A Solemn Promise & An Awesome Responsibility
Pastor Max Solbrekken

"Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.  And these signs shall follow them that believe..." (Mark 16:15-18)

"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." (Matt. 24:14)

Jesus spoke about two different sets of SIGNS which would impact the world, beginning with the birth of the Church and culminating in a display of power and authority just prior to His return!

#1 - SIGNS - WONDERS & MIRACLES PERFORMED BY THE CHURCH UNTIL HE RETURNS

"And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay their hands upon the sick and they shall recover. (Mark 16: 17-18)

Here is what some great 'Men of God' have declared about the permanent character of His word:

MARTIN LUTHER, the great reformer said: "How often has it happened, and still does, that devils have been driven out in the name of Christ; also, by calling on Hi name and prayer, that the sick have been healed."

JOHN WESLEY, founder of the Methodist Church stated: "I believe that God can open the eyes of the blind, cause the lame to walk, and the deaf to hear, if a man will have faith in God, and pray according to the faith that God has given them.  God will do the things He said He would because He is a never-changing God."

A.B. SIMPSON, founder of the Christian & Missionary Alliance declared, "If ever there was an age when the world needed the witness of God's supernatural working , it is this day of unbelief and Satan's power.  Therefore, we may expect, as the end approaches, that the Holy Ghost will work in the healing of sickness, in the casting out of demons, in remarkable answers to prayer, in special and wonderful providences, and in such forms as may please His sovereign will to an unbelieving world."

#2 - SIGNS IN THE PHYSICAL WORLD, HERALDING CHRIST'S RETURN

"... Tell us when shall these things be?  And what shall be the SIGN of thy coming, and of the end of the world (age)?  For many shall come in My name, saying I am Christ, and shall deceive many.  And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars... famines and pestilences, and earthquakes... and ye shall be hated of all nations for My name's sake.  And many shall be offended and shall betray one another...many false prophets shall rise, and deceive many.  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax sold.  But he that shall endure unto the end, shall be saved....

"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in al the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come." (Matt. 24:14)

ALL THE SIGNS ARE CONVERGING AT THIS PRESENT TIME!

No. 1 - The first set of signs are the powerful healings, wonders and miracles promised by Jesus - and prophesied by Dr. A.B. Simpson - being manifested in a more spectacular way than ever before in the world's history!

DR. THOMAS WYATT was the first preacher to declare fully God's miracle power in signs, wonders and divine healing over an American Radio Network in the late 1940's and 1950's.  Then ORAL ROBERTS burst onto the scene with his international radio and television ministry, preaching the Gospel of 'deliverance' with signs following.  A.A. Allen radically changed the status quo by showing God's miracle of divine healing as they happened in the 'Big Top', over the T.V. networks!

It was through Oral Roberts' Radio Ministry that my father, Ingvar Solbrekken  was perfectly healed and filled with the blessed Holy Spirit in 1956.  Through his marvelous experience with the Lord, I became totally convinced of the reality of God's power and by His grace I received His mercy and salvation "with the Holy Ghost and fire" in 1957!

By His grace, I also received a DIVINE CALL as He poured upon me His anointing, granting me the use of HIS powerful Spiritual Gifts of Faith, Miracles and Healings - unworthy as I was and am - and in 1963 He trust me into His Holy Ministry!

Through our radio ministry which began in 1961 and television (1972), we have had the privilege of reaching multitudes for Jesus Christ with the Full Gospel!  And since 1965, we have carried the Name of Jesus Christ to the heathen in large crusades in many areas of the world, for GOD'S GLORY and the salvation of the heathen!

The tremendous growth of Christian Television Ministries like Paul Kroch's Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) and others are spreading the message of the RESURRECTED CHRIST with miracles, signs and wonders to multitudes.!

THE OUTSTANDING MIRACLES OF GOD WHICH ARE TAKING PLACE IN BENNY BINN'S CRUSADES ARE SHOWN DAILY TO THE MASSES VIA TELEVISION

And in our great overseas crusades (beginning in 1965) we have seen the mighty SIGNS and WONDERS of God's Holy Spirit in operation bringing staggering deliverances to many people!  For many years, there were only a very few of us who actively conducted major crusades among the heathen, namely T.L. Osborn, M.A. Daoud, Morris Cerullo, Tony Abram from the U.S.A. , Don Gossett and myself from Canada!

And then, like a mighty wind, REINHARD BONNKE - a German missionary to Africa - broke onto the scene and has shaken nation after nation with the power of the Holy Spirit, in his crusade to "plunder hell and populate heaven!"

Millions have been swept into the Kingdom through his ministry and others who have been raised up like Peter Pretorius, Roy Durham, Peter Youngren and others whom I have never met!

LEN LINDSTROM - whom we had the privilege of training in our Bible College in 1978 - has traversed the world almost non-stop for the past 2 decades and has witnessed some of the most outstanding miracles ever recorded, for the glory of God!

One of the most notable is CARLOS ANNACONDIA from Argentina, who has won more than 2 million souls to Christ across that nation in the past 12 years or so!

His ministry is based on the Bible and stands foursquare against Satan & his demon powers of spiritism, occultism and New Age deception! And God performs staggering miracles through his ministry which is stirring Argentina!  Hallelujah!

Great Full Gospel, Pentecostal Churches with memberships in the thousands and tens of thousands, have sprung up all over the globe, proclaiming a Risen Savior Who is moving in His Church through the demonstration of the Holy Spirit!  Dr. Paul Yongee Cho's Full Gospel Church in Seoul, Korea with a membership of well over 500,000 members is a powerful witness of this great truth!

HERE ARE SEVERAL MORE TESTIMONIALS:

* When things got dangerous for preachers in Argentina in the 1970's, some leading non-Pentecostal evangelists left the country.  Finally, OMAR CABRERA was asked by the Government to leave for his own safety.  When Omar and I met in 1977 through Demos Shakarian's son Richard, we made plans for him to arrange a large meeting for me in Paraguay.  It didn't work out and I strongly suggested, over Omar's objections, that we hold the meeting in Argentina.

After some persuading on my part he agreed, and we had our first crusade in CORDOBA in May, 1978 and against all odds shook the city, as staggering miracles of healing happened and 48,000 people attended the final service!  He returned there 2 weeks later and drew a crowd of 17,000 people.   Within a short while, he had a congregation of 9,000 and later established hundreds of congregations across the nation!

The rest is history, as others were called by God to declare the Full Gospel there, among them a young businessman, CARLOS ANNACONDIA, who has reached millions for Christ! Hallelujah!

BALCOMBE OF HONG KONG

Another witness is the outstanding ministry of Dennis Balcombe  of Hong Kong, who has labored so long and hard together with his wife Kathy, at the REVIVAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH there.  When the long awaited takeover of Hong Kong by China (July 1, 1997) drew near, many non-Pentecostal evangelicals packed their bags and left, predicting death, doom and gloom for the people and Church there!

What has happened, is exactly opposite to what those preachers prophesied.  Here is what Rev. Balcombe has to say about the situation: "Hong Kong is as free under British rule.  Without doubt it is still one of the freest territories in the world...."

He states that their ministry has literally exploded in the past several years.  God supernaturally provided them with a Ministry Office Building - as well as a beautiful Church - former theatre seating 600 people - which is about 3 times as large as their former building.  God has given them precious souls as their ministry reaches deep into China and other countries!

The theatre which they purchased had been repossessed.  It was owned by a very rich man.  Dennis felt led of God to write him a personal letter, in which he stated in essence, "Sir, you have caused so much wickedness to come to Hong Kong by showing many filthy, violent and evil movies in your theatre.  Now, you have the opportunity to do something good by letting us purchase your building at a very low (well below market) price.  We will preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and God's righteousness to the people of Hong Kong!"

To everyone's amazement, except the preacher, the rich tycoon answered his letter and accepted the offer!

No. 2 - The second set of SIGNS Jesus instructed us to watch for - relative to His return - encompasses the physical world, society at large and the spiritual condition of the Church!

Jesus listed the many SIGNS which would point to His imminent return.  He specifically spoke of false teachers, wars, rumors of wars (world wars & tribal conflicts), famines, pestilences, earthquakes, persecution of believers, betrayal, treachery, backsliding, deception, false prophets, increase of evil, sinfulness and spiritual coldness in the Church!

THE LAST SIGN WHICH MUST BE FULFILLED IS PREACHING THE GOSPEL TO ALL NATIONS, AS A WITNESS OF HIS RESURRECTION!

Jesus said, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached as a witness unto all nations; And then shall the end come." (Matt. 24:14)

He cannot return until all the world has heard the GOOD NEWS that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only Savior of the world!

The good news is that there is hope for the hopeless, peace for the troubled, joy for the sorrowing, forgiveness for the sinful, healing for the sick, deliverance for the oppressed and spiritual power for the weak!  There is eternal life for all who call upon the name of the Lord in repentance, sincerity and faith!

That is why we must declare God's Word without fear, favor or partiality.  Sinners must hear the gospel and see it confirmed with signs following, as Jesus promised.

The Bible states: "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth, with the Holy Ghost and power who went about doing good and healing all those who were oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him." (Acts 10:38)  The literal translation of that text reads: ".....healing all those under the power, domination and lordship of Satan."

Jesus Christ stated, "And when He (Holy Spirit) is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment; Of sin, because they believe not on Me; Of righteousness, because I go to My Father, and ye shall see Me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged."

WHAT DID JESUS MEAN?  The amplified Bible makes it very clear that The Blessed Holy Spirit would do three things, namely:

1)  REPROVE THE WORLD OF THE AWFUL SIN OF UNBELIEF, because they refused to believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God!

The Bible states: "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ?  He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.  Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also."

"Hereby know ye the Spirit of God:  Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that (spirit) of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." (1 John 2:22-23; 4:2-3)

The Bible is very clear that anyone who refuses to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only Savior of the world, is calling God the Father, A LIAR!

"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.  And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  He that hath the Son hath life; (and) he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."   (1 John 5:10-12)

2)  DECLARE JESUS CHRIST AS THE HOLY, RIGHTEOUS SON OF GOD AND SAVIOR OF FALLEN MAN.  And that only through the righteousness of the spotless Lamb of God can we become righteous, for He "....is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption." (I Cor. 1:30)

3)  TO DEMONSTRATE CHRIST'S VICTORY OVER SATAN!  When Jesus died upon the cross, shedding His precious blood, he had already paid for all  our sins.  The Bible says that "JESUS DIED FOR OUR SINS and rose again for our justification." (Romans 4:25)

"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through DEATH he might DESTROY him that had the power of death, that is, the DEVIL; And DELIVER them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." (Heb. 2:14-15)

In my opinion, two of the greatest END-TIME-SIGNS that the Bible foretold are:    

1)  THE LAST-DAYS OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT & WORLD-WIDE REVIVAL

"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy...And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit."  (Joel 2:28-29)

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out My Spirit; and they shall prophesy." (Acts 2:18)

"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you." (Acts 3:19-20)

Never before in the world's history have so many people at one time been recipients of the 'Baptism of the Holy Ghost'.  Literally, hundreds of millions from every nation, race, religion and economic sector are now saved and filled with the Holy Ghost and fire!

Earlier, I mentioned the great revival in SOUTH KOREA,  previously a Buddhist stronghold, where the Church is growing more rapidly than the population!  It has been reported that 6,000 people receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior each day in the EAST BLOCK, 25,000 receive Jesus Christ daily in CHINA, 120, 000 are born-again every day in AFRICA.  And according to Newsweek, 1986, 400 people receive Christ and are baptized as evangelical Christians every hour across LATIN AMERICA.  Hallelujah!

II)  THE SATANICALLY ORCHESTRATED, MASSIVE PERSECUTION OF BELIEVERS WORLD-WIDE

Never before in the world's history have we witnessed such an unparalleled and unrelenting attack upon believers in Christ as today!  The torture, deprivation of food, raping, brainwashing, 'convert or die philosophy' and genocide continues against Christians in countries dominated by fanatical MUSLIM states today!

Atrocities committed in Idi Amin's former Uganda and today's Sudan, Iran, Morocco and Saudia Arabia makes the persecution of 'early Christians' by Nero and pagan Rome seem 'insignificant', due to the huge numbers that have been victimized, raped, slaved and slaughtered recently in some of those countries, because of their faith in Jesus Christ!

The imprisonment, brutalizing & killing of Christians by the Soviet, Chinese and North Korean Communists for many decades - still happening TODAY - is far greater is scope and magnitude than the diabolical massacres of Protestant believers during 500 years of Papal rule across Europe, known as the 'DARK AGES'!

According to Anglican clergyman and statistician, Dr. David Barrett,  for the past 2 decades, during which he has been tracking this phenomenon, an average of 330,000 Christians have been put to death for their faith in Jesus Christ annually.  ISN'T THAT SHOCKING!

And recently, 2 new books have been published that are awakening a hitherto 'sleeping world' and Church, namely: "Their Blood Cries Out' by Paul Marshall and 'In the Lion's Den' by Nina Shea.

The man who blew the whistle about Christians being severely persecuted is the well-known Jewish barrister, Micheal Horowitz, who believes that as Jews were targeted for extermination in Europe at the beginning of the last century, EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS ARE PRESENTLY TARGETED!

He states that he cannot understand how Evangelical Christians, who did so much to free his Jewish people from Soviet communism have no compassion for their fellow Christians who are being persecuted NOW - across the world!

I quote from 'Here Christians Die for Their Faith' by Ralph Kinney Bennett, Readers Digest, April, 1998 (pages 127-132):  "They are but drips of water in a vast sea of victims - men, women and children who have been tortured, imprisoned and executed.  Their crime?  They are Christians."

"Never before have so many Christians been persecuted for their beliefs.  An estimated 200 - 250 million Christians are at risk in countries where such incidents occur!"

"This is not about discrimination and economic pressure - which are widespread" - says Paul Marshall, a senior fellow at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto, "but rather persecution and violence: burning of churches, schools, homes and workplaces; beatings, rape, slavery, and murder; imprisonment, execution and massacre."

"In China, thousands have been sentenced to "reeducation camps" for attending prayer meetings or Bible lessons.  Catholic Bishop Su Zhimin, 65, who had already spent over 15 years in prison for his priestly activities, was re-arrested in the spring of 1996 by authorities intent on preventing a pilgrimage, which he helped to organize....He then went into hiding for 17 months...was re-arrested last October..."

"The British newspaper 'The Observer' reported that in Cairo, a teenage Coptic Christian girl was kidnapped by extremists who forced her to fast, pray and memorize parts of the Koran.  During her nine month captivity, she was raped repeatedly. Her captives poured sulfuric acid on his wrist to obliterate a tattoo of the cross and threatened to pour it on her face if she removed the Islamic veil they forced her to wear.  Terrorized, she signed papers of conversion to Islam.  Finally, she managed to escape and was sheltered by a group called 'Servants of the Cross.'

MUSLIM MILITANTS.  In some Islamic countries, such as Jordan, officials are tolerant of other religions, but, in others, Islam's Shari'a laws, derived from the Koran and sometimes part of the legal code, 'are used to invoke intimidation, repression and outright persecution against Christians', Marshall says.  No nation illustrates this more brutally than the Sudan.

"Since 1989 the Sudanese government has been engaged in a wholesale war against Christians, who constitute roughly one fifth of the population.  Marshall reports that "the goal of the ruling National Islamic Front led by Hussan Al-Turabi - who some consider the country's de facto leader - is to eradicate non-Islamic religion."

"In the North, AL-Turabi's forces control the necessities of life."  "Non-Muslims are given the choice of converting to Islam or being denied food, clothing and shelter', Marshall says.  "Thousands of women and children have been sold into slavery to Muslim masters who force them to convert to Islam!"

Sudan's Nuba Mountains, where Christians have lived since the 6th century, are now a wasteland of graves, destroyed villages and camps filled with starving women and children. Half a million Nuba Christians, virtually all men, have been killed in the last decade.  "The word genocide is thrown around too frequently," says Marshall.  "In the case of Sudan, it is a factual description."

Saudi Arabia, a Western ally, is another country where, Shea says, "FREEDOM OF RELIGION SIMPLY DOES NOT EXIST."  All citizens must be Muslims, Expressions of Christianity - wearing a cross, reading a Bible or uttering a non-Muslim prayer - are prohibited.

"The Mutawwa'in", the Saudi Religious Police, search out hidden religious services among the millions of Filipinos, Koreans, Indians and other foreign workers.  In December, 1992, two Filipino Christians, allegedly arrested for preaching Christianity, were sentenced to death on Christmas day.  After an international outcry, the sentence was commuted to deportation."

MY ADVICE TO EVERYONE!

My advice to everyone is to contact a bookstore and purchase Paul Marshall's book, "Their Blood Cries Out' or Nina Shea's book, 'In the Lion's Den' or write to Reader's Digest for a reprint of 'Here Christians Suffer for their Faith' April, 1998 issue to get a better understanding of this very critical situation!

Also, the late Norman Vincent Peale's magazine 'Guideposts' carried a powerful article in their magazine last year on this subject!

Jesus Christ warned of persecution for His followers, stating: "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nation's for My name's sake." (Matt. 24:9)

Hatred of Jesus Christ and His followers has been going on for the past 20 centuries and will increase even more as we "see the day of His Coming approaching."  When the Antichrist sets up his kingdom, he will persecute both Christians and Jews!

WHY IS THIS?  His hatred will be against Christians because he hates Jesus Christ, and against the Jews because that nation gave us the Messiah, God's Son Who is the only Savior of the world!  His intense hatred is because of the awful sin of pride and rebellion within his heart against God and His Son Jesus Christ!

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE WORLD'S HISTORY, WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY TO REACH EVERY NATION WITH THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST!

According to experts in the field of communications, we now have the technology to reach every nation of the world with the GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST through the technology of satellite radio.  For years, dictators of the right and left, and fervent nationalists and fundamentalists, demanded their countrymen listen to their heated, biased and hateful diatribes over the radio!

Now we can reach across borders via short, medium and long wave radio programs as well as beaming the message of Jesus Christ right into their homes via satellite.  Another great medium to help us get the Gospel out to the masses is THE WORLD-WIDE WEB!

We know that the prophecy of Jesus Christ is near fulfillment, and that we have an awesome responsibility to preach the Gospel to as many people as possible before it is too late!

I was singularly blessed when I discovered that our good friend, Dr. Nicholas Krushnitzky and his workers in Taiwan have - during the last 24 years - put a gospel tract in the hands of 22 million people, reaching every home and the entire population of that nation with the HOPE OF SALVATION.

And Reinhard Bonnke is seeking to do the same for the entire world's population with his book, "FROM MINUS TO PLUS" before Jesus comes again! Oh hallelujah!

Jesus said, "Behold I come quickly to give to every man as his work shall be" (Rev. 22:12).

The Norwegian Bible says, "Se, Jeg kommer snart", meaning, "Behold, I am coming SOON."  There are two other translations which are even more correct, namely: "Behold I am coming without delay" and "Behold, I am coming at once."

Early Church believers were positive that Jesus Christ would return in their lifetimes.  When He didn't, they questioned, "Why not?"  St. Peter stated that there were two reasons, namely: 1) One thousand years with us is like one day with Him and  2) God isn't willing that any should perish, so He is waiting to give more people an opportunity to get saved." (2 Peter 3:8-9)  Hallelujah!

THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CHURCH ARE BOTH SIGNALING FOR JESUS CHRIST TO RETURN

The Bible says, "The Spirit and the bride say, Come.  And let him that heareth say, Come.  And let him that is antichrist come.  And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.  He that testifieth these things said, Surely I come quickly (without delay, at once, soon).  Amen.  Even so, come, Lord Jesus." (Rev. 22:17, 20)

The Holy Spirit is longing for Jesus Christ to return so that He can take His rightful place as the King of Planet Earth.  And the Church is longing for Jesus Christ to return!  That is why the Bible say, "The Spirit (Holy Spirit) and the Bride (Church) say, Come!"

Then, we see the invitation for sinners to come to Christ.  "And let him that is antichrist come."

Sinner friend, please use this opportunity to turn to God NOW, receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.  And Christian friend, it is high time that we put on the whole armor of God and march forward in the name of Christ to spread His gospel and set people free from the powers of darkness!  WE HAVE NO TIME TO WASTE!

The Solemn Prophecy of Jesus Christ is about to be fulfilled and the Awesome Responsibility we have to articulate, communicate, dispense and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is a golden opportunity which rests squarely upon our shoulders.  Let us collectively lift that burden and spread the GOOD NEWS that Jesus Christ the Savior of the world, desires to come into their lives as He has ours!

Then, one day we will all rejoice together as we see the reward of our labors and lay our crowns down at our Master's feet!  But, you may ask, "How can we do it?  What must we do?"

By prayer, fasting, giving sacrificial tithes and offerings to the work of God.  And by aggressively, communicating the Word of God to our neighbors on an everyday basis; through honesty, agape love, and acts of kindness and compassion!

Brothers and sisters in Christ, may we all be found working and not "wanting" when Jesus comes again!

Please write us today with your affirmation of this truth!