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Apocalyptic Fever

Sunday, May 15th, 2011

(May 15, 2011) I believe every generation since Jesus Christ walked the earth has believed they were living in the End-Times. The Thessalonian Church of the First Century was worried that their fellow Christians who had died would miss the second coming of Jesus Christ. Millennial fervor swept through elements of Christendom leading up to the year 1000 A.D. (here is a website with a list of apocalyptic dates in history) The current generation is no different from previous ones when it comes to some sort of Apocalyptic Fever. Last week someone at my job asked me about the news story stating that Jesus Christ would return on May 21, 2011. They had heard the women on the television show The View discussing it. Later in the week I heard the following commercial on one of our local secular radio stations:

It is amazing to me that Christians continue to set dates about the return of Jesus Christ.

The Millerites

In 1833 William Miller, a Baptist layman, was convinced that Jesus would return sometime during the years 1843-44. He gained a substantial number of followers. Eventually they came to the conclusion that Jesus would return on October 22, 1844 based on the 2300 day prophecy in Daniel 8:14. Some followers prepared for this event by getting rid of their possessions. When Jesus did not return the “Millerites” were understandably disillusioned while at the same time the general public ridiculed them. There were even some acts of violence perpetrated against Miller’s followers.

88 Reasons Why the Rapture is in 1988

More recently Edgar C. Whisenant, a NASA engineer, published a pamphlet titled 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. Once again elements of the Evangelical Church including Trinity Broadcast Network were caught up in Rapture fever. When Jesus failed to return that year Whisenant published a new pamphlet titled The final shout: Rapture report 1989. When that date passed he wrote more pamphlets predicting that the return of Jesus would occur in the early 1990s.

Harold Camping

Harold Camping is the president of Family Radio, a Christian broadcasting network based in California. In 1993, Camping wrote a book in which he said there was a “strong likelihood” that Jesus would return in 1994. Here is a partial audio recording of a debate between Harold Camping and John Noe on the Larry King Live show in 1993:

This would not be the end of Harold Camping’s date-setting.

May 21, 2011

On March 8, 2011 the Daily Mail newspaper website posted the following headline with the accompanying article which discusses Harold Camping’s latest foray into predicting the return of Jesus Christ: ‘Awesome, it’s the end of the world’: Doomsday campers travel the country preaching the Apocalypse…on May 21 The article states: “Most people like to push thoughts about the end of the world to the back of their minds, hoping that the apocalypse, if it ever comes, will be a long way off. But for one group of not-so happy campers, doomsday is a lot sooner…May 21 to be precise. According to the predictions of the Family Radio ministry, on that date a massive earthquake will shake the world apart, littering the ground with ‘many dead bodies’. Those who believe in Jesus will be carried into heaven, while the rest of humanity will endure 153 days of ‘death and horror’ before the world ends on October 21…Speaking to CNN the group’s leader, 89-year-old Harold Camping, is adamant that the date is accurate. He said: ‘I know it’s absolutely true, because the Bible is always absolutely true. ‘If I were not faithful that would mean that I’m a hypocrite.’ Despite his conviction, Camping has predicted the world would end before – on September 4 1994. That, he says, was a mistake, a misreading of the biblical codes used to decipher the exact date of the ‘rapture’. In order to get the warning out in time he fudged his calculations, a mistake he maintains he did not make this time.” [emphasis added]

The article then reports the calculations Camping used to come to the conclusion that the Lord would act on May 21, 2011: “According to the Church’s website, there are two ‘proofs’ that May 21 2011 is the judgement day. According to them, Noah’s great flood occurred in the year 4990 B.C., ‘exactly’ 7000 years ago. At the time, God said to Noah he had seven days before the flood would begin. Taking a passage from 2 Peter 3:8, in which it is said a day for God is like a thousand human years, the church reasoned that seven ‘days’ equals 7000 human years from the time of the flood,making 2011 the year of the apocalypse. In its second ‘proof’ the exact date is revealed by working forward from the exact date of the of the crucifixion – April 1, 33 AD. According to their reasoning, there are exactly 722,500 days from April 1, 33 A.D. until May 21, 2011 – the alleged day of judgement. This number can be represented as follows: 5 x 10 x 17 x 5 x 10 x 17 = 722,500. The church then argues that numbers in the bible have special meanings, with the number 5 signifying atonement or redemption, the number 10 signifying ‘completeness’ and the number 17 equalling heaven.”

Why?

Why do Christians continue to set dates concerning the return of Jesus? As I said at the beginning of this article, interest in the second coming of Jesus Christ began in the early church. I believe the desire to see His return is a God-given desire to those who believe in Him. The apostle Paul wrote, “12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” (Titus 2:12-14) Because of this desire I believe some people try to “help” the Lord fulfill His prophetic word. God had promised to give Abraham his one desire, a son. Instead of waiting on the Lord to fulfill His promise, Abraham tried to “help” the Lord out by sleeping with one of his wife’s handmaids. This resulted in the birth of Ishmael which eventually led to many problems for Abraham and his Jewish descendants. God, according to His timing, did fulfill His promise with the birth of Isaac. The problem with Christian date-setting is that it is clearly contrary to the word of God. Jesus said concerning His return, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” (Matthew 24:36) In the article above Harold Camping stated, “I know it’s absolutely true, because the Bible is always absolutely true.” Therefore Mr. Camping and all the Christians throughout history should have known that the return of Jesus Christ will be in God’s timing and that we will never know the precise date of that timing. This truth notwithstanding, we will once again be subjected to Apocalyptic Fever next year as we approach the Mayan prophetic date of December 21, 2012.

What about this generation?

Is this generation different than all the previous generations when it comes to expectations about the return of Jesus Christ? Not in regards to Christian and biblical beliefs. I believe God has put in Christians today the same spiritual desire as all those who came before us. However, there is one extraordinary difference between us and those who preceded us. For eighteen hundred years the Jews as a people were dispersed throughout the world. Yet God promised in the Old Testament that one day He would bring the Jews back to the land of Israel and that He would never remove them from the land again. In 1948 God returned the Jews to their land. I believe the culmination of this prophecy will occur when Jesus does return and gathers the rest of His elect from the four corners of the earth and brings them to Israel.

From a non-biblical viewpoint, I wonder how long humanity can go on with the turmoil that is occurring around the world and is likely to continue. Islamic terrorists can never give up trying to regain control of Israel and therefore terrorism will not abate. With the advent of globalization in the 20th and 21st centuries, economies are so interdependent that an economic disaster to any segment of the earth’s governments can have an adverse effect on the rest of the world. Even the world has some sense of foreboding concerning the earth’s future. Three days ago bloomberg.com posted a story about Russians who were purchasing bunkers because they thought a global catastrophe was in the near future (Rich Russians Buy Bunkers on Apocalypse Angst). The first line of this article states, “Terrorism can be good for bunker builders. An apocalypse can be even better for business.” Last year there was a story of some Europeans fleeing to caves in order to protect themselves from some future calamity. I wrote an article last June concerning a Pew Research poll of Americans and the return of Jesus Christ. 41% of Americans think that Jesus will return by the year 2050. Of course these people have no way of knowing that but it does reflect a growing sense of pessimism about the earth’s current state of affairs.

Lastly, besides the rebirth of Israel there is one other biblical prophecy spoken by Jesus which may have some bearing on how soon He may return. His disciples asked Him a few days before His crucifixion and resurrection what the signs would be of His return and the end of the age. He gave them several signs but one in particular referred to the actual timing of His second coming: “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14) How close is this prophecy to fulfillment? Last year I did an article titled, “Bible translators hope to have every language covered in 15 years”. I am not saying that Jesus will return in the next fifteen years. What I am trying to do here and with this blog is illustrate that events have occurred, are occurring, and will occur that seem to indicate that Jesus’ return will be sooner rather than later. How much sooner I cannot say because “Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”

Tags: Apocalypse, Apocalyptic Fever, date setting, Harold Camping, Jesus second coming, Matthew 24, May 21 2011, Mayan Prophecy, Millerites, The Rapture
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Make Way Partners: Wiping away tears on earth now – Revelation 21:1-4

Thursday, April 28th, 2011

(April 28, 2011) Yesterday, I heard the most disturbing thing I’ve ever heard on the radio. If what follows disturbs you then maybe God is trying to work in your heart as He is in mine.

American Family Radio (AFR) conducted an interview with Kimberly L. Smith, president and co-founder of Make Way Partners. During the interview, Mrs. Smith said that she had been an executive with a company making a six-figure salary. She and her husband had been living the American dream with homes, beautiful children, and all the accompanying material possessions. She had been very active in her church and doing church activities. Yet there was a great emptiness in her life. She kept crying out to God and finally got to the point where she prayed that God would either use her or take her out. He answered her prayer one day when she was on her way to work. He spoke to her through what she calls a “mental movie”. In this movie she saw a Mack truck plow through her car and she flew through the windshield and landed on the pavement dead. God showed her that all she thought she had been achieving was being burned up like hay and stubble. God was working in her husband’s heart also and so they, in their forties, sold their home, gave away their possessions, and went to Spain and eventually Sudan. She said that while they were in Portugal they saw a six year-old boy who had been prostituted. What she said next is even more horrifying! In these places where human trafficking takes place, children of this same age are kept in stalls and rarely allowed to leave. Adults pay to go into these stalls where they sexually and physically abuse these little children. She said that these little children can have as many as thirty sex acts a day with these adults. The evil involved here is abominable, right out of hell. I want you to do what I did after hearing this. Imagine what it would be like to be one of these little innocent children or imagine your children or nieces and nephews in this situation. Your little child is in this stall and the curtain is pulled back and a man three times their size enters in and starts to sexually abuse your child and physically abuse them. They can do nothing about it or the physical and emotional pain they are experiencing. After its over, he leaves and then not long after, another man enters and starts to sexually abuse your child just after the first man did it to them. Then the second man leaves and shortly thereafter a third man enters and physically and sexually assaults your child, a five, six, seven year-old! And then when he leaves, not long after a fourth man enters and he sexually and physically abuses your little child and then he leaves. Repeat this twenty six more times and then the day is over. The next day, a man enters and physically and sexually assaults your little child and then leaves. Then another man enters… The horror of this is unimaginable.

Milton and Kimberly Smith are fighting this evil overseas. I only know what she said in this interview and have not read the book she wrote called, “Passport Through Darkness: A True Story of Danger and Second Chances”. They have set up orphanages to rescue these children from these horrible situations. They founded an organization to fight human trafficking: Make Way Partners She said when they went to Sudan they found the children sleeping in bare trees because when they tried to come to their orphanage, hyenas would attack the children and kill them. So they knew they had to protect them from dangerous animals as well as slave and sex traders. Their parents had been raped and killed in front of them. They have had their arms cut off for stealing a piece of bread because they were starving. The slave traders rape them and then mutilate the girls’ clitorises and bite them on their breasts and necks to leave scars to shame them. This is the face of unadulterated evil.

For ten years now, Kimberly Smith and Make Way Partners have been fighting this evil in Sudan, Peru, Congo, and Romania. The governments in these countries are complicit in these evil actions. Here is an interview she did with Moody Radio last month: This Is The Day And here is a video of some of the children she and her organization have rescued from the horrors of the slave and sex trade:

I don’t understand why God allows evil like this to exist on the earth. All I know is that Jesus Christ took the sins of every person who has ever lived so that we can be with Him now and forever. He issued a warning for those who would mistreat little children:

“1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ 2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, 3 and said, ‘Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. 9 If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell. 10 See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.’” (Matthew 18:1-10)

One day these children will be set eternally free from the horrors they have experienced and God will wipe away their tears, “1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4) Until then though, He is working through His followers to wipe away these little ones’ tears here on earth. You and I can help to wipe away their tears now. Pray for the protection of Kimberly L. Smith and her organization and for other organizations that are also fighting this scourge around the world. And as equally important, donate to Make Way Partners to help make a difference in these tortured little ones’ lives. If you are a Christian then they are your responsibility too:

“22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. 26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (James 1:22-27)

You can donate to Make Way Partners here: DONATE HERE

Tags: Child slavery, Evil, Human Trafficking, Kimberly L. Smith, Make Way Partners, Passport through Darkness, Sex Trade, Slave Trade
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God’s love for Muslims: A highway of salvation

Sunday, March 27th, 2011

(March 20, 2011) Jehovah, the God of the people of the Book, declares through His prophet Isaiah: “1 The oracle concerning Egypt: Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt; The idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. 2 So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians; And they will each fight against his brother and each against his neighbor, City against city and kingdom against kingdom. 3 Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them; And I will confound their strategy, So that they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead and to mediums and spiritists. 4 Moreover, I will deliver the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel master, and a mighty king will rule over them,” declares the Lord GOD of hosts…18 In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will be speaking the language of Canaan and swearing allegiance to the LORD of hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction. 19 In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD near its border. 20 It will become a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the LORD because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Champion, and He will deliver them. 21 Thus the LORD will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day. They will even worship with sacrifice and offering, and will make a vow to the LORD and perform it. 22 The LORD will strike Egypt, striking but healing; so they will return to the LORD, and He will respond to them and will heal them. 23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. 24 In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.” (Isaiah 19:1-4,18-25)

This prophecy is speaking of the End-Times when the Antichrist (“a cruel master, and a mighty king will rule over them”) comes to power and subjugates Egypt under his oppressive reign. However, God will send them a Savior and He will deliver Egypt from the Antichrist. The Book makes it clear that this Savior is Jesus the Messiah who is called Isa in the Qur’an and whom Christian Arabs call Yasu:

“11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” 17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.” 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.” (Revelation 19:11-21)

When Jesus returns to earth at His second coming, the Egyptians, Syrians, Jews, and the rest of the world will know that He is the Messiah. The Muslim and Arab world along with the Jews will accept Him as the true and only Savior. There will be unity among Jews and Arabs in Jesus the Messiah which God calls a “highway from Egypt to Assyria”. This will indeed be a highway of salvation.

Jesus and the Qur’an

The Qur’an declares, like the Bible, that Jesus’ birth was miraculous and that Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Him:

“19. He said: “Nay, I am only a messenger from thy Lord, (to announce) to thee the gift of a holy son.
20. She said: “How shall I have a son, seeing that no man has touched me, and I am not unchaste?”
21. He said: “So (it will be): Thy Lord saith, ‘that is easy for Me: and (We wish) to appoint him as a Sign unto men and a Mercy from Us’:It is a matter (so) decreed.”
22. So she conceived him, and she retired with him to a remote place.” (Maryam sura 019:019-022)

Only Jesus’ birth was without human intervention (apart from Mary giving birth to Him). God miraculously placed Jesus inside of Mary as an unborn baby! Muhammad, Isaiah, Mary and every other human being who has ever lived was conceived with human seed.

The Qur’an also states that Jesus was full of the holy spirit:

“110. Then will Allah say: “O Jesus the son of Mary! Recount My favour to thee and to thy mother. Behold! I strengthened thee with the holy spirit, so that thou didst speak to the people in childhood and in maturity. Behold! I taught thee the Book and Wisdom, the Law and the Gospel and behold! thou makest out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, by My leave, and thou breathest into it and it becometh a bird by My leave, and thou healest those born blind, and the lepers, by My leave. And behold! thou bringest forth the dead by My leave. And behold! I did restrain the Children of Israel from (violence to) thee when thou didst show them the clear Signs, and the unbelievers among them said: ‘This is nothing but evident magic.’” (Al-Ma’idah sura 005:110)

Of course the Qur’anic perspective on the nature of these events is different from the biblical perspective. The biblical accounts are given to prove that Jesus is the Son of God and therefore the only one able to save humankind from its sins. He is more than a prophet: He is the Messiah! It is extremely important that you understand that the biblical accounts of Jesus were written primarily by those who knew Him personally. They wrote them down within a few decades of His ascension to Heaven. This means they were written five hundred years before the birth of Muhammad.

Balance Scales of Judgment: Good deeds vs. Bad deeds

The Qur’an teaches that people will be judged by how many good deeds they have done in their life versus how many bad deeds they have done:

“101. Then when the Trumpet is blown, there will be no more relationships between them that Day, nor will one ask after another!
102. Then those whose balance (of good deeds) is heavy, they will attain salvation:
103. But those whose balance is light, will be those who have lost their souls, in Hell will they abide.” (Al-Muminun sura 023:101-103)

Here again the biblical perspective differs on this issue of good deeds and the condition of the human heart:

God states through His prophet Jeremiah:

“9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

History has shown us just how evil and sinful humanity is through wars, hatred, racism, bigotry, adultery, lust, pride and all the other sins we each commit daily in our own lives.

The Book of Romans declares:

“9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin; 10 as it is written,”There is none righteous, not even one; 11 there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God…23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:9-11,23)

Again, the history of the human race has proven this to be true. Islam, like all the other religions of the world, believes that if we do enough good deeds we will earn a place in heaven. However, God disagrees:

“6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags [literally: garments of menstruation]; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” (Isaiah 64:6)

Our good deeds or works are as useless as menstrual rags when done apart from the love of God. Thus, no matter how many good deeds we have done they will not take away our sins nor will they override our sinful nature. Our sins actually keep us separated from God:

“1 Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short that it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” (Isaiah 59:1-2)

The Good News

The good news is that we don’t have to be separated from God because:

“16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

God is not some distant deity sitting on His throne detached from His human creations waiting to sit in judgment on them. He loved the world and sent His Son to save it. The word “world” here means that Jesus died for all the sins of everyone who ever lived whether they were Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Christians, atheists, agnostics, or any other religion that has ever existed. Some of His followers saw Him die on the cross. They knew that it was Jesus and no one else who died on that cross. They also knew He was resurrected from the dead. They knew it so well that many of them died horrible deaths because of their belief in Jesus’ death and resurrection!

The Highway of Salvation

As I said at the beginning of this article, when Jesus returns to set up His kingdom on earth, Muslims and Jews will come together in their knowledge that Jesus is their Savior. Many Muslims today are not waiting for that to happen. They are already receiving Jesus as their Savior as the non-Christian Shiekh Ahmad Al-Katani said in an interview on Al-Jazeera television:

Ahmad Al Katani:
The reality is that these words say a lot less than they should. As we said in the beginning, everyone has the right to invite others to his religion; this is what is known as evangelism (or proselytizing). As for Christianization, no one has the right to take Muslims out of their religion, and you asked for references and the references are too numerous.

Islam used to represent, as you previously mentioned, Africa’s main religion and there were 30 African languages that used to be written in Arabic script. The number of Muslims in Africa has diminished to 316 million, half of whom are Arabs in North Africa. So in the section of Africa that we are talking about, the non Arab section, the number of Muslims does not exceed 150 million people. When we realize that the entire population of Africa is one billion people, we see that the number of Muslims has diminished greatly from what it was in the beginning of the last century. On the other hand, the number of Catholics has increased from one million in 1902 to 329 million 882 thousand (329,882,000). Let us round off that number to 330 million in the year 2000.

As to how that happened, well there are now 1.5 million churches whose congregations account for 46 million people. In every hour, 667 Muslims convert to Christianity. Everyday, 16,000 Muslims convert to Christianity. Ever year, 6 million Muslims convert to Christianity. These numbers are very large indeed …

Maher Abdallah (interrupting):
Hold on! Let me clarify. Do we have 6 million converting from Islam to Christianity or converting from Islam and other religions?

Ahmad Al Katani:
Great (question)! The other religions are not placed on the list of Christianization; rather they are placed on the list of evangelization. The other religion in Africa is paganism; so it’s Islam, Christianity or paganism. There isn’t something similar to Asia for example where you have Buddhism or Zoroastrianism. In Africa it is just these three, so if you talk about Christianization then it targets the only other heavenly religion which is Islam. As for paganism, those people worship animals and planets and the like.

Maher Abdallah:
So 6 million Muslims a year convert?

Ahmad Al Katani:
Every year… In the African nations this century a tragedy happened. Take for example what happened in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is an Arab nation and I am not saying a muslim nation. If any student looks up the word Habasha (Ethiopia) in the book Ocean Dictionary written by Al-Fairuz Abady, he will find that the word Habashat means “people of different tribes” and this is what happened. Ethiopia was a place where Arabs from different tribes would go to live for a while. We all know that Islam entered Ethiopia before Islam entered the city of Medina. We all know that AL-Najashy (the ruler of Ethiopia) was a Muslim. It is mentioned by Al-Darkatny in his biography of the prophet “Allah’s prayer and peace be upon him ” that during the month of Rajab in the 9th year of the Hijra (Muslim calendar) that the prophet said to his companions: “Rise up and pray on your brother Al-Najashy.” From that year on the practice of praying on the absent was established. Therefore from the time of the prophet “Allah’s prayer and peace be upon him ” Islam entered Ethiopia. So what has happened to Ethiopia?
__________

God’s righteous judgment is coming upon the whole world in the last days. He is going to allow a “cruel master, and a mighty king” to rise to power who will attempt to rule the world as Adolph Hitler tried to rule Europe. The people of the world look to earthly rulers for their salvation while at the same time rejecting and spurning and mocking Jesus who is their true and only salvation. This leader is going to be exponentially worse than Hitler and he will lead the world to destruction. Jesus and the prophet Daniel said this will be a time unlike any other the earth has experienced or will experience again. Billions will be destroyed because of their wicked ways until Jesus comes again and sets up His earthly kingdom. He said there would be signs when this occurs. Whether it happens in our lifetime or is still yet in the future is unknown. What is known is that each of us will experience our own End-Times sooner or later. Therefore, every person should turn to God and repent of their sinful ways and receive Jesus Christ as their Savior. It is the only hope we have because the world doesn’t care about you or me.

Tags: Allah, Bible, Egypt, God, Isaiah, Islam, Israel, Jesus Christ, Jews, Mary, Muhammad, Muslims, Qur'an, salvation, Syria
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The Kinsman-Redeemer and the Avenger of Blood

Sunday, March 13th, 2011

(March 13, 2011) In certain segments of the modern Church there is a misunderstanding and sometimes a denial of the biblical revelation of God’s nature. Some of those segments believe that traditional evangelicalism is ineffective or at least falls short in meeting the needs of the modern world. I suppose a case could be made that this is true of every generation since the Church’s formation two thousand years ago. It is true that Christians should be living the gospel of Jesus Christ and not just preaching it. The Books of James and 1 John among others talk about showing your faith to others by helping those in physical need as well as spiritual need. The problem as I see it is that experience, sentimentality, and relativity triumph over the truth of God’s word within areas of the modern Church: We are to love our neighbors by not offending them with the truth about complete salvation in Jesus Christ. If they are of a different religion, who are we to tell them their beliefs are wrong? Why not worship and pray together with them regardless of their religions? And certainly we have to stress only the love of God and never His judgment of sin or sinners!

Of course the Bible reveals God’s love for His human creations. He loved the world so much that He sent His Son to die for it. He wants His love to spread throughout the world among His human creations and makes it clear that this is accomplished by His children loving one another, “34 A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:34-35) (Incidentally, disagreeing with someone is not necessarily unloving them). I could quote hundreds if not thousands of scriptures which speak of God’s love. However, that isn’t the problem within these segments of the modern Church. They apparently overwhelm their listeners with the subject of love and tolerance. It seems though that they neglect to talk very much, if at all, about the consequences of sin and a sinful lifestyle nor of a righteous God who is unable to tolerate sin in His Holy Presence (Hebrews 12:29). The purpose of this post is to illustrate two aspects of the nature of God.

End-Times prophecy, which this blog discusses, is full of both God’s love and His judgment. I realize that most of my articles deal with the coming judgment of God on all the world (I do have a few articles on the prophetic meaning of Easter, Christmas, and Palm Sunday which illustrate God’s love for the world). My purpose in making God’s judgment the focus of this blog is to warn people of what God says is in store for them if they continue in their rebellious attitude towards Him and His Son Jesus Christ. I’m sure there are plenty of blogs which focus purely on the love of God and I commend them for that as long as they are presenting God’s love in a biblical and truthful way. God is not the author of confusion (I Corinthians 14:33) but has ordained all existence: “4 For the word of the LORD is right and true; He is faithful in all He does. 5 The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of His unfailing love. 6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; He puts the deep into storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere Him. 9 For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm. 10 The LORD foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.” (Psalm 33:4-11) Likewise, the Bible is orderly and reveals the nature and purposes of God and His Son. The Old Testament sacrifices He commanded the Jews to offer point to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The feast days and holy days also had a purpose which was to teach us something about God’s plans as the apostle Paul wrote, “16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” (Colossians 2:16-17) The great men of the Bible such as Joseph, Moses and prophets were types of Christ through their behavior and circumstances. The Bible is comprised of 66 Books written over a period of 1400 years by many human authors yet it presents an orderly account of the purposes of God because His Holy Spirit is the true Author of it. However, there is one Messianic type given by God in the Old Testament that I want to focus on which also has an End-Times prophetic aspect to it. It is an example of both the love of God for His people and also of His judgment which is coming upon the whole world.

The Kinsman Redeemer

One of the laws God told Moses to issue to the people was the law of the kinsman-redeemer or goel in the Hebrew language. The kinsman referred to a person’s relative who was to act on behalf of that relative. The first law is found in Leviticus:

“25 If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come and buy back what his relative has sold.” (Leviticus 25:25)

The kinsman of a poor relative was to buy back any land this relative sold. The second law is:

“47 Now if the means of a stranger or of a sojourner with you becomes sufficient, and a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to him as to sell himself to a stranger who is sojourning with you, or to the descendants of a stranger’s family, 48 then he shall have redemption right after he has been sold. One of his brothers may redeem him, 49 or his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or one of his blood relatives from his family may redeem him; or if he prospers, he may redeem himself.” (Leviticus 25:47-49)

If a poor relative’s circumstances became so dire that he sold himself into slavery then his kinsman was to redeem or purchase back his freedom. The third law is:

“5 When brothers live together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a strange man. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her to himself as wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her.” (Deuteronomy 25:5)

Here the brother is to marry his brother’s widow. In the Book of Ruth we see that the kinsman who could marry a relative who is widowed is not restricted to just the deceased husband’s brother. Other eligible relatives could fulfill the role of kinsman-redeemer. The fourth law is:

“11 But if there is a man who hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him and rises up against him and strikes him so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, 12 then the elders of his city shall send and take him from there and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. 13 You shall not pity him, but you shall purge the blood of the innocent from Israel, that it may go well with you.” (Deuteronomy 19:11-13)

The Hebrew words for the name avenger of blood is goel haddam. Goel is the same word translated as kinsman in the above verses. This law meant that if a person murdered your relative, then you as his kinsman had to avenge his death by hunting down and killing the murderer.

Jesus Our Kinsman-Redeemer

Each of these kinsman-redeemer laws have either been fulfilled or will be fulfilled by Jesus Christ. His atoning death gave Him all rights to purchase back humanity and the earth. The first three laws speak of God’s love in caring for the poor and the widowed. The fourth law speaks of God’s coming judgment.

1) Redeeming the land – When Adam and Eve sinned by listening to Satan rather than obeying God they forfeited the right to till and cultivate the lush land of the Garden of Eden. They gave up humanity’s title deed to live on an uncursed earth to Satan. The apostle Paul acknowledges Satan’s current authority over the world, “3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (II Corinthians 4:3-4) Jesus said concerning Satan, “30 I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me; 31 but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded.” (John 14:29-31) Jesus will redeem the land of the earth which His children sold with their sins to Satan during the End-Times and will reign over it:

“1 I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals.2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?’ 3 And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. 4 Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it; 5 and one of the elders said to me, ‘Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.’ 6 And I saw between the throne with the four living creatures and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. 7 And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. 8 When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 ‘You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.’” (Revelation 5:1-10)

2) Redeeming the slave – By sinning, humanity sold themselves as slaves to sin and death but Jesus has redeemed us from our slavery to sin:

“You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.” (I Corinthians 7:23)

“5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:5-14)

3) Marrying a widowed relative – Through our sin we joined ourselves with Satan in an unholy bond, “8 The one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” (I John 3:8) When the world system and Satan are destroyed during the End-Times, Jesus will take His Church to be His bride:

“7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. 8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb’ And he said to me, ‘These are true words of God.’” (Revelation 19:7-9)

4) Avenging His relative’s blood – God is our Father: “12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13) Until the very end when Jesus returns, Satan and those who reject Jesus Christ will continue to kill God’s children. As our kinsman, Jesus will avenge the blood of His children and destroy the world during the End-Times:

“9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; 10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also. 12 I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. 14 The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; 16 and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” (Revelation 6:9-17)

The Love of God and the Judgment of God

As you have just read God is both Love and Holy Judgment as those in Heaven attest to, “7 And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.” (Revelation 16:7) No matter how hard those in the modern Church try to deny or explain away God’s judgment they cannot do it without erasing large portions of the Bible. They need to be faithful to all aspects of God’s nature. Although it is God’s desire that everyone be saved it’s not going to happen no matter how sentimental or watered down our teaching is. The truth is that there are those who will receive God and those who will reject Him, “1 See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. 7 Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; 8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning; The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.” (I John 3:1-10) Christians are to love others including their enemies, but denying the truth about God’s complete nature is not loving Him or loving those to whom you misrepresent Him. It always bothers me when I hear someone say “my Jesus” did this or “my Jesus” wouldn’t do that. He is not your Jesus nor is He my Jesus. Jesus is who He is. He is not who you want Him to be. You either receive Him on His terms or you don’t, but you cannot make Him into your image, He made you in His image. Be a loving witness to the world but also be a truthful witness to the world according to His Word!

Tags: God's judgment, God's nature, God's Word, Jesus Christ, Kinsman Redeemer, modern Church, sin
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Rob Bell: False teachings about Hell and God’s judgment

Monday, March 7th, 2011

(March 7, 2011) Part of eschatology or End-Times study deals with the last event to occur before eternity. This event is called The Great White Throne Judgment and is recorded in chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation:

“10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. 11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:10-15)

At the end of time and just before eternity begins, God showed to His servant John the final judgment of mankind. It is not pleasant reading to know that people are going to enter into eternal torment in Hell. It is so unpleasant that there have been those who have tried to explain away Hell or allegorize it or simply deny its existence. One such person, according to ABC News, is coming out with a book that purportedly challenges the Christian concept of Hell. His name is Rob Bell and he is the pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His book is titled Love Wins: Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Has Ever Lived. Christianity Today linked to a site which gives the publisher’s (HarperOne) official description concerning the book and its author Rob Bell:

“Fans flock to his Facebook page, his NOOMA videos have been viewed by millions, and his Sunday sermons are attended by 10,000 parishioners—with a downloadable podcast reaching 50,000 more. An electrifying, unconventional pastor whom Time magazine calls “a singular rock star in the church world,” Rob Bell is the most vibrant, central religious leader of the millennial generation. Now, in Love Wins: Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, Bell addresses one of the most controversial issues of faith—the afterlife—arguing that a loving God would never sentence human souls to eternal suffering. With searing insight, Bell puts hell on trial, and his message is decidedly optimistic—eternal life doesn’t start when we die; it starts right now. And ultimately, Love Wins.”

This is the first time I’ve ever heard of Rob Bell but obviously there are thousands who listen to his teachings. Since the book doesn’t come out until later this month I don’t know what this pastor specifically believes about Hell although his publisher claims “Bell addresses one of the most controversial issues of faith—the afterlife—arguing that a loving God would never sentence human souls to eternal suffering.” If this publisher has misrepresented Rob Bell’s position on a literal Hell then it incumbent upon him to tell them to remove this statement. As it is though, in the following video, which is also posted on the link above affiliated with the Christianity Today website and also on Amazon under his book’s listing, Rob Bell does seem to be speaking and supportive of such a belief as stated in this publisher’s official release.

In the video he says:

“Will only a few, select people make it to Heaven? And will billions and billions of people burn forever in Hell? And if that’s the case how do you become one of the few? Is it what you believe or what you say or what you do or who you know or something that happens in your heart or do you need to be initiated or baptized or take a class or converted or being born again? How does one become one of these few? And then there is the question behind the questions; the real question, What is God like?, because millions and millions of people were taught that the primary message, the center of the gospel of Jesus is that God is going to send you to Hell unless you believe in Jesus. And so what gets subtly sort of taught and caught is that Jesus rescues you from God. But what kind of God is that, that we would need to be rescued from this God? How could that God ever be good? How could that God ever be trusted? And how could that ever be good news? This is why lots of people want nothing to do with the Christian faith. They see it as an endless list of absurdities and inconsistencies and they say, Why would I ever want to be a part of that? See, what we believe about Heaven and Hell is incredibly important because it exposes what we believe about who God is and what God is like. What you discover in the Bible is so surprising, unexpected, and beautiful that whatever we’ve been told or taught, the good news is actually better than that, better than we could ever have imagined. The good news is that love wins.”

Even though the book hasn’t come out yet, what Rob Bell says in this video through a series of rhetorical questions indicates that what he believes about Hell and God is unbiblical and a false teaching.

He firsts asks “Will only a few, select people make it to Heaven? And will billions and billions of people burn forever in Hell?” I will let Jesus answer his question, 13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14) Jesus declares there are few who find life and many who find destruction.

He next asks “How does one become one of these few?” Again, the Word of God answers his question, “9 That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13)

Then he asks some questions based on a false premise which he creates, “The center of the gospel of Jesus is that God is going to send you to Hell unless you believe in Jesus. And so what gets subtly sort of taught and caught is that Jesus rescues you from God. But what kind of God is that, that we would need to be rescued from this God? How could that God ever be good? How could that God ever be trusted? And how could that ever be good news?” Jesus doesn’t rescue us from God but God rescues us from our sins through His Son Jesus Christ! “23 But I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:23-25 NIV) And, “3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 Who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to Whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Galatians 1:4-5 NIV) And, “12 And giving joyful thanks to the Father, Who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, 14 in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:12-14 NIV) And, “10 And to wait for His Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead—Jesus, Who rescues us from the coming wrath.” (1 Thessalonians 1:10 NIV) Notice in this last verse that Paul speaks of a coming wrath which will fall on those whom Jesus has not rescued.

He then follows with an unbiblical statement, “This is why lots of people want nothing to do with the Christian faith. They see it as an endless list of absurdities and inconsistencies and they say, Why would I ever want to be a part of that?” God states plainly why they don’t want anything to do with Christ or His followers, “18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” (John 3:18-21) People don’t want anything to do with Jesus Christ or Christianity because they love darkness rather than light and don’t want their evil deeds exposed in the light of God’s truth.

Then, finishing up he states, “See, what we believe about Heaven and Hell is incredibly important because it exposes what we believe about who God is and what God is like.” Well, we have just seen what Rob Bell thinks about Hell. Now let’s see what Jesus says about it:

“21 You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.” (Matthew 5:21-22) Here Jesus speaks of human judgment in the first three instances but states clearly that the fourth judgment is hell fire!

“27 You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.” (Matthew 5:27-30) The word hell is the Greek word Gehenna which means hellfire. Jesus is not saying that we should actually maim ourselves to keep from sinning. What He is saying is that it is so important, eternally important, that we turn from our sinful attitudes; that if it were necessary, we should maim ourselves to accomplish this. Thankfully, it is not necessary. Accepting the forgiveness of Jesus and receiving the Holy Spirit to guide us allows us to walk in His ways without taking such drastic measures. The alternative to heeding His warning is spending eternity in Hell. If there is no eternal Hell why is Jesus using such drastic language in order to illustrate how important it is that we don’t end up there?

“28 Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28) How many times did Jesus tell His followers to fear not or do not be afraid? Here He tells them something to fear! Why? Is it because Hell isn’t a real place of punishment or is it because Jesus did not want them to end up there because it is the most horrific place in eternity? One other noteworthy aspect to this saying of Jesus is the fact that there will not be disembodied souls or spirits suffering in Hell. Just as believers in Jesus receive an eternal, glorified body for their souls and spirits, so too will the unsaved have eternal bodies.

“6 Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes! 8 “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.” (Matthew 18:6-9) Jesus declares here that anyone who causes a child to turn from God will regret it for eternity. Again, He states the importance of turning from a life of sin rather than spending eternity in Hell. Notice too that Jesus refers to Hell as everlasting fire. Revelation affirms that Hell is for eternity, “9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” (Revelation 14:9-11)

Jesus clearly teaches that Hell is an eternal punishment for those who reject His atoning sacrifice for their sins, “23 And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” (John 8:23-24)

Rob Bell concludes his video by saying “love wins”. He is right! God’s love is a victory for those who love Him and are truly His children: “12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13) “55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)

There is one other underlying problem with Rob Bell’s assessment of the doctrine of Hell. He, and those who agree with him, maintain that a loving God would never punish a person in Hell for eternity. In doing so they set themselves up as judges and arbiters over God by telling Him what the definition of true divine love is and they say divine love is not a God who would punish people for eternity. They are making God into their image as to what a loving God is like. Thus, when God states in His word that unrepentant sinners who reject the salvation of Jesus Christ will be punished in Hell for eternity, the God of the Bible according to them is unloving. Human beings do not tell God what the truth is but God tells human beings what the truth is. The apostle Paul wrote of such people, “18 Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden. 19 One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist His will?” 20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? 22 What if God, although choosing to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the objects of His wrath prepared for destruction? 23 What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the objects of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory.” (Romans 9:18-23)

I believe Rob Bell is emblematic of the problems facing the modern Church. Many leaders have been influenced by the political correctness and feel-good attitude of our culture. They water down the gospel and the whole word of God in order not to offend anyone and to add to their number of followers. The apostle Paul warned Christians of such leaders, “3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4) I’ve had a website since 2003 located at iesouschristos.com. I had 48 pages and 191 images on that site discussing the Culture War from a biblical perspective. Two days ago I wiped out the entire site and replaced it with one page. God has been directing my heart recently in the area of true salvation and what passes for salvation in our modern times. It is stories like the one about Rob Bell that motivated me to change my website to a straightforward account of true salvation in Jesus Christ. The modern Church is flawed and is misleading people about the complete nature of God and His dealings with His human creations. He is a God of love but He is also a God of righteous judgment. The prophet Ezekiel declares, “11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11) Paul writes, “4 [God] wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” (I Timothy 2:4-5) God knows what awaits those who reject His Son and He declares in His Word that it is going to be horrific. He doesn’t desire that anyone should go to Hell and takes no pleasure in those that do. If the Church doesn’t return to the literal truths of God’s Word and share them in a saving way with the world then I’m afraid in the Day of Judgment… “22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23″And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; Depart from Me you who practice lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:22-23) Let us pray for God’s truth to return to the Church so that the world will be jealous of the peace with God that Christians have and want to become a true child of God and His Son Jesus Christ.

[NOTE: For a fuller discussion of the biblical doctrine of Hell see chapter 13 of my book Even at the Doors: Jesus, Israel, and the End-Times 13 - The Great White Throne and Hell. In this chapter I discuss the fact that humans can only understand the concept of Hell from the finite, human dimension while God speaks of it from an infinite, eternal dimension and therefore we don't understand why God created Hell.]

Tags: Christianity Today, false teaching, Gehenna, Great White Throne Judgment, Hell, Jesus Christ, Revelation 20, Rob Bell, salvation
Posted in Archives 2011, Revelation | No Comments »

Is the prophecy the most important element of God’s Word, The Holy Bible?

Thursday, December 23rd, 2010

(December 23, 2010) If you are a Christian how would you answer the following question: What is the most important element in the Bible? Many, if not most, would say God’s plan of salvation. From a human perspective that indeed is the most critical part of God’s revelation to humanity. God created humans to fellowship with Him and love Him. It was so important to God that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for us so that we could fellowship with Him for eternity instead of being separated from Him forever. Thus, the Gospels and the New Testament are very important in revealing God’s plan of salvation to us. Still, others may say the most critical element of the Bible is the revelation to God’s creation of His nature such as His love, His mercy, His grace, and His compassion. This indeed is important and helps us as humans to understand the purpose of our existence. Some may have other answers to this question. However, I believe the most important element from God’s perspective is prophecy.

Other religions declare that their founders or gods have the answers to life’s existence. How do we know they are not right in their beliefs? A biography of Buddha or Muhammad or other religious leaders can help us to know their nature and attributes just as the Bible does concerning God and His Son Jesus (although as a Christian I believe the Holy Spirit confirms with our spirits the truths about God). Their holy writings may contain some miraculous stories or some truths about human existence just like the Bible. So what separates the Bible from the other religious writings that have arisen throughout human history? How do we know the Bible is true (apart from the spiritual confirmation in our spirits)? God Himself answered this question.

“5 ‘To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal And compare Me, that we should be alike? 6 They lavish gold out of the bag, And weigh silver on the scales; They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it a god; They prostrate themselves, yes, they worship. 7 They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it And set it in its place, and it stands; From its place it shall not move. Though one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer Nor save him out of his trouble. 8 Remember this, and show yourselves men; Recall to mind, O you transgressors. 9 Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure.’” (Isaiah 46:5-10)

God says that He alone is God and there is no other God. He alone declares the end from the beginning. God is stating here that the proof that He is God are the prophecies He revealed declaring what was going to happen in the future. By doing this He is proving that He is God. God’s word is full of thousands of prophecies that have come true and others that will come true. All the prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the coming of the suffering Messiah came true with the first coming of Jesus Christ to earth and thus proving that Jesus is the Anointed One or Messiah. There are all kinds of prophecies in the Bible. Jesus prophesied of His approaching crucifixion, death, and resurrection to His disciples. He also prophesied that Christians will suffer persecution because of Him and will be hated for His name’s sake. Old Testament prophets under the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit spoke of judgments that would come against Israel because of their rebellion against God. A New Testament prophet told the apostle Paul that he would be arrested and bound when he visited Jerusalem for the last time. And of course both the Old and New Testaments prophesy of the End-Times.

Since God declares that He uses prophecy to prove that He is God and that there is no other god means that prophecy is of the utmost importance in proving that the Bible is true and thereby proving that God’s plan of salvation is true and all the other aspects of His nature and His purpose for human existence are true. Therefore, biblical prophecy should be of the utmost importance to Christians and should be studied. You can rely on what God’s Word says is going to happen in the future and the End-Times because He alone is God, “declaring the end from the beginning” .

Tags: biblical prophecy, false gods, fulfilled prophecy, Isaiah 46, Jesus Christ
Posted in Archives 2010, Biblical prophecies | No Comments »

President Obama’s bipartisan Debt Commission: America will go broke under status quo

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

(July 14, 2010) Earlier this year President Obama created a bipartisan Debt Commission to analyze America’s fiscal status and future financial outlook. The co-chairmen of this commission are former Republican senator Alan Simpson from Wyoming and President Clinton’s former chief of staff Erskine Bowles. These two men spoke at the National Governors Association this past Sunday.

A Washington Post article (Obama’s debt commission warns of fiscal ‘cancer’) states,

“Bowles said that unlike the current economic crisis, which was largely unforeseen before it hit in fall 2008, the coming fiscal calamity is staring the country in the face. ‘This one is as clear as a bell,’ he said. ‘This debt is like a cancer.’

The commission leaders said that, at present, federal revenue is fully consumed by three programs: Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. ‘The rest of the federal government, including fighting two wars, homeland security, education, art, culture, you name it, veterans — the whole rest of the discretionary budget is being financed by China and other countries,’ Simpson said.

‘We can’t grow our way out of this,’ Bowles said. ‘We could have decades of double-digit growth and not grow our way out of this enormous debt problem. We can’t tax our way out. . . . The reality is we’ve got to do exactly what you all do every day as governors. We’ve got to cut spending or increase revenues or do some combination of that.’”

In February of this year Richard Fisher, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, spoke before the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth (Roadblocks to Recovery). In that speech he said,

“Pundits and analysts like to focus on the year in which Social Security will go permanently into the red on an annual cash flow basis—which recently was projected to occur in 2019 but could occur as early as 2016. But they largely ignore the severity of the broader problem: accumulated entitlement debt over the infinite horizon. According to our calculations at the Dallas Fed, that unfunded debt of Social Security and Medicare combined has now reached $104 trillion—trillion with a ‘T’—in discounted present value. And while much attention in recent years has been devoted to Social Security, the lion’s share of the total entitlement shortfall (nearly $90 trillion) actually comes from Medicare. This is a prodigious number. Others—like Pete Peterson’s foundation, which uses a different time horizon in its methodology—calculate the unfunded liability at north of $40 trillion, growing by a sum of $2 trillion to $3 trillion per year. No matter. The problem is frightful, whether you take his numbers or ours.”

The picture these governmental and financial experts paint for America’s future seems to be one of apocalyptic economic devastation. What is the prophetic significance of such an outcome? In September of 2007 I wrote an article titled “The Decline and Fall of America“. In that article (before the 2008 meltdown of America’s economy) I wrote,

“If you read the article “The Coming Invasion of Israel” on this web site, you know that Bible prophecy reveals that a conglomeration of countries will invade Israel in the future. In the last sixty years no non-Arabic nation has dared attack it. There is one very simple reason for this. Any country outside the Middle East knows that America would defend Israel militarily if they initiated a war with them. During the 1967 Six Day War, Russia saw that Israel was decimating its Arab allies. They considered intervening in the conflict but knew that America would have to respond. Thus, a major conflict between the superpowers was averted. Such is the case to this day. However, because of the prophecy God gave to Ezekiel, I believe that America has to lose its superpower status. With a weakened America the invasion of Israel can take place.

Is this another Christian fanatic declaring the sky is falling? Not if you listen to what the U.S. Comptroller General (who heads the United States Government Accounting Office) stated recently in an interview. He is very pessimistic about America’s future as these excerpts from the Financial Times article will reveal:

David Walker, comptroller general of the US, issued the unusually downbeat assessment of his country’s future in a report that lays out what he called “chilling long-term simulations”. Drawing parallels with the end of the Roman empire, Mr Walker warned there were “striking similarities” between America’s current situation and the factors that brought down Rome, including “declining moral values and political civility at home, an over-confident and over-extended military in foreign lands and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government”.

Inspector General Walker lays out a pretty dismal scenario for America’s future. I agree with him. In the 1960s, Ruth Graham, wife of Billy Graham, read a chapter out of her husband’s new book. After handing the book back to him she said, “Billy, if God doesn’t come soon and bring judgment upon the United States, He’s going to have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah!” We as a nation continue to live our lives as if God doesn’t exist. Our political leaders’ only goal is to maintain their power at whatever the cost to America’s security. The Judicial system releases child predators, rapists, murderers on a frequent basis. A segment of America wants to ignore the laws of America by allowing anyone to violate the Immigration Laws of the United States. There is a mindset in our culture that declares the criminal is the victim, a victim of bad upbringing or bad circumstances. Pornography, homosexuality, adultery are prevalent throughout our entertainment and in our lifestyles. The legalization of abortion has resulted in the deaths of nearly 50 million unborn babies. The difference now is that society accepts these behaviors as alternative lifestyles. Liberal Churches deny the miracles of the Bible. They deny the Bible’s authority to guide human beings. The lists of America’s ills goes on and on. The rest of the world is no better. Although God’s judgment is coming upon the world, I believe He will start with America…

The downfall of America may come as a result of a financial collapse. It could come from a military defeat. The War on Terror is not going to go away. Just ask the Israelis after six decades of fighting it. The moral climate which declares there is no right or wrong will also play a part. Whatever it takes for the rest of the world to see that America is weak will happen. Once this occurs, the other powers in the world will have a free hand to wreak havoc wherever they please. This will lead to the invasion of Israel and the End-Times.” [end of my 2007 article]

Another factor in the downfall of America could be political in nature. Even if we are economically or militarily capable of continuing our protection of Israel we may be politically unwilling to support it. President Obama’s administration, unlike all the previous administrations since 1947, seems to be turning away from Israel in favor of the Arab nations of the Middle East (see my blog article from March 18th of this year The Decline and Fall of America Redux and Ezekiel 38-39.

I personally do not want to see America decline in any fashion. However, if it is God’s will for this to happen then I want to keep my eyes on Him and be in His will for my life.

Tags: decline of America, economy, Invasion of Israel
Posted in America, Archives 2010, Biblical prophecies, Economic watch | No Comments »

“Bible translators hope to have every language covered in 15 years”: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” – Matthew 24:14

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

(June 25, 2010) The Denver Post ran a story about Bible translation: “Bible translators hope to have every language covered in 15 years”. The article reports:

“A Christian endeavor of almost 2,000 years could be substantially completed by 2025. Protestant translators expect to have the Bible — or at least some of it — written in every one of the world’s 6,909 spoken languages. ‘We’re in the greatest period of acceleration in 20 centuries of Bible translation,’ said Morrison resident Paul Edwards, who heads up Wycliffe Bible Translators’ $1 billion Last Languages Campaign. Portable computers and satellites get the credit for speeding things up by about 125 years.”

Many dedicated men and women have served Jesus Christ over the last two thousand years. Bible translators have performed some of the most important roles in furthering the Kingdom of God since the incarnation of Jesus. In the performance of their calling as translators they have possibly played a role in helping to fulfill a prophecy that Jesus spoke to His disciples on the Mt. of Olives during His Passion week:

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14)

This is the only saying of Jesus that indicates the timing of the End-Times (in other sayings Jesus did describe what the End-Times would be like but not the timing except to say that no one knows the day or hour of His return). Notice that Jesus said the “gospel of the kingdom” will be preached in all the world and then the end will come. He did not say the Bible or Word of God would be in all the world but that the gospel would be preached to every nation before His second coming.

Many sources say there are as many as 195 countries in the world today (worldatlas.com). However, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook lists 237 countries. Of these, thirteen countries have no registered percentage of Christians among their population.

Afghanistan
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Cambodia
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Libya
Maldives
Mauritania
Nepal
Oman
Saudi Arabia
Somalia
Western Sahara (source: The CIA World Factbook)

I find it unlikely that there are no indigenous Christians in these thirteen countries. Even if there are no Christians in them it is likely the gospel has reached all the nations of the world through the Internet or by other means of media access. If so, does this mean we are close to seeing the fulfillment of this prophecy of Jesus? It is possible Jesus meant that when His followers did indeed preach the Gospel in every nation then He would return. However, I believe the Bible indicates this prophecy will be fulfilled in a supernatural way.

In the Book of Revelation God’s servant John witnessed a global event:

“6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” (Revelation 14:6-7)

Jesus said the Gospel would be preached “unto all nations” and the angel in Revelation preaches the Gospel to “every nation”. Thus, I believe this is the event which will fulfill this prophecy of Jesus. After that, the final seven bowl judgments occur culminating in the battle of Armageddon and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

From a prophetic perspective, I believe the most important sign Christians should have looked for was the rebirth of the nation of Israel. Several prophecies in both the Old Testament and New Testament involve the return of the Jews to the land of Israel and the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Israel became a nation in 1948 and gained control of Jerusalem in 1967. Therefore, all other End-Times prophecies should be interpreted in light of this prophetic event. But until the Lord’s return, Christians are to continue spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ and continue ministering to those with spiritual and physical needs.

Posted in Biblical prophecies | 3 Comments »

As it was in the days of Noah and Lot…

Sunday, June 20th, 2010

(June 20, 2010) “22 And He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 “They will say to you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go away, and do not run after them. 24 “For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day. 25 “But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 “And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 “It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; 29 but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 “It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.” (Luke 17:22-30)

Jesus declared that the days leading up to His coming will be like it was in the days of Noah and Lot. It seems He was telling the disciples they would not see His coming but that when it does happen it will come unexpectedly. The apostle Paul echoes this statement in his letter to the Christians at Thessaloniki, “2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” (I Thessalonians 5:2-3)

However, this does not seem to harmonize with what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 24:

“33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away. 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” (Matthew 24:33-39)

“All these things” in verse 33 of this passage refers to the previous verses of chapter 24 where Jesus had just finished giving His disciples signs to look for leading up to His return. If Jesus told His followers there would be signs leading up to His second coming how then would it be unexpected? I believe the answer to this apparent discrepancy lies in the distinction the Bible makes between believers and unbelievers. In the same passage in Thessalonians mentioned above Paul delineates this difference:

“1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. 11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.” (I Thessalonians 5:1-11)

It comes down to a matter of belief versus unbelief. Paul wrote, “3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” (Romans 4:3) The disciple John also contrasts those who believe in Jesus with those who don’t, “1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth Him that begat loveth Him also that is begotten of Him…5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?…10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son. 11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (I John 5:1,5,10-13) Those who believe are “children of the light” and will look for the signs that Jesus’ return is approaching. Those who don’t believe will reject the truth of God’s prophetic word and scoff at it, “3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” (II Peter 3:3-7) Peter says that some unbelievers are willingly ignorant of the truth of God’s word. It seems that other unbelievers will be blinded to the prophetic signs of the end:

“1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (II Thessalonians 2:1-12)

Therefore, the coming of Jesus and the judgments of God will come unexpectedly to the world as it did in Noah and Lot’s day because the world will be blinded since they rejected the truth of God’s word. The apostle Peter alluded to this when he wrote, “5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an exsample unto those that after should live ungodly; 7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) 9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.” ( II Peter 2:5-9) It seems that Noah preached the coming judgment of God but the world didn’t believe him.

Jesus’ mention of Noah and Lot in conjunction with the End-Times begs the question “Why did God judge the world in Noah’s case and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in Lot’s case?” The Bible answers both of these questions. The flood judgment came because:

“5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the LORD that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. 7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth Me that I have made them.” (Genesis 6:5-7)

The judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah occurred because:

“20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto Me; and if not, I will know…1 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; 2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. 3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat. 4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: 5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.” (Genesis 18:20-21,19:1-5)

“49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before Me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.” (Ezekiel 16:49-50)

“7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” (Jude vs.7)

In the case of the flood, God judged the world because it was filled with wickedness and was obsessed with committing evil continually. God judged Sodom and Gomorrah because of pride, gluttony, laziness, oppression of the poor, and the abominable sin of homosexuality.

The prophet Jeremiah declared, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) Humans have always sinned against the Lord throughout history. Why didn’t God judge every generation of humanity that has ever existed? The Bible makes it clear that God is longsuffering and merciful to His creation. However, when He determines that a situation’s cup of sin is full then He brings down His wrath. Before the flood wickedness in the earth was “great”. Sodom’s sin was “very grievous” to God. He told Abraham that his descendants would not inhabit the land of Canaan/Israel right away because “the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” (Genesis 15:16). Therefore His final judgment of the world will not occur until the world’s cup of wickedness is full. The question is how close are we to reaching the breaking point?

The world’s pride, like Sodom’s, is evident by its rejection of the truth of God’s word. Unrepentant sexual sin in general and homosexual sin in particular is rampant around the earth. Globalization is leading humanity away from reliance on God and more reliance on the world to govern itself. Killing of the unborn and oppression of the poor is widespread. And the world is beginning to curse the nation of Israel. In a prophetic reference concerning Israel (i.e. Abraham’s descendants) God made a promise, “3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee.” (Genesis 12:3) As I stated above, it would seem that God could have judged the world at any point in its history but its cup of wickedness never crossed God’s judgment threshold. However, it may be that we are either approaching or living in the “Days of Noah and Lot.” Only our Father in heaven knows.

Jesus gave another indication as to the timing of God, “14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matthew 24:14) With modern technology and globalization the preaching of the Gospel has been widespread throughout the earth. How many more people need to hear the Gospel before this prophecy is fulfilled? Only our Father in heaven knows.

Tags: 1 Thessalonians 5, 2 Thessalonians, Genesis, God's judgment, II Peter, Jesus Christ, Lot, Luke 17, Matthew 24, Noah, Second Coming, sodom and gomorrah, The Flood
Posted in Archives 2010, Biblical prophecies | No Comments »

Joyful Firstfruits, Resurrection, and Easter Sunday: “Occupy till I come”

Sunday, April 4th, 2010

(Firstfruits, Resurrection, Easter Sunday – April 4, 2010) Nearly two thousand years ago God sent His Son Jesus Christ to the world to save mankind from its sins. In doing so God fulfilled many of the prophecies He had given to His people, the Jewish nation of Israel. Not only did Jesus fulfill more than a hundred prophecies concerning the suffering Messiah but He also embodied the Law of God which included the command to observe seven Feast or Holy Days. Jesus fulfilled the first four spring/summer Feasts with His first coming. He will fulfill the rest of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the victorious Messiah and the last three autumn feasts with His second coming.

During Jesus’ ministry on earth He showed His followers how they should live their lives until He comes again. He told a parable that illustrates this principle:

“10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. 11 And as they heard these things, He added and spake a parable, because He was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. 12 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. 13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. 14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. 15 And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.” (Luke 19:10-15)

In this parable Jesus is the nobleman, the citizens are the world, the servants are His followers (Christians), and the money represents the gifts and talents that He gave to those who believe in Him. Jesus was stating that He was going to go away but return one day. He was telling His followers that while He was away they were to Occupy or be about God’s business until He returned. I wrote an article about this issue called “Occupy till I come”. In that article I wrote, “For the last two-thousand years Christians have been occupied with spreading the gospel and helping those in need. Until Jesus does return, we still need to be occupied with the work of the Lord. As times get tougher we need to reach out to those who are hurting both spiritually and financially. At no time during Jesus’ ministry did He ever tell His followers to rely on the governments to meet their needs. When His disciples berated a woman for anointing Him with expensive oil He told them to leave her alone because “Ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.” (Mark 14:7) Christians are to help and feed and clothe and shelter the poor. Jesus said His followers were to pray for and heal the sick. And He commanded us to lead people to eternal salvation through His sacrificial death and resurrection.”

Currently there are thousands of charitable Christian ministries attempting to meet the needs of a hurting world. Every Easter Sunday for the last twenty years or so our church has taken an offering and given the entire amount to a Christ-centered ministry to help those whose Easter may not be so joyful. Sometimes its a local inner city ministry or Christian mission that helps those who have dire spiritual and physical needs. We also offer free medical clinics to those who cannot afford to get the help they need. There are many other churches around the nation and world who are “occupying” in like manner. This year our church has chosen the Free Wheelchair Mission that provides wheelchairs to developing countries. They believe there are 100 million persons in the world who have to crawl along the ground if they are able to or have to spend 365 days a year inside a hut or hovel or shack without the means to get out. As with all human suffering the stories are tragic. Below is a video from this ministry:

These wheelchairs were designed by an MIT graduate to be inexpensive and easily repairable in developing countries. They use mountain-bike tires to which most nations have access and plastic deck chairs that should last seven to ten years. They cost $59.20 per chair. So far this ministry has bestowed 500,000 of these wheelchairs on people around the world. A visiting minister to our church shared some stories about the impact this ministry has had on those who are in need of wheelchairs. A family used to take their daughter who couldn’t walk and set her on a garbage dump in order to scavenge for food or anything of value. Free Wheelchair Mission provided her with a chair. When they visited her a couple of years later she got up out of her wheelchair and started to walk. She had strengthened her legs by getting into and out of the chair and was able to walk by grabbing onto the back of the chair. Another story concerned a person who was unable to get out of their hovel for most of the year. With the wheelchair their family no longer had to carry them to move them about. To see a human being crawling along the ground to survive is heart-wrenching. I believe that one way Christians can occupy while waiting for the Lord Jesus to return is to give “legs” to people so they are able to get out and see other people and experience the beautiful side of God’s creation. When they asked the recipients of these wheelchairs what was the best part of being mobile most responded that it was great to feel the sunshine on their face. We live in a sinful and fallen world and Jesus said the poor we will have with us always and that we could help them whenever we wanted. I would encourage you to give the gift of the great outdoors and God’s creation to someone who is unable to experience it because they are physically impaired. May God bless you in this endeavor and may you hear that most coveted saying from the Lord Jesus Christ, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” (Matthew ch. 25)

Visit Free Wheelchair Mission web site

Tags: charity, Jesus Christ, Matthew 25, ministry, poor, Second Coming
Posted in Archives 2010, Biblical prophecies | No Comments »

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