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VITAL
SIGNS
of the soon
RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST
WHO
WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST?
VITAL
SIGNS OF THE SOON RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST
“I
will go and return to My place, til they acknowledge
their offence, and seek My face; in their affliction
they will seek Me early.
“Come,
and let us return unto the Lord: for He hath torn, and
He will bind us up. After two days will He revive us:
in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall
live in His sight.” (Hosea 5:15; 6:1-2)
This
is one of the most significant scriptures in the
entire Bible dealing with the ‘Second Coming’ or
the rapture of Jesus Christ!
Thousands
of years ago, the Old Testament prophet pin-pointed
the sins of the Jewish nation in: No. 1 - breaking the
Mosaic Covenant and No. 2 - the rejection of their
Messiah, as well as their terrible suffering and
return to God in repentance and faith in the last
days!
FOR
2000 YEARS THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST HAS WAITED FOR
THE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST
For
nearly two thousand years, the Church of Jesus Christ
has lived in the hope of His promised return. Old
Testament prophets HAD FORETOLD IN DETAIL the time and
place of His virgin birth, His sinless life, His
miraculous ministry, His vicarious death and His
glorious resurrection. They also prophesied His second
advent and triumphant millennial reign!
WHY
HAVE JEWISH PEOPLE SUFFERED SO TREMENDOUSLY OVER THE
MILLENNIA'S?
THE
UNDERLYING REASON for the terrible suffering, pain and
sorrows meted out to the Jews over centuries and
millennia, is because they broke the covenant Moses
made with God on their behalf!
If
you doubt that, read the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy
which details the blessings of God upon Israel if they
keep the covenant (vs. 1-14) and the curses of God
upon Israel if they break the covenant (vs. 15-68).
THE
SECOND REASON - which accounts for only a limited
period of ‘one generation’ - is that they rejected
their Messiah!
Jesus
stated, “Wherefore, behold, I send unto you
prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them
ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye
scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from
city to city: THAT UPON YOU (only that specific
generation which rejected Jesus as their Messiah, not
subsequent generations!) may come all the righteous
blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous
Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias,
whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily
I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this
generation.
“O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets,
and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often
would I have gathered thy children together, even as a
hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye
would not! Behold, your house is left unto you
desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me
henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that
cometh in the name of the Lord. (Matt. 23:34-39)
Please
Note: The rejection of the Messiah was only the tip of
the iceberg in a long list of “killing the prophets
& stoning them that have been sent to you”!
As
a matter of fact, the crucifixion of Jesus was not
included in the reason for God’s judgment upon them.
Jesus specified the blood shed from Abel to Zacharias.
He did not mention His own blood!
For
centuries, the Roman Catholic Church as well as some
Protestant Churches said the Jewish race was cursed
because of their rejection & condemnation of Jesus
Christ which culminated in His crucifixion by the
Romans!
That
teaching was terribly flawed and became a tool which
was used to denigrate & destroy Jewish people! For
centuries, Jews were called Christ-killers and only
recently has the Roman Catholic Church renounced that
evil, devilish doctrine! It’s almost bizarre that
the Roman Catholic Church would call Jews by that
terrible name, since it was Italians (Romans) who
crucified our Lord. Yet no one thought of calling
Italians, ‘Christ-killers’!
The
teaching I refer to is, that the reason for Jewish
suffering is because they made a deal with Governor
Pontius Pilate, saying: “Let His blood be upon us
and upon our children”. (Matt.
27:25)
Let
me make myself abundantly clear on this point: It is
impossible for the blood of Jesus to harm anyone or
bring any curse upon Jews or anyone else! THE BLOOD OF
JESUS BRINGS ONLY FORGIVENESS, HEALING & ETERNAL
LIFE! IT CANNOT BRING A CURSE! (1 John 1:7; Col. 1:20)
I
repeat: Israel’s grievous sin of breaking their
covenant with God is the primary reason for their
suffering
The
Bible says, “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt
not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to
observe to do all His commandments and His statutes
which I command thee this day; that all these curses
shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: The LORD
shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and
rebuke...until thou be destroyed, and until thou
perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy
doings, whereby thou hast forsaken Me. The LORD shall
make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until He have
consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to
possess it. The LORD shall smite thee with a
consumption, and with a fever, and with an
inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with
the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and
they shall pursue thee until thou perish.”
“The
LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with
the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch,
whereof thou canst not be healed. The LORD shall smite
thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of
heart...Moreover He will bring upon thee all the
diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they
shall cleave unto thee. Also every sickness, and every
plague, which is not written in the book of this law,
them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be
destroyed. And ye shall be left few in number, whereas
ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because
thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy
God...and ye shall be plucked from off the land
whither thou goest to possess it. And the LORD shall
scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the
earth even unto the other...
“And
the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with
ships...and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies
for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.”
(Deuteronomy 15, 20-22, 27-29, 59-64, 68)
It
is of vital importance for everyone to know that even
though Moses - God’s prophet & lawgiver -
prophesied 2000 years earlier concerning the blessings
of keeping the covenant (v. 1-14), the Jewish people
had made with the Almighty as well as the curses that
would come upon them if they broke the covenant (v.
15-68), his prophecy came to pass in the minutest
detail!
Verse
68 states that if they broke the Mosaic Covenant, they
would be taken back to Egypt - as slaves - in ships.
It stated further, that no man would buy them. Here
are the brutal facts: After General Titus had
destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70, killing 1.1 million
Jews in the siege, 89,000 Jews were taken to Egypt as
slaves. There was such a hatred against Jews, that it
was below the dignity of any Roman to own a Jewish
slave. Among our nations, only Egypt would take Jews
as slaves! That’s how perfectly true God’s
prophetic Word is!
WHO
WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST?
Jesus
was born to die! (1 Corinthians 15:3;
Romans 5:7-8; 1 John 3:8) He was ordained to be
the propitiation for our sins, in order to satisfy the
DEMANDS OF DIVINE JUSTICE (Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:2;
4:10) He was crucified by the foreknowledge of God.
(Acts 2:23)
Although
God used Judas, a human instrument to betray our Lord,
the Jewish leaders to unjustly condemn Him to death
and the Romans to do the terrible deed, it was
according to God’s will, plan & purpose.
(Romans 8:32)
IN
FACT, IT WAS GOD THE FATHER WHO LAID THE STRIPES UPON
HIM AND SMOTE HIM. I never fully understand God’s
love, until it was revealed to me during a crusade in
Kenya. When He showed me His great love, I wept for 3
days and nights! Here are the scriptures that touched
my heart, and I pray will also minister to you!
“He
that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for
us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us
all things.” (Rom. 8:28)
St.
Paul declared that God’s love is so great that He
did not spare His only Son but turned Him over to
murderers and gangsters (delivered Him up) to be
humiliated, tortured & crucified on the “cursed
tree” for us.
And
since Jesus paid the ultimate price by making the
supreme sacrifice for us, God will freely give us
whatever Jesus’ death & resurrection has
provided, since He is seated - even now - on God’s
right hand as our Saviour, Redeemer & Advocate!
Not
only did our Heavenly Father deliver up His Son to
die, HE ALSO LAID OUR SINS AND SICKNESSES UPON HIM
(Isaiah 53:4-6; Matt. 8:16-17; 1 Peter 2:24). God’s
love regarding our salvation was so intense that He
rejoiced when Jesus suffered & bled for us. The
Bible says, “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him.
He hath put him to grief”. (Isaiah 53:10)
The
Norwegian translation says: “Det behaget Herren til
å knuse ham - it pleased the Lord to CRUSH Him”.
MUCH
BITTERNESS IN OLDER JEWISH PEOPLE & UNBELIEF IN
THE YOUNG
The
‘children of Israel’ suffered terribly for
thousands of years, from the time of the Babylonian
captivity until Hitler’s holocaust! This suffering
continued under the cruel yoke of Soviet Communism for
decades more. Since the coming of glasnost and
perestroika and the dissolution of the ‘Evil Empire’
in 1991, however, hundreds of thousands of these
precious people have immigrated to Israel!
In
my dealings with older Jewish people, I HAVE DISCERNED
MUCH BITTERNESS TOWARD CHRISTIANS, GOD AND LIFE IN
GENERAL, because of the treatment their forbears
received at the hands of cruel Papal armies during the
Middle Ages. That is understandable because the evil,
unholy acts carried out BY THAT RELIGIOUS DENOMINATION
were done in the name of Jesus
Christ!
In
order for Jewish people, however, to come to the
knowledge of the truth and be saved, they must - like
everyone else - stop blaming other people for their
own problems!
The
Bible says, “As it is written, There is none
righteous, no, not one...for there is no difference:
For all have sinned and come (fallen) short of the
glory of God.” (Rom. 3:10-23)
“For
there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek:
for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call
upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of
the Lord shall be saved.” (Rom. 10:9-13)
“Where
there is neither Greek nor Jew...But he that doeth
wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done:
and there is no respect of persons.” (Col. 3:11,
24-25)
THERE
IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JEWS AND GENTILES. ALL HAVE
SINNED AND ALL NEED A SAVIOUR. AND JESUS CHRIST IS
THAT SAVIOUR!
The
truth is, that only Jesus Christ can forgive and save
lost humanity! He alone has the power to forgive sins,
remove fear and condemnation and give peace to
troubled hearts and minds, having defeated death, hell
and the grave and purchased full salvation for all who
receive Him as Lord and
Saviour!
WHY
IS THIS? Only Jesus Christ qualifies as the Saviour of
the world, because He shed His precious blood as the
sacrificial ‘pascal lamb’ on Mount Calvary and
died as our substitute, according to the Old Testament
Scriptures! (Rom. 1:4)
A
very great injustice has been done to Christianity in
general, however, and the Church of the Living God, in
particular, because of:
Recent
books, articles and statements made by a few Jewish
authors, linking the horrible beliefs of Adolf Hilter
and Nazism to the teachings of the Christian Church.
The
very vocal and totally unfair books and statements
made by prejudiced, liberal Protestant authors who
attack Christianity and the teachings of St. Paul,
employing the same biased linkage!
The
totally unfair, prejudiced and accusatory film
"Anti-Semitism" of the United States
Holocaust Museum which lays blame for the Holocaust,
on the teachings of Christianity~
MANY
JEWS FEEL THAT GOD DESERTED THEM, BECAUSE OF THE
HOLOCAUST
A
recent report by ‘Christianity Today’ states: “Now,
a group of prominent Jews has accused the United
States Holocaust Museum...of misleading the public by
blaming Hitler’s genocidal program on historic
Christian beliefs about Jews. “The film paints with
a broad brush. A dull voice intones disconnected facts
and quotations that leave the viewer believing that
anti-Jewish bias is the result of Christian influence
on the Roman Empire, that it has been Christian
society alone that has marginalized and oppressed
Jews, and that Nazi racial prejudice against the Jews
was in clear continuity with earlier religious
prejudice. The Anti-Judaism that preceded Christianity
and that had long existed outside Europe, is ignored.”
The
New York Times quoted Joan Brown Campbell, general
secretary of the National Council of Churches as
saying, “If you look at the Nazi regime, you can see
in it the philosophy of Christian superiority.”
‘Christianity
Today’ points out how inaccurate that statement is,
“ignoring Nazi beliefs about the defects in historic
Christianity”. And ironically, Campbell made that
statement in an interview where she downplayed the
awful persecution, suffering and torture inflicted
upon Christians around the world today!
Incidentally,
it is a Jewish Barrister, Michael Horowitz who is
awakening clergymen and politicians alike to the
horrible persecution, torture, enslavement and other
atrocities being carried out against Christians by
many governments in the world today!
In
her book, ‘Faith and Fraticide’, Rosemary Radford
Ruether, called upon Christians to abandon the belief
that Jesus is the Saviour for everyone in favor of the
notion that Jesus is the saviour of some while others
will have their own ‘saviours’, stated the ‘Christianity
Today’ article.
A
GREAT AWAKENING HOWEVER, IS HAPPENING TODAY AMONG THE
JEWISH PEOPLE. THEIR HEARTS ARE OPENING TO THEIR
MESSIAH AS HE PROPHESIED
Hundreds
of years before His first coming, the Jewish Messiah
stated that He would “GO AND RETURN TO MY PLACE”
referring to Heaven, until the Jewish people
acknowledge their offence (sin) and seek My face. They
are doing that now!
In
1971, I conducted a Gospel crusade in the YMCA
building in Jerusalem. We distributed 10,000 handbills
there as well as carried ads in the ‘Jerusalem Post’.
A lot of Arabs, Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox and
Protestants attended. Only a miniscule number of Jews
came to our meeting!
Even
20 years ago, you couldn’t find more than 100 born
again Christian Jewish believers in Israel. Today,
there are more than 70,000 in 90 different
congregations in that nation!
HOW
DID THAT HAPPEN? The ‘Law of the Return’ opened
the door for any Jewish person with at least one
Jewish grandparent, to immigrate to Israel. About
750,000 returned from Eastern Europe and several
hundred thousands from South America. Some of these
were believers in Jesus Christ and they brought the
gospel (the good news) with them to the land of the
Bible!
Hosea
states that they will recognize their grave error and
with repentant hearts return to the Lord, realizing
that God had to punish their forefathers for breaking
the Mosaic Covenant, and for rejecting their Messiah!
Notice,
they will say, “Come, let us return unto the Lord:
for He hath torn, and He will heal us; He hath
smitten, and He will bind us up”. Then the prophet
interjects something very important - A TIME-DATE
LINE! “After two days will He revive us: in the
third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in
His sight”. (Hosea 6:1-2)
WHAT
DOES THIS MEAN?
The
Word of God interprets itself and we read in 2 Peter
3:8-9: “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one
thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand
years, and a thousand years as one day”.
As
I see it, the period of suffering for the Jewish
nation is almost at an end and the Lord God Almighty
will restore them to their rightful place, and
JERUSALEM will become the most important city on
earth!
It’s
about 2000 years since God’s judgment fell upon
Israel and according to St. Peter, “one day with our
Lord is as a thousand years with us”. The prophecy
states, “After two days (2000 years) will He (the
Lord) revive us (bring us back to life) and in the
third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in
His sight”.
Without
doubt, this refers to the ‘Millennial Reign of
Christ’, which will be one thousand years of peace
upon earth with Jesus Christ, the Jewish Messiah,
ruling from Jerusalem!
There
are four significant signs that show us where we stand
today in relation to our Lord’s return, namely:
The Sick Condition of our Planet
The Sick Condition of the World
The Sick Condition of Israel
The Sick
Condition of the Church
NO.
1 - THE SICK CONDITION OF OUR PLANET
1)
Mankind is groaning under the terrible weight of sin
and condemnation. Satan - the enemy of God and man -
has bound the human race with shackles of rebellion,
unbelief, fear, torment, lust, greed, hatred and
perversion! It was Adam’s acquiescence to the Evil
One’s lying temptation that brought sickness and
death (spiritual and physical) upon the human race!
The
Bible states: “For the earnest expectation of the
creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of
God.
“For
the creature was made subject to vanity, not
willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the
same in hope,
“Because
the creature itself also shall be delivered from the
bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the
children of God.
“For
we know that the whole creation groaneth and
travaileth in pain together until now.
“And
not only they, but ourselves also, which have the
firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan
within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit
(that is to say), the redemption of our body.” (Rom.
8:19-23)
People
everywhere are waiting for the ‘MANIFESTATION OF THE
SONS OF GOD’! What does that mean? Six billion
people are looking for an escape from the emptiness,
fear, torment, sickness and bondage in which they
live.
THE
ENTIRE WORLD IS WAITING FOR US - GOD’S CHILDREN TO
BE SO FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT THAT WE CAN FREE
THEM FROM THE TYRANNY AND LIES OF THE DEVIL AND HIS
EMMISARIES!
Don’t
believe for a moment, that the millions lost in sin
and bound by evil spirits of occultism, superstition,
false religion, satanic oppression and sexual
perversion are happy in that state! No one enjoys
being in slavery to witchcraft, fear, torment and evil
spirits!
Oh,
some are sufficiently deceived to live in a fool’s
paradise having convinced themselves that everything
is A-Okay, but the opposite is true. If everything is
all right, why do so many rock musicians die of drug
overdoses and commit suicide? Why do many Hollywood
stars die of alcoholism? And why do some of the
greatest performing artists die of AIDS due to an
unhealthy, filthy, perverted lifestyle of sodomy? And
why do wealthy, successful people - who seem to have
everything going for them - take their own lives?
The
Bible says, “But the wicked are like the troubled
sea, when it cannot rest, bringing forth mire and
dirt. There is no peace saith my God to the wicked”.
(Isaiah 57:20-21)
Our
enemy is not flesh and blood, but Satan himself and
all his demons that tempt, deceive, coerce, inhibit,
afflict, torment, steal and kill! Our battle is with
the devil - not with human beings, however he does use
people to do his bidding! The devil must have his
emissaries & ministers, to do his evil work!
And
what of the Hindu extremists constantly fighting the
Muslims in India and the Seiks battling the Hindus?
And the (political) ungodly Roman Catholic IRA killing
the (political) ‘Christian-in-name-only’
Protestants and vice versa?
And
if the pagan are so happy in their religious life, why
are there so many ‘holy jihads’? Two examples:
Muslim Iran against Muslim Iraq in a seven year war
that saw one million men die, and at present Islamic
extremists terrorizing and butchering hundreds of
their own people in Algeria?
THEY
DO NOT KNOW GOD and have not been changed by His
mighty power. Anyone who has been converted to Christ,
being born again by the Word of God and the Holy
Spirit, would certainly not be waging ‘holy wars’
against their fellowmen. The only warfare that we are
commanded to fight is the ‘Good Fight of Faith’!
HOW
DO WE FIGHT THE DEVIL?
The
Bible says, “Satan, your adversary, goeth about like
a roaring lion, seeking who he may devour, whom resist
in the faith...” (1 Peter 5:9) We resist him by
serving Jesus to the best of our ability; by living a
holy and righteous life, preaching the gospel of Jesus
Christ, healing the sick and casting our devils!
The
Scripture says, “For the weapons of our warfare are
not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down
of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every
high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge
of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to
the obedience of Christ;” (2 Cor. 10:4-5)
IN
OUR SEARCH FOR MORE LAND TO CONQUER, NEW TECHNOLOGIES
TO IMPROVE OUR LIVING STANDARDS AND THE PURSUIT OF
MORE WEALTH, MANKIND HAS ENGAGED IN WARS, ENSLAVEMENT,
VIOLENCE AND POLLUTION WHICH HAS RAPED OUR
ENVIRONMENT, WATER, LAND & AIR!
No.
2) Our Planet is groaning under the terrible weight of
the awful harvest of mankind’s sins of rebellion,
greed, hatred, violence and slavery!
In
the beginning, after the fall of our first parents,
THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE was plunged into sin, fear,
sickness & death! God immediately placed a curse
upon the earth - “And unto Adam He said, Because
thou hast harkened unto the voice of thy wife, and
hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee,
saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground
for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the
days of thy life”. (Gen. 3:17)
OUR
PLANET is struggling to stay alive and is groaning
under this burden! The ‘second law of thermodynamics’
began after the fall and continues today with aging,
deterioration and decay. Only the return of Jesus
Christ will salvage the earth. Mankind will not be
allowed to destroy the earth, but will be punished for
defiling and polluting it, as is prophesied in the
last book of the Bible.
THE
BIBLE SAYS, “And the nations were angry, and Thy
wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they
should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give reward
unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and
them that fear Thy name, small and great; And
shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.”
(Rev. 11:18)
God
will have the last word and will judge polluters! If
you want a good example of this, look at the former
Soviet Union which polluted the land, sea and air and
after raping the environment, ended up totally
bankrupt!
JESUS
CHRIST MUST RETURN IN ORDER TO SAVE US FROM OUR OWN
DESTRUCTIONS, SO THAT HE CAN REIGN ON THIS EARTH FOR
1000 YEARS OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY!
No.
3) Believers in Jesus Christ, like St. Paul, are
waiting for the moment when we can be free from the
limitations of our weak, carnal flesh and to be
glorified (in the next life) to forever be in Heaven
with Jesus Christ and all the redeemed from all ages!
WE WILL THEN RECEIVE A RESURRECTED BODY WITHOUT THE
LIMITATIONS WE HAVE TODAY!
The
Bible says, “And not only they, but ourselves also,
which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we
ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the
adoption, to wit (that is to say), the redemption of
our body.” (Rom. 8:23)
Eternity
will be a joyful time of peace and glory as we live
eternally in Heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ and all
the redeemed from every nation, tongue and people of
all ages!
“And
I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and
as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of
mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God
omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and
give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is
come, and His wife hath made herself ready.
“And
to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine
linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the
righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write,
Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage
supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are
the true sayings of God.” (Rev 19:6-9)
NO.
2 - THE SICK CONDITION OF THE WORLD!
The
Bible says, “Love not the world, neither the things
that are in the world. If any man love the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in
the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but
is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the
lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God
abideth for ever.” (1 John 2:15-17)
These
are Satan’s three knockout-punches which he uses to
tempt the “children of men”, namely: 1) the lust
of the eyes, 2) the lust of the flesh and 3) the pride
of life!
Satan
used these three temptations on Eve with great
success. “And when the woman saw that the tree was
good for food (lust of the flesh), and that it was
pleasant to the eyes (lust of th eyes), and a tree to
be desired to make one wise (the pride of life), she
took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also
unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” (Gen.
3:6)
King
David fell under this temptation also: He saw a
beautiful woman taking a bath in the privacy of her
garden (the lust of the eyes). He desired her and sent
for her, committing adultery (the lust of the flesh).
HE FELL AFTER ONLY TWO STRIKES!
JESUS
DEFEATED HIM TOTALLY
It
was a different story when Satan used his time-tested
strategy on our Lord Jesus Christ. He withstood the
temptation and defeated the devil each time he came
with a new “trick up his sleeve”!
After
Jesus had fasted 40 days, Satan said to Him: “Command
that these stones be made bread.” (the lust of the
flesh) Jesus answered, “It is written, Man shall not
live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of God.”
The
devil tried again: “If thou be the Son of God, cast
thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his
angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they
shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy
foot against a stone. (the pride of life) Jesus
answered, “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt
the Lord thy God.” IN OTHER WORDS, GOD DOESN’T
CLOWN FOR ANYBODY!
Finally,
Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in a
moment of time and said: “All these things will I
give thee (pride of life), if thou wilt fall down and
worship me.” WHAT A DESPICABLE, ARROGANT, EGOTIST
SATAN IS! Jesus rebuffed him immediately with the Word
of God saying, “Get thee hence, Satan (enemy): for
it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,
and Him only shalt thou serve.” (Matt. 4:1-11)
SATAN
HAD TO LEAVE HIM, THEN
The
Bible affirms that Satan is “the god of this world”
and “the spirit which now worketh in the children of
the disobedience”. (John 12:31; Eph. 2:2) He is the
world’s greatest liar and the father of lies and a
murderer extra-ordinaire (John 8:44)!
The
whole world lies in the lap of the wicked one (1 John
5:19) and he “goeth about like a roaring lion
seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). We
however, can “resist him in the faith and he will
flee from us”. (1 Peter 5:9; James 4:7)
The
Bible records that Demos was swayed by the bright
lights of Thessalonica and forsook Paul, “having
loved this present world” (2 Tim. 4:10). And St.
John commends the young men in the Church for
overcoming the wicked one! (1 John 2:13)
ST.
PAUL WARNED OF THE TOTAL DETERIORATION OF MORALITY,
DECENCY AND FAIRNESS IN THE LAST DAYS. DECADENCE &
PERVERSION WILL RULE JUST PRIOR TO OUR LORD’S
RETURN, STATED THE APOSTLE! AS WE READ THE PROPHECY WE
FEEL SADDENED BY THE RESEMBLANCE OF OUR PRESENT AGE TO
THE PROPHETIC WORD OF GOD!
“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 Tim.
3:1-5)
“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 Tim.
4:1) “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful
works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is
a shame even to speak of those things which are done
of them in secret.” (Eph. 5:11-12) “Brethren, be
followers together of me, and mark them which walk so
as ye have us for an ensample. (For many walk, of whom
I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping,
that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly,
and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly
things.) For our conversation is in heaven; from
whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus
Christ:” (Phil. 3:17-20)
Interjected
among the reports of hypocrisy, backsliding &
gross moral evils, St. Paul interjects the Blessed
Hope of the Return of Jesus Christ!
“For
our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we
look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Our
thoughts, actions, prayers, plans, goals and complete
agenda here, is tied to Heaven’s plans, purposes and
desires. We belong to His heavenly kingdom and labour
first and foremost for Christ!
Why
is this so important? Only our Blessed Jesus Christ
has the mandate, power & desire to straighten out
this wicked world. Therefore we wait for Him to come!
PERVERSION
VYING FOR RESPECTABILITY
Jesus
prophesied that the time will come, “that whosoever
killeth you will think that he doeth God service”.
(John 16:2)
And
the prophet stated, “Woe unto them that call evil
good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and
light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and
sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their
own eyes...Which justify the wicked for reward, and
take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!”
(Is. 5:20-23)
St.
Paul expounded, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid
to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest
the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the
image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach
not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and
ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.” (2 Cor.
4:3-5)
That
this WORLD IS EVIL AND PERVERTED is no secret! The
world system that despises that which is good and
glorifies that which is EVIL is a product of Satanic
invention, since he is the “god of this world”!
Again
Paul declares that Jesus Christ “gave Himself for
our sins, that He might deliver us from this present
evil world (age), according to the will of God and our
Father”. (Gal. 1:4)
VIOLENCE: A SIGN
OF LAST DAYS
Jesus
warned of the tremendous increase of violence which
would identify the time just prior to His return. He
made the comparison between that time and the Antediluvian
age of Noah, as well as the days of Lot!
“And
as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in
the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank,
they married wives, they were given in marriage, until
the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood
came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was
in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they
bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the
same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and
brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even
thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is
revealed.” (Luke 17:26-30)
NO.
1 - THE DAYS OF NOAH
The
Bible gives us a good description of the wickedness,
violence and ungodliness which pervaded the antediluvian
age. “And GOD saw that the wickedness
of man was great in the earth, and that every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made
man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And
the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created
from the face of the earth...
“The
earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was
filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth,
and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had
corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto
Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the
earth is filled with violence through them; and,
behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” (Gen.
6:5-7, 11-13)
In
verses 11 and 12, the Bible characterizes “the Days
Before the Flood” as corrupt and violent! People in
general had forsaken the Lord and were living only for
themselves, filled with greed, lust, pride and
unrighteousness!
THAT
SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE THESE TIMES, with people turning
their backs upon the teachings of God’s Word, so
that they can do their own things?
NO.
2 - THE DAYS OF LOT
The
Prophet Ezekiel pinpoints the sins of Sodom &
Gomorrah as follows: “Behold, this was the iniquity
of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and
abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters,
neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and
needy. And they were haughty, and committed
abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I
saw good.” (Ezek. 16:49-50)
Here
is a list of their sins:
PRIDE
FULLNESS OF BREAD
ABUNDANCE OF
IDLENESS
LACK OF COMPASSION
PERVERTED SEX
Our
world is guilty of all these five sins in this
generation. Sin is the transgression of God’s law, a
rebellious spirit against that which is godly!
Pride
is the sin which caused Lucifer’s fall!
When
there is too much wealth, people usually get spoiled
and want more! Never satisfied, they strive for more
and more!
Abundance
of idleness - is the devil’s opportunity to fill the
mind with nonsense. Shorter work weeks gives people
more time to serve the lusts of the flesh, the world
and the devil!
A
lack of compassion for the poor and needy is always a
sign of pride, arrogance and selfishness!
Sexual
perversion is one of the final signs of a fast dying
society! And when perverted sex is mandated by law as
an alternate lifestyle and heralded by the media as
healthy and normal, then you know we are in desperate
straights.
That’s
where we are today in CANADA! Oh, how badly we need a
red-hot revival in our land and across the world! May
God help us!
My
prayer is that God will speed the day that Heaven will
come down to us with abundant blessings for everyone!
Will you join me in prayer? Send us an offering to
continue preaching the gospel by radio, TV and the
printed page! Please help us to reach more with the
TRUTH before it is too late! Thank you!
NO.
3 - THE SICK CONDITION OF ISRAEL
At
this moment in history, Israel is very vulnerable
because of the pressure placed upon them by the
nations of the world to give up land for peace.
And
the United States - who traditionally has been their
friend, is turning the screws the hardest of all.
Eventually,
Israel will succumb to all this pressure and give away
so much land that they will be unable to defend
themselves. Sometime in the future, Israel will be
deceived into accepting the Antichrist as their
Messiah and will suffer terribly because of that.
Referring to this, our Lord said to the Jewish
leaders,
“I
am come in My Father's name, and ye receive Me not: if
another (the anti-Christ) shall come in his own name,
him ye will receive.” (John 5:43)
The
Jewish leaders rejected Jesus Christ Who came to save
them in His Father’s Name. When Antichrist comes in
his own name, they will receive him!
WHAT
A SAD & TRAGIC COMMENTARY ON WHAT IS ABOUT TO
HAPPEN!
My
guess is that Iraq will eventually be reduced in power
after the United States and her allies are finished
with her. Then undoubtedly, Iran will pick up the
pieces and gobble up Iraq (and possibly Syria) and
control all the oil flow in the Middle East!
Iran
will then be the dominant power in the area, with the
USA and Israel giving in to their demands! According
to God’s Word, Russia will rise in great power again
and lead the march against Israel!
The
prophet Ezekiel declared that Iran (Persia) together
with Ethiopia, Libya & Turkey will march against
Israel in the great battle of ‘Gog and Magog’.
GOD
WILL FIGHT FOR ISRAEL AND DEFEND HER! A great
slaughter will unfortunately take place however,
before God’s chosen people come to their senses.
They will ultimately receive their long awaited
Messiah Jesus Christ, when He comes again in power and
great glory at the end of the age!
He
will then rule and reign for 1000 years of peace upon
planet earth, as King of kings and Lord of lords!
NO.
4 - THE SICK CONDITION OF THE CHURCH
Celebrated
Canadian writer, Peter Newman exposes the weaknesses
in our churches and outlines wherein and how we have
failed to communicate the Gospel to our children,
grandchildren and our neighbours.
In
his recent book, ‘The Canadian Revolution’ Peter
Newman chronicles the free-fall of the United Church
of Canada’s membership as well as their influence in
society during the past three decades.
Newman
writes, “The United Church, formed in 1925 through a
union of Methodists, Presbyterians and
Congregationalists, suffered the steepest decline.
Three million Canadians declared their United Church
affiliation to the latest census takers but less than
380,000 bothered going to church. Although the most
liberal of the mainstream congregations, allowing for
the ordination of gay priests and promoting the social
gospel, the United Church found itself paradoxically
unable to attract the young.”
A
footnote says, “An increasingly typical event was
the closing, during the fall of 1994, of Chalmers
United Church in downtown Vancouver. There wasn’t a
single member left on its congregational rolls who was
less than 80 years old.”
For
years, University of Lethbridge sociologist Reginald
Bibby has tracked the religious life of Canadians. In
his book ‘Unknown Gods’ , Bibby states: “Tragically,
religious groups are failing in what appear to be
spiritually prosperous times. The churches are inept
religious companies that cannot get the faith out of
the ware house …The news is that interest and
intrigue persist, in spite of the problems of
organized religion. The result may be a very sizable,
ongoing spiritual vacuum.”
The
Anglican Church, according to the census has 2.2
million members with 784,000 active adherents.
Addressing the church synod in 1994, Archbishop Peter
O’Driscoll warned: “In the next ten to fifteen
years the largest age group in the present Anglican
Church of Canada will be dead. At the end of two
generations, there won’t be enough people to say
there’s still an Anglican Church alive in this
country.”
HOW
SAD AND TRAGIC
While
the Anglican Church lost 250,000 members from 1981 to
1991, and the United Church lost 665,000 members
during that same period - that’s 10 % and 20 %
respectively - the Pentecostal Church grew by 100,000
adherents and the Christian & Missionary Alliance
doubled in size!
The
November,1965 issue of Canada’s Revival Magazine,
‘Cry of His Coming’ carried the following
prophetic headline: 1965 UNITED CHURCH NEW CURRICULUM
SETS STAGE FOR MORE APOSTACY! MODERATOR REV. HOWSE
DENIES PHYSICAL RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST !
In
that article, this author wrote under the by-line, ‘THE
GREAT FALLING AWAY’ - St. Paul warns: “Let no man
deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come
except there come a falling away first, and that man
of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” (2 Thess.
2:3)
The
‘Great Falling Away’ is Here Now- with entire
denominations of Christian Churches turning their
backs on the Holy Scriptures, declaring them fallible
and contradictory. They despise the great truths of
the Bible, and exchange them for their own humanistic,
man-made philosophies!
As
strange as this may seem, these reprobate preachers
actually play-out the exact role of ‘backsliding
Israel’ in Old Testament times.
“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.”
(Jer. 2:13)
HERE
IS A LIST OF THEIR BACKSLIDINGS!
They have violated
the sanctity of the Holy Bible, discarding the eternal
truths of God’s Word. Man-made philosophies, secular
humanism and blatantly spurious doctrines have filled
the void!
They rely almost
totally on man’s wisdom and carnal knowledge, having
rejected the wisdom that comes solely from the Holy
Scriptures. This leaves them incapable of making sound
spiritual decisions!
They have rejected
the counsel of the Holy Spirit- divine paraclete- and
draw their inspiration from the teachings of others
similarly deceived. Serious decision making regarding
spiritual matters and doctrine is therefore
prejudiced, flawed and compromised!
Their emphasis is
on good works, rather than the sacrifice of Jesus
Christ for our sins. The ‘social gospel’ they
preach is devoid of the grace of God and faith in the
blood of Jesus Christ. Their ‘good works’ message
offers only secular and political rhetoric to undo
social injustices, without a sound spiritual
foundation!
They have
desecrated the Holy Scriptures by substituting their
own verbiage instead of the correct translation of the
original Hebrew and Greek, in reference to God
Himself. These literary counterfeiters have
unilaterally -without any jurisdiction- decided to
change the gender of Almighty God from masculine
(Father) to Mother . Instead of addressing God as He,
they refer to Him as She and the Lord Jesus is not the
Son of God, but the Child of God!
How
dare these philosophizing theologians change the
original manuscripts to please the radical feminists
and lesbians and namby-pamby, milque-toast preachers?
The
Word of God conclusively states: “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 Tim. 3:1-5)
“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; Speaking
lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with
a hot iron; Take heed unto thyself, and unto the
doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou
shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”
(1 Tim. 4:1-2, 16)
AN
URGENT WARNING ISSUED TO THOSE TAMPERING WITH GOD’S
WORD
“Who
is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the
Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and
the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not
the Father: but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the
Father also.
“Beloved,
believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether
they are of God: because many false prophets are gone
out into the world.
“Hereby
know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that
confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is
of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that
Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and
this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have
heard that it should come; and even now already is it
in the world.
“Whosoever
believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God...
Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that
believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
“If
we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is
greater: for this is the witness of God which He hath
testified of His Son. He that believeth on the Son of
God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not
God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the
record that God gave of His Son. And this is the
record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and
this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath
life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not
life.” (1 John 2:22-23; 4:1-3; 5:1, 4-5, 9-12)
WHAT
DOES THIS MEAN? SIMPLY THIS:
Anyone
who denies that Jesus Christ is God is a false
teacher and an enemy of God!
Every
spirit that confesses that ‘Jesus Christ is come
in the flesh’ is of God. Those who do not are of
Satan and the Antichrist spirit!
WHAT
DOES THIS MEAN: “Jesus Christ is come in the flesh”?
There
are millions of babies born daily across the world.
They are all born of flesh & blood. They have all
“come in the flesh”. That is no miracle, but when
God is incarnated in human flesh, that is a miracle.
It simply means that Jesus Christ was God in human
flesh! God the Son came down from Heaven, through the
very miraculous and complex process of the virgin
birth!
God
the Holy Spirit placed within the virgin Mary’s womb
a specially created body for the Lord Jesus. He was
begotten by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin woman
without the aid of a human father. Jesus Christ - true
God & true man, in order to suffer and die for our
sins and rise again for our justification. ( )
“The
new United Church curriculum - now taught to thousands
of children - denies the virgin birth of Jesus Christ,
leaving the inference that Joseph or some other man
was Jesus’ father. This would indicate that His
mother Mary was sinful and promiscuous, instead of a
chaste virgin and that Jesus Christ was not divine!
Have
you heard of such SACRELIGE? And this - not from an
atheistic journal - but from the official organ and
pulpits of Canada’s largest Protestant denomination!
That
same ‘curriculum’ calls the first eleven chapters
of Genesis - which deal with God’s marvellous
creation, Noah and the flood - a fable or myth! It
denies the miracles in the Bible, rejects the physical
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and
ridicules His ascension and second coming!
Read
the blasphemous statements made by Rev. Ben Smilie-
United Church chaplain at the University of
Saskatchewan, as chronicled by Regina Leader Post’s
Tom Jarvis in an article titled, ‘A MASSIVE
IRRELEVANCY’:
“The
Toronto Telegram printed it in full with the somewhat
shocking passage in large type which speaks of
fundamentalist belief in “clay-made man, a floating
zoo, an amphibious-footed Jesus, a son of God who was
a home brew artist, and an ascension that looks like a
Cape Kennedy blast-off”.
Have
you heard of anything more blasphemous and
anti-Christian, coming from the pen of an ordained
Protestant clergyman!
We’ll
let the moderator of the United Church speak for
himself. The following was carried by the Saskatoon
Star Phoenix, June 5, 1965. ‘HOWSE SAYS LITERAL
BELIEVER IN BIBLE LACKS UNDERSTANDING’.
“The
moderator of the United Church of Canada says
Christians who believe literally in all of the ‘metaphors
and imageries’ of the Bible exhibit ‘lack of
understanding’.
“The
Rt. Rev. Ernest Howse of Toronto, in an interview
Thursday said that one of the most significant
religious trends today is the movement away from ‘medieval
imagery and hypocrisy’.
“Dr.
Howse, who had been in Banff for a meeting of the
United Church’s Alberta Conference, said people
should not take literally such events as Christ’s
physical resurrection and the virginity of Mary. The
moderator said the United Church’s new curriculum
which allows for liberal interpretation of the Bible,
is ‘really nothing new at all’.
“There
is nothing in the curriculum which was not accepted
when I was in College thirty years ago. If people are
shocked by it, then it is evident our ministers have
not been adequately teaching their congregations”.
NEW
MODERATOR: SAME OLD APOSTASY IN UNITED CHURCH
Bill
Phipps probably learned ‘APOSTACY’ from
professors, who were themselves corrupted while in
College! The new moderator of the United Church is
Rev. Bill Phipps - a little known Calgary pastor - who
is making big waves with his outspoken, irreverent and
blasphemous remarks. It appears that he has excelled
in unlearning the basic, fundamental doctrines of
Christianity, in the tradition of the Rev. Howse and
the liberal theological College to which he referred!
‘AN
ACTIVIST MODERATOR IS ROCKING THE UNITED CHURCH’
-Edmonton Journal
In
a major news story carried across Canada in the
Southam Press, Nov.1, 1997, Rev. Phipps made these
statements: “I don’t believe Jesus is the only way
to God. I don’t believe he rose from the dead as a
scientific fact. I don’t know whether those thing
happened. It’s an irrelevant question.”
In
a follow-up article, the ‘Ottawa Citizen’ wrote:
‘CHURCH MODERATOR A HERETIC, PROFESSOR SAYS’ - “The
moderator of the United Church of Canada is a heretic,
says a professor of modern Christian history.
“A
heretic is defined as someone who chooses a doctrinal
path other than that of the church to which he belongs”,
says John Stackhouse, of the University of Manitoba.
“By
that standard, Rev. Bill Phipps “is a heretic
according to the United Church of Canada’s own
standard of doctrine. He’s also a heretic in generic
Christian terms, because he denies the creeds that all
Christians have subscribed to, whether they’re
Catholic, Protestant or Eastern Orthodox.”
“In
interviews with media organizations, Phipps denied the
divinity of Christ, denied the reality of the
resurrection as a historical fact, and said he was
unclear ‘The historic Church says there are such
realities, which are crucially important to human
life,’ said Stackhouse, a former president of the
Canadian Evangelical Theological Association.”
THE
WHOLESALE BACKSLIDING OF CHRISTIAN DENOMINATIONS
DURING THESE PAST THIRTY YEARS, AND ESPECIALLY THE
LAST DECADE, SIGNALS THE SAD STATE OF AFFAIRS IN THE
CHRISTIAN CHURCH AT THIS VERY CRUCIAL MOMENT IN
HISTORY - THE TURN OF THE CENTURY AND THE MILLENNIUM!
A
very sad commentary on the Church is found in Christ’s
message to the Church where He states:
“And
unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write;
These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true
witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know
thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would
thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art
lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee
out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and
increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and
knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and
poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of
me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich;
and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and
that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and
anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”
(Rev. 3:14-18)
Again
He said, “Beware of false prophets, which come to
you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are
ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits...
“A
good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a
corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
“...Wherefore
by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that
saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My
Father which is in heaven...And then will I profess
unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that
work iniquity.” (Matt. 7:15-23)
Jesus
asked a very pertinent question: “...Nevertheless.
When the son of man cometh will He find faith on the
earth?” The answer is “not very much”! That is
why He stated, “Strive to enter in at the straight
gate, for many, I say unto you will seek to enter and
shall not be able”. (Luke 13:24)
“Enter
ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and
broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and
many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is
the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto
life, and few there be that find it.” (Matt.
7:13-14)
WHAT
MUST WE DO TO BE SURE WE ARE READY FOR CHRIST’S SOON
RETURN?
St.
Peter warned, “Make your calling and election
sure...” (2 Peter 1:10) It behooves each one to do a
reality check to be absolutely certain that you know
Jesus Christ personally as your Lord & Saviour.
Remember
that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again
from the dead for our justification. Only He has the
power to save you because He is the Redeemer of the
world.
Jesus
said, “I am the way, the truth and the life: no man
cometh unto the Father, but by Me”. (John 14:6) “I
am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be
saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The
thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and
to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and
that they might have it more abundantly.” (John
10:9-10)
The
Bible says, “For there is one God, and one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” (1 Tim.
2:5) “Neither is there salvation in any other: for
there is none other name under heaven given among men,
whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
St.
Paul declared, “Let this mind be in you, which was
also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made
himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form
of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And
being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself,
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and
given him a name which is above every name: That at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in
heaven, and things in earth, and things under the
earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
(Phil. 2:5-11)
Jesus
Christ invites us to receive Him as personal Saviour
and Lord with the promise: “Come unto me, all ye
that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest.” (Matt. 11:28) And, “All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me
I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6:37)
We
are warned: “But let a man examine himself, and so
let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.”
(1 Cor. 11:28
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