By John Stallings
There are five types of people you’ll find in every area of life.
They are in business, education, & even the Church. Only one of these types ever really accomplishes anything, & it certainly isn’t the;
1. Talkers
Talkers gab & blab. They are always talking about what they are going to do but never do anything. These folk have the ability to get people excited. They have the gift of gab. The gift of yada-yada-yada. They can charm the birds down out of the trees with their chatter.
I have met these talkers as a pastor. They come into a church & know just exactly how to present themselves. They seem to know just what you want to hear. They will talk & as they talk they’ll use exaggerated hand motions to paint you a picture of what they will do & help you to do. The problem with these folk is they are all “talky- talky- talky & no walky- walky -walky.” They will get you all excited & leave you hanging.
Talkers usually end up bouncing from church to church because they know people will finally catch on to their yada-yada & stop listening.
I learned the hard way about talkers as a young pastor. In my first church I allowed a man I hardly knew & was new to the church to influence me to add another weekly prayer meeting, one he suggested should be an “all-nighter.” Being inexperienced I felt it would look “nonspiritual” if I declined & some of the faithful members agreed to try it. Can you imagine our surprise when we learned that this man who had the idea wasn’t going to be present at any of them; He was too busy? But he was certain still the all night prayer meetings were the answer for our church.
A little checking on my part revealed that this man had misrepresented his past & his life had been a series of one flop after another. Out of twenty years of a so called Christian life, he’d spent half of it in jail & the other half running from town to town presenting himself as something he most definitely wasn’t.
Don’t misunderstand; I’m not against all night prayer meetings but after that experience my question to an individual who suggests we add another night to an already crowded weekly schedule is- “where were you ten or twenty years ago when the people of the church were praying & interceding for the lost?” Usually the truth is they were out sowing wild oats & living like the devil while the people of the church had been faithfully serving God.
These folk are just talkers & nine times out of ten they won’t be around for more than a month anyway. But you can be sure they’ll be somewhere else giving their yada-yada to someone. The prophet Hosea calls these people “morning clouds” that appear for a little while & then poof, they are no longer visible.
Next we have the,
2. Dreamers.
I don’t want to be too hard on dreamers because people need their dreams. However, too many dreamers read books, go to seminars, take notes, write mission statements, write out goals & “pray about it” but they never carry through. They never cut a rut from a plan to a practice, from a list to a living ministry. Dreamers are always dreaming but never able to live out their dreams. When I was a kid I used to want to be a cowboy; to be exact, a singing cowboy. I spent many hours of my days dreaming about being like Gene or Roy.
There is one kind of dreaming that’s very powerful so long as a certain ingredient isn’t missing. Let me explain. I suppose my cowboy dreams were normal but at some point I had to lay those childlike dreams aside & dream for my real future.
When I was growing up, since my dad was a pastor we usually lived next to the church. Starting at about age fourteen, a few times a week I’d go over to the church, lock the door & get up behind the pulpit with my guitar & act like I was in an actual service. I’d open “the service” with prayer. Then I’d say, “Now I’d like to sing you a song I wrote.” Then I’d proceed to sing a song, but not one I wrote, because I hadn’t as yet written any songs. I was day-dreaming. Then I’d sing one or two more songs “I wrote.” I wanted to be a songwriter so bad I could taste it. When I finished with the music portion of the service, I’d open the Bible & start preaching to my imaginary audience. Well, I wouldn’t exactly preach, I’d read a little bit & then I’d holler. I’d read a little bit more & holler. It seemed to me that’s what my dad did as well as all the other preachers I’d heard; they’d read & holler. Then I’d close my imaginary service, slip out the side door & go home, hoping no one was the wiser.
If you came to one of my services today, over fifty years later, in all probability here’s what you’d see & hear; I’d get up & welcome the people & sing a song or two that I wrote. But these songs would be songs I actually did write, because now I have some songs of my own. Then I’d open my Bible & read a few scriptures, expound on them & there would be several spots that I’d raise my voice to emphasize a point. I do in reality what that teenager envisioned so long ago.
But if I’d never gotten out of the dreaming stage, if I’d never started getting up in front a real audience, all the practicing & all the secret dreaming wouldn’t have gotten me anywhere.
So I think I can say all my boyhood dreams came true. Dreaming is a powerful & necessary thing but dreaming alone isn’t enough. An individual must make the effort & be willing to work & do all necessary to bring those dreams into fruition. Then we have the,
3. Wishers.
These people wish things would change all by themselves but they won’t act to change them. They wish they had a better prayer life. They wish they knew the Bible better. They wish they could get to church more often. They wish they had a better devotional life, but never open their Bibles between visits to church. If all these people blew the dust off their Bibles at the same time, we’d all choke to death in a dust-storm. They wish the church had more money to reach out to the lost but they never give any. If wishes were horses beggars would ride.
I heard a story about a preacher who got up in his church & said, “This church is on its knees now, but I can see this church rising.” All the people said amen. Then he said, “This church is not only gonna rise, this crawling church is gonna walk.” Everyone said amen. Then he said “This church isn’t only gonna walk this church is gonna run.” You guessed it, everyone shouted amen. Then the preacher said, “Brothers & sisters, God has shown me that if we’ll all start being liberal with our tithes & offerings, this church someday very soon is gonna fly.” Then everything got real quiet & one man on the backseat said, “Let her crawl brother, let her crawl.” Next come the,
4. Dabblers.
Dabblers love the feeling of starting a new project but they never finish anything. Dabblers get bored easily. They shine one shoe & leave the other not shined. Dabblers often leave a wave of disappointment behind them. They dabble a little here & they dabble a little there but never bring anything to completion. There are far too many Christians who dabble at serving God.
God is a finisher. He finished creating the earth. Jesus hung on the cross & said “It is finished.” He didn’t as some supposed on that day say, “I am finished.” He said “It is finished.” He said the great plan of God that was established before the foundations of the earth were laid- was finished. Too many people have exchanged the word finished for the words, “I’m through.” I’m through with that church.” I’m through with this marriage.” “I’m through with school.” They are always getting through with things but never finishing them. One meaning of the word finish is- “bringing to perfection.”
When the carpenters are through with a house they bring in the finishers. The finishers put the Crown molding around the edges & corners of the rooms. They hang the doors & make sure they are well balanced & open & close smoothly. A house left “unfinished” would be a rather ugly house even though it had four walls & a roof. Many people in high society send their young women to “finishing school.” There they learn the finer points of being a lady so they can later be at ease & poised in the circles they’re expected to move in.
We can never be truly successful if all we do is dabble. To be successful at anything, we must put our all into it, for one thing is certain, we’ll only get out of an enterprise what we put in it. My mother wanted me to learn to play the piano & was willing to pay for me to learn but I can’t play the piano today because all I wanted to do was dabble & play chopsticks. I suspect I’m not alone in that.
The only accomplishers in this world are the;
5. DOERS.
Doers make things happen. Doers don’t just wish things would happen. They don’t dream & talk about it. Doers aren’t dabblers. They actually get things done. Doers are daring. They are movers & shakers. Doers build churches. Doers build businesses. Doers are the ones with the testimonies. No church, business or enterprise has ever gotten off the ground without a few doers. We will always have more than enough of the others but we must “Be doers of the Word not just hearers.”
Doers don’t go by their feelings. I read an article somewhere that said “80% of the world’s work is done by people who aren’t feeling well.” That didn’t really surprise me. Many people will sit & wait until the “mood” strikes them before they’ll move on a project. They have to have a certain feeling but the problem is the feeling seldom comes. As I read the article, I thought, you know, I’ll bet the man who wrote that it wasn’t feeling well when he wrote it. And it wouldn’t surprise me if some who read this article won’t be feeling all that great as they read it. As I think about it, I’m not feeling all that great as I’m writing it. But what do our feelings have to do with anything? Can we allow feelings to rule us when they can change overnight for no apparent reason? I’m sure you’ve learned by now that if you’re going to get anything done you must put your feelings on the back burner & go to work because feelings will fall in line as we move. It was William James who said, “We don’t feel our way to a different way of acting, we act our way to a different way of feeling.”
Heres how to shake off depression? Get up & start doing something. Now if you have some sort of clinical depression & are being treated for it, that’s between you & your doctor. However, I’ll bet he’ll tell you you’re better off doing than just sitting. If you wake up depressed, tell depression you’re going to work & you’ll take the depression with you. Chances are great that you’ll leave depression behind as soon as you start moving.
There is so much in the Bible about DOING! James tells us; ---“Draw nigh to God & He’ll draw nigh to you.” He also told us—“Faith without works is dead, being alone.” One of my favorite verses of scripture is Daniel 11:32….But the people that do know their God shall be strong & do exploits.”
If you want to do something special with your life, resolve with me to stand up on your feet & get moving!
As Todd Beamer said, one of the passengers on the ill-fated airliner that crashed in a Pennsylvania field, on 9/11/01, trying to take back the hi-jacked plane & thwarting the plans of the terrorists, "Let’s Roll!"
Let’s be "doers of the Word" & works of God.
Blessings,
John
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Monday, August 10, 2015
Great Balls Of Fire
By John Stallings
Two men stood on a hill overlooking the lush, fertile plain below.
One of the men was quite old, the other very young -but both were super- rich. It’s interesting that the young man was rich. That would have been quite unusual in that era.
It was obvious that these men & their flocks were taking up a lot of room & logistically speaking it was best that they split up.
Abraham, the uncle, told his nephew Lot, “you take the direction you want & I’ll take what’s left.” Pretty large of the older man wouldn’t you say? Since this is one of the oldest stories in the Bible we all know what happened. Lot made a bad choice. He immediately transitioned toward & acquired property close to the big city of Sodom.
Five cities, Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zebolim & Bela [Zoar] dotted the plain of Jordan. In this fertile plain Lot chose to settle. Evidently Sodom & Gomorrah were the chief cities. Sodom was a beautiful place. The temperature was nice practically all year round. It was full of palm trees, olive orchids & flowers bloomed everywhere. Sodom sounds a lot like Palm Springs California to me.
The men of Sodom were mean, evil, wicked & nasty & that’s just their good traits. They were homosexuals. Since children were still being born, many of these rascals must have been bi-sexual. I read somewhere that a large percentage of young Hollywood actors/actresses are bi-sexual. Just a point of information.
The men of Sodom wanted wives to cook & clean for them, then at night they’d go chasing men while their wives went chasing women. What a sick place. Lot had two daughters that he took to live among these reprobates.
We don’t need to know much else than God’s destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah to realize that He especially despises homosexuality. Some people would put this sin in the same category as others but in truth, any place we look in the Bible- from cover to cover -where homosexuality is mentioned, it’s abjectly condemned. To say that homosexuality is an alternative form of sexuality is like saying that bulimia is an alternative form of eating & that drunkenness is an alternative form of drinking. Homosexuality is nothing less than a wholesale abandonment of God’s ways with respect to sexuality.
God loves the homosexual but He hates homosexuality. Did Lot know what a rotten town Sodom was? Of course he knew. But he reasoned; “all these sinners will buy my corn, oil, cattle & wool. And besides that I’ll be in a fertile mission field & I’ll be a light in a dark place.” Right. It’s obvious that Lot had no impact on Sodom but Sodom decimated his family & almost killed him.
The Bible says that “Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom.” He wanted to be facing the big city. However, it wasn’t long before Lot & family were living in Sodom. The next step was that Sodom finally moved into Lot & his family. We see here the progressive nature of sin. Satan is incredibly patient. Lot may have eventually been Sodom’s mayor. Lot’s wife especially liked the raucous lifestyle of the town.
One evening two men [angels] visited with Lot & Lot invited them to stay for a meal. As the evening wore on the angels unfolded to Lot God’s plans to destroy the city, admonishing he & his family to flee. To see how perverted they were, in Genesis 19, we read about the men of Sodom surrounding Lot’s house desiring to gang-rape the visiting angels inside the house. God struck the men blind so they failed in their attempt. A sickening aspect of the story is that Lot tried to appease the mob by offering his own daughters to them but this only roused them against him. The depravity of these men was so deep that both young & old, rich & poor participated in this grotesque riot.
HUGE FIRE BALLS FELL FROM HEAVEN ON SODOM
The next morning a small cloud appeared over the city of Sodom. The Angels continued to beg Lot & his family to leave. Lot didn’t want to go & his wife lingered even longer. She wanted to sort through her jewelry & the daughters wanted to pick out some clothes. The women folk dillydallied around & Lot argued with the angels.
But the lightening produced huge balls of sulfuric fire & poured torrents of blazing brimstone & scalding sulfur from the sky as the heaving earth belched oil & pitch from beneath. Fire came from heaven like hell was breaking loose & hurricane like wind swept the fire over the city & the plain.
Balls of fire fell on Lot’s wife as she stood there lingering & looking back & she was struck dead & became a pillar of salt.
UNUSUAL ADVICE FROM JESUS - “REMEMBER LOT’S WIFE”
In Luke 17:32 Jesus uttered one of the shortest verses in the Bible;-Remember Lot’s wife.
Certainly everything Jesus said should be remembered. As a matter of fact Jesus never said anything that wasn’t vitally important.
However, Jesus is clearly exhorting us to remember someone. Isn’t it interesting that Jesus never asked us to remember Abraham? Isn’t it interesting that He never asked us to remember Isaac, or Jacob, or Sarah, or Hannah or Ruth? Jesus could have told us to remember & ponder on the great flood of Noah’s day. He could have requested of us that we remember the rebellion of Adam & Eve our first parents. He could have asked us to remember ancient Israel & their deliverance from Egyptian bandage.
Jesus asks us to remember something that happened 1900 years before he was born, & really one of the “less memorable” things in all of Holy Writ. He singles out only one person to be remembered & that was a person who was lost forever. He cries out—Remember Lot’s wife.
Jesus was saying this in the context of His own second coming to judge the world; he’s describing the awful state of unpreparedness in which many souls will be found. Jesus isn’t saying this to the Scribes & Pharisees who hated Him, but Peter, James & John & many others who loved Him. Even to these good folk He sees fit to warn—Remember Lot’s wife. He speaks as if we are in danger of forgetting something exceedingly important. He speaks of Lot’s wife & wants us to keep firmly in our minds what happened to her. He cries out—Remember Lot’s wife.
Remember- that Lot’s wife was a favored woman.
Remember- that she had a believer for a husband.
Remember- that she had an uncle by marriage who was the father of the faithful.
Remember- that Lot’s wife lived close to these two men & she knew their God was real.
Remember- that she knew her husband & uncle served God not out of religious formality. - Serving God was the ruling principle of their lives.
Remember- that having a Christian relative isn’t enough to save anyone.
Remember-that spiritual advantage won’t open heaven’s doors to anyone.
Remember- that Lot’s wife saw the angels who came to warn & rescue them.
Remember- an angel took her by the hand to lead her out of the city.
“Remember Lot’s wife.”
Remember that close association with good people even spiritual people doesn’t rub off on us. Joab was David’s captain. Gehazi was Elisha’s servant. Demas was Paul’s companion & Judas was Christ’s disciple. These all died in their sins showing that rubbing shoulders with spiritual friends or relatives won’t save us; only God’s Grace can do that.
"Remember Lot’s wife."
WE SHOULD TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT WHO’S ASKING HERE.
This is asked by no mere man. The one doing the asking here is none other than God’s only son, the Lord Jesus Christ himself. You will remember that when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, God’s voice was heard to say; - this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased-HEAR YE HIM!
We should honor the request to remember Lot’s wife if for no other reason than the fact that it was made by none other than God’s Son.
WE SHOULD REMEMBER LOT’S WIFE BECAUSE SHE LIVED IN A DAY NOT UNLIKE OUR DAY.
We can see many parallels between Sodom of old & our beloved America. Homosexuality, free love, pre-martial sex, cross dressing, same sex marriages, & spouse trading are all being accepted as alternative lifestyles.
AIDS has killed & is killing millions & man is trying to find a cure for it. In my opinion we should stop looking for a cure & start looking at the CAUSE of it which is SIN! If we get rid of the CAUSE we won’t need the CURE!
Maybe we should remember Lot’s wife because she was warned of judgment to come just as you & I have been warned.
WE SHOULD REMEMBER LOT’S WIFE BECAUSE SHE CAME SO CLOSE TO BEING SAVED.
She made an honest effort to be saved. Unlike her sons-in-law who made no effort to escape the wrath of God, Lot’s wife actually left Sodom with her hand in an angel’s hand. If we miss heaven by a few inches we may as well have missed it by a million miles.
“Almost” is a sad word in anybody’s dictionary. In Acts 26:28 Agrippa told Paul that he’d almost persuaded him to be a Christian. Almost is a traveling companion to expressions like “If only,” as we say in the South, “near bout.” “Almost” smacks of missed opportunities & fumbled chances.
THE RICH YOUNG RULER
This young man’s story is repeated in Matthew, Mark, & Luke. Each version is slightly different so we tend to mix it all together into one composite story. This wealthy young man came running to Christ to learn more about the eternal life He preached. Jesus told him to go sell his possessions & give the money to the poor & come follow Him.
Jesus wasn’t against money neither was He against prosperity. Money in itself is morally neutral. When Nicodemus came to Christ, he wasn’t asked to sell his possessions. The reason He required this of the young man was that Jesus knew he was using his money as a security blanket & not trusting God. But neither did Jesus make the offer to Nicodemus that he made to this young man. He actually told him that after he had liquidated all his possessions, he could come & follow Him. This young man turned down an offer that was made to precious few people. People were usually encouraged by Jesus to stay where they were & be faithful, but Jesus must have had a place for this young man. He could actually have been one of Christ’s disciples. One of the saddest passages in the Bible is—he went away sorrowful for he had great wealth. The rich young ruler almost found eternal life, but Jesus’ instructions to sell everything he had & give it to the poor to him was way too much.
I remember the great preacher, the late C.M Ward saying once that the main reason he didn’t want to go to hell was because of all the stupid people who would be there. At first that might sound a little snarky but this is what Ward meant; God arranged for all our sins & mess-ups to be transferred to the shoulders of Jesus when He died on the cross. In exchange, we can be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. What a trade! All we must do is endorse it by faith, confess our sins, & trust in the risen Christ as our personal Lord & Savior. Ward’s thought was that anyone who’d stumble over that fifteen second transaction, has to be a little stupid.
Lot’s wife took a step in the right direction. She separated herself from her sinful surroundings even though the angels had to hold her hand & lead her out. She was being whisked out of harms way by heaven’s angels & was given the instructions—Escape for your life-Look not behind thee….lest thou be consumed. Genesis 19:17
WE SHOULD REMEMBER LOT’S WIFE BECAUSE SHE REFUSED THE SIMPLE WARNING OF GOD.
When Lot, his two daughters & his wife were led out of Sodom they were all warned not to look back. But as they reached the little town of Zoar, Lot’s wife turned & looked back. She was out of Sodom but Sodom wasn’t out of her. When she looked back, she was immediately turned into a pillar of salt. In one scintillating moment she lost her life & her soul.
What a contrast this story is to the testimony of the great Apostle Paul. He said—
This one thing I do, forgetting those which are behind & pressing toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13,14
A FINAL QUESTION
What did Jesus really mean by that cryptic expression—Remember Lot’s wife? What does that woman who lived & died so long ago have to do with people who’re watching the closeout of history?
After all Lot’s wife did leave the city. Her only fault was her focus problems. She looked back. Lot’s wife serves as a warning to all of us. Jesus said,-No one having put his hand to the plow & looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.
You & I can’t cling to heaven with one hand & cling to hell with the other. We can’t walk the broad road to hell & the narrow road to eternal life simultaneously. We can’t leave a world of sin by looking longingly over our shoulder missing what we left behind.
Hebrews says,
For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, & every transgression & disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord & was confirmed to us by those who heard them.
We aren’t told what Lot’s wife’s eternal destiny was but given the fact God saw her sin as great enough to deserve a death sentence, it’s likely the sentence was permanent. Many people sin & don’t let it bother them because they’re certain God will forgive them of anything. I believe what we could use in 2015 is a good healthy dose of reverential fear of the one who sits upon that throne.
Hebrews also says;--Therefore since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to come short of it.
Listen again to Jesus’ words;
Woe to you Korazin! Woe to you Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre & Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth & ashes.
But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre & Sidon on the Day of Judgment than for you. And you Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the Day of Judgment than for you.—Matthew 11:21-24.
While we’re remembering Lot’s wife, let’s not forget Lot. He didn’t fare so well either did he? How much did he lose in Sodom? He lost his wife & all his possessions. What happened to him can happen to any of us who love the world more than we love God.
Sodom still lives, not externally but internally. We can see traces of Sodom in our beloved America. We can follow the way of Abraham or we can go the way of Lot.
Why did our Lord admonish us to –Remember Lot’s wife? Jesus spoke those words because He knows if we don’t remember her, if we forget her story, the dreadful prospect exists that we will repeat her mistake.
Blessings,
John
Two men stood on a hill overlooking the lush, fertile plain below.
One of the men was quite old, the other very young -but both were super- rich. It’s interesting that the young man was rich. That would have been quite unusual in that era.
It was obvious that these men & their flocks were taking up a lot of room & logistically speaking it was best that they split up.
Abraham, the uncle, told his nephew Lot, “you take the direction you want & I’ll take what’s left.” Pretty large of the older man wouldn’t you say? Since this is one of the oldest stories in the Bible we all know what happened. Lot made a bad choice. He immediately transitioned toward & acquired property close to the big city of Sodom.
Five cities, Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zebolim & Bela [Zoar] dotted the plain of Jordan. In this fertile plain Lot chose to settle. Evidently Sodom & Gomorrah were the chief cities. Sodom was a beautiful place. The temperature was nice practically all year round. It was full of palm trees, olive orchids & flowers bloomed everywhere. Sodom sounds a lot like Palm Springs California to me.
The men of Sodom were mean, evil, wicked & nasty & that’s just their good traits. They were homosexuals. Since children were still being born, many of these rascals must have been bi-sexual. I read somewhere that a large percentage of young Hollywood actors/actresses are bi-sexual. Just a point of information.
The men of Sodom wanted wives to cook & clean for them, then at night they’d go chasing men while their wives went chasing women. What a sick place. Lot had two daughters that he took to live among these reprobates.
We don’t need to know much else than God’s destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah to realize that He especially despises homosexuality. Some people would put this sin in the same category as others but in truth, any place we look in the Bible- from cover to cover -where homosexuality is mentioned, it’s abjectly condemned. To say that homosexuality is an alternative form of sexuality is like saying that bulimia is an alternative form of eating & that drunkenness is an alternative form of drinking. Homosexuality is nothing less than a wholesale abandonment of God’s ways with respect to sexuality.
God loves the homosexual but He hates homosexuality. Did Lot know what a rotten town Sodom was? Of course he knew. But he reasoned; “all these sinners will buy my corn, oil, cattle & wool. And besides that I’ll be in a fertile mission field & I’ll be a light in a dark place.” Right. It’s obvious that Lot had no impact on Sodom but Sodom decimated his family & almost killed him.
The Bible says that “Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom.” He wanted to be facing the big city. However, it wasn’t long before Lot & family were living in Sodom. The next step was that Sodom finally moved into Lot & his family. We see here the progressive nature of sin. Satan is incredibly patient. Lot may have eventually been Sodom’s mayor. Lot’s wife especially liked the raucous lifestyle of the town.
One evening two men [angels] visited with Lot & Lot invited them to stay for a meal. As the evening wore on the angels unfolded to Lot God’s plans to destroy the city, admonishing he & his family to flee. To see how perverted they were, in Genesis 19, we read about the men of Sodom surrounding Lot’s house desiring to gang-rape the visiting angels inside the house. God struck the men blind so they failed in their attempt. A sickening aspect of the story is that Lot tried to appease the mob by offering his own daughters to them but this only roused them against him. The depravity of these men was so deep that both young & old, rich & poor participated in this grotesque riot.
HUGE FIRE BALLS FELL FROM HEAVEN ON SODOM
The next morning a small cloud appeared over the city of Sodom. The Angels continued to beg Lot & his family to leave. Lot didn’t want to go & his wife lingered even longer. She wanted to sort through her jewelry & the daughters wanted to pick out some clothes. The women folk dillydallied around & Lot argued with the angels.
But the lightening produced huge balls of sulfuric fire & poured torrents of blazing brimstone & scalding sulfur from the sky as the heaving earth belched oil & pitch from beneath. Fire came from heaven like hell was breaking loose & hurricane like wind swept the fire over the city & the plain.
Balls of fire fell on Lot’s wife as she stood there lingering & looking back & she was struck dead & became a pillar of salt.
UNUSUAL ADVICE FROM JESUS - “REMEMBER LOT’S WIFE”
In Luke 17:32 Jesus uttered one of the shortest verses in the Bible;-Remember Lot’s wife.
Certainly everything Jesus said should be remembered. As a matter of fact Jesus never said anything that wasn’t vitally important.
However, Jesus is clearly exhorting us to remember someone. Isn’t it interesting that Jesus never asked us to remember Abraham? Isn’t it interesting that He never asked us to remember Isaac, or Jacob, or Sarah, or Hannah or Ruth? Jesus could have told us to remember & ponder on the great flood of Noah’s day. He could have requested of us that we remember the rebellion of Adam & Eve our first parents. He could have asked us to remember ancient Israel & their deliverance from Egyptian bandage.
Jesus asks us to remember something that happened 1900 years before he was born, & really one of the “less memorable” things in all of Holy Writ. He singles out only one person to be remembered & that was a person who was lost forever. He cries out—Remember Lot’s wife.
Jesus was saying this in the context of His own second coming to judge the world; he’s describing the awful state of unpreparedness in which many souls will be found. Jesus isn’t saying this to the Scribes & Pharisees who hated Him, but Peter, James & John & many others who loved Him. Even to these good folk He sees fit to warn—Remember Lot’s wife. He speaks as if we are in danger of forgetting something exceedingly important. He speaks of Lot’s wife & wants us to keep firmly in our minds what happened to her. He cries out—Remember Lot’s wife.
Remember- that Lot’s wife was a favored woman.
Remember- that she had a believer for a husband.
Remember- that she had an uncle by marriage who was the father of the faithful.
Remember- that Lot’s wife lived close to these two men & she knew their God was real.
Remember- that she knew her husband & uncle served God not out of religious formality. - Serving God was the ruling principle of their lives.
Remember- that having a Christian relative isn’t enough to save anyone.
Remember-that spiritual advantage won’t open heaven’s doors to anyone.
Remember- that Lot’s wife saw the angels who came to warn & rescue them.
Remember- an angel took her by the hand to lead her out of the city.
“Remember Lot’s wife.”
Remember that close association with good people even spiritual people doesn’t rub off on us. Joab was David’s captain. Gehazi was Elisha’s servant. Demas was Paul’s companion & Judas was Christ’s disciple. These all died in their sins showing that rubbing shoulders with spiritual friends or relatives won’t save us; only God’s Grace can do that.
"Remember Lot’s wife."
WE SHOULD TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT WHO’S ASKING HERE.
This is asked by no mere man. The one doing the asking here is none other than God’s only son, the Lord Jesus Christ himself. You will remember that when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, God’s voice was heard to say; - this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased-HEAR YE HIM!
We should honor the request to remember Lot’s wife if for no other reason than the fact that it was made by none other than God’s Son.
WE SHOULD REMEMBER LOT’S WIFE BECAUSE SHE LIVED IN A DAY NOT UNLIKE OUR DAY.
We can see many parallels between Sodom of old & our beloved America. Homosexuality, free love, pre-martial sex, cross dressing, same sex marriages, & spouse trading are all being accepted as alternative lifestyles.
AIDS has killed & is killing millions & man is trying to find a cure for it. In my opinion we should stop looking for a cure & start looking at the CAUSE of it which is SIN! If we get rid of the CAUSE we won’t need the CURE!
Maybe we should remember Lot’s wife because she was warned of judgment to come just as you & I have been warned.
WE SHOULD REMEMBER LOT’S WIFE BECAUSE SHE CAME SO CLOSE TO BEING SAVED.
She made an honest effort to be saved. Unlike her sons-in-law who made no effort to escape the wrath of God, Lot’s wife actually left Sodom with her hand in an angel’s hand. If we miss heaven by a few inches we may as well have missed it by a million miles.
“Almost” is a sad word in anybody’s dictionary. In Acts 26:28 Agrippa told Paul that he’d almost persuaded him to be a Christian. Almost is a traveling companion to expressions like “If only,” as we say in the South, “near bout.” “Almost” smacks of missed opportunities & fumbled chances.
THE RICH YOUNG RULER
This young man’s story is repeated in Matthew, Mark, & Luke. Each version is slightly different so we tend to mix it all together into one composite story. This wealthy young man came running to Christ to learn more about the eternal life He preached. Jesus told him to go sell his possessions & give the money to the poor & come follow Him.
Jesus wasn’t against money neither was He against prosperity. Money in itself is morally neutral. When Nicodemus came to Christ, he wasn’t asked to sell his possessions. The reason He required this of the young man was that Jesus knew he was using his money as a security blanket & not trusting God. But neither did Jesus make the offer to Nicodemus that he made to this young man. He actually told him that after he had liquidated all his possessions, he could come & follow Him. This young man turned down an offer that was made to precious few people. People were usually encouraged by Jesus to stay where they were & be faithful, but Jesus must have had a place for this young man. He could actually have been one of Christ’s disciples. One of the saddest passages in the Bible is—he went away sorrowful for he had great wealth. The rich young ruler almost found eternal life, but Jesus’ instructions to sell everything he had & give it to the poor to him was way too much.
I remember the great preacher, the late C.M Ward saying once that the main reason he didn’t want to go to hell was because of all the stupid people who would be there. At first that might sound a little snarky but this is what Ward meant; God arranged for all our sins & mess-ups to be transferred to the shoulders of Jesus when He died on the cross. In exchange, we can be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. What a trade! All we must do is endorse it by faith, confess our sins, & trust in the risen Christ as our personal Lord & Savior. Ward’s thought was that anyone who’d stumble over that fifteen second transaction, has to be a little stupid.
Lot’s wife took a step in the right direction. She separated herself from her sinful surroundings even though the angels had to hold her hand & lead her out. She was being whisked out of harms way by heaven’s angels & was given the instructions—Escape for your life-Look not behind thee….lest thou be consumed. Genesis 19:17
WE SHOULD REMEMBER LOT’S WIFE BECAUSE SHE REFUSED THE SIMPLE WARNING OF GOD.
When Lot, his two daughters & his wife were led out of Sodom they were all warned not to look back. But as they reached the little town of Zoar, Lot’s wife turned & looked back. She was out of Sodom but Sodom wasn’t out of her. When she looked back, she was immediately turned into a pillar of salt. In one scintillating moment she lost her life & her soul.
What a contrast this story is to the testimony of the great Apostle Paul. He said—
This one thing I do, forgetting those which are behind & pressing toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13,14
A FINAL QUESTION
What did Jesus really mean by that cryptic expression—Remember Lot’s wife? What does that woman who lived & died so long ago have to do with people who’re watching the closeout of history?
After all Lot’s wife did leave the city. Her only fault was her focus problems. She looked back. Lot’s wife serves as a warning to all of us. Jesus said,-No one having put his hand to the plow & looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.
You & I can’t cling to heaven with one hand & cling to hell with the other. We can’t walk the broad road to hell & the narrow road to eternal life simultaneously. We can’t leave a world of sin by looking longingly over our shoulder missing what we left behind.
Hebrews says,
For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, & every transgression & disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord & was confirmed to us by those who heard them.
We aren’t told what Lot’s wife’s eternal destiny was but given the fact God saw her sin as great enough to deserve a death sentence, it’s likely the sentence was permanent. Many people sin & don’t let it bother them because they’re certain God will forgive them of anything. I believe what we could use in 2015 is a good healthy dose of reverential fear of the one who sits upon that throne.
Hebrews also says;--Therefore since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to come short of it.
Listen again to Jesus’ words;
Woe to you Korazin! Woe to you Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre & Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth & ashes.
But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre & Sidon on the Day of Judgment than for you. And you Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the Day of Judgment than for you.—Matthew 11:21-24.
While we’re remembering Lot’s wife, let’s not forget Lot. He didn’t fare so well either did he? How much did he lose in Sodom? He lost his wife & all his possessions. What happened to him can happen to any of us who love the world more than we love God.
Sodom still lives, not externally but internally. We can see traces of Sodom in our beloved America. We can follow the way of Abraham or we can go the way of Lot.
Why did our Lord admonish us to –Remember Lot’s wife? Jesus spoke those words because He knows if we don’t remember her, if we forget her story, the dreadful prospect exists that we will repeat her mistake.
Blessings,
John
Sunday, August 2, 2015
The Great Falling Away
By John Stallings
Behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. (Isa. 60:2)
The greatest revival in history is here and will continue for some time. We know that a great awakening is sweeping across the nations. We look with joy as God fulfills His promise to pour out His Spirit on all flesh and empower His people to bring the gospel to all nations. What a privilege to live in this awesome hour of history!
Listen to Peter on the Day of Pentecost….
It shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams… I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy… before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. (Acts 2:17-20)
The Spirit is speaking about this outpouring in our day. We are in the middle of the great end-time outpouring of the Spirit. The Spirit will continue to release the miracles seen in the book of Acts.
BUT CONSIDER THE CRISIS THAT IS AT HAND
We’re living under the threat of natural disasters, terrorism, lawlessness, and war. The oldest citizens among us can scarcely remember floods, earthquakes and violent storms like we’re witnessing today. –Matt.24:4-12-
Radical Islam is growing more intolerant as they seek global domination while Western governments are growing more tolerant as they legalize perversion and corruption. Fear is quickly becoming a predominate emotion.
Men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things… (Lk. 21:26)
Abortion continues to kill 4,000 babies each day in America. The sanctity of marriage has come under siege, threatening to destroy the moral foundations of our nation. Sexual immorality, both heterosexual and homosexual, is reaching epic heights of depravity.
Entire school systems are giving way to this craziness. The number of women and children being trafficked in the sex industry is growing at an alarming rate. The list could go on and on.
Satan, realizing he can’t prevail against God’s church, has joined it and is presenting “another gospel.” A new wave of confusion is systematically seducing young adults into deception. Sincere believers, once ablaze for The Lord, are being allured into compromise on biblical truths and practices.
A kind of “social gospel” is insidiously supplanting the true gospel of Jesus Christ, but no amount of ministry activity can “balance out” the profound spiritual compromises that many are making. More and more is being done in the name of justice and humanity, and less and less in the name of Jesus. In the name of tolerance we are settling for politically correct theology that trivializes God’s glory. Our works of compassion and justice must flow from allegiance to God and His Word, not take their place.
The tsunami of the greatest revival in America’s history approaches even as our nation stands on such precarious footing. The onslaught of darkness is increasing in classrooms, boardrooms, courtrooms, and bedrooms. Confusion is pouring forth from many pulpits and from the halls of Washington.
We live in a very significant hour of history. I believe we are in the time described in the Scripture as the “beginning of sorrows,” or “the beginning of birth pains,” that precedes the Great Tribulation -Mt. 24:4-8, 21. The Bible tells us that during the Great Tribulation, sin will become fully ripe with unprecedented and unimaginable levels of debauchery.
In the letter to the Thessalonians, a church that was eagerly awaiting the return of the Lord, Paul outlined a few events that will come to pass before "the day of the Lord" arrives. The day of the Lord is a general term pointing to an entire series of events that culminate with Jesus landing on the Mount of Olives and taking up the throne of David in Jerusalem.
He says in II Thessalonians 2:1-4 that two things must happen -- a great falling away, and the revelation of the Antichrist, or man of sin. He goes on to discuss this pivotal character in end time history, and then starting in verse 10 Paul introduces the theme of end-time delusion. There are constant reminders throughout the New Testament, from the teachings of Jesus Himself to the writings of Paul, John, Peter, James, and Jude, indicating that the end times will be times of great delusion and deception. These warnings are specifically directed at "the elect" that they might not also be carried away with the "strong delusion" that God will send expressly for the purpose of separating true believers in Him from those who "have not a love of the truth."
The Great “Falling Away”
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed... (II Thessalonians 2:1,2)
There are some things in the Bible that are hard to understand and we can generally leave them open to interpretation. But there are some things that are all too clear. One of these things that should be without debate is that the Rapture of the church will not occur until after something Paul calls “a falling away” happens first.
This has always seemed strange to me but there are those who equate the “falling away” with the Rapture, or the catching up of the Lord's people to meet Him in the air [I Thessalonians 4:17]. They see the Body of Christ "falling away" from the earth as the Lord miraculously draws them up to be with Him in the air.
However, the Greek word translated "falling away" is the word "apostasia," the basis for the English word apostasy. It is the act of going back on the faith. It is a denying of the basic tenets of the faith one once held. “Falling away” is a deviation from or forsaking of an authentically established position.
While there has been a general apostasy on earth since I was a boy, it’s getting exponentially worse almost daily. This falling away will result in persecution of the true believers who refuse to follow “religion” in its retreat from true, authentic Christianity. In fact, it’s likely that it’s just this sort of persecution that will create the unity among Christians that will help them overcome the division that keeps her from coming together as one chaste virgin to meet her Bridegroom King.
Expect to see more liberalism/ modernism, also referred to as “Liberation theology” or the social gospel, continue to invade and take over more mainline Christian denominations. We can also expect to see true Bible believing Christians come under more and more pressure to comply with the form of Christianity that will be spearheaded by the media, the press, and the United Nations. It will be ecumenical, multicultural, tolerant of other faiths and religions, and ultimately conceivably enforced at gunpoint or through other coercive means.
Before you say this is not a possibility in our lifetime; there are restrictions on preaching already being enforced in places like Australia and Canada on the preaching and teaching of Biblical truth. Laws are being passed that will make it "illegal" to teach the Biblical view when it comes to such issues as abortion and homosexuality. And this is just the tip of the iceberg and a shadow of things to come over the next decade.
T.V evangelist John Hagee recently sent lawyers to defend him from accusations he’d preached “hate speech.” Hagee said that the “handwriting is on the wall” because even though he won that round the victory cost him about ten thousand dollars. I don’t claim to be a prophet but I’ve predicted for decades that the time would come when preaching the gospel would be costly.
A MOMENTOUS TIME IN HISTORY
I believe we’re blessed to be alive at such a time in history; a heaven sent revival flourishes world-wide in spite of the fact that we’re witnessing the slow undoing of Western civilization. Should Christ tarry His coming it will be interesting in the days ahead just to see what sort of order will come about following the collapse of much of our social, governmental, financial, and technological systems. Of course that’s just around the corner.
The Bible foretells that the current systems will ultimately be brought under the control of one great authoritarian dictator. This seemingly benevolent dictator will become personally indwelt by Satan himself, the great enemy of God, and will bring havoc down on the heads of God's people until God Himself removes him from the scene. It’s then that God establishes His own Kingdom, with Israel serving as the planet's political focal point.
But the Falling Away is only one of the signs Paul wrote about. In addition to a general apostasy, there will also be the revealing of the man of sin.
That Man of Sin shall be revealed...
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed... (II Thessalonians 2:1,2)
There is much written in the Bible about this man.
He is called the "Antichrist" by John -I John 2:18, 22 and 4:3, the "little horn" and the "prince that shall come" by Daniel- Daniel 7:8 and 8:9; Daniel 9:26. He is the "idol shepherd" of Zechariah 11:17. According to the Book of Revelation, where he is called "the Beast" -Revelation 13:1, he will be a much admired world leader- Revelation 13:3 and exercise incredible authority over the Western hemisphere. It is for this reason that he is often referred to as the coming "one-world leader." He institutes an economic system involving personal identification numbers- Revelation 13:18- that is used all over the world, just as credit cards are now used all over the world.
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.-II Thessalonians 2:4
People speculate that certain current leaders have all the earmarks of the anti-Christ. I would just remind them that this is because the spirit of the anti-Christ is and has been in the world for some time. I seriously doubt any of the current “usual suspects” people point to have the power to raise the dead, a power that the “man of sin” will have.
This man decides to break the treaty he has made between Israel and her neighbors half way through the term of the treaty, or 3 1/2 years after its signing. At that time he will enter the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and sit himself down in the mercy seat of the Most High God and he will declare that there is no higher God in the universe then himself. He will then demand that all the people of the earth, or at least all the people under his control, worship him as God under penalty of death. The Jews will become irate saying he's blaspheming, claiming to be God. His answer will be-"You're looking at God." Paul said-"Blindness in part has happened to the Jews." On this day the scales will fall from their eyes.
According to Daniel 9, this event marks the beginning of the final 3 1/2 years of the "times of the Gentiles."
At the end of that time, the Lord Jesus Christ will return to the earth and to Jerusalem where He will fulfill the Old Testament promises to Israel that Zion shall never be without a descendant of David to rule as King. Everything on the planet will come under the direct control and supervision of Jesus, who is God in the flesh, and those who were faithful to Him and His promises during the current age the church age will "live and reign with him." (Revelation 20:4).
God shall send them strong delusion...
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie... II Thessalonians 2:11
One of the great characteristics of the end times is described in the New Testament as deception, or delusion, on a grand, unprecedented scale. Jesus warned that the deception that is coming in His Name and accompanied by great shows of power will be so convincing that even the very elect stand in danger of being carried away in the deception.-Matthew 24:24.
In discussing the end time delusion that will accompany the world's acceptance of Satan himself as the savior of the world, Paul points out that when this "man of sin" arrives on the scene, he will be accompanied by great signs and wonders -II Thessalonians 2:9.
The world believes that Israel is an imposter in the Holy Land and is "occupying" "Palestinian" territory! The world also believes that there can be peace outside of submission to God and His authority. All of this is purely delusional. The fact of the matter is that God has given Israel to the Jews with an oath and a promise that cannot be broken. The world will know no peace until the Prince of Peace returns and takes up His rule from David's throne in Jerusalem. Anyone who has read and believes the Bible knows these things, but the world doesn't know these things.
One day soon, God, by divine intervention in the return to earth of His Son, is going to snap history in two. The climactic point of history will be reached. God is going to crown Jesus King of kings and Lord of it all. There will be a coronation in the sky. What a moment that is going to be! All of us are there in our white robes, and the orchestras of heaven are going to play. The choirs are going to sing; the angels will furnish the music.
The stars will sing together. They are beginning to find now that stars do sing. They send forth rays that make music to ears that can hear. The stars will sing, and our ears will be attuned to the songs of the universe.
And then, the angels will fold their wings. They will sit down, and then we are going to sing. We'll stand and sing redemption's theme song, "Saved, saved by the blood of the crucified One."
The angels can't join us because they never knew the joy that our salvation brings. I'm glad to be a Christian in this momentous hour. Aren’t you?
Blessings
John
Behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. (Isa. 60:2)
The greatest revival in history is here and will continue for some time. We know that a great awakening is sweeping across the nations. We look with joy as God fulfills His promise to pour out His Spirit on all flesh and empower His people to bring the gospel to all nations. What a privilege to live in this awesome hour of history!
Listen to Peter on the Day of Pentecost….
It shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams… I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy… before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. (Acts 2:17-20)
The Spirit is speaking about this outpouring in our day. We are in the middle of the great end-time outpouring of the Spirit. The Spirit will continue to release the miracles seen in the book of Acts.
BUT CONSIDER THE CRISIS THAT IS AT HAND
We’re living under the threat of natural disasters, terrorism, lawlessness, and war. The oldest citizens among us can scarcely remember floods, earthquakes and violent storms like we’re witnessing today. –Matt.24:4-12-
Radical Islam is growing more intolerant as they seek global domination while Western governments are growing more tolerant as they legalize perversion and corruption. Fear is quickly becoming a predominate emotion.
Men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things… (Lk. 21:26)
Abortion continues to kill 4,000 babies each day in America. The sanctity of marriage has come under siege, threatening to destroy the moral foundations of our nation. Sexual immorality, both heterosexual and homosexual, is reaching epic heights of depravity.
Entire school systems are giving way to this craziness. The number of women and children being trafficked in the sex industry is growing at an alarming rate. The list could go on and on.
Satan, realizing he can’t prevail against God’s church, has joined it and is presenting “another gospel.” A new wave of confusion is systematically seducing young adults into deception. Sincere believers, once ablaze for The Lord, are being allured into compromise on biblical truths and practices.
A kind of “social gospel” is insidiously supplanting the true gospel of Jesus Christ, but no amount of ministry activity can “balance out” the profound spiritual compromises that many are making. More and more is being done in the name of justice and humanity, and less and less in the name of Jesus. In the name of tolerance we are settling for politically correct theology that trivializes God’s glory. Our works of compassion and justice must flow from allegiance to God and His Word, not take their place.
The tsunami of the greatest revival in America’s history approaches even as our nation stands on such precarious footing. The onslaught of darkness is increasing in classrooms, boardrooms, courtrooms, and bedrooms. Confusion is pouring forth from many pulpits and from the halls of Washington.
We live in a very significant hour of history. I believe we are in the time described in the Scripture as the “beginning of sorrows,” or “the beginning of birth pains,” that precedes the Great Tribulation -Mt. 24:4-8, 21. The Bible tells us that during the Great Tribulation, sin will become fully ripe with unprecedented and unimaginable levels of debauchery.
In the letter to the Thessalonians, a church that was eagerly awaiting the return of the Lord, Paul outlined a few events that will come to pass before "the day of the Lord" arrives. The day of the Lord is a general term pointing to an entire series of events that culminate with Jesus landing on the Mount of Olives and taking up the throne of David in Jerusalem.
He says in II Thessalonians 2:1-4 that two things must happen -- a great falling away, and the revelation of the Antichrist, or man of sin. He goes on to discuss this pivotal character in end time history, and then starting in verse 10 Paul introduces the theme of end-time delusion. There are constant reminders throughout the New Testament, from the teachings of Jesus Himself to the writings of Paul, John, Peter, James, and Jude, indicating that the end times will be times of great delusion and deception. These warnings are specifically directed at "the elect" that they might not also be carried away with the "strong delusion" that God will send expressly for the purpose of separating true believers in Him from those who "have not a love of the truth."
The Great “Falling Away”
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed... (II Thessalonians 2:1,2)
There are some things in the Bible that are hard to understand and we can generally leave them open to interpretation. But there are some things that are all too clear. One of these things that should be without debate is that the Rapture of the church will not occur until after something Paul calls “a falling away” happens first.
This has always seemed strange to me but there are those who equate the “falling away” with the Rapture, or the catching up of the Lord's people to meet Him in the air [I Thessalonians 4:17]. They see the Body of Christ "falling away" from the earth as the Lord miraculously draws them up to be with Him in the air.
However, the Greek word translated "falling away" is the word "apostasia," the basis for the English word apostasy. It is the act of going back on the faith. It is a denying of the basic tenets of the faith one once held. “Falling away” is a deviation from or forsaking of an authentically established position.
While there has been a general apostasy on earth since I was a boy, it’s getting exponentially worse almost daily. This falling away will result in persecution of the true believers who refuse to follow “religion” in its retreat from true, authentic Christianity. In fact, it’s likely that it’s just this sort of persecution that will create the unity among Christians that will help them overcome the division that keeps her from coming together as one chaste virgin to meet her Bridegroom King.
Expect to see more liberalism/ modernism, also referred to as “Liberation theology” or the social gospel, continue to invade and take over more mainline Christian denominations. We can also expect to see true Bible believing Christians come under more and more pressure to comply with the form of Christianity that will be spearheaded by the media, the press, and the United Nations. It will be ecumenical, multicultural, tolerant of other faiths and religions, and ultimately conceivably enforced at gunpoint or through other coercive means.
Before you say this is not a possibility in our lifetime; there are restrictions on preaching already being enforced in places like Australia and Canada on the preaching and teaching of Biblical truth. Laws are being passed that will make it "illegal" to teach the Biblical view when it comes to such issues as abortion and homosexuality. And this is just the tip of the iceberg and a shadow of things to come over the next decade.
T.V evangelist John Hagee recently sent lawyers to defend him from accusations he’d preached “hate speech.” Hagee said that the “handwriting is on the wall” because even though he won that round the victory cost him about ten thousand dollars. I don’t claim to be a prophet but I’ve predicted for decades that the time would come when preaching the gospel would be costly.
A MOMENTOUS TIME IN HISTORY
I believe we’re blessed to be alive at such a time in history; a heaven sent revival flourishes world-wide in spite of the fact that we’re witnessing the slow undoing of Western civilization. Should Christ tarry His coming it will be interesting in the days ahead just to see what sort of order will come about following the collapse of much of our social, governmental, financial, and technological systems. Of course that’s just around the corner.
The Bible foretells that the current systems will ultimately be brought under the control of one great authoritarian dictator. This seemingly benevolent dictator will become personally indwelt by Satan himself, the great enemy of God, and will bring havoc down on the heads of God's people until God Himself removes him from the scene. It’s then that God establishes His own Kingdom, with Israel serving as the planet's political focal point.
But the Falling Away is only one of the signs Paul wrote about. In addition to a general apostasy, there will also be the revealing of the man of sin.
That Man of Sin shall be revealed...
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed... (II Thessalonians 2:1,2)
There is much written in the Bible about this man.
He is called the "Antichrist" by John -I John 2:18, 22 and 4:3, the "little horn" and the "prince that shall come" by Daniel- Daniel 7:8 and 8:9; Daniel 9:26. He is the "idol shepherd" of Zechariah 11:17. According to the Book of Revelation, where he is called "the Beast" -Revelation 13:1, he will be a much admired world leader- Revelation 13:3 and exercise incredible authority over the Western hemisphere. It is for this reason that he is often referred to as the coming "one-world leader." He institutes an economic system involving personal identification numbers- Revelation 13:18- that is used all over the world, just as credit cards are now used all over the world.
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.-II Thessalonians 2:4
People speculate that certain current leaders have all the earmarks of the anti-Christ. I would just remind them that this is because the spirit of the anti-Christ is and has been in the world for some time. I seriously doubt any of the current “usual suspects” people point to have the power to raise the dead, a power that the “man of sin” will have.
This man decides to break the treaty he has made between Israel and her neighbors half way through the term of the treaty, or 3 1/2 years after its signing. At that time he will enter the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and sit himself down in the mercy seat of the Most High God and he will declare that there is no higher God in the universe then himself. He will then demand that all the people of the earth, or at least all the people under his control, worship him as God under penalty of death. The Jews will become irate saying he's blaspheming, claiming to be God. His answer will be-"You're looking at God." Paul said-"Blindness in part has happened to the Jews." On this day the scales will fall from their eyes.
According to Daniel 9, this event marks the beginning of the final 3 1/2 years of the "times of the Gentiles."
At the end of that time, the Lord Jesus Christ will return to the earth and to Jerusalem where He will fulfill the Old Testament promises to Israel that Zion shall never be without a descendant of David to rule as King. Everything on the planet will come under the direct control and supervision of Jesus, who is God in the flesh, and those who were faithful to Him and His promises during the current age the church age will "live and reign with him." (Revelation 20:4).
God shall send them strong delusion...
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie... II Thessalonians 2:11
One of the great characteristics of the end times is described in the New Testament as deception, or delusion, on a grand, unprecedented scale. Jesus warned that the deception that is coming in His Name and accompanied by great shows of power will be so convincing that even the very elect stand in danger of being carried away in the deception.-Matthew 24:24.
In discussing the end time delusion that will accompany the world's acceptance of Satan himself as the savior of the world, Paul points out that when this "man of sin" arrives on the scene, he will be accompanied by great signs and wonders -II Thessalonians 2:9.
The world believes that Israel is an imposter in the Holy Land and is "occupying" "Palestinian" territory! The world also believes that there can be peace outside of submission to God and His authority. All of this is purely delusional. The fact of the matter is that God has given Israel to the Jews with an oath and a promise that cannot be broken. The world will know no peace until the Prince of Peace returns and takes up His rule from David's throne in Jerusalem. Anyone who has read and believes the Bible knows these things, but the world doesn't know these things.
One day soon, God, by divine intervention in the return to earth of His Son, is going to snap history in two. The climactic point of history will be reached. God is going to crown Jesus King of kings and Lord of it all. There will be a coronation in the sky. What a moment that is going to be! All of us are there in our white robes, and the orchestras of heaven are going to play. The choirs are going to sing; the angels will furnish the music.
The stars will sing together. They are beginning to find now that stars do sing. They send forth rays that make music to ears that can hear. The stars will sing, and our ears will be attuned to the songs of the universe.
And then, the angels will fold their wings. They will sit down, and then we are going to sing. We'll stand and sing redemption's theme song, "Saved, saved by the blood of the crucified One."
The angels can't join us because they never knew the joy that our salvation brings. I'm glad to be a Christian in this momentous hour. Aren’t you?
Blessings
John
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