BIBLE PROPHECY IS A POWERFUL WITNESSING TOOL

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Robin Schumacher is an accomplished software executive and Christian apologist who has written many articles, authored and contributed to several Christian books, appeared on nationally syndicated radio programs, and presented at apologetic events. He holds a BS in Business, a Master’s in Christian apologetics, and a Ph.D. in New Testament. His testimony of how God used Bible prophecy to get Him into the kingdom of God confirmed my own belief in its importance in making new disciples of Christ.

Robin Schmacher His latest book  A Confident Faith: Winning people to Christ with the apologetics of the Apostle Paul.

Robin Schmacher’s testimony

God used the teaching of Bible prophecy to bring me to Himself. As an engineering student in college, I was blown away by the statistical impossibilities of the Old Testament predictions of Christ’s first coming happening by chance, with God opening my eyes to the fact that “No prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:21).

My jaw dropped even further when I became educated to the fact that just 20 percent of the Old Testament prophets spoke about His first coming, but 80 percent speak to His second coming. Moreover, there are 1,500 passages in the Old Testament that refer to Christ’s second coming, and one out of every 25 verses in the New Testament refer to Jesus’ return.

The study of Bible prophecy and the second coming became a special area of joy and study for me, and I woke up every day praying, “Maranatha” (1 Cor. 16:22; “O Lord come”). Chances are, as a Christian, you do the same.

Scripture testifies to the fact that, as believers, we should be “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus” (Titus 2:13) and “awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:7).

The Bible tells us we ought to join with John in saying, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20) because “our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20) and “in the future, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8).

The intensity of this desire is made especially strong when we observe the upside-down world in which we now live.

Today our society vilifies law enforcement and celebrates lawbreakers, imprisons the innocent and releases criminals, murders babies in the womb and lets killers go free, feigns respect for women while letting biological males into their bathrooms, disrespects strong work ethics, and coddles the lazy, shirks responsibility and embraces victim mentalities, preaches justice while committing injustice through mob-driven tactics, prioritizes gender-neutral toy aisles over stopping rampant business theft, decries racism with its mouth while promoting it through its actions, steals from others in the name of “equity,” censors truth while promoting lies, and cancels anyone with an opposing view.

Our culture is summed up well by Paul’s simple statement, “whose glory is in their shame” (Phil. 3:19).

Given all this, how could any believer not pray every hour for Christ to come back?

JESUS RETURN TO EARTH

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Expecting Jesus to return should make us watchful, diligent in our faith, and eager to live holy lives. We are not to get caught up in trying to guess the “day and hour” of these events. As Jesus Himself told us,

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.” Mark 13:32-33

Even so, Jesus said that the signs of His return would give us a general idea and should cause us to remain watchful:

“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, know that it is near — at the doors!” Matthew 24:32-33

This is not all that Jesus had to say about the timing of His return. In Luke 21:35, He warned that His return would “come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth”. In Matthew 24:43, Jesus explains that he will come “as a thief in the night”. But note that these are warnings are given to people who have made this world their home and refused a heavenly citizenship. For believers, it’s a different story entirely:

“But you brethren, are not in darkness, so that the Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.” 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6

For the same reason, God promises a special blessing for those who read, hear and keep the words of the book of Revelation. This blessing is not offered for any other book in the Bible:

“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

Joseph Lamb (1925-2013) was a pastor in the Chinese underground church. He faced severe persecution from the communist authorities and spent more than twenty years in prison. But the fruit of his ministry was incredible. Along with the efforts of many like him, there are now some 80 million believers in China. Consider what Lamb said about the second coming of Christ and the impact it has had on the growth of the Chinese church:

A demolished underground church in China

In the West, the church is not talking about Jesus return, it is too concerned with survival and compromise with the world and its values.

In China, the imminent return of Christ is the message the thought-police in China most want to censor. In fact, in many areas the police are registering modems and even fax machines in order to keep the end-times message of Christ’s return from being circulated.

You see, Chinese Christians believe passionately that Christ is coming again, not just someday — but ‘in this generation.’ The dragon knows he must stop this Apostolic message of hope. If somehow he can stop these New Testament-style Bible studies, he knows he will cripple Church growth in China…to the dragon [Satan]. the ‘most dangerous’ message on the Internet is the ‘Second Advent of Christ.’

In America, where pastors have the freedom to preach anything they please, thousands of churches never hear the message of the Second Coming. Not because they are forbidden by government, but because they were tricked by seminary professors into thinking it is ‘confusing’ or ‘not relevant for today’.

Satan uses different tactics in different cultures — anything that will produce silence on the Blessed Hope of Christ’s soon return. Why? Because there is no more spiritually motivating teaching in the entire Bible.

The saints will overcome. Not a word that Jesus spoke will go unfulfilled. God will honour every promise that He made both to Israel (Jeremiah 31:35-37) and to the church (Ephesians 1:22-23). Jesus will return in glory, and He will reign victoriously on the earth. The price that He paid on the cross will be celebrated by all nations, and the redeemed will sit at His feet for eternity. Maranatha!

Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.
~ Luke 21:28

“And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”
~ Mark 13:37

END OF DAYS MESSAGE FROM JONATHAN CAHN

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This is more a podcast than a video but in it Jonathan reveals how the Bible consistently, right from the early books of Moses, outlines the events that will unfold in the last days, the end of days before Jesus returns to rule and reign on this earth during the Millennium.. He then shows us how the godless events, the vulgar culture, the great falling away in the church, but also a great falling away from the natural to the unnatural, that are unfolding in our time are prophesied in God’s Word. Jesus has also revealed to Christians that He will purify His church before He comes again.

“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. 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 24:9-14

FULFILLED PROPHECY IS PROOF THE BIBLE IS INSPIRED BY GOD

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Did you know that a whopping 31% of the Bible is God revealing how events will unfold before they happen? Our Heavenly Father wants His children to know what the future holds! Moreover, surely it is sufficient proof the Bible is the inspired word of God.

God’s prophetic Word has excited me and many other Christ centred ministries to alert the church to the events surrounding Jesus second coming. Lamb & Lion Ministries is one that has been faithful for over 40 years now. And they say, that excitement will never abate in the years ahead, for the Good News and hope-filled message about our Saviour’s return is what energizes their passion for evangelizing.

We want you to be invigorated by that same passion as well! And so, Todd Hampson of the Prophecy Prod podcast, and Lamb and Lion Ministries put a list together to share some of the reasons why we believe Bible prophecy exists. Many more reasons exist so I would appreciate your feedback in Comments,

10 Reasons Bible Prophecy Exists
God provides us with the true history of His world and our role in it from Creation to its prophesied end.
  1. Bible prophecy has been given to us to show that God exists. God is God. He is the Creator! He is Sovereign. He exists outside of time. He knows everything. And so, whatever God says, you can take it as the truth. So the first reason that Bible prophecy has been given to us, is so we can live by that truth.
  2. The second reason why God has given us Bible prophecy is to prove that the Bible is God’s word. The fact is that the Bible is the only book ever written that contains genuine, fulfilled prophecies. These prophecies were fulfilled to… the…”T”! Fulfilled Bible prophecy proves the Bible is truly God’s Word and so we can place our faith and trust in it and its Author.
  3. A third reason is to show us that God is in complete control. He is sovereign. Sovereign means that God is ultimately in control of every single detail. Bible prophecy puts that fact on display like nothing else.
  4. The fourth reason for God giving us Bible prophecy is to demonstrate that God loves us and that He has a plan for our lives. We are not just floating around on a big spinning orb out in outer space with no purpose and no meaning, as Atheists claim. God has crafted a purpose for every person He has ever made because He loves His children. God has also planned a destination for the faithful. He wants us to live with Him in Heaven and on the New Earth forever. And so, He gives us prophecy to show how world history will end with the faithful living forever with our loving Heavenly Father in the Eternal State.
  5. The fifth reason , God provides us with many specific details about His plan for the ages. This plan shows how God is working to bring humanity back into a right relationship with Him so that one day we shall dwell in a blessed time of peace, righteousness, and fellowship with our Creator. Bible prophecy is very specific and very purposeful so we can be confident even through the prophesied times of persecution and tribulation that He is refining His church prior to its rapture and the wrath of God being poured out on an unrepentant world.

In the next post we will add another five reasons and any that I receive in Comments that add to the story.

IS THE STAGE IS BEING SET FOR THE ANTICHRIST?

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Are we headed towards high noon for democracy?

This article by Henry Ergas AO, suggests to me that the stage is being set for the prophesied Satanically empowered leader to emerge on the world stage. Ergas is an economist who spent many years at the OECD in Paris before returning to Australia. He has taught at a number of universities, including Harvard

Image result for picture of Hitler at the height of his power

“In 1923, as the Weimar Republic struggled with chaos, the German polymath Carl Schmitt wrote a short but enormously influential book, The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy.

With the US government plunged into a shutdown that only a presidential declaration of a state of emergency is likely to end, and Britain in a crisis that seems ­irresolvable, Schmitt’s warnings cannot simply be ­dismissed.

The notion of “liberal democracy”, he ­argued, was fundamentally ill-conceived. Liberalism and democracy had certainly been allies in the battle to rein in the power of monarchs. But that accomplished, the tensions between them had burst to the surface and would inevitably worsen as societies ­developed.

Liberal institutions — parliamentarianism, the rule of law, the separation of powers — existed to temper the democratic impulse, channelling it into an “endless conversation” that readily led to dead-ends. However, whenever they gathered explosive force, the pressures of democracy — the brute, often inchoate, expression of the popular will — were not so easily corralled.

As liberalism collided with the popular will, one had to overwhelm the other, hurtling the system towards “the state of exception” — that is, the suspension of business-as-usual. And, as Schmitt put it in another famous work, Political Theology, when the chips are down, “sovereign is he who decides on the exception”.

In other words, the ultimate ruler in any political system is the actor who, once consensus has worn so thin as to make the system unworkable, can impose an outcome by invoking emergency powers.

With the conflict between liberalism and democracy growing ever starker, Schmitt ­argued, we would enter an age of states of emergency, eroding liberalism’s foundations.

As Clinton Rossiter, the foremost American scholar of the emergency powers, concluded many decades ago, emergency powers are “an inevitable and dangerous thing” that have never been invoked to address domestic discord “without permanent alteration in the governmental scheme, always in the direction of an aggrandisement of the power of the state”.

Yet for all those limitations, it is clear that declaring an emergency offers Trump a way out. There is, however, a fundamental ­question as to whether Theresa May has any such options.

Schmitt thought May’s predicament would become increasingly common. And the only outcome that could follow, he ­argued, was for the state of emergency to ­become the norm: one way or the other, the exception had to become the rule, permitting government to continue functioning. With liberal constitutionalism’s twin ancestral homes both in dire straits, Schmitt’s time may finally have arrived.

REMINDER THAT NOAH’S FLOOD WAS A REAL EVENT

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“This is a copy of God’s ship. It only makes sense to take it to God’s land,” said boat builder Johan Huibers.

Dutch Christian businessman who built a life-sized replica of Noah’s Ark has announced he hopes to sail the 95-foot-wide, 410-foot-long, and 75-foot-tall vessel to Israel.

Dutch Noah's Ark

God told us ahead of time that in the “last days” the world would no longer believe He destroyed the world but for the eight people and the animals on board Noah’s ark.

“Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” For this they wilfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgement and perdition of ungodly men.” 2 Peter 3-7

Johan Huiber’s accurate dimension replica of Noah’s Ark is a great witness at this time to the past and future world wide judgements of God. We are without excuse.

MARK OF THE BEAST: MICROCHIP IMPLANTS?

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End-Times Scholar: Microchips Are Scary Next Step to Control Population

A technology growing in popularity allows computer chips to be implanted under the skin. It brings to mind the “mark of the beast” prophesied in Revelation 13:16-17. For the first time in history, technology has made it possible.

Christian activists, including conspiracy theorist Mark Dice, the author of a book titled The Resistance Manifesto, make the link between chipping of humans and the biblical mark of the beast prophesied to be a future requirement for buying and selling.

It will be very attractive to governments in order to control people and their finances. Moreover, they can put a positive spin on its implementation. It has so much potential for good that it is almost inevitable that governments will want to use this,” Rabbi Pinchas Winston, a prolific end-of-days author, said. “They can’t afford prisons and policing anymore for the expanding populations. Rather than put someone in prison, they can make it impossible to exit their home. If they identify a criminal, they can remotely shut down their car, deny them access to money and food. A lot of people will be deterred from non-compliance with the law.

The process is relatively simple. An identifying integrated circuit device or Radio-frequency identification (RFID) transponder encased in silicate glass approximately the size of a grain of rice is implanted under the skin using a device similar to a syringe. Local anaesthetic is used during the procedure. The use of sub-dermal RFIDs for domestic and farm animals is widespread and some countries require them to be implanted This was first done by a physician in 1998 and was approved for use in humans by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2004.

Proponents of this new technology claim a myriad of benefits. Some companies currently recommend implantation for their employees for security purposes. Locks and elevators can be paired with sensors so that only specific people can open a door. Computers can use the sensor to identify users when they log on, allowing them to access files and systems specific to them. Using the chip as “biopayment” in place of a credit card is in the developmental stages and could lead to a cashless society. It is also feasible to create a smart gun that will only allow the owner of a gun to fire it. Theoretically, a GPS-enabled chip could one day make it possible for individuals to be physically located anywhere on the planet. The chip can link to an external database containing vital medical information for emergency use. This would be especially useful in cases of dementia or where the patient is uncooperative. It can also be used by law enforcement agencies to identify subjects and track their movements. Both of these applications raise serious concerns about civil liberties.

Folks we are in the “last days”, are you prepared for the coming tribulation spoken of by Jesus and Daniel.

 

HOLD ON: THERE’S A NEW WORLD COMING

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Great 10 minute message from Anne Lotz from Isaiah 35.

God revealed much to Isaiah of how in the “last days” He will return to save and restore Israel. Moreover, their Messiah (Jesus), a descendant of David, will rule and reign from Jerusalem.

Anne Lotz, as do most other believers, realises that we are in the “last days” and that we need to HOLD ON to God’s promises knowing our redeemer will return exactly as prophesied in the Bible.