Be Appropriately Provocative

Posted April 10, 2025July 3, 2025
by petebeck3

Paul concluded his personal testimony by making the provocative claim that God commissioned him to take the gospel to the Gentiles. This angered his Jewish listeners, who regarded the Gentiles as being relatively worthless, like dogs. They still thought that Israel was the center of God’s plan to redeem the world, not realizing that their rejection of their Messiah would remove them from the equation. (Matthew 21:43) The New Covenant would bring all peoples to God – Jew, Gentile, slave, and free. (Galatians 3:26-29)

Here is what Paul said.

I saw a vision of Jesus saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem, for the people here won’t accept your testimony about me.’ ...‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!’” ²² The crowd listened until Paul said that word. Then they all began to shout, “Away with such a fellow! He isn’t fit to live!” ²³ They yelled, threw off their coats, and tossed handfuls of dust into the air. Acts 22:18-23 (NLT)

Why did Paul say what he knew would anger his listeners? Didn’t he understand that we should gently lead people to receive the gospel? Was he led by the Spirit or just being inflammatory? Let’s assume he was led by the Spirit. So why would God lead the apostle to be so provocative?

Paul addressed one of the major sins blocking Jews from receiving the gospel – the racist assumption that Jews were superior to the Gentiles because of God’s choice of that nation to husband the scriptures and provide a line for the birth of the Messiah. They falsely believed that God did not plan to include the Gentiles in the blessings of Abraham, even though the Bible plainly said he would. (Isaiah 49:6) In their pride and arrogance, the Jews hated the idea of non-Jews being included in God’s kingdom.

Paul knew his statement would anger his listeners, but he said it anyway to confront them with the sin that was dragging them to hell.

In today’s politically correct world, Christians are warned that we must “color inside the lines” and not say certain things – or face the consequences.

What are the egregious sins of those who hate the gospel today? Abortion, homosexuality, and transgenderism immediately come to mind. If we call out these sins, we will surely set off an explosion of hatred and persecution, and yet these sins, and others like them, must be confronted if our listeners have any hope of repentance and forgiveness from God.

Christians are called to be unafraid of being appropriately provocative by speaking truth to our culture in a loving way, regardless of the consequences. It’s part of the cost of discipleship and is one of the reasons we need to be led by and baptized in the Holy Spirit.

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Pray for Boldness

Posted April 10, 2025July 3, 2025
by petebeck3

God wants us to pray for boldness. After being threatened and commanded to keep quiet about Jesus, the disciples met and spoke the following prayer.

And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. ³⁰ Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” ³¹ After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:29-31 (NLT)

When we face threats and intimidation, it is time to pray for courage and boldness.

Someone once said that there are no “closed” countries, only intimidated disciples. Satan will try to intimidate us into submission to fear with the threat of violence or some other form of persecution. What if those first believers had kept quiet after this warning from the Jewish leaders? We don’t know how the Spirit would have handled that, but thankfully they refused to buckle to the pressure. Their boldness eventually cost almost all of them their lives. Jesus knew this would happen, but he called them to be his witnesses nevertheless. He is calling you and me as well. Will we be faithful to this challenge? We can start by praying for boldness to preach the gospel and witness to the truth. Jesus also wants us to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit, which provides us with strength and power to do the job.

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now...8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:4-5,8 (NKJV)

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How Much Will This Cost?

Posted April 9, 2025July 3, 2025
by petebeck3

Jesus told Paul at the very beginning that there would be a great personal cost attached to being his servant. But let us first see how this man continued his personal testimony by explaining how God called him to put his new faith in Christ into action.

“Then he [Ananias] told me, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and hear him speak. ¹⁵ For you are to be his witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.’ Acts 22:14-16 (NLT)

Hearing and understanding the gospel will result in obedience to the Lord, or I am merely a consumer of religious stories.

Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name. Romans 1:5 (NLT)

Consumer Christianity has mass marketed a version of Christianity that only requires faith without obedience. Sadly, this is not real faith. It is fantasy posing as faith.

But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. James 2:18–24 (NASB95)

Disciples are called to formally and publicly declare our allegiance to Christ through water baptism and to be a witness to others of the truth of the gospel for a lifetime.

If we correctly share the gospel, our hearers will know that following Christ is like signing a blank check, which the Lord will fill in and cash as he sees fit.

Paul was warned that he would face hardship and suffering as Christ’s servant and messenger. This did not stop him from making an immediate surrender to the Lord and the call God. When we share the gospel we should make certain that our hearers understand the enormous price tag associated with being a disciple.

If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:26 (NLT)

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Truth Hidden in “Plane” Sight

Posted April 8, 2025
by petebeck3

Unless we are accustomed to examining God’s Word in detail and accepting what it says, instead of bending it to fit our presuppositions, we can miss a lot. It is easy for those who ascribe to the globe earth theory to miss what is hidden in plain sight.

For example, Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness clearly teaches us that the earth is a plane.

And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 “Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’ ” Luke 4:5–8 (NASB95)

There is no reason not to take these words as being literally true, unless, of course, we are precommitted to a globe earth position. There is only one way this scenario could take place, which should be obvious to all. The earth has to be a circular plane, the whole of which can be observed if one gets high enough.

This corresponds perfectly to another view of earth from very high up described by the prophet Isaiah.

It is He who sits above the circle [not sphere] of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. Isaiah 40:22 (NASB95)

Since every matter will be established from the testimony of two or three witnesses, here is a third verse that necessitates a plane earth.

BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. Revelation 1:7 (NASB95)

The above verse describes a similar phenomenon, but this time from the vantage point of being on the surface of the earth instead of being high overhead.

There is only one way everyone on earth could see Jesus at once, and that is if the earth is a plane, making our Lord’s Second Coming a “plane” sight.

We know that Jesus shall descend from the clouds in a similar manner as he ascended.

And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:9–11 (NASB95)

He will come down out of heaven in a way that everyone on the plane earth will see him all at once. This is truth hidden in “plane” sight.

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What Is the Point?

Posted April 8, 2025July 3, 2025
by petebeck3

Paul continued his testimony to the Jews in Jerusalem who were seeking to kill him by making the point of what his encounter with Christ years earlier meant to him. When Jesus addressed Paul after knocking him from his horse on the road to Damascus, the future apostle asked a revealing question.

“I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ “And the Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything you are to do.’ Acts 22:10 (NLT)

It is all well and good to have a religious experience like Paul’s. Plenty of celebrities bandy about the name of God in their award acceptance speeches, but a bigger question is, “What difference has our relationship with God made in our lives?” Sadly, many who profess to be Christians live as though they are not. If our professions of faith have made little or no difference in how we live day to day, we have to ask ourselves, “What’s the point?”

If the gospel never properly impacted my life, perhaps it is because it was never properly presented to me.

We live in a consumer-oriented world in which we receive appeals from various people and companies to purchase or use their products, based on what it will do for us. If I first heard the “gospel” as a sales pitch instead of a call to surrender to the Lord of lords, perhaps I see Jesus more as a benevolent genie or fairy godmother than as the Lord of my life.

That was not the case with Paul. His encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus profoundly altered the course of his life. From the very beginning, Paul understood that this person who so overpowered him was the “Lord,” who has the right to command our lives from this moment forward. He understood that following Christ potentially could cost him everything, but that it would be worth it to serve the him.

The point of the gospel and a good testimony is that we now recognize that Jesus is the Lord .

In fact, the essence of the gospel is in these three words – Jesus is Lord.

When we share our testimonies, we should include how we, as did Paul, came to this realization. Knowing that Jesus is Lord is vastly different from knowing him as savior. Being forgiven makes no demands upon us, but when we surrender to Jesus the Lord, are lives are no longer our own. Perhaps this is a good time for each of us to consider if this is actually our story. If not, now is the time to make Jesus our Lord, too.

Prayer

Jesus, I never completely realized that your being the Lord means that my life belongs to you. I surrender to you every aspect of my life from this day forward. Help me to faithfully love and serve you. Amen.

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Where Is God?

Posted April 7, 2025April 9, 2025
by petebeck3

Most of us have been taught to think of heaven as a spiritual “place” that cannot be physically located. This is a necessary belief in a Big Bang, ever-expanding universe that has no absolute up or down and in which we are less than a speck in comparison to the whole. It might surprise you that the Bible specifically locates heaven where God dwells.

(Now, before you object too strenuously that God is a Spirit whom heaven cannot contain, understand that this is a “both/and” situation, not an “either/or” scenario. He is a spirit, but he also dwells in heaven in bodily form as the Lord Jesus. This is a mystery that boggles the imagination but is true.)

Why should the nations say, “Where, now, is their God?” 3 But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases. Psalm 115:2–3 (NASB95)

Now all we have to do is locate heaven, which the Bible does for us. It tells us that heaven is “above” the earth.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His 
lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. Psalm 103:11 (NASB95)

For those who accept the biblical cosmology of Genesis Chapter One, this is easy. We understand that above is “up.” For those who spiritualize the Bible account and accept the globe and heliocentric model, “above” is a relative term that can locate nothing, since “above” to someone on one side of the “globe” is the opposite of what “up” is on the other side. (As a side note, whenever absolutes become relativized, it is an indication of the work of the great deceiver.)

The Bible tells us that after his resurrection Christ “ascended” (went “up”) into heaven.

He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) Ephesians 4:10 (NASB95)

Now we know that when Christ rose from the dead, he did so bodily. This is a key doctrine of Christianity. His disciples were able to touch his risen body. He ate and drank with them. Therefore, the risen Christ’s body must be located in a physical place called heaven, which the Bible tells us is above.

This corresponds to the creation account of Genesis, which informs us that God created a giant dome to cover the earth called the firmament. (To read more about the firmament, click here.) Although we do not know a great deal about this structure, the Bible tells us a few things.

It separates waters above from waters below.
It is crystalline in nature and looks like glass or sapphire.
It is as strong as molten metal.
It has multiple layers.

The Bible tells us that God’s throne is atop the firmament.

It is He who sits above the circle [not "sphere"] of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. Isaiah 40:22 (NASB95)

We are given “snapshots” of this place called heaven in Exodus, Ezekiel, and Revelation.

Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. 11 Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank. Exodus 24:9–11 (NASB95)

And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it. 27 Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. 28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking. Ezekiel 1:26–28 (NKJV)

Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; 6 and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. Revelation 4:5–6 (NASB95)

Moses and the elders of Israel, in their physical bodies, were in this physical place eating in God’s presence. Its description matches what Ezekiel and John saw. Paul visited what he called the “third heaven,” not knowing whether he was in the body or out of his body. (2 Corinthians 12:2) This implies that it is possible to be there “in the body,” which agrees with Jesus’ being seated there in his resurrection body.

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Colossians 3:1 (NASB95)

Putting all this together, we see that the scriptures do not allow us to merely spiritualize heaven without locating it. It is a real place where the Son of God now sits on his throne, which is above the earth, atop the firmament. One day, God will open the heavens to reveal Christ in all his glory for all to see at once. (Revelation 6:14)

Yes, the Bible is literally true and heaven is an actual place. All we have to do is look up.

Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” Luke 21:27–28 (NKJV)

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The Sky Is the Limit

Posted April 6, 2025April 13, 2025
by petebeck3

Are there any limitations placed on mankind? Some think not. Others believe we live in an enclosed system designed by God. The Bible says that God created something called the firmament on Day 2 in Genesis Chapter One. This is a massive solid dome of unknown height, width, and composition. In it the Creator placed the sun, moon, and stars. He put waters above and below it. On top of this crystalline-like dome, God’s throne is located.

The firmament serves as a barrier between God’s realm and ours.

O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens! Psalm 8:1 (NKJV)

Nimrod, according to tradition, was behind the first failed attempt to penetrate this barrier. The tower of Babel was an attempt to “make a name” for himself, rather than glorifying God. Tradition says that Nimrod wanted to shoot God with an arrow. Although this is not in the Bible, I think it fits with the depraved heart of man. God cut off this plan by confusing the language of the builders and scattering them over the face of the earth. In case you did not realize it, mankind has not given up on this quest. Every rocket launch is another attempt to breach the firmament.

God placed the earth under man’s authority and dominion, but he reserved heaven for himself.

The heavens are the heavens of the LORD, But the earth He has given to the sons of men. Psalm 115:16 (NASB95)

Heaven is a real place that is reserved for God, the holy angels, and those purchased by the blood of our Lord Jesus. No one from NASA, ESA, or Space X will ever go there with a rocket. Outer space is a hoax. According to the Bible, the sky is the limit.

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Sharing How God Showed Up

Posted April 6, 2025July 3, 2025
by petebeck3

Paul continued his testimony by sharing the supernatural part of his story about how God showed up unexpectedly.

As I was on the road, approaching Damascus about noon, a very bright light from heaven suddenly shone down around me. ⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ ⁸ “‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked. “And the voice replied, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, the one you are persecuting.’ Acts 22:6-8 (NLT)

Our testimony is about how God intersected our lives.

Unless God intervenes, all of us are headed for hell. We don’t need any help to pull that off. That was certainly the case with Paul. He was “hell bent” on persecuting Christians in an attempt to stamp out what had become known as “the Way.” As the chief enemy of the faith, he was perhaps the most unlikely of all people to have an encounter with the risen Christ, which is exactly the point. Later he wrote the following.

This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. ¹⁶ But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. 1 Timothy 1:15-16 (NLT)

A good testimony invites people to consider that God is real, cares about us, and can communicate effectively.

Most people are unaware that this sort of thing can happen, and, even if they know it can, they do not believe it will happen to them personally.

If we convince our hearers that they are candidates for divine intervention, just as we were, perhaps they will seek God for themselves.

God does not turn away any sincere seeker. If our listeners will honestly turn to God and ask him for help, the Lord will not turn his back on them.

However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. John 6:37 (NLT)

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The Primary Importance of Genesis Chapter One

Posted April 5, 2025April 5, 2025
by petebeck3

Genesis Chapter One describes how God created the cosmos – the seas, earth, firmament, sun, moon, and stars, as well as living creatures. As such, it is of primary importance.

The battle of the ages is being fought over Genesis because, if it can be shown that it is not literally and actually true, then there is no reason to assume that anything else in the Bible is true.

This is why Satan has worked so hard to convince us that the story proposed by those who espouse evolutionary astrophysics is real. If we accept the Big Bang theory and the heliocentric model as reality, we must conclude that the Bible is an archaic fairy tale.

I have conversed with numerous Bible-believing Christians who insist that it is not necessary or even correct to accept that Genesis is literally true. They believe that Jesus rose from the dead. They believe that the gospel message is true and tell me that insisting on a literal interpretation of Genesis is an unnecessary obstacle to people’s accepting the gospel’s claims.

Without fully realizing it, those who reject the literal truth of Genesis have set foot upon the slippery slope of deciding which parts of the Bible are true and which merely contain truth, which is exactly the position of the more liberal denominations which have departed from the faith.

By the way, how can something untrue contain truth? That is the equivalent of saying that God can use a lie to lead us into truth.

Why do any of us who believe the Bible think that it is necessary to reject a literal interpretation of Genesis Chapter One? Is it not because we regard the claims of what is called science to be of greater value than God’s Word?

If we accept the proclamations of theoretical science above God’s Word, we have become idolators who worship at the altar of “Scientism,” which has its own high priests and prophets who tell us what we must believe.

I admit that people come to faith in Christ and his resurrection without believing that Genesis is literally true. I did. But this does not mean that believing Genesis is true is not important. Jesus said the the scripture cannot be “broken,” (John 10:35) meaning that every word of God is true. He said in another place that we are to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). People who already believe in Jesus will continue to do so regardless of whether they accept a literal interpretation of Genesis. To them, it is whether Genesis is literally true is non-essential. However, those who are in the process of exploring the claims of the Bible and who read Genesis are faced with a huge obstacle to faith. Everything they have been taught from infancy rejects the creation account of Genesis. They must decide what to do with the Bible. Many decide that Genesis is not true and therefore reject all the Bible’s claims.

The goal of evolutionary astrophysics, geology, paleontology, and biology is to convince us that our universe and all life sprang from nothingness by random chance without any input from a Creator.

We have to admit that Satan’s plan has wonderfully succeeded. He has successfully eliminated the Bible from public education and the halls of what is called science. Any reference to a Creator is rejected as being unscientific. Science must be able to explain everything without any reference to God, using only mechanistic processes. The Bible takes the exact opposite position: in the beginning – God.

Therefore, the best way to combat the lie of evolutionary “science” is by reestablishing faith in the literal truth of Genesis.

Is this too great a leap for those who say they believe in the virgin birth and resurrection of Jesus? Have we allowed the world to slice off our faith in Jesus and place it in a little box called “religious truth,” which has no bearing or impact on the “real” world?

It is impossible to accept that the Genesis account is true and arrive at a heliocentric “solar system” in an ever-expanding universe.

Until we are willing to repent for our unbelief in the literal truth of the Genesis account, we are shooting ourselves in the foot. Any thinking person who examines the gospel’s claims and sees that we do not think Genesis is true would do well to question why we believe anything in the Bible. Cannot we see that?

But when we come face to face with the truth about the heavens and earth that God made, we can only arrive at one conclusion. There must be a Creator because no matter how truth is twisted, evolutionary processes cannot explain the existence of the solid dome-like firmament.

It is not a far jump to show those who acknowledge the Creator that the one who made everything is named Jesus, the Eternal Logos, who became a man and died for our sins and then arose as Lord of Lords, who will come again in glory when God dissolves the firmament. (2 Peter 3:12)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. John 1:1–5 (NKJV)

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Resources for Researching Biblical Cosmology

Posted April 5, 2025March 19, 2026
by petebeck3

It is not easy to find confirming resources and information regarding biblical cosmology because big tech censors have developed algorithms that feature almost all negative information to lead people away from this amazing truth. This page contains information I have assembled while doing my own research. I hope it is helpful to you.

Everyone is on a life journey that hopefully will lead us to Christ, but not everyone who holds to the biblical version of the shape of the earth is a follower of Christ or a Bible believer. Some apparent proponents may be putting out information just for the money or to achieve notoriety. Other advocates of biblical cosmology may be truth seekers who have yet to find the One who is the Truth, Jesus. In addition, some who hold to the “flat earth” also have some very strange non- or anti-biblical theories. I have found that Satan always injects weirdness into anything God is revealing to try to bring confusion and demoralize truth seekers. As a result, we may need to glean truth from people with strange beliefs. We have to learn to “eat the chicken and spit out the bones.”

Those of us who already know the Lord have a guide, the Holy Spirit, and a map, the Bible. When we discover something new that is confirmed in the Bible, we can be sure it is the truth. Blessings to you on your journey.

Below I have broken down my information into categories, each with a separate page.