ANOTHER AWESOME MESSAGE FROM JONATHAN CAHN

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Are you in a church that understands where we are on the Biblical timeline? Is it preaching Jesus second coming and the prophetic events surrounding His return?

Is it it compromising with the world and its values (e.g. gay marriage) or is it standing on God’s Word.

Listen to Jonathan and be encouraged that current world events demonstrate that God is in control down to the day, hour and even minute.

God has put you on the planet at this time in history for a purpose, are you in step with Him? If not get into prayer with like minded believers. Don’t waste another minute.

ONE UNDENIABLE SIGN THAT PROVES JESUS SECOND COMING IS IMMINENT

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Israel Back in the Land
Centuries in advance, God foretold the modern day nation of Israel. He promised to bring the Jewish people back into the land and re-establish the ancient nation.
Moses declared God’s promise when he said God would gather the Jewish people back from the nations where He scattered them and bring them back into the land of Israel (Deuteronomy 30:3-5).
Jesus also foretold the rebirth of Israel. He said Jerusalem would be destroyed and the Jewish people taken away to serve as slaves in all parts of the world (Luke 21: 24). He then said non-Jewish people would control Jerusalem until the Jewish people come back into possession of it (Luke 21:24).
The prophets also foretold the re-emergence of Israel. Hosea said the people of Israel would go a long time without a king, sacrifices, sacred pillars, or priests.
Then, in the last days, they will return to the land (Hosea 3:4-5). Joel said God will judge the world at the time when He restores Judah and Jerusalem, bringing His people back from among the nations where they were scattered (Joel 3:1-2).
This regathering of the Jews back into the land of Israel is repeated over and over by the prophets. Jeremiah said God would gather them back in the land just before His return (Jeremiah 23:7-8) and restore them to the land of Israel from distant lands (Jeremiah 30:2, 10).
Ezekiel said God would call them from “among the nations” (Ezekiel 39:28) and welcome them home from the lands where they were scattered (Ezekiel 20:34). Isaiah said God would call them from “the farthest corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:12).
King David said God would gather them from “north, south, east, and west” (Psalm 107:3). And Zechariah said, though “scattered among the nations,” God will bring his people back into the land of Israel (Zechariah 10:9).
Jeremiah said a day will come when people will no longer refer to the God of Israel as the one who rescued His people from the land of Egypt. Instead, they will refer to Him as the one who brought His people back into the land of Israel from all the countries in the world where He had exiled them (Jeremiah 16:14-15).
Everyone alive on earth today is a witness to this fulfilled prophecy. It’s an undeniable sign of the Second Coming.
Israel in the Last Days
The regathering of the Jewish people in Israel is a miracle in our time. But the prophets had much more to say about this monumental sign of the last days. They said Israel would be reborn in a specific way. Not only would the people be regathered, but the nation would have specific traits.
1) Born in a Single Day – Isaiah said the reborn nation of Israel would come forth in a single day. He likened it to a woman “who gives birth in an instant without labour pains” (Isaiah 66:7-9).
Written more than 2,500 years ago, Isaiah’s prophecy seemed ridiculous. No nation had ever come into being in a single day.
But Israel did. On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion read the Israeli Declaration of Independence, a document which declared Israel to be an independent state. That same day, the United States recognized Israel as an independent and sovereign nation.
2) One, United Nation – When Solomon died almost three thousand years ago, Israel broke into northern and southern kingdoms.
It remained divided throughout the lifetimes of both Isaiah and Ezekiel. Yet both proclaimed the regathered nation of Israel would be a single, united nation – just as we see today with the modern day nation of Israel.
Isaiah said Israel and Judah would no longer be rivals (Isaiah 11:13). And Ezekiel said the regathered people would be unified into one nation (Ezekiel 37:22).
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3) The Desert Will Bloom – Through the prophet Isaiah, God promised Israel would blossom agriculturally and fill the whole world with its fruit (Isaiah 27:6). He repeated this promise eight chapters later when He said the desert will bloom (Isaiah 35:1).
Through Ezekiel, God said His people would re-enter the land, produce much fruit, and be more prosperous than ever before (Ezekiel 36:8-11). Do we see this today? Yes. In a 1869 visit to what is today known as the nation of Israel, author Mark Twain described the land as “barren,” “dull of color,” and “unpicturesque in shape.” All he saw were “unsightly deserts fringed with a feeble vegetation.”
Yet today, the tiny nation is an agriculture giant. The land is fruitful and prosperous, and Israel is one of the world’s leading fresh citrus producers and a net exporter of more than forty varieties of fruit.
4) Surrounded by Enemies – The Bible said the regathered people of Israel would be surrounded by enemies. “Come, let us wipe away the nation of Israel. Let’s destroy the memory of its existence,” they’ll say (Psalm 83:4). “Let us take for ourselves these pastureland’s of God” (Psalm 83:12). Ezekiel said Israel’s neighbors would say “God has given their land to us” (Ezekiel 11:1417), and “Israel and Judah are ours. We will take possession of them. What do we care if their God is there?” (Ezekiel 35:10).
This is what we see today. Ever since the rebirth of Israel in 1948, the daily headlines have included these Bible verses. The surrounding Muslim nations claim the land of Israel for themselves. They have no regard for the God of Israel. The prophets foretold this exact situation more than 2,000 years ago.
5) A Small, Powerful Military – Centuries in advance, the Bible said the reborn nation of Israel would be a great military power. Ezekiel said the regathered nation of Israel would field “an exceedingly great army” (Ezekiel 37:10). Zechariah said it would be like a fire among sheaves of grain, burning up the neighbouring nations (Zechariah 12:6).
It would be so successful even the weakest Israeli soldier will be like David (Zechariah 12:8). Since 1948, Israel has fought no less than four conventional wars against its neighbours. Despite being outnumbered more than 50 to 1, and despite being surrounded on all sides, Israel has experienced overwhelming victory every time.
A Miracle in Our Time – The reappearance of Israel on the world stage is a modern day miracle. More than 2,000 years ago, God promised over and over again to bring the Jewish people back into the land He gave Abraham. For 1,878 years, the nation of Israel did not exist. For all those years, the Jewish people were scattered throughout the world. Yet they remained set apart for God.
Unlike the Hittites, Amorites, Jebusites, and other conquered people, they did not assimilate into the nations where they lived. Then, in 1948, God fulfilled His promise and made Israel a nation once again. It was reborn in a single day (Isaiah 66:7-9). It was unified as one nation (Ezekiel 37:22). It transformed a desert wasteland into an abundant land of fruit (Isaiah 27:6). And in the face of many enemies, God has given Israel military victory after victory just as He promised (Zechariah 12:6).
We are all witnesses to this miracle. How could anyone see the nation of Israel and not give glory to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? How could anyone deny this is anything less than God’s doing? God promised to bring His people back into the land, and He did.
The rebirth of Israel as a nation is more than just a fulfilled prophecy. It’s one of the biggest events in world history. Why? Because it’s an undeniable sign of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Next to the convergence of all end times signs (Luke 21:28), it’s arguably the biggest sign of all. For 1,878 years, Christians could not point to this sign. Since 1948, they can.
Isaiah said Jesus will return and establish His everlasting kingdom after the Jewish people return to the land of Israel (Isaiah 11:11-12).
Joel said, after the restoration of Israel, God will gather the armies of the world into the valley of Jehoshaphat (Joel 3:1-2 ). This is a direct reference to Armageddon (Revelation 16:16) which occurs just before the return of Jesus Christ. Micah said God will gather His exiled people and make them a strong nation, and then, God will rule from Jerusalem as their King forever (Micah 4:6-7).
The message is clear. It’s undeniable. Israel is back, and Jesus is coming (Revelation 22:20)!
Learn more about the converging of prophetic events at this unique time in history with our brand new DVD release – The Coming Convergence.
The signs of His Second Coming are all around us. When His disciples asked Jesus to describe the signs, He gave them several. The Jewish people back in possession of Jerusalem (Luke 21:24-28)…  the Gospel preached throughout the world (Matthew 24:14)… the arrival of the exponential curve (Matthew 24:3-8)… and more.
The Old Testament prophets also pointed to a number of signs. An increase in travel and knowledge (Daniel 12:4)… the rise of a united Europe (Daniel 2:42)… the rise of the Gog of Magog alliance (Ezekiel 38-39)… and more.
Today, all these signs are either present or in the process of being fulfilled. Yet for 1,800+ years, none of these signs were present. Think about that. None of the signs. But today? Today, they’re all around us.

Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=1240#2eH58kEXq73eObqv.99

 

IS GENESIS HISTORY? QUESTION WITH ETERNAL CONSEQUENCES ANSWERED

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A timely film. God always provides unbelievers with the opportunity to know the truth about HIM and HIS Creation. The Bible is clear they will be without excuse at judgement day. Take a look at the trailer. It is a film you will want to promote to both your believing and unbelieving friends.

 

ANTICHRIST: THE STAGE IS SET

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Imagine if the Antichrist is a Muslim (Mahdi/12th Imam) as Joel Richardson and other “end times” scholars are predicting. He will now not only have the worship of the Muslim nations around the world, particularly those surrounding Israel, but fanatical support of the growing number of Muslims in Europe. In fact, in many of these countries such as Holland, under the age of 17, Muslims are the majority.

Most European countries are bankrupt and unemployment particularly under the age of 25 now at levels where anarchy is inevitable. The stage is set for this charismatic, demonically controlled leader to emerge. In fact, both the Sunni and Shiite Muslim leadership are already expecting him to emerge.

Hundreds of Muslims engage in a mass prayer service next to the Coliseum in Rome, on Octoberuropean  21, 2016. (Image source: Ruptly video screenshot)

Mainstream media are now questioning if “Europe fears Muslims more than the United States”. The photograph used in the article was a recent Muslim mass prayer in front of Italy’s monument, the Coliseum. In echoes of the capture of the great Christian civilisation of Byzantium in Constantinople, Sunni Islam’s most prominent preacher, Yusuf al Qaradawi, declared that the day will come when Rome will be Islamized.

According to US President Trump’s strategic adviser Steve Bannon, the “Judeo-Christian West is collapsing, it is imploding. And it’s imploding on our watch. And the blow-back of that is going to be tremendous”.

The impotence and the fragility of our civilisation is haunting many Europeans as well.

Europe, according to the historian David Engels will face the fate of the ancient Roman Republic: a civil war. Everywhere, Europeans see signs of fracture. Jihadists seem to be leading an assault against freedom and against secular democracies. Fears occupy the collective imagination of Europeans. A survey of more than 10,000 people from ten different European countries has revealed increasing public opposition to Muslim immigration. The Chatham House Royal Institute of International Affairs carried out a survey, asking online respondents their views on the statement that “all further migration from mainly Muslim countries should be stopped”. In the 10 European countries surveyed, an average of 55% agreed with the statement.

Do civilisations die from outside or inside? Is their disappearance the result of external aggression (war, natural disasters, epidemics) or of an internal erosion (decay, incompetence, disastrous choices)? Arnold Toynbee, in the last century, was adamant: “Civilisations die from suicide, not by murder”.

Everywhere in Europe there are signs of a takeover. Muslim students now outnumber Christian students in more than 30 British church schools. One Anglican primary school has a “100 percent Muslim population”. The Church of England estimated that about 20 of its schools have more Muslim students than Christian ones, and 15 Roman Catholic schools have majority Muslim students. In Germany as well, there are fears of a massive Muslim influx into the school system, and German teachers are openly denouncing the threat of a “ghettoisation”.

France saw 34,000 fewer babies born last year than in 2014, a new report just found. If it were not for Muslim women, France would have an even lower birth rate: “With a fertility rate of 3.5 children per woman, the Algerians contribute significantly to the growth of the population in France”, wrote the well-known demographer Gérard-François Dumont.[1]

Thanks to Muslim migrants, Sweden’s maternity wards are busy these days.[2]

In Milan, Italy’s financial center, Mohammed is the top name among newborn babies. The same is true in London (it has a Muslim mayor with a radical background), in the four biggest Dutch cities and elsewhere in Europe, from Brussels to Marseille. It is Islam, not Christianity, that now saturates Europe’s landscape and imagination.

Meanwhile, Europe’s leaders are almost all childless. In Germany, Angela Merkel has no children, as British prime minister Theresa May and one of France’s leading presidential candidates, Emmanuel Macron. As Europe’s leaders have no children and no reason to worry about the future (everything ends with them), they are now opening Europe’s borders to keep the continent in a demographic equilibrium. “I believe Europeans should understand that we need migration for our economies and for our welfare systems, with the current demographic trend we have to be sustainable”, said Federica Mogherini, the European Union representative for foreign affairs.

Islamists take culture and history more seriously than the Westerners do. Recently, in Paris, an Egyptian terrorist tried to strike the great museum, the Louvre. He planned to deface the museum’s artwork, he said, because “it is a powerful symbol of French culture”. Think about an Islamic extremist shouting “Allahu Akbar” while slashing the Mona Lisa. This is the trend we need to start reversing.

TOO LATE GIULIO, THE “BIRTH PANGS” ARE UPON US. WE ARE IN THE LAST DAYS, AS PROPHESIED IN GOD’S WORD. GET READY FOR TRIBULATION CHURCH. SORRY, THE CHURCH IS ASLEEP. ALSO, AS PROPHESIED THE CHURCH WILL BE CHARACTERISED BY APOSTASY AT THIS TIME AND IT IS. JESUS PROPHESIED THAT “MANY WILL FALL AWAY” AND “MOST PEOPLES LOVE WILL GROW COLD” Matthew 24:10,12.

PAUL TELLS US WHY THE END TIMES CHURCH WILL BE WEAK, VACILLATING AND FULL OF APOSTASY. JUST ONE OF THOSE CLUES CAN BE FOUND IN 2 TIMOTHY 4:3-4 “THE TIME WILL COME WHEN THEY (CHRISTIANS) WILL NOT ENDURE SOUND DOCTRINE; BUT WANTING TO HAVE THEIR EARS TICKLED, THEY WILL ACCUMULATE FOR THEMSELVES TEACHERS IN ACCORDANCE TO THEIR OWN DESIRES; AND WILL TURN AWAY THEIR EARS FROM THE TRUTH (GOD’S WORD), AND WILL TURN ASIDE TO MYTHS (PARTICULARLY EVOLUTION & BILLIONS OF YEARS). SADLY, APOSTASY CAN BE FOUND IN MOST OF THE SEMINARIES AND DENOMINATIONS

Giulio Meotti, Cultural Editor for Il Foglio, is an Italian journalist and author.

LIVE ETERNALLY NOW – Practice the Presence of God

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There is only one way to live eternally now and that is to endeavour to walk constantly as in His presence. Jesus made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, to indwell our spirit. We need to remind ourselves constantly of His presence and purpose, to be our counsellor, our teacher, our comforter. If you have not read the book “The Practice of the Presence of God” by Brother Lawrence then get it now FREE on Amazon as a Kindle ebook. Let me give you two powerful quotes from the book.

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“When we are faithful to keep ourselves in His Holy Presence, and set Him always before us, this not only hinders our offending Him and doing anything that may displease Him, at least wilfully, but it also begets in us a holy freedom, and, if I may so speak, a familiarity with God, wherewith we ask, successfully, [for] the graces we stand in need of.” (Brother Lawrence, c.1614–1691)

“All things are possible to him who believes…They are less difficult to him who hopes, they are more easy to him who loves, and still more easy to him who perseveres in the practice of these three virtues.” (Brother Lawrence, c.1614–1691)

Moreover, if we did walk in His presence continually, I am sure we would start to see the power return to the church. Perhaps, we would begin again to see the church growing as the early church did, as recorded in the Book of Acts. “Continually, more and more people believed in the Lord and were added to their number – great crowds of both men and women as they met regularly in the temple courts in the area known as Solomon’s Porch… The apostles performed many signs, wonders and miracles among the people and the believers were wonderfully united.“

How difficult it is now, to find a church that believes in an inerrant/infallible Bible, and therefore teaches the truth:

1. God created a perfect world: the pinnacle of His creation was a man and woman made in God’s image to be in relationship with Him.

2. Death and suffering in the world is a direct consequence of their disobedience (SIN).

3. Sadly, just ten generations after Adam, wickedness caused God to judge the world with a world wide flood just 4,000 + years ago. Noah’s Flood is responsible for the billions of fossils found in rock layers all over the world, and the fossil fuels, not billions of years of slow gradual change.

4. Just about 200 years after the flood, God judged wickedness again, by confusing the languages at the Tower of Babel. This act is responsible for the dispersal of people groups and establishment of all the nations.

5. Another 300 + years, God then established a nation, Israel to represent Him. Sadly again, they did not do a good job, but its existence today as prophesied by most of the Old Testament prophets, is proof God exists, and the Bible is God’s Word.

6. Finally, just over two thousand years ago, God the Father sends His Son, Jesus, to divide history into BC and AD. It was also at the prophesied time and place. Jesus has provided the only way back for mankind into a right relationship with our Heavenly Father and the promise of eternal life. The penalty for SIN is death and Jesus the sinless son of God died in our place so we can be made righteous before God in Him.

Will you repent of your SIN, recognise Him as Lord of the Universe and accept His free gift of eternal life?

7. Jesus will return again also as promised and prophesied. Moreover, fulfilled prophesy indicates the time is near. God’s history book gives us the timing of all of these events (not the day or hour: “but you, brethren, are not in darkness so that this day should overtake you as a thief.” 1 Thess. 5:2-4). The world is just 6,000+ years old not billions as Satan would have you believe. God has and is constantly at work in His world. Sadly, much of the traditional church has been deceived and just as Jesus foretold, at His second coming, the majority of people including many church goers (apostasy – a great falling away) will be like the people of Noah’s day who perished when the flood came.

Are you prepared for Jesus second coming. Have you searched the Scriptures and heeded John’s instruction in Revelation: “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.” Revelation 1:3

HOW TO BE SALT & LIGHT IN A PERVERSE GENERATION

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FIRST & FOREMOST WE NEED TO HAVE THE HOLY SPIRIT AS THE OIL IN OUR SPIRIT.

“The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the inner depths of his heart.” Proverbs 20:27

Is this the Christ preached in your church? Listen to John McArthur for the true Gospel.

“Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.” Mark 9:50  “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Matthew 5:9  “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how shall it be made salty? It is from then on good for nothing but to be thrown out and to be trampled under foot by men.” Matthew 5:13

WE NEED TO BE THE SALT AND LIGHT IN THIS INCREASINGLY DARK WORLD. A WORLD THAT NO LONGER BELIEVES IN THE GOD OF THE BIBLE & AN INERRANT BIBLE.

Reflecting on salt and its many uses can help us in carrying out our assignment as “hidden figures” on our spheres of influence today.

THE FIVE USES OF SALT

1. Preservative

Salt has been a food preservative since ancient times. It is extremely effective in destroying microorganisms that cause food spoilage.

Jesus Christ calls us to preserve morality and stop corruption in our culture. Pastors and God’s people cannot be passive. Standing up to opposition, we have an assignment no matter how disrespectful those we face may be.

Salt does irritate wounds. Think of hate spewing celebrities and protesters wounded by sin. At the same time, we need caution so our actions don’t necessarily grate on people because we’re obnoxious.

2. Source of Flavour

Just as salt adds flavour to food, we are called to do likewise in the midst of an insipid world. Following the ways of God enables us to “rejoice with joy unspeakable” (1 Pet.1:8b) as His ambassadors bringing zest to the world.

Scripture speaks of the “pleasures of sin for a time” (Heb. 11:25) but afterward come consequences that weigh people down in discouragement and depression. Don’t let appearances fool you as many defiant demonstrators and detractors are broken and bitter and need to witness another way. We may be the only Bible that onlookers ever read.

3. Makes One Thirsty

Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37). He went on to describe the Spirit-filled life wherein obedient followers radiate His love to a darkened world.

It’s not by accident that bars have bowls of pretzels and peanuts in front of customers to create thirst. Our assignment and privilege is to be a literal pretzel for Jesus in our corner of the world.

4. Uplifts

Salt has a unique quality called buoyancy. When something has enough salt, it lifts objects and people up. Think of the Dead Sea phenomenon, where there’s so much salt no one ever sinks or drowns there. The wicked Roman commander Vespacian once tried to execute slaves by dumping them bound into this sea, yet failed because they floated.

Surrounded by people who are living with heavy burdens, what a golden opportunity we have each day to lift people up by expressing love rather than disdain. We saw this in recent demonstrations where Christians didn’t retaliate when spat upon or punched.

5. Permeates

The Bible directs salty saints to seize the opportunity to engage unbelievers wisely and not withdraw into isolation. God directs us, “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, wisely using the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you should answer everyone” (Col.4:5-6).

I’m personally committed to authenticity ever since God impressed on my heart 40 years ago, “Let it never be said of me that I presented the world a caricature of Christ.”

In our dealings with lost people, we must be calm and confident. May we be so winsome in our behaviour that even when folks disagree with us, they’re left with “the sweet fragrance of Christ” (2 Cor. 2:15b).

Closing Cultural Challenge

Ten weeks past the election, millions of people are bitter and some, hateful. If ever we needed composure and be the salt of the earth, it’s now. Jesus said,  “Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another” (Mark 9:50).

Humourist Mark Twain once said, “If Christ were here, there is one thing He would not be, a Christian.” Let’s prove him wrong as we behave in the opposite spirit of the world, like the “hidden figures” in the film.

There’s never been a better time for us to be the “salt of the earth.” And remember, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God” (Matt. 5:9).

Extracts from Larry Tomczak book “Bullseye”.

GOD APPOINTS OUR LEADERS, INCLUDING DONALD TRUMP

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Rosh Hashanah 2015 to Rosh Hashanah 2016 brought us the 70th year of Jubilee and this unprecedented year of Jubilee brought us God’s choice of Donald Trump as President of the United States and Leader of the Free World.

donald-trump-2Trump at age 70 became elected President of this nation during the Hebraic year 5777. 

On inauguration day he will be 70 years, 7 months and 7 days old.

Because the Electoral College changed some votes it allowed Trump to end up with exactly 77 more electoral votes. 7 is the prime number of God and is why there are 7 spirits of God.

Outgoing president Barack Obama’s legacy-tainting final acts against Israel are an immediate, major proof that the insertion of Trump as President was an act of God. Trump is committed to supporting Israel and was outspoken about his intentions during the election campaign. For America, if Trump upholds his promise to support Israel, it means they will avoid many national catastrophes.

hugo-chavezFormer Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez publicly cursed Israel “from the depths of my intestines” and the next day began to feel intense intestinal pains that became a supremely rare cancer that took him out. In fact, 4 other South American leaders who shared Chavez’s views developed cancer in the same year, yet no one learned the lesson but instead blamed “the CIA” for spraying them with something that caused cancer. Two of those Presidents are now out of office and facing prison.

Israel may be tiny in the natural but it is absolutely huge in the matrix of the spirit world. Every global kingdom assignment begins with a proper reckoning of the preeminent place of Jerusalem and Israel. Every major, false doctrine starts with diminishing natural Israel and natural Jerusalem (“Replacement Theology” etc.). Every Antichrist spirit running among the nations begins with antisemitism at its core. For clarity’s sake, while it is not wrong to want Palestinians to be properly treated, any passion towards Israel giving up land or being furthermore diminished is influenced by an Antichrist spirit, and that’s whether you are a “Christian” or not.

“If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! If I do not remember you, let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, If I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.” Psalm 137:5-6.

For those who would diminish Jerusalem to “Old Testament” importance, remember that this is the very location that Jesus Christ was crucified.  The very idea that God could shed His literal Blood in a literal place and that that literal place could then descend into being only incidentally relevant is beyond comprehension.

There is a reason Jerusalem and its destruction is the desire of every principality. Destruction of Jerusalem destroys the master plan, and it is the master plan of our God that will guarantee Jerusalem’s future. There is also a guarantee that Jerusalem will ultimately be a place that reveals the salvation of God to the whole world—that guarantee is the spilled Blood of Jesus. You cannot understand the significance of the Blood of Jesus if you do not know how to also apply it to the geographical place He willingly shed it.

For more clarity, it is almost insanity to believe that the Blood of Jesus is powerful enough to give us access into Heaven despite our sins, and not believe it is powerful enough to spiritually secure the city and country where it was shed. Jesus does not return, nor does any great end-time objective take place, without Jerusalem and Israel being central to it. To not know that is to be in deception and to remain almost wilfully so. The Scripture is too clear on that and the Holy Spirit is too insistent on that. We will no longer get a “pass” on blindness to this reality. Jesus will literally return to the same place where He left this planet  a little over 2000 years ago. Also, the first parable Jesus told His disciples as a sign of His second coming was The Parable of the Fig Tree. The miraculous reestablishment of the nation of Israel in 1948 was that sign. When we see that happen, Jesus tells us to WATCH, be ALERT to the tribulation that He describes will occur in these “last days”.

  • “Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming – in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning – lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to ALL: WATCH!” Mark 13:35-37
  • “So then let us not sleep as others do but let us be alert (WATCH) and be sober” 1 Thessalonians 5:6
  • “Be on the alert (WATCH) then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.” Matthew 25:13

The section on the importance of Israel and Jerusalem to God’s future plans includes sections from a prophecy by Johnny Enlow – 2017 – The Ride of the Reformation Glory Train.

GOOD ADVICE FOR 2017

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While timely Rhema revelation is uplifting, the church must return to confidence in the logos. The infallible written truth of God’s Word – The Holy Bible.

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When timely prophetic words are given, we should value them highly. However, don’t seek after them. Don’t crave for them. God knows when you need them. What we can’t do without, even for a day, is the Word of God, the Bible. We need for the Holy Spirit to reveal new truths in fresh new ways. Keep a Holy Spirit journal to record these new revelations.

“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God shall stand forever” (Is. 40:8)
“Forever, O Lord, Your word is established in heaven” (Ps. 119:89)
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away” (Matt. 24:35)
I exhort you to open the Word of God daily. The wealth it contains will transform your new year much more powerfully than a low level prophetic word ever will.

Consider some of the following verses and begin your quest to encounter God through his Word. Take note of the promises and also of the conditions associated with them. May the fear of the Lord delight you. May your new year be marked by fresh revelation and trust in God’s mighty Word.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8:1).

“The Lord will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways” (Deut. 28:7).

“Sacrifice a thank offering to God, and pay your vows to the Most High, and call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will glorify Me” (Ps. 50:14-15).

“Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. Now a slave does not remain in the house forever, but a son remains forever. Therefore if the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed'” (John 8:34-36).

“Therefore submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

I have listed just a few verses.  Now go ahead and receive the remaining promises in the Bible that are waiting for you in the New Year. There are thousands.

CHRISTIANITY STANDS OR FALLS ON THE HISTORICAL ACCURACY OF GENESIS

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How did Christ and His Apostles view the Old Testament?

According to Jesus, “Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35) and “not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matthew 5:18). When referring to the Old Testament, He would often assert, “It is written”, making clear that He considered Scripture to be the final authority in all matters of faith and life. Along with the Pharisees He regarded the Old Testament as truly God’s Word. When quoting Genesis 2:24, for example, He affirmed that it was God speaking (Matthew 19:4, 5) even though the passage itself does not specifically state this.6

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In his second letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul wrote, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Commenting on this verse, and the New Testament in general, Frederick C. Grant, Professor of Biblical Theology at Union Theological Seminary wrote, “Everywhere it is taken for granted that what is written in scripture is the work of divine inspiration, and therefore trustworthy, infallible, and inerrant.”7

From this it might be understood that Professor Grant held to a similarly high view of Scripture. Not at all! In fact, he believed much of the Bible to be based on myths. Despite this, and along with many other liberal theologians, he recognised the Apostles’ unswerving commitment to the Old Testament as the Word of God and as unquestionably trustworthy in everything it teaches.

It is not difficult to see why scholars understand this to be true.8,9 In the Apostle Paul’s thinking, the Jews had been “entrusted with the oracles [the very words] of God” (Romans 3:2). When referring to the Old Testament he had no hesitation in affirming, “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers …” (Acts 28:25). Similarly, when quoting from the Psalms, the Apostle Peter stated that, while the words came from the mouth of David, it was the Holy Spirit speaking (Acts 4:24, 25). Moreover, he affirmed that “no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20–21).

Both Jesus and His Apostles undoubtedly regarded Genesis as history. Jesus, for example, affirmed the creation of Adam and Eve (Matthew 19:4), the murder of Abel (Luke 11:50, 51), the Noahic Flood (Matthew 24:37–39) and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Matthew 10:15). Moreover, for Him, these were not simply interesting stories; rather they provided the basis for understanding important spiritual truths. Similarly, the Apostle Paul built his teaching on events recorded in the Old Testament, such as the doctrine of Original Sin (Romans 5) and the role of men and women in the church (1 Timothy 2:12–14). The writer to the Hebrews referred to the accounts of Abel, Enoch and Noah as real events that happened to real people (Hebrews 11). Significantly, this letter was written to encourage Christians who were facing serious persecution; but what use are mythical characters to those potentially facing death? The idea that anyone would think that such people might be helped by reminding them of stories suitable only for Sunday School children is absurd. The writers of the New Testament undoubtedly accepted the first book of the Bible as historical and Huxley was right: if Genesis is wrong, Christianity was built upon no more than “legendary quicksands”.

Where does your church, your denomination stand on the inerrancy of scripture? Ask your pastor to get one of the excellent PhD speakers from Creation Ministries to come speak at your church on the evidence for the Genesis account of Creation. His response may surprise you.

IS THE BIBLE TOO HARD TO DEFEND? SADLY, EVANGELICAL PASTOR ANDY STANLEY THINKS SO

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Evangelical pastor preaches that the Bible isn’t the foundation for the Christian faith.

Pastor Andy Stanley has a church network of over 30,000 people in the Atlanta area, and his church was rated the fastest-growing in America in 2014 and 2015.

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The Bible’s historical reliability is one of the most important considerations when it comes to whether people  will accept the Bible’s claims about Jesus—and they’re right! If the Bible is demonstrably wrong regarding its history, it is not a reliable record, and the claims the Bible makes about Jesus are so extraordinary that it requires the Bible to be a supernatural, inspired, inerrant book. This is of course what it claims to be. Creation Ministries found it necessary to counter this serious challenge to the authority of God’s Word with this excellent article by Lita Cosner and Scott Gillis.

Pastor Andy Stanley says, “If the Bible is the foundation of our faith, it’s all or nothing. Christianity becomes a ‘fragile house of cards’ religion. Christianity becomes a fragile house of cards that comes tumbling down when we discover that perhaps the walls of Jericho didn’t.”2

Stanley’s message is clear as to the ‘unnecessary reason’ youth have left the faith:

So, if you stepped away from Christianity because of something in the Bible, if you stepped away from the Christian faith because of Old Testament miracles, if you stepped away from the Christian faith because you couldn’t reconcile 6,000 years with a 4.5 billion year old earth and something you learned in biology, I want to invite you to reconsider, because the issue has never been, ‘is the Bible true?’.2 (Emphasis added)

While he hopes to persuade people to come back to church, the route he took is actually more likely to deconstruct the faith of the young people he wants so much to keep in the church. In our experience (which to be honest, is much more wide than his own—speaking in over 1000 churches of varying denominations each year), people think the Bible’s historical reliability is one of the most important considerations when it comes to whether they will accept the Bible’s claims about Jesus—and they’re right!

What most people have commented on is the third part of his sermon series. Stanley begins that message by saying:

“In Sunday School we learned the song, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

He goes on to say,

“You grew up, but your faith didn’t grow up with you. You grew up, but you outgrew your faith. Your childhood god could not stand the rigors of adulthood, the questions of adulthood.”2

The reason he thinks this is a problem is:

“If the Bible is the foundation of our faith, it’s all or nothing. Christianity becomes a ‘fragile house of cards’ religion. Christianity becomes a fragile house of cards that comes tumbling down when we discover that perhaps the walls of Jericho didn’t.”2

To call Scripture a ‘house of cards’ (and elsewhere in the same sermon he calls it a ‘fragile thread’) reveals a troubling attitude for a pastor to have towards Scripture, which Jesus and the Apostles presented as the absolute foundation for our faith. After all, if he cannot be sure about Scripture, how can he be sure about the One that Scripture is ultimately all about, and moreover, the Bible’s history that necessitated Jesus becoming our Saviour.

Too hard to defend it

One reason Stanley argues we need this change in perspective is that Scripture is too hard to defend:

“What your students have discovered, and if you read broadly you’ve discovered, it is next to impossible to defend the entire Bible. But if your Christianity hangs by the thread of proving that everything in the Bible is true, you may be able to hang onto it, but your kids and your grandkids and the next generation will not. Because this puts the Bible at the center of the debate. This puts the spotlight right on the Bible. Everything rises and falls on whether not part, but all the Bible is true. And that’s unfortunate, and as we’re going to discover today, it is absolutely unnecessary.”2

Among the things he specifically states are indefensible and not supported by evidence:

  • Israel’s Exodus from Egypt
  • The walls in Jericho fell down
  • The earth is 6,000 years old
  • The chronological information in 1, 2 Kings, 1, 2 Chronicles, and 1, 2, Samuel
  • The global flood in Noah’s day

But as apologist James White pointed out in his rebuttal to Stanley, if the Bible is wrong, Christianity is untrue.4 Jesus’ own view was that the Scriptures could not be broken (John 10:35), and the New Testament authors referred to the Old Testament’s history as the foundation for New Testament theology. If the Bible is wrong about historical events, the basis for New Testament teaching vanishes. Worse still for Stanley, if Jesus is wrong about the very Scripture Stanley says is not defensible, then how can he still encourage faith in Jesus and His (historical) resurrection?

Did the early church have the Bible?

Stanley bases his argument that Christianity does not stand or fall with the Bible by his absurd claim that, for the first several hundred years of Christianity, they didn’t have the Bible: “For the first 300 years of the existence of Christianity, the debate centered on an event, not a book.” While they may not have had all the New Testament books bound together under one cover and called it ‘the Bible’, the entire Old Testament and many of the New Testament books functioned authoritatively from the beginning of the Church and were the central source of their theology, used to settle the doctrinal controversies of that time. In fact, there are over 100 references in the New Testament to the book of Genesis, let alone many other Old Testament events. So much of our Christian doctrine, and even Jesus’ own teaching, are centered on those biblical historical events.

Astonishingly, however, Stanley suggests that Peter might have responded to historical questions about the Old Testament as follows:

“Peter would have looked at you like, ‘I’m not really sure what you’re talking about, but I followed a man for three years who spoke like no other man spoke. He was arrested and crucified and we thought, Game over, because he said too much to be a good teacher, he claimed too much about himself to be a good teacher. Game over. We’re all in hiding; a bunch of women come babbling that “The tomb is empty, the tomb is empty”. I looked into an empty tomb, and do you know what I concluded? Somebody stole the body. And a few days later I had breakfast with my risen friend on the beach. So I’m not sure about 6,000-year-old earth, I’m not sure about archaeological evidence, I’m not sure about all that. The reason I’m following Jesus is because I saw him die, and I saw him alive, and I went into the streets of Jerusalem to say, God has done something among us.”2

But this does not match up with what Peter actually said in Acts 2 (by the way, it should be noted that Stanley purposely references no actual Scripture in his first several sermons). In Peter’s sermon as recorded by Luke, he included a lengthy quote from the prophet Joel and two Psalms, because he wasn’t arguing from his personal testimony and experience, but that the history they witnessed was a fulfillment of the Scriptures. And, even when he did appeal to his own eyewitness testimony, he tied this to a confirmation of the Scriptures (2 Peter 1:16–21)—the very Scriptures Stanley argues Christianity didn’t emphasize until 300 years later.

In Part 5 of the sermon series, Stanley dedicates an entire session to the reasons people leave the faith due to injustice in the world. Although Stanley does make some pertinent points, at no time does he state the foundational, historical event of Adam’s Fall as the cause of death and suffering in the world. In a self-labeled ‘footnote’, Pastor Stanley implies that a belief in evolution does not challenge the Gospel’s big picture when he states “Francis Collins actually embraces what we would consider macro-evolution and yet he is still a conservative Christian. If you didn’t think a person could believe in evolution and be an evangelical Christian, you should read this book. If science is the reason you have walked away from faith, I highly recommend his book, The Language of God [see our review].” Francis Collins would agree with Stanley when he stated in this sermon series, “And when religion and science conflict, at the end of the day if you are an honest person, science must win.” When people compromise on the historical account of creation they are unable to effectively explain the existence of death and suffering if God created a very good world. And Francis Collins along with his former organization BioLogos actually believes that Jesus could be wrong about His statements about biblical history and the historical Adam and Eve. See It’s not Christianity!.

Just another ‘New Testament Christianity’

It is interesting to note how Stanley defends the historical reliability of the New Testament and the historical trustworthiness and early composition of the New Testament documents. But as is shown by the list of Old Testament events that he claims are indefensible, he is all too ready to give up on the historical reliability of the Old Testament, which Jesus and the New Testament authors quoted constantly in all sorts of contexts, always taking it as completely authoritative and true.

We have pointed out that you can’t have a New Testament-only Christianity, because the Christians during the time of the New Testament used the Scriptures—the Old Testament.

Will this approach bring people back to the faith?

The saddest thing about this attempt to justify Christianity apart from the Scriptures is that it won’t work. We’ve come into contact with many young people with questions, and most aren’t interested in a ‘squishy’ Christianity that takes all the ‘hard’ passages of the Bible metaphorically while only holding on to some sort of a belief in Jesus.

The answer is not to so easily abandon the authority and the inerrancy of Scripture, but rather to learn how we can know that the Bible is reliable.

Andy Stanley is obviously passionate, and we would agree that a simple “the Bible tells me so” faith will likely not sustain people when they encounter objections to the faith. But the answer is not to so easily dismiss the authority and inerrancy of Scripture, but rather learn how the evidence supports the historical account of the Bible.

Many Sundays, after hearing a creation presentation, people will come up to one of our speakers and be so excited that they realize they can trust the entire Bible! By hearing that the Bible’s history is reliable, and that there are answers to all the objections that they’ve heard, believers are more confident to share their faith.

It takes effort, but it is not too hard to defend the entire Bible; we’ve been defending Scripture from the first verse for over 30 years. That is the key to keeping young people in the church. And the effort has eternal consequences. Given the wealth of scientific and archaeological support and information that is available today to support the Bible’s history, it is a shame that Stanley did not take the time to research it, before so readily abandoning the Bible as the inerrant source for the Christian faith.