Posted on 11/29/2015 8:04:17 AM PST by Kaslin
One of my favorite C.S. Lewis quotes points out, as only Lewis could, that Jesus was either the Messiah (and the Son of God) as prophesied in the ancient Jewish scriptures, or He was a liar, a lunatic, or, worse, the "Devil of Hell."
Wrote Lewis: "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
Indeed, to my Jewish friends, I say this: We Christ followers love your Messiah. And make no mistake about it, Jesus is your Messiah. He is our Messiah. He is the Messiah. Messiah means savior, and Jesus is the Savior of all mankind.
To be sure, if both Christ's words and the Holy Spirit-inspired teachings throughout both the Old and New Testaments are to be believed, and they are, then Christianity and Judaism are not competing religions at odds with one another. Rather, Christianity merely represents the final culmination of Judaism, and Christ's promised incarnation, death and resurrection, the fulfillment of the long awaited Jewish Messiah prophesied throughout the Old Testament.
In his latest book, "The Emmaus Code: Finding Jesus in the Old Testament," author and attorney David Limbaugh thoroughly unpacks this reality and "unlocks the mysteries of the Old Testament and reveals hints of Jesus Christ's arrival through all thirty-nine Old Testament books."
"The key to the secrets of the Old Testament, Limbaugh argues, is the crucial New Testament encounter between the risen Jesus and two travelers on the road to Emmaus," notes the book's description. "With that key, and with Limbaugh as a deft guide, readers of 'The Emmaus Code' will come to a startling new understanding of the Old Testament as a clear and powerful heralding of Jesus Christ's arrival. Limbaugh takes readers on a revealing journey from Genesis through Malachi, demonstrating that a consistent message courses through every one of the Old Testament's thirty-nine books: the power, wonder, and everlasting love of Jesus Christ."
The "Emmaus Code" is a project that God long-ago placed on Limbaugh's heart. "Jesus is prophesied in the Old Testament and fulfills those prophecies in the New Testament," he writes. "For years, I have wanted to write a book to share my enthusiasm for the Old Testament and explain how it is foundational to the New Testament as the first act of a two-act play. I have wanted to show the many ways Christ is foreshadowed in the Old Testament.
"My new book, 'The Emmaus Code: Finding Jesus in the Old Testament,' is the culmination of a project I began some 20 years ago. In the book, I try to demonstrate that the Christ-centeredness of the Old Testament is the key to understanding all of Scripture. The book is a primer on the Old Testament. I take you through each period of Old Testament history, introduce and discuss all the threads and themes pointing to Jesus in the Old Testament, and finally give you an overview of each book of the Old Testament and detail how each one prefigures Jesus Christ.
"My goal is to increase the reader's appreciation for the Old Testament and for its Christ-centeredness, for once we have a better handle on the Old Testament and understand that Jesus is its focus, the Bible will come alive for us in ways we never anticipated and our faith will be strengthened and energized. That is certainly my experience, and I pray the same thing happens for you."
Having just finished the book, I can say with enthusiastic certainty that Limbaugh accomplishes his goal. He demonstrates, like the trial lawyer proving his case beyond any reasonable doubt, that Jesus is not just hinted at in the Old Testament, but that His presence permeates the ancient Jewish texts. As John 1:1 reminds us, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
Christ is the Word and the Word is God.
The "Emmaus Code" will change your whole perspective on the Bible. The Old Testament will come to life for you and you will see clearly, perhaps for the first time, that its primary purpose was, and is, the foretelling of the coming of Christ Jesus.
When Jesus asked the apostle Peter, "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the son of the living God" (see Matthew 16:15-16).
"Jesus replied, 'Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven'" (Matthew 16:17).
Christ points to Himself as the Old Testament Messiah.
David Limbaugh establishes, masterfully, the veracity of Christ's claim.
I don’t need proof I have faith.
The New Atheists refuse to consider the statement by Lewis that Jesus was “liar, lunatic, or Lord” by claiming Jesus simply never existed. They insist that there is no non-Biblical evidence that Jesus existed. Any references to Jesus in Josephus’ writings are said, by them, to be spuriously added by later Christians.
Though there are more written documents alluding to Jesus’ existence, Bibical and non-Biblical, and thousands of copies, some of which fall within fifty years of the events described, than to any other ancient person. - i.e. Julius Caesar, that doesn’t matter: the new atheists say He never existed, Nazareth didn’t exist in the First century, and on and on.
But, just wishing Him away is not going to work. One day, “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
He might also have been a man of great perspicacity who saw things very clearly and didn't fear the truth.
bmp
> “You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse”.
I made my choice after years of fighting it. Today, Jesus commands me and I am called to obey.
This is the brother of Rush Limbaugh and he has been very illuminating and faithful to the Gospel. I will read this with great attention.
It could be neither of those.
Re: “I don’t need proof I have faith.”
Are you saying, then, that there is no evidence that we can consider and examine that God exists, that Jesus exists, or that the Scriptures are accurate and reliable?
Or, are you saying that no proof whatsoever is needed for you to believe something to be true? I find that difficult to believe - when you heard the Gospel, did you not consider the reliability of the Scriptures? Did you consider the character of the person who spoke with you about the Gospel? If you did, then you did consider at least some evidence prior to believing.
Jesus showed the disciples His hands, His feet, His wounded side - why? Yes, He said, “Blessed are those who believe without seeing” but He wasn’t saying do not consider the evidence, no, He was referring to seeing His physical body. If examining the evidence is pointless, then why did Jesus Himself spend time with the two disciples on the Emmaus road discussing with them the Biblical evidence for who He was? Why did the Apostle Paul say that the Berean people were “more noble than others because they searched the Scriptures” to find proof to support what Paul was teaching them?
I think you are needlessly painting yourself into a box you don’t need to be in.
Wonder what these atheist will have to say on his glorious 2nd coming ?
” we are on the wrong side of history on this one “
Actually Atheism is a oxymoron because Atheism it’s self in it’s purest form makes one’s self out to be God..... Living one’s life as they deem and see fit without any reguard to the “ unreasonable ** Rules ** “ that the God of the Bible wants us to live by.
Atheism is just replacing one God with another placing a peculiar word or name with it : Atheism.
I suppose that could be applied to His "work" in other areas such as His defense of the poor or His proposal of the Golden Rule, but taking His life as a whole, one is forced into only one of the three alternatives Lewis proposes. For one of many reasons, this is because He claimed to be God, so He was either a liar lunatic or the real deal.
I have both. Makes me happy.
“Proving his case beyond any reasonable doubt?” Possibly the most absurd statement I’ve heard in my lifetime.
Very good. Thanks.
Bookmarked!
This reads like a commercial advertisement without the actual price listed. How much money is the author or his business associates charging per copy ?
But if He was not God but didn’t fear truth, He would not have allowed His followers to claim He was the long awaited Messiah. Instead He blessed them for their faith....
Yours for $17.23 plus shipping on Amazon today
Mr Ramsbotham wrote:
“He might also have been a man of great perspicacity who saw things very clearly and didn’t fear the truth.”
He saw clearly because He was and is, the Son of the Most High.
I’m so excited! I’ve been wanting to get my hands on Jewish books to understand their view of Messiah and what they imagine it will be like when He rules the world so you know I HAVE to have this book.
I hope it reveals the wholeness of Messiah as Savior and Warrior King.
"If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit!" THAT's the most absurd statement I've heard in my lifetime.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.