Friday, April 22, 2015
Jesus Christ is God who said, “I am the truth” (John 14:6). God came to this earth in the Person of Jesus Christ to die for our sins and unbelief, and was raised from the dead that by faith in Him our sins could be forgiven and unbelief converted to believing the teachings of God in Christ.
The Spirit of Christ said, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds” (Heb. 1:1–2).
Last week The Christian Post printed an article entitled, “Christians Know ‘Just Enough About the Bible to Be Dangerous,’ Apologist Jeremiah Johnston Warns”. He said: “The Bible can be stripped down, vandalized, added to, taken away [from], and 95 percent of people in the Church would not even know you were doing it because they simply do not know the Bible.” That’s true.
In her April 17, 2016 article in CharismaNews.com entitled, “The Signs of a True Prophet”, Becky Dvorak writes, “We are not to be naïve, but wise. No matter how godly, how charismatic, how charming or how appealing the one with a message may seem, we are responsible to try the spirits and judge the message against the Word of God.” To this I also say a heartfelt amen!
Becky continues, “True prophets bring clarity to the Word. They help shed revelation knowledge on God’s people. They do not mince words, but are very direct and to the point. They do not use flattery to gain favor.” Again, amen! “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10). But false prophets speak of “the State of Innovation”, being “mantled”, or “out-of-the-box paradigms of revival”, or “spiritual innovators”. No, a true prophet confirms Scripture!
Becky says, “We must learn to judge our own thoughts against the Word of God and do as Paul instructs us in 2 Corinthians 10:5: “casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”” Again, a heartfelt amen! But to do this, demands that one knows God’s Word.
Is it pleasing to God for ministers to prophetically tell people that Christ will rapture His elect saints “before” the tribulation, when the Son of God said the exact opposite, promising to gather His elect saints, “Immediately after the tribulation” (Matt. 24:29–31)? No, it is spiritually vexing to hear false ministers and teachers promising people the exact opposite of what Christ foretold.
When you hear something from the pulpit, you are not to judge it based on 20th or 21st century church doctrine or traditions of men, but against the Word of the Lord. Period! God’s Word is the only standard by which we are commanded to judge all things, not flesh-pleasing doctrines and traditions of men in this end-time, lukewarm, unbelieving, Laodicean generation.
Well, things will soon change radically. But just because end-time events don’t shake up your immediate personal life in the next 2 months or 2 years doesn’t mean it’s not coming, because it is coming by authority of God’s Word, for we are the final generation of Matthew 24:32–35.
Last week four killer earthquakes in Japan and Ecuador occurred within 24 hours of one another. The Russian Times reports, “The Big Ones: Scientist warns up to 4 quakes over 8.0 possible under ‘current conditions’”. And on 4/20/16 from RTE, “Second quake strikes off coast of Ecuador”. Disastrous earthquakes are a prophetic prelude to the coming tribulation.
From the Asian Review, “Unusual quake cluster worries Japan”. And from The Extinction Protocol, “Why is the planet being struck by so many large earthquakes?” And from Breaking Israel News, “End Is Near? Global Earthquake Epidemic”. And from Red Flag, “40 Volcanoes Are Erupting Right Now, And 34 Of Them Are Along The Ring Of Fire”. From Sputnik 4/19/16, “Total Number of Earthquakes in Japan Exceeds 600 in Just 5 Days.”
And from The Oregonian 4/19/16 this headline, “Should Northwest residents be worried about this week’s back-to-back earthquakes?” Anyone with sensitivity to what Jesus foretold of the end-times, knows His promise of “earthquakes in various places” (Matt. 24:7).
I trust you know of David Wilkerson, founding pastor of Times Square Church in New York City. In 1973 God gave him a prophetic vision of an earthquake in America that would possibly follow one in Japan. In 1974 Wilkerson wrote his book called, “The Vision”. The next four paragraphs are excerpts from the 2nd chapter of his book, now 42 years later.
“The United States is going to experience in the not-too-distant future the most tragic earthquakes in its history. One day soon this nation will be reeling under the impact of the biggest news story of modern times. It will be coverage of the biggest most disastrous earthquake in history.”
“It will cause widespread panic and fear. Without a doubt, it will become one of the most completely reported earthquake[s] ever. Television networks will suspend all programming and carry all day coverage.”
“Another earthquake, possibly in Japan may precede the one that I see coming here. There is not the slightest doubt in my mind about this forthcoming massive earthquake in our continent.”
“I am not at all convinced that this earthquake will take place in California. In fact, I believe it is going to take place where it is least expected. This terrible earthquake may happen in an area that [is] not known as an earthquake belt. It will be so high on the Richter scale that it will trigger two other major earthquakes.”
April 16th from the AP, “Jerusalem Bus Bombing Wounds 21 Israelis”, and, “Houston area submerged after 16 inches of rain in 24 hours”. From Israel National News, “Syria Responds to Netanyahu: We Will Conquer the Golan”. And this from SPEISA, “Sweden: ISIS is recruiting openly – at the Employment Service”. And from the UK, “Mystery ‘body possession’ epidemic sweeps through Malaysian schools…teachers and pupils…pinned down by evil spirits”.
As the Holy Spirit withdraws His restraint, increasing end-time evils are being unleashed across the world. Killer weather events increase globally with death and destruction following in their wake. Fiscal, social and immigration calamities foster perplexity and anger among nations as world powers like America, Russia, China, Middle East nations and the EU goad each other.
I’m one of those few Christians who actually believe Jesus, who, like the five wise virgins of Matthew 25:1–13 believe that He gathers His elect at the end of “the difficult way” (Matt. 7:14), “Immediately after the tribulation” (Matt. 24:29–31) which makes a great difference in how I prepare as compared to those who do not believe and personalize, “the testimony of Jesus”.
In Jesus’ parable of the five wise and five foolish virgins, all were waiting for their Bridegroom, Jesus. The foolish did NOT believe they had to prepare for “the difficult way” and thus did NOT “endure to the end” (Matt. 24:13). The wise, however, believed the truth, and prepared to endure to, “the last day” (John 6:40, 44, 54), and were welcomed into the marriage banquet!
The Holy Spirit said, “heaven must receive [Christ] until the times of restoration of all things” (Acts 3:21). Christ leaves heaven for the rapture when the time has come for God to restore all things. But the restoration of all things does not occur until, “Immediately after the tribulation”.
Christ warned that in the end-times a spirit of unbelief would prevail, a spirit that says everything is just fine, everything will aright itself, natural disasters come and go just as always. “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:4). And false prophets perpetuate that narrative.
Antichrist, taking the world by deception, will even, “confirm a covenant with many” (Dan. 9:27); a covenant between Israel and Arab nations, and the world will rejoice. But God warns, “when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape” (1 Thess. 5:3). This occurs 42 months later.
That we could be born again, the Son of God said, “I am the truth”. I’ve chosen to believe Him. Jesus also said, “For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 18:37).
By faith I hear His voice and prepare accordingly. But not so with most of the church today, for it strongly prohibits Jesus’ end-time voice from even being taught in most of the church, and that prohibition mocks God! It fulfills Jesus’ promise, “For laying aside the command of God, you hold the tradition of men…making the word of God of no effect” (Mark 7:8, 13). How sad!
The Spirit of God warned of the consequences of not believing the Prophet Christ, saying, “And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people” (Acts 3:23). There are terrible consequences for disbelieving the Son of God. I invite you even now to confess and believe the Lord Jesus Christ and prepare to endure to the end.
Marlin J. Yoder
