I'm 100% Confident That Jesus Rose from the Dead and That All Other Religious Leaders are Still Dead in Their Sins
Today is Easter Sunday and it's still sad that walk-in to churches is still not allowed. Some churches are open but most of its members are still worshiping online. There's really no motivation to wake up early like it was before the pandemic. However, it doesn't change the fact that Jesus Himself really rose from the dead. People and skeptics have been trying to disprove the resurrection with several theories that are just mind-blowing and just don't make sense. Yet, people hearken unto these rather ridiculous theories such as the swoon theory, the robbery theory, the vision theory, or even the UFO theory (and life in other plants has been disproven) even if they're disproven because of the hardness of hearts. The resurrection in itself is just as important as the death and burial of our Lord. The resurrection fully validates Jesus' claim to be the life and resurrection in John 11:25. It's not enough to make the claim - it must be validated. Christianity isn't blind faith but called to believe and see.
Anybody can claim to be a messenger of God or the last messenger. Many already claimed to be the last messenger such as Joseph Smith (Mormonism) and Felix Manalo (Iglesia Ni Cristo) to name a few. Both men were known to be sexually immoral perverts. Smith was known to have 64 mistresses. Manalo was also a womanizer. Smith is still dead and Manalo is still dead. Manalo's son Erano died a few years ago and is still dead. Many executive ministers of cults are still dead. The so-called last messengers are still dead waiting for the Great White Throne Judgment.
Anybody can claim to be a messenger of God or the last messenger. Many already claimed to be the last messenger such as Joseph Smith (Mormonism) and Felix Manalo (Iglesia Ni Cristo) to name a few. Both men were known to be sexually immoral perverts. Smith was known to have 64 mistresses. Manalo was also a womanizer. Smith is still dead and Manalo is still dead. Manalo's son Erano died a few years ago and is still dead. Many executive ministers of cults are still dead. The so-called last messengers are still dead waiting for the Great White Throne Judgment.
People can say that all religions worship the same God as Christians. Unfortunately, the differences are too great. For example, Taoism is polytheistic yet there's a trend to call the Jade Emperor as God the Father and the First Prince of the Jade Emperor as Jesus Christ, the Second Prince as the Nazarene, and the Third Prince as Santo Nino or Child Jesus. A temple in Manila known as Santo Singkong (Saint Singkong) displays Buddhist, Roman Catholic, and Taoist religious items. Some Chinese Catholics are practicing triple religion - they're Roman Catholics, Buddhists, and Taoists at the same time. Others eve say that the Allah of Islam is God the Father. Yet, the Arabic word for Jehovah is Yahuh not Allah. Allah simply means god, not God. I even think that Ahura Mazda of Zoroastrianism is the same Allah of Islam. The religions of the world are built on various theologies that you get nothing but conflicting stories. Hinduism and Buddhism have so many schools which makes it difficult to even know which is the original text. For instance, Buddhism has so many stories for even just one god or goddess. I even find it mind-boggling how the gods and goddesses have different stories. There's nothing but conflicting stories in contrast to the Bible is actually in full harmony.
The founders of many world religions prove themselves unable to be one with Christianity. Consider the major religions of the world today. Judaism still denies Jesus Christ. Judaism over time became a corrupted version of the Jewish faith. Yet, Caiaphas and Annas are still dead in their sins. Others say Gautama Buddha was an enlightened one yet it's recorded that he died and was later cremated in Kushinagar. Gautama is still dead in his sins. Muhammad founded Islam, a religion that has more followers than Judaism, yet it greatly denies that Jesus is the Son of God. So, even if Allah was the Arabic name for Yahweh, Muslims are still going to Hell for the same reasons Jews are going with them there. Both Islam and Judaism reject Jesus as the Savior and Son of God. Muhammad today is still dead in his sins. Lao Tzu is the founder of another major religion today named Taoism. However, Lao Tzu is still dead in his sins. There are also other founders like Guru Nanak (Sikhism), Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (Achintya Bheda Abheda), Guru Nanak (Sikhism), Wang Ju Yi (I-Kuan-Tao), and many more yet where are they now? They are all still dead in their sins. To say all religions still lead to Heaven is wrong also because of that. These leaders are too dead to do anything. Yet, many people still follow their teachings. Other religions today simply consider Jesus as another god but not the Son of God. It's the same ignorance in Acts 17 when people worshiped God as simply the unknown god.
The founders of many world religions prove themselves unable to be one with Christianity. Consider the major religions of the world today. Judaism still denies Jesus Christ. Judaism over time became a corrupted version of the Jewish faith. Yet, Caiaphas and Annas are still dead in their sins. Others say Gautama Buddha was an enlightened one yet it's recorded that he died and was later cremated in Kushinagar. Gautama is still dead in his sins. Muhammad founded Islam, a religion that has more followers than Judaism, yet it greatly denies that Jesus is the Son of God. So, even if Allah was the Arabic name for Yahweh, Muslims are still going to Hell for the same reasons Jews are going with them there. Both Islam and Judaism reject Jesus as the Savior and Son of God. Muhammad today is still dead in his sins. Lao Tzu is the founder of another major religion today named Taoism. However, Lao Tzu is still dead in his sins. There are also other founders like Guru Nanak (Sikhism), Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (Achintya Bheda Abheda), Guru Nanak (Sikhism), Wang Ju Yi (I-Kuan-Tao), and many more yet where are they now? They are all still dead in their sins. To say all religions still lead to Heaven is wrong also because of that. These leaders are too dead to do anything. Yet, many people still follow their teachings. Other religions today simply consider Jesus as another god but not the Son of God. It's the same ignorance in Acts 17 when people worshiped God as simply the unknown god.
The message of Easter is still hard to believe. The evidence is all there. The theories have been refuted even by experts in the field of science. Common sense and high school science can tell us that the swoon theory can't work. Yet, pseudo-intellectuals still insist on it by saying Jesus rolled out the stone Himself, never mind that His human body was too weak to do anything or that the body was wrapped in tight linen. The Roman soldiers always checked the body of the crucified person before breaking the legs. The Roman soldier pierced Jesus' side confirming His physical death. The robbery theory is easily disproved by the fact that Roman soldiers were literally put on fire for sleeping on duty. Tampering with the Roman seal was a grave offense in Roman times. The occupied graves of religious leaders today prove that they weren't capable of conquering death. Yet, people still laugh and mock at the resurrection due to their hardness of hearts. It's just like a child insists that there's a monster under the bed even after the parent says there's none. Cognitive dissonance happens with the reality that facts may not help you win arguments. You can present all the arguments for the truth yet the person remains willfully blinded. It's because man's free will is so shrouded in total depravity. Total depravity doesn't teach sinful humanity is utterly depraved but that sin affects every area that even their best is still tainted.
This is where I think about unconditional election yet again. The heart is so hardened in sin that it can't savingly believe. Just remember the Apostle Paul back when he was Saul of Tarsus was still part of the Pharisees. We can't be certain what role Paul played in Jesus' illegal trial. Paul was persecuting the followers of Christ (before they were dubbed as Christian) because he still was hardened in his heart about the resurrection. Acts 9 tells his conversion story. Many times, I was still somehow hardened towards the idea of unconditional election. Yet, the story tells us that it was Jesus who chose Saul of Tarsus on the way to Damascus. Saul of Tarsus could just easily dismiss the vision of the risen Lord. Yet, it was the risen Lord who made him willing. Saul of Tarsus was called and he couldn't resist the grace of our Lord. God the Father drew Saul of Tarsus to Jesus on that day. It takes a supernatural act of God to make one believe in the resurrection. All Christians are called to do is to preach it and God does the work, no more and no less.
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