prophecyinperspective

There is no other love like God’s love. No one could even imagine such selfless and self-sacrificing love as the Father has for lost sinners than that He has sent His only Son to die and rise again for the world. In John’s Gospel, 3:16-17, we are told how God loves us, and that is, the whole world.

The Apostle John later writes in his first letter how God’s love for us should cause us to love others. John says that, if we do not love others, then we do not know God, “He that does not love does not know God, for God is love.” The study of God is the greatest of all subjects, because we can discover God’s love for each of us personally and how we may love others because we know Him.

There are many religions which have many different views of God. Not all of these views of God can be true at once. There are some religions that teach that there is more than one god. Even some so called “Christian” teachers have said that people are, or can become, little gods.

But, if there are so many views and teachings about God, how can I know which one is true?

My answer is a simple one: We can know the one and only true God through the pages of the Bible. I have not found another view or religion or religious writing that has reasonably convinced me otherwise.

Every time, for instance, that I speak with Mormon missionaries or Jehovah’s Witnesses, I have assured them that they can try to convince me from their own writings, theology or viewpoints that they are correct in their teachings about God and salvation, etc. and they have always failed to do so.

My undergraduate majors, were in the study of various philosophies and religions. None was convincing nor satisfying to me that they had any superiority over biblical, historical, conservative, fundamental Christianity in terms of TRUTH.

The are very interesting and helpful things that anyone can understand about the nature of God, how He is the only God and how He loves the whole world, and that means He loves you!

Amidst all of the false views about God, we can be confident that we have the truth about the one true God revealed (un-veiled) to us in the Holy Bible.

The Bible begins with the statement of fact that “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). In this brief sentence we have a great deal of information about the God of the Bible.

Here and elsewhere all through the Bible we consistently see that God is eternal; that is, He has always existed. “In the beginning,” God existed. He was before all things. He is the Creator. He alone is all powerful and eternal. God alone is capable of creating and sustaining all things, which is, the entire universe! (Colossians 2:17)

So, here are two foundational truths about God (1) He exists (He is objectively real). (2) He is knowable. Because of time and space restrictions in a blog article such as this, I will not go into proofs for the existence of God. I will rather focus on what we may know about God.

God’s Nature In General

First: God is Spirit

God is shown to us in the Bible to be Spirit. This means that God is not made of some kind of material. Jesus said in John 4:24, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (NASB)

Whenever the Bible speaks of someone seeing God, it means that they are seeing God manifested in a visible form. We can find an example of the manifestation of Spirit in visible form in John 1:32, “And John bore witness, saying, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.”

We may see how God is manifested in visible form in Exodus 24:9-10, 11b, “Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity…So they saw God, and they ate and drank.”

This truth that God is Spirit helps us to know that we are not dependent merely on what we can see. 2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us that “we walk by faith and not by sight.”

This means that we are not dependent upon a God who can be made or seen in a man made idol. As Spirit, God is above and beyond any dependency or limitation. We can overcome any need for the humanistic philosophy of “materialism,” which states that the universe is made up only of matter, and that is all we are. That there is no spiritual realm in the universe. Because God is Spirit we know that our invisible God is not subject to our limitations such as age, change, or disintegration. God is always there, and always the same.

In my next article, we will look at how God is a Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and how He is still One God. Also how He hears us when we talk to Him and how He answers us, and cares for us.

False Views of Inspiration

The word inspiration as used in the Bible literally means: “breathed by God” (Greek, theopneustos; Theos=“God,” pneu=“to breathe”) In 2 Timothy 3:16,17, the Apostle Paul assures Timothy that the Holy Scriptures, which he is to teach, come from God. Thus, the Scriptures are without error, authoritative, and infallible. Paul writes: All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Bible Prophecy says that a rapid departure from belief in the Bible will occur in the latter days. Many will abandon the faith by seeking out other sources of guidence beside the teachings of the Bible. They will actually be following lying spirits (1 Timothy 4:1). This explains the growing interest and practice of occultism in our times. Today we are hearing of more and more Christian leaders who turning from Christ because they first turned away from the Word of God. The primary method the devil uses to persuade people to turn from the Bible is to provide a rational argument for them to reasonably doubt the true inspiration of the Scriptures. Here are some of the false views of inspiration that the devil has used to bring people to question the reliably and authority of the Scriptures.

B. Partial Inspiration: This false teaching is often found in many theological schools. It states that the Bible is only inspired in spots. The promotes the erroneous idea that the Bible contains the Word of God, but, many parts of the Bible are inaccurate. This view depends upon man to determine which parts of the Bible are true and which parts are not true. This puts man in authority over the Bible. However, the Bible itself assures us: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

A. Natural Inspiration: The false view of natural inspiration says that the Bible was written by men who were “inspired” in the same creative way as playwrights or poets. But, the Bible says: “For the prophecy come not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke (or wrote) as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21)

C. Conceptual Inspiration: This view states that only the general thoughts of the Bible are inspired, but not the words themselves. Yet, the Scriptures themselves tell us that the Bible is verbally inspired. Remember that the word “inspired” means, “God-breathed.” God moved writers of the books of the Bible to set down, word for word, exactly what God wanted them to write. The Bible says: “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches.” (1 Corinthians 2:13)

D. “Encounter” Inspiration: This view states that the Bible is merely a book written by men, similar to all other religious books. This idea is from a form of theology which is called Neo-orthodoxy (new-orthodoxy). This view promotes the idea that the Scriptures of the Bible only becomes the Word of God when we encounter it as God’s Word to and for me. This makes inspiration subjective and experiential. In other words, what is God’s Word for me as I encounter it, is not necessarily God’s Word for someone else. Yet, Jesus stated clearly that every word of Scripture is truth: I have given them Your Word…Sanctify them through Your truth. Your Word is truth.”

The Scriptures clearly teach that they have been written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by the instrumentality of the Bible’s writers. Second Peter 1:21 assures us that the Holy Spirit is the true author of the books of the Bible: “For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”

Today there are countless numbers of so called Bible teachers, or spiritual leaders, who are compromising the truth of Scripture or who have abandoned the Bible altogether.

People are swarming to these teachers because they want only what makes them feel good about themselves in their sinful lifestyles and rebellious attitudes toward the holiness of God. They want to be able to laugh at funny stories and be entertained by the fair speeches of preachers who are “making merchandise” (2 Peter 2:3) of people’s souls.

As the Bible has predicted for the end times, evil spirits are flooding the world in these days telling the masses that there are many ways to get to heaven other than by Jesus Christ alone. Growing numbers love to hear from leaders of non Christian religions that they also can show them a way to eternal life. Yet, the Bible is clear that that there is no other way than by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ through His death on the cross, and His resurrection from the dead. Jesus stated plainly: “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one cometh unto the Father but by me.” (John 14:6)

Are you trusting in Christ alone and getting to know Him through His Word the Bible? Next time, we will look at the Bible’s teaching about God Himself.

The God of the universe has revealed Himself to us. He has done this in a general way through creation (Romans 1:18-20). However, God has also amazingly revealed Himself to us in a special way through the Bible.

The Bible is also known as the “Scripture,” the “Scriptures,” or, as the “Word of God.” The word “Bible” comes from the Greek word “biblos.” Matthew 1:1 says: “The book (biblos) of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham…”, and the next Greek word, “biblion” which is found in Luke 4:7, “And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written…”, both of which mean simply: “book.” (The Great Doctrines of the Bible, by William Evans. p. 193)

We know that the Bible is the only book on earth that is truly the Word of the Living God because of the following reasons:

1. The Inspiration of the Bible

According to the Moody Handbook of Theology, inspiration is defined as “the Holy Spirit’s superintending over the writers so that while writing according to their own styles and personalities, the result was God’s Word written—authoritative, trustworthy, and free from error in the original autographs.” (The Moody Handboook of Theology, by Paul Ennis, p. 153)

The Bible speaks of itself as inspired. Second Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” The very significant word, inspiration is from a Greek word meaning literally, God breathed.”

Inspiration, as defined by the Apostle Paul, who wrote this passage, is the strong, conscious inbreathing, of God into men (as they wrote the Scriptures), qualifying them to give utterance to truth. It is God speaking through men. The Old Testament is therefore just as much the Word of God as though God spoke every single word of it with His own lips. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the result of divine inbreathing, just as human speech is uttered by the breathing through a person’s mouth.’ (Evans, p. 95)

The Bible has been complete for over 2000 years. The Old Testament was completed about 400 years before the birth of Christ and the New Testament was completed by about 95 A.D.

There have been many false teachers who have attempted to dilute and deny the doctrine of the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible. These have worked subtly and persistently to infiltrate our churches, denominations and seminaries with the view that the Bible is only written by man (much like other religious books written by other religions and that the Bible, therefore, is filled with errors.

This is why it is so important for us to understand what the doctrine of inspiration really is. Next time, I will describe some of the false views of inspiration that have appeared over the years. This study will help you to discern the true Biblical teachers from the false in these latter days.

Paul wrote to the young preacher, Timothy, this warning:

“But the Spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron” (1 Timothy 4:1-2, NASB).

While the Scriptures are under attack today by demonically directed men and women in many cults and false religious, we can rest in the assurance that God’s Word, the Bible, is absolutely true! The only book on the earth that is the perfect Word of the Living God.

Stay tuned for: False Views of Inspiration

Over the past days we have heard continual warnings of a coming storm. In the same way, over the past two thousand years, God has been warning the earth of a coming storm of judgment which is approaching us in our days.

Many have made preparations for the storm that we have been warned about by the weather experts. Millions of people will experience the harsh effects of the coming Winter threats; such as, inconvenient power outages, tragic car accidents and major vehicle pile ups, even debilitating sickness that icy weather will bring.

In contrast, many others will behold beautiful snow covered land scapes in their own neighborhoods. Hills, houses, trees, ponds, that would not bring pause to a passerby, will overnight, be transformed into an amazing scene out of a Norman Rockwell painting.

Some will go through the coming storm, but others will be kept from it. This somewhat illustrates the wonderful truth of the Bible, that those who, as believers, belong to Jesus Christ will be kept from the devastating global storm of the coming Tribulation.

For the Christian who is looking for the coming of the Lord at the Rapture, there need be no fear of the coming storm!

The many glories, endless peace and indescribable beauties of heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ are beyond description or understanding.

The Bible gives us many insights into what awaits us when we are suddenly snatched up to heaven by the Lord Jesus when He comes for us. We do not need to fear the coming storm of the seven year Tribulation that is coming.

In prophecy, the Scriptures warn us of an approaching storm. This storm will drastically impact the whole earth. All societies, economies of nations and people who are left behind after the Rapture will be affected.

This global storm is called in the Bible, the Tribulation period. Therefore, I believe there is a coming storm that people need to be aware is coming. The signs and indications are everywhere.

I also believe a wonderful truth from the Bible that born again believers in Jesus Christ will not have to fear the coming Tribulation storm.

There are, regretfully, some who teach that Christians will have to go through the Tribulation. But I believe they are in serious error!

The coming Tribulation is a prophesied seven year storm which will bring complete global upheaval and destruction which will be of God’s judgment. But not everyone will have to endure this Tribulation storm!

Prophetic Scripture assures the student of the Bible that the Body of Christ, the true church, will suddenly be taken up, or, raptured, before the Lord sends His judgment of the Tribulation upon the earth.

Do you fear the approaching storm that is coming perhaps very soon? We cannot deny that the signs of this coming storm are all around us. More than this, these signs point to the very soon and sudden coming of Jesus. He will descend to rapture believers off of the earth and take us to heaven before the awful seven year Tribulation begins.

If Jesus is your Savior, you need not fear the coming Biblical storm, Jesus said: “Because you have kept the word of My patience, I will also keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world to test those who dwell upon the earth.”(Revelation 3:10)

So, now is the time to look up, believer! For Jesus said: “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh!” (Luke 21:28)

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter days some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils. Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron (1 Timothy 4:1-20)…For men shall be lovers of their own selves…Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. (2 Timothy 3:2&5)”

Demonic teachings have infiltrated the sermons and writings of many preachers, denominations and schools. The trends are away from the Bible and into Eastern Mysticism, Occult Channelling, and Pantheism through popular books like THE SHACK and JESUS CALLING. As I stressed in the last edition of my Prophecy in Perspective blog, I strongly believe we are in the last days and the Rapture will happen soon. Therefore, churches need quickly to return to verse by verse Bible teaching.

The heretical book called THE SHACK teaches a pantheistic understanding of God. This is the false teaching that all things are god; the creation is god, you are god, etc. The Christian Broadcasting Network featured this false teaching of THE SHACK and its heretical pantheistic doctrine in a six part series in 2018. You can find it on YouTube.

Another heretical book pushing a false Jesus into churches, sermons and unsuspecting Christian lives is JESUS CALLING. “Jesus” is made to speak in the pages of this demonically channeled devotional and much of what is said is not sound and will invite demonic darkness into your spirit. JESUS CALLING is not the speaking of the Jesus of the Bible, but of “another Jesus” (2 Corinthians 11:4). Much of what this “Jesus” says is contrary to the words of Jesus in the Gospels and is received through a New Age, occult technique called channeling.

The Bible is your dependable source for understanding that God did not make men or women into little gods: “I AM God, and there is none else, there is no God beside me.” (Isaiah 45:50).

One nationally known preacher surprised me and many others when for twenty minutes he promoted JESUS CALLING from the pulpit. And I have known of churches where THE SHACK was passed around and recommended to other church members. There seems to be little of no doctrinal discernment. Yet, this has been predicted in Bible prophecy.

This is a day when many are being led astray by subtle and often not so subtle false teaching. My observations through the years has shown that many preachers want to build big churches. So, they toss aside sound teaching and listen to and use one another’s sermons. Many hire secular management organizations to help grow the church organization and membership just like ‘for profit’ companies.

Prophecy is definitely being fulfilled today and we should watch for the sudden coming of the TRUE LORD JESUS. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) Meanwhile, many preachers, Bible teachers and all believers should prayerfully take to heart the words of Psalm 119:103-104,

“How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through Thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.”

Keep reading and preaching the Word, VERSE BY VERSE! And, KEEP WATCHING FOR CHRIST’s COMING!!

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“But of the times and seasons brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, PEACE AND SAFETY; then SUDDEN DESTRUCTION cometh upon them, as trivial upon a woman with child;

AND THEY SHALL NOT ESCAPE! (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3)

The Rapture Event will cause great world wide terror. This will give the Antichrist an opportunity to bring about what all Globalists have dreamed of for years, and that is, Satan’s New World Order.

I believe that the dramatic rise of interest in UFOs and “Ghost Hunting” indicate that Satan and his demons are preparing to manifest great darkness over the earth. Even the demons know that the Rapture is coming!

Growing numbers of Christian’s and pastors believe aliens are visiting earth and some even believe in the possibility of talking to dead loved ones.

The great doctrinal truths about the inerrancy of the Bible, Salvation by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, and preaching about the need for the lost to be BORN AGAIN is hardly ever heard in churches today.

The sudden disappearance of untold numbers of people, as well as the real possibility of thousands of burst open graves in cemeteries, will bring desperate shock upon the world. The world will ask: “Where did they go?” Chaos will explode upon the earth. What will people do? They will desperately call for a new GLOBAL ORDER and look for someone to take the THRONE OF WORLD LEADERSHIP and bring PEACE AND SAFETY to the nations. Is someone ready to rise up to answer this fearful cry? I believe the answer is YES!! Is the Antichrist alive today? Again, I believe he is.

Already, Christian leaders and pastors are calling for the formation of a GLOBAL CHURCH! This global church will be satanically energized.

The great GLOBAL PEACE PLAN will require the Bible to be OUTLAWED as a DANGEROUS RACIST AND HOMOPHOBIC BOOOK! There will be a full blown NEW SPIRITUALISM that will unify all religions. SPIRITUAL FORMATION teachings have already infiltrated thousands of ministries. The warnings of Revelation 13 and 17 will be ignored. The religious masses will eagerly welcome the coming new spiritual realities.

Even today, many churches and pastors are already GAY AFFIRMING! New Age teachings of SPIRITUAL FORMATION, social toleration and inclusion of unscriptural lifestyles, which are BLATANT SIN, are being emphasized today instead of plain and simple VERSE BY VERSE Bible teaching.

Do not be surprised if you are noticing these changes while nobody else does. You are NOT CRAZY!! Most church members do not even notice.

Teaching about HOLY LIVING and the SOON COMING OF CHRIST according to the Bible is being replaced by WOKE and SPIRITUAL FORMATION teaching. No denomination is exempt from this.

Again…HAVE YOU NOTICED?

These are just some of the indicators that the Bible gives us for the last days. These truths and realities of present day Christianity are being covered up by very MANIPULATIVE pastors and Christian denominations. Non denominational churches are not exempt.

But believers today are sleepier than were the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus had to wake them up THREE DIFFERENT TIMES. He told them to KEEP WATCH. This was the time when Jesus was praying and anticipating His betrayal to be nailed to the cross and to die for the sins of the world.

Today, I believe Jesus is calling Christians to WAKE UP AND WATCH, just as Paul writes in this passage:

“Therefore let us not sleep, as do others (the lost); but let us WATCH AND BE SOBER!! (1 Thessalonians 5:6)

Stay tuned for more specific examples of what to WAKE UP AND WATCH for…