From: www.gracethrufaith.com 

If you follow our “Ask a Bible Teacher” feature, you know how many comments I’ve received lately that question the Doctrine of Eternal Security (aka Once Saved Always Saved or OSAS).   Based on their content I’ve concluded that many people neither understand OSAS nor have they considered the alternative.

Let’s Begin At The Beginning

It’s time to set the record straight once and for all.  What does it take to be saved?  I think the best answer to that question is the one the Lord gave in John 6:28-29.

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

Here was a perfect opportunity to list all the things we have to do to meet God’s requirements.  Jesus could have rattled off the 10 commandments.  He could have repeated the Sermon on the Mount.  He could have listed any number of admonitions and restrictions necessary to achieve and maintain God’s expectations of us.  But what did He say?  “Believe in the one He has sent.”  Period.  It was a repeat of John 3:16, confirming that belief in the Son is the one and only requirement for salvation.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

A few verses later in John 6 He said that this wasn’t just His idea, as if that wouldn’t be enough, but that His Father was in complete agreement.  And not only would our belief suffice to provide us with eternal life, but that it was God’s will that Jesus lose none of those who believe. You and I have been known to disobey God’s will, but has Jesus ever done so? And isn’t He the one who’s been charged with the responsibility for keeping us? Let’s read it.

“For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:38-40)

Just in case we missed this promise, Jesus made it again even more clearly in John 10:28-30.  “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”  The Father and the Son have both accepted responsibility for our security. Once we’re in Their hands, no one can get us away.

I have purposely only used words straight from the Lord’s own mouth to make this case because I can already hear the choruses of “Yes Buts” mounting as those who refuse to take them at face value get ready to trot out their favorite verses denying Eternal Security, misinterpreted though they are.

The one characteristic of God’s that gives us the most comfort is knowing that He can’t lie or change His mind or contradict Himself. He can’t say something in one place and then say something entirely different in another.  He’s consistent.  If He says that we’re saved solely because of our belief in Him, and that He’s accepted responsibility for keeping us so, then we can count on that.  As we’ll see, anything in the Bible that seems to contradict these simple, straightforward statements has to be talking about something else.

But first, since He puts so much emphasis on belief, let’s take a closer look at that word.  What does He mean when He says “believe”?  It must be more than just a casual thing because reliable statistics show, for example, that 85% of those who come forward to “receive the Lord” at a crusade or other evangelistic outreach never form any connection with a church or Bible Study or in any other way demonstrate a relationship with the Lord afterward.

And Jesus spoke of the seed that fell on rocky places.  He said, “This is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.” (Matt. 13:20-21)  If these people were saved and then fell away, all His promises above have been broken.  There must be more. So what does it mean to believe?

The Greek word for believe is “pistis.”  According the Strong’s Concordance, it’s a “conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervor born of faith and joined with it.” In connection with the Lord Jesus, it means “a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom ofGod.”

The Apostle Paul gave us valuable insight into the nature of this belief.  He wrote, If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10)

This isn’t just some intellectual thing that carries us away on the words of a captivating speaker, only to leave us flat a short time later.  It’s a conviction that’s formed deep in our heart, the realization that Jesus is not just a man.  He’s the Lord Himself, and He took upon Himself the penalty due us for our sins, which is death.  And to prove that God counted His death as sufficient, He raised Jesus from the dead to be seated beside Him in the Heavenly realms. (Ephes. 1:20)  Since God can’t dwell in the presence of sin, and since the wages of sin is death, every one of our sins has to have been paid for.  If even one remained unpaid, Jesus would still be in the grave.  We have to believe that Jesus rose from the grave in order to believe that we will.

It’s that kind of belief that gets you saved and keeps you that way, because it sets in motion a chain of events that’s irreversible.  There are four links in this chain.  You supply two and the Lord supplies two.  You hear and believe, and the Lord marks and guarantees.

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)

The word translated “deposit” is a legal term.  Today we would say Earnest Money. It’s a down payment that constitutes a legal obligation to follow through with the purchase.  If you’ve ever bought any Real Estate, you’re familiar with the term.  If not, here’s another example.   It’s like we’ve been put on “lay away.”  The price has been paid and we’ve been taken off the display shelf until the one who has purchased us returns to claim us.  In the mean time we cannot be bought by anyone else, because we legally belong to the one who has paid the deposit. “You are not your own,”we’re told. “You were bought with a price.“ (1 Cor. 6:19-20)

All of this happened at our first moment of belief, before we could do anything to either earn or lose our position.  The man on the cross beside Jesus is the prototype for this transaction.  Having done something bad enough to get himself executed, he was promised a place in Paradise solely because he believed in his heart that Jesus was the Lord of a coming Kingdom.

Paul made it even clearer when he repeated this incredible promise in 2 Cor. 1:21-22.  Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.  This time He removed all doubt as to just Who it is that keeps us saved. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ.  What could be clearer?

Union And Fellowship

If the Doctrine of Eternal Security is so clear then why all the disagreement about it? I’ve found two reasons.  The first is the two-sided nature of our relationship with the Lord.  One side is called Union and is Eternal and Unconditional, based only on our belief.  Ephesians 1:13-14 describes our Union with God, sealed and guaranteed. Once we’re born again, we can’t become unborn.  It’s good forever. The Holy Spirit is sealed within us from our first moment of belief until the day of redemption.

The other side is called Fellowship and it’s a bit more complicated.  Fellowship is defined by 1 John 1:8-9 as being both Earthly and conditional upon behavior.  It tells us that even as believers, as long as we’re here on Earth we’ll continue to sin.  Since God can’t abide in the presence of sin, our unconfessed sins interrupt our Earthly relationship with Him and may deprive us of blessings we might have otherwise received. We’re still saved in the eternal sense, but out of Fellowship here on Earth.

When we’re out of Fellowship, we’re legitimate targets for our enemy’s mischief, just like Job was. His sin was self-righteousness and because he wouldn’t confess it, God had to let Satan afflict him in order to bring him to his senses.  For a New Testament illustration, look at the parable of the Prodigal Son. (Luke 15:11-32)  Like the younger son, we’ll still belong to our Father’s family, but won’t receive any of its blessings while we’re out of Fellowship.  And like both Job and the Prodigal, when we return to our Father and confess our sins, we’re immediately purified from all unrighteousness and restored to Fellowship.

One reason that many Christians live such defeated lives is that having only learned about the Union part of being a believer, they only know that God has forgiven their sins and that they’ll go to be with Him when they die or are Raptured.  They don’t realize that they still need to confess every time they sin to stay in Fellowship.  And so, being deprived of God’s providence, they may become discouraged and even stop praying and attending church.  Other believers, who don’t understand the dual relationship either, look at the mess they’re in and think they must have lost their salvation.  Like Job’s friends, they look in God’s Word for confirmation, and by taking verses out of context, believe they have found the proof.

Union and Fellowship are not just New Testament ideas.  In the Old Testament, even when Israel was being obedient in thought and action, doing their best to please God, the priests still had to sacrifice a lamb on the altar every morning and every evening for the sins of the people.  1 John 1:9 is the New Testament equivalent of those daily sacrifices for sin.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  It was written for believers who are already saved, but are in danger of being out of Fellowship.

The Gift And the Prize

The other reason people get confused is that there are two types of benefits in Eternity. The first is the free Gift called Salvation that’s given to all who ask in faith irrespective of merit and guarantees our admission into the Kingdom. Ephesians 2:8-9 is the model, saying that salvation is a Gift from God.

The second consists of Heavenly rewards we can earn for the things we do as believers here on Earth.  Philippians 3:13-14 are good verses for explaining this. Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. In addition to the Gift, there’s a Prize. 

A gift is something given out of love, irrespective of merit, and is never taken back.  A prize, on the other hand, is something we qualify for and earn. And if we’re not careful we can lose it. (Rev. 3:11)  Paul had already received the Gift of salvation, it was behind him.  Now he was focused on winning the Prize as well.

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 he explained the difference in greater detail. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 

No Olympic athlete was satisfied just to have qualified to participate in the games. Everyone wanted to win the victor’s crown.  Likewise, we shouldn’t be satisfied just to have received the Gift of salvation.  We must now live our lives as believers in such a way as to win the Prize as well.

The Bible calls some of these prizes crowns, and while the athlete’s crown soon wilted away (it was a wreath of ivy) the crowns believers can win last forever. They’re worth making some sacrifices for.  That’s why Paul said, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Cor. 9:27)  The crowns are identified as the Everlasting Crown(Victory) in 1 Cor 9:25, Crown of the Soul Winner in Phil 4:1 and 1 Thes 2:19,Crown of Righteousness in 2 Tim 4:8, Crown of Life in Jas 1:12 and Rev 2:10, and the Crown of Glory in 1 Peter 5:4.

The difference between the Gift and the Prize is also seen in 1 Cor. 3:12-15.  If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

At the judgment of believers, the quality of our work on earth will be tested by fire. Only work that survives the test will bring us a reward.  But notice that even if all our work is destroyed in the fire, we’ll still have our salvation.  Why?  Because it’s a free Gift, given out of love, irrespective of merit.

The Lord mentioned other rewards as well. In Matt. 6:19-21 He advised us,  “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” 

There are things we can do as believers while here on Earth that will cause deposits to be made to our heavenly account.  Some believe that this passage refers to the way we use the money we’re given.  Do we use it to enrich ourselves, stacking up possessions that far exceed our needs? Or do we use it to further the work of the Kingdom?  Here’s a hint. Our tithe is what we owe to God.  It’s what we do with the money we have left that really counts. And with the measure we use, it will be measured to us. (Luke 6:38)

To summarize, in the New Testament there are verses like Ephesians 1:13-14 that talk about Union.  There are verses like 1 John 1: 8-9 that talk about Fellowship. There are verses like Ephesians 2:8-9 that talk about the Gift and there are verses like 1 Cor 9:24-27 that talk about the Prize.

Those that stress belief, explain the permanent nature of our bond with God, and are directed toward eternity are Union verses.  Those that involve grace and faith are Gift verses. Those that require work and are directed at the quality of our lives on Earth are Fellowship verses, and those that require work and involve eternal rewards are Prize verses.

When you view Scripture from this perspective, all of the apparent contradictions disappear and you no longer have to wonder why God seems to be saying one thing here and something different there.  The issue becomes one of correctly identifying the focal point of the particular passage you’re looking at. Determine the context by reading verses around it, and assign it to one of the four categories.

Give Us An Example

Hebrews 6:4-6 is a passage often cited in opposition to Eternal Security.  The entire letter is to Jewish believers who are being enticed back into keeping the Law, so the context is New Covenant vs. Old.  And in verse 9 the writer hints that he’s been talking about things that accompany salvation. That tells us that verses 4-6 are not related to salvation but things that accompany it.  More importantly the idea that a believer could do something to irretrievably lose his salvation is in direct contradiction to the very clear promise that the Holy Spirit is sealed within us from the very first moment of belief until the day of redemption.

So what could these believers be in danger of falling away from due to their sins?Fellowship.  And what could prevent them from being restored?  The practice of Old Covenant remedies for sin rather than invoking 1 John 1:9. They’d be relegating the death of the Lord to the same status as that of the twice-daily lamb. The Law was only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. Once the Reality appeared, the shadow was no longer effective.  And what would be their penalty?  Living a defeated life, bearing no fruit, all their works burned in the judgment of 1 Cor. 3.  But still saved? Yes.  Hebrews 6:4-6 is a Fellowship passage.

Suppose There Is No Security?

In closing, let’s look at the alternative.  What are we faced with?  If Hebrews 6:4-6,for example, applies to our salvation then if we ever sin after being saved we’ll be lost forever with no way back, because the Lord would have to be crucified all over again to retrieve us. The New Covenant would be worse than the Old, not better.  They were condemned for their actions.  According to Matt. 5 we’d be condemned for our thoughts.  They couldn’t murder.  We couldn’t even be angry.  They couldn’t commit adultery.  We couldn’t even have a lustful thought. Think of it. No anger, ever. No lust, ever. No envy, ever. No idolatry, ever. No favoritism or discrimination, ever. No impure thoughts or deeds of any kind, ever.  Is this the Good News, the incomparable riches of His Grace? Did God become man and die the most painful death ever devised only to put His children into an even more untenable position than before? Are we saved by grace only to be placed under the constraints of an even more severely administered law? I can’t believe so.

Some take a more moderate view of this saying that God would never take back the gift of salvation, but that we can return it. To justify this position they have to put words in the Lord’s mouth.  When He says in John 10:28, “No one can snatch them out of my hand,” they have to insert the phrase “but us” after “no one”.  Same withRomans 8:38-39. 

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  They have to insert the phrase “but us” after “in all creation”.

None of this defense of Eternal Security is intended to condone sin.  As an indication of our gratitude for the gift of salvation, believers are continually admonished in Scripture to live our lives in a manner pleasing to God.  Not to earn or keep it, but to thank the Lord for giving it to us.  And to help us do that, the Holy Spirit has come to dwell in us to guide and direct us, and to pray for us.  Since the Spirit of God lives in us we are no longer controlled by the sin nature and can choose to please God by the way we live.  And even though we do this out of gratitude for the Gift He’s already given, which is Union with Him, He blesses us both here on Earth (Fellowship) and in Eternity (the Prize).  Selah 10-07-06

People who try to deny the Doctrine of Eternal Security (OSAS) sometimes point to Galatians 5:13-26 to support their position. And if you just considered those verses you might be tempted to agree.  But if you look at the entire chapter you get a completely different perspective.  So that’s what we’ll do.

Before we begin, it’s important to remind ourselves that the Bible, being the word of God, cannot contradict itself.  If Galatians 5denies OSAS it’s in direct contradiction to statements the Holy Spirit led Paul to make in Ephes. 1:13-14 and 2 Cor. 1:21-22.   Ephes. 1:13-14 tells us that our salvation is assured from the moment of belief with the Holy Spirit sealed within us as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance.  Before we had done anything, either good or bad, before we were baptized, before we had even fully responded to the altar call, we were saved forever.  These other things are important, but our belief in the Lord’s completed work on our behalf came first and it’s the one essential ingredient to our salvation which alone brings us eternal life (John 1:12-13, 3:16, 6:28-29, 6:40).

2 Cor. 1:21-22  says,  It is God Who makes us stand firm in Christ.  He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come.There are no passages in Scripture that speak of revoking or even modifying this guarantee.  It would be impossible for the Holy Spirit to have led Paul or any of the Bible’s other writers to make any statements that contradict these clear promises.

So what was Paul saying? Let’s start at the beginning of the chapter.

Freedom In Christ

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.  Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.  Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.  You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.  But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (Galatians 5:1-6)

The context of Galatians 5 is the debate that was raging between two groups there. One consisted of believers in the Doctrine of Grace Paul had taught them.  The other was made up of those who were being swayed by the teaching of the “Judaizers”, Jews who claimed that Gentile believers had to come under the Law and be circumcised to be saved.

Paul warned them that while neither circumcision nor uncircumcision was relevant in and of itself, it was being proposed to them as a sign of their acceptance of the Old Covenant.   Therefore agreeing to it would obligate them to the whole Law.  Attempting to keep the Law alienates us from the Lord because it denies what He’s done for us. It makes His death of no value leaving us responsible for saving ourselves.

You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.”  I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be.  Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.  As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!(Galatians 5:7-12)

Law Or Grace?

You can’t have a little bit of Law mixed with Grace.  Just as a little bit of yeast will permeate the whole batch of dough to change its composition, a little bit of Law will work its way through the doctrine of Grace, changing it into something it was not intended to be.  When Paul said in that case the offense of the cross has been abolished, he meant the Law cancels Grace.

(The Judaizers were hinting that Paul preached the Law among Jews but switched to a watered down version of the Gospel when speaking to Gentiles. His response was, “If  I’m preaching the Law to the Jews then why are they persecuting me?” His frustration with them is evident.)

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.  The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.(Galatians 5:13-15)

Paul’s comments here concern the Galatians’ arguments over Law vs. Grace and was a warning to stop it.  He called their arguing “indulging the sinful nature”and said while in Christ they were free from the Law they shouldn’t use their freedom to behave that way. Instead, they should serve one another humbly in love.

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.  For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. (Galatians 5:16-18)

This is a clear demonstration of the difference between the desires of the sin nature and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Our sin nature will always prompt us to do things that are contrary to the Spirit.  As He did in Romans 7:18-19 Paul said our sin nature will sometimes cause us to do things we know we shouldn’t do. Here he said if we’re led by the Spirit we’re not under the Law, meaning these things are not counted against us.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.(Galatians 5:19-21)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Galatians 5:22-26)

The differences between the acts of the sin nature and the fruit of the Spirit can be seen in the comparison of these two passages.  In reading the first one we can all admit to periodically doing one or more of these things as believers. In Romans 7:20 Paul said from God’s perspective it’s not us but the sin nature that dwells within us that’s to blame when this happens.

His final words on the subject confirm that the whole chapter had been about about their arguing.  He said since the Galatian believers belonged to Christ they should live by the Spirit and not become conceited, a common failing among Law keepers. He said they should stop provoking and envying each other, a reference to the contention among them.  These are acts prompted by the sin nature and are not appropriate for believers.

What’s The Meaning Of This?

If you’re going to deny God’s Grace by going under the Law you’ll disqualify yourself from receiving two things that are essential to your salvation.  First, you won’t have the Holy Spirit to guide you, so you’ll be left with only your sin nature which will always take you in a direction that’s opposed to God’s Spirit.

But far more importantly you won’t have the  guarantee of the Lord’s death on your behalf to save you.  You’ll be responsible for your own salvation.  Without these two things you can not inherit theKingdom of God.

Remember, the Law was only given to point out our sins and no one can be saved by keeping it (Romans 3:20). But through faith we can achieve a righteousness apart from the Law and be saved (Romans 3:21-24). So there are only two ways to live one’s life, by Law or by Grace through faith. We can’t have it both ways.  If we’re under the Law we can not benefit from God’s grace.

In summary, if we depend solely by faith on our belief that the Lord saved us forever then we’re saved forever.  If we think we have to apply our own effort to complete the work Jesus only began, then it’s doubtful we were ever saved.  Paul wasn’t contradicting himself.  Galatians 5 is not about losing our salvation once we receive it, it’s about whether we ever had it to begin with. Selah 07-30-11

by Dr. David R. Reagan

PROPHECY STUDY RESOURCES

One of the best overall books on Bible prophecy that has ever been published is Things to Come by Dwight Pentecost (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1964). It is scholarly and comprehensive, written for serious, college level students.

Surveys

The Master Plan, by David Reagan (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1993) contains a comprehensive survey of all aspects of Bible prophecy. It was written for the layman and is easy to read and understand. A similar comprehensive study that is more scholarly in its approach is a book by Paul N. Benware entitled Understanding End Time Prophecy (Chicago, Moody Press, 1995).

With regard to end time prophecies only, one of the best surveys for the more general reader is Leon Woods’ book,The Bible and Future Events (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1973). Other very readable surveys are The Final Chapter by S. Maxwell Coder (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1984) and A Survey of Bible Prophecy by R. Ludwigson (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1973). The King is Coming by H.L. Willmington (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1973) presents an overview of end time events in a very unique and easy to follow outline form.

A spiral bound study guide by David Reagan, called, The Christ in Prophecy Study Guide (Plano, TX: Lamb & Lion Ministries, 1987), presents an analytical survey of all Messianic prophecy contained in both the Old and New Testaments. Another indispensable reference volume that presents an exhaustive survey is All the Messianic Prophecies of the Bible by Herbert Lockyer (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1979).

A survey book intended for the serious student is Arnold Fruchtenbaum’s encyclopedic study of Tribulation events which bears the strange title, The Footsteps of the Messiah(Tustin, CA: Ariel Press, 1982). It focuses on showing the sequence of end time events and their relationship to each other.

A brief and fascinating survey book full of penetrating insights is one titled What on Earth is God Doing?(Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1973). It was written by Renald Showers, a gifted teacher and writer who serves the Friends of Israel Ministry. The book presents a capsule overview of God’s purposes in history from start to finish.

Interpretation

Nothing is more important to the understanding of Bible prophecy than the principles of interpretation that are applied to it. An excellent introductory book for the general reader is How to Study Bible Prophecy for Yourself by Tim LaHaye (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1990).

The most profound book ever written on the topic is The Interpretation of Prophecy by Paul Lee Tan (Winona Lake, IN: Assurance Publishers, 1974). This book is an essential tool for any serious student of prophecy.

The history of prophetic interpretation is presented in great detail in the amazing, four volume, encyclopedic study called The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, edited by LeRoy Edwin Froom (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Press). Volume 1 (1950) covers the Early Church. Volume 2 (1948) surveys the Pre-Reformation and Reformation periods. Volume 3 (1946) looks at the Colonial American and European Awakening. Volume 4 (1946) provides a look at the 19th Century. This great work of scholarship took years to complete. The first two volumes are based upon original research conducted throughout Europe in the 1920′s and 1930′s, utilizing ancient documents, many of which were destroyed in World War II.

Symbolic

Perhaps the least understood area of prophecy is symbolic prophecy, sometimes called prophecy in type. About half of Herbert Lockyer’s book, All the Messianic Prophecies of the Bible, is dedicated to this important topic (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1979).

Two books concerning symbolic prophecy that are easy to read and are full of useful insights are Christ in the Tabernacle by Louis Talbot (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1978) and Jesus in the Feasts of Israel by Richard Booker (S. Plainfield, NJ: Bridge Publishing, 1987).

Old Testament Prophets

A magnificent introduction to all the Old Testament prophets is provided by Leon Wood in his exceptional book, The Prophets of Israel (Schaumburg, IL: Regular Baptist Press, 1979).

One of the finest commentators on the Old Testament prophets is Charles Feinberg, a Messianic Jew. His works include God Remembers: A Study of Zechariah (Portland, OR: Multnomah Press, 1965); Jeremiah: A Commentary(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1982); and The Prophecy of Ezekiel: The Glory of the Lord (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1969). A good introduction to Isaiah can be found in the book by Herbert Wolf entitled Interpreting Isaiah: The Suffering and Glory of the Messiah (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1985).

An outstanding series of scholarly commentaries on Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel can be found in volume 6 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary edited by Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1986). The commentary on Isaiah is by G. W. Grogan; Jeremiah is by Charles L. Feinberg; and Ezekiel is by Ralph H. Alexander.

There are a number of good books about the Minor Prophets. Two that are designed for the general reader are Major Truths from the Minor Prophets by John Hunter (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1977) and Will We Ever Catch Up with the Bible? by David Hubbard (Glendale, CA: Regal Books, 1977).

The best scholarly resource on the Minor Prophets is to be found in volume 7 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentaryedited by Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1985). The authors of the commentaries on the specific books read like a who’s who of Evangelical scholars. A fine single volume scholarly study is the one by Charles Fineberg entitled The Minor Prophets (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1976).

Israel

The best panoramic survey of Israel in prophecy is contained in Walter K. Price’s intriguing book, Next Year in Jerusalem(Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1975). Another very good overview is Richard Booker’s outstanding study, Blow the Trumpet in Zion (Tulsa, OK: Victory House, 1985).

An excellent book that relates prophecy to the history of Israel, particularly modern history, is called It is No Dream(W. Collingswood, NJ: The Spearhead Press, 1978). It was written by Elwood McQuaid, the Director of the Friends of Israel Ministry. Charles Feinberg has also produced an excellent volume that mixes prophecy with history. It is titled Israel: At the Center of History and Revelation(Portland, OR: Multnomah Press, 1980).

Daniel

An outstanding verse by verse commentary on Daniel is the one by Leon Woods that is simply entitled, A Commentary on Daniel (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1973). The best one for the general reader is by Renald Showers. It is titledThe Most High God (W. Collingswood, NJ: The Friends of Israel, 1982). A lighter book that is both fun to read and inspirational in character is Daniel: God’s Man in a Secular Society by Donald Campbell (Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House, 1988). It is designed to serve as a study guide for Bible study groups.

No book of the Bible has been attacked as viciously by theological liberals as the book of Daniel. A tremendous defense of the book’s integrity can be found in a volume called Daniel in the Critic’s Den by Josh McDowell (San Bernardino, CA: Campus Crusade for Christ, 1979).

Revelation

Many excellent studies have been published about the book of Revelation. For the general reader, the two best areRevelation Illustrated and Made Plain by Tim LaHaye (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1973) and There’s a New World Coming by Hal Lindsey (Santa Ana, CA: Vision House, 1973). Lindsey’s book is the best one he has ever written.

For those who desire to dig deeper, The Revelation Record(Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1983) by Henry Morris presents a detailed verse by verse analysis. Dr. Morris is the distinguished founder of the Institute for Creation Research.

A very unique study of Revelation is the one produced by Salem Kirban, a born again Arab. The book utilizes hundreds of photos, charts and drawings to visually present the message of Revelation. It is titled, Revelation Visualized(Huntingdon, Valley, PA: Salem Kirban, Inc., 1978). What makes it even more unusual is that it is co-authored by Gary Cohen, a born again Jew!

An outstanding introduction to Revelation and the various methods of interpreting it is supplied by Merrill Tenney in his remarkably balanced volume, Interpreting Revelation(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1957).

Millennial Viewpoints

The best introduction to the various and often confusing viewpoints of end time prophecy is a book by Robert Lightner called The Last Days Handbook (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1990).

A very thought provoking book on the topic is one edited by Robert G. Clouse entitled The Meaning of the Millennium(Downer’s Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1977). It contains four viewpoints presented by advocates of those viewpoints. A similar but more detailed presentation of the four viewpoints can be found in the parallel commentary by Steve Gregg called Revelation: Four Views (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1997). A scholarly presentation and analysis of the various views is contained in John Walvoord’s book, The Millennial Kingdom (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1959).

For a classic presentation of the fundamentals of premillennial theology, the book to read is The Basis of the Premillennial Faith by Charles Ryrie (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1953). It is brief and incisive, and it is written with an irenic spirit.

The Antichrist

One of the most detailed studies of the Antichrist ever written is the book by Arthur W. Pink entitled, The Antichrist. It is thoroughly biblical and very thought provoking. It was originally published in 1923 but has been recently republished (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 1988). The best current day study is the book by Ed Hindson entitled, Is the Antichrist Alive and Well?: Ten Keys to His Identity(Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1998).

The Rapture

The important controversy over the timing of the Rapture has been best addressed by John Walvoord in two of his books:The Blessed Hope and the Tribulation (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1976) and The Rapture Question (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1979). Walvoord is the former President of Dallas Theological Seminary. Another fine book on the topic is The Rapture by Hal Lindsey (New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1983).

Tim LaHaye has written a very powerful and exhaustive defense of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture entitled No Fear of the Storm: Why Christians Will Escape All the Tribulation(Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 1992, later re-published asRapture Under Attack, 1998).

Signs of the Times

This is a field that attracts many sensationalist writers. There is an abundance of books, but few good ones. One of the most fascinating is World War III: Signs of the Impending Battle of Armageddon by John Wesley White (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1977).

A volume that is comprehensive in scope but exceptionally brief is Signs of the Second Coming by Robert G. Witty (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1969). A more recent study, and an excellent one, is by Henry Morris. It is titled Creation and the Second Coming (Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 1991).

One of the best prophetic writers to emerge in recent years is Ed Hindson of Liberty University. His books are solidly biblical and down-to-earth, readable by the average Christian. He has written two outstanding studies of the signs of the times: Final Signs (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1996) and Earth’s Final Hour: Are We Really Running Out of Time? (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1999). Another excellent writer in the field of Bible prophecy is Dave Hunt ofBerean Ministries. He has produced a very insightful study of the end time signs in his book, How Close Are We?(Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1993).

Heaven

The Eternal State has been the most ignored area of Bible prophecy, probably because the Bible says so little about it. The best book on the topic – one that covers death, resurrection and eternity – is The Future Life by the Frenchman, Rene Pache, translated into English by Helen Needham (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1962). A very worthwhile, exhaustive study of the Eternal State can be found in Bob Chambers’ book, Heaven (Joplin, MO: College Press, 1991). This is an unusual book because Chambers is an Amillennialist who spiritualizes the prophecies about the Millennial while interpreting the prophecies about Heaven literally!

Children

Only one book has ever been written for pre-school and elementary children concerning end time prophetic events. It was written by David Reagan and is entitled Jesus is Coming Again! (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1992). The book emphasizes the positive promises of God regarding the Millennium and the Eternal State.

Media

Dave Reagan and Chuck Missler have both produced cassette tape albums that contain verse-by-verse commentaries on the book of Revelation. Reagan’s Revelation Overview(Lamb & Lion Ministries) contains 12 tapes. Missler’sRevelation Commentary (Koinonia Ministries) consists of three albums with eight tapes each. Jack Van Impe has produced an excellent series of video commentaries on Revelation called Revelation Revealed (Jack Van Impe Ministries).

Ray Stedman’s outstanding commentary on Revelation can be found posted on the Internet in 23 messages atwww.pbc.org/stedman (Peninsula Bible Church).

The best illustrations of Revelation have been produced by Pat Marvenko Smith. She has illustrated every main scene of the book and has made the pictures available in a variety of forms — slides, posters, overhead transparencies, video, and PowerPoint (Revelation Illustrated Ministries).

Fiction

The “Left Behind” series of books by Tim LaHaye and Larry B. Jenkins present a fictionalized story about the Rapture and the Tribulation that is based upon biblical prophecies. This series is published by Tyndale House and has broken all sales records for prophetic books. The series of novels has become a best seller even when compared to secular books. The books have been made available on audio tape, and special edited versions have been published for teens. The first of the volumes, entitled Left Behind, was published in 1995.

Bibles

The very first study Bible ever published came out in 1909. It is still one of the best selling study Bibles in the world. It was produced by a Dallas pastor named C.I. Scofield and is called The Scofield Study Bible (Urichsville, OH: Barbour Publishing, 2000) It has been revised and updated regularly over the years by an editorial committee representing a premillennial, pre-tribulational viewpoint.

A newer study Bible that presents the same view of the passages related to end time prophecy is The Ryrie Study Bible (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1976). Both the Scofield and Ryrie commentaries are available in a variety of translations. The latest and most up to date study Bible that focuses on the interpretation of prophecy is The Tim LaHaye Prophecy Study Bible (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

The Living Bible Paraphrased (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1971) though not a typical study Bible, is nonetheless an interpretive Bible that reflects a premillennial interpretation of all key prophetic passages.

Classics

The greatest and most enduring classic on the return of Jesus is William E. Blackstone’s book, Jesus is Coming. It was written in 1878. The third revised edition of 1908 has been recently republished with an introduction by John Walvoord (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 1989).

A foreign book that has come to be considered one the great classics of end time prophecy is The Return of Jesus Christby Rene Pache, translated into English by William S. LaSor (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1955). It is must reading for any Bible prophecy enthusiast.

The 20th Century American classic is, of course, Hal Lindsey’s book, The Late Great Planet Earth (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1970). The New York Times has certified that it was the number one best selling book in the world (with the exception of the Bible) for ten years, between 1970 and 1980!

Perhaps the most unusual book ever published on Bible prophecy is Dispensational Truth by Clarence Larkin (Philadelphia, PA: Reverend Clarence Larking Estate, 1920). Larkin was a draftsman who devoted his talents to illustrating prophetic concepts with fascinating charts and diagrams. This is a classic that will keep you up all night!

“To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:” Proverbs 1:2-3 & 5. I’ve read many books both fiction and non-fiction written by various Christian authors over the past 15 years or so, and have enjoyed most of them. I’m sure many of my readers have done the same. There’s just something stirring about getting someone else’s prospective on scriptures. But, and this is the rub, I don’t use any of the books written by Christian authors as a final explanation of God’s word. God’s word is irreproachable, inerrant, and true. Therefore the opinions of others, concerning God’s Word, although useful, should only be used as a springboard as we search the scriptures for ourselves. I’ve read numerous authors with varying opinions of what the scriptures say. We know the Holy Spirit doesn’t work that way. Obviously, when confronted by varying interpretations there remains just one source to search. When it comes to understanding and discerning the truth about the scriptures we always want to go straight to the Bible itself.

There are many Bible teachers these days who’ve placed quite a bit of their biblical knowledge in books and on DVD’s, and have made these products readily available to the diligent Bible student who’s looking to obtain a better grasp of the Word of God. But if a Bible teacher is worth his salt he’ll tell his students from the beginning to search the scriptures for themselves, to do their own research concerning God’s word. We aren’t to blindly follow any Bible teacher, after all they’re only men, thus they are fallible. God is our ultimate teacher – He should be our definitive source when we search for inerrant truth. Although He has given many of His followers the ability to teach from His Word, He holds all Bible teachers to the same standard. When teaching His word we must teach using His whole counsel. We must not deviate from His word as many have done by promoting their own selfish agendas.

“If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, [even] the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.” 1 Timothy 6:3-5. In God’s Word we’re given clear instructions on teaching and holding teachers accountable. There’s absolutely no room for varying doctrines; when confronted with different interpretations of God’s word, clearly someone is wrong. That someone can’t be led by the Spirit of Truth. Paul says withdraw thyself from such as these.

I’m an avid reader. Books, especially those written by Christians, are my favorite apart from the Bible. Both fiction and non-fiction entertain me and I read all books out loud to my wife. Then we discuss them. One thing I’ve found to be true is that some Christian writers gets off base from time to time in their non-fictional account of God’s word. When this happens something clicks inside me, and as a Berean I will not hesitate to compare the author’s words to that of God’s. Even if the author is in error, I will usually finish reading the book. There may just be some little tidbit or nugget there that would be worthwhile. Having diligently studied the Bible for many years and having been given the discernment that can come only from God concerning His word, I have grasped that added dimension concerning God’s word that many Christians simply don’t realize is available to them. “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you:” 1 John 2:27.

The Holy Spirit resides in every born again believer in Christ, therefore we all have Christ’s anointing. The Apostle John tells us that we aren’t in need of a man to teach us since the Holy Spirit abides in us “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.”1 John 2:20. And He will teach and is teaching us all things. Does this mean we don’t need Bible teachers to help us during our search of the scriptures? Not at all. John is teaching us is he not? Obviously there’s a place for teachers but they are not to have the last word when it comes to the scriptures, or in our personal learning. That domain belongs exclusively to God.

I just can’t get past delving into the subject of just how many Christian pastors have resorted to teaching their congregations from extra-biblical source materials. Why? Is it that they just don’t understand the Word of God themselves, thus they resort to functioning as a quasi-leader utilizing some mere man’s materials instead of focusing on the Word of God and allowing the Holy Spirit to be their guide through the scriptures? It’s been assumed that today in this post-modern world we live in we must change the way we present the Gospel. We must enlighten the masses in a manner never before utilized. The word of God is dated material, thus we must add some nuances of higher dimensionality regarding the teaching and spreading of God’s word. Our new post-modern society demands to be seen as enlightened. Why not just resort to using trickery while dazzling them with chicanery? (Wouldn’t that be tickling their ears?) With these new teaching concepts in place our poor misguided and misunderstood crowd of post-modern humanists will surely be returning every Sunday to receive more “ear tickling”. But here’s the rub, whenever we replace God’s inerrant word with man’s fallible word then we’ve replaced God as sovereign. If we aren’t going to teach the Gospel of Christ in our Christian Churches, then please, stop referring to them as Christian Churches.

Books, both secular and Christian, are so very plentiful a simple perusal through a Barnes and Nobel will attest to that (I do enjoy a good book store). A variety of books pertaining to everything from prophecy to angels and demons can indeed catch my eye. I like to do research on upcoming societal changes as well as extra-ordinary changes that have occurred over a seemingly short period of time; therefore I read books. For example, there are so many changes happening in our culture today that quite frankly would have been unheard of, and certainly completely unacceptable, just thirty years ago. Something I’ve been studying quite extensively is this thing called transhumanism. What is it? What’s it all about? Why all the hubbub? With experimentations designed to change humans into part human and part animal someone has finally sat up and taken notice. What are the ramifications of such experiments which are being billed as an enhancement of the human genome? The scientists who are involved in these experiments are convinced that to save the human race from its own extinction we must evolve to the next higher plane, one that will change the human being into a part human part animal or even part computer. I challenge all of you to put “transhumanism” into a search engine and see what comes up. Frankenstein’s monster is not science fiction any more.

There are a huge number of new scientific breakthroughs all being promoted as an enhancement to human beings so we can live forever. Reading books written by those who’ve been on the cutting edge of this new phenomenon can be enlightening as well as somewhat frightening for anyone who hasn’t studied what God has to say about all this evil. This is just another challenge for those who are watchmen on the wall. Transhumanism needs to be revealed to the Christian public; we all need to be aware of the evil that is now fully entrenched in our science labs. Reading books helps, and like I said, this phenomenon is spoken about quite clearly in our Bibles.

We can begin by reading and studying our God breathed literature beginning with the book of Genesis chapter 6. “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose… There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”Genesis 6:1-2, 4-5. Ask yourself what was so bad on planet earth that God would destroy all the inhabitants including the land animals, save eight human souls as well as a few animals? Now take it a step further and ask yourself what’s the difference between then and now? To make it simple, there occurred through some kind of an evil process a corruption of the gene pool between fallen angels and human women. There are man-devised, error filled interpretations of this passage, but a straight forward, proper interpretation of these Scriptures makes it clear that God is telling us about something horrible that occurred concerning the corruption of humanity with fallen angels, and this corruption even involved the animals.

Now let’s skip forward in time and as we read the words of Jesus Himself as He tells us about what’s coming on this planet in the last days. “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matthew 24:37-39. What Jesus is alluding to that will occur in the last days is exactly what occurred prior to the flood of Noah (fallen angels, humans, and animals – transhumanism) which caused God’s wrath to be poured out on an unrepentant world. This evil is now being established in our modern laboratories around the globe, and just as Jesus says it will be fully established just prior to His return. Once again God will pour out His wrath on an unrepentant humanity. God’s wrath will once again be poured out on planet earth, this time instead of a flood He’ll destroy the earth with fire. Reading books can give us a very real perspective on current events. But God’s word should always be our final authority.

There are some Christian authors who I have trusted over the years to be completely in line with the word of God. These authors are true Bereans as am I, thus their books reflect the truth of God’s word. There are others who I know are off base by a point or two which doesn’t stop me from purchasing their books, but I instinctively know that there will be a few red flags raised during my reading of their work.

The point is, we can learn something from most Christian authors even if it’s just a little nugget, other times we might just pick up a priceless gem. But everything we read concerning the Word of God from extra-biblical sources must always be viewed through the lens of the Bible. Go to the true source for accuracy. There is no substitute for His truth.

I’m determined to keep God’s word, to believe He says what He means and means what He says, and to stand firm while being bombarded by the ramblings of the skeptics. Amongst translation errors and downright lies infiltrating our English Bibles these days there will always be a way to obtain the truth. God will keep His Word pure in regards to the original Hebrew and Greek languages. As time progresses our English translations will become more politically correct as the translators do their part by removing or changing scriptures they determine to be burdensome on a society. After all, no one wants to be reminded of those old tired and obscure verses that have no place in our lives today, Especially those that point out God’s distain for sexual immorality. I suggest you all keep your Bible (preferably the King James Version) easily accessible; all kinds of nonsense regarding the word of God is headed our way.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham

All scripture is from the KJV and God breathed

Chapter XVI America In Prophecy

By Dale V. Nobbman

When Adam and Eve sinned against the Lord God in the Garden of Eden, they attempted to hide from God in order to avoid being confronted by Him about their sinful conduct.  God called to Adam and asked ‘Where are you?”—and to the woman God said “What is this you have done?”—but God was already fully aware of why, and where, Adam and Eve were hiding.  God was merely seeking verbal replies from the couple in order to hold them accountable for what they had done.  He then proceeded to inform them what the consequences would be for their sinful actions.  (Genesis 3)

God could easily be asking America today the same questions of “Where are you?” and “What is this you have done?”—perhaps for the purpose of seeking Americans to be accountable for our sinful conduct, and waiting patiently for us to confess our sins as a nation in order that we would once again become pleasing in His sight.  It seems highly probable that only if we turn back to God and seek His guidance will God be inclined to heal our nation from the problems which are compounding themselves daily in America.

How can America possibly expect God to ever bless our nation again, when we continue to increasingly, and willfully, disobey, defy, and deny God?  America seems to be shunning ‘Godly wisdom’ found in the written Word of God, the Bible, and expecting instead to somehow survive as a nation into the future by relying strictly on the ‘human knowledge’ of our secular governmental and institutional leaders.  This intentional and foolish choice of shutting God out of our schools, public events, public dialogue, and governmental policy-making, is seemingly being led and promoted by all three branches of our United States government.  These aggressive attempts to remove God from our American society is placing our nation at extreme risk of ultimate futility in trying to avoid the eventual destruction of America should we ever totally lose God’s blessing upon our country.  The constant legal challenges in our courts to push God out of our country and kick the door shut behind Him is manifesting itself right before our eyes on a daily basis as exhibited in the words, actions, and laws spewed forth by a ‘majority’ of our federal and state politicians, judicial courts and anti-God liberal activists.  Thank God we still do have some Christian representatives in our government today who are taking a public stance for God, and who still believe in governing our nation by incorporating Godly wisdom into our state and national policymaking.     

The prevailing atmosphere in our nation today is for a great percentage of radical non-believers to gleefully offend God, denounce Jesus Christ, mock Christians, and suppress Christianity at every opportunity—and this growing faction of our citizenry continues to gain increasing support for their anti-Christian causes starting right at the top of our government with our current president.  From there it trickles right on down through our liberal judges, liberal congressional representatives, liberal state governors, etc.  Compounding our problems and attempts to keep America a Christian nation is the willingness of our nation’s mainstream press and broadcast news to ‘fan the flames’ of open contempt against God by quickly ‘waving the victory flag for evil’ in their headline news and lead stories every time the biblical ‘Word of God’ is trampled upon by some ‘minority’ factions in our nation—whose only apparent goal in their actions and legal maneuvering is to erode and ultimately destroy our Judeo-Christian national foundation.

One of the latest examples of front page news offensive to God is the legalization of ‘gay couple marriages’ inNew York.  When I saw the pictures of people making ‘revelry’ in the streets of New York after the governor signed it into law, my thoughts turned to Moses and the scene he was confronted with by the sight of the sons of Israel ‘singing and dancing’ in their camp around a ‘golden calf’ they had compelled Aaron to fashion for them in order to worship that idol as one of their ‘new gods’ after they felt Moses had taken ‘so long’ in coming down from Mt. Sinai.  (Exodus 32)  When Moses saw the scene before him his ‘anger burned’ and after shattering the Ten Commandment tablets he had brought down from the mountain with him, he said to the people, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!”  Those who did not gather together on the side of the Lord with Moses soon suffered the consequences for their sinful conduct.  Anti-Christian movements in America today are trying hard to blur the difference between right and wrong, evil and good, but with God there is no fuzzy middle ground or grey zone—every person is either aligned with God or against God.

It now sadly appears that a greater number of Americans have chosen to follow ‘new gods’ rather than the one true God.  As with the sons of Israel waiting for Moses, perhaps some Americans feel the Second-Coming of Jesus Christ has taken ‘so long’ that they have decided to follow their own sinful hearts and turn their backs on God.  These people will ultimately suffer the consequences for their sinful choices and conduct.  We Christians need to ‘pray’ that as many people as possible will make a decision to turn back to God before it’s too late, by placing their belief and faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  All Christians who believe in Bible prophecy know that the signs of Christ’s return as found in the Bible are rapidly increasing in frequency and intensity, meaning that the Rapture of the Church (Christians), and the Second-Coming of Jesus Christ, are approaching faster than most people realize.

AMERICA—Where are you?  AMERICA—What is this you have done?

America is, and will be, held ‘accountable’ before God for its deeds as a nation, and therefore needs to seriously consider how it replies as a nation to God’s two questions above —just as Adam and Eve had to answer God’s questions in the Garden of Eden.  And as with Adam and Eve, nobody can hide from God and absolutely no amount of standard American political ‘double-talk’ will ever be able to fool God in our reply. America currently seems to be faced with a variety of severe consequences for rejecting God, and more consequences will undoubtedly befall our nation until positive changes are made to invite God back into all levels of our government and institutions.  And as with Moses and the sons of Israel at Mt. Sinai, when Moses said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!”—the day is now at hand when the citizens of our great nation, theUnited States of America, need to decide if they will once again follow the Lord.  “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose today whom you will serve…but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15)

I pray that all Christian Americans will vote responsibly and wisely in the 2012 elections.

By Dale V. Nobbman

By Dale V. Nobbman

Dear America,

Hi, how are you doing? Just thought I’d check up on you after I heard you had been struggling recently. I don’t quite understand just why you have allowed yourself to become so overwhelmed and lost in so many ways, including morally, spiritually, and financially, but I have certainly noticed an alarming change in you from the America I grew up with a number of years ago.

I remember how all your best friends used to call you “America the Beautiful” and still others “Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean.” You know, I can’t recall anyone referring to you in that way for a long time now, as it seems a portion of your original beauty and appeal as established by your Founding Fathers in their founding principles has diminished over recent years. I really don’t know why that should be the case, because you’ve always had a strong Constitution to sustain you through all the trials and tribulations you’ve encountered over the years, so why are you faltering now?

O beautiful for spacious skies, I remember how God shed His grace on thee. You remember that don’t you? I don’t know how you could ever forget it, considering the number of blessings our Creator has allowed you to receive and bestow over the years. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten, but it’s just that I haven’t seen you give much thanks to God in return lately, and that seems very strange, and has raised my concern for you, because the America I remember in your stronger days always gave thanks to God. I can remember ever so well how you used to praise “the power that hath made and preserved us as a nation,” and how you woulddeclare that “all glory, laud, and praise be ever Thine.” I also remember how good it made me feel when you would break forth and sing to the author of our liberty, the God of our Fathers. It seems like just yesterday that you were asking God to “mend thy every flaw,” and that “protecting us by thy might Great God our King”was your daily prayer. Those were really good days, weren’t they? Things were going pretty well then. Whatever happened? I never thought I would see you so down and confused as you are now.

You don’t know how it changed my life and thrilled my heart when you would declare to me that “mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord,” and “in the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, with a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me.” With faith like that, anyone in the world couldn’t help but see how you had become one nation under God. I know you must still believe it, even though you don’t profess it much anymore. Oh say can you see that you have strayed far off course from your original beliefs and affirmation in God’s guiding hand upon you? And that reminds me, I haven’t heard you say the “Pledge of Allegiance” much lately, but I can still remember how your kids used to recite it all the time.

You still call yourself the “Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave,” and you seem to continually proclaim that “In God we trust.” How could there be any doubt in where your faith lies? If I didn’t know you so well, I might think the current problems you face are from your lack of faith in the Father of Liberty, and that your trust is really in the coins and paper money you proclaim your trust on. I do pray that those of us who really love you can be assured of your true, unfaltering faith in God, even though it must appear to many people that you have blatantly turned your back on God’s divine leadership in all matters you concern yourself with in both the present time and in the years ahead. I can’t think of one good reason why you would try to deceive me or anyone else from the truth of your past accomplishments, which were based firmly in your trust in God. One thing I know for sure: We’ve been friends a long time and I know that God still loves you as He did in the beginning, when He gave you the blessed name, theUnited States of America.

Well, I guess I’ll close for now. I know you need time to collect your thoughts, and I pray that you will regain your strength for the days ahead. I want you to get well real soon. I’m here if you need me, and God the Father is waiting to hear from you. You can reach Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. I know you will begin to feel so much better if you will just reconnect with God. Once that happens, then we the people can continue to sing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,Sweet Land of Liberty,” and we will be able to proudly continue flying the star-spangled banner with its stars and stripes forever!

Your Friend,
A Christian American Citizen

Eric: Hi there everyone and thanks for joining us and a special thanks to my friend and brother in Christ Billy for getting this off the ground.

Billy: The subject we will be dealing with tonight is one that weighs greatly on the hearts and minds of many believers these days, especially those like us who have a keen interest in the prophecies of the Bible, that being the question of America’s role, or lack thereof, in Bible prophecy. While we’ll go in depth on this a little later, I thought I would just gauge your initial thoughts, on the direction you see our country headed, and how, if at all, it relates prophetically to the end times portions of the Scriptures?

Eric: Speaking broadly I’m very troubled and saddened as an American citizen.

When I go over what I know about the Scriptures…and believe me I have a whole lot more I need to learn…I see a clear pattern that shows what happens to people, nations, and cultures that turn their backs on God and it’s clear to me that America has been doing that quite steadily for at least several decades if not longer. Like others before us, unless somehow there is a spiritual awakening and repentance on a mass scale…and hey, you never know, just ask Nineveh…this country is doomed. It’s as simple as that. Greater empires than us have fallen for arguably a lot less in some instances. The root of it is always the same: A Godless society.

I think the beginning of the end for America was when we took prayer out of schools and then you got to a point where you couldn’t even have the Ten Commandments. Yeah, “thou shalt not kill, steal,” etc are things you really don’t want to teach anyone.

Can anyone tell me what upside there is to removing those teachings?

Look at what’s happened to this country on all levels just since that decision was made and implemented. Pick any category you want.

It’s funny. By happenstance a few weeks ago I was in a doctor’s waiting room waiting for my mother’s appointment to be finished and I struck up a conversation with a nice middle aged man who ultimately I came to find out was leaning more towards the liberal side.

Somewhere in the context of the conversation, completely unsolicited, he said this: “I remember when we were arguing and ultimately they took prayer out of the schools, I didn’t think much of it either way at the time. Now that we’re here several decades later, maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.”

You think?

Better late then never, I guess.

Billy: Well Eric, you have done a wonderful job of cutting straight to the real heart of the issue here. For us as Americans, beyond the speculatory stuff which we’ll touch on later, the core of the matter is, as always, a nation that turns its back on God, shall not long endure. That’s a great quote too, and it’s indeed interesting how God can use anyone as a mouthpiece (even sometimes without their knowing it) to convey an important truth, such as that man did with his observation about prayer in Public Schools.

Eric: There definitely was some surprised regret in his voice when he said it to me.

Billy: You can just look at the statistics across the board since 1963 when prayer and Bible reading were effectively outlawed from public schools to see the downward trend we’ve been on since that point (1.) Just the school statistics themselves are staggering, the increase in violence, teenage pregnancies, abortions, not to mention the drop in SAT scores. Today’s kids are, quite frankly, a lot dumber than they used to be, and a lot of it I think is absolutely deliberate, although that’s an issue for another discussion.

Eric: Anyone can read The Ten Commandments. I defy anyone to explain to me what’s wrong/offensive/whatever you want to call it about having those ten tenets around.

The real answer is: Because it all points to God and we’re not supposed to believe in Him.

Billy: With all of this in front of us, it becomes more difficult each day to retain hope for a Nineveh like repentance to happen to this country. Heck, even the city of Nineveh reached a point eventually, 150 years after Jonah, where God finally had no other alternative but to bring them to judgement. It’s been quipped for quite some time now that “If God does not judge America, He ought to apologize to Sodom and Gomoroh.”

Eric: I’ve used that catchphrase a few times myself.

Billy: We have become the primary exporters and promoters of everything that He abhors. And the results of our ungodliness have been tragic. One need only look no further than our current financial situation. How does a country, once so strong and secure, allow itself to get in a situation where it is on the brink of being absolutely crippled by its own debt? The Bible repeatedly mentions how the borrower is a slave to the lender, (Prov. 22:7) but we have become so corrupt and inept that we have built an entire economic system based off of borrowing and debt, and we wonder why the house of cards is continually collapsing?

Eric: There’s another layer there that makes it even worse: We’re hypocrites. We were a country that was founded clearly on Judeo-Christian beliefs. Even if all the Founding Fathers weren’t outright “Christians” the entire thing was set up and could only work if the majority of the populace was broadly Judeo Christian. Where do people think a lot of the ideas from both the Declaration of Independence and Constitution ultimately come from?

The outright hostility and abandonment of these two laws of the land now from people that dare to call themselves Americans goes right back to my point about the Ten Commandments albeit on a much lesser scale, since I certainly put no worldly documents or tenets anywhere near the same level of course: The ideas and concepts ultimately point to God and Judeo-Christian type beliefs and background, and well, we can’t have that because that’s being “intolerant” and there’s no worse crime you can commit in this country or anywhere else in the world for that matter.

Billy: With that said, given our current course, if there is no national turn-around in store for us, what future do you see for America within the spectrum of end time events? Will we simply fade out of existence, or do you think there may be another possible role for whatever is left of our once great Nation during that period in Bible prophecy known as the tribulation?

Eric: Look over Genesis 18 where Abraham pleads to God for mercy for Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham kept shrinking the numbers of righteous people down and the Lord kept saying yes, even if there were only 10 righteous people in the entire city.

We certainly have more than 10 righteous people in every country and continent on the planet. The Lord has been exceedingly merciful to all of us but as everyone knows, that’s not an unlimited checkbook. At some point there finally has to be consequences of sin faced and reckoned with.

Billy: I love that portion of Scripture you mentioned there, and the “husfa” Abraham shows there, in a sense, bargaining with the creator of the universe. And make no mistake God is amazingly merciful, giving grace to those (read: us) who do not deserve it, but we should never mistake his mercy for weakness. He HATES sin above all else, and His perfect sense of justice cannot allow it to go undealt with, hence, the Cross. And now especially since He has gone through the ultimate sacrifice of love, of having His own Son, and likeness in the flesh, Jesus, pay that penalty for us, we are left without excuse for not dealing with the sin problem head on. Since all we have to do is simply believe in and accept the free gift provided to us.

And sure, we may have those ten righteous in every nation in the sense of having accepted Christ and having His righteousness accounted to us anyway. But, in a world where the Christian populace has been removed, as Romans says, “There is no one righteous, no not one”… and then, the percentage of righteous people left on the planet will plummet to nothing. And until God begins working on the hearts of the’ tribulation saints’ (which He will do very shortly after I presume); those people who will come to faith, after the church is removed, God will then have to begin judging sinful humanity en masse. Which if you want the specific judgements themselves, just a cursory glance at the book of Revelation should give you more than enough info to know this is not something you want to stick around for!

Eric: A number of the doomsday scenarios for America and frankly a lot of the other countries in the world are things that I personally think will happen after the Church is taken out and the Tribulation begins.

In fact, I think it will be unfathomably worse because you’re talking about a planet When you have x number of millions or however many people disappear in a blink then any remaining person left behind knows they are not alone in the universe. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. I personally believe the planet has been conditioned a long time for a great deception that will explain it away and it will at least partially involve “UFOs.”

Billy: That’s certainly a very interesting scenario. I’m always a little cautious of involving things like UFO’s and whatnot in my prophetic outlook, because it opens the door to all kinds of strange speculation. But I could easily see something like that being used as an explanation for that, to the outside world, most unexplainable event, that we’ve been alluding to in which millions upon millions will be snatched up. Of course now we’ve been off-handedly mentioning this event, but since I realize there may be some reading who either may not know what we’re talking about or, those who disagree us on this, I’ll ask you to briefly give our audience a quick tutorial on why we hold this view.

Eric: As someone might have intuited from my earlier remarks, I’m a Christian that believes in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church. The reasons I believe this involve a number of scriptures I could quote from Matthew 24, 1 Timothy 4, 1 Thessalonians and so forth. For the sake of space I’ll summarize briefly:

1.) I believe the Church has to be taken out because then it’s finally down to God and Israel. He’s not finished with them yet.

2.)Too many pesky Christians know enough about basic prophecy that if we saw the AntiChrist truly take over as world leader we’d be in the way of what’s supposed to happen. There’s a number of Christians in all walks of life including governments and high seats of power.

3.)The Church is being shown great mercy before the wrath of God finally starts coming down on the planet as consequence for everything we’re talking about now. No mistaking that when you read any Tribulation details out Daniel or Revelation it’s a time that is almost unfathomable. Clearly a time of consequence, judgment and wrath. It makes no sense for a God of grace to have His entire Church stuck under judgment that they were/have been spared from.
4.)How do you have an event in the Bible where “a twinkling of an eye”* “thief in the night” *and other descriptions like that happen but we also see descriptions about how everyone will see from the East to the West and the sky will break like a scroll and all this other clear shock and awe happens when the Lord descends back down on the Earth? How can one event have all of those descriptions at the same time? It’s got to be two separate events. The quiet one and then at the end of the Tribulation the shock and awe of the Second Coming.

That’s the short version.

Think about all the evil and depravity we see now and how bad we think it is. Then remind yourself that all of this is still with the Holy Spirit’s restraint in place!

I honestly have a hard time imagining just how vile and unreal the Tribulation period will be. I’m grateful that I will not be here for it thanks to the Lord’s grace.

Billy: Thank you for that great explanation Eric. I am also very thankful to God that I will not have to go through that horrible period of history. As 1st Thessalonions verse 5 says, we are not appointed to receive God’s wrath. That doesn’t in the meantime, we won’t face hardships, sometimes in the extreme, as Christians for centuries now have had to endure, but we will not be subject to the misery and suffering that will be characteristic of the time of which Christ spoke of in Matthew 24:21. For those of you curious about learning more about the pre-tribulational view, we have included in the notes here a more comprehensive defense of this position (2).

Eric: For that digression, let me get back to your actual question about where I think America will be:

The remnant will probably just get absorbed back into Europe or whatever the EU is at that point. The Bilderberger’s plan for ten regions on the Earth is well known and not the stuff of just underground conspiracy theory, either. Why is that important? Because the book of Revelation clearly talks about ten kings being in charge of the entire planet.

America has a lot of Christians in ALL walks of life. This country will be decimated when the Christians are taken out and it will make the current fragility look like a walk in the park. Some countries will be “better off” than others but ultimately there will be such an incredible panic and fear that finally going all global and one world everything will be easy, painless, and enthusiastically supported by almost everyone. Remember how things felt right after 9-11 and the fear and panic everyone happened that our government was all too happy to capitalize on? All anyone cared about was feeling safe.

Now imagine that amplified by an insane degree when you suddenly have a bunch of people poof! Disappear. Clearly the groundwork for global economy and government is staring us in the face now. That’s all we ever see or hear about in the news. All it needs is that final push to finish it and I believe the Rapture will do exactly that.

Billy: That is a good probability I think, and especially given our current fragility combined with what could very well be the final nail in the coffin, that being the mass disappearance of millions of Christians, but now with this ground somewhat covered, what are some of the reasons you think God has delayed His judgement of us for so long, besides of course, that He IS a merciful God, not wanting that any should perish? Basically, what is and was God’s purpose and plan for this nation?

Eric: Hal Lindsey did a good teaching on this lately. It’s the 7/22/11 video on his website (3) and that’s just one of several he’s done recently on all of this. Using Luke 21 and Matthew 24 among other passages he got to a point in the teaching (read the entire chapter for context) where it refers to “Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” Well, now what does that mean? That of course is referring to the Church. Replacement and Dominion Theology erroneously teaches this idea that the Church somehow replaced supplanted Israel. This is anti-Semitic. Christianity began in Israel. Jesus was a Jew. His disciples were Jews. It begins and ends there.

In the book of Acts, Paul was commissioned to go out from there and unto the Gentiles. They (we) have a certain amount of time and then “the time of the Gentiles” will come to an end. For Replacement/Dominion Theology to be true means God would have to be liar and not keep His promises of which that are many throughout the Old Testament. Look over Genesis 12-17 where God laid it all out for Abraham. If the Church replaced Israel then there’s already items in there you can read that won’t happen to Israel like God clearly spelled out and that means broken promises. Can’t happen. Won’t happen. God doesn’t lie and He always fulfills ALL of His promises.

He’s not done with Israel yet. The Church has to be taken out of the way so God can finally finish up business with Israel. The 70th Week. The time of Jacob’s Trouble.

How do you fulfill Acts 13:32-35 where it promises that Christ Himself will sit on David’s throne if you don’t have all the other promises fulfilled and a nation of Israel in existence to begin with? The preterists, another heretical group, somehow think ALL prophecies were fulfilled by AD 70. I honestly don’t know how anyone can believe such rubbish when I just cited an easy example right there. Jesus Christ’s first visit to Earth was not one of power and ascendancy like his Second Coming will be.

A lot of these heresies show up when people refuse to take anything literally in the Bible. The Bible is very good in letting someone know when there’s a literal description vs. symbolism and allegory.

Billy: The Bible is rich with symbolism and allegory, but it is interesting to me to note, that anytime you see someone in the Bible reading a portion of Scripture, such as the Ethiopian in Acts, or Herod in the Gospel accounts, they always, 100% of the time take what they’re reading as the literal truth, and never as some happy sappy mystical mumbo jumbo. Like you said, the Word is very clear when it is to be understood literally vs. when it is a clear case of symbolism (such as, Psalm 93 does not in fact indicate that God has feathers) And you can always trust God to make good on His word. It’s that trustworthiness you spoke of that we all can rely on when we accept Christ to be our own personal Lord and Savior. It’s amazing in a way, how many people will trust God with their entire eternal destiny, but then flip flop around when it comes to the clear outlines He’s left us. In terms of coming prophecies, especially with the established track record of fulfilled prophecies, from the old testament, all the way up to Israel’s 1948 restoration in the land, that we have to go off of. If you cannot LITERALLY trust God to carry out the clear agenda He has set in the Bible, what justification can you really have that this same God will literally save you from the fires of Hell? Unless you just want to go the full on route to allegorizing away almost the entirety of the written Word, as some groups have done.

Eric: I’m not a Calvinist or an Arminian, either. The only way you can have true love is if people have free choice otherwise we’re all robots on a predetermined course where nothing we say or do matters.

BUT

The Lord is not confined by space or time. This is one of many things we simply don’t understand. So He already knows everything that’s ever going to be said or done for all time because he is outside of it and beyond it entirely. At some point the last person to be saved will be saved and that will be it. At that instant, the only God the Father Himself knows (Matt 24:36) that’s when the Rapture will happens and the Church, the Bride of Christ, is taken out and spared the wrath.

What Luke 21 and Matthew 24 teach is that all of these signs and “birth pains” will happen in increasing frequency and ALL AT THE SAME TIME…a very important distinction. Then the Lord closes that teaching off with Luke 21:32-33 ” 32 “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. “

He’s not referring to his audience that He was talking to there. He was talking about people way off in the future. I believe He was talking about us and I believe that Prophetic time clock began ticking again in earnest with the restoration of Israel in 1948. Most if not all prophecy scholars concur with that view. Israel being restored is a huge an undeniable fulfillment of prophecy and something that’s unprecedented in history. See Ezekiel 37 for starters.

Billy: Anyone with a television with access to CNN or Fox News right now can see these “birth pains” happening with ever increasing frequency, with their own eyes, practically on a daily basis as well. It is at once terrifying and exciting to see God’s written Word come to life before our eyes on the evening news, all the while saddening on a national level to see the decline and fall of this once shining beacon of a nation I live in and call my earthly home. Still, you will have the scoffers always who bemoan “where is the sign of His coming?” They will go through endless hoops to try and nullify the promises of God, since it’s been 2000 years since Christ walked this earth, and over 60 since the restoration of Israel. Which was the sign that really lit a fire under prophecy buffs and seemingly a large part of the Church in general all throughout the latter part of the last century, but is either being rejected or just starting to be taken for granted now by the mainstream churches, when really as we get down to this final lap of history so to speak, I’d think it would get people even more amped up than usual, since we seem to be living at the very time Christ spoke of when he said “This generation shall not pass, until all these things be fulfilled”…

Eric: How long is a generation? This is where people like to speculate and get into trouble. It could be 70 years. A 100 years. Who knows? It could happen when the very last elderly person of “this generation” is about to breathe their last breath. I’m sure God could bring it down to that fine wire if He wanted to. Who knows? Only He does.

Billy: And on this blog anyway, I try to have the good sense to keep it that way. It boggles my mind how people can just twist that scripture around, ignoring the plain warning against date setting. To me, it’s just plain old fasioned sinful pride. I’m just happy to serve a God who does have everything under control, and who alone knows the end from the beginning. He has given us a staggering amount of revelation to begin with, so that I don’t really have the time to go chasing down idiotic calculations on things that no earthly mind could ever apprehend.

Now finally, to wrap things up here, what can we as Christians, while we still have time, do to attempt to get things back on track, since, even if it is a long shot, we would be neglecting our stewardship and responsibility if we were simply to give up and kick our feet up while waiting to be “caught up”… We have been called for more than that.. Obviously since we’re still here and not in Heaven for the time being, there is work to be done, for us as individuals and nationally.

Eric: Past the normal idea of Christians really having the Lord’ love in their heart and wanting to spread the Good News there’s an extra oomph that’s supposed to be here for Christians who keep tabs on prophecy. It’s sad how much of the Church ignores and avoids prophecy for any number of reasons. It’s there to encourage us and light a fire under our butts!

It’s easy to fall into that “kick the feet up” tendency and I admit I’ve been inclined to that end of it more than once but the idea of knowing and believing these prophecies is that it’s supposed to light a fire in us as Christians where we know: “Hey, the Lord could come at any time. I love this person. I want them to make it. I want them to be spared hell on Earth or hell in the afterlife. And what if the person the Lord uses me to plant that seed on is the last person to be saved on God’s time clock and poof!”

You never know.

Billy: That would indeed be amazing, to be able to be used to bring in the final person in this allotted dispensation. And indeed, you never know, someone reading this right now could very well be that person, and if you are, FYI, we’d REALLY like to get out of here, so please consider the (endless) benefits of giving your life to the Lord at this time please.. Well, that will do it for this Bible Bunker roundtable. I would like to thank my good friend Eric for taking the time to help with this study, and thank you all for reading as well. Until next time, God bless and Maranatha!

Notes:

1. http://www.inplainsite.or…ned_when_the_praying.html

2. http://www.raptureready.c…etribulation-rapture.html

3. http://www.hallindsey.com/videos/

By Grant Phillips

For the first time in our history, Standard & Poor (S & P) announced August 5^th, 2011 that it has downgraded the credit rating of the United States one notch below AAA. It said, “’political brinkmanship’ in the debate over the debt had made the U.S. government’s ability to manage its finances “’less stable, less effective and less predictable’”. The S & P also stated, that ‘politicians in Washington were becoming less able to get to grips with the country’s huge fiscal deficit and debt load’.

Russia’s Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, stated on August 1^st, 2011, “They (the U.S.) are living like parasites off the global economy and their monopoly of the dollar”. He also stated, “They (the U.S.) are living beyond their means and shifting a part of the weight of their problems to the world economy”.

China stated on August 6^th, 2011, that we, the United States, “need to cure our addiction to debt”. It also stated that we, the United States, need to, “come to terms with the painful fact that the good old days when it could just borrow its way out of messes of its own making are finally gone”. Further, “to cure its addiction to debts, the United States has to re-establish the common sense principle that one should live within its means”. And if that isn’t enough, they went on to say that “(Washington) has been spending like there’s no tomorrow … they have been irresponsible fiscally so they deserved it (the S & P downgrade)”.

This is where compromise and greed have gotten us in this land of plenty. All three of the entities listed above were dead on accurate in what they had to say concerning our predicament and what has transpired to get us here.

Every one of our “leaders” in Washington should be crimson faced at this entire fiasco. If they have even a smidgen of decency about them, they should be embarrassed to be seen in public. Some had an opportunity to stand their guns, so to speak, and failed miserably. Politics, immorality and greed, as with Rome in the past, is destroying the greatest nation that has ever existed in history. We started out as a self-sacrificing, Christian nation, and have spiraled downward to a selfish, satanic sewer of immorality and greed.

We have been “taken to the woodshed” by two countries that would love nothing better than to destroy us. But why should they bother? We are destroying ourselves. Give us enough rope, and we will hang ourselves. Actually, the rope is already over the tree limb, and the noose is around our neck. All that is left is for someone to slap the horse on the rump, and we’re done for. Frankly folks, I don’t see that as being very far off.

Here’s the sad part though. No one has done this to us. We have done it to ourselves. We vote scoundrels back in office time after time, because of our own greed and immorality. We listen to these silver-tongued orators promise us “pie in the sky”, and now we have gotten what we deserve, a rotten tomato in the face.

All the blame can’t be laid on Washington though, because we the people have held our hands out for years wanting more and more, not realizing or not caring, that those in Washington cannot give unless they take from someone else. Our generation is a spoiled nation of people, who can’t live within our means even in our own lives.

It is my belief that our great country must decrease in importance from the world scene, in order that the nations of the world are arranged as depicted in prophecy. This is rapidly happening right before our very eyes. Due to our own sins, we are rapidly decreasing economically, as shown above. Our dollar is on its way out globally, and will probably be replaced soon with a different world trade standard. Our economic lifestyles will also soon change in my opinion. And I hate to say it, but we probably haven’t seen anything yet with the unemployment rate that is going to befall us, possibly soon. Our dependence on oil is our Achilles heel, and could bite us hard at any time.

My advice would be that we need to “get our own house in order”, not just economically, but especially spiritually. If you’re in debt, get out of debt. Live within your means. If you’re in debt to Satan, come to Jesus Christ. He is our only hope, and as the Apostle Paul says, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” (1 Corinthians 15:19) The fact is we do have hope in Christ, in this life and in the life to come, if we are in Christ and He is in us. Do not place your hope in man. There is none. There is no need to be miserable though when Jesus Christ lives within us by His Holy Spirit. Even when our earthly world is falling apart, there is always the glorious presence of Christ within us, and the expectation of His soon return.

Can there possibly be any good news from this mess that we are in and spiraling deeper into? Absolutely beyond a doubt there is. Even through the sadness of seeing a once great nation destroyed by Satan’s minions, know that God is still in control. He is allowing all this to transpire, and it is fitting perfectly into His plans for the removal of His Church (Rapture) and His judgment upon this world (Tribulation), which could kick into high gear at any time.

As I have repeatedly said, no one knows when the Rapture will take place, but God Himself, so I dare not guess. However, He does tell us to watch for the signs that He provides for the last days. The snatching away of the Church will occur before these signs reach their maturity, but even now we are seeing them ripen on the vine. The Rapture surely cannot be far off.

If you are living in a dream world, thinking that everything is going to be okay, and certainly will get better, please come down out of the clouds. You’re living in fantasy land. We are definitely at the final stages of God’s dealing with mankind. Everything is going to get worse, and worse, and worse. Somewhere in there, Jesus is going to remove His Church and the Tribulation will start, bringing hell on earth for seven more years. We are never going back to the United States of America that once was. Get used to it. Get ready for Christ’s return.

Grant Phillips

grantphillips@windstream.net

Pre-Rapture Commentary

http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com