Bible College
Information

Way of Life Literature

Publisher of Bible Study Materials

Way of Life Literature

Publisher of Bible Study Materials

Way of Life Bible College
Friday Church News Notes
Volume 23, Issue 39 - September 30, 2022
Graphical Edition
The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, though this does not imply an endorsement.
 
Nostradamus

Michel de Nostredame
(Nostradamus)

DID NOSTRADAMUS PREDICT QUEEN ELIZABETH’S DEATH? (Friday Church News Notes, September 30, 2022, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - According to reports blazing across online news sites and social media, Queen Elizabeth’s death this month was predicted by Nostradamus (real name Michel de Nostredame), a French astrologer and soothsayer who published Les Propheties (The Prophecies) in 1555. It is a collection of 942 quatrains, which are prophecies consisting of four lines of text. Nostradamus’ “prophecies” are so obscure that they can mean anything and everything; therefore, they actually mean nothing. In 2005, Mario Reading published Nostradamus: The Complete Prophecies for the Future in which he interpreted Nostradamus’ writings to say the Queen would die in 2022. That was a good guess on Reading’s part, but Nostradamus certainly didn’t predict this. Consider Nostradamus’ actual prophecy in Quatrain 10/22 - “For not wishing to consent to the divorce, which then afterwards will be recognised as unworthy: The King of the Isles will be driven out by force; in his place put one who will have no mark of a king.” What’s that mean? Who knows! Reading claimed that the number of the quatrain indicates the year that the prophecy will take place. Reading also claimed that a Nostradamus’ prophecy indicates that King Charles III will abdicate the throne because of his unpopularity and be replaced by Prince Harry. The actual prophecy reads like this: “At the end of the war the great powers change; near the bank three beautiful children are born. Ruin to the people when they are of age; in the country the kingdom is seen to grow and change more” (8/97). For another example of the obscurity of Nostradamus’ prophecies, consider the following, which is said by some to predict the rise of Hitler: “Beasts ferocious from hunger will swim across rivers: The greater part of the region will be against the Hister. The great one will cause it to be dragged in an iron cage, when the German child will observe nothing” (2/24). What does this mean? No one knows! And consider the alleged Nostradamus prophecy of London’s Great Fire of 1666: “The blood of the just will commit a fault at London, Burnt through lightning of twenty threes the six: The ancient lady will fall from her high place, Several of the same sect will be killed.” What does it mean? No one knows! By the way, the Great Fire didn’t start by lightning; it started with a fire in a bakery. People are now scrambling to purchase Nostradamus’ prophecies, 8,000 having sold in a few days, but they should be scrambling to purchase the Bible. In contrast to Nostradamus’ dark, mind-bending obscurities, Bible prophecy is clear and detailed and enlightening, and it has never failed. For example, the prophecies about Christ’s first coming in the Old Testament describe the exact time of His coming, the exact place of His birth, the injustice of His “trial,” the piercing of His hands and feet on the cross, the words that He spoke from the cross, the soldiers gambling for His garments, His burial in a rich man’s tomb, His bodily resurrection, His ascension back to heaven, among many other details. Consider just one of these: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel...” (Micah 5:2). This was written hundreds of years before Christ was born, and it names His birth town. The Bible’s prophecies about Israel are equally precise. It is said that Frederick the Great once demanded proof in one word that the Bible is divinely inspired. The answer provided by his chaplain was “the JEW, your majesty” (Robert Newman, “Israel’s History Written in Advance,” Evidence for Faith, edited by John Montgomery, pp. 193-201). At the dawn of Israel’s experience as a nation, before she entered the Promised Land, Moses prophesied her complete history. God warned that if Israel turned from His Law, He would judge her. See Deuteronomy 28:25-32, 36-37, 63-67; 30:1-6. This prophecy was written in about 1450 B.C., or nearly 3,500 years ago. The prophecy describes Israel’s defeat at the hands of foreign powers, her eviction from the land, her dispersion to the ends of the earth, and her return. (See An Unshakeable Faith: A Christian Apologetics Course, available from www.wayoflife.org.)

T.D. JAKES ANOINTS DAUGHTER TO BE SUCCESSOR OF HIS WOMEN’S MINISTRY (Friday Church News Notes, September 30, 2022, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - On Sept. 24, T.D. Jakes, pastor of Potter’s House church in Dallas, anointed his daughter, Sarah Jakes Roberts, with oil to “empower” her to take the reins of the Woman, Thou Art Loosed ministry with its annual conferences (now called Woman Evolve). Jakes said, “As Samuel’s horn of oil anointed David, I so anoint you.” She was “slain in the Spirit” and lay on the stage while Jakes said to the crowd, “I want every woman in this room to lift up your hands and to receive the anointing of God.” Sarah co-pastors two branches of the Potter’s House (Los Angeles and Denver) with her husband Touré Roberts. She had an out-of-wedlock pregnancy at age 13, and her first marriage at age 19 ended in divorce (“T.D. Jakes’ Daughter,” Church Leaders, Sept. 26, 2022). Jakes is a Church of God in Christ motivational speaker and pastor of a megachurch in Dallas, Texas. His book Woman, Thou Art Loosed has sold millions of copies. He preaches a positive, self-esteem, “it’s all about you” message. Jakes preaches the prosperity gospel, falsely claiming that Jesus was rich and that God wants us to be rich, too. He lives in a $1.7 million mansion. He babbles in unintelligible mutterings he calls “tongues.” In a 2015 interview with the Huffington Post, Jakes described his views on homosexuality as “evolved and evolving” (“T.D. Jakes Comes Out for ‘Gay Rights’ and ‘LGBT Churches,” Christian News Network, Aug. 7, 2015).

ATHEISM ON THE MARCH AMONG PROFESSING CHRISTIANS (Friday Church News Notes, September 30, 2022, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Atheism is on the march among professing Christians. In 1994, it was reported by the Sunday Times (July 31) in London that at least 100 Anglican priests are atheists who do not believe in “an external, supernatural God.” On May 16, 2009, the bells of the Anglican Cathedral of Liverpool pealed out John Lennon’s hypnotic, atheistic song “Imagine” three times (“imagine there’s no heaven ... no hell ... no religion”). A spokesperson for the cathedral stupidly said, “We feel this performance has inspired many people to think about their relationship with God in their lives” (“Imagine That,” The Daily Mail, May 17, 2009). In 2007, George Perdikis, co-founder of the Christian rock band Newsboys, “renounced Christianity once and for all and declared myself an atheist” (“Co-founder of Newsboys,” standupforthetruth.com, Jan. 22, 2015). In August 2019, Marty Sampson, song writer and worship leader for Hillsong, said he no longer believes in God. That same year, Joshua Harris, author of the best-selling I Kissed Dating Goodbye, renounced his faith in Christ. He is divorcing his wife. He says he is following his “heart” and is happy and at peace. In May 2020, Jon Steingard of the Christian rock band Hawk Nelson, declared on Instagram that he is an atheist. Steingard said, “I am stunned by the number of people in visible positions within Christian circles that feel the same way as I do. Like me, they fear losing everything if they’re open about it.” In 2021, Kevin Max, formerly of the Christian rock bands DC Talk and Audio Adrenaline, said that he was “deconstructing” his Christian faith and believes in a “universal Christ.” He says that he hasn’t given up “the faith,” but it is a “faith” filled with doubts. He calls himself an “exvangelical.” On May 17, 2021, Max tweeted that he is “pro-LGBTQIA, pro-BLM, pro-open mindedness, anti-narrow mindedness…” In January 2022, Christian rapper Brady Goodwin (aka Phanatik) said he was leaving “the universal church” and “denouncing the Christian faith.” Goodwin made the point of saying, “I’m good; I’m where I think I’m going to be.” In September 2022, Rhett McLaughlin, a Christian comedian and singer, announced that he no longer believes the Bible, but is a “hopeful agnostic.” In his album Human Overboard, he tells God that they are breaking up. These men make the point of saying that everything is wonderful now that they have renounced the Bible. It is nonsense.

RECOMMENDATION OF THE WAY OF LIFE BIBLE COMMENTARIES (Friday Church News Notes, September 30, 2022, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - We received the following testimony about the Way of Life Commentary Series: “I am continually astounded by, not only the volume of your work, but by its quality. Everything you write seems to have the Spirit of God behind it, and nothing is as exceptional as your commentary on the General Epistles. I’ve only finished going through the first 13 verses of 1 Peter and you have already handled depression, angels, heaven, election, holiness and our glorified bodies in such a deeply profound manner that it’s as if I had never studied those issues before (as a 35 year Christian and zealous student of Scripture)! My wife and I look forward to digging in deeply every day. I truly think this is your greatest work. I am deeply grateful for your hard labor for the Lord, and for the fact that so many of your books are offered for free.” Currently there are commentaries on 36 books of the Bible in the following volumes: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Minor Prophets, Romans, Corinthians, Prison Epistles, Thessalonian Epistles, Pastoral Epistles, Hebrews, General Epistles, Revelation.

SHE SELLS SEA SHELLS (Friday Church News Notes, September 30, 2022, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com, Sep. 20, 2022: “British comedian Milton Jones tells this one-liner: It’s difficult to say what my wife does for a living. She sells sea shells on the sea shore. However, the famous tongue-twister actually refers to a young woman who never married. Mary Anning was born in 1799 to Richard, an impoverished furniture maker, and his wife, Molly, in Lyme Regis, England. This coastal town is now famous for its discoveries of dinosaur fossils, discoveries that began with Mary. Richard would take the young Mary and her older brother Joseph out on to the cliffs and the beach looking for fossils, and they would sell these to visitors. The teenagers discovered what would later be named the ichthyosaur, and this was the first of many discoveries made by Mary. One biographer of Anning has stated that her many discoveries of so-called prehistoric animals paved the way for Darwinism. Mary was mostly self-taught, having learned to read and write only in Sunday School. Nevertheless, her extensive knowledge of her finds did not cause her to lose her faith, despite her many hardships. She was not allowed to join the Geological Society because she was a woman and also because she and her family were members of a Dissenting Chapel, not the Church of England. It is of note that her most prized possession was a volume of the Dissenters’ Theological Magazine and Review. Her pastor, James Wheaton, had contributed two articles to this journal. One urged his flock to get interested in geology. The other emphatically taught the biblical truth that God had made the world in six literal 24-hour days. Author: Paul F. Taylor. Ref: Encyclopedia Britannica, biography/Mary-Anning, accessed 7/25/2017.”

CONCLUSION: The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this obviously does not imply an endorsement. We trust that our readers will not be discouraged. 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. The News Notes remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the Lord’s coming. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ? “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).

_____


Distributed by Way of Life Literature., publisher of Bible Study Materials and reports for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. Established in 1974, Way of Life Literature is a fundamental Baptist preaching and publishing ministry based in Bethel Baptist Church, London, Ontario, of which Wilbert Unger is the founding Pastor. Brother Cloud lives in South Asia where he has been a church planting missionary since 1979. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY (REPORTS AND FRIDAY NEWS) IS NOT DEVOTIONAL. IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR.

David Cloud, Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org

The Way of Life Literature preaching and publishing ministry is based at Bethel Baptist Church, London, Ontario, of which Wilbert Unger is the founding Pastor. A mail stop is maintained in Port Huron, Michigan.

Way of Life Literature - www.wayoflife.org
copyright 2018 - Way of Life Literature