Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life (Luke 25)? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest (Luke 26)?
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There are people all over the world worrying about a myriad of things. They worry about war, hunger, violence, jobs, health and even if their sports team will win. At sporting events fans from different nations fight each other for reasons that seem unclear to many people. Why would a person attack another, with the intent of hurting someone, just because of a sporting event?
The price of oil climbs and lowers off fears that it may be difficult to obtain when a rouge nation such as South Korea fires missiles into the sea or a militant Muslim group makes threats against Israel or sets off a bomb somewhere in the world.
Why do people and nations fight with each other? Why do scholars and historians portray ruthless, warmongering leaders as having been or being brilliant leaders? Was Alexander the Great really the kind of person the world should consider great? Historians call him one of the most brilliant war tacticians of all time. Alexander conquered many cities and the entire Persian nation. Alexander ordered many of his subjects to worship him as a Greek god and shortly after Alexander made this order he died of physical ailments, while he was still a young man. (Source: Ancient Warfare Magazine; Kawarsanary publishers Netherlands)
Historians, especially those of French descent; also call Napoleon Bonaparte a great leader, even though he was defeated and put into exile where he died separated from the people he ruled. Napoleon, like Alexander and other military leaders, brought death and hardship upon thousands, perhaps millions of people. Napoleon was called the” God of War” by men and others like him ordered their troops to leave their homes and families to destroy the lives, homes and families of people in distant lands.
It is not hard to see why Napoleon has been numbered among the great commanders of history. A Napoleonic scholar, Gunther Rothenberg, has calculated that he personally commanded 34 battles between 1792 and 1815, of which he lost only six. For a period of ten years he dominated Europe, heading an empire that stretched from the Channel coast to the borders of Russia. The foremost military theorist of the age of Napoleon, Carl von Clausewitz, hailed him as ‘the god of War’, whilst in slightly more restrained fashion the modern historian Martin Van Creveld has described him as ‘the most competent human being who ever lived’. What were the distinctive qualities of leadership that brought such accolades? Source History Today January 2014
Aggressive men seem to be idolized and placed in honorable positions even though they are responsible for death, destruction of property, and turmoil in much of the world.
The history of wars highlights the fact that wars can result from the ambitions of one man or the ambitions of many men. In more recent history, the example of World War I demonstrates that the ambitions of many men not only can start a war, but also perpetuate a war. World War I was ignited by nationalism and the coveting of landmasses and their populations and was perpetuated until Germany could no longer carry on without defeat.
World War I was ignited by the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife in 1914 by a nineteen-year-old Serbian male. Regional pride was prevalent on the part of Serbs, Croatians, Slovaks, and other ethnic groups in the early part of the 20th century and continues even today. World War I, as it came to be known after the start of World War II, was the result of ambitious men in Europe desiring to control the land and populations of other European nations. For much of their existence the nations that comprise Europe had been at war with various other nations not only on the European continent, but around the world.
Napoleon had tried to increase his power and the territory of France by leading his troops on expansionist excursions against other European nations. There is a long history of fighting among men even back to the time when men lived in family tribes. The underlying reason for these fights is mostly selfishness and greed.
There have been various words and titles associated with the reasons for war, however when you peel away the veneer of language, selfishness and greed are the basis for the killing and maiming of millions. Men fight because of religious beliefs, political beliefs, and to acquire goods, people and their lands.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there was a balance of power among European nations after the defeat of Napoleon. The German nation was formed from several states under the guidance of Prussia. In 1862 Otto Bismarck was appointed premier of the Prussian state during a period of disagreement with the Prussian Parliament and Emperor William I. Bismarck successfully implemented a plan to unite the northern and southern states of Germany under one rule by going to war against France.
The German states united to win the Franco-Prussian war against France and the Prussian Emperor William I was named the ruler of the united Germany. Other nations in Europe were wary of the power of the German nation, which resulted in various alliance treaties that kept an uneasy peace in Europe until the hostilities that began World War I.
With ethnicities, religious differences, surging individualism, socialism, communism and man’s unbridled selfishness together to make war in Europe a certainty. Other nations quickly joined one side of the war or the other either to settle old resentments or to gain new power and territory.
World War I did not become known as World War 1 until after the breakout of World War II, which again was centered in Europe. Once again regional disputes among ethnic groups played a large part in instigating World War II, as had been the case not only in World War I but also in previous wars on the European continent. Source: History BBC Summary of World War I
Ethnic groups often have different religious beliefs that contribute to resentment between peoples not only in Europe, but also in other parts of the world. Christians and Muslims have had wars of hatred that date all the way back to before the 11th century when war between these two groups became far-reaching with the beginning of the Crusades.
Charlemagne or Charles the Great (742-814) became King of the Franks and is considered by historians to be one of the greatest military leaders in the Middle Ages. Charlemagne, like his father Pepin, maintained close ties with the pope. Pope Stephen II had crowned Pepin King of the Franks in return for Pepin’s support in protecting the pope’s land in Italy.
Charlemagne ruled the Franks jointly with his brother Caroline after their father’s death. Caroline died suddenly in 771 and Charlemagne became the sole ruler of the Franks and embarked on a campaign to widen his rule by first attacking a non Catholic group known as the Saxons in the territory now known as northwestern Germany.
In 773 Charlemagne was asked for help by Pope Adrian I to fight off an invasion by the Lombards on papal territory in central Italy. Charlemagne went to the assistance of the pope, drove off the Lombards, and went on to conquer the territory of the Lombards that was comprised of the northern half of Italy. As a result of his assistance to the pope, Charlemagne was named patrician of the Romans and exerted a great deal of influence over the pope.
In 778 Charlemagne invaded the area controlled by the Moors, which is now Northern Spain. The Moors were Muslims and like the Saxons considered to be pagans by the Christian Charlemagne.
In 779 Charlemagne went to the assistance of the pope, who succeeded Adrian Leo III, and whose authority some Roman citizens were challenging. Charlemagne was successful in quelling the rebellion and legitimizing the authority of the pope’s office in Rome.
Pope Leo III was very grateful to Charlemagne for his assistance and crowned Charlemagne Emperor of Rome on Christmas day in the year 800.
Charlemagne was successful in establishing his rule over most of what is known today as western and central Europe, and at the same time successful in helping the popes of Western Europe establish their own authority apart from the Byzantine Empire that was established in Constantinople by Constantine in AD 320. The areas conquered and consolidated by Charlemagne came to be known as the Holy Roman Empire with its headquarters in Rome.
Charlemagne was instrumental in blending the power of the Roman Catholic Church in every province of the Western Roman Empire. He provided for a district office or diocese of the Catholic Church in every district of authority he established with a count as its head. Each district had a representative of the government for civil law and church law and both the counts and bishops who serviced in those districts were responsible to Charlemagne.
Charlemagne died in 814 and his civil government began to decline and break up shortly after his death. Charlemagne did, however, leave a legacy that still survives to this day. He united the Christian lands of Western Europe and firmly established the power of the Roman Catholic Church. He set a precedent with a form of government for future rulers and kings to follow and fused together the Germanic, Roman and Christian cultures that would become the foundation of modern European civilization. Source: Encyclopedia Britannia; Charlemagne
One very important lesson that can be learned from history is that among men and their governments’ peace is always relatively short lived. There have always been disagreements among men even in the earliest recorded history in the Hebrew bible brothers fought and killed one another.
Cain’s killing of his brother Abel is the first recorded murder, in the scriptures, which resulted from jealousy. Jacob tricked and took advantage of his brother Esau to obtain a larger portion of his father’s inheritance. Men covet what other men have and they scheme to obtain what belongs to others. The courts of the United States are filled with criminal and civil cases involving murder, bribery, extortion and various means attempting to gain property belonging to others.
The scriptures, in the bible, also teach us that war will not end until a world government is established in which power comes through a monarch that will rule over people with a firm hand. This government will encompass the entire world and will be headquartered in a New Jerusalem.
Before this new government is established, however, there will be more fighting in the world, just as there always has been. Yahshua, the Messiah, predicted there would always be wars until the new government would be formed (Matthew 24:6). The scriptures in both the Old and the New Testaments predict a coming war that will be so terrible the face of the earth will be changed and much of the world’s population will be killed. This war will be so horrific that men will try to kill themselves to avoid the ravages of this world war that will kill billions of people.
Isa 13:9-12
9 See, the day of the Lord is coming — a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger — to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it.
10 The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light.
The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.
11 I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless.
12 I will make man scarcer than pure gold,
more rare than the gold of Ophir.
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Nothing will be left, cities will be destroyed, rivers and oceans will be dried up and even the mountains will be leveled. People will be unprepared for the carnage just as they are unprepared for war and natural upheavals such as floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis and wars that will pale by comparison to the coming great disaster upon the earth.
There will be no aid from the Red Cross or any country because there will be no nation left with any resources to help even themselves let alone others. There will be no rich people to share their resources with others because no one will have any of their resources left. There will be no governments left to organize relief or protection for its citizens. This war will be so terrible and devastating that men will turn their remaining weapons of war into agricultural instruments to grow crops to sustain themselves and what remains of their families.
Isa 24:1-5
24 See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants — 2 it will be the same for priest as for people, for master as for servant, for mistress as for maid, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor. 3 The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken this word.
4 The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers,
the exalted of the earth languish. 5 The earth is defiled by its people;
they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant.
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The bible has accurately predicted the rise and fall of governments, yet most people still refuse to believe the scriptures. Many seem to think the structured world based on logical mathematical formulas is just a quirk of fate and magically appeared without any planning from any being. Many seem to think that even though the make up of the human body is so amazingly complex that it is the end result of evolution from a single cell from which all life evolved. These will be the same people who will be totally surprised by the end of civilization, as it exists today, even though the scriptures tell them how to avoid the coming disasters.
There is an example in the scriptures that accurately portrays how people will be caught unprepared for their demise. This is the recorded event of Noah and his family being saved from destruction because they built an ark and followed the instructions of the Creator. Others refused to listen and they died. Most people today don’t accept the scriptures about Moses and indeed they ignore most if not all of the scriptures. Some of these people even claim to believe in the Son of the Creator and still they do not prepare for the coming disasters.
Matt 24:36-40
36 “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
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These bible scriptures are the words of the Creator’s Son. This Son, falsely called Jesus by millions of Christians, is the one on which these Christians claim they base their beliefs. Yet, people do not believe that the coming of the Son will take them by surprise and that they will likely be destroyed. They base their beliefs on the religion that was developed by devious men and promulgated throughout the world by men like Constantine, Charlemagne and the popes and religious leaders throughout history.
The false beast government of these men is described in the scriptures and most Christians follow this false religion that has taken root in many countries in the world.
Rev 17:3-6
3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. 5 This title was written on her forehead:
MYSTERY
BABYLON THE GREAT
THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Yahshua.
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Rev 17:15-18
15 Then the angel said to me, “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. 16 The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For Elohim has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to give the beast their power to rule, until Elohim’s words are fulfilled. 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
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The scriptures contain many symbols that create confusion. Elohim has foretold that many would hear the scriptures but would not understand.
Isa 6:9-10
9 He said, “Go and tell this people:
“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
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Yahshua Himself is recorded in the scriptures with parables foretelling that people would not be allowed to understand the scriptures so they would not be healed.
Matt 13:11-15
11 He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’
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These scriptures seem to indicate that the Father and Son do not want everyone to be healed (from their sins). This appears to contradict scriptures that seem to give the give the impression that Elohim wants everyone to be saved or healed.
John 3:16-18
16 “For Yahweh so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For Elohim did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
NIV
Why would the Creator who loves the world and sent His Son to die for our sins make it impossible for many to be saved by blocking their minds from understanding the scriptures?
Notice carefully what the scriptures say in verse 15 of Matthew in chapter 13.
People will not understand scripture because their hearts (minds) are calloused. When people choose not to heed the scriptures, even when they have some understanding, that knowledge will be taken from them. In other words, people on their own decide to reject the instructions of Elohim, and when they do, they will not have the spirit that will help them understand the scriptures.
In John, chapter 3, and verse 16, the scriptures relate that the Father sent His Son so the world could be saved through Him. The scriptures teach how people can be saved through the Son; however most people will choose to ignore these instructions and will not accept salvation from eternal death. What is the fate of those who choose to ignore the scriptures of Elohim? There are many scriptures in which Yahweh has foretold what will befall mankind if they do not heed His instructions. To learn what the scriptures portray about the future of the unbeliever, please read the YNCA article “The Fate of the Disobedient.”
There is no amount of worry that will help alter the fate of the disobedient. Only their obedient actions to Yahweh will alter their fate.
Bibliography:
See list of resource information under YNCA Studies Resources.