israel today | Israel debates ‘End Times’ as Arab world revolts – israel today

israel today | Israel debates ‘End Times’ as Arab world revolts – israel today.

Psst. No shutdown during a ‘government shutdown’ – Yahoo! News

Interesting the change in focus from 1995 till now.  Where were the editorials like this when the fingers were pointed at the Republicans for “shutting down” the government.  Now that it will be the Democat party the tone changes completely.

Psst. No shutdown during a ‘government shutdown’ – Yahoo! News.

Thoughts on Egypt and prophecies in Isaiah 19 by Walt Kaiser

Very interesting.

Koinonia: Thoughts on Egypt and prophecies in Isaiah 19 by Walt Kaiser.

Christian Leaders Launch Twitter Campaign to Stop Execution of Said Musa, Christian News, The Christian Post

Christian Leaders Launch Twitter Campaign to Stop Execution of Said Musa, Christian News, The Christian Post.

Divisions in the Church: Who’s Really to Blame?

“These are the one who cause divisions, worldly minded, devoid of the Spirit” – Jude 19

As I struggled to complete this week’s post I had to generate multiple versions of what is now the final product.  There are so many issues needing the attention of those who desire to remain faithful to the truth that one man could spend twenty-four hours a day attempting to address them all.  However, one subject has been demanding my attention for some time and it is one that hits close to home – division in the church.  Being a pastor I dread the doctrinal divisions that can develop in a church.  Yet it is a necessary battle that anyone holding to the Truth must face.

Allow me to address the topic in the following manner.  Here is the scenario: A pastor discovers that there is a class in his church that is using material that has some objectionable doctrine in it.  Having made these discoveries he lovingly and gently discusses these doctrinal issues with the one leading the class.  As part of our example let us assume that the pastor correctly identified the errors in the teaching material using sound biblical exegesis and reasoning.  The proper outcome of such a scenario would be seen in the humble submission of the teacher and members of the class to the pastor’s gentle correction as well as the careful study of the identified theological issues.  However, as I have seen first hand the usual response is just the opposite.  Those whom the pastor is attempting to shepherd bow their backs, become angry, form a coalition against the pastor and accuse him of being divisive, uncaring, unfeeling, and lording over the congregation.  This is where the question of blame comes into play; who is to blame for the divisiveness in this scenario?

Far too often, almost always, the blame for the division is laid at the feet of the pastor who is simply trying to stand firm on sound biblical/doctrinal teaching.  Yet Scripture clearly identifies the ones who are to blame.  As the above passage describes, in the last days “‘there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.’  These are the ones who cause divisions” (Jude 19).  Paul wrote to Timothy with similar instruction: “If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, . . . he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, . . . and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain” (2 Tim. 6:3-5).

One such teacher has caused so much division within churches because of her teaching that if she were truly concerned about the health of the body she would heed the calls to correct her teaching and/or stop teaching.  I cannot see her heart or know her motives.  On the surface she seems to be sincere and holding good intentions.  However, good intentions do not make up for bad teaching.  There is a reason for the warning in 3:1, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren.”  And that reason is given in the verse, “knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.”

Sadly the pastors, elders, and church leaders who would stand against teachings of people such as her are called divisive and various other sundry epithets.  In truth she and the thousands of other teachers (some whom are even further off base than she) are the ones who should wear the title of divisive.

Brothers and sisters, it is time that we wake up and heed Paul’s call to “retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me” (2 Tim. 1:13). The word standard refers to that which is the prototype or pattern and words (logos) referring to what he taught.  The late Dr. Kenneth Wuest explained that Paul was tellingTimothy that there were certain words that needed to be retained “and used so that the doctrinal statements of the truth may remain accurate and a norm for future teachers and preachers” (Wuest, Kenneth S. Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English Reader. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997.)  The idea is that Timothy, and we are to “guard, . . . the treasure which has been entrusted to (us)” (v. 14).

I pray that we do not find ourselves hearing the same words that our Lord directed towards the church of Laodicea, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock,” (Rev. 3:20).

Time to Wake Up America!

The national corporate self-indulgent left wing media is ignoring reports that must not be ignored.  It’s time to wake up America!  Look at this report.

National Media Ignoring San Diego Report of WMDs In America.

Super Bowl, Black Eyed Peas, and the Meaning of Life

Since I was unable to watch the Super Bowl this year I was reading reports dealing with the various events that took place during this year’s snow-laden weekend of entertainment.  The viewing audience itself made news because of the sheer volume of viewers (Super Bowl XLV Poised to Break Viewing Records, Ties 1987 With Highest Overnight Ratings Ever).  Another article I found interesting dealt with the half-time show (Black Eyed Peas a glittering bore at Super Bowl – Soundcheck – The Orange County Register), something that a discerning person has had to either skip or watch with one eye closed ever since Janet Jackson played peek-a-booh back in 2004.  Each of these articles caused me to stop and reflect upon the meaning of life and an Eagle’s concert that I attended a few months ago.  I’ll attempt to make the connection shortly.

These reports reveal some things about the state of our current culture.  First, the number of viewers tells me that many people like pro football, but that’s not the important thing.  (Let me preface my remarks with this, not everyone who watched the Super Bowl fits the universal statements to follow)  The most important thing that the numbers reveal is that there are a lot of people who want diversion from their everyday lives.  They live vicariously through the massive men on the field.  They find little or no satisfaction in who they are or what they do, and live for things like the Super Bowl to take their minds off of the state of misery that they live in.  I wonder how many people will be suffering from depression in the next few days once the excitement of the event is gone.

The second report (the half-time entertainment assessment) had one line that really caught my eye, and I believe that it also reveals a great deal about our culture.  The writer focused on the lackluster performance of the Black Eyed Peas.  The single line that I mentioned focused on Fergie, the female member of the group.  The writer lamented that she had “wailed with more ferocity in the past,” and that “she’s sung it (“Sweet Child o’ Mine”) much better before, with less Axl Rose affectation.”  In other words, to that writer she seems to have lost some of the passion in her presentation.

How does this relate to an Eagle’s concert and the meaning of life?  Allow me to deal with the Eagle’s concert first.  My wife and I were given tickets to the concert for pastor appreciation month (make your own judgment, but I wasn’t about to pass them up).  As a musician myself I found the musicianship of the band to be amazing.  I was astounded that men of their age (forgive me guys) were still able to hit those high notes and with clarity.  Wow!  They are truly great at making popular music.  However, two things grabbed my attention.  First was the behavior of some in the audience.  I, at age 43, and my wife (she’ll slap me if I tell her age) were young compared to many in the audience.  Most of the audience members were calm and simply enjoyed the music.  But there were many who were obviously stuck in their teen years, or at least trying to go back to their teenage “glory days” (oops!  That’s Springsteen).  Watching them both fascinated and embarrassed me.  I had to wonder how empty they must be.  The second observation of that evening I found in the faces of the Eagles’ members themselves.  They are no longer the youthful guys who laid down the smooth grooves of the 70’s and 80’s.  They are now the massively successful, and I would guess, wealthy, mega-rock-n-roll Hall of Fame superstars.  But when you look in their individual faces they are the empty-life-is-vain-even-though-I-have-gained-the-whole-world-but-it-has-no-eternal-value lost men identified in Ecclesiastes and elsewhere in Scripture.  From the previous report it seems to me that Fergie is finding this out even at her relatively young age.  This is where everything converges into something with some meaning, hopefully.

Solomon identifies the futility of life apart from God.  In Ecclesiastes 1:2, Solomon states, “Vanity (meaninglessness) of vanities,…Vanity of vanities!  All is vanity.”  This declaration identifies the emptiness of life apart from the proper relationship with our Creator God through His only begotten Son, Messiah Jesus.  Solomon goes on to reveal his scientific findings – what he discovered through a scientific investigation of the various activities that man uses to find peace, purpose, and fulfillment in life.  And each avenue that the “under the sun” (1:3, et. al.) man utilizes to find what he is looking for has the same conclusion – vanity, emptiness, meaninglessness.  That does not mean that man cannot find some measure of fulfillment, peace, and purpose because he does.  But what Solomon is identifying is that because of how God created man – “He has…set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end” (3:11) – we have intrinsic knowledge that there is something, someone, some meaning beyond the here and now, beyond ourselves.  There is an eternity.  There is eternal purpose.  There is eternal meaning.  But left alone and to our own devices the best we can do is attend the Super Bowl, wait breathlessly for the half-time entertainment, groove to the music of our youth, or any number of instruments or activities in order to numb ourselves to the emptiness of life apart from a right relationship to our Creator God.  And ultimately in the end only find emptiness and meaninglessness.

What is the answer (and its not blowing in the wind)?  It is to “Believe (have faith) in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).  It is then that sin is forgiven and a real relationship with the God Who created us is established.  Then and only then can we find eternal meaning, purpose, and satisfaction in this life, and are enabled to look with hope and confidence towards eternal life.

I pray that this helps.

AFP: Synagogue torched in Tunisia

And the beat goes on.

AFP: Synagogue torched in Tunisia: Jewish leader.

See, I Told You So

I offer this as an addendum as evidence for some of the concerns I listed in my most recent article.

Muslim Brotherhood: ‘Prepare Egyptians for war with Israel’.

The Middle East Crisis: Does Scripture Shed Any Light on What Is Going on Today?

I have been watching with great interest the happenings in the Middle East.  The reason being is three-fold: First, these nations are predominantly Muslim; Secondly, although Egypt has been  non aggressive towards Israel since Anwar Sadat signed the 70’s peace treaty with them, the inhabitants of these nations share a hatred for the state of Israel and the United States; Third, the leadership vacuum left after the fall of the governments of these nations will most assuredly be filled with those holding the most radical sentiments listed in the first two reasons.

Seeing that I hold to the belief that Israel is still the chosen people of God, and that Israel as a nation is distinct from the Church, of necessity I also believe that there are many prophecies concerning Israel that are yet to be fulfilled.  Some of those prophecies are promises of continued separation and punishment for disobedience to God while others are prophecies and promises concerning restoration and blessings.  Many of the promises of punishment include oppression and devastation brought on by the nations surrounding Israel.  So when those nations surrounding Israel begin to make noise, as is the case of Lebanon (and Turkey‘s shift towards more fundamental Islamic beliefs), I tend to take notice and wonder how the current situation is working in God’s plan to set the stage for what is to come.  I believe that the Dispensational system of theology is the only theological system capable of doing this with any degree of accuracy.

For instance, I recently asked a Covenant Reformed brother in Christ if he could shed any light on the subject of the current state of the Middle East.  His response was that it was part of God’s sovereign plan, but had nothing to do with end-time prophecies concerning the nation of Israel.  Suffice it to say that, at least for me, his answer simply raises more questions and does not satisfy my desire to understand what is going on.

Yes indeed it is part of God’s sovereign plan.  But does Scripture not say more concerning the current situation than that it somehow fits into God’s plan?  I don’t mean to say that Scripture directly speaks of the uprising in Egypt, per se.  But Scripture does give us a framework by which we can at least gain some understanding of how the current situation fits into God’s sovereign plan.  For instance, in Zechariah 12:2-3 God declares, “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around: and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah.  It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured.  And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.”  These verses deal specifically with the second half of the Tribulation period and do not directly speak to what is going on in the Middle East today. However, it is conceivable that what we are seeing today can be viewed as God maneuvering the pieces on the chess board of His divine plan into position for His final moves.  Look at it this way, God did not predict that a census at the time of Jesus’ birth was going to be the instrument He used to get Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem.  Yet before the birth of the Savior, in order that prophecy might be fulfilled, God ordained that Caesar would decree that a census be taken, which would force Joseph to travel to Bethlehem thereby insuring that Messiah Jesus would be born there.  Similarly, if we hold to the belief that Israel will be a “cup of reeling” to the nations around her, and we believe that a great deal of prophecy concerning Israel in the end times is yet to be fulfilled, is it too much of a stretch to believe that the happenings that we see taking place in the Middle East (the transfer of power into the hands of individuals and organizations whose sole purpose is to “wipe Israel off the map”) are God’s way of setting the stage to fulfill the unfulfilled prophecies?

It seems to me that this is a somewhat more satisfying answer to the question of the significance of current issues than simply stating that somehow they fit into God’s overall plan.

Of course I realize that not all of us believe that Israel will yet be “heavy stone for all the peoples.”  I also understand that there are many who do not believe that there are any (or at least are very few) end-time prophecies yet to be fulfilled toward Israel.  Therefore, my questions for you remain the same; How do the current uprisings in the Middle East fit into God’s plan?  Can you shed some light on the situation?  Does Scripture have anything to say?

Just some thoughts.  I pray that they help.