Stephen K. Ray's Blog, page 94

Eternal Security, Once Saved Always Saved: Is Baptist Pastor Charles Stanley Right?

ETERNAL SECURITY
(Once Saved-Always Saved):
Analyzing a Sermon by Baptist Pastor,
Charles Stanley
By Steve Ray

Hello Protestant Friend:

Even though I have watched his show off and on over the months, I had no intention of watching Charles Stanley on television last night. It was just that I was tired after getting home and was getting some iced tea to drink and flipped on the TV and—there he was as big as life. His Bible was dramatically floating up and down with pages flapping as he paced in front of the audience.

I understand – I learned the same speaking style as a Bible teacher. It is something pastors learn in Bible school. Delivery is crucial. His style or manner is similar to Kenneth Copeland’s but not quite as dramatic and certainly without Copeland’s arrogance. He caught my interest tonight because his topic was judgment for the sinner and Eternal Security for the believer………

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Boat Ride, Capernaum, St.Peter Fish, Visitation and “Up to Jerusalem”!

We hit our transition point of moving from Galilee to Jerusalem. A busy day it is.

A boat ride on the sea of Galilee with my story about the night I spent out fishing with two Jewish fisherman, a brief stop at the  Primacy Of Peter , viewing the ancient boat and Mass at Capernaum and my talk “Defending the Eucharist”.

St Peters Fish for lunch and then the drive to the Visitation. I emphasize the fact that Mary had to walk there and it’s over 90 miles. Then up to Jerusalem to settle in to the Notre Dame hotel.

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Did Jesus Ascend into Heaven from Mount of Olives (Acts 1:12) or from Bethany (Luke 24:50)?

Since we are on the Mount of Olives TODAY for the Feast of the Ascension, I thought it would be good to share this bit of information from the actual site of the Ascension.

The Ascension always falls on a Thursday, 40 days after Resurrection Sunday. Then 9 days of praying in the Upper Room (1st Novena) and on the 50th day from the Resurrection the Holy Spirit fell on Pentecost. Pentecost means “the fiftieth day.”

One of our past pilgrims wrote to me expressing an apparent contradiction in the Bible about what I had said in Israel. The wording in the two verses below is what caused the confusion.

Acts 1:12  “[After the Ascension] they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away.”

Luke 24:50–51  “Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven.”

So, did Jesus ascend into heaven from the Mount of Olives or from Bethany?

On pilgrimages, I take my groups to the top of the Mount of Olives to the Church of Pater Noster (the “Our Father”) where Jesus taught his disciples to pray in “the Grotto of the Teaching” — a cave beneath the front of the church. It is here that the oldest traditions inform us that Jesus was raised into heaven. Here Constantine built a church in the early 300’s. Here we celebrate Jesus’ departure and pray the Rosary’s 2nd Glorious Mystery of the Ascension.

There is a Muslim mosque five minute’s walk away (called the Chapel of the Ascension) that most Protestants visit but I don’t patronize Muslim sites and don’t accept this as the authentic place of the Ascension.

No one knows the exact square inches where his feet left the ground. But the Church of Pater Noster has the oldest tradition, is on the Mount of Olives and very near Bethany.

If we had had the time, and there was not the big wall separating Jerusalem from Bethany like it does Jerusalem from Bethlehem, in a few minutes we could walk into Bethany from the top of the Mount of Olives. We used to walk people there to go into the tomb of Lazarus. That is how close Bethany is to the top of the Mount of Olives.

However, I can’t do that with groups anymore because of the big wall that keeps us from walking from the Mount of Olives into Bethany.

Bethany is on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives about 2 miles from Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. At the time of Jesus there was nothing on the Mount of Olives but olive trees (even until the late 1800’s, see picture black and white picture from about 1900). If you left from Jerusalem, heading to the Mount of Olives, it was perceived you were headed to Bethany.

 The picture shows that even until the turn of the 20th century there was nothing outside the old walls of Jerusalem. That meant there was just trees and open space between Jerusalem and Bethany. Bethany, though not seen on this map, was on the Eastern slope of the mount.

The other two maps show the proximity of Bethany, the the top of the Mount of Olives and the short distance from the walled city of Jerusalem. Luke wrote both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.  He obviously saw no contradiction in referring to both places as the general location of Christ’s ascension.

It is easily explained this way. First, some suggest that he went as far as Bethany to say good-bye to the family he loved – Lazarus, Mary and Martha, then came back to the top of the mount and departed to heaven. However, there is no need to stretch things that far. Being on the eastern slope of the mount, Bethany is virtually on the Mount of Olives, especially from the perspective of Jerusalem.

If someone asks me where I’m from, I always say “Detroit.” But those who have been to my house know I really live 40 miles east of Detroit in Ypsilanti. But since no one knows where Ypsilanti is – I say “Detroit.”

If there is nothing but trees and bare land on the Mount of Olives and you’re heading east from Jerusalem, people would say you are going to Bethany. Jesus left Jerusalem and went over toward Bethany to ascend into heaven.

So if the geography is understood there is no conflict. Scripture can be trusted.

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Beatitudes, Caesarea Philippi, Syrian Border, Primacy and Tabgha

One of my favorite days with rich sites and flavors. The Mount of Beatitudes for Mass is always very special and hard to get people to leave. Then an  hour drive to the Lebanese border in northern Israel to see Caesarea Philippi during which our priest tells his vocation story. At “the rock” I give my talk “Peter, the Rock, the Keys and the Chair.”

Lunch at a Druze restaurant before stopping at the Syrian border to overlook a country that has been devastated by radical Muslim groups Isis and the Nursa Front. We discuss the situation in the Middle East.

Then back to the sea to Tabgha where Jesus multiplied loaves and fish and then on to Primacy Of Peter where Jesus appointed him to be the shepherd. The day concludes with dinner at one of the finest restaurants in Israel called Magdalena.

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What If Your Parents Were Morons?

On the first day of school, young Lucy took her seat in science class. The teacher began to explain why there was no God and why she was an atheist. The students all listened carefully. At the end of the class the teacher asked how many of the children wanted to be atheists like her.

Not wanting to contradict the new teacher all the students raised their hands — except Lucy. The teacher said, “Lucy, why didn’t you raise your hand?” Lucy responded, “Because I am not an atheist and never will be. I am a Christian.”

The teacher was perturbed and said, “Why are you a Christian?” Lucy answered, “My mother is intelligent and she is a Christian; my father is very intelligent and he is a Christian — so I am a Christian too.”

The teacher was angry now and asked, “That is ridiculous. If your mother was a moron and your father was a moron, what would you be then?”

Lucy thought for a moment and then said, “I’d probably be an atheist!”

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Up the Mountain of Transfiguration, Renewal of Wedding Vows in Cana and Remarkable Nazareth!

Without Nazareth, there would never be Bethlehem or Jerusalem. “The word became flesh HERE”!

Today is one of our favorite days climbing to the top for the mMount of Transfiguration and recalling and meditating upon Jesus as the New Moses.

Mass at the top of the mountain is always spectacular and Fr. Andrew did a great job with our Mass today.

We had the renewal of marriage vows at Cana today which  always brings tears to peoples’ eyes. Then to Nazareth where it all began. At the announcement of the angel and Mary’s approval, the word became flesh HERE. Enjoy the day!

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Atheism Rationally Explained :-)

ATHEISM: The belief that there was absolutely nothing and nothing happened to nothing and then nothing magically exploded for no reason, creating everything and then a bunch of everything magically rearranged itself for no reason whatsoever into self-replicating bits of random stuff thrown together by chance which then turned into dinosaurs who crawled out of the muck. Makes perfect sense to me.

And then you came along…

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Arrivals into Israel and Mass at Shore of Galilee

Back in the Holy Land with another sold out group. So sorry for Fr. Matt Jamesson and Fr. Tim Fairman who caught the corona virus and had to step back at the last minute (we will find another date for them next year).

Thanks to my good friend Fr. Andrew Dalton LC for filling in at the last moment! Great group. Excited folks from all over the US. Thanks for joining us!

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My Favorite Picture/Painting of the Jewish St. Paul the Apostle

Most pictures of St. Paul ignore his Jewishness. When he entered a Synagogue to teach he could not have looked like a Gentile. He would have been distinctly Jewish. They would never ask a Gentile to share a “word of encouragement” to the Jewish worshipers. For example:

“Acts 13:14–15:  “They went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.  After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, ‘Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it’.”

There is a description of St. Paul’s appearance in the 2nd century The Acts of Paul and Thecla which says: “A man small in size, bald-headed, bandy-legged, well-built, with eyebrows meeting, rather long-nosed, full of grace. For sometimes he seemed like a man, and sometimes he had the countenance of an angel” (ANF, vol. 8, p. 487). The picture does not match this description perfectly, but I still think the picture well portrays St. Paul as the Jew he was.

(This picture was from the website Israel Bible Center)

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Debunking the Liberal Left’s Creed: Al Kresta at his Best in only 11 Minutes

I’m sure you’ve seen those yard signs that proudly declare “In this house, WE BELIEVE that Black lives matter, women’s rights are human rights, love is love, etc etc”

Al Kresta produced a video responding to the silliness. It has never been done better. Please share widely.

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