View source for Qualifying to Receive Grace—and Salvation

'''[[The Rise of Ephraim and Manasseh]]'''
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'''Back to [[1The Bible’s Greatest Prophecies Unlocked!]]'''
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When a young rich man approached Jesus, inquiring how he might receive eternal life,  we saw Jesus said, &ldquo;If you will enter  into [eternal] life,&nbsp;<em>keep the commandments</em>&rdquo; (Matt. 19:17). While this would not&nbsp;<em>earn</em>&nbsp;the  young man salvation, it was a&nbsp;<em>qualifier</em>—a&nbsp;<em>precondition</em>—to  receiving it. Millions today ignore this requirement, set forth so plainly by Christ. They listen to twisted arguments from law-hating,  rebellious ministers and theologians falsely telling them that obedience to  God&nbsp;<em>earns</em>&nbsp;salvation, making it no longer of grace, God&rsquo;s gift.<br>
  
But if there are no&nbsp;<em>preconditions</em>&nbsp;to  salvation, all could demand it of God! The rich young ruler might have told  God, &ldquo;I&nbsp;<em>demand</em>&nbsp;you give me salvation—it is my&nbsp;<em>right</em>!&rdquo;  Speaking of the Holy Spirit, Peter  said, &ldquo;God has given to them that&nbsp;<em>obey Him</em>&rdquo; (Acts 5:32). Indeed, God&rsquo;s Spirit is a gift (&ldquo;God has <em>given</em>&rdquo;),  but only those who obey Him can receive it. Only Christ&rsquo;s  sacrifice makes this gift possible!<br>
  
Make no mistake. Salvation cannot be  earned—it is a free gift!<br>
  
Now get this point straight! We must  remove all doubt about what brings salvation. It is a free gift from God. There  is absolutely nothing that a Christian can do to&nbsp;<em>merit</em>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<em>earn</em>&nbsp;it.  The only wage that human beings can earn is&nbsp;<em>death</em>&nbsp;(Rom. 6:23). Recognize that no one can earn eternal life  through <em>works</em>.<br>
  
Salvation is by God&rsquo;s grace. But  what&nbsp;<em>is grace</em>? It is completely unmerited pardon of one&rsquo;s sin.  Salvation means that one is&nbsp;<em>saved</em>&nbsp;from death. Unless God  intervenes to apply the blood of Jesus Christ to  cover the repentant sinner&rsquo;s past, there can be no salvation.<br>
  
What scriptures directly state  this?&nbsp;Ephesians 1:5,&nbsp;7&nbsp;says, &ldquo;Jesus Christ…In  whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.&rdquo;&nbsp;Colossians 1:14&nbsp;states the same thing, verbatim. God gives  grace—forgiveness—through Christ&rsquo;s blood.<br>
  
But also think of salvation in the  following way: A wealthy father approaches his 18-year-old son, heading off to  college, with this offer. He states, &ldquo;Son, upon graduation in four years, I will  give you one million dollars if you (1) maintain a B average, (2) abstain from  drunkenness, (3) impregnate no girls, and (4) never cut classes.&rdquo;<br>
  
Ask these questions: If the young man  meets these conditions, will he&nbsp;<em>receive</em>&nbsp;the million dollars?  Yes! Has his conduct&nbsp;<em>earned</em>&nbsp;him the million dollars? No! Of  course not. He merely did what&nbsp;<em>all</em>&nbsp;young men should do when  they go to college. Yet, he would&nbsp;<em>not</em>&nbsp;receive the million  dollars if he did&nbsp;<em>not </em>meet the preconditions—the&nbsp;<em>qualifiers</em>!<br>
  
It is the same with salvation. Of  course, God offers far more than a million dollars, but only those who obey Him  may receive what He offers. Why cannot millions of Christians understand such  basic logic, applicable in every contract and agreement entered into by men?<br>
  
We saw the Bible so plainly says that Satan has &ldquo;deceived the whole world&rdquo; (Rev. 12:9), and this matter of how salvation is achieved may  be his greatest deception. Do not fall for it!<br>
  
Salvation is through Christ&rsquo;s  free gift of grace. Yes, it is a&nbsp;<em>gift</em>—but it is one that God only  gives to those who meet His biblically prescribed&nbsp;<em>standards</em>. In  this way, God ensures that no future member of His Family will misuse and abuse  such enormous power, conferred on him at the time of salvation.<br>
  
Take a moment to reflect on this basic  knowledge of&nbsp;<em>how</em>&nbsp;the&nbsp;<em>scepter</em>&nbsp;promise of  salvation is achieved &ldquo;of the Jews&rdquo; (John  4:22) through Christ.  While the world has understood that the promises to Abraham  involve salvation through Christ, almost complete  ignorance reigns within modern, orthodox Christianity regarding when, where and  how this happens. These are subjects for other books.<br>
  
We now fast-forward thousands of years…<br>

<strong>The Birthright Blessing—at Its Peak and After</strong><br>
The blessings of birthright, prophesied  millennia ago to arrive, have been most obvious in the modern nations descended  from ancient Israel!<br>
  
For two centuries, America and Britain have led the world in  agriculture, manufacturing, production, technology, trade, and acquiring key  sea gates and strategic defensive strongholds. Also, the United States, Britain  and Israel (Judah)  still have the three most elite armies, with the most sophisticated weaponry,  that the world has ever seen! Even in decline, the Royal Navy still today  evokes a certain awe.<br>
  
Jumping from virtual obscurity to great  prominence, and dominance, the rise of Great   Britain and the United States to global supremacy  came suddenly—and relatively recently. Up until 1800, America and Britain were small in strength,  resources and power. This marked the end of the 2,520 years of the withholding  of their birthright blessings (carefully explained in my book).<br>
  
Certain events, meticulously timed  (particularly Napoleon&rsquo;s need of additional funds for his war with England,  leading to the American purchase of key French territories), added to their  surge in power. Just the Louisiana Purchase propelled America toward  becoming the world&rsquo;s single richest nation.<br>
  
The well-known journalist John O&rsquo;Sullivan  was the first to enunciate the concept of&nbsp;<em>Manifest Destiny</em>. This is  what he wrote in promotion of this idea: &ldquo;the right…to overspread and to  possess the whole of the continent which Providence  has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and  federated self-government entrusted to us&rdquo; (<em>Encyclopedia of American Foreign  Policy</em>, vol. 2, p. 68).<br>
  
Within 50 years of the Louisiana  Purchase, additions from the British Cession, acquisition of Florida,  Texas Annexation, Oregon Territory, Mexican Cession and the Gadsden   Purchase provided this budding nation with the world&rsquo;s richest,  most fertile lands.<br>
  
Meanwhile, Great Britain&rsquo;s population was  exploding, jumping from 7.7 million to 20.7 million, from the 1750s to the  1850s. In addition, London  became the financial capital of the world. These factors set the stage for the  Industrial Revolution.<br>
  
With these changes, these nations also  acquired most of the world&rsquo;s wealth. After World War II, the United States  emerged as the world&rsquo;s top economic and military power, taking the role of  &ldquo;leader of the free world.&rdquo; In September 1949, they were in possession of  nearly two-thirds of all gold under governmental control—nearly 24 billion  dollars in reserve!<br>
  
This quick rise to national dominance  is unmatched in history. No other nation has experienced such advancements in  so short a time. In fact, outside these lands, the incredible prosperity taken  for granted by so many here is non-existent. Devastating famine, crippling  disease, raging war, disastrous natural calamities, outright ignorance and  oppressive governments are a reality to almost all but the modern children of Jacob. Yet so few seem to truly recognize this.<br>
  
But the people of America, Britain  and the other descendants of Israel  have ignored the Provider of these great blessings. They have disregarded  biblical accounts as &ldquo;myths,&rdquo; &ldquo;fables&rdquo; or &ldquo;fairy tales,&rdquo; and have credited  their dominance to their own ingenuity and cleverness, ignoring clear prophecies  recorded in the Bible!<br>

<strong>&ldquo;And Your Seed Shall Possess the Gates of His  Enemies&rdquo;</strong><br>
The birthright nations would own the  gates of their enemies. Historians have been able to observe the extraordinary  acquisition and developing control of crucial trade routes and military  strongholds: &ldquo;By tracing the rise and decline of past maritime powers,&rdquo;  acclaimed historian David   McCullough explains, &ldquo;national  greatness and commercial supremacy were directly related to supremacy at sea&rdquo; (<em>The  Path Between the Seas</em>,&nbsp;<em>The Creation of the Panama Canal: 1870-1914</em>).<br>
  
For over 200 years, Great Britain—and later America—dominated  the seas by possessing vital points of passage. By controlling most of the  world&rsquo;s strategic sea gates, their economic expanse and military capability flourished.  These ports of passage directly affected British and U.S. victories in the First and  Second World Wars.<br>

These included the Suez Canal, the Strait of Gibraltar,  Cape of Good Hope, Cape Horn, the Straits of Hormuz and Singapore, the Panama Canal, Malta and Hong Kong.  Although these sea gates fell under the control of the children of Abraham through conquest or purchase, they were&nbsp;<em>destined</em>&nbsp;to  be in their control long ago!<br>
  
Remember God&rsquo;s promise to Abraham: &ldquo;In  blessing&nbsp;<em>I will bless you</em>…in multiplying&nbsp;<em>I will multiply  your seed</em>&nbsp;as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon  the sea shore…your seed shall possess the&nbsp;<em>gate</em>&nbsp;of his  enemies…in&nbsp;<em>your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed</em>;  because you have obeyed My voice&rdquo; (Gen.  22:17-18). The Fenton translation reads, &ldquo;I  will&nbsp;<em>increase your race as the stars of the skies</em>, and like the  sand upon the sea-shore; and&nbsp;<em>your race</em>&nbsp;shall possess the<em> gates</em>&nbsp;[plural] of its enemies; and I will&nbsp;<em>benefit all the  nations of the earth through your heir</em>, because you have listened to My  voice.&rdquo;<br>
  
Abraham&rsquo;s heirs were to be: (1) A great  people, in tremendous strength and numbers—&ldquo;as the stars of the skies&rdquo;; (2)  they were to be a source of help to other nations—they would &ldquo;benefit all the  nations of the earth&rdquo;; and (3) they were to possess the &ldquo;gates of their  enemies&rdquo;—key strategic sea &ldquo;gates,&rdquo; which would help establish and fortify  world dominance! Through identifying the&nbsp;<em>people</em> receiving&nbsp;<em>these</em>&nbsp;blessings—the  descendants of Abraham are discovered!<br>
  
We saw God&rsquo;s promise was then also  passed to Abraham&rsquo;s daughter-in-law  Rebekah. Let&rsquo;s read again with a different emphasis on the same verse: &ldquo;…and  [Rebekah&rsquo;s relatives] said unto her, You are our sister, be you&nbsp;<em>the  mother of thousands of millions</em>, and let your seed possess the&nbsp;<em>gate</em>&nbsp;of  those which hate them&rdquo; (Gen.  24:60). This is billions!<br>
  
How ironic that, beginning in the  1800s, these key &ldquo;gates&rdquo; began to fall into the hands of Great Britain and  America while, soon after, the first steam engine came into existence, allowing  great ships to reach them quickly, thus accelerating and expanding world trade!<br>
  
Which nations have fulfilled these  prophecies? Which have claimed these promises? Certainly not the Jewish people!<br>
  
The following scripture further reveals  the identity of the recipients of these blessings: &ldquo;And of <em>Joseph</em>&nbsp;he  said, Blessed of the&nbsp;Lord&nbsp;be  his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that  couches beneath, and for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for  the precious things put forth by the moon, and for the chief things of the  ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, and for the  precious things of the earth and fullness thereof…let the blessing come upon  the head of Joseph [Ephraim—Britain and other countries; Manasseh—America]…His  glory is like the firstling [the birthright holder] of his bullock, and his  horns are like the horns of&nbsp;<em>unicorns</em>&nbsp;[the national seal of  Britain]: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth:  and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of  Manasseh&rdquo; (Deut. 33:13-17).<br>
  
These scriptures, with history,&nbsp;<em>confirm</em>&nbsp;who  claimed these promises, and fulfilled great prophecies.<br>

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'''[[The Rise of Ephraim and Manasseh]]'''
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'''Back to [[1The Bible’s Greatest Prophecies Unlocked!]]'''