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The Church of Jesus Christ on the Last Part of the Way - Part I
by Marcel Malgo (c) copyright 2009
What awaits us in these last days? What should Christians expect? These are a few of the important questions this article will address.
In his first letter, the Apostle John wrote these words to the believing brethren: “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time” (1 John 2:18). When we consider that the apostle wrote these words about 1,950 years ago, how applicable must they be today! In other words, today more than ever we are living in the “last time.”
What is so characteristic of the last time? Is it so peaceful so that we can sit down with our hands in our laps and wait for things to happen? On the contrary. Battles and unrest characterize the last time, because many antichrists have come and there can be no talk of peace. That is why we must take heed when people speak of a time of peace. Even the Apostle Paul warned of this: “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3). Paul is speaking here of the final returnof the Lord and warns us of being lulled to sleep in the expectation of this event. There can be no rest for those of us who believe in Jesus, for this last time is the hour of the Antichrist.
John wasn’t the only one who wroteabout this negative aspect of the endtimes. Paul wrote these inspired words to Timothy: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” (2 Timothy 3:1-5). How do we know Paul was referring to anti-Christians here, and not simply to unbelievers? He characterized these people as “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” These people will give the impression that they are on the side of Jesus Christ, but they will not act in accordance with His words, which is exactly how the anti-Christian spirit will be manifested. The Antichrist will give the impression of being Christ, the Messiah, by appearing to be a benefactor and bringing peace. But soon he will reveal himself as the son of the devil.
Our present day is a very restless time, because many antichrists are in our midst, but this also has a very comforting side for born-again Christians.
Encouragement for Children of God
The Lord Jesus encouraged His own with the words, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). We may hold up the banner of this glorious truth as a sign of victory, even if we know of the troubles and battles of this time. We must realize continually that our troubles are never greater than our Helper. We are in this evil world, but we have the Victor of Calvary at our side. This is why it says in John’s first epistle, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 1:4).
Although we feel the spirit from below like a breath from hell and we often fear, especially in this last hour, we may look up to Jesus in the midst of even the greatest storms and hear Him say, “I have overcome the world.” If you are miserable now, you must encourage yourself and say aloud, “Jesus is Victor! He has overcome the world!” This does not disregard the fact that we really are living in the last hour and that the evening began, from a spiritual point of view, long ago. The sun has gone down, the night has not yet come, but the Church stands before the Rapture and the judgment upon this world is very near. What will thisevening, this last hour, bring? What can we expect?
In order to answer these sometimes frightening questions, it is helpful to consider some of the events in the lives of Jesus’ disciples that teach us to trust our wonderful Lord Jesus completely in every situation.
A Prophetic Vision for Our Time
In John 6:16-18 we read, “When even was now come, his disciples went down into the sea, and entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.” It was already evening when the disciples got into a boat and sailed across the sea towards Capernaum. This is a clear prophetic picture for our time, which has already produced many antichrists. Spiritual darkness and uncertainty have filled many people with fear and trembling — even driving some to commit suicide.
Those who have not yet become children of God through faith in the Son of God always have reason to be afraid, for we are living in a demonic time, a time of confusion in which evil has already taken on enormous proportions, and uncertainty is our main problem. When the Lord Jesus spoke of His coming in great power and glory (not about the Rapture) He said something else had to happen first: “men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth” (Luke 21:26). We can already feel this fear Jesus spoke about today. It has come upon mankind like a paralysis. Even creation is subject to it, as Paul wrote in his letter to the Christians in Rome: “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19).
We who have become children of God cannot escape this. We are not subject to the spirit of fear, but we are still in the world, and we are often surrounded on all sides by a breath from hell. Jesus did not say that His own did not need to fear, but, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” If we abide in Him, however, the world cannot touch us, then we will be “more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Romans 8:37). That is the difference between the children of this world who are so full of fear and the children of God who can overcome it in the name of Jesus.
Yet we may not rest in a false sense of security, for we also, as children of God, have to deal with this deceitful anti-Christian spirit. In John 6:16-17 we read, “And when even was come, his disciples went down unto the sea, and entered into a ship, and went over the sea towards Capernaum.” They were not just any people, but disciples of Jesus who wanted to go to Capernaum. Of course Jesus knew that a storm would arise on the sea, but He did not prevent His disciples from embarking on this dangerous journ e y. It is just the same with us who believe in Him today. Jesus didn’t promise a little heaven on earth to His own, to which we can withdraw to wait until He comes. No, He put us in this demonic world to spread the Gospel in word and deed to people who are not yet believers. He did, however, give us a letter of safe conduct: His victory over this world. And through this letter of safe conduct we will arrive safely, even if we are often in uncertainty, or even fear, when the waves of the sea often threaten to cover us and drown us. We may even look forward to the day when we meet Jesus, because the goal before us is infinitely glorious. Jesus’ disciples on the Sea of Galilee rowed into the dark night and the arising storm brought them into great uncertainty, but they had a glorious goal before their eyes: Capernaum.
Capernaum: Only a Little Fishing Village?
What was so special about Capernaum, which means “village of Nahum”? Although Capernaum was an ordinary fishing village, it had something special about it. We read in Mark 2:1, “And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and in was noised that he was in the house.” The New International Version of the Bible translates the verse this way: “the people heard that he had come home.” Certainly Capernaum was Jesus’ home during His life on earth, or, as Matthew 9:1 says, “his own city.” That is why it says also in Matthew 4:13, “And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast.”
Although the disciples were in a boat in the dark night, and their unrest increased as the waters of the Sea of Galilee were suddenly troubled by a strong wind, they were still on the way to the city of Jesus and His home, Capernaum. What a glorious goal they had before them! It is the same for us today. Darkness and uncertainty are the characteristics of our time, which is already very demonized and full of heresies. The evil in the world has increased alarmingly. In spite of this, those who belong to the Church of Jesus are on their way to the eternal Father’s house, the heavenly Jerusalem. You may also find yourself on this way to your heavenly homeland, which sometimes seems to be almost too difficult, child of God. It is good to enter through the straight gate and to walk on the narrow way, for only this leads to Jesus, who is life (Matthew 7:14). There is room for many on the broad way; many things are tolerated, even if they are diametrically opposed to the Word of God. The broad way does not lead to Jesus in the Father’s house, however, but to a completely different place: “Broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat” (Matthew 7:13). The narrow way has room for only two people: you and Jesus. Fight the good fight of faith, because this way holds many trials and temptations.
But we can overcome all our fears and troubles by knowing that Jesus, the conqueror, is with us, by proclaiming His victory, and by turning our eyes continually upon the goal, “Capernaum,” the heavenly city, our homeland.
How moving Jesus’ words are concerning the homeland of the believers, the heavenly “Capernaum,” the eternal house: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.” Why shouldn’t we be troubled? “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 unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:1-3). Here also the caring, protecting love of the Savior is revealed, which we have already seen in John 16:33: “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
The victory of Jesus not only enables us to say with confidence that “He helps me in trouble,” but also assures us that, “In these troubles I am on the way to His city, the eternal homeland, where Jesus Christ, as the heavenly architect, is building homes.” What wonderful grace, what a wonderful hope!
Deception of the Last Times: Self-Satisfaction
In John 6:16-17 we saw prophetically, in the picture of the disciples in the darkness on the stormy Sea of Galilee, the Church of Jesus Christ on the last part of the way. What took place, however, just before this? The disciples had been in the midst of a crowd when the five thousand people had just been fed (John 6:1-15). Then suddenly they had been taken out of the security of the throngs of people to the solitude of being in a boat alone in the dark night.
This also seems to point to the situation of the Church of Jesus Christ on the last part of the way, on which the Lord is beginning to prepare the believers for His soon coming.
How does this preparation take place? The Lord Jesus is taking individual Christians out of the masses and beginning to work on them personally. Why is He doing this? Because the spirit of Laodicea is at work in the Church today. Spiritually speaking, we are living in the time of the church of Laodicea, and this is one of the signs that we really are living in the last times. In his first letter to Timothy, Paul wrote, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1 Timothy 4:1). What is the deception of the latter times? At the time of the church of Laodicea it was self-satisfaction: “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing” (Revelation 3:17). Today many churches are boasting, “We are doing well. Look how many people are coming to our meetings. We know what we’re doing and how to do it!” How does such a superficial judgment come about? I believe it comes about through the suggestive power of the masses. What do I mean by this? Many Christians are in great danger of falling prey to the so-called herd instinct. In other words, they only feel at home in the masses. This was never God’s intention, however. No, He wants to have a completely personal relationship with each of His children. Because only few Christians, however, attain inner peace and intimatefellowship with the Father and the Son through reading the Bible and prayer, this fateful herd instinct has developed. Many believers only feel at home when they are in the midst of hundreds or even thousands of otherChristians and can warm themselves in their company. But true life and warmth can only be found in Jesus Christ.
Many Christians run from one Christian event to another and from one conference to another. And some of them are proud of being able to say that they have not missed any of them. I am not against meetings where many people hear the Wo rd of God; I pray for these and am glad for them. But in the midst of thousands of Christians and the feeling of belonging to them, individual believers are often no longer conscious of the fact that they are on a spiritual decline. They may no longer be able to judge the standard of their own spiritual life. Under the mass effect they think that everything is in perfect order. This is often the trouble today: people think they have everything, whereas in reality they have nothing left, as it once was with Laodicea.
Beware of “Strange” Fire
The many activities in the church at Laodicea were well organized, but the believers there did not do what God actually wanted. This is why, in His eyes, they actually had nothing, and He had to reproach them: “and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17).
This is the case in many places today as well. Christians are perfectly organized, but they are not an organism, i.e., they are not an entity in Christ. This is why we have so much “strange fire” in the churches. What do I mean by this? Everything appears to be in order and so-called manifestations of the Spirit seem to be present, but much of it is fake: fake blessings, fake experiences, fake revelations, fake works. Worst of all, however, is that fake activities are present in many churches today.
This was already a great evil under the Old Covenant, when two sons of the high priest of that time thought they should engage in special activities. It seems that it was not enough for them to bring the burnt offerings that the Lord had ordered. No, in their eyes, something special had to be done for the Lord, not just by anyone, but by them. But in God’s eyes this was sheer disobedience, which is why His punishment was not long in coming. We read of this in Leviticus 10:1-2: “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron , took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.” Strange fire, or false activity, resulted in the death of two of the sons of Aaron .
Strange fire also brought down Laodicea, and it will also cause our spiritual death if we do not turn away from it and do what God wants us to do. Why, in spite of your intensive Christian activity, do you no longer have the joy of the Lord in your heart, but you sense only emptiness, discontent and sadness? Why is your prayer life so meager? Why do you have no real fellowship with the Lord? Because God says “no” to discipleship, which is made up of self-appointed works and activities, through which your spiritual life is consumed by this strange fire.
Religious self-satisfaction reveals itself today in that people think they have to plan as many activities as possible, whereby Jesus Christ is often “organized out” or “planned out.” And false means is a direct result of such self-appointed false activities. We often hear the expression, “the end justifies the means,” but it should rather be, “the means change the end.” Under the Old Covenant, the Lord lamented, “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water” (Jeremiah 2:13). The Israelites employed false means to nourish their spiritual lives, but the Lord wanted no part in this. And He does not want any part in it today.
Who rejoices when we have no or only a half-hearted “yes” to God’s acting in and with our lives? Satan: the enemy of God and man. James wrote in his letter, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19). In other words, Satan and the demons never tremble on account of us, however much we do. But the powers of darkness tremble when He has His rightful place in a person’s life.
How Does God Accomplish His Purpose for Your Life?
God accomplishes His purpose for your life by taking you out of the masses, as He did with the disciples in order to have a personal encounter with them. This was also His offer to Laodicea: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). I with Him and He with me; nobody else is present. Applied to you personally, this means Jesus is with you and you are with Him. He wants to have this personal relationship with each of His children in our time when the spirit of Laodicea, the spirit of self-satisfaction, is so much at work. For this reason, the words of Jesus in Luke 9:23 have never been so pertinent as they are today, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” The Lord is concerned with individuals. Of course He wants to prepare every believer in the world, but not every believer is willing to be called out of the masses to walk with Jesus alone. Many rebel, and many believers think God has set them aside because they failed here and there, and that is why they are now forsaken by God and man. But when God calls one of His children out of the masses, He wants to prepare that person for the coming of His Son, Jesus Christ. Every born-again person wants to be there when Jesus comes, but not all are willing to let the Lord prepare them for it, and they resist being called out of the masses by Him.
A Way We Do Not Like
What does it mean when the Lord calls individuals out of the masses? It can mean that this way becomes very lonely, very difficult, a way that we would not have chosen. The disciples at that time would never have undertaken that journey on the Sea of Galilee of their own accord, but it says, “And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away” (Matthew 14:22). It does not say that any of the disciples disobeyed Jesus’ instructions to get on the boat. Instead, “his disciples… entered into a ship, and wentover the sea” (John 6:16-17).
What about you, my dear friend? Will you go the way that Jesus tells you to, even if it seems very difficult? Believe me, it is a great privilege when the Lord takes you aside because it means He wants to prepare you for His return. It may well be that you find such a way very hard, because you often have the feeling the Lord is not with you and you are completely alone.
The feeling of abandonment must have come over the disciples at that time on the stormy Sea of Galilee. Jesus had told them to get into the boat, but He was not with them Himself. Where was He then, when His disciples were in such a plight? He was on a mountain: “And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone” (Matthew 14:23). Doesn’t this suggest that Jesus was praying, among other things, for His disciples, who felt so alone? Certainly He was concerned about them and brought them in
prayer before His heavenly Father.
My dear child of God, do you also think the Lord has forsaken you and that you are all on your own? This is not so. Hear the following three glorious testimonies of the Scriptures:
* “We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).
* “It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Romans 8:34).
* “ Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).
Do you believe now that the Lord Jesus means well with you and that you are never really alone? Or do you need further confirmation that He has not left you alone? When you came to believe in Jesus Christ, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, who is God just as the Father and the Son, “that he may abide with you for ever…for he dwelleth in you, and shall be in you” (John 14:16-17).
Preparation “In the Depths”
Because the Almighty God wants to prepare you for the coming of His Son and only wants the best for you, you may say to Him in complete trust, “Yes, Your will is good, Lord.” If He goes with you into the depths, do not be afraid, for there you will experience the necessary and best preparation, because there are many truths that you can only grasp in the depths. The Psalmist also had this experience when he was in the depths, and therefore he prayed, “Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord” (Psalm 130:1). Why did the Lord lead His servant into such depths? Because He could only bring him to realize seven special truths in this way:
1. Conviction of sin: “If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?” (verse 3).
2. Forgiveness: “But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared” (verse 4).
3. Waiting: “I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait…my soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning” (verses 5-6).
4. The Word: “In his word do I hope” (verse 5).
5. Hope: “Let Israel hope in the Lord” (verse 7).
6. Mercy: “For with the Lord there is mercy” (verse 7).
7. Redemption: “And with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities” (verses 7-8).
Won’t you say “yes,” then, to God’s dealings with you in this last hour, even if He leads you into the depths? Such a “yes” on our part to all His ways will bring an eternal reward, because through them God is preparing us for the soon coming of His Son, Jesus Christ.
(to be continued…)
Fatal Attraction: One-World Order Theories - Part II
One-World Order conspiracies seem to be a popular view with many people. In the first of this three-part series, we concluded that quite a bit of misinformation and misdirection is swallowed up in some of the more extreme versions. We are referring here mainly to such ideas that a sinister group of people — mostly the rich elites of the world, or possibly “international bankers” or Jews — are taking over the world rank and file.
In this installment, we now look to Scripture to discover why this emphasis upon so-called evil elites is a distraction to Christians. They lure us to divert our gaze from what should be the true object of our faith — the promises of the Lord Jesus Christ. Dangerously, rampant OWO theories risk making us vulnerable to critical deceptions.
No Privileged Fate for the Elites The OWO theories all mostly center on issues of money and economy — globalization and globalism, in other words. Though it is true that religious ecumenical ovements can be thought of as a “globalization” phenomenon as well, the general OWO theories are basically about money and economic power. A globalizing world is indeed gradually capturing people’s freedoms and forcing them into conditions of economic oppression, ideally setting the stage for the Antichrist to finally appear. Surely, the rich get richer and more powerful, and the poor ever more desperate. Assuredly, the schemes of globalists, world industrialists and financiers work to set up the global financial and economic architecture that will play a role in the prophetic future. But yet, something else rings false in the OWO theories. Yes, Scripture documents globalization and globalism in the last days but it certainly does not idolize the elites and kings of the world that are in the forefront of installing Mammon as the ruling order for the world. While they may be presently luxuriating in five-star hotels and traveling in first-class, they in no way have a privileged future.
Consider this text: “He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name” (Revelation 13:16-17). We see here a glaring point. The “rich” and the “great” are included among those who are subject to the global command economy that will be brought about at this point in the Great Tribulation. We see here that the elites and whatever other conspirators are there will “get theirs” too. The OWO theorists suggest that they will be the privileged ones who will earn a final pay-off. But, this is not so.
“Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?’” (Revelation 6:15-17). Here again, we see the elites get no special dispensation or privileges. Elites of all kinds — kings, princes, generals, the rich and the mighty — all suffer wrath, too. Moreover, they suffer wrath in the same measure as will anyone else during that time.
World’s Wealthy Power Brokers: Broken First
Revelation 14 clearly shows that late in the Tribulation Period, after the 144,000 elect (probably Jewish evangelists to the world) have already been redeemed and are standing before the heavenly throne of the Lamb, three angels go out. The first one gives the last altar call for repentance, exclaiming that the judgment will shortly start. The second angel follows and says, “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries” (Revelation 14:8). Then comes the third angel. What does he say? He “[…] said in a loud voice: If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb” (Revelation 14:9-10).
Did you catch the significance of that sequence? We see here that it is only after the great economic trading colossus (and perhaps also including a city center) has fallen that the “mark of the beast” (representing a worldwide control system) are instituted to the extent that people cannot “buy or sell.” What that means is that the globalized currency and trading systems supposedly built by the wealth of the so called rich elites, ship captains and nefarious conspirators come to naught first. The very edifice that Christian OWO theorists depict as leading the world to the Antichrist’s control gets its judgment from God. It is a financial bust.
The people OWO theorists decry and loathe are on the losing end. They don’t even get a chance to give over the worldwide system that they have built to the Antichrist, who by then embodies the Great Dragon. All that work, toil and conspiracy to take over the world in supposed selfless sacrifice to Satan, and there is no reward for them. Indeed their outcome is just as written in Proverbs: “When a wicked man dies, his hope perishes; all he expected from his power comes to nothing” (Proverbs 11:6-7).
Global Elites Are Not the Enemies
Here is a most important reason not to become too distracted with the OWO hysteria. Yes, economic suppression and control are a central hallmark of the Tribulation conditions. If that were not so, why would buying and selling be controlled? This measure certainly falls into an economic frame. But we have not the global elites to blame for this. It will not be the rich mavens of the world, but rather a religious figure who will bring about these conditions.
It is the False Prophet — not the Antichrist or the rich elites — who forces this condition upon the world. Most people think the Antichrist enforces this system. No. It is the second beast that comes out of the earth, the False Prophet (Revelation 13:11), who imposes this oppressive device of economic sanction in order to direct worship to the Antichrist. But what a surprise! What does this “re-
ligious leader,” the False Prophet, have to do with the global economy? Wasn’t that supposed to be the domain of the rich and the elites? The False Prophet brings this about.
Here we see one of the greatest dangers of the OWO theories. Even though we may not be present in the Tribulation Period (though there certainly will be Christians at that time), if we follow the emphasis of the popular OWO ideas, our heads will be turned in the wrong direction. We’ll be looking at the globalists, the business leaders, the ultra-rich and elite conspirators.
But, from out of left field comes the False Prophet.
Conclusion? It is the religious arena, not the players in the economic or commercial domain, that will deceive the world into a globalist and economic trap. No wonder Revelation 17 and 18 are often misunderstood. Why is it that the great harlot of Revelation 17 is so indistinguishable from the world trading system that is profiled in Revelation 18?
Actually, there really shouldn’t be a break between these chapters. When all the things mentioned in those chapters take place, the religious sphere will be in bed with Mammon. This syncretism is already clearly developing today. Under this tent, we find a whole host of new doctrines, from “prosperity teaching” to Dominion theology.
Fatal Attraction: One-World Order Theories – Part I
The September 2006 issue of Midnight Call carried an article entitled, “One-World Order: Waiting for Godot?” This article likely ruffled up more than a few feathers. Why? It appeared to refute the One-World Order theories (OWO), which after all, are well entrenched in North America. In fact, views of this nature are almost folkloric.
We are referring here mainly to the notions that a sinister group of people — mostly the rich elite of the world, or possibly “international bankers” or Jews — is taking over the world rank and file. In many quarters, “global conspiracy” views are accepted with rabid fervor.
Having read countless similar theories over the years and studied Scriptures on this question, I believe they are a needless distraction to Christians. In fact, if anything, these views are dangerous. They lure us to divert our gaze from what should be the true object of our faith — the promises of the Lord Jesus Christ. Crucially, rampant
OWO theories risk making us vulnerable to possible fatal deceptions.
One-World Order Theories Described
Before going any further, let’s first clear up some possible misconceptions. OWO perspectives include, but are not limited to, the belief that globalism and globalization are sweeping the world. There is no danger in holding such views, as it can be factually documented and is also prophesied in the Bible. Sometimes, the term “New World Order” (NWO) is used interchangeably with OWO. Therefore, to talk of a NWO or OWO in the sense of today’s globalization trends is not harmful.
The problems with many OWO theories arise with their additional allegations and heavy, misdirected focus upon certain evil, rich people, their motivations and the conspiracies they are hatching upon the world. Please understand that to warn about the excesses of some OWO theories is not to deny the reality of what is happening
globally today.
In the earlier mentioned article, a main argument was that the OWO is not a scripturally documented “pinpoint” sign for Christians. It may indeed be a broad “sign of the times” but not a specific time point. As we observe, the globalization and globalism phenomena that are deeply intertwined with OWO theories, are not trends that one can measure to say that they have been completed. They are ongoing processes to be sure. But even so, the question remains: How much further must these developments proceed before one can conclude that conditions are sufficient for the Tribulation to arrive? Or, can one validly state that much of their impact still lies in the future? Indeed, these trends are definitely symbols of the endtime “season,” but they are not “pinpoints” in time.
A further point argued was that even though we cannot know the endpoint of the “fullness of the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24), at the same time, globalization and globalism are a lot farther along than most people think. Their indicators are not as clear-cut and obvious as many commentators suggest — for example, the arrival of a one-world currency or a unified global government structure. Satan knows Scripture, too. And, as he is the author of lies and deception — in fact, he is the very personification of these traits — we must be wary of falling prey to anything that seems obvious at face value.
Endtime conditions are probably much more advanced than many might think. After all, our enemy has no interest in deceiving us into thinking that the time is shorter than it really is. If anything, he would rather delude us into thinking that the return of our Master, who is away on a far journey (Matthew 24:48), is yet farther in the future.
Yet, much more is unscriptural or dangerous about the emphasis of the popular OWO theories. But before we tackle these aspects, first a point of awareness: It is in the exaggerations and the misdirections of the grandiose OWO theories that we find the path to danger. Here, we may be sometimes dealing in subtleties, but these are crucial ones. As with any interpretation or view, whether it is of Scripture or even a gossip story, it only requires one degree of inaccuracy or error for the whole peck of apples to go bad.
Conspiracies R’ Us
A main thrust of all OWO theories is their focus on elites — rich people or persons of great influence. It is a fixation similar to the worship of media and sports stars. Much of society is captured by the deeds and trapping of the rich and famous. Only in this case, many of the OWO alarums cause us to focus upon the evil of these nefarious people and their ensnaring conspiracies. If movie and rock stars are the “good guys” of people’s adulation, then the “elites” and their grand conspiracies fill the emotional void of having “bad guys” that we can justifiably hate.
Not to be denied is that conspiracies exist or that certain elites might have inordinate powers in domestic or world affairs today. Not at all. What we can and do counter, however, is the popular hysteria that is dragging many Christians into unscriptural and vulnerable perspectives. As we will show, this fixation with the elite and their apparent global conspiracies cause our eyes to be averted from what Scripture actually emphasizes.
To begin, let’s first deal with the general topic of conspiracies. Yes, they are indeed playing out across the world stage today to a lesser or greater degree. However, it is one thing to agree that there are conspiracies and quite another to fear-monger, or to use them as a “pinpoint” sign or to indict a special group of advantaged people as particularly evil.
The Bible has much to say about conspiracies and the manipulations of the rich and powerful. To begin, it counsels to not get carried away with conspiracy fears.
“Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary” (Isaiah 8:12-14).
Before we put grand global conspiracies up on a pedestal to fear, it is comforting to know that God is in control. In the first place, He is the One to fear and respect, not globalists or “money-trust” conspirators, or even smaller conspirators who live down the street. Let’s rest assured that God sees what the conspirators are doing. Not only that, He assures us that their plans will come to naught: “The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming” (Psalm 37:12-13).
Also, we realize that the conspiracies of the wicked — people in preferred positions — have always existed. In that respect, not much is diff e rent today but only in one key respect. The means and opportunities for deceit and conspiracy today are simply bigger. It’s a global world in which some of the wicked now have worldwide influence.
The Bible records an ancient history of elite seizing the upper hand, oppre s sing the poor, and entrapping the unsuspecting and the disadvantaged. God sent many prophets to register His displeasure with such conditions. Consider just a few of such warnings that depict the nature of those similar times.
“ Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it. They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud a man of his home, a fellowman of his inheritance” (Micah 2:1-2).
“The scoundre l ’s methods are wicked, he makes up evil schemes to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just” (Isaiah 32:7).
“…that noisy crowd of evildoers. They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their words like deadly arrows. They shoot from ambush at the innocent man; they shoot at him suddenly, without fear. They encourage each other in evil plans, they talk about hiding their snares; they say, “Who will see them?” They plot injustice and say, “We have devised a perfect plan!” Surely the mind and heart of man are cunning” (Psalm 64: 2- 6).
“Among my people are wicked men who lie in wait like men who snare bird s and like those who set traps to catch men. Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; they have become rich and powerful and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it, they do not defend the rights of the poor” (Jeremiah 5:26-28).
These are just a few of the many testimonies that the Old Testament records providing vivid descriptions of the conspiracies of wicked elite. Perhaps the most illuminating account of such conditions of evil plotting of the rich and powerful is found in Ezekiel 22. The entire chapter concerns itself with this topic. All in all, we see that conspiracies existed thousands of years ago, always have and will continue to do so until the time of the millennial reign of Christ on earth. However, included in this and all
other pictures of evil plotting and manipulation is also the prophesied outcome for these elite and their plans.
“Should I not punish them for this?” declares the LORD. “Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?” (Jeremiah 5:29). God declares that the wicked and the rebellious nations will not escape: “But God will shoot them with arrows; suddenly they will be struck down. He will turn their own tongues against them and bring them to ruin; all who see them will shake their heads in scorn” (Psalm 64:7-8). While we may consider the elite of this world in privileged positions — living sumptuously and in conditions of ease and prosperity — it is, however, a very shortsighted perspective. Their outcome is clear: “The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken” (Psalm 37:14).
Follow the Evil Rich People
Let’s next turn to our modern day. Is there really a mythological group of men and women who are bound by blood across the centuries to sacrifice their lives to Satan in the selfless aim to bring about a New World Order? Moreover, could they be part of some secret cult or a certain “chosen” people who have been conscripted into an organized plan to deliver the world to the future Antichrist? Are they a tight-knit compact, dedicated to help bring about the world conditions that lead to the final Armageddon? If so, who are these people?
There are literally thousands of books that claim to identify them. Names such as John D. Rockefeller, W. Averill Harriman and hundreds of others are painstakingly documented in many of these accounts. Various groups are said to be part of this evil world plan, including the Bilderbergers, Skull and Bones, the Illuminati, the Elders of Zion and countless others. Do all these groups exist? Are many of the people cited guilty of some forms of collusion? There is probably much truth to these accounts.
If so, what then are we to do with this information? That, it turns out, is the key question. Should we be judging such conspiracies, seeking to expose them and to
condemn the elite that might be fomenting such disagreeable and difficult conditions on the rest of the world’s populations? Surely, we can expose such plots in the sense that we should not be unaware of such schemes. However, what is to be our response to these misguided people? Should we ourselves be concerned with their punishment and conviction? Should we now slavishly follow their every move and action, allowing ourselves to become captured by their money-making plotting? Just how should we respond to these people? It is here that we find one of the most critical points of departure from scriptural mandate in the histrionic bashing that we see by the OWO theorists.
However, before we seek the Bible’s answer as to how we are to respond, let’s focus upon just one of these types of elitists. No doubt, everyone has heard of the mythical “international banker.” He is a common kingpin in many OWO theories.
Money and Bankers
International bankers of conspiracy lore are caricatured as wearing a bespoke, pin-striped blue suit, working somewhere in unnamed international locations. Apparently, they are the evil force behind much of the world’s troubles. They are so evil that we are to assume that they are hell-bent upon handing the world over to the Antichrist at the end of days. They are devious and cunning, and perhaps even pray to Satan for their next set of directions to help in the take-over of the world.
Just who are these so-called international bankers? Allow me to share a personal perspective. For well over two decades, I was a globetrotting international financial executive. During that time, I can honestly say I rarely met any person I thought could fit this description. I surely did encounter all kinds of financial elite, from global corporate captains, central bankers, mega-billionaire investors, leading economists and strategists, and most certainly, individuals that might well be called “international bankers.” I met some very greedy people — some even psychopathic — but rarely anyone that qualified as an international banker of popular folklore. I certainly did not find any smoky upper meeting rooms filled with cigar-chomping elite who were plotting to take the world hostage for an apocalyptic, evil end. We see that only in the movies.
That said, there surely are many power brokers in the world today — whether rich in money or political or positional power — who are indeed bent upon evil, whose minds have been seared of all consequences of their actions. But we must repeat the question: Just who are these global elite that are taking over the world? Are they a special breed of people, chosen from the dawn of time? Or are they just ordinary humans who have gone astray, or have been deceived? Is their real intent and preferred choice to work for the losing side and to end up in eternal damnation? No, that is not likely.
These so-called elite are not extremist Muslims who want to sacrifice their lives for such an idea. They are not interested in the promise of 72 virgins in the afterlife, but rather are mostly motivated by self interest and greed in the “here and now” as well as in the ways that might appear right to godless men. Why? The answer is not surprising. These are impulses inherent to all people, though some indeed are consumed with these characteristics. These are the same flawed penchants that reside in the heart of all humanity. So said John: “For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world” (1 John 2:16).
Most “international bankers” (in real life, rather than the mythological ones of lore) that I met didn’t have a clue as to what was expected of them according to OWO theory. For the most part, they were quite ignorant of the big conspiracy in which they were supposedly playing a role. Rather, the aspects that motivated them all to some extent, were much more pedestrian. The desire of many of them was for riches, power and glory. And, if not those pursuits, they were surely motivated by the fear of losing their jobs, poverty, lack of means, or professional failure. Robert South, the colorful 17thentury English churchman, couldn’t have pinpointed this motivation any more succinctly, saying: “There are not a few who believe in no God but Mammon, no devil but the absence of gold, no damnation but being poor, and no hell but an empty purse; and not a few of their descendants are living still.”
What are we to do with such people? As already proposed, should we condemn them, hound them, and convict them? No. We are to pray for them. Whenever I have encountered such people who are consumed by power or the love of money, rather than feeling loathing, I have felt compassion. Often, they are lonely, imbalanced people, sometimes even bordering on the psychopathic. At some point in their lives, they became vulnerable to the lust and ambition for riches and gain at any price. These are not people who have signed a blood pact with Satan. They are lost. They are heading for a horrible fate. They are hardly different from us, “for we were saved while we were yet sinners.”
In Part II we will turn to several Scriptures that clearly lay out strong reasons we are not to allow ourselves to be carried away with extreme OWO conspiracy theories. Most crucially, we learn that these lure us to watch in the exact opposite direction to which we are commanded. Doing so, humanity will have been set up to fall prey to a great religious deception that comes to its final crescendo in the Tribulation Period.
The Anti-Christ and Mr. Obama - Part 2
Jack Kelly, RaptureReady.com
Last week’s article has quickly become one of the most widely read of any we’ve ever posted. It has also generated several questions and some wild information I had never heard before. Among these are excerpts from secular news sources containing two non-Biblical prophecies that I will offer first. Since they both opened with rhetorical questions, I’ve arranged them in our familiar Q and A format, but post them as written. The remaining questions are all reader submitted.
Two Non-Biblical Prophecies
The first one is very controversial and I offer no opinion as to its validity, except that I’ve received it from several independent news sources. I have been able to confirm that Johanwa Owalo was who this prophecy says he was and that it apparently came from a document copyrighted in 1915. Readers are cautioned to conduct their own research before accepting it as authentic.
“Q. Is Barak Obama the “Son of Kenya” foretold by the great 19th Century Kenyan Prophet, Johanwa Owalo, the founder of Kenya’s Nomiya Luo Church?
A. Among the Kenyan people of the Luo religion Owalo is believed to be a prophet similar to Jesus Christ and Muhammad, and who in 1912 made this horrific prophecy about the United States:
‘So far have they [the United States] strayed into wickedness in those [future] times that their destruction has been sealed by my [father]. Their great cities will burn, their crops and cattle will suffer disease and death, their children will perish from diseases never seen upon this Earth, and I reveal to you the greatest [mystery] of all as I have been allowed to see that their [the United States] destruction will come about through the vengeful hands of one of our very own sons.’ “
The next one comes from a Forbes.com article dated 10-26-08 by Amir Taheri, author of 10 books on Iran, the Middle East and Islam.
“Q. Is Barack Obama the "promised warrior" coming to help the Hidden Imam of Shiite Muslims conquer the world?
A. This question has made the rounds in Iran since last month, when a pro-government Web site published a Hadith (or tradition) from a Shiite text of the 17th century. The tradition comes from Bahar al-Anvar (meaning Oceans of Light) by Mullah Majlisi, a magnum opus in 132 volumes and the basis of modern Shiite Islam.
According to the tradition, Imam Ali Ibn Abi-Talib (the prophet’s cousin and son-in-law) prophesied that at the End of Times and just before the return of the Mahdi, the Ultimate Saviour, a "tall black man will assume the reins of government in the West." Commanding "the strongest army on earth," the new ruler in the West will carry "a clear sign" from the third imam, whose name was Hussein Ibn Ali. The tradition concludes: "Shiites should have no doubt that he is with us ."
In a curious coincidence Obama’s first and second names–Barack Hussein–mean "the blessing of Hussein" in Arabic and Persian. His family name, Obama, written in the Persian alphabet, reads O Ba Ma, which means "he is with us," the magic formula in Majlisi’s tradition.”
From these secular sources it appears that people from diverse backgrounds believe that a leader matching Mr. Obama’s description could appear in the last days, and that his impact will not be good for America. Time will tell.
Reader Submitted Questions
Now we’ll begin our reader submitted questions. In the interest of time and space, I’ve summarized them all into three basic questions that speak to Mr. Obama’s qualification to be the anti-Christ.
Q. Re: The people of the leader who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary (Daniel 9:26) How can Mr. Obama be the fulfillment of Daniel 9:26 if he was born in Hawaii, or Kenya for that matter?
A. When Daniel wrote these words from the Angel Gabriel, the Babylonians were about to be conquered by the Medes and Persians. The Romans wouldn’t arrive on the scene for several hundred years yet so Gabriel needed a way to identify them. He told Daniel the coming leader would be from the people who would destroy the city and sanctuary following the Messiah’s rejection. The Jewish Temple and the City of Jerusalem were destroyed separately. The Roman General Titus Vespasian led the troops who burned the Temple and tore its ruins apart stone by stone in either 68 or 69 AD depending on who’s account you favor. He did this under orders from his father Vespasian who was the Emperor of Rome. Then in 135 AD another Roman Emperor, Hadrian, ordered the complete destruction of Jerusalem as a consequence of the bar Kochba rebellion. These two separate events bear witness that Gabriel was referring to the Romans. Together they meet the standard that a matter must be established by the testimony of 2 or 3 witnesses. (Deut. 19:15 )
Brittainia (Great Britain) first came to the notice of the Romans in 55BC and by 43 AD had been assimilated into the Roman Empire, well before the City and Sanctuary were destroyed. Therefore the Roman Empire of the time stretched from Great Britain in the west across southern Europe and Northern Africa to the Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf in the East. Romans called the Mediterranean sea “Mare Nostrum” (our sea) because the Roman Empire pretty much surrounded it.
Many students of prophecy agree that almost anyone of Middle Eastern or European descent could meet the qualification of Daniel 9:26 to be the anti-Christ providing he also becomes a world leader. They say this is even true of many Americans because of our prior status as a British Colony and the fact that our country was founded in large part by Europeans whose ancestors dwelt in the Roman Empire of Biblical times.
Mr. Obama is almost certainly of European descent through His mother, and those who claim to have done the research say that on his father’s side he’s much more Arab than African. In fact Mr. Obama Sr.’s birth certificate identifies him as an Arab. They say Mr. Obama Jr.’s genealogy shows him to be 50% Caucasian, 43.75% Arab and 6.25% African. And in an interesting side note, Great Britain is one of the countries Mr. Obama is being asked to prove he’s not a citizen of in at least one of the lawsuits that have been filed. If he was born in Kenya in 1961 he would likely be a British citizen, because Kenya’s independence from Great Britain didn’t take place until 1963. The Supreme Court Justices will review one of these suits on Dec. 5,2008 to determine if they want to hear oral arguments. It is still unclear to everyone why Mr. Obama doesn’t just release his original birth certificate and put an end to all the speculation.
Q. Since the soldiers who destroyed the Temple were actually Assyrian mercenaries, and since Isaiah mentions an Assyrian enemy of Israel (Isaiah 10:5), doesn’t this mean the anti Christ has to be Assyrian? Wouldn’t that exclude Mr. Obama?
A. In my answer above I showed that the Angel Gabriel had to be referring to Rome when he spoke of the people who would destroy the city and the sanctuary. Remember, they were two different events, almost 70 years apart, and both times the soldiers were under Roman command following Roman orders. Also, the Assyrian Empire had been assimilated into Rome by territorial conquest, so there was no official Assyrian presence at the time. And had the passage referred to the Assyrians, Gabriel could have just mentioned them by name, since everyone in Daniel’s day knew of them.
Isaiah 10:1-19 is a judgment against Assyria. The Hebrew word translated Assyrian in verse 5 is Asshur, the name of the second son of Shem. This means it’s a reference to the Assyrian people, the descendants of Asshur, not to an individual. When the Assyrian King Sennacherib conquered Damascus and the Northern Kingdom, his army was bringing God’s judgment against godless people (verse 6). But when they set their sights on Jerusalem (verse 11) they exceeded God’s intention. In one night God sent the angel of death into the Assyrian camp and by morning 185,000 Assyrian soldiers were dead. Isaiah compared it to a fire burning through thorns and briers. (verses 17-18) The remaining Assyrians went home in shame and later Sennacherib’s own sons killed him. (Isaiah 37:36-38 ) Based on these things, I am not convinced that the Scriptures require the anti-Christ to be of Assyrian descent.
Q. The Bible seems to say that the anti-Christ will be asexual. Since Mr. Obama is happily married with two daughters why wouldn’t this exclude him?
A. This question refers to Daniel 11:37 which in the KJV reads;
Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
According to tradition, the phrase “desire of women” refers to the Messiah, not to the anti-Christ’s sexual orientation. From the time of Eve it was every Jewish woman’s desire to be the mother of the Messiah, so one of the informal names of the Messiah was “the desire of women”. This whole idea stems from the phrase “seed of the woman”, a reference to the promised redeemer from Genesis 3:15 . The idea that the anti-Christ will be asexual can not be supported from Scripture.
What’s The Point Of All this?
My purpose in this study has been to separate Biblical fact from human opinion on the issue of the anti-Christ, specifically in support of my claim that there’s no Biblical reason Mr. Obama couldn’t one day be revealed as the anti-Christ. By the way, much this information could be used to support the opinion that Bill Clinton, Prince Charles, or a number of others could turn out to be the anti-Christ as easily as Barack Obama, but he’s the one I’ve been asked about.
In part one of this study, I said that I don’t think it’s time for the anti-Christ to be introduced yet, and that the Church will not be here when he is. In 2 Thes.2:1-8 Paul gave a summary of End Times events in sequence. A careful reading reveals that Paul identified three specific things that will have to happen before the Day of the Lord (Great Tribulation) can come. There will have to be a falling away, a rebellion against the truth. This is when the believers in name only will be drawn out of the true Church into one of the various apostate movements we see springing up in our midst. The restraining force that’s holding the secret power of lawlessness back will also have to be taken out of the way. That’s the Holy Spirit contained in the Church, a reference to the Rapture. Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed and will stand in God’s Temple proclaiming himself to be God. That’s the abomination of Desolation that kicks off the Great Tribulation, and that’s when the world will know for certain just who the anti-Christ is.
For us it’s enough to know that the signs pointing to the End of the Age are appearing all around us. This is not happening so that we can hunker down and prepare for the storm. It’s happening so we can begin making preparations for our departure. Whether it’s several months or several years is also immaterial. The sooner we act the better prepared we’ll be. No one on Earth will be able to tell you in advance when we’ll be leaving. There will be no specific warning. One moment we’ll be here and the next we’ll be there. Jesus said we won’t know the day or hour, but He had Paul tell us that we should not be taken by surprise. Fore warned is fore armed, they say, and we’ve been forewarned. You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah. 11-22-08
“Not Yours To Give” Col David Crockett On Bailouts
Col. David Crockett, US Representative from Tennessee
Originally published in "The Life of Colonel David Crockett," by Edward Sylvester Ellis .
One day in the House of Representatives a bill was taken up appropriating money for the benefit of a widow of a distinguished naval officer. Several beautiful speeches had been made in its support. The Speaker was just about to put the question when Crockett arose:
"Mr. Speaker–I have as much respect for the memory of the deceased, and as much sympathy for the sufferings of the living, if suffering there be, as any man in this House, but we must not permit our respect for the dead or our sympathy for a part of the living to lead us into an act of injustice to the balance of the living. I will not go into an argument to prove that Congress has not the power to appropriate this money as an act of charity. Every member upon this floor knows it. We have the right, as individuals, to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right so to appropriate a dollar of the public money. Some eloquent appeals have been made to us upon the ground that it is a debt due the deceased. Mr. Speaker, the deceased lived long after the close of the war; he was in office to the day of his death, and I have never heard that the government was in arrears to him.
"Every man in this House knows it is not a debt. We cannot, without the grossest corruption, appropriate this money as the payment of a debt. We have not the semblance of authority to appropriate it as charity. Mr. Speaker, I have said we have the right to give as much money of our own as we please. I am the poorest man on this floor. I cannot vote for this bill, but I will give one week’s pay to the object, and if every member of Congress will do the same, it will amount to more than the bill asks."
He took his seat. Nobody replied. The bill was put upon its passage, and, instead of passing unanimously, as was generally supposed, and as, no doubt, it would, but for that speech, it received but few votes, and, of course, was lost.
Later, when asked by a friend why he had opposed the appropriation, Crockett gave this explanation:
"Several years ago I was one evening standing on the steps of the Capitol with some other members of Congress, when our attention was attracted by a great light over in Georgetown. It was evidently a large fire. We jumped into a hack and drove over as fast as we could. In spite of all that could be done, many houses were burned and many families made houseless, and, besides, some of them had lost all but the clothes they had on. The weather was very cold, and when I saw so many women and children suffering, I felt that something ought to be done for them. The next morning a bill was introduced appropriating $20,000 for their relief. We put aside all other business and rushed it through as soon as it could be done.
"The next summer, when it began to be time to think about election, I concluded I would take a scout around among the boys of my district. I had no opposition there, but, as the election was some time off, I did not know what might turn up. When riding one day in a part of my district in which I was more of a stranger than any other, I saw a man in a field plowing and coming toward the road. I gauged my gait so that we should meet as he came to the fence. A s he came up, I spoke to the man. He replied politely, but, as I thought, rather coldly.
"I began: ‘Well, friend, I am one of those unfortunate beings called
candidates, and—‘
"Yes I know you; you are Colonel Crockett. I have seen you once before, and voted for you the last time you were elected. I suppose you are out electioneering now, but you had better not waste your time or mine, I shall not vote for you again."
"This was a sockdolager…I begged him to tell me what was the matter.
" ’ Well , Colonel, it is hardly worth - while to waste time or words upon it. I do not see how it can be mended, but you gave a vote last winter which shows that either you have not capacity to understand the Constitution, or that you are wanting in the honesty and firmness to be guided by it. In either case you are not the man to represent me. But I beg your pardon for expressing it in that way. I did not intend to avail myself of the privilege of the constituent to speak plainly to a candidate for the purpose of insulting or wounding you. I intend by it only to say that your understanding of the C onstitution is very different from mine; and I will say to you what , but for my rudeness, I should not have said, that I believe you to be honest.
… But an understanding of the Constitution different from mine I cannot overlook, because the Constitution, to be worth anything, must be held sacred, and rigidly observed in all its provisions. The man who wields power and misinterprets it is the more dangerous the more honest he is.’
" ‘I admit the truth of all you say, but there must be some mistake about it, for I do not remember that I gave any vote last winter upon any constitutional question.’
“ ‘No, Colonel, there’s no mistake. Though I live in the backwoods and seldom go from home, I take the papers from Washington and read very carefully all the proceedings of Congress. My papers say that last winter you voted for a bill to appropriate $20,000 to some sufferers by a fire in Georgetown. Is that true? ’
" ‘ Well , my friend; I may as well own up. You have got me there. But certainly nobody will complain that a great and rich country like ours should give the insignificant sum of $20,000 to relieve its suffering women and children, particularly with a full and overflowing T reasury, and I am sure, if you had been there, you would have done just as I did.’
" ‘ It is not the amount, Colonel, that I complain of; it is the principle. In the first place, the government ought to have in the Treasury no more than enough for its legitimate purposes. But that has nothing with the question. The power of collecting and disbursing money at pleasure is the most dangerous power that can be entrusted to man, particularly under our system of collecting revenue by a tariff, which reaches every man in the country, no matter how poor he may be, and the poorer he is the more he pays in proportion to his means. What is worse, it presses upon him without his knowledge where the weight centers, for there is not a man in the United States who can ever guess how much he pays to the government. So you see, that while you are contributing to relieve one, you are drawing it from thousands who are even worse off than he. If you had the right to give anything, the amount was simply a matter of discretion with you, and you had as much right to give $20,000,000 as $20,000. If you have the right to give to one, you have the right to give to all; and , as the Constitution neither defines charity nor stipulates the amount, you are at liberty to give to any and everything which you may believe, or profess to believe, is a charity , and to any amount you may think proper. You will very easily perceive what a wide door this would open for fraud and corruption and favoritism, on the one hand, and for robbing the people on the other. ‘ No, Colonel, Congress has no right to give charity. Individual members may give as much of their own money as they please, but they have no right to touch a dollar of the public money for that purpose. If twice as many houses had been burned in this county as in Georgetown, neither you nor any other member of Congress would have t hought of appropriating a dollar for our relief. There are about two hundred and forty members of Congress. If they had shown their sympathy for the sufferers by contributing each one week’s pay, it would have made over $13,000. There are plenty of wealthy men in and around Washington who could have given $20,000 without depriving themselves of even a luxury of life. ‘ " The congressmen chose to keep their own money, which, if reports be true, some of them spend not very creditably; and the people about Washington, no doubt, applauded you for relieving them from the necessity of giving by giving what was not yours to give. The people have delegated to Congress, by the Constitution, the power to do certain things. To do these, it is authorized to collect and pay moneys, and for nothing else. Everything beyond this is usurpation, and a violation of the Constitution. ‘
" ‘So you see, Colonel, you have violated the Constitution in what I consider a vital point. It is a precedent fraught with danger to the country, for when Congress once begins to stretch its power beyond the limits of the Constitution, there is no limit to it, and no security for the people. I have no doubt you acted honestly, but that does not make it any better, except as far as you are personally concerned, and you see that I cannot vote for you.’
"I tell you I felt streaked. I saw if I should have opposition, and this man should go to talking, he would set others to talking, and in that district I was a gone fawn-skin. I could not answer him, and the fact is, I was so fully convinced that he was right, I did not want to. But I must satisfy him, and I said to him:
" ‘ Well, my friend, you hit the nail upon the head when you said I had not sense enough to understand the Constitution. I intended to be guided by it, and thought I had studied it fully. I have heard many speeches in Congress about the powers of Congress, but what you have said here at your plow has got more hard, sound sense in it than all the fine speeches I ever heard. If I had ever taken the view of it that you have, I would have put my head into the fire before I would have given that vote; and if you will forgive me and vote for me again, if I ever vote for another unconstitutional law I wish I may be shot.’
"He laughingly replied; ‘Yes, Colonel, you have sworn to that once before, but I will trust you again upon one condition. You say that you are convinced that your vote was wrong. Your acknowledgment of it will do more good than beating you for it. If, as you go around the district, you will tell people about this vote, and that you are satisfied it was wrong, I will not only vote for you, but will do what I can to keep down opposition, and , perhaps, I may exert some little influence in that way.’
" ‘ If I don’t ’ , said I, ‘I wish I may be shot; and to convince you that I am in earnest in what I say I will come back this way in a week or ten days, and if you will get up a gathering of the people, I will make a speech to them. Get up a barbecue, and I will pay for it.’
" ‘ No, Colonel, we are not rich people in this section , but we have plenty of provisions to contribute for a barbecue, and some to spare for those who have none. The push of crops will be over in a few days, and we can then afford a day for a barbecue. This is Thursday; I will see to getting it up on Saturday week. Come to my house on Friday, and we will go together, and I promise you a very respectable crowd to see and hear you. ’
" ‘Well , I will be here. But one thing more before I say good-bye. I must know your name. ’
" ‘My name is Bunce.’
" ‘Not Horatio Bunce?’
" ‘Yes .’
" ‘Well, Mr. Bunce, I never saw you before, though you say you have seen me, but I know you very well. I am glad I have met you, and very proud that I may hope to have you for my friend.’
"It was one of the luckiest hits of my life that I met him. He mingled but little with the public, but was widely known for his remarkable intelligence and incorruptible integrity, and for a heart brimful and running over with kindness and benevolence, which showed themselves not only in words but in acts. He was the oracle of the whole country around him, and his fame had extended far beyond the circle of his immediate acquaintance. Though I had never met him , before, I had heard much of him, and but for this meeting it is very likely I should have had opposition, and had been beaten. One thing is very certain, no man could now stand up in that district under such a vote.
"At the appointed time I was at his house, having told our conversation to every crowd I had met, and to every man I stayed all night with, and I found that it gave the people an interest and a confidence in me stronger than I had ever seen manifested before.
"Though I was considerably fatigued when I reached his house, and, under ordinary circumstances, should have gone early to bed, I kept him up until midnight , talking about the principles and affairs of government, and got more real, true knowledge of them than I had got all my life before.
"I have known and seen much of him since, for I respect him - no, that is not the word - I reverence and love him more than any living man, and I go to see him two or three times every year; and I will tell you, sir, if every one who professes to be a Christian lived and acted and enjoyed it as he does, the religion of Christ would take the world by storm.
"But to return to my story. The next morning we went to the barbecue , and, to my surprise, found about a thousand men there. I met a good many whom I had not known before, and they and my friend introduced me around until I had got pretty well acquainted - at least, they all knew me.
"In due time notice was given that I would speak to them. They gathered up around a stand that had been erected. I opened my speech by saying:
" ‘ Fellow-citizens - I present myself before you today feeling like a new man. My eyes have lately been opened to truths which ignorance or prejudice , or both, had heretofore hidden from my view. I feel that I can today offer you the ability to render you more valuable service than I have ever been able to render before. I am here today more for the purpose of acknowledging my error than to seek your votes. That I should make this acknowledgment is due to myself as well as to you. Whether you will vote for me is a matter for your consideration only. ’ "
"I went on to tell them about the fire and my vote for the appropriation and then told them why I was satisfied it was wrong. I closed by saying:
" ‘ And now, fellow-citizens, it remains only for me to tell you that the most of the speech you have listened to with so much interest was simply a repetition of the arguments by which your neighbor, Mr. Bunce, convinced me of my error.
" ‘ It is the best speech I ever made in my life, but he is entitled to the
credit for it. And now I hope he is satisfied with his convert and that he will get up here and tell you so.’
"He came upon the stand and said:
" ‘ Fellow-citizens - I t affords me great pleasure to comply with the request of Colonel Crockett. I have always considered him a thoroughly honest man, and I am satisfied that he will faithfully perform all that he has promised you today.’
"He went down, and there went up from that crowd such a shout for Davy Crockett as his name never called forth before. ‘
"I am not much given to tears, but I was taken with a choking then and felt some big drops rolling down my cheeks. And I tell you now that the remembrance of those few words spoken by such a man, and the honest, hearty shout they produced, is worth more to me than all the honors I have received and all the reputation I have ever made, or ever shall make, as a member of Congress. ‘
"Now, sir," concluded Crockett, "you know why I made that speech yesterday.
"There is one thing now to which I will call your attention. Y ou remember that I proposed to give a week’s pay. There are in that House many very wealthy men - men who think nothing of spending a week’s pay, or a dozen of them, for a dinner or a wine party when they have something to accomplish by it. Some of those same men made beautiful speeches upon the great debt of gratitude which the country owed the deceased–a debt which could not be paid by money–and the insignificance and worthlessness of money, particularly so insignificant a sum as $ 1 0,000 , when weighed against the honor of the nation. Yet not one of them responded to my proposition. Money with them is nothing but trash when it is to come out of the people. But it is the one great thing for which most of them are striving, and many of them sacrifice honor, integrity, and justice to obtain it."
The Anti-Christ And Mr. Obama - Part 1
Jack Kelly, RaptureReady.com
Since the election I’ve been asked a number of times to comment on the likelihood that Mr. Obama could be the anti-Christ. Let me begin by saying that having been elected President he’s Mr. Obama now, not just Obama. As for him being the anti-Christ I’ve discouraged that thought because I don’t believe it’s time for the anti-Christ to be revealed yet. But apart from that there’s no Biblical reason I can find that would absolutely disqualify him. And based on the things we know about the anti-Christ there’s a fit in several important places. The anti-Christ will have to burst on the scene quickly and powerfully to accomplish so much in the little time he has, so maybe he’ll need a head start. If that’s the case, maybe Mr. Obama is on his way to becoming the anti-Christ. Let’s find out.
We know that the anti-Christ will be a descendant of the people who made up the Roman Empire in Biblical times (Daniel 9:26 ), and he’ll arrive on the world scene as a peace maker (Daniel 8:25 ). He won’t be part of the world’s powerful elite at the beginning of his career (Daniel 7:8 ) but will rise up among them to eventually surpass them and become the leader of the entire world. (Rev. 13:7-8 )
He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power. (Daniel 8:25 )
This means that he’ll base his success on a lie, misrepresenting himself and his intentions, but people will want to believe him so badly that they’ll disregard his inconsistencies until it’s too late to stop him. Initially he’ll seem successful, but just when they’re saying “Peace and safety”, destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains to a pregnant woman, and they won’t escape (1 Thes. 5:3 ).
Deja Vu All Over Again?
Some of us remember when Jimmy Carter was elected President of the US. The country was fed up with Washington and even though he had no national leadership experience, we elected him because he was an outsider who promised change. He said he would never lie to us, but after the election it turned out that he had. He had misrepresented his background and didn’t have the ability he needed when it came to governing. He said he was Christian and even orchestrated a land for peace deal between Israel and Egypt, but he proved to be anti-Israel. Soon we had a crisis in finance with interest rates at 20%, an energy crisis with our first gas shortages, and an administration that didn’t know how to work with Congress to fix things. The Iranians captured our embassy and held our citizens hostage. Thankfully he lasted only one term.
Mr. Obama could easily turn out to be just another Jimmy Carter, and if so America will suffer through the next four years and then he’ll be gone. But if he continues to be successful in convincing people all around the world that he’s on the right track even though everything seems to be falling apart, it could be a different story.
If my calculations are correct, American Christians have just voted in our last presidential elections and won’t be here to see if Mr. Obama turns out to be the anti-Christ or not. But someone with a lot more experience in accurately predicting the future has some interesting insight into the next few years. His name is Gerald Celente, CEO of Trends Research Institute, and he’s renowned the world over for his accuracy in predicting future world and economic events. He accurately predicted the 1987 Stock market crash, the Fall of the Soviet Union, the 1997 Asian currency collapse, the sub-prime mortgage crisis, and one year before the fact predicted what he said would become known as the Panic of 2008, saying that giants would tumble to their deaths, which is what we’ve just seen in the fall of several of our oldest and biggest financial firms, and with the big three auto makers teetering on the brink. (You can check his track record for yourself at www.trendsresearch.com )
Celente is now forecasting revolution in America, food riots and tax rebellions - all within four years, cautioning that putting food on the table will be a more pressing concern than buying Christmas gifts by 2012.
According to his recent Fox News interview, called “Predicting Obama’s Impact” (posted on YouTube on Nov. 10, 2008), by 2012 America will have become an undeveloped nation. There will be a revolution marked by food riots, squatter rebellions, tax revolts and job marches, and holidays will be more about obtaining food than gifts.
“We’re going to see the end of the retail Christmas….we’re going to see a fundamental shift take place….putting food on the table is going to be more important that putting gifts under the Christmas tree,” said Celente, adding that the situation would be “worse than the great depression”.
“America’s going to go through a transition the likes of which no one is prepared for,” he said, noting that people’s refusal to acknowledge that America was even in a recession highlights how big a problem denial is in being ready for the true scale of the crisis.
All this comes from a man with an international reputation for being right and whose continued success depends on it. If he’s right now like he has been so often in the past, then the next four years will be worse than the Carter Administration ever was, rather than the launching platform for a coming world leader.
(By the way, please take note that this is another independent expert pointing to the year 2012 as one of cataclysmic significance in bringing about the End of the Age.)
There’s a wild card that I hesitate to throw in here because I don’t even want to think about it. But if it’s true it could easily cause the problems that Mr. Celente is predicting. For some time now certain people, Republican and Democrat alike, have been saying that Mr. Obama isn’t legally qualified to be President because he’s not a natural born citizen of the US. I won’t go into the details but the point is that he could make this all go away by producing a legitimate birth certificate, something he’s been unwilling to do. A federal court has given him until Dec. 1, 2008 to do so, and if he does then the Electoral College vote will be certified and he’ll be the next President. But lawsuits in a dozen or so states have been or are being filed to prevent the certification until Mr. Obama proves he’s qualified. If the courts throw out the election who knows what could happen.
What Time Is It?
As many of you know, I’ve said that all of the End Times prophecies including the 2nd Coming could be fulfilled as early as 2018. I base this on the Lord’s promise that the generation being born at the time of the first End Times signs would still be alive when “all these things have happened” (Matt. 24:34 ) Most scholars view the re-birth of Israel in 1948 as the first of the end times signs. With an average lifespan being 70 years, according to Psalm 90:10 , everything will have to come to pass by 2018. If the Rapture only just precedes the 70th Week of Daniel it could come 7 years earlier, in 2011, which is 2 ½ years from now, about half way through Mr. Obama’s first term, assuming the election stands.
So here’s how to tell if he’ll become the anti-Christ or not. If it seems like he can do no wrong, if people feel safe and it’s beginning to look like there’ll be peace in our time, then there’s a good chance he’s the one. But if Gerald Celente’s predictions are coming to pass, and the world’s in worse shape than ever, then he’s just another Jimmy Carter, an inexperienced outsider who had no business running for president in the first place, let alone being elected.
Time will tell, but either way we can look for some difficult days ahead for the Church. Because either way we are in the final phase of post Christian America and can expect the world around us to become more and more anti-Christian. And if the economy continues to self-destruct it will be just that much worse.
But whether Mr. Obama turns out to be the anti-Christ or not is really irrelevant to the Church. Our job in the short time we have left is to get ready to move to our new home. That means breaking our ties with the old one. Anything that can’t be put to kingdom use is excess baggage to us now. We should be sending whatever treasure we have up ahead. We should stop worrying about our career, our retirement fund, our lifestyle, and all those other worldly distractions and put all our resources to work for the benefit of our next life. After all it’s the real one. And one way or the other, this one is already gone.
Whether you believe in a pre-trib rapture or not you know my advice is sound. After all I’m not just making this up. Everything I ‘ve been saying is straight from the Lord’s own mouth. He’s the one who said to quit storing up treasure on Earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. He’s the one who said to store up treasure in Heaven instead. (Matt. 6:19-20 ) And He’s the one who said not to worry about our lives here but seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and he’ll provide all our needs. (Matt. 6:31-34 ) So whether you think we’re leaving here soon or not, it’s time to pay attention to what He’s been telling us. No matter how much time you think we have, you can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah. 11-15-08
Behold the Bridegroom Cometh - New Testament Christianity The Bride Awaits Her Groom
| by J. R. Church |
The church has been referred to as "the bride of Christ," and our Savior, in turn, has been called the "Bridegroom." It is a beautiful and magnificent love story found in the pages of the Bible. We who are in the bride of Christ anxiously await our Bridegroom.
Let’s review the marriage customs of the Jews and discuss some prophetic implications. When the young Jewish man chose his bride-to-be, he came to her home to discuss the matter with her father. This first major step in the Jewish marriage was called the "betrothal." It involved the establishment of a marriage covenant.
During the days of the Bible, it was customary for the prospective bridegroom to negotiate with the father of the young woman to determine the price that he must pay to purchase his bride. Once the bridegroom paid the purchase price (called in Hebrew the "mohar" ), the marriage covenant was established. From that day, the couple were regarded as husband and wife. From that moment the bride was declared to be consecrated or sanctified — set apart exclusively for her bridegroom.
As a symbol of the covenant relationship that had been established, the groom and bride would drink from a cup of wine over which a betrothal benediction was pronounced.
After the marriage covenant was established, the groom would leave the home of the bride and return to his father’s house. There he would remain separated from his bride for a period of several days, weeks, or months. This period of separation afforded the bride time to gather her trousseau and prepare for married life.
The groom occupied himself with the preparation of a bridal chamber (called in the Hebrew language, "huppah" ) to which he could bring his bride.
At the end of the period of separation, the groom would come to take his bride to live with him. The taking of the bride usually took place at night. The groom, along with his best man and the other groomsmen, would conduct a torch-lit procession to the home of the bride.
Although the bride and her attendants were hoping that the groom would come for her, she did not know the exact time of his coming. As a result, the groom’s arrival would be preceded by a shout. This shout would forewarn the bride to be prepared for the coming of the groom. By the way, that evening, her parents would manage to be gone, giving some excuse. She did not know that they had gone to the wedding.
After the groom received his bride (together with her bridesmaids or attendants) the enlarged wedding party returned to his father’s house. When the bride arrived, she would find her parents there. Shortly after their arrival, the bride and groom would be escorted to the bridal chamber by the other members of the wedding party.
During this time the bride remained veiled so that no one could see her face. Only the groom and his bride entered the bridal chamber. As soon as the marriage was consummated, the wedding guests would feast and make merry for the next seven days. During that week of wedding festivities, which were sometimes called the "Seven Days of the Huppah ," the bride remained hidden in the bridal chamber.
At the conclusion of the seven days the groom would bring his bride out of the bridal chamber — with her veil removed — so that all could see who his bride was. Let us examine this ancient marriage custom and see how magnificently it provides a prophetic preview of the coming of our Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ.
To begin with, let us establish that Jesus is the Bridegroom. That takes us to Matthew 9:15:
"And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast." Aside from the details of the story, let us take note that Jesus referred to Himself as the Bridegroom.
Next let us establish who is the bride. For this we go to Ephesians 5:23-24:
"For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. "Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing." Again, aside from the context, we can see that the bride of Christ refers to that vast body of believers who have received Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
Consider yet another passage written by Paul the Apostle. Not only did he refer to the church at Ephesus as being part of the bride of Christ, but in II Corinthians 11:2 he referred to the church at Corinth as being members of the bride:
"For I am jealous over you with godly jealously: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." Who is the bride? Obviously, we are the bride.
When the Jewish man came to negotiate for his bride, he paid the "mohar" or price of betrothal. The comparison is made in I Corinthians 6:20:
"For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit, which are God’s." Here we are reminded of the "Mohar." We are bought with a price. But the price of betrothal was not paid with silver or gold. We were bought with something far more valuable than that. It was Peter who wrote in his first epistle, I Peter 1:18,19, that we were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ — a Lamb without blemish and without spot.
So we are the bride, and we have been purchased by the Lord Jesus Christ. He has paid the price of betrothal.
When that price was paid (in the days of the Bible) a ceremony took place. The young couple sealed their covenant by drinking from a glass of wine over which a special benediction had been pronounced. In like manner our Bridegroom met with the disciples on the night before His death, took the wine and passed it among them. Matthew 26:27-29:
"And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; "For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. "But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom." Our Savior established the betrothal covenant and promised that we would drink anew with Him in His Father’s kingdom. About midnight, they left the Upper Room for the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus went to pray and prepare himself to pay the price (the mohar ) for His bride.
Alfred Edersheim in his book entitled Sketches of Jewish Social Life wrote on page 143, "The woman had to give her own free and expressed consent, without which a union was invalid."
In like manner there is no pressure put upon the unbeliever today — merely the invitation of our Savior to become a member of the bride. No pastor can force salvation upon an unwilling sinner, and Jesus Christ, Who loves you, will not force the issue. If you would be saved, it must be by your own free will.
In a footnote at the bottom of page 140, Edersheim gave an illustration. "A certain wise woman said to her daughter before her marriage, ‘My child, stand before thy husband and minister to him. If thou will act as his maiden, he will be thy slave and honor thee as his mistress. But if thou exalt thyself against him, he will be thy master and thou shall become vile in his eyes, like one of the maid servants.’"
No wonder the Lord Jesus Christ took the towel that night in the upper room and took a basin of water with which He washed the disciples’ feet. He made it plain that the greatest in the kingdom of heaven would be those who have made themselves servants of the Lord. (By the way, that’s a beautiful bit of advice for wives today.)
On page 146, Dr. Edersheim wrote, "It is on similar grounds that the rabbis argue that a man must seek after a woman and not a woman after a man. It was observed by ancient Jews that God had not formed woman out of the head lest she become proud, nor out of the eye lest she should lust, nor out of the ear lest she should be curious, nor out of the mouth lest she should be talkative, nor out of the heart lest she should be jealous, nor out of the hand lest she should be covetous, nor out of the foot lest she should be a busybody, but out of the rib which was always covered. Modesty, therefore, was a prime quality in the women of Israel."
In like manner it must be said that Christ seeks after us. It is not the nature of a sinner to want to become a Christian, and, dear friend, you cannot become a Christian just when you want to. You can only become a Christian when the Holy Spirit places conviction within your heart and that wooing of the Holy Spirit takes place. When you feel that desire, that longing down inside to settle the matter of your soul, that is God’s invitation to you. If you reject at that point, it is like turning down a proposal made by the groom to be His bride. Have you ever been to a church service where, when the invitation was given, you had the urge to step out and walk the aisle and there receive Christ as your Savior, but you did not?
It seemed that God the Holy Spirit was urging you to step forward, but someone else was giving you a hundred reasons why you should put it off until another day. Finally, you decided to wait.
Dear friend, that is dangerous. There may never be another day. Oh, you may live another 50 years, but the Bridegroom may never again propose to you.
"Well," you may ask, "how will I know that God will receive me if I pray and ask for salvation?" If you are concerned, it is God who gave you that concern. If you are indifferent then you should know the Holy Spirit is not working in your heart. Please, don’t continue to reject His proposal.
On page 148, Dr. Edersheim continued, "From the moment of her betrothal, a woman was treated as if she were actually married. The union could not be dissolved except by regular divorce."
In like manner, once we have received Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, the betrothal covenant is activated. The believer becomes the bride of Christ. We are actually married, and our union cannot be dissolved.
Ah, but wait a minute. Divorce was available among the Jews. Someone may be asking the question, "Cannot a Christian, then, lose his salvation?" For the answer to that, we have only to read the words of Jesus. Matthew 19:3-6:
"The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? "And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, "And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? "Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." This profound statement made by Jesus Christ sets aside any possible divorce in our new covenant. When the Jews pressed the matter of divorce, Jesus said, "But from the beginning it was not so." Dear friend, once you make that decision of your own free will to join the bride of Christ, the union cannot be dissolved.
In the ancient Jewish custom a betrothal covenant was drawn up stipulating the mutual obligations, the dowry, and all other points on which the parties had agreed. Then the document was signed by two witnesses.
According to rabbinical law, certain formalities were necessary in order to make a betrothal legally valid. These consisted either in giving the bride-to-be (directly or through messengers) a piece of money, or a letter stating that the man intended to espouse the woman as his wife. In like manner, our Savior has given us 27 books of the new covenant wherein He promises to return one day to take us as His bride.
According to ancient Jewish custom, once the price is paid and the betrothal covenant is established the bridegroom goes back home to the father’s house and builds the "huppah" — the bridal chamber. It may take a few weeks, or it could take several months.
The bride, meanwhile, knows only that her bridegroom will return for her. She does not know when. In like manner, our Bridegroom has returned to the Father’s house — where, for more than 1,900 years, He has been building the huppah , the bridal chamber. Read His promise in John 14:1-3:
"Let not your heart be troubled: ye 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 unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."
"I go to prepare a place for you," said Jesus. And He has been doing just that for almost 2,000 years, preparing for that day when he shall return to receive us unto Himself. Meanwhile, the bride prepared for the coming of her bridegroom. According to the ancient custom, the bride gathered her dowry and chose the young ladies who would be her bridesmaids.
These young ladies were given lamps to use in the procession when the bridegroom came. According to Dr. Edersheim’s book, Sketches of Jewish Social Life , page 155, rabbinical authority took note that such lamps were carried on the top of staves and that ten lamps were always the number mentioned in connection with public solemnities.
He wrote, "According to Rabbi Simon, it was an eastern custom that when the bride was led to her future home, they carried before the party about ten such lamps."
That compares quite nicely with the parable of the ten virgins given in Matthew 25. According to the ancient custom, the groom did not tell his bride when he could be expected.
Therefore, she must be prepared at all times. In like manner, our Savior has hidden from His bride the day and the hour of His return. Again, according to the ancient custom, the coming of the bridegroom usually occurred at night. That was the reason for the ten lamps.
In traditional Jewish weddings the celebration began after the marriage ceremony when the evening star appeared in the sky. The time would be somewhere between eight and ten o’clock in the evening, depending upon the season of the year. According to the parable of the ten virgins, however, it was well past ten o’clock when the bridegroom came. In fact, it was at the midnight hour, and five of the virgins had run out of oil.
In like manner, I must say that historians have called the 19th century "The Darkling Plane" and the 20th century, "The Midnight Hour — the darkest period in world history."
World War III looms on the horizon. There has never been a darker hour than today. Surely the Bridegroom is soon to be on His way.
According to the ancient custom, as the bridegroom approached the home of his bride a shout would go forth, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh! Go ye out to meet him." Again, in like manner, we are promised that the "Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God." At that time, wrote the apostle Paul in I Thessalonians 4:16-17:
"… the dead in Christ shall rise first:
"Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air…"
It is a beautifully romantic picture. Listen to the Song of Solomon 2:8-13:
"The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.
"My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.
"My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
"For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
"The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
"The fig tree putteth forth her green figs [Did you see that?! The budding of the fig tree is mentioned here!] , and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away."
And then the bride exclaimed in verses 16-17:
"My beloved is mine, and I am his… "Until the day break, and the shadows flee away…" Wow! What a promise that in the midst of the midnight hour of world history our Bridegroom will come and take us away with Him until the day breaks and the shadows flee away. |
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