Added June 2009 Section 9B .. The Future The Wrath, Judgment and Salvation of God The Judgment of God... The First Six Trumpets Both Jesus and Paul imply that world conditions would not necessarily allow people to suspect the approach of Armageddon. The “day of the Lord” is described as coming suddenly, catching the non believer unawares. One often hears of the media describing one of nature’s calamities as being “of biblical proportions”. This extreme language makes one wonder how they would describe the true plagues that God will send on the earth, which will indeed be “of biblical proportions”. Jesus describes this time as one of Great Tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, and never will be again, then goes on to say “... if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved”. The first six of these plagues are each heralded by an angel blowing a Trumpet. That Earth Shaking Seventh Trumpet However it is the Seventh Trumpet that is, in a sense, the most consequential of all the judgments, since at this call significant and apparently rapid changes take place. This last Trumpet brings an end to the mystery of God... Jesus appears before the Face of God for us and the atonement complete, He reaps the earth (what we call the Rapture) and the doors to the Kingdom are closed forever. The Rapture This page has been confined to the reasons the Pre-Tribulation Rapture is a figment of the imagination. See the article immediately above for details of exactly when the Rapture takes place. The End of The Age..The Seven Bowls God publicly reclaims His rightful rule over the earth as He makes an end of all things in the Seven Bowls and Jesus returns to earth to establish His kingdom. The Interludes
Revelation, for various reasons, pauses more than once in it’s recital of ongoing events. However these interludes give us significant information. The Two Witnesses The two individuals known as the "Two Witnesses" are only mentioned in eleven verses in the entire Bible, and yet they play a major role in the End Times. While their identity has again caused much speculation, the fact that God has not named them, probably means that He does not intend for us to identify them. The general tenor of the verses is that of a straight forward description of two exceptional individuals, although when it is that they make their appearance on the world stage is close to impossible to surmise from the text. A Dragon and Two Beasts Revelation interrupts the judgments, between the Sixth and Seventh Trumpet, to show John (in chapters 12, 13 and part of 14) a symbolic panorama of events and people sweeping backwards over the last two thousand years, then forward to the major players and events of the tribulation period, winding up with the return of Christ, depicted as standing on Mt. Zion. Two Babylons Chapters 17 and 18 are not part of the chronological sequence of Revelation, and do not follow the seven bowls which finish God’s Wrath. They are instead one more break taken in the sequence of events to describe two different aspects of “Babylon”, and the resulting judgment. Chapter 17 deals with the spiritual side of Babylon (“Mystery Babylon”), while chapter 18 deals with Babylon as a political and commercial system. Two faces of the same coin, a religious and an economic system, both of which endeavor to operate independently of and in opposition to the true God.
Added May 2009 Section 9B .. The Future The Great Christian Hope Of Glorification If you don't know very much about the "good things" God has in store for you, it doesn't seem like you will be able to have very much hope. A general overview of what happens in glorification, and an in-depth look at the nature of our resurrection bodies. The Signs Of The Times Many people believe there is nothing that can be known about the timing of the Lord's return because Jesus said He would return like a thief in the night. But Paul makes it clear in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 that Jesus' statement does not apply to believers: "But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief. However the prophet Daniel warned centuries ago that only the ‘wise’ would be able to understand the prophecies. An Overview of Revelation In the original New Testament Greek the last book of the Bible was called Apocalypsis, which means unveiling or uncovering. In this case the word signifies the revealing of previously unknown facts… a supernatural disclosure of matters pertaining to human existence or the world. In other words … A Revelation. Far from being the territory of the lunatic fringe, eagerly anticipating the end of the world, Revelation is the only message of hope found anywhere.. the capstone of all God's promises about the world to come. While there is no question that much is the book is not pleasant, your future, mine and the future of all of humanity depends on those promises”. Certainly,, no one can understand God’s purpose for history apart from the study of Biblical prophecy. The Wrath of God The Bible labors the point in both Old and New Testament that God is good to those who trust Him and is terrible to those who do not. Both Testaments emphasize the reality and terror of God’s wrath. Today’s powerless, sickly sweet, sentimental ‘Easy Christianity’ has chosen to babble on and on about the goodness and love of God but totally ignore (to our peril) His wrath and judgment. The Persecution of The Church The Seven Seals and Matthew 24 What is really interesting here is that the Seven Seals (Revelation 6-7) exactly parallel the Olivet Discourse. In summary, both the Olivet Discourse and the Seals include, in the same sequence, both the events leading up to, and the actual tribulation of the church, followed by the wrath and judgment of God, or the Great Tribulation such as the world has never seen..
Section 8B ... Controversial Issues Baptism Is it necessary for salvation, or is it the act of an already present faith? If baptismal regeneration is right, then we should see people baptized first, then saved later, or saved and baptized simultaneously. We never see this. We do see many times people being saved first, then being baptized. What about the issue of “re-baptism”? Some say that “re-baptism” should never be practiced – no matter what the circumstances of one’s original baptism were. Infant baptism is the sprinkling or immersion of infants. Though the exact purpose of it differs from group to group, it almost always implies that the child receives salvation and/or spiritual blessing in some sense.
Added April 2009 The Seven Feasts of Israel God introduced the Seven Feasts of Israel to the nation of Israel while they were encamped at Mount Sinai. Although each of these seven special days are referred to in several places in the Bible, it is in Leviticus 23 that all seven feasts are listed in chronological order. They are called "the feasts of the Lord" which simply means that they were instituted by the Lord Himself, a fact that lends them much solemnity and importance. They were “holy convocations” that took place at "appointed times". Perhaps one of the most fascinating Biblical studies is the historic and prophetic significance of these special days. While believers are not require to keep these feasts, every believer should be very familiar with them, as they not only celebrate a historical event in Israel's past, but are, at the same time, a prophecy of future events… or a type. God’s plan of salvation for mankind is summed up in these feasts, which relate to Israel's spring and fall agricultural seasons and therefore fall into three clusters. The Spring and Summer Feasts typify the inauguration of redemption while the Fall Feasts its consummation. Section 4 .. The Heart Of The Matter Repentance ...The Missing Message: The word repentance is scarcely ever heard in most churches today, pastors rarely calling for their congregations to sorrow over sin. Instead the message heard from way too many pulpits has been watered down to just “believe” and you'll be saved. Yet Repentance is presented as an absolute requirement for forgiveness in the Old Testament as well a the New. Scripture presents Repentance and Faith as NOT the same thing, but literally as two sides of the same coin. You can't believe without truly repenting, and you can not experience “Godly sorrow” without believing. Section 8A .. A Question Of Salvation The Two Phase Atonement: The New Testament sometimes says that salvation is an accomplished reality, and at other times says it is still in the future, a seeming contradiction that is not limited to salvation alone. So what is the answer? Can we be assured we have salvation now, or is it something we have to strive and hope for. Have we already been adopted as sons, or are we eagerly waiting for this adoption? Are we righteous now, or is it yet a distant hope? For those who are actually interested in what the Bible says on the subject… as opposed to what parents, pastors, friends, or denomination may have taught, the answer to all of the above questions is .. BOTH. Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary was but the first half of the process, with the second phase still in the future. Complete deliverance will not be realized until Christ puts away sin at the end of the ages, when He (Jesus) will appear “before the face of God for us”. [Hebrews 9: 26]. But to properly understand that concept requires a more complete understanding of the atonement, for which we have to turn to the Old Testament. Section 10A .. The Contemporary Church/ ‘Christian’ Courses The Alpha Course: Until recently I was under the impression that Alpha was yet another passing fad that would soon (if it had not already) make way for the next new trend. However a December 21st 2008 article in the online edition of Time magazine made it clear that I could not have been more wrong. Apparently Alpha is still alive and kicking, having already outlived most of the ‘new’ things invading the professing Church over the last several decades. The Time magazine article said, in part, that large numbers of people were “Finding Jesus In London”. Not exactly true.
Added January 2009 Section 12... New Age and New Thought New Age ..An Overview: ‘New’ Age Is not new ... it is a modern revival of ancient religious traditions, along with a potpourri of influences: Eastern mysticism, modern philosophy and psychology, science and science fiction, and the counterculture of the 50s and 60s. A movement that over the last several decades has gradually been gathering momentum over the face of this earth.. a movement fueled by the unholy forces that oppose both God and man... shepherded by humans outside the church who have no comprehension of the dark forces they deal with, and, of course, by an “evil and adulterous generation” inside the church who so blithely ignore the warnings from the God they profess to serve. The Global Alliance: In recent years there has been an explosion of individuals and organizations (both large and small) who are actively working towards creating the conditions necessary for the Reappearance of the Christ or The Maitreya, by means of occult mediation, the Great Invocation etc. However perhaps an even more dominant theme, common to thousands of organizations, is the cry for “peace”. The problem here is NOT their motives (regarding their peace mission), but their methods... They seek peace by shaking hands with the devil, looking to a messiah (world teacher) to teach them how to live and to bring harmony to the planet. This escalation of people working towards ‘peace’ is very clearly referred to in the Bible, but it does not say that when they cry “peace and safety”, they are going to have peace and safety, but very certainly prophesizes that He will visit “sudden destruction” upon the criers. This is close to one of the most telling signs of the End Times. The United Nations: The question to be asked is whether the UN has any ties to the occult, regardless of all the hype by Robert Muller, Djwhal Khul Alice Bailey, the AAC and Seven Ray Institute, which may be the product of very fertile imaginations or simply wishful thinking. But is this the case? Or is the UN actually part and parcel of this whole ‘return of the World Teacher and his cronies... the Ascended Masters/ peace and safety scenario? To answer that question we need to turn our attention to a very interesting organizations... The Aquarian Age Community. David Spangler an American spiritual philosopher and self-described "practical mystic", is considered one of the founding figures of the modern New Age movement, although he is said to be highly critical of what much of the movement has since become, especially its commercialistic and sensationalist elements. Spangler’s web site that he has, since 1965, “worked clairvoyantly with a group of non-physical beings from the inner worlds of spirit”. Added December 2008 Section 12... New Age and New Thought Alice Bailey and The Lucis Trust: Alice Bailey, under the guidance of an ectoplasmic apparition from hell, who called himself Djwhal Khul ("The Tibetan"), wrote some 24 books and founded the Lucis Trust (formerly Lucifer Publishing Co.) which enjoys "Consultative Status" with the United Nations and has not onlyspawned several other organization… the Arcane School, Triangles, World Goodwill, Lucis Publishing, Lucis Productions, Lucis Trust Libraries, the New Group of World Servers, but also maintain the UN meditation room. And the purpose of these groups? At their core ALL of them exist for one purpose ..in their words “the helping of the Great Ones and the rendering to Them of that intelligent assistance which will make their plans for humanity materialize”. A plan that is centered around making conditions suitable (By occult meditation and reciting of the Great Invocation) for what they call “The Reappearance of The Christ. Except that this Christ has nothing to do with Jesus Christ of the Bible. s to a translation plus a set of features designed to help one read and study the text. Added November 2008 Section 5 .. Other Beliefs/World Religions/Buddhism Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama A noted public speaker worldwide, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, who considers himself half-Marxist, half-Buddhist, is often described as charismatic. He is the first Dalai Lama to travel to the West (undertaking a series of tours of 46 nations since 1967) where he seeks to spread Buddhist teachings and to promote ethics and interfaith harmony. He has met with religious leaders and heads of state from innumerable countries and been bestowed with many honours including the Nobel Peace Prize. He certainly has wide appeal to the man on the street.. Everyone seems caught up in the spell, and one can certainly see why.. He comes across as extremely tolerant and compassionate, A man of peace and a human rights activist, who even relates passages relevant to his message from the Sermon on the Mount. Besides the almost always smiling Dalai Lama has a very appealing side and a legendary sense of humour. So what’s not to love? However, a few voices have been raised which question the popular image of this ‘man of peace’. One of the issues raised is in regard to a couple of the Dalai Lama’s very questionable human connections, However, while these matters do little but make him quite a hypocrite, it is the second issue.. his belief in the Maitreya and his and teaching of the Kalachakra-Tantra that concern us here. It is those that make him an extremely dangerous man. Section 10A .. The Contemporary Church /The Emerging Church Rob Bell founding pastor of Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan was recently called “The Hipper-Than-Thou-Pastor” by Time magazine. At the recent Seeds of Compassion event held in Seattle, Bell addressed the Dalai Lama as “his holiness” and did little more than spout spiritual platitudes, making ‘profound’ statements like love, forgiveness and compassion are a 'better way'. It is beyond my understanding how any one can rattle on about compassion when addressing a non Christian, unsaved audience, then neglect to tell them of the salvation offered us. Where is the compassion in not making the attempt to save these people from hell? Where is the love you claim to have when you miss a grand opportunity to present influential non believers with God’s saving grace. On reflection, perhaps that was a little too much to hope for considering that many of the emergent leaders do not even share the Gospel message with members of their own congregations. Actually, on further reflection, it is extremely doubtful that they even know what the Gospel message is. |
Added October 2008 Section 10A.. The Contemporary Church/ Merchandising The Gospel The Shack is a New York Times best seller with well over a million copies in print. It is Christian fiction that attempts to present a Christian worldview through the genre of religious fiction. But it has been called "scripturally incorrect" and downright "dangerous." So how Christian is it really? Selling Faith Most if not all of the products being marketed to Christians, are simply repackaged versions of what is already available to the culture at large. Christian musical trends follow closely on the heels of emerging trends in secular music. Christians have their own Christian psychology, toned down somewhat to be sure, but still following closely the latest novel ideal sweeping its secular counterpart. Hip Christian clothing, Christian weight loss regimens, and even a Christian Rubik’s cube await discriminating Christians on the cutting edge of society. However it is important to keep in mind that at its heart Christianity is not about having a cleaner version of what the world has. Section 10A The Contemporary Church/ The Emerging Church Ancient-Future Faith Or Do All Roads Lead to Rome.. Its Practices, Its Beliefs Rumors are starting to circulate that the emergent church movement is running out of steam. After making the biggest splash and the most noise of anything in the Christian community for many years it appears to be approaching exhaustion. But before we begin to make funeral arrangements for the emergent church it might be well to notice that it has not died; it is just morphing. Section 10B ... Heresy In The Church/ Counterfeit Revivals The Emperor Has No Clothes We too often, like Chicken Little, draw false conclusions from inadequate, inappropriate, or even no evidence. Often the consequences are slight, but occasionally they can be of major impact on our lives, even changing our beliefs and way of life. Pastors and worship leaders who are totally sincere and devout are producing the same, or very similar, results that hypnotists, frauds, and gurus produce. The phenomena in Eastern religious settings is no different from what has been reported in Christian settings with the evidence being misinterpreted in line with the presuppositions, beliefs, hopes, and desires of the participants. The setting in which one has the experience is a major factors in determining one's interpretation of a mystical experience are... If a church, it will be understood in Christian terms. If an ashram, in Hindu/Buddhist terms. If a hotel ballroom, in secular terms. Section 10B... Heresy In The Church\Healing Healer? Heal Thyself! A good subtitle for this article might be "Practice What You Preach!" There is no doubt that God can and does heal people today. But the false doctrines of the Word-Faith Movement about "declaring" healing, "name-it-and-claim-it", etc. have been proven to be lies by the very people who sell this deceit. If you don't know about where these famous "faith healers" go when they need healing, you may be surprised. Why couldn't they heal themselves when they purported to be able to heal others by virtue of their superior faith? Section 11... Cults Dispelling the Myths Elaborating on widely accepted myths concerning cultic involvement. Section 12A...The Occult Visualization.. A Dangerous New Age Practice Part One of this series examines the nature, influence, and varieties of visualization, as well as the reasons people use it. Part One considers the world view commonly associated with visualization, dangers inherent in its practice, its occult aspects, and the question of whether Christian visualization can be a safe and biblical practice. [Detailed article covering many aspects of visualization] Added September 2008 Section 10A The Contemporary Church/ Mysticism In The Church... Contemplative or Centering Prayer Contemplating The Alternative Since it is certain that, regardless of personal belief, something does transpire during mystical experiences, the question that springs to mind is what can explain this phenomena. To say it is the Holy Spirit is just so much tosh, since there is not one, not two, but seven common themes of mysticism between Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu and American agnostic mystical experiences. Roots of Evil I .. The Origin and History of Contemplative Prayer The Desert Fathers, Hesychasm and the Philokalia, St. John Cassian, The Way of a Pilgrim, The Jesus Prayer, The Cloud of Unknowing, Dom John Main, Meister Eckhart. All of the above thought they had discovered the way to God, totally ignoring the restrictions God places on what means we use to come to Him. They also forgot the warnings that evil spirits have been practicing the art of deception for thousands of years. Spirits that willingly give people whatever experiences they know they will fall for. Roots of Evil II .. The Origin and History of Contemplative Prayer Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, Thomas Keating... We trust these men to point us in the direction of God. Yet they were all Catholics who, not only could not see through Rome’s foundational heresies, but promoted the integration of pagan practices such as Zen Buddhism and Hindu yoga with Christianity. So why are we not insisting that our teachers at least be Christians? Guess we must be even more stupid than they were..
Section 12... Index To New Age/ New Thought
John Marks Templeton: Norman Vincent Peale called Templeton “The greatest layman of the Christian church in our time” while Robert Schuller introduced him to the church in 1986. Although (unbelievably) Templeton was a lifelong member of the Presbyterian Church and a trustee on the board of Princeton Theological Seminary he took a broad view of spirituality and ethics. Influenced by the Unity School of Christianity (below), a movement that espouses a shared divinity between God and humanity, Templeton claimed that truth is relative, Christianity is no longer relevant today as it was in Christ’s day and the heart of true religion is the willingness to see truths in other religions. Additionally the Templeton Foundation has been one of the financial contributors to the Parliament of World Religions Ken Wilber In his book Velvet Elvis, Rob Bell advises his readers to read Ken Wilber’s A Brief History of Everything, “For a mind-blowing introduction to emergence theory and divine creativity". Credited with developing “a unified field theory of consciousness”, Wilber is "a longtime practicing Buddhist" who's key ideas "are Buddhist or Buddhist inspired " and who declared his “love and devotion" for the megalomaniac cult leader Adi Da (formerly known as Da Free John. He is also not above twisting the plain meaning of Scripture to conform to his philosophical outlook. Added August 2008 Section 12... Index To New Age/ New Thought New Thought: as defined in the dictionary, is a modern spiritual philosophy stressing the power of right thinking in a person's life, the idea that our thoughts and attitudes affect our experience and that God (or whatever other name a person might have for a Higher Power) is within the individual. New Thought is not new; it follows the same philosophies and fabrications that Satan has used to try and shake the foundations of the Church since the very dawn of the faith. It seeks to show a freedom of choice in religion, undermine the importance of the church, disprove the existence and very real personage of Lucifer, make heaven a “state of mind”, demonstrate God as being subject to our thoughts and finally (as always) remove any relevance to salvation from the death and resurrection of Christ. Roots of Evil: While the majority of people may be unable to define New Thought, hundreds of thousands are increasingly becoming influenced by it, since it is the cornerstone for most of the formulas for happy and successful living. Reduced it to it’s essentials, New Thought very simply believes that your thoughts play a crucial role in the kind of life you experience. It is unlikely that many Christians are aware of the common roots of some popular beliefs in the church and the New Thought beliefs without. From Clement Stone’s Positive Mental Attitude to Robert Schuller’s Possibility Thinking and Oral Roberts’ seed-faith principles, they all stem from common sources and pretty much say the same thing. Norman Vincent Peale: Peale was a 33rd degree Mason who rejected the Christian doctrine of sin, the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ, and justification by faith alone in the merits of Christ. Although he used Christian terminology and rhetoric, in a sense his theology had little to do with Christianity, because it had little to do with sin and redemption. Although he may never have heard of the fourth-century heresy called Pelagianism, he was a thorough Pelagian -- that is, someone who believes that human nature is essentially good and that human beings are saved by developing their inner potential. Robert Schuller: is the epitome of the wolf that Paul spoke about in Acts 20:29-30. Called an extraordinary minister by New Age leader Neale Donald Walsch, what Schuller believes about the Bible is actually a redefined, twisted view of it. His repentance is not Bible repentance; his new birth is not Bible regeneration; his Jesus and his salvation is not that of the Bible. Robert Schuller has, by promoting New Agers and their doctrines, done his part to lead the church further and further away from Biblical doctrine down some very dark paths. | 
