM 2:7 (KJV) says,

I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

The Father begot Christ, and it is one biblical fact that some people refuse to believe. But that is the truth. The Father had begotten His Son even before the creation of the world.

JOHN 3:6 (KJV) says,

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

He that is born of the flesh is flesh; and he that is born of the Spirit is spirit. So the spirit can give birth.

HEBREWS 12:9 (KJV) says,

Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

God the Father is a spirit; He is also called, “the Father of Spirits.” In essence, God is called the Father of spirits because He had begotten His Son as a spirit being and have created spirit beings like angels!

JOHN 4:24 (KJV) says,

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

So that we won’t get confused, we always have to remember that there are two things that are in Christ: first, the Spirit that was begotten by the Father; and second, the flesh that was born of Mary. He that came into this world was the Son of God whom the Father had begotten, spiritually, in everlasting. And when the Son of God came into this world, He dwelled in the body of the son that was born of Mary.

What the INC of Manalo conceals from its members is the biblical truth that the Father has a Son whom He Himself had begotten.

HEBREWS 1:4-6 (KJV) says,

4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.

The first begotten of the Father is Christ, and He was only brought into this world. He did not originate here because He came from everlasting.

Now, where was Christ before He was begotten or brought forth by the Father?

JOHN 1:18 (KJV) says,

No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

Christ came from the bosom of the Father and He is the only begotten of the Father.

The New American Standard Bible has a better rendition of JOHN 1:18 as it is in conformity with the Greek Bible. It says,

No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

In the original Greek scriptures, it says “the only begotten God.”

IΩANNHN 1:18 (Greek Wescott-Hort Transliterated):

Theon oudeis eoraken popote monogenes theos o on eis ton kolpon tou patros ekeinos exegesato.

“MONOGENES THEOS” = Begotten God

Christ was in the bosom of the Father. He was part of the Being of the Father in eternity. However, time came that the Father had to bring Him forth.

JOHN 17:5, 24 (KJV) says,

5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

Before the creation of the world, Christ had already received and enjoyed the glory which came from the Father. What was that? It was the glory of being the Son of God. “Thou art my son,” the Father told Him, because He was the one who gave birth to Christ; He begot Him.

What others are skeptical about is the Father’s capability to bring forth a son simply because He is a male.

Actually, a male’s capability to give birth is both literally and spiritually possible.

Literally, a male can give birth.


It is the male seahorse that becomes pregnant and gives birth.

If a male’s capability to give birth is literally possible, all the more it is possible spiritually. God is Almighty, and because He is an Almighty God, I don’t think it would be difficult for Him to bring forth or to beget a Son.

PSALM 94:9 (KJV) says,

He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?

Human beings are capable of seeing and hearing. These capabilities have made mankind discover the principles that govern our visual and auditory senses, which we later applied when we invented the camera, an eye that captures images, and the microphone, an ear that listens and says aloud what it hears.

If we humans, despite our limitations, are able to come up with wonderful inventions such as the camera and the microphone, how much more the Almighty God! “He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?” Along those lines, could we not also ask, “He that created the womb, shall he not be able to bring forth a child?” Of course that is very possible with God.

The existence of the Lord Jesus Christ began in eternity with the Father. In fact, they were together during the creation of the world.

PROVERBS 30:4 (KJV) says,

Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?

The Father and His Son were the ones who created everything, including man. When the first man was created, Genesis 1:26 says, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...” The pronouns “us” and “our” imply that the Father was talking with another Being who was with Him, and that was His Son whom He had begotten in everlasting.

What the INC of Manalo can’t accept is the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. For them, there is only one God, and that is the Father. I do not disagree that there is one God, but we have to clarify who is that one God in the Bible. The Hebrew word that was used is Elohim, which the plural form of the singular noun Eloah, which means God. Therefore, Elohim means Gods. Elohim said, “Let us make man in our image.”

There is but one Elohim, but embodied in that one Elohim is not only the Father. Just like a music band. Although we consider a music band as one, yet it is composed of several musicians. It may comprise a keyboard player, a guitarist, a drummer, a violin player, a trumpet player, etc., but we call it a band. The same with family, which is also a singular noun, but in a family, there is the father, the mother, the children, and the grandparents.

What am I trying to say? The one God that the Bible mentions came from the Hebrew word Elohim, which denotes plurality. Meaning to say, it is not limited to the Father. Within the Elohim are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

I am very certain that this is something which the ministers of the INC of Manalo will never teach their members. And neither will they read to them JOHN 1:18 in the original Greek version which referred to Christ as “Monogenes Theos” or “the only begotten God” because it will shatter their over-a-century-old doctrine that Christ is just a man whose existence began when Mary conceived Him in her womb.

However, the verses that I have cited are more than enough to prove that Christ’s existence did not begin in the womb of Mary because prior to her conception, He had already existed with the Father in eternity; He was with the Father throughout the process of creation; and He is a divine Being — the Bible calls Him “the only begotten God” or “Monogenes Theos.” AMEN!

11 Comments:

How Religions That Abuse the Bible Cause Misery to People

12/14/2019 12 Comments

Proofs that the Bible is Reliable and Truthful

One of the reasons why some people doubt the reliability and authority of the Bible as a source of the truth is the fact that many religions today, despite their claim that the Bible is the foundation of their faith, differ in their teachings, practices and beliefs. That is, they do not seem to have a common faith and they do not share a common set of teachings and doctrines.

To be frank, not all religions claiming that the Bible is the foundation of their faith are telling the truth. Most of them do not use the Bible as the basis of their faith instead they cleave and adhere more to dogmas which are never taught by the Bible, just like what the Catholic Church does.

The Catholic Church had invented so many dogmas which are without any biblical basis, and yet they are accepted and followed without question by Catholics. For example, they believe that Mary was sinless and immaculate, although the Bible never mentioned that Mary did not commit any sin at all. They also believe that when she died, even her physical body was brought to heaven. However, that is not biblical; it is even against the Bible.


Translation:
Catholic Life page 63
Nihil Obstat: Artemio G. Casas
Imprimatur: Rufino J. Santos
 
God wanted (or desired) that the mother of His Son have (or attain) perfect holiness. So as soon as Mary was conceived, God set her apart not to have inherited or original sin. This is what we call Immaculate Conception that was approved and declared by Pope Pius IX in 1854 as one of the dogmas of the Catholic faith.


Translation:
Catholic Life page 63
Nihil Obstat: Artemio G. Casas, Pbro.; Imprimatur: Rufino J. Santos, D.D.
Written by Gerard Linssen C.I.C.M., S.T.D.

When St. Mary died, she was brought up into heaven, soul and body. God did not allow the most holy body of Mary (whom He used for the human form of Jesus) to rot. The most awaited glory of the saints in the resurrection was given to the holy Mother of God at the very instance of her death. After she partook in her Son's suffering and death, she was given a special blessing to be immediately with Him in His resurrection and glory.

Disharmony due to doctrinal differences among many religions today is a manifestation of their lack of understanding of what the Bible says. If they were really of God, and if their respective faiths were all founded on the Bible, as they claim, such disagreements and differences would not exist. That only proves that the Bible is not really the foundation of their faith, but something else.

ACTS 4:11 (KJV) says,

This is the stone which was set at nought of the builders, which is become the head of the corner.

The foundation of the Christian faith is Christ. Christ is the chief cornerstone of the Christian faith. Christians must not have any other foundation but Christ. Many religions today have doctrinal issues because Christ is not the foundation of their faith, and neither do they regard the Bible as an authority of the truth. Instead, their faith is founded more on the beliefs and speculations of men, and on dogmas invented by men.

Indeed, the Bible is a credible and reliable source of the truth. Archeology, history, science, and many other fields of study, have proven that the Bible is an authority of the truth, be it spiritual, scientific, or historical. Let me cite an example to prove my point.

In the past, people used to believe that the earth is flat. Actually, until now, there are still some who believe that the earth is flat and not round. These people call themselves “flat earthers.” To prove to them that the earth is round, an experiment was conducted. They let a boat with a multi-colored banner sail toward the horizon. As it sailed farther, they saw how the boat gradually disappeared, until it finally vanished from their sight, proving that the earth is not flat. Because if the earth were flat, even if the boat had sailed very far, there would still be a faint and minute trace of it. But why did it disappear? It is because the earth has a curvature. If you will watch the live feed of the International Space Station, you will see the curvature of the earth.


Although the International Space Station is unable to capture the full image of the earth because of the instrument’s proximity to the planet, Apollo 11, which was launched by the USA to the moon in the late 60s, was able to take the first full- view photo of the earth. And that photo proved that the earth is round.


But even before the USA did it, Russia had already taken a photo of the earth as seen from a Russian Molniya satellite in 1966. The photograph likewise showed that the earth is spherical.


I would say that such a discovery was quite late already because more than 2,700 years ago, the Book of Isaiah had already hinted that the earth is round. The book of Isaiah was written in 723 B.C., and now it’s already 2,000 years after Christ. Adding 723 to 2019 would give us the number of years since the Book of Isaiah was written; it has been more than 2,700 years ago.

What did Isaiah write about the earth more than 2,700 years ago?

ISAIAH 40:22 (KJV) says,

It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth . . .

If the earth has a circle then it is not flat. It is just like the moon and the other heavenly bodies, except for meteors and meteorites. You will notice that almost all heavenly bodies are round. Implying that during their formation, there was an equal pressure all around. Try observing the bubbles that children play with. All bubbles are round because of the equal pressure around them. The universe is like that. There is an equal pressure in almost all heavenly bodies that is why most of them are round. The truth that the earth is round had been recorded in the Bible long before science discovered it, proving that the Bible is an authority of the truth.

When it comes to history, the Bible is even more reliable and more complete than any other history book. Why did I say so? In the history of the Assyrian Empire, it did not mention that Assyria once had a king by the name of Sargon. It was not recorded in their official documents but it was recorded in the Bible, specifically in ISAIAH 20:1 (KJV) which says,

In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;

The Bible mentions of an Assyrian king, Sargon. The Assyrians never knew him because his name was never mentioned in their history books. This is one reason why some Assyrian historians tried to discredit the Bible; they accused the Bible of speaking falsehood for mentioning a certain King Sargon whom they knew not.

Actually, the absence of the name of King Sargon in the history of Assyria is not enough reason to question the credibility of the Bible, because even Moses, a prominent biblical figure, was neither mentioned in the history of Egypt. And it is apparent that the Egyptian historians deliberately did not mention Moses and the Israelites in the history of Egypt, despite the fact that they enslaved the latter for more than 400 years, because doing so would put Egypt and the Egyptians in a very disgraceful and embarrassing situation. Remember that the Egyptians were defeated by the Israelites because God was on the side of the Israelites. The entire kingdom of Egypt was devastated by the curses of God. So, to spare themselves from shame and ridicule, they opted to discard the name of Moses in their historical records.

We can say that the historical documents of both Assyria and Egypt are incomplete and inaccurate because they scrapped out from their accounts the names of King Sargon and Moses, respectively. But the Bible, as a book of history, is complete and accurate.

In fact, physical evidence that proves that there was indeed an Assyrian king by the name of Sargon had been found. In 1842, a limestone relief, wherein the name and image of King Sargon were inscribed, had been discovered by French archeologist Paul-Émile Botta. The discovery of this artifact further proves that the Bible really speaks of the truth.


Another scientific truth that the Bible had spoken about 2,800 years ago concerns with what science calls “black holes.” A black hole is a spot in space where a giant star had exploded. Before science learned about it, the Bible had already foretold that there are things in heaven, like the stars, that shall wax old and perish. Even the processes of the universe like the explosion of stars (red giant) from which new stars would be formed, and the collision of galaxies from which new galaxies would also be formed, were already written in the Bible long before they were discovered by science. (Psalms 102:26)


What I have cited are but a few of the so many proofs of the Bible’s truthfulness and reliability. Without a doubt, the Bible is the foundation and source of all truths, be they physical, scientific, or spiritual.

12 Comments:

No More House of Prayer, Only a House That Prays

12/07/2019 7 Comments

The House of Prayer in the Bible

Why do we no longer have a house of prayer today? It is a question that came from a diligent seeker of biblical truth and it is apparent that his question is premised on MATTHEW 21:13 (KJV) which says,

And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

To understand this, please take note of what the Lord Jesus Christ said, “It is written”. Therefore, Christ was quoting the part of the Scriptures where it was written.

In ISAIAH 56:7 (KJV), it says,

Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.

The Lord’s house shall be a house of prayer. This particular pronouncement of God is also recorded in the book of Chronicles and in 1 Kings. Jeremiah, a prophet unto nations, likewise prophesied that there would really be people who would turn God’s house of prayer into a den of robbers or thieves.

JEREMIAH 7:11 (KJV) says,

Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the Lord.

So, even before it was said by the Lord Jesus Christ, it had already been prophesied by the prophet Jeremiah.

When Christ said, “My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves” (MATTHEW 21:13), He was quoting the Scriptures. It did not originally come from Him. Remember the Lord Jesus Christ was sent by the Father to preach the word of the Father. That is why there are pronouncements of the Father in the Old Testament that were repeated by the Lord Jesus Christ.

JOHN 12:49-50 (KJV) says,

49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

We can be sure that whatsoever the Lord Jesus Christ had spoken they were the very words of the Father because He had been commanded to speak exactly what the Father told Him.

Christ said that they had made God’s house, which is a house of prayer, a den of thieves because it had become a business place for money changers and sellers of doves, lambs, etc. Remember doves and lambs were what the Jews offered in the altar then, so those businessmen during the time of the Lord Jesus Christ made those items easily accessible for them, hence, the house of prayer of God had become a den of thieves.

Now, why is there no house of prayer anymore? This question has to be dealt with a little touch of history and a little touch of spirituality.

During the time of the Lord Jesus Christ, more or less year 40 A.D. . . . Why did I say 40 A.D? It is because our present calendar, the Roman calendar, is erroneous; it is short of about 5 or 6 years. The Roman calendar tells us that this is the year 2019 when it should be 2025 or 2024 already.

IN WHAT YEAR WAS CHRIST ACTUALLY BORN?  
ZENIT International News Agency

When Dionysius Exiguus computed the date of Christ’s birth in the Middle Ages, he named the year of the Nativity 1 A.D., and stated that Jesus’ birth date was December 25 of that year. The year immediately before this was the year 1 B.C. Whether from mathematical ignorance or design, he did not include a year zero.

To complicate matters further, it seems that Dionysius made an error in his calculations. Herod the Great, who the Bible says was alive at the time of Christ’s birth, died in the year 4 B.C. based on the reports of Josephus. According to the Gospel of Matthew, when Herod was unable to trick the astrologers into leading him to the Child, he ordered the slaughter of all male babies in Bethlehem. Since Herod’s command (which is not attested outside the Gospels, but is consistent with his historical character) was to kill all babies under age 2, this event occurred no more than 2 years after Christ’s birth. If we assume that this happened near the end of Herod’s life (which seems likely), this puts Christ’s birth in the year 5 or 6 B.C.

The reality is, Christ was not born in 1 B.C. as what the historians are trying to make us believe. The article cited above has put the birth of Christ in 6 B.C considering the fact that, to arrive at A.D., we have to count 10 B.C., 9 B.C., 8 B.C., 7 B.C., 6 B.C., 5 B.C., 4 B.C., 3 B.C., 2 B.C., 1 B.C., 0 B.C., and then 1 A.D., and so on. Therefore, our calendar now is short of more or less 6 years.

If we are going to use the calendar that we have now (which lacks almost 6 years), when the Lord Jesus Christ was there in Jerusalem, according to the estimate of the Catholics, he was 33 years old. It was then that He told the apostles that the temple, or the house of prayer, would be destroyed. If He was 33 years old that time, and if we are going to add the 6 lacking years, it must be something like 39 or less than 40 A.D. then.

What He told the apostles was actually a prophetic pronouncement of the would-be total destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. There are facts that will prove that the war in Jerusalem caused by the Roman army, which destroyed the temple, happened in 70 A.D.

From The Arch of Titus in Rome . . .


The Arch of Titus is a first century honorific arch located on the Via Sacra, Rome, just to the south-east of the Roman Forum. It was constructed in 82 A.D. by the Roman Emperor Domitian shortly after the death of his brother Titus to commemorate Titus’ victories, including the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

That memorial arch, called the Arch of Titus, in Via Sacra, Rome confirms that there was really a war in Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

In MATTHEW 24:1-2 (KJV) this is what the Lord Jesus Christ said,

1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

Christ had foretold to the apostles the destruction of the temple, or the house of prayer.

To answer the question, why is there no house of prayer anymore now? Physically, we do not have the temple anymore because it had been destroyed during the war. What is left is the wail of the wall of Jerusalem now called The Wailing Wall. It is where members of Judaism pray. The original temple is not there anymore; it had been replaced by other temples. In Jerusalem there is a Catholic edifice, and there is the Dome of the Rock that belong to the Muslims. There is also a particular portion there where the Muslims, the Jews, and the Christians are always in contention; there is always a fight there.

The house of prayer, or the temple in Jerusalem, which was originally built by Solomon, had been destroyed during the 70 A.D. war caused by the Roman Empire. Its destruction had been foretold by the Lord Jesus Christ 30 years before it happened; and it had also been prophesied by the prophet Daniel.

DANIEL 9:2 (KJV) says,

In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

The prophet Daniel prophesied that there would be desolation in Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus Christ likewise foretold of an abomination of desolation that would happen in Jerusalem.

MATTHEW 24:15 (KJV) says,

When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

We all know that the holy place being referred to is the temple. The Lord Jesus Christ had predicted its destruction, citing what the prophet Daniel had spoken. In other words, the Lord Jesus Christ made reference to the prophet Daniel who, on his part, also made reference to the prophet Jeremiah. The prophet Jeremiah provided more information about the desolation that was to befall Jerusalem.

JEREMIAH 4:11-13 (KJV) says,

11 At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,
12 Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them.
13 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.

The “wind” that Jeremiah mentioned does not refer to the literal wind because the literal wind, especially if it is strong, actually fans and cleanses. The literal wind has a cooling effect and it is capable of removing dirt. Yet, the “wind” that he mentioned does the opposite: it is not to fan, but to bring heat; and it is not to cleanse, but to bring filth.

What is that “wind”? Definitely, this is not an ordinary wind because it has chariots. The “wind” referred to something bad that was bound to happen in Jerusalem.

JEREMIAH 4:19 (KJV) says,

My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.

Very clearly, the “wind” signified the war that would happen in Jerusalem. Indeed, this war happened and it caused the destruction of Jerusalem. The temple, which is called the house of prayer, was totally destroyed that not a stone was left above another stone. But now, that temple or house of prayer had been replaced by temples of different religions which are all anti-Christ.

However, there is another “house” that God teaches in the Bible, a house that is symbolic of the Church.

1 TIMOTHY 3:15 (KJV) says,

But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Now we have a “house” that is meant to last forever; a house that is indestructible as it was built by no less than the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, “Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (MATTHEW 16:18) No power in this world could ever destroy the church, or the house of God.

The spiritual house that we have now on earth is the Church of God whose tenets, rules, laws are completely recorded in the Bible. The Church is the house of God that is meant to exist forever.

EPHESIANS 3:10-11 (KJV) says,

10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

It is the Church that God tasked to teach the manifold wisdom of God according to the eternal purpose. The Church that the Lord Jesus Christ built in the first century of our era is an entity that God has destined to be eternal. It will never be destroyed anymore.

The first house of God in Jerusalem was a house of prayer; it had been destroyed; it is gone. Now we have another house which is eternal, the Church, or the house of God. That is why it is no longer fitting to call it a house of prayer; it now fits to be called a house that prays.

HEBREWS 3:6 (KJV) says,

But Christ as son over his own house; whose house are we, . . .

To understand this better, let us go over HEBREWS 10:21 (KJV). It says,

And having an high priest over the house of God;

We have a high priest over the house of God, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. HEBREWS 3:1 (KJV) says,

Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

Christ is the high priest in the house of God, which is the Church of God. The house is the Church itself. It is not an edifice; it is not a structure made of concrete, brick, steel, etc.

The Church is the house of God now. I agree that the house of God in Jerusalem is called the house of prayer. But it does not stand anymore; it had been destroyed 2000 years ago. But there is a house that will never be destroyed; it is the house of God, which is the Church of God.

The first century Christians said, “Christ as son over His own house; whose house are we.” (HEBREWS 3:6) If we, in the Church of God, are the house of God, then the Church of God should not be called a house of prayer. Instead, it must be rightfully called a house that prays.

Praise be to God!

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