Friday, May 5, 2017
Do you want to know God’s will? It’s conditional, “by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:1–2). Great truth.
Your body and what you do with it matters greatly to God, for as a Christian it is the temple, the very residence of God’s Spirit. To disobey is to be conformed to this world. To not present your body a, “living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God”, quenches the Spirit, who otherwise would, “guide you into all truth” (John 16:13) which includes proving the, “perfect will of God”.
Knowing God’s truth and His will with Spirit-led discernment of good and evil and the signs of the times, is intrinsically linked to presenting our, “bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God”. God’s Word never means what it doesn’t say, and never says what it doesn’t mean. But many, having itching ears, try to force God’s Word to say what they want it to say.
Necessarily, physical and spiritual signs of the end of this present age are everywhere. Physically, Jesus said there would be “wars and rumors of wars” and we’re certainly seeing that. He also said massive storms and raging seas would increase to the point of, “men’s hearts failing them from fear”. This too is being fulfilled and will grow much worse, no nation being exempt.
A 04/30/2017 headline from Strange Sounds says, “More than 65,500 Earthquakes Hit Central Italy in 9 months – And it is not close to stop: 100 and 150 tremors shake the region on average each day.” I’m not surprised, central Italy is where the throne of Antichrist is currently located, Rome, the abominable seat of the Vicar of Christ, “arrayed in purple and scarlet” (Rev. 17:4).
From The Straits Times, “Death toll rises to 113 in Peru floods and mudslides.” And 04/29/2017 from Strange Sounds, “US Superstorm: Very large, powerful storm system stretching from New York to the Texas Panhandle.” Fox News said storms, “brought isolated tornadoes and flooding that killed at least 14 people, while a chance remains for more severe weather across the region.”
Many Christians mock global warming, I’ve heard them, and others have written about it. But earth’s temperature is increasing as God multiplies earthquakes, electrical storms and volcanoes and other wild weather. From Strange Sounds, 04/28/2017, “The Ring of Fire is Heating up: 37 Volcanic Eruptions Right Now and Many Others Showing Increased Seismic Activity.”
Increasingly, volcanoes alter jet liners flight paths. The bowels of earth now spew molten lava and ash miles into the atmosphere. This does increase earth’s temperature considering that 37 of these super-furnaces are erupting simultaneously. But God will add to this calamity as, “a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up” (Rev. 8:7) when He throws hail and fire to the earth at the first trumpet. How many Christians will then deny global warming?
Violence and civil unrest increase as food shortages become more pronounced. Venezuelan’s now experience the very real threat of starvation. Families are eating their cats and dogs just to survive. This will get much worse globally. And anyone who thinks infant-murdering America is impervious to famine, deceives themselves, because it’s coming. God will not be mocked! This is just one of many reasons I constantly remind people to believe God and prepare for end-times.
Spiritually, many have left Christ’s truth for compromise with the world. Many pastors refuse to preach against sin, nor call people to repentance and holy living, fearing people more than God.
This from The Christian Post, 05/01/2017, “Adventist Pastor Comes Out as Bisexual, Resigns Over Church’s Biblical Teachings on Homosexuality.” Pastor Alicia Johnston’s approval of the LGBTQ lifestyle is just one of many pastors, worship leaders and clergy who proudly scorn the Word of God. But often, the road to apostasy begins with seemingly insignificant compromise.
Over 50 years ago a great man of God warned, “Pastors and churches in our hectic times are harassed by the temptation to seek size at any cost and to secure by inflation what they cannot gain by legitimate growth. They are greedy for thrills…A church fed on excitement is no New Testament church at all. The desire for surface stimulation is a sure mark of the fallen nature, the very thing Christ died to deliver us from.” A.W. Tozer (1897–1963)
Tozer accurately warned of what we now see strewn all across America – a church weakened by compromise – a church “greedy for thrills” – a church “fed on excitement” – a church filled with the world’s Hollywood-style lights and fake smoke shows, enticing and alluring the flesh with “surface stimulation” – satisfying, approving, and making comfortable the “fallen nature”.
Tozer: “We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.”
Much of the Western church is in spiritual peril as the Holy Spirit warned, “But evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Tim. 3:13). The Spirit calls our attention to the disobedient and carnal church in these last days, commanding, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues” (Rev. 18:4).
Prolific sexual immorality in the church is just one of the marks of the end-time general falling away. One cannot become apostate unless he or she was once in the Christian faith. So apostasy has a beginning – and in today’s church one venue of that beginning is people observing pastors and leaders acquiescing to the world on numerous issues in order to be accepted by the world.
As these and other signs multiply, remember what began the end-time clock: Israel becoming a nation in May 1948. And Jesus taught that the generation that sees that will not pass away until the events of the tribulation, the coming of Antichrist, the great tribulation, and the gathering of Christ’s elect, “Immediately after the tribulation” (Matt. 24:29–31) is fulfilled. And, “The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years” (Psa. 90:10).
Jesus reminds us that, “all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet” (Matt. 24:6). And remember His promise as He concluded the great commission, saying, “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). Only in Christ can you possess that.
Jesus further said, “But he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matt. 24:13). This reflects on how Joshua and Caleb endured their forty-year tribulation in the wilderness and possessed their Promised Land, while their contemporaries perished in the wilderness due to their unbelief.
Like Joshua and Caleb, arise, believe God and possess Beulah Land. But you must know what lies ahead. The Nephilim giants were to Joshua and Caleb as Antichrist will be to us when the tribulation begins. We must be equipped to go up on the holy high road of testimony for Christ bearing witness to His name and help people enter the narrow gate and difficult road to life.
This from former pastor, Dr. Tom Horn, his website, Skywatch TV, “666 Update: Personal Biometric Authentication To Explode In 2018 And Reach 3.3 Billion Users – Nearly Half Of The World’s Population – Over Following 4 Years”. This headline is based on a revealing 04/26/2017 article by Mobile ID World. This technology is leading to the mark of the beast.
The rapid development of biological and genetic manipulation of the human genome and the co-mingling of animal and human DNA is leading to the return of hybrid humans as existed in Noah’s day. Half-man, half-animal chimera will come up-on the earth in fulfillment of Jesus’ promise that as the days of Noah were so also will the days of the coming of Jesus Christ be.
But those who believe the pre-trib rapture lie – they remain unconcerned as their plan, but not God’s plan, is to be snatched off the earth at any imminent minute. Ringing in their itching ears are the promises of their best-seller wealthy authors spreading their lies, that, “If you live to see the Antichrist, well, then you’ve missed the rapture!” They teach an awful anti-Christ message.
It’s remarkable that pre-trib ministers will preach salvation faith Jesus taught, water baptism by which Jesus was baptized, repentance as Jesus taught, the forgiveness Jesus taught, heaven and hell Jesus taught, but then slam the door shut on Jesus’ teachings for gathering the saints at the resurrection rapture, “at the last day” (John 6:40), “Immediately after the tribulation” (Matt. 24:29-31).
Unfortunately, the proud and deceptive pre-trib rapture doctrine has caused millions to turn away from God’s truth, having created their own god, proving their unbelief, the same unbelief which accompanied ancient Israel at the edge of Canaan where most perished. That doesn’t need to be your story, however, for you can choose to believe Christ’s end-time testimony and prepare.
But in so doing, you will be rejected as a teacher by most pastors who protect church tradition. This too is a form of persecution resulting from believing Christ’s end-time testimony, but, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). Only you can reject tradition and prepare in truths of the end-times. But sadly, many love pastors and leaders more than God.
“All these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet” (Matt. 24:6b). “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen” (Matt. 28:19–20).
Marlin J. Yoder
