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The Real Jesus

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The Simple Answers… To Life’s Most Important Questions.

Bible Study Course Lesson 2 – 3

We hear a lot about Jesus today; every Christian church reveres and exalts Jesus. But have you noticed that each describes a Jesus which is a little different? Even different congregations within a denomination often paint a radically different picture of Jesus. Some churches teach a Jesus who did away with His Father’s laws, nailing them to the cross. Some teach He was not even human – that He was still God the whole time, just in human form. Others believe He was fully human, but just a normal man – not divine at all. Some say He was a great man, and some even consider Him a prophet, but not the Son of God.

Most believe the Father was the “Lord” of the Old Testament, and Jesus did not exist until His life began in the womb of Mary, while others teach He was created by the Father before the world was created; still others believe He has always existed, yet others believe He isn’t a God at all, just an angel of God!

Surely, among all these different beings called “Jesus”, only one can be the TRUE Jesus! Which means all the rest are a different Jesus. Did you know your Bible says there is more than one? 2 Corinthians 11:3-4 (ESV) But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims ANOTHER JESUS than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive A DIFFERENT SPIRIT from the one you received, or if you ACCEPT A DIFFERENT GOSPEL from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

The Bible says clearly that false teachers introduced this false Jesus, with his false gospel, into the church while the apostles still lived! Do you suppose it stopped there? Paul was afraid lest they be led away from Christ unto A DIFFERENT JESUS, with a DIFFERENT SPIRIT, who brings a

DIFFERENT GOSPEL!

And Paul was right to be worried – for since he penned those words, BILLIONS have been deceived by that other gospel, and are even now worshiping that other Jesus in ignorance. Is it possible to worship Jesus, and call Him Lord… and yet NOT be a Christian? Matthew 7:22-23 NLT. Think about that! MANY people believe they are worshiping the true Jesus Christ, but Jesus said MANY people are in fact worshiping ANOTHER Jesus, one Paul did not preach! They have a holy spirit, but Paul said it is ANOTHER not-so-holy spirit, which Paul did not have! And so they believe a completely different gospel, a completely different message about the plan of God!

Did Jesus say that a few would fall into this trap? Or that it would be MANY who would be told “you are not a Christian”? Matthew 7:12-14. Notice the context there! Jesus tells us the golden rule, the rule upon which EVERYTHING you’ve learned so far is based, and then says not many people will find the truth! That’s why the things you’ve learned in these lessons are so new to you!

That which is called Christianity isn’t necessarily Christian; and he whom everyone calls Jesus isn’t necessarily the TRUE Jesus. Paul wasn’t very worried about Christians being led into witchcraft – he spends very little time warning them about open paganism. No, his biggest worry was clearly the growing counterfeit Christianity spreading through the church, even while he was still alive!

WHO IS THE REAL JESUS?

Let’s start by saying something that I can’t say too often – the Bible is the ONLY source for true information about God. John Calvin and Martin Luther and Eusebius and Origen ALL had the same source you do, and to understand the truth you must bypass the traditions they taught and return to the only SOURCE of truth, and learn what it really says! If you honestly desire to know the real Jesus, you must be willing to reject all the ideas and opinions of men and start from square one. Faith in God means trusting God and believing what He says. That attitude begins with faith in His Word – not faith in the words of men about God, but faith in the words God said ABOUT HIMSELF!

If you are to have ANY HOPE of arriving at the truth, you must be willing to discard all of your preconceived ideas and let the Bible ALONE define the personality and nature of the real Jesus from scratch. Otherwise, YOU might be one of those saying “But Jesus, I went to church every Sunday, like you said!!” and He might say, “I never knew you”. The only reason there is confusion today about who Jesus is and what He is like is because no one asked Him! Books written by men, whether written by priests, by doctors of divinity, or seminary professors will never lead you to the real Jesus! Only in your Bible will you find the REAL Jesus!

So if you want to know about the nature of Jesus, you MUST ask the Bible. Not commentaries, catechisms, or church doctrine, but the BIBLE. It has all the information you need! I say this because today you’re going to be introduced to a Jesus you probably have never met before – and you might find Him to be shockingly different from the one you’ve been taught!

PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST

For whose pleasure were the worlds made? Revelation 4:10-11, Revelation 5:5-7. [Note: since the Lamb (Christ) is before the throne, the one ON the throne must be the Father.] But did the Father do the work Himself? By WHOM were the worlds made? Hebrews 1:1-2. Who made ALL things? John 1:1-3, 10. The Greek word for “word” in John 1 is logos, meaning “spokesperson” – the one who speaks for God. Did Jesus speak for the Father? John 12:50. It was the same in the beginning. Who made all things – Jesus or the Father? Colossians 1:16-17. But whose command was Jesus obeying when He made all things? Ephesians 3:9. Is the Father superior in authority to Jesus? John 14:28. In Genesis 1:26, does God say let ME make man in MY image? Or is more than one “God” present? From what you just read, is that the Father or Jesus talking, saying “let US make man in OUR image after OUR likeness”? Who gave the command?

Hebrews 1:2. Did one God, or two, do the actual CREATION? Malachi 2:10. Did “They” create man, or did “HE” create man? Genesis 1:27. Who was the “God” of the Old Testament? Psalms 110:1. [Note: THE Lord said to David’s Lord “sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool”.] Who was speaking to whom? Hebrews 1:8-13. Did Peter tell us that Jesus was the “Lord” of David? Acts 2:34-36. Did Jesus Himself say that David was speaking of the Christ as being “his Lord”, the one to whom THE Lord spoke? Matthew 22:41-45.

Has anyone EVER seen the Father? John 1:18. Or heard His voice? John 5:37. Did Israel hear “the Lord”? Deuteronomy 4:12. Did Moses SEE Him? Exodus 33:18-23. Was Job’s “redeemer” – Jesus – alive circa 1700 BC? Job 19:25. And what was that redeemer going to do in the “latter days”? (Same verse). And who will that be? Zechariah 14:4. And who is that “Lord”? Acts 1:11-12.  Who was Enoch’s “Lord”? Jude 1:14. [Note: Enoch’s Lord was “coming with 10,000’s of his saints”.] Who is it that rides out of heaven with the 144,000 behind Him? Mark 13:26, Revelation 19:11-16, Revelation 14:1-4. Was Jesus Christ with Israel at Sinai? 1 Corinthians 10:1-4.

Was John the Baptist, Jesus’ second cousin, six months older than Christ? Luke 1:36. And yet did that same John the Baptist testify that Jesus was in fact, much older than he himself was? John 1:30. You might think that’s an overwhelming list, and wonder how ANYONE could misunderstand and think Jesus’ existence began in the womb of Mary – but this barely scratches the surface! How old was Jesus? Luke 3:23. But how old was He REALLY? John 8:58. Where did Jesus come from – the womb of Mary? John 6:38. Was Jesus literally IN heaven before His birth? John 3:13. How long had Jesus been glorified with the Father? John 17:5. Did Jesus voluntarily give up His glory and Godhood and become a puny, weak human? Philippians 2:5-8.

One scripture that confuses people is Revelation 3:14. Is Christ the beginning of the creation of God? Yes! Does that mean He is only 2,000 years old? No! What IS the creation of God? Genesis 1:26. Is Jesus the firstborn of THAT creation? Colossians 1:12-15. Does God explain what the “beginning of the creation of God” means? Colossians 1:18. Get that! He is the firstborn FROM THE DEAD! The firstborn HUMAN who made it into the SPIRITUAL kingdom of God! The beginning of that family we spoke of in in the last two lessons, the “firstborn OF MANY BRETHREN”! (Romans 8:29). Doesn’t that make more sense than ignoring dozens of CLEAR scriptures in order to force a flawed and inconsistent interpretation upon this single scripture, as so many deceived Christians do? Merge and harmonize! Any doctrine based on a single scripture is inherently weak! If a doctrine is true and important, then God said it MANY TIMES, and ALL the scriptures agree on it!

Another problem scripture is Deuteronomy 6:4. But the solution is so easy! Psalms 110:1. Our Lord IS one Lord, and Christ serves Him! John 14:28. Who is the GOD of Jesus? Ephesians 1:17. Who was the Lord of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Acts 3:13. Clearly Jesus did not glorify Himself! John 17:22, John 8:50. But for now, the Father works through Christ – not with man directly! Revelation 21:3. But when this whole plan is finished, then no longer will we work THROUGH Christ! 1 Corinthians 15:24-28. But there is another way of proving this; prophecies fulfilled in Christ. Compare these sets of scriptures: Isaiah 44:24 and Isaiah 47:4 with Mark 1:24; then Isaiah 8:13-14 with 1 Peter 2:7-8. There is a huge pile of verses like those, but that should be enough. And in case it isn’t, this final verse is conclusive, beyond all contradiction: Micah 5:2.

THE NATURE OF CHRIST

Let’s start by showing Jesus doing things most people would NEVER believe Christ would do. Would Jesus ever get angry? Mark 3:5. Is it possible – even good – to be angry and not sin? Ephesians 4:26. Would Jesus be sensitive at a funeral – make a big show of sympathy and weeping with the family? Matthew 8:21-22. Those are pretty shocking already, but they are plain scripture; if you believe the Bible at all, you have to believe this is how Jesus acted. Would He ever call people fools? Matthew 23:17. Sons of the devil? John 8:44. Liars, snakes, hypocrites, white-washed graves, blind? All in Matthew 23! Leaders of the blind? Matthew 15:14. Thieves? Mark 11:17. Satan? Mark 8:33, to name only a few.

We know when someone sins, we should “restore such a one in the spirit of meekness” (Galatians 6:1). Was Jesus meek? Matthew 11:29. Does this sound like restoring someone in meekness to you: Matthew 16:21-23? Pretty harsh wasn’t it! Calling Peter “Satan” in front of all his friends, and just for saying that he didn’t want Jesus to die! And yet that MUST have been in the spirit of meekness, for Jesus WAS meek! Not only that, but in the same circumstance we are COMMANDED to do the same thing! (1 John 2:6).

You must allow the Bible to interpret the Bible – if you just stick with interpretations you’ve always heard, these passages CANNOT make sense! All of the questions these verses raised will not be answered today, but in time as you continue studying your Bible, they will. For now, we must stay on the point at hand: Would Jesus EVER, under ANY circumstances, refuse to help someone it was in His power to help? Matthew 15:22-23. Did He even rudely call this woman with a sick child a DOG in Matthew 15:26, before finally agreeing to help her SOLELY because of her humble attitude? Matthew 15:27-28, Mark 7:29. But certainly Jesus would NEVER resort to physical violence! John 2:13-17.

I’m not saying you should start whipping people you disagree with over religion. But Jesus, our perfect example, did clearly make a whip and drive them out of the temple. So if He did it, then under those circumstances, it was the perfect, righteous thing to do – in fact, it would probably have been a sin for Him NOT to do it! These are plain scriptures which you can see for yourself. Most people just ignore these scriptures or twist them to fit what they want to believe and focus on building a picture of a loving, patient, quiet spoken, long-haired, milk-sop of a Jesus. But Jesus is not a babe in a manger any more! Nor is He still hanging on a cross! He is a RULER, the RULER of the universe, and as such He makes HARD decisions all the time! John 5:27. Life and death decisions are the day-to-day responsibility of every king, and Jesus is King of Kings – thus responsible for everything!

He handles ALL judgments (John 5:22). And yes, He’s merciful to those who deserve it (2 Samuel 22:26), but is He stern and unforgiving to those who don’t? Nahum 1:2-3, Exodus 34:6-7. And He said to let the same mind that was in HIM, be in YOU! (Philippians 2:5-11). Why? Revelation 3:21. Because He plans to give you a seat beside Him ruling the universe WITH HIM! (2 Timothy 2:12, Revelation 3:9). So you MUST learn to act like He acted!

Did He then – and does He now – hate ANYTHING? Hebrews 1:8-9, Revelation 2:6, Zechariah 8:17. So He hates the deeds of certain people, but does He hate any PERSON? Romans 9:13, Hosea 9:15, Psalms 11:5. Do we, following His example, have the responsibility to hate certain things and certain people? Psalms 97:10, Psalms 31:6, Proverbs 13:5, Proverbs 8:13. Does David – a man after Jesus’ own heart (Acts 13:22), a man whom God was very fond of (1 Kings 15:5), seem quite pleased with himself for hating everyone who hates God? Psalms 139:21-22. I can’t take the time now to explain when, why, and how we should hate; we will get to that eventually. For now, it is enough to show scriptures which establish that hatred is an emotion Jesus felt, God feels, and that it has an appropriate place in the true Christian’s heart.

And most importantly, it is an emotion most Christians would swear Jesus would NEVER feel – because THEIR Jesus, the false Jesus, wouldn’t! This is how the REAL Jesus acts. Is He the one YOU call Lord?

WHAT WAS HE LIKE?

It’s worth taking a few moments to see what Jesus was like, physically. What was a Nazarite? Numbers 6:2-5. Was Jesus a Nazarite? Let’s see; did He drink wine? Luke 7:33-34. Did He have long hair? 1 Corinthians 11:14. Why then did it say that “He shall be called a Nazarene”? Matthew 2:23. Could a Nazarite drink or eat ANY product of the grapevine? Numbers 6:3-4. Did Jesus drink “of the fruit of the vine”? Matthew 26:29. Nazarenes were from the city of Nazereth. Nazarites couldn’t drink wine, or even eat grapes, but Jesus did both. Therefore, Jesus was not a Nazarite. Further, it was – and is – a shame for a man to have long hair. In addition, abundant sculptures of famous men from contemporary times show that short hair was fashionable at the time. Hence, it is certain that Jesus did not have long hair, contrary to every supposed picture of Jesus you’ve ever seen.

Was He popular with other people? Isaiah 53:3. Was He respected? Mark 6:3 (and context). Was Jesus handsome and attractive, or plain? Isaiah 53:2 [Note: Those two verses in Isaiah should be read in several different translations to get a good sense of the meaning.] Does He look like exactly like the Father? Hebrews 1:3, John 14:9.

WAS HE BORN KNOWING EVERYTHING?

Most suppose Jesus was born remembering past eternity, and knowing everything about everything. Here are a few scriptures to set that straight: Did Jesus know the date He was to return? Mark 13:32. If He knew EVERYTHING, He couldn’t have learned ANYTHING, right? Hebrews 5:8. It would be equally impossible for Him to INCREASE in wisdom – but did He? Luke 2:52. Where did Jesus learn what He knew? Hebrews 10:5-7. “When He came into the world”, He said “in the volume of the book it is written of me”. This is how He discovered it! Because He READ THE BOOK! The same book you and I can read! And this is also no doubt what He was asking the wise men in the temple about (Luke 2:46-47).

The Old Testament is FULL of prophecies fulfilled by Jesus; and someone with understanding could have taken the dozens of prophecies fulfilled by the early life of Jesus and put the pieces together to realize that yes, He really was the Christ. In fact, Jesus was annoyed that the Jews couldn’t do that (John 5:46).

IS THE NEW TESTAMENT JESUS’ WORDS?

Most people have the idea the Old Testament was all about the Father’s message, but Jesus came and did away with all His Father’s laws, and brought His own message, His own gospel that was BETTER than His Father’s way. Is that true? Did Jesus come for His own reasons? John 7:28. Whose words did Jesus bring – His own? John 12:49. Did Jesus come to do His will? John 6:38-40. Did Jesus bring His own doctrine? John 7:16. Or did He just do what His Father taught Him? John 8:28. Does the New Testament contain ANY words of Jesus? John 14:24.

Most people assume the Old Testament was the Father’s will, and the New Testament was Jesus’ will; but not only was Jesus the “God” of the Old Testament… but the Father is the “God” of the New Testament! Most churches, not bothering to read their Bibles, have it exactly backwards! The doctrines Jesus taught in the New Testament were not His own! They came directly from His Father, and He taught NOTHING He did not get from His Father! That’s what He Himself said – will you believe Him? I know it’s shocking, but it’s TRUE!

Did Jesus say we pray to Him, and then He’ll pray to the Father for us? John 16:26-27. To whom does the New Testament Christian pray? Matthew 6:9. And who rewards the New Testament Christian? Matthew 6:6. Who forgives our sins when we pray? Mark 11:25. And you may be astounded to learn that Jesus never worked a single miracle in His life! Did Jesus do the mighty works (miracles)? John 14:10. Could Jesus do ANYTHING by Himself? John 5:19. Do we have the ability to do even greater miracles than Jesus? John 14:12.

Millions of deceived Christians today pray to Jesus but Jesus said we shouldn’t! He said we should pray TO THE FATHER! And Jesus said the works He did, He didn’t do with some innate power He had, but with power given to Him FROM His Father! That’s the same way Moses did miracles, the same way Elijah did them, and the same way you and I can do them – only you and I can do them even more powerfully, because we have Jesus in heaven right now, helping God overlook our sins!

WHAT IS CHRIST DOING NOW?

We know what He did 2,000 years ago; He died for our sins; but what has He been doing since then? Did you ever wonder? Is He still hanging on a cross somewhere, as most churches picture Him? Has He gone off someplace on vacation? Or is He BUSY, doing something? After His death and resurrection, He appeared to various people for 40 days (Acts 1:3), and then He disappeared into heaven (Acts 1:9). Before that, just after His resurrection, He said “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18). How has He been using that power? What is His current job? Hebrews 2:17-3:1. Did Jesus take this job for Himself, or was it GIVEN to Him by His Father? Hebrews 5:4-5. Is there a specific name for His priesthood? Hebrews 5:6, 10.

This “order” of Melchisedek; what does it mean? The Williams translation says, “He had received from God the title of a High Priest with the RANK OF MELCHIZEDEK.” So the office Jesus now holds is the same office as that held by Melchizedek – but who was that? Hebrews 7:1-2. Notice the titles held by this Melchizedek: “king of righteousness” and “king of peace”! Whom do you suppose that is? How long had this Melchizedek been alive? Hebrews 7:3. Melchizedek had NO FATHER! No mother! No beginning to His life, nor an end to it – Melchizedek was IMMORTAL! And had existed from past eternity!

How many people could that be? John 1:1-2. Does anyone but God have immortality? 1 Timothy 6:16. And has the Father given that to the Son? John 5:26. So according to the Bible, only those two beings – God and Christ – have immortality! Had anyone ever seen or heard the Father? John 5:37. But did Abraham both see and talk to this Melchizedek? Genesis 14:18-20. So then Melchizedek WAS CHRIST! Just as “that rock was Christ”! Which is why Christ now has the office of Melchizedek – it was ALWAYS His office, He just took a short leave of absence from it! In Hebrews 7:4-10, Paul talks about how Melchizedek was greater than Abraham, who was father of Levi and the Levitical priesthood; and therefore Melchizedek was greater than Levi.

The Levitical priesthood was established in roughly 1500 BC, and the high priest was Aaron, brother of Moses; but before then, who was the high priest of God on Earth? Hebrews 7:1. Who is the priest of the Most High God now? Hebrews 3:1. So for about 1,500 years, Melchizedek – Jesus – turned over the job of high priest to physical Levites. But now He has reclaimed His rightful position! But “high priest” doesn’t really answer our question very well; so that’s His title, but what is He DOING? Ephesians 5:23. And who put Him in this position? Ephesians 1:22-23. So WHERE is He performing this office as the LIVING HEAD of the church? Hebrews 8:1-2.

And how does that help US? What is Jesus doing for US now? Romans 8:34. Is that the REASON Jesus lives FOREVER – to make intercession FOR US? Hebrews 7:25. And what is that doing for us? Hebrews 12:1. And what is His plan – how is He going to be working with YOU in your future? Hebrews 13:20-21. Most denominations seem to believe He is still hanging on the cross! But He’s been off that cross for about 1,985 years now! He died, yes, but now He LIVES – and He’s not idle, or busy elsewhere, He is HERE, directly involved with YOU! He is the HEAD of the church – not Peter, the Pope, or any other man, Christ is the HEAD of the church! Hebrews makes it clear this job is too important to EVER be entrusted to a mortal man again! (Hebrews 7:28). No mere man is the head of the true church of God! (Matthew 23:8-10). God may call apostles to teach and direct His work using other men, but Jesus ALWAYS remains the literal, living HEAD of the church!

And in that office, He, through His spirit, actively argues on your behalf in heaven at the right hand of God (Romans 8:26-27). Getting grace for you and helping God see past your faults to what you could become. He is able to do this because He realizes how hard it can be to resist temptation, and can remember how difficult the sufferings of this life can be (Hebrews 4:15). The Father has never been a frail human so He cannot understand how it feels to be tempted as we are! But now Jesus CAN understand, because He has been tempted in ALL points like we are!

DID JESUS REALLY DIE?

This question is simply a matter of believing the scriptures. Do you believe them, or do you let men twist them around for you? What does 1 Corinthians 15:3 say? Now should you allow some theologian who never met God, who knows no more about God than you do, to make the pronouncement that “Jesus was God, and God CAN’T die”? How does he know? Was this theologian ever a God? Did he ever see God? Did God personally tell him “God can’t die”? No! He ASSUMED God can’t die. Then he told you, and you perhaps believed him – but WHY? You have the same source for truth that he did, and you can read it as well as he; what does that source for truth say… over and over again?

Did Jesus die, or not? Romans 14:9, Romans 5:6-8. (I literally could show dozens of such scriptures, but I won’t dwell on that alone.) Did Jesus rise from a LIVING state, or from a DEAD state? If His soul had been alive during that time, surely He would have risen from LIFE, not from DEATH! But some suppose that Jesus’ BODY died, but His soul “couldn’t die” and therefore, lived on! How do they know? Make them show you the scriptures that say so! And if they can’t produce them, don’t believe them!

If you’re already resisting this idea, and making excuses in your head to reason around the plain words of the Bible, ask yourself WHY? Why are you bothering to reason AROUND an easy, obvious answer? What are you trying to defend? Certainly not the Bible! Jesus was the “Word” (John 1:1-3). And this Word was CHANGED into Jesus – it wasn’t just given a body to live in, but was literally CHANGED into mortal flesh! (John 1:14). So because we are flesh and blood, did HE become flesh and blood so He could be JUST LIKE US? Hebrews 2:14. When He was made flesh, was He just like any other man? Philippians 2:8. Was He made into a Being LOWER than the angels, SO THAT He could die? Hebrews 2:9. Did He, personally, say HE HAD BEEN DEAD? Revelation 1:18. Could God have LOOSED death from Him, if He had not been dead?? Acts 2:23-24.

Because Jesus had never sinned, God COULD NOT leave Him dead; it was not POSSIBLE for God to reward such obedience with eternal death! But the fact that He wasn’t LEFT dead, means that He WAS literally dead! Think about this: if Jesus didn’t die, you have no Savior! Jesus died to pay the price for YOUR sins, in YOUR place – and the wages of sin is DEATH! So if Jesus didn’t die, your sins have not been paid for, and you have no salvation! And finally, the Bible plainly says that Jesus’ soul – not just His body, but His SOUL – was IN THE GRAVE! Speaking of Jesus, Peter quoted the Psalm saying: Acts 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my [Jesus’] soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Jesus’ soul was in hell – the Greek word “hades” should be translated “grave”, as it was in 1 Corinthians 15:55. But Jesus’ soul was not LEFT in the grave, as the Philips version translated it “…you do not abandon my soul to the grave…” – and a few verses later, Peter wraps it up and says… Acts 2:31 (Philips) And he foresaw, and spoke of the resurrection of Messiah, that he [His soul] was not LEFT in the grave, neither did his body see corruption. The fact that His soul was not LEFT in the grave long enough for His BODY to see corruption, proves that His body AND His SOUL WERE THERE! They just weren’t LEFT there, because God resurrected Jesus – body, soul, and all! Resurrected Him FROM THE DEAD!

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Jesus is not still hanging on a cross; He’s not effeminate, long-haired, wimpy. He’s not a mamma’s boy, doing everything Mary orders Him to do (John 2:4). He’s not a bleeding heart wuss who never raises His voice or executes judgment. He’s a King of Kings, Lord of Lords, ruler of all, and it is a fearful thing to fall into His hands as a wrongdoer (Hebrews 10:31). When He returns, it will not be a peaceful, quiet time, but with a sword and blood from the slain filling up a valley to the horse’s bridles. And then He will rule the rebellious earth with a rod of iron (Revelation 14:20, 19:15). This is the real Jesus. This is not the Jesus most people are thinking of when they say “Jesus Is Lord!”

This is because they’ve listened to rumors, listened to what people said about Jesus, not what Jesus said about Himself. Jesus is patient – when He thinks it will help achieve His goal of making us a part of His family. But when He thinks a punishment will achieve that goal better, He’ll use that, too (Romans 2:4-12). And after He does all He can, if it turns out that we cannot be made to follow the golden rule, then He will cast us in a lake of fire for the good of everyone else (Revelation 20:12-15). This is what Jesus is really like. Patient, sane, rational, loving – but as stern and fierce as He needs to be to rule His Kingdom well. If this is not the Jesus you love, then you do not love the Jesus of the Bible. You love a false Jesus, with another spirit and another gospel – and you’ll learn more about that in the next lesson.

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