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Contenders claim the accounts, names, and miracles recorded in the New Testament never happened and that Jesus Christ never existed, but unfortunately for this blind lot, proof after proof continues to surface in a variety of ways that decimate their ungodly position.
Simeon
Topic#: 00147 from WWW.GODSAIDMANSAID.COM

Temptation is common to all men. Resisting it is required if we are to enter into eternal life. We can be of good cheer for the promise recorded in I Corinthians 10:12-13:

12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

God allows temptation not so that His children would be overcome, but that they would overcome the temptation by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of their testimony. Learning to resist temptation is surely a part of spiritual development. James 1:2-3:

2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

James 1:12:

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Do you remember the passage in James 4:7-8?

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.

GOD SAID, Luke 2:25-35:

25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:

30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.

34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;

35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

MAN SAID: The Bible is a book of fairy tales and exaggerations that was written by liars and cheats.

Now THE RECORD: God’s Word is a reliable history record of the past. It has been challenged over the past 6,000 years a multitude of times by the world’s best skeptics, but always unsuccessfully. The passage in Luke cited above speaks of the old prophet, Simeon, a devout Jew, who awaited the Messiah. He was informed by God that he would not see death until he saw the Lord’s Christ. When Jesus was brought into the temple, Simeon prophesied over Him.

Contenders claim the accounts, names, and miracles recorded in the New Testament never happened and that Jesus Christ never existed, but unfortunately for this blind lot, proof after proof continues to surface in a variety of ways that decimate their ungodly position. A bevy of news services in November of 2003 carried news of the tomb of Simeon. One story was headlined, "New Testament Verse Discovered At Tomb." The following excerpts are from that article:

Two Jerusalem scholars have uncovered a rare New Testament verse on an ancient burial monument.

A barely legible clue—the name "Simon" carved in Greek letters—beckoned from high up on the weather-beaten facade of the monument. Then the scholars uncovered six previously invisible lines of inscription: a Gospel verse—Luke 2:25.

A few Old Testament phrases have been found on monuments, and a passage from Paul’s Letter to the Romans (3:13) is laid into a floor mosaic into the ancient Roman city of Caesarea.

The [Simon] inscription declares the 60ft-high monument is the tomb of Simon, a devout Jew who the Bible says cradled the infant Jesus and recognized Him as the Messiah. [End of quote]

Historians during the Byzantine era believed that three Bible figures of renown, Simeon, Zachariah (the father of John the Baptist), and James (the brother of Jesus), were all buried in the same tomb. The article continues:

Earlier this year, an inscription referring to Zachariah, who was John the Baptist’s father, was found on the same facade. Puech and Joe Zias, a physical anthropologist, continued to study the monument. Applying a "squeeze"—a simple 19th-century technique of spreading a kind of papier mache over a surface—they uncovered the Simon inscription. Now, they hope to complete the trio by finding writing referring to James. [End of quote]

Finally, from a more detailed account of the AP story, titled "Scholars Discover Parts of New Testament," comes the following:

The monument is in the Kidron Valley, between Jerusalem’s walled Old City and the Mount of Olives. Eusebius, known as the father of church history, writes in the "Ecclesiastical History" that James was hurled off the Jewish Temple, bludgeoned to death in the Kidron Valley below and buried nearby. The historian Josephus refers to a Temple priest named Zachariah being slain by zealots in the Temple and thrown into the valley. There is no word on Simon’s death.

The unbelievers, of course, have denied any such record of Jesus Christ. Some deny that He ever lived, never considering that the day they were born, every breath they’ve taken, every birthday they’ve observed, and every moment and every event of all time are dated in the name of Jesus Christ—from B.C., Before Christ, to today, 2003 AD, the Year of our Lord. Surely the fool has said in his heart there is no God. They continue to deny their only hope of salvation because their deeds are evil, but one day all will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, but for the vast majority it will be too late. Time will be over and their eternity of cognizant damnation in the Lake of Fire will begin. Remember, eternity never ends. If you haven’t made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, do it now before your time ends. Click on to "Further With Jesus." Do it now.

GOD SAID, Luke 2:25:

And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.

MAN SAID: The Bible is a book of fairy tales and exaggerations that was written by liars and cheats.

Now you have THE RECORD.



References:

King James Bible

Beaver County Times, Wire Service, "Ancient Text Is New Testament," Jerusalem, 11/21/03

icwales.icnetwork.co.uk, 11/21/03

Laub, K., AP Writer, "Scholars Discover Parts of New Testament," Middle East AP, 11/21/03

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