BIBLE SALES IN AMERICA ARE UP 22%

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Sarah Holliday, reporter at The Washington Stand looks at possible reasons why in a country that has been increasingly turning away from God and His values.

The Wall Street Journal wrote that “Bible sales are up 22% in the U.S. through the end of October, compared with the same period last year.” According to the outlet, there are several potential factors for why this is the case. Jeff Crosby, president of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, believes “people are experiencing anxiety … related to artificial intelligence [and] election cycles.” All of which “feeds a desire for assurance that we’re going to be okay.” Maybe Crosby is right. People want to know they’re going to be okay, and so they’re turning to the Bible.

Others have speculated that the rise in Bible sales can be attributed to influencers on social media. Cely Vazquez, whom WSJ described as an artist and influencer, has used her platform to share that she “recently bought her first Bible.” Likewise, the outlet highlighted Amber Cimiotti, another social media figure who thinks podcasters and TikTokers play a major role in the growing number of people buying Bibles.

WSJ also noted how several publishing houses found the customers largely responsible for the surge in Bible sales were members of Gen Z, college students, and younger people alike. And it’s not just religious publishers seeing the Bibles fly off the shelves, but mainstream retailers too — including Amazon. Observers are puzzling over what’s causing it in light of recent surveys that have found that at least 28% of American adults claim to be religiously unaffiliated. That doesn’t exactly scream an increased demand for religious material.

Ultimately, it’s more than likely that all of these factors laid out by WSJ played a part in the increase of people buying Bibles. Rev. Blaine Crawford of Irvington Presbyterian Church told WSJ that he has seen a recent increase in Scripture study groups. He remarked that God’s word is a “grand epic story of the great questions of life. What do we do with grief or anger, what are we here for, where is the world going? The Bible provides a counterpart in a conversation about what we’re doing at this time.”

As people made in the image of God, we were never meant to be away from Him. The reigning theme in the book of Ecclesiastes is not that life has no meaning, but that apart from Christ, the source from which our purpose derives, there is no meaning. As The Post Millennial wrote, “Experts and industry insiders attribute the growth in Bible sales to societal anxieties and a search for hope.” But I don’t think the experts are the only ones who could have figured this out. Rather, Christians should understand this to be the case better than almost anyone. After all, Christians are to be the people who understand their sin and need of a Savior. We ought to be at the frontlines of an anxious culture offering them the hope of the gospel.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins put it this way: “Obtaining a Bible is the first step; the second step is to read it and then understand it. As Philip helped the Ethiopian leader understand the Word, pray that those who are turning to the truth for hope will have others who can help them understand the Good News contained within the pages of the Bible.” Guest host Jody Hice also commented on the news that the Bible is in higher demand on Monday’s episode of “Washington Watch.” Simply put, he stated, it’s “tremendous news!”

Pastor Jay Johnson, FRC’s National Prayer Director, agreed. As he emphasized, “I certainly rejoice at that news, and [I’m] just grateful that … there’s a demand” for the word of God. “There [are]people all over looking for hope, and people are guiding them to God’s word.” But according to Johnson, “it’s not just to know the Bible [and] not just to read the Bible, but to know God. And I think that’s the beauty of God’s word.” He also referenced FRC’s Bible reading plan, Stand on the Word, noting that it’s “a great resource for people to engage in reading God’s word.”

Both agreed that it’s important to read and study the Bible, but beyond Scripture, Johnson urged that “it’s also very vital to find a church that is teaching and preaching the word of God.” It’s important “to get engaged with a local church where they can study with others.” Especially because, as Hice and Johnson agreed, it can be difficult to stay focused when reading the Bible. It can be hard to get started, particularly for people who are new to picking up God’s word like the 22% or so this year. “I just want to encourage people,” Johnson said, “to start out by praying and asking for divine guidance.”

On behalf of everyone here at FRC, we believe in the life-giving, soul-saving power of God’s word. It’s the reason we start every morning as an organization in prayer and Bible study. And so, whether you’re new to reading the Bible or have been reading it nearly your whole life, now is the time to open it up and study it, know it, and ask the Holy Spirit to write it on your heart. And as we read of the 22% increase of people who are cracking open the pages of Scripture, let us pray that God opens their eyes, ears, and hearts to the glorious truth of the gospel.

It’s no wonder this fallen world is full of broken people looking for hope, answers, and truth. And this hope, these answers, and the truth we all crave is found in the Bible. The riches are there, free of charge. All you have to do is read and, by God’s grace, believe.

Topics:Biblical Worldview, Good News, The Church

WILL THE CHURCH IN AMERICA RESPOND TO THE OPPORTUNITY GOD HAS PROVIDED WITH THE TRUMP ELECTION VICTORY?

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“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil... that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. .” Ephesians 6:10-20

Ephesians 6 explains the spiritual battle that we are in and it urges us to put on the full armour of the Lord and then to stand. So the battle is never done this side of heaven. We have to continue to perpetually stand for the truth. The church in America has in the main compromised with the world just as Jesus said it would in the last days before He returns to Earth.

As a result of Trump’s remarkable win in the 2024 Presidential Election U.S.A. God has allowed the church time to put the country back on the right track. As Family Research Council’s (FRC) Mary Szoch said after voters knocked off three radical pro-abortion ballot initiatives, this is the opening believers have been waiting for. On Tuesday, “Americans … re-elected the most pro-life president in the history of America,” she emphasized. “Now is the time for us to work together to promote strong, faith-filled marriages, strengthen families, and create a society that values every single person from the moment they come into existence. The opportunity to build a culture of life in America is great, and we cannot waste it.”

We also need to remember, Hibbs said on Pray Vote Stand: Decision 2024, “The church needs a revival. We will still wake up tomorrow knowing that the church needs to turn back to Scripture — and pulpits … [need to address] through the Scripture the issues that shape our congregants and their life, their worldview. And so, we need a revival. We pray that this election is a little part of that, but the bottom line is the answer. Are God’s people stepping up? Are God’s people getting involved?”

Another thing Christians need to realize, former Congresswoman Michele Bachmann said, is that “we have a lot to be grateful for.” The Trump campaign is in a “good place,” she acknowledged, “[but that’s] in the natural. I felt like the Lord was saying to me early on in this campaign that this [race] won’t be won in the natural, it will be won in the supernatural. And I truly believe that we need to just keep leaning in [with] prayer and what we’re [doing]. Where Scripture has taken me this week is [to Exodus] where Moses is standing when the Israelites are battling with the Amalekites — and then Hur and Aaron are holding up Moses’s arms — all while Joshua was on the field at the battle. And so it’s both: it’s prayer, and it’s action.”

When the church does both, she explained, “then we see victory.” “… But we can never, ever take it for granted.” The reality is, Michele pointed out, “Four years is going to go fast. And again, we only have two years until the next midterm, so … we’ve got to get to work. … It’s like there was a party and the furniture is all broken and the drapes are torn down from the windows, and we’ve got to get America’s house back in order fast and do what the American public believes that Donald Trump and a Republican Senate and a Republican House can do.”

That takes work, it takes commitment, and it takes an army of men and women determined to pay the price to speak up — and stand up. Whatever happens from here, Tony Perkins (FRC) urged, “Election 2024 must not be the finish line for Christians in America; I pray it is a starting point. It’s time for the church to arise. Our hurting nation needs a revival that only God can provide.”

As I said in my last post Donald Trump will not make America great again. Unless God brings revival to America and the nation gets on its knees to repent of all its abominable sins: abortion, gay marriage, homosexuality, transgenderism, etc. God will not lift the judgment that America is already under. Sadly, I just do not believe Scripture shows that this will happen. We are already in the Biblical prophesied end times many of the Biblical prophesied end times signs have already manifested and persecution of Christians will only intensify.

Much of this post has been extracted from an article by Suzanne Bowdey, Trump’s Win ‘Isn’t the Finish Line – It’s the Starting Point’, She serves as editorial director and senior writer at The Washington Stand.

WHY AUSTRALIA WILL COME UNDER INCREASING JUDGEMENT OF GOD

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Recent anti-God expenditures and legislation by State Governments will ensure further judgement on this nation by God.

NSW MLC John Ruddick has delivered a powerful speech to the state parliament about the excessive funding of rainbow activism. Up to $14 million and at least 22 agencies receive tax-payer funding to support their ‘neo-religion.’ Ruddick has called for government funding to cease and allow these groups to continue only if they can raise the funding themselves. He noted that organisations such as ACON (formerly known as the Aids Council of NSW) served their purpose during the AIDs epidemic but have since had to “invent new rainbow causes that are so important that the taxpayer has to fund them.” When lobby groups fight for a cause and win, they don’t just pack up their lobbying tents and go home. Too often they simply find new and more radical causes within the same framework. Lobbyists who rely on government grants do not simply pat themselves on the back after winning their cause – they get addicted to the gravy train.

Ashlyn Vice, SA Director of the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL), says Mr Hood’s Termination of Pregnancy Amendment (Terminations and Live Births) Bill was a “no-nonsense, compelling proposition to change the process of terminations post 28-weeks’ gestation – offering a pro-woman, pro-child compromise”. “Tonight’s result means more South Australian babies will be needlessly born dead when they could have been safely born alive,” Vice says. “If passed, this Bill would have ensured babies in their third trimester would be born alive by inducing early labour in circumstances where the mother insists on ending the pregnancy. This was to replace current practice, which is to kill the baby via a lethal potassium chloride injection before inducing labour.” Vice says.

Our elected government leaders have no fear of God which reveals the godless state of our nation and an inept church. A church that no longer upholds the inerrancy of God’s Word and heeds the many warnings and signs given of God’s coming judgement when He pours out His wrath upon an unrepentant world with the Trumpet and Bowl judgements.

Read the first four Trumpet judgements and know that the intensity only escalates as God pours out His wrath with the seven Trumpet and seven Bowl judgements. How many churches are warning the world of this soon coming judgement of God?

“The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.
The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.” Revelation 8: 7-12

THE CHURCH THAT WILL BE LEFT BEHIND TO FACE THE WRATH OF GOD

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“Thank you, Jesus”: Kenneth Copeland praises God for a new Bentley car. Prosperity gospel preacher Kenneth Copeland thanked Jesus for a dying man’s seed offering of a Bentley with a Breitling clock, which he had given in the hope that it would bring healing. It did not.

At Kenneth Copeland Ministries’ annual Southwest Believers’ Convention in Fort Worth, Texas, held from July 29 to Aug. 3, the 87-year-old televangelist regaled attendees with stories about his passion for Breitling watches, of which he owns around 36 coveted timepieces.

Speaking on “How to Walk by Faith and Not By Sight” two Mondays ago, Copeland delighted in showing off the diamond-encrusted Breitling adorning his left wrist to a man seated in the front row. “Do you think that one’s pretty?” Copeland asked the man. “It’s a Breitling. It has diamonds around the edge. Someone gave me that one.”

Copeland said he began gifting Breitling watches as seed gifts, adding that he and Pat Robertson, the late founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network and host of “The 700 Club,” had a “tradition” of gifting Breitlings to each other.

Bible scholar Justin Peters, a harsh critic of World of Faith prosperity preachers and the New Apostolic Reformation movement rebuked Copeland’s “wicked” teaching that sowing “a seed” will heal the sick.

“Kenneth Copeland knows full well that the people listening to him don’t follow him for exposition of Scripture; they are there for promises of health and wealth,” Peters said. “And there are a lot of sick people listening to him. Not just at this convention but all over the world. And they are sick; they are dying, some of them. And some have sick children, children who are dying.

As a warning to the televangelist who has boasted of being a billionaire, Peters quoted from Matthew:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'” Matthew 7:21-23,

Peters said he does not hate Copeland but was filled with “righteous indignation” because of the “audacity” the televangelist had to tell the story of a man who sowed a seed for healing from cancer yet died. “He’s dead,” Peters lamented.

Kenneth Copeland and all those he has deceived represent the seventh church of Revelation 3, the Church of Laodicea. It is the church that is left behind to face the wrath of God with the Trumpet and Bowl judgements. It describes the church in the seventh year of the 70th week of Daniel 9:24-27.

“For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” Revelation 3:17-19

The sixth church, the Church of Philadelphia, is raptured. It represents the church in the sixth year of the 70th week of Daniel 9:24-27.

“‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name… Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.” Revelation 3:8,10

WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF THE DECLINE IN AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY?

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Reports of American Christianity’s death are wildly exaggerated, according to a new Gallup poll. The problem however is that most American Christians (94%) no longer hold to a Biblical Worldview.

Despite years of coverage that Americans have lost their faith, three out of four Americans not only believe in God but belong to a specific religion, according to a Gallup poll released on Good Friday.

“By far the largest proportion, 68%, identify with a Christian religion, including 33% who are Protestant, 22% Catholic and 13% who identify with another Christian religion or simply as a ‘Christian,’” Gallup reported on March 29. Another seven percent “identify with a non-Christian religion, including 2% who are Jewish, 1% Muslim and 1% Buddhist, among others.” 22% said they did not identify with any religion.

Faith exercises a pivotal role in most Americans’ lives, with 71% saying that religion is “very important” (45%) or “fairly important” (26%) to them. The share of Americans who placed a high premium on their faith fell below a majority for the first time in U.S. history in 2019.

That does not mean that church membership has rebounded completely: 45% of Americans formally belong to a church, synagogue, or religious congregation. That number fell below a majority during 2020. “Slightly more than one-third of U.S. young adults have no religious affiliation. Further, many young adults who do identify with a religion do not belong to a church,” noted Gallup. “But even older adults who have a religious preference are less likely to belong to a church today than in the past.”

Yet even these numbers may overstate the number of unbelievers, as 69% of Nones (people who do not identify with any particular faith) believe in God, according to a Pew Research Center poll. Still, a separate poll from the left-leaning Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) released on March 27, found, “While the percentage of Americans who describe themselves as ‘nothing in particular’ is similar to a decade ago (16% in 2013 to 17% in 2023), the numbers of both atheists and agnostics have doubled since 2013 (from 2% to 4% and from 2% to 5%, respectively).”

The most liberal churches have experienced the steepest losses in membership, numerous reports found. Ryan Burge, research director at Faith Counts, tracked the membership of the major U.S. denominations between 1987 and 2021. “The mainline is just a bloodbath,” wrote Burge last June. “Five traditions are down by at least 30%. The ELCA is down 41%. The United Church of Christ is less than half the size it was in the late 1980s. The United Methodists are already down 31%, but with over 15% of their churches disaffiliating just this year, I wouldn’t be surprised if membership is down 40% or more by this time next year.”

Overall, the data paints a complicated picture. “The trends are clear that we are secularizing in some sense, particularly Gen Z. There is a decline in participation in organized religion and in belief in God, but those are not necessarily the same thing,” Joseph Backholm, senior fellow for Biblical Worldview and Strategic Engagement at Family Research Council, told The Washington Stand. “The one clear thing is that some belief in a higher power is persistent. People can’t shake the idea that the universe didn’t create itself.”

David Closson, director of the Center for Biblical Worldview at FRC, made these assertions. “What we’ve learned from FRC’s own research, as well as George Barna’s research with the Cultural Research Center, is that the percentage of those who hold a consistent biblical worldview is around 6%,” “Thus, it is probably more accurate to say that Gallup is helpfully illustrating the loss of cultural Christianity. But this is an important observation in itself; the percentage of Americans who identify as Christian is decreasing rapidly, which means that basic Christian beliefs will increasingly be seen not only as outdated or old-school but dangerous and subversive. We are still living on the fumes of a post-Christian culture, and this is reflected in the large percentages of Americans who still identify as Christian even though many of them don’t go to church or profess any specific theological viewpoints.”

All parties conceded that America’s religious atrophy and eroding biblical worldview will likely impact the policies enacted at a national and local level. “Compared with all Americans, the unaffiliated are notably more likely to identify as Democrats (35% vs. 29%) and independents (38% vs. 30%), and substantially less likely to identify as Republican (12% vs. 29%),” PRRI noted.

The declining share of Americans who hold a Biblical worldview “shouldn’t matter” when it comes to public policy, but it “ultimately will,” said Backholm. “The First Amendment requires that we treat small groups of religious individuals the same as big groups, but in reality cultural dominance, or the lack thereof, matters. That’s why we see pro-life activists being punished for public speech and business owners repeatedly sued for behavior that was uncontroversial 20 years ago.”

“Being a minority religion has always come with challenges, even in America,” Backholm told TWS. “The politically dominant religion in America is becoming a hybrid of secularism and progressive Christianity defined by the belief that people should be free to do whatever makes them happy.”

“Those who don’t embrace those creeds will have problems,” he warned.

The seven churches in Revelation reveal the church as it is in the last seven years before Jesus returns to Earth first to rapture the Saints to Heaven and then pour out His wrath upon an unrepentant world with the Trumpet (Revelation 8) and Bowl (Revelation 16) judgements.

The seventh church, the Church of Laodicea represents the church left behind to face God’s judgement. (Laodicea is a combination of two Greek words (LAO, meaning “God’s people”; and DIKE, meaning “justice or judgment”) Judgement of God’s people).

“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:15-20

It is obvious from this Scripture that those churches preaching the prosperity gospel are in for a great shock when they realise that they will face God’s judgement, but notice that they still have the opportunity to repent.

The church of Philadelphia represents the church that is raptured at the trumpet blast at the opening of the seventh seal. At the sixth seal, we see the celestial signs that precede Jesus’ return. We read “the great day of their (God’s) wrath has come“: “Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” Revelation 6:15-17 The trumpet and bowl judgements follow once the final, seventh seal is removed and the scroll is opened.

How different is the message to the church (Church of Philadelphia) that is raptured and protected from the wrath of God

Philadelphus the “love for a brother” What remains of the faithful Church will be bound in brotherly love by the persecution of earth-shaking proportions.

“He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens, and no one will shut, and who shuts, and no one opens, says this.”  Revelation 3:7

Jesus who is about to rapture His church reminds them that He is God, He is true, and they can trust Him to save them at the appointed time.

Jesus has nothing but compliments for these survivors of the Great Tribulation, his faithful remnant

“Jesus says, I have set before you an open door, no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of trial (Rapture) which shall come upon the whole earth (wrath of God).” (Revelation 3:7-13)

“hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown” (Rev. 3:11 NASB). There is yet time to fall away and lose their rewards.

The concepts of the Key of David, the pillars in the Temple, and being kept from the hour of trial found in the letter to the Church of Philadelphia are references to the Rapture, happening at the end of the Sixth Year of the 70th Week.

PERSECUTION GROWS GOD’S CHURCH

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A new study has revealed that Christianity is continuing to spread across the globe despite believers facing extreme persecution for their faith.

The 2023 “Persecutors of the Year” report by the anti-persecution charity International Christian Concern (ICC) details the various groups, organisations, and locations posing a significant threat to Christians worldwide.

The advocacy group claims some 200-300 million believers currently experience persecution for their faith, including torture, imprisonment, and murder. Writing in the document’s forward, ICC President Jeff King says he’s inspired by the courage and strength of Christians who appear to be “thriving” in their faith, amid “unimaginable pain.”

China, Iran, and Nigeria are highlighted as key countries where the Church appears to be expanding despite fierce opposition.

NIGERIA: The ICC argues Nigeria is one of the most dangerous places to be Christian today. Believers are kidnapped, tortured, and killed every week by Boko Haram, Fulani militants and other Muslim extremist groups while churches and Christian institutions are destroyed and burned to the ground. “Boko Haram and Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) have killed tens of thousands of Christians and displaced millions to discard Western influence and impose strict Islamic Sharia law,” it reads. Yet, the approximately 100 million Christian population is steadily growing in the region.

IRAN: The report claims that the Islamic Republic of Iran has “one of the fastest-growing churches in the world.” While 99% of the population is Muslim and Christians there are harshly penalised for practicing their faith, ICC reports show a Christian population that has rapidly grown to around 500,000 – 800,000. Iranian Christians face persecution in the form of raids, arrests, fines, detention, torture, and death penalties for practicing their faith.

CHINA: China reportedly has between 70-100 million “underground Christians”. This is despite the communist country “aggressively suppressing free religious expression” which is seen as a threat to national security. House churches face persecution and harassment by the authorities, as they are often unregistered and not sanctioned by the government. Some are denied registration while others choose not to be state-run due to the heavy surveillance and restrictions that are applied.

In highlighting the extent of suffering Christians encounter across the world, ICC says the “resilience of the body of Christ” is also revealed.

We cannot say that Jesus did not warn us of the persecution/tribulation that Christians will face in the last days before His second coming. It will be a church refined by fire that will be raptured to heaven prior to God pouring out His wrath upon an unrepentant world with the Trumpet and Bowl judgments.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:9-13

GOD’S INTENT FOR THE CHURCH

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God’s intent for the Church has always been that it be a place where lost people get found and the broken get put back together — a place filled with “weres” who are learning to build new lives through the power of the Holy Spirit.

It’s time for surveys to tell us that churches are breaking new ground and being filled with those from broken families, broken relationships, and broken lives. But they should also tell us churches are doing all they can to break the downward cycle of family dysfunction and restore health to marriage and fatherhood. Only then can people step into the life God has for them, and only then can they be part of God’s heart for breaking new ground through the power of the Gospel.

“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes …” (Romans 1:16).

In Paul’s first letter to the church in Thessalonica, he reminded them they had “turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God …” (I Thessalonians 1:9). When he took the Gospel to the city of Ephesus, many who engaged in sorcery and pagan worship left their ways to follow Jesus (Acts 19: 19, 23-27). The survey question, “How many of you came from families that practiced sorcery and idolatry?” Would have had embarrassing results. Yet Heaven was smiling as new ground was being broken.

But the city of Corinth tops them all: “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor those habitually drunk, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the Kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God” (I Corinthians 6:9-11). That must have been quite a congregation! New ground was being broken.

“Churches must work to restore healthy marriages and fatherhood to combat a growing decline in Christianity, according to a survey released by a faith-based group.” The article went on to detail how the decline in resident fatherhood and the collapse of marriage are likely explanations for the increase in religious non-affiliation throughout the United States.

God’s roles for males and females need to be restored. Male leadership in the home and church is clearly laid out in God’s Word but it like most of God’s commandments has been jettisoned by an unbelieving world. Fortunately, God tells us in His Word that this would be the case and the only solution is for Jesus to return and restore righteousness by ruling and reigning the nations with a rod of iron, and this He will do for 1000 years with the resurrected Saints. Jesus’ Millennial Kingdom is a transition period prior to God establishing a new Heaven and new Earth where only the righteous dwell. Whilst Satan is bound for most of the thousand years. In the end, God allows him to be released and astoundingly he is still able to raise an army of rebellious people like the sand of the sea to come against Jesus and the Saints. The rebellion is promptly put down and this earth and heaven are destroyed. A second resurrection occurs of those unbelievers who were not raised at the first resurrection and all those who died during the Millennium. Jesus White Throne judgement follows. Only then does John see a new Heaven and a new Earth and a magnificent New Jerusalem descending from Heaven onto the new Earth.

CHURCHES ARE BEING TAKEN OVER BY DEMONIC SPIRITS

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“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons…” 1 Timothy 4:1

In this verse, where Paul refers to those who “shall depart from the faith,” he is not talking about ungodly individuals who stick their middle finger in God’s face, spit on the Bible, and hate the church. He is talking about believers who will depart from the church, from the truth of the Bible, from the preaching, from prayer, from fasting, and from deliverance and miracles. And the reason they will depart is shocking. They will give heed to seducing spirits. These are evil spirits, and these dark seducing spirits will eventually woo them into accepting “doctrines of devils.”

Doctrines of devils are false religions and other false teachings that dismiss the Bible: idol worship, the worship of man, the worship of objects, the worship of charms and amulets and crystals and horoscopes, etc.; and they will eventually defend every sort of perversion that goes against the Word of God. Church people will literally side with demons, occultism, and witchcraft. If you haven’t seen that come full circle in our time, then you’ve not been paying attention. In short, Paul says there will be demonic activity in the church during the last days that will destroy the church. The influence of demonic activity in the life of the American church is an absolute fact. Demons work to destroy the conscience of their host and have no conscience of their own. A demonic spirit is void of that emotional connection to God, so it causes people to live numb and dry and lukewarm and barren, and in this context, we begin to understand that a demon is nothing more than a person without a body who has taken hold of a human body.

As we see more and more demonic influence in our culture, we need to heed Paul’s warnings. The devil is going hard after the people of God, and no one is an exception. We must buckle up with the armour of God, stick close to His Word, and keep our eyes focused on Christ.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:10-12

IS YOUR CHURCH BUILT ON A SOLID SCRIPTURAL FOUNDATION?

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I believe the end times church will be as described in the Book of Acts: it will be a House Church Movement largely due to the persecution of Christians that will be prevalent at that time. Very similar to the underground churches in China during the time of Chairman Mao and the house churches in most Muslim countries today.

Our beliefs are the framework in which faith and values exist. God is holy and He created humanity for relationship with Him. His ways are higher and His principles are flawless.

Because of Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience, the Holy Spirit departed their spirits so all of their descendants lack the Holy Spirit to enable them to live a holy life pleasing to God. The penalty for Adam and Eve’s disobedience was death, first spiritual death when they lost the Holy Spirit and then physical death. The good news is that God through His son Jesus was prepared to become a man, live a sinless life, and by His death pay the price for mankind’s rebellion/sin. When we repent of our sin and are prepared to accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour then God the Father sends the Holy Spirit to indwell our spirit enabling us once again to be in fellowship with Him and live a holy life. We are a new creation.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-19

Notice that all of us have been given the ministry of reconciliation to bring others to Jesus Christ.

Our beliefs must be based on the following scriptures.

“We believe in one holy, perfect, and eternal God, self-existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; distinguishable but indivisible.” Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14

“We believe the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God – accurate and applicable to our lives.” 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-21; 1 Corinthians 2:13

“We believe that God created the world and everything in it just 6000 years ago. He created it in six days and rested on the seventh solely as a pattern for how we are to live: we will work six days and the seventh day will be a sabbath rest. We believe that humanity was created in the image of God to know him and to enjoy him, that God gave every human being free will, and humanity’s choice to sin has separated each of us from God and His purpose for our lives whereby we are completely unable to attain right-standing with God on our own merit.” Romans 5:12, 18-19

We believe God judged the earth with the worldwide flood of Noah’s day just ten generations after Adam. Only eight people survived, Noah’s family, to repopulate the earth. The flood resulted in billions of dead things being buried quickly all over the earth and created the fossil fuels that we use today. Evolutionists deny there was a worldwide flood and try to justify evolution by adding billions of years to Earth’s history.

“Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch...” Genesis 6:11-14

Less than two hundred years following the worldwide flood God had to step in and confuse the languages and create the nations so that once again a disobedient people would do as He instructed them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.“

“Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower (Tower of Babel) with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:4

“Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.” Genesis 11:7-8

God established His nation, Israel from one man Abraham to represent Him on Earth. One of the greatest miracles that proves God’s existence is the Exodus and God establishing Israel in the land God gave them. It is amazing that even before they entered the promised land God told them through Moses that they would be driven out by God into other nations but He would regather them at His prearranged time. In 1948 the miracle of Israel’s restoration began which is the most significant prophesied end times event signaling Jesus’s soon coming return.

“And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and He will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.“ Deuteronomy 30:1-3

“We believe that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ changed history BC and AD. He is the only one who can reconcile us to God; who, though fully God, became both God and man through conception by the Holy Spirit and was born of the virgin Mary. His sinless life made possible His death as perfect atonement for all humanity. This is entirely by means of God’s grace offered to us.” Romans 5:12, 18-19

“We believe that Jesus Christ gave up His life on the cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day. He defeated death by resurrection power, appeared to many including His disciples, ascended to heaven, and will come again to establish His Millennial Kingdom with the resurrected Saints, prior to the White Throne judgement and creating a new Heaven and new Earth where only the righteous will dwell. We believe this is the Biblical way of seeing the whole world which empowers us to live every day as Jesus did in subjection to the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; 2 Corinthians 6:14, 7:1; Romans 4:25; John 14:2-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Ephesians 5:18

“We believe that water baptism by immersion is an outward act of obedience, and a public demonstration of faith and discipleship, by everyone who chooses to acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.” Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:34-36, 19:1-6

“We believe the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a distinct experience given by God. Speaking in unknown languages is significant evidence of this experience and is available to every believer. The key to this event is not simply the gift of tongues, but rather empowerment to operate in every gift the Spirit gives us including miracles, deliverance, healing, freedom, and all manner of excessive generosity as a part of bringing the reality of God to our world.” Acts 2:1-4, 4:30, 8:14-17, 10:44-45; Galatians 3:14; Jude 1:20; Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 12:9; James 5:14; Mark 16:17; Ephesians 4

“We believe in the reality of the spiritual realm – angels and demons, heaven and hell, the existence of the devil, and God’s ultimate judgment upon him and his fallen angels. We believe in the eternal life of believers and eternal separation from God for unbelievers with a second death.” Matthew 25:41; John 3:16, 3:36, 5:24; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9; Revelation 2:11, Rev. 29:6, Rev. 20:14, Rev. 21:8, Rev. 20:10–15

“We believe all human life is a gift from God and that life is sacred from the moment of conception. Each person has a divinely ordained purpose, irrespective of the circumstances and we uphold the sanctity of human life from conception. We believe God’s intention for marriage is one man and one woman and that all sex is reserved for marriage, as God intended it.” Genesis 1:27-28, 2:24; Psalms 139:13-16; Proverbs 5:15-19; Jeremiah 1:5; Matthew 19:4-6; Mark 10:1-9; Luke 1:15; Ephesians 5:22-23; 1 Corinthians 6:9, 7:1-4; Galatians 5:16

“We believe that because of our sinful nature and the brokenness in our world, we all struggle with varying issues, but the heart of God is to bring forgiveness and restoration to those who seek it. Through grace and truth, personal healing and reconciliation to God are available to all.” Psalm 23:3; Jeremiah 29:11-14; Luke 4:18; John 1:14,17, 8:31-32; Acts 3:19-21; Romans 6–8; Galatians 6:1; Hebrews 4:16; 2 Corinthians 12:8-9

MAINLINE CHURCHES HAVE CONFORMED TO THE WOKE AGENDA

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Calvin Robinson, a British priest who has gained a significant international following as a fearless and often provocative social commentator, speaks with guest host Justin Brierley about his views on wokeism, gender, sexuality, and race. Robinson believes the mainline churches have lost their way conforming to a so-called “woke” agenda that he deems antithetical to the gospel. Calvin Robinson has a regular show on GB News and is very active on Twitter, where he’s gained nearly 300,000 followers. Like most conservative British clerics, he wears a clergy collar and he articulates his old-school values in a posh English accent. Unlike most of his colleagues, however, Calvin Robinson happens to be black and just 37 years of age. After his ordination in the Church of England was blocked, he was eventually ordained in the Free Church of England. For this episode, Justin Brierley will ask Calvin why he believes it’s time for the Church to return to Biblical inerrancy and liturgy, the church tradition in which he has found a home.

Calvin Robinson speaks the truth in love and is being used by God mightily in these last days. Make sure you send this video on to family members and friends. They will thank you for it.