A closer look at one of the prophecies from the Bible and its interpretation

Pablo C. Agsalud Jr.

[Revision 1]








Foreword

I have wandered across several books, searching for
mysteries and looking for answers. I have wasted my time
reading and pondering. And yet, I have only found myself
sinking down into the world of the occult and worldly
knowledge. All are but senseless principles, ideals, and
beliefs. Nothing in it where your soul can benefit from.

This is my version of the Great Mystery as an opposing book
for the occult Mysterium Magnum.

Though we all see the world in a perspective different from
everyone else, I hope that we could all find a way to reveal
what God had hidden from us, what are too vague to
understand, and what really matters the most, because the
future path that our souls would take depend on it.

I will put these revelations into words that everyone could
understand, but with a fair warning: that my own words DOES
NOT count as the word of God, and that my insights are
based on my own understanding, what appears on my mind,
and what I think the abstract picture represents in reality.

Furthermore, it is not my intention to judge or criticize any
institution, or state, or race, but to show that some of the
most perplexing riddles of the Bible make sense in OUR time.

God bless!



(Jeremiah 26:3)
Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from their evil
ways











Parallelism

Parallelism is used all throughout this book to reveal the meaning of the hidden messages of the Bible.

Though some have already uncovered some of the mysteries of the Old and the New Testament, based on History,
there are still a lot more left to be analyzed, interpreted, and revealed.

It is true that the Bible alone can interpret itself. A verse might speak, describe, and conceal things into figurative
words, but somewhere within the Bible, another verse will come to interpret it.



Why were the prophecies expressed in parables?

A prophecy came to Isaiah:

Isaiah 6
6
Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the
altar.
7
With it he touched my mouth and said, See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your
sin atoned for.
8
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? And I said, Here
am I. Send me!
9
He said, Go and tell this people: Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never
perceiving.
10
Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might
see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.
11
Then I said, For how long, Lord? And he answered: Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged,
12
until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken.
13
And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave
stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.

Jesus mentioned this to his disciples:

Matthew 13
10
The disciples came to him and asked, Why do you speak to the people in parables?
11
He replied, The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to
them.
12
Those who have will be given more, and they will have an abundance. As for those who do not have,
even what they have will be taken from them.
13
This is why I speak to them in parables: Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not
hear or understand.
14
In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be
ever seeing but never perceiving.
15
For this peoples heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed
their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and
turn, and I would heal them.




Paul discussed them and said:

2 Corinthians 3
13
We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of
what was passing away.
14
But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It
has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.
15
Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.
16
But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

2 Corinthians 4
2 On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyones conscience in
the sight of God.
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel
that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

People came to love the world and had turned away from God to satisfy their worldly desires. Because people had
done this, it had aroused Gods anger and he hid himself from us.

The prophecies were told in parables so that the wicked may not understand, because they are intended for the
fire or destruction:

Psalm 49
12
Human beings, despite their wealth, do not endure; they are like the beasts that perish.
13
This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings.
14
They are like sheep and are destined to die; death will be their shepherd (but the upright will prevail
over them in the morning). Their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions.


For if the wicked hear the word, understand, but do not turn from their evil ways, they will be worse than they
were before:

2 Peter 2
20
If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are
again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.
21
It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it
and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.
22
Of them the proverbs are true: A dog returns to its vomit, and, A sow that is washed returns to her
wallowing in the mud.



What is the purpose of all these revelations?

Luke 2
34
Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: This child is destined to cause the falling and
rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,
35
so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.

Colossians 2
13
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, a God made you alive
with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,
14
having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness,which stood against us and condemned us; he has
taken it away, nailing it to the cross.

Hebrews 3
7
So, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you hear his voice,
8
do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness,
9
where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did.
10
That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, Their hearts are always going astray, and they
have not known my ways.
11
So I declared on oath in my anger, They shall never enter my rest.

Like the Bible, in general, these revelations were written

To reveal the purpose of the Lord and his lasting promise
To help us discern what is right from what is wrong
To remind us the law and the covenant made by God with man
To pierce our hearts and make us turn away from our sinful ways
To give hope and deliverance





How are the meanings revealed?

When an object is placed to represent a word figuratively, the meaning or synonym usually follows. For instance:
Jeremiah 12:12
Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will
not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague.

The sword, a figurative object used to represent a word for comparison, was used here to describe famine and
plague.
Example
I will bless them with gold, wheat and barley.

Based on the example above, the author doesnt mean gold to be a literally real object, but implies gold as wheat
and barley as its literal meanings, because gold is the color of the field during the time of harvest. Now that we
know that gold refers to wheat and barley, the thought of the entire statement can be expressed as a good
harvest, food sufficiency, or prosperity.
Heres another example how a sword is equated to famine. Take note of the word or used to connect it to its
meaning:
Jeremiah 14:13
But I said, Ah, Sovereign LORD, the prophets keep telling them, You will not see the sword OR suffer
famine. Indeed, I will give you lasting peace in this place.

Sometimes, two separate verses mean the same thing, like for instance:
Genesis 3
17
Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
18
It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
19
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were
taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.

through painful toil = sweat of your brow
all the days of your life = until you return to the ground

When a simple thought is expressed in a verse, another verse somewhere within the inclusive text, usually
succeeding it, will come to mean the same thing. Otherwise, a verse from a different book within the Bible would
present itself as a parallel verse with one or more figurative words or metaphors.



Which interpretation is trust-worthy?

Matthew 24
4
Jesus answered: Watch out that no one deceives you.
5
For many will come in my name, claiming, I am the Messiah, and will deceive many.

2 Peter 2
18
For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature,
they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.
19
They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravityfor people are slaves to
whatever has mastered them.

Many have claimed to be Christ or vicars of Christ, and some people follow them. They deceive those who lack
understanding of the Scriptures and publicly hauling money in exchange for indulgences and spiritual reservations.
There are many teachers out there, as much as religions. And yet, not all religions agree on the same teaching, nor
do two pastors give the same opinion on a single subject. Almost all would probably give you answers derived from
learned experiences, collective knowledge, teachings and traditions.
Colossians 2
18
Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such people
also go into great detail about what they have seen, and their unspiritual minds puff them up with idle
notions.
22
These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely
human commands and teachings.
23
Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false
humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.


So, who will we trust? Id say no one. The only thing we can rely on is the Bible.
Hebrews 10
11
Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same
sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

Matthew 24
35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

The Bible is the only book that has been thoroughly read and studied by most people for the last 2,000 years. It has
been written, rewritten, compiled, translated, and criticized for many generations, but has still lived up to its good
name. It has survived countless wars and scores of resistance. Yet, it continually proves itself to be, without a
doubt, the best-selling book of all time.


The Seven Angels with Trumpets
Signs and Wonders

Deuteronomy 28
45
All these curses will come on you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed,
because you did not obey the LORD your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you.
46
They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever.

Luke 11
29
As the crowds increased, Jesus said, This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be
given it except the sign of Jonah.

Matthew 16
2
He replied, a When evening comes, you say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,
3
and in the morning, Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast. You know how to interpret
the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.


Many will be asking for a sign but will not be given any. Some will see signs but will wonder what it means. And
some signs will appear but no one will notice them.
How can we tell the signs of the end of times?
All these things that shall come to pass will be fulfilled through a certain sign. Although these things manifests into
real physical objects, this medium is not a physical object, but an intangible obstacle that man would struggle from:
Ephesians 6
12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against
the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

People will become slaves to these mediums that have prevailed over them:
2 Peter 2
19
for people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.

The key to understanding these signs is to look back in history, back in the Old Testament, and look for clues there.



The Trumpets

Numbers 10
1
The LORD said to Moses:
2
Make two trumpets of hammered silver, and use them for calling the community together and for
having the camps set out.
3
When both are sounded, the whole community is to assemble before you at the entrance to the tent of
meeting.
4
If only one is sounded, the leadersthe heads of the clans of Israelare to assemble before you.
5
When a trumpet blast is sounded, the tribes camping on the east are to set out.

The blowing of the trumpet (or horns, in some texts) symbolizes the issuance of a warning.

The Angels

What are these seven angels about to deliver on people? Keep in mind that these things these revelations are
referring to are not the physical objects that these things manifest themselves from.

In the book of Romans, Paul identified seven things:

Romans 8
35
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or
nakedness or danger or sword?
36
As it is written: For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be
slaughtered.



The Fourth Angel


Revelation 8
12
The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third
of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of
the night.
13
As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: Woe! Woe! Woe to the
inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!




Time Chart 1. The Sign of the Fourth Angel

We will use Time Chart 1, the illustration above, to explain and interpret this sign.



Day and Night

A day constitutes a 24-hour period, consisting of day (morning) and night (evening):

Genesis 1
3
And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.
4
God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.
5
God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. And there was evening, and there was
morningthe first day.

Psalm 136
8
the sun to govern the day, His love endures forever.
9
the moon and stars to govern the night; His love endures forever.


The day and night are equally divided into 12-hour periods:

John 11
9
Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk in the daytime will not
stumble, for they see by this worlds light.
10
It is when people walk at night that they stumble, for they have no light.

Hence, day will be from 6 AM (sunrise) to 6 PM (sunset) and night will be from 6 PM (dusk) to 6 AM (dawn).

Time Chart 1a. The Sign of the Fourth Angel



Light and Darkness

What does light and darkness mean? Light could mean a lot of different things. One could easily say it refers to
day, or the sun, and the darkness, to night or the moon. For the religious, light could mean good, and the darkness,
evil. For the enlightened, light is life, darkness means death.
But, let me explain this to you thoroughly, as if you were a five-year old: When you close your eyes, you see
darkness. When you open your eyes, you see light.
Light is when you wake up and start your day. Darkness is when you stop your activity and rest. Light is when you
sweat your brows and you pick up that tool. And darkness is when you end your toil.
Genesis 3
17
Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
18
It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
19
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were
taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.

So, light is when you work to get a reward, or earn a living. And darkness is just the opposite of it.



A Third of the Sun

Revelation 8:12
"and a third of the sun was struck"

Psalm 104
19
He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.
20
You bring darkness, it becomes night, and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
21
The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from God.
22
The sun rises, and they steal away; they return and lie down in their dens.
23
Then people go out to their work, to their labor until evening.


Time Chart 1C. A Third of the Sun
Now that we know that light refers to work, we now have the idea that this has something to do with the time we
go to work.
Since we have represented day and sun with the time from sunrise to sunset, or from 6AM to 6PM, a third of the
sun means that one third of the day will be darkened.
Examine Time Chart 1C Row A, the one in yellow represents the day, a 12-hour period.
Now, examine Time Chart 1C Row C, it illustrates one third of the 12-hour day period being darkened (gray).
This means that the day was changed and was shortened, just as it was written:
Matthew 24:22
"those days will be shortened"




A Third of the Moon

Revelation 8:12
"a third of the moon was struck"


Time Chart 1D. A Third of the Moon
Since we have represented night and moon with the time from dusk to dawn, or from 6PM to 6AM, a third of the
moon means that one third of the night will be darkened.
Examine Time Chart 1D Row A, the one in blue represents the night, a 12-hour period.
Now, examine Time Chart 1D Row D, it illustrates one third of the 12-hour night period being darkened (gray).
This means that the night was changed and was shortened, just as it was written:
Matthew 24:22
"those days will be shortened"

A third of the moon may also mean that one third of the month will be affected. Since months are based on the
lunar cycle and each month consists of at least 28 days, one third of it will be treated as in the darkness. We will
learn more about this on the succeeding pages.



A Third of the Day and a Third of the Night

Revelation 8:12
"A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night"

Matthew 24:22
"those days will be shortened"


Time Chart 1. A Third of the Day, A Third of the Night
Since a day represents 12 hours, "a third" corresponds to four (4) hours.
For people who work during the day, a day of work was shortened from 12 hours to 8 hours. This means that
instead of working from 6AM to 6PM, one must work from 6AM to 2PM. This period now constitute a day of
work.
For people who work during the night, a night of work was shortened from 12 hours to 8 hours. This means that
instead of working from 6PM to 6AM, one must work from 10PM to 6AM. This period also constitute a day of
work.
Given the situation, a void was created between 2PM to 6PM. This becomes the third day of work:

Time Chart 2. The Days of Work


A Third of the Stars

Revelation 8:12
"and a third of the stars"

Stars represent heavenly bodies, since distant planets and stars all look
the same from the night sky.
Chart A. Stars as Days.
Here, the heavenly bodies are represented by days on the lunar
calendar:


Chart B. Days of the Week in the Lunar Calendar
One lunar cycle is equivalent to 28 days.
One third of 28 days is equivalent to 9.33 days.


Chart B illustrates a set of workweeks with four (4) work days, followed by two (2) rest days (or days off),
that varies every month. Although results for the number of days off may vary every month, it is enough
to assume that one third of each month will be days off. Hence, a third of the stars may represent one third
of the lunar cycle, or 9 days, which fits the illustration above.



The Sign Carried by the Second Angel

Meaningless Toil

In general, the Bible interprets all worldly desires as worthless, including labor:

Habakkuk 2
13
Has not the LORD Almighty determined that the peoples labor is only fuel for the fire, that the nations
exhaust themselves for nothing?

Ecclesiastes 2
21
For people may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to others
who have not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.
22
What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun?
23
All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.

1 John 2
15
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If you love the world, love for the Father is not in you.
16
For everything in the worldthe cravings of sinful people, the lust of their eyes and their boasting
about what they have and docomes not from the Father but from the world.
17
The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

A Punishment for Disobedience

In the book of Genesis, God put Adam and Eve in a paradise where they can eat any fruit they want (except for
one). When they disobeyed Gods command, God banished them out of Eden and cursed them, so that they would
have to work for their own food.

Genesis 3
17
To Adam he said, Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded
you, You must not eat of it, Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all
the days of your life.



An Avenue for Disaster

In the book of Romans, hardship is one of the seven things that separate us from the love of Christ:

Romans 8
35
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or
nakedness or danger or sword?

Why? It is because it has the capacity to lead us to other sinful and worldly desires.
Take for example, money. Money is the reward for hard work. Yet those who dwell on money find no satisfaction
in them:
Ecclesiastes 5
10
Those who love money never have enough; those who love wealth are never satisfied with their income.
This too is meaningless.
11
As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to
feast their eyes on them?

Isaiah 55
2
Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me,
and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.
3
Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my
faithful love promised to David.

Money invites trouble, envy, corruption, greed, and other forms of evil:

Micah 3
11
Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money.

1 Timothy 6
10
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.

Consider now, what most people are now slaves to:

2 Timothy 3
1
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.
2
People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their
parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3
without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,
4
treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God 5having a form of godliness
but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

2 Peter 2
19
for people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.

Matthew 6
24
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to
the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.













Salvation

Why do you worry about your life? God knows man more than he understands himself. He knows that man is
sinful by nature and so He had put everything under a test. For what purpose is preparing the whole earth for if
not for himself and the last of His creations? And arent we all here on earth to learn something before we
transcend into what God has prepared for us?
Luke 12
6
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.
7
Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Dont be afraid; you are worth more than many
sparrows.
22
Then Jesus said to his disciples: Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or
about your body, what you will wear.
23
Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.
24
Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And
how much more valuable you are than birds!
25
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?
26
Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27
Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his
splendor was dressed like one of these.
28
If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the
fire, how much more will he clothe youyou of little faith!
The Covenant

Deuteronomy 7
9
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a
thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.

Hebrews 10
14
For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
15
The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:
16
This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their
hearts, and I will write them on their minds.
17
Then he adds: Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.

Romans 5
9
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from Gods wrath
through him!
10
For if, while we were Gods enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much
more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

John 3
16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life.
17
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
18
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already
because they have not believed in the name of Gods one and only Son.



Through Faith

Those who believe in the Lord are justified by their faith and are saved through their righteousness:

Romans 1:17
For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealeda righteousness that is by faith from first to last,
just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.

Acts 15
8
God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did
to us.

9
He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.

Romans 3
24
and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
25
God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his bloodto be received by
faith. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed
beforehand unpunished
26
he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those
who have faith in Jesus.
28
For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

Romans 4
5
However, to anyone who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited
as righteousness.
6
David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of those to whom God credits
righteousness apart from works:
7
Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
8
Blessed are those whose sin the Lord will never count against them.







Through Hope

We consider ourselves bound to the Old Law by tradition, thus, we believe that by observing it, through works, we
will be saved. However, because man is sinful by nature and falls short of the Law, the Law has been fulfilled
ultimately in Christ.

Hebrews 10
14
For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

There is nothing in this world that does not belong to God. So, what good is offering him what is already his in the
first place?

Colossians 1
16
For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones
or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
17
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

So, what does God wants us to do? Consider what Jesus said about these works:

John 6
28
Then they asked him, What must we do to do the works God requires?
29
Jesus answered, The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.

Matthew 19
16
Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal
life?
17
Why do you ask me about what is good? Jesus replied. There is only One who is good. If you want to
enter life, keep the commandments.
18
Which ones? he inquired. Jesus replied, You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you
shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony,
19
honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.
20
All these I have kept, the young man said. What do I still lack?
21
Jesus answered, If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will
have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.

Therefore, we are to put our hope in Christ and believe in him, as it was written:

Matthew 12
21
In his name the nations will put their hope.




Read your Bible and find out more about Christs teachings and commandments.

Jesus gave some decrees for people to follow, including:

Matthew 7
12
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the
Prophets.

In the book of Romans, Paul sums it up as:

Romans 13
9
The commandments, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You
shall not covet, and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command:
Love your neighbor as yourself.
10
Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Furthermore, those who walk the path of righteousness must not boast, for Jesus had not come to save the
righteous but the sinners:

Matthew 9
13
But go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the
righteous, but sinners.








Through Love

Isaiah 1
11
The multitude of your sacrificeswhat are they to me? says the LORD. I have more than enough of
burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and
lambs and goats.

Isaiah 66
3
But whoever sacrifices a bull is like one who kills a human being, and whoever offers a lamb is like one
who breaks a dogs neck; whoever makes a grain offering is like one who presents pigs blood, and
whoever burns memorial incense is like one who worships an idol.

Why has God stopped people from presenting burnt offerings and sacrifices? God saw that people had began
offering the same sacrifices to their own gods and man-made idols, and this aroused his anger:

2 Kings 17
11
At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the LORD had driven out before them had
done. They did wicked things that aroused the LORDs anger.

And knowing that all people have departed from the law and turned to sin, he gave his own son as the ultimate
sacrifice that will make up for the sins of the whole world:

Romans 8
3
For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending
his own Son in the likeness of sinful humanity to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in human
flesh,
4
in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to
the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

Why? It is probably because he saw that no one on earth can live a perfectly righteous life, or a life without sin.
Everyone is in danger of sinning and falling for it:

James 2
10
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

So God saved us, not because we keep his laws or work out our own salvation but because he loves us deeply:

Ephesians 2
4
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
5
made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressionsit is by grace you have been
saved.
6
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
7
in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his
kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
8
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faithand this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of
God
9
not by works, so that no one can boast.



To the Lord, every sinner is a lost sheep:

Luke 15:7
I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Everyone is entitled for salvation. Take a lesson from the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard:

Matthew 20
1
For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his
vineyard.
2
He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3
About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.
4
He told them, You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.
5
So they went. He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing.
6
About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, Why
have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?
7
Because no one has hired us, they answered. He said to them, You also go and work in my vineyard.
8
When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his supervisor, Call the workers and pay them
their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.
9
The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius.
10
So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also
received a denarius.
11
When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.
12
These men who were hired last worked only one hour, they said, and you have made them equal to us
who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.
13
But he answered one of them, Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didnt you agree to work for a
denarius?
14
Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you.
15
Dont I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am
generous?
16
So the last will be first, and the first will be last.

But, dont think that you could just repent at the last minute. We will be judged according to what we have done
and reap what we have sown:

Romans 6
20
When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.
21
What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in
death!
22
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads
to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.