May 2008
30/05/08 14:11
PENTECOSTAL PASTOR OF FLORIDA OUTPOURING ADMITS MEETINGS NOT ORDERLY (Friday Church News Notes, May 30, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Meetings that began on April 2 at the Ignite Church in Lakeland, Florida, are continuing daily (in larger venues), with as many as 10,000 in attendance. The frenzy, which has been called “The Florida Healing Outpouring,” is led by evangelist Todd Bentley. Stephen Strader, pastor of Ignite Church, recently admitted to the local newspaper that the services are not orderly, describing them as “chaotic” and “disorganized” (“A Working Man’s Revival,” The Ledger, May 18, 2008). This is an admission that the “revival” is not scriptural. When Paul wrote to the church at Corinth to correct their misuse of spiritual gifts, he said: “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40). He left no doubt about the way that God works. “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints” (1 Cor. 14:33). The “Florida Outpouring” is filled with confusion, disorder, and a distinct lack of peace. People laugh hysterically and shake like they are possessed and babble incoherently. The evangelist hits people on the head and yells “Bam!” and they fall down. He gets “drunk in the spirit” and falls down while his associate is so “intoxicated” that he utters a profanity on stage (http://christianresearchnetwork.com/?p=5075). The Pentecostal-Charismatic movement has been lurching from one strange unscriptural thing to another for more than 100 years. Beware! (The 317-page book The Pentecostal-Charismatic Movements: The History and Error is available from Way of Life Literature.)
PENTECOSTAL EVANGELIST SAYS “DON’T TRY TO FIGURE IT OUT” (Friday Church News Notes, May 30, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Pentecostal evangelist Todd Bentley, who is heading up the current “outpouring” in Lakeland, Florida, says of the “spiritual drunkenness” and other phenomena, “Don’t try to figure it out with your head” (“Florida Outpouring of Drunkenness,” http://christianresearchnetwork.com/?p=5075). This has been one of the theme songs of the Pentecostal movement from its inception, but the Bible warns of deceiving spirits and instructs God’s people to carefully prove all things. The Bereans were called “noble” because they tested everything by Scripture (Acts 17:11). This practice is exalted by the Spirit of God as noble Christianity, and any type of Christianity that draws back from testing everything carefully by Scripture is ignoble and wrong. “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
PENTECOSTAL EVANGELIST SEES FLOATING ANGEL NAMED EMMA (Friday Church News Notes, May 30, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Pentecostal evangelist Todd Bentley, who is heading up the current “outpouring” in Lakeland, Florida, claims to have seen many angels. Not surprisingly, some of them were “financial angels” who spread prosperity to Word-Faith Pentecostals. One of these is named Emma. “I was in a service in Beulah, North Dakota. In the middle of the service I was in conversation with Ivan and another person when in walks Emma. As I stared at the angel with open eyes, the Lord said, ‘Here's Emma.’ I’m not kidding. She floated a couple of inches off the floor. It was almost like Kathryn Kuhlman in those old videos when she wore a white dress and looked like she was gliding across the platform. Emma appeared beautiful and young--about 22 years old--but she was old at the same time. She seemed to carry the wisdom, virtue and grace of Proverbs 31 on her life. She glided into the room, emitting brilliant light and colors. Emma carried these bags and began pulling gold out of them. Then, as she walked up and down the aisles of the church, she began putting gold dust on people. ‘God, what is happening?’ I asked. The Lord answered: ‘She is releasing the gold, which is both the revelation and the financial breakthrough that I am bringing into this church.’ ... Within three weeks of that visitation, the church had given me the biggest offering I had ever received to that point in my ministry. Thousands of dollars!” (Bentley, “Angelic Hosts,” http://www.etpv.org/2003/angho.html). Since the Bible exhorts us to “prove all things,” we must compare this angelic visitation with Scripture. There we see no female angels, no angels that sprinkle gold dust, and none that float two inches off the floor.
PENTECOSTAL EVANGELIST SAYS PAUL DOESN’T HAVE A MANSION IN HEAVEN (Friday Church News Notes, May 30, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Pentecostal evangelist Todd Bentley, who is heading up the current “outpouring” in Lakeland, Florida, claims that he has seen Jesus face to face and visited heaven. There he supposedly received revelations directly from the apostle Paul. “After that, Paul took me to his house. I was still in paradise [the third heaven]. His house wasn’t a mansion. It was actually a small cabin. There was an open field and a forest there” (Bentley, “A Face to Face Encounter,” http://lakelandrevival.blogspot.com/2008/05/cleaning-out-barn.html). Bentley says that the river of life is not water but is oil and honey and that there are seven realms or atmospheres in heaven, one of which is reserved for angels. Bentley joins a long line of Pentecostals who have allegedly visited God’s paradise. Percy Collett saw a “Holy Ghost elevator” and “barkless” dogs. Roberts Liardon saw a medicine cabinet with bottles labeled “overdose of the Holy Ghost.” Jesse Duplantis saw weak Christians that must smell the leaves of the tree of life to gain strength. I reject all of these claims, for the simple reason that in every case the individual adds to the things recorded in the Bible in direct conflict with God’s command: “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, IF ANY MAN SHALL ADD UNTO THESE THINGS, GOD SHALL ADD UNTO HIM THE PLAGUES THAT ARE WRITTEN IN THIS BOOK” (Rev. 22:18). Many of the things recorded in the book of Revelation pertain to heaven. Consider Revelation 4-5; 7:9-17; 8:1-6; 10:1; 11:15-19; 12:1-3; 12:7-12; 14:1-17; 15:1-8; 16:1, 5-7; 17:1-2; 19:1-16; 20:1; 21:1-27; 22:1-5. Is it not adding to “these things” to say there are Holy Ghost elevators and barkless dogs and medicine cabinets? The Bible is more certain than the most glorious mystical experience. It is possible to be deceived into thinking one has been to heaven or seen Jesus when this has not actually happened, but the Bible is sure. Peter reminded his readers that he had witnessed Christ’s majesty and heard the very voice of Almighty God (2 Peter 1:16-18). But rather than urging his readers to seek such experiences Peter magnified the Bible above all such things, calling it “a more sure word of prophecy” (2 Peter 1:19-21). We need to lay aside the carnal lust for mystical experiences and miraculous signs and walk by faith and not by sight, for this is biblical Christianity. “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it” (Rom. 8:24-25).
DAUGHTER OF FAMOUS FEMINIST REJECTS ITS ME FIRST PHILOSOPHY (Friday Church News Notes, May 30, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “How My Mother’s Fanatical Views Tore Us Apart,” Daily Mail, London, May 23, 2008: “Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple, touched the lives of a generation of women. A champion of women’s rights, she has always argued that motherhood is a form of servitude. But one woman didn’t buy in to Alice's beliefs--her daughter, Rebecca, 38. Here the writer describes what it was like to grow up as the daughter of a cultural icon, and why she feels so blessed to be the sort of woman 64-year-old Alice despises--a mother. ... ‘I very nearly missed out on becoming a mother--thanks to being brought up by a rabid feminist who thought motherhood was about the worst thing that could happen to a woman. ... In fact, having a child has been the most rewarding experience of my life. Far from enslaving me, three-and-a-half-year-old Tenzin has opened my world. My only regret is that I discovered the joys of motherhood so late. ... As the child of divorced parents, I know only too well the painful consequences of being brought up in those circumstances. Feminism has much to answer for denigrating men and encouraging women to seek independence whatever the cost to their families. ... Yes, feminism has undoubtedly given women opportunities. It’s helped open the doors for us at schools, universities and in the workplace. But what about the problems it’s caused for my contemporaries? What about the children? The ease with which people can get divorced these days doesn’t take into account the toll on children. That’s all part of the unfinished business of feminism. ... Feminism has betrayed an entire generation of women into childlessness. It is devastating. But far from taking responsibility for any of this, the leaders of the women’s movement close ranks against anyone who dares to question them--as I have learned to my cost. I don’t want to hurt my mother, but I cannot stay silent. I believe feminism is an experiment, and all experiments need to be assessed on their results. Then, when you see huge mistakes have been paid, you need to make alterations.’”
THE PRACTICE OF LOVE IN CHILD TRAINING (Friday Church News Notes, May 30, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Training Your Children to Turn out Right, an excellent book by David Sorenson (Northstar Ministries, 1820 W. Morgan St., Duluth, MN 55811, 218-726-0209, http://www.northstarministries.com, dhs.northstar@charter.net) -- “Another concept endemic to godliness is the matter of love. ... The New Testament fairly overflows with references to God’s people being people of love. Curiously, the Bible has little to say about parents loving their children. I believe the reason for this is that God has created within us a natural instinct to love our children. ... Nevertheless, it is important that our homes be an aquarium of love. In all your teaching, discipling, and admonishing of your children, always season it liberally with love. See that your children have no doubt whatsoever that you love them. Tell them you love them. Show physical affection in an appropriate fashion such as hugs and discreet kisses. Always be there when they need you. Never be too busy for their school functions or programs. Love them even more than you love yourself. Not only is it right to love your children, it will enable you to most effectively teach and train them. When they unquestionably know you love them, they know that you have their best interests at heart” (Training Your Children to Turn Out Right, 1995, p. 136).
CONCLUSION: Friends in Christ, do not be discouraged by any of this. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. These things remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the coming of the Lord. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ day by day? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14).
23/05/08 14:11
A VISIT TO THE UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS (Friday Church News Notes, May 23, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - On May 7, I visited the United Nations headquarters during a short layover in New York City on my way from Istanbul to Buffalo, New York. (I had spent a week in Turkey visiting the sites of the seven churches of Revelation and a day and a half in Athens and was on the way to a couple of Bible conferences in the States.) The UN was established in 1945 to bring about world peace. A statue in the UN garden overlooking the East River depicts a man beating a sword into a plowshare. This is from Isaiah 2:4 and Micah 4:3, but it will not happen until Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, returns to establish His kingdom. Another statue near the entrance to the UN depicts a handgun with its barrel tied in a knot, signifying the UN’s dream of global non-violence. The Bible says there is no peace to the wicked (Isaiah 48:22; 57:21), and the United Nations has no power to correct the root problem of world turmoil, which is man’s fallen heart. Not surprisingly, the United Nations is permeated with New Age philosophy. Consider the UN’s Meditation Room. Originally it was a non-denominational prayer chapel and was the brainchild of a Christian lay organization whose members included the department store millionaire J.C. Penney. In 1956-57 the chapel was replaced by a new age meditation chamber. It was built in the shape of a truncated pyramid, and a six-and-a-half ton block of iron ore was deposited in the center of the room, the polished top of which is lit by a single beam of light from the ceiling. The light depicts “divine wisdom,” and the block depicts an empty altar representing “God worshipped in many forms” (http://www.aquaac.org/un/sprtatun.html). Hammarskjold said, “It is the altar to the God of all” (“A Room of Quiet,” http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/dag/meditationroom.htm). The iron ore also represents the metal from which weapons are made and the New Age hope that through the power of meditation world peace can be achieved. Hammarskjold said, “... we thought we could bless by our thoughts the very material out of which arms are made.” This is the New Age concept of the power of concentrated thought. He said the Meditation Room is a place where people could really “withdraw into themselves and feel the void.” The mural at the back of the room, composed of interlocking geometric patterns, is supposed “to evoke a feeling of the essential oneness of God.” It was painted by Hammarskjöld’s artist friend Bo Beskow. The UN Meditation Room has been the focus of New Age mysticism since its opening. Hindu guru Sri Chinmoy led meditations there for at least three decades. It is maintained by World Goodwill, which is part of Alice Bailey’s Lucis Trust. World Goodwill is an approved Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) with the UN’s Department of Public Information. One of World Goodwill’s “transformational” tools is the “The Great Invocation.” It is a New Age mantra which says: “From the point of Light within the Mind of God, let light stream forth into the minds of men. Let Light descend on Earth. ... Let Light and Love and Power restore the Plan on Earth” (http://www.lucistrust.org/en/service_activities/the_great_invocation__1). The objective of this chant is to bring the New Age cosmic christ into the world. This is “the Plan.” (For more about this see our new book The New Age Tower of Babel, which is available from Way of Life Literature. It cannot yet be ordered online but it can be ordered by phone.)
BIN LADEN DENOUNCES ISRAEL (Friday Church News Notes, May 23, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In a new video the terrorist leader Osama bin Laden denounces Israel and says the liberation of “Palestine” lies at the heart of their struggle. In a statement released the week of the 60th anniversary of Israel’s statehood, bin Laden proclaimed: “We will continue our struggle against the Israelis and their allies. We are not going to give up an inch of the land of Palestine. ... The Palestinian cause is the major issue for my nation. It was an important element in fueling me from the beginning and the 19 others [referring to the 9/11 plane hijackers] with a great motive to fight for those subjected to injustice and the oppressed. ... Sixty years ago, the Israeli state didn’t exist. Instead, it was established on the land of Palestine raped by force. Israelis are occupying invaders whom we should fight” (“Bin Laden Denounces Israel,” AP, May 17, 2008). This proves that the issue of Israel is at the heart of Islamic terrorism, and it is an ancient issue. Muslims believe that God blessed Ishmael above Isaac. We were told this recently by a Muslim in Turkey. Bin Laden is dreaming if he thinks he can destroy Israel. She is back in the land in fulfillment of divine prophecy (Deuteronomy 28-30; Ezekiel 37:1-8). She will be scattered and persecuted once more, but not by bin Laden and company. According to Jesus’ prophecy in Matthew 24:15-22, Israel will be persecuted by the Antichrist during the Great Tribulation described in Revelation 6-18. At that time she will be converted spiritually and will believe in Jesus as her Messiah (Zechariah 12:10), and when He returns she will be at the heart of His global kingdom.
ISLAMIC SUSPECTS IN MURDER OF CHRISTIANS IN TURKEY ACCUSE EACH OTHER (Friday Church News Notes, May 23, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Suspects in Turkish Attack,” WorldNetDaily, May 15, 2008: “All five suspects who are on trial in Turkey for the deaths of three Christian martyrs allegedly slain in a vicious attack by Muslims who had agreed to meet them at a Bible publishing house have denied responsibility, instead pointing fingers at each other. Compass Direct, which has been documenting the case, said court testimonies by the five suspects were completed this week during a sixth hearing before Malatya’s 3rd Criminal Court. ... As WND has reported, Tilman Geske of Germany and Turkish nationals Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel died in the attack. Authorities have said they reportedly met several Muslims for a Bible study, then were tied up, stabbed and tortured for several hours before their throats were slit. ... Judge Eray Gurtekin said because of the conflict among the testimonies all five suspects will be cross-examined together at a hearing scheduled in June. ... Christians, who make up less than 1 percent of the population in Turkey, have been subjected to numerous attacks in recent years. In 2006, a Turkish teen shot to death a Roman Catholic priest as he prayed in his church. Two other priests were attacked the same year. Early last year came the death of Armenian Christian editor Hrant Dink. When the publishing house attack became known, Geske’s widow, Susanne, responded in a way that hit the front pages of the nation’s largest newspapers. ‘Oh God, forgive them for they know not what they do,’ she said, agreeing with the words of Christ on Calvary (Luke 23:34), according to a letter Christians in Turkey have written to the worldwide church, released through Voice of the Martyrs. ‘In a country where blood-for-blood revenge is as normal as breathing, many reports have come to the attention of the church of how this comment of Susanne [Geske] has changed lives.’”
CORRUPTION AND TOTALITARIANISM IN RUSSIA (Friday Church News Notes, May 23, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “A Totalitarian Regime in Thrall to a Tsar Who’s Creating the New Fascist Empire,” Daily Mail, May 17, 2008: “As ex-President Putin settles in to his new role as Prime Minister, he has every reason to congratulate himself. After all, he has not only written the script for his constitutional coup d’etat, but staged the play and given himself the starring role as well. Of course, he has given a walk-on role to Dmitry Medvedev, his personally anointed successor. But the transfer of power from Putin to his Little Sir Echo, Medvedev, and the show of military strength with those soldiers and clapped-out missiles in Red Square on Victory Day which followed it last week, made it clear who is really in charge. ... Despite the fact that Putin’s Russia is increasingly autocratic and irredeemably corrupt, the man himself--their born-again Tsar--is overwhelmingly regarded as the answer to the nation’s prayers. ... Russia may be a member of the G8 whose GDP (because of oil) should soon overtake the United Kingdom, but, in many ways, it is more like a Third World country. Stricken with an epidemic of AIDS and alcoholism which both contribute to a male life expectancy of 58 years, the population is projected to shrink from 145 million to 120 million within a few decades. ... You can forget any talk from the new President about ‘stamping out’ corruption. This social and economic disease is insidious and rampant. According to Transparency International--a global society which campaigns against corruption--Russia has become a world leader in the corruption stakes. Foreign analysts estimate that no less than $30 billion a year is spent to grease official palms to oil the wheels of trade and commerce. ... None of this is a matter of public debate in Russia where the media has been muzzled by the Kremlin, their freedom of expression stifled by the government. Almost every national radio and television station is now controlled directly or indirectly by the state, and the same applies to every newspaper of any influence. ... Some 20 Russian journalists have been killed in suspicious circumstances since Putin came to office. No one has yet been convicted for any of these crimes. ... An autocratic and resurgent Russia that feels bruised and threatened is an unstable beast. The Kremlin's growing rapprochement with Beijing (the adversaries of a generation ago are now not only major trading partners, but conduct joint military exercises) shifts the balance of power in the world. And as life on earth becomes less and less secure, with evermore people competing for a dwindling supply of vital resources, Russia, as an energy giant, is once again a big player on the world stage. Make no mistake, we are in for a very bumpy ride.”
BEHOLD, I COME QUICKLY (Friday Church News Notes, May 23, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The expression “Behold, I come quickly” is repeated four times in the book of Revelation (3:11; 22:7, 11, 20). The quick coming of the Lord refers, first of all, to His coming in God’s perspective. It must be interpreted by God’s clock, not ours. See 2 Peter 3:8. Elsewhere in the New Testament Christ’s coming is described as soon (Luke 18:8; Romans 16:20). To God a thousand years is as a day or even less than a day. In Isaiah 54:8 He told Israel, “In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for A MOMENT; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.” Though He has forsaken Israel for at least 2,000 years, to God that is but a moment because He measures things by eternity. The quick coming of the Lord also refers to the imminency of His coming, meaning that it is not preceded by specific signs and could happen at any time (Matthew 24:42, 44; 25:13; Philippians 4:5; 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10; Titus 2:12-13; James 5:8-9). It will begin with the Rapture of church-age saints (1 Thess. 4:3-18), and from then until the return of Christ to establish His kingdom as described in Revelation 19-20 only seven brief years elapse. If a father leaves his teenage son in charge of his younger siblings and the household affairs and tells him, “I have to go away on some business, but I will come quickly,” what will that teenage son do if he is wise? He will be ready at all times for the return of his father! The church-age believer is not looking for the Antichrist but for Christ Himself. The events described in Revelation 6-18 are “the day of the Lord,” and it will come “as a thief in the night” and as “sudden destruction” (1 Thess. 5:2-3), but the New Testament believer is “not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief” (1 Thess. 5:4). God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 5:5).
CONSISTENT CHRISTIAN LIVING IS THE KEY TO CHILDREN TRAINING (Friday Church News Notes, May 23, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Training Your Children to Turn out Right, an excellent book by David Sorenson (Northstar Ministries, 1820 W. Morgan St., Duluth, MN 55811, 218-726-0209, http://www.northstarministries.com, dhs.northstar@charter.net) -- “Twenty years ago, I had the privilege of working with the youth of the church. Later, I worked with young couples. At the same time, my wife and I worked together in a large children’s church program. Then we started the Christian school. Again, I worked with families and their children. It was a unique experience. I came to know the younger children in the children’s church. I also knew the teenagers, having been the youth pastor for several years. In working with the young couples of the church, I got to know the parents of many of these same young people. Spirituality and character in the children and teenagers closely paralleled the degree of spiritual maturity and character evident in their parents. I came to learn that when the Bible spoke about reaping what we sow in Galatians 6, it likely had an application to our offspring. ... How we as parents live spiritually will profoundly affect our children. ... Children and teenagers are very perceptive of inconsistency and hypocrisy. Perhaps, because they are required to be under authority, they subconsciously scrutinize those over them. ... Mom and Dad, we do reap what we sow, and the harvest often comes through the children. ... The sowing to the flesh [brings] a harvest of corruption, and children tend to gravitate to the lowest common denominator spiritually in their home” (Training Your Children to Turn Out Right, 1995, pp. 137, 138, 146, 147).
CONCLUSION: Friends in Christ, do not be discouraged by any of this. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. These things remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the coming of the Lord. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ day by day? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14).
16/05/08 14:11
ISRAEL TURNS SIXTY (Friday Church News Notes, May 16, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - This week the modern state of Israel celebrated its 60th anniversary. At 12am on May 14, 1948, the fledgling nation announced its statehood with the following declaration: “Our call goes out to the Jewish people all over the world to rally to our side ... and to stand by us in the great struggle for the fulfillment of the dream of generations for the redemption of Israel.” Eleven minutes later U.S. President Harry Truman announced his recognition. Jews celebrated throughout the world. In Rome they paraded under the ancient Arch of Titus, which was built almost 2,000 years ago to celebrate the conquest of Jerusalem by the Roman armies in 70 A.D. and which features depictions of Jewish captives and articles from the Jewish temple. After two millennia of persecution, the Jews were back and they still spoke their ancient language! This is one of the most amazing events in history and proves the divine inspiration of the Bible, which predicted it 4,000 years ago. Israel’s entire history was prophesied by Moses and recorded in the book of Deuteronomy. God warned that if Israel broke His law she would be “plucked from off the land” and scattered “among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other” (Deut. 28:63-64). There the Jews would “find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life” (Deut. 28:65-66). This is an accurate description of the last two millennia of Israel’s history. Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Roman armies under Titus and in 135 A.D. Jerusalem was plowed under by order of Emperor Hadrian in response to the Jewish rebellion led by Bar Kochbar. The Jewish people were scattered to the ends of the earth and found no rest. They were hated by the Muslims and hounded and persecuted by the Greek Orthodox Byzantines and the Roman Catholic Church for a thousand years. Hitler tried to destroy them. Giving preference to the Arabs, England tried to keep them from returning to their land after World War II. Most of the world is still opposed to Israel and the reporting in secular publications about the Middle East crisis is generally slanted against her. But Bible prophecy foretold that Israel would be brought back into her land and that she would remain a nation even after all of this, and that is exactly what happened in 1948. Never before in the history of the world has a race of people been scattered throughout the world and persecuted for 2,000 years and then come back together as a nation. Bible prophecy describes the restoration of Israel in two parts. First, she would return to the land in a state of unbelief. Then she would be converted. The amazing prophecy in Ezekiel 37:1-14 describes these two stages. Israel is depicted as a valley of bones that are resurrected. First the bones are given sinews and flesh and they stand up but with no breath in them, and next God breathes upon these dead bones and they live. The first part of the prophecy has been fulfilled. Israel is back in her land as a nation, but she is there in unbelief. She continues to reject her Messiah, Jesus Christ. She has no temple or priesthood and no true worship. During the Great Tribulation God will grant repentance unto Israel and will breathe spiritual life into her and she will live. The continued existence of Israel is a very great miracle and an irrefutable evidence of the divine inspiration of the Bible, and it reminds us that we need to be ready for Christ’s return.
HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVISTS TARGET CHURCHES (Friday Church News Notes, May 16, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Soulforce, a homosexual activist group, continues to try to push its agenda on churches, schools, and Christian organizations. Its current program, The American Family Outing, targets six megachurches, including The Potter’s House (T. D. Jakes), Willow Creek Community Church (Bill Hybels), and Lakewood Church (Joel Osteen). One high profile member of Soulforce is Jay Bakker, son of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker of PTL infamy. Before her death in 2007 Tammy Faye became an activist for homosexual rights. Soulforce is pressuring churches to welcome homosexuals in a non-judgmental way. Jay Bakker says, “Let’s put our differences aside and share the love and hope of Christ” (“Gay Group Reaches out to Lakewood,” Houston Chronicle, May 8, 2008). Sharing the love of Christ is one thing, but being non-judgmental toward sin is something entirely different. Churches should welcome any sinner to hear the gospel, but church membership is only for those who have been born again through repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21), and the new birth changes one’s attitude toward sin. Among the members of the church at Corinth were some who had been involved in homosexuality, but they had been converted and changed (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). Tammy Faye Bakker appeared at “gay-pride” events nationwide, including a Tammy Faye look-alike contest in Washington, D.C., where she was “surrounded by men in falsies and pancake makeup” (Charisma News, November 2002). She told them that “there’s a God who loves them and cares for them,” but she did not tell them that homosexuality is a sin or that God demands repentance. After Tammy Faye’s first husband, Jim Bakker, went to prison for defrauding his followers out of $158 million, she divorced him and married Roe Messner, a family friend whose company helped build PTL’s Heritage USA complex. Referring to critics who said she should speak plainly against homosexuality, Tammy Faye said, “I thought the church was supposed to be a hospital and not a courtroom.” In fact, it is both. The New Testament church invites “whosoever will” to receive Christ’s free salvation and be born again, but the church also judges professing believers who walk in darkness (1 Corinthians 5).
APOSTASY AND CHRISTIAN BOOKSTORES (Friday Church News Notes, May 16, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The Bible warns of a great turning away from the faith among professing Christians. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). This prophecy describes the rejection of sound Bible teaching and the desire to create a new type of Christianity that allows people to live after their own lusts. That is a strange type of Christianity, but we are seeing its fulfillment before our very eyes. The prophecy says there will be heaps of teachers who will give the people this new type of Christianity, and that is exactly what we see. Christian bookstores are filled with books and the Internet is filled with Christian articles and blogs, but the majority of this material does not contain the straightforward preaching and teaching of God’s Word that reproves, rebukes, and exhorts (2 Timothy 4:2). Rather, we find doctrine that scratches the itching ears of those who have rejected the Bible. We find pop novelties, psychology, self-esteemism, charismaticism, pampering of the ego, friendship with the world, heresies, questionings, boastings, doubtings, illicit fellowship with error (e.g., evangelicals and contemplative spirituality, evangelicals and Rome, evangelicals and modern textual criticism), railings against “legalism” falsely so called, fairy tales, fictional romance, reconstructed history, fascination with ancient heretics called “church fathers,” and many other such things.
AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY ASSISTS ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH (Friday Church News Notes, May 16, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The American Bible Society continues to assist the Roman Catholic Church in preaching its false gospel. Its current Spanish campaign, La Biblia Es Mi Guia (The Bible Is My Guide), features Catholic priest Alberto Cutie, a member of the ABS’s board of trustees. “Padre Alberto” will participate in a series of radio and internet advertisements (Assist News, May 7, 2008). Last year the ABS honored Cardinal Jaime Alamino, Archbishop of Havana, Cuba, during its Bible in Hispanic America Gala. The ABS is also sponsoring Roman Catholic Lectio Divina programs. Lectio divina is not simple Bible reading; it is a mystical practice that was developed within Rome’s dark monastic system. Richard Foster, who has had a far-reaching influence in popularizing Catholic contemplative practices among evangelicals, quotes Catholic mystic Madame Guyon as follows: “Once you sense the Lord’s presence, THE CONTENT OF WHAT YOU READ IS NO LONGER IMPORTANT. The scripture has served its purpose; it has quieted your mind; it has brought you to him. ... You should always remember that YOU ARE NOT THERE TO GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT YOU HAVE READ; rather you are reading to turn your mind from the outward things to the deep parts of your being. YOU ARE NOT THERE TO LEARN OR TO READ, BUT YOU ARE THERE TO EXPERIENCE THE PRESENCE OF YOUR LORD!” (Devotional Classics). The Bible warns that those who assist heretics become partakers of their evil deeds (2 John 8-11).
PARENTS, TRAIN YOUR CHILDREN TO READ THE BIBLE (Friday Church News Notes, May 16, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Training Your Children to Turn out Right, an excellent book by David Sorenson (Northstar Ministries, 1820 W. Morgan St., Duluth, MN 55811, 218-726-0209, http://www.northstarministries.com, dhs.northstar@charter.net) -- “Dear parents, the most important habit you will ever teach your children is the habit of going to the Word of God day and night. You will notice that I used the word ‘habit.’ That is on purpose. This matter of going to the Word of God is something that must be developed as a habit. Habits are developed through repetitive actions, but for children to develop the habit of going to the Bible each day, you, the parents, must take steps to insert this practice into their lives. You cannot just tell them to do it and expect them to follow through. You must set up a program, a schedule, and incentives to help motivate them to be in the Book. ... Over the years, I have had people say, ‘Well, I think we should read the Bible because we want to, not because we have to.’ Between the world, the flesh, and the devil, there will be many more days that we do not feel like getting into the Word than days in which we want to. Anytime we do what we do simply because we feel like it or want to, we are living a very shallow life spiritually. However, we should read God’s Word because we ought to, because it is right, and because it is God’s will. How we feel about it on a given day is irrelevant. ... We also need to instill that attitude and philosophy into our children. ... When we started our girls into their daily Bible reading plan we placed a book mark at 1 John. When they first began, we set a goal for them to read one verse in the morning and then one verse in the evening. Initially, we did the reading with them and helped them with it. ... As they progressed in their reading, we increased the goal to three verses a day in their first grade year. ... In about third or fourth grade, they began to read a chapter a day. When they became sixth-graders they were to read two chapters a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. When they reached junior high school, they went to reading four chapters a day. This basically will take anyone through the Bible in a year. That regimen continued throughout their high school years. ... The burden of seeing this habit developed in our children falls directly upon us, the parents. As parents, we must check on the matter regularly” (Training Your Children to Turn out Right, 1995, pp. 15-19).
CONCLUSION: Friends in Christ, do not be discouraged by any of this. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. These things remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the coming of the Lord. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ day by day? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14).
09/05/08 14:11
IRAN’S LEADER CLAIMS THE IMAM MAHDI IS LEADING HIM (Friday Church News Notes, May 9, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In a speech last month the president of Iran said the mystical Twelfth Imam or Imam Madhi is leading him in the direction of the country. In a speech to theology students Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said: “The Imam Mahdi is in charge of the world and we see his hand directing all the affairs of the country. We must solve Iran’s internal problems as quickly as possible. Time is lacking. A movement has started for us to occupy ourselves with our global responsibilities, which are arriving with great speed” (“Iran Clerics Rebuke Ahmadinejad,” Breitbart.com, May 7, 2008). The Imam Mahdi is expected to return to earth and establish Allah’s kingdom, and it is thought that Jesus will accompany him. The Imam Mahdi, believed by Shiites to have disappeared as a child in A.D. 941, is supposed to return and reign on earth for seven years before bringing about a final judgment and the end of the world (“Jesus, Mahdi Both Coming, Says Iran’s Ahmadinejad,” WorldNetDaily, Dec. 19, 2006). In 2007 Ahmadinejad said that the Imam Mahdi will bring peace and justice and establish a perfect “one global government” (“Police Storm Home,” WorldNetDaily, June 23, 2007). According to the Bible, the next event on God’s calendar is the Catching Away of church age saints (1 Thessalonians 4:13 - 5:5), followed by the appearance of the Antichrist as a man of peace and a prophet that will accompany him (2 Thess. 2:3-12; Revelation 13). Doubtless one or the other of these men will be accepted by the Jews as their Messiah and by apostate Christians as theirs and by the Muslims as theirs. Mankind will rejoice that the Middle East problem has been solved and the long-awaited “Age of Aquarius” has arrived, but the peace party will be short-lived and the Antichrist will show his true colors, setting himself up in Israel’s temple as god and requiring the world’s worship at the point of death.
ANOTHER PHONEY CHARISMATIC “REVIVAL” (Friday Church News Notes, May 9, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Some charismatics are calling the current frenzy at Ignite Church in Lakeland, Florida, a “revival” in the lineage of the “Toronto Blessing” and the “Pensacola Outpouring.” The meetings, which are led by Todd Bentley, have been running nightly since April 2. The Ignite Church meets in a reconditioned building supply store and is pastored by Steve Strader, son of Karl Strader, former pastor of the defunct Carpenter’s Home Church in Lakeland. It was at Carpenter’s Home in May 1993 that another “revival” broke out under the ministry of Rodney Howard-Browne, who calls himself the “Holy Ghost Bartender.” People laughed hysterically and staggered around like drunks and charismatics travelled from far and wide to participate in this nonsense. The church grew phenomenally for awhile, but eventually it went belly up. Another of Strader’s sons, Daniel, was found guilty of swindling investors, including church members, out of their money. Daniel went to prison, and in 2005 Carpenter’s Home Church sold its property. Todd Bentley wears metal studs in his ears and eyebrow and is covered with tattoos. Spirit slaying and “healings” are a big part of his ministry. He lays his hands on people’s heads and yells, “Bam!” and they often fall down. After an elderly woman fell at one Lakeland meeting he told the crowd, “She doesn’t know why she fell down,” but the women laughed and said, “Because you pushed me!” After he prayed for her three more times, she said she could hear “better” (Charisma Online, April 23, 2008). This is not the miraculous healing we see in the ministry of Jesus Christ and the apostles. Charismatic prophets are prophesying that this is the beginning of a national revival and that entire cities will be “shut down.” The Pentecostal-Charismatic movement has been lurching from one strange unscriptural thing to another for more than 100 years. An important milepost was passed in the 1960s when the Pentecostal experiences spread through the denominations and Roman Catholics were accepted as Spirit-filled brethren regardless of whether they pray to Mary and love the Mass and exalt the Pope. With each passing decade the movement becomes more unscriptural and less concerned about Bible truth. Beware! (The 317-page book The Pentecostal-Charismatic Movements: The History and Error is available from Way of Life Literature.)
QUAKER PAGANS (Friday Church News Notes, May 9, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is an excerpt from “Are the Quakers Going Pagan,” Religion News Service, April 28, 2008: “[There is] a small but growing movement of Quakers who also identify as pagan--a trend that may or may not exist in other Christian traditions, but certainly not in such an organized, public fashion. Across the board, the number of Quakers is dwindling, to roughly 100,000 in the U.S. But if Quakerism continues to catch on among the estimated half million pagans in the U.S., those who embrace both traditions predict that could reverse the Quakers’ downward trend. ... In the last decade, this dual faith has sprung up around the country, including Quaker-pagan gatherings, seminars, an extensive presence on the Internet, and even explicitly Quaker-pagan congregations. There may be only several hundred Quaker pagans, but among American Quakers, their presence can be distinctly felt. ‘It seems that now, in most liberal meetings at least, you can always find a few members that identify as pagan,’ says Stasa Morgan-Appel of Ann Arbor, Mich., who has facilitated a Quaker pagan interest group since 2002. Quakers--officially the Religious Society of Friends--are divided into four main branches, three of which are explicitly Christian. Pagans have been generally joining the liberal fourth branch, the Friends General Conference, which counts 30,000 members in North America, including Morgan-Appel. Liberal Quakers are less tied to the Christianity and instead hold established Quaker practices, such as unprogrammed pastor-less meetings, as the basis of their faith. Because of that flexibility, many liberal Quakers no longer see Jesus as divine, and some don’t believe in God at all. Paganism generally refers to nature-based religions that pre-date both Christianity and Judaism. Think witches, druids, pentacles, Wicca. ... people adoring goddess and nature...”
BEWARE OF THE SHACK (Friday Church News Notes, May 9, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “The Shack: Father-goddess Rising,” Lighthouse Trails Research, April 23, 2008: “Many are crediting The Shack, the novel by William P. Young, with revolutionizing their faith. With themes of overcoming loss, working through anger, and restored relationship between man and God, Young’s novel has excited many within the Body of Christ. Young has appeared on CBN, and has garnered fans across the country. The Shack, continues to sell briskly. Yet, in the midst of such enthusiasm, does The Shack glorify Jesus Christ--or contradict the Bible with a false image of the Lord our God? The novel’s main character, Mack Philips, has lost his daughter. She has been murdered, her bloodied dress found in an isolated shack. Four years later Mack receives an invitation from God to spend time with the Trinity in the very shack where the dress was found. Nowhere in the Bible do Father, Son, and Holy Spirit simultaneously assume physical forms on earth. The Shack, however, portrays Jesus as a carpenter, the Holy Spirit as an Asian woman, and God the Father as a large black woman named ... Papa. ... At one point the book’s version of Jesus praises the fictional Father-goddess, exclaiming, ‘Isn’t she great?’ In the entire Bible there is not one single reference to Father, Son, or Holy Spirit--or to any of His angels--as female. ... There is an apparent dismissal of the importance of Scripture, which is reflected in slippery theology found throughout the novel. Young writes, ‘Nobody wanted God in a box, just in a book. Especially an expensive one bound in leather with gilt edges, or was that guilt edges?’ ... The Father-goddess of The Shack, it seems, is never about guilt or punishment. She benignly informs Mack, ‘I don’t need to punish people for sin.’ ... An excellent writer, Young plays to emotion and touches on legitimate hurts and concerns. The author excels at imbuing his deity with attributes of love, forgiveness, and mercy, and this is what many people have responded to. Increasingly in novels and movies the Lord is blithely used as one of the characters and given words from the mouth of man.”
DIDN’T GOD CREATE ALL MUSIC? (Friday Church News Notes, May 9, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California says: “God loves all kinds of music because he invented it all--fast and slow, loud and soft, old and new. You probably don’t like it all, but God does!” (Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, p. 65). ANSWER: God did create music and He created man with a capability to create and enjoy it, but the world is no longer in the pristine spiritual condition it was when God made it. Man has sinned against God and has created a world in rebellion against Him and against His laws. The devil is called “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 11:4) and “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2). Music is one of the powerful influences in modern society, and there can be no doubt that the god of this world is intimately involved in helping wicked men create music that will satisfy their illicit lusts. The apostle John taught, “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness” (1 Jn. 5:19). If the whole world lieth in wickedness, what does that say about the world’s music? Obviously man’s wickedness has corrupted the field of music as it has every other thing.
PSALM 1 AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS (Friday Church News Notes, May 9, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Training Your Children to Turn out Right, an excellent book by David Sorenson (Northstar Ministries, 1820 W. Morgan St., Duluth, MN 55811, 218-726-0209, http://www.northstarministries.com, dhs.northstar@charter.net) -- “I know of no greater passage of Scripture dealing with the matter of Christian education than Psalm 1. There probably is no institution in this country that more embodies the counsel of the ungodly, the way of sinners, and the seat of the scornful than the national public education establishment. With its systemic teaching of evolution which mocks creation, it certainly occupies the seat of the scornful. With its institutionalized sex education (that is little more than sex encouragement), it certainly is in the way of sinners. As it tacitly ignores the things of God under the guise of separation of church and state, it certainly is the counsel of the ungodly. The outcome of Psalm 1:1 is to get our families out of the world and to get the world out of our families” (Training Your Children to Turn Out Right, 1995, pp. 92, 93).
BEWARE OF MODERN TEXTUAL CRITICISM (Friday Church News Notes, May 9, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The modern Bible versions are built upon the foundation of modern textual criticism, which is the application of modern theories to the recovery of ancient documents. With very few exceptions, the fathers and architects of this “science falsely so called” have denied the infallible inspiration of the very Scripture they handle. That was true in the 19th and 20th centuries and it is still true today. The editors of the United Bible Societies Greek New Testament fall into this category, including Bruce Metzger, Matthew Black, Allen Wikgren, Kurt Aland, Barbara Aland, Johannes Karavidopoulos, and Roman Catholic Cardinal Carlo Martini. According to Metzger, for example, Jonah is a “popular legend” and Job is “an ancient folktale” (Metzger and May, The New Oxford Annotated Bible). The UBS Greek New Testament, in turn, is built upon the foundation laid by men such as Eberhard Nestle (1851-1913), editor of an influential Greek New Testament of 1898, author of Introduction to the Textual Criticism of the Greek New Testament (1901), and co-editor with Kurt Aland of the Novum Testamentum Graece. Nestle unhesitatingly denied biblical infallibility. In his Introduction to textual criticism he claimed that it is possible that the authors of the New Testament did not write what they “thought or intended to be read” (p. 23). This is a complete and bold denial of divine inspiration. Like most other fathers of modern textual criticism, Nestle believed the Bible was to be treated like any other book. “…the task and the method [of textual criticism] are the same for all literary productions.” Beware of modern textual criticism. (For much more extensive documentation we recommend the 292-page Modern Bible Version Hall of Shame, available from Way of Life Literature.)
CONCLUSION: Friends in Christ, do not be discouraged by any of this. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. These things remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the coming of the Lord. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ day by day? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14).