The End of Days, or Return to Babel

 "Behold, I am coming soon." Revelation 22:7

These words were copied down by the apostle John nearly Two thousand years ago. Every generation that has lived since the time of Christ has believed that their generation would be the last. Yet time has marched on now for nearly two millenia. 

Even though for each of us individually, the return of Christ happens when we close our eyes on this side of eternity, we don't know when the actual 'end of days' will occur. But I would like to point out some things that I don't believe I have ever heard anyone else speak about that I feel may be significant.

Some historical background:

The tenth chapter of Genesis gives the table of nations and explains where the various tribes that descended from Noah and his sons settled after the flood. The chapter ends leaving a huge question that must be answered in chapter eleven. First let's look at these verses in Genesis 10.

Verse 5:

"From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with it's own language."

Verse 20:

"These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations."

Verse 31: 

"These are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages, in their territories and nations."

The big question is, "why are these people speaking different languages?" Surely Noah and his family all spoke the same language. But within a few generations we see different clans spreading out speaking their own language. The explanation is given in chapter eleven but first we need to look at a verse in chapter 9:

Verse 1:

"Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.' "

This is the same command that God gave Adam and Eve in Genesis 1: 28. But at the beginning of chapter eleven of Genesis we see that the people in this new post flood world weren't doing that:”

"Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.  They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.' ”

Genesis 11:1‭-‬4 

This building a tower and city was in direct violation of the charge God had given to Noah and his sons. God wanted them to spread out over the earth but they chose to congregate together in one place. Notice the last part of the verse, "Otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth", exactly what God intended. In verse six God makes a chilling statement about the implications of allowing them to remain in Shinar and build this city.

"The Lord said, 'If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.' "

Some argue that the unity of all peoples might result in a lot of good being accomplished. But In Genesis 8:21 God says something about human nature that tells us that unifying people will actually result in horrendous evil.

The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, EVEN THOUGH EVERY INCLINATION OF HIS HEART IS EVIL FROM CHILDHOOD. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done. (Caps mine)

Left to himself, man will only accomplish evil.

I don't remember who said it but there is a statement about history that goes something like this; "History is marked by the beginning of one war to the end of that war, to the beginning of the next war." It is true that when you study world history that seems to be the case. 

So God's solution to the problem is to confuse the languages making it impossible for the people to live and work together. Chapter 10 explained that the people then did what God intended and began to spreadout over the earth. But it was after God had separated them by the introduction of new and different languages.

Notice also the place was called Babel which is Babylon (v. 9)

Fast forward four thousand years

We live in the information age where the amount of knowledge is increasing at a staggering rate. In this age of information and technology something has happened that has not happened in 4,000 years. Just by way of example; I have an app on my phone that can translate anything into 108 languages. I can literally translate this blog post into any of those 108 languages with one click... and that's just with my phone.

We are back to one language.

Along with this there is a concerted move towards globalism and the 'New World Order.' The main object that stands in the way of the New World Order is the sovereignty of nations. We are seeing a steadily increased move to eliminate or soften borders, particularly in the United States of America. There is no rational reason to oppose having secure borders unless the goal is to eliminate the borders.

But some may ask, 'Why the United States?' At this point in history we are the lone superpower in the world. As such, we are the biggest obstacle standing in the way of the full implimentation of the New World Order. Once the United States is gone there is nothing to stop it.

Both the New World Order and the fact that, in practicality, we are now one language means that we are quickly returning to Babel which is Babylon.

It cannot be overlooked that Revelation 17 describes this One World Order as 'Babylon the Great'...BABEL.

The ramifications of this return to Babel are just as chilling now as they were in the days before the patriarchs. Jesus said of those days in Matthew 24:21-22:

"For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened."

Just as God intervened at Babel the first time, He promises that he will intervene and put a stop to it when we return to Babel.

So is this the end?

The simple answer is I don't know. Jesus said no man knows the hour that He will return. This could be the beginning of the end or time could continue to march along for many years yet. Also what needs to be considered is that Jesus may return for any one of us individually at any time.

My purpose in writing this is not to attempt to predict the end times. It is simply to point out the conditions that now exist and show that we are quickly returning to the same point for the first time in history where we are a global community with one language. It would have been a disaster in the time of Babel and it will usher in a time of disaster if it is ever fully implimented again. 

Thankfully we know how history ends and that God's purposes will never fail. 

We just don't know exactly when history will end.

May God richly bless you all.

Beware of False Prophets

"The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The prophecies they gave you were false and misleading."

Lamentations 2:14 NIV

I can already anticipate some of the criticism I am going to get from posting this blog.

Q: Matthew 7:1 says we are commanded not to judge.

A: I believe that verse has been memorized by more people who are not followers of Jesus Christ than those that actually do follow Christ. This verse has been used to attempt to silence Christians and keep them from speaking out.

This verse does not tell people not to judge. It tells us not to use our personal views and opinions as the standard by which we judge. When we judge sin and immorality we are simply affirming what God has already judged.

Q: I am using a page that is dedicated to the advancement of the Gospel in order to push a political agenda.

A: The Gospel must impact every aspect of the believer's life, which includes politics. We are told by Jesus to 'render unto Ceasar that which is Ceasar's and to God what is God's' (Matthew 22:21). Even though we are citizens of the heavenly country, we are placed here on earth as stewards. As such we have civic duties which go beyond simply paying our taxes. We are called salt and light. Salt has an impact on how food tastes; we are to have an impact on our world.

Around the beginning of October there was an article published in The Christian Post entitled, "We Are Pro-life Evangelicals For Biden." Among those who signed this are John Huffman, Richard Foster, Jerushah Duford, Brenda Salter McNeil and John Perkins. The article urges evangelicals to support the Biden/Harris ticket and even provides a website where people can sign on their support. 

Their position is that while disagreeing on the Biden/Harris position on abortion they claim that other issues such as health care, climate change, poverty and racism are actually the more 'pro-life' issues that we Christians should be concerned about. The fact is, none of those issues really have anything to do with being pro-life and an honest look at those issues will demostrate that they have nothing to do with solving the actual issues but rather have been used as an excuse to advocate for more government control. 

What is particularly disturbing is the article goes beyond simply stating their position. They are actively urging other Christians to take their position and even SIGN the document.

Talk about a deal with the devil! They would do well to take to heart what Jesus said in Matthew 18:6:

“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."

Jesus said it, not me.

I find it interesting that so many people take issue with President Trump's arrogance and recklessness yet cannot see the arrogance and recklessness of these 'leaders.'

Then we have John Piper weighing in with his opinion. He somehow equates President Trump's 'charactor flaws' with the policies of death and immorality of the left. I would like to ask Mr. Piper a few questions:

How do you feel about God calling King David a man after God's own heart? He had the same charactor flaws that Mr. Trump has, (or had) and beyond. What about when God commanded Elijah to anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi to be the next King. He was anything but a godly man. Talk about arrogant and reckless. The people knew it was him from a distance because of the way he drove his chariot. Yet God chose him to completely destroy the house of King Ahab. 

Can anyone say, "Drain the swamp?"

Here are some personal observations about President Trump. I lived in Palm Beach County, Florida for nearly 3 decades. Donald Trump was a household name. I had some friends who worked for Mr. Trump and I even did a small job in Maralago myself. To those who think he is arrogant, bombastic, and crass; he is NOTHING like he was before. I did not vote for him in 2016 because of what I knew about him. But I see someone who is remarkably different than he was before.

Maybe he has changed.

The United States of America is at a crossroads. We are in perhaps the most important election of our lifetime, maybe in our history. We have the choice in preserving our freedoms and our morals, or we can go down the road towards tyrranical socialism. To those who have been lifetime democrats, you need to understand. The democrat party is not the party of JFK. That party loved our country and what it stood for. The modern democrat party has been highjacked by the radical left who want to impose socialist totalitarianism on us. There are many fine people who still vote democrat who don't seem to realize that. As I write this I am in Williamsburg, Virginia. We visited the old Jamestown settlement and battlefield at Yorktown where this new nation won their independance. I was sobered by the fact that so much blood was shed in order to gain our freedom. I also think about the blood that has been shed since that battle at Yorktown in order to preserve our freedom. 

Are we so willing to give it up? Are Christian leaders willing to sell their souls to convince us to give them up?

Jesus warned us about false prophets in Matthew chapters 7 and 24. He didn't say there would be a handful of false prophets sprinkled in the multidude of true prophets. He said there would be MANY false prophets. Maybe there would be more false ones than true ones.

So how do we keep from being deceived?

Acts 17:11 gives us a fine example from the Bereans:

"Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

If we are not searching the scriptures daily it is not a question of will we be deceived. It is a question of when and to what extent. 

Let us be people who search the scriptures diligently.

May God richly bless you all.

Why We Struggle With Strongholds

"But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."

James 1:14‭-‬15 NIV

"The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings."

Joshua 7:10‭-‬11 ESV

Imagine a general leading his troops to battle in a war. He makes his battle plans with his leading officers and then, to the general's dismay, they are defeated. This happens time and time again. 

One night he can't sleep and he leaves his tent to take a walk in the dim moonlight. As he is returning he notices a light on in the tent of one of his captains and sees the shape of a man crossing the clearing and entering the captain's tent. Out of curiosity he goes to the tent to see what is happening and to his shocked horror sees the captain, plans spread out, showing them to a man in a uniform of the enemy. 

His captain is a traitor. Now the general knows why they've been losing the war.

This is what a stronghold looks like. It is a traitor within us that causes us to keep losing the battles and unless we deal with it we will never have victory over whatever it is.

The traitor is our flesh. Our flesh desires to sin and will try to undermine us in our efforts to overcome sinful habits. Often our battle with sin looks like the general futily fighting the opposing enemy, while his traitorous captain is fighting for the enemy.

When we were saved we were given a new heart, (Ezekiel 36:26) and our minds are being renewed. (Ephesians 4:23: Romans 12:2) But our flesh is still the same flesh with all its sinful desires. Paul described it as a 'body of death' (Romans 7:24) 

Often we are fighting sin issues and strongholds just like a general going out to battle with a traitorous captain within our ranks. Until that general deals with this captain he is going to continue to suffer defeat. In the same way, if we don't deal with our sinful flesh we will continue to suffer defeat as well.

Where We Go Wrong

In Matthew 5 Jesus described the problem in the examples he gave about murder and adultery. Even if one can keep themselves from committing the actual acts themselves, the sin nature hasn't been cured. James explains it well in the above cited passage:

"But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death."

James 1:14‭-‬15 ESV

The real problem is our sinful flesh. But all too often we fight sin on the external levels -- 'If we can simply eliminate the thing that tempts us we would be fine.' But as James said, it's not the 'thing' that is the real issue. It is our sinful desires WITHIN US. And until we deal with that we will continue to be defeated.

Our flesh doesn't want us to have victory over sin.

Here's an illustration from a conversation I had over coffee years ago.

The gentleman told me about the struggle he had trying to quit smoking. He said he tried everything; the patch. nicorette gum, even hypnosis -- nothing worked. Then one day he went outside for a cigarette break, he put a cigarette in his mouth and was about to light it, but instead he tossed the cigarette, his lighter, and the rest of the pack into a nearby trash can and never smoked again. He then asked me if I knew what the difference was. I had no idea but he had my attention.

He continued, "Before that, I hated the effects of smoking. I hated the fact my breath and clothes stank. I hated the fact it was ruining my health. I hated the fact I couldn't break the habit. BUT I DIDN'T HATE SMOKING. But on that day, the idea that I was going to light that cancer stick and suck the smoke into my lungs absolutely repulsed me -- I NOW HATED SMOKING!"

He went on; "That's the reason we have such a hard time in our struggle with sin. We hate the effects of sin but we don't actually, truly hate the sin. We hate feeling guilty. We hate the fact we failed. We hate the fact we hurt our loved ones. We hate the fact we disappointed God (grieved the Holy Spirit). And we hate the fact that we don't have victory over the sin issues. BUT WE DON'T HATE THE SIN!"

The fact is, in our humaness, we won't do what we hate unless we are forced to.

Let's take the issue of pornography, something many men struggle with. Would men look at pornography if they hated it? No, of course not. Our flesh is drawn towarrd it. We hate the guilt we feel when we look at it. We hate what we are doing to our loved ones and the fact that we grieve the Holy Spirit when we parteke. But if we truly hated pornography we would not look at it unless we were forced to.

So what is the solution?

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

1 John 1:9 ESV

All too often, in our confession, we confess that we have sinned. But we don't confess our inherent sinfulness. The truth is we don't, in our humanity, truly 'have the mind of Christ.' 

Psalm 51 is the confession David wrote when he was confronted with the sin of his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah to cover it up. 

"Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me."

Psalm 51:5 ESV

David did not merely confess that he had sinned when he committed adultery and murder. He confessed that he was inherently, completely sinful. That is the true confession, and that is what we must do. We must confess that we are completely sinful and that our human nature loves sin. Then we must claim the promise in 1 John that God says he will forgive us AND CLEANSE US FROM ALL SIN.

Back to Psalm 51:

"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy  blot out my transgressions.   Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!"

Psalm 51:1‭-‬2 ESV

David did just that. In verse 1 he asked for forgiveness and in verse 2 he asked God to remove the sinful desire.

David was a mess. He was a polygamist and an adulterer before this. We have no record that David ever did anything like this again. It is significant that 1 Kings 1:4 mentions that when they brought the young virgin, Abishag, to minister to David that it says he had no intimate relations with her.

David was a different man. His repentance was complete.

Final thoughts

A major problem with the modern church is we have embraced a lot of worldly psychology and thereby polluted the gospel. We do not want to admit that we are inherently sinful and evil. Often we focus on external stimuli to explain why we do bad things. That is pandering to our human nature and shirking responsibility. I can only imagine the way modern psychology would have explained David's sin; Perhaps blame the rejection David experienced demonstrated when Jesse didn't even think it was important to have him come when Samuel visited. Then they would have made it Bathsheba's fault because she was bathing in plain sight of the palace.

David accepts full responsibilty for his sin and his sinfulness. And because of his complete confession God completely forgives and cleanes him:

"David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord .” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.' "

2 Samuel 12:13 ESV

God called David a man after his own heart. He calls us to be men and women after His own heart.

We are not meant to walk in defeat. We are meant to walk in victory. But we can only walk in victory if we are truly submitted to God and His way.

God bless you all.

Doctrine Is Crucial

"You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine." Titus 2:1

"They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Acts 2:42

I remember hearing the late Ravi Zacharias saying a few years ago that one of the crucial things missing in Christianity today is expository teaching from the puplit. It seems that we've adopted a pragmatic approach that says if you teach doctrine you won't win people for Christ. You may have heard the Expression, "Doctrine divides, but Christ unifies."

Many have lamented that the modern church lacks the powerful working of the Holy Spirit that was present in the early church. Perhaps before we mourn too much we should take a look at what the early church was like and what the apostles really taught the early church.

A Quick Primer on the New Testament

I remember years ago my pastor was teaching on the sufficiency of scripture. He referenced 2 Timothy 3:16:

"All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."

He pointed out that at the time Paul wrote this to Timothy there was no New Testament. There was more to the canon than existed at the time. Then he made the following statement:

"The Bible is completely consistent throughout. The reality is everything is in the first 5 books. It is all there! The rest of the Old Testament, in many ways, is really a commentary on the first 5 books. And in many ways the New Testament is a commentary on the Old Testament."

Now this does not mean that we look to the Old Testament as the foundation of our doctrine. The Old Testament was looking forward to the New Testament and the New Covenant. To properly understand the thread of the Bible you must study the Old Testament from the perspective of the New. Many in the Hebrew Roots movement get that backwards. Paul had to spend a lot of time dealing with that in the early church. But more on that later.

The new Testament begins with the 4 gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the 'synoptic gospels' because they basically cover the same information but they fill in details the others leave out. Their purpose is to give you the general history of Jesus Christ on earth and a brief overview of the gospel message. John has a different focus. While he also writes about Jesus's time on earth, he focuses more on his deity and his purpose in coming to save his people. John spends 5 chapters just on the night before Jesus was crucified. (Chs 13-17) 

Acts is the history of the early church and introduces us to the apostle Paul who would write 13 books of the New Testament.

Then comes the 13 epistles of Paul, the 'mysterious' epistle to the Hebrews, and then the general epistles. These are where the doctrines of the New Covenant are expounded on. In the gospels we get an introduction into the doctrines of the New Covenant from Jesus's own lips. The exposition and explanations are left up to the writers of the epistles.

Much of the Epistles Are Correcting Bad Doctrine

Of the epistles, 2 of them are primarily on the doctrines of the New Covenant. Romans deals with the theme of justification by grace through faith (Ephesians does too) . Hebrews deals with the priesthood of Jesus Christ; Different and far superior than the Levitical priesthood. (Ps 110:4 ...After the order of Melchizidek). Much of what we find in the rest of Paul's epistles and the general epistles is correcting bad doctrine. 1 Corinthians deals with blatant immorality. Galations deals with legalistic lawkeeping. Without going on too much more on specifics. Here is the point.

If there was so much doctrinal error back when there were still eye-witnesses to the man, Jesus Christ still living, how far have we fallen today? Especially when doctrine has become almost heresy? Jude says it very well in verses 3 & 4:

"Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord."

It seems today that the focus is on all being in unity. That is a noble goal. Jesus intended for his bride to be unified. 

BUT HE NEVER INTENDED TO UNIFY BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS. (Sheep and goats)

2 Timothy 4:3-4:

"For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."

As Charles H. Spurgeon said:

"The time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the church will have clowns entertaining the goats."

There was never a time in church history when Spurgeon's sentiments were more true than they are today. Much of what passes off as Christianity is simply pandering to those who are not true followers of Christ.

Separation of Sheep and Goats

One of the motives for avoiding the deep doctrines of the gospel and preaching a shallow message is to cast as big a net as possible in order to get as many people 'saved' as possible. But did Jesus or the apostles ever taylor the message of the gospel in order to attract more converts? NO!! Instead they confronted false teaching AND false teachers. They called them out by name. John called out Diotrephes in 2 John 9. Paul called out Alexander and warned people about him in 2 Timothy 4:14. We need to call out the false teachers of our time as well in order to protect the flock.

We also need to understand that often sheep and goats all appear to be sheep until times of testing come upon us. We have been dealing with a 'pandemic' in our country since early this spring. Many have lamented the division it has caused even in the church. Yes it is lamentable..., but maybe the division is necessary. Times of crisis are often revealing. It is easy to appear as a sheep when things are going along smoothly. When crisis hits, the true colors come out and we see what we are made of. 

Another thing people lament is the division politics has caused even in the church.

There was a time when political divisions revolved around general philosophies on the role of government and how our country should be run. Today the divisions are on deep moral issues. 

THERE MUST BE DIVISIONS ALONG POLITICAL LINES TODAY!!!

I don't believe that any political party is going to save America or "Reclaim America for Christ." But if God's people cannot see that the democrat party has embraced all manner of what God's word calls evil, then the church is no different than the rest of the world and we have become completely irrelevant. "The salt has lost its flavor."

I realize that often going to the polls feels like having to choose the lesser of two evils. I've often said you have to 'hold your nose at the polls.' If the choice is the lesser of two evils then we choose the lesser of the two evils. Remember we will be called into account for what we did during our time here on earth.

Search the Scriptures

Acts 17:11:

"Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."

If you are not searching the scriptures regularly on your own, it is not a question of, 'will you be deceived', but when and to what extent. Jesus warned that there would be MANY false teachers, not few. So it is imperative that we who are followers of Christ need to be in the word ourselves and make sure that what we are being taught is in line with what Jesus and the apostles taught.

Now you may be saying, "But I'm not a Bible scholar." You don't have to be. You can take notes during the sermon and look up the scriptures later and see if what was preached is really what the Word teaches. A pastor worthy of his calling will encourage you to do that.

Conclusion

We are entering difficult days on our country. it is going to be ever more crucial that we be strong in our faith. It is also going to be crucial that we unsterstand what the gospel does teach and what it doesn't teach. The false teachers will very likely become more prominent and prevelant. We need to be like the Bereans and constantly be in the word...not just so we can feel good, but so we can truly grow into the followers of Christ that He desires.

May God bless you richly.

The Patriotic Duty of Christians

"Give to Ceasar what is Ceasar's and to God what is God's" Matthew 22:21

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and be trampled by men." Matthew 5:13

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldy wealth, who will trust you with true riches?" 

Luke 16:10-11 

The Stewardship of Citizenship 

I found this definition of biblical stewardship on the internet:

"Utilizing and managing all resources God provides for the Glory of God and the betterment of His creation." 

In Genesis 2:15 it says that God took the man and put him in the garden to work it and take care of it. The first purpose of man was to be a steward over what belonged to God.

We are stewards! Everything we have been given is something we have been charged with taking care of. It doesn't belong to us. It belongs to God. It is our responsibility to take care of it.

The context of the aforementioned verse in Matthew 22, Jesus had been asked if it was lawful to pay taxes. I find it interesting that Jesus didn't simply answer the question with a simple yes or no. He actually gave an answer that went far beyond simply paying your taxes. We are temporary citizens of a country and as such we have civic duties that we must exercise. While our ultimate citizenship is in the heavenly country we have a temporoary citizenship here as well. Verse 12 of Luke 16 says the following:

"And if you haven't been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?"

We are going to have to give an account one day for how we exercised our civic duties in the country in which we were citizens. So it is crucial that we exercise our civic duties responsibly.

Our civic duties is what is 'Ceasar's', and yes, it includes paying taxes.

The Roman Empire of The Apostles Day vs. The Unitied States of America

Some have made the claim that because Jesus and the apostles weren't involved politically, modern Christians shouldn't be either. Those who claim that fail to contrast the vast difference between the Roman Empire, where Ceasar reigned supreme, and our modern representative republic. Simply stated, the option of political involvement didn't exist in ancient Rome the way it does here. In Matthew 5:13-14 Jesus said we are both salt and light. We are supposed to impact the culture. We have very little impact when we aren't involved. We become the light that remains hidden under the bushel. It has no impact. But even in Rome, a citizen had certain rights and the apostle Paul DID exercise his rights as a Roman citizen. (Acts 16:37-38; Acts 22:25-28) Here in the United States we have a constitution that contains the Bill of Rights. We have the right to free speech, to bear arms, freedom of religion. Those rights didn't exist in the world of the apostles.

These rights should be looked upon as things that God has given us to be stewards over.

With these rights and freedoms comes great responsibility. 

And just like the master in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) God is going to demand an account of what we did with the freedoms and rights we have been given.

The apostle Paul used his rights as a Roman citizen and we should use our rights as American citizens. We have been given these rights by our creator and we have a responsibility to use them for His glory and the advancement of His kingdom. The opportunities and freedoms we have provide a great opportunity to preach the gospel and we should do what we can to preserve and keep those freedoms.

How to Vote

I remember many years ago hearing Joyce Meyer comment that if everyone who calls themselves a follower of Jesus Christ would vote according to principles outlined in his word, it would only take a few election cycles and abortion would be a thing of the past. And if Christians would stop going to see movies that are dishonoring to Godly principles, Hollywood would either go out of business or they would have to completely change. I mention Hollywood because all too often Hollywood celebrities are revered as the experts and they are the ones influencing the culture and politics. 

You have heard the old adage, "All it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing." 

So does the Bible give any guidelines on how we should vote?

I'd like to share this passage from Dueteronomy 17:14-20:

"When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” be sure to appoint over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite. The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.  When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel."

I don't think this needs much commentary. There are a lot of principles to be gleaned. One thing I would point out is that the king was not above the law. In Israel, the king was to write a copy of the law and read it all his life. What if we required all of our national elected leaders to write out for themselves a copy of the constitution and read it every day while in office? The important point is we should be electing leaders who understand the law of the land and seek to uphold and preserve it. As a matter of history, the nation of Israel never obeyed this command and it eventually led to the divided kingdom and the captivity of both.

"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

Now some have gone into the other ditch and made our entire mission about "Reclaiming America For Christ." Both extremes are wrong. Our citizenship is in another country. And we must always see everything from that perspective. This country is not our home, but we are stewards of what we have been given.

Be Informed

I remember a talk show host on a Christian radio station interviewing someone and the subject turned to politics. The guest admitted that she really didn't understand the issues. The host told her in a very kind way, "If you don't understand the issues then please, DON'T VOTE!" As I said earlier; With our freedoms and rights comes great responsibility." It is crucial that we be informed on who we are voting for and what we are voting for. 

Don't listen to the news.

Don't listen to the campaign adds.

Do the research.

If you hear a claim in an add, look up the information and see if it can be verified. 

Look up voting records. See how these people have voted in the past. Then as a Christian, look at the principles that guide our worldview and vote for the candidate that most closely lines up with it.

Some have lamented that sometimes it seems like you are voting for the lesser of two evils. I totally get that. But that's OK. If there are only two candidates to choose from and those are the only choices, then vote for the lesser of the two evils. If enough Christians did that, over time we might start to slowly turn the tide and eventually have some really good candidates to choose from.

The Church's Role

I remember hearing Cal Thomas talk about how the church was duped by the tax exempt/non-profit status because it was very effective in silencing the church in matters of politics. While the rules only prohibit churches from actually endorcing candidates but not speaking out on policy and moral issues, many of our church leaders have chosen to remain silent and simply not ruffle feathers. That is why we have lost our saltiness. Our light is under a bushel so we aren't seen by the culture and we have allowed ourselves to be polluted by the culture to the point that we are no different than the rest of the world -- The salt has lost its saltiness. Salt is an element. It can't actually morph into something else. The way salt loses its flavor is it becomes contaminated by something else. That is what happens to the church. We become polluted with the world. And we've done that to the point that we don't look any different than the rest of the world. 

The church needs to address social and political issues. But in order to do that, pastors and leaders need to be informed about what the social and political issues are.

We need to be salt.

We need to be light.

No more compromising and no more being silent.

SPEAK UP AND LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!

But it's Hard

I want to end this with a story about Dietrich Bonnhoeffer. 

Toward the end of World War 2 Mr. Bonnhoeffer was in prison. The story goes that the prison chaplain was making his rounds one day and saw Bonnhoeffer in one of the cells. He exclaimed, "Brother Dietrich, what are you doing here? Mr. Bonnhoeffer replied, "Given the state our country is in, what AREN'T you doing here?" As the saying goes: 

"Any dead fish can float down stream. It takes a live fish to swim up stream."

Jesus Christ through his Holy Spirit has breathed true life into those of us who are truly his. 

WE ARE CHRISTIANS!

IT'S NOT WHAT WE DO. IT'S WHAT WE ARE!

We must swim upstream against the current even as those around us may be floating downstream. 

We have been given a great country. It is our job as stewards to take care of it. 

Be blessed as you do.

COVID-19 Pandemic of Fear

"Fear of men will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe."

Proverbs 29:25

We have just experienced one of the most bizarre things ever. The entire world brought to a halt because of a virus. Actually it wasn't the virus that shut down the world. It is what we were told about the virus that capitalized on people's fear that shut down the world. It is absolutely mind-boggling how quickly the entire developed world complied.

REVERSE QUARANTINE

The world did something that has never been done before. They quarantined the healthy people and shut down many businesses putting us on the verge of a depression. The reason we did this was because we were told that asymptomatic people and people in the incubation stage could infect those who were most vulnerable. It didn't matter that there was no science to back it up, and there wasn't. None whatsoever.  It didn't matter. It's what we were told and we believed it.

Today we crossed the threshold of 100,000 Covid deaths in the United States. What is interesting is that as of today, according to the CDC the mortality rate stands at 99% of expected deaths. So in spite of the huge number of Covid deaths we haven't had any more people die in this country than normally would by this time each year. That defies simple logic; and there are some voices out there calling them out. But they are largely being ignored, even censored by some social media sites, and most of us aren't paying attention. Yet we call this a 'pandemic'. Why? Not because it is a pandemic. But because we were told it was a pandemic.

My point is, there have been so many things that have not added up and yet we just believed and followed along, never even questioning some of the most obvious contradictions in what we were being told, and basic common sense. We are told to 'follow the science.' But what is being presented as science is not science at all. The real science is being squelched and censored in favor of what fits the narrative.

“We Are All In This Together”

Are we? I am self employed. Some of you are small business owners. Some of you work for small businesses. Some of you work for large corporations. Some of you lost your jobs. Some of you are still working. Some of you are actually getting rich. No, we are NOT all in this together. We are all having very different experiences during this time. But this is a form of conditioning to get us to devalue our individual freedom—for the common good.

Was This a Test Run? An Experiment of Sorts?

That actually makes a lot of sense because even the CDC is beginning to admit that this virus isn't as deadly as we were told initially and are beginning to adjust the actual mortality rates to a more realistic level. All while the country is re-opening and the markets are coming back.

Maybe the experiment is over.

Was the purpose of the experiment to find out how easy it would be to get people to blindly comply? Are states like California, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Michigan and New York simply trying to see just how far they can go?

If so, what did they learn? 

1. They learned that most people have lost the ability to think for themselves.

They don't ask critical questions. They simply believe what they are told. We have all heard and complain about the 'fake news'. Yet we still listen to them never realizing that it makes no sense to do so.

2. They learned that many of us will turn against our neighbors for 'the common good.' That is important information for those who would propogate a totalitarian New World Order. You can believe that Big Brother is watching those of you who called to report your neighbors who weren't complying with social distancing rules. They'll need you in the future.

3. They also learned that most people are captivated by fear. Fear will keep people from being able to think rationally, and when they are afraid they are easily controlled. Recently radio talk show host, Mark Levin, reminded us that during the Third Reich Jews were easily loaded onto trains by telling them it was for their safety ("Fur irhe sicherheit"). 

Now we might say that we would never fall for that. Yet I see people all over town wearing masks. I'm not talking about those who put a mask on because they are entering an establishment where it is required. I'm talking about people who wear a mask because they believe they are protecting themselves and others—the common good. There is no science to back it up. In fact, indications are that constantly wearing a mask may actually be harmful. 

Now some say they'd rather be safe than sorry. Well here's a question for you: Were you wearing a mask during last year's flu season? You weren't, were you. The truth is, you are wearing one now because you were told it was for your protection and the common good.

I think there is a silver lining in all of this. I believe that many people are waking up and beginning to realize that this 'pandemic' is not about a virus. It is about control and taking away our freedoms. It may not be as easy for the global elites to pull this off next time. Maybe we are wiser and have learned a few lessons from all of this. 

I hope so.

Now I would guess that some of you are upset at me because of what I have just written. But remember this, once you have lost your freedoms you won't be able to get them back. I wonder if you will still be upset if it turns out that I was right. My guess is,

YES. You'll still be upset at me...but by then it won't matter. 

A Tale of Two Boy Kings, or You Cannot Live on Someone Else's Faith

"Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba. Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years of Jehoiada the priest."
2 Chronicles 24:1-2

"Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left."
2 Chronicles 34:1-2

After King Solomon died the kingdom of Israel was divided between 10 tribes to the north that retained the name Israel (sometimes Ephriam) and two tribes to the south named after the dominate tribe of Judah. In the history of the kings we find two kings who came to the throne at a very young age; Joash at age seven and Josiah at age eight. Their reigns bore some similarities and yet some stark contrasts as well that we need to learn from.

Joash

In the previous chapter King Ahaziah had died and his mother, Athaliah sought to destroy the royal family. But her grandson, Joash, was hidden for six full years. When Joash was seven, Jehoiada, the priest began to gain power and sought to crown Joash and get rid of Athaliah. After Joash became king he set out to repair the temple and restore worship of the one true God to the land. In verse 14b of chapter 24:

"As long as Jehoiada lived, burnt offerings were presented continually in the temple of the Lord."

Jehoiada lived to be 130 years old. After he died (vv. 17ff) the work on the temple stopped and the people turned to idol worship. Joash completely turned from his former way even to the point of murdering the son of Jehoiada.

Josiah

Josiah was also very young when he became king, only one year older than Joash was when he baceame king. That is pretty much where the similarity ends. His grandfather, Manasseh, was likely the worst king Judah ever had until he repented. His father, Amon, was an evil king. And now Josiah comes along. He had a terrible upbringing. There were no prophetic, Godly voices in his life that we know of. Yet it says of him that he "walked in all the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or the left."

It is interesting to note that it was during the time when he was doing his reforms and restoring the temple that they found the book of the law, probably the book of Deuteronomy. Apparently Josiah was doing all of his reforms, ridding the land of Baal worship without actually having access to the law. Interestingly too is the law required that once a king ascended to the throne, he was to right out a copy of the law for himself. Deuteronomy 17: 18:

"When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites."

The depravity had gone so far that the law, which should have been foundational to all of life in Israel had somehow become 'mothballed' in the attic, so to speak. But even so the Holy Spirit was at work in the life of King Josiah. As soon as Josiah was made aware that the book had been found he had it read to him. Then he immediately sent the priests to seek a prophet to inquire of the Lord about what was in the book. Then he had the book read to all the people as well and he renewed the covenant. 

The Contrast

Joash did well as long as the priest Jehoiada was alive to guide him. In many ways it seemed that Jehoiada did more than simply provide guidance and mentoring. It appears that he actually exerted a fair bit of control over Joash as can be seen in verse 3 of chapter 24, where he selected two wives for him. Once Jehoiada died and no longer had any influence over him, Joash returned to the wicked practices and idolatry of his predecessors. Josiah on the other hand did not have someone like Jehoiada in his life. Yet he had a strong conviction to seek the Lord even without a mentor and apparently without access to the scripture. 

The difference was that Josiah had his own genuine faith in God. 

Joash did not.

Joash was basically living on the faith of Jehoiada.

Your Faith in God Must be YOUR Faith

How many times I have observed a seemingly very godly person completely fall apart when a spiritual father or mother is no longer in a person's life. Perhaps it was an actual parent. But maybe it was a mentor who was not a relative. It could have been a pastor, youth pastor or maybe just someone you worked with.

An analogy I have heard before seems to describe the situation:

It's like a neighborhood in which one house has an electric meter and has power running to their house. Everyone else in the neighborhood then runs an extension cord to this person's house. They are not truly connected to the power source but are living on the power that runs into the house that is connected. Now when that person moves and has the power turned off, all of the other houses go dark. However, what if the other neighbors were to get their own meter and have the electricity run directly into their house? if the neighbor moves and has the power disconnected, the other houses will still have lights on. In the same way when we don't have our own walk with the Lord and aren't indwelt with the Holy Spirit (connected to the power source), it is as if we had extension cords run to another person and were living on the power in their lives.

Notwithstanding, some people actually want to attract their own following, often for nefarious purposes, even if the mentor is a truly godly person they won't necessarily always be there. People relocate, they die, and sometimes they disappoint.

It becomes a question of who your faith is really in? Is it in a godly person or is it God himself.

The Job of Mentors

Mentors are vital to the growth of the body. The five-fold ministry described in Ephesians 4: 11 is about our mentors:

"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers."

Then in the following verses he gives their purpose: (v.12-13)

"To prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reachunity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."

The job of mentors is to lead people to Christ and to guide and help them mature in the fullness of Christ. It is like the person who has electricity in his house showing others that they can get their own meter and be connected to the real power source; not simply run an extension cord. Paul rebukes the Corinthian church for their practice of following personalities in 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 and 3:1ff. 

King Josiah was connected to the true power source in that he had his own personal faith and walk with God. Joash was connected to Jehoiada and it was Jehoiada's walk with God that kept him in line. But once Jehoiada was gone Joash went right back to the sins of his predecessors. We as followers of Christ must make sure that we are connected to Christ himself and not to a person who follows Christ.

Blessings to you all.

 

Is COVID-19 God's Judgment

In a crisis like the present one it is often to be expected that some will say that God is judging us. Sometimes the pronouncements get rather extreme. Still others will say just the opposite; that this is just a random thing that happens and is common in our world.

So which is it? Is God judging us or is this just 'time and chance' that has happened, or something in between? In answering that question there are some things that we can look at in principle and understand how God deals with both his people and those that reject him.

Blessings for obedience, curses for disobedience.

Dueteronomy 28:1-2;15, "If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you this day, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God. (v15) However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you." 

These were the words that Moses spoke to the Israelites just before they renewed the covenant and were to enter the promised land. This began the Israelite history of a chronic cycle of disobeience, losing the covenant blessings, crying out to God, deliverance through a Godly leader, repeat cycle.

Even though the Israelites repeatedly broke the covenant, God repeatedly gave them opportunities to come back to him. When they would cry out to him, being oppressed by the other nations and enduring the plagues he sent, he would hear them and deliver them. Finally, God's judgment came on the nation of Israel around 700BC...about 700 years after they entered the promised land. The Jewish nation was judged about 150 years later.

The covenant curses the Israelites faced earlier is probably better understood as a warning that they needed to repent or ultimate calamity (judgment) would come, rather than judgment itself. 

Application for today

There are a few things to keep in mind:
1. God's holiness demands perfect obedience.
For those who think they've been basically 'good people', remember that all it took for Adam and Eve to be banished from the Garden of Eden was to eat a piece of fruit.
2. There are no random events from God's point of view. Matthew 10: 29:

          "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of the Father."

So this COVID-19 is NOT simply a random event. This all fits into God's plan and his purposes. And he is using it in some way for his glory.

3. Romans 8:28:
         "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose."

A couple of points about this verse:
         A. God works in ALL things, not just some.
         B. It is for the good of those who love God and are called. This does not apply to unbelievers. As Dr. Martin LLoyd Jones said in a sermon, "The gospel has one message for the unrepentant sinner, Judgment awaits." The gospel indeed does have a message for those who reject God. That message is judgment. The fact is, the gospel message begins by warning of the impending judgment to all men and calls us to repent, that is to turn from our disobedience and follow him. The message the disciples preached on that first Pentecost was one of warning;

"Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." (Acts 2:40)

Conclusion

So is Covid-19 God's judgment on the world? I believe the answer is NO. I believe that God is using everything, including this virus for his purposes, and that is in bringing many sons to glory. I remember immediately after 9-11 that the churches had standing room only. That only lasted a short time and many of us have lamented that it didn't last. But did it last? For some it did. There were those who came to saving faith in jesus Christ as their personal savior in the aftermath of 9-11 who are still walking and growing in their faith today.

The same thing will happen in this case too. There will be a soul harvest from this. Of course there will be many who come and then when the crisis is over, and it will end, will go back to their old ways. But there will be some who will be brought into the fold. It will also wake up those who are believers who have perhaps allowed their love to 'wax cold'.

It will also separate out many who claim to be saved and really aren't. It will also make one thing very clear. Without God, there is no hope. The government can't save you. The medical community can't save you. Don't count on a vaccine for this. There are other coronaviruses out there and we've never been able to develop a vaccine for them because they mutate so quickly.

So who are you going to trust.
If you are a believer and your faith is wavering and your are living in fear, God is calling you back into the fold.
If you are not a believer and this is resonating with you, then God is calling you to repent and believe in, and trust the one he sent, Jesus Christ, who died in your place. You don't need to repeat some nice prayer. You simply need to surrender your life and will to Him.

I pray that God will keep you healthy and that you will be richly blessed by what you have just read.