Berita Mingguan 27 Juni 2009

Sumber: Way of Life Ministry, Friday Church News Notes

Penerjemah: Dr. Steven E. Liauw

Graphe International Theological Seminary

Untuk berlangganan, kirim email ke: gits_buletin-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

PEMIMPIN SOUTHERN BAPTIS MENGATAKAN "MISI LEBIH PENTING DARI PERBEDAAN DOKTRINAL"

Berbicara di Konferensi Gembala Sidang Southern Baptis di Louisville, Kentucky, Morris Chapman, presiden dari Komite Eksekutif SBC mengatakan, "misi lebih penting dari perbedaan doktrinal." Ia mengatakan, "Kemenangan- kemenangan iman dalam sejarah hidup konvensi inu bukanlah karena orang-orang mencintai doktrin. Itu semua terjadi karena mereka mencintai Yesus" ("Chapman: Missions Trumps Doctrinal Divides," Baptist Press, 23 Juni 2009). Alkitab tidak pernah mengecilkan doktrin dengan cara yang demikian. Ketika Tuhan Yesus Kristus memberikan Amanat Agung, Ia memerintahkan agar kita memberitakan Injil, membaptis mereka yang percaya, dan lalu "ajarlah mereka melakukan SEGALA SESUATU yang telah Kuperintahkan kepadamu" (Matius 28:20). Rasul Paulus memperingatkan para penatua di jemaat Efesus bahwa ia telah memberitakan "seluruh maksud Allah" (Kis. 20:27). Paulus menginstruksikan pengkhotbah Timotius untuk melakukan perintah-perintah Perjanjian Baru dengan "tidak bercacat dan tidak bercela" (1 Tim. 6:14). Ini merujuk kepada detil-detil. Tidak ada otoritas dalam Kitab Suci yang membagi-bagi doktrin menjadi yang "penting" dan yang "tidak penting" atau "sekunder." Walaupun kita tahu bahwa tidak semua doktrin sama penting, tetapi semua doktrin memiliki arti pentingnya sendiri, dan siapakah kita sehingga kita boleh mengatakan bahwa sebagian Firman Allah adalah "tidak penting"?

SOUTHERN BAPTIST LEADER SAYS “MISSIONS TRUMPS DOCTRINAL DIVIDES” (Friday Church News Notes, June 26, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Speaking at the Southern Baptist Pastor’s Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, Morris Chapman, president of the SBC Executive Committee, said that “missions trumps doctrinal divides.” He said, “The victories of faith in the life of the convention did not happen because men and women loved doctrine. They happened because they loved Jesus” (“Chapman: Missions Trumps Doctrinal Divides,” Baptist Press, June 23, 2009). The Bible never downplays doctrine after this fashion. When the Lord Jesus Christ gave the Great Commission, He commanded that we preach the gospel, baptize those that believe, and then “teach them to observe ALL THINGS whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). The apostle Paul reminded the elders at the church of Ephesus that he had pr eached “all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). Paul instructed the preacher Timothy to keep the New Testament commandments “without spot” (1 Timothy 6:14). That refers to the details. There is no authority in the Scripture for dividing doctrine into “cardinal” and “peripheral” or “secondary.” While we know that not all doctrine has equal importance, all of it has some importance, and who are we to say that some of the teaching of the Word of God is “peripheral”?

SEORANG KRISTEN DIBUNUH KARENA MINUM TEH DARI GELAS SEORANG MUSLIM
Berikut ini disadur dari ChristianNewsWire. com, 12 Juni 2009: "International Christian Concern (www.persecution.org) telah mengetahui bahwa orang-orang Muslim radikal yang berjualan teh telah memukul mati seorang Krsiten karena menggunakan gelas yang seharusnya untuk orang Muslim pada tanggal 9 Mei. Orang muda tersebut, Ishtiaq Masih, memesan teh di sebuah kedai di desa Machharkay, Punjab, Pakistan, setelah bisnya berhenti di sana untuk istirahat. Ketika Ishtiaq mau membayar untuk tehnya, pemilik kedai itu memperhatikan bahwa ia sedang memakai sebuah kalung dengan salib dan lalu memeganginya, sambil berseru kepada para karyawannya untuk membawa apa saja yang ada untuk menggebuki orang itu karena telah melanggar sebuah tanda di gerobak itu yang memperingatkan orang-orang non-Muslim untuk menyatakan agama mereka sebelum disediakan teh. Ishtiaq tidak memperhatikan tanda itu sebelum memesan tehnya. Sang pemilik dan 14 orang karyawannya memukuli Ishtiaq dengan batu, batang besi, dan pentungan, dan menusuk dia berkali-kali dengan pisau dapur sambil Ishtiaq berteriak meminta belas kasihan. Penumpang-penumpang lain bis itu dan juga para pejalan kaki yang lewat akhirya mengintervensi dan membawa Ishtiaq ke Pusat Kesehatan Rural di desa itu. Dokternya, yang melaporkan kasus Ishtiaq kepada ICC, mengatakan bahwa Ishtiaq mati karena perdarahan internal dan eksternal yang hebat, tulang tengkorak yang remuk, dan cedera otak. Kedai Teh Makah terletak di jalan raya Sukheki-Lahore dan adalah miilk Mubarak Ali, seorang radikal Muslim berumur 42 tahun. Koresponden ICC mengunjungi kedai teh itu dan melihat bahwa ada sebuah tanda berwarna merah dengan simbol kematian yang berbunyi, 'Semua non-Muslim harus menyatakan agama mereka sebelum memesan teh. Kedai teh ini hanya melayani Muslim.' Peringatan itu juga mengancam barangsiapa yang melanggar aturan itu dengan 'konsekuensi yang parah.' Seorang pemilik toko yang bersebelahan memberitahu ICC, dengan jaminan tidak disebut namanya, bahwa semua karyawan Ali adalah mantan murid madrasah-madrasah Muslim radikal. Keluarga Ishtiaq mengatakan bahwa mereka segera melaporkan insiden tersebut kepada polisi dan mengajukan tuntutan terhadap Ali. Namun, para pembunuh itu masih bebas menjalankan kedai teh tersebut."

CHRISTIAN MAN MURDERED FOR DRINKING TEA FROM A MUSLIM CUP (Friday Church News Notes, June 26, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from ChristianNewsWire.com, June 12, 2009:?“International Christian Concern (www.persecution.org) has learned that radical Muslims running a tea stall beat a Christian man to death for using a cup designated for Muslims on May 9. The young man, Ishtiaq Masih, had ordered tea at a roadside stall in Machharkay village, Punjab, Pakistan, after his bus made a rest stop. When Ishtiaq went to pay for his tea, the owner noticed that he was wearing a necklace with a cross and grabbed him, calling for his employees to bring anything available to beat him for violating a sign posted on the stall warning non-Muslims to declare their religion before being served. Ishtiaq had not noticed the warning sign before ordering his tea. The owner and 14 of his employees beat Ishtiaq with stones, iron rods and clu bs, and stabbed him multiple times with kitchen knives as Ishtiaq pleaded for mercy. The other bus passengers and other passers-by finally intervened and took Ishtiaq to the Rural Health Center in the village. The doctor who took Ishtiaq's case told ICC that Ishtiaq had died due to excessive internal and external bleeding, a fractured skull, and brain injuries. Makah Tea Stall is located on the Sukheki-Lahore highway and is owned by Mubarak Ali, a 42-year-old radical Muslim. ICC's correspondent visited the tea stall and observed that a large red warning sign with a death's head symbol was posted which read, ‘All non-Muslims should introduce their faith prior to ordering tea. This tea stall serves Muslims only.’ The warning also threatened anyone who violated the rule with ‘dire consequences.’ A neighboring shopkeeper told ICC on condition of anonymity that all Ali's employees are former students of radical Muslim madrassas (seminaries). Ishtiaq’s family said that they immediately reported the incident to the police and filed a case against Ali. However, the murderers are still freely operating the tea stall.”

GEMBALA-GEMBALA SIDANG DITANGKAP DI CINA

Berikut ini disadur dari "Lebih dari 30 Pemimpin Gereja Rumah ditangkap," ChristianNewsWire. com, June 12, 2009: "Pada tanggal 9 Juni, lebih dari 30 pemimpin gereja-gereja rumah ditangkap saat sedang berkumpul di sebuah gereja rumah di kota Langzhong, propinsi Sichuan. Tiga belas pemimpin dikenakan 15 hari penahanan administratif, dan lima dari antara para pemimpin itu dikenakan tahanan kriminal. Para pemimpin yang lain dilepaskan. Para pemimpin Kristen tersebut sedang berkumpul di rumah Gembala Sidang Li Ming jam 5:30 p.m., di kota Lanzhou, ketika beberapa lusin petugas dalam sekitar enam hingga tujuh mobil dari Skuad Pelindung Keamanan Domestik lokal mengelilingi tempat itu, lalu menangkap semua orang-orang Kristen dan menggeledah rumah tersebut.... .Kelima pemimpin yang dikenai penahanan kriminal kemungkinan akan mendapatkan tuduhan kriminal resmi atau mendapatkan hingga tiga tahun re-edukasi melalui kerja keras. Mereka adalah: Gembala Gao Guofu, Gembala Li Ming, Zhang Guofen, Gu Lianpeng dan Yu Zhipeng. Gembala Li Ming baru-baru in dijatuhi hukuman tiga tahun re-edukasi melalui kerja keras karena iman Kristennya."

PASTORS ARRESTED IN CHINA (Friday Church News Notes, June 26, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “More Than 30 House Church Leaders Arrested,” ChristianNewsWire.com, June 12, 2009: “On June 9 more than 30 house church leaders were arrested while gathering in a house church in Langzhong city, Sichuan province. Thirteen leaders were given 15 days of administrative detention, and five of the leaders were placed under criminal detention. The other leaders were released. The Christian leaders were gathered in Pastor Li Ming's house church at 5:30 p.m., in Lanzhou city, when several dozen officials in six to seven police vehicles from the local Domestic Security Protection Squad surrounded the site, then arrested all of the Christians and searched the house. ... The five leaders who received criminal detention are likely to face a formal criminal indictment or up to three years of re-education through labor. They are: Pastors Gao Guofu, Pastor Li Ming, Zhang Guofen, Gu Lianpeng and Yu Zhipeng. Pastor Li Ming was sentenced to three years of re-education through labor in recent years because of his Christian faith.”

LIFEWAY WANTS IT BOTH WAYS WITH "THE SHACK" (Friday Church News Notes, June 26, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Lifeway Christian Stores, which are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, are selling “The Shack,” a novel that depicts God as a woman who doesn’t judge people. The Lifeway bookstore in Huntsville, Alabama, has a notice that says, “This book may contain thoughts, ideas, or concepts that could be considered inconsistent with historical evangelical theology. Therefore, we encourage you to read it with extra discernment.” By means of this disclaimer, Lifeway intends to make money from this popular book while avoiding responsibility for its heresies, but it won’t work. The Bible warns that if we do not disassociate strictly from those who preach false christs, we become partakers of their evil deeds (2 John 7-11). Lifeway is not only associating with William Young and his heresies by se lling the book, but they are actually putting funds into his coffers to enable him to promote his wretched heresies. The Lifeway warning says the book “MAY contain” thoughts contrary to sound theology and urges readers to use discernment, but they don’t identify any particular heresies and a large percentage of their customers doubtless lack the Bible knowledge and spiritual discernment required to discern truth from error. This is like serving up a dish contaminated with poison to children and warning them to eat with caution! The Lifeway bookstores are filled to the brim with psychology, self-help, self-esteem, romance novels, ecumenical and charismatic literature, undependable Bible versions, and all sorts of “Christian” rock music. On a visit to a Lifeway store in Huntsville last year I found that they had many titles by emerging church authors, including Rob Bell (Velvet Elvis), Brennan Manning (The Ragamuffin Gospel), Erwin McManus (The Barbarian Way), Donald Miller (Blue Like Jazz), and Shane Claiborne (The Irresistible Revolution). Lifeway will stand accountable before God for polluting the minds and hearts of their customers with unscriptural material and for refusing to carry sound material from fundamentalist Bible-based publishers that they could and should be stocking but which they refuse to stock because it is “controversial.” (For more information see the reports “What Is the Emerging Church” and “The Shack’s Cool God” at the Way of Life web site.)

AUTHOR OF THE SHACK DENIES SUBSTITUTIONARY ATONEMENT AND HELL FIRE (Friday Church News Notes, June 26, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In an interview on March 13 with Kendall Adams of KAYP radio, William Young, author of The Shack, denied substitutionary atonement and hell fire, two cardinal doctrines of the biblical Christian faith. When asked, “I take it that you wouldn’t agree that the cross was a place of punishment for sin,” Young replied, “No. I don’t; I [don’t hold] a penal substitution point of view.” Young also said, “I don’t think that hell is physical fire and that kind of stuff and it is not an issue of separation from God.” The Shack is very popular among emerging type churches, but it presents a false god. For more on this see “The Shack’s Cool God” at the Way of Life web site.

COUNTRY MUSIC THEOLOGY (Friday Church News Notes, June 26, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - We have warned many times about the moral danger of country music, and the reason is that so many of God’s people even in strong Bible-believing churches listen to this trash. A popular song that hit the charts this year is “People Are Crazy” sung by Billy Currington. The lyrics describe a conversation between an old man and a younger one in a bar. The old man had lived an unrighteous life, drinking, smoking, divorcing, womanizing, but he and his philosophy of life are applauded in the song. It is repeated in the chorus as follows: “God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy.” The song ends with the younger man putting those words on the old man’s tombstone. Beware of country music. It is of the world, the flesh, and the devil, but its thin veneer of “God and country” makes it palatable to some backslidden Christians. “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11).

PROMISE KEEPERS FOR WOMEN (Friday Church News Notes, June 26, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Promise Keepers, which staged massive ecumenical stadium events in the 1990s, is now targeting women. Its one event for 2009 is scheduled for July in Boulder, Colorado, and women are invited for the first time in the organization’s history. Promise Keepers almost went out of business after founder Bill McCartney left five years ago, but he came back onboard as the CEO last fall and plans to rebuild the organization’s influence. He says, “Boulder is going to be the epicenter of an extraordinary move of God. It’s going to go around the world ...we feel like it will relaunch the ministry” (“No Longer for Men Only,” The New Man, June 9, 2009). McCartney’s focus is still on ecumenical unity. He says, “This is the very heart of God, to bring the church together for the difficult days ahead.” In fact, th e heart of God as revealed in Scripture is for the churches to remain true to His Word and to mark and avoid those who teach error (Romans 16:17).

INTERNET CUTTING INTO FAMILY TIME (Friday Church News Notes, June 26, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - A new survey has found that Internet usage is eroding the time that family members spend together. The Annenberg Center for the Digital Future reported that 28 percent of Americans interviewed in 2008 said they spend less time with members of their household, which is triple the number that said that in 2006 (“Family Time Eroding,” Breitbart.com, June 15, 2009). People are spending more time on cell phones and social networks such as Facebook and MySpace. Michael Gilbert, a senior fellow at the Annenberg Center, rightly observed: “It can’t be a good thing that families are spending less face-to-face time together. Ultimately it leads to less cohesive and less communicative families.” He said that “the Internet is so engrossing, and demands so much more attention than other technologies, that it can disrupt person al boundaries in ways other technologies wouldn’t have.” Christian families must resist the onslaught of communication and entertainment technology by controlling it in a wise manner rather than allowing themselves to be controlled by it. Who said that children need their own cell phones, televisions, computers, and iPods? The world says that, but God’s Word warns that “evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Cor. 15:33), and Christian parents must do everything within their power to disconnect their children from the ungodly pop culture and to win their hearts for Christ.

PARENTS WHO CONTRIBUTE TO THEIR CHILDREN’S DELINQUENCY BY INEFFECTIVE DISCIPLINE (Friday Church News Notes, June 26, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Training Your Children to Turn out Right, an excellent book by David Sorenson (Northstar Ministries, 1820 W. Morgan St., Duluth, MN 55811, 218-726-0209, www.northstarministries.com, dhs.northstar@charter.net) -- “As a pastor, I have visited in thousands of homes. I have witnessed the following scenario played out numerous times. ... Mom (or, sometimes Dad) would say to Junior. ‘It’s time to go to bed.’ (Or some other parental directive.) Junior ignored his mother and continued to watch TV. ... After a few moments, she would say, ‘Junior, I told you to go and get ready for bed.’ He replied, ‘Awe, I don’t want to.’ Mom let that go by. A few moments later, Mom became a little hot about the matter. She raised the vo lume of her voice and said, ‘I TOLD YOU TO GET READY FOR BED.’ Junior replied, ‘But Mom, I want to watch my program.’ Mom tolerated that counter for a few more moments. She then announced, ‘THIS IS THE LAST TIME I AM GOING TO TELL YOU. GO AND GET READY FOR BED!’ Junior, by now himself getting exasperated at being shouted at, shouts back, ‘I TOLD YOU, I DON’T WANT TO!’ Finally, Mom shouts, ‘I’M WARNING YOU. MARCH RIGHT NOW, OR I AM GOING TO WHIP YOU.’ Variations of that scene go on by the thousands every single day in America. The real culprit was not Junior. He knew from considerable experience that Mom could be ignored. Mom was too lazy to get up and deal with the situation. she, in fact, was in her own way contributing to the delinquency of Junior. ... One might say, ‘If I handled the situation described above as recommended, there would be a pitched battle.’ Well, you had better get on with the bat tle and win the war while it can still be won. The day is coming when you will not be able to win the battle or the war” (Training Your Children to Turn Out Right, 1995, pp. 69, 70).

THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE

Please Vote my Blog as much as u can, at SINI and SINI, I join Christian Blog Competition, I need your Votes, Thank u so much:).

FBIS News Service, 23 Juni 2009

Updated June 24, 2009 (first published May 2, 2003) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) –

The following is enlarged from the Way of Life Advanced Bible Studies Course UNDERSTANDING BIBLE PROPHECY (third edition, March 2009). This thorough and practical course enables the student to understand and enjoy Bible prophecy. It deals with the interpretation of prophecy, dispensationalism, the covenants, the kingdom of God, the nations in prophecy, and Messianic prophecy. A large section is devoted to “a prophetic overview of the future,” detailing the Bible’s prophecies that have not yet been fulfilled. Other sections deal with the prophecies of Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation. 219 pages, $9.95


_____________________________

The word “rapture” does not appear in the Bible, but it is a term used to describe the catching away of the saints of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. The term “caught up” in 1 Th. 4:17 is also translated “pluck” (Jn. 10:28), “take by force” (Acts 23:10), and “pulling [out of the fire]” (Jude 23). It refers to a forceful seizing and a snatching away. It is used of the Spirit of God snatching away Philip after the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:39). This is exactly what Christ will do to the New Testament believers before the onslaught of the Great Tribulation.

Notes on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18:

1. The Rapture is (1) a resurrection of the dead in Christ (v. 14-16), (2) a catching up and translation of the living New Testament saints (v. 17).
2. The dead in Christ are with Him in heaven (v. 14).
3. The Rapture is the believer’s hope (v. 13). It is what we are looking forward to.
4. The Rapture is certain. (a) It is as sure as Christ’s resurrection (v. 14). (b) It is the word of the Lord (v. 15).
5. The Rapture is a comfort (v. 18). If this translation did not occur until the end of the torments of the Great Tribulation, it certainly would not produce solace for the Christian standing on this side of the Tribulation.
6. The Rapture is before the day of the Lord’s wrath (5:1-5, 9).

This event is also described in 1 Corinthians 15:51-58.

1. The Rapture is a mystery that was not revealed in the Old Testament (v. 51). The Old Testament prophets taught about the resurrection, but they did not teach that some would be caught up without dying. The translation of the New Testament saints will involve an instantaneous change from morality to immortality. Those believers living at that hour will never see death.

2. The translation of the church-age saints is said to be a source of comfort and encouragement (1 Co. 15:58). Again, if this translation did not occur until the end of the torments of the Great Tribulation, it would not be a comfort.

Among those who believe in a literal Rapture of church-age saints, there are three general positions. All of these pertain to the timing of the Rapture in relation to the Great Tribulation. The three views are (1) Pre-tribulational, meaning the church-age saints will be raptured before the Great Tribulation. (2) Mid-tribulational (also called Pre-wrath Rapture), meaning the church-age saints will go through the first half of the Tribulation. (3) Post-tribulational, meaning the church-age saints will go through the entire Tribulation period.

THE EVIDENCE FOR THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE

For the following reasons we are convinced the Bible teaches a Pre-tribulational Rapture. In the following study, we are using the term “church” in a general, institutional sense:

1. CHURCH-AGE BELIEVERS ARE PROMISED SALVATION FROM WRATH (1 Th. 1:9-10; 5:1-9; Rom. 5:9; Rev. 3:10).

The Great Tribulation is expressly called the day of God’s wrath. Today the Lord is withholding His anger; He is seated upon a throne of grace, but the day approaches when He will take the seat of judgment. Then “the day of his wrath” will be upon all the world (Ps. 110:5; Isa. 13:6-13; Rev. 6:16-17). It is true that in every century, Bible-believing churches have been subjected to persecution, but this is quite different from the Great Tribulation. The general persecutions of the saints are caused by the wrath of wicked men and the devil, whereas the seven-year Tribulation is a period especially pertaining to God’s wrath (Rev. 6:16-17; 14:10). Some feel that the church will not be saved out of the time of wrath, but will be saved through it. This cannot be true, since the Bible clearly reveals that those who are on earth during the Great Tribulation will not be delivered from wrath but will be overcome (Rev. 13:7). The Scriptures that promise church-a ge believers deliverance from wrath must refer to salvation out from the very presence of the wrath. Concerning the Great Tribulation, we are told that “as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth” (Lk. 21:35). Therefore, church-age believers must either be physically removed from the earth, or they will be involved in the day of wrath. God promises removal. “... I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth” (Rev. 3:10). This verse does not say that God will keep the church age saints through the temptation but from it.

2. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS TO BE REMOVED BEFORE THE TRIBULATION (2 Th. 2:1-8).

In other passages of the Bible, the Holy Spirit is said to be the restrainer of sin (Ge. 6:3; Is. 59:19). The Holy Spirit came into the world in His present dispensation at Pentecost (Acts 2), when He came to empower the church for the Great Commission (Acts 1:8). He will remove the church-age believers before the time of God’s great wrath. This does not mean the Holy Spirit will not be present in the world at that time. He is God and is omnipresent. It means that He will not be present in the same sense that He is in this age.

3. CHURCH-AGE BELIEVERS ARE PROMISED MANSIONS IN HEAVEN (Jn. 14:1-3).

When the Lord Jesus returns to the earth at the end of the Tribulation, He sets up His Messianic kingdom. If the Rapture occurred at the end of the Tribulation, the promise to church-age believers pertaining to Heaven would not be fulfilled. Church-age believers are a heavenly people with a heavenly hope (Eph. 1; Ph. 3:20; Col. 3:1-3). Some dispensationalists teach that the church-age saints will live in heaven during the millennium. I believe they will live both in heaven and in earth. Jesus promised the apostles that they would reign with Him over Israel (Matt. 19:28).

4. THE TRANSLATION OF CHURCH-AGE SAINTS IS SAID TO BE IMMINENT (it could happen any time) whereas the Second Coming is said to be preceded by specific signs.

Christ taught this (Matthew 24:42, 44; 25:13; Mark 13:33). Paul taught it (Phil. 4:5; Titus 2:12-13). James taught it (Jam. 5:8-9). And Peter taught it (1 Pet. 4:7). The early Christians were living in expectation of Christ’s return (1 Th. 1:9-10). The apostle Paul instructed the church at Thessalonica that they did not need to heed signs and times, because the New Testament believer has been promised redemption from the “day of darkness” that shall overcome the whole world (1 Th. 5:1-9). The church is not waiting for the appearing of the Antichrist, but for the redemption of the Son of God.

5. THE CHURCH IS A MYSTERY UNREVEALED IN THE Old TESTAMENT (Eph. 3:1-11).

The New Testament church has no part in the chronology of events foretold by the Old Testament prophets. They clearly foretold the first coming of Christ, His miraculous birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension. The same prophets described Christ’s Second Coming in glory, preceded by a time of unprecedented worldwide tribulation, and followed by the establishment of the glorious Messianic kingdom centered in Jerusalem. But these prophets did not see the present church age--“which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit” (Eph. 3:5).

Between the first and second coming, there is a time gap that was not seen by the Old Testament prophets. This gap is the church age. The prophets did not see that Israel would be set aside temporarily while God called out from among all nations a special body of people. After He has accomplished this purpose and the fullness of the Gentiles is come in, God will restart Israel’s prophetic clock and will fulfill all Old Testament prophecies in relation to His ancient chosen nation. “... blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Rom. 11:25).

The Great Tribulation deals with Israel, not with church-age believers. This present mystery period will end with the removal of the church-age believers from the earth; and the Lord will then take up His plan for the nation Israel as He fulfills the Old Testament prophecies of the time of Jacob’s trouble, the coming of Messiah in glory, the regathering of the remnant, and the establishment of the Messianic kingdom.

6. THERE ARE EVENTS INTERVENING BETWEEN THE TRANSLATION AND RESURRECTION OF THE CHURCH AND THE SECOND ADVENT.

According to 1 Cor. 15:51, EVERY saved person will be translated at the Rapture. Yet Mat. 25:31-46 shows that when Jesus returns to the earth at the Second Advent He will find many true believers in their natural bodies. There must, then, be a period of time between the Rapture of the church-age saints and the Second Coming to allow for these folk to be saved. It is reasonable to believe that this period is the seven years of the Great Tribulation.

7. THE BOOK OF REVELATION SHOWS THAT THE CHURCH IS NOT ON EARTH DURING THE TRIBULATION.

(a) The church is not seen on earth in chapters 4-18.

(b) The witness for God in the earth during the Tribulation is Israel, not the church (Rev. 7).

(c) The prayers of the saints in Revelation 8 are prayers for judgment. Only Israel prayed such prayers. The church-age saints are instructed to pray for her enemies, not against them (Lk. 9:51-56). These prayers of Revelation are those of the Psalms and are based on God’s promise to Abraham to curse those that cursed Israel (Gen. 12:1-3).

(d) The scorpion-like creatures of Revelation 9 are given freedom to hurt all earth-dwellers except those Jews who were sealed by the angel of Revelation 7; if church-age believers were on earth, they would be subject to this horrible judgment of God.

(e) Revelation 10 identifies the events of Revelation 4-18 with those foretold by Old Testament prophets--the days of the Great Tribulation, the “day of the Lord.” The church age was never in the view of these Old Testament prophecies; it was an unrevealed mystery. The church has a different purpose and program than national Israel. It is Israel that is in view in Old Testament prophecy and in Revelation 4-18.

(f) The ministry of the two witnesses of Revelation 11 identifies them with national Israel and with Old Testament prophecies of the “day of the Lord.” The two witnesses minister from Jerusalem, Israel’s capital. The churches have no such capital, her hope being heavenly, not earthly (Col. 3:1-4; Phil. 3:17-21). The two witnesses are clothed in sackcloth, typical of Old Testament Israel, not New Testament believers. Nowhere are the churches seen in sackcloth. They are told, rather, to “rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice” (Phil. 4:4). The church-age believer’s judgment is forever past, and he is to keep his mind centered in the heavenlies where, in position, he is seated eternally victorious with Christ (Eph. 2:5-10). Revelation 11:4 identifies the two witnesses with Old Testament prophecy. Zech. 4:3, 11, 14 is a prophecy of Israel, not the church. Further, the two witnesses call down judgment upon their enemies in Rev. 10:5 -6. Jesus rebuked his disciples for desiring to do just this and instructed the church-age believer to pray for the well-being of his enemies, not for their destruction (Lk. 9:54-56; Rom. 12:14, 17-21).

(g) The devil persecutes Israel, not the church, during the Tribulation (Rev. 12). There can be no doubt that the woman in this chapter is identified as national Israel. Verse 5 shows the woman bringing forth Christ; it is obvious that Jesus was brought forth by Israel, not by the churches (Isa. 9:6-7; Rom. 9:5). Also, the symbols of Rev. 12:1-2 recall familiar Old Testament typology of Israel. She is referred to as a woman (Isa. 54:5-7). The sun and moon and the 12 stars of verse 2 remind us of Joseph’s dream regarding Israel (Gen. 37:9). The words of Rev. 12:2 are almost an exact quote from Micah 5:3, again referencing Israel’s delivery of the Messiah. These symbols are not used in the New Testament of the churches.

THE ATTACK ON THE PRE-TRIBULATIONAL RAPTURE

The doctrine of the pre-tribulational rapture is under severe attack today. Consider some examples from the emerging church:

Brian McLaren mocks the “fundamentalist expectations” of a literal second coming of Christ with its attendant judgments on the world and assumes that the world will go on like it is for hundreds of thousands of years (A Generous Orthodoxy, p. 305). He calls the literal, imminent return of Christ “pop-Evangelical eschatology” (Generous Orthodoxy, p. 267) and the “eschatology of abandonment” (interview with Planet Preterist, Jan. 30, 2005, http://planetpreterist.com/news-2774.html). McLaren says that the book of Revelation is not a “book about the distant future” but is “a way of talking about the challenges of the immediate present” (The Secret Message of Jesus, 2007, p. 176). He says that phrases such as “the moon will turn to blood” “are no more to be taken literally than phrases we might read in the paper today” (The Secret Message, p. 178).

Jonny Baker of Grace in London, England, rejects dispensationalism as “escapology theology” and “advocates that Christians need to invest themselves in the current culture, not live on hold until time runs out” (Emerging Churches, pp. 78, 79).

Tony Jones says that the emergent church, in contrast to the dispensational viewpoint, is characterized by “an eschatology of hope” (An Emergent Manifesto of Hope, p. 130). He says: “What I mean is that the folks who hang around the emerging church tend to see goodness and light in God’s future, not darkness and gnashing of teeth. While that may seem obvious to some followers of God, pop theology today is facing the other way. ... Those novelists and the theologians who provide them their material take the view that we’re in a downward spiral, and when things ‘down here’ become bad enough, Jesus will return in glory. But those of us represented in this book take the contrary view. God’s promised future is good, and it awaits us, beckoning us forward” (p. 130).

N.T. Wright, who has a great influence on the emerging church, warns that the doctrine of an imminent rapture is dangerous because it interferes with kingdom building and environmental activities. “If there’s going to be an Armageddon, and we’ll all be in heaven already or raptured up just in time, it really doesn’t matter if you have acid rain or greenhouse gases prior to that. Or, for that matter, whether you bombed civilians in Iraq. All that really matters is saving souls for that disembodied heaven” (“Christians Wrong about Heaven, Says Bishop,” Time, Feb. 7, 2008).

Tony Campolo says: “I mean all of this stuff [about the imminent coming of Christ and a literal Tribulation] comes out of not only fundamentalism. It comes out of dispensationalism, which is a weird little form of fundamentalism that started like a hundred fifty years ago. ... I think that we need to challenge the government to do the work of the Kingdom of God, to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord. That whole sense of the rapture, which may occur at any moment, is used as a device to oppose engagement with the principalities, the powers, the political and economic structures of our age” (“Opposition to women preachers evidence of demonic influence,” Baptist Press, June 27, 2003).

Mark Driscoll refers to the pre-tribulational rapture as “pessimistic dispensationalism” (Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches, p. 146). He has said that “eschatology-minded Christians” are not welcome in his church.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PRE-TRIBULATIONAL RAPTURE

The doctrine of the pre-tribulational rapture is not a peripheral one. As we have seen, Christ, Paul, James, and Peter taught that the return of Christ was imminent and was to be expected at any time (Mat. 24:44; Phil. 4:5; Jam. 5:8-9; 1 Pet. 4:7). The early Christians lived in expectation of Christ’s return the literal fulfillment of the prophecies. “For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).

The doctrine of a pre-tribulational Rapture is a great motivator for purifying one’s personal Christian life.

1. It encourages the believer in trials and persecutions. “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18).

2. It keeps the church’s focus on the Great Commission (Mat. 28:18-20; Mk 16:15; Lk. 24:44-48; Acts 1:8). It teaches us that preaching the gospel, winning people to Christ, and establishing churches as the pillar and ground of the truth is the most urgent matter. D.L. Moody had it right when he said: “I look upon this world as a wrecked vessel. God has given me a lifeboat and said to me, ‘Moody, save all you can.’”

3. It motivates us to be busy in the Lord’s work (1 Cor. 15:58).

4. It motivates us to live obedient lives (1 Jn. 3:1-3; 1 Th. 5:4-7).

5. It motivates us to separate from evil (Tit. 2:13-14).

6. It keeps believers on the outlook for heresy and apostasy (2 Timothy 4:3-4; 1 John 2:24-28).

Berita Mingguan 20 Juni 2009

Sumber: Way of Life Ministry, Friday Church News Notes
Penerjemah: Dr. Steven E. Liauw
Graphe International Theological Seminary
(Didistribusikan dengan gratis, dengan mencantumkan informasi sumber di atas)
Untuk berlangganan, kirim email ke: gits_buletin-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

PELAJARAN SEKOLAH MINGGU STAR TREK
Pentakosta "Star Trek" adalah judul sebuah seri pesan-pesan audio "di mana Kapten Kirk, Spock, Bones dan Scotty berangkat dengan berani dalam suatu perjalanan pencarian akan Roh Allah." Diproduksi oleh GFR Christian Radio, pesan-pesan yang disampaikan dimaksudkan untuk memberi "materi-materi yang menggugah pikiran" bagi kelas-kelas sekolah minggu. Adalah kekonyolan yang menyesatkan untuk masuk ke dalam dunia mitologis Star Trek guna mencoba menemukan kebenaran rohani! Gereja-gereja kontemporer, seperti para Yahudi yang sesat di zaman dulu, telah menukarkan Allah dalam Alkitab dengan berhala modern (mis., allah yang cool dan tidak menghakimi seperti dalam buku The Shack) dan telah menukarkan Firman Allah yang murni dengan doktrin-doktrin yang kotor. "Sebab dua kali umat-Ku berbuat jahat: mereka meninggalkan Aku, sumber air yang hidup, untuk menggali kolam bagi mereka sendiri, yakni kolam yang bocor, yang tidak dapat menahan air" (Yer. 2:13).

FATIMA: MARIA ANTAR-AGAMA MILIK ROMA DEMI SEBUAH GEREJA DUNIA
Berikut ini disadur dari buku yang bagus sekali, The European Union and the Supra-Religion by Robert Congdon (Congdon Ministries, 2007, http://www.internet bibleinstitute. com, robertcongdon@ bellsouth. net). "Sebagian dari penampakan-penampak an Maria yang paling terkenal terjadi di Fatima. Desa Fatima diberi nama sesuai dengan putri Muhammad, pendiri Islam. Nama Arabnya memiliki arti `yang bersinar.' .....Pada bulan Mei 2004, Dalai Lama mengunjungi dan berdoa di kuil Fatima. Setelah seorang imam Hindu, Sha Tri, berdoa di altar tersebut, Rektor dari kuil itu mengatakan bahwa pertemuan-pertemuan demikian memberi mereka kesempatan untuk `mengingatkan kita semua bahwa kita hidup dalam komunitas.' Imam Hindu itu menaruh sebuah syal khas imam Hindu, yang bertuliskan kutipan-kutipan dari Bagavad Gita, `pada pundak perwakilan tertinggi Gereja di Fatima.....Vatikan, bersatu dengan PBB, mensponsori sebuah kongres antar-agama di kuil Fatima pada tanggal 10-12 Oktober 2003, yang berjudul `Masa Kini Manusia - Masa Depan Allah.'..... Pemilihan desa Fatima berdasarkan fakta bahwa kuil Fatima telah dengan cepat menjadi pusat penyembahan banyak agama-agama dunia. Lebih dari 4,5 juta orang mengunjungi Fatima setiap tahunnya. Kongres yang terakhir ini melibatkan Hindu, Muslim, Yahudi, Ortodoks Timur, Buddha, dan perwakilan orang-orang kafir Afrika. Di Kongres tersebut, rektor dari kuil berkata, `Masa depan Fatima, atau penyembahan terhadap Allah dan ibuNya di Kuil suci ini, harus melalui suatu penciptaan sebuah kuil di mana agama-agama yang berbeda dapat bercampur... .'" (Robert Congdon, The European Union and the Supra-Religion, hal. 219, 221, 222; untuk dokumentasi, lihat kutipan-kutipan di buku ini).

BERHENTILAH MAKAN DOMBA DAN SELAMATKAN DUNIA
Para penasihat pemerintah di Inggris telah memberi peringatan bahwa mengkonsumsi domba adalah ancaman yang serius bagi lingkungan, karena mereka "menghasilkan sedemikian banyak gas metan" ("Burping of the Lambs," The Sunday Times, 24 Mei 2009). David Kennedy, chief executive dari Komite Perubahan Iklim, mengatakan bahwa "merubah gaya hidup kita, termasuk apa yang kita makan, akan menjadi salah satu elemen penting dalam pengurangan emisi karbon." Untuk menghasilkan 1 kg domba, katanya akan membebaskan gas metan yang sama denagn 37 pon karbon dioksida ke atmosfir. Untuk memproduksi jumlah daging sapi yang sama akan membebaskan 35 pon CO2. Saat ini, para agensi pemerintah sedang "menyarankan, " tetapi waktunya akan tiba mereka mengatur apa yang boleh orang tanam, jual, dan makan, atau minimal mereka akan menetapkan pajak yang sangat berat terhadap produk-produk yang kata mereka membahayakan lingkungan. Mitos tentang global-warming yang terjadi karena manusia bukanlah bertujuan untuk menyelamatkan planet; ini semua bertujuan untuk meningkatkan kekuasaan pemerintah.

MENGELUS SERIGALA
Berikut ini disadur dari John Ashbrook, Axioms of Separation (Mentor, OH: Here I Stand Books, n.d.): "Bertahun-tahun yang lalu, saya makan malam bersama dengan seorang muda yang lulus dari Fuller Seminary. Tamu saya itu berkata, "saya menganggap diri sebagai seorang fundamentalis; tetapi saya harus mengaku bahwa fundamentalis sering tidak penuh kasih dalam pendekatan mereka kepada para liberal. Mereka menolak untuk berdialog dengan mereka dan telah gagal menunjukkan kasih Kristiani kepada mereka." Orang ini rupanya telah menyerap filosofi Fuller. Sekarang saya tanya kepada anda, di manakah dalam Kitab Suci ada pengajaran bahwa kita harus berbaik-baikan dengan para pengajar palsu dan rasul-rasul sesat? Ini adalah kebalikan dari pengajaran di 2 Yohanes: "Jikalau seorang datang kepadamu dan ia tidak membawa ajaran ini, janganlah kamu menerima dia di dalam rumahmu dan janganlah memberi salam kepadanya. Sebab barangsiapa memberi salam kepadanya, ia mendapat bagian dalam perbuatannya yang jahat" (2 Yoh. 1:10-11). Kitab Suci menyebut orang-orang yang menyebarkan doktrin-doktrin sesat ini sebagai "serigala-serigala yang ganas" (Kis. 20:29). Para gembala yang setia sepanjang sejarah tidak berdialog dengan serigala-serigala ganas."

SEORANG ANAK PEREMPUAN YANG MENGUJI DISIPLIN ORANG TUANYA
Berikut ini disadur dari Training Your Children to Turn out Right, sebuah buku yang sangat bagus oleh David Sorenson(Northstar Ministries, 1820 W. Morgan St., Duluth, MN 55811, 218-726-0209, www.northstarminist ries.com, dhs.northstar@ charter.net) -- "Anak-anak kami perlu belajar bahwa setiap kali mereka melanggar sebuah aturan rumah tangga, maka akan ada pengalaman yang sudah dapat diprediksi dan yang tidak menyenangkan. Anak-anak sepertinya berpikir bahwa jika mereka mengikis orang tua mereka untuk waktu yang cukup lama, maka orang tua akan kecapekan dan akhirnya mengalah. Pertahankan aturan-aturan anda secara konsisten. Ketika salah satu anak perempuan kami masih kecil, dia memutuskan suatu malam bahwa dia tidak mau tinggal di tempat tidurnya. Dia telah dimasukkan ke dalam tempat tidur, tetapi dia memutuskan dia mau bangun. Dia memanjat keluar dari tempat tidurnya dan keluar ke ruang tamu. Dia diceramahi mengenai fakta bahwa ini sudah jam tidurnya dan bahwa jika dia keluar dari tempat tidurnya lagi, dia akan dipukul pantatnya (spanked). Dia dimasukkan ke dalam tempat tidurnya. Beberapa menit kemudia, dia keluar lagi. Sepertinya telah dijanjikan, dia dipukul dan dimasukkkan kembali ke tempat tidurnya di tengah tangisan yang cukup memberontak. Lalu dia mulai marah-marah. Setelah beberapa lama dia mulai lagi keluar dari tempat tidur dan masuk ke ruang tamu. Sejauh yang dapat kami periksa, tidak ada alasan yang sah bagi dia untuk bangun. Dia hanya tidak mau berada di tempat tidur. Sekali lagi dia dipukul. Ini berlanjut sekitar setengah jam, tetapi akhirnya dia mengerti pesannya; jika dia dengan terbuka menantang Mama dan Papa, dia akan dipukul. Ini terjadi secara konsisten. Ini terjadi setiap kali....Malam itu, sebuah pertarungan yang besar telah dimenangkan. Kehendaknya yang kecil dan pemberontak telah dipatahkan. Dia telah mencoba sekeras-kerasnya untuk menantang otoritas orang tua, dan dia telah kalah....Apakah kami sebagai orang tua merasa senang memukul anak perempuan kami? Kami sangat membenci setiap detik dari pemukulan itu. Dia adalah kebanggaan dan sukacita kami. Tidak ada yang dapat memberi kami kenyamanan yang lebih dari saat-saat dia duduk-duduk berpelukan dengan kami di ruang tamu. Tetapi kami tahu bahwa dia memerlukan pengembangan disiplin dalam hidupnya" (Training Your Children to Turn Out Right, 1995, hal. 71, 72).

MATA YANG SANGAT SENSITIF
Berikut ini dari Creation Moments, http://www.creation moments.com/ radio/transcript .php?t=2295: "Mata manusia sedemikian sensitifnya, sehingga ia dapat mendeteksi satu partikel cahaya – sebuah foton. Faktanya, mata manusia sedemikian sensitifnya, sehingga kalau bukan karena fitur-fitur spesial di dalam mata yang memproses milyaran informasi yang masuk setiap sepersekian detik, kita pastilah terbanjiri oleh cahaya. Walaupun mata dapat mendeteksi satu foton cahaya, ia tidak akan meneruskan suatu gambar kepada otakmu kecuali ada minimal enam foton yang mengenai bagian mata yagn sama. Jika tidak demikian, maka pada malam hari yang gelap kita tidak akan dapat melihat apa-apa selain statis, karena terang yang kurang dari enam foton tidak dapat difokuskan menjadi suatu gambar dan yang telihat hanyalah statis. Hal-hal seperti ini membuat kita bertanya-tanya apakah mata didesain oleh seorang Pencipta yang mahabijak? Karena bagaimana mungkin kebetulan-kebetulan yang tidak disengaja dan mutasi dapat mengetahui hukum-hukum dasar fisika yang mengendalikan perilaku cahaya? Rentang sensitifitas mata juga jutaan kali lebih besar dibandingkan dengan film-film fotograifk modern kita, dan memberikan kepada kita rentang dinamis antara 10 milyar hinga satu. Sementara sensitifitas yang terbesar diperlukan pada malam yang gelap, ada kontrol internal dalam mata yang menurunkan sensitifitas itu untuk situasi hari yang terang benderang. Ilmu pengetahuan sama sekali tidak menyingkirkan Allah! Pengetahuan kita tentang cara kerja mata menuntut kesimpulan bahwa kita adalah ciptaan dari seorang Allah bijak dan kuasa.

Diterjemahkan dari

FRIDAY CHURCH NEWS NOTES

The Antichrist’s One World Economy

translated by Mrs. Krista Ang

The Cause of Crisis in US

The world was shocked when several US financing companies went bankrupt since this would impact other financing companies, even the banking sector. The first impact was the crash of stock prices in Dow Jones Index. Henry Paulson, US Finance Minister, immediately devised a US$700 billion bailout plan. When the first proposal was rejected by the Congress, the fall of stock prices was even worse. So Paulson, who was back up by George W. Bush, stated that if US Congress was not willing to accept this proposal, not only US but also the whole world would experience a severe economic crisis. Finally, the Congress had no option but to approve this bailout plan.

Indonesian financial analyst, Christianto Wibisono, stated in 13 October 2008 Suara Pembaruan Newspaper that US financial crisis was not caused by George W. Bush, but by the lifestyle of Americans who tend to spend much more than what they actually earn. Many people are still unaware that although the world is temporarily saved by the US$700 billion bailout, the credit card crisis is still looming ahead. It is estimated that US credit card debt reached US$1 trillion. We in Indonesia are also being encouraged to use credit card and make credit card debt as part of our lifestyle.

So why could this US financial crisis happen? The answer is because the world relied heavily on US democracy system and free market economy. All people wanted to deposit their money in US. Even the third world countries’ corruptors put their money in US banks! This made US banks experienced what was called over-liquidity (too much money), so they offered low interest rates. Due to excess of funds, they offer loans easily to housing financing companies. Because the easiness of getting funds out of banks, many financing companies made unwise decisions in order to achieve their target of loan granted. So, without proper customer feasibility study, they granted housing loans to people who actually could not afford it. On the other hand, the customers who were used to live on loans, without due consideration, greedily grabbed this opportunity to buy big and expensive houses. Finally, the amount of non performing loans increased so much that many financing companies went bankrupt. This problem created a severe impact to the banks that loaned money to these companies. If the amount involved was small, its influence would be limited. But because the amount reached billions of dollars, it became not only national but also an international problem.

Lucifer’s Heroin

Credit card debt became a common thing not only in US but in the whole world. People with credit card tend to purchase anything without further thought since “buy now, pay later” becomes their motto. Older generations used to advise their children to save money. But today, people are used to owe money, sometimes even until several levels. Banks that issue credit cards wish that the credit card holders spend as much as they can and only pay the minimum amount because they cannot afford to pay in full, since this will generate high interest income for the banks.

People living at the end of the age are so pampered with technology. Technology itself is not evil or wrong. Using hand phones is of course more convenient than using monolog phones that must be connected through wire. Other technological inventions also add more to our comfort. But this comfort is not for free. It has a price and it is not cheap. To buy it, people need much money so they must work hard to afford it. Those who are not patient enough to wait can use credit card to buy it even if they don’t enough money yet.

So, through technological advancement and “buy now, pay later” principle, people can fill their houses with all the technological gimmicks through debt. This kind of lifestyle has spread to most, if not all, people of this age. People no longer give second or third thought when buying things. With credit cards, they still have one month lag time and also the minimum payment facility.

Every country with free market economy encourages its citizens to be economic human beings. They work so hard day and night to get money in order to buy material things that they scarcely have enough time for their family or their church. They go to work so early in the morning and go home so late at night. This financial chaos in US is only Lucifer’s test case to see how panic people would be when facing financial problems. He will hold this power to cause all people to worship him. This chaos in the end will lead to the unitization of world economy under one monetary policy. Nancy Pelosi urged George W. Bush to invite all G8 countries to sit down together to discuss joint actions to solve this economic problem. This crisis will ultimately lead the world to one single economic policy.

The US presidential election could be a test to Americans. Would they prefer economy to Christian virtues? Apparently Americans will choose the candidate who is able to lead them to economic welfare rather than family values based on Christian virtues. Americans cannot afford to face an economic hardship after enjoying economic welfare for so long. They don’t really know how to save money or to survive an economic crisis. After all, finding jobs has never been difficult before. Why do they need to save money?

So, the moral of the US president candidate is no longer important. The most important thing is whether he can lead US to economic improvement. Therefore, it is not surprising if one day Lucifer comes in the open and state his position against biblical Christians, people will still choose him. Lucifer will be fully back up by the homosexuals, people from all religions, untruthful Christians, Hollywood movie stars who practice free sex, and other communities. Lucifer has been successful in offering “heroin” in the form of leisure living and freedom to borrow money. He knows for sure that most people will die without him.

No One Can Sell and Buy

In Revelation 13:16-17, it is written that “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy and sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” In your opinion, what are the factors that will enable Lucifer to control the world economy, to the point where no one can buy or sell without his permission? There must have been a monetary unitization so the monetary authority for the whole world is held by one ruler.

Lucifer will be successful in unitizing the world politics so that one world government is established. It is possible to have one federation country with 200 states. US will become one state, and so will Indonesia and China. The world president must be a very prominent person and will be elected by all people in the whole world. Don’t you know that we have already had a World Parliament? And do you know that in October 2008 Indonesia has proposed Agung Laksono as a candidate for the chairman of the world parliament?

We are heading toward one world economy and one world monetary policy. We have already had World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) which help many countries to solve their financial problems. Can you now see that a global anti-Christ government which was revealed by God in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream as a great image whose feet were made of iron and clay is now being formed?

Revelation chapter 13 which was quoted above told us that anti-Christ would rule the world and control the economy so that no one can sell and buy without his permission. Many people reading Revelation chapter 13 were shocked by the number of the anti-Christ, 666, while unaware that they themselves were in the program.

The Kingdom of Iron and Clay

Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, and it was recorded in Daniel chapter 2. There was almost a slaughter in the Babylonian Kingdom because no one was able to interpret the dreams of the great king. However, since those dreams came from God, only God could reveal the meaning, and this was done through Daniel. We were told that the head of the image made of gold represented the Babylonian Kingdom at that time. It was also said that after this kingdom, four more kingdoms would emerge before another kingdom symbolized by a rock rolling down from a mountain destroyed them. Because after 2,600 years have passed after Daniel got this revelation, it is very easy for us today to understand that the breast and arms made of silver were actually the Median-Persian Kingdom that came after Babylonia, the belly and thighs made of bronze were actually the Greek Kingdom with its “Alexander the unGreat” and the legs made of iron were actually the Roman Empire (European Union) that crucified Jesus Christ.

So what does the kingdom of iron and clay actually mean? It is surely not Singosari or Sriwijaya (Indonesian local kingdoms before Indonesia became an independent country), or England. Since the Roman Empire collapsed, there has been no other kingdom or government as global as it was. Because this fifth kingdom was described as made of iron and clay, then the iron must be Europe, which was the identity of the fourth kingdom. Now the question is, what is represented by the clay?

It appears that the financial crisis happening today is the process of the forming of the “clay.” Christianto Wibisono and other economists view that through this crisis, US will be more “damaged” and China will be more “triumphant.” Don’t forget that the Arabian countries (Islamic countries) are not affected by this crisis. Media Indonesia Newspaper on its 13 October 2008 issue stated that Saudi Arabia planned to construct a building complex which height was more than 1 Km and cost about US$26.7 billion.

Can it be that what was meant by the “clay” was actually China which is very famous for its ceramic? Or could it be that the clay was actually the Arabian countries (Islamic countries) or the combination of both? If the “iron” represented the Western world (Europe), can it mean that the “clay” was the Eastern World (the combination of China, Arab, etc.)? So will the whole world unite like iron mixed with clay? Let us wait for the final event. It can be that you will experience it.

He Will Infiltrate the Church

Chapter 13 of Revelation is being fulfilled and the antichrist with the 666 sign is forming itself. The fifth kingdom that is the iron and clay mix which was described in the image of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, is revealing itself. The real antichrist is actually a person who claims himself to be Christ. The word “anti”is a Greek preposition which means against someone by impersonating the person against whom he is fighting. So antichrist is against Christ by claiming himself as Christ or in other words, antichrist is a phony Christ. Christ in Greek has the same meaning with Messiah in Hebrew. So, the antichrist will come not from the leaders of other religions, but from Christians.

He will preach about Christ according to his version, and he will call himself as the Anointed One, which is the meaning of the word “Christ.” He calls himself or his office as the replacement of Christ. Before the main antichrist comes, he will send his spies pretending as Christians to all churches. He will tell everyone not to talk about doctrines, because in the absence of the teaching of true doctrines will make his covers more secured. He will lead the churches to lower the moral standards and introduce pop music as Christian songs. He will concoct a doctrine, in which everyone who will go to heaven has been chosen before the world was made, so eliminates the need to spread the Gospel. He will lead all churches to one institution. In his book, All Roads Lead to Rome, Michael de Semlyen declared the Roman Catholic Church as the final station of antichrist.

He will unite the world under one power, and all economic policies will also under his. But those are not the ends but mere tools, since the deepest desire of Lucifer is to be worshiped not only by human beings, but also by God, his Creator (Matthew 4:9). He will unite the churches in his clutch and proclaim himself as Christ. This will happen after he gives a quasi power to his disciples to perform miracles in the name of “Christ” (which is himself), and at the same time he will destroy pure Christian doctrines, moral, and motivation (the three measures of flour) with yeast.

Advice for Christians

Beware, be wise, and pay attention to the doctrines because doctrines were the differentiating factors between one religion and another. If you don’t like to learn about doctrine, then you will not be able to differentiate one church with another, and slowly but sure, you will not be able to differentiate one religion with another. Examine the teachings of each church, and differentiate one teaching with another. Learn carefully to make sure that you accept only the most biblical and logical teachings. Don’t be amazed only with one doctrine, but each doctrine of one church must be harmonious with others of the same church. Don’t forget to compare the teachings of GRAPHE with those of other churches’. Should you have any questions, feel free to email us at church@grapheministry.org or gits@grapheministry.org. The true teachings will allow all who hear them to examine them. Delicious food can only be offered but not forced to be eaten. Make sure that you join a biblical church while we are waiting the second coming of our Lord, because the Lord once said sardonically, “. . . when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” He is pessimistic to find true faith when he comes again. It must be that true faith is being eroded by churches with false doctrines.

Does it mean that you can still use credit to buy a car or a house? Of course you can, but you have to make sure that the amount of the installment is within your affordable range. Can you still use Credit Card? Of course! But control your spending. Try to be content with what you have, and save as much money as you can to anticipate troubled days. We have to help other Christians who are proved to be faithful, not just pretending to be, as a proof that we are brothers in Christ.

YESUS MATI BUKAN HARI JUMAT tapi RABU SORE!

K

ebanyakan dari kita menganggap bahwa Yesus mati pada "Jumat Agung" dan bangkit dari antara orang mati pada "Easter" (Paskah) Minggu pagi. Oleh karena Yesus berkata Ia akan bangkit pada "hari ketiga," ada yang menghitung bagian dari hari Jumat sebagai satu hari, hari Sabtu sebagai hari kedua, dan sebagian hari Minggu sebagai yang ketiga. Itu menunjukkan bahwa terkadang sebuah ekspresi seperti "hari ketiga" dapat termasuk hanya bagian dari hari itu, yaitu sebagian dari satu hari yang termasuk dihitung sebagai sehari penuh. Ensiklopedia Yahudi berkata, bahwa hari saat pemakaman, meskipun pemakaman itu mungkin terjadi pada akhir petang, dihitung sebagai hari pertama dari tujuh hari masa perkabungan.[1] Contoh lain dari bagian dari hari yang dihitung untuk sehari penuh, sebagaimana adanya, terdapat pula di dalam Alkitab, seperti pernyataan berikut ini oleh Yesus: ……"Lihatlah Aku mengusir iblis dan menyembuhkan orang hari ini dan besok, dan pada hari yang ketiga Aku akan selesai. Namun Aku harus berjalan hari ini dan besok dan hari berikutnya; sebab tidak semestinya seorang nabi mati diluar kota Yerusalem" (Luk 13:32-33). Dalam kasus ini, "hari ketiga" akan berarti sama seperti "hari yang berikutnya (setelah besok)"—tiga hari, walaupun hanya bagian dari hari-hari itu yang terlibat. Banyak orang merasa bahwa ini menerangkan elemen waktu antara pemakaman dan kebangkitan Kristus.

Bagaimanapun juga, ada orang-orang Kristen lain, yang sama-sekali tidak puas dengan penjelasan ini. Yesus sering berkata Ia akan bangkit pada "hari yang ketiga" (Mat 16:21; Mrk 10:34). Tetapi Ia juga berkata, dari jangka waktu dan memberikan tanda spesifik dari kemesiasan-Nya sebagai tiga hari dan tiga malam. "Sebagaimana Yunus berada tiga hari dan tiga malam dalam perut ikan paus", Ia berkata, "demikian juga Anak Manusia akan TIGA HARI DAN TIGA MALAM dalam perut bumi" (Mat 12:38-40).

Bahwa ekspresi "hari yang ketiga" secara alkitabiah bisa termasuk tiga hari dan tiga malam, dapat dilihat dalam Kejadian 1:4-13: "Elohim (Allah) memisahkan terang dari gelap. Dan Elohim menamai terang itu siang, dan gelap itu malam. Dan malam (gelap) dan pagi (terang) adalah HARI PERTAMA…dan malam (gelap) dan pagi (terang) adalah HARI KEDUA …dan malam (sekarang tiga periode malam) dan pagi (sekarang tiga periode terang) adalah HARI KETIGA." Ini memberikan satu contoh tentang bagaimana istilah "hari ketiga" dapat dihitung dan ditunjukkan agar termasuk dalam tiga hari dan tiga malam.

Kendatipun kami telah lama menyokong pandangan yang akan kami ketengahkan di sini—yang dimasukkan ke dalam perhitungan tiga hari dan tiga malam penuh—kami akan bersegera menyatakan bahwa sebagai orang Kristen, fakta yang kita percaya, bahwa Yesus pernah hidup, mati dan bangkit kembali, adalah sangat lebih penting daripada sedikit keterangan kita yang bisa tawarkan tentang elemen waktu dari pemakaman-Nya.

Karena ada duabelas jam dalam satu siang dan duabelas jam dalam satu malam (Yoh 11:9-10), bila kita hitung "tiga hari tiga malam" penuh, ini akan sama dengan 72 jam. Tetapi apakah unsur waktu tepat 72 jam? Yesus seharusnya ada di dalam kubur selama "tiga hari dan tiga malam" dan bangkit "setelah tiga hari" (Mrk 8:31). Kami tidak punya alasan untuk menghitung ini sebagai sedikit kurang dari satu masa kurang dari 72 jam. Di lain pihak, apabila Ia akan dibangkitkan dari antara orang mati "dalam tiga hari" (Yoh 2:19), ini tidak akan sedikit lebih dari 72 jam. Untuk memadukan pernyataan-pernyataan yang bervariasi ini, hal itu tidak kelihatan tak masuk akal untuk menganggap bahwa jangka waktu itu adalah tepat 72 jam. Betapapun juga, Elohim (Allah) adalah Elohim dari KETEPATAN. Dia membuat segala sesuatu tepat pada agenda waktu. Tidak ada yang kebetulan dengan Dia.

Adalah "ketika kegenapan waktunya tiba"—bukan satu tahun terlalu cepat atau satu tahun terlalu lambat—"Elohim (Allah) mengutus Anak-Nya" (Gal 4:4). Waktu untuk pengurapan-Nya sudah ditentukan sebelumnya dan dikatakan oleh Daniel, demikian juga saat ketika Dia akan "dipotong" untuk dosa manusia. Mereka yang mencoba membunuh-Nya sebelum ini gagal, sebab "waktu"-Nya belum juga tiba (Yoh 7:8). Dan bukan saja tahun dan waktu kematian-Nya, tetapi jamnya itu sendiri adalah suatu bagian dari rencana ilahi. "Bapa", Yesus berdoa, "jamnya telah datang…" (Yoh 17:1).

Karena telah ada waktu yang tepat bagi-Nya untuk dilahirkan, suatu waktu yang tepat bagi pengurapan-Nya, suatu waktu yang tepat bagi pelayanan-Nya dimulai, suatu waktu yang tepat bagi kematian-Nya, kita tidak mempunyai masalah untuk percaya bahwa ada juga suatu jangka waktu yang tepat di antara pemakaman dan kebangkitan-Nya—tepat sekali 72 jam. Jika ini benar, maka kebangkitan itu terjadi pada jam yang sama dari hari yang Yesus dikuburkan—hanya saja tiga hari kemudian. Jam berapa dari hari itu?

Yesus mati segera setelah "jam kesembilan" atau jam tiga siang (Mat 27:46-50). "Maka datanglah orang Yahudi menghadap Pilatus, karena itu adalah hari persiapan, bahwa tubuh-tubuh itu tidak boleh tinggal di salib pada hari sabat, (sebab hari sabat adalah hari penting,) supaya kaki-kaki mereka dapat dipatahkan dan agar mayat mereka dapat dibawa pergi…tetapi ketika mereka sampai kepada Yesus…Ia telah mati" (Yoh 19:31-33). Sampai saai ini, "malam telah datang" (Mrk 15:42), pada saat itu akhir petang. Hukum Taurat berkata: "Mayatnya tidak boleh tinggal sepanjang malam pada [tiang] pohon itu, tetapi haruslah kamu menguburkan dia pada hari itu juga" (Ul 21:23). Dalam sisa waktu pada hari itu sebelum matahari terbenam, sebelum hari besar sabat mulai, Yusuf dari Arimatea memperoleh izin untuk memindahkan tubuh itu. Ia dan Nikodemus menyiapkan izin untuk memindahkan tubuh itu untuk pemakaman dengan kain linen dan rempah-rempah, dan meletakkannya dalam kubur yang dekat disitu (Yoh 19:38-42)—semuanya ini selesai sebelum matahari terbenam.

Apabila kebangkitan berlangsung pada saat yang sama dari hari itu seperti saat Yesus dikuburkan—hanya tiga hari kemudian—maka ini akan menempatkan kebangkitan dekat pada saat matahari terbenam bukan matahari terbit, seperti yang umumnya dianggap. Suatu kebangkitan matahari terbit akan memerlukan satu malam ekstra—tiga hari dan empat malam. Ini tentu saja bukanlah kasusnya. Mereka yang datang ke kubur pada saat matahari terbit, ketimbang menyaksikan kebangkitan persis pada waktunya, mendapati bahwa kubur itu sudah kosong (Mrk 16:2). Kisah Yohanes mengatakan kepada kita bahwa Maria Magdalena datang ke kubur ketika "hari masih GELAP" pada hari pertama minggu itu dan Yesus TIDAK ADA di sana (Yoh 20:1-2).

Para penulis injil menceritakan beberapa kunjungan ke kubur itu yang dilakukan oleh murid-murid pada hari pertama dari minggu itu. Dalam setiap kejadian, mereka mendapati kubur itu KOSONG! Seorang malaikat berkata "Ia tidak ada disini; sebab Ia telah bangkit, seperti yang dikatakan-Nya" (Mat 28:6). Hari pertama dari minggu itu adalah ketika murid-murid itu mendapati bahwa Ia telah bangkit (Lukas 24:1-2; dsb), tetapi tidak dimanapun juga Alkitab benar-benar berkata ini adalah saat kebangkitan.

Satu-satunya ayat yang sepertinya mengajar suatu kebangkitan Minggu pagi adalah Markus 16:9. "Sekarang ketika Yesus telah bangkit pagi-pagi sekali pada hari pertama dari minggu itu, Ia menampakkan diri mula-mula kepada Maria Magdalena…" Tetapi ayat ini tidak berkata bahwa pagi-pagi sekali pada hari pertama minggu itu Yesus "sedang bangkit" ["rising"] atau Ia bangkit ["did rise"] pada saat itu. Dikatakan bahwa ketika hari pertama dari minggu itu tiba, Ia TELAH BANGKIT ["was risen"]—kalimat waktu lampau telah terjadi [past perfect tense]. Oleh sebab tidak ada tanda baca dalam manuskrip Yunani yang darinya Perjanjian Baru kita diterjemahkan, maka ungkapan "pagi-pagi hari pertama dari minggu itu" dapat saja dengan benar—ada orang berfikir lebih tepat—berkaitan dengan saat Yesus menampakkan diri kepada Maria. Dengan hanya menempatkan koma setelah kata "bangkit" ["risen"], maka kata ini akan dibaca: "Sekarang ketika Yesus telah bangkit, pagi-pagi sekali pada hari pertama dari minggu itu Ia menampakkan diri mula-mula kepada Maria Magdalena." Ini rupanya menjadi arti yang awalnya dimaksudkan, karena ayat yang mengikutinya menunjukkan bahwa Markus sedang mencatat macam-macam penampakan diri yang Yesus buat, tidak menerangkan pada hari yang mana kebangkitan terjadi.

Ketika Minggu pagi tiba, Yesus sudah selesai bangkit, kebangkitan itu sendiri telah berlangsung tepat sebelum matahari terbenam dari hari sebelumnya. Hitung ke belakang tiga hari akan membawa kita ke hari Rabu. Akankah ini membuat tiga siang dan tiga malam antara pemakaman dan kebangkitan Kristus? Ya. Rabu malam, Kamis malam, dan Jumat malam—tiga malam; juga hari Kamis, Jumat dan Sabtu—tiga siang. Ini akan membuat suatu jumlah yang tepat tiga hari dan tiga malam atau 72 jam. Satu hari setelah Rabu adalah Kamis, dua hari setelah Rabu adalah Jumat, dan "hari yang ketiga" setelah Rabu pasti adalah Sabtu. Kata-kata dari dua murid dalam perjalanan ke Emmaus sedikit lebih sulit. "Tetapi kami percaya bahwa Dialah seharusnya telah membebaskan Israel", mereka berkata, "dan disamping semuanya ini, hari ini adalah hari ketiga sejak hal-hal ini terjadi" (Luk 24:21). Karena Yesus menampakkan diri kepada murid-murid ini pada hari pretama dari minggu itu (ayat 13), dan ini adalah "hari ketiga sejak hal-hal ini terjadi", akankah ini tidak menunjukkan bahwa Yesus mati pada hari Jumat? Ini akan bergantung pada bagaimana kita menghitung. Jika bagian dari satu hari dihitung sebagai satu hari penuh, maka hari Jumat mungkin dimaksudkan. Di pihak lain, satu hari "sejak" Jumat pastilah Sabtu, hari yang kedua "sejak" Jumat pastilah Minggu, dan hari ketiga "sejak" Jumat pastilah Senin! Cara menghitung ini tidak akan menunjukkan hari Jumat.

Dalam mencari untuk menawarkan suatu penjelasan, saya mengajukan berikut ini: Mereka telah berbicara tentang "segala hal-hal ini yang telah terjadi" (ayat 14)—lebih dari hanya satu kejadian. Jika "hal-hal ini" sudah temasuk penangkapan, penyaliban, pemakaman, dan pemasangan meterai dan menjaga kubur, semua hal-hal ini tidak terlaksana sampai hari Kamis. Kita sudah tahu, Yesus disalibkan pada hari "persiapan" (Rabu). Hari berikutnya (Kamis), yang menyusul hari persiapan, para imam kepala dan orang-orang Farisi pergi bersama-sama menghadap Pilatus, dan berkata, Tuan kami ingat bahwa penyesat itu, ketika Ia masih hidup berkata, "Setelah tiga hari Aku akan bangkit lagi. Karena itu perintahkanlah untuk menjaga kubur itu sampai hari ketiga, jika tidak, murid-muridNya datang pada malam hari dan mencuri Dia" (Mat 27:62-66). Untuk alasan ini, kubur itu disegel dan dijaga. "Hal-hal ini" belum sepenuhnya selesai—belum "terlaksana"—sampai kubur itu disegel dan dijaga. Ini terjadi, seperti yang sudah kita lihat, pada hari Kamis dari minggu itu, hari penting. Jadi hari Minggu akan menjadi "hari ketiga sejak hal-hal ini terjadi", tetapi bukan hari ketiga sejak penyaliban.

Karena Yesus telah disalib pada hari sebelum hari sabat, kami dapat mengerti mengapa ada orang telah berfikir mengenai hari Jumat sebagai hari penyaliban. Tetapi hari sabat yang menyusul kematian-Nya bukanlah sabat mingguan, tetapi suatu hari sabat tahunan—"karena sabat adalah hari yang penting [hari besar] (Yoh 19:14, 31). Sabat ini dapat jatuh pada hari apa saja dari minggu itu dan tahun itu rupanya jatuh pada hari Kamis. Ia disalib pada hari persiapan (Rabu), dan hari berikutnya adalah hari penting sabat (Kamis), kemudian hari Jumat dan diikuti oleh sabat mingguan (Sabtu). Memahami bahwa ada dua sabat pada minggu itu, menjelaskan bagaimana Kristus bisa disalib pada hari sebelum sabat tiba—namun memenuhi tanda-Nya dari tiga hari dan tiga malam.

Suatu perbandingan yang saksama dari Markus 16:1 dan Lukas 23:56 memberikan bukti-bukti lebih lanjut ada dua hari sabat di minggu itu—dengan satu hari kerja di antara keduanya. Markus 16:1 berkata: "Dan ketika telah lewat hari sabat, Maria Magdalena dan Maria ibu Yakobus, dan Salome, membeli [bought]* rempah-rempah yang harum agar mereka dapat datang dan mengurapi-Nya." Ayat ini menyatakan bahwa saat itu setelah hari sabat ketika wanita-wanita ini membeli rempah-rempah mereka. Namun, Lukas 23:56 menyatakan bahwa mereka siapkan rempah-rempah itu dan setelah menyiapkannya mereka beristirahat pada hari sabat: "Dan mereka pulang, dan menyediakan rempah-rempah dan minyak urapan dan beristirahat pada hari sabat sesuai dengan perintah Tuhan." Ayat yang satu berkata adalah setelah hari sabat perempuan-perempuan itu membeli rempah-rempah; ayat yang lain berkata mereka menyiapkan rempah-rempah sebelum hari sabat. Karena mereka tidak bisa menyiapkan rempah-rempah itu sampai mereka membelinya dahulu, maka bukti untuk dua sabat yang berbeda dalam minggu itu meyakinkan.

Dalam majalah Eternity, editornya, Donald Grey Barnhouse, berkata: "Saya pribadi telah selalu bertahan bahwa ada dua hari Sabat dalam minggu terakhir Tuhan kita— Sabat hari Sabtu dan Sabat Paskah, yang terakhir adalah pada hari Kamis. Mereka bersegera menurunkan tubuh-Nya setelah penyaliban pada hari Rabu dan Dia berada tiga hati tiga malam (sekurang-kurangnya 72 jam) dalam kubur." Ia mengutip bukti dari Gulungan Laut Mati yang akan menempatkan Perjamuan Malam Terakhir pada hari Selasa. Tidak semua tradisi menyokong penyaliban hari Jumat. Ia mengutip dari sebuah jurnal Roma Katholik yang diterbitkan di Perancis bahwa "suatu tradisi Kristen purba, dibuktikan oleh Didascalia Apostolorum demikian juga oleh Epiphanius dan Vitorinus dari Petau (wafat tahun 304) memberikan Selasa malam sebagai tanggal dari Perjamuan Malam Terakhir dan menentukan suatu puasa untuk hari Rabu untuk memperingati penangkapan Kristus."[2]

Walaupun teguh berpegang pada penyaliban hari Jumat, Enskilopedia Katholik berkata bahwa tidak semua sarjana Alkitab telah mempercayai cara ini. Epiphanius, Lactantius, Wescott, Cassiodorus dan Gregory dari Tours disebut-sebut yang menolak hari Jumat sebagai hari penyaliban.[3]

Dalam bukunya "Bible Questions Answered" [Pertanyaan Alkitab Dijawab], W. L. Pettingill, memberikan pertanyaan dan jawaban: Pada hari apa dalam minggu itu Tuhan kita disalib? Bagi kita tidak pelak lagi bahwa penyaliban adalah pada hari Rabu."[4] The Companion Bible [Alkitab Sahabat] diterbitkan oleh Oxford University Press, dalam Appendix [tambahan]nya no. 156 menjelaskan bahwa Kristus disalibkan pada hari Rabu.

Dalam Alkitabnya Dake's Annotated Reference Bible, Finis Dake telah berkata dalam catatannya atas Matius 12:40: "Kristus sudah mati selama tiga hari penuh dan tiga malam penuh. Dia telah diletakkan di dalam kuburan pada hari Rabu sesaat sebelum matahari terbenam dan telah bangkit pada akhir dari hari Sabtu pada saat matahari terbenam. …Tidak ada pernyataan yang berkata bahwa Dia dikuburkan pada hari Jumat saat matahari terbenam. Ini akan membuat Dia berada dalam kubur hanya satu siang dan satu malam, dan membuktikan ucapan-Nya sendiri tidak benar."[5]

Kutipan-kutipan yang diberikan disini dari berbagai pelayan Tuhan adalah spesial penting sebab keyakinan ini adalah bukan posisi umum yang diterima dari berbagai organisasi gereja yang dengannya mereka tergabung. Dalam kasus demikian, manusia berbicara dari pendirian, bukan saja hati nurani. Seperti itu adalah kasus dari R.A. Torrey, penginjil yang terkemuka dan Dekan Institut Alkitab, yang kata-katanya (ditulis tahun 1907) menyimpulkan dengan baik posisi dasar yang kami telah sampaikan disini. "…Menurut tradisi dari gereja yang secara umum diakui, Yesus disalibkan pada hari Jumat…dan bangkit dari kematian pada amat pagi sekali dari hari Minggu berikutnya. Banyak pembaca Alkitab kebingungan untuk mengetahui bagaimana jangka waktu antara akhir petang hari Jumat dan awal pagi hari Minggu dapat dihitung menjadi tiga hari dan tiga malam. Nampaknya itu agaknya menjadi dua malam, satu hari dan satu bagian yang sangat kecil dari hari lainnya.

"Solusi dari ini rupanya sukar disarankan oleh banyak komentator adalah 'satu hari dan satu malam' ialah cara sederhana lain untuk mengatakan 'satu hari', dan bahwa orang Yahudi kuno menghitung sebuah bagian dari satu hari sebagai sehari penuh…Ada banyak orang yang tidak benar-benar puas dengan solusi ini, dan penulis bebas untuk mengakui bahwa itu tidak samasekali memuaskan dia. Nampaknya bagi saya menjadi suatu yang sementara…

"Alkitab tidak dimanapun juga berkata atau secara tidak langsung menyatakan bahwa Yesus disalibkan dan mati pada hari Jumat. Alkitab berkata bahwa Yesus disalibkan pada "hari sebelum Sabat"…Sekarang Alkitab tidak biarkan kita berspekulasi dalam hal sabat yang mana yang dimaksudkan dalam kejadian ini…adalah bukan hari sebelum sabat mingguan, (yaitu hari Jumat), tetapi itu adalah hari sebelum sabat Paskah, yang datang tahun itu pada hari Kamis—itulah yang dikatakan, hari dimana Yesus Kristus disalib ialah hari Rabu. Yohanes menjadikan ini sejelas siang hari.

"Yesus dikubur pada hari Rabu sesaat sebelum matahari terbenam. Tujuh puluh dua jam kemudian…Ia bangkit dari kuburan. Ketika para wanita mengunjungi lobang kubur itu sesaat sebelum fajar di pagi hari itu, mereka mendapati kuburan itu sudah kosong.

"Secara absolut tidak ada yang pro penyaliban hari Jumat, tetapi segala sesuatu dalam ayat-ayat Alkitab diharmoniskan dengan sempurna oleh penyaliban hari Rabu. Adalah menakjubkan sekali betapa banyak ayat-ayat nubuatan dan khas dari Perjanjian Lama sudah terpenuhi, dan betapa banyak cerita-cerita yang seolah-olah berbeda dalam injil diluruskan apabila tiba saatnya kita mengerti bahwa Yesus mati pada hari Rabu, dan bukan pada hari Jumat.

Diterjemahkan oleh: Ev. David Lusikooy, Juni 2001

dari: Babylon Mystery Religion (Bab 18)

Karya: Ralph Woodrow

P.O. Box 124

Riverside, California 92502

Catatan: Semua ayat diterjemahkan sesuai dengan King James Version (bukan LAI)

---

[1] The Jewish Encyclopedia, jilid 4, halaman 475, artikel "Day" [Hari]

* Alkitab versi King James (KJV) adalah satu-satunya terjemahan (dari banyak yang kami telah cek) yang menggunakan kata indefinite [yang tidak pasti] "had bought" [telah membeli]. Semua yang lainnya telah dengan tepat menterjemahkan ini sebagai "bought" [membeli]. Tidaklah lazim untuk ayat ini kalau dibaca seolah-olah perempuan-perempuan itu membawa ["brought"] rempah-rempah, tetapi kata itu ialah "bought," satu huruf membuat perbedaan itu!

[2] Eternity, Juni 1958.

[3] The Catholic Encyclopedia, jilid 8, halaman 378, artikel "Jesus Christ."

[4] W. L. Pettingill, Bible Questions Answered, halaman 182.

[5] Dake's Annotated Reference Bible, halaman 13.