Our Resurrected Christ #Kinsman Reedmer #CCOT #Rapture #Jesus Saves
Our Resurrected Christ
By Pastor F. M. Riley
March 15, 2014
“For our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for
the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like
unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even
to subdue all things unto Himself.”
Philippians
3:20-21
“But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with
what body do they come?
1
Corinthians 15:35
Introduction
The Title and the Text passages set forth the subject matter of this
Bible study. The Title also points out
that this study is written for true
believers who know that our Savior lives…..
A couple of week ago I wrote and posted a Bible study entitled “The Hebrew Slave.” In that study I dealt with a subject that
many of God’s people have never studied or even considered; the humanity and
ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, His servitude to His Father, and His choice to
remain in a human body forever. This
was astounding to some of our readers, and questions were asked. I am always glad to answer the questions of
my readers, and their questions are always welcome.
I am now writing and sending forth this present Bible study to answer
many of the questions I have been asked on this subject, and to reinforce the
truth of what I presented in the previous study about the human body of our
beloved Savior; the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let’s begin…..
The
Birth of Christ Jesus
No true Bible believer doubts that the Lord Jesus Christ came into this
world as the result of the overshadowing of the Jewess virgin, Mary, by the
Holy Spirit of God, Matthew 1:18-23; Luke 1:26-35. Being born of His mother, Mary,
Christ Jesus was then a true human with the body of a true human, yet
since the Holy Spirit was His Father, Christ had no “sin nature” received
through the lineage of fallen Adam, Romans 5:12.
Christ Jesus, in His virgin birth, was God’s answer to the
question asked by Job centuries before, “Who can bring a clean thing out
of an unclean? Not one.” Job 14:4. Job
was mistaken in his assumption. Mary was a
descendant of Adam, and therefore did have her own “sin nature” passed down
from Adam. Nevertheless,
God in His great wisdom chose to use the body of Mary, the virgin, to bring His
sinless Son and the Savior of mankind into this world. Praise the Lord! Christ Jesus, as a man, was then born of
Mary, the virgin, and lived and grew up as the son of Mary. No place in Scripture does God’s inspired
Word ever even imply that Christ was the son of Joseph, although the
unbelieving Jewish people regarded Him as such, Matthew 13:55; Luke 3:23; John
6:42. The doctrine of the virgin birth of Christ stands as Scriptural
truth!
What the inspired Word does explicitly say and teach is that Christ
Jesus was a true human living in a natural human body, a body which was subject
to all of the weaknesses and strengths, emotional highs and lows, feelings of
joy and sorrow, trials and testings, heartaches and griefs, that we humans experience, Hebrews 4:15. This in no way changes the truth that
He was “Immanuel,” the very “Son of God,” and therefore God
clothed in humanity,” Isaiah 7:14; John 3:16. However, it is glaringly obvious to
any honest reader that Christ was not sent into this world to function as God. Rather, in His life and ministry Christ Jesus
displayed all the characteristics and authority God intended for mankind when
He created Adam, Genesis 1:26-28. As the
sinless innocent second Adam, Christ Jesus came to redeem what the first Adam
lost by his disobedience to God, 1 Corinthians 15:45. Praise the Lord!
In His humanity, Christ was not a tall, handsome, muscle bound, specimen
of mankind. Rather, the Scriptures
indicate that He was a very ordinary looking man [Isaiah 53:2], perhaps of shorter stature
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like David, and with dark black, curly,
hair. Read for yourself the only
inspired description of
the Lord before His resurrection,
as found in God’s word in Songs 5:10-16.
The
Suffering and Crucifixion of Christ
The four gospels give us an in-depth description of the sufferings of
Christ leading up to His crucifixion. He
was tied to a pole or stake and flogged with a Roman scourge until the flesh
was ripped from his back, which, according to medical authorities, would have
exposed his entire backbone, shoulder bones, and rib cage, Matthew 26:26; Mark 15:15; John
19:1.
The Roman soldiers also plaited a crown of thorns
and placed it on the head of the Lord Jesus, bowing before Him in mockery, Matthew
27:29; Mark 15:17-18; John 19:2-3. The
soldiers then took the reed [rod]
which they had used for a mock scepter, and beat the Lord over the head with
it, driving the crown of thorns down into the Lord’s scalp and ears, Matthew
27:30; Mark 15:19. This would have
caused excruciating pain and much more loss of blood. Compare Isaiah 50:5-6. John’s account states that the Roman
soldiers spit upon Him and beat Him with their fists, John 19:3.
The passage in Isaiah 50:6 which says, “…My
cheeks to them that plucked off the hair..,” is not a good translation
of the Hebrew text. What the Hebrew text
and tenses literally indicate is that some big brawny Roman soldier grabbed the
Lord Jesus by His beard and shook Him back and forth until His flesh literally
came loose from His facial bones and the entire lower part of His face pulled
off exposing His jawbones and teeth.
This abuse of the Lord Jesus is why the prophet was inspired to write, “As
many were astonished at Thee; His visage [appearance] was so marred more than any man, and His
form more than the sons of men,” Isaiah 52:14.
Oh God have mercy! Why
was Christ enduring such abuse at the hands of His fiendish captors? Only because of His love for you and me!
In this process the Lord was stripped stark naked by
the Roman soldiers exposing Him to them and to any of the multitude which was
watching the spectacle as it occurred, Matthew 27:28. The soldiers then put on Him a purple
robe [the robes reserved for kings or
royalty], bowed before Him, and mockingly pretended to worship Him. After having their time of sadistic, depraved
“fun” with the Lord, they then stripped Him again and put His own robe back on
Him before leading Him away to be crucified, Matthew 27:31; Mark 15:17; 15:20. However, the Scriptures explicitly
state that at the cross the Roman soldiers stripped the Lord of His garments
again and parted them among themselves, Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34; Luke
19:23-24. Christ Jesus, in spite of the artist conceptions of Him
hanging on the cross with a cloth wrapped about His loins, actually hung on the
cross and suffered and died stark naked.
Compare the type set
forth in Genesis 2:7-11.
Dear readers, I would point out that the Lord Jesus
Christ was not physically or spiritually compelled to endure any of this
suffering or shameful mistreatment. At
the time of His arrest in Gethsemane, He plainly told Peter that He could pray
to the Father, and the Father would send “more than twelve legions of angels” to
deliver Him, Matthew 26:53. Then why didn’t Christ pray such a prayer? What was it that compelled Christ to let the
wicked abuse and crucify Him in such a fiendish and wicked manner? It was His love for fallen mankind,
which in eternity past, had moved Him to
make His own choice to offer Himself as a sinless innocent man;
the perfect sacrifice for man, in order to redeem all that mankind had lost
when Adam sinned by disobeying the Lord.
Folks, it was not the nails that held Christ to the cross! It was His love for your soul and mine! Give Him glory and respond to His
love by your devotion, worship, and praise!
Christ was then taken to the cross and crucified. The only perfectly sinless innocent man
who has lived throughout human history, “For
He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him,” 2 Corinthians 5:21. Praise the Lord!
The
Resurrected Body of Christ Jesus
Three days and nights after being crucified the Lord Jesus Christ was
raised from among the dead by God the Father.
I want to emphasize that Christ, as the second Adam and God incarnate, certainly
could have raised Himself [John 10:17-18],
but He didn’t! Every single place
in the entire New
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Testament which refers to the
resurrection of Christ explicitly states that “God raised Him up,” “the Father
raised Him,” “the Father brought Him forth,” etc. Not one place in the
New Testament is it ever said that Christ raised Himself. Check this out for yourself! Philippians 2:9 explicitly states, “Wherefore
[because Christ was obedient to
His Father…context] God also hath highly exalted Him, and given
Him a name which is above every name.” Glory
to God!
Now I want to point out to our readers truth about the resurrected body
of Christ that is plainly stated in the inspired Scriptures, but which many of
God’s people have never taken the time to seriously study or think about.
His
Same Body
The body of Christ Jesus at His resurrection
was the same human body in which Christ was born, grew up in, lived in,
and died in at His crucifixion. Oh yes
it was! Read it for yourself. Some 3,000 years ago the Psalmist David was
inspired of God to prophecy about the resurrection of Christ Jesus with these
words, “Therefore My heart is glad, and My glory rejoiceth: My flesh
also shall rest in hope. For Thou wilt
not leave My soul in hell; neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see
corruption. Thou wilt show Me the path
of life: in Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there
are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm
16:9-10.
Now what does this Scripture explicitly say? It says that the “flesh” of Christ rested
in hope. Why? Because the soul [soul; spirit] of Christ was not
left in “hell” [sheol; the place
of departed spirits]. Rather, the
soul of Christ came up from sheol and reentered His body before there
was any corruption of His flesh.
Remember that the Jews believed and taught [in perfect harmony with the discoveries of modern medical science],
that the human body goes into a state of complete corruption [decomposition or breakdown of the flesh]
following the third day after death, John 11:17; 11:39. 11:44. Our Lord Jesus was in the
grave precisely 72 hours; three days and three nights, and not a minute
more. His flesh had not gone into
a state of decomposition, but just as the Scripture says, His flesh did not “see
corruption.” Praise the Lord!
But some object that this was a Psalm of David, and was likely
talking about David himself. Yes indeed,
David was inspired of God to write the Psalm, yet this Psalm had nothing
to do with David. How do I know? Read it for yourself in Acts 2:22-36 and 13:26-37. It was Christ Jesus our Lord who cast
Himself on the mercy of His Heavenly Father, trusting the Father in
faith, and Father God raised Him up before His flesh saw any corruption.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Glory to God!
The
Scars or Marks in His Body
That Christ did indeed still have the same body is again proven
by the fact that His resurrected body bore the marks of His suffering
and crucifixion. After His resurrection
Christ appeared to His disciples and
“…showed
unto them His hands and His side,” John 20:20.
The scars or marks of His being nailed to the cross were still
right there in His hands and feet, and the scar or mark of the spear that had
been thrust into His side was still visible, John 19:34. Further
Scriptural proof of this is set forth in John 20:24-29 in the account of the
Lord’s appearing to Thomas. His
body had experienced changes, as I will point out in this study, yet it
was still the same body in which He had lived and died. I have reason to believe that those scars or
marks in His body remain right to this day, and will remain eternally as a
visible witness of how much He loved the souls of those for whom He died. The old hymn is so true, “I will know Him; I will know Him; I will know Him by the nail prints
in His hands.” Oh how much we
believers ought to love our resurrected Lord for the sacrifice He made for us.
A
Real Physical Body
I am aware that
it is commonly assumed by many
Christian believers that the Lord Jesus Christ, after His resurrection,
returned to His former position in the Godhead as Christ in a spiritual form. Such an assumption
is absolutely not true! The Lord Jesus
Himself, following His resurrection, appeared to His disciples and explicitly
told them, “Why are ye troubled? and why do
thoughts arise
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in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I
Myself: handle Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as
ye see Me have,” Luke 24:38-39.
The resurrected body of the Lord Jesus Christ was
then His own physical body in which He had
been born, lived, and ministered, and in
which He was crucified. His body had
undergone changes, but it was still His own physical body. It is not just “coincidence” that the
inspired Apostle clearly states in 1 Corinthians 15:44, “Is is sown a natural
body; it is raised a spiritual body.
There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.” The key word here is “body.” The Lord Himself clearly said, “…a
spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have,” Luke 24:39. Christ Jesus was raised with His own “body”
of “flesh and bones.” His
blood had been shed at Calvary for your soul and mine, so His body contained no
blood. This clearly demonstrates that
the life of the resurrected body does not depend on blood flowing through the
veins of the body, but rather on our resurrected Christ who Himself is life, John
5:24-29. Glory to God!
A Changed
Body
The resurrected
body of Christ was indeed the very same body in which He had lived and
ministered the Word of God, yet in the process of resurrection there were some changes
made.
The resurrected body
of Christ was no longer in the same “marred” condition that it was in
when He was crucified. Rather, Father
God had performed what we might call “plastic surgery” or “skin grafting” on
the body of Christ. The skin on the back
of Christ, which had been beaten off by the Roman scourge, had obviously been
completely replaced.
The face or
countenance of Christ, which had been ripped away, was also completely restored. Christ, after His resurrection, did not
look like He did before His crucifixion and resurrection. We know this to be so because in His
appearance to Mary Magdalene after His resurrection, she did not recognize Him,
John
20:11-18. Likewise the two disciples
on the road to Emmaus, were met by the Lord and walked along talking with Him
for a ways, yet they did not recognize Him, Luke 24:13-35.
Folks, when Father God healed and changed the body and
countenance of the Lord Jesus Christ, He gave to Christ a beautiful new
countenance. I have previously pointed
out in various Bible studies that Moses is one of the most vivid types of Christ to be found in
the entire Bible. Remember that the
face of Moses literally shined or glowed with light when He came down the
mountain from being in the presence of God?
Now look at Revelation 21:9-11 where the New Jerusalem is being described. John states in 21:11 that the light or “glory”
emanating from New Jerusalem is like that of “a stone most precious.” What is the source of this light? In 21:23 it is explicitly stated that “the
glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” Christ
Jesus is the “stone most precious” from whose face or countenance the
very glory of God will radiate forth to light up the entire city of New
Jerusalem. How absolutely handsome and beautiful
the face of Jesus must be in His resurrected body.
Further, the resurrected body of Christ was “glorified” by the Heavenly
Father. This simply means that God
imparted to Christ all of the characteristics and attributes which God
originally wanted and had planned for the whole human race when He created
Adam. Such a “glorified” body has been
made “perfect.” Such a resurrected body cannot sin, is
immortal and cannot die, cannot be destroyed, cannot be made sick or diseased
or become old and weak. The Scriptures
explicitly state that “the flesh” of those who have repented and placed their
faith in Christ will be “…fresher than a child’s: He shall return to
the days of his youth,” Job 33:25. This is apparently what happened to Christ
when Father God raised Him from the dead, and it will be what is going to
happen to every true believer. The resurrected body of Christ was “glorified”
by Father God, just as the bodies of all true New Covenant believers will
likewise be at the time of our own resurrection and rapture.
No
Limitations
The inspired
Word explicitly states that this present natural body which we live in “…cannot
inherit the kingdom of God...,” 1 Corinthians 15:50. Why?
Precisely because it is a natural body that is both “mortal” and “corruptible”
and presently has a “sin nature” causing it to be subject to sin,
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death, and “corruption.” In order for us to ever enter into
Heaven above our body must be “changed” and made like the glorious
body of our resurrected Lord.
I would remind our readers that Christ Jesus in His human body could
command the wind and the waves, and they would obey Him, Mark 4:39. He could speak to the fish in the
sea, and they would obey Him, Matthew 17:27. These things are just part of the “dominion”
given to Adam, which he lost by disobeying God, but which Christ came
to restore to mankind by the sacrifice of Himself. Glory!
The resurrected body of Christ could pass through the vastness of space,
and He could do it without a rocket ship or some silly space suit designed by
men. In fact He could pass through
space in an instant of time.
After His resurrection He first appeared to Mary Magdalene and
explicitly told her not to touch Him, for He had not yet ascended to the
Father in Heaven, John 20:17. But
apparently only a few minutes later He appeared to both Marys, “And
they came and held Him by the feet, and worshiped Him,” Matthew 28:8-9. In that brief span of time Christ had
apparently ascended to the Father in Heaven and presented His own precious
blood for the redemption of all who will believe. His sacrifice was received and accepted by
the Father, and then Christ returned back to earth and met the two Mary’s
rushing to tell the disciples that He had risen and was alive. Glory to God!
Christ, in His resurrected body, then appeared to the larger group of
the disciples, suddenly appearing in their midst in a room in which the doors
were closed because of their fear of the Jews who had crucified Christ and
apparently wanted to do the same to the followers of Christ. The closed
doors meant nothing to the Lord.
In His resurrected body He was able to penetrate and pass through the
doors, walls, ceiling, or any other solid objects. We know that Christ was in His resurrected
body on this occasion, for this is when He told the disciples to handle His
body of “flesh and bones,” John 20:19-20.
Praise the Lord!
Still
in a Human Body
The fact that the resurrected body of Christ Jesus is still a human body
today cannot be denied if one truly believes the Scriptures.
Some 30 years after Christ Jesus had ascended back to the Father in
Heaven, the inspired Apostle Paul wrote, “For there is one God, and one
Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” 1 Timothy 2:5. How much plainer could it be
stated? Christ Jesus did not lay
aside His humanity following His resurrection.
He is still living in His “glorified” human body, and is the
man who serves as the “Mediator” between God and men. Glory to God!
Again, when the “little book” [the Title Deed to the earth] is brought forth in Revelation
5:1, the inspired Word says, “And no man in heaven, nor in earth,
neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon,”
5:2-3. The Scripture tells us
that John then broke into weeping. The
Greek tenses here literally indicate that John was in a state of convulsive
crying and weeping such as one goes into when they are in deep painful
sorrow. John knew that the “little
book” was the Title Deed to the earth, and that if no “Kinsman
Redeemer” could be found who was qualified to open the book and meet the
qualifications for redemption set forth in the book, the earth would forever
remain in the possession of and under the dominion of Satan. Such a thought literally grieved John to his very
heart and soul, causing him great anguish and pain. But notice…..
“And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not; Behold, the Lion of
the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed [conquered; overcome; is qualified] to
open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof,” Revelation 5:5. It
is glaringly obvious that it is Christ Jesus who is being referred to
here. Notice that Christ Jesus is not
referred to here as He who was [past
tense] “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David,” but rather
He who is [present tense] presently
filling those two positions. Folks, John
wrote the Book of Revelation in 96 A.D., some 63 years after Christ had
been crucified, resurrected, and ascended back to the Father in Heaven. Yet at that time Christ was still living in
His resurrected human body as a “glorified” man, for only a “man” could qualify to serve as our “Kinsman Redeemer.” . Christ Jesus at that very minute was still “the
Lion of the tribe of Judah; an Israelite of the tribe of Judah,” [Hebrews 7:14] and the promised “root”
of David, Isaiah 11:1-5. This also requires that He be a man who
had descended from David. And so He still is today!
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Keep in mind that this is a
prophecy of the future redemption of the earth and everything lost by Adam, to
be fulfilled during the yet future seven year Tribulation period. This means that Christ Jesus is still living
in His resurrected glorified human body now some 2,000 years after He
ascended back to the Father in Heaven following His resurrection. Christ Jesus is indeed and in truth our
wonderful Jewish Kinsman Redeemer still living in His same resurrected
glorified body as a man. Glory to
God!
Because Christ Jesus lived as a
man during His personal ministry, and is still living as a man today, is
exactly why He understands mankind intimately, and therefore is “touched
with the feeling of our infirmities.” Christ
Jesus “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin,” Hebrews 4:15. The
inspired Word tells us that “…there is a friend that
sticketh closer than a brother,” Proverbs 18:24. That “friend” is the Lord
Jesus Christ. After His resurrection He
told His people plainly in Hebrews 13:5, “…I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee.” See also Matthew
28:20.
To
Forever Remain with Mankind
As I pointed out in my previous study on the Hebrew Slave, the Lord
Jesus Christ, for the love of His bride and His children, made the choice to
leave His Father’s house and cleave to His bride. Compare Genesis 2:24. Because of His absolute obedience in
carrying out His Father’s will, Father God has “highly exalted Him, and given
Him a name which is above every name:
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things
in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth: And that every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father,” Philippians 2:9-11. In
other words, Christ Jesus, as the second Adam, has regained everything that the
first Adam lost and even more.
But now what will Christ, dwelling in His resurrected, glorified, human
body do? For the answer to this question
we need to turn to Ezekiel 43. In the
preceding chapters the prophet Ezekiel has been shown the great Millennial
Temple that will be built on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem during the Millennial
Kingdom and reign of the Lord. In chapter
43,
Ezekiel is shown “…the
glory of the God of Israel” coming from the east and entering into the
completed Millennial Temple.
Folks, “the glory of the God of Israel” is the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself, John 1:14. Now listen to
what Christ says as He speaks to the prophet in Ezekiel 43:6-7, “And He said unto
me, Son of man, the place of My throne, and the place of the soles of My
feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever…” Glory to God! This plainly sets forth Scriptural proof that
Christ Jesus, in His resurrected human body, will dwell with mankind “forever.” Christ Jesus is the
Kinsman-Redeemer, the Savior, the Lord
God, the appointed King and Heir, the husband married to the land of
Israel, but also the Heavenly bridegroom of His presently espoused Gentile
church. Glory to God! Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord!
The
Answer to the Question…..
In writing to
the Corinthians about the resurrection and rapture of true believers, the Apostle Paul explicitly said, “But
some man will say, How are the dead raised up?
and with what body do they come?” 1 Corinthians 15:35. What is the answer to this question?
The answer to this question should be obvious to all of our readers who have
true spiritual discernment. Dear
readers, we who are true believers
are going to come forth from the grave, or if still living, be changed and
raptured to glory with a body “…fashioned like unto His glorious body,
according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things
unto Himself,” Philippians 3:20-21. See also 1 John 3:1-3. Christ Jesus is our glorious Savior
and Lord and “second Adam,” who, through the sacrifice of Himself at
Calvary, bought back [redeemed] all
the dominion and authority lost by the first Adam. Turn again and read Genesis 1:26-28, and then
let the Holy Spirit of God carry this truth home to your heart and soul.
Conclusion
According to the inspired inerrant Words of Bible prophecy [2 Peter 1:19], it is the appointed
time
for all things pertaining to “the
time of the end” to be fulfilled.
The coming of Christ Jesus in the air
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to resurrect and rapture His saints to
glory is right at the door. Christ Jesus could return at any minute of any day
now. When He comes all true
New Covenant believers will be “caught up” in the rapture “to
meet the Lord in the air,” 1 Corinthians 15:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
I issue this word of caution. Not one lost “religionist” will be
taken in the rapture. A vain
“profession,” a worthless “baptism,” “church membership,” faithfully attending
church services, a fine “moral life,” will count for nothing, UNLESS one
has truly received Christ Jesus as their own personal Savior, Matthew
7:21-23. Every person reading
this had better have a real personal saving relationship with Christ Jesus, if
they expect to be raptured to glory when He comes for His people. This is why I continue in many of my Bible
studies to set before our readers 2 Corinthians 13:5 and 1
Peter 1:10. I truly do want
every reader to “examine themselves” and make their “calling and election sure” so
that we can meet in glory. Our God does
give assurance of forgiven sin and salvation to those willing to seek for
it, 1
John 5:13.
Now earnestly pray for God’s guidance as you read
again John 3:3-8, 3:16, 3:36, 5:24, 14:6, Acts 4:12, 16:30-31, Romans
10:8-13, Ephesians 2:8-10, and Titus 3:5.
May God grant every reader His grace and peace through His
saving grace is my prayer.
“Even so, come, Lord Jesus,” Revelation
22:20.
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Permission is granted to any true
believer or Bible believing Christian ministry to reproduce this study
to share with others, or to quote for it in
context as written.
Thank you beloved brothers and sisters in Christ for your prayers and
your gifts. You have so blessed this old
preacher with your many kindnesses extended to me. May our gracious Lord bless each one of you
dear folks back into your bosom a hundredfold is my prayer.
Please address all comments, questions, and correspondence to: Pastor
F. M. Riley, Last Call Gospel Ministry, 184 County Road 108, Harrisburg,
Missouri 65256, or I can be contacted by email at:
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