Ultimate truth is Jesus Christ. There is no other way to say it. He was the only true being. For if truth is the embodiment of God, then He was the first of many. As the first of many born from the dead infused with the power of God, so are the sons and daughters of God when they have Christ within.
We who live here in America call ourselves Americans… meaning that we live in America. I as a person who lives in Christ call myself a Christian. For one to acknowledge ultimate truth, I must acknowledge Him who sent it. That Person is Jesus Christ.
There is no other man who walked the crust of this earth to claim that. From the five major branches of religion we have only one who has ever fulfilled prophesy to the extreme that Christ did. We see in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam God depicted as “El” (translated “Al” in Arabic). He is seen as supreme, eternal and the composite of all truth. Within these three major monotheistic (meaning: one God) religions, we are all seen as the children of Adam, Noah, and Abraham. The only difference is that within the bounds of Christianity we are able to become one with the creator of the cosmos. We are to be friends with the Truth.
Buddhism and Hinduism hold that all incarnation is God. Rocks, trees, angels, cows, clouds, butterflies… these all hold spirits of the deity. Everything is “god”. They believe that all lives are subjective to the greatness of everything. They see that there are as many truths in the cosmos as there are molecules, and they are all valid and of equal importance. Christianity however has a much different viewpoint. We see lower beings as who they are, created things in the spirit of the Creator. Angels are not god themselves but they are Elohim. They are a secondary spiritual power. Whether still in the service of God or not, they are not god in themselves. Fallen spirits have the mane given to them of “devils”. We do not worship them, we worship the one who made them, and who made everything.
Judaism waits for its messiah. Islam has had more than five messiahs, but Christianity holds Jesus Christ as the only and true Messiah. For over thirty years, from physical birth to assention, Jesus Christ performed over forty miracles, fulfilled over twenty major prophesies, and even raised three people from the dead (including himself). In contrast, Islam’s Mohammed only fulfilled one prophesy, did no miracles, and raised no one from the dead. The prophesy he fulfilled? He stated “I will return to Mecca.” Easy one. You or I could do that. There’s not much power behind that.
As we discussed in a previous chapter, the sum of his words are truth. That brings us to the canonized Bible, what we commonly call the sixty-six books (really seventy books… Psalms is a collection of five books). Genesis to Revelation. Excluding the Apocrypha of course.
At the canonization, different books were tossed around, different views held. The Gospel of Thomas, The secret writings of John, Polycarps Epistles, The book of Enoch, Ecclesiasticus…etc… Those in charge of the selections entered into the task of selecting the ones with great care and prayer. The canonization was fasted over and prayed over heavily. All men believed these books to be the only books to be included in the word of God for all people. There was a rumor of a man who believed a certain book to be included in the word, and announced to those assembled that if it wasn’t to be included in the Bible, that he was to be struck dead by God himself. The next day he was found dead… having expired in his sleep of natural causes.
We know our Bible exists today as God breathed and inspired. There were over forty authors writing over a one thousand year period about the same thing. The Truth of God. Amos was a farmer. Moses was an outlaw. Solomon was a king. Peter was a fisherman, and Paul was a rabbi… All from walks of life and yet, as a whole, the Bible has changed and affected more lives than any book ever made.
Still holding the number one place in three categories… The number one book ever sold or bought, the most read book in all of history, and the most stolen book in history. In any language, in any translation, version or paraphrase, the Bible calls out to men both far and wide begging to be read and understood.
Do we dare to confront this book with our own puny opinion? Like Jim Jones, throw the book down to the floor declaring that we have reached a point in our own personal theology that we no longer need it? Do we do as Benjamin Franklin did, and cut out the parts that offend us? Ha. My friend, I for one would rather tie a boulder around my neck and pray that rocks float as I cast myself into the ocean than to take anything away from the Word of God.
Ultimate truth is Jesus Christ. Ultimate truth is found in the word, for as John says in the gospel of John, chapter one, verse fourteen: And the word became flesh and lived among us. The great Apostle Paul strove to know nothing but Christ and him crucified. Even Jesus Christ said of himself: I am the bread of life, He who comes to me need never hunger, and he who believes in me need never thirst.
Copyright 2003 by pauly hart
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