Do I Have Enough Faith?

http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher

Q. Is it true it only takes a small amount of faith to become saved as long as its in Jesus or do you need a lot? The Bible talks about mustard seed sized faith, but I’ve also heard you need to believe with all of your heart. What if you definitely want to be saved but you feel like you are lacking the faith you need?

A. When God gave the Israelites bread from heaven, which they called manna, some gathered a lot and some only a little. But when they measured how much they had gathered everyone had exactly what they needed (Exodus 16:17). Later Jesus told them the bread from heaven represented Him (John 6:35).
I interpret that to mean that everyone who asks for the Lord’s salvation gets the amount of faith he or she needs to receive it. Paul said we’re saved by grace through faith, and our faith is a gift from God (Ephes. 2:8-9). That means when we sincerely ask the Lord to save us, He will give us the amount of faith we need to believe we’re saved. Then, when we study His word the faith He gave us will grow (Romans 11:17). The more we study the more it grows.

PM Netanyahu address to the UN

Ahmadinejad Includes Shi’ite End-Times Beliefs in Speech to U.N.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Ahmadinejad Includes Shi’ite End-Times Beliefs in Speech to U.N.

By Patrick Goodenough CNS News


Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s address to the U.N. General Assembly Wednesday received widespread media coverage, but outside the Muslim world little attention was given to the final paragraphs, in which he gave more detail than he has in past years of the end-times eschatology believed to drive the decision-making of Iran’s top leaders.

Ahmadinejad's 'End Times' Address to UN

Ahmadinejad, like supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a majority of Shi’ites, adheres to the belief in the twelfth imam—also known as the “hidden” imam, Mahdi—who disappeared more than a thousand years ago but miraculously has been kept alive, pending his emergence at a time of global chaos.

The chaos component of that belief has given rise to concerns in some circles that Iranian leaders may seek to expedite the process in a bid to hasten the Mahdi’s appearance.
“Apparently, Ahmadinejad sees himself as an instrument to pave the way for the arrival of Imam Mahdi,” the pan-Arabic media group Al-Bawaba said in an article published in 2006, during a period of intensified concerns about Iran’s nuclear activities and ambitions.

The Iranian president, who has addressed the UNGA’s fall session in New York every year since taking power in 2005, has mentioned the Mahdi in past speeches. In 2009, for example, he urged Allah to “hasten the arrival of al-Mahdi,” who he said would “return” and, with the help of the righteous and true believers, usher in a time of peace.

This year’s speech—his last, since his second and final presidential term ends in mid-2013—ended with a lengthier section on the mystical subject than in the past. He also suggested that the Mahdi’s return is not far off, likening it to a coming spring after a “winter of ignorance.” In the context of earlier parts of the speech, the Iranian regime evidently views the United States and Israel as largely responsible for that “winter of ignorance.”

“Now we can see and sense the sweet scent and the soulful breeze of the spring, a spring that has just begun and doesn’t belong to a specific race, ethnicity, nation or a region, a spring that will soon reach all the territories in Asia, Europe, Africa and America,” he said.

(The spring reference could relate to the so-called “Arab spring”—which Iran views less than a movement ushering in democracy than an “Islamic awakening” inspired by Iran’s 1979 revolution.)
“The arrival of the ultimate savior [a term Shi’ites use for the Mahdi] will mark a new beginning, a rebirth and a resurrection. It will be the beginning of peace, lasting security and genuine life,” Ahmadinejad said.

“His arrival will be the end of oppression, immorality, poverty, discrimination and the beginning of justice, love and empathy.”

Ahmadinejad ended by calling on mankind to prepare the way for the Mahdi’s advent.
“Let us join hands and clear the way for his eventual arrival with empathy and cooperation, in harmony and unity,” he said. “Let us march on this path to salvation for the thirsty souls of humanity to taste immortal joy and grace.”

Ahmadinejad apparently views his UNGA appearances as a theological opportunity. Months after his first UNGA speech, in 2005, he told clerics in Iran that as he delivered his address in New York he had sensed a divine hand entrancing his listeners.

Near the beginning of Wednesday’s speech he told the gathering, “I am here to voice the divine and humanitarian message of learned men and women of my country to you and to the whole world.”
The four minute-long Mahdi section of the 2012 speech received relatively little media coverage. A Nexis search found that a French news agency report angled on the Mahdi remarks was mostly picked up by outlets in Islamic countries, especially Lebanon, Pakistan and Gulf states.

Joel C. Rosenberg, a best-selling Christian author and commentator who has worked as an aide to Israeli politicians including Binyamin Netanyahu and Natan Sharansky, has written books on Shia theology.

“Islamic theologians say Muslim political leaders today are supposed to set into motion the annihilation of Judeo-Christian civilization as we know it and create the conditions of chaos and carnage to hasten the arrival of the Twelfth Imam,” he wrote on his blog Wednesday, in an article on Ahmadinejad’s UNGA speech. “Then the Mahdi is supposed to turn all these wars and killings to his advantage and establish justice and peace.”

“As I have both described and documented in my books, it is this Shia End Times theology that is driving Iranian foreign policy today,” Rosenberg continued. “This is why the mullahs in Tehran are working so hard to pursue nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them, to prepare the way for the rise of this Islamic kingdom or caliphate.”
Related Links

---

• Ahmadinejad and Morsi Lay Out the Islamic Agenda • FrontPageMagazine.com (Robert Spencer)
• Iran: Time for new world order to oppose 'uncivilized Zionists' • Israel Today (Ryan Jones)
• PM slams Ahmadinejad’s speech, heads to UN to deliver his response • Times of Israel
• Netanyahu to set 'clear red line' for Iran at UN • Ynet News
• Ahmadinejad's End Times Speech to the U.N.: Gives Most Detailed Explanation of Twelfth Imam to Date; Tells U.N. Leaders Mahdi Will Soon Reign Over World • Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

CEDRO DO LÍBANO (Sl 92:12-15)

 

CEDRO DO LÍBANO (Sl 92:12-15)
Found in Face book.

 

Marisa Müller Quagliato

 

 

Quero compartilhar com vocês a respeito de um tipo de árvore: " O cedro do Líbano".

O cedro do Líbano é uma árvore majestosa que encontramos especialmente nas regiões montanhosas do Líbano, Síria e Turquia. Essa árvore vive centenas de anos, e é considerada um símbolo de força e eternidade. Os fenícios usavam o cedro do Líbano para construir embarcações. Salomão u...

sou cedro do Líbano para construir o templo.

1-Processo Lento

O cedro do Líbano cresce devagar, mas chega a atingir a altura de até 40 metros. Nos primeiros três anos de vida, as raízes crescem até um metro e meio de profundidade, enquanto a planta tem somente cerca de cinco centímetros. Somente a partir do quarto ano é que a árvore começa a crescer.

O Cristão é como o cedro do Líbano e, portanto, tem a promessa de crescer. Ainda que o seu crescimento seja lento conforme a experiência do cedro, ele acontecerá e se tornará visível a todos. O objetivo dos filhos de Deus, principalmente nos primeiros anos da vida cristã, não deve estar no crescimento em si, mas no lançar das suas raízes.

Nos três primeiros anos o cedro do Líbano possui uma raiz de 1,5m de profundidade, e uma planta comum tem a raiz de cinco centímetros de profundidade.

Quantas pessoas entram na Igreja e já querem pregar igual ao pastor? Quantas pessoas entram na igreja e o desejo delas é mostrar trabalho, ao invés de lançar raízes? Hoje temos pessoas preocupadas porque estão percebendo que não tem crescido espiritualmente. Talvez seja porque essas pessoas esperam algo visível, externo, um ministério como o ministério de música.

Precisamos aprofundar nossas raízes. E como fazemos isso? Com oração, leitura da Bíblia, com prática das disciplinas espirituais. Quanto mais formos atraídos por Deus mais firmes ficarão nossas raízes, e no tempo certo o crescimento será visível, será externo. As raízes vão ser tão firmes, que não nos importará se vou estar aqui no púlpito aparecendo ou não, o que vai importar é que minhas raízes estão firmadas em Deus.

Além do cedro do Líbano ter um processo lento, ele tem:

2. Raízes bastante profundas

O cedro do Líbano suporta muito calor e muito vento, suas raízes não dependem nada da chuva porque suas raízes vão buscar águas nos lençóis freáticos (que é o lugar nas profundezas que tem água potável).

Assim deve ser a nossa vida, não podemos ficar dependendo de fatos externos, devemos agir como a música que diz: Eu vivo do que creio e não do que vejo. Temos que suportar as dificuldades que aparecem na nossa vida, e não ficarmos fugindo.

Tem gente que diz que não cresce porque a Igreja está passando um momento difícil, porque os irmãos não ajudam. Se não tomarmos cuidado sempre vamos dar uma desculpa para o que acontece conosco. Devemos fazer como as raízes do cedro, sem chuva, pode vir o que for, eu vou o máximo que puder e vou encontrar águas profundas, mesmo quando a situação está desfavorável.

Sabemos que temos 3 inimigos: A carne, o diabo e o mundo. Muita gente vive colocando culpa no diabo, ou no mundo, na maioria das vezes o erro está em nós mesmos.

Quantas vezes olhamos para as circunstâncias? Agimos de acordo com que estamos vendo. Muitas vezes ficamos desesperados por alguma situação que está acontecendo, temos que buscar forças no Senhor pra firmarmos nossas raízes. Temos que buscar, buscar e buscar. Aproveitar enquanto há tempo.


Além de o processo ser lento, as raízes serem profundas, as raízes do cedro do Líbano também:

3. Abraçam as pedras

Tem muitas plantas que quando suas raízes alcançam as pedras, as raízes param de crescer e em alguns casos as plantas chegam até a morrer. Já no caso do cedro do Líbano quando suas raízes encontram as pedras, ao invés delas pararem de crescer elas dão um verdadeiro abraço nas pedras e continuam crescendo. E quanto mais as raízes abraçam a rocha, mais as raízes vão ficando firmes.

Assim é a vida dos justos, não para de crescer, pode vir a pedra, pode vir o que for, qualquer empecilho, o justo vai sempre crescer, mesmo que as pessoas não estejam enxergando.

Verso 13

Plantados na casa do Senhor, florescerão nos átrios do nosso Deus.

Aqui o salmista faz referência a casa do Senhor que nesse período era o templo. Aqui temos a importância e a necessidade de congregarmos no Templo.

Algumas lições podemos aprender com esse texto:

1 – O lugar do justo é na Casa de Deus, junto com o povo de Deus.

2- Somente congregando que o justo florescerá, pois é nos átrios do Senhor que ele recebe a ministração da Palavra de Deus.

3 – É na igreja, como o povo de Deus, que somos alvos da graça de Deus, da benção e do fortalecimento.

4 – Você foi plantado na igreja que você estar agora, nesses átrios, é aí que você deve florescer, crescer para a glória de Deus.

5 – Floresça onde você foi plantado.

Quantos deixam de crescer, mudando constantemente de igreja, aparece um empecilho e logo trocam de igreja. Trocam de igreja como trocam de roupa. Nunca floresceram como a palmeira e não crescerão como o cedro do Líbano.

O Resultado de quem congrega na Casa de Deus (v. 14-15)

“Na velhice darão ainda frutos, serão cheios de seiva e de verdor, para anunciar que o Senhor é reto. Ele é a minha rocha, e nele não há injustiça.”


Ao Senhor seja todo Louvor!
Tome posse desta promessa....Crescer espiritualmente em 2012!

Worldwide Mass Animal Deaths for 2012

Worldwide Mass Animal Deaths for 2012
http://iamisatthedoors.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/worldwide-mass-animal-deaths-for-2012/

Below is a list of mass animal deaths for 2012 with a page also for mass deaths in 2011. There are animals mysteriously dying all over the world today in huge numbers. Millions of Fish and massive numbers of whales and dolphins are washing ashore dead. Hundreds of Birds are falling out of the sky, and countless cattle are dying from disease, just to name a few. Sure, animals have been dying all throughout history. But not in the massive numbers that we are seeing today. And many people are relating this to the signs of the last days which the Bible foretold. Is it a sign? Yes, it’s one of the MANY signs of the end times which you can find in this site. This list will be updated as the events happen.
NOTE: → (Since 2006) Over 3 million colonies of bees have died off in the USA and over a thousand million bees have died in this period throughout the world. Link
And now a fatal parasitic infection is spreading across America, causing “zombie bees”. Link
NOTE: → (During the Past 6 years) 6.7 million bats have died in the U.S. due to the “white-nose syndrome”… With a 90% fall in populations. (Causing a “Potential Extinction” Event!) Link and here

Why are these mass deaths of Bees and Bats a concern for the world? Because Honey Bees don’t just make honey. They also do the vital job of pollinating the majority of the flowering crops we have, from which we get much of our fruits, vegetables and nuts … including Beans, Soybean, Broccoli, Sprouts, Carrots, Cucumber, Onion, Parsnip, Squash, Tomato, Almonds, Cashew, Apple, Blackberry, Blueberry, Cacao, Coffee, Grapes, Kiwi, Mango, Pear, Raspberry, Alfalfa, Sesame, Sunflower … Just to name a few. A major part of the human diet comes from insect-pollinated plants. See this document for a more complete list and much more information about pollination.
And what about the bats? Well, not only do they help in pollinating other foods we eat, like Bananas, Mangoes, Dates, Figs, Peaches, Cashews, Guava and Avocados. They also consume incredible amounts of insects that are agricultural pests. The millions of bats that have died due to disease over the past 6 years would have consumed HUNDREDS OF TONNES of insects (pests) in ONE YEAR. Add this to the struggling crops because of adverse weather and you will see the problem. BUT, this is just to show that we are living in the end times. Those of us who trust in and follow Christ Jesus need not worry, as our food will always be provided by our Great Savior and Protector.

Read More and See World Wide Numbers

http://iamisatthedoors.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/worldwide-mass-animal-deaths-for-2012/

Global 2000 and Before - New Age Population Planners with USA governmental blessings

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Global 2000 and Before - New Age Population Planners with USA governmental blessings

Reblogged from http://cumbey.blogspot.com.br/

To my friends and readers: I have been "holed up" lately with renewed research. I am now seriously working on another book. I have also had some time consuming legal work for clients which has "kept me off the streets." I have been wading through some of the earlier works in my library and exploring roots and political implementation of some of the more disturbing aspects of the New Age planning, including but not limited to "population control" issues.

 



Global 2000 Report to the President - 1980 Pergamon Books version of 1977 President Carter commissioned report.




Excerpted page from New Age Journal - Earth Day 1990 issue where former President Carter writes for magazine and discusses his creation of the Global 2000 report mandate.



Earth Day 1990 NEW AGE JOURNAL cover.

Those who don't wade through lengthy governmental tomes sometimes miss important segments of the New Age playbook. My dusty old copy of The Global 2000 Report to the President contains a treasure trove of incriminating New Age Movement goals. The report was released during the Carter Administration.{1} However, it contained much of interest as to his predecessors Lyndon Baines Johnson and Richard M. Nixon. The anti-people goals were being put firmly in place.

Important action for the global / population reduction planners took place during the Nixon administration. The Global 2000 Report was chartered and commissioned in 1977.{2} However, preliminary developments had taken place starting with pressures being placed on the Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon presidencies. Major New Age idological players included Willis Harman and Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) chairman Robert O. Anderson. It was then that President Nixon cooperated with those bringing pressures to immediately address "population issues." Nixon in 1969 sent Congress a "blue-ribbon" message on population control. He and his predecessors (Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson) had long been pressured to do so by members of the Rockefeller family:

In July 1969 President Nixon sent to Congress a historic first population message, recommending the establishment by legislation of a blue-ribbon commission to examine the growth of the nation's population and the impact it will have on the American future. John D. Rockefeller Ill, who had started the Population Council, had been urging since the early days of the Eisenhower Administration that such a commission be established. Lyndon Johnson had refused to see Rockefeller in 1964, but by 1968, he was ready to yield to pressure and established the President's Committee on Population and Family Planning, co-chaired by Rockefeller and HEW Secretary Wilbur Cohen.

President Lyndon Johnson satisfied the demands with partial action. He authorized the formation of a Committee. That group near the end of his administration entitled "

          The Committee established by President Johnson

was not a full-blown commission . Its report,

sent to the President at the end of 1968, "Population

and Family Planning: The Transition from

Concern to Action, " suggested the establishment

of a presidential commission to give the problem

further study. It recommended that family planning

services be extended to every American

woman unable to afford them. It also recommended

an increase in the budgets of HEW and

the Office of Economic Opportunity for the purpose

of population research. The report was

released without publicity in January 1969 . . ."

There were certainly "items of interest" along with this person of interest (Willis Harman) who played such an important role in this relatively early stage of New Age planning for the last quarter of the 20th century. He called for the possibility of "radical societal change." Big money and big players including Robert O. Anderson the president of ARCO (Atlantic Richfield Company) were involved. Robert O. Anderson's name was later to become familiar to me in the context of Planetary Citizens and Planetary Initiative organizations founded by Lucis Trust activist Donald Keys.

The population planners moved on aided and abetted by Nixon Presidential advisor Moynihan. That was a man who truly "got around." According to the Wikipedia article:

Moynihan [Daniel Patrick]
(March 16, 1927 – March 26, 2003) was an American politician and sociologist. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected to the United States Senate for New York in 1976, and was re-elected three times (in 1982, 1988, and 1994). He declined to run for re-election in 2000. Prior to his years in the Senate, Moynihan was the United States' Ambassador to the United Nations and to India, and was a member of four successive presidential administrations, beginning with the administration of John F. Kennedy, and continuing through that of Gerald Ford.

.

The family planners still mourn their setbacks in promoting a drastically reduced population. Three years before Roe vs. Wade they were legislatively mandating promotion of the following:

CHILD CARE -

The Commission recommends that both public and private forces join together to assure that adequate child-care services, including health, nutritional, and educational components, are available to families who wish to make use of them.

Because child-care programs represent a major innovation in child-rearing in this country, we recommend that continuing research and evaluation be undertaken to determine the benefits and costs to children, parents, and the public of alternative child-care arrangements.

CONTRACEPTION AND THE LAW -

The Commission recommends that: (1) states eliminate existing legal inhibitions and restrictions on access to contraceptive information, procedures, and supplies; and (2) states develop statutes affirming the desirability that all persons have ready and practicable access to contraceptive information, procedures, and supplies.

CONTRACEPTION AND MINORS -

The Commission recommends that states adopt affirmative legislation which will permit minors to receive contraceptive and prophylactic information and services in appropriate settings sensitive to their needs and concerns.

To implement this policy, the commission urges that organizations, such as the Council on State governments, the American Law Institute, and the American Bar Association, formulate appropriate model statutes.

VOLUNTARY STERILIZATION -

In order to permit freedom of choice, the Commission recommends that all administration restrictions on access to voluntary contraceptive sterilization be eliminated so that the decision be made solely by physician and patient.

To implement this policy, we recommend that national hospital and medical associations, and their state chapters, promote the removal of existing restrictions.

ABORTION -

With the admonition that abortion not be considered a primary means of fertility control, the Commission recommends that present state laws restricting abortion be liberalized along the lines of the New York statute, such abortion to be performed on request by duly licensed physicians under conditions of medical safety. In carrying out this policy, the Commission recommends:

That federal, state, and local governments make funds available to support abortion services in states with liberalized statutes. That abortion be specifically included in comprehensive health insurance benefits, both public and private.

METHODS OF FERTILITY CONTROL -

The Commission recommends that this nation give the highest priority to research on reproductive biology and to the search for improved methods by which individuals can control their own fertility.

In order to carry out this research, the Commission recommends that the full $93 million authorized for this purpose in fiscal year 1973 be appropriated and allocated; that federal expenditures for these purposes rise to a minimum of $150 million by 1975; and that private organizations continue and expand their work in this field.

FERTILITY-RELATED HEALTH SERVICES -

The Commission recommends a national policy and voluntary program to reduce unwanted fertility, to improve the outcome of pregnancy, and to improve the health of children. 

In order to carry out such a program, public and private health financing mechanisms should begin paying the full cost of all health services related to fertility, including contraceptive, prenatal, delivery, and postpartum services; pediatric care for the first year of life; voluntary sterilization; safe termination of unwanted pregnancy; and medical treatment of infertility.

POPULATION STABILIZATION - 

Recognizing that our population cannot grow indefinitely, and appreciating the advantages of moving now toward the stabilization of population, the Commission recommends that the nation welcome and plan for a stabilized population.

 

The Nixon era hearings were held. President Nixon named John D. Rockefeller III chairman of the 24-member group. They held hearings in many cities and they released volumes of materials. Their not-surprising, people-hating conclusions?

POPULATION STABILIZATION -Recognizing that our population cannot grow indefinitely, and appreciating the advantages of  moving now toward the stabilization of population, the Commission recommends that the nation welcome and plan for a  stabilized population.
 

The Commission's conclusion was that no substantial benefits would result from continued growth of the nation ' s population: The population problem, and the growth ethic with which it is intimately connected, reflect deeper external conditions and more fundamental political, economic, and philosophical values. Consequently, to improve the quality of our existence while slowing growth, will require nothing less than a basic recasting of American values.

The anti-people component of what would later be called "The New Age Movement" was on its way back in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It had clear Presidential blessings at that. They would continue to ride high through early 1982, confident in their expectation that they had "no backlash." Those "deeper external conditions" and "philosophical values" to be targeted for change clearly included our religious outlooks favoring "choose life that ye may live."

Stay tuned and to be continued

Footnotes:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

{1} Interestingly, there is an article by Former President Jimmy Carter in a 1990 New Age Journal (April 1990, page 54, In it he proudly acknowledges his role in commissioning the Global 2000 Report. I do not know if he is a self-conscious New Ager; however, I have received credible information that his sister, Ruth Carter Stapleton may have been. She was a speaker for one of Leland Stewart's Unity and Diversity Council Congresses, according to information given me by Rev. Gary Randall in Portland, Oregon in 1982. He had the information, he said, first hand for her. She departed from speaking at his church to go to that conference. Once he learned what the New Age Movement was really about, he made great efforts to get the word out on its "Hidden Dangers."

 

{2}The 1977 Global Report to the President [Jimmy Carter] included extensive references to Willis Harman (Future president of Institute for Noetic Sciences, author of "An Incomplete Guide to the Future.", World Watch Institute, E. F. Schumacher (Small is Beautiful Author)

# posted by Constance Cumbey : 12:25 AM

Please Sober Up!

Please Sober Up!

By Tim Cameron

Reblogged from Rapture Ready.

---

“Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’” ─2 Peter 3:3

I sincerely think there are thousands upon thousands of us that are drunk on the Kool-Aid thinking that this is a normal time in our lives. Despite the many dark an ominous signs to the contrary, there is something in us that wants to cling to a hope that this world is going to get better─despite what God has so graciously and lovingly warned us about: “In the last days perilous times will come.”

I understand that desire. I’m a carnal man living in a world that is all I’ve ever known. I have an awesome wife, three kids, a home, a career, “The American dream.”

“Tim, just keep your head in the sand and enjoy the ‘here and know’ besides....
People have been preaching Jesus is coming back for 2,000 years.” It’s very much on the heart of our God that His people would know His voice and what is on His heart. Noah is a picture of someone being able to discern the times and be prepared, as is Lot and his family. It’s imperative that we know the times we are facing!! Now before you pass that off as just cliché, the Scriptures about Noah and Lot are warnings or pictures of people we are told to emulate, “as it was in the days of Noah,” and “as it was in the days of Lot.”

There is a work of preparation that needs to be taking place in every believer and one thing that needs to happen is a major sobering up from being drunk on this life! I’m sorry if this sounds like bad news but if you will hang on...there is some great news coming.

Now I can hear the skepticism from the verse in 2 Peter screaming at me, “all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”
Ok, well I’m all about keeping it real, keeping it simple. Number one: Jesus told us that when the fig tree (Israel) blossomed in the desert that THAT generation would not pass away! Before 1948 there was a time that Israel ceased to exist as a nation...up until that time I can understand how there were those who believed that the church had “replaced” Israel. But once the rebirth of modern Israel took place in 1948, I have got to believe that anyone who had a Bible and studied it would have considered that a monumental wake- up call:“Oh snap, Israel’s a nation again!!” Holy Moly! Jesus said that would happen and that it would be a major signal that the end of the age (Church Age) was at hand and that “the time of the gentiles” was being fulfilled! Daniel had said of this same time in history, that things would change in a major way in relation to how people traveled and there would be a dramatic increase in knowledge.

For thousands of years travel was with horses, donkeys and camels but then, boom, in the same century of Israel’s rebirth we see the crazy changes in travel. You can literally ship packages around the world in three days and can talk instantly globally through text, tweet or chat. Knowledge increasing? Satellite TV’s in SUVS with GPS talking to you while you listen to a song just downloaded seconds ago via iTunes in the UK...need I say more?

When I attended Bible school and listened to my professor talk about the “last days” I would say, “Please, please just cut to the chase.” Patience is not my strongest suit. I remember being blessed to get to sit in a one on one session with eschatological scholar, Dr. George Westlake Jr. in Kansas City and ask: “Pastor Westlake, in lay mans terms how will we know?” I remember hearing “We are not to look for the Antichrist, but we will see his stage. He will solve two major global problems and because of it the world will worship him. The two issues will be a global economic crisis and major volatility in the Middle East that is wrecking havoc on the whole world.”

I used to sit and listen to Pastor Westlake expound on eschatology and be so in awe and yet perplexed and question God, “Dear God, why oh why are you having me sit under this man and study this topic and yet you gave me no gift to teach?”

A few years ago, during a very stormy night...Our local weatherman rudely interrupted our TV show to give an urgent warning “People in Lawrence County take shelter.”

Like a ton of bricks that moment screamed in my hearing, not just of the impending warning but froze me in my tracks as I heard, “Tim, you see that young man warning of the coming storm? He studied meteorology but he’s not teaching it, he is just warning of the moment at hand and that is why I had you study what you studied not to teach but to ‘just warn.’”

I sit here typing this current message trembling and tears are streaming down my face because I sense an urgent stirring in my spirit ...to sound an alarm to all who have ears to hear....

I so wish I could just share a “feel good” message that we could all cheer and have a gazillion likes on Facebook or in general because my carnal side wants to be liked, but that is not the call of this hour. God is raising-up many voices in preparing His way with a message of:

SOBER UP! Please realize that this is not the “same ole same ole.” Entire nations are on the edge of insolvency, the Federal Reserve is printing money over and over. NOT to bail us out but to enslave by extending the grasp of debt upon more and more people.

There have been wars and rumors of wars in my lifetime, I was born at the tail-end of the Vietnam war ...saw the first Gulf War, the 2nd...but the one that is “even at the door” is of biblical proportions...

The end of “this age” is a time called “Jacob’s Trouble” and it is all about Israel being dealt with by God and it’s rejection of His Son Jesus! They will have no ally but God and they will be scared. You can see it already when they talk of Iran’s nuclear program and deal with their superpower friend, America, seemingly leaving them out to dry. When war does break out...this world will never be the same!

Just one issue of our lives─the gas pump─ it will become so scary that people will panic....

Retirement plans are crashing, 401ks were cool in the 90s but how is yours looking now? Are you seriously trusting in your pension when entire companies are collapsing?

Are you looking to government as your back up plan, “There is always unemployment insurance if I lose my job.” OH YEAH, for how long? America is broke!! There is a reason power brokers are sheltering their money in silver and gold...(not that it will help them).

Romney and Ryan cannot fix this.... It will take a man with an evil plan.

9-11, 2001 came and went and we have forgotten! Madonna sings that America has a “Muslim president” but she obviously doesn’t know what that means...In their book she is an infidel and must convert or die a heinous death! That is their mission and that is their goal, and yet we are asleep thinking that they will never come to our towns?
Gloom and doom and agony for me?

“Dude, Tim, the gospel is Good News,” and I say AMEN! It is the ONLY Good News we have to cling too!

On a stormy night in Missouri, something becomes vitally important: The storm shelter!

You see, in 2012 in a lot of circles the gospel has been compromised to be a means to an end instead of the end itself! Jesus is our destiny.... the Good News is that Jesus came and died and rose again and then went “to prepare a place for us, that where I am you may be also.”

In following Him, we too, were to let go of this place and instead long for the place where Jesus dwells. There is a major difference between earth and heaven...one is sin cursed and headed toward a time where unless God shortened the days no flesh will survive versus the place where the Builder and Maker─the Lord dwells.

Lot’s wife experienced a time of longing, to hang on to what God said was going to be destroyed...

Lets not be like her. Instead, let us “sober up” from our best life now....

Put down the Kool-Aid and pay great attention to whatever it is that God is trying to get us to hear, and I’m not talking about this particular message. I’m talking about your own particular assignment, the email you need to type to a friend or neighbor or prodigal child or making right of a broken relationship due to lack of forgiveness.

Getting our priorities of our daily routines in order that have included God but giving Him your leftover time instead of our best time.

IF there was ever a time in your life that God was calling you to a dedicated, intentional and purposeful time in your prayer closet, it is now!

Its time to “turn from wicked ways” to sincerely draw near to God, to “decrease that He might increase.”

There are thousands of blogs and thousands of voices and thousands of conferences...but The ONLY message God set in place to save the lost soul is Jesus Christ and Him crucified!

When was the last time we heard just the uncompromising and simple message of the cross? It is the storm shelter. It is our Noah’s Ark and the ONLY hope for the times we are now living in!

“Dear Father, I’m scared. Muslims are holding up signs that say they are going to kill me, and my kids and rape my wife. They are demanding Sharia law right here in America. "

"Do not fear those who can kill the body but rather fear him who can destroy body and soul in hell.”

“That isn’t very reassuring Lord!"

“Count the cost. A servant is not greater than His master, if they hated me that will hate you.”

“But be of good cheer? HOW GOD?”

“I have overcome the world, for whoever believes in Me shall NOT perish but have everlasting life. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in this world.”

I encourage everyone to really study and cling to Psalm 91 as it is about as reassuring a passage as there is for a time such as now. We definitely need to know God’s promises and hide them in our hearts.

Things are becoming more and more polarizing, almost like there is a sifting taking place right before our eyes! On the one hand we have those who are occupying and demanding their rights and looking for salvation from fellow man...very stubborn and determined to get their way almost acting like a goat.

On the other hand, there are those who are realizing that this is a perilous time and asking for wisdom and guidance ...needing a shepherd.

Well, here is what that Good Shepherd has said about this time....

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1).

I will close with this: In the days of Lot in a place called Sodom and Gomorrah, a family was surrounded by the vilest of vile and murderous rage-filled the streets...it looked hopeless and scary...and at a moment Lot and his family for sure “thought not,” God sent forth his ministering angels and gathered Lots family to a place of safety removing them from a place that He was about to pour out His wrath upon.

Right now, all around us is a world gone mad. The wicked are springing up like grass, threatening and spewing out their evil desires.

BLESSED HOPE!

Our God is once again getting ready to remove those who have called upon the Name of His Son Jesus to a place of safety, because He is about ready to pour out His wrath!

So please sober up, but LOOK UP…

Our Redeemer draws near.

In Christ,

Tim Cameron

Esotericism and Biblical Interpretation (Part 3—Conclusion)

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Esotericism and Biblical Interpretation (Part 3—Conclusion)

By Dr. Ron Rhodes Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries

The Example of Jesus Christ

Esotericists would do well to consider the example set by Jesus Christ in how to properly interpret Scripture. Jesus never sought a hidden or secondary meaning when interpreting the Old Testament Scriptures. On the contrary, He consistently interpreted the Old Testament quite literally, including the Creation account of Adam and Eve (Matt. 13:35; 25:34; Mark 10:6), Noah's Ark and the Flood (Matt. 24:38-39; Luke 17:26-27), Jonah and the whale (Matt. 12:39-41), Sodom and Gomorrah (Matt. 10:15), and the account of Lot and his wife (Luke 17:28-29). In his book The Savior and the Scriptures, theologian Robert P. Lightner notes—following an exhaustive study—that Jesus' interpretation of Scripture "was always in accord with the grammatical and historical meaning. He understood and appreciated the meaning intended by the writers according to the laws of grammar and rhetoric." [1]

Jesus affirmed the Bible's divine inspiration (Matt. 22:43), its indestructibility (Matt. 5:17-18), its infallibility (John 10:35), its final authority (Matt. 4:4, 7, 10), its historicity (Matt. 12:40; 24:37), its factual inerrancy (Matt. 22:29-32), and its spiritual clarity (Luke 24:25). Moreover, He emphasized the importance of each word of Scripture (Luke 16:17). Indeed, He sometimes based His argumentation on a single expression of the biblical text (Matt. 22:32, 43-45; John 10:34).

Unlike esotericists—who say there is a hidden, spiritual meaning in Bible verses discernible only by esoteric "initiates"—Jesus taught openly and with clarity. Recall that following His arrest, Jesus was questioned by the High Priest about His disciples and His teaching. Jesus responded: "I have spoken openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said" (John 18:20). Since Jesus had said nothing in secret, those who heard Him would be able to clearly enunciate what He had openly communicated. There were no hidden meanings beneath His words.

That Jesus taught openly and with clarity is attested by the doctrinal influence He had on His followers. Several scholars have noted that if Jesus had intended to teach esoteric Christianity, He was a failure as a teacher, for His words led those who followed Him in the precise opposite direction than He would have intended. [2] For example, instead of becoming pantheists (the belief that God and all things are one—is a common belief among esotericists), Jesus' followers were theists who believed in a personal Creator God who is distinct from His creation. Jesus' followers took Him at His word, interpreting what He said plainly, just as He interpreted the Old Testament Scriptures plainly.

Esotericism & Matthew 13

Some esotericists may appeal to Matthew 13 in an attempt to refute the idea that Jesus taught openly and with clarity. In this chapter, Jesus is portrayed as being in front of a mixed multitude comprised of both believers and unbelievers. He did not attempt to separate the believers from the unbelievers and then instruct only the believers. Rather, He constructed His teaching in such a way that believers would understand what He said but unbelievers would not—and He did this by using parables.

After teaching one such parable, a disciple asked Jesus: "Why do you speak to the people in parables?" (Matt. 13:10). Jesus answered: "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you [believers], but not to them [unbelievers]". What did Jesus mean by the word secrets in this verse? Was He lending support to esotericism?

By no means! The Greek word for secret simply means mystery, and is even translated this way in the New American Standard Bible. A mystery in the biblical sense is a truth that cannot be discerned simply by human investigation, but requires special revelation from God. Generally speaking, this word refers to a truth that was unknown to people living in Old Testament times, but is now revealed to humankind by God (see Matt. 13:17 and Col. 1:26). In Matthew 13, Jesus provides information to believers about the kingdom of heaven that has never been revealed before.

Some have wondered why Jesus engineered His parabolic teaching so that believers could understand His teaching but unbelievers could not. The backdrop to this is that the disciples, having responded favorably to Jesus' teaching and placed their faith in Him, already knew much truth about the Messiah. Careful reflection on Jesus' parables would enlighten them even further. However, hardened unbelievers who had willfully and persistently refused Jesus' previous teachings—such as those set forth in the Sermon on the Mount—were prevented from understanding the parables. Jesus was apparently observing an injunction He provided earlier in the Sermon on the Mount: "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs" (Matt. 7:6). Yet there is grace even here. For, as many scholars have noted, it is possible that Jesus may have prevented unbelievers from understanding the parables because He did not want to add more responsibility to them by imparting new truth for which they would be held accountable.

That Jesus wanted His parables to be clear to those who were receptive is evident in the fact that He carefully interpreted two of them for the disciples—the parables of the Sower (Matt. 13:3-9) and the Tares (13:24-30). He did this not only so there would be no uncertainty as to their meaning, but to guide believers as to the proper method to use in interpreting the other parables. The fact that Christ did not interpret His subsequent parables indicates that He fully expected believers to understand what He taught by following the methodology He illustrated for them. Clearly, then, Matthew 13 does not support but rather argues against esotericism.

A Closing Challenge

Jesus said His words lead to eternal life (John 6:63). But for us to receive eternal life through His words, they must be taken as He intended them to be taken. An esoteric reinterpretation of Scripture that yields another Jesus and another gospel (2 Cor. 11:3-4; Gal. 1:6-9) will yield only eternal death. Jesus' life-giving invitation is plainly open to all: "Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life" (John 5:24).

Endnotes

---

[1] Robert P. Lightner, The Savior and the Scriptures (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1966), 30.

[2] Groothuis, 89; and Peter Kreeft, "The Most Important Argument," in The Intellectuals Speak Out About God, ed. Roy Abraham Varghese (Chicago: Regnery Gateway, 1984), 251.

Does God Call Everyone? More Follow Up

http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher

Q. Re: Does God Call Everyone? I see what you are saying for the two different Greek words used for “called” in Romans 8:30 and Matthew 22:14. However, the Greek word in Romans 8:28 is also the same as the one used in Matthew 22:14. Does this mean the people in Romans 8:28 are not the same as the ones being discussed in Romans 8:30? This whole thing is really confusing.

A. Romans 8:28 says,
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
This is an overview statement of what God is doing. It refers to those who are already believers. We know this by Paul’s use of the phrases “those who love Him” (which is self explanatory) and “who have been called according to His purpose”. The literal translation of “who have been called” is “who are the called.” Putting the definite article before called implies that he was referring to a particular group of people, those who love God.

In Ephesians 3:10-11 Paul explained what being called according to His purpose means.
“His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

By seeing how God provided provided the remedy for our sins and blessed us above all others for accepting it, the angelic host would learn about the true extent of God’s infinite wisdom.
OK, back to Romans 8. The word “for” that begins Romans 8:29-30 tells us Paul was explaining how the people he was referring to in Romans 8:28 came to be part of the Church. Out of His foreknowledge God predestined us. Those He predestined He also called. Those He called He also justified. and those He justified He also glorified. Using the stronger word for called in his explanation underscores the fact that God was urging us to do something He already knew we would do.

Video: Obama on Israel's 'Red Lines': Noise I Try to Ignore

Video: Obama on Israel's 'Red Lines': Noise I Try to Ignore

President Barack Obama brushes off Netanyahu's demands for "red lines" to Iran during a CBS interview. Romney criticizes.

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 9/24/2012, 4:14 AM

U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday likened Israeli pressure on him to draw a clear “red line” over Iran's nuclear ambitions to "noise" he tries to ignore, AFP reports.

Interviewed for Sunday's edition of "60 Minutes" on broadcaster CBS, Obama said he understands and agrees with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's insistence that Iran not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons as this would threaten both countries, the world in general, and kick off an arms race.



At the same time, however, he added, “When it comes to our national security decisions – any pressure that I feel is simply to do what's right for the American people. And I am going to block out -- any noise that's out there.”

Obama then said, “Now I feel an obligation, not pressure but obligation, to make sure that we're in close consultation with the Israelis—on these issues. Because it affects them deeply. They're one of our closest allies in the region. And we’ve got an Iranian regime that has said horrible things that directly threaten Israel’s existence.”

The comments come after a rise in tensions between Obama and Netanyahu over Iran. Netanyahu has demanded that the U.S. set clear “red lines” that Iran cannot cross in its campaign to obtain nuclear weapons.

Obama rejected the idea of placing “red lines” for Iran during a phone conversation with Netanyahu two weeks ago, and received backing from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who said that red lines “are kind of political arguments that are used to try to put people in a corner.”

On Thursday, the United States sternly warned Iran that “time is running out” for its unsupervised nuclear program, in what may have been thinly-veiled support for Netanyahu’s “red line” demands.
"We will not engage in an endless process of negotiations that fail to produce any results. We must therefore remain clear and united in seeking resolution of the international community's concerns regarding Iran's nuclear program. Time is wasting," Ambassador Rice said told a United Nations Security Council meeting on nuclear sanctions against Iran.
She added, "Iran's approach remains to deny, to deceive and distract.”

Meanwhile, Obama's contender for the presidency, Republican Mitt Romney, said Obama’s behavior was no way to treat an ally.
The decision not to meet with Netanyahu on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, he said, also in an interview with "60 minutes", "is a mistake and sends a message throughout the Middle East that somehow we distance ourselves from our friends and I think the exact opposite approach is what's necessary."

A spokeswoman for Romney's campaign, Andrea Saul, argued that Obama's reference to Israel as "one of our closest allies in the region" was unacceptable.
"This is just the latest evidence of his chronic disregard for the security of our closest ally in the Middle East," Saul said, according to AFP. "Romney strongly believes that Israel is our most important ally in the Middle East and ...as president, Governor Romney will restore and protect the close alliance between our nation and the state of Israel."

The Late Great Rapture Theory?

• Hunt, Dave
• The Berean Call

Excerpted from WHATEVER HAPPENED TO HEAVEN?

It is an understatement to say that the winds of change are blowing at gale force through the hallowed halls of tradition. Scientific discovery is advancing in quantum leaps, computer technology is literally exploding, and...communications networks are bringing this rapidly expanding knowledge to the world with lightning speed. The inevitable result is a revolution in every field from physics to medicine and from economics to politics. That we currently face dramatic and accelerating worldwide change beyond present comprehension is sensed by almost every person who gives any heed to the contemporary scene. Nor is it possible to seriously doubt the connection between the quickening pace of high-tech's sensuous, self-centered living, and plummeting public morals.

Needless to say, the church has not remained untouched by these currents of upheaval and transformation. Influenced by the world as never before through the subtleties and persuasive power of modern media, Christians are being adversely affected in numerous and deceptive ways. The faith of many, particularly the youth, is being devastated by the challenge of "scientific" or "progressive" ideas which also undermine biblical standards of morality....

[As one symptom of "changing hope"] there are many Christians today (and their number is growing rapidly) who view the hope of an imminent rapture as the negative product of a defeatist theology. They sincerely believe that the expectation of being taken home to heaven at any moment undermines the "victory" they are convinced could be won by the church if Christians would only catch the vision of taking over the world and would unite to fulfill it.

On the contrary, there is a much more exciting and worthwhile hope for those who believe in the rapture. We will return with Christ from heaven in transformed bodies to reign over this earth with Him. That hope involves a truly new world order far superior to anything we could establish in these mortal bodies and without His physical presence on earth. Such a vision of the future helps us to realize that we are not part of this old world order and to make a clear break with it even now.

The ground is being laid for a major confrontation between those who long to leave this earth for heaven in the rapture, and others equally sincere who believe it is the Christian's duty to establish the kingdom upon this earth and that only when this has been accomplished by the church in His absence will our Lord at last return....

Of course, there have always been diverse views of the Second Coming. The amillennial position, generally held by Lutherans, Presbyterians, and Catholics (among others), sees history moving on for many thousands of years with Christ finally winding things up at some indefinite time in the future and with prophecy having little if anything to say that would give us any hint of timing or events along the way.

Similarly, the postmillennial view suggests that we are already in the millennium (which is not a literal thousand years but could be hundreds of thousands), that the church is gradually taking over the world and will eventually establish the kingdom in Christ's absence, after which He will return for the final judgment. While there is a general belief in the rapture, postmillennialism puts that event so far in the future that it has no practical motivating effect in one's life.

In the early 1970s the rapture was the most-talked-about topic in the church. Lindsey had captured the attention and imagination of his generation. Pastors preached about heaven and Christians eagerly anticipated being caught up at any moment to meet their Lord in the air. Even the secular world became familiar with the concept. There were movies, such as The Omen , about the end times. Radio and television mentioned the Second Coming frequently, and cartoons and bumper stickers also took up the theme. One of the latter solemnly warned: "I'm leaving in the rapture, ride at your own risk!"

All of that has changed. The bumper stickers have worn off, the movies have lost their appeal, and the sermons have gone on to currently popular themes. The subtitle of a recent article in Moody reflects present sentiment: "Hal Lindsey was premature. The earth is great, but it's too early to call it late."

Most Christians no longer know what they believe about prophecy and now realize that their previously held opinions must be given an honest and careful review. Many who were once excited about the prospects of being caught up to heaven at any moment have become confused and disillusioned by the apparent failure of a generally accepted biblical interpretation they once relied upon. Those who believed in the rapture because it was popular are, of course, abandoning it now that it has become unpopular. They never had a good reason for what they believed based upon their own carefully weighed convictions. It is sad that so few Christians know the Bible for themselves..
..
The church is now ripe for the developing views of history and prophecy that either downplay or eliminate the rapture and put the emphasis upon "Christianizing" (in contrast to "converting") the world. A new genre of books espousing the idea that "victory in Christ" means a Christian takeover of this world is coming off the presses and selling well. Such ideas are being successfully taken into mainstream evangelical churches by [groups] denigrating...the rapture."

Today, the once-bright hope of the church being taken home to heaven by Christ at any moment has become the butt of crude jokes and a common subject of ridicule or scorn even among many Christians. The initial ad for the Reconstructionist Biblical Blueprints book series derisively called the rapture "God's helicopter escape." Earl Paulk, founding pastor of the 10,000-member Chapel HillHarvesterChurch near Atlanta, and a popular Christian television teacher, calls the rapture "The Great Escape Theory."

Being taken to heaven in the rapture has been to a large extent replaced by the rapidly growing new hope that the church is destined to take over the world and establish the kingdom of God. The focus has turned from winning souls for citizenship in heaven to political and social action aimed at cleaning up society. Scarcely a sermon is being preached about the world to come. Attention is focused instead upon achieving success in this one. If we have a big enough march on Washington and vote in enough of our candidates, then we can make this world a beautiful, safe, moral, and satisfying "Christian" place for our grandchildren.
This is a very enticing scenario. George Grant's appeal sounds logical and extremely persuasive:

I became very disenchanted over time with the pessimistic mentality that the purpose of world history is to back the church into the corner and finally at the last second, right before the moment of absolute destruction, God snatches us into the heavenly realms and says: "Well, you lost the world, you lost your culture, you lost your children, you lost the schools, you lost all the unborn babies, you lost South Africa, you lost everything. Well done, my good and faithful servants." I just couldn't buy that. Reconstructionists say that's not the only view on how the church is to operate in the world.

The expectancy of the Lord's soon return which was so evident in the 1970s...has all but vanished from the church.... There has developed a surprising and growing antagonism against eagerly watching and waiting for Christ's return, which surely was the attitude of the early church. The pendulum is swinging to an outright rejection of not only the pretrib but also the premillennium rapture....
The trend...has accelerated. We could cite the current struggle going on in the Southern Baptist Church as one example. It is the largest Protestant denomination, but is presently losing members at a surprising and growing rate to independent churches that deny the rapture, deny any place for national Israel in prophecy, and believe that an elite group of "overcomers" will soon manifest immortality in their bodies without the resurrection or the Second Coming, and take over the world for Christ. Only then will Christ return. Not to take His bride home to heaven as the Bible clearly teaches, however, but to reign over the kingdom that has been established by her for Him here on this earth.One of the leaders in this movement writes:
"You can study books about going to heaven in a so-called 'rapture' if that turns you on. We want to study the Bible to learn to live and to love and to bring heaven to earth."

Is this issue even worth discussing? After all, what does it matter when Christ comes or when or how the kingdom is established? Is eschatological debate of any significance? A partial answer would lie in the fact that "last days" prophecy is a subject that takes up about one-fourth of the Bible. How could we dare to suggest that the Holy Spirit would give such importance to something which, in the final analysis, really doesn't matter? Based only upon the amount of attention given to it in the Bible, when and how and why Christ returns must be of great importance both to God and to us. We need to seek to understand why.

One reason for the significance of this issue should be quite obvious. Paul tells us that Christ is going to catch His bride away from this earth to meet Him in the air-"and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (1 Thess 4:17). Consequently, those who expect to meet Christ with their feet still planted on earth--a "Christ" who has arrived to take over the kingdom they have established in His name--will have been badly deceived. In fact, they could have been working to build the earthly kingdom for the Antichrist. Yet this teaching that we must take over the world and set up the kingdom for Christ has become the fastest-growing movement within the church today.

One of the key doctrines of this movement is the claim that the church is now Israel, heir to all of her promises, and that national Israel has been cut off from God and has no further place in the prophetic scheme. This new focus on an earthly inheritance for the church has further turned the hope of being taken to heaven in the rapture into an object of ridicule. It has also produced a drastic change in attitude and a serious reduction in the evangelical church's traditional support of Israel, an about-face which is being viewed with alarm by that tiny nation....

Speaking at Edmond near Oklahoma City on April 11,1988, Rick Godwin, a long-time associate of James Robison and popular speaker on Christian media, delivered the type of anti-Israel rhetoric that is becoming so typical in charismatic circles: "They [national Israel] are not chosen, they are cursed! They are not blessed, they are cursed!... The church--that's the Israel of God, not that garlic one over on the Mediterranean Sea!" Earl Paulk's criticism of national Israel and those who look favorably upon her includes the ultimate accusation:
The hour has come for us to know...that the spirit of the antichrist is now at work in the world...[through] so-called Holy Spirit-filled teachers who say, "If you bless national Israel, God will bless you." Not only is this blatantly deceptive, it is not part of the new covenant at all!

Currents of change are sweeping through the world and the church. In the crucial days ahead, the evangelical church could well suffer a division over the rapture and the related issue of Israel comparable to that experienced by the Catholic Church as a result of the Reformation in the 1500s. Nor would it be surprising if, in the cause of "unity," the larger faction in Protestantism moved much closer to ecumenical union with Catholicism, which has been traditionally antisemitic and discarded the rapture about 1600 years ago. Some of the reasons why this could happen, and the likely consequences, should become clear in the following pages.... [See resource pages for details.]

We must beware that in our zeal to "change the world for Christ" we do not become so wedded to an ongoing earthly process stretching into the indeterminate future that we lose our vision of heaven. We cannot be truly faithful to the totality of what Scripture says unless we are sufficiently disengaged from this world to be ready to leave it behind at a moment's notice.

There is cause to be concerned that...kingdom/dominion advocates could be fostering a false conception of our earthly ministry--a conception which we must guard against lest we subtly fall into...[the] mistaken notion that mortal man can accomplish what only immortal Man, our risen Lord, and we as immortal resurrected beings with Him, can perform. We dare not settle for anything less than the fullness of what Christ has promised! The glory that He offers is light-years beyond the...agenda of Christianizing and taking over this present world in these bodies of weakness and corruption....

The joy and glory He has planned and in which He desires that we participate--and the prospect of being caught up at any moment to see this hope realized--are more than enough to excite and inspire and motivate us to victorious living and witnessing.... We dare not, however, in the name of unity and the avoidance of controversy, abandon the hope given to us in [the] Scriptures (See 1 Cor:15:51-53, 1 Thes:4:16-18).