I recently posted on July 15th Noah’s Flood Fact or Fiction? If you have not viewed it, can I suggest you do, as it complements and reinforces this post. It is wonderful to see the amount of evidence being produced by Ph.D. scientists to support the young earth’s history presented in the Bible. In this video, we follow geologist Dr. Steve Austin and Del Tackett to Arizona where we can see the Grand Staircase, a thick stack of rock layers that are visible as sets of parallel cliffs above the Grand Canyon.
Steve then explains how the history of the world is best viewed through a Flood geology model as a five-step process: Sedimentation, Tectonics, Erosion, Volcanoes, and Exponential decline.
He then talks briefly about his experience as a creationist geologist. Dr. Austin is a field research geologist who has done research on six of the seven continents of the world. His research has taken him by helicopter into the crater on Mount St. Helens, by bush plane onto glaciers in Alaska, by raft through the Grand Canyon, on horseback into the high Sierra, by elevator into the world’s deepest coal mines, by SCUBA onto the Great Barrier Reef, by rail into Korean backcountry, by foot onto barren plateaus of southern Argentina, and by a four-wheel drive into remote desert areas of Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Dr. Austin received his PhD from Pennsylvania State University in sedimentary geology.
The Revolutionary Court of Tehran has sentenced an Iranian-Armenian Christian man to 10 years in prison for establishing a house church, which the judge called “propaganda contrary to and disturbing to the holy religion of Islam,” according to reports.
Saba Kord Afshari is just 22 years old. In August 2019, the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced her to 24 years in prison for opposing the compulsory hijab.
Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, headed by Judge Afshari, sentenced Anooshavan Avedian, 60, to 10 years of imprisonment, alongside two others who are members of his house church — Abbas Soori, 45, and Maryam Mohammadi, 46 — both of whom are converts to Christianity, Human Rights Activists News Agency reported.
Article 18, a U.K.-based organization that promotes religious freedom in Iran, reported that Soori and Mohammadi received a range of non-custodial punishments, including a fine of about $2,000 (500 million rials) and a 10-year ban from membership in social and political groups as well as a two-year exile outside Tehran. In addition, they must regularly report to the offices of the Ministry of Intelligence.
The three were convicted on the charge of “organizing and running an Evangelical ‘Zionist’ home church with the intention to act against national security” and “maintaining satellite dish and receivers.”
They were first arrested in August 2020 when about 30 intelligence agents raided a private gathering at Avedian’s home in Narmak are in northeastern Tehran, but their case came to light only recently.
The agents confiscated all the Bibles and communication devices with passwords.
In Tehran’s Evin Prison, the three were subjected to psychological torture during several intense interrogation sessions.
Judge Afshari pronounced Avedian guilty of “establishing and leading an illegal group with the aim of disrupting the security of the country through education and propaganda activities contrary to and disturbing to the holy religion of Islam, through the dissemination of false claims … as well as contact with foreign countries, or organisational guidance from abroad.”
The Christians’ defense was met with “disrespectful remarks toward their character, and insults to their faith,” according to Article 18, which also said that over the past decade, authorities in Iran have closed down nearly all churches that offered services in Persian, the national language, or insisted they teach only in the ethnic minority languages.
The Islamic Republic is ranked as the ninth-worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USA’s World Watch List.
“Converts from Islam to Christianity are most at risk of persecution, especially by the government and to a lesser extent by society and their own families,” it says.
“The government sees the growth of the church in Iran as an attempt by Western countries to undermine Islam and the Islamic regime of Iran. House groups made up of converts from Muslim backgrounds are often raided, and both their leaders and members have been arrested, prosecuted, and given long prison sentences for “crimes against national security.”
The Muslim religion is an antichrist religion and Biblical prophecy reveals the Antichrist (Little Horn) arises out of one of four Muslim nations when the revived Ottoman Empire is broken up (perhaps by the U.N. or Russia) into four nations.
“Then the goat (revived Ottoman Empire) became exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven. Out of one of them came a little horn (Antichrist), which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the glorious land. It grew great, even to the host of heaven. And some of the host and some of the stars it threw down to the ground and trampled on them. It became great, even as great as the Prince of the host” Daniel 8:8-11
Albert Wolters concisely and persuasively demonstrates that God’s plan for righteous humanity to live on and reign over an uncursed earth was not thwarted by Satan or by man’s sin. God never revoked or abandoned His original great commission for us to rule on a perfect earth to His glory. The last chapters of the Bible promise that His original design—as revealed in the first chapters and greatly enhanced and magnified through Christ’s work—will indeed be fulfilled on the New Earth. Having fallen on mankind’s coat-tails, Earth will rise on our coat-tails—resurrected humanity will occupy and rule a resurrected earth. This is the full gospel of the Kingdom, and it is vital to a biblical worldview, which alone explains the Bible’s description of Christians as those who are “looking forward to a new heaven and new earth.”
Al Wolters writes, “[God] hangs on to his fallen original creation and salvages it. He refuses to abandon the work of his hands—in fact, he sacrifices his own Son to save his original project. Humankind, which has botched its original mandate and the whole creation along with it, is given another chance in Christ; we are reinstated as God’s managers on earth. The original good creation is to be restored.”
Moreover, prior to the White Throne judgement and the new heaven and the new earth, the promises God made to Israel that their Messiah will rule and reign from Jerusalem over all the nations will also be fulfilled in Jesus during His Millennial reign after the battle of Armageddon and Satan is bound in the Abyss for 1000 years.
“And He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him so that he might not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be released for a little while.” Revelation 20: 2-3
“They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” Revelation 20:4-5
To my knowledge, Albert Walters does not address Jesus’ Millennial reign prior to the White Throne judgement. Nevertheless, Albert’s other penetrating insights help us to stop redefining the gospel in narrow and shallow, and individualistic terminology and assumptions that discredit the breadth and depth of God’s redemptive plan.
Regardless of theological leanings, anyone reading this book will undoubtedly find it a treasure trove.
A new study from the Cultural Research Centre at Arizona Christian University (ACU), guided by popular pollster George Barna, has found that just 37% of Christian pastors in the United States have a Biblical worldview.” Seriously? Just 37%? It would be bad enough if less than 4 in 10 believers held to a biblical worldview. But less than 4 in 10 pastors? How can this be? In the words of Barna, “This is another strong piece of evidence that the culture is influencing the American church more than Christian churches are influencing the culture.” Or, viewed from another angle, rather than Christian leaders equipping their people to swim against the tide of the culture, they too are being carried by the current of the age. And that, in turn, means that the light is not shining and the salt is not being salty. It is a vicious cycle of moral and spiritual deterioration.
“The survey found that the category with the lowest percentage of pastors holding a Biblical worldview is the one related to beliefs and behaviour about the Bible, truth, and morality.” No surprise here! And what do we make of the finding that just 4% of executive pastors (this is not a typo) hold to a biblical worldview? Just 4%? And how much influence do executive pastors have in the staffing of churches and in many of the practical decisions the church makes?
These statistics should not take Christians by surprise our Bible tells us that in the last days before Jesus returns many false prophets and teachers would arise and lead many astray.
available on Amazon as an ebook and trade paperback edition
“See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ (led by Christ),’ and they will lead many astray.” Matthew 24:4
“And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.”Matthew 24:11
“For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.” Matthew 24:24
“The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5
These Barna statistics reveal the need for God to purify His church, as well these Scripture verses should show any discerning person that God has given us sufficient warning of what is ahead for Christians and unbelievers alike before He returns to put things right. Hopefully, for Christians, it is a wake-up call to start Living Eternal Now – Ready for Jesus Return.
There are purposes for which God created us all. As well, God has given each of us talents and gifts which equip us for specific works or tasks.
We were created for a very specific purpose and these top 7 Bible verses about purpose will show that to be true. Gal. 1;1, Coloss. 1:1, Isaiah 43:7, Prov.16:4, Ephes. 2:11-12, Psalms %7:2, 1 Corinth. 10:31
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10
When we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, our Heavenly Father sends the Holy Spirit to guide us to accomplish those works as long as we obey His commands – “not my will, but yours, be done” Luke 22:42.
To Glorify God
Everything was created for a purpose…including us. The Bible is clear about one of our purposes, and that is that we are to glorify God. For example, if we get into trouble, we are told to:
“call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me”Psalm 50:15.
The psalmist knew that it was:
“Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness.Psalm 115:1.
Answered prayer gives God glory, so the Lord our God is to be praised and we should seek to glorify His name. We certainly have nothing to boast or brag about. The Lord says,
“I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.”Isaiah 42:8
If you look at the creation, you can see for yourself that
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”Psalm 19:1
So rightfully we should say:
“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.”Psalm 8:1
The first purpose for which we were created was to give God glory and make His glory known to others.
To Make Disciples
When Jesus gave the Great Commission, which in essence is an imperative command, He didn’t give them a second option or Plan B. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18b), and since God has given Jesus all authority in heaven and on earth, He is passing this authority on to them, which is why He can say,
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”Matthew 28:19.
That doesn’t mean everyone that they share Christ with will become disciples of Christ. They are only told to go and make disciples, but it is generally understood that God will use them as a means to make disciples (Acts 2:47), and He did. He sent them into different parts of the world to bring the gospel since they had God’s authority, but the Commission is not quite finished yet. Jesus commands them.
“teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”Matthew 28:20
So how does making disciples glorify God? The more there are to worship and praise God in the kingdom, the more glory He will receive. In a prophetic Scripture, the psalmist writes, “All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name” (Psalm 86:9). In the kingdom, “they [will] sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb” (Rev. 15:3a), asking, “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” (Rev. 15:4). That is one of our purposes. It is to bring as many to Christ as the Lord our God will save, knowing that He alone saves (Acts 4:12), but He is still pleased to use us as a means to save some.
Works for His Glory
God has prepared works for us to do after we are saved. The only question is, Will we walk in them? Jesus told His disciples,
“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this, my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”John 15:7-8
Fruit never glorifies us but it always glorifies God, because we can do nothing without Christ (John 15:5). We must remain in Him or abide or dwell in the Vine (Christ) or we will only bear wax fruit, and not genuine fruits of the Spirit, but we will also begin to bear good works as a by-product of our salvation, but even this is from the Spirit of God, therefore, all works we do give God glory. There is no good we can do in our own human strength (Isaiah 64:6).
Pretend actors-for-Jesus can quote Scripture, but their desires haven’t changed. They merely feel good that they now have religion, too. Their faith is not a central transforming reality; it’s an add-on to enhance their lives. They believe in a god made in their own image, not the true God of the Bible. They worship a cosmic genie who meets their needs and gives them what they want. They may call themselves servants of Christ. But in fact, they are masters, calling the shots, claiming what they want to claim and believing what they want to believe, and expecting God to come through for them. And when He doesn’t, they either blame Him for not being good or blame themselves and others for not having enough faith to get their way.
“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 7:21-22
How different from the biblical description of us as slaves of Jesus Christ! Yes, the original word is best-translated slaves, not servants, and describes those who are sold out to His ownership and committed to doing whatever He calls them to do, including dying on His behalf should He so desire.
“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as slaves (servants) of God.” 1 Peter 2:16
We are also called children of the King, and there is a time when we will enjoy all the privileges of royalty. But now is not that time! Presently we experience some royal kingdom privileges, including constant and unhindered access to the One who sits on the throne. We can “come boldly before the throne of grace,” as Hebrews says. God’s Holy Spirit dwells within us. He has promised to provide what we need to serve Him (Matthew 6:25-32). But when it comes to enjoying all the material provisions living in the King’s mansion provides, we are not yet there.
We are still on foreign soil—hostile soil—where people are fighting against God’s kingdom. We are not just tourists or palace-dwellers; we are “strangers and exiles on the earth,” who are “seeking a homeland” (Hebrews 11:13-14), and longing for “a better country, that is, a heavenly one”.
“But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” Hebrews 11:16
God has prepared a heavenly Jerusalem which John saw coming down from heaven onto the new earth which the Saints will inhabit after the White Throne judgement.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” Revelation 21:1-3
What we need in our churches today are fewer actors and more sold-out followers of Jesus—converted people living lives centered on Jesus, the King of kings.
God is raising up leaders that are truly sold out to His purposes of making disciples. Find and connect with these leaders.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20, NIV).
“The Kingdom of God is not going to be advanced by our churches becoming filled with men but by men in our churches becoming filled with God.” —Duncan Campbell
Taken from another great article, Our Mission: Make More Disciples and Fewer Performers JULY 7, 2022 by RANDY ALCORN
Another great article from Jordan Peterson: Doctors & Psychotherapists: Butchers & Liars.
We are sacrificing our children on the altar of a brutal, far-Left ideology. The medical profession is crumbling in response to radical transgender activists says, Jordan Peterson. Gender is now entirely subjectively defined ignoring a person’s biology.
Please pray for the salvation of Jordan Peterson and also his daughter who has committed her life to our Lord. I am sure God has already used her to soften his heart but from some of his comments, he has not repented and surrendered his heart totally to God. Nevertheless, God is using him to speak the truth about the world’s state of depravity.
Jordan is shocked at the speed at which the world is departing from Judeo-Christian values. May he come to realise that what we are seeing unfolding is prophesied in God’s Word as preceding Jesus’ return to put things right.
Late last year pop-star Cardi B. rocked the music world with her ultra-vulgar song “WAP.” For the sake of all that is good and holy, I will not reproduce the song here.
Considering it reached number one on Billboard, we can only assume that the majority of young people have jettisoned all moral restraints, anything goes. There are now millions of people to whom nothing is sacred. Moreover, anything that has been traditionally viewed as heathen, barbaric or malevolent, is now not only open to pursuit and practice but to praise.
Those who have studied with any seriousness the phenomenon Immanuel Kant described as “das radikale Böse” (radical evil), will see in both the song and the meteoric rise of its creator, an embrace of what one philosopher called the theologia diaboli or “theology of the devil” (see F. H. Heinemann, Existentialism and the Modern Predicament, 205-214).
This is an important question as in the Bible, Jesus tells us that God judged the world with a worldwide flood about 4000 years ago now with just eight survivors. Even more important to us living today God tells us that future judgement of the unrepentant is coming when God will pour out His wrath upon the earth.
“You should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this, first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” 2 Peter 3:2-6
Many questions about Noah’s Ark and the Genesis flood are answered in this episode produced by Creation Ministries International. http://www.creation.com.
Mike Signorelli Senior pastor of V1 church in New York City addresses critics who might dismiss the need for Christians to seek deliverance, with some believing Christians are protected from evil and not in need of such spiritual healings.
But Signorelli said it’s important to differentiate between true believers — and those who attend church and haven’t allowed the Gospel to permeate their hearts and minds. (I would estimate as high as 50% of people in denominational churches are not saved. Moreover, the end-times parable of the ten virgins that Jesus told the disciples reveals this truth, all ten virgins were waiting for the bridegroom but only five were saved, Jesus told five of them “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.”)
“Not everybody who claims to be a Christian is a Christian; there are people — and I meet them by the hundreds because I travel all around the world preaching and declaring the Gospel — who have never heard the gospel,” he said. “They’ve received Christianity, but they’ve never received Christ and importantly never received the Holy Spirit.”
Signorelli said it’s possible for these individuals to have confessed but to never have repented and to, in turn, struggle with the demonic realm.
Inside a Deliverance
As for what a deliverance (or exorcism) looks like, the only tangible example most of us have is what can be observed in films and movies.
Signorelli shared what deliverance looks like in his ministry, explaining how he starts by ensuring the Holy Spirit is permeating his life.
“I host the Holy Spirit, not just inside of me, but in the atmospheres of my life,” he said. “I believe that one of the greatest obligations I have, not as a pastor, but as a believer, is to host the Holy Spirit — I want to start with that.”
He said this simply involves leading a Christian life by forgiving others and living out the fruit of the spirit. Signorelli believes his focus on emphasizing Christian virtues in his own life helps fuel his ministry.
“I think one of the reasons why I see as many delivered as I do is not because the emphasis is on the devil but because the emphasis is on hosting the Holy Spirit,” he said. “It’s like when you open up the door to your room, and you have the light on in the hallway … the room is immediately overcome by the light in the hallway, and so … I’m constantly opening up the door to the Holy Spirit.”
It is this presence of the Holy Spirit that Signorelli believes “agitates” evil and brings it out of hiding.
The Problem Signorelli Sees With Some of Today’s Pastors
He believes too many preachers focus on their sermons and not on compellingly living biblical truth.
“So many ministers have gotten so good at preaching sermons, but they’ve spent more time honing the craft of preaching than they have hosting the Holy Spirit,” he said.
Beyond that, Signorelli said repentance is critical, pointing to the Old Testament examples of David and Saul. While both sinned and made errors, only Saul was “vexed by demons.”
“We know that David sinned, and we know that Saul had sinned,” Signorelli said. “David was quick to repent … We have the recorded prayers of David closing those doors. I would argue that Saul was unrepentant. He left that door wide open for long durations of time.”
The pastor said he believes a refusal to close doors to sin in Christians’ lives today can prove similarly problematic and lead to a need for deliverance.
“Maybe you have a repeated sin in your life that becomes the equivalency of leaving that door open, and now you’ve moved out of the David category,” he said.
Signorelli said one might discover he or she is struggling with the “flesh” and needs more discipline rather than deliverance. However, some issues can be demonic strongholds or a mixture of the two.
He said he’s seen his ministry explode recently and shared some of the deliverance stories he has witnessed. In one case, a woman felt hopeless after having ringing in her ear for years.
“After she received deliverance, the ringing completely stopped,” he said. “She was weeping. I have it on video. She was just weeping, couldn’t hardly believe [it].”
Signorelli shared other similar stories as well. Listen to the full episode for more.
Christians know God loves us all and does not want any to perish. The following Scripture, 2 Peter 3:9, is given in relation to the coming “Day of the Lord“. The Day of the Lord is when God pours out His wrath on an unbelieving world just as He did in Noah’s day. Both Isaiah and Joel are given this message for us, so we need to take it to heart.
The Day of the Lord
“For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low… And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day... And the idols shall utterly pass away. And people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of his majesty, when He rises to terrify the earth.” Isaiah 2:12,17-18
“Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, forthe day of the Lord, is coming; it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness!Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations... The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. The Lord utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; he who executes His word is powerful. For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome; who can endure it?Joel 2:1-2,10-11
As mentioned, the following Scripture is given in relation to this coming judgement on “The Day of the Lord”.
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.“2 Peter 3:9
Pro-abortion protestors outside the White House 9th July 2022
However, we are also told that few are prepared to humble themselves and repent of their rebellion against their Creator God. Just look at the faces of these young women. Do you think that they will come to repentance? They have no understanding of God and His Word.
David understood who controlled His life even before his birth.
“For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth.Upon youI have leaned from before my birth; you are He who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you.” Psalms 71:5-6
Jesus told us what the world will be like before His return to put things right and we are seeing the prophesied events playing out in our world NOW.
“And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:12-14
LIVING ETERNAL NOW 