 One of the interesting things that is often overlooked by those studying the decline of the true Church and the Word of God in a society is how persecution begins and grows. The persecution that follows is often carried out by the apostate church that aligns itself with society rather than with God’s Word. One of the things I will predict (and it is kind of unfair for me to call it a prediction - because it is more like a re-visit to what has already happened in history) is that when persecution breaks out against the true Church in the United States, it will often be carried out by the apostate church that aligns itself with our immoral culture.
A quick visit to Biblical history may be informative. Once Israel was delivered from Egypt, the majority of the problems and difficulties for Moses and those representing the true work of God came from the religious sector of Israel. The group led by Dathan and Abiram wanted a religion which morphed with what they did in Egypt. They were very uncomfortable with the radical laws and ways being given by Jehovah God. David’s problems stemmed as much from Saul who did not follow God fully than they did the ungodly nations that surrounded them. The people who killed the prophets were the apostate Jews who had perverted the worship of Jehovah with the customs of the nations. And who was it that eventually turned Jesus over to the Roman authorities to carry out their murderous designs - oh, that’s right, it was the Jewish religious authorities. In Acts 22:4 Paul remembered that he had “persecuted this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prison.” Where did Paul get the authority to do this? He got it from the Jewish religious leaders. It is a consistent thing that the ones who hold to a form of religion, but lose it’s power and the truth of the Scriptures - will be primary persecutors of those who hold fast to these things. Those who believe the gospel to be the power of God and the only way of salvation will soon be seen to be narrow minded. Those who hold to the righteousness of God shown to us in the Word of God will be seen this way as well. Cultural Christianity will reject God’s Way (the gospel) and they will also reject God’s righteousness and embrace the way culture leads them in regard to morals. This will eventually manifest itself in a hatred of the true Church and the way they interpret Scripture. The cultural church will be far more fond of those who see Scripture more broadly. They will align themselves with those who favor a cultural interpretation of Christianity, rather than a Bible that instructs culture on moral issues. They do not want God’s righteousness or God’s way and those who hold to it will become seen as strange and different. They look down on them as ignorant and intolerant. They call them backward - and whatever “ist" is in style at the moment - racist, sexist, or maybe homophobic or sexually repressed. Whatever makes those who hold to biblical righteousness look bad. There is a principle behind this. It is revealed to us in the book of Galatians. Paul says this about those in the Spirit versus those in the flesh. “But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also.’ Galatians 4:29 (NASB) As it was between Issac and Ishmael - it will also be between those born according to the flesh and those born according to the Spirit. The “cultural church,” which is not born again, will continue to make decisions to ape the culture as the pressure of the culture pushes the false church to adopt ungodly views. The true Church, which consists only of those born according to the Spirit, will not be willing to make unbiblical compromises. As animosity grows toward the true Church for its unpopular stands for righteousness that animosity will be held especially by those who have suppressed the truth by their unrighteousness. Persecution - even violent persecution will follow after this rejection of the truth. Let me give you an example of what we are seeing now - which will grow in the months and years to come. When someone posts that they have openly identified with homosexuality the reactions and posts that follow are almost always positive. They are congratulated for their new identification of themselves in this way. They are often even told or affirmed that God has made them this way. If someone has the audacity to respond otherwise, the bashing will begin - and often it will be unmerciful. If the person identifies as a Christian and states the Bible as the place where they got their views - it will not go well for that person. We’ve watched as it has become clear that CEO’s, sports figures, spokespersons, Chiefs of fire departments, and even down to bakers and pizza makers are going to be punished if they espouse and desire to hold such views. Currently this is primarily cultural pressure in the form of protest and boycotts. But in time it will wind up being codified into law - and the price for being a Biblical Christian will become much higher. So what do we DO? Saints, we have no other option than to continue to hold fast the Word of God as our standard. We don’t do this with a hateful and vindictive attitude. But we do speak the truth in love - which means we use wisdom as to when we speak, but if necessary, we speak. It is my opinion that Biblical Christianity is incompatible with sin. Whenever someone or some group seeks to align certain lifestyles and choices of sin as being OK with God, it will become abundantly clear that God no longer aligns with them. I am not saying that culturally they will decline. They may expand on the cultural level. But you will not find the Spirit or the presence of God among those who call what God calls sin - and acceptable lifestyle. We watched a generation in the 1960’s tout “free love” which is honestly nothing more than bondage to heterosexual immorality outside marriage. In time what the Bible calls fornication was renamed living together. As more time passed culture embraced this - although God never has (and never will). Culture continued to push its agenda - which meant having to deal with all the pregnancies that resulted from the cost of this so-called free love. From that came the culture of abortion on demand. A baby no longer was the result of sexual activity which called for responsibility to be taken by the man and woman who fornicated and now had a baby. They were not called to be responsible for their choice to be sexual immorality. Once again there was a choice to recast this situation into a more socially acceptable mold. No longer a baby - now it was a blob of tissue that belonged to the woman. It was now a part of a woman’s body, and she could do with it whatever she wanted. She could be rid of it in the first trimester - then the second - and eventually up to the moment the “whatever it was now” was to be born - at which point if the mother wanted it - it was a baby. The Bible warns that a society that rejects God - will reject God’s morality. This would begin in heterosexual immorality that rejects marriage as a prerequisite to sex. But in time things would move from heterosexual immorality toward homosexual acts. (All this is written for us in Romans 1:18-32) The Word of God says that all homosexual acts are sinful. God intended for a man and a woman to be married before they engaged in sexual activity. When it comes to two men or two women - God called all homosexual acts sinful. But as culture pushed back eventually, as we are seeing today, the culturally accepted church began to call acceptable what God can never call acceptable. Now there are growing numbers of people - and even theologians and Christian writers who say that God can bless homosexual marriage. The true Church cannot go with this - because God’s Word does not. In time the rhetoric toward those who continue to hold to Biblical righteousness will grow more and more strident. That will one day give way to the cultural church persecuting the true Church. They will do this first with words (which is already happening) and eventually with culturally accepted legal acts (because the laws will eventually call the Biblical standard espoused and taught to be hate speech). From there it is only a matter of time until violence against the “haters” will be acceptable. What is fascinating is that if we think the issue is sexual activity we are behind the times. The best way to blur all sexual morality is to deny that gender itself is nothing more than a personal choice. You are not assigned a sex at birth by God - either male or female. Your sexual activity is not governed by what biological sex you are. You have the right to such radical autonomy that you can choose whatever sex you want to be - and change it as often as it suits you. The next Supreme Court overstep will be to abolish biological gender to the ash heap of societal rejection. This is going to be fought over what bathroom (and eventually locker rooms too) you choose to use. Those who stand in the way will be called intolerant, gender lords who want to impose a gender on you rather than allow you to embrace your inner gender based on - well - based on whatever you want to it to be at the moment. Complete autonomy is the goal. Whatever a person declares to be right is right. That is unless someone declares the Word of God to be right where it defines things like gender and sexuality. THAT VIEW IS JUST WRONG! This is how the persecution of the real Church by the cultural church will happen - and actually is happening today. We are watching the fact that Biblical Christianity is untenable to those who celebrate the sexual revolution (and by the way the revolt is against God and what He says is sexually moral). Watch as this will be the path upon which persecution will travel with increasing speed. And saints - in pains me to say that we will also watch - as generations have before us have - that the willing accomplices in that persecution will often be the culturally accepted church which rejects the clear teaching of Scripture. I don’t want to hasten it. I don’t enjoy it - nor do I even want to see it. Yet, my precious brothers and sisters in Christ, it is coming. We just need to make sure that our response is one of The Truth spoken in love. We will also need to remember that God’s kingdom will not be advanced in this hour by violent, angry, armed force. May God give us grace to respond by holding fast to the Word of God. May we respond, if necessary, with the proof of our very blood if that is what faithfulness to Christ requires. And may God have mercy upon us so that our testimony would be like that of the faithful fathers who have gone before us.
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 Prophecy/News Update 2016
Falling Apart or Falling Together? Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! As this New Year begins I want to begin it by saying, maranatha! For those of you who are not familiar with this word, it means, “O Lord, come!” in Aramaic. It was a phrase that was used by the early church – and was used by Paul in the New Testament. The word or phrase was used to speak of a strong desire for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. I mention this because like never before I want to pray daily, maranatha! Next Sunday I will be sharing the 2016 Prophecy/News Update message. This year has been filled with events that involve Israel, and that possibly foreshadow the fulfillment of biblical prophecy. World events are definitely heating up and many, even in the secular world, are predicting that we may be on the verge of World War III. It was also a year in which the United States Supreme Court legalized homosexual marriage. This decision has set up a monumental battle between the newly fashioned erotic rights of our age with the constitutional right to religious liberty. That battle will be fought right before our eyes in the courts of our land and the court of public opinion. In light of how scary this can be – I want to begin this week with an encouraging word to the saints. Things that are going in our world can be very frightening. We are definitely watching our world become more and more volatile before our very eyes. Things in the Middle East continue to degenerate almost daily. The ongoing Syrian civil war is a flashpoint for the entire world as superpowers like Russia, China, and the United States get involved in that conflict. The rise of ISIS (The Islamic State in Iran and Syria) and the ongoing fight to remove them from large portions of Syria and Iraq are causing a destabilization of the entire region. The daily rocket fire on Israel continues (those it is a situation almost completely ignored by the mainstream news media) – as does the daily threat to Israel from Hezbollah, ISIS, Hamas, and Iran. Add to this the uptick in terrorist activity in Europe, Africa, and the United States – and we have a world that is ready to blow up in a worldwide war between various factions and nations. In the midst of all this it would be easy to want to throw your hands up and say, “The world is falling apart!” Things are also scary when it comes to the changes in our nation. The battle between religious liberty and erotic liberty is heating up every day. It is no surprise that the world system is standing firmly behind erotic liberty. What we were told was a quest for tolerance has become a very intolerant attack on the church for holding to a biblical view of sexuality and marriage. Close on the heels of the recent victories for gay marriage we watched as the next battle began concerning gender confusion. The speed at which the sexual revolution is happening is dizzying – and frightening. It is as if nothing is either sacred or stable in our culture any longer. On top of all this there is a growing racial tension in our nation as we watch police shootings being questioned and riots erupting that engulf entire cities in flames and lawlessness. In light of all that is happening around us it would be easy to say, “Our nation is falling apart!” Those with a Christian/Biblical worldview understand this differently. First of all we know that the world has been falling apart ever since the “fall.” When man chose to sin against the Lord – everything began to fall apart. The descent into chaos and destruction began in that moment – and for those who forget the narrative of Genesis – resulted in the whole earth being flooded to address the wickedness of man just 10 chapters later. Shortly after Noah and his family departed from the ark – Noah got drunk – and the whole process started all over again. Our current situation is not any more wicked than others in history – it is just that we are given vastly more information about the results of godlessness in our day. Sin has always been destructive – wars and devastation have always either been ongoing – or on the horizon as mankind continues to reject God and live according to their own sinful nature and inclinations. A Biblical understanding of the chaos that happens as a nation turns away from God is also nothing radically new. The history of nations recorded for us in Scripture makes it clear that when a nation rejects God and godly principles bad things happen. The history of Israel and Judah’s kings as recorded by the historical record as well as the prophecies spoken against them for their rejection of God is clear. Just as a nation is blessed when it submits to God – it will be under a curse when it rejects and turns from Him. Our nation is rejecting not only godly principles – but God Himself as it rebels against what the Scriptures say. When we take a few minutes to refocus our thinking with Scripture, we may come to a different realization about the current state of affairs in the world. Things have always been falling apart due to sin – but God is working so that things are falling together for the return of Christ. Mark chapter 13 and Luke chapter 21 are accounts of Jesus’ teaching about the last days. In this teaching Jesus presents the things that will be happening before His second coming. Many of these things match events that are taking place in our time. Jesus closes this section of both gospels with the following words, “Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door.” (Mark 13:29, NASB) When you read through the previous verses to this one, you will see that what is happening in our day was foretold by our Lord Jesus. He spoke of wars and rumors of wars – earthquakes – famines – and a wholesale rejection of God by humanity. What is equally fascinating is that passages that speak of future prophetic events, which require a certain aligning of the nations against Israel, are being fulfilled before our eyes. Truly things are falling together just as God said – even as they fall apart because of mankind’s rejection of Him. The more they fight against Him – the more they are unwitting accomplices to do what He said would be done. Take courage saints, none of what has happened has taken God by surprise. All of it was foretold 2000 or more years ago. Anyone even remotely aware of what the Bible says about the last days knows that the return of our Lord Jesus Christ will be at a time when the world is falling apart. You cannot read of what the prophets foretold and imagine a world getting better and better. You cannot be familiar with the seal judgments of Revelation 6, the trumpet judgments of Revelation 8 and 9, and the bowl judgments of Revelation 16 and think that things will be at an all time best at the second coming of Christ. All the nations, all the prophetic predictions, all the things necessary to see all thing fulfilled just as God spoke – are falling together as if God were sovereign over the affairs of men (which, by the way, He is). Based on this knowledge, then, we need to live in reality concerning where the world is headed. This is not our home, saints – it is the place where God has been rejected. We await the kingdom of our God and of His Christ. And as that falls together the world itself will fall apart. But take courage dear ones of God – He has overcome the world – and by His grace and the power of His Spirit – He will grant to us the ability to be overcomers even in this difficult hour!  Dear Michael,
Recently I read an article where you stated that you could no longer believe that God is directly responsible for the creation of the universe. I will have to admit that I read this from a facebook post which quoted a Christian news site. Having been burnt by this kind of “gotcha-journalism” before, I knew I needed to read your original blog from which this article quoted. Based on reading this entire post, I would like to respond to your blog entitled, “What Do We Believe?” Your article deeply concerns me – not just because of your lack of belief in the Creator and His revelation to us of how He created the heavens and the earth. My concern goes deeper than that. My greatest concern is on the way you cleverly dismiss the Bible as an authority because it is about belief, and yet tout yourself and modern-day science as a fitting replacement, Your arguments in this blog post take on the appearance of wisdom and ‘well thought out’ reasonings. The problem one finds while reading them is that, in the end, they are based on little more than a false premise that you are a free thinker without an ultimate authority. Your reason alone (informed by scientists who are smart enough to reject biblical creation and hold fast to evolutionary theory) leads you to your premises unlike those who hold the Bible as an authoritative book in all matters of faith and practice. You make an interesting statement early in your article. You state, “. . . pretty much everything is a belief because everything we know is built upon assumptions.” After this seemingly wise statement you speak of what happens when “some of what you built the words and concepts on – no longer exists.” From this dubious vantage point you begin to speak of God, the Bible, the book of Genesis – and eventually even whether what we believe about God is even important. What is fascinating is that you then use “your own words” to convince us not to judge or make distinctions based on what we may or may not believe to be God’s words (i.e. the Bible itself). Even though you seek to present some self-deprecating views of yourself, you do little more than replace one authority with another. What is truly fascinating when I read this article is that in the end – I become the authority over myself – just as you become the ultimate authority over yourself. You and I define our own words. You and I also choose to decide if our former definition of words were true – or were imposed upon us by others (in your case those who taught you the Bible in Christian school and church). You approach biblical authority with the greatest of skepticism while embracing current scientific theory as factual. What you have done in your really cool and open minded article is trade one form of authority for a different one. Whereas people like myself who CAN believe in a God-created universe – Adam and Eve – a 6000 year old earth – a literal world-wide flood – and personally my favorite, “naked people in a garden eating an apple being responsible for the death of the dinosaurs.” (Isn’t it interesting when you want to prove other people to be stupid – you not only denigrate their beliefs – you mock them by mis-stating them.) While we are held up to a very high-minded form of ridicule (notice the NOTE below), your particular views are help up as enlightened, gracious, and far more believable. We are seen as those who hold fast to defined words – while you are seen as one who is more interested in how someone lives. Your “healthy beliefs” are then given credit for leading to a “lifestyle” defined by caring attitudes about your neighbor, ministering and caring for the poor, and living according to James chapter 2 (which evidently IS God’s Word?). We are left thinking that we should reject the Bible as a literal authority (quite an authoritative thought, don’t you think) and be more loving and kind (at least how you define loving and kind – which considering the neighbor and poor stuff is hard to argue with – you know). What we actually get is a view where WE become our own authority – at least the “we” that agrees with modern scientific theory. I don’t hate you Michael – and neither do I know whether you are lost or saved at this point. All I’ve done is read your article – and yet that article concerns me greatly. It does because it presents the same lie that caused our world to end up in the mess it is in today. “Has God said?” is the lie to which I refer. The original lie was to distrust God’s Word – and instead decide that WE would make a much better god over ourselves. Isn’t that what Satan said to Eve? “God knows that in the day that you eat it – you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” How we live (which seems to be your way of determining what is best) is derived from what we believe to be truth. If truth then is solely in the eye of the beholder – because us-forbid we’d actually believe God’s revelation of Himself in the Bible – then isn’t it true that the beholder becomes God in the end? That is little more than a 6000 year old lie repackaged in really cool blog post. [NOTE: Yes, Adam and Eve were naked. No, they did not eat an apple – the Bible simply states it was fruit. Yes, the Fall of man into sin precipitated death in our world. No, the dinosaurs were not singled out in this judgment upon sin – and its effects on the earth. BUT . . . when lacing these facts and mental inventions together it does make the Bible accounts sound sufficiently stupid doesn’t it? How you state something truly does have an effect on how believable someone else views it. Imagine if I referred to evolutionary theory in a similar way. It is little more than believing that, “Everything came about as a result of nothing being done by no one for absolutely no reason at all.”] Apostasy and Pope Francis' Recent Theological Positions
One of the things that will be seen prior to and leading up to the return of Jesus Christ is called, "the apostasy." We read of it in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3. Paul spoke of it as he reassured Christians in his day that Jesus had not yet come back. One of the things associated with His return would be this apostasy. Here is what he said, "Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction," (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, NASB - emphasis mine) Apostasy is defined this way at Dictionary.com - "a total departure from one's faith and the principles of it." We, unfortunately, have been watching this apostasy take shape in this generation for years. The Christian church has walked away from many of its principles - and fundamental beliefs. The liberal theologians of the 20th century assaulted just about every fundamental of the faith, starting with the inerrancy of the Bible and ending with a rejection of things like the virgin birth of Christ, His substitutionary atoning death, and the exclusivity of Jesus Christ as the only way of salvation. All these things are clearly affirmed in Scripture - and yet they have been dumped by liberals for several generations. As the sexual revolution has gained adherents in its rebellion against biblical morality, first heterosexual immorality was embraced (sex outside of a monogamous, heterosexual marriage relationship) then over time homosexuality was no longer considered sin. Now just about any kind of perversion is considered normal as our world devolves into its end-times rebellion against God. One group that had stood with classic Christianity in many of these battles was the Roman Catholic Church and her various popes. But with the current pope, things are changing rapidly and radically. Recently Pope Francis wrote a long open letter to the founder of La Republica newpaper, Eugenio Scalfari, in which he has stated that non-believers would be forgiven by God if they followed their consciences. Here Pope Francis redefined sin as follows, "Sin, even for those who have no faith, exists when people disobey their conscience." Therefore - if an atheist follows his own conscience, he is not guilty of sin against God. This redefinition of what God requires for us to be forgiven - and to enter heaven is nothing short of breathtaking! This most recent statement comes on the heels of Pope Francis' statement about homosexuality in July when he said, "If someone is gay and is looking for the Lord, who am I to judge him?" One commentator on these radical statements by the Pope responded by saying, "Francis is still a conservative. But what this is all about is him seeking to have a more meaningful dialogue with the world." Mr. Scalfari said in a joyful response to the Pope's letter that his comments were, "further evidence of his ability and desire to overcome barriers in dialgue with all." What we are watching is not a dialogue with the world - but a capitulation to its immorality and contrary positions to the Bible and what it says. One might think that the Pope may be in need of a dialogue with God - and some additional moments spent in Bible study. One wonders if he has recently read either Psalm 53:1 or Psalm 14:1 which reads, "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'" It might serve him well also to re-read Romans 1:18-35 as well when it comes to the issue of immorality in the realms of human sexuality. For years I've wondered about the Roman Catholic Church in the end times. The reason for this has been their staunch stance for biblical morality over the years. I've also wondered about how they would fare in regard to a stance about the place the person of Jesus Christ has in salvation (even though I disagree with what they teach on this matter). The recent statements of Pope Francis have put the Roman Catholic Church far more in line with "the apostasy" than ever before. Who would have envisioned that Catholicism would step away from their fundamental moral stance - or embrace a theology that gives atheists a place in heaven without repenting of their atheism? Certainly not me! But this only makes me more aware that all that God has said continues to come to pass right before my eyes. How do these recent developments relate to the second coming of Jesus Christ? I only know that they continue to be preparation for the world at His coming. As far as where I stand on the timing of Christ's return - I continue to stand on the Bible's affirmation that no one knows the day or the hour. I also stand on the fact that the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ can return at any moment - and - that we should be ready to meet God right now. What we see with these kind of things is the "signs of the times." Just as someone would look and see gathering storm clouds and know that a storm is near - so we should see such events and know, just as the Bible affirms, that He is near - right at the door. Are you ready to meet Him today? NOTE: By the way, just in case there are those who read this who are confused on such issues - the atheist can receive God's mercy and forgiveness - but only if he repents of his foolishness in denying God's existance. When he has done this he will need to repent and put his faith in Jesus Christ and His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead - which is the ONLY payment God accepts for sin. The sin of which I speak is the way the atheist has disobeyed God's laws and commandments (which, by the way, are found in His inerrant revelation to us, the Bible). Also, just in case there is confusion, both heterosexual sex outside of marriage as well as all homosexual sex is sin in God's sight, as affirmed by His Word in Romans 1:18-35. God affirms sex within a heterosexual marriage relationship only. |
 What is the Prophecy/News Update?At Calvary Chapel of Jonesboro, we believe that history is moving toward fulfilling God's plans and purposes. In an effort to help us be prepared for His appearing - and also to chronicle news items you just won't see in the national media - this page is devoted to sharing those items and their possible significance to 
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