“I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished! Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” Luke 12:49-53
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https://lightforthelastdays.co.uk/articles/jesus-and-judaism/does-christmas-bring-peace/
#CharlesIII #Charles2025XmasMessage #Christmas #DoesJesusbringpeaceordivision #jesus #Messiah #salvation
https://lightforthelastdays.co.uk/articles/jesus-and-judaism/does-christmas-bring-peace/
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LearningTranscript
00:00Start off with a couple of readings from Gospel, Matthew chapter 1, verse 18.
00:08Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows, after his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
00:12before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
00:16Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man, not wanting to make her a public example,
00:20was minded to put her away secretly.
00:23But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream,
00:27saying, Joseph, son of Mary, do not be afraid to take to you Mary, your wife,
00:32for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
00:35And she will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, Yeshua,
00:39which means salvation.
00:41You shall call his name Yeshua, for he will save his people from their sins.
00:45So all this was done, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet,
00:50saying, Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
00:54and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is translated, God with us.
01:01And Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded to him,
01:05and took to him his wife, and did not know her,
01:07till she had brought forth her firstborn son,
01:10and he called his name Yeshua, Jesus.
01:14And just a couple of verses from chapter 2 of Luke.
01:17The angel speaks to the shepherds in the fields, verse 10.
01:29Then the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
01:35which will be to all people, for is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour,
01:40who is Christ the Lord.
01:41This will be the sign to you, you shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes,
01:46cloth and cloths lying in a manger.
01:48And suddenly there was, with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God,
01:52and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.
01:57And so it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven,
02:03that the shepherds said to one another, Let us go now to Bethlehem,
02:05and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.
02:13A story which we are all familiar with, which has been trotted out multitudes of times
02:18in various churches over the last few days.
02:22As you know, I personally believe that Jesus was most likely born
02:25at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles, round about September time.
02:30Nevertheless, the conception, according to my calculation,
02:33would have been round about the middle of winter,
02:36possibly even at the time when people celebrate Christmas.
02:40So you can, that was really the miracle, actually, was the conception.
02:44That was supernatural.
02:45The birth was, as far as we know, a normal birth.
02:49Some have said that Mary probably didn't, may not have experienced labour pains,
02:51I don't know. That's an interesting theological question,
02:54as she was bringing forth the Saviour of the world.
02:56But we will leave that one for the moment.
02:58But it was a wonderful event which took place.
03:02And whatever the time of year, we can remember it and give thanks to the Lord
03:05for what he's done through bringing Yeshua, Jesus, into this world.
03:11As it's celebrated in the world, it, of course, comes at the middle of winter,
03:14which is the darkest time of the year.
03:16And along with Hanukkah, for the Jewish people,
03:18it's a time when people light either Christmas lights or candles
03:21in the hope that they're lighting a bit of light into the darkness of the world.
03:26I'm not actually sure whether, actually, that light makes any difference
03:29to the darkness of the world, but it makes people feel good
03:31and they think they've done something to bring some sort of light into the darkness.
03:37But actually, it doesn't actually change anything.
03:39And just remembering the birth of Jesus actually doesn't change anything
03:46unless you remember the meaning of it.
03:49It can bring a sort of temporary peace, a temporary relief.
03:52Remember that in the First World War, the story from the trenches
03:55when they were Germans and the British were fighting each other.
04:00And the British heard the Germans singing at this time,
04:04Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht, Silent Night, Holy Night.
04:07And they joined in singing in English, and they stopped fighting for a while
04:10and went and met with each other and wished each other Happy Christmas,
04:13which was better than fighting each other.
04:16Unfortunately, it didn't last because a few days later,
04:18they started fighting each other and killing for the next three or four years
04:21with the slaughter which remained.
04:24But it's a time when people think about peace
04:27and God bringing peace to the world.
04:29And obviously, we'd rather have peace than war.
04:31And you hear Christmas messages about peace and love,
04:34which is much better than war and hatred.
04:35Hearing about reconciliation.
04:39But always, there's something missing.
04:41And you get also, it's kind of brought down to a human level.
04:44I had a few social media posts about which turn Mary and Joseph into migrants
04:48and Jesus into a Palestinian suffering oppression at the hands of the Jews,
04:52which is pretty standard for the time of year.
04:55Actually, Joseph and Mary were not migrants.
04:57They were moving from one part of their country to another part of their country
05:00at the behest of the Romans who were occupying the country.
05:02And Jesus was certainly not a Palestinian.
05:05He was a Jewish person born into the line of David in the city of David in Bethlehem,
05:14according to prophecy in Bethlehem, in Judea.
05:17Note Judea, please.
05:19And you get a lot of sentimental stories about the baby in the manger,
05:24surrounded by animals.
05:25There's actually nothing about the animals in the scripture.
05:28And it could have been a guest room rather than an inn,
05:32but no room in the guest room.
05:33But we won't go into that in detail.
05:35Whatever it was, it was a wonderful event.
05:38And people should remember that actually what was happening was
05:41the mighty God was being made flesh and dwelling amongst us
05:45and we should worship and believe in him.
05:49Also, sadly, they do use it as a stick to beat the Jewish people with.
05:53And I read an article which was done by the Palestinian Arab Christians
05:59which was celebrating the birth of Jesus
06:02and blaming the Jews for everything which is going wrong.
06:05Christian Arab leaders blamed Israel for all the troubles of the Christians.
06:09They accused Israel of genocide in Gaza,
06:12accused the Israeli army and the Jewish settlers
06:15of conducting a regime of terror in Judea and Samaria
06:17and claimed that Jewish policies are meant to Judaize Jerusalem.
06:22And all these things are part of the propaganda
06:24which you hear at this time of year.
06:26And they read as if the only obstacle to peace
06:29and Christians flourishing in the land of Israel
06:32is the Jewish state of Israel.
06:35Actually, I don't know if you've been to Bethlehem
06:38or you know much about the history of that,
06:39but the only place in the Middle East
06:41where the Christian population is actually growing
06:44is inside Israel, the proper state of Israel,
06:48not in the Palestinian areas or the West Bank.
06:52In fact, inside the Palestinian areas,
06:55you'll find that the Christian population,
06:59which in 1950 was estimated about 80% of the population,
07:04now it's less than 10%.
07:06And in cities like Janine and in Bethlehem and in Gaza,
07:13Christians live in fear of the Muslim majorities
07:15that have grown increasingly radicalized and anti-Christian.
07:19And Palestinian Christians are actually fleeing
07:21primarily because of intimidation, land theft,
07:25and Islamist threats, not because of Israeli policies.
07:29So if you hear stuff about Israel being the cause of the suffering
07:32of the Arab Christians, don't believe it.
07:35It's the Muslims who are the cause of the problem.
07:38And Bethlehem has changed its ethnic or its religious identity
07:42from being majority Christian now to being majority Muslim
07:46because the Muslims have pushed out the Arab Christians from Bethlehem.
07:51And those Christian leaders should actually...
07:55The reason why they say these things, by the way,
07:57is because they have to keep in with the Palestinian authorities
07:59because otherwise they might find themselves
08:01in even more trouble than they're in already.
08:03But it'd be good if some of them actually stood up for the truth
08:05and said that the problems are caused by the Islamist hatred of Israel
08:09and the propaganda against Israel
08:12and stood up for the truth instead of parroting the party line.
08:17But you can understand why they do it,
08:18because they have to do it.
08:19They have to say these things in order to keep in with the authorities.
08:22Which we shouldn't do, actually.
08:23We should stand up for the truth, whatever the authorities are saying.
08:27Okay, they weren't the only ones.
08:29King Charles gave a Christmas message.
08:31Anyone hear King Charles' Christmas message?
08:33Yeah, okay.
08:35Right, well, yeah.
08:38Positively, he did describe Jesus as the saviour of the world.
08:42He also said that we need for peace and reconciliation, which we do.
08:45Negatively, the question was, save us from what?
08:50There was no idea of how to find peace and reconciliation with God
08:54and what the birth, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is really all about.
08:59He's the saviour, but what's he saving us from?
09:03And if you don't understand that, then the message is a bit empty.
09:07He began the talk by speaking about praying with the Pope
09:10as a historic moment of spiritual unity.
09:13Now, Charles is actually the nominal head of the Church of England.
09:17The Church of England broke with the Church of Rome about 500 years ago,
09:20and since that time, there's never been a time
09:22when the head of the Church of England has prayed with the Pope of Rome.
09:26This was the first time this happened,
09:28so this was a real first in bringing together these two churches.
09:32Which would be a good thing, wouldn't it?
09:33Bring them two together.
09:35Would it be a good thing?
09:36No, it wouldn't be a good thing, would it?
09:38The problem is that the Church of England, although it has its faults,
09:42and there are many of them, especially today,
09:45if you look at its foundation, you find that the 39 articles of the Church of England
09:49are mostly scriptural and biblical,
09:52founded on Protestant principles,
09:55salvation through faith in Christ alone, by grace alone, through scripture alone,
09:59all things were denied by the Church of Rome.
10:02The Church of Rome has erected a work system
10:04which really denies the gospel
10:06and also elevates Mary to redemptive status
10:10so you can pray to Mary to forgive your sins.
10:14Ask Mary, Hail Mary, full of grace,
10:16to forgive us and to bring us right with God.
10:19Well, Mary can't do that.
10:20Mary's in heaven because she is saved,
10:22she's believed in God as saviour,
10:24but she's not a mediator.
10:25We can't approach God as a mediator,
10:27and the Roman Catholic Church has actually put
10:29Mary in a place alongside Jesus
10:31as a mediator, which is a denial of the truth
10:34because Jesus is the one way to God
10:36and he's the only one who can bring us
10:38into a relationship with God.
10:41So basically, Charles praying with the Pope
10:44was not a spiritual unity in the gospel,
10:46it was a unity in the dark.
10:48And we need to have a unity in the truth,
10:51which is that you should call his name Yeshua,
10:54for he will save his people from their sins.
10:56And there was nothing about saving us from our sins.
10:59He spoke about a journey of faith
11:01through which people coming to Jesus,
11:03i.e. the wise men and the shepherds,
11:05he said, face physical and mental challenge,
11:08and they found inner strength to overcome it.
11:11Again, that's an interesting statement,
11:13but if you look at what Jesus is actually offering us,
11:15he's not offering us inner strength
11:17to overcome our challenges.
11:19He's offering us a new birth,
11:21and strength coming not from ourselves,
11:23but from outside by the Holy Spirit
11:25coming into our lives
11:26and giving us the strength to follow God.
11:29If you look at the strength within ourselves,
11:30that's the kind of idea you have in yoga
11:32and also in humanism,
11:33that you find that man has his own salvation.
11:38And if you look within yourselves,
11:39as Paul says,
11:40I know that in myself, in my own flesh,
11:43there dwells no good thing.
11:45So we need to be set free from ourselves
11:46to be set free to have God coming to us from outside.
11:50And that's why Jesus came to save us
11:52from ourselves, from our sins,
11:54to give us new life in Jesus.
11:56He also went on to speak about
11:58the great diversity of our communities
11:59through which we can find the strength
12:01to ensure that right triumphs over wrong.
12:05Okay, so the diversity of our communities
12:07gives us the strength
12:08so that right will triumph over wrong.
12:10Is that true?
12:12You're all shaking your heads.
12:13I don't think you're a believer in our King.
12:17Well, hopefully in our King Jesus,
12:18but not King Charles.
12:19Okay, yeah, well,
12:22in fact, there's no reason
12:24why diversity in itself
12:26should help in right triumphing over wrong.
12:30For right to triumph over wrong,
12:32we need to have faith in action
12:33which comes through faith in God,
12:35who gives us the knowledge of good and evil,
12:38which is to be found in the words of the Bible.
12:41We need biblical truth and morality
12:42founded in God's commands,
12:44not the relative values of diversity and humanism.
12:48And if you look behind the message,
12:50which comes out of a lot of the church,
12:52actually, as well as what Charles was saying,
12:54there's a message that somehow through humanism,
12:56through our own strength,
12:57we're going to find the way to overcome.
13:00The Bible says we're not.
13:00We need the strength which comes from outside of us
13:02through faith in Jesus.
13:06He went on to say,
13:07it seems to me that we need to cherish
13:08the values of compassion and reconciliation,
13:10the way our Lord lived and died.
13:12As I meet with people of different faiths,
13:14I find it enormously encouraging
13:15to hear how much we have in common,
13:18a shared longing for peace
13:19and a deep respect for all life.
13:21If we can find time in our journey through life
13:24to think on these things,
13:25we can all make the future more hopeful.
13:27Okay, well, compassion and reconciliation
13:31are very important values.
13:32They're important to us.
13:33We should have compassion on all people.
13:36For God so loved the world
13:37that he gave his only begotten Son
13:38that whoever believes in him
13:39should not perish but have everlasting life.
13:41That includes everybody.
13:43It includes the people inside
13:44and the people outside the world.
13:46We should have love and compassion for them.
13:49We should seek to live in harmony
13:50and reconciliation with all people,
13:52whether they believe what we believe or not.
13:55We should not be the ones
13:56who try to make trouble and division
13:57and strife in our society.
14:00But the purpose of the Lord coming
14:01and his life and death
14:03was to bring us reconciliation with God.
14:07First of all,
14:08you've got to put the reconciliation right
14:10on the vertical
14:11before you get it right on the horizontal.
14:13And there was no message of that at all
14:15in what Charles has said
14:17and what a lot of the church says
14:18at this time of year.
14:20You need to have repentance from sin
14:22and new birth through faith in Jesus Christ.
14:24And diversity does not bring this about.
14:29In fact, diversity ultimately
14:31actually begins division in society.
14:34People are divided by language,
14:36by culture, by religion.
14:38And also it means that diverse religions,
14:40different religions,
14:41are considered to be equal in value
14:43to each other.
14:45And this is where the real problem comes
14:46as far as if you're a Bible believer
14:48is concerned.
14:48You can have love in your heart
14:51for unbelievers,
14:52whether they're Muslims or Hindus
14:53or nominal Christians
14:55or atheists,
14:57but you don't put their beliefs
14:58on the same level as what we believe.
15:00And that's what they're asking us to do.
15:02That's what Charles is actually asking us to do.
15:04To say that all these religions
15:05have got something in common,
15:06they're all seeking for peace,
15:07they're all seeking for reconciliation,
15:09and they've all got something to give us
15:10to offer on this subject.
15:13Jesus said,
15:13I'm the way, the truth, and the life.
15:14No one comes to the Father
15:15except through me.
15:17There's one God,
15:18one mediator between God and humanity,
15:21Jesus Christ.
15:22And if you try and move that around,
15:24you've actually lost
15:25the very heart of the Gospel.
15:27And that's what came across
15:28in what Charles was saying.
15:32And he spoke about people
15:33of different faiths longing for peace,
15:35showing respect for others.
15:36Yeah.
15:37I'm sure there are people
15:38of other faiths who are sincere.
15:40I'm not saying they're all bad people
15:42by any means.
15:44And people can be good people,
15:47according to whatever religion they...
15:49Good in worldly terms.
15:51No one's good enough for God,
15:52but they can be better than others.
15:55And some people can live
15:56according to good principles,
15:57which they've picked up
15:58from their religions.
16:00But they can't have salvation,
16:01and that's the important thing.
16:03The important thing is that
16:04God didn't actually send Jesus
16:05into the world
16:05to try and make us
16:06to be slightly better people
16:08than we were before.
16:08He came into the world
16:09to give us salvation.
16:12And salvation is only available
16:13through Jesus Christ.
16:15And if you take that away,
16:16then you can have a sort of measure
16:18of human goodness,
16:18but you can't have
16:19what God requires.
16:22And you can't have the life
16:23which God requires,
16:24but it can only come
16:25through the Holy Spirit.
16:27And without Jesus,
16:28you can't find true peace with God,
16:30and you can't find salvation.
16:33Because as we read in Matthew's Gospel,
16:35you should call his name Yeshua,
16:37salvation,
16:38for he will save his people
16:39from their sins.
16:42Spoke also of Jesus coming
16:43on a purpose to bring peace on earth,
16:46quoting from Luke chapter 2.
16:49Glory to God in the highest,
16:50and on earth peace,
16:51goodwill towards men.
16:53Again, that's the message
16:54you'll hear many times
16:55from people preaching
16:56at this time of year.
16:58Jesus came to bring peace on earth.
17:01Have you ever thought about it?
17:03Does it actually say that
17:04in the scriptures?
17:05Did Jesus actually say that?
17:07It's going to show that he didn't.
17:09Not being heretical,
17:11but the verse actually
17:13could also be translated
17:14he came peace towards
17:15people of goodwill,
17:17people God is pleased with,
17:19otherwise people who have accepted
17:20Yeshua, his salvation,
17:23through the Messiah.
17:24He did come to bring peace,
17:27but you need to be qualified
17:29and it needs to be narrowed down.
17:32In fact, Jesus did not offer
17:33collective peace to the whole world
17:35on this side of the second coming.
17:37On the other side of the second coming,
17:39he will bring peace to the whole world,
17:40but this side of the second coming,
17:41there is no message
17:42in the New Testament,
17:44in the Gospels you'll find,
17:45which tells that Jesus
17:46coming into the world
17:47is going to bring universal peace
17:49to the world or to society.
17:50His birth, his life, his death
17:53and his resurrection
17:54actually would trigger
17:55a spiritual war
17:56as the powers of darkness
17:59sought to destroy
18:00and remove
18:01what from their point of view
18:02was an invasion from God
18:04into their turf,
18:05into their territory.
18:07Satan has usurped God
18:08and taken over his role
18:10as the God of this world
18:12and he doesn't want
18:14the real God coming in
18:16to remove him from that position,
18:18which is why Jesus came into the world.
18:19So Jesus coming into the world
18:21actually was a sign
18:23for a war to take place
18:24and it literally happened.
18:27What happened after Jesus was born,
18:30wise men came to Herod
18:31and asked him
18:32where the king of the Jews
18:33was going to be born.
18:34He got a bit freaked out about that
18:36and he said,
18:36well, let me know when you find him.
18:39They told him that he's going to be born
18:41in Bethlehem in Judea
18:42according to the prophecy,
18:43which he was
18:44and then Herod did something
18:46utterly unspeakable.
18:47He wiped out all the baby boys
18:49in Bethlehem
18:50in order to destroy
18:51the one who was the Messiah.
18:54And if you think about it,
18:55behind that,
18:56that was the first act of Satan
18:57in trying to eliminate
18:59faith in Jesus Christ.
19:02Jesus came into the world
19:03and Satan sought to destroy him
19:05through this wicked act of Herod.
19:08God saved him from that
19:09and took them down to Egypt
19:11and they were saved from this,
19:13but that was a type,
19:15if you like,
19:15of the battle
19:16which is going to go on
19:16through the life of Jesus
19:18which would lead to the cross
19:19where he would suffer
19:21and die on the cross,
19:23be put there by wicked men
19:24making a wicked decision
19:26and Jesus said,
19:28this was your hour
19:29and the hour of darkness
19:30and Satan thought
19:32that he was actually winning the victory
19:33when Jesus was on the cross
19:34but that was the point
19:35at which he was defeated
19:36because at that point
19:37Jesus was fulfilling
19:38the prophecy of Isaiah 53,
19:40being the suffering servant,
19:41the one upon whom the Lord
19:43would lay the iniquity of us all
19:44who would receive
19:45the chastisement of our peace
19:47upon him,
19:48what robs us of peace
19:49which is our sin
19:50and our separation from God
19:52would be placed upon the Lord Jesus
19:54and he would give us peace
19:55with God in return.
19:58And so you have this warfare
20:00which would go on,
20:00which would continue
20:01through his life,
20:02through his death,
20:03lead to the cross,
20:04lead to the victory
20:05of the resurrection
20:06and also lead to the fact
20:08that we can then receive forgiveness
20:10and eternal life
20:11through faith in Jesus.
20:11And just to emphasize this point,
20:15if you look at Matthew chapter 10
20:17and you might like to turn to this,
20:19Matthew chapter 10 verse 34,
20:21Jesus said,
20:22do not think that I came
20:24to bring peace to the earth,
20:25peace on earth.
20:27I did not come to bring peace
20:28but a sword.
20:29For I have come to set a man
20:30against his father,
20:32a daughter against her mother,
20:33a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law,
20:35and a man's enemies
20:36will be those of his own household.
20:38He who loves father or mother
20:39more than me
20:40is not worthy of me.
20:41He who does not love,
20:43he who loves son or daughter
20:45more than me
20:45is not worthy of me.
20:47He who does not take his cross
20:48and follow after me
20:50is not worthy of me.
20:52He who finds his life
20:53will lose it
20:53and who loses his life
20:55will find it.
20:56Loses his life for my sake
20:58will find it.
21:00One of the quite radical statements
21:03of the Lord Jesus.
21:04I've read a commentary which,
21:06anti-Christian commentary,
21:07which said that was a terrible thing
21:08for Jesus to say.
21:09He shouldn't be setting people
21:09as fights from each other.
21:11But the fact is
21:12that when Jesus comes into a situation,
21:14he does cause a division.
21:15He causes a division
21:16between those who accept him
21:17and those who reject him.
21:19And particularly if you come
21:20from another faith,
21:21Judaism or Islam
21:22or another religion
21:24and you become a believer
21:25in Yeshua, the Messiah,
21:26you can expect
21:26that your own family
21:28and your friends
21:28will cast you out
21:29and there'll be that division.
21:31And maybe some of you
21:32have had that experience.
21:33I know you have.
21:34But that is part of
21:36the cost, if you like,
21:37of following Jesus.
21:39And he says here
21:40that he's come to set
21:41a conflict in place.
21:44Now he doesn't want conflict,
21:45he wants people to love each other
21:46and to accept each other.
21:48But because of the nature
21:49of the spiritual warfare
21:50and the fact that the world
21:51is in the hands of the evil one
21:52and the evil one
21:53is going to fight against
21:54anyone who believes in Jesus,
21:55there's going to be a conflict
21:56when Jesus comes into a situation
21:58and a division between
22:00those who accept him
22:01and those who reject him.
22:03And he warns also
22:04of persecutions coming
22:05on those who accept him,
22:07accept his message.
22:09So they'll be rejected
22:09by friends and family,
22:11be hated of all nations
22:12for my name's sake.
22:13Some of them be put to death,
22:15as is happening now
22:16in many situations
22:17Christians in the world.
22:21We can think of Christians today
22:23suffering persecution
22:24in Nigeria,
22:26being killed by Muslims
22:27and other parts of the world
22:29where Islam rules,
22:30where Christians are being killed
22:31for their faith.
22:33In China,
22:33there's growing persecution
22:34of Christians
22:35and suppression
22:36of the authentic Christian church.
22:39So you have this battle
22:40which is taking place,
22:41which is not bringing peace,
22:43actually,
22:43not bringing peace
22:44in that sense.
22:46And warnings of persecutions
22:48which will be a feature
22:50of the end times.
22:53Matthew 24,
22:54Jesus said,
22:55you'll be hated by all
22:56for my name's sake.
22:58He warned of persecutions
22:59coming upon those
23:01who accepted his message.
23:03And it's happening
23:04in many places
23:05in the world today.
23:07He also warned
23:08his Jewish contemporaries
23:09of a coming war
23:10in which the Romans
23:11would destroy Jerusalem
23:12and the temple
23:12would be destroyed.
23:13and the Jewish people
23:15would be scattered
23:15and desolations
23:17would follow
23:17as prophesied
23:19in the book of Daniel,
23:20chapter 9,
23:21following the coming
23:21of the Messiah.
23:23Jerusalem would be
23:24trodden down
23:24of the Gentiles,
23:25as Jesus said
23:26in Luke 21,
23:28until the times
23:28the Gentiles are fulfilled.
23:31Luke 19,
23:31he said,
23:32would today that you knew
23:33the things that make
23:33for your peace
23:34but now they're hidden
23:34from your eyes.
23:38Warning that there was
23:38a disaster coming
23:39because you did not know
23:42the time of your visitation.
23:44Time of your visitation
23:45means the time
23:46of the Messiah
23:47coming to you.
23:48And he was warning
23:49his contemporaries,
23:51his people,
23:51that there was a time
23:52coming when they
23:53would experience
23:53this war which
23:55really did take place
23:57when the Jews
23:57rebelled against
23:58the Romans
23:58in 66 AD
24:00leading to the
24:02climax of the war
24:03when the Romans
24:03came and destroyed
24:04Jerusalem and the temple
24:05and began the dispersion
24:07of the Jewish people
24:08in the year 70.
24:08That's not to say
24:10that Jesus wanted
24:10that to happen.
24:12In fact,
24:12he wanted it not to happen
24:13but it happened
24:14because of the rejection
24:15and he says
24:16that there's a connection
24:17between you not accepting
24:18me as the Messiah
24:19and this disaster
24:20coming upon you.
24:22So believe in me.
24:24So he's not promising peace
24:25saying this disaster
24:27is coming.
24:28He says,
24:28because you did not know
24:29the time of your visitation.
24:31Time of your visitation
24:32means the time
24:33when the Messiah
24:33is visiting you
24:34in the person of Yeshua,
24:36Jesus the Messiah
24:37and you have the option
24:38now to receive him
24:39and receive peace with God
24:41and receive forgiveness
24:42and receive a relationship
24:43with God.
24:45And right now
24:46he's also warning
24:47Israel and Jewish people
24:49that there'll be a time
24:50of war and conflict
24:51in the Middle East.
24:53There'll be an offer of peace.
24:54There'll be a peace
24:55which is kind of
24:56happening right now.
24:57There's the peace plan
24:59for Israel
25:00and the Middle East
25:00and there are big powers
25:02behind it.
25:03A lot of people
25:04trying to work for peace
25:05and some people
25:06say it's great.
25:08We're on the way
25:08to peace in the Middle East.
25:09Trump says there's going
25:10to be a dawn of a new age
25:11in the Middle East
25:12and there shall be
25:13peace and safety.
25:15But unfortunately
25:15the Bible tells us
25:17that there may be
25:17a false peace
25:18which will come.
25:20A offer of peace
25:20which is not real peace.
25:22And when that peace
25:23is broken in the last days
25:24it will lead to
25:24a time of real conflict.
25:26The last conflict.
25:28The wars of Gog and Magog
25:29Ezekiel 38 and 39
25:30leading to Armageddon.
25:32And the final conflict
25:34which will lead to the return
25:35of Yeshua the Messiah.
25:37And when Jesus comes again
25:38there will be real peace.
25:40Then Isaiah 2
25:41will be fulfilled
25:41and they will really
25:42beat their swords
25:43into plowshares
25:44and not study war anymore.
25:46But until that time
25:47this war is going to go on
25:48and there won't be peace
25:49on earth
25:50until Jesus returns.
25:53And he also warns
25:55that throughout this age
25:56there are going to be
25:56wars and desolations.
25:59One of the Jewish objections
26:00to Jesus being the Messiah
26:01is the rabbis say
26:02when the Messiah comes
26:03we should have peace
26:04in the nations.
26:05And since Jesus came
26:06we've had
26:08the fall of the temple
26:09the dispersion
26:10of the Jewish people
26:11and wars and desolations
26:12which have followed.
26:14Jesus said those things
26:15are going to happen.
26:16Daniel said those things
26:16are going to happen
26:17before they happened.
26:18So it's not just Jesus
26:19who said that.
26:21But
26:21there will be wars
26:23and desolations
26:24during this time
26:24of the present age.
26:27Jesus said there will be
26:28wars and rumors of wars
26:29nation against nation
26:30kingdom against kingdom.
26:31And that's going to happen
26:33because people don't
26:34accept Yeshua as the Messiah.
26:36If everybody accepted
26:37Jesus as Messiah
26:38and they lived in peace
26:39and reconciliation
26:39with each other
26:40there will be no wars
26:41and no conflict.
26:43That's why we can have
26:44people from different
26:45backgrounds
26:45different races
26:46different ideas
26:48that they come from
26:49and dwell together
26:51in one body
26:51in the Messiah
26:52and love each other
26:53because we're now united
26:54in Jesus the Messiah.
26:55But outside of Jesus
26:56there's still the conflict
26:58and it's going to continue
26:59until Jesus returns.
27:03What he does offer us
27:04is personal peace
27:05with God
27:05and the personal peace
27:07with God
27:07involves our sins
27:09being forgiven
27:09having the hope
27:11of eternal life
27:11knowledge of God.
27:13If you have that peace
27:15even if you walk
27:17through the valley
27:17of the shadow of death
27:18you can fear no evil
27:20because you know
27:24that you're on
27:25the victory side.
27:26You can have peace
27:27and assurance
27:27because we're on
27:29the victory side
27:29and we have a glorious
27:30future in the resurrection
27:32of the dead.
27:34And when Jesus was born
27:35and he was taken
27:37by Joseph and Miriam
27:39into the temple
27:39an aged priest
27:41called Simeon
27:42Shimon
27:43greeted him
27:46in Luke chapter 2
27:47with these words
27:48Lord you are now
27:50letting your servant
27:51depart in peace
27:51according to your word
27:52for my eyes have seen
27:54your salvation
27:55which you have prepared
27:56before the face
27:57of all peoples
27:58a light to bring
27:59revelation to the Gentiles
28:00and glory
28:01of your people Israel.
28:04Lord you are now
28:05letting your servant
28:05depart in peace.
28:07He had been told
28:07he wouldn't die
28:08until he had seen
28:09the Lord's Messiah
28:09saying now you
28:11depart in peace
28:12because my eyes
28:13have seen your salvation.
28:15If you have seen
28:16salvation in Yeshua
28:17the Messiah
28:18you can have peace
28:20in this life
28:20and when you depart
28:22from this life
28:22you can know
28:23you have peace with God
28:24because you are going
28:24to be with God
28:25forever
28:25in the kingdom of God.
28:28So there is an offer
28:29of peace
28:30and that is a wonderful
28:31offer
28:32which every person
28:33who receives Jesus
28:34can receive
28:35but you have to
28:36receive him.
28:39Simeon went on
28:40to say to Mary
28:41behold this child
28:42is destined
28:42for the fall
28:43and rising
28:43of many in Israel
28:44for a sign
28:45which will be spoken
28:46against
28:47yes the sword
28:48will pierce
28:49through your own soul
28:50also
28:50and the thoughts
28:51of many hearts
28:52will be revealed.
28:54It's an interesting statement
28:55he has revelation here
28:56by the Holy Spirit
28:57about something
28:58about the ministry
28:59of Jesus
28:59he's going to cause
29:00about the rise
29:01and fall
29:02of many
29:02in Israel.
29:04The rise of those
29:05who be redeemed
29:06will be taken
29:06out of their sins
29:07into a relationship
29:08with God
29:08and in that relationship
29:09with God
29:10they can be seated
29:10with God
29:11in heavenly places
29:12with Jesus Christ
29:13in new life.
29:15The fall
29:16of those
29:16who reject
29:17and who disbelieve
29:19and who will fall
29:20away from him
29:20and in the last day
29:22will hear him say
29:23depart from me
29:23he accursed
29:24into the everlasting fire
29:25prepared for the devil
29:26and his angels.
29:27We don't want to be
29:28on the fall side
29:29we want to be
29:29on the rise side.
29:32And he says
29:33there will be a sign
29:33which will be spoken
29:34against.
29:35A sign in Hebrew
29:36is a miracle
29:37Hebrew word
29:38out
29:39in fact Mary
29:40is told
29:40that she's going
29:40to be given
29:41sorry Isaiah
29:42tells Ahaz
29:43that the virgin
29:44is going to bring
29:44a sign
29:45that the virgin
29:46will conceive
29:48and give birth
29:49to a son
29:49and the word sign
29:51is the word out
29:51which means a miracle
29:52a sign of God
29:53a sign which
29:54only God can do
29:55and Jesus did
29:56signs and miracles
29:57which only God
29:58could do
29:58healed the sick
30:00he raised the dead
30:00he did all manner
30:01of signs
30:02which were visible
30:02which were visible
30:04signs that he really
30:04is God with us
30:05Emmanuel
30:06and many people
30:08received him
30:09and received what
30:09he was doing
30:10received his
30:10message
30:11and glorified God
30:14for what they had seen
30:15and others
30:16criticized him
30:17said you shouldn't
30:17do that on the Sabbath
30:18that's breaking the law
30:19had all kinds
30:20of objections
30:21and attacked him
30:23for actually doing
30:24these miracles
30:24and you see
30:26that it's a sign
30:27which will be spoken
30:27against
30:28many who spoke
30:28against him
30:29in the signs
30:30and the wonders
30:31which he did
30:31again that means
30:33that Jesus brought
30:33division
30:34brought division
30:36into the
30:36monks
30:37the Jewish people
30:38there'll be those
30:38who be for him
30:39those who be against him
30:40and there are many
30:41who were for him
30:42sometimes the church
30:44gives the idea
30:44that the Jews
30:45rejected Jesus
30:45that's not the case
30:46at all
30:46says the common people
30:48heard him gladly
30:49multitudes
30:51charted him
30:51Hosanna
30:52in the highest
30:52when he rode
30:53into Jerusalem
30:54believed in him
30:55multitudes believed
30:56in him
30:57after the gospel
30:58began to be preached
30:59in Jerusalem
31:00but many also
31:02disbelieved
31:02same thing happens
31:04in every situation
31:05it becomes a sign
31:06that to be spoken
31:07against
31:08it says a sword
31:09will pierce
31:10through your own
31:10soul also
31:11speaking here
31:15particularly to Mary
31:15to Miriam
31:16that she was
31:18going to suffer
31:18suffer through
31:20bearing this son
31:20suffer the reproach
31:22that perhaps
31:23she hadn't been
31:24totally honest
31:25but she knew
31:25that's how he was
31:26conceived
31:27maybe she suffered
31:28that reproach
31:29through her life
31:29there's implication
31:31of it in John's
31:32gospel that
31:33they accused
31:34Jesus of being
31:34illegitimate
31:35wasn't the case
31:38but that would be
31:39part of the cost
31:40but suffered
31:41as she saw him
31:42hanging on the cross
31:42and she must have
31:43as a mother
31:44she must have felt
31:45seeing her son
31:46suffering that
31:47agonizing death
31:48and having the sin
31:49of the world
31:50placed upon him
31:51and you can imagine
31:52the pain which she
31:53felt at that time
31:54and yet she believed
31:56and she came
31:56to faith in him
31:57and we read how
31:59in the book of Acts
32:00she was there
32:00amongst the believers
32:01joining together
32:02waiting for the day
32:04of Pentecost
32:04as a believer
32:06in Jesus the Messiah
32:07and she was saved
32:08through her faith
32:09in Jesus
32:10never did she
32:12even remotely
32:13suggest that anyone
32:14should pray to her
32:15as the queen of heaven
32:17or the mediator
32:18she was the one
32:19who was faithful
32:20to bring Yeshua
32:21into the world
32:22and yet she would
32:23suffer through that
32:24sword would pierce
32:26through your own soul
32:26and the thoughts
32:28and hearts
32:29thoughts of many hearts
32:30will be revealed
32:30so as Jesus came
32:32you're going to reveal
32:33what's in people's hearts
32:34and even as we
32:36preach the gospel
32:36to people
32:37it shows what's
32:38in their hearts
32:38and sometimes see
32:40the hardness
32:40and the rejection
32:41and the people
32:42who are tender
32:43and who are open
32:43and willing to listen
32:45if you're willing
32:46to listen
32:46then God's going
32:47to bring the message
32:48of truth and love
32:49into your heart
32:50and change you
32:51into the person
32:51God wants you to be
32:52and give you a new life
32:53and it's wonderful
32:55when we can come
32:55to faith in Jesus
32:56and receive him
32:57receive the light
32:59of the world
32:59into our lives
33:00and he reveals
33:02either the darkness
33:03or the light
33:04and as we
33:06come to the light
33:07so the light
33:08comes into our lives
33:09you can think
33:11of the two thieves
33:11on the cross
33:12the one who
33:12mocked and rebuked him
33:14and the other
33:15who said
33:16Lord remember me
33:17when you come
33:17into your kingdom
33:18and the one who said
33:20Lord remember me
33:20when you come
33:21into your kingdom
33:22was welcomed
33:23into the kingdom
33:24of God
33:24welcomed himself
33:26to the light
33:26even by that
33:27act of faith
33:27and so we can have
33:30peace through
33:31the blood of the cross
33:32says in Colossians
33:34please the father
33:35that in him
33:36all fullness
33:37should dwell
33:37by him to reconcile
33:38all things to himself
33:39by him whether things
33:41on earth
33:41or things in heaven
33:42having made peace
33:43through the blood
33:44of the cross
33:44and you who once
33:46were alienated
33:47and enemies
33:48in your mind
33:48by wicked works
33:49yet now he is reconciled
33:51in the body
33:51of his flesh
33:52through death
33:53to present you
33:54holy and blameless
33:55and above reproach
33:58in his sight
33:58message is about
34:01reconciliation
34:02it's about reconciliation
34:04first of all
34:04with God
34:05when we have
34:06the reconciliation
34:07with God
34:07we can have then
34:08the reconciliation
34:08on the human level
34:10the world looks
34:11for the reconciliation
34:12on the human level
34:13without the reconciliation
34:14with God
34:15if it's without
34:16the reconciliation
34:17to God
34:17it doesn't work
34:19on the human level
34:19either
34:20it's only through
34:22faith in Jesus
34:23we just sung
34:24that hymn
34:25helped the herald
34:26angels sing
34:27which says
34:28peace on earth
34:28and mercy wild
34:29God and sinners
34:31reconciled
34:32if you don't have
34:33God and sinners
34:34reconciled
34:35you won't have
34:35peace on earth
34:36if you do have
34:37God and sinners
34:37reconciled
34:38you have peace
34:39with God
34:39through Jesus Christ
34:412 Corinthians chapter 5
34:46therefore if anyone
34:47is in Christ
34:47he is a new creation
34:48old things have
34:50passed away
34:50behold all things
34:51have become new
34:52now all things
34:53are of God
34:53who has reconciled
34:54us to himself
34:55through Jesus Christ
34:56has given us
34:57the ministry
34:57of reconciliation
34:58that is that
35:00God was in Christ
35:01reconciling the world
35:02to himself
35:02not imputing
35:03their trespasses
35:04to them
35:05committed to us
35:06the word
35:06of reconciliation
35:07now then
35:09we are ambassadors
35:09for Christ
35:10as though God
35:12were pleading
35:12through us
35:13we implore you
35:14on Christ's behalf
35:15be reconciled
35:16to God
35:16who made him
35:18who knew no sin
35:19to be sin for us
35:20that we might become
35:21the righteousness
35:22of God in him
35:23if you want to know
35:25the peace of God
35:25that's how you do
35:26through faith in Jesus
35:27he made him
35:29who knew no sin
35:30to be sin
35:31the sin offering
35:32for us
35:32that we might become
35:33the righteousness
35:34of God
35:34in him
35:35Isaiah 53
35:37says the chastisement
35:38of our peace
35:39was upon him
35:40for we like sheep
35:41have gone astray
35:42we've turned everyone
35:43to his own way
35:44the Lord has laid on him
35:45the iniquity
35:46of us all
35:47and that's how
35:48we can find peace
35:49with God
35:49that's what was missing
35:51in Charles' message
35:52I know he only had
35:5310 minutes to give it
35:54and he couldn't give up
35:55everything which I've said here
35:56but he didn't
35:57actually even intimate
35:58that we need to make
36:00that step of faith
36:01we need to receive
36:02him
36:03into our lives
36:04in order to receive
36:05that salvation
36:06and to those
36:07who receive him
36:08he gives the right
36:09to become
36:10the children of God
36:11to those who believe
36:12in his name
36:13who are born
36:14not of the blood
36:15nor of the will
36:16of the flesh
36:16nor of the will of man
36:17but of God
36:18and so
36:20as we see
36:21the world
36:21moving into
36:22the great darkness
36:23that is prophesied
36:25for the last days
36:25we can receive
36:26the light of the world
36:27into our lives
36:28through faith in Jesus
36:29and Jesus says
36:31these things I've spoken
36:32to you
36:32that in me
36:33you may have peace
36:34in the world
36:35you will have tribulation
36:36but be of good cheer
36:37I've overcome the world
36:39praise the Lord
36:40we have peace
36:41through the blood
36:42of the cross
36:42let's just have a word
36:44of prayer
36:44and then we're going
36:45to sing a song
36:45and then we're going
36:46to get on to the
36:46contemporary prophetic stuff
36:49so Lord
36:51we do thank you
36:51that you are the one
36:52who gives us peace
36:53we thank you
36:53for the blood
36:53of the cross
36:54we thank you
36:54that you fulfilled
36:55all of these things
36:56that you were
36:57so much more
36:59than the little baby
37:00in the manger
37:01you were
37:02son of God
37:03becoming man
37:04to dwell amongst us
37:05and to redeem us
37:06from the power of sin
37:08to give us new life
37:09through faith in Jesus
37:10we pray that each one
37:11of us here
37:11may receive that life
37:12and know that we are
37:14your children of God
37:15through faith
37:16in Yeshua the Messiah
37:17and have peace with God
37:18in Jesus name
37:20Amen
37:20Amen
37:22let's sing
37:23Jesus name above all names
37:25and we'll
37:27have a look at some
37:28of the things
37:29happening in the world today
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