THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH

 

THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. — John 16:13 BSB Truth is like a vast cavern we long to explore, but we cannot navigate it on our own. At the entrance, it is clear and bright, but to venture deeper, we need a guide, or we will lose our way. The Holy Spirit, who knows all truth perfectly, is appointed to be the guide for all true believers. He leads us step by step, according to what we can bear, revealing more of the deep things of God and making His secrets known to us. What a promise this is for the humble seeker! We desire to know the truth and to enter into it more fully. We are aware of how easily we can go astray, and we feel the urgent need for a guide. We rejoice that the Holy Spirit has come and remains with us, and we gladly accept His guidance. We long to learn “all truth” so that we are not one-sided or out of balance. We do not want to be ignorant of any part of God’s revelation, for fear of missing a blessing or falling into sin. The Spirit has come to guide us into ALL truth—let us listen to His voice and follow where He leads with obedient hearts. by Charles H. Spurgeon Happy 93rd Birthday to Ed Stevens; the original creator of the Word for the Day newsletters!

 

WHERE IS THE GARDEN OF EDEN TODAY?

 

WHERE IS THE GARDEN OF EDEN TODAY? The Garden of Eden, described in Genesis, was a paradise uniquely prepared by God for Adam and Eve—a place of beauty, abundance, and direct fellowship with God. The Bible mentions a single river flowing from Eden that split into four: the Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates. Two of these rivers still exist in modern Iraq. Many Christian scholars have suggested that Eden was located somewhere in ancient Mesopotamia. However, despite these clues, no one has ever definitively found Eden—suggesting it may no longer exist in its original form. A prevailing view among many believers is that the Garden of Eden was completely destroyed during the global Flood described in Genesis 6–9. The floodwaters would have radically reshaped the earth’s surface, burying entire landscapes under layers of sediment and water. From this perspective, the original river systems may have been altered or rerouted entirely, with only the names of the Tigris and Euphrates surviving in the post-flood world. This would explain why the Pishon and Gihon can no longer be clearly identified and why no trace of Eden has ever been found. While other theories place Eden in areas like the Armenian Highlands, Africa, or Arabia, these remain speculative. The Bible never instructs believers to search for Eden, possibly because its purpose was fulfilled and its location erased by judgment. For Christians, the true significance of Eden lies not in its physical location but in what it represented: a perfect relationship between God and humanity, later broken by sin and ultimately restored through Jesus Christ. The lost paradise of Eden points forward to the promised restoration in the new heaven and new earth described in Revelation. By Biblical Creation on Facebook: CLICK HERE TO VISIT

 

PSALM 37:1-9

 

PSALM 37:1-9 Do not fret over those who do evil; do not envy those who do wrong. For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender plants. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness like the dawn, your justice like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and abandon wrath; do not fret—it can only bring harm. For the evildoers will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

 

THE SECOND TRUMPET

 

THE SECOND TRUMPET Study of Revelation, continued. REVELATION 8.8 The second angel sounded, and something like a great burning mountain was thrown into the sea. One third of the sea became blood, 8.9 and one third of the living creatures which were in the sea died. One third of the ships were destroyed. -WEB Bible. This disaster could be caused by a number of things. Fire on the sea suggests an oil spill possibly. Perhaps an oil drilling explosion. Or a nuclear disaster. A mountain falling into the sea could be something like they've predicted in the Canary Islands: where the flank of an erupting volcano cracks and calves into the sea causing enormous devastation worldwide from tsunamis. On January 15, 2022 an underwater volcano near Tonga (in the south Pacific) produced an explosive (but short-lived) eruption that caused tsunamis all around the Pacific Basin, all the way up to Alaska. This event surprised scientists everywhere with its intensity. Ash nearly buried the islands of Tonga. This was a dramatic event, and vividly illustrates how natural disasters can do things we never expected or imagined, and without warning. Of course, we won't know how the Second Trumpet plays out, until it does: but it's not hard to imagine various scenarios that would fit John's description. Our study of Revelation will continue next Thursday with the 3rd Trumpet. IMAGE CREDIT: This image is from the Cloisters Apocalypse Illuminated manuscripts, circa 1330 A.D. Author is unknown; French, Normandy.

 

HE WILL RETURN

 

HE WILL RETURN I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ...The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you. John 14:18,26 Jesus left us, but we are not left as orphans. He is our comfort, and though He is gone, we are not comfortless. He will come again to us, and this is enough to sustain us through His absence. Jesus is already on His way; He says, “I come quickly.” He is rushing toward us. He says, “I will come,” and no one can stop His coming or delay it for even a moment. He specifically says, “I will come to you,” and so He will. His coming is especially for His own people. This is meant to be our present comfort while we long for the Bridegroom to appear. And even though Jesus left us, He didn't leave us alone! He sent the Holy Spirit to be with us continually as our guide, comforter, helper and teacher. Jesus thought of everything. Until the glorious day when Christ returns, we are watched over and cared for. By Charles H. Spurgeon, updated.