HOT PROPERTY
[This tract contains four links which the reader should
open.]
INTRODUCTION
On
the cover of The National Trust Magazine are printed the words ‘SALVATION
A COUNTRY HOUSE RESCUED.’ On page 17, a feature article entitled ‘Hot
Property,’ informs readers how Tyntesfield, a ‘mysterious Gothic house
which captured the imagination of the public,’ was purchased by a ‘last ditch
campaign.’
Six
columns of writing and colour photographs give readers of the magazine numerous
reasons why this particular house, its ‘beautiful setting and all its
idiosyncratic treasures,’ needed to be saved. At a cost
of ‘£17.425 million grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, two
anonymous benefactors who gave handsome donations of £4m and £1m and an extraordinary
response from National Trust members who raised over £1.5m in just 50 days,’
secured Tyntesfield, ‘in all its glory’.
*
[*The cover photograph, taken from Number 97 Autumn 2002 issue of The
National Trust Magazine, is used in our background and described as: ‘a
mosiac behind the altar in the chapel, made by the celebrated glass firm
Salviati, depicting St. Paul’s fall and dramatic conversion on the road to
Damascus’.]
‘Hot Property’ is property chosen for its LOCATION.
Numerous
examples can be seen throughout the world.
A
small house, perched on top of a cliff overlooking a sandy beach, is purchased
for its location, and quickly replaced by new modern home. An old disused farm building located in a
quiet and peaceful place in the countryside beside a stream; which was at one
time used as a store or shelter for farm animals, is now renovated and
transformed into a beautiful home with a small conservatory attached beside the
relaxing sound of trickling water. The
ruinous stone remains of what was once a small house on a mountain-side,
becomes a new modern home for its occupants who enjoy breath-taking views
across the adjacent countryside. A large
mansion, (like Tyntesfield positioned on a 1,870 acre site, with its garden and
magnificent parkland setting against a backdrop of superb hanging woodland), is
purchased and saved as a national heritage. All these are good examples of what can be
accurately described as "hot property”.
But
that may is not always the case. Today, in
Other
Hot Properties are destroyed by natural disasters such as earthquake, lightning
strike, famine, or flood ; while some others are torched by arsonists;
destroyed by acts of vandalism; wilfully neglected by their present owners; or,
(like the World Trade Centre buildings in New York), are destroyed by
deplorable acts of terrorism.
----------
THE WORD "SALVATION."
In
Scripture this word is used on numerous occasions, and the context in which it
is found will determine one’s interpretation of the passage. Shown in our
introduction we have a good example of how Tyntesfield house with all its
‘idiosyncratic treasures’ was saved from ‘being stripped and
scattered forever’.
In
Black’s Bible Dictionary we read: "Salvation has both a general
and a particular sense. In general, it means release from
difficulty, danger, loss, or other crippling circumstances. Persons are
spoken of as being saved * from illness, starvation, oppression,
ignorance, calamity, death. There is much of this in the Old Testament, chiefly
because of the Hebrew tendency to identify God’s favourwith physical and
material well-being. (See Ex. 14: 30 ; Deut. 28: 29 1 Sam. 7: 8 ; 22: 28 ; 1
Chron. 11: 14 ; 16: 35 ; Job 22: 29 ; Isa. 49: 25 f., 63: 1 ; Jer. 31: 7-9
etc.) In the Psalms especially, a prayer to be saved from
something dire in common (7: 1 ; 17: 7 ; 44: 1-3 ; 54: 1-3; 59: 1 f., 106: 47 ;
118: 25 etc.)
[*The
word "saved" is a verb; the word "salvation"
a noun: "In none other is there salvation: for
neither is there any other ... wherein we must be saved" (Acts
4: 12 R.V.)]
More
particularly the word means deliverance from sin and its
consequences, and the coming to peace and reconciliation with God. See,
Psa. 34: 18. In the N.T. the emphasis is much less on salvation in the general
sense, and is correspondingly greater in the religious sense."
A
good example of this is the Apostle Paul’s experience on the road to
A
major cause of confusion existing amongst Christians today, is the usage of
this word "salvation," which is commonly taken as meaning
justification or the forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus Christ, and as
being limited to that meaning. But the word "salvation" is
not always used in the New Testament as equivalent to justification, that is to
say the change which takes place in a repentant sinner’s relations with God
when he/she believes on the Son of God. The salvation of God goes far beyond
that ; and the word "salvation" itself, as used in Scripture,
generally refers to something FUTURE. Thus, in Rom. 5: 10,
"reconciliation is spoken of as a thing already accomplished for the
believer, while salvation is yet future : "For if, when we were God’s
enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of His Son, how much more,
having been reconciled, SHALL WE BE SAVED through his life."
Likewise,
in Rom. 8: 22-24, it is declared that Christians are saved in HOPE.
"We know that the whole CREATION has been groaning in the pains of
childbirth up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the
firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption
as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in THIS HOPE WE ARE SAVED."
In other words, all who are "accounted worthy" of the first
resurrection, will find salvation at the time of the
creation’s deliverance. Rev. 20: 4-6; Luke 20: 35; Heb.11: 35b, 40.
In
the Epistle of the Hebrews the word "salvation" is used as signifying
the future blessing into which the people of God are to be brought, whereas
redemption is regarded as having been already accomplished. "Christ was
sacrificed once for all to take away the sins of many people ; and He WILL appear
a second time, not to bear sin, but TO BRING SALVATION to
those [Christians] *who are waiting for Him" (Heb. 9: 28).
[*
That the Writer of Hebrews is addressing Regenerate believers is without
question as 3: 1 clearly indicates: only Christians fit into such
a description]
We
often hear the passage "How shall we escape if we
ignore such a great salvation?" used in preaching to the unsaved,
and presenting as a warning to them of the danger of neglect of the forgiveness
and justification which God has made available to all who believe
the gospel of His grace. However, it needs but the slightest attention to the
passage to make it perfectly clear that the collective pronoun "we" refers
to the regenerate who are in danger of suffering loss
through their neglect of such "great salvation".
It
clearly appears from chapters 3 and 4 that the "great salvation" of
chapter 2 is closely connected with God’s promises to Abraham, * Isaac and
Jacob in the
*To
open The
Faith And Obedience Of Abraham A Pattern To Believers :
click here
The
"great salvation" of Hebrews 2: 3 is defined in verse 5 as being
identified with "the inhabited earth to come." By that
passage it is made known to us that God has not subjected to angels "the
inhabited earth to come"; and then the eighth Psalm is cited and quoted to
prove that the glorified and perfected works of God’s hands, delivered from the
curse, and rejoicing in the blessing of God, are, in the coming age, to be put
under man, even under the Son of Man ; and Jesus, Who for a little while was
made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, Who was
rejected at His first Advent as this world’s Ruler, will then (at
His second advent) be crowned with glory and honour, and announced as the ‘Son
of Man’ in Whom the prophecy is to have its fulfillment.
So,
we see from these passages of Scripture that THIS EARTH can be described
as ‘Hot Property.’ It is presently
groaning under the rule of Satan * and the effects of man’s sin (Gen. 3: 17, 18.)
and waiting for its release from the consequences of man’s fall; and it will
(at the return of Christ) find SALVATION by the blessing and glory of
God. This is the salvation so great, of
which so little is said by Christians today which awaits all who will be ‘considered
worthy’ to participate with Christ (at His return) in the
administration of His affairs, and in sharing with Him in the rulership of that
kingdom. Matt. 5: 20; 7: 21; Luke 19: 11-27; cf. Isa. 65; 18-25; Jer.
33: 15, 16. Etc.
[*Satan,
is presently the world’s ruler under God; he disqualified himself through
pride,and will be replaced at the end of this age. Saul, the first king of
"I FOR ONE DO NOT WANT IT TO BE ON MY CONSCIENCE: THAT WE KNEW
THE THREAT; THAT WE SAW IT COMING; AND THAT WE DID NOTHING ABOUT IT." (Tony Blair, National Television
News, 10 th. September, 2002.)
The
whole world was shocked by terrorist activity and the destruction of the World
Trade Centre twin towers in
So
why should 9-11 impact us any more than some of the other terrible events that
occur from time to time? Maybe it was because we watched it live on television.
We saw planes fly into buildings, we watched desperate people jump from
skyscrapers, we listened to loved ones leaving final messages on answering
machines. We couldn’t believe that the two tallest buildings in the sky of
9-11
was the result of the evilness of man. An evil that those who witnessed it will
not forget for many years and an evil which brought death to many families
around the world that they will never forget.
But
it serves as a lesson, both for our lives and for our nation - when God is left
out, evil will abound. Where we deny God his rightful place in our lives ... Don’t
let it happen to you!"
AN AWSOME PARALLEL
How
many Christians (particularly those supported by ‘the church,’ and paid large
salaries; living in luxury out of the an unscriptural system *), who see
that the cross is the condition of the crown, "forfeiture of crowns, or
failure of the prize, or conflagration of works, or limited co-heirship, or
even penal consequences : the argument is cumulative, and overwhelming in its
accumulation. No faithful expositor can avoid it without Scripture mutilation.
It is a constant burden throughout the Bible that exactly in the degree to
which the servants of God share in the world’s sins, to that degree they must
incur the world’s penalties:" are prepared to point out and teach these
things?
"Failure is never fatal : it’s courage that counts." God
wants us to have courage in obeying His call in our lives. The call of God is
the thing which should keep us going, even in the face of apathy. We must
submit ourselves to the authority of His word and to what it teaches.
THE PRIZE OF THE HIGH CALLING IS A SHARE IN THE MILLENNIAL REIGN WITH
CHRIST, and I for
one do not want it to be on my conscience : that I know the threat ; that
I see it coming ; and that I did nothing about it. "Because
thou hast not given him [‘a righteous man’] warning, he shall die in his sin,
and his righteous deeds which he hath done shall not be remembered ; but his
blood will I require at thine hand" (Ezek. 3: 20 ; cf. 18: 24 ;
Heb. 10; 30, 38).
Even
an ass, when it saw the danger out ahead, lay down and refused to advance
along the road of error and folly! Are there no false prophets * of
Christ today walking along that same road relative to truths concerning an
inheritance which they, through wilful sin and
disobedience, can loose? (Gal. 5; 21 ; Eph. 5: 5, 6) We must
beware lest we also are included in our Lord’s rebuke : "O foolish
men, and slow of heart to believe in ALL that the prophets have
spoken!" (Luke 24; 25 ; cf. Num. 22: 27 ; Jude 11).
*
To open Have You
Been Confirmed? : click here
*
To Open The
Observance Of Lent : click here
*
To open Beware
of False Prophets : click here
A BIBLICAL DESCRIPTION OF GOD’S ‘HOT PROPERTY’
"They
shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for THE EARTH shall
be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Isa.
11: 9 ; cf. Hab. 2: 14).
"I
will raise unto David a righteous Branch, amd he shall reign as king and deal
wisely, and shall execute judgement and justice in THE LAND" (Jer.
23: 5).
"The
meek shall inherit THE LAND; and shall delight themselves in the
abundance of peace" (Psa. 37: 11; cf. Matt. 5 5, 20).
"And
the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of THE KINGDOMS UNDER THE
WHOLE HEAVEN, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most
High" (Dan. 7: 27; cf. Rev. 11: 15).
"So
shall ye know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in
"Thus
saith the Lord ; I am returned unto ZION, and will dwell in the midst of
JERUSALEM * : and JERUSALEM shall be called The city of truth ;
and the mountain of the Lord of hosts : There shall yet old men and old women
dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, every man with his staff in his hand
for every age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls
playing in the streets thereof. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts" (Zech. 8:
3-6 ; cf. Rom. 8: 21, 22.).
"For
as the EARTH bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the
things that are sown in it to spring forth : so the Lord God will cause
fighteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
For
I
have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem ; they shall never hold
their peace day nor night : ye that are the Lord’s remembrancers, take ye no
rest, and give him no rest, till he establish, AND TILL HE MAKE
JERUSALEM A PRAISE IN THE EARTH. The LORD hath sworn by his right hand, and
by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for
thine enemies ; and strangers shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast
laboured : but they that have garnered it shall eat it, and praise the Lord ;
and they that have gathered it shall drink it in the courts of my sanctuary.
Go
through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast
up the high way; gather out the stones ; lift up an ensign for the peoples. Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end
of the earth, Say ye to the daughter of
[*
"Zion was originally the scrap of rock on the S. tip of the ridge between
the Kidron and the Tyropoeon valleys of Jerusalem ; but in time the name was
applied to the entire E. ridge up which early Jerusalem spread. Later
In
Though
Zion is sometimes referred to as a definite section of Jerusalem (Ps. 51: 18 ;
Isa. 30: 19, 64: 10 ; Amos 1: 2 ; Mic. 3: 12), there are Scripture passages
which do not have meaning if Zion is "the holy hill" (Ps. 2: 6), the
"habitation of the Lord" (Ps. 9: 11, 76: 2, 132, 137 ;
Isa. 8: 18, 60: 14), where he must be worshipped (Ps. 65: 1 ; Jer. 31: 6).
The
General Assembly of the United Nations on Nov. 29, 1947, recommended the
partition of
[*The
word "
What
a contrast to present world conditions are promised by God after
His anointed Son Jesus Christ - earth’s rightful King- will return and
establish lasting peace and righteousness. There will be no terrorists, suicide
bombers, dirty bombs, threats of Nuclear attack or Genocide at that time ; the
earth and its inhabitants will be at peace ; but a question of great
importance, which every individual Christian should ask him/herself is : ‘Will
I be amongst "those accounted worthy to attain
to that age"’? (Luke 20:35).
This
EARTH,
CONCLUDING REMARK
Let
us have determination ‘to be resolute inside and outside ; with ourselves and
others’ ; to get the work done. Let us seek to be like Jesus who said : "I
glorified thee [‘brought you glory,’ N.I.V.] on earth, having accomplished [‘by
completing,’ N.I.V.] the WORK which thou hast given me to do"
(John 17; 4).
‘Do not pray for tasks equal to your power : pray for power equal to
your task.’ (Judges
16: 28a)