Daily Devotional, Year 4 – August 1 (Noble Bereans, Part 14: “Where Were All The ‘Noble Bereans’?”)
By admin On June 26th, 2023.
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Daily Devotional, Year 4 – August 1
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Noble Bereans,
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Part 14:
“Did ‘Noble Bereans’ Investigate Harold Camping’s Teachings?”
To read part 1, click here…“September 2nd (Noble Bereans?)”
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“If we had been in the days of our fathers,
we would not have been partakers with them
in the blood of the prophets…
…behold, I (God) send unto you prophets, and wise men,
and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify;”
Matthew 23:30, 31, 34
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Quite often, those Old Testament people of God are scorned by today’s Christians for their unbelief.
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After all, God sent many prophets to His professed people back in those times, in hopes of causing those erring Old Testament people to turn away from their idolatry and rebellion.
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John the Baptist by J. Tissot – Wikimedia Commons – US Public Domain
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WHAT IF…
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But the sad fact is, they rejected those messengers, one-by-one.
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But what if God sent a messenger today, to correct the many ills within today’s Christian community?
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How would that man be received?
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Question Marks – At a loss – svg – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License
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WOULD WE GET SERIOUS?
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Would Christians today begin to earnestly search out the Scriptures on a daily basis, in hopes that the message was true?
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Would Christians get all excited to think that perhaps the Lord was coming again soon, and get themselves ready to meet the Lord in peace?
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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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“FOR OUR ADMONITION, UPON WHO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD ARE COME”
1st Corinthians 10:11
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After all, don’t we often hear Christians today, saying exactly what the Old Testament people said, “If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets!” Matthew 23:30
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Yes, it is a popular idea today, that we would never ever do what those Old Testament people did!
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“ARE WE BETTER THAN THEY? NO, IN NO WAY!”
Romans 3:9
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But really, wouldn’t the Christian community react the very same way that the Old Testament Church reacted?
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With anger?
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With unbelief?
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With skepticism: looking for just one little error, so that we wouldn’t have to be bothered anymore with such a seemingly new message?
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Well, the fact is, that’s pretty much what happened when one Harold Camping began to sound his message of alarm to the entire world!
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Harold Camping – Wikipedia – copyrighted, not for free use
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NOBLE BEREANS? “NO, IN NO WAY!”
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The Christian community proved that we were NOT of noble stock, like those noble Bereans of old, who, “searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Acts 17:11
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The fact is, those who are truly Christians, have an insatiable desire to know any and everything that the Bible teaches!
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And someone like Harold Camping would only spark a genuine interest in such truth-hungry souls, as this man in this photo appears to possess!
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NO SEARCHING HEARTS
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No, there was no noticeable, true searching of the Scriptures daily in hopes that this messenger was the real thing! There was no getting ready for Christ’s return! And we had many months to do so, prior to May 21st, 2011.
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But instead of genuine concern and humble soul-searching, there was a whole lot of rock throwing! Yes, Camping received a verbal rock-stoning!
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And this came in the form of a whole lot of mockery! And a whole lot of attempts to “kill the messenger”, as the saying goes! Yes, Camping was accused of being, “in it for the money!” He was called mentally-ill. Or just plain crazy! Or demon-possessed! Or senile!
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Judgment Bus New Orleans 2011 – cropped image – Wikipedia – Share-alike License
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“THEY THAT DWELL ON THE EARTH SHALL REJOICE”
Revelation 10:11
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And then, after his prediction seemingly failed, seemingly, the entire Christian community joined in with the unbelieving world to condemn Camping with one voice!
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It was truly amazing to see such a faithless display among those who claimed to be open-minded Bereans!
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“YE STIFF-NECKED AND UNCIRCUMCISED!”
Acts 7:51
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Of course, we pretty much expected this atheistic world to react as they did.
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But when God’s professed people joined in with this unbelieving world to laugh and mock and scorn and verbally stone Harold Camping, those who beheld all this condemnation were truly shocked at the faithless and stiff-necked response by the very people who claimed to be humble followers of Jesus!
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Yes, there was an unbelievable amount of hard-heartedness among those who claimed to have received a new heart!
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Laughing – (cropped image & color added) – Fotothek df roe neg – Wikimedia – Share-alike License
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“THE LORD SHALL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE”
Hebrews 10:30
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Well, May 21st came and went, and everyone was happy and felt very justified in their condemnation of the man and his message!
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But what nobody considered was, that God had given this as a test for the Church! And we failed miserably!
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Yes, just like those Old Testament Jewish leaders, whom we love to criticize!
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And yet, God knew we would fail that test. He merely wanted us to realize just how stiff-necked and uncircumcised we really are, in hopes that we might repent of our undone spiritual condition!
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Anger during a protest by David Shankbone – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share-alike License
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WOOD, HAY, STUBBLE?
1st Corinthians 3:12
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Well, the Christian community really showed both Heaven and Earth just what we were really made of!
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And we proved to the world that any messenger whom God might send to us, would pretty much get the same treatment as Harold Camping got!
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Paul persecuted – www.thebiblerevival.com US public domain
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NOT JUST A WHACKO!
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After all, Harold Camping wasn’t just some fiery whacko who received a dream or vision or voice!
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Rather, for many decades, Camping diligently studied the Bible 5 or 6 hours per day, in hopes of uncovering the deeper, hidden truths of God’s Word. And he carefully worked out the math, which resulted in many time-prophecies all pointing to May 21st, 2011.
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And so, he was merely declaring what he believed the Bible teaches. Therefore, Harold Camping did not fall into the category of a false prophet. At worst, he proved himself just a Bible teacher who had things almost figured out, but not completely.
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Holy Bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Lic.
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50 YEAR MINISTRY
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And Harold Camping had been faithfully conducting a live call-in talk show for 50 years on his radio network, faithfully broadcasting the Gospel which he loved so dearly, to many nations around the world.
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So, this was not a person that should have been so quickly rejected and scorned, as he was!
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Harold-Camping – courtesy Family Radio
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GOOD NEWS!
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Well, the Good News is that God is not giving up so easily on those who claim to be His humble followers. After all, God knew His people weren’t ready for His Second Coming. That’s why the world didn’t end on May 21, 2011. God knew we needed some additional time to get right with Heaven.
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Yes, God will have a victorious people! Even if He has to, “of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” Luke 3:8 Yes, God ca
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And if there are any “Noble Bereans” who decide that these things are worth spending some serious time searching out, concerning why Camping taught what he taught about the Last Day, there is still time…
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One can listen to Camping’s incredible 600+ Bible studies on the Book of Jeremiah found at the bottom of each day’s devotionals.
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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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TO READ PART 15, GO HERE…
June 30 (Noble Bereans, Part 15: “Treasure Hunters For God!”)
Magnifying Glass – Wikimedia – Share-alike License
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to be an open-minded seeker of truth, even if it means giving up a very highly regarded Church opinion! Let me be willing to investigate any seemingly new teaching if it appears to have some biblical validity…
Marine Praying – Wikimedia – USMC Public Domain
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… ” FEBRUARY 10 (The Deserted Island Theologian!)”, or you can also read…JUNE 13 (Why The World Didn’t End on May 21, 2011)
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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THE END
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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN
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BIBLE VERSES PICTURED IN THE HEAVENS
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“With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground.” Ezekiel 26:12
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THIS STAR-CHART: This is a Wikipedia star-chart, in which this site’s editor has sketched in these three constellation (without the Holy-Ghost-Rider Constellation).
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Notice how the right front hoof is trampling on the tail of the Dragon. Also notice his eye is a star.It’s best seen when in the western half of the sky. It is found in mid-sky traveling from east to west. In January, it is in the west after midnight. As winter progresses, it can be seen earlier and earlier in the evening. a dark sky with good star-visibility is best, but not absolutely necessary to see this constellation. It is found on the opposite side of the Dragon Constellation from Orion. And as already stated, this Goodly Horse Constellation can be seen best in mid-winter when it is in the western side of the sky, and you are looking at it while you are facing west. The nose and head of this horse is partly made from the Perseus Constellation. The tail and rear end is partly of the Cassiopeia Constellation. The hind-leg is made partly of stars from the Andromeda Constellation.
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THIS HOLY-GHOST-RIDER
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Now one thing that is noticeable and makes this constellation even more dramatic, is the fact that the Milky Way runs right through it.
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And the question that must be asked is, “What biblical implications does this constellation/Milky Way connection have?” Well, very simply put, if stars represent Believers, then this rider works in the world through His True-Worshippers, to a great extent.
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WHY IS THIS CONSTELLATION SO INCOMPLETE IN APPEARANCE
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So why is this constellation merely an outline? Well it does show his back, rear end and leg…and arm. But unlike, say, Orion, this constellation is very vague, even mysterious in appearance. Almost vacant in appearance. Yes this horseman represents Christ.
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But even more than this, it represents the Holy Spirit of Christ. And as we all know, the Holy Spirit is very, very, un-intrusive, almost impossible to detect His presence. Hence, this constellation is perhaps the most faint of all the constellations of Signs Of Heaven!
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Holy-Ghost-Rider Constellation”
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TOMORROW:
August 2 (Noble Bereans? Part 62: “Did Ellen G. White Plagiarize?”)
Ellen G. White – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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20+ MINUTE AUDIO STUDY IN JEREMIAH 
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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
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THIS STUDY #175 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
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above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain
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Those who are interested in using photos on this page may click on provided link below each photo, to get to Wikimedia Commons for various licensing details & tags, and all other necessary information on any particular photo. Most tall, narrow photos have been cropped or reduced by this website to make them a better fit on phone screens.