An Evangelical Christian blog on how current events relate to Scripture.
“But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of
this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the
face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all
these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
The world seems to be turning against Israel more and more every day. I keep seeing different statistics regarding anti-Semitism being on the rise all over the world. Even in America, the recent outrageousness that came from long time White House reporter Helen Thomas, proves that people are becoming more bold in their opinions that Israel is the true oppressor in the Middle East.
Watch the ridiculous statements from Helen Thomas here:
What these opinions reveal to me is that the world is not only rejecting Israel, but God Himself. I'm not saying that we need to bow down and obey to everything Israel wishes, but we do need to bow down before our God and give Him our love and respect. One of the ways in which we honor God is simply by believing His word.
Here are just a couple of passages that deal with who really owns the land, and how we are to treat Israel:
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
Genesis 12:2, 3 (NKJV).
On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying:
“To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates.”
Genesis 15:18 (NKJV).
Therefore say to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.’”
Ezekiel 36:22—26 (NKJV).
Thus says the LORD of hosts:
“Behold, I will save My people from the land of the east
And from the land of the west;
I will bring them back,
And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.
They shall be My people
And I will be their God,
In truth and righteousness.”
Zechariah 8:7, 8 (NKJV).
The bottom line is that from the very beginning of human history, we rejected God. God then created the nation of Israel so that His word and plan for salvation would be known to the entire world. However, because that nation rejected God and His Messiah, who Himself was God in human flesh, God turned His back on Israel for a time.
Regardless of Israel’s disobedience, the above passages from Ezekiel and Zechariah guaranteed that God would one day bring the Jews back into their land. They also guarantee that God will one day restore Israel as a Holy nation. See also Zechariah 12:10.
This brings us back to the question of who owns the land of Israel. God made it clear to Abraham in the passage from Genesis 15 above. It belongs to Israel. Israel’s neighbors however, hate Israel. Our nation in fact seems to be joining them. We can’t do much about what our nation’s policies are, but we can control what our individual beliefs are.
Let me urge you to bless the nation of Israel, and pray for their salvation. The fact of what God had said to the Prophet Ezekiel over 2,500 years ago should make you speechless! This is the only nation in the history of the world that has been completely dispersed and destroyed, partially regathered almost 100 hundred years later, dispersed and completely destroyed again 400 more years later, and then regathered again nearly 2,000 years after that!
It just doesn't happen! But the fact that a man named Ezekiel said this would happen, and that God Himself had told him, we have no choice but to recognize that God’s hand is at work in Israel.
Take a look at the following video, and if you really believe that Israel is the oppressor, please be open to the fact that you just might be wrong.
Heed the warning that God gave to Abraham in Genesis 12 above. God keeps His promises. Do not doubt that He will in fact curse those who curse Israel. Know also that the day is coming when much of the world will be cursing Israel to the point of seeking another Holocaust of the Jews, and all those who have rejected God will join in, “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem.” Zechariah 12:2 (NKJV).
The existence of Israel, and the hatred of Israel should convince you that the Bible is true. There is no other explanation for their continued existence. Believe that God is real and is actively at work in our world. Moreover, believe that He sent His Messiah, Jesus Christ, to save all those who would repent from sin and put their trust for salvation in Him alone. So most importantly, heed the command Jesus gave when He said, “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:15b (NKJV).
Have you noticed how much the world seems to dislike Biblical Christianity? I used to think that maybe it was just me. Maybe because I was taking the Bible literally, it just seemed to me that people were angry at Christians. Well, I don’t think that anymore. Many non-Christians not only dislike us, they hate us. Even within Christianity, many liberal Christians who do not take the Bible literally have quite a bit of disdain for those of us who do. For those not taking the Bible literally however, I suggest you self-examine your supposed faith for whether it’s true saving faith. Heed the warning Jesus gave recorded in Matthew 7:21—23.
None of this hatred should be surprising though, after all, Jesus said:
If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
John 15:18, 19 (NKJV).
By that statement, we should not be surprised, but did you ever imagine that the day might come when Christians living inside the borders of the United States of America would be persecuted because of their faith?! This country was formed on the backs of Christians who left the tyranny of religious persecution in Europe, so what a turn of events it would be for persecution of Christians to come here.
But in America? What is going on here?! I have noticed that over the last ten years (probably longer, but this is as long as I’ve been watching), the mood and tolerance of society at large in this country has turned venomously vitriolic towards Christians and our worldview. Now, I’m not talking about simple disagreement. There have always been people in this country who have disagreed with Christianity. I’m talking about hatred and silencing of Christians through political agenda and legal constructions. People reject and hate the Christian message because although it offers salvation from God’s pending wrath over our sin, it requires repentance from sin, which people usually love more than God, and trusting in the sacrifice of Christ alone, not in one’s prideful good works.
Don’t believe me that it’s happening? Consider this. What would you think if I told you that local governments throughout the United States were requiring permits for people to conduct Bible study meetings within their private home? What if I also added that people having just as many guests, if not more, who were having backyard barbecues or poker parties, needed no such permit? What if I further added that County officials* questioned Bible study organizers like they were criminals during their investigation of whether they were holding Bible study meetings in their home – some of the questions being, “do you pray?, do you praise the Lord?, do you say Amen?”
Read some of these articles linked to below that prove my point. Even though many of these acts of “legal” aggression towards Christians have been abated, the fact that it’s happening should be of grave concern to those of us who follow Christ.
Home Bible Studies Are Being Banned In Many Areas Of The United States
Think that this is only in isolated local governments? Well, think again, it’s happening at the federal level too. Leaders in our own federal security agencies and military are slowly but assuredly taking the position that those who swear allegiance to Jesus Christ, and believe He will one day return to be “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16b (NKJV)), are a threat to national security!
A military academic report has recently surfaced that was written by a US Army major, which argued that the Christian worldview is a danger to the security of our nation. Additionally, a year ago or so, our own Department of Homeland Security declared that one characteristic of “right-wing” domestic terrorism is being a Christian interested in “End-Times” prophecies. Below are links to each of these reports and articles discussing them. On their face, both of these reports seem somewhat harmless and cast only slight aspersion, but what they reveal is a gradually increasing intolerance and demonization of Christianity.
Army Report Says Christians Threaten Us Foreign Policy
Additionally, the legal groundwork is already being laid to prosecute and silence Christians from speaking their worldview, whether on a public street or in a church from the pulpit. I have already pointed out how many local governments are creating zoning laws to prevent home Bible study meetings, and how federal national security officials are leaning towards Christians who believe in the return of Jesus Christ as being potential domestic terrorists. More threatening I believe is the fact that recent federal hate crimes legislation has left the door open to criminally prosecute anyone who states that certain acts, specifically homosexuality, are sin according to the Bible.
The potential threat to Christians is as follows. If an official, such as a court of law, determines that certain speech indicating that homosexuality is sin seems to incite violence towards the now protected class of homosexuals, those who are caught saying such things can be prosecuted under the new federal hate crime laws, or even the local state laws pursuant to the federal understanding of what constitutes a hate crime. The statute states that it is not intended to restrict one’s freedom of speech or freedom to worship, however, if that freedom is determined to incite violence against another, it can be illegal under the new federal hate crimes law.
It actually sounds kind of reasonable, right? No one within orthodox Christianity wants to inciteviolence against anybody. The problem comes in when one is determining what conduct is considered to be “inciting violence.” Let’s take for example a situation where a man with either some mental instability or just plain old fashioned evil intent is sitting in church where he hears a sermon in which the pastor reads off Romans 1:26, 27 or 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10. Both passages clearly state that even from the New Testament message of grace and forgiveness, certain conduct is sin, including homosexuality. What if the man in my scenario then leaves the church for the local gay pride parade and mows down a bunch of parade goers with an automatic weapon?
Will the pastor be held responsible for that man’s evil behavior? One can currently be held civilly and/or criminally liable for injury caused by another for falsely yelling “fire” in a public building. It’s not a big stretch to connect what the pastor did in my scenario to the murder of the parade goers, especially for people who do not understand the nature of sin and how it relates to the good news of the Gospel. Under the statute, the courts simply need to make the determination that the pastor’s speech incited violence against the protected class of homosexuals attending the parade, and that speech had a causal connection to the murderer’s actions.
Read the words of the statute yourself. This is Section 4710(3) of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act:
(Click image for larger view.)
The fact that society is turning against Christians really should be no surprise. Jesus promised persecution would come:
Remember the word that I said to you, “A servant is not greater than his master.” If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
John 15:20 (NKJV).
Speaking of the Great Tribulation, the greatest persecution of Christians (many being Jewish Christians) the world will ever see, Jesus said:
Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
Matthew 24:9—12 (NKJV).
My point in bringing this to your attention is to alert you enough to get out of your comfortable Christian mindset. I understand that it doesn't seem like persecution yet, but please be prepared for this, because it is coming. Such legal and political persecution is already present all around the world, including Europe. Still don’t believe me? Go stand on a busy corner in downtown Chicago simply holding up a sign that reads, “Jesus loves you,” and see how many expletives get yelled out in your direction, and how many times a police officer comes over to question you about what you’re doing. I’m not guessing here, I’ve seen and know of similar things that have happened.
Consider what you would do if confronted by law enforcement officials questioning you for your faith. I love the country God has blessed me to be born in, and I fully respect and support our law enforcement, and I’m sure you do too. But, would you deny Him? Jesus assured us, “[] whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 10:33 (NKJV). Please think about these difficult things. The time of the promised persecution may come upon you when you least expect it. Jesus promised better things to come, but with His strength, we may have to walk through some extreme trials and tribulations before we get there.
* I originally implied that a County Sheriff’s Department was doing the questioning, but I have not been able to verify that it was actually the Sheriff’s Department who interrogated anyone regarding home Bible study groups - nevertheless, it seems undisputed that the questioning did in fact come from County officials.
Update 5/3/2010:
Here is a story out of the UK that is right on target with the hate crimes legislation point I made. Although the preacher barely spoke about homosexuality, which was spoken about in context with the list of sins contained in 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10, the police felt that what the preacher did say was offensive and loud enough to be heard by people passing by, and therefore illegal speech. This being a reality in the UK should wake us up to the real possibility of it coming here.
Also, here is a very interesting interview on the subject by Mike Huckabee of Franklin Graham and author/columnist S.E. Cupp - pay particular attention to Franklin Graham’s concern about persecution coming:
This centuries old cross was placed in the Colosseum to commemerate the early Christians who were martyred there. Despite the power of the Roman Empire, it could not destroy Christianity, nor will any power ever be able to.
The Last Hour
“Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.”
The King Has Come!
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I would like to point out that I do not necessarily endorse the views of the news agencies and news related blog sites linked to above. I make no apologies for the fact that I am a Bible-believing, God-fearing, politically conservative, born-again, Evangelical Christian. However that said, I believe that news commentaries and blogs written from perspectives opposed to my worldview are still very newsworthy, and very telling of where we are on a Biblical timeline. Based on how I just described myself, it should be clear on which websites I agree and disagree with.
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