WAKING UP TO THE REALITY OF EVIL

[Early last week this Sign of the Times came to me just as many of the past Signs of the Times and Watchman Warnings have come.  After I had written it down and considering the subject matter, I thought to hold it for distribution until after the joyous Christmas season had passed.  But now, after the events in Connecticut on last Friday, I see I should have sent it out immediately.  So I do now, with just a couple modifications.]
 

There is a great depression in the country right now.  I would suggest it is a gradual waking up to the realities of the times we are living in. 

 

For some time now I have sensed this great darkness all around.  All of this year, and especially in the late summer and early fall.  And it continues in an even darker mode.  This depression or darkness is actually settling over the land, and now those serious Christians who had not realized its presence so greatly in the past are having to come to grips with its reality. 

 

Yes, there really is evil on earth.  Yes, there really are evil people – lots of evil people.  Now as Paul wrote, our battle is not with flesh and blood but with all the forces of evil which he identifies as the rulers, the authorities, and the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  But of course in this physical environment in which we live, those evil forces usually play out through people who are led by and even dominated by such evil forces.  These are lost people who have not known God or the Bible or how to fight evil and protect themselves, and they are easy prey for satan and his forces.

Americans have for the most part lived their lives in a most extraordinary country, one that is modern and urbane and sophisticated and free and offers all sorts of opportunities.  So many have had very comfortable lives even though they have had to work hard in their jobs.  And they just haven’t often had to face obvious evil, except for those who have encountered criminals and terrorists or been sent off to war in a foreign land.

 

So most are just not so aware of evil.   A poll a couple years ago by George Barna even had the amazing finding that half of those saying they are Christians do not believe the devil is real.  Well, of course, that to me means they aren’t Christians, for Jesus talked about the devil at some length and warned about him and described him.  Not believing he is real is not believing. Jesus tells the truth.  And how then can Jesus be your Lord if you so believe?  He can’t.

 

But now those Americans are finding out evil is real.  They are going to discover the devil is real.

Residents of many countries have known evil is real for a long time.  Ask the residents of Romania about evil, or North Korea, or Afghanistan or Iraq, or Nigeria, or Rwanda, or Liberia, or those whose family members perished in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany, or later those killed in the killing fields of Cambodia, or those currently in Mexico encountering the drug horror, or those dealing with Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, or …well, you get the point.  All those places suffered under darkness, great darkness.

The USA has been protected I would suggest because of the core of Christian believers and God’s respecting and providing for them.  But the US has slid mightily.  There has been a great fall in morality, in civility, in decency, in integrity, and in faith in God.  There has been a falling away, an apostasy. 

Much of the world is way ahead in this falling away.  Europe for years has existed in a post Christian age.  Many countries in the world have lived under false gods and thus demonic influences for decades and hundreds of years.  Actually in some of these places today God is making breakthroughs.

But back to the USA – and recognizing evil.  We now have a highly non-godly intelligentsia, ruling government, entertainment community, news media, and more.  While there are still many who fear God and believe in him and the Bible, there at the high and visible levels of society are a group of lost people setting the agenda and culture and government policies and such. 

So there is a reason to be down, to feel depressed.  If you are you are probably sensing the spiritual darkness that has been growing here for some time.  You are just joining others in that realization.  We are on the steady path to the return of the Lord, and his timing will not be deterred.  It is an appointed time. 

Those who are pushing ever more to the gradual move to a one-world government and a universal religion are the ones to fear and stay away from.  Those doing the pushing really don’t know what they are doing, but they are pushing in the direction of the prophesied events of the end of the age. 

Yes, there really is evil on earth.  And not just obvious evil.  It also takes the forms of many leaders and media reporters and entertainers in our own country that in their way are just as dangerous to what once was an amazing place.

We can recognize and be saddened by evil in what we are seeing in our country and the world.  But still, we believers know that even though the presence of evil is increasing, it is all defeated by Jesus at Armageddon and thereafter as described in Revelation 19 and 20 and Zechariah 14. 

And we still know that the joy of the Lord is our strength.  So always, alwaysKeep Your Eyes on Jesus!

 

THE AMAZING PEOPLE OF OUR DAY

This may be difficult to read, but it also may help in your understanding the times in which we live.

Sometime in the last month or so I was reading the writings of Smith Wigglesworth, the great preacher and healer of the early 1900’s. He was recounting how for years he and his wife had had a church mission in England. One day while away from there he had attended a service and had been baptized in the Holy Spirit. He had in other words received the anointing of the Spirit. And when he returned to the church mission, that night he stood in front to preach and his wife sat in the back. As he preached, a man stood up and shouted, “I want what he has.” Then the man tried to sit down but couldn’t, and he fell down. Soon fourteen people were lying about the room, overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit, or as some say, by the anointing.

What really got my attention were these words Wigglesworth said about the experience: “So a revival broke out and the crowds came.” Think about that a moment. He said a revival broke out and the crowds came. And I assume that was the dramatic real beginning of his world-wide healing ministry.

A few days after I read that I was meeting with a minister friend, and I told him the Wigglesworth story. I repeated what Wigglesworth had said. And then I said that we had done that, that we had had several meetings like that. There was a night in particular when the Holy Spirit came and soon only Cathy and I and the musician were standing up; everyone else in the audience was stretched out on the floor! There was a time we were holding a healing service at a church not too far away, and the Holy Spirit touched perhaps everyone in the congregation. There have been many occasions when the Holy Spirit touched those in our meetings.

But never has revival broken out and the crowds come, to use Wigglesworth’s words. Rather, the service eventually ends and the people go home. And we go on to the next meeting/service, whether at the same place or elsewhere.

So I said to my minister friend, “Why? Why did a revival break out and the crowds come in Wigglesworth’s day?”

He gave his wise answer. He explained that the times are different now. In Wigglesworth’s day there wasn’t that much going on in the way of entertainment or other activities. When the people left his meeting where the Holy Spirit had so touched everyone, they no doubt told others. And they brought others to the next meetings. And others wanted to come. But in our day? Even though people were dramatically touched in our meetings, and have been, they at the end of the service go home and that is that. Not much telling to others. For most no real compulsion to bring anyone else to our next program wherever that is. They just go home.

I’ve always been amazed that when people are dramatically healed by God of a dramatic illness, perhaps one thought to be terminal, we usually don’t see them and their families and friends at the meetings in the future. Where are they? Why don’t we hear from them?

It’s not like that kind of thing is happening everywhere. Unfortunately it is not.

And of course the answer is just what my minister friend indicates. There is just too much going on. Too much outside the home. And people, once home, stay there. They don’t tell others. They don’t bring others.

Only once did we ever have anything similar to others suddenly coming – at an inner city healing service in a store front church. As we prayed for people to receive their healing, suddenly we noticed people were coming up to us who had not been in the church when we started. And we later learned a woman in the back pew was telephoning people and telling them to get down there to be prayed for, to receive their healing. She had seen the power of God and wanted others to see and experience it.

But that is the only time.

Our world is just too busy and too private. Maybe too busy for God. Too private to tell neighbors and friends and family who are lost or in desperate need of help that that help is being given out at a nearby meeting or service if they only knew, if they only could be open to God to receive.

Ponder all that as you can. And pray for the people of our world, most so lost and yet so busy they don’t have time to tell others of miracles or what they just saw, so busy they can’t be bothered. Even though they see God dramatically move in front of their eyes, that doesn’t change their walk or cause them to tell others.

Amazing.

Jesus can’t be far off, can he.

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus!

MOVING ON

There is a lot being written by a lot of people about the United States presidential election of 2012.  All sorts of insights are being drawn.   And the implication of the strange storm Sandy just before the election and how this may have influenced results is being discussed.

But in the end there is only one conclusion – the government in power before the election will continue in power.

And there is one other observation – the country and the world continues to move steadily down the road to the imminent return of Jesus Christ. 

The past four years have seen a great fall in influence and in economic power of the one world super power, the United States.  That trend clearly will continue, as internal reshuffling of income distribution and government priorities renders the country ever less influential.  It has gotten caught up in minor priorities and interests of various specific groups that seek to better themselves, and the net result is that this selfish approach has crushed and will continue to crush this once powerful nation.

The return of Jesus is imminent.  The situation in the Middle East has not changed.  Israel now is more alone than ever, in terms of support of other nations.  The coming wars discussed not long ago in one of our Watchman Warnings are still to come.  I don’t think it will be long before we see some action in that area.

The real question for all people is do they know Jesus Christ truly?  Have they been born of water and the Spirit?  Are they in the Lamb’s book of life?  Are they going with him when he comes or are they staying behind to endure the tribulation period and either hopefully accepting the Lord then or sadly ending up in the Lake of Fire.

The trend is here, the direction set, and the progress continues.  The various countries are at different points.  In some places there are even encouraging breakthroughs for believers.  But inevitably the Lord will come at the appointed time.  He must come soon, whether that is in a day, a month, a year, or a few years, because prophesied things have now happened that must happen within the generation of his return.  A generation is by definition only so long.  And the counting of that generation began at least as far back as 1948, maybe even further.

So you see there is not much time.

We will issue more comments on the election and the implications in a coming newsletter sent to all next week, but I do want you to know I have not overlooked it.  I also want you to know I don’t intend to make rash observations or judgments.  God has this plan, you see, and he is sticking to it.  I’ve written about it so much now.  Hopefully you have read some of that.

The thing for you to do is to keep your eyes on Jesus and to rejoice in your knowledge of him.  To the extent you can, help others in their journey to him.

 

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SANDY MUSINGS - AMERICA AND GOD

After the landfall of the storm Sandy and after getting up so early in a dark morning , I am led to several musings.  I think these are worthwhile to pass on, and I do so for your prayerful consideration.

·        One of the early comments I heard made the point that again in this disaster we see the firefighters, the police, the nurses, the emergency medical workers  and others of that ilk who never shrink from their duties, who do think of others first, who put their lives on the line immediately in disasters and emergencies.  Others who fit in that group are most of our military, especially those young soldiers who go to Afghanistan and Iraq and such places over and over.  I just add that those people and their actions and devotion remind us of what was and in part still is America and what we need to be in whole, in entirety.  If you ever have the opportunity to sit with and look in the eyes of most of the young servicemen and women before or after they travel to the Middle East and you are not moved, you need to reassess who you are and your priorities in life.

 

·        Some are writing about Sandy as being a form of God’s judgment in these last days and also as being a warning to the United States for its behavior in recent years that is so much in opposition to God’s word and plans.  I do not know this absolutely, but one thing I do know:   the Lord did say that as we approach his return there would be fearful events and nations would be frightened by the roaring and tossing of the sea.  Certainly Sandy qualifies on both those points.  One thing I have observed – in all the news reporting on the storm and all the interviews, I’ve not yet heard anyone mention even remotely this was a warning from God.  So if it is, most people other than those who already are serious believers in Jesus evidently didn’t get the message. 

 

·        It still remains true that something is holding back so many Americans who attend the churches but don’t really know God and the full gospel as well as those who just are outside the churches and have no knowledge of God.  Some veil, some confused false doctrine, something is keeping them back from a true saving and empowering knowledge of the Lord and the gospel.  All the evangelism efforts and ministry programs and television programs of all those well-meaning people who believe themselves called by God for such purposes still have not broken through to this large body of people.  Some individuals of course come to know God and accept the Lord.  Some individuals do receive miraculous divine healings and other miracles.  But the bulk is still in the dark, and it is becoming ever clearer that it is going to take a move of God, some divine action, to remove those veils and wake up the bulk of this large and spiritually sleeping body of people.  Well, Jesus himself did say that no one can come to him unless his father draws that person to Jesus.  Now will that indeed happen?  I for one am not sure, for the Lord spoke very clearly that few are they who find the way to life.  Using other words in one of his parables he said many are called but few are chosen.  Now few of course can still be millions upon millions, so I still look for that move.  But when I see the Holy Spirit minister in power in one of our services, with many dramatically touched likely for the first time by God, and so many actually seeing God in action, and then I see no later reaction to that in the community or church (as far as I can tell), I do wonder.  There is clearly some veil, some blockage interfering with a larger receiving.  Despite all that we keep trying, don’t we.  We persist because that is what Jesus called us to do, and we don’t stop.  And we leave the results all up to him and his father and the overall guidance and power of the Holy Spirit.

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus!

 

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THE END OF IGNORANCE FOR A FEW?

The End of Innocence is a famous title.  I thought to use that, but then it is not accurate.  Innocence.  Americans have no right to be innocent.  Ignorance is a much more accurate word.

Throughout most of the country’s existence the truth has been more available to Americans than to any other group of people on the face of the earth.  Books by the tens of thousands, articles, magazines, television program upon television program, libraries, universities, personal computers, churches everywhere.  And total freedom to explore all that and more.

But everywhere many still sit in naïve ignorance in giant brick buildings on Sunday mornings, believing they have heard the truth and are hearing it over and over, when for the majority what they are hearing is a greatly limited and watered down gospel.

People attend churches because their parents went there, or they went to the same denomination, or because their friends go there and they are comfortable, or because it is a social occasion.  And of course there are a few who really are serious about God and truth.  They have to seek and study on their own, which by the way is what has to happen.

Such a limited gospel.  So few Americans know that God is real, Jesus is real, the Holy Spirit is real, the Bible is true, the devil is real, angels are real, demons are real…and so on.  A poll not long ago showed that half of those who consider themselves Christians don’t believe the devil is real.  Note I said those who consider themselves Christians.  I didn’t say God considered them Christians.  Of course the devil is real.  The Lord himself warned us of the devil, talked about him, described him, was challenged unsuccessfully by him.

Jesus’ gospel is a power gospel.  Jesus Christ came to reconcile people to God.  He did all that was necessary to accomplish that.  He overcame the world, and in him true believers in the Lord do also.  He said his believers would do the same things he did, even greater.  

He became a curse on the cross so we would be free from the curses of the law, which basically are just about any horror you can think of. 

We believers are more than conquerors in him. 

Jesus said his believers would heal the sick, cast out demons, so much more.

We’ve done those things in this ministry.  People have been healed in person and even far away over the telephone.  Healed of what the world calls terminal diseases, horrible problems.  And we’ve cast out demons.  You see, demons are really real.

The end of ignorance.  So many of the traditional denominations and others bought into a lie from the early centuries after Jesus that the days of miracles and healings were over.  What a complete fabrication, another accomplishment of the devil (the father of lies, remember).  Look at all the people healed and freed through our ministry and others, some well known, some not well known.  Any truly believing Christian can go forward and act on all that the Lord gave them to do.

The Lord is to return very soon.  The first thing he warned his disciples about regarding this is to watch they not be deceived.

Ignorance.  After the last few years, it seems at least a few have waked up a bit.  The massive deception in the levels of government and the media and the entertainment world has at last gotten their attention, or their ire.  But have they truly realized what is going on?  The emergence of the events leading up to Jesus’ return?  The gradual move of government to a big brother type, one world government.  And the soon to come emergence of the antichrist and his partner, the false prophet?  All that is well underway now.

Americans, who for the most part want to be left alone to pursue their own personal goals and lives, are finding they can’t do that.  That freedom is going away.  They are going to have to pay attention.

Wonder how long it will be before most realize that only God has the answers for them as to what is happening now and what they should do?

Wonder how long it will be before all those churches on the corners and the pastors who for the most part have been held in check so long by denomination boards and church elders and such realize the full truth of who Jesus is and who they are supposed to be and begin preaching the full power gospel.

How long do they have anyway?  How long do any of us have?

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus!

 

REARRANGING THE DECK CHAIRS - THE WORLD TODAY

REARRANGING THE DECK CHAIRS – THE WORLD TODAY

You may have always wondered why and how the orchestra on the Titanic could have continued to play as the ship sank into the frigid waters and they too were engulfed.

An amazing act of courage and consideration for the passengers?  Certainly.

Personal sacrifice for others?  A contribution to peace in a time of horror?  Probably.

Another possibility exists:  They didn’t know what else to do.  Men were not being allowed in the lifeboats anyway.  So they played while the ship sank.  Certainly with higher motives they played, but this is a bit like the old saying of Nero fiddling while Rome burned.

And in this they are not unlike many Americans.  What do I mean?  Well, many Americans at least somewhat have recognized things are not going well in the country.  Something is wrong.  Even the political polls have uncovered this view among the majority.  But, and here’s the tragic part, most Americans don’t know what else to do about it all.  They are like the Titanic musicians.  So they go to work and care for the kids and struggle to make the monthly debt payments on the mortgage and the credit cards and the car loan.  And all the while the nation sinks away from its former greatness and its original objectives.

Why are they so lost?  Most Americans today sadly do not know the heritage of the country, the amazing struggles of the founding generations, the struggle of the spiritual fathers like the pilgrims, the dreams that were held.  This could all be taught in history classes and also in churches, but evidently it is not because most don’t seem to know much about it all.  Witness the totally ignorant answers of people on the street when entertainers or reporters take a microphone into a crowd and ask such questions as “What did George Washington do?” or “Who is the Vice President?”

We have let the evil one have his way, and he has corrupted the educational system, the court system, taken away our basic freedoms, corrupted the entertainment and news media…well, he has because Americans have let this happen.  If Americans had known the Bible, had known Jesus Christ, had known who a true believer is in Jesus, had known their history, had known how to fight attacks from the evil side, they could have stopped this.  But they allowed the evil one to march on in so many ways, such as the court decisions that took God out of schools and away from the public places despite the fact that the overwhelming majority disagreed with all this.  The people forgot that this was a government by and for the people.  They preferred to remain mute and invisible as they were robbed of all things of real value.  For some reason, they were meek and did not respond as the generation in WWII or those who fought with Washington and froze in Valley Forge or so many more.

Well, those past heroic generations did have bold leaders, which the country certainly has not had.  Are there none out there in the land today?  Don’t know.  Maybe not.  Maybe it at last clearly is all beyond the abilities of man.  Maybe at last people will realize what has been true all along – only God has the answers.  They have to depend on God.  Without him, they are lost.

 

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus!

 

                                                                                                                                              September 6, 2012

A WATCHMAN WARNING: Isaac, Katrina, and the US

So here we are again with a hurricane heading directly towards New Orleans.

The projected landfall of Isaac on Wednesday August 29th is seven years to the day after Katrina.  The timing is astonishing to some, even amazing.  It is highly meaningful to others.

Seven years.  That is a special number to God.  Seven represents completeness.  Fulfillment.  In Genesis God rests on the seventh day after six days of creation.

New Orleans was horribly damaged by Katrina.  It has never recovered, and is a much smaller city today than it was then.  But it continues to be New Orleans.  And this very anniversary of Katrina is also another anniversary.  As seven years ago, the annual homosexual celebration known as “southern decadence” begins in New Orleans August 29^th.  One projection expects 125,000 to 150,000 attendees.  New Orleans’s own events web site describes this as one of New Orleans’s premier yearly events.

All of you who know the Bible know that God in no uncertain terms condemns the homosexual life style.  Detestable is one word used there to describe it (see Leviticus 18:22 and Romans 1:27).  In the years since Katrina some states have now legalized homosexual marriage.  And the US has brought homosexuality into the open in the military.  And this storm is back, heading straight for New Orleans and the southern decadence meeting. 

Coincidence?  Make up your own mind.

One other point of note.  When Katrina hit New Orleans, it was immediately after the US had been pressuring Israel to give up some of its land.  Today the US continues to pressure Israel in a variety of ways, and there are indications that in the current presidential campaign the Republican platform may recognize two states in the area, one being Israel and another being for the Palestinians.  The leader of the Democratic ticket has already said Israel should withdraw to its pre-1967 borders. 

Remember God’s promise to Abraham that he would bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him, with Abraham here representing the Jews and thus Israel?  Remember that Isaac, the name of this hurricane, is the name of Abraham’s son of God’s promise through whom the Jews are descended?

We could talk more about how all this ties into the events leading up to the Lord’s imminent return.  It does.  But I think this is enough to cause believers and those who might be believers to sit up and take notice, and hopefully to consider seriously their relationship with Jesus Christ.  Aside from everything else, Isaac is another wake-up call, another warning.

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus!

 

                                                                                                                                       August 28, 2012

A WATCHMAN WARNING: THE COMING WARS

We are in the midst of the events leading up to several prophesied wars described specifically in the Bible.  While I have talked individually about each of these in the past when focusing on the return of Jesus, events of the current day made it prudent to list them specifically and give a brief description.  At the end of this list I will endeavor to put it all together

DESTRUCTION OF DAMASCUS

Isaiah 17:1 plus other scriptures (Amos 1:3-5, Jeremiah 49:23-27) make it very clear that at some point Damascus is destroyed.  It ceases to be a city.  Damascus, Syria, is considered to be the world’s oldest city continuously inhabited, but it is coming to an end.  If we look at all the internal anarchy and outrageous acts within Syria today, it is not hard to imagine something happening very soon to bring this about.

PSALM 83

This psalm describes a war that has not yet happened.  Numerous nations that today are Muslim nations are identified.  Translating from the Biblical names to modern nation names – often a difficult task - leads to these nations/groups as those likely involved in attacking Israel: the Palestinians, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and possibly Iraq.  Note that these are nations that currently surround Israel.

EZEKIEL 38-39

These chapters describe a dramatic attack by a coalition of powerful nations against Israel.  Again translating the Biblical nation titles to modern words gives the attackers:  possibly Russia as leader, Turkey, Iran, Libya, and the Sudan.  This is the attack as you may remember that God very obviously stops, destroying the invaders.  It takes 7 months for the Israelites to bury the dead attackers.  Interestingly, Syria is not mentioned.  Evidently Syria has been somehow removed from the picture before this war happens.  That would mean the destruction of Damascus noted earlier has occurred.  Also note that none of the nations identified in Psalm 83 are listed as attackers (i.e., none of the nations currently right around Israel).  This indicates that they too have been taken out or greatly reduced in power in a previous war, likely the Psalm 83 war.

ARMEGGEDON – Revelation 19 and Zechariah 14

This is the war that immediately precedes Jesus setting up his rule from Jerusalem.  It occurs at the end of the seven year tribulation period.  The nations of the world in opposition to God go to the valley of Jehosophat to fight against Israel and against God.  There they are destroyed by Jesus as he leads an army consisting of his called, chosen, and faithful followers.  Revelation notes that everyone in the army opposing Jesus is killed.

HOW DOES ALL THIS COME ABOUT?

Clearly Armageddon is the last of these wars.  But how does all this start?  Consider where we are today.  The great concerns for Israel are the development of nuclear weapons by Iran and the takeover by more conservative elements of Islam in countries like Egypt where the Muslim brotherhood just won the presidency.  There appears to be a move to unify Muslim nations under an overall Muslim, not secular, government.  The man just elected leader of Egypt has stated publically he wants Jerusalem as the capital of the Muslim world. (By the way, Jerusalem is mentioned many times in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible but not once in Muslim’s Koran.).

It is always possible that the nations in Psalm 83 just act on their vocal attacks on Israel and that begins all this.  But there is a second possibility as well.  We all know how concerned Israel and the United States are with the actions in Iran.  The leader of Iran has made it clear that he wants to see Israel totally destroyed.  As Iran nears the development of nuclear bombs, Israel is concerned it is approaching a point of no return – which may be really soon, perhaps even before the coming US presidential election.  It is conceivable that Israel, perhaps with the help of the US, may soon attack the nuclear facilities in Iran.  Such an attack would result in Iran responding and likely in military attacks by such as Syria, who has been supplied by Iran.  In the ensuing battle is it not possible that Damascus gets destroyed?  That city and the country of Syria are thought to have more biological and chemical weapons than any other in the Middle East.  Whether intentionally or not, it would be a good time for Israel to eliminate that threat.  It also is possible Damascus will just be destroyed by its own current internal strife.

If this all happens, I expect other Muslim nations in the Middle East to attack Israel, thus bringing about the Psalm 83 war.  Assuming Israel with God’s help would win, perhaps seizing more territory and getting closer to the full size God intended back in Genesis when he guided Abraham, there would be continued animosity toward Israel by some.  This leads to the Ezekiel 38-39 war possibly led by Russia and involving Iran, Turkey, Libya, and the Sudan in attacking Israel; their attack leads to the destruction of these forces.

WHERE ARE WE NOW?

It appears we are very near the beginning of all this.  It is prudent for all believers to keep alert as Jesus has warned (Luke 21:36 and elsewhere).  In several places the Bible notes that believers are spared from the wrath that is to come, so I expect Jesus’ collecting his believers as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 will happen before the tribulation period and Armageddon, and possibly before the Ezekiel war.

CONCLUDING COMMENTS – AND WHAT SHOULD WE ALL DO?

Remember – We are living in the last of the last days.  We don’t know a specific hour and time each of these events and Jesus’ coming in the clouds occur, but we know it has to be soon.  Why?  Because he has told us much of events to happen before his return and he has said they will all happen in one generation.  Many have happened.  We are living in that generation.  Many on earth now will see all this and be here when he comes. 

So what should you do?  Above all, do not fear.  As the Bible says in so many places, be not afraid.  Fear is of the devil.  Jesus has overcome the world, and in him we do the same.  Keep your eyes on him and rest in his perfect peace, no matter what happens on this earth.

Here are some good points to follow and pass on:

      ·       You must have belief in Jesus Christ, not in some creed written by men.

·       Your work in any cause, no matter how good, must not take precedence over your devotion to Jesus.

·       Life is not about us.  It is about Jesus Christ and your relationship to him.

·       We were not created so God could make us happy.  His every moment is not spent on thinking how to make us happy.  He is God and we are not.  There is much more to God than we have realized or even than we can comprehend.  But he surely does work for good in all things for those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  (Romans 8:28).

·       The Bible is true, and that includes all those commands and teachings about all aspects of life, not just the ones about love.

As always,

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus!

                                                                                                                          (July 2012)

                                                                                                     Copyright © 2012 by John Newlin Ministries, Inc

SIGN OF THE TIMES - AN ABUNDANCE OF OFFENSE

Way back in the 1800’s and early part of the 1900’s, as I understand, at least in some places pastors in churches preached the word boldly.  And then some of them applied the truths of God they had preached to the specific congregation itself as appropriate.  And they applied it to local and national happenings and issues in the times they were living.  That was the right thing to do.   I think most people expected that.  After all, those who were in the churches were hoping to learn and to live by God’s law, by his commands.

Today, so many of our individual churches do not delve deeply into God’s word, preferring to stay on the surface, or to focus on the tried and true few verses that most people know, or to talk about cultural or motivational issues.  Those that go beyond, especially those who apply God’s word to situations of the day, risk a pretty violent reaction.  Reporters may show up.   People who are “tolerant” of just about everything in our modern society are most assuredly to be offended.  So too all those who believe there is no absolute truth, only relative truths. 

As we edge ever closer to that wonderful return of the Lord and his collecting his believers, and as we see the prophecies being fulfilled and heed the warnings of the Lord to stay alert, to watch we are not deceived, and so on, we set ourselves up to offend others.

In this ministry as long as I preach and write on divine healing, there are those who want to hear and to come (and also those of course who can’t conceive of such a thing, believing incorrectly all the miracles and the gifts of the spirit and such disappeared after the first century).

When I preach and teach more about the fullness of Jesus and all he did, who he is and such, well, it seems it is more difficult to gather a crowd.  So many think they know it all when they say he took care of our sin and brings us forgiveness and eternal life.  And they miss so much.

When I speak of his imminent return, well, there are those who reply people have always said that.  There are those who can’t conceive that the Bible really is absolutely true and that things are indeed happening and about to happen.  So many don’t come because they either are not interested or are frightened by it all.

And then when I apply all the prophecies of the Bible to be fulfilled before the Lord’s return and note what is happening in society, it seems even more are offended.  They ask to be removed from the newsletter list.  They prefer to be comfortable in their views than uncomfortable in God’s truths. 

It is true.  I see it with the newsletters I write.  I see it in the donations and how they dwindle when a subject causes people to be uncomfortable.

But we press on, not doing all we would like because we don’t have the funds, but doing all we can with what we have.  I think many God expects to contribute just do not do so, being interrupted by events of the day and the cares of this world.

The facts are simple:

·        We really are at the end of the church age.

·        Jesus really is about to return.

·        A lot of unpleasant things are happening and about to happen.

·        From his warnings and advice, it is apparent that true believers in Jesus – members of His CHURCH (the only one that counts) will be taken out of harm’s way sometime before the terrible wrath of God explodes in the Tribulation period.

·        Things may likely get much worse here for believers before the Lord collects us and takes us out of here.

·        Many people – certainly by far the majority of society – prefer the approval of secular society, of the mass news media, of the ever growing national government, of their neighbors and friends – to following the truths of God.  Even so, the Bible warns us to let God be true and every man a liar.  His word trumps all.

·        The Lord himself warns more than once that the number finding the way to life (with him, with his father) is few indeed.

Some time ago the Lord made it really clear to me that I should preach and teach about him and about his return.  Even healing services in his priority system take a second place to that.  Of course divine healing is part of who he is and thus appropriately part of any program focusing on the Lord.  But at this point in history what does it matter if people are healed but do not know Jesus?  So they can be physically and emotionally whole as they enter hell?

I still enjoy healing.  But in the last two years as we have planned activities and discussed events, Jesus has clearly guided me more to the focus on himself and his return.  About two years ago I actually felt a need to say to him in prayer – “We’re holding a Day of Healing on such and such a date…Is that all right?” and I received the shocking reply – “If you want to.”  No longer his top priority.  Getting as many of those who are supposed to be his and go with him when he comes – that is his top priority.  Unfortunately this all has not dawned on most people.

My advice to you in the midst of the confusion that is modern life on earth today is to stay alert and focused on Jesus and all he is and all he has done for you and all believers.  That way you should be able to avoid all that is coming on the earth as well as participate in God’s leading others to Jesus.  As our banner says:

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus!

A WATCHMAN WARNING! THE DAY...YOUR ROLE

                    

Surely we are at the end of this age, the church age, the time between Jesus’ first time on earth and his return.  The signs are all here.  The prophecies are fulfilled.  Surely he is coming soon. 

Yet consider these scriptures:

…No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it.  (Ecclesiastes 8:17, NIV)

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  (Isaiah 55:8-9, NIV)

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?  Tell me, if you understand.”  (Job 38:4, NIV)

“Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place,…”  (Job 38: 12, NIV)

“Who has a claim against me that I must pay?  Everything under heaven belongs to me.”  (Job 41:11, NIV)

-        [Also see all of Job: 38-41]

The truth is obvious – we are not God.  But God through his infinite grace has chosen to reveal more and more of himself through the scriptures, through his son Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Spirit.  And through his directly speaking to his servants.  All the above scriptures come from the Old Testament, the period before Jesus came to earth.  But Jesus did come, and during his time teaching, preaching, and healing here he revealed to us so very much of God, of God’s plan, of the Kingdom.

Believers are not in darkness now.  We do understand much of God’s plans – if we know the Lord, if we have been born again and baptized with the Holy Spirit, if we allow ourselves to be guided by the Spirit, if we obey.  If Jesus Christ is our Lord and we live that way, we have no excuse for not knowing much of what is to happen.

Surely we will never know all.  But we do know a great deal.  It has been revealed.  God never does anything without revealing it beforehand to his prophets (Amos 3:7).  And he has, and he does.

Jesus is coming soon.  I know no one to whom he has revealed the specific hour and day, although it is not inconceivable that he might do that.  But he has clearly revealed his return is imminent, so imminent that he wants his people warned.  “It will be swift,” he has told me, a seldom used word I thought at the time – swift.  “When I come things will change,” he has said.  One time he even added, “This is no joke.”  Interestingly, I recently looked at the very end of the Bible.  There Jesus says in his last words in the Bible, “Surely I come swiftly.”  There’s that word again.  Swiftly is the translation of the original Greek of the New Testament.  It also means quickly.

The time is now.  Any moment. This world system is just playing out its final hand.  All that matters is that as many as possible of those God would have with him in the Kingdom indeed know him.  However God has called you to help in that, you should be pursuing that call with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Now.  There will be no other “last days.”  And, to the extent you can, please help ministries like ours to get the truth about
Jesus and his return out to more and more.