A Great Light
What we do with God’s Light becomes our judgment
Isaiah 9:2
The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those
who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.
~ ~ ~ There is much darkness in the land ~ ~ ~
John 3:19-21
19
"This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the
world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for
their deeds were evil.
Buddhism – 360 million people
Based upon the teachings of Gautama 520 BC (the Buddha). He
taught that nothing is permanent. Avoid suffering and gain
enlightenment and release from cycle of rebirth, or at least attain a
better rebirth by gaining merit. A Buddhist seeks to end these rebirths.
Chinese – 394 million people
20
"For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does
not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
21
"But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so
that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in
God."
A favorable life and peaceful afterlife, attained through rituals and
ancestor worship. Afterlife is a reincarnation. Ancestral worship is a
means to provide the deceased with continuous happiness and wellbeing in the afterlife.
Hinduism – One billion people
A religion of India where everyone has a personal set of gods – there
are hundreds of thousands of gods. Your position in this present life
was determined by your actions in a previous life. A Hindu's goal is to
become free from continuous reincarnations.
Islam – 1.3 Billion
Based on teachings of the Prophet Muhammad; founded 622 AD in
Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Everything that happens is Allah's will. He is a
powerful and strict judge, who will be merciful toward followers
depending on the sufficiency of their life's good works and religious
devotion. To be a Muslim, one has to follow five religious duties:
Repeat a creed; 2. Recite certain prayers in Arabic five times a day; 3.
Give to the needy; 4. One month each year, fast from food, drink, sex
and smoking from sunrise to sunset; 5. Pilgrimage once in one's
lifetime to worship at a shrine in Mecca. Muslims believe that giving up
one’s life for Allah is a sure way of entering Paradise.
Is Islam a peaceable? The Quran contains at least 109 verses that call
Muslims to war with nonbelievers for the sake of Islamic rule. Some
are quite graphic, with commands to chop off heads and fingers and
kill infidels wherever they may be hiding.
Muslims who do not join the fight are called 'hypocrites' and warned
that Allah will send them to Hell if they do not join the slaughter.
Quran (5:33); (8:12) (9:123)
Christianity – Two Billion
~ ~ ~ Born in Bethlehem
“Jesus is unique among religious leaders in claiming to bring God
to our world in His own person and making good that claim by
such powerful evidences.”
Micah 5:2, 4-5a
2
"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be
among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me
to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From
the days of eternity."
No other spiritual leader or teacher but Jesus Christ…
4
Based on life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.
1.
2.
3.
4.
ever claimed to bring God to man
dealt radically with our sin
broke the final barrier of death
offers to “live inside” His followers
And He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of
the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God.
And they will remain,
Because at that time He will be great To the ends of the
earth. 5 This One will be our peace..
Prophecy written: Sometime between 750-686 BC
~ ~ ~ The Great Light of Jesus ~ ~ ~
The Light of His miracles
The Light of His resurrection
John 1:9
There was the true Light which, coming into the world,
enlightens every man.
Isaiah 42:1, 6b-7
1
"Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in
whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will
bring forth justice to the nations.
And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, as a light
to the nations, 7 To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners
from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from the
prison.
The Light of the Prophecies
~ ~ ~ Born of a Virgin
Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin
will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name
Immanuel.
Prophecy written: Between 701-681 BC
~ ~ ~ Come from the Root of Jesse
Isaiah 11:1-10
1
Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a
branch from his roots will bear fruit.
2
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of
wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and
strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
3
And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not
judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His
ears hear; 4 …And He will strike the earth with the rod of His
mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
5
Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And
faithfulness the belt about His waist.
9
They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the
earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters
cover the sea.
10
Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse,
Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting
place will be glorious.
Prophecy written: Between 701-681 BC