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WHAT
IS THE RAPTURE?
Signs
of the soon return
of Jesus Christ in the Second
Coming
by: Pastor Max Solbrekken
What
does the Bible say about the
Rapture - which
is the Second Coming of
Christ?
"I
will go and return to My
place, til they acknowledge
their offence, and seek My
face; in their affliction they
will seek Me early.
"Come,
and let us return unto the
Lord: for He hath torn, and He
will bind us up. After two
days will He revive us: in the
third day He will raise us up,
and we shall live in His
sight." (Hosea 5:15; 6:1-2).
This
is one of the most significant
scriptures in the entire Bible
dealing with the 'Second
Coming' rapture of Jesus
Christ!
Thousands
of years ago, the Old
Testament prophet pin-pointed
the sins of the Jewish nation
in: No. 1- breaking the
Mosaic Covenant and No. 2 - the rejection of their
Messiah, as well as their
terrible suffering and return
to God in repentance and faith
in the last days!
For
nearly two thousand years, the
Church of Jesus Christ has
lived in the hope of His
promised return. Old Testament
prophets HAD FORETOLD IN
DETAIL the time and place of
His virgin birth, His sinless
life, His miraculous ministry,
His vicarious death and His
glorious resurrection. They
also prophesied His second
advent and triumphant
millennial reign!
WHY
HAVE JEWISH PEOPLE SUFFERED SO
TREMENDOUSLY OVER THE
MILLENNIA'S?
THE
UNDERLYING REASON for the
terrible suffering, pain and
sorrows meted out to the Jews
over centuries and millennia,
is because they broke the
covenant Moses made with God
on their behalf!
If
you doubt that, read the 28th
chapter of Deuteronomy which
details the blessings of God
upon Israel if they keep the
covenant (vs. 1-14) and the
curses of God upon Israel if
they break the covenant (vs.
15-68).
THE
SECOND REASON - which accounts
for only a limited period of
‘one generation' - is that
they rejected their Messiah!
Jesus
stated, "Wherefore, behold,
I send unto you prophets, and
wise men, and scribes: and
some of them ye shall kill and
crucify; and some of them
shall ye scourge in your
synagogues, and persecute them
from city to city: THAT UPON
YOU (only that specific
generation which rejected
Jesus as their Messiah, not
subsequent generations!) may
come all the righteous blood
shed upon the earth, from the
blood of righteous Abel unto
the blood of Zacharias son of
Barachias, whom ye slew
between the temple and the
altar. Verily I say unto you,
All these things shall come
upon this generation."
"O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou
that killest the prophets, and
stonest them which are sent
unto thee, how often would I
have gathered thy children
together, even as a hen
gathereth her chickens under
her wings, and ye would not!
Behold, your house is left
unto you desolate. For I say
unto you, Ye shall not see Me
henceforth, till ye shall say,
Blessed is He that cometh in
the name of the Lord."
(Matthew
23:34-39)
Please
Note: The rejection of the
Messiah was only the tip of
the iceberg in a long list of
"killing the prophets &
stoning them that have been
sent to you"!
As
a matter of fact, the
crucifixion of Jesus was not
included in the reason for
God's judgment upon them.
Jesus specified the blood shed
from Abel to Zacharias. He did
not mention His own blood!
For
centuries, the Roman Catholic
Church as well as some
Protestant Churches said the
Jewish race was cursed because
of their rejection &
condemnation of Jesus Christ
which culminated in His
crucifixion by the Romans!
That
teaching was terribly flawed
and became a tool which was
used to denigrate &
destroy Jewish people! For
centuries, Jews were called
Christ-killers and only
recently has the Roman
Catholic Church renounced that
evil, devilish doctrine! It's almost bizarre that the
Roman Catholic Church would
call Jews by that terrible
name, since it was Italians
(Romans) who crucified our
Lord. Yet no one thought of
calling Italians,
'Christ-killers'!
The
teaching I refer to is, that
the reason for Jewish
suffering is because they made
a deal with Governor Pontius
Pilate, saying: "Let His
blood be upon us and upon our
children." (Matthew 27:25)
Let
me make myself abundantly
clear on this point: It is
impossible for the blood of
Jesus to harm anyone or bring
any curse upon Jews or anyone
else! THE BLOOD OF JESUS
BRINGS ONLY FORGIVENESS,
HEALING & ETERNAL LIFE! IT
CANNOT BRING A CURSE! (1 John
1:7; Col. 1:20)
I
repeat: Israel’s grievous
sin of breaking their covenant
with God is the primary reason
for their suffering
The
Bible says, "But it shall
come to pass, if thou wilt not
hearken unto the voice of the
LORD thy God, to observe to do
all His commandments and His
statutes which I command thee
this day; that all these
curses shall come upon thee,
and overtake thee: The LORD
shall send upon thee cursing,
vexation, and rebuke...until
thou be destroyed, and until
thou perish quickly; because
of the wickedness of thy
doings, whereby thou hast
forsaken Me. The LORD shall
make the pestilence cleave
unto thee, until He have
consumed thee from off the
land, whither thou goest to
possess it. The LORD shall
smite thee with a consumption,
and with a fever, and with an
inflammation, and with an
extreme burning, and with the
sword, and with blasting, and
with mildew; and they shall
pursue thee until thou
perish."
"The
LORD will smite thee with the
botch of Egypt, and with the
emerods, and with the scab,
and with the itch, whereof
thou canst not be healed. The
LORD shall smite thee with
madness, and blindness, and
astonishment of
heart...Moreover He will bring
upon thee all the diseases of
Egypt, which thou wast afraid
of; and they shall cleave unto
thee. Also every sickness, and
every plague, which is not
written in the book of this
law, them will the LORD bring
upon thee, until thou be
destroyed. And ye shall be
left few in number, whereas ye
were as the stars of heaven
for multitude; because thou
wouldest not obey the voice of
the LORD thy God...and ye
shall be plucked from off the
land whither thou goest to
possess it. And the LORD shall
scatter thee among all people,
from the one end of the earth
even unto the other..."
"And
the LORD shall bring thee into
Egypt again with ships...and
there ye shall be sold unto
your enemies for bondmen and
bondwomen, and no man shall
buy you." (Deuteronomy
15, 20-22, 27-29, 59-64, 68)
It
is of vital importance for
everyone to know that even
though Moses - God's prophet
& lawgiver - prophesied
2000 years earlier concerning
the blessings of keeping the
covenant (v. 1-14), the Jewish
people had made with the
Almighty as well as the curses
that would come upon them if
they broke the covenant (v.
15-68), his prophecy came to
pass in the minutest detail!
Verse
68 states that if they broke
the Mosaic Covenant, they
would be taken back to Egypt -
as slaves - in ships. It
stated further, that no man
would buy them. Here are the
brutal facts: After General
Titus had destroyed Jerusalem
in A.D. 70, killing 1.1
million Jews in the siege,
89,000 Jews were taken to
Egypt as slaves. There was
such a hatred against Jews,
that it was below the dignity
of any Roman to own a Jewish
slave. Among our nations, only
Egypt would take Jews as
slaves! That’s how perfectly
true God’s prophetic Word
is!
WHO
WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATH
OF JESUS CHRIST?
Jesus
was born to die! (1
Corinthians 15:3; Romans
5:7-8; 1 John 3:8) He was
ordained to be the
propitiation for our sins, in
order to satisfy the DEMANDS
OF DIVINE JUSTICE (Romans
3:25; 1 John 2:2; 4:10) He was
crucified by the foreknowledge
of God. (Acts 2:23)
Although
God used Judas, a human
instrument to betray our Lord,
the Jewish leaders to unjustly
condemn Him to death and the
Romans to do the terrible
deed, it was according to
God’s will, plan &
purpose. (Romans 8:32)
IN
FACT, IT WAS GOD THE FATHER
WHO LAID THE STRIPES UPON HIM
AND SMOTE HIM. I never fully
understand God's love, until
it was revealed to me during a
crusade in Kenya. When He
showed me His great love, I
wept for 3 days and nights!
Here are the scriptures that
touched my heart, and I pray
will also minister to you!
"He
that spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us
all, how shall He not with Him
also freely give us all
things." (Romans 8:28)
St.
Paul declared that God's
love is so great that He did
not spare His only Son but
turned Him over to murderers
and gangsters (delivered Him
up) to be humiliated, tortured
& crucified on the
"cursed tree" for us.
And
since Jesus paid the ultimate
price by making the supreme
sacrifice for us, God will
freely give us whatever Jesus' death &
resurrection has provided,
since He is seated - even now
- on God’s right hand as our
Saviour, Redeemer &
Advocate!
Not
only did our Heavenly Father
deliver up His Son to die, HE
ALSO LAID OUR SINS AND
SICKNESSES UPON HIM (Isaiah
53:4-6; Matt. 8:16-17; 1 Peter
2:24). God's love regarding
our salvation was so intense
that He rejoiced when Jesus
suffered & bled for us.
The Bible says, "Yet it
pleased the Lord to bruise
Him. He hath put him to
grief." (Isaiah 53:10)
The
Norwegian translation says:
"Det behaget Herren til å
knuse ham - it pleased the
Lord to CRUSH Him."
MUCH
BITTERNESS IN OLDER JEWISH
PEOPLE & UNBELIEF IN THE
YOUNG!
The
'children of Israel'
suffered terribly for
thousands of years, from the
time of the Babylonian
captivity until Hitler's
holocaust! This suffering
continued under the cruel yoke
of Soviet Communism for
decades more. Since the coming
of glasnost and perestroika
and the dissolution of the
‘Evil Empire' in 1991,
however, hundreds of thousands
of these precious people have
immigrated to Israel!
In
my dealings with older Jewish
people, I HAVE DISCERNED MUCH
BITTERNESS TOWARD CHRISTIANS,
GOD AND LIFE IN GENERAL,
because of the treatment their
forbears received at the hands
of cruel Papal armies during
the Middle Ages. That is
understandable because the
evil, unholy acts carried out
BY THAT RELIGIOUS DENOMINATION
were done in the name of Jesus
Christ!
In
order for Jewish people,
however, to come to the
knowledge of the truth and be
saved, they must - like
everyone else - stop blaming
other people for their own
problems!
The
Bible says, "As it is
written, There is none
righteous, no, not one...for
there is no difference: For
all have sinned and come
(fallen) short of the glory of
God." (Romans 3:10-23)
"For
there is no difference between
the Jew and the Greek: for the
same Lord over all is rich
unto all that call upon Him.
For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be
saved." (Romans 10:9-13)
"Where
there is neither Greek nor
Jew...But he that doeth wrong
shall receive for the wrong
which he hath done: and there
is no respect of
persons." (Colossians 3:11, 24-25)
THERE
IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JEWS
AND GENTILES. ALL HAVE SINNED
AND ALL NEED A SAVIOUR. AND
JESUS CHRIST IS THAT SAVIOUR!
The
truth is, that only Jesus
Christ can forgive and save
lost humanity! He alone has
the power to forgive sins,
remove fear and condemnation
and give peace to troubled
hearts and minds, having
defeated death, hell and the
grave and purchased full
salvation for all who receive
Him as Lord and Saviour!
WHY
IS THIS? Only Jesus Christ
qualifies as the Saviour of
the world, because He shed His
precious blood as the
sacrificial 'pascal lamb'
on Mount Calvary and died as
our substitute, according to
the Old Testament Scriptures!
(Romans 1:4)
A
very great injustice has been
done to Christianity in
general, however, and the
Church of the Living God, in
particular, because of:
Recent
books, articles and statements
made by a few Jewish authors,
linking the horrible beliefs
of Adolf Hilter and Nazism to
the teachings of the Christian
Church.
The
very vocal and totally unfair
books and statements made by
prejudiced, liberal Protestant
authors who attack
Christianity and the teachings
of St. Paul, employing the
same biased linkage!
The
totally unfair, prejudiced and
accusatory film "Anti-Semitism" of
the United States Holocaust
Museum which lays blame for
the Holocaust, on the
teachings of Christianity.
MANY
JEWS FEEL THAT GOD DESERTED
THEM, BECAUSE
OF THE HOLOCAUST!
A
recent report by 'Christianity
Today'
states: "Now, a group of
prominent Jews has accused the
United States Holocaust
Museum...of misleading the
public by blaming Hitler's
genocidal program on historic
Christian beliefs about Jews.
"The film paints with a
broad brush. A dull voice
intones disconnected facts and
quotations that leave the
viewer believing that
anti-Jewish bias is the result
of Christian influence on the
Roman Empire, that it has been
Christian society alone that
has marginalized and oppressed
Jews, and that Nazi racial
prejudice against the Jews was
in clear continuity with
earlier religious prejudice.
The Anti-Judaism that preceded
Christianity and that had long
existed outside Europe, is
ignored."
The
New York Times quoted Joan
Brown Campbell, general
secretary of the National
Council of Churches as saying,
"If you look at the Nazi
regime, you can see in it the
philosophy of Christian
superiority."
'Christianity
Today' points out how
inaccurate that statement is,
"ignoring Nazi beliefs about
the defects in historic
Christianity". And
ironically, Campbell made that
statement in an interview
where she downplayed the awful
persecution, suffering and
torture inflicted upon
Christians around the world
today!
Incidentally,
it is a Jewish Barrister,
Michael Horowitz who is
awakening clergymen and
politicians alike to the
horrible persecution, torture,
enslavement and other
atrocities being carried out
against Christians by many
governments in the world
today!
In
her book, 'Faith and Fraticide', Rosemary Radford
Ruether, called upon
Christians to abandon the
belief that Jesus is the
Saviour for everyone in favor
of the notion that Jesus is
the saviour of some while
others will have their own 'saviours',
stated the ‘Christianity
Today' article.
A
GREAT AWAKENING HOWEVER, IS
HAPPENING TODAY AMONG THE
JEWISH PEOPLE. THEIR HEARTS
ARE OPENING TO THEIR MESSIAH
AS HE PROPHESIED!
Hundreds
of years before His first
coming, the Jewish Messiah
stated that He would "GO AND
RETURN TO MY PLACE"
referring to Heaven, until the
Jewish people acknowledge
their offence (sin) and seek
My face. They are doing that
now!
In
1971, I conducted a
Gospel crusade in the YMCA
building in Jerusalem. We
distributed 10,000 handbills
there as well as carried ads
in the 'Jerusalem Post'. A
lot of Arabs, Roman Catholics,
Greek Orthodox and Protestants
attended. Only a miniscule
number of Jews came to our
meeting!
Even
20 years ago, you couldn’t
find more than 100 born again
Christian Jewish believers in
Israel. Today, there are more
than 70,000 in 90 different
congregations in that nation!
HOW
DID THAT HAPPEN? The 'Law of
the Return' opened the door
for any Jewish person with at
least one Jewish grandparent,
to immigrate to Israel. About
750,000 returned from Eastern
Europe and several hundred
thousands from South America.
Some of these were believers
in Jesus Christ and they
brought the gospel (the good
news) with them to the land of
the Bible!
Hosea
states that they will
recognize their grave error
and with repentant hearts
return to the Lord, realizing
that God had to punish their
forefathers for breaking the
Mosaic Covenant, and for
rejecting their Messiah!
Notice,
they will say, "Come, let us
return unto the Lord: for He
hath torn, and He will heal
us; He hath smitten, and He
will bind us up". Then the
prophet interjects something
very important - A TIME-DATE
LINE! "After two days will
He revive us: in the third day
He will raise us up, and we
shall live in His sight."
(Hosea 6:1-2)
WHAT
DOES THIS MEAN?
The
Word of God interprets itself
and we read in 2 Peter 3:8-9:
"But, beloved, be not
ignorant of this one thing,
that one day is with the Lord
as a thousand years, and a
thousand years as one
day."
As
I see it, the period of
suffering for the Jewish
nation is almost at an end and
the Lord God Almighty will
restore them to their rightful
place, and JERUSALEM will
become the most important city
on earth!
It's
about 2000 years since God’s
judgment fell upon Israel and
according to St. Peter,
"one
day with our Lord is as a
thousand years with us." The
prophecy states, "After two
days (2000 years) will He (the
Lord) revive us (bring us back
to life) and in the third day
He will raise us up, and we
shall live in His sight."
Without
doubt, this refers to the
'Millennial Reign of Christ which will be one
thousand years of peace upon
earth with Jesus Christ, the
Jewish Messiah, ruling from
Jerusalem!
There
are four significant signs
that show us where we stand
today in relation to our
Lord's return, namely:
The Sick Condition
of our Planet
The Sick Condition
of the World
The Sick Condition
of Israel
The
Sick Condition of the
Church
NO. 1 -
THE SICK CONDITION OF OUR
PLANET
1)
Mankind is groaning under the
terrible weight of sin and
condemnation. Satan - the
enemy of God and man - has
bound the human race with
shackles of rebellion,
unbelief, fear, torment, lust,
greed, hatred and perversion!
It was Adam's acquiescence
to the Evil One-s lying
temptation that brought
sickness and death (spiritual
and physical) upon the human
race!
The
Bible states: "For the
earnest expectation of the
creature waiteth for the
manifestation of the sons of
God. For
the creature was made subject
to vanity, not willingly, but
by reason of Him who hath
subjected the same in hope,
Because
the creature itself also shall
be delivered from the bondage
of corruption into the
glorious liberty of the
children of God."
"For
we know that the whole
creation groaneth and
travaileth in pain together
until now. And
not only they, but ourselves
also, which have the first
fruits of the Spirit,
even we ourselves groan within
ourselves, waiting for the
adoption, to wit (that is to
say), the redemption of our
body." (Romans 8:19-23)
People
everywhere are waiting for the
'MANIFESTATION OF THE SONS
OF GOD'! What does that
mean? Six billion people are
looking for an escape from the
emptiness, fear, torment,
sickness and bondage in which
they live.
THE
ENTIRE WORLD IS WAITING FOR US
- GOD'S CHILDREN TO BE SO
FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
THAT WE CAN FREE THEM FROM THE
TYRANNY AND LIES OF THE DEVIL
AND HIS EMISSARIES!
Don't
believe for a moment, that the
millions lost in sin and bound
by evil spirits of occultism,
superstition, false religion,
satanic oppression and sexual
perversion are happy in that
state! No one enjoys being in
slavery to witchcraft, fear,
torment and evil spirits!
Oh,
some are sufficiently deceived
to live in a fool's paradise
having convinced themselves
that everything is A-Okay, but
the opposite is true. If
everything is all right, why
do so many rock musicians die
of drug overdoses and commit
suicide? Why do many Hollywood
stars die of alcoholism? And
why do some of the greatest
performing artists die of AIDS
due to an unhealthy, filthy,
perverted lifestyle of sodomy?
And why do wealthy, successful
people - who seem to have
everything going for them - take their own lives?
The
Bible says, "But the wicked
are like the troubled sea,
when it cannot rest, bringing
forth mire and dirt. There is
no peace saith my God to the
wicked". (Isaiah 57:20-21)
Our
enemy is not flesh and blood,
but Satan himself and all his
demons that tempt, deceive,
coerce, inhibit, afflict,
torment, steal and kill! Our
battle is with the devil - not
with human beings, however he
does use people to do his
bidding! The devil must have
his emissaries &
ministers, to do his evil
work!
And
what of the Hindu extremists
constantly fighting the
Muslims in India and the Seiks
battling the Hindus? And the
(political) ungodly Roman
Catholic IRA killing the
(political)
'Christian-in-name-only'
Protestants and vice versa?
And
if the pagan are so happy in
their religious life, why are
there so many 'holy jihads-? Two examples:
Muslim Iran against Muslim
Iraq in a seven year war that
saw one million men die, and
at present Islamic extremists
terrorizing and butchering
hundreds of their own people
in Algeria?
THEY
DO NOT KNOW GOD and have not
been changed by His mighty
power. Anyone who has been
converted to Christ, being
born again by the Word of God
and the Holy Spirit, would
certainly not be waging 'holy
wars' against their
fellowmen. The only warfare
that we are commanded to fight
is the 'Good Fight of Faith'!
HOW
DO WE FIGHT THE DEVIL?
The
Bible says, "Satan, your
adversary, goeth about like a
roaring lion, seeking who he
may devour, whom resist in the
faith..." (1 Peter 5:9) We
resist him by serving Jesus to
the best of our ability; by
living a holy and righteous
life, preaching the gospel of
Jesus Christ, healing the sick
and casting our devils!
The
Scripture says, "For the
weapons of our warfare are not
carnal, but mighty through God
to the pulling down of strong
holds; Casting down
imaginations, and every high
thing that exalteth itself
against the knowledge of God,
and bringing into captivity
every thought to the obedience
of Christ;" (2
Corinthians 10:4-5)
IN
OUR SEARCH FOR MORE LAND TO
CONQUER, NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO
IMPROVE OUR LIVING STANDARDS
AND THE PURSUIT OF MORE
WEALTH, MANKIND HAS ENGAGED IN
WARS, ENSLAVEMENT, VIOLENCE
AND POLLUTION WHICH HAS RAPED
OUR ENVIRONMENT, WATER, LAND
& AIR!
No.
2) Our Planet is groaning
under the terrible weight of
the awful harvest of
mankind’s sins of rebellion,
greed, hatred, violence and
slavery!
In
the beginning, after the fall
of our first parents, THE
ENTIRE HUMAN RACE was plunged
into sin, fear, sickness &
death! God immediately placed
a curse upon the earth -
"And unto Adam He said,
Because thou hast harkened
unto the voice of thy wife,
and hast eaten of the tree of
which I commanded thee,
saying, Thou shalt not eat of
it: cursed is the ground for
thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou
eat of it all the days of thy
life". (Genesis 3:17)
OUR
PLANET is struggling to stay
alive and is groaning under
this burden! The 'second law
of thermodynamics' began
after the fall and continues
today with aging,
deterioration and decay. Only
the return of Jesus Christ
will salvage the earth.
Mankind will not be allowed to
destroy the earth, but will be
punished for defiling and
polluting it, as is prophesied
in the last book of the Bible.
THE
BIBLE SAYS, "And the nations
were angry, and Thy wrath is
come, and the time of the
dead, that they should be
judged, and that Thou
shouldest give reward unto Thy
servants the prophets, and to
the saints, and them that fear
Thy name, small and great; And
shouldest destroy them which
destroy the earth."
(Revelation
11:18)
God
will have the last word and
will judge polluters! If you
want a good example of this,
look at the former Soviet
Union which polluted the land,
sea and air and after raping
the environment, ended up
totally bankrupt!
JESUS
CHRIST MUST RETURN IN ORDER TO
SAVE US FROM OUR OWN
DESTRUCTIONS, SO THAT HE CAN
REIGN ON THIS EARTH FOR 1000
YEARS OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY!
No.
3) Believers in Jesus Christ,
like St. Paul, are waiting for
the moment when we can be free
from the limitations of our
weak, carnal flesh and to be
glorified (in the next life)
to forever be in Heaven with
Jesus Christ and all the
redeemed from all ages! WE
WILL THEN RECEIVE A
RESURRECTED BODY WITHOUT THE
LIMITATIONS WE HAVE TODAY!
The
Bible says, "And not only
they, but ourselves also,
which have the firstfruits of
the Spirit, even we ourselves
groan within ourselves,
waiting for the adoption, to
wit (that is to say), the
redemption of our body."
(Romans 8:23)
Eternity
will be a joyful time of peace
and glory as we live eternally
in Heaven with our Lord Jesus
Christ and all the redeemed
from every nation, tongue and
people of all ages!
"And
I heard as it were the voice
of a great multitude, and as
the voice of many waters, and
as the voice of mighty
thunderings, saying, Alleluia:
for the Lord God omnipotent
reigneth. Let us be glad and
rejoice, and give honour to
Him: for the marriage of the
Lamb is come, and His wife
hath made herself ready."
"And
to her was granted that she
should be arrayed in fine
linen, clean and white: for
the fine linen is the
righteousness of saints. And
he saith unto me, Write,
Blessed are they which are
called unto the marriage
supper of the Lamb. And he
saith unto me, These are the
true sayings of God."
(Revelation 19:6-9)
NO. 2 - THE SICK CONDITION OF THE
WORLD!
The
Bible says, "Love not the
world, neither the things that
are in the world. If any man
love the world, the love of
the Father is not in him. For
all that is in the world, the
lust of the flesh, and the
lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life, is not of the
Father, but is of the world.
And the world passeth away,
and the lust thereof: but he
that doeth the will of God
abideth for ever." (1 John
2:15-17)
These
are Satan’s three knockout
punches which he uses
to tempt the 'children of
men', namely: 1) the lust of
the eyes, 2) the lust of the
flesh and 3) the pride of
life!
Satan
used these three temptations
on Eve with great success.
"And when the woman saw that
the tree was good for food
(lust of the flesh), and that
it was pleasant to the eyes
(lust of th eyes), and a tree
to be desired to make one wise
(the pride of life), she took
of the fruit thereof, and did
eat, and gave also unto her
husband with her; and he did
eat." (Genesis 3:6)
King
David fell under this
temptation also: He saw a
beautiful woman taking a bath
in the privacy of her garden
(the lust of the eyes). He
desired her and sent for her,
committing adultery (the lust
of the flesh). HE FELL AFTER
ONLY TWO STRIKES!
JESUS
DEFEATED HIM TOTALLY!
It
was a different story when
Satan used his time-tested
strategy on our Lord Jesus
Christ. He withstood the
temptation and defeated the
devil each time he came with a
new 'trick up his sleeve'!
After
Jesus had fasted 40 days,
Satan said to Him:
"Command
that these stones be made
bread." (the lust of the
flesh) Jesus answered,
"It
is written, Man shall not live
by bread alone, but by every
word that proceedeth out of
the mouth of God."
The
devil tried again: "If thou
be the Son of God, cast
thyself down: for it is
written, He shall give his
angels charge concerning thee:
and in their hands they shall
bear thee up, lest at any time
thou dash thy foot against a
stone." (the pride of life)
Jesus answered, "It is
written again, Thou shalt not
tempt the Lord thy God."
IN
OTHER WORDS, GOD DOESN'T
CLOWN FOR ANYBODY!
Finally,
Satan showed Jesus all the
kingdoms of the world in a
moment of time and said:
"All these things will I
give thee (pride of life), if
thou wilt fall down and
worship me."
WHAT A
DESPICABLE, ARROGANT, EGOTIST
SATAN IS!
Jesus rebuffed him
immediately with the Word of
God saying, "Get thee hence,
Satan (enemy): for it is
written, Thou shalt worship
the Lord thy God, and Him only
shalt thou serve."
(Matthew
4:1-11)
SATAN
HAD TO LEAVE HIM, THEN!
The
Bible affirms that Satan is
"the god of this
world"
and "the spirit which now
worketh in the children of the
disobedience". (John 12:31;
Eph. 2:2) He is the world's
greatest liar and the father
of lies and a murderer extra-ordinaire
(John 8:44)!
The
whole world lies in the lap of
the wicked one (1 John 5:19)
and he "goeth about like a
roaring lion seeking whom he
may devour" (1 Peter 5:8).
We however, can "resist him
in the faith and he will flee
from us". (1 Peter 5:9;
James 4:7)
The
Bible records that Demos was
swayed by the bright lights of
Thessalonica and forsook Paul,
"having loved this present
world" (2 Timothy 4:10). And
St. John commends the young
men in the Church for
overcoming the wicked one! (1
John 2:13)
ST.
PAUL WARNED OF THE TOTAL
DETERIORATION OF MORALITY,
DECENCY AND FAIRNESS IN THE
LAST DAYS. DECADENCE &
PERVERSION WILL RULE JUST
PRIOR TO OUR LORD'S RETURN,
STATED THE APOSTLE! AS WE READ
THE PROPHECY WE FEEL SADDENED
BY THE RESEMBLANCE OF OUR
PRESENT AGE TO THE PROPHETIC
WORD OF GOD!
"This
know also, that IN THE LAST
DAYS PERILOUS TIMES SHALL
COME. For men shall be lovers
of their own selves, covetous,
boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents,
unthankful, unholy, Without
natural affection,
trucebreakers, false accusers,
incontinent, fierce, despisers
of those that are good,"
"Traitors,
heady, highminded, lovers of
pleasures more than lovers of
God; Having a form of
godliness, but denying the
power thereof: from such turn
away." (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
"Now
the Spirit speaketh expressly,
that IN THE LATTER TIMES SOME
SHALL DEPART FROM THE FAITH,
giving heed to seducing
spirits, and doctrines of
devils;" (1 Timothy 4:1)
"And
have no fellowship with the
unfruitful works of darkness,
but rather reprove them. For
it is a shame even to speak of
those things which are done of
them in secret."
(Ephesians
5:11-12)
"Brethren, be
followers together of me, and
mark them which walk so as ye
have us for an ensample. (For
many walk, of whom I have told
you often, and now tell you
even weeping, that they are
the enemies of the cross of
Christ: Whose end is
destruction, whose God is
their belly, and whose glory
is in their shame, who mind
earthly things.) For our
conversation is in heaven;
from whence also we look for
the Saviour, the Lord Jesus
Christ:" (Philippians 3:17-20)
Interjected
among the reports of
hypocrisy, backsliding &
gross moral evils, St. Paul
interjects the Blessed Hope of
the Return of Jesus Christ!
"For
our conversation is in heaven;
from whence also we look for
the Saviour, the Lord Jesus
Christ."
Our
thoughts, actions, prayers,
plans, goals and complete
agenda here, is tied to
Heaven's plans, purposes and
desires. We belong to His
heavenly kingdom and labour
first and foremost for Christ!
Why
is this so important? Only our
Blessed Jesus Christ has the
mandate, power & desire to
straighten out this wicked
world. Therefore we wait for
Him to come!
PERVERSION
VYING FOR RESPECTABILITY!
Jesus
prophesied that the time will
come, "that whosoever
killeth you will think that he
doeth God service". (John
16:2)
And
the prophet stated, "Woe
unto them that call evil good,
and good evil; that put
darkness for light, and light
for darkness; that put bitter
for sweet, and sweet for
bitter! Woe unto them that are
wise in their own eyes...Which
justify the wicked for reward,
and take away the
righteousness of the righteous
from him!" (Isaiah 5:20-23)
St.
Paul expounded, "But if our
gospel be hid, it is hid to
them that are lost: In whom
the god of this world hath
blinded the minds of them
which believe not, lest the
light of the glorious gospel
of Christ, who is the image of
God, should shine unto them.
For we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord; and
ourselves your servants for
Jesus' sake." (2
Corinthians 4:3-5)
That
this WORLD IS EVIL AND
PERVERTED is no secret! The
world system that despises
that which is good and
glorifies that which is EVIL
is a product of Satanic
invention, since he is the
"god of this world"!
Again
Paul declares that Jesus
Christ "gave Himself for our
sins, that He might deliver us
from this present evil world
(age), according to the will
of God and our Father".
(Galatians 1:4)
VIOLENCE: A SIGN OF LAST DAYS!
Jesus
warned of the tremendous
increase of violence which
would identify the time just
prior to His return. He made
the comparison between that
time and the Antediluvian age
of Noah, as well as the days
of Lot!
"And
as it was in the days of Noe,
so shall it be also in the
days of the Son of man. They
did eat, they drank, they
married wives, they were given
in marriage, until the day
that Noe entered into the ark,
and the flood came, and
destroyed them all. Likewise
also as it was in the days of
Lot; they did eat, they drank,
they bought, they sold, they
planted, they builded; But the
same day that Lot went out of
Sodom it rained fire and
brimstone from heaven, and
destroyed them all. Even thus
shall it be in the day when
the Son of man is
revealed."
(Luke 17:26-30)
NO. 1 -
THE DAYS OF NOAH!
The
Bible gives us a good
description of the wickedness,
violence and ungodliness which
pervaded the antediluvian age.
"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. And it repented
the LORD that he had made man
on the earth, and it grieved
him at his heart. And the LORD
said, I will destroy man whom
I have created from the face
of the earth...
"The
earth also was corrupt before
God, and the earth was filled
with violence. And God looked
upon the earth, and, behold,
it was corrupt; for all flesh
had corrupted his way upon the
earth. And God said unto Noah,
The end of all flesh is come
before me; for the earth is
filled with violence through
them; and, behold, I will
destroy them with the
earth." (Genesis 6:5-7, 11-13)
In
verses 11 and 12, the Bible
characterizes "the Days
Before the Flood" as corrupt
and violent! People in general
had forsaken the Lord and were
living only for themselves,
filled with greed, lust, pride
and unrighteousness!
THAT
SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE THESE
TIMES, with people turning
their backs upon the teachings
of God's Word, so that they
can do their own things?
NO. 2 -
THE DAYS OF LOT!
The
Prophet Ezekiel pinpoints the
sins of Sodom & Gomorrah
as follows: "Behold, this
was the iniquity of thy sister
Sodom, pride, fullness of
bread, and abundance of
idleness was in her and in her
daughters, neither did she
strengthen the hand of the
poor and needy. And they were
haughty, and committed
abomination before me:
therefore I took them away as
I saw good." (Ezekiel
16:49-50)
Here
is a list of their sins:
PRIDE
FULLNESS OF BREAD
ABUNDANCE
OF IDLENESS
LACK
OF COMPASSION
PERVERTED
SEX
Our
world is guilty of all these
five sins in this generation.
Sin is the transgression of
God's law, a rebellious
spirit against that which is
godly!
Pride
is the sin which caused
Lucifer's fall!
When
there is too much wealth,
people usually get spoiled and
want more! Never satisfied,
they strive for more and more!
Abundance
of idleness - is the devil's
opportunity to fill the mind
with nonsense. Shorter work
weeks gives people more time
to serve the lusts of the
flesh, the world and the
devil!
A
lack of compassion for the
poor and needy is always a
sign of pride, arrogance and
selfishness!
Sexual
perversion is one of the final
signs of a fast dying society!
And when perverted sex is
mandated by law as an
alternate lifestyle and
heralded by the media as
healthy and normal, then you
know we are in desperate
straights.
That's
where we are today in CANADA!
Oh, how badly we need a red
hot revival in our land
and across the world! May God
help us!
My
prayer is that God will speed
the day that Heaven will come
down to us with abundant
blessings for everyone! Will
you join me in prayer? Send us
an offering to continue
preaching the gospel by radio,
TV and the printed page!
Please help us to reach more
with the TRUTH before it is
too late! Thank you!
NO. 3 -
THE SICK CONDITION OF ISRAEL
At
this moment in history, Israel
is very vulnerable because of
the pressure placed upon them
by the nations of the world to
give up land for peace.
And
the United States - who
traditionally has been their
friend, is turning the screws
the hardest of all.
Eventually,
Israel will succumb to all
this pressure and give away so
much land that they will be
unable to defend themselves.
Sometime in the future, Israel
will be deceived into
accepting the Antichrist as
their Messiah and will suffer
terribly because of that.
Referring to this, our Lord
said to the Jewish leaders,
"I
am come in My Father's name,
and ye receive Me not: if
another (the anti-Christ)
shall come in his own name,
him ye will receive." (John
5:43)
The
Jewish leaders rejected Jesus
Christ Who came to save them
in His Father's Name. When
Antichrist comes in his own
name, they will receive him!
WHAT
A SAD & TRAGIC COMMENTARY
ON WHAT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN!
My
guess is that Iraq will
eventually be reduced in power
after the United States and
her allies are finished with
her. Then undoubtedly, Iran
will pick up the pieces and
gobble up Iraq (and possibly
Syria) and control all the oil
flow in the Middle East!
Iran
will then be the dominant
power in the area, with the
USA and Israel giving in to
their demands! According to
God's Word, Russia will rise
in great power again and lead
the march against Israel!
The
prophet Ezekiel declared that
Iran (Persia) together with
Ethiopia, Libya & Turkey
will march against Israel in
the great battle of 'Gog and
Magog'.
GOD
WILL FIGHT FOR ISRAEL AND
DEFEND HER! A great slaughter
will unfortunately take place
however, before God's chosen
people come to their senses.
They will ultimately receive
their long awaited Messiah
Jesus Christ, when He comes
again in power and great glory
at the end of the age!
He
will then rule and reign for
1000 years of peace upon
planet earth, as King of kings
and Lord of lords!
NO. 4 -
THE SICK CONDITION OF THE
CHURCH!
Celebrated
Canadian writer, Peter Newman
exposes the weaknesses in our
churches and outlines wherein
and how we have failed to
communicate the Gospel to our
children, grandchildren and
our neighbours.
In
his recent book, 'The
Canadian Revolution' Peter
Newman chronicles the
free-fall of the United Church
of Canada's membership as
well as their influence in
society during the past three
decades.
Newman
writes, "The United Church,
formed in 1925 through a union
of Methodists, Presbyterians
and Congregationalists,
suffered the steepest decline.
Three million Canadians
declared their United Church
affiliation to the latest
census takers but less than
380,000 bothered going to
church. Although the most
liberal of the mainstream
congregations, allowing for
the ordination of gay priests
and promoting the social
gospel, the United Church
found itself paradoxically
unable to attract the
young."
A
footnote says, "An
increasingly typical event was
the closing, during the fall
of 1994, of Chalmers United
Church in downtown Vancouver.
There wasn't a single member
left on its congregational
rolls who was less than 80
years old."
For
years, University of
Lethbridge sociologist
Reginald Bibby has tracked the
religious life of Canadians.
In his book 'Unknown Gods'
, Bibby states:
"Tragically,
religious groups are failing
in what appear to be
spiritually prosperous times.
The churches are inept
religious companies that
cannot get the faith out of
the ware house...The news is
that interest and intrigue
persist, in spite of the
problems of organized
religion. The result may be a
very sizable, ongoing
spiritual vacuum."
The
Anglican Church, according to
the census has 2.2 million
members with 784,000 active
adherents. Addressing the
church synod in 1994,
Archbishop Peter O'Driscoll
warned: "In the next ten to
fifteen years the largest age
group in the present Anglican
Church of Canada will be dead.
At the end of two generations,
there won't be enough people
to say there's still an
Anglican Church alive in this
country."
HOW
SAD AND TRAGIC!
While
the Anglican Church lost
250,000 members from 1981 to
1991, and the United Church
lost 665,000 members during
that same period - that's 10
% and 20 % respectively - the
Pentecostal Church grew by
100,000 adherents and the
Christian & Missionary
Alliance doubled in size!
The
November,1965 issue of
Canada's Revival Magazine,
'Cry of His Coming'
carried the following
prophetic headline: 1965
UNITED CHURCH NEW CURRICULUM
SETS STAGE FOR MORE APOSTACY!
MODERATOR REV. HOWSE DENIES
PHYSICAL RESURRECTION OF JESUS
CHRIST !
In
that article, this author
wrote under the by-line, 'THE GREAT FALLING
AWAY' - St. Paul warns:
"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." (2
Thessalonians 2:3)
The
'Great Falling Away' is
Here Now - with entire
denominations of Christian
Churches turning their backs
on the Holy Scriptures,
declaring them fallible and
contradictory. They despise
the great truths of the Bible,
and exchange them for their
own humanistic, man-made
philosophies!
As
strange as this may seem,
these reprobate preachers
actually play-out the exact
role of 'backsliding Israel' in Old Testament
times.
"For
My people have committed two
evils; they have forsaken Me
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed them out cisterns,
broken cisterns that can hold
no water." (Jeremiah 2:13)
HERE
IS A LIST OF THEIR
BACKSLIDINGS!
They
have violated the sanctity of
the Holy Bible, discarding the
eternal truths of God's
Word. Man-made philosophies,
secular humanism and blatantly
spurious doctrines have filled
the void!
They
rely almost totally on man’s
wisdom and carnal knowledge,
having rejected the wisdom
that comes solely from the
Holy Scriptures. This leaves
them incapable of making sound
spiritual decisions!
They
have rejected the counsel of
the Holy Spirit- divine
paraclete - and draw their
inspiration from the teachings
of others similarly deceived.
Serious decision making
regarding spiritual matters
and doctrine is therefore
prejudiced, flawed and
compromised!
Their
emphasis is on good works,
rather than the sacrifice of
Jesus Christ for our sins. The
'social gospel' they
preach is devoid of the grace
of God and faith in the blood
of Jesus Christ. Their 'good
works' message offers only
secular and political rhetoric
to undo social injustices,
without a sound spiritual
foundation!
They
have desecrated the Holy
Scriptures by substituting
their own verbiage instead of
the correct translation of the
original Hebrew and Greek, in
reference to God Himself.
These literary counterfeiters
have unilaterally - without any
jurisdiction - decided to
change the gender of Almighty
God from masculine (Father) to
Mother. Instead of addressing
God as He, they refer to Him
as She and the Lord Jesus is
not the Son of God, but the
Child of God!
How
dare these philosophizing
theologians change the
original manuscripts to please
the radical feminists and
lesbians and namby-pamby,
milque-toast preachers?
The
Word of God conclusively
states: "This know also,
that in the last days perilous
times shall come. For men
shall be lovers of their own
selves, covetous, boasters,
proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents,
unthankful, unholy, Without
natural affection,
trucebreakers, false accusers,
incontinent, fierce, despisers
of those that are good,
Traitors, heady, highminded,
lovers of pleasures more than
lovers of God; Having a form
of godliness, but denying the
power thereof: from such turn
away." (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
"Now
the Spirit speaketh expressly,
that in the latter times some
shall depart from the faith,
giving heed to seducing
spirits, and doctrines of
devils; Speaking lies in
hypocrisy; having their
conscience seared with a hot
iron; Take heed unto thyself,
and unto the doctrine;
continue in them: for in doing
this thou shalt both save
thyself, and them that hear
thee." (1 Timothy 4:1-2, 16)
AN
URGENT WARNING ISSUED TO THOSE
TAMPERING WITH GOD'S WORD
"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."
"Beloved,
believe not every spirit, but
try the spirits whether they
are of God: because many false
prophets are gone out into the
world."
"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."
"Whosoever
believeth that Jesus is the
Christ is born of God...Who
is he that overcometh the
world, but he that believeth
that Jesus is the Son of God?"
"If
we receive the witness of men,
the witness of God is greater:
for this is the witness of God
which He hath testified of His
Son. 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 2:22-23;
4:1-3; 5:1, 4-5, 9-12)
WHAT
DOES THIS MEAN? SIMPLY THIS:
Anyone
who denies that Jesus Christ
is God is a false teacher
and an enemy of God!
Every
spirit that confesses that
'Jesus Christ is come in
the flesh' is of God.
Those who do not are of
Satan and the Antichrist
spirit!
WHAT
DOES THIS MEAN: "Jesus
Christ is come in the
flesh"?
There
are millions of babies born
daily across the world. They
are all born of flesh &
blood. They have all
"come
in the flesh". That is no
miracle, but when God is
incarnated in human flesh,
that is a miracle. It simply
means that Jesus Christ was
God in human flesh! God the
Son came down from Heaven,
through the very miraculous
and complex process of the
virgin birth!
God
the Holy Spirit placed within
the virgin Mary's womb a
specially created body for the
Lord Jesus. He was begotten by
the Holy Spirit and born of a
virgin woman without the aid
of a human father. Jesus
Christ - true God & true
man, in order to suffer and
die for our sins and rise
again for our justification.
"The
new United Church curriculum -
now taught to thousands of
children - denies the virgin
birth of Jesus Christ, leaving
the inference that Joseph or
some other man was
Jesus' father. This would indicate
that His mother Mary was
sinful and promiscuous,
instead of a chaste virgin and
that Jesus Christ was not
divine!"
Have
you heard of such SACRELIGE?
And this - not from an
atheistic journal - but from
the official organ and pulpits
of Canada's largest
Protestant denomination!
That
same 'curriculum' calls
the first eleven chapters of
Genesis - which deal with
God's marvellous creation,
Noah and the flood - a fable
or myth! It denies the
miracles in the Bible, rejects
the physical resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead and
ridicules His ascension and
second coming!
Read
the blasphemous statements
made by Rev. Ben Smilie - United Church chaplain at the
University of Saskatchewan, as
chronicled by Regina Leader
Post's Tom Jarvis in an
article titled, 'A MASSIVE
IRRELEVANCY':
"The
Toronto Telegram printed it in
full with the somewhat
shocking passage in large type
which speaks of fundamentalist
belief in "clay-made man, a
floating zoo, an
amphibious-footed Jesus, a son
of God who was a home brew
artist, and an ascension that
looks like a Cape Kennedy
blast-off".
Have
you heard of anything more
blasphemous and
anti-Christian, coming from
the pen of an ordained
Protestant clergyman!
We'll
let the moderator of the
United Church speak for
himself. The following was
carried by the Saskatoon Star
Phoenix, June 5, 1965. 'HOWSE SAYS LITERAL BELIEVER
IN BIBLE LACKS UNDERSTANDING'.
"The
moderator of the United Church
of Canada says Christians who
believe literally in all of
the 'metaphors and imageries' of the Bible
exhibit 'lack of
understanding'.
The
Rt. Rev. Ernest Howse of
Toronto, in an interview
Thursday said that one of the
most significant religious
trends today is the movement
away from 'medieval imagery
and hypocrisy'.
"Dr.
Howse, who had been in Banff
for a meeting of the United
Church's Alberta Conference,
said people should not take
literally such events as
Christ's physical
resurrection and the virginity
of Mary. The moderator said
the United Church's new
curriculum which allows for
liberal interpretation of the
Bible, is 'really nothing
new at all'.
"There
is nothing in the curriculum
which was not accepted when I
was in College thirty years
ago. If people are shocked by
it, then it is evident our
ministers have not been
adequately teaching their
congregation".
NEW
MODERATOR: SAME OLD APOSTASY
IN UNITED CHURCH!
Bill
Phipps probably learned 'APOSTACY' from
professors, who were
themselves corrupted while in
College! The new moderator of
the United Church is Rev. Bill
Phipps - a little known
Calgary pastor - who is making
big waves with his outspoken,
irreverent and blasphemous
remarks. It appears that he
has excelled in unlearning the
basic, fundamental doctrines
of Christianity, in the
tradition of the Rev. Howse
and the liberal theological
College to which he referred!
'AN
ACTIVIST MODERATOR IS ROCKING
THE UNITED CHURCH'
-Edmonton Journal
In
a major news story carried
across Canada in the Southam
Press, Nov.1, 1997, Rev.
Phipps made these statements:
"I don't believe Jesus is
the only way to God. I don't
believe he rose from the dead
as a scientific fact. I don't know whether those
thing happened. It's an
irrelevant question."
In
a follow-up article, the
'Ottawa Citizen' wrote:
"CHURCH MODERATOR A HERETIC,
PROFESSOR SAYS' - "The
moderator of the United Church
of Canada is a heretic, says a
professor of modern Christian
history."
"A
heretic is defined as someone
who chooses a doctrinal path
other than that of the church
to which he belongs", says
John Stackhouse, of the
University of Manitoba.
"By
that standard, Rev. Bill
Phipps "is a heretic
according to the United Church
of Canada's own standard of
doctrine. He's also a
heretic in generic Christian
terms, because he denies the
creeds that all Christians
have subscribed to, whether
they're Catholic, Protestant
or Eastern Orthodox."
"In
interviews with media
organizations, Phipps denied
the divinity of Christ, denied
the reality of the
resurrection as a historical
fact, and said he was unclear
'The historic Church says
there are such realities,
which are crucially important
to human life,' said
Stackhouse, a former president
of the Canadian Evangelical
Theological Association."
THE
WHOLESALE BACKSLIDING OF
CHRISTIAN DENOMINATIONS DURING
THESE PAST THIRTY YEARS, AND
ESPECIALLY THE LAST DECADE,
SIGNALS THE SAD STATE OF
AFFAIRS IN THE CHRISTIAN
CHURCH AT THIS VERY CRUCIAL
MOMENT IN HISTORY - THE TURN
OF THE CENTURY AND THE
MILLENNIUM!
A
very sad commentary on the
Church is found in Christ's
message to the Church where He
states:
"And
unto the angel of the church
of the Laodiceans write; These
things saith the Amen, the
faithful and true witness, the
beginning of the creation of
God; I know thy works, that
thou art neither cold nor hot:
I would thou wert cold or hot.
So then because thou art
lukewarm, and neither cold nor
hot, I will spue thee out of
my mouth. Because thou sayest,
I am rich, and increased with
goods, and have need of
nothing; and knowest not that
thou art wretched, and
miserable, and poor, and
blind, and naked: I counsel
thee to buy of me gold tried
in the fire, that thou mayest
be rich; and white raiment,
that thou mayest be clothed,
and that the shame of thy
nakedness do not appear; and
anoint thine eyes with
eyesalve, that thou mayest
see." (Revelation 3:14-18)
Again
He said, "Beware of false
prophets, which come to you in
sheep's clothing, but inwardly
they are ravening wolves. Ye
shall know them by their
fruits..."
"A
good tree cannot bring forth
evil fruit, neither can a
corrupt tree bring forth good
fruit."
"...Wherefore
by their fruits ye shall know
them. Not every one that saith
unto me, Lord, Lord, shall
enter into the kingdom of
heaven; but he that doeth the
will of My Father which is in
heaven...And then will I
profess unto them, I never
knew you: depart from me, ye
that work iniquity."
(Matthew
7:15-23)
Jesus
asked a very pertinent
question:
"...Nevertheless.
When the son of man cometh
will He find faith on the
earth?" The answer is
"not
very much"! That is why He
stated, "Strive to enter in
at the straight gate, for
many, I say unto you will seek
to enter and shall not be
able". (Luke 13:24)
"Enter
ye in at the strait gate: for
wide is the gate, and broad is
the way, that leadeth to
destruction, and many there be
which go in thereat: Because
strait is the gate, and narrow
is the way, which leadeth unto
life, and few there be that
find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)
WHAT
MUST WE DO TO BE SURE WE ARE
READY FOR CHRIST'S SOON
RETURN?
St.
Peter warned, "Make your
calling and election
sure..." (2 Peter 1:10) It
behooves each one to do a
reality check to be absolutely
certain that you know Jesus
Christ personally as your Lord
& Saviour.
Remember
that Jesus Christ died for our
sins and rose again from the
dead for our justification.
Only He has the power to save
you because He is the Redeemer
of the world.
Jesus
said, "I am the way, the
truth and the life: no man
cometh unto the Father, but by
Me." (John 14:6) "I am the
door: by Me if any man enter
in, he shall be saved, and
shall go in and out, and find
pasture. The thief cometh not,
but for to steal, and to kill,
and to destroy: I am come that
they might have life, and that
they might have it more
abundantly." (John 10:9-10)
The
Bible says, "For there is
one God, and one mediator
between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus;" (1 Tim. 2:5)
"Neither is there salvation
in any other: for there is
none other name under heaven
given among men, whereby we
must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
St.
Paul declared, "Let this
mind be in you, which was also
in Christ Jesus: Who, being in
the form of God, thought it
not robbery to be equal with
God: But made himself of no
reputation, and took upon him
the form of a servant, and was
made in the likeness of men:
And being found in fashion as
a man, he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross.
Wherefore God also hath highly
exalted him, and given him a
name which is above every
name: That at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow,
of things in heaven, and
things in earth, and things
under the earth; And that
every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the
Father." (Philippians 2:5-11)
Jesus
Christ invites us to receive
Him as personal Saviour and
Lord with the promise:
"Come
unto me, all ye that labour
and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest."
(Matthew
11:28) And, "All that the
Father giveth me shall come to
me; and him that cometh to me
I will in no wise cast
out."
(John 6:37)
We
are warned: "But let a man
examine himself, and so let
him eat of that bread, and
drink of that cup." (1
Corinthians
11:28)
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