Allegorizing Israel - J.C. Ryle

Here's a very good quote from J.C. Ryle, protesting against the habit of some Christians to allegorize Old Testament prophecies and plain sayings concerning the future history of the nation of Israel.

“What I protest against is the habit of allegorizing plain sayings of the Word of God concerning the future history of the nation of Israel and explaining away the fullness of their contents in order to accomodate them to the gentile church.”

Ryle held to premillennialism and to a distinction between Israel and the Church, strongly criticizing the views that would seek to allegorize the Scriptures to say that the Church is the 'new Israel' or that this present age is the kingdom of Christ (amillennialism).

I highly recommend reading Ryle's book 'Coming Events and Present Duties', especially the chapter 'Scattered Israel to be Gathered' for a more detailed exposition on the matter.

The book is available for free online:
http://futureisraelministries.org/j_c_ryle.html

Was Darwing Wrong?

Great video that completely refutes the National Geographic cover story 'Was Darwin Wrong?' (Nov. 2004) The real answer: YES. The evidence for evolution is weak and pathetic!

Mikael Agricola Day

Today (April 9th) is the day when Finland celebrates the life of Mikael Agricola, the founder of the written Finnish language. Agricola was also a protestant reformer and he played a crucial role in bringing the Bible into the Finnish language as he translated and  the whole New Testament and parts of the Old Testament into Finnish.

The Finnish embassy has a short and informative article about the life of Mikael Agricola. Here's a paragraph that describes his literary work:

Creating religious literature in the Finnish language became an entire life-work for Agricola, as according to the principles of Luther, everyone was entitled to the ability of reading the Bible in their own language. Agricola started to translate the New Testament into Finnish already in Wittenberg and it was published in 1548 under the name ’Se Wsi Testamentti’. Five years prior to that, he had already published the first book in the Finnish language, ‘Abckiria’, which consisted of the basics of reading and the Christian doctrine. A grand goal of Agricola was to translate the entire Bible into Finnish but he has no funding for it. He, however, translated various parts of the Old Testament in a number of books and he also wrote church manuscripts for the church services.

It could be said that what William Tyndale is for the English language, and Martin Luther for the German language, that is what Mikael Agricola is for the Finnish language. As a Finnish Christian, I am very thankful for his life and legacy.

What is the Gospel?

 
“In the beginning, God created…” Genesis 1:1

This is where it all begins. The Bible tells us that God has created you and me, the universe, and everything else. Because God is our Creator, he has the right to tell us how to live. He created us to love, serve, and enjoy being with him forever. God is perfectly holy and righteous, which means he is completely pure and hates all evil. (Read it in the Bible: Genesis 1-2, Psalm 89, Revelation 4)

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves” 1 John 1:8

Instead of seeking God and loving him, we have all rebelled against him and done wrong. This places us in danger of eternal punishment, which we rightly deserve because of our sin against our Creator. One day we will all die and be held accountable for our every evil thought, word and deed. (Read it in the Bible: Romans 5, 2 thessalonians 1, 1 John 1)

“There is salvation in no one else” Acts 4:12

Here comes the good news — the gospel — that even though we are sinners who deserve hell, God in his great love and mercy has provided a saviour so that we can be forgiven. God sent his Son the Lord Jesus Christ, who lived a perfect life, and died on the cross taking on himself the punishment for the sin of all those who will turn and trust in him. Three days later he rose from the grave, conquering death itself. (Read it in the Bible: John 10, Matthew 28, Acts 4)

“Repent and believe in the gospel” Mark 1:15

How does this apply to us? God commands us to turn away from our sin and to trust in Christ alone for our forgiveness and salvation. If we turn toward God and have faith in the Lord Jesus and what he has done, we are saved and born again into a new and eternal life with God our Creator. Now that’s good news indeed! (Read it in the Bible: John 3, Acts 17, Ephesians 2)

Order tracts from:
www.reformedgospeltracts.com

Back at the Blog

It's been almost a whole year since I've last updated the blog, so it's about time I do something about that. I've been busy working, studying and starting/running my own graphic design business, CreatedSIGN (www.createdsign.com). I have also started another side project, called Reformed Gospel Tracts (www.reformedgospeltracts.com).

Since my last blog post almost a year ago was photos from our wedding, that of course means I've now been married for almost a year! Married life is a great blessing, and God has been very gracious toward us.

I'm now planning to start updating this blog more often again.