Friday, July 26, 2019
First, this urgent invitation – have you been born again by true faith in Jesus Christ? Here’s why that’s critically important. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Jesus also said “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Have you taken that step of faith?
One has eternal life if he or she believes by grace through faith in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. You are eternal and will live forever in one place or another. If you died today would you be with Christ in glory, or with Satan in hell reserved for unbelievers?
The current days of false religious unity are remarkably deceptive, and unless you are clothed in the righteousness of Christ you are wide open to being deceived. Don’t let that happen! There’s a satanic global agenda of uniting all religious systems, and for those people not on board, namely true Christians, we’re now hated, ridiculed, mocked, persecuted and even killed for the cause of Christ. That shouldn’t surprise true saints because Jesus clearly promised end-time persecution.
There used to be clear lines separating right from wrong, just from unjust, truth from deception, and God’s Word vs man’s word. But today man’s word has largely replaced God’s Word and the result is a rapid departure from the faith, yes, even the great “falling away” (2 Thess. 2:3). What do you hold as the truth – the Word of the Lord, or preachers and teachers that tickle your ears? Without being born again and filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, you will be deceived by myriad evil spirits and false teachers teaching doctrines of demons. God warned of the same.
The first horseman of the apocalypse has already ridden, as “he went out conquering and to conquer” (Rev. 6:2). That rider falsely united and conquered multiple religious systems of this world as though they were all one. But that’s a lie and great deception. Even many evangelical Christians and pastors have believed today’s false ecumenical unity. True Christians have no spiritual unity with false religions, including Roman Catholicism (and its idolatrous religion responsible for the persecution and murder of millions of Christians), nor Muslims, Orthodox Jews, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, New Age, Scientology and many other pagan religions.
Today is the day of salvation. Believe the truth of Jesus Christ by grace through faith, and in holiness walk in His ways, not merely giving lip-service, but in spirit and in truth. The time is near – World War III is truly imminent. Millions will die. “When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, ‘Come and see.’ Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword” (Rev. 6:3–4).
Middle East and global hatred of Israel will soon ignite World War III. Note that God said, “I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city” (Zech. 14:2). It is the overt desire and aim of Islamic nations, and especially Iran, to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, but in their hatred God will destroy them. The start of the 7-year tribulation is near. Note this 07/20/2019 article from The Times of Israel.
As a precursor to WWIII, Damascus, Syria could be destroyed as promised by God, who said, “The burden against Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap” (Isa. 17:1). The near prophetic destruction of Damascus could be the catalyst that brings Antichrist to the world stage to make the peace “covenant with many” (Dan. 9:27), which begins the final seven-year tribulation and rule of Antichrist against God’s elect saints.
Have you noticed the rapid scourge against Christian liberties globally? God’s Word is literally being outlawed nearly everywhere as the liberal Left screams racism, intolerance, homophobia, xenophobia and Islamophobia. Angry and enraged people are rising en masse, willing to destroy America and other nations in order to advance Satan’s globalist no-borders agenda. The revived ancient Roman Empire of Dan. 2:41–43, the EU, the New World Order, is taking center stage.
Have you noticed that many churches are yielding truth and spiritual ground to the Devil? Today, the so-called church adopts sin that God said excludes from the kingdom of God. “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9–10). God’s Word couldn’t be plainer, yet many preachers reject these clear truths.
Are you and your family spiritually prepared to engage and endure to the end, the Seal, Trumpet and Bowl judgments of Revelation? Are you prepared mentally, spiritually and even to a degree physically, for the famines, pestilences and wars that will kill half the world’s people according to God’s promises during the tribulation? Please don’t think that you’ll be raptured off the earth before all those things unfold, because you won’t be. That’s not my word, but the Word of the Son of God. The question is – do you believe Jesus or false teachers who promised you a pre-tribulation rapture, a tradition of men filled with the spiritual fruit and poison of high offense.
One of the blessings and fruits of knowing the Lord Jesus, personally, by new birth conversion is simply taking Him at His Word. There’s nothing theologically complex about understanding and believing the Son of God. Christ, very clearly and concisely taught the time of the end for all our benefit, that we not be deceived when He said that He gathers His elect saints “Immediately after the tribulation” (Matt. 24:29–31). We do very well to believe and prepare in Christ’s testimony.
But the selfish fruit of the traditions of men have indeed “made the word of God of no effect” (Mark 7:13) just like Jesus taught. God can only change the humbled heart that is submitted to His written Word, otherwise professing Christians just produce emotions of being born again rather than actually coming under the Headship of Christ. Traditions of men equals unbelief.
(A look ahead to next week’s Letter. Do you tithe? And to whom? Are you giving the church the tithe according to men’s traditions? And who spends your tithe? Do you think the tithe is for the reduction of mortgages, indebtedness, revolving church programs, or you? Does God command His rationed distribution of your tithe, and for what? The saying is very true – “It’s easy to spend someone else’s money!” We’ve all been deceived and the truth will shock you!)
Marlin J. Yoder
