Friday Church News Notes
June 14, 2024 - Volume 25, Issue 24
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.
JERUSALEM AND TEL AVIV HOMOSEXUAL PRIDE FESTIVALS DEDICATED TO HAMAS HOSTAGES (Friday Church News Notes, June 14, 2024, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The annual Gay Pride festivals in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv this year were combined with statements of solidarity with the Hamas hostages. The event in Jerusalem was on May 30 and in Tel Aviv on June 6. The Jerusalem “Pride and Tolerance March” teamed up with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum under the banner “Born to Be Free.” The slogan “called for the release of the 132 Israeli hostages held by Hamas, as well as for the safer life for the LGBTQ community.” Tel Aviv’s Pride and Hope Assembly “was marked by hundreds of LGBTQ rainbow flags with an expanded yellow stripe to show support for the hostages in Gaza and their families” (Israel21c, June 6, 2024). Israel is a hotbed of relativistic morality, a “gay” mecca, and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are a proving ground for transsexual rights. Rabbi Eli Sadan said, “It doesn’t matter whether a soldier is religious or secular, Reform or Messianic, or has ‘inverted tendencies’ [homosexual, transsexual]. If he gives three years of his life on behalf of the Jewish people, and sometimes sacrifices his life, he is a tzadik” [righteous] (“This Is Our Nation,” Israel Today, April 2017). In the prophecy of Revelation, Jerusalem is likened to Sodom (Re. 11:8). Israel will not have true liberty until she repents toward her God and Messiah. Nothing has changed since the days of the prophet Malachi: “Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee? Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts? AND NOW WE CALL THE PROUD HAPPY; YEA, THEY THAT WORK WICKEDNESS ARE SET UP; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered” (Mal. 3:13-15).
ISRAEL STILL UNDER THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES (Friday Church News Notes, June 14, 2024, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The “times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24) refers to the period during which Israel is under Gentile dominion. It began when the Gentile king Nebuchadnezzar took Judah captive (2 Ch. 36:1-21). Since then, “Jerusalem has been under Gentile overlordship” (Scofield). Though Israel returned to her land after the Babylonian captivity, she has remained under Gentile control except during the brief reign of the Maccabees. When Jesus was born, Israel was under the dominion of Rome. That Israel is still under “the times of the Gentiles” is why she is at the beck and call of major Gentile powers, such as America, the European Union, the United Nations, and the World Court. Oftentimes, she is not at full liberty to make her own decisions, even when her welfare is at stake. This is happening currently with Israel’s war against Hamas. The “times of the Gentiles” is why Israel does not control the Temple Mount and cannot do as she pleases with her own territory in the so-called “West Bank,” etc. This is God’s will for the present, because Israel remains in rebellion to God’s law and in rejection of her own Messiah. The times of the Gentiles will end when Christ returns and Israel repents and is converted. Christ’s kingdom is described by the prophet Daniel as the stone that is cut out without hands that destroys the existing Gentile kingdoms (Da. 2:44-45).
THE REJECTION OF PRE-TRIB RAPTURE’S ROLL IN THE DOWNFALL OF CONSERVATIVE BAPTISTS (Friday Church News Notes, June 14, 2024, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In his history of the downfall of the Conservative Baptists, Richard Clearwaters emphasized the importance of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture several times. He showed that one of the principles of both theological modernism and New Evangelicalism is the denial of the imminency of the return of Christ and a replacement of a concentrated focus on the Great Commission of world evangelism with a kingdom building emphasis. Clearwaters observed that one of the elements of the downgrade was “a more tolerant attitude toward varying views of eschatology.” In 1956, he wrote, “Students have gone from Northwestern [founded by W.B. Riley and Pre-Trib from its inception] and other similar schools to these schools [Fuller Seminary and Denver Conservative Baptist Seminary] with a simple faith in the Word of God about the Rapture of the Church and the Second Coming only to later come to me disturbed, not knowing whether they were now looking for Christ to rapture His Church or for Anti-Christ; whether the ‘blessed hope’ of the church was half or all of the Tribulation; whether Christ was coming with His Church or for His Church” (The Great Conservative Baptist Compromise, chapter 3, “The Bible, the Unchanging Evangelical,” p. 48). Clearwaters observed, “The only contribution made by rethinking eschatology has been a glorified question mark” (p. 49). Clearwaters emphasized that the dispensational pre-tribulational doctrine is established by a consistent literal method of interpretation (p. 50) and the early Christians believed in and were looking for the imminent return of Christ (p. 197). The prominent role of post-tribulationism in the downfall of the Conservative Baptists was emphasized in the report “Conservative Baptist Cross Currents in Colorado,” published in May 1962 in the Baptist Missionary-Evangelist. Written by four preachers who had been active in Conservative Baptist work in Colorado since the 1940s, it documented the invasion of new evangelicalism. They emphasized that one of the ways the new evangelicalism showed itself was in the rejection of dispensational pre-tribulation theology. “By 1954 it was evident that the [Denver Baptist Theological] Seminary had introduced a doctrine foreign to Colorado Conservative Baptists--the accepted dispensational premise was being abandoned in favor of reformation theology. In relation to this position is the theory of the post-tribulation rapture of the church. Dr. Burdick is reported to hold strongly to this ‘post-trib’ position, and President Vernon Grounds has stated, ‘As for myself, I am in a state of indecision. ... I will not say that I am a pretribulationist. ... I simply do not know, though I incline toward the ‘post’ view’” (from “Divided We Fall,” page 5, compiled by Wayne Musson, Lake Crystal, Minnesota). In 1962, it was estimated by a Denver Seminary graduate that ‘half of the graduates now take the post-trib position, about 25% take the pre-trib position, and the other 25% are so confused they do not know what to believe.’”
SOCIAL MEDIA THE GREAT VOYEURISTIC TALEBEARER (Friday Church News Notes, June 14, 2024, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied” (Proverbs 27:20). “Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth” (Proverbs 26:20). Among other things, social media is a massive forum for voyeurism. This word is from the French voir, meaning to see. It has a large sexual element (i.e., Peeping Tom), which is evident throughout social media, but it is by no means limited to that. It refers to “a fascination with the private lives of others.” It is “the practice of taking pleasure in observing something private, sordid, or scandalous” (Merriam-Webster). It is associated with talebearing, gossip, tattling, rumor-mongering, busybodiness, and character assassination. It is an appetite of the fallen nature or “old man,” which is a bottomless pit of depravity. Mankind tends to think of itself as basically good, with some “bad apples,” but God’s Word paints an entirely different picture. Every single individual, apart from the new birth, is described like this: “Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them” (Romans 1:29-32). Jesus gave the same description: “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness” (Mark 7:21-22). Since all of these evils are in man’s heart, he derives endless enjoyment from seeing and hearing these things. The psalmist said, “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me” (Psalm 101:3). The day he decided not to do this was the day he damaged his good reputation.
OLD BAPTISTS AND REGENERATE CHURCH MEMBERSHIP (Friday Church News Notes, June 14, 2024, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In 1859, Edward Hiscox wrote, “Church members are supposed to be regenerate persons bearing the image and cherishing the spirit of Christ, in whom the peace of God rules, and who walk and work in the unity of the Spirit, and the bond of peace” (The Standard Manual for Baptist Churches).
PHOTOSYNTHESIS WITHOUT THE SUN (Friday Church News Notes, June 14, 2024, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com, May 31, 2024: “We all learned about photosynthesis at school. For this particular chemical reaction to take place, you need the chemical chlorophyll together with the essential ingredient, sunlight. For thousands of years, man has known that for green plants to prosper, they need the sunlight. A few years ago, a team of researchers from the University of British Columbia discovered photosynthesis taking place nearly one-and-a-half miles below the surface of the sea. Of course, no sunlight penetrates to that depth, and that raises an interesting question. The creature performing this amazing task is a bacterium that has been discovered off the coast of Central America. So, how can photosynthesis take place where there is no sunlight? These bacteria live around hydrothermal vents on the floor of the ocean. The vents spew out superheated water at about 570 degrees Fahrenheit. As this water hits the cold ocean water, gas bubbles form and almost immediately collapse, producing a dim flash of light. Chemical reactions can also create a small amount of light, as does the formation of crystals under these conditions. Apparently, these bacteria are able to make enough energy to power their metabolism from these unlikely sources of light. However, it is difficult to imagine what possible evolutionary process could have given these bacteria that particular ability. But God, knowing all things, can do the seemingly impossible just for His glory. Notes: Discover, 1/06, p. 36, Anne Sasso, ‘Photosynthesizing Life-Form Exists Without Sunlight.’”
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).
ISRAEL STILL UNDER THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES (Friday Church News Notes, June 14, 2024, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The “times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24) refers to the period during which Israel is under Gentile dominion. It began when the Gentile king Nebuchadnezzar took Judah captive (2 Ch. 36:1-21). Since then, “Jerusalem has been under Gentile overlordship” (Scofield). Though Israel returned to her land after the Babylonian captivity, she has remained under Gentile control except during the brief reign of the Maccabees. When Jesus was born, Israel was under the dominion of Rome. That Israel is still under “the times of the Gentiles” is why she is at the beck and call of major Gentile powers, such as America, the European Union, the United Nations, and the World Court. Oftentimes, she is not at full liberty to make her own decisions, even when her welfare is at stake. This is happening currently with Israel’s war against Hamas. The “times of the Gentiles” is why Israel does not control the Temple Mount and cannot do as she pleases with her own territory in the so-called “West Bank,” etc. This is God’s will for the present, because Israel remains in rebellion to God’s law and in rejection of her own Messiah. The times of the Gentiles will end when Christ returns and Israel repents and is converted. Christ’s kingdom is described by the prophet Daniel as the stone that is cut out without hands that destroys the existing Gentile kingdoms (Da. 2:44-45).
THE REJECTION OF PRE-TRIB RAPTURE’S ROLL IN THE DOWNFALL OF CONSERVATIVE BAPTISTS (Friday Church News Notes, June 14, 2024, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In his history of the downfall of the Conservative Baptists, Richard Clearwaters emphasized the importance of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture several times. He showed that one of the principles of both theological modernism and New Evangelicalism is the denial of the imminency of the return of Christ and a replacement of a concentrated focus on the Great Commission of world evangelism with a kingdom building emphasis. Clearwaters observed that one of the elements of the downgrade was “a more tolerant attitude toward varying views of eschatology.” In 1956, he wrote, “Students have gone from Northwestern [founded by W.B. Riley and Pre-Trib from its inception] and other similar schools to these schools [Fuller Seminary and Denver Conservative Baptist Seminary] with a simple faith in the Word of God about the Rapture of the Church and the Second Coming only to later come to me disturbed, not knowing whether they were now looking for Christ to rapture His Church or for Anti-Christ; whether the ‘blessed hope’ of the church was half or all of the Tribulation; whether Christ was coming with His Church or for His Church” (The Great Conservative Baptist Compromise, chapter 3, “The Bible, the Unchanging Evangelical,” p. 48). Clearwaters observed, “The only contribution made by rethinking eschatology has been a glorified question mark” (p. 49). Clearwaters emphasized that the dispensational pre-tribulational doctrine is established by a consistent literal method of interpretation (p. 50) and the early Christians believed in and were looking for the imminent return of Christ (p. 197). The prominent role of post-tribulationism in the downfall of the Conservative Baptists was emphasized in the report “Conservative Baptist Cross Currents in Colorado,” published in May 1962 in the Baptist Missionary-Evangelist. Written by four preachers who had been active in Conservative Baptist work in Colorado since the 1940s, it documented the invasion of new evangelicalism. They emphasized that one of the ways the new evangelicalism showed itself was in the rejection of dispensational pre-tribulation theology. “By 1954 it was evident that the [Denver Baptist Theological] Seminary had introduced a doctrine foreign to Colorado Conservative Baptists--the accepted dispensational premise was being abandoned in favor of reformation theology. In relation to this position is the theory of the post-tribulation rapture of the church. Dr. Burdick is reported to hold strongly to this ‘post-trib’ position, and President Vernon Grounds has stated, ‘As for myself, I am in a state of indecision. ... I will not say that I am a pretribulationist. ... I simply do not know, though I incline toward the ‘post’ view’” (from “Divided We Fall,” page 5, compiled by Wayne Musson, Lake Crystal, Minnesota). In 1962, it was estimated by a Denver Seminary graduate that ‘half of the graduates now take the post-trib position, about 25% take the pre-trib position, and the other 25% are so confused they do not know what to believe.’”
SOCIAL MEDIA THE GREAT VOYEURISTIC TALEBEARER (Friday Church News Notes, June 14, 2024, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied” (Proverbs 27:20). “Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth” (Proverbs 26:20). Among other things, social media is a massive forum for voyeurism. This word is from the French voir, meaning to see. It has a large sexual element (i.e., Peeping Tom), which is evident throughout social media, but it is by no means limited to that. It refers to “a fascination with the private lives of others.” It is “the practice of taking pleasure in observing something private, sordid, or scandalous” (Merriam-Webster). It is associated with talebearing, gossip, tattling, rumor-mongering, busybodiness, and character assassination. It is an appetite of the fallen nature or “old man,” which is a bottomless pit of depravity. Mankind tends to think of itself as basically good, with some “bad apples,” but God’s Word paints an entirely different picture. Every single individual, apart from the new birth, is described like this: “Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them” (Romans 1:29-32). Jesus gave the same description: “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness” (Mark 7:21-22). Since all of these evils are in man’s heart, he derives endless enjoyment from seeing and hearing these things. The psalmist said, “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me” (Psalm 101:3). The day he decided not to do this was the day he damaged his good reputation.
OLD BAPTISTS AND REGENERATE CHURCH MEMBERSHIP (Friday Church News Notes, June 14, 2024, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In 1859, Edward Hiscox wrote, “Church members are supposed to be regenerate persons bearing the image and cherishing the spirit of Christ, in whom the peace of God rules, and who walk and work in the unity of the Spirit, and the bond of peace” (The Standard Manual for Baptist Churches).
PHOTOSYNTHESIS WITHOUT THE SUN (Friday Church News Notes, June 14, 2024, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com, May 31, 2024: “We all learned about photosynthesis at school. For this particular chemical reaction to take place, you need the chemical chlorophyll together with the essential ingredient, sunlight. For thousands of years, man has known that for green plants to prosper, they need the sunlight. A few years ago, a team of researchers from the University of British Columbia discovered photosynthesis taking place nearly one-and-a-half miles below the surface of the sea. Of course, no sunlight penetrates to that depth, and that raises an interesting question. The creature performing this amazing task is a bacterium that has been discovered off the coast of Central America. So, how can photosynthesis take place where there is no sunlight? These bacteria live around hydrothermal vents on the floor of the ocean. The vents spew out superheated water at about 570 degrees Fahrenheit. As this water hits the cold ocean water, gas bubbles form and almost immediately collapse, producing a dim flash of light. Chemical reactions can also create a small amount of light, as does the formation of crystals under these conditions. Apparently, these bacteria are able to make enough energy to power their metabolism from these unlikely sources of light. However, it is difficult to imagine what possible evolutionary process could have given these bacteria that particular ability. But God, knowing all things, can do the seemingly impossible just for His glory. Notes: Discover, 1/06, p. 36, Anne Sasso, ‘Photosynthesizing Life-Form Exists Without Sunlight.’”
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).
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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.
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