Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

May 2007 Issue

A.W. Tozer
May 1st, 2007

Uncategorized

We languish for men who feel themselves expendable in the warfare of the soul, who cannot be frightened by threats of death because they have already died to the allurements of this world… They will make no decisions out of fear, take no course out of a desire to please, accept no service for financial considerations, perform no religious act out of mere custom; nor will they allow themselves to be influenced by the love of publicity or the desire for reputation.

God's Purpose for the Tribulation Period
May 1st, 2007
A Bible Study:
Uncategorized

1. To punish sinners and remove them from the earth. Isa. 13:9-13, Matt 24: 36-39, Gen 6:13.
2. To bring about a world-wide revival. Matt 24:14
   1. A great multitude will be saved and martyred. Rev. 7:9,10,13,14. This is a special group of saints, not of the church and not of Israel (see vs 15).
   2. Another great multitude of gentiles will be saved and survive to go into the millennial kingdom in their natural bodies. Matt. 25:31-34. They also will not be a part of the church or Israel. Rev 21:24-26, Rev 22:2. This group will evidently still exist in eternity future.
3. To redeem Israel. Zech 13:8,9, Zech 12:10. God will bring Israel to the end of themselves and redeem them, the process has begun today.
4. To judge and destroy the harlot church. Throughout the church age there has been apostate Christianity that which claims to represent Christ and yet opposes and attacks the true church. Rev 17:15. A harlot is one who is unfaithful to her husband. A harlot church is one who is unfaithful to Christ.

After the church is raptured, this unregenerate apostate church will rapidly grow to fill the whole earth. The process has even begun today in the name of the Ecumenical movement. Rev 17:16,17. At the mid-tribulation point the harlot church will be destroyed to make way for the worship of anti-Christ and Satan.

Heaven is a Wonderful Place
May 1st, 2007
Art Sadlier
Uncategorized

The disciples looked for heaven, Jesus had told them "I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also." John 14:2,3 As a result of that promise, those first disciples lived and laboured and died in anticipation of going to be with Jesus in Heaven.

What will Heaven be like? 

The truth is we do not fully know what heaven will be like. "… eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him."

First we need to understand that God has deliberately chosen not to give man a full description of Heaven. You can’t expect a child to eat their meat and potatoes if you also put a piece of chocolate in front of them. If we had a full vision of Heaven, we would be too dissatisfied with this earthly home to live here.

Second it is implied that finite beings could never grasp the glory and beauty of heaven and all its wonders. Heaven is so marvelous, so wonderful, that we do not have the capacity to even imagine what it is really like.

And yet, although the Lord has not given us a full description of Heaven, a full view, He has pulled back the curtain just a little to allow us to peak into Heaven. He gives us a few phrases, just a few words to whet our appetite about the wonders of Heaven. The word Heaven is recorded 550 times in Scripture. Let’s take a peak into Heaven.

The Foundations of the walls are made of precious gems; the Walls are made of pure jasper (diamonds). The Gates of the city are each composed of a single large pearl. The Buildings and Streets are made of pure gold, like glass. Heaven is a beautiful place!

There is no need of the sun or moon, the Lord Himself lights the city with His glory and that glory radiates through the clear gold of the buildings and streets.

In Heaven there are no dirty streets, no litter, no bad odours and no pollution. There is nothing which is not pleasing to the senses. Heaven is a pleasing place!

More wonderful than all of its physical beauty, God the Father will be there.

We will be with Him "…behold the tabernacle (dwelling place) of God is with men, and He shall dwell with them and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God." Rev. 21:3

We will see Him Exodus 33:20 says "… thou canst not see My face; for there shall no man see Me and live."1 John 4:12 says "No man hath seen God at any time …" However, when we are glorified and our sin nature is removed and we become absolutely Holy, that will change our situation. Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God." Matt 5:8 Someday in Heaven, wonder of wonders, we will stand before God and see Him. In Rev. 6:6 we see a great multitude of saints before the throne of God, worshipping and saying, "Hallelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth."

Jesus will be there. We cannot imagine the thrill of standing in His presence, the thrill of looking on His glorified face, the thrill of being with the One who died for us.

What an indescribable joy to be with our Saviour and Lord, to gather around His throne and sing His praises with all the saints of the ages.

As we come to Revelation 12:12, we read, "Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them". We can hardly imagine the joy of the inhabitants of heaven when Satan is cast out of heaven. We can almost hear the praises and hallelujahs as the courts of heaven ring. Not only is Satan cast out of their presence forever but the signal is given that the final overthrow of Satan is now underway. I suspect those who are in heaven have a clearer perspective of the awfullness of sin and Satan. The blackness of Satan is contrasted by the holiness of God which they can behold as we cannot. The hundreds of millions of men and women deceived and cast into hell by the deceptions of Satan and the affront he pours out upon a Holy God. The pain and anguish and sufferings upon the people of God, all purposed and brought about by this evil dragon. What joy fills all of heaven as he is reckoned with.

The Lord Jesus Christ now reigns supreme in all three heavens, again cause for more rejoicing!

The trumpet could sound at any moment and that unbelievable thrill will be our instant experience!

"And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And  And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.  And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever" (Revelation 22:1-5).

However Jesus said that not everyone is going to heaven. John 3:3 "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Verse 16 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Then in verse 36 we read, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

Heaven is only for those that have repented of their sins and have received Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

Both Faith and repentance are heart attitudes toward God which result in actions. Faith responds in obedience toward to God. Repentance responds by recognizing your sin and turning away from disobedience.

Revelation 3:20 tells how to receive Christ as your Saviour. "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Will you recognize your sin and sinfulness and right now in repentance and faith receive Christ as your Saviour and Lord?

Preterism Claims That
May 1st, 2007
Art Sadlier
Uncategorized

Preterism claims that nothing remains on the prophetic calendar to be fulfilled, events such as the rise of the Antichrist, the tribulation, the rapture and the Day of the Lord all took place around 70 AD, the year Rome invaded Jerusalem and destroyed the second temple.

I cannot understand why anyone would follow the preterist line of thinking in light of current world events.

Basically this error rests upon Jesus’ statement that, “This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.” (Matthew 24: 34)

It is easy enough to claim Jesus was speaking about a first century generation; however, this is not logical when contemplating the fulfillment of all Bible prophecy.

If we make 70 AD the magic year, we would have to delete dozens of prophecies that were never fulfilled at that time. When was the gospel preached to all nations? When was the mark of the beast implemented? What about China’s 200 million man army? When did 100 lb hailstones fall from the sky? And when was the Euphrates River dried up? Why do we have the rebirth of Israel? If Jerusalem was removed from being a burdensome stone, why is it after 2,000 years a burdensome stone today? When did Jews shout, “Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord,” As Jesus said they would?

After being so adamant about Matthew 24:34, preterists violate many clear statements of Scripture. They say that although the resurrection of the saints happened in 70AD, the bodies of Christians were left in the grave.

Preterists take the dangerous step of spiritualizing all passages of scripture that relate to the nation of Israel, and maintain that these refer to the Church, claiming the Church is the new Israel. They teach that the “old earth” which the Scriptures say will pass away, is the Old Covenant. The “new heaven” and the “new earth”, they claim, is the New Covenant, and the “elements” which Scripture states will burn up with fervent heat are the ‘elements of the law”.

Preterism says we are now living in the kingdom age, and they produce some bizarre explanations for the calamities and sufferings from which the world still suffers.

The Beginning Signs
May 1st, 2007

Uncategorized

In Matthew 24: 4-8 Jesus gave us the beginning signs which would appear prior to the rapture. (See also Luke 21:28).

Spiritual Deception vs 4,5 Today we are seeing spiritual deception sweeping over the evangelical church as never before, with Purpose Driven, Seeker Sensitive apostasy.

Wars vs 6 Never before in all of history has there been a potential to destroy all flesh from off the earth. We have 10 or more nations with nuclear arsenals, some with chemical and biological arsenals.

Nation Against Nation vs 7 the whole world is awash with unrest today.

Famines vs 7 Loss of bee colonies that will limit crosspollination, a new variety of wheat rust which threatens the world’s crops, global warming and the threat of nuclear war all present scenarios for incredible famines.

Pestilence vs 7 Scientists have discovered 3,000 new viruses, 96% of them about which they know little or nothing, each one having the capacity to mutate and start a pandemic.

Earthquakes vs 7 each year 500,000 earthquakes shake our world. The number of major earthquakes is on the rise.

Dr. Bill McGuire who has a PhD in Volconology and is a Professor of Geohazards at University College, London, England, makes the following statement:

“The greatest fear of Hazard Scientists and Disaster Managers is that we will shortly be faced with Global Natural Catastrophe of unprecedented size! The threat of an Asteroid or Comet impact is now understood, but few appreciate that we are overdue for a Volcanic Super-Eruption big enough to freeze the plant. Other tectonic threats include earthquake “storms” powerful enough to devastate a Continent, and giant Tsunami (huge sea waves, normally generated by earthquakes) - capable of obliterating entire cities around the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.”

It is amazing that governments, scientists, doctors, politicians and the media are sounding alarms about the beginning signs Jesus gave concerning His return to the earth.

The Emerging New World Order
May 1st, 2007
Quotations
Uncategorized

“We are on the verge of a global transformation. All we need is the right major crisis…” David Rockefeller

“I see a world of open borders, open trade and, most importantly, open minds; a world that celebrates the common heritage that belongs to all the world’s people … I see a world building on the emerging new model of European unity … The United Nations is the place to build international support and consensus for meeting the other challenges we face, the threats to the environment, terrorism, drug trafficking, refugees We must join together in a new compact - all of us - to bring the United Nations into the 21st century.” Former President George H. W. Bush

“It’s all about the global glory of God! We intend to leverage the attention that the Purpose Driven Life has garnered to bring about a whole new way of thinking and acting in the church about our responsibility in the world.” Rick Warren

The Tribulation Period
May 1st, 2007

Uncategorized

God’s Word tells us of a coming time of awful judgment for this world.

• Jesus spoke of it, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” Matt. 24:21.
• Jeremiah spoke of it, “Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it.” Jer. 30:7.
• Zephaniah foretold it, “that day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of waste, and desolation.” Zeph. 1:15.
• Isaiah prophesied about it, “and they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake terribly the earth.”
• The book of Revelation tells us much about this terrible time. In Rev. 6:8 we are told the ¼ of the earth’s population will be killed. By Rev. 9:15 another 1/3 will die, now equaling ½ of the population. After the vial judgments probably 2/3 of the earth’s population are dead. Jesus said “Except those days should be shortened, (limited to 7 years), no flesh should be saved.” Matt. 24:22.

One second after the trumpet sounds there will not be a believer on the earth, 7 years later there will not be an unbeliever alive on the earth (Matt. 25:41). There will be a multitude of believers to go into the millennial kingdom in their natural bodies to repopulate the earth.