BOOK EXCERPT: SEVENTH DIMENSION – THE PRESCIENCE: A Young Adult Fantasy, “Did Jesus Really Die on the Cross?”

Since the Jewish festival of Shavuot and the Christian religious day of Pentecost is upon us, I decided to share this excerpt from Seventh Dimension - The Prescience, which takes place on Pentecost in the first century. The question I asked myself before I wrote The Prescience was, what would happen if a Muslim convert from Hinduism heard Peter at Pentecost? What would be his reaction? 

God continues to encourage me with the editing as I finish my chemo treatments. I pray that this excerpt will help you to think about how you would witness to a Muslim. The excerpt includes one of the common questions that Muslims have about Christianity.  

The Berean Study Bible admonishes us:

So we aspire to please Him, whether we are here in this body or away from it. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad. 11Therefore, since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is clear to God, and I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.

EXCERPT FROM THE PRESCIENCE

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Love motivated Jesus. He died for all of us. We deserve death, but Jesus died in our place so we could spend eternity with him.”

Nidal glanced down at his sandals and pushed a loose stone aside. “You know, Islam tells us that Jesus didn’t die on the cross.”

Daniel scooted up closer. “Do you know that no one in history, out of the thousands who were crucified by the Romans, survived the crucifixion?”

“What do you mean?” Nidal asked.

“There isn’t a single recorded case of anyone ever crucified by the Romans who came down off the cross alive. Every person who was crucified by the Romans died. Don’t you think that if one person, especially someone as controversial as Jesus, had managed to survive, it would have been widely known and reported? Plus, think of the eyewitnesses who saw Jesus die. The scriptures also tell us the Roman guard speared him in the side to make sure he was dead.”

Nidal reflected on Daniel’s words but remained quiet.

“Crucifixion is torture,” Daniel said, “and if by some chance Jesus did survive the crucifixion, do you think he could have made a full recovery based on the crude medical methods of this time period?”

“But how can you be sure?”

“As far as I know,” Daniel said, “there is very little dispute among most historians that Jesus died on the cross.”

“I wish I had a computer. I’d search it on Google, but I have a counterargument.”

Daniel brushed his hair back from his forehead. “What’s that?”

“I heard an Imam claim that Jesus’ body was replaced with the body of Judas.”

Daniel shook his head. “That would be impossible. Judas had already died when Jesus was crucified. The betrayer’s entails spilled out on the ground. That’s why the Jews had to sell the land. His blood had defiled it. Besides, dozens of people witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion, and Roman guards were present at his crucifixion the entire time.

“They took down Jesus’ dead body and gave it to his friends so they could prepare it for burial. They would have declared Jesus dead before they delivered his body to Joseph of Arimathea and the women.”

Daniel added. “Believe me when I tell you this. There is no way the Roman soldiers could have removed Jesus from the cross alive, retrieved the body of Judas that had been ripped wide open when he hung himself, and then nailed Judas to the cross in place of Jesus. That contradicts the historical record, and there were many people who stood by and watched. History would have recorded events differently.”

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WHERE IS YOUR FUTURE HOME: Devotional by Lorilyn Roberts

 

Mount Everest

After spending a week in Nepal and returning home, I appreciate the little things so much more—I can drink tap water, enjoy coffee with breakfast, and eat anything I want. I’m not sneezing anymore from allergies. The air is clean, and I love sleeping in my own bed. I know this sounds trite, and I don’t mean it to be. God uses the mundane and ordinary in this world to teach us about the extraordinary in the next.

My home is here in sunny Florida where we have far too many cats and a rescued dog. This is where I’m comfortable. It’s where most of my friends are and where I work and play and do far too much complaining about mostly meaningless things.

Nepal was foreign to me. What made it familiar were the relationships with the Christians I met. We worship the same God, we sang the same songs in church, and Joy and I enjoyed the sweet fellowship of the Christians in Nepal in their homes and places of worship.

I’m reminded of Matthew 16:19 which says, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you lose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Our job in this world is to build a foundation for the next. Are you sending ahead of your homecoming an investment in the future?

If you aren’t a Christian, you wouldn’t want to go to heaven. It would be outside of your comfort zone. The Holy Spirit is not in you because you rejected God; neither are Christian relationships. You chose not to be part of that world. You rejected the most important relationship, Jesus Christ, who died so that you would have an inheritance at your homecoming. Jesus said, “I go and prepare a place for you.”

We live in worlds of comfort zones here, and there are thousands of them, scattered to the four winds. Home is our familiar world, but it is temporary. Where will your future home be? Nothing familiar exists in hell. Hell was made for the devil and his fallen angels—not for humans. In heaven, we will have the Body of Christ, the relationships we’ve forged here, and whatever we have here will be so much more there.

Let us not grow weary of doing good (as I’m apt to do at times), because we are God’s workmanship, created for good works. We are building a kingdom right here on earth.

I longed to do a better job of keeping my priorities in order—and I want God to renew His Spirit within me. Help me, God, to have more of you in my life, in my home, in my world, and less of me. Your Kingdom is increasing here, I know it, even though outwardly, we may be persuaded to think otherwise, but you promised in Isaiah 9:7, "Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.” I believe before I went to Nepal I was allowing the evil one to convince me otherwise.

Now I see your kingdom with more hope and with more belief in the impossible. In Isaiah 64:4, you say, “Since ancient times, no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.”

God’s kingdom is expanding here in our homes, in our communities, in our government, and in our world. Nothing except our unbelief can stop God’s power from being manifest everywhere. Seize the moment and make your home a “taste” of your heavenly home. What greater gift can we give our families than a preview of what’s to come?

THE NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH: Devotional from "Am I Okay, God?" by Lorilyn Roberts

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and he will dwell among them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be among them, and he will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.

—Revelation 21:3-5

Would you like to visit the garden in Seventh Dimension – The Door? Evil lurked in that garden, but when Jesus returns, he will create a new earth free of sin.

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From Seventh Dimension – The Door, a Young Adult Christian Fantasy:

Evening came. I wanted to love but I was unwilling to give up my hate. Could the king’s words penetrate my hardened heart? What joy would fill me if I surrendered everything to the king?

Baruch nudged me with his nose. “Where do we go now, Miss Shale?”

The crowds were leaving to return to their homes. I didn’t feel like I had one. I closed my eyes and prayed. “If I’m a daughter of the king, please forgive me. I’m sorry for my wrong attitude.”

Nothing changed on the outside, but I felt better on the inside.”

—Shale Snyder, chapter thirty-two

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While I can’t change the world I face each day, I can cleanse my thoughts through reading the Bible. I can pray when I am driving, when I am cooking, or when I rise or go to bed. I can confess to God my pain when I feel overwhelmed by the unexplained darkness—when bad things happen.

By allowing God to work in my heart, I can gain a heavenly perspective, lifting my spirit from the gutter that robs me of my joy.

Take a few moments and imagine what God is preparing for you. Your negative thoughts can be redeemed, helping you to live each day with renewed hope for a brighter future.

Someday, God’s new heaven and new earth will rise from the ashes following the greatest war ever fought in the universe. God and his angelic warriors will fight in the last battle against Satan and the demons of darkness. Earth will be the battleground and man the prized possession.

While man’s salvation is already secured by Jesus’ death and resurrection, the finality of souls’ destination is only within God’s purview. Satan does not know; neither does he know everything you think. Satan is not omniscient. He has nothing to lose—except you.

Even as the battle wages, once we accept Jesus, we can rejoice. We can know for certain where we will live for eternity.

Where is heaven? A place where our failures will no longer paralyze us; where perfect love casts out fear, pure joy abounds with unceasing laughter, and unfettered peace will last forever. It’s but one heartbeat away for those who believe in Jesus Christ.

Until we enter heaven’s gates, we have to deal with sin. The curse, passed down from Adam and Eve, plagues all creatures. Everything eventually dies.

The best thing about heaven is Jesus lives there—as king. No more elections, no more dictators, and no more czars. He said he was going to prepare a place for his followers, and someday he would return and take us back with him.

What will we see, and what will we look like?

Heaven is inhabited by millions of beautiful angelic creatures. When we pass through heaven’s gates, we will be clothed in spiritual bodies that will no longer be physically imperfect but eternally perfect.

Some saints will shine brighter than others, depending on their faithfulness to God, just as some stars appear brighter in the night sky. There will be rewards for our good works and for bringing others into the kingdom.

In heaven, there’s no competition for food or toll for survival—even in the animal kingdom.

For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.

—Romans 8:22  

The wolf and the lamb will feed beside each other Children will play with lions. The sound of crying will never be heard again. The old order of things will have passed away. When God wipes away our tears, our afflictions and troubles will no longer be remembered.

Heaven is never dark because the glory of God gives it light. The New Jerusalem will radiate with the majesty of God. The city will be built of gold, pure as glass. The foundations of the walls will glitter with precious gems and the twelve gates made of pearl will greet city visitors. Nothing impure will ever enter the city.

The River of Life will flow from God’s throne, and the Tree of Life in the city square will bear a different fruit each month. Its leaves will be for the healing of nations. Whatever we have here will be even better there—in beauty, fullness, and purity.

Heaven in Revelation has many mysteries beyond our understanding. The four winds who obey God and the four creatures who give praise to our heavenly father—who are they?

The Bible doesn’t give us a map to heaven, but in Genesis 28:12, Jacob “had a dream, and …a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and … the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.”

In Revelation 4:1, John saw an open door to heaven; and in Acts 7:56, Stephen said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”  

Because it’s impossible for anything defiled or sinful to enter through the gates, it would have been impossible for anyone to go there if God had not provided a way. God said in Leviticus 26:12, “I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.”  

Today we battle against the unseen powers of darkness—the prince of the air and his demonic minions. But through the Holy Spirit, we have a taste of heaven here. When we receive Jesus into our hearts, the Comforter indwells us. The Spirit whispers to us in our sleep, comforts us in our pain, and implores us never to give up.

The Bible reminds us of God’s unwavering truth. Thousands of years of attacks upon it and God’s chosen have strengthened the validity of the Bible’s claims. Even the rocks would cry out in praise to the heavenly father if it were possible.

When Jesus hung on the cross, he said to one of the two thieves beside him, “Truly, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). I take comfort in the fact that for the last two thousand years, Jesus has been preparing a place for you and for me.

Someday heavenly music will fill our ears. We will splash with joy in heavenly waters emanating from God’s throne and walk on streets of gold. We will be reunited with those who have gone before us. We will feast at the marriage supper of the Lamb, and all those whose names are written in the Book of Life will see the face of God.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

— John 16:33

What a glorious eternity awaits us. Until that day, let not the heartaches of this world discourage us from remembering the richness of God’s grace here—found in Jesus Christ.

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I am thankful I am a daughter (or son) of the king. I am thankful that my salvation is assured through Jesus’ death and resurrection. Help me to honor the king in all my ways so that he may be glorified— until I enter the pearl gates of heaven.

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