The Origins Of Belief

By Rick Mungro

With so many questions concerning religion, we all have a yearning to believe in something. After being in church for over thirty years, I had questions that pastors, overseers, and bishops could not answer. There are over sixty different denominations, with an estimated forty-five thousand churches in each, all carrying the same Bible and claiming the same Jesus, but each having different beliefs.After much research and world religious studies, I come to the conclusion that when we Americanize the Bible, it causes a lack of understanding in our belief, which causes us to mislead others. The only way to find truth was to visit the land. I walked and talked with religious leaders as we followed the footsteps of Jesus. We traveled the length and width of the land, leaving no stone unturned, while uncovering so many extraordinary truths.After my visit to Qumran and the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem, 50 percent of my questions were answered. I say this with sincere humbleness and confidence, "The Bible is a reliable source. It is a collection of historical documents written by eyewitnesses who were living during the time of other eyewitnesses. And its findings were divine rather than human in origin. Its prophetic message comes to pass, and its words can be proven by multidimensional prophetic interpretation."We sing songs about three wise men-was it really three? How many seeds are in the pomegranate, and what does it mean? Should we name our church Carmel? Find answers to these questions and more.As leaders, we can change the atmosphere we occupy when we understand its land, customs, and culture. It's very important to connect our belief to the Christian story, by digging deeper into the origin of belief.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098059361

Book preview

cover.jpg

The Origins Of Belief

Rick Mungro

Copyright © 2020 by Rick Mungro

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Welcome to the Land of Israel

The Jordan River

Caesarea

The Sea of Galilee

Armageddon at Megiddo

The Mount of Beatitudes

Nazareth

The Seven Biblical Species

The Dead Sea

Jerusalem, the Holy City

Bethlehem Via Dolorosa

The Mount of Olives and Gethsemane

The Western Wall

Beit She’an

Foreword

As we were flying over Israel something leaped in my spirit, unlike any other quickening experience. I realized I was about to touch the ground that Jesus walked upon.

I visited the tomb of Jesus, Baptized four people in the Jordan River, walked through the Garden of Gethsemane and Kissed The Stone of Anointing at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

I believe you will be inspired and uplifted by reading this book be cause its about Christ’s commitment to making a difference in this world. This book offers strength, restoration, renewal and encouragement. And it shows how each and everyone of us can make a difference and distinguish between fact and fiction.

It can be very difficult, for what ever reason to travel to a foreign country, Possibly your health, lack of finances, etcetera. This book gives you a front roll seat that allows you an opportunity to peep deeply into the history, land and culture as well as the Christian story.

I slowly gazed chapter after chapter as I began to feel that leap of rejuvenation as though I was once again flying over the land. I oftentimes want to revisit Israel, with such a stringent schedule, thank you Bishop Mungro for this book, you have once again filled that void.

While looking in the face of unanticipated events, surrounded with less then desirable circumstances, the atrocities, trails and tribulations that life brings, this book gives us hope for the world and for all people. As you read these pages, may you grow in your depth of spiritual understanding, and may your heart respond in worship and adoration to almighty God. So I encourage you to dig deeper and read the Orgin of belief.

Pastor Shirley Caesar

Mount Calvary Word of Faith Church

An American Gospel music singer, songwriter and recording artist whose career has spanned seven decades. A multi-award-winning artist, with 12 Grammy Awards along with Dove Awards and Stellar Awards to her credit, the First Lady of Gospel Music and The Queen of Gospel Music.

Preface

The purpose of this book is to give all people a wealth of knowledge.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou has rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee. (Hosea 4:6)

I want to give you facts through experience, with practical and spiritual understanding. The purpose is to help us understand the land and enlighten our understanding. Not to Americanize our way of thinking of the Bible, but to examine the roots. The apostle Paul bid Timothy to prove all things and hold fast to that which is good. In this book is the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment. If you research the findings in this book, you will become wiser than most religious leaders today. I say this with sincere humbleness. I pray you are blessed from this fountain of knowledge and wisdom.

Introduction

Newton, North Carolina, a small town in America, 1967. Our neighborhood was that of a village wherein everyone knew each other. The pecking order was the younger ones always listened and respected the older ones. My parents and grandparents were hard workers. They never had time to be sick or feel bad—as though it seemed—because they were away working. My granddaddy and my father worked at the same factory. The plant whistle blew at 2:00 p.m., and at 2:20 p.m., Granddad and Daddy would pull into the driveway, and we would race to get the leftovers from their lunch boxes. Everyone on our street had that arrival time embedded in their minds. Especially in the heat of a North Carolina summer. Once a week, Granddaddy would stop on his way home and get two watermelons; he would cut one up in many pieces and put them on the back porch. All the grandchildren and friends would gather to eat melon. All of a sudden, a medium-sized broad-shouldered woman would appear in the doorway—my grandmother Geneva, and she would begin to tell us all about the Holy Land.

In 1965, Grandmother Geneva traveled to Israel with her booster club to visit the Holy Land—yes, the land of Israel; and upon her return, she was never the same. She changed, and it changed us.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:2)

With this new mind-set, her character for the future was well with her. The mind-set went from just being a grandmother to being more in tune with God, life, and death—being a spiritual overseer, not just talking love but exemplifying love, and not just talking a good life but living a good life. When she would tell us stories of the Holy Land, it would be unlike before—not just another story being told in the Bible, but now it was something within her to drive us to a point of commitment. It secured our future beliefs. Our trust was no longer in our skills and abilities as children. Our trust was now in God. A God that we’ve never seen. With added evidence of her stories, we became believers at an early age. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put your trust in man (Psalm 118:8). A bird is never afraid of the branch breaking, because its trust is not in the branch but in its wings.

Putting our trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man was one of our first life-learned lessons. Growing up was always a challenge, either with school or friends. Life was very challenging. She understood that if our minds would change, then our actions would follow. We loved what we saw in her. She led by examples. Examples that flowed down the pecking order of the neighborhood. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2).

Grandma’s (Moan) character was much different after the trip. Her mental and moral qualities were all distinctive. She always had things in place, such as her temperament, mentality, personality, and disposition. Just imagine these things taken to another level. Now you’re not only a mother or grandmother, because any woman can be those two things, you’ve become a spiritual overseer.

After seeing the power of God up front and personal through her, I knew there was a calling on my life and a need to visit the land of Israel. Her visit was like reading the Bible—you can’t stop talking about it; you can read a book, tell the story, and it’s over, but not the Bible. The land of Israel is the same way.

Welcome to the Land of Israel

The state of Israel is a country in the Middle East on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea. It has land borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan on the east, the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza to the east and west, and Egypt to the southwest. The country contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel’s economy and technology center is Tel Aviv, while its seat of government and capital is Jerusalem (Wikipedia).

The kingdoms of Israel and Judah emerged during the Iron Age. The Neo-Assyrian Empire destroyed Israel around 720 BCE. Judah was later conquered by the Babylonian, Persian, and Hellenistic empires and had existed as Jewish autonomous provinces (Wikipedia). This is a key point when studying the metallic image, the dream of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2).

The successful Maccabean Revolt led to an independent Hasmonean kingdom by 110 BCE, which in 63 BCE however became a client state of the Roman Republic that subsequently installed the Herodian dynasty in 37 BCE, and in 6 CE created the Roman province of Judea. Judea lasted as a Roman province until the failed Jewish revolts resulted in widespread destruction, expulsion of Jewish population and the renaming of the region. Jewish presence in the region has persisted to a certain extent over the centuries. In the 7th century the Levant was taken from the Byzantine Empire by the Arabs and remained in Muslim control until the First Crusade