The Answerer

This writer, (www.theanswerer.com.au) recently turned ninety years young (maybe old) and has been thinking a lot lately.

Part of his thinking is that millions of my readers do not normally speak English but like the simple words that I mostly use. So, he has decided to try to explain exactly what “The Good News” truly is.

• About three or four thousand (3-4000) years ago God chose Abram , later known as Abraham to be the’ Grandfather ’ or ‘The Grand Patriarch’ of his chosen people -the Jews ,Israelites, or Hebrews for evermore.(Gen.15:1-6)

Later, one of their own people. Joseph was sold into Egypt as a slave- but God helped Joseph to later become PM (Prime Minister) of Egypt (see Genesis ch. 37 to chapter 43).  The Pharaoh of Egypt chose Joseph because Joseph explained the meaning of the two dreams Pharoah had.

The dreams were that there would be seven years of abundant harvests followed by seven years of drought or famine so Joseph was now PM of all Egypt.  Joseph had God with him (unseen) and bought, and stored up ,all of Egypt’s excess grain in the seven years of plenty. They had so much that they stopped counting it!!  Then began the seven years of drought and famine and Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy food (grain) - but they did not realise that the PM was their brother whom they sold into slavery years ago. Pharoah liked Joseph’s. family and urged them to stay in Egypt. He gave them the area called Goshen to live in. Here they stayed (70 of them) for four hundred (400) years and multiplied to about two million (2,000,000) people.

Sometime in that four hundred years, a new Pharoah thought that the Jews could be a threat and join with some enemy to rule Egypt. So- he forced the Jews to be slaves by building cities by making bricks by the million. God saw and took notice of the forced slavery. He chose Moses to lead them.

Moses did God’s bidding (his instructions) and the Nile turned to blood, hail that killed all cattle and ruined crops happened plus flies, frogs and locusts- but Pharoah still refused to free the slaves. Until “Passover”.  Passover occurred in the night when God’s angel of death passed over the Hebrew homes, but killed the firstborn in every Egyptian home. Such sorrow!!

Pharoah agreed to let them all, go. All of this story can be seen in the great movie: The Ten Commandments, a Cecil B De Mille blockbuster. Very soon after leaving Egypt many grumbled about conditions and refused to believe that God and Moses would bring them to ”The Promised Land”. So-God told Moses that “…..none of those 20 years and over would see the ‘ Promised Land’. They wandered around for forty (40) years till all the unbelievers had died. Then they entered the long promised land….Israel!  Moses received The Ten Commandments during this time. (Exodus Ch 20)

Still many disobeyed God and his instructions by worshiping idols of stone, wood, silver and gold, married heathens and generally turned their backs on God- but many remained true to God.

However God still sent them, after many warnings, into Babylon (now Iraq) as prisoners, and slaves. This was by King Nebuchadnezzar. (The song By the Rivers of Babylon was inspired by the sacking of Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar.)

Still many years later God concluded that “we”, his chosen people ,could never be good enough to be in heaven with him…..so God began his “rescue package” that enabled us all to enter heaven after we died.

He would send Jesus, his only begotten (created Son) to teach us many things about love, about God himself and that Jesus would actually die for us (instead of us dying) and would rise to life again. This was the beginning of Christianity.

This was prophesied (told and written down by many of God’s prophets) over three hundred (300 times) in the Old Testament.

The ”Good News” is simply that anyone who believes in Jesus life and his God (our Heavenly Father) is given pardon for sin- and a gift ticket into heaven. IT IS A FREE GIFT AND CANNOT BE EARNED, PAID FOR OR BARGAINED FOR. It takes but a moment to accept this gift-but a long time to get to know God himself. That is the “Good News” for all people, everywhere.

Finally, the best bit: Paul wrote: “….eye hath not seen, no ear heard ,nor has entered the heart of man, the things God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Cor.2:9)

And Jesus himself said to the criminal being crucified beside him when he asked Jesus to remember him when he came into his kingdom:” I assure you that today you will be in with me in paradise..” (Luke 23:38-43 TLB)