About two thousand years ago, a dear friend left this earth. The account of this is found in the Bible book of Acts. In ActsNIV|KJV| chapter one, verse nine we read " And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven". While we patiently awaits our Saviors' return, we are told to watch and pray because he will return when we least expect. Wouldn't it be nice if our heavenly Father would call by telephone to remind us of his Sons' promised return ? What would the God of this universe say to an individual today? If we have accepted his Son, he would remind us of his Sons' imminent return. If we have not accepted the only way to him, he would tell us: Matthew 17:5NIV|KJV|
I believe the God of the universe has spoken to both groups through the telephone system, via the first two toll-free area codes. I would like to offer the following, as an example of a telephone call from our fatherKJV| Jehovah God. The words of Jesus, and about Jesus were first recorded in the Greek language. The Greek language predates Jesus about three thousand years. The Greek alphabet is unique ( as Hebrew) in that every letter is associated with a corresponding numerical value. The first letter of the Greek alphabet is Alpha, and the corresponding numerical value is one (1). The last letter is Omega,its value is eight hundred (800 ). In the book of Revelation Jesus said ( Rev. 1:11)NIV|KJV| " Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last:..." For many years, a few scholars knew that every number in the Bible had a deeper meaning than a mere numerical value. It was not until 1966 that a deeper meaning could be seen in these numbers. This was the year the Bell System introduced toll-free service. By dialing 1 + 800 and a seven digit number, you could make a telephone call without paying a fee. The person who owned the number paid for the call. In 1996 the telephone industry introduced a second toll-free area code. The second ( 888 ) area code like the first has divine significance . The Greek word for Lord is written:Kuriosthe numerical value is: Kappa = 20,upsilon = 400,rho=100,iota=10,omicron=70,sigma=200
The Greek word for Jesus is written:Iesousthe numerical value is:Iota=10,eta=8,sigma=200,omicron=70,upsilon=400,sigma=200
In 1966 our Saviors title ( Lord ) was stamped
on the first toll-free area code. Twenty nine years later our
Saviors name was ( Jesus ) stamped on the second toll-free area
code. The significance of this should be clearly seen when we
remember that because of sin (Romans 3:23NIV|KJV| " For all have
sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" ) there was a
gulf between man and God. Our Loving Father bridged this ( John
3:16NIV|KJV| " For God so loved
the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that who-soever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life." ) sin gap. In Romans 5:12NIV|KJV| we read, "
Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and
death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have
sinned:" Romans 5:8NIV|KJV| reads, " But God
commendeth his love towards us, in that, while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us". John 14:6NIV|KJV| reads, "Jesus saith
unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh
unto the Father, but by me". Acts 4:12NIV|KJV| reads, "Neither is
there salvation in any other name under heaven given among men,
whereby we must be saved". To show our appreciation for what
God through Jesus has done for us, we would like to do something
to merit this glorious show of love. But alas we can't. We are
reminded that Jesus gave his life for us freely. In Ephesians
2:8-9NIV|KJV| we read, " For by
grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
your-selves: it is a gift of God: Not of works, least any man
should boast." Because of what God did in giving his Sons'
life, Jesus can be compared to a bridge to His father. And since
salvation through Jesus is a free gift, we can say that, " Lord Jesus is the toll-free bridge over
sin that separates man from Jehovah God." By
stamping(Lord)800 , Jesus(888) on the first
two toll-free area codes, the omnipresence, omnipotent,
omniscient creator and sustainer of the universe; Jehovah God has
called to reminds us of his sons' imminent return. We are assured
three times in Revelation of his quick return. We read in
Revelation 22:7NIV|KJV| " Behold, I come
quickly......" At 22:12 we readNIV|KJV| "...behold, I come
quickly; and my reward is with me,..." At 22:20NIV|KJV| we read,
"......surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come Lord
Jesus"
Toll-Free Bridge to God