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VITAL
SIGNS
of the
END TIMES
and soon return of Jesus
Christ
by Pastor Max
Solbrekken, D.D.
VITAL SIGNS OF THE END TIMES & THE SOON RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST
WHO
WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATH OF
JESUS CHRIST ?
WHO
WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATH OF JESUS 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)
SIGNS
OF THE END TIMES
This
is one of the most significant
scriptures in the entire Bible
dealing with the end times and 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
2000 YEARS THE CHURCH HAS BEEN
WAITING FOR THE RETURN OF JESUS
CHRIST IN THE SECOND COMING
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 MUCH
OVER THE YEARS ?
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. (Matt.
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”. (Matt. 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.” (Rom. 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”.
THERE
IS 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! (Rom. 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
JEWISH PEOPLE FEEL 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.
MANY
JEWISH PEOPLE ARE OPENING THEIR
HEARTS TO THEIR MESSIAH
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 LORD GOD WILL
RESTORE THE JEWS THEIR RIGHTFUL
PLACE AND JERUSALEM WILL BECOME MOST
IMPORTANT CITY ON EARTH
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”.
SIGNS
OF THE END TIMES REVOLVE AROUND
ISRAEL - JERUSALEM AND THE JEWISH
NATION
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!
4
SIGNIFICANT SIGNS OF THE END TIMES
AND THE SOON RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST
There
are four significant signs that show
us where we stand today in relation
to then end times and our Lord’s
soon 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
SIGNS OF THE END TIMES #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 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.” (Rom.
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 Cor.
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!
SIGN OF THE END TIMES #2
- THE SICK CONDITION OF
OUR PLANET
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”. (Gen. 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.” (Rev. 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.” (Rom. 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.” (Rev 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.” (Gen. 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.” (Matt.
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 Tim. 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:” (Philippins
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!” (Is. 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 Cor. 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”. (Gal. 1:4)
VIOLENCE: A SIGN OF THE END TIMES
AND SOON RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST
Jesus
warned of the tremendous increase of
violence which would identify the
time just prior to His return in the
second coming of Jesus Christ. He
made the comparison between that
time and the Antedeluvian 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
antedeluvian 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.” (Gen. 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, 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. And they were
haughty, and committed abomination
before me: therefore I took them
away as I saw good.” (Ezek.
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!
SIGN OF THE END TIMES #3
- THE SICK CONDITION OF
ISRAEL
ISRAEL
IS VULNERABLE FACING ATTACKS FROM
EVERY DIRECTION
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! (Ezekiel 38 &
39)
GOD'S
WORD STATES THAT RUSSIA WILL RISE UP
AGAIN IN GREAT POWER AND LEAD THE
MARCH AGAINST ISRAEL
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
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 returns n the
Second Coming of Jesus Christ in
power and great glory at the end of
the age!
Jesus
Christ
will then rule and reign for 1000
years of peace upon planet earth, as
King of kings and Lord of lords!
SIGNS OF THE END TIMES #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 Thess. 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.” (Jer. 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 Tim. 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 Tim.
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 SACRILEGE? 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 marvelous
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
congregations”.
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.”
(Rev. 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.”
(Matt. 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.” (Matt. 7:13-14)
HOW
MUST WE PREPARE FOR THE END TIMES
AND TO BE SURE WE ARE READY FOR
JESUS CHRIST'S SOON RETURN IN THE
SECOND COMING?
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.”
(Phil. 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.” (Matt.
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
Cor. 11:28
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