Dear friends and readers,
Peace and grace to you in Jesus name!
You know, it seems these days that no matter who you talk to, people KNOW that something big is happening to the world! Even the secular news people are speculating DAILY about things like Financial crash theories, wars that keep popping up everywhere, new sickness or plague that no one has heard of before and of course, the dreaded "A" word!
ARMAGEDDON!!!
But before I weigh in on todays discussion, please allow me to thank new readers in the countries of Lithuania, Slovakia, Pakistan, Congo, Poland, Syria and Sweden. That brings us to readership in exactly 71 countries and I want to sincerely thank each and every one of you for referring my articles to your friends and family. I realize that my last article was posted some time ago on August 10th under the title of "ISRAEL'S SADDEST DAY"! Believe me we have not been idling away the time fruitlessly. In fact the Lord has blessed us with an entirely new (to us) office complex which has taken several weeks to get up and running.
We have rapidly expanded our ministry to provide more information, articles and people to process answers for all those theological questions that sometime come my way. We are also now within range of beginning our YouTube productions on a wide variety of Biblical subjects. Of course we also perform field missions work in our home country plus schedule pastoral conferences and training sessions. It is a busy life and once again in behalf of all of our staff, thank you for your patience.
When my wife and I put on conferences or speak in churches, I ask the folks, "hold up your hand if you think the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back soon"? Well, hands begin flying up everywhere! Reactions range from ""Come back quickly Lord Jesus" to "I am really afraid I will not have the chance to get married and have a baby"! That may sound strange but for our younger generation of believers, it is very natural I think for them to want to enjoy a normal full life's experience while at the same time having a desire for the Lord to come quickly for His people.
Throughout the world, fear is permeating everything these days and perhaps for good reason. Bad stuff is happening---and often to good people. We can simply no longer explain away the Biblical prophecies such as Jesus speaking in matthew chapter 24:4-14. Wars, rumors of wars, famines, plagues, earthquakes and all the things we cannot escape every single time we turn on the television news.
I have long believed that we are living exactly in the center of verse 8 which says, "All these things are the beginnings of sorrows"! I for one believe that we (including the entire world) are balancing on the very cusp of time and that the next year or two may well signal things happening that are scary but wonderful all at the same time. Frankly scary for unbelievers and wonderful for those who DO believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Not that we as believers want to see bad things happening in the world but we also cannot escape the realization that we have a job to do and now is definitely the time to get started doing it.
Do you realize that in the past two thousand years, NO OTHER generation of believers has been given the awesome responsibility for nearly 7 BILLION people, alive on the of the face of the planet at the very same time? Would you agree that those numbers add an entirely new level of immediacy to the Great Commission? Matthew 28:18-20 " Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you---!"
Todays world is an ever increasing mess. Nearly every country is experiencing massive problems ranging from near financial bankruptcy to armed clashes between the citizenry and military forces. Last nights news reported that demonstrations are being held in about 1500 cities worldwide and increasing daily. Violence is increasing at an alarming rate and entire regimes are in danger of being toppled. In some cases that may be a good thing when you consider the wholesale slaughter and human rights violations that are happening. On the other hand, history tells us repeatedly that when revolution is responsible for changing governments, the replacement officials are frequently worse than the originals.
I am reminded of just one example out of thousands of times in the history of mankind that this cycle has been repeated. My apologies in advance to our Russian readers for using your history as an example. But the events of January 22nd 1905 are a stellar example of what can happen when ordinary people are mistreated by Government authorities who have become so powerful that they loose track of why they are in authority in the first place.
At the time, the huge nation of Russia was controlled by Tsar Nicholas II. This was an autocratic form of government in which the Tsar was basically isolated from his people. A peaceful demonstration was held on January 22nd of that year that could never be described as either violent political or social unrest.
This was the statement presented to Tsar Nicholas in behalf of the people; " Oh Sire, we are working men and inhabitants of St. Petersburg. Our wives, our children, our parents, helpless and aged men and women have come to you, our ruler, in search of justice and protection. We are beggars, we are oppressed and overburdened with work. We are insulted, we are not looked on as human beings, but as slaves. The moment has come for us when death would be better than the prolongation of our intolerable sufferings. We are seeking here our last salvation. Do not refuse to help your people. Destroy the wall between yourself and your people"!
No one knows exactly why or who gave the command to fire! But fire they did. The military began shooting at these peaceful demonstrators and many were killed. This was later called "BLOODY SUNDAY". No one really knows for certain how many were slain but this one incident began the downfall of a monarchy that had lasted for centuries.
The American consul stationed in Odessa Russia sent the following message; "The present ruler has lost absolutely the affection of the Russian people and whatever the future may have in store for the Dynasty, the present Tsar will never again be safe in the midst of his people"!
And thus began the heady days of a nationwide bloody revolution later engineered by the teachings of men like Vladimir Lenin and leaders like Joseph Stalin who spoke and acted like saviors for the common folk. Oh, how easily we can become duped by men seeking power.
What rural mother Russia became in short order was a huge communistic
Soviet bloc that militarily gobbled up nearly all the countries of Eastern Europe, murdered nearly 20 MILLION people and threatened the entire world for the next 70 years including with nuclear weapons.
Oh and did I neglect to mention that the new leadership decided and announced to the world that there is no God?
Now let's fast forward to the problems we are facing today.
We see with our own eyes what is happening country by country. But somehow we seem to think that all this revolution in the Middle East today will result in brand new DEMOCRATIC nations in which everyone will enjoy equal opportunity, human rights, financial blessings and a common vote???
PLEEEEEASE! Are we really that naive?
At this very moment, all the following countries are going through a very basic form of exactly what happened to Russia in 1905. Dictatorships, extreme forms of human rights violations, poverty and governmental oppression are ripping apart the very fabric of Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia, Bahrain, Algeria, Afghanistan and (still) in Iraq.
Both the Jordanian and Saudi Arabian Monarchies are shaking in their boots because they are in very real danger of loosing their Kingdoms. In the meantime Russia (once again) is trying for world dominance and cozying up to both Iran (ancient Persia) and Turkey, who by the way has recently announced that it is doubling the size of it's military which is already one of the largest in the region. Some commentators are speculating that Turkey is having visions of reconstituting the old Ottoman Empire which at one time held sway over the entire Middle East.
Then of course we have Iran that may go nuclear and has announced to the entire world that it has the goal of totally destroying both Israel and the United States. In the meantime, Syria is killing it's citizens by the hundreds and threatening to destroy Tel Aviv (Israel) if ANYONE including Turkey, The United Stated or either NATO or the United Nations tries to intervene in this attempted partial Genocide of Syrian citizens.
If that is not enough, ISRAEL has also announced that if Syria sends missiles toward Tel Aviv, then the Israeli's will completely destroy the ancient Syrian capitol of Damascus. In other words we now have retaliatory threats against a city of 2 1/2 million people, the destruction of which is Biblically prophesied in Isaiah chapter 17.
???
When you couple all of that with what could well become worldwide financial doom---anyone noticed what is happening in the European Union these days? And how about all those riots and both political and social protests in at least 1500 cities SIMULTANEOUSLY worldwide? Then there are the huge drug cartels doing a great job toward the destruction of Mexico, The United States on the brink of financial collapse and NO ONE with any answers-------well, are we about to see several and various repeats of the events in Russia of 1905? What do you think?
So let's get back to Matthew chapter 24 for a moment. I told you earlier that I believe we are right now in the exact middle of verse 8 "for all these are the beginnings of sorrows"! So let us regroup for just a moment and remember what ALL THESE THINGS ARE! 1). Nation rising against nation. 2). Kingdom against kingdom. 3). Famines 4). Pestilences (plagues). 5). Earth quakes in various places.
Do all those things sound RECENTLY familiar to you?
Well, frankly beginning in verse 9 through 12 the news gets much worse and should give us cause for pause! Some within the church will be martyred (already happening in many countries), Christians will be hated for Christ's name sake (Already happening in even more countries), Many will betray and hate one another (Have you noticed in your neck of the woods that finger pointing is definitely on the rise and LOYALTY among professing friends is now subject to circumstance)?
Verse 11 tells us that false prophets will arise. WOW, I could write an entire book about that one. There is some really really strange theology barging it's way into some churches these days and way too many people carrying business cards that proclaim themselves to be PROPHETS and even APOSTLES! Oh, my goodness, I could go on a major rant here! There are so many emails hitting my screen seemingly daily, identifying the latest PROPHECY by PROPHET so and so. But you know what, none of these so called prophecies seem to be happening. Perhaps that should give us a clue!
Just a note for the record: I firmly believe in Ephesians chapter 4 verses 11-13. Jesus Himself "gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists and some pastors and teachers". But, the problem the way I see it is as follows: These positions were not granted to gain personal notoriety. Verses 12 and 13 go on to tell us what we should be looking for in these people.
They are here for "The equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for edifying (ENCOURAGING---my emphasis added) of the body of Christ. We will go on in a minute but first let me pose a question for you to think about; Are you being EQUIPPED and ENCOURAGED by your church or spiritual leadership? If so then my advice is for you to stay right where you are and get busy. But if you come away from your church fellowship DISCOURAGED, and not understanding what your job (or opportunities are) in the body of Christ? Well then perhaps you should go back and check out verse 13.
The reason that the Lord gives us leadership is to do a very simple thing. "Till (Until) we ALL come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the SON OF GOD, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ"! (14) "that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, (15) but speaking the TRUTH--------------"!
So my second question for you is simply this. Who is being glorified in your fellowship? Is it the SON OF GOD? Well, of course you say, why else would I go to church? And on another note, some seem to believe that 'TILL WE ALL COME INTO THE UNITY OF THE FAITH", means that all denominations must cease to exist and every church on the corner world wide spend their time on a conference call singing "KUMBAYA"!
While I do not see a scriptural basis for denominations, it is clear that the Lord has allowed them. We have vastly different cultures, different languages, church ceremony and other things that separate us that range from robes (or no robes) to worship style. No, the "coming together in the unity of the faith is self explanatory in the context of these scriptures. That means that our unity is found in "our unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the SON OF GOD---and that in so doing, our common concern is for each of us to become the fulness of Christ.
Which leads me to my central theme of all Biblical teachings: 2 Timothy 3:16 "ALL SCRIPTURE IS GIVEN BY INSPIRATION OF GOD, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man (or woman) of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work"!
In todays thoroughly endangered world, the ONLY safety that we as Christians have is to stick to the word of God and read and study it for what it really is. It is not an allegory unless specifically stated to be so within the word itself. That leaves us with the absolute knowledge that the Bible is Holy and without fault. For those who claim that the Bible is full of mistakes, I suggest that you read it some more. There are no faults, just misunderstandings by the men and women who study it.
When the pure word of God is taught, you will not find false doctrine invading your fellowship. When you concentrate all your efforts on insuring that it is Jesus Christ, the SON OF GOD, who is center of your worship, then you will not fall prey to false prophets.
I want to leave you today with a couple of things to consider; 1). I quoted part of the Great Commission to you earlier from Matthew 28:18-20. However the remainder of those verses give us a promise that if taken seriously will strengthen us in our walks with the Lord no matter what else may be going on in the world. Those famous words are a promise that no one on this earth has unless they have sincerely repented for their sins and sincerely embraced Jesus Christ as the Son Of God. Jesus says to His followers, "And lo, I will be with you always, even to the end of the age"!
Well speaking only for myself, that is good enough for me. How about you?
Second, and finally, I want to exhort all who are reading this. I believe with all my heart that we are witnessing a separation within the church worldwide. On the one side are those pastors and congregations who steadfastly stick to the Word of God, teach it accordingly and do not bow to political correctness.
On the other side are those churches and pastors who are ever more increasingly questioning the truth of Biblical scripture. They foist upon their sheep, polluted and counterfeit manifestations of the "HOLY SPIRIT". Those things that simply cannot be found in scripture, under the guise of "God doing a new thing". Then they undermine traditional family values, condone sinful sexual relationships, think it is no longer politically correct to talk about the blood of Christ and tell people that all they have to do is "ACKNOWLEDGE" their sins but actual repentance is no longer necessary.
SPECIAL NOTE: I believe in and actively teach all the gifts of the Holy Spirit as recorded in 1 Corinthians chapter 12: 1-11 and Romans chapter 12:6-8. However both Corinthians and Romans follow the things of the Spirit with admonitions regarding LOVE and it's ultimate importance in the walk of all believers. I do not believe in "extra Biblical manifestations of the Holy Spirit" as are being taught by so many false teachers today. The Bible is a complete document and if God wanted us to participate in other forms of "spiritual experience" he would have said so in His Holy Word. While practicing those gifts of the Spirit that are enumerated in Corinthians and Romans, we should always remember the admonition of 1 Corinthians 14:40 "LET ALL THINGS BE DONE DECENTLY AND IN ORDER"!
You know folks, God gave us a Bible for a reason. Without it and the truth that it imparts, we are left with a broken and shattered moral compass. What was written for the benefit of all mankind thousands of years ago is still new and fresh today for those who are seeking the truth.
So if you are not attending a church, I suggest that you find one quickly and make sure that what is being taught is exactly what God wrote in HIS BIBLE. If you are attending a church that is teaching any form of a perverted Biblical doctrine, GET OUT FAST!!! And remember that in doing so you are in 100% accord with the teachings of the Apostle Paul as he was writing to the church of Galatia in approximately 50 A.D.
He said to them (chapter 1 verses 6-8), "I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him (CHRIST---my emphasis added) who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; But there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, LET HIM BE ACCURSED"!
Although the world---and parts of the church---are truly experiencing rack and ruin today, that does not have to ruin your day as a believer. Nehemiah chapter 8 verse 10: "----Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength"!
God bless you all,
Pastor Rance.
