Departments Staff Listing Staff Listing MORNING STAR A Multimedia Christian Publication P.O. Box 7755, Nashua, NH 03060 Phone: 603-883-4624 Fax: 603-883-0466 -------------------------------------- EDITOR IN CHIEF Toby Trudel - Nashua, NH SENIOR EDITOR - Biblical Department Geoffrey Kragen - Roseville, CA SENIOR EDITOR - Christian Life Department Teresa Giordanengo - Canonsburg, PA SENIOR LITERARY EDITOR Al Murillo III - El Paso, TX ASSOCIATE EDITORS Jerry Johnson - Modesto, CA Joseph A. Nigro - Oradell, NJ Moishe Rosen - San Francisco, CA Clark Stephens - Huntington Beach, CA Dale Strand - Dublin, CA Rick Thrasher - Santa Clara, CA J.C. Trudel - Naples, FL Mike Wilkinson - Citrus Heights, CA Dr. Charles Wootten - Matoaca, VA SENIOR PUBLISHER - DOS and WINDOWS Editions Steve Paulovich - Pembroke, NH OFFICE SYSTEMS TECHNICIAN Patrick Auriemma - Nashua, N.H. ------------------------------------------- U.S. DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR OF BBS DISTRIBUTION Walter H. 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ELECTRONIC MAIL LINKS INTERNET: mstarmac@aol.com (Toby Trudel) AMERICA ONLINE: MStarDOS (Steve Paulovich) GENIE: M.Wilkinson1 (Mike Wilkinson) COMPUSERVE: 70743,603 (Jorge Lopez) FIDONET: 1:106/3118 (Walter Bauer) CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK: 8:3003/5 (Walter Bauer) CHRISTIAN DISTRIBUTION NETWORK: 8:2013/1 (Walter Bauer) POLICENET: 150:402/53 (Walter Bauer) To receive a free copy of the MS DOOR program, which allows viewers to read the magazine onscreen, contact: Alan Graff P.O. Box 131 Wheelersburg, OH 45694 FIDONET: 1:2260/50 Letter from the Editor Letter from the Editor Greetings and welcome to our 21st issue of MORNING STAR! In this issue we present a number of excellent articles dealing with the theme of "prophecy". We hope that our readers find the material we present on this important topic both informative and balanced. Every month seems to bring more good news on the "distribution front." MORNING STAR is now available on a fourth major U.S. computer network. You can now download both the DOS and WINDOWS editions from the national DELPHI network. Praise the Lord! Please remember to share MORNING STAR with a friend. And pass the word along of our need for stories and articles. Here's a list of upcoming themes that we need material for: Vol 2.11 - LOCAL CHURCH MINISTRIES (Choir, Singles, Visitation, etc.) Vol 2.12 - THE FEASTS OF AND PROMISES TO ISRAEL Vol 3.1 - ANNUAL "HIGH-TECH" ISSUE (Christians using technology to do the Lord's work, i.e. computers, TV, radio, Faxes, BBS) Vol 3.2 - DOCTRINAL ISSUE - Theme: "Grace and Legalism" Vol 3.3 - BIBLE PERSONALITY ISSUE - Theme: "Paul the Apostle" Vol 3.4 - TESTIMONY ISSUE - Theme: "Victimization" (all forms, i.e. toxic faith, spousal abuse, childhood abuse, etc.) We also need missions reports and testimonies. Help us keep this magazine going strong. We need your contributions. Our Praise and Prayer column is a great resource for our readers. If you have a prayer need, feel free to call, fax or write us. We have a mini-poster (8.5 by 11 inch paper) for MORNING STAR that can be posted in bookstores, church lobbies etc. If you would like to help "advertise" MORNING STAR by making copies of this poster and distributing it, get in touch with us and we'll mail you a free copy. In service to our Savior, Toby Trudel Commentary Commentary Prophecy = "1. prediction under the influence of divine guidance. 2. any prediction. 3. something predicted." (1) "Prophets & Prophecy. The great importance of the prophetic movement is evidenced by the occurrence of the word "prophet" over 300 times in the OT and over 100 times in the NT, along with many other terms that clearly refer to men performing the same function. Since the predictive aspect of prophecy has been so stressed in modern usage as almost to overshadow other phases of prophetic activity, it is particularly needful that Bible students seek to understand the full original purpose of the movement and its importance in Biblical revelation and in the divine plan." (2) "Among all forms of mistake, prophecy is the most gratuitous." - George Eliot Of all the studies of God's word, the exploration of prophecy is almost guaranteed to generate a great deal of controversy without advancing God's kingdom. Much of Scripture contains that which is prophetic. While some prophecies have already come to pass (i.e., Christ's death and resurrection) much is still awaiting fulfillment. Many Bible teachers stay away from the discussion of the prophetic. I recently heard of one teacher who refused to teach on the book of Revelation. He believed it was impossible to understand. This is a direct violation of the words of this book. "Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near" (Revelation 1:3). No part of God's word is to be ignored. Also, the book of Revelation is not that difficult to understand, if it is studied in the context of the complete Scripture and especially the Old Testament. The study of prophecy has led to much confusion. A focus on prophecy to the exclusion of other teaching has often interfered with Christ's command to "go and make disciples." Irresponsible teaching has brought discredit on the Church. We have all heard the radio programs that will tell us how the latest news events fulfill prophecy. We have seen the books and pamphlets that told how Christ was to return in 1988, 1989, 1992, and the latest which picks 1994. People have sold homes, and possessions to await Christ on the top of a mountain. Although He hasn't returned yet, Scripture is clear that He will. When He returns it is in His hands. How we serve Him until then is in ours. We must recognize that God will work out future events as He sees fit. This may not conform to our specific views. It may well have been that if we lived before the coming of Christ, and had taken a literal view of Scripture, we would have believed that God's word taught there were to be two Messiahs. One Messiah was to be the suffering Messiah. The other was to be the ruling Messiah. This would have been a logical view. Now we understand how Christ will finally fulfill both roles at His second coming. At one time, when I was part of a church board, its members wanted to revise the church doctrinal statement. The statement taught the pretribulational and premillennial positions. While we held this prophetic position, we also recognized that this was not a fundamental issue necessary to salvation. So we removed this section. Replacing it was a statement related to Scriptural interpretation. It was much more important to clarify the proper method of interpretation, that is the historical, literal method. And after all, how one interprets scripture has a direct effect on salvation as well as one's prophetic system. The study of prophecy is vital, as much for what it tells us of God, as for understanding future events. Let us consider Revelation as a primary example of this. We read in Revelation 1:1 "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place." The book is primarily a revelation of Jesus Christ, and only secondarily an account of future events. The prophecy of Revelation is simply the tapestry upon which the picture of Christ is drawn. If we only had the gospels, we would have an incomplete picture of Christ. There He is shown as the lamb of God, sent to take away the sins of the world. However, this is not His current position. Revelation shows that the day is coming when Christ will return as judge. He will come to sentence those who are going to Hell for rejecting Him. He will come to set up His rule over the world. Because Christ died for us, He will punish those that have rejected His payment for sin. Revelation shows that God is a promise-keeping God. We are saved because God has promised salvation to those who accept Christ's sacrifice. We can believe this is true because He has and will keep His promise to restore Israel. As Paul said: "I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins." As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarches" (Romans 11:25-28). Revelation also shows this truth. Yes, the events of Revelation are literal, as the plagues of Egypt were literal. The most important teaching of Revelation is that God is not only loving and merciful, but He is also a righteous and just Judge. When He comes again, it will be to judge the world. No one will be saved or lost because of their view of prophecy. People will be saved or lost because of their understanding of who God is. How individuals understand Scripture affects their understanding of God. Their view of prophecy says a lot about how they handle God's word. We must study prophecy. Many of us are strongly committed to a specific view of prophetic interpretation. In the final analysis we can agree to disagree. We must however, agree on the foundational truths of Scripture: The incarnation, Christ's deity and humanity, the Virgin birth, His death, burial and resurrection for sin, and that He is the only way to God. We do not have to agree on every detail of how God will work out future events. As one person said when asked what their prophetic system was: "I am a panmillennialist. Everything will pan out in the end." Considering this, we hope that this prophetic issue of Morning Star will be a blessing, even if ideas expressed here are different from your views. And, praise the Lord, we can all serve the Lord and love one another. And everything will pan out in the end. "He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming soon.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen" (Revelation 22:20-21). 1. "Webster's New World Dictionary," Collins World, Cleveland, OH, 1971, 377. 2. MacRae, A. A., "Prophets & Prophecy," from "The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible," Vol 4, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1980., 875. People Profile People Profile MORNING STAR editor Theresa Giordanengo conducted this discussion on prophecy with fellow editors Toby Trudel and Geoffrey Kragen by using the technology of the modern computer network. Terri lives in Pennsylvania, Toby in New Hampshire and Geoff in California . . . no one had to leave their homes to participate in this forum! Terri: Where do we find "Prophecies" in the Scriptures in order to study about them? Toby: Much of God's Word in the Bible is prophetic in nature. Some Bible researchers have said that roughly one fourth of the verses in the Bible deal with prophecy. In some cases it's obvious where the verses are prophetic, such as the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew's Gospel where Jesus is asked about the future and responds accordingly. In other places, such as the Messianic verses in the Psalms and other Old Testament books, it takes a bit more study. I recommend getting some sound prophecy study-aid books by authors like John Walvoord, Walter Kaiser or Zola Levitt to help in understanding prophecy in the Bible. Terri: We hear so much about end-times prophecy and the signs of the times that correlate with the end of this dispensation of time. Would you clarify these phrases for our readers? Toby: Well, there is certainly a lot of prophecy in the Bible that has yet to be realized - too much to get into detail here. What's important to remember is that a good understanding of the entire Bible is imperative to understanding any specific prophecy verses. For instance, a lot of people dive right into the book of Revelation and get easily confused or develop inaccurate interpretations, because they don't have a thorough knowledge of the Old Testament. The Bible is a complete book, the prophetic verses start in Genesis and are present in many books right through Revelation. If someone is interested in embarking on end-time prophecy study, a good place to start however is with Matthew chapter 24. I once heard a Christian prophecy teacher refer to that chapter as the "spine" of end-time prophecy study to which other verses are linked. I think that was a good description. Geoff: It is also important to remember that the end-times really began at the time of Christ. We must be careful not to demand that current events be fulfillment of prophecy. They may well be, but, they don't have to be. The important aspect of prophetic study is to learn more about God. How events come to pass is in His hands. But, if we are to have a well-rounded view of God/Christ, we must learn about aspects of His nature only displayed in prophetic Scripture. Terri: What are a few of the end-time signs that are evident today and why is it important that we recognize them? Toby: Let's see, where do we start with this? Aside from the more obvious rapid decline in morality and apostasy in the mainstream churches, some of the more obvious signs would be developments in Israel and Europe and recent developments in technology. The establishment of the nation of Israel in 1948 was probably the most significant thing to happen prophetically since Jesus resurrected. It's a sad thing in my opinion that many Christians don't understand the importance of Israel and the Jewish people in God's end-time plan. The Bible says Israel would be there in the last days - and it is! It also says that Jews from all over the world would return to the land - and they are! It also says that the Temple would be rebuilt. We have an excellent article on this in this issue of Morning Star. The Bible also speaks of some type of peace pact that Israel will buy into. When you watch the news today you can't help but see that on the horizon. And when you see the nations of the world coming together against Iraq and more recently Serbia, I believe this is only a foreshadowing of all the nations coming against Israel at the end of this age, again as the Bible says will happen. Geoff: Clearly most of the prophetic teachings of Scripture center on Israel. While there is always the possibility that the Jewish people could again be removed from the land to return at a later date, like Toby, I believe that the existence of the current state of Israel is a fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham. The very existence of Israel is proof that God is a promise keeper. Much of the misunderstanding of Scripture in general and prophecy specifically arises from the incorrect teaching that God is through with the Jewish people. This type of approach presents the Church as "Spiritual Israel" and her replacement. This is completely inconsistent with the teaching of Scripture and the nature of God. Toby: As far as Europe goes, that is less clear in scripture. A lot of prophecy teachers say that the antichrist will rule a ten-nation European federation because of Revelation 12:3, 13:1 and 17:12-18, as well as verses in the book of Daniel. The idea of a ten-nation European federation led by this man may or may not be exactly the correct idea. There will be some type of unity between some group of ten and the antichrist, but whether it's the European Community, which is looking like a 12-nation unity, or something else - well, we will just have to wait and see. I do believe Europe is significant however. Just look at the example they are setting for the world. Countries uniting under one banner, with common laws and a single currency. If it works for Europe, why not for the entire world? Surrounding countries from Eastern Europe and Scandinavia are already knocking on the door of the 12 E.C. nations to join with them as soon as possible. This type of economic unity is also forming in the far east as well as over here. You can see things developing here with the current North American Fair Trade Agreements between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Everything seems to be coming together one step at a time. Terri: What about technology? What role is it playing? Toby: There have been incredible advancements in technology in the past few years. You now see statistics that say that mankind's scientific knowledge is doubling every seven years. The prophet Daniel said that at the end "knowledge would increase" - I think there's a connection there! Probably the most key element is that we are now living in the first generation ever that can see the important prophecy of Revelation chapter 13 actually take place. Look at a the news items in the MORNING STAR Newsdesk column and read some of the latest computer and economic journals. The global banking, one number per person system is no longer a far-distant dream. The technology is now available to make this happen within the next few years. You can see the one number per person system in some of the programs being put in place right now. The government is already doing away with the food stamp program as we now know it and replacing it with "Electronic Benefits Transfer", a system where everyone gets a number. The new health care legislation that this administration is proposing has provisions for everyone to have one number. For now, everyone would get a "card", like a credit card. But even that is not infallible as the credit card companies well know. How far away is the decision to be "practical" and physically connect the person to their number? Only the Lord knows for certain. Geoff: The important thing we must remember as we speculate on how current technology may be used in the fulfillment of prophecy is that God is in control. As believers we must never become fearful even as we see these thing come to pass. We can see all throughout Scripture that nothing happens without the Lord's allowing it. Our responsibility is to "go and make disciples." We are not to live in fear, "be anxious for nothing," but instead reach out with the comfort of the promise of God's forgiveness. If all that you have noted is fulfillment of prophecy, then the Lord's return is imminent. And, we are to live in the expectation of His soon coming. Therefore, time is running out, and we must strive to reach out to a fallen world, as we do here at Morning Star. Terri: Do we have Bible references to this prophetic word as being proof of God's truth? Geoff: First, we have to remember that prophecy is just part of the whole of Scripture. Therefore, by definition it is of God, and accurate. "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, " (2 Timothy 3:16). Second, Christ gave His own "stamp of approval" to the prophetic word. In speaking of His words in the book of Revelation He said: "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star" (Revelation 22:16). Third, the very existence of the Jewish people and for that matter Israel, is the fulfillment of God's promises to David is proof of the validity of Biblical prophecy. "The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, . . . Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever" (2 Samuel 7:11-12,16). Terri: Can we rely on the Old Testament Prophets? Geoff: God has kept His word in the past therefore, we must expect that He will do so in the future. Most of the book of Matthew is an account of how the work of Christ was the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament. Also as we read the Old Testament prophets, we find that they were given prophecies that were fulfilled in their own day. Their accuracy in these becomes the basis for depending on those yet to be fulfilled. All those prophecies related to the first coming of Christ as the savior were fulfilled therefore we must expect that those related to His coming to judge the world will also be fulfilled. We don't have the time to go into these Messianic prophecies here but I refer you to the article "The Messianic Time Table" in the Features area of this issue as a great example. Toby: I can't think of anything more reliable than the Old Testament prophets. God even declares His prophetic Word as "proof", in Isaiah chapter 41, of His reliability through the prophets. Terri: Explain the difference between the return of Christ in the clouds to meet His church and the second coming of Christ. When will these events come about? Geoff: While there are a number of views regarding these events, Scripture seems to show that the return of Christ for the Church, (commonly referred to as the Rapture) isn't the Second Coming. Christ will come for His church to take her to heaven. Christ will not come to the earth proper at this time so this event cannot be considered the Second Coming. In fact, the Church will return with Christ at His Second Coming. The purpose of His coming will be to bring about His rule over this earth in fulfillment of God's promise that Messiah will sit on the throne of David, restore Israel and to rule the world. This all occurs prior to His final judgment of the wicked. As to when they will occur, both are still in the future. Only God knows the time. But, a literal understanding of Scripture best supports the understanding that Christ will come for His church prior to the Tribulation. This being the case the Second Coming will be some seven years later. The important issue though isn't when these events will occur, but the fact they are going to occur. The warning of prophecy is that Christ will judge this world. We must get this warning out to the lost. The day is coming when ". . . at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, " (Philippians 2:10). We must be willing to give people the opportunity to bow by choice, not in preparation to eternal judgment. It is the Holy Spirit who saves. But as we give out the prophetic word, people are given the chance to hear His words. Terri: So many people do not want to hear about Prophecy . . . they have a fear of it. What would you say to them? Toby: God says to read and study all of His Word, including the prophetic parts. We are not to be ignorant of the past, present or future. And of course, it's great to know what the future holds for us when we go through rough times. The "sure word of prophecy" as Peter wrote in the Bible. Geoff: Also, remember that when specifically speaking of the book of Revelation, God has promised blessing for studying it. "Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near" (Revelation 1:3). Terri: What problems could we face with interpretation of the future events? Toby: The devil and his demons know the Word of God too. They will do their best to confuse things and try to discredit Christians and the Word of God, especially the parts about the days we live in. The more people Satan can get to wrongfully guess the "date of the rapture" and other such nonsense, the more people will walk away from Christians who seek to share the Gospel with them. Geoff: My concern is that the false use of Scripture can be used to bring believers in bondage. As you noted Toby, people are wrongly guessing about the Rapture. Those that do often do this as a way as getting control over their followers. And, we can contribute to the discrediting of Scripture and God, by going along with this kind of behavior. Terri: How can Prophecy cause an individual to get interested in Bible reading? Geoff: I remember back in the 70's when "The Late Great Planet Earth," came out. Many people read this book. Many were exposed to the Gospel and were saved. And consequently, many then got into churches and the Word. Toby: If done correctly, it's not a bad approach to get people to listen and read the Bible. But it's important to remember that being an expert on prophecy won't get anyone to heaven. The message of the Gospel has to go hand in hand. Still though, pointing out events in the world today and showing someone how God has given us the Bible that predicted these things can be effective in opening doors. Terri: What problems and situations must Israel face during the future years? Toby: The problems will continue to grow. I would strongly advise Christians to take with a grain of salt anything they see about Israel in the news. The reporting is almost always biased and often completely false. Unfortunately, Israel-bashing is as popular as ever, and those providing the advertising and support dollars often can influence reporting. I don't need to convince anyone that Israel doesn't have control of the petrodollars that back most of the media giants today. I encourage all Christians to support Israel in these trying times in both prayer and practical support, such as helping distribute factual news reports which are available, such as "Israel News Digest" People can contact me directly to receive this publication. Geoff: And when speaking of Israel in general, let's not forget our responsibility to the Jewish people. In spite of views being presented by some Christians, we must give the gospel to the individual Jew. Without Christ, they are just as lost as the Gentile. As a Jew, I am not saved by my descendancy from Abraham, I'm saved by the shed blood of Christ. Do the Scriptures say anything about religion and morality in the world today? Geoff: Well, certainly we are told that as we approach the return of Christ the world will become more religious, but not more ready to follow Christ. Additionally people will live as they did in the days of Noah, essentially living how they want to. Morality will be what ever people want it to be. This is certainly the case today. People are more superstitious. Many in the ecology movement hold pagan views, worshiping "Mother Earth." We have computerized horoscopes, the height of technological silliness. There is a lot of religiosity, but little faith. In this society and throughout the world we are told that there is no sin. Immorality has simply become alternate life-styles. Everywhere we look we see people striving to become their own gods. God must and will judge this fallen world. Who are the "False Christs"? Geoff: The False Christs are any who deny that Christ came in the flesh, and all that implies. This includes the denial of the Virgin Birth, God taking on Human Flesh, the necessity of Christ's death, burial and resurrection. There are many who call themselves Christians, even within the traditional Church, but they are not. They are of Satan. They are antichrists, false Christs. Terri: Will there be persecution of Christians in the future? Toby: No doubt. The Christian position on such issues as abortion and gay-rights is more and more being considered as "prejudiced" or even "immoral". Geoff: Of course. And, we shouldn't be surprised at this. Christ warned us that if He was persecuted for the truth, then we His followers shouldn't expect anything less. But, we aren't to be fearful, for we are blessed when we suffer for the truth of the Gospel. Terri: What assurance does a "Believer" have that God has everything under control and that all will end well for him? Geoff: Well, I've been teaching in the book of Esther lately, and the whole thrust of the book is that the providence of God is at work. God's will must eventually prevail. We have nothing to fear if we are His children. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). We are told by Christ, in Revelation, that we have an eternity in His presence to look forward to. We have the confidence of knowing that one day He is coming for us. Paul told the Thessalonian church that Christ is coming, and we have to encourage one another with this truth. Terri: Is there any final thought you would like to leave with our readers? Geoff: Only that let us not let our prophetic approach drive wedges between believers. We are saved by the shed blood of Christ, not by our prophetic system. Toby: Just one. As the Bible says, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem." When we say this and pray this, we are actually praying for the return of the Messiah, Jesus, as there will be no real peace for Jerusalem or the world until He returns. Book Review Book Review Browsing With The Bookworm Throughout history God has placed His "handwriting on walls" for all to see. His prophetic handwriting is observed many places in scripture. Two of the most notable sources are Daniel and Revelation. Our guest reviewer, Steve Paulovich, Senior Publisher - Dos and Windows Editions - Morning Star, examines two books dealing with these prophetic works. Then I will take a look at book that sounds the warning of the advancement of heresy into Christ's Church. THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL Secrets from the Prophecies of Daniel by David Jeremiah with C.C. Carlson Word Publishing A significant amount of space in my library is devoted to books dealing with prophecy and eschatology. Many have been read through once and returned to the shelf in perfect condition. A few have creased bindings, dog-eared pages and multi-color highlights strewn over the pages. "The Handwriting On The Wall" falls into the second category. In his introduction to "The Handwriting On The Wall," Dr. Jeremiah writes, "If we wish to understand today what will happen in the near future, we should place the books of Revelation and Daniel between the bookends of our thinking and keep them in perspective as we are involved in these exciting, fateful days." The first half the book is devoted to the historical chapters (1- 6) of Daniel. Each event is explored: from Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah arriving as captives in Babylon, to Daniel prospering after surviving the night in the lion's den. Each event is examined from a Biblical and historical perspective as well as having contemporary illustrations of the principles involved. The second half of this book is devoted to the prophetic chapters (7-12) of Daniel. As with the historical chapters, Dr. Jeremiah examines each of Daniel's prophecies. Without going into microscopic scrutiny and without resorting to allegorical embellishment, the examination of each prophecy is interesting and informative. For those who may have heard Dr. Jeremiah's radio program "Turning Point," the style and tone of the book is familiar -- easygoing, informative and rich with illustrations and contemporary applications. ESCAPE THE COMING NIGHT An Electrifying Tour of our World as it Races Toward its Final Days by David Jeremiah with C.C. Carlson Word Publishing In the introduction to this book, Dr. Jeremiah writes, "Many scholars have written commentaries on the Book of Revelation, and I do not pretend to write something which only a Bible student or seminary graduate can comprehend. This book is intended for the person who has never read Revelation because it didn't make sense to him or to the person who has read it and it still didn't make sense." "Escape The Coming Night" isn't an in-depth study of Revelation. Rather, I think of it as "Revelation for the rest of us." The book takes an "episodic" approach to Revelation. The 235 pages are divided into 20 chapters (and 173 sub-chapters) that make the reading quick. Still, in those 235 pages is a lot of information. And there are more than a few anecdotes included, which are wonderful illustrations, that make the general tone of the book uplifting. If you haven't read the book of Revelation, or you want to gain more insight into prophecy and eschatology, this book is highly recommended. The prophetic "handwriting" is on the wall. We are to look forward to the day of Christ's return. But, until He returns, we are to abide. We are to serve Him through the Church. There have been attacks against the Church from its birth at Pentecost until today. And, as in the past, some of the most dangerous attacks come not from without, but from within. Once again the "handwriting is on the wall." This time the Lord provides it through the author Hank Hanegraaff. CHRISTIANITY IN CRISIS By Hank Hanegraaff Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR, 1993 Who said the following statements? (For the answers, see the end of this review.) (a) "Satan Conquered Jesus on the Cross." (b) "Never, ever, ever go to the Lord and say, 'If it be thy will ...' Don't allow such faith-destroying words to be spoken from your mouth." (c) "God has to be given permission to work in this earth realm on behalf of man. ... Yes! You are in control! So, if man has control, who no longer has it? God." (d) "Man was created on terms of equality with God, and he could stand in God's presence without any consciousness of inferiority." (1) Do these quotes sound like cult teachings? They may be, but they come from individuals who are accepted by many Christians as orthodox Bible teachers. "Christianity In Crisis" was written to expose heretical teachings invading the Christian community. Hank Hanegraaff, president of the Christian Research Institute, has done a masterful job of research in developing this book. He exposes to the light of Scripture the heretical teachings of some of the most well-known proponents of the "Positive Confession" message. Dr. Norman L. Geisler, Ph.D., is quoted on the back cover as saying: "Hank Hanegraaff has carefully documented one of the most popular and dangerous cultic groups to ever penetrate the contemporary evangelical church. The church owes a deep debt of gratitude to the leader of the world's largest countercult organization for unmasking the deceptive and poisonous false doctrines of the Faith Movement." "Christianity In Crisis" is not intended to be a sensationalistic work. In fact, often the text doesn't include the names of the individuals quoted. Instead, these are found at the back in an extensive note section. This is where the dedicated reader can appreciate the depth of the author's research. Mr. Hanegraaff's primary concern is to expose false teaching, not to attack individuals. Nevertheless, it is vital that readers understand the sources of these false teachings, because these men and women have a tremendous number of followers in the Christian community. Exposed false teachings include: Faith in Faith, Little gods or Little Frauds, Atonement Atrocities, Wealth and Want, and Sickness and Suffering. The approach of this book helps the reader remember both the false teachings and basic Biblical truths. This is done with the use of acronyms. If you go back to the beginning of this paragraph, you will see that the false teachings are represented by the acronym F.L.A.W.S. This is shown by reexamining the titles at the beginning of this paragraph. Within each area of the book, other acronyms are also used to present more detailed information. Included in the book is an extensive bibliographic section identifying the leading proponents of these teachings. Three appendices are also provided. The first deals with "Are 'God's Anointed' beyond Criticism?" The second talks about the importance of apologetics. The final appendix focuses on the three foundational creeds of Christianity. The balance of the book is taken up with an extensive note section, a complete Bibliography and Scriptural and Subject indexes. This book is easy to read, and can also be used as a reference source. It is both accessible and detailed. "Christianity In Crisis" sounds a warning to the Church. This book should be required reading for every Christian. Now, for those who didn't skip directly to this paragraph, here is the answer to the quiz at the beginning of the review. a. Kenneth Copeland b. Benny Hinn c. Frederick K.C. Price d. Kenneth E. Hagin Let us study to show ourselves approved. Let us not only be familiar with the prophetic aspects of scripture, but also let us hold firm to the clear teaching of God's Word. We hope that these books might be aids to this process. Your Friend - The Bookworm 1 Hanegraaff, Hank, CHRISTIANITY IN CRISIS, Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR, 199, p. 11. Theme: Prophecy The Messianic Timetable The Messianic Timetable THE MESSIANIC TIMETABLE By Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum More than any other book of the Hebrew Scriptures, the writings of the prophet Daniel confront us with evidence of the time of Messiah's coming - evidence that many people would rather not see. But it is there and cannot be ignored. That Daniel was indeed a prophet is well substantiated. He accurately prophesied the rise of the Medo-Persian, Greek and Roman empires even at a time when the Babylonian Empire, which preceded them all, was at its height. He accurately predicted the fortunes, conflicts, wars and conspiracies of the two kingdoms of Syria and Egypt between the fracturing of the Greek Empire and the conquest by Rome. He prophesied the role of the Maccabees during this period. It is Daniel's detailed accuracy in his prophecies that has caused many critics to try to give a late date to the book of Daniel, although no evidence has been discovered that would negate the book's composition at the time that it claims to have been written. At the very latest, the book was completed around 530 B.C. E. The purpose of this article is to discuss in some detail verses 24-27 of Daniel nine. However, it will be wise to survey the entire chapter in order to see what engendered the prophecy of when Messiah would come. The Background - Daniel 9:1-2 The date for Daniel's prophesy is "the first year of Darius," which means that it occurred in the year 539 B.C.E., about 66 or 67 years after the Jews initially went into exile to Babylonia. It was on this occasion, Daniel stated, that he was studying the Scriptures; and from these Scriptures he came to understand that the number of years for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem was almost over, since the duration was to be 70 years. Daniel mentioned that he was studying "books," and we can see for one that he had been studying the writings of Jeremiah; the lives of Jeremiah and Daniel did overlap to some extent. On two occasions (Jeremiah 25:10 14, 29:10-14) Jeremiah predicted that the captivity and desolation of Jerusalem would last 70 years. What other books Daniel may have been studying we cannot know with certainty. But there are some strong possibilities that he also studied the book of Isaiah, since Isaiah actually named Cyrus as the one who would permit the Jews to return (Isaiah 44:28-45:1). Furthermore, there are other writings in Moses and the Prophets that spelled out some specific conditions for the establishment of the messianic kingdom, and Daniel may have looked at some of these as well (Leviticus 26:40-43, 1 Kings 8:46-53, Jeremiah 3:12-18, Hosea 5:15-6:3). These passages emphasize that Israel as a nation must repent and confess sin prior to the establishment of any kingdom of the Messiah. Reckoning the 70 years from the year 605 (when the Jews went into exile) would bring the end of the 70 years to 536 B.C.E. Daniel realized that the captivity had only about three years to go. But Daniel not only expected the captivity to end after 70 years, he also expected a final termination of any possibility of future desolations for Jerusalem. He had acted as if the messianic kingdom were about to occur: since the Word of God was to be established on the basis of prayer, he prayed; and realizing that the prerequisite was the confession of national sin, he confessed the sins of Israel. Daniel's Prayer - Daniel 9:3-19 Daniel's detailed prayer can be divided into two portions. The first (verses 3-14) is the confession of sin. Daniel acknowledged both sin and guilt, which had been incurred in two ways-first by disobedience to the law of Moses, and secondly by disobedience to the prophets who came after Moses. Daniel neither denied the sin of his nation nor his own sin, and by the use of the pronoun "we," Daniel fully identified with all Jewish people in their sins. He did not see sin as merely a bad habit, but as something ingrained in the people that had brought on divine judgment. This disobedience to both the Law and the Prophets caused Israel "confusion of face," an idiom meaning a sense of shame. It also resulted in the need for forgiveness. Here Daniel confessed that to God belong forgiveness and mercy, and that forgiveness was needed. Daniel concluded the first part of his prayer by describing the punishment for sin and guilt. That punishment, captivity in Babylon, confirmed the words of the prophets who had predicted it and confirmed the Law of Moses, which taught that divine judgment would come as a result of disobedience. The second part of the prayer (verses 15-19) is a plea for mercy. Daniel made his plea on the basis of righteousness- not Israel's, but God's righteousness. He also pleaded for mercy on the basis of God's grace, for Israel did not merit mercy; but the grace of God was (and is) able to extend it anyway. Furthermore, the righteousness of God required him to fulfill his promises, and therefore he should do so at the end of the 70-year period. The conclusion of Daniel's prayer is very dramatic: "O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God; because thy city and thy people are called by thy name." The Arrival of Gabriel-Daniel 9:223 Then, while Daniel was presenting his supplications, he was interrupted. He apparently had intended to say more, when Gabriel arrived. The interruption came by the touch of the angel's hand, "about the time of the evening oblation." This refers to the daily, regular evening sacrifice that was offered while the temple stood. Although it had not been practiced for seven decades, Daniel showed his longing for the return from captivity and for the rebuilding of the temple by remembering the sacrifice. Gabriel told Daniel that the purpose of his visit was (1) to correct Daniel's misunderstanding concerning when the messianic kingdom would be set up and (2) to present God's revelation, which contained a timetable for Messiah's coming. The Decree of the 70 Sevens- Daniel 9:24a Gabriel's prophecy to Daniel began with the words, "Seventy sevens are decreed upon thy people and upon thy holy city ..." Many English versions have translated the phrase to read "seventy weeks." But this translation is not totally accurate and has caused some confusion about the meaning of the passage. Most Jews know the Hebrew for "weeks" because of the observance of the Feast of Weeks, and that Hebrew word is shavuot. However, the word that appears in the Hebrew text is shavuim, which means "sevens." The word refers to a "seven" of anything, and the context determines the content of the seven . Here it is obvious that Daniel had been thinking in terms of years - specifically the 70 years of captivity. Daniel had assumed both that the captivity would end after 70 years and that the kingdom would be established after 70 years. But here Gabriel was using a play upon words in the Hebrew text, pointing out that insofar as Messiah's kingdom was concerned, it was not "70 years," but "70 sevens of years," a total of 490 years (70 times seven). This period of 490 years had been "decreed" over the Jewish people and over the holy city of Jerusalem. The Hebrew word translated "decreed" literally means "to cut off" or "to determine." In chapters 2, 7 and 8, God revealed to Daniel the course of future world history in which gentiles would have a dominant role over the Jewish people. This lengthy period, which began with the Babylonian Empire to continue until the establishment of Messiah's kingdom, is for that reason often referred to as the "Times of the Gentiles.'' Now the prophet was told that a total of 490 years was to be "cut out" of the Times of the Gentiles, and a 490 year period had been "determined" or "decreed" for the accomplishment of the final restoration of Israel and the establishment of Messiah's kingdom. The focus of the program of the 70 sevens was "thy people and ... thy holy city." The "people" were Daniel's people, the Jewish people, and the city was Daniel's city, Jerusalem. Though he had spent the vast majority of his life in the city of Babylon, Jerusalem was still Daniel's city. For Jews, whether they are in the land or outside the land, their city is always Jerusalem and not any other. The Purpose of the 70 Sevens - Daniel 9:24b Daniel was next told by Gabriel that the 70 sevens are to accomplish six purposes. The first is to finish transgression. The Hebrew word translated "to finish" means 'to restrain firmly," "to restrain completely" or "to bring to completion.'' The Hebrew word translated "transgression" is a very strong word for sin and more literally means "to rebel." The Hebrew text has this word with the definite article, so literally it means "the transgression," or "the rebellion." The point is that some specific act of rebellion is finally going to be completely restrained and brought to an end. This act of rebellion or transgression is to come under complete control so that it will no longer flourish. Israel's apostasy is now to be firmly restrained, in keeping with a similar prediction in Isaiah 59:20. The second purpose of the 70 sevens is to make an end of sins. The Hebrew word translated "to make an end" literally means "to seal up" or "to shut up in prison." It means to be securely kept, locked up, not allowed to roam at random. The Hebrew word translated as "sins" literally means "to miss the mark." It refers to sins of daily life, rather than to one specific sin. Even these sins are to be put to an end and taken away. This, too, is quite in keeping with predictions by the prophets that proclaim that in the messianic kingdom, sinning would cease from Israel (Isaiah 27:9, Ezekiel 36:25-27, 37:23, Jeremiah 31:31-34). The third purpose is to make reconciliation for iniquity. The Hebrew word translated "to make reconciliation" is "kaphar," which has the same root meaning as the word "kippur," as in Yom Kippur. The word "kaphar" literally means "to make atonement." The third purpose, then, is to make atonement in some way for iniquity. In fact, it is by means of this atonement that the first two purposes will also be accomplished, that of finishing the transgression and making an end of sins. The word translated "iniquity" refers to inward sin. This has sometimes been referred to as the sin nature, or perhaps a more common term among Jewish people would be 'yetzer hara', "the evil inclination." The fourth purpose of the 70 sevens is to 'bring in everlasting righteousness'. More literally this could be translated "to bring in an age of righteousness," since the Hebrew "olam" is better translated as "age" rather than as "everlasting." This age of righteousness is to be the messianic kingdom spoken of in the Prophets (Isaiah 1:26,11:2-5, 32:17, Jeremiah 23:5, 33:15-18). It is this very age that Daniel had been expecting to see established after the 70 years of captivity, but now he is told that that will only be after the 490-year period. The fifth purpose is to seal up vision and prophecy. Here Daniel used a word which means "to shut up." So "to seal up" means to cause a cessation or to completely fulfill. Thus, vision and prophecy are to be completely fulfilled. "Vision" is a reference to oral prophecy, while "prophecy" refers to written prophecy. Both oral and written prophecy will cease with the final fulfillment of all revelations. The final purpose of the 70 sevens is to anoint the most holy. A better translation here would be "to anoint a most holy place." This is a reference to the Jewish temple which is to be rebuilt when Messiah comes. It refers to the same temple that Daniel's contemporary, Ezekiel, described in great detail (Ezekiel 40 48). The Start of the 70 Sevens - Daniel 9:5a Daniel was clearly told when the 70 sevens would begin their countdown. Gabriel said, "Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem ..." The 70 sevens would begin with a decree involving the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem. Not everything in Persian chronology is as clear as we would like to have it, and there are still some gaps in our knowledge of history. But from what biblical and historical records we do have, there are four possible answers to the question of which decree the passage refers to. One is the decree of Cyrus, issued somewhere between 538-536 B.C.E., which concerned the rebuilding of the Temple (2 Chronicles 36 22-23, Ezra 1:1-4, 6 l-5) and of the city of Jerusalem (Isaiah 44:28, 45:13). Another option is the decree of Darius Hystaspes (Ezra 6:6-l2), issued in the year 52l B.C.E.; it was a reaffirmation of the decree of Cyrus. A third possibility is the decree of Artaxerxes to Ezra (Ezra 7:11-26) issued in 458 B.C.E., which contained permission to proceed with the temple service. The last option is the decree of Artaxerxes to Nehemiah (Nehemiah 2:1-8), issued in the year 444 B.C.E. This decree specifically concerned the rebuilding of the walls around Jerusalem. Of these four possibilities, only the first and fourth are valid in fulfilling the wording Gabriel gave to Daniel. It goes beyond the purpose of this article to deal with the various arguments of either option, but one thing is certain: by the year 444 B.C.E., the countdown of the 70 sevens had begun. The First 69 Sevens - Daniel 9:25b The 70 sevens are divided into three separate units - seven sevens, 62 sevens and one seven. During the first time period (49 years) Jerusalem would be "built again, with street and moat, even in troublous times." The second block of time (62 sevens, a total of 434 years) immediately followed the first for a total of 69 sevens, or 483 years. It is at this point that we are told what the ending point is of the 69 sevens: "unto Messiah the Prince" As clearly as Daniel could have stated it, he taught that 483 years after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem had been issued, Messiah would be here on earth. The obvious conclusion is this: If Messiah was not on earth 483 years after a decree was issued to rebuild Jerusalem, then Daniel was a false prophet and his book has no business being in the Hebrew Scriptures. But if Daniel was correct and his prophecy was fulfilled, then who was the Messiah of whom he spoke? The Events Between the 69th Seven and the 70th Seven - Daniel 9:26 Whereas the second subdivision of the 70 sevens was to immediately follow the first, the third subdivision was not immediately to follow the second. Daniel pointed out (in verse 26) that three things would occur after this second subdivision and before the third one. Stepping back in time and looking ahead from Daniel's perspective in verse 26, we see first that "the Messiah shall be cut off and shall have nothing." The Hebrew word translated "cut off" is the common word used in the Mosaic Law and simply means "to be killed." The implication of the term is that the Messiah would not only be killed, but he would die a penal death by execution. The Hebrew expression translated "and shall have nothing" has two meanings. It may mean "nothingness," emphasizing Messiah's state at death. It can also be translated "but not for himself," and the meaning would then be that he died for others rather than for himself, a substitutionary death. The latter meaning would be much more consistent with what the Prophets had to say about the reason for Messiah's death (e.g. Isaiah 53:1-12). The first three purposes of the 70 sevens - to finish transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity - have to be accomplished by an atonement. The Law of Moses decreed that atonement is made by blood (Leviticus 17:11). It appears that Messiah's death "not for himself" but for others would be the means by which Israel's transgression, sins and iniquity would be atoned for. The point of this phrase is that between the end of the second subdivision (the 69th seven) and before the start of the 70th seven, Messiah would be killed and would die a penal, substitutionary death. Secondly, during this interim period it would also happen that ''the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood ..." The city and the temple that were to be rebuilt because of the decree by which the 70 sevens began would now be destroyed. So sometime after the Messiah was cut off, Jerusalem and the temple would suffer another destruction. Our knowledge of history during this period is extremely clear: the people responsible for this deed were the Romans, and Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed in year 70 C.E. Based upon this verse, it is also clear that the Messiah should have both come and died prior to the year 70 C.E. If such an event did not take place, then Daniel was a false prophet. If such an event did occur, then the question must be answered, who was that Messiah who was killed before 70 C.E.? The third thing to take note of would be, "and even unto the end shall be war; desolations are determined." For the remainder of the interval between the 69th seven and the 70th seven, the land would be characterized by war, and its resulting condition would be desolation. All this would set the stage for the final, or 70th, seven. The 70th Seven - Daniel 9:27 From where we stand in time today, the last seven years of Daniel's prophecy are still prophetic, still future, but it is with their conclusion that all six purposes of verse 24 will reach their fulfillment. The verse's main points are as follows: First, the 70th seven will begin only with the signing of a seven-year covenant or treaty between Israel and a major gentile political leader. Secondly, in the middle of that period, that is, after 3 1/2 years, this gentile leader will break his treaty with Israel and cause a cessation of the sacrificial system. The implication here is that by this time a temple in Jerusalem will have been rebuilt again and the sacrificial system of Moses reinstituted, but then will be forcefully ceased. Thirdly, the result of the breaking of this covenant is that that temple will now be abominated. The "abomination" refers to an image or an idol. As it was in the days of Antiochus Epiphanes, so it will be again in the future when a gentile ruler will abominate the temple by means of idolatry. Fourthly, the abomination is to be followed by wrath and desolation, persecution and warfare, for the remaining half of the 70th seven (the final 3 1/2 years). This is similar to the trials and tribulations the rabbis spoke of as preparation for the establishment of the messianic kingdom. These terrible days were referred to as "the footsteps of the Messiah." But once those days have run their course, the last three things predicted in verse 24 will occur: After this period the age of righteousness will be brought in, in which the most holy place will be anointed and every vision and prophecy be fulfilled. At this point the messianic kingdom for which the prophet Daniel yearned will be set up. Obviously, he messianic kingdom requires the Messiah to rule as king. This means the Messiah will come after the 70th seven. Yet earlier Daniel stated that the Messiah would come and be killed after the 69th seven. This would appear to be a contradiction unless Daniel was speaking of two comings of the Messiah. The first time was to be after the 69th seven, when he would die a penal, substitutionary death for the sins of Israel and accomplish the first three purposes listed in verse 24. The second time was to be after the 70th seven (still future), when he will establish the messianic kingdom and accomplish the last three things of verse 24. There is also an important implication here that should not be missed. The Messiah would be killed after his first coming. Yet he would be alive at his second coming. The implication is that the Messiah would be resurrected from the dead after he was killed. Conclusions This dramatic prophecy features certain things in very clear and unmistakable terms. First, the Messiah was to be on earth 483 years after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem. Secondly, after his appearance on earth he was to be killed, not for his own sins, but rather for those of others; and the death he would die was to be the death of the penalty of the law. Thirdly, the death of the Messiah had to come sometime before Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed again, which occurred in the year 70 C.E. Fourthly, some time after the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, and following a long period of warfare, the 70th seven will commence, and once that has run its course, Messiah's kingdom and age of righteousness will be established. For that to occur, the implication is that the Messiah who was killed would return again. But who is this Messiah One man fulfills all that is required in this passage. Jesus of Nazareth was born into the Jewish world and proclaimed his messiahship 483 years after the decree to rebuild and restore Jerusalem was issued. In the year 30 C.E., Jesus was executed by crucifixion. Daniel indicated that he would be cut off, not for himself, but rather for others. Isaiah 53 also prophesied the death of the Messiah, pointing out that he would die a substitutionary death on behalf of his people Israel. The teaching of the New Covenant is that Jesus died a penal death by taking upon himself the penalty of the Law as a substitute for his people. In keeping with Daniel 9:24, he died for the purpose of making an atonement for sins. Three days after his death, he was resurrected. Finally, the New Covenant proclaims the fact that he will someday return to set up his kingdom and the age of righteousness. If Daniel was right, then Messiah came and died prior to the year 70 C.E. If Daniel was right, then there are no other options for who the Messiah is, but Jesus of Nazareth. If Daniel was right, this Jesus is destined to return and to set up the messianic kingdom. Messiah in the Old Testament Prophets Messiah in the Old Testament Prophets MESSIAH IN THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS By Renald Showers From ISRAEL MY GLORY magazine Messiah would be set apart for His ministry and named by God while in His mother's womb (Isaiah 49:1,5) Messiah would be a child born (humanity) through a virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6) Messiah would be a descendant of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1) and David (Jeremiah 23:5) Messiah would be eternal in nature but born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). God's Spirit would enable Messiah to do His work (Isaiah 61:1-2a) Messiah would be God's spiritual light and Savior to Jews and Gentiles (Isaiah 9:2; 42:56; 49:5-6; 56:8). In the 30's A.D. Messiah would officially present Himself to Israel as its Prince by riding humbly into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey (Daniel 9:25-26; Zechariah 9:9). Because of Messiah's humble background and appearance, Israel and its leaders would regard Him as undesirable and of no significance and would despise and reject Him as their Shepherd, but Gentile rulers would honor and worship Him (Isaiah 49:7; 53:1-3; Zechariah 11:4-14). Messiah would be sold for 30 pieces of silver, which would be thrown down in the Temple to be given to a potter (Zechariah 11:12-13). Messiah would be accused falsely, but God would prove Him right (Isaiah 50:7-9). Messiah's back would be whipped, His beard plucked, and His face beaten and spit upon. As a result, He would be so disfigured that He would not resemble a man (Isaiah 50:6; 52:14; 53:5). Messiah would be pierced and crushed, and in fulfillment of God's plan, He would die as a sacrificial offering for man's sin, thereby providing justification for sinful man (Isaiah 53:4-12; Daniel 9:26; Zechariah 12:19). In His death, Messiah would be identified with criminals (Isaiah 53:12). Messiah's executors would plan to bury Him with the wicked, but He would be buried in a rich man's tomb because of His innocence (Isaiah 53:9). As a result of His rejection and death, Messiah would turn Israel over to division, scattering, and death by starvation, pestilence, war, and cannibalism (Zechariah 11:4-14; 13:7). As a result of Messiah's rejection, God would send Israel a false shepherd (Antichrist), who would try to destroy Israel (Daniel 9:27; Zechariah 11:12-16). In Israel's darkest hour (when the armies of all nations would be gathered against it), the Jews would recognize their true Messiah, whom their nation had "pierced," and would go into great mourning (repentance, a genuine change of mind about Him) (Zechariah 12:10). When Messiah comes with the clouds of Heaven as the Son of Man, God will give Him all the peoples and nations of the world to rule over as King (Daniel 7:13-14). Messiah would come to crush all the Gentile nations gathered against Israel and Jerusalem, save the repentant remnant of Israel, and provide security for Israel (Isaiah 59: 18-21; 63:1-6; Joel 3; Micah 5:4-9; Zechariah 14:12). Messiah would rule and instruct all nations from David's throne in Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:1-4; 9:6-7; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Micah 4:1-8; Zechariah 14:9). Messiah would combine the offices of King and Priest in Himself (Zechariah 6:9-15). Messiah would be glorious, the delight of the repentant Jews who survive the Tribulation, and the world's center of attraction (Isaiah 4:2; 11:10). God's Spirit would empower Messiah to be a righteous, faithful Judge and King (Isaiah 11:2-5; 42:1-9). Messiah's government would be characterized by justice and peace (Isaiah 9:7). During Messiah's reign, all animals would be tame and vegetarian in diet (Isaiah 11:6-9; 65:25). Immanuel - God With Us Immanuel - God With Us IMMANUEL - GOD WITH US By Sam Nadler (The following article was originally published in CHOSEN PEOPLE magazine last Christmas.) One of the many fascinating things about the Word of God is that it is full of the unexpected. In fact, it seems to be God's specialty. He delights in using unlikely choices of people to do some of the greatest acts, and utilizing some of the most unexpected methods to accomplish them. He chose a stutterer to confront Pharaoh, and a rod to dry up the Red Sea. He chose a shepherd boy to become a king, and a slingshot to slay a giant. Get the picture? At this significant time of year, it is again remarkable to explore the wonder of the way of God. Instead of using some holy transporter beam to place the Savior upon the earth He chose a virgin named Mary, with whom He had found favor. The Savior, Yeshua haMeshiach (Jesus, the Christ), would indeed be called Son of Man: fully God, yet fully human. It would leave the bridegroom wondering and the townspeople talking, but this is the divine way that God chose to have the Savior enter the world. When we take a closer look at the virgin birth, it is revealing to first take a look at a prophecy made hundreds of years earlier by Isaiah, announcing His arrival. There is a saying that "great things come in small packages." This is no more true than when we look at God's gift in a manger, our Messiah. To the natural eye, this gift may not look like much. After all, in light of all our problems and difficulties, what help is another child born in poverty and conceived under questionable circumstances? This babe, though, is not only the fulfillment of Scripture, but also of our lives. The Spiritual Principle in the Prophecy When Isaiah first prophesied these words, "Behold a virgin shall be with child and she shall name him Immanuel" (Isa. 7:14), no one was very impressed. For you see, looking at the historical background of the day, Judah had major problems. Israel, Judah's northern but apostate neighbor, had allied itself with Syria, a long time adversary located immediately northeast of Judah. Ahaz, King of Judah, had already decided how he would solve the problem of these northern bullies - he would ally Judah with an even bigger bully, Assyria, an empire to the far north. So God sends in His prophet Isaiah to encourage and to exhort King Ahaz to trust in the Lord. When Isaiah first approaches Ahaz, he assures the king that God would not allow Israel and Syria's unholy alliance to conquer Judah. But he also tells Ahaz that there was another vital ingredient Judah and the king would need: faith in God. "If you will not believe, surely you will not be established" (Isa. 7:9). How would God establish and secure His people? Would He do it through their own fleshly and political intrigues? No, only through faith in the Lord would they stand. As a nation without faith, they could not stand. Tragically, this came to pass in the Babylonian exile, but we see the beginnings of this unbelief during the reign of Ahaz. The Special Problems in the Prophecy Today, in sharing the prophecy of Isaiah with my people to show the prophetic nature of the virgin birth, I sometimes receive arguments against its fulfillment in Yeshua. One argument is "that 'almah' should not be translated to mean 'virgin,' but merely a young woman. Therefore, the idea of a virgin birth was never prophesied, but is a New Testament fabrication." Yet, in all the other usages of "almah" (Gen. 24:42, Prov. 30:18, Ps. 68:25 to name a few) it is commonly accepted as virgin. Therefore, in this section, it is reasonable to think that this prophetic "sign" and miracle would be through a "virgin." To do a further word study, the very root of the word shows that almah is virgin. The root is from "awlahm," which means "be hid" or "secret." Another form of the word is "olam" or everlasting, which is the unrevealed eternal things that are hidden from human experience. So, also, the almah is a virgin, one who was hidden or kept from experience with men. And before "almah" became a point of contention between believers in Yeshua and non-believers, the issue was already settled. Seventy rabbis translated the Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament) into the common language of the day, Greek, around 150 B.C. This translation is called the Septuagint. When they came to Isaiah 7:14 and "almah" they translated it simply and without question into "parthenos," the common Greek word for virgin. In their unbiased judgment, there was no other definition for the word almah, except virgin. Thus, we see that God meant a miracle indeed: "a virgin would conceive." Another argument often presented against this passage is that since Isaiah was trying to encourage Ahaz to trust God in the present circumstances, how could a prophecy fulfilled 700 years later be any help? Therefore, this prophecy has nothing to do with Yeshua at all, but probably with some child to be born at the time (possibly Ahaz's son, Hezekiah). But let's explore it a little further ... just how would the miracle 700 years later encourage Judah and Ahaz to trust God? In Isaiah 7:13-16, there are actually two prophecies: one for the House of David (which regularly had trouble trusting God), and one for King Ahaz. "Hear me now, O House of David... the Lord himself shall give you a sign, the virgin shall conceive..." (Isa. 7:13-14). This sign of the virgin birth was meant for the whole House of David. The line of David as a whole was to be encouraged that they will continue till the coming of Immanuel. The alliance with Assyria would not secure the Davidic line, but only the coming of Messiah. This is seen in the Hebrew very clearly. When Isaiah speaks to the House of David, he uses the second personal plural of "you." But when the prophet speaks directly to Ahaz, he switches to the second person singular. Though modern English uses "you" for both plural and singular, this distinction is seen in the King James Version which uses the older English, "you" for the plural, and "thou" for the singular. Furthermore, when Isaiah prophesies to Ahaz, he not only changes pronouns, but also subjects. In Isaiah 7:15-16 the child he speaks of is the one he referred to back in Isaiah 7:3 "Shearjashub, thy son." For within a few years when this boy shall become mature (around the age 13, Bar Mitzvah age among my people) God will have dealt with the problem of Syria and Israel. The Supreme Promise of the Prophecy Thus we can see, not only from the context, but also from the grammar used, that there are two prophecies which are quite relevant for the ongoing House of David and for King Ahaz. We see this is a true prophecy speaking of our Messiah's unique entrance into our world through a virgin birth. Think of it as a birth announcement sent out hundreds of years in advance. Again, the unexpected. And what a birth that would be. It was a night much like any other night, yet set apart by a great star shining over Bethlehem, brilliant in its intensity. Shepherds, notified by an angel, came to witness this new born child... God's promise... the supreme and wonderful promise of Isaiah's prophecy, "... and she shall name him Immanuel" (God with us). God would not forsake His people, but come in the flesh and be "with us." He would come and miraculously intervene in the affairs of men. He sees our trials and disasters and is here to help us. For in Messiah, He is "God with us." The Lord would save His people by coming to die in our place. Although the judgment is due us, He came and took it all upon Himself, for He is and always will be "God with us." So at this significant time of year, perhaps two of the greatest things we can remember is that God's promises are true and that He still uses the ordinary to accomplish the remarkable, often through unexpected means. As we share the Good News of Yeshua with God's chosen people around the world, I realize just how true this is. Daily, through our various forms of outreach, we have the opportunity to see lives change for eternity... and to me, it never ceases to be remarkable! Babylon - Mother of Harlots Babylon - Mother of Harlots BABYLON - MOTHER OF HARLOTS By Elwood McQuaid From ISRAEL MY GLORY magazine The world is careening toward a new order that does not bode well for the inhabitants of this planet. Quarrelsome nations are attempting to stem the tide of deterioration by creating a patchwork of alliances that will somehow bring to humanity a better day. This "better" arrangement is tending toward scrapping Judeo-Christian standards and values in favor of what is being touted as a more humane, tolerant, and creature-centered order. Political campaigning in the recent elections in America reflected the mood in a very dramatic way. Talk about family values, issues related to morality, and questions of character were hooted down by masses of self-indulgent people much more concerned about money than morality. Voters were constantly reminded by some candidates and the media that the overriding issues to be dealt with were jobs and the immediate economic environment. Issues related to historic patterns of conduct associated with the Judeo-Christian heritage were, to say the least, beside the point. Consequently, "right-wing Christians" were accused of pursuing a cultural war designed to oppress those with contrary views, thereby breeding intolerance and promoting hatred and division. It was the type of rhetoric that conjured up comparisons to the Jihad (holy war) mentality of the Muslim world. The end in mind was, of course, to wed those concerned with moral and spiritual values to motives and methods odious to -moderate+ Americans. Rest assured that this campaign to discredit Christians is only the beginning. The dreadful spiral of degeneracy delineated in Romans 1 is elbowing its way into the mainstream of America's national life. As important as economic conditions are for nations and individuals, history trumpets realities that are inescapable. A bit more than half a century ago, for example, the German people made political choices based on what was viewed as economic expedience. In so doing, they made one of the most catastrophic mistakes in the history of humanity. Adolf Hitler and his legacy of 50,000,000 dead were left to scar the human record. Such reminders are emblematic of the end-time conditions set before us in the prophetic Scriptures. The nations are nearing the juncture when human and economic expedience will instigate a calamitous decision that will make the choice of Adolf Hitler or like-minded tyrants pale by comparison. The world is preparing to opt for the Antichrist. First Corinthians 10:32 reaffirms the segmenting of humanity into three distinct divisions: "Give no offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Greeks [Gentiles], nor to the church of God." Contemporary history is cascading toward concluding phases of all three of the named participants. Intriguingly, events such as those commented on above are clarifying the issues. End-time Babylon, the Mother of Harlots, is beginning to stir. BABYLON AS AN IDEAL Genesis ll:l-9 reveals the birth of Babylon and exposes the driving forces behind an ideal crafted by Satan - an ideal designed to be the antithesis of God's plan for humanity. The Genesis account of the fiasco created by man's attempt to erect his unifying tower in the place that would become Babylon introduced the Gentile world concept that would plague the earth in successive manifestations. The key to understanding the process is found in a statement made in Ephesians 2:2: "In which in times past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience." The verse refers to Satan, who is elsewhere identified as "the god of this age" (2 Cor. 4:4). He is the instigator of every counter-strategy developed to thwart God's purposes through the Jewish nation and the Church. His instrument is the Gentile world system idealized in Genesis 11. Man consorted with Satan to build a city and a tower - Babel - that would be his gateway to the heavens. Self-conceived, self-constructed, self-fulfilling - the operative phrase was "let us" (Gen. 11:4). Three thoughts dominated the desire to break free from the dominion of their Creator: "let us build"; let us ascend; let us establish dominion. In a word, rebellion was at the heart of the movement. But there is another "let us" in the passage, and with it comes the clarifying revelation that it is always God who has the last word: "let us," He said, "go down . . . confound their language . . . [and] scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth" (Gen. 11:7-9). In essence, we see the battle joined, a battle that will rage until the final rebellion following the Millennium (Rev. 20:7-10). Man-Let us ascend God-Let us descend Man-Let us build God-Let us confuse Man-Let us have dominion God-Let us scatter BABYLON AS AN EMPIRE The ideal born on the plain of Shinar was imperialized in the Babylonian Empire. "The king [Nebuchadnezzar] spoke, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?" (Dan. 4:30). One notes immediately that the spirit present in the ideal is embodied in the empire. In the prophetic scheme of things, Babylon represented a prototype of the imperial structure and design that would rise in Babylon's three successor empires. Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and Rome's reconstituted end-time manifestation, although bearing individual characteristics, would all cherish the same desires: to ascend through idolatrous allegiance to false gods; to build grandiose monuments for their own glory; to create dominion by subjugating weaker nations and unifying them in their world system. At the root of it all was, and is, rebellion against God. And although in secular historical records it evokes little more than a footnote, a common thread in Gentile-inspired history seems to be the need to subdue the Jewish people and establish dominion over their land, Israel. Babylon invaded Israel, devastated Jerusalem, sacked and destroyed the Temple, and instigated three waves of captivity: 604 B.C., 586 B.C., and 535 B.C. Medo-Persia subdued Babylon in 539 B.C. and ultimately produced Haman during the reign of Xerxes (Ahasuerus) [522-486 B.C.] who attempted to destroy "all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus" (Est. 3:6). Greece, following Alexander the Great's death in 323 B.C., was divided among his generals. The infamous Antiochus Epiphanes (175-164 B.C.) - archetype of the Antichrist who rose out of the Syrian segment of the empire - attacked Jerusalem, desecrated the Temple, forbade the Jews to worship Jehovah, and attempted to paganize Jewry. In short, he tried to destroy Judaism and repopulate Israel with pagans. Rome had, by 146 B.C., subdued remnants of the Greek Empire. Daniel 9:26 prophesied that the Romans would subjugate Israel, crucify Christ, destroy the Second Temple, and scatter the Jewish people across the face of the Gentile nations. BABYLON AS A GLOBAL SYSTEM The final stage of the Babylon phenomenon moves from imperial to global proportions. The dominant vehicle in the transition is the reconstituted Roman empire prophesied as the end-time manifestation of the fourth empire revealed to Daniel (Dan. 7). Scholars question, particularly in the wake of the Gulf War, whether the ancient city of Babylon will be rebuilt and become the center of commercial activity during the last days. Competent theologians have divided opinions on the subject. The important factor to consider, however, is not the city itself; it is the satanically crafted system that will challenge Jehovah and try to consummate what the Devil has attempted through all the lesser empires. Revelation 17 and 18 detail the destiny of the global Babylonish system that embodies the ideal and imperial designs seen in Scripture and throughout history. On the plain of Shinar in ancient Babylon, the people who were rebelling against God built their Babel tower as the gateway to the heavens. Their religious efforts, which have afflicted humanity from that day to this, are traced through the mystery religions spawned at Babel and threaded through apostate religious systems throughout history. Full fruition of the satanic masterpiece is described in Revelation 17:4-5: "And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and bedecked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication; And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." She rises as the consummate manifestation of apostate religion without reality - a religion "drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus" (Rev. 17:6). This harlot system will bring together world religions that are in opposition to Christ and His program. Apostate ecumenical Christianity, Islam, the Eastern religions, and earth worshipers will eagerly consort with the Mother of Harlots to form the Church Satan Built. The beast (Antichrist) will carry the harlot (that is, have an alliance with the church that will, for a time, give the appearance that religion is calling the shots). This fiction will end when "the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire" (Rev. 17:16). Intriguingly, it will be God who will put it in the hearts of these kings (ten horns) to destroy the religious harlot and give total allegiance to the beast (Rev. 17:7), who will lead her into catastrophe; for when the Antichrist destroys his religious competitor, he will declare himself divine and institute a cultic Devil worship such as the world has never seen (2 Th. 2:3-4). Thus the stage is set for Satan's ultimate assault on his one remaining enemy: the Christ he is attempting to dethrone. "These [the Antichrist and his cohorts] shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings, and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful" (Rev. 17:14). Three things are worthy of note as Daniel's "stone ... cut out of the mountain without hands" (Dan. 2:45) crushes political Babylon. (1) Lamentation: "Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour is thy judgment come" (Rev. 18:10). The tenor of the earth dwellers' lament is that their economic losses were more than they could endure. "The merchants of these things [gold, precious stones, pearls], who were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing" (Rev. 18:15). The calamity of seeking affluence and economic security devoid of any association with or recognition of a beneficent God reaps the final catastrophe. A world long adrift on the sea of greed and materialism is finally exposed for what it is and brought down by God. (2) Retribution: "Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her ... Babylon [shall] be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all" (Rev. 18:20-21). There is a pervasive feeling in our blood-sodden world that one day accounts will be settled once for all, that righteousness will triumph, and that God will make an end of all the machinations of a God-hating world system bound to work its own will and build a religious, political, and economic utopia. The summary phrase is found in the stark statement, "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of demons" (Rev. 18:2). God hasten the day! (3) Bankruptcy: Perhaps the most cryptic words are found in Revelation 18:5. Remembering the objectives embodied in the ideal empires and global phenomenon Babylon represents, the words reflect the pathetic bankruptcy of Satan's grand delusion: "For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities." Perhaps this is the most fitting epitaph for the headstone of all, nations and individuals, who seek a better way - one devoid of "the way, the truth, and the life" (Jn. 14:6). The Future Day of the Lord The Future Day of the Lord THE TWO PHASES AND IMPLICATIONS OF THE FUTURE DAY OF THE LORD By Renald Showers From ISRAEL MY GLORY magazine The Broad and Narrow Phases The Bible teaches that the future Day of the Lord has two phases. First, there is the broad phase, which refers to an extended period of time involving divine interventions in the 70th week of Daniel 9 plus the thousand-year Millennium. Concerning this broad phase, Davidson wrote, "Though the 'day of the Lord,' as the expression implies, was at first conceived as a definite and brief period of time, being an era of judgment and salvation, it many times broadened out to be an extended period. From being a day it became an epoch." (1) Second, there is a narrow, more intense phase of the Day of the Lord that refers to one specific day- the day on which Christ will return to the earth from Heaven in His glorious Second Coming. Just as the word day in Genesis 1:5 has both a broad phase (a 24-hour day: "And the evening and the morning were the first day") and a narrow phase (the light part of the 24-hour day in contrast with the darkness part: "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night"), so the expression the Day of the Lord has both a broad phase and a narrow phase in relation to the future. Evidence for the Narrow Phase The following facts reveal that the Scriptures present a future Day of the Lord that will be narrowed or limited to one specific day. First, Revelation 16:12-16 indicates that the armies of the nations of the world will not begin to gather in Israel for Armageddon until the sixth vial or bowl is poured out. It should be noted that the pouring out of the sixth vial or bowl and the resultant gathering of the armies will take place after a significant part of the broad Day of the Lord has already run its course. Second, both Joel 3:9-16 and Zechariah 14:1-5 indicate that after the armies of the nations have gathered in Israel, "the day of the LORD is near" and "cometh." It is obvious from the language that this future Day of the Lord will not take place until after the armies of the nations have gathered in Israel. Since this Day of the Lord of Joel 3 and Zechariah 14 will not take place until after the armies have gathered in Israel, and since the armies will not begin to gather until after a significant part of the broad Day of the Lord has already run its course, it must be concluded that after a significant part of the broad Day has run its course, there will be another Day of the Lord yet to come. This other Day of the Lord will be a part of the broad phase, but there is a genuine sense in which it will be a complete Day of the Lord on its own, different from the broad phase. One difference will be its duration. As noted earlier, the broad phase will cover an extended period of time. By contrast, the Joel 3 and Zechariah 14 Day of the Lord will be narrow or limited in time. Thus, there will be two phases of the future Day of the Lord. Third, both Joel 3 and Zechariah 14 indicate that the Day of the Lord will be the specific time when the Messiah will come to fight against and destroy the armies gathered in Israel. According to Revelation 19:21-21, that will be when Christ comes from Heaven to the earth in His Second Coming. Thus, the narrow Day of the Lord of Joel 3 and Zechariah 14 will be the day of Christ's Second Coming. The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord It should be noted that Joel 3:14-15 indicates that the sun, moon, and stars will be darkened when the narrow phase nears. That is, those heavenly bodies will be darkened before the narrow Day of the Lord comes. Joel 2:31 declares that the heavenly bodies will be darkened "before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come." It is obvious from this that Joel 3 and 2 are both referring to the same Day of the Lord. It can therefore be concluded that the narrow Day of the Lord of Joel 3 and Zechariah 14 is to be identified with the great and terrible Day of the Lord. Since, as was noted earlier, the narrow Day of the Lord of Joel 3 and Zechariah 14 will be the day on which Christ appears in His Second Coming and is to be identified with the great and terrible Day of the Lord, it can be concluded that the great and terrible Day of the Lord will be the day of Christ's Second Coming. In line with this conclusion, The Babylonian Talmud makes the following statement concerning the great and terrible Day of the Lord: "This is understood to refer to the advent of the Messiah." (2) In light of the foregoing, it should be noted that the Scriptures apply the expression the great and terrible Day of the Lord to the narrow phase rather than to the broad phase. The implication is that the narrow phase will differ from the rest of the broad phase, not only in its duration, but also in its significance. Although the earlier part of the judgment phase of the broad Day of the Lord will involve a great outpouring of divine wrath on the domain of Satan and rebellious man, the narrow Day of the Lord will be the grand climax of that judgment phase. Thus, Bullinger, when referring to the Day of the Lord of Joel 2:31, said, "It is called 'the great and the terrible day of the LORD,' as though it were the climax of the whole period known as 'the day of the Lord.'" (3) Along similar lines, Keil when referring to the judgment of the narrow Day of the Lord of Joel 3, declared, "It is the last decisive judgment, in which all the single judgments find their end." (4) The narrow Day will be the great and terrible Day of the Lord because, in contrast with the earlier part of the judgment phase of the broad Day, the narrow Day will involve the coming of Christ from Heaven to earth. It therefore will do several things. It will expose God's enemies to the actual presence of Christ and the fullness of His divine power and glory, judgment and warfare; bring the angelic armies of Heaven against these armies; end the rule of Satan and rebellious man over the world system; and evict these enemies from the earth (Mt. 13:40-42, 49-50; 24:29-30; 25:31, 41, 46; Lk. 17:26-37; Rev. 19:11- 20:3). In other words, it will end the day of Satan and rebellious man on earth forever. Because the narrow phase will bring such a decisive, permanent change to the world, Joel called the place where the grand climax of God's judgment will fall on Satan and man "the valley of decision" (3:14). Concerning this designation, Keil made the following comment: "Valley of the deciding judgment, from charats, to decide, to determine irrevocably." (5) Implications of the Two Phases There are at least two significant implications in the fact that there will be both broad and narrow phases of the future Day of the Lord. First, since, as noted earlier, the narrow phase of Joel 3 and Zechariah 14 will take place after a significant part of the broad phase has already run its course, and since that narrow phase will be the day on which Christ will come in His glorious Second Coming, it can be concluded that the Second Coming of Christ will take place after a major part of God's wrath has been poured out on the world. It will not take place before or at the beginning of the outpouring of God's wrath on the world. Second, it was demonstrated earlier that the great and terrible day of the Lord of Joel 2:31 refers to the narrow phase - the day of Christ's Second Coming - rather than to the broad phase. The Prophet Malachi referred to the same great and terrible Day of the Lord as Joel (Malachi used the identical Hebrew words and constructions that Joel used for the great and terrible Day of the Lord in 2:31). In its comments on Joel 2:31, The International Critical Commentary states, "The clause before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes is the same as in Mal. 3:15 (Engl. 4:5)." (6) Since Joel and Malachi were both referring to the same great and terrible Day of the Lord, and since Joel's great and terrible Day of the Lord is the narrow Day (the day of Christ's Second Coming), not the broad Day, it can be concluded that Malachi's great and terrible Day of the Lord is also the narrow Day of the Lord. Malachi declared that God will send "Elijah, the prophet, before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD" (4:5). Since Malachi's great and terrible Day of the Lord is the narrow phase, it can be concluded that his declaration indicates that God will send Elijah before Christ's Second Coming. Malachi was not declaring that God will send Elijah before the broad phase-before He begins to pour out His wrath on the world. In light of the meaning of the great and terrible Day of the Lord, Malachi's declaration leaves room for Elijah to come and minister after the broad phase has begun and, therefore, while the wrath of God is being poured out on the world. ENDNOTES I A. B. Davidson, The Theology of the Old Testament in International Theology Library (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936), p. 381. 2 Shabbath, 118a, in The Babylonian Talmud (London: Soncino Press, 1938), footnote, p. 580. 3 E. W. Bullinger, The Apocalypse or "The Day of the Lord" (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1935), p. 248. 4 C. F. Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets, Vol. 1, in Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, trans. by James Martin (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1954), p. 226. 5 Ibid., p. 228. 6 John Merlin Powis Smith, William Hayes Ward, and Julius A. Bewer, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Micah, Zephaniah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Obadiah and Joel, in The International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1911), p. 124. The Nations at Armageddon The Nations at Armageddon THE NATIONS AT ARMAGEDDON By Will Varner From ISRAEL MY GLORY magazine Although the Bible deals primarily with Israel and the Messiah, it is surprising to realize how much the Scriptures teach about the Gentile nations and their future role in God's prophetic plan. The Hebrew word for Gentile is "goy", and it appears 514 times in the Old Testament. The Greek word is ethnos, which appears 164 times in the New Testament. Both of these words are translated in the Authorized Version as nation, gentile, or, in a few cases, heathen. The word nation refers to a defined body or group of people. Although the word occasionally can refer to Israel (see, e.g., Gen. 12:2; Ex. 33:13; Dt. 4:6-7), it usually refers to the Gentile nations of the world. References to the future of the nations abound in the prophetic books of the Old Testament as in the Revelation in the New Testament. Four passages are helpful in summarizing the role that the nations will play in the great final conflict - generally known as Armageddon (Joel 3; Zech. 14; Rev. 16;19). In military terminology, there is a difference between a single battle and a longer military campaign, or an even longer war. While popularly referred to as the "Battle of Armageddon", this final raging conflict will be more of a campaign that a single battle. It is better to refer to it as the "Campaign of Armageddon" because it will encompass a number of separate battles. What role will the nations play in this great conflict? The first fact to consider in answering this question is that the Lord is the one who will gather the nations. Note the following passages: "For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, and win judge them there for my people and for my heritage, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land" (Joel 3 l-2). "Behold the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle" (Zech. 14:1-2a). Although the nations will converge on the Middle East for power, attack Israel, and oppose the Lord, it will be the sovereign Lord who will draw them there. At that time, the nations will be judged, and God will use the nation's hatred for one another to bring about their own destruction. From the human perspective, the nations will gather to wrest world leadership from the Antichrist. In the satanic purpose, the armies will gather to oppose the Lord and His anointed. In the divine purpose, the armies will gather to experience their own judgment. Psalm 2:1-5 prophetically describes this scene: "Why do the nations rage, and the peoples imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He who sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his great displeasure." The second fact is that the campaign will rage throughout the land of Israel. The broad expanse of the plain of Jezreel in Israel's north, popularly referred to as the "Valley of Armageddon," although often depicted as the locale of this conflict, will actually be the staging area for the armies. "And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon" (Rev. 16:16). But the conflict will not be limited to this valley alone. A comparison of Scriptures indicates that at least two other locales will be scenes for this mighty war. Far to the south is the ancient land of Edom, home of the fabled city of Petra. Isaiah 63:1-6 describes the Lord's return from judging the nations in that locale: "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? This that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength? I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Why art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him who treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the peoples there was none with me; for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold. Therefore, mine own arm brought salvation unto me, and my fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the peoples in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth." The other location that will serve as a battlefield in this campaign will be Jerusalem itself: "Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about" (Joel 3:12); "And it shall come to pass, in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem" (Zech. 12:9). Most scholars believe that the Valley of Jehoshaphat is a reference to the Kidron Valley on the east of Jerusalem. It appears, therefore, that the campaign will begin in the Valley of Jezreel in the north, continue at Edom in the south, and then culminate in its final fury in the Holy City itself. It is striking to note that Revelation 14:20 describes the bloody battle as reaching over a space of 1,600 furlongs, or approximately 180 miles. This is the actual distance between the Valley of Jezreel and Edom and passes right by Jerusalem! The last fact to note is that Jesus Himself will destroy the gathered nations at His glorious Second Coming. John beheld a rider on a white horse coming out of heaven: "And I saw heaven opened and, behold, a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies that were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean" (Rev. 19 14). This is clearly a description of Jesus as the righteous judge, since His name is "The Word of God" - John's favorite title for the Lord Jesus (see Jn. 1:1). The scene is one of judgment: "And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God" (Rev. 19:15). The following passage then describes, in picturesque language, how the Messiah Himself will slay the gathered armies of the nations, including the beast and the false prophet (Rev. 19:17-21). In contrast to the joyous Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7-10), there will also be a very different supper - one for the birds of prey! Thus will end, in one cataclysmic blow, the power of the Gentile nations, which have controlled Jerusalem from the time of Nebuchadnezzar in 605 B.C. Satanic control of the Gentiles will also end, especially in oppressing the nation of Israel. Satan, the god of this world, will also be dealt with, and, according to Revelation 20:1-3, he will be cast in the "bottomless pit," where he will be inactive for the entire length of the thousand-year reign of Christ. The Gentile population of the world as a whole will then be judged at a separate judgment to follow (Mt. 25:31-46). The inglorious end of Gentile power was prophesied in Daniel 2, where the great image was smashed when struck by the stone cut out without hands. Then the "times of the Gentiles" (Lk. 21:24) will terminate. Jerusalem no longer will be trodden under foot by Gentile overlords, and Israel will once again be exalted as the King of kings reigns from Zion. As we consider the practical application of this, it is good to return to the Psalm referred to earlier. After describing the wrath of the gathered nations (Ps. 2:1-5), the Lord provided His solution to the Gentile fury: -Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: The LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings; be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they who put their trust in him (Ps. 2:6-12). The only way in which Gentiles will escape the sure judgment of God is by placing their trust in God's Son - the Lord Jesus Christ. Will you trust Him today? The Signs of the Times The Signs of the Times THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES by John Kinsella From THE CHRISTIAN WORLD REPORT Are we living in the last days? Jesus Christ said that we would see the fulfillment of certain prophecies in the end times. He said they would be clear, unmistakable signs that would provide undeniable landmarks to be read by that blessed generation. In Matthew 24, in what is called the Olivet Discourse, our Lord described a generation facing insurmountable social and ecological problems. Time and space would not permit us to conduct an exhaustive investigation of these signs, but we have elected to examine two: pestilence and earthquakes. There have always been pestilences, and there have always been earthquakes. How can we know these are the signs Jesus told us about? Matthew 24:7-8: "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines, and pestilences and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." "The beginning of sorrows" pictures birth pains. Strongs Greek Dictionary entry #5604 defines the word translated "sorrows" as derived from the Greek word "odeen": a pang or throe, esp. of childbirth. So we see that our Lord clearly intended that we could recognize that these things are end-times signs when they intensify and become more frequent, the way labor pains become closer together and more intense as the event approaches. EARTHQUAKES Today, with modern technology, we are able to record earthquakes that we were never able to record before. Seismic monitors record earthquakes on the ocean floor or in remote mountain areas. Sensationalists would say, "See, earthquakes are increasing!" Skeptics would say, "No, we just have better monitoring equipment." Major earthquakes are those that would have been obvious to anybody, at any time in history. When the earth opens up and shakes violently, buildings fall, and thousands of people are killed, those earthquakes would certainly be recorded historically. According to the 1992 Canadian Global Almanac, page 439, a total of 48 major quakes rocked the world between 1900 and 1969, an average of almost 6 per decade. In 1970, a pattern begins to develop. By 1989 we experienced 33 quakes worldwide, an average of 17 per decade. The total thus far for the 20th century~, 81 earthquakes, is already in excess of the total major earthquakes recorded from the time of Jesus until 1899! In the first six months of 1990, ten major quakes killed more than 100,000 people! We wanted to investigate the trend and see if the 1990 figures were a coincidence or the beginning of a pattern. The Almanac cited Energy, Mines and Resources Canada as the source of their figures. I telephoned this agency in Ottawa, Canada and asked Bob North of the seismology department to send me a list of the major earthquakes between July 1990 and the present, I asked him to use the same standards as was used to prepare the list for the almanac. He faxed me a list of earthquakes covering the period from the middle of July 1990 until October 12, 1992. The list is ten pages long, and reports that in just over two years, 133 major earthquakes have shaken the planet! PESTILENCE Twenty years ago, the U.S. Surgeon General announced that it was time "to close the book on infectious diseases." Great killer diseases of the past like TB and cholera, leprosy and many forms of venereal disease were all but eliminated by antibiotic therapy and improved living standards. Last year, TB killed 13 men in an outbreak in New York's prison system. In Thailand, an unfamiliar and untreatable strain of malaria puzzles researchers. Chinese Muslims on a pilgrimage to Mecca passed on a virulent strain of meningitis to African pilgrims, who carried it back to their homelands. The U.S. Center for Disease Control reported a six-fold increase in drug resistant strains of TB. These new strains made up 19 percent of the bacteria sampled last year in New York. New, drug-resistant bacteria responsible for meningitis and pneumonia make up another 15 to 20 percent of the same sampling. Staphylococcus, a bacteria that causes post surgical infection is becoming less and less vulnerable to conventional antibiotics. Researchers warn that this infection could become completely untreatable by the end of the decade. An epidemic of cholera is still raging in Mexico and some South American countries. Leprosy is on the rise in the Third World. Outbreaks of Salmonella poisoning are increasingly common in all parts of the world. Carl Kendall of Johns Hopkins University quoted in U.S. News & World Report says, "We're entering a new era of infectious disease ... for parasites and pathogens, humans are now the host of choice." Africa is suffering under the greatest famine and drought in modern history. Estimates that suggest 125 million Africans will die of AIDS in the next ten years are supported by the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control. Diseases we thought defeated are resurfacing, stronger and more deadly than ever. This generation, like no other in history, is unique. Although we have only examined two of the "signs of the times" that our Lord identified, a quick reading of Matthew 24, Luke 21, and Mark 13, followed by a scanning of the evening news, will alert even the most casual observer that all these things are coming to pass. Jesus told us, "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh." (Luke 21:28) These things are unquestionably coming to pass. Jesus Christ is about to return in power and glory. The question that remains is, are you prepared to meet Him? According to Luke 21:36, Christians are exhorted: "Watch ye, therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man." Jesus is coming soon! Biblical Studies New In Christ New In Christ MAJOR CONTRASTS BETWEEN PAGAN MYTHS AND THE BIBLE From the JEWS FOR JESUS Newsletter THE UNIQUENESS OF GOD ... Pagan thought: Sea monsters were rivals to be conquered by the gods. Bible revelation: Sea animals were created by God (Genesis 1:21), who is unequalled in power. Parallel Scripture: "To whom, then, will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One" (Isaiah 40:25). THE POWER OF GOD ... Pagan thought: The gods struggled tremendously in creating the world. Bible revelation: God created effortlessly, by His word. "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light" (Genesis 1:3). Parallel Scripture: "Let them praise the name of the LORD; for He commanded, and they were created" (Psalm 148:5). THE SUPREMACY OF GOD ... Pagan thought: In Egyptian myths, the gods created through magic utterance, a means of controlling higher forces in order to bring about a desired result. Bible revelation: God created through his own power, not by appeal to anything higher. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). Parallel Scriptures: Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he" (Isaiah 41:4). "I am the LORD; that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to carved images" (Isaiah 42:8). THE WORSHIP OF GOD ... Pagan thought: The sun, moon and stars were worshiped as gods. Bible revelation: Genesis (1:16) simply called the luminaries the "greater and lesser lights" because "sun" and "moon" were pagan names for deities. "He made the stars also" came almost as an afterthought in the creation account, to contrast with the significance given to the stars in pagan astrology. Parallel Scripture: "I form the light, and create the darkness ..." (Isaiah 45:7) THE REASON FOR MAN'S EXISTENCE ... Pagan thought: The gods created man as an afterthought in order to relieve them of work and provide them with food. Bible revelation: Man is the crown of God's creation. God provides man with food. "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created Him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them; and God said unto them, be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food" (Genesis 1:26-29). Parallel Scripture: "Who giveth food to all flesh ..." (Psalm 136:25). New Testament Study New Testament Study NEW TESTAMENT STUDY This issue features the seventh in a series on the Epistle of 1 John. On some occasions this column with be called Old Testament Study. In either case studies will include Psalms and books from both the Old and New Testaments. "JUDGING: A CALL TO COMMITMENT TO TRUTH!" 1st John 4:1-6 When couples first come to me for counseling, they frequently fall into the trap of thinking that by the conclusion of the process all their problems will be solved. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your perspective, this isn't the case. The counseling process is one in which we identify major developmental problems that affect the relationship between husbands and wives. Success isn't identified by the absence of problems. The dysfunctional family puts significant energy into hiding their problems, while healthy families identify problems and work on them. Therefore, successful therapy is a process by which the couple can identify and work problems through on their own. The counselor is an instructor, teaching the process of conflict resolution. John's goal was similar. His desire was to teach the way in which believers could, and still can, be responsible for searching Scripture as the touchstone of truth. John wanted the recipients of his letter to learn to see truth and identify fallacy. In this study we will see that John provides a way one can test the teachings of someone claiming to speak for God. Second, because he provides all believers with this test, we have a personal responsibility to distinguish between what is true and what is a lie. WE ARE CALLED TO CLOSELY EXAMINE THE TEACHINGS OF THOSE WHO CLAIM TO SPEAK FOR GOD. The false prophets were offering a very appealing system to the believers of John's day. They taught that once you were saved, it didn't matter how you live. In other words, you could "have your cake and eat it too." In this first epistle of John, he presents the truths of the Old Testament, Christ and the Apostles as the basis for the Christian life. He teaches that it is important how one lives as a Christian. In fact, the absence of a commitment to live out the truth of scripture is symptomatic of the spirit of antichrist. He shows that the life of the believer is typified by the love of God and others. And, while the believer will still sin, he no longer either perfects his sin or finds comfort in it. In contrast, the unbeliever's life is typified by a hatred of God and His righteousness. The unbeliever may not sin in a specific situation, but his life is identified with sinful behavior. He is comfortable in his sins. However, it isn't enough simply to tell John's readers what is wrong with the specific teachings of these false teachers. He is also concerned with believers knowing how to test the teachings of others. This section gives the specific approach. For us, this method should be used to test the words of contemporary theologians. It doesn't matter whether the words are verbal or written, they must be tested. This method can be used to confirm systems of church growth, counseling, self-help systems and the plethora of material dropped into the Christian community on an almost daily basis. Vs. 1: Again, John expresses his relationship in love to those he is writing to: "Dear friends." He loved these people and wrote out of his concern for their welfare. They needed to stand against the apostate teaching inflicted on them. We saw in 1 John 3:19-24, (Morning Star 2.7), that conscience isn't to be the final arbitrator of truth. In other words, the claim to speak under the influence of the "Spirit of God" isn't validation of truth. As John notes, there are many spirits in the world, and they too must be tested against the standard of Scripture. Because someone like David Koresh claims to speak for God does not mean he does. Note: John is speaking of literal spirits. When a noted "Christian" evangelist denies the virgin birth, or teaches that we are all little gods, he may not just be speaking heresy, he may be speaking under the influence of demonic spirits. The Holy Spirit teaches truth. He exists to glorify Christ, not to speak of Himself. Those who speak under the influence of evil spirits tend to glorify themselves and denigrate the person of Christ. Vs. 2: John wants the believer to judge false teaching. He provides a test that can be used as a basis to validate or invalidate the teachings of one who purports to speak for God. What is the test? It is an accurate understanding of the incarnation. How one teaches about the incarnation is the proof of the source of their message, whether it comes from God or Satan. One MUST believe that Christ came in the flesh. Glen Baker notes, regarding the false prophets: "(they) may well have believed that Christ was the Savior of the world, but they probably denied the connection between the divine Christ with Jesus of Nazareth." 1 Vs. 3: John's statement that Christ came in the flesh from God, encompasses the total teaching related to the incarnation. Anyone who taught otherwise was clearly not of God. Those who reject Christ's incarnation are not just mislead. They are not just sincerely mistaken. Whether they understand it or not, they speak Satan's propaganda. They speak in the spirit of antichrist. John noted that the spirit of antichrist was present in the world. While the specific individual called Antichrist may not yet be present, the spirit that stands against Christ has been present from John's day to ours. Vs. 4: The warning that this evil spirit is present doesn't need to be a source of fear. John expresses this comforting truth. "... the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." Believers do not have to be fearful over present conditions. We do not have to be afraid of those who come up against us. These believers had stood for truth. They had recognized the false prophets. They overcame because they were indwelt by the Holy Spirit. He gave them the discernment to recognize the heresy that was being taught. They were willing to accept the inspired teachings from John. They rejected false teaching. THEY JUDGED. Remember, not only had the believers realized that these teachers rejected the incarnation, they had also failed to shown God's love in their lives. They had taught that it didn't matter how one lived. It was obvious by their words and deeds that they were not in fellowship with God, or part of the company of believers. This was in contrast with the presence of God in the lives of the believers to whom John was writing. Vs. 5: No matter how much the false prophets claimed to speak for God, their words conformed to the world's view, not God's. And, interestingly enough, the world also listens to these men. The world doesn't listen to the call for obedience, unconditional love, repentance from sin, and sacrifice. It listens to the call to live as you want, to have prosperity, to salvation by works. The very fact that the message of the false prophets was acceptable to the world was the validation of its satanic source. Vs. 6: In addition, if the world listens to the false prophets, it rejects the words of God's own. John notes that those who are of God listen to the words of His spokesmen. Those that reject their words reject the words of God, and so are not of God. Now, be warned again that the false prophets also claimed to speak for God. They also stated that to reject their words was to reject the words of God. John said that the acceptance of the incarnation, "... that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God ..." points out the source of these doctrines. John's words should sound a clarion call to all believers. We live in an age where men and women claiming to speak for Christ teach heresy. Nevertheless, their books are published by "Christian" publishers and are sold in "Christian" bookstores. Many people who really are believers chose to accept the teachings of these individuals. While these believers may be ignorant of some of the worst teachings, nevertheless, they are still accountable for providing support to these heretics teaching in the spirit of antichrist. John has provided us with a test of orthodoxy. This test is the incarnation test. Anyone who fails it must be rejected. All of the cults fail this test. These cults teach many heresies, from Christ Jesus being the brother of Satan, to Jesus being indwelt by the Christ-consciousness. There are many in the midst of the church who also fail this test. They deny the uniqueness of Christ and His deity/humanity. They teach that we too are gods, as He is. They undermine the truth of the incarnation by trying to bring down Christ. (For a good source on contemporary heresy within the Church, check out the review elsewhere in this issue, and then read the book "Christianity in Crisis.") John requires us to judge the teaching of others. Too often we hear believes say, "Judge not!" Sincerity has become the basis for testing truth. Some, even when convinced of the false teaching from specific individuals, hold that since they are sincere, the fact they are mistaken shouldn't invalidate their ministry. Many sincere but naive believers have sent large sums of money to radio and TV heretics under the misguided belief that sincerity is all that matters. As well, this naivete is expressed by people regarding the current administration. I recently heard the following comments on a television program: "It doesn't matter that nothing is done, or that what has been done is terrible, the administration is trying really hard." This belief that the sincerity of the false teachers makes them acceptable, has led to the movement of heresy within the church. God will hold us accountable for not judging the teachings of that claim to speak for Him. Because God has provided truth, we MUST use it. This is clear because God through John has provided us the test of truth. Believers are called to go and make disciples. A disciple is one who follows Christ. If we are to make disciples, then we must demand commitment to the truth of Scripture. We must stand and be counted every time someone claiming to be speaking for Christ undermines orthodox doctrine. We must be willing to call heresy what it is. Standing up for truth is often uncomfortable. Some may accuse us of not being loving when we identify heresy. That should not be the issue here. Jesus loved all people enough to die for them. However, Jesus was also the one who demanded that men stand for God's truth. He taught more on Hell than He ever did on Heaven. We have no excuse to accept false teaching. Yes, it is some work to dig through the teachings you hear and identify the view on the incarnation. But this is something you must do. And, having recognized heresy where it is, we must be willing to stand against it. Recently, I choose not to shop at a specific "Christian" bookstore. This was because it had a major display promoting the book of one major TV evangelist who was teaching some of the most outrageous heresy imaginable. By calling itself a Christian bookstore, it must be held accountable for presenting that which is in direct contradiction to the truth of scripture. All over the world people are hungering for truth. They live and die over truth. Let us test the spirits so we can present the truth and expose the lie, the spirit of antichrist, to the light of God's word. 1. Baker, Glen W., "The Expositor's Bible Commentary," Vol. 12, "1, 2, 3 John," Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1981, p. 340. Special Studies Special Studies Baptism is one of the two unique sacraments given to the Church, the other being Communion. The act of Baptism is a required public statement of faith in the work of Christ in the life of the believer. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is believed to be a second type of baptism. This position, explained within this article, is held by a large number of believers within the contemporary Christian community. Nevertheless many believers, both clergy and laity understand Scripture to teach that the new believer in indwelt by the Holy Spirit at conversion and that there is no separate baptism experience. What is presented here then, represents a view held by a significant number of Christians, but does not necessarily represent the view of Morning Star or its editorial staff. GOD IS REVEALED THROUGH BAPTISM By Dr. Charles Wootten "Since the personality of our Lord Jesus Christ is the personality of God, it was impossible for Him to consent to sin. Since His personality could not consent to sin, it was impossible for Him in His human nature (seeing that human nature was inseparably joined to His personality) to have sinned" (Emery H. Bancroft, ELEMENTAL THEOLOGY, pp. 135-136). Since He was human, it behooved Him to obey God and be baptized. The forerunner, John, was already announcing His coming and baptizing unto repentance. In Luke 3:21-22 (NIV) we find that, "When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." (see also John 1:26-34; Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11). There is much controversy within the Body of Christ today on the subject of Baptism. Even today the practice of infant baptism is carried out in spite of the fact that scripture clearly teaches that first one must believe, and THEN be baptized. The particular Greek term used for the word "baptism" can be translated "with water" or "in water." Except there is a difference involved. If John baptized WITH water, then we can picture him drawing up some water in his hands and baptizing his aspirant WITH this substance. But if John baptized IN water, then we can envision him bringing his aspirant down INTO the substance. Which way did John baptize: WITH or IN water? Our answer is not difficult to locate. Matthew 3:16 (NIV): "As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him." Mark 1:10 (NIV) "As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove." Jesus was baptized IN water. The utter simplicity of the evidence is typical of the Gospel: it blinds those who think they see it. Clearly, the biblical model of baptism is immersion. This is true in spite of the fact that other methods, such as pouring or sprinkling, have become accepted in the west. These are a much later development arising primarily due to the decree of the Council of Trent. The baptism itself had an important significance for Jesus. To the other aspirants who were baptized it had a double meaning: it signified the abandonment of their old sins, and their entrance into the new Messianic era. In effect each aspirant saw it as an oath of abjuration -- by which they renounced the world and the flesh, as rivals for the throne of the heart with God -- and as an oath of allegiance -- by which the aspirant resigns and gives up self to God, to be His. In this, the whole self is governed by God: spirit, soul, and body. The aspirant becomes His man because being baptized into Christ causes one to put on Christ. Baptism replaced the rite of circumcision and publicly identifies the aspirant as a member of the body of Christ enjoying the privileges of the Christian state. For Jesus it could not have the meaning of the erasure of sins. He may have also taken baptism as the identification of Himself with His nation, and used this way to express His sense of its need of cleansing. But it meant, too, that He was now entering through a door into the new epoch, of which He was Himself to the Author. It expressed His sense that the time had come to leave behind the employments of Nazareth and devote Himself to His peculiar work. Baptism is one of the ordinances of the church. The other ordinance, to be discussed later, is the observance of the Lord's Supper. There is nothing in either ordinance in itself that brings a blessing or confers spiritual grace. God blesses the performance of these ordinances as He blesses obedience and worship in other things. Emery H. Bancroft in ELEMENTAL THEOLOGY, pp. 310- 311, says, "The true view of the ordinances seems to embrace a threefold significance: (1) They are symbolized Christian truths; (2) they are memorials unto Christ, observed in obedience to Him, expressive of love and devotion; (3) they are Christian rites, which designate those who properly observe them as Christ's disciples." Baptism is seen as a symbol of allegiance of those who will resist their sinful ways to follow God. "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead" (Colossians 2:9-12 (NIV)). Baptism is seen as a symbol of judgment upon sinners in the escape of those who put their trust in Him. "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also -- not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand -- with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him" (I Peter 3:18-22 (NIV)). Baptism is seen as a symbol of entrance into God's Kingdom. "For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert." "Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: 'The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.' We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did -- and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did -- and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did -- and were killed by the destroying angel." "These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it" (1 Corinthians 10: 1-13 (NIV)). In Jesus' baptism these three symbols are easily seen: He offered Himself to God as a sinless man, He willfully received God's judgment as our substitute, and He bridged the gap so that we might enter the Kingdom of God. It is beyond the scope of this discussion of the revelation of God in baptism to dwell deeply into the great theological significance of the three baptisms designed for all believers. The following chart will aid in bringing clarity to the three baptisms God has designed for each believer. While there is only "one baptism" (Ephesians 4:5) which is necessary for out conversion (namely, baptism into Christ's body), these baptisms are available to enrich all lives and service. The Baptism: Into Christ & Into His Body The Baptizer: The Holy Spirit The Requirements: Repentance & Faith and visible evidence of the new life. The Results: Salvation Scripture: Romans 6:3-7; I Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:27; Colossians 2:12 The Baptism: Into Water The Baptizer: The Church The Requirements: Obedience. Done after salvation. After confession of sins. The Results: Good conscience Scripture: Acts 2:38-41, etc.; I Corinthians 1:13-17; I Peter 3:21 The Baptism: Into the Spirit The Baptizer: Jesus The Requirements: Asking & Obedience for service The Results: Enduement of power. Scripture: Matthew 3:11,14; John 7:37-39; Acts 1:5, 11:16, 19:2-3, etc. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is important for all believers no matter their Christian denomination. Mark 1:10: "As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove." Luke 3:22: ". . . and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: 'You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.'" Matthew 3:16: "As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him." John 1:32-33: "Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'" It is both a visible and audible experience. After the Ascension (Acts 2:2-3) came the sound of a mighty rushing wind and overwhelmed those in the upper room. Stanley M. Horton, THE BOOK OF ACTS, p. 30, says, "The wind would remind them of Old Testament manifestations. God spoke to Job out of a whirlwind (Job 38:1; 40:6); a mighty east wind dried out the path through the Red Sea, enabling the Israelites to escape from Egypt on dry ground (Exodus 14:21). Wind was also a frequent symbol of the Spirit in the Old Testament (Ezekiel 37: 9, 10, and 14, for example). Jesus also used wind to speak of the Spirit (John 3:8)." The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is, more than anything else, a divine enabling or capability to speak to people of Jesus Christ unashamedly and without fear. This lies at the very heart of the Holy Spirit baptism: being a witness for Jesus! The Scriptures are very clear on how Jesus does it, why we should accept this gift, and what to do with it. This leads into one of the major doctrines of the Bible: that of the Trinity. And we shall discuss that next time. Messianic Studies Messianic Studies THE TEMPLE Where Did It Stand? Where Will It Be Rebuilt? Part 1 of a 2-part article By Harold A. Sevener From THE CHOSEN PEOPLE magazine -What will be the sign of your coming; when shall the end come?," the disciples hungrily questioned the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, concerning the unbelievable statements that He had just made regarding the Temple. They listened transfixed with awed expressions upon their faces as Jesus told them of coming future events; false messiahs, famines, and earthquakes. But a cold chill ran down their spines when Jesus mentioned the event that would most certainly start the end times countdown: the desecration of the Holy Place in Jerusalem. According to our Lord's words, the end of this age cannot come without the Holy of Holies being desecrated by abomination of desolation (Mat. 24:15). The disciples waited and watched for that event to take place in A.D. 70 when the armies of Titus surrounded the city of Jerusalem. Most of the believers fled Jerusalem, thinking that this surely was the fulfillment of Jesus' prediction regarding the Temple. However, this was not God's timing. Instead of desecrating the Temple, instead of erecting an abomination of desolation in the Holy Place, the armies of Titus ransacked the city of Jerusalem and the Temple area, setting the Temple buildings on fire. INTENSE FLAMES Tradition tells us that the flames were so intense the gold and silver adorning the Temple buildings melted and ran between the cracks of the rocks. When the fires were put out the Roman soldiers began dismantling the Temple buildings, extracting the gold, silver and other precious metals, thus fulfilling the words of Jesus that one stone would not be left upon another (Mat. 24:1,2). As shocking an event as this was it did not fulfill the prophecy concerning the abomination of desolation. Thus if this prophecy of Jesus is to be fulfilled, and the Holy of Holies is to be desecrated, there must be a Temple rebuilt in Jerusalem. The question is WHERE in Jerusalem? Every archaeologist and Bible scholar has his own pet theory about where the Temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Some say it must be located where the Dome of the Rock - one of the holiest sites in the Muslim world - now stands. Others theorize that it can be rebuilt a little to the north of the Dome of the Rock, over a site which is called the Dome of the Winds or Spirits or the Dome of the Letters. Which location is correct? Until a few years ago, no one could tell. But now there is new evidence and a tunnel which may very well establish, once and for all, the exact site of the Temple. To fully understand this new evidence we must first look at the Temple site in Solomon's day, in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, as well as in the days of Herod. The original site of the Temple was the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. King David purchased this floor to build an altar to the Lord, in order to stop the plague which David had brought upon the people by numbering his fighting men (2 Sam. 4:1-25; 1 Chr. 21:18-30). WHO OWNS THE TEMPLE SIGHT? Notice incidentally that Araunah wanted to GIVE David the threshing floor as a gift, but David refused. He insisted on paying for it. By doing so, this established title to this land and to this site. Thus, Israel holds title to the Temple site; not by conquest, not as a gift, but as a direct purchase. That title deed is still valid; it was never nullified nor transferred. The present occupation of the Temple site by the Muslims has been on the basis of conquest. Israel allows them to maintain their mosque and religious shrines on the Temple site in order to keep peace in the Middle East. But the Muslim world does not have a valid title deed to the Temple site, only Israel. Since David was a man of war, God did not allow him to build the Temple (I Kings. 5:3-6; 1 Chr. 22:1-10). He drew up the plans according to God's instructions but he told his son Solomon that he (Solomon) would build the Temple. NOT A HOUSE OF PRAYER Interestingly, the Temple building itself was not built to be a house of prayer, like synagogues or temples today. It was built to provide a house for the Ark of the Covenant. It was thus called the House of the Lord. As such, it did not need to be a large building, but it did need to be decorative, and glorious in splendor. The Temple, as Solomon built it, was unique in its construction. Its roof was not supported by pillars that stood in the center of the rooms as was the custom in that day. Instead, the cedar beams of the roof were stretched across its full width, thus giving an illusion of openness and great expanse. It was built as a rectangle, 90' long, 30' wide, and 45' high - much taller than most of the Canaanite temples of that day. Because of the pillars and ornamentation in front of the Temple, it was according to Talmud more massive in the front than in the rear, and resembled a lion crouching; thus symbolizing the lion of the tribe of Judah (Middoth IV, 7, p.20). The Temple building (hekel) was divided into two main parts: the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place. The Holy of Holies was located over a flat stone on the Temple Mount, upon which the Ark of the Covenant was placed (Tosefta & Yom Ha Kipurim III, 6, Yoma, Mishnah IV, 2). This foundation stone, upon which the Ark of the Covenant was placed, is called in Hebrew, "Even Shetiyah", meaning foundation stone. Evidently, this was a flattened high place upon the threshing floor of Araunah, which is an outcropping of Mount Moriah upon which the Temple was built. Now the question remains: Where is this foundation stone? Is it under the present Dome of the Rock; the same stone upon which the Muslims believe Muhammad ascended into heaven? There is no doubt about it. If this foundation stone were located we could immediately fix the site of the Holy of Holies and thus the Temple. But since this immensely significant stone may be obscured from view somewhere on the Temple Mount, are there any other remaining clues that might lead us to the Temple's location? PINPOINTING THE TEMPLE SITE To date no excavation has turned up even a fragment of the original hekel (temple building). But other structures that were built around the Temple have survived in one form or another. Since we know the approximate distance between these structures and the Temple, it is possible to pinpoint the Temple's location. The most substantial of these remaining structures are the walls that encompassed the Temple. Solomon was the first to build a great walled court around the Temple. He built a court and then an outer court around the Temple with gates facing toward the east, the north, the south, and the west. According to tradition, these gates were exactly opposite each other. Thus, Solomon's eastern gate looked directly into the eastern entrance of the hekel, its only entrance. This would have placed the western gate directly behind the Holy of Holies. As we mentioned previously, the locations of these gates in the court are very important. If we can locate these gates we can then locate the position of the Temple. Unfortunately, Solomon's temple along with these gates was destroyed in 586 B.C. by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar. Almost 50 years later, however, in 538 B.C. Cyrus issued a decree which allowed the Jewish people to return and rebuild the temple. There is no description of the construction of the temple which Zerubbabel built, but we do know that it was built directly over the site of Solomon's temple. Even the foundation stone remained a part of the Holy of Holies. When Antiochus IV Epiphanes came into power in 169 B.C., he broke into the temple and carried off all of its treasure. Two years later he erected the abomination of desolation on the altar, turning the building into a temple of Zeus. TEMPLE REDEDICATED The Temple was then recaptured by Judas Maccabaeus who claimed the Temple site and rededicated the altar, establishing the festival of Hanukkah (1 Maccabees 4:58; 2 Maccabees 1:9; 2:18; Jn. 10:22). Through the years the Temple Mount continued to be expanded and built up until it was the highest point in Jerusalem. But no one took on the job of renovating the temple with more zeal than Herod. In the eighteenth year of his reign, Herod decided to rebuild the temple. It took him 46 years to complete its construction (Jn 2:2). During the Herodian renovation, the area of the Temple Mount was doubled. This was accomplished by erecting gigantic supporting walls. These foundation stones can still be seen today at the Western (or Wailing) Wall. AN EMPTY HOLY OF HOLIES Herod positioned his new hekel (temple building) directly over the original site of Solomon's temple, once again placing the Holy of Holies over the foundation stone (Even Shetiyah). Of course, Josephus and Talmud both tell us the Holy of Holies was empty, the Ark of the Covenant having been lost in battle, carried off to Babylon and destroyed, or perhaps hidden away. The Mishnah tells us that Herod built five gates as entrances to the Temple Mount. Once again the positioning of these gates becomes very important. Like Solomon's temple and Zerubbabel's temple, Herod placed these gates exactly opposite each other. Thus, the eastern gate faced the only entrance into the temple and was directly opposite the western gate which stood behind the Holy of Holies. It is interesting that the archaeological record speaks of two gates and a bridge on the western side. According to Josephus, there were four gates on the west. The evidence seemed clear: the gates that were found on the west did not align with the eastern gate. Anyone using the western and eastern gates to locate the temple had reached an impasse. Then in June 1967 the Israelis conquered the city of Jerusalem and gained access to the Western Wall and the Temple Mount. They immediately began archaeological explorations around the Temple Mount. THE RABBIS' TUNNEL One of these excavations began around the Western Wall, commonly known as the Wailing Wall, which belonged to the court of Herod's temple. This excavation created what is today known archaeologically as the Rabbis' Tunnel. This tunnel is under the modern streets of the city of Jerusalem. It is almost 900 feet in length and was painstakingly dug by hand over the last few years, so as not to upset the delicate, uneasy truce between Jew and Arab over each other's holiest place. The tunnel now extends to the northwest corner of the Temple Mount. At that northwest corner one can see the bedrock of Mount Moriah and the carving away of the mountain so that the massive Herodian and Solomonic stones could be fitted into place to form the foundation for the Western Wall of the court of the Temple. Several of these foundation stones are almost 50 feet in length, six to eight feet in height, and weighing over 100 to 200 tons. They are fitted together so closely, and so evenly, that not even the slightest crack appears. A GREATER SURPRISE The discovery of these foundation stones was an exciting and important find. But a greater surprise awaited the grimy diggers, scholars and archaeologists. As the archaeologists excavated, building this underground tunnel, shoring up the buildings and streets of Jerusalem overhead, they came upon an amazing find! Several hundred feet into the tunnel they discovered a gate - an Herodian gate; that is, a gate that dates from the time of Herod. What made this gate unique was not only the fact that it dated from Herod's time, but it was a gate that was directly opposite the traditional eastern gate, which faces the Mount of Olives. This would then place this "new" gate directly behind the Holy of Holies. This article will continue in next month's issue of MORNING STAR, with a report on the Rabbis' Tunnel and how it locates the position of the Temple. The WORD for Today The WORD for Today In Hebrews 10:25 we read, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching." The responsibility of all Christians is to encourage one another. This series is intended to help provide some guidelines in the process of encouragement. The book, "Encouragement, the key to caring," by Lawrence J. Crabb, Jr., and Dan B. Allender, is recommended reading with the series. Each message can be read in conjunction with the related chapter in the book. The series can be used as the basis of a group study in your church. Please let us know if you find the material helpful, or if you have any questions or suggestions. The article presented here is the sixth of fourteen messages given by Pastor Geoff Kragen. They were presented at Foothill Bible Church in Lincoln, California. BEING A CHARACTER, OR HAVING CHARACTER "Encouragement is the kind of expression that helps someone want to be a better Christian, even when life is rough." (1) Can you think of an occasion in which you have been encouraged by someone? Keeping that situation in mind, what would you like to find in the encourager? As we read Scripture, we see several examples of people "encouraging" others. These examples can cause us to say, "Boy, I sure wouldn't want them helping me." Remember when Judas, seeing Mary washing Jesus' feet with that expensive ointment, said, "Why is she wasting that stuff? We could sell it and give the money to the poor." The problem with his comments? He was an embezzler. It seems that he had a character defect. When speaking of encouragement, the character quality of the encourager can be a real issue. Who we are before the Lord says quite a bit about how we can care for one another. In the last few issues of Morning Star, we have reviewed some factors needed to encourage. Most dealt with our attitudes and practices as believers, both individually and within the context of the body. We are part of the family of God, and therefore we cannot separate our personal actions from our involvement with the local Christian community. In this and the following article, our focus will be more individually directed. In three months we will start examining the process of encouragement and the steps necessary to enable that process. In this article, we will look at the area of Christian character. We are called to make disciples. This requires that we be disciples. Disciples move towards conformity to the image of their master. "It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!" (Matthew 10:25). The Lord moves in our lives to encourage that conformity. He gives us gifts and characteristics that help us to become more like the image of the creator. He helps us see those behaviors and perceptions that need to be changed. "But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator" (Colossians 3:8-10). To help us in the process, let's identify some specific fruit of the Spirit and characteristics of elders that should be found in our lives. These are chosen because they directly relate to our ability to encourage others. One demonstration of Christian character is the presence of the "Fruit of the Spirit" within the life of the believer. The fruit isn't something that we must build into our lives. It is something that is a product of our relationship with the Lord. The more we abide in Him, the more we will see the fruit in our lives. Here, I want to only focus on specific types of fruit that relate to our encouraging others. Let us look at Galatians 5:22-23 and the Fruit of the Spirit. These aren't qualities we can work on having in our lives. Instead the Fruit is put forth by the Holy Spirit as a product of the quality of our walk in dependency on Him. Those attributes which are beneficial in the encouragement process include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness. Self-control (prudence) and gentleness are also listed under qualifications of an elder and we will look at them in that section. Love is the most obvious of the qualities we find in the life of a God-dependent believer. Its presence is a testimony to faith. "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love" (1 John 4:8). The Greek word used for love here is agape. It can be understood as putting the needs of others ahead of our own. It is only in the practice of agape that we will can encourage someone without worrying about the need to be self-protected. Joy and peace are often looked at together because they are products of our dependency on the Lord. It is through our joy in the Lord and peace from Him that we can get involved in the sorrow and chaos in the lives of other believers. I would like to examine patience and kindness together. If we aren't patient, we certainly can't be kind. God gives us the gift of patience and kindness. These are necessary when we are given the opportunity to care for someone who drives us crazy and who won't change at the pace we think they should. As we are given patience, then we can express true kindness, treating others as God has treated us. He died for us, forgave us and blessed us with all abundance in Him. Next comes goodness. James Montgomery Boice describes it this way. "'Goodness' (agathosune) is hard to define, just as in English. However, though it is related to 'kindness,' it differs from it in being a more active term and being often directed toward that which does not merit the action. The primary idea seems to be generosity that springs from kindness." (2) The act of reaching out to others in the midst of their pain is an act of goodness. Finally, depending on the Holy Spirit, we can be faithful in our care of others. We will sometimes find that to encourage someone may not require a one-time encounter, but a long-term commitment. This is something we wouldn't naturally do. As God is faithful to us, we can be faithful to others. "God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful" (1 Corinthians 1:9). This fruit represents attributes of character that are manifested in the lives of believers. They are a product of abiding in Christ and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. These character traits are vital in the ministry of encouragement. Qualities that will be of benefit in encouragement and which can be developed in concert with the Lord are included among those listed for elders. These are identified as qualities for men in a specific office. But, if the Lord identifies them as standards for leadership, then clearly they represent qualities that we all should desire in our lives. These qualities are the outward manifestations of our practice of the "love commands," loving God and others. As we deal with one another within the body, and those around us outside the body, we can show the reality of these qualities within our lives. For this study, I will only touch on those qualities that can specifically relate to our desire to encourage others. Let us take a look first at the characteristics of an elder. 1 Timothy 3:1-7 identifies these qualities. The characteristics which seem most applicable to the work of encouragement include temperance, being prudent, able to teach, gentleness and not quarrelsome. These are especially helpful as we strive to care for one another. The first quality to be examined is temperance. Temperance doesn't refer to abstaining from the consumption of alcohol. Gene Getz defines this form of temperance as "a clear perspective on life and a correct spiritual orientation. ...a man who is temperate does not lose his physical, psychological, and spiritual orientation." (3) This balance is to be in all aspects of life, food, drink, exercise, work, ministry, spiritual truth and emotions as we relate to one another. It is much easier to care from others when we come from this balanced orientation. Prudence is especially important if we are to help others. Paul describes self-control this way. "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you" (Romans 12:3). Seeing ourselves accurately will help us keep a proper perspective on our own shortcomings. In this way we will be less inclined to be judgmental. We are called to have the ability to teach. I think in this context a better understanding would be to have the ability to handle the word. This is different from having the spiritual gift of teaching. A parallel would be the difference between all believers being called to evangelize and having the gift of evangelism. The basis of all that we do is the sufficiency of God's word used by the Holy Spirit. While we are not to bludgeon people with verses, we should use God's word in a constructive way, encouraging growth. This is why a significant part of our own lives must consist of growing in our understanding and handling of the Scripture. Gentleness is a characteristic that we normally identify with women. Here Paul contrasts it with violence. As such, he sees it as something that is desirable for both men and women. Gentleness is shown first, by what isn't practiced. A gentle person "is not quick tempered, not pugnacious, nor contentious. Rather he is a mild-mannered person characterized by meekness, forbearance, and kindness." (4) And men, lest you feel uncomfortable with exercising this quality, remember Jesus' words. "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5). If we are moving with love towards a hurting individual, we must be gentle with them. Christ showed the quality of gentleness when He instructed Peter to feed the sheep. Peter was unable to tell the Lord that he could deeply love Him. Instead of beating him about the head, Christ gently accepted what Peter could offer. (See John 21:15-19.) Finally, in caring for others we can't be quarrelsome. We are not called to straighten out the person we are working with. We are called to come alongside them. We need to be a support to them in their pain. We need to help them turn to the Lord to meet their needs. We will encourage them to bring their thoughts in line with God's truth. "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:1-2). Actually this passage is the best definition of what Biblical counseling should be. What we are not to do is become overwhelmed by frustration. For if we do, we may end up arguing with the person we are supposed to be helping. One characteristic that I would add to these, not from the passage, is discernment. Discernment is that dependency on the Holy Spirit that allows us to have understanding from God's perspective. This is extremely helpful in providing the wisdom to understand another person's needs and to help them more effectively. "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:10). Because we care about others and want to help them in their struggles, we need to take some action in our own lives. Ask the Lord to do what is necessary for your life to bring forth the Fruit of the Spirit in abundance. Continue to strive in dependency on Him to develop the characteristics of the elder that will allow you to effectively care for others. This requires a commitment to spending adequate time with the Lord in prayer and in His Word. It also means spending time in the company of other believers who are more mature than you. The real blessing that comes from encouraging others is seeing the Lord encourage and disciple us. 1. Crabb, Jr., Lawrence, J. and Allender, Dan B., "Encouragement-The Key to Caring," Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1984, p. 10. 2. Boice, James Montgomery, "The Expositor's Bible Commentary," Vol 10, Galatians, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1976, p.499. 3. Getz, Gene A., "The Measure of a Man," Regal Books, Ventura, CA, 1974, p. 38. 4. Ibid, p. 134. Prayer Guidelines Prayer Guidelines PRAYER AND PERSISTENCE Article 16 of the "Prayer and ..." Series By Michael Wilkinson "Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he cried out, saying, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!' Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, 'Son of David, have mercy on me!' So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, 'What do you want Me to do for you?' He said, 'Lord, that I may receive my sight.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.' And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God" (Luke 18:35-43). Faith means never giving up on the Lord. Faith is the opposite of doubt and discouragement. And, deciding to stop praying can lead us into faithlessness. The blind man on the road to Jericho knew this. His story is recorded in the Bible so we can know it too. The man cried out to the Lord. But, the crowd told him to stop. They "warned" him to be quiet. Our doubts and fears may do the same to us. We may think, "I don't know the right words to say," or "I have already prayed about that and nothing happened," or even "God doesn't care about me." "Have mercy on me," was the man's cry. This was no eloquent speech, no clever incantation, and no sales pitch. It was just a simple request, simply stated. Jesus' response was also simple. "What do you want me to do for you?" True, God may not answer our prayers when we want Him to, or in the manner we choose. Yet God is love. He loves us with the same love that sent His son to heal the blind man and die for our sins. And, God may be waiting for that next prayer we will pray, or for our faith to increase. He may want to teach us yet one more lesson in the state we are in. Or, He may want to give us something other than what we ask for. Something better in His sight. Persistence does not mean that we should repeat our prayers over and over thinking that, we will eventually pester God into giving us what we want. "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words" (Matthew 6:7). Persistence means never relinquishing the faith in the Lord that brings us to prayer in the first place. Therefore, let us continue to pray by faith. Let us never lose hope in God, in His goodness, or in the grace that He gives us. It is His grace which is sufficient for us. Remember that He called us to be His children. He is a father who loves His children. Therefore ... "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). SCUD Warnings SCUD Warnings S piritual C ounterfeits U ndermining D octrine W A R N I N G S By Jerry Johnson I'll be frank (even though I'm Jerry). This one was tough to decide on. Not because there weren't enough topics, but because there were too many. After all, Vernon Howell (AKA David Koresh) set a truly impressive example of what deception can accomplish. That could be worth a couple of columns alone. Then there was the abortionist who was murdered by a pro-lifer. (An oxymoron if I ever heard one.) Then there's the ongoing political pressure toward getting the military to say they want to act like they want to have gays in the military when they don't. And the mad rush to see what form of abortion America will pick for the next few years. Or the fact that I now actually know someone who believes Kingdom theology. (I'm planning to research it in the near future.) All in all, that's a lot of stuff for my tired brain to sort out right now. So I sat and just waited to see what the Lord might pop into my few remaining brain cells. And here it is. Very basic. Very true: The following is an excerpt from the introduction of Heinrich Von Mushy's new book, "Jezebel, Judas and Hitler Were Misunderstood": "You see, for years the name of people like Hitler, Judas and Benedict Arnold have been horribly maligned. Their names have been synonymous with treachery, cruelty and evil. These concepts are totally improper and outdated and belong to the age of the rack and pillory!" "We must understand that these were not evil people! These were sweet, caring, positive, good people who had simply mistakenly let the needs of their hearts be misdirected by the neglect of those around them. If only there had been a few people around them who truly understood how good they were and helped them to understand that truth, the world would be a very different place." "I spend lots of time in introspection and I've come to know that I, just as you and Hitler and Judas, are wonderful, caring, glorious specimens of society. Only when we allow others to define us do we get slightly off center ... and that's when we, in the midst of a society-induced fog, we choose less proactive ways to express our needs and desires." "That is what this book will explore: how Jezebel was simply a neglected wife, how Hitler was compensating for not having a consistent male role model, how Benedict was simply trying to keep his fellow countrymen from continued harm and how Judas was simply trying to raise a few bucks." "It's simply a case of good people being misdirected by a corrupt society." That has always confused and amused me. How can people be good, yet the society that is composed of all these good people be corrupt and evil? Where did all that bad stuff come from, if not from the participants? And then there's the simple introspective realization that if I'm a little too tired, or a little too hungry, or have been cut off by one too many people on the freeway, what bubbles up from my insides is not what I'd define as "good" ... quite the contrary. I get irritated, I get grouchy, I get self serving, I basically turn into a jerk. And quite easily I freely admit. It's probably an extension of the new self-esteem theology combined with a bit of unlimited human potential mentality combined with one large chunk of "I don't want to feel bad about myself" that has helped to create an increasingly popular misbelief ... that man is basically good. I recently brought up that idea to a group of singles that I work with, and when I asked that if, looking at their history and intimately knowing their inmost thoughts, would they define themselves as essentially "good." They all answered, "No." "But what's the purpose in making people feel bad about themselves or believe the worst about themselves, aren't you just propagating that concept ... and what about when people do heroic things in the midst of disasters ... doesn't that prove that people are basically good?" I didn't say that people are incapable of good. But I do strongly believe that people are first, foremost and ultimately motivated by sin until such a time that they accept Christ as Lord and Savior and the Holy Spirit gets access to their hearts, mind and motivations. Also, I'm a bit of a literal person and it always has made more sense to me to admit that what is true is true. I've known many wonderful people, none of which show evidence of a sinless life, which is what would be needed in order to be truly, basically good. Before I put out a few verses that clearly state that we are not all that wonderful and irresistible, I'd like to expose the dangers of believing that we are basically good. "Oh, right! Now you're going to try to tell me that it's wrong for me to say people are basically good?!" That's right, because they're not. First. If I were to tell you that it has been statistically proven that all people are truly, essentially good you would, like anyone else, stop to see if you believe you measure up. The trouble is, you know all the times you've had improper attitudes, all the times you've lusted, or cheated on your taxes, or "misrepresented" something, or checked out some porno, or were short or rude to someone in your family, or thought of your own needs before someone else's, or, or, or ... All of the sudden, if you're even slightly honest with yourself, you must come to the point of questioning whether you truly measure up to the goodness of all those other people around you who seem to have it together better than you do. Suddenly, you're not basically good. You're basically a failure and a fake. Doesn't exactly make you feel good does it? "Oh, as if admitting I'm a rotten person makes me feel like dancing?!" No, but at least you're starting with reality, not a fantasy. And the trouble is, if you start with a fantasy and try to build your life around it, you just end up with a deception. A good example of this is the modern teaching of "values clarification." If you haven't had the not-so-rare privilege of participating in a class like this (please note, that last phrase is to be read DRIPPING with sarcasm), what you've missed is rather interesting. The operating assumption, whether or not it is clearly stated, is that man is basically good, so that any situation that forces you to make choices BASED ON YOUR OWN INSTINCTS will bring out what you believe, clarify it for you and validate it. Once more, we're back to Genesis 3 and being told we will be like god. This game is commonly played using the role playing game of "lifeboat" where you have to dump a person out to die every few minutes. The "fun" part is that each persons pleads the case of why they should live, then everyone votes who to throw out next. Oh, yeah, that would really make me feel good about myself!! (And, yes, I have done that role play in grad school psych classes.) It is just so much fun to have a group of people pass a death sentence on you because they didn't like your reason for living. The value I learned was that I wouldn't want to be on a lifeboat with them! If we are supposed to be "good" by nature, but we repeatedly fail to live up to our goodness, then we are put into a situation of trying to live up to our goodness. Salvation by works, in other words. Here are just a couple of verse to consider: Genesis 6:5 "... every inclination of (man's) thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time." I Kings 8:46 "... for there is no one who does not sin ... " Psalm 53:3 " ... there is no one who does good, not even one." Isaiah 64:6 " ... all our righteous acts are like filthy rags ... " Romans 3:23 " ... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." I John 1:8 "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and truth is not in us." Isaiah 53:6 "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, EACH OF US HAS TURNED TO HIS OWN WAY." You see, that's the biggest issue in the "man is basically good" debate ... what do you mean by good? Most people usually come to the vague conclusion that people don't usually intend to do harm to others; therefore, they are good. But that isn't how God defines good. Isaiah 53 defines the issue: each of us has turned to his own way. Just as Adam and Eve chose to do what they wanted regarding the tree, so we, from our infancy, choose what we want above what God wants. If you don't believe that, work with two-year olds for a while. Their favorite words are "no" and "mine." If we believe we are "basically good" then any honestly introspective person must come to the conclusion they fall short and suddenly they must work to prove themselves. If man is "basically evil" but God doesn't intervene, then we have an honest, but totally depressing, hopeless view. If people are "basically evil," but there is an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, loving God that wishes to pay the price our sin demands, then we have hope because, without God, we are unable to fix ourselves, but with God doing all the tough stuff and being more than capable of pulling it off, we have deliverance and salvation. It may simply be our ego that wants to declare that we "really aren't that bad," but I find that it is very comforting to believe that the sin I see in my life is real. That I, of myself, am incapable of raising myself out of the muck, but that God has chosen to lift me out by His power. I find joy and much comfort in those truths. It's much easier than trying to live up to a lie because, believe me, I'm not basically good. And neither are you. Christian Life Anee M'Amin Anee M'Amin WAR AND PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST By Lori Baron From the JEWS FOR JESUS Newsletter I stood next to the radio, listening to news about the Persian Gulf war. Scud missiles had just landed in Tel Aviv. My heart began to pound and my mind raced as I tried to absorb the facts. I had taken part in a recent month long evangelistic campaign in Israel. The sights and sounds of the Land were still fresh in my mind, as were the faces of the people I had met. I recalled a sea of faces on the beaches of Eilat and in the streets of Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem-a multicolored fabric of people from many lands around the world, all of them Jewish, and all of them "secure" within the borders of the Jewish homeland. Most of the faces were friendly and smiling, and the people had readily entered into conversations with us "strangers" from America. Some of the smiles had changed to frowns when their owners heard that we believed in Y'shua. Yet, for the most part, even the skeptical had invited us to tell them more, and many had accepted gospel tracts and books translated into Hebrew. I still remember the nights that our group strolled up and down the boardwalk in Tel Aviv, entering into discussions with people about the Messiah. Groups of Russian Jews sat together and carried on lively discussions in Russian, and they were often the most open to our message of Y'shua. Soldiers were great listeners too. We met them at their guard posts, as they hitchhiked along the side of the road, as they traveled in trucks and as they went to work at the central military base in Tel Aviv. They were always friendly and willing to read something-a Hebrew New Testament, a tract, even a Hebrew translation of "The Late Great Planet Earth." "Do you think there will be a war?" I asked Yitzhak, one soldier I met on Ben Yehudah Street in Jerusalem. "Of course," was his typical reply. "And what will happen then?" I asked. "Are you afraid?" "Ha!" he laughed, "Israelis are not afraid of war. We have been attacked so many times since 1948 that we expect it. It is part of life." "Well," I said, "I am a Jew from the United States, and I believe that Jesus is the Messiah." "Jesus?" he responded incredulously, and looked at me again. "You are Jewish?" "Of course," I laughed. "And I really believe that our Scriptures tell us that Jesus is Messiah. He came to give us a new heart and a new spirit-to give us peace." "I don't believe it," he said confidently. "I am not religious. I don't believe in that or in God." "So, what do you believe in?" I asked. "I believe in myself, my country-that is enough." I said, "Yitzhak, the reason that Israel and the Jewish people exist today is because of God! There have been many 'Saddam Husseins' in our history who have tried to destroy us, and look! We're still here. God promised that he would never let us be destroyed. And he promised that he would send us a Messiah who would die for our sins so that we could have new life. Can I show you?" I read to him in Hebrew from Isaiah 53: "Kulanu katzon ta'inu, ish l'darko paninu, va'adonai hifgiya bo et avon kulanu." (All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way, and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.) "That is in Tanach (the Hebrew Scriptures)?" Yitzhak asked. "Yes! Here, let me give you this," I held out a copy of the New Testament in Hebrew. "That is for me?" he asked. "Yes, and since you are in the army," I added, "you might like this." I gave him a copy of "The Late Great Planet Earth" in Hebrew. "This is about the state of Israel and what will happen in the coming wars." "Very interesting," he said, examining the book. "I will be happy to read this." He gave me his address for further contact, and I continued on to talk to more Israelis. I've been thinking a lot lately about Yitzhak and the many others to whom I was able to talk and give literature. I hope and pray that they have read their books and Bibles and are right now considering the message of Y'shua. I pray that many of them have discovered that they can have peace with God through Y'shua now, regardless of what is happening between people and between nations. And I look forward to the time of peace predicted by the prophet: "... and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (Isaiah 2:4b). Let's all pray for God's permanent peace in the Middle East and for God's salvation for Jews and Arabs through the Prince of Peace, the Messiah Jesus. Ministry Focus Ministry Focus YOUR JOB SKILLS ARE NEEDED ... WHERE? IN CHRISTIAN SERVICE ... Intercristo Christian Placement Network Did you know that there are over 8,000 nonprofit Christian organizations (excluding churches of course) in the United States? Did you know that these ministries recruit staff in over 200 different occupational categories, from accountants to veterinarians, from administrators to mechanics, from broadcast engineers to social workers, and everywhere in between! And did you know there is one place where you can locate current job leads in Christian service that match your background, geographic, and vocational preferences? If you find these statements surprising and interesting, then you'll want to read on and find out more about Intercristo, one of the few national and international employment information networks that really works. Since 1967, Intercristo has been assisting Christian ministries in recruiting staff and helping Christians, interested in ministry-related employment, to explore job leads they might never find on their own. What about results? Well, every workday at least two job seekers find a position in Christian service as a result of the job leads supplied by Intercristo. Over the years, approximately one in every twenty subscribers to Intercristo's Christian Placement Network makes a move into ministry. How does it work? Simple. You call Intercristo's toll-free number (800-426-1342) and request a Christian Placement Network personal profile. In a few days, you'll receive this easy-to-complete profile. You choose the vocational codes, geographic preferences, and levels of work experience that are appropriate for you. Return your completed profile along with your three-month subscription fee of $41.50, and you'll begin receiving your first of four reports within days. Each report will give you the necessary information for contacting the ministry openings you were matched to. Likewise, many of the organizations listing positions with Intercristo may receive your information and contact you as well. That's basically how the network works! Should you choose to extend your subscription for another three months, the cost is only $16.50! And now for our most commonly asked questions: Should I use Intercristo to find a job in my city or county? Probably not. Approximately 85% of our placements relocate when accepting a position. We are not your best resource for local job hunting. How can you offer this kind of service so inexpensively? We rely solely on public service advertising to promote our services. (This article is one example.) Plus, we work very hard at controlling our costs. Since you are a ministry, why do you charge for your services? We believe that the kind of service we offer is best subsidized through modest subscription fees rather than taking donations that could go for more "frontlines" ministry needs. Are you an employment agency? We are a job-referral service. Employment agencies set job interviews and charge significant fees for placements. We do not arrange job interviews and charge no fees when subscribers find positions through our service. Can you actually make a living in working for a Christian ministry? That depends on the ministry and the income level you require. Ministries vary in their philosophy and ability to compete with marketplace wage and salary expectations. Some ministries will surprise you, others may prove disappointing in this area. Do most of your jobs require me to go out and raise my own financial support? Of the over 18,000 job openings in our data base, day in and day out, approximately 50% are overseas positions. The majority of these openings require you to raise all or part of your financial support. The other 50% of our openings are in the United States, and the majority of these openings are expenses-paid or salaried positions. How many job matches will I receive? We cannot guarantee a number of matches. It all depends on positions currently available during your subscription. We do refund your subscription fee if we are not able to match you to any current openings. Whether you are just starting out your career, finding yourself desiring more purpose in work, or just exploring the possibilities of using your job skills in Christian Service, Intercristo can be a valuable, one-of-a-kind, resource. For more information call Intercristo toll free at 800-426-1342, or write to: Intercristo 19303 Fremont Ave. N. Seattle, WA 98133 Education Education CREATION: 1 - EVOLUTION: 0 By Dr. Paul A. Kienel, Executive Director Association of Christian Schools International As you know, there is a vigorous seesaw battle for the minds of students, elementary through college, on the issue of creation vs. evolution. The public school community is committed to the idea that God and science are like oil and water. They do not mix. Public school educators teach and some of them believe that men and women evolved over millions of years from primeval slime. They believe this in spite of the fact that there is no known fossil anywhere in the world that shows a creature in transition from one species to another. Science is based on verifiable facts. Why, then, do public school science teachers and professors insist on presenting the theory of evolution as science? Why? Because the only rational alternative is that God created the world and everything in it including mankind. If public school educators were to step over the line from their irrational position to the more rational position that God created all things, they would then be forced to give credibility to the Bible and ultimately their non-Christian education would give way to Christian education. Evolution, as unreasonable and unscientific as it is, represents to non-Christian educators an acceptable wall of protection which keeps religion, the Bible, and God at arm's length from the nation's non-Christian schools. Public school educators, of course, will not admit to any such wall but nonetheless their unseen wall exists. Courageous Christians, on the inside of the public school system, have made several attempts to penetrate the pro-evolution wall and found it as impenetrable as the former Berlin Wall in Germany. The nation's battering ram, if you will, jarring the seemingly impenetrable walls of evolution, has been Dr. Henry Morris. His graduate school known as the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) in Santee, California near San Diego has been the talk of the scientific community. As you would expect, the talk has been negative but not from the standpoint of academics. The eleven professors at ICR all hold Ph.Ds in science from major universities. Evolutionists, writing in scientific journals, have lamented the fact that the State of California has recognized the graduate degrees offered by ICR. Dr. Henry Morris and his professors present the biblical account of creation as solid science. "How can the State of California let this stand?," they asked. Two years ago California's State Superintendent of Public Instruction Bill Honig, a strong evolutionist, set about to "correct the problem." By means of personal intervention he convinced one member of a visiting team of professors visiting ICR for state approval, to change his vote from yes to no. The professor had voted with the majority to approve ICR. Without state approval the graduate degrees in biology, geology, astrogeophysics, and science education offered by the Institute for Creation Research were no longer valid. The action nearly forced the closure of ICR. After considerable prayer and consultation with others, Dr. Morris and his colleagues filed a lawsuit in federal court to counter the state's infringement on ICRs academic and religious freedoms. Thankfully, the outcome was favorable. In fact, it is a remarkable victory, not only for ICR but for all Christian educational institutions at every grade level. When it became clear to Bill Honig and to the California State Department of Education that Dr. Henry Morris would likely win his case in the United States District Court, Bill Honig and the state settled out of court. There was a sizeable cash settlement plus an agreement to two important education policies: 1) Private colleges in California meet state educational standards when they teach from a Christian perspective. 2) Private K-12 schools are not within the jurisdiction of the state department of education, as far as state approval of their curriculum content is concerned, and are free from state regulation, except as otherwise may be provided by law. These agreements represent valuable legal precedents for Christian schools at all levels in every state. A recent ICR press release read, "Because this judgment is in a federal court, it has far-reaching effects that could be helpful to private schools in other states who are encountering opposition to their course content, especially when teaching science within a creationist framework." I thank God for Henry Morris who had the courage to insist on these agreements in the out-of-court settlement. I am sure you share my gratitude to Dr. Morris for including elementary and secondary schools in his moment of high leverage with the State of California. If you would like more information about this historic case or about the good work of ICR, please write to: Dr. Henry Morris, President, Institute for Creation Research, 10946 Woodside Avenue North, Santee, California 92071-3272 or call Mark Looy 619-448-0900. I close with this promise from the Scriptures, "... we should not trust in ourselves but in God ... in whom we trust that He will deliver us." (II Corinthians 1:9-10) Music Music KEEP LOOKING UP (HE'S COMING AGAIN) By Dale E. Strand Keep looking up, He's coming again! Keep looking up, I don't know just when; He will break the clouds of glory On that glad reunion morning, Keep looking up, He's coming again! Everything around us points to Christ's returning. It is nearer now than when we first believed. And we want our lives to count each day for Jesus, And we praise Him for the blessings we've received. Keep looking up, He's coming again! Keep looking up, I don't know just when; He will break the clouds of glory On that glad reunion morning, Keep looking up, He's coming again. Don't let man's opinion change your way of thinking. Christ is coming back just as the Bible said! Are you one of us who looks for His appearing? Keep your eyes on Jesus, you won't be misled. Keep looking up, He's coming again! Keep looking up, I don't know just when; He will break the clouds of glory On that glad reunion morning, Keep looking up, He's coming again. (c) Dale E. Strand, Yielded Vessel Ministries The hope for Christians everywhere, is the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ! This song was written to reinforce that glorious fact and to challenge God's people to "check up" and make sure they're ready to meet Him. TURN IT ALL OVER TO JESUS By Dale E. Strand I'm gonna turn it all over to Jesus And let Him work it out His way. I'm gonna turn it all over to Jesus, Trusting Him for strength each day. I'm gonna turn it all over to Jesus, It's in His hands, though come what may. When things are troubling me I get down on my knees And turn it all over to Jesus. Jesus told us we should cast our cares upon Him. Lay aside each worry, trouble, fear and doubt. Since we know He is concerned with every detail of our life, We should put our trust in Him and let Him work it out. I'm gonna turn it all over to Jesus And let Him work it out His way. I'm gonna turn it all over to Jesus, Trusting Him for strength each day. I'm gonna turn it all over to Jesus, It's in His hands, though come what may. When things are troubling me I get down on my knees And turn it all over to Jesus. There's a peace that comes with trusting Him completely. It's so reassuring knowing that He cares. Through the years He's proven every day He knows what's best for me, And He leads me on to victory through the tempter's snares. I'm gonna turn it all over to Jesus And let Him work it out His way. I'm gonna turn it all over to Jesus, Trusting Him for strength each day. I'm gonna turn it all over to Jesus, It's in His hands, though come what may. When things are troubling me I get down on my knees And turn it all over to Jesus. (C) Dale E. Strand, Yielded Vessel Ministries Even though the scriptures teach, "be anxious for nothing", it seems that God's people sometimes have a difficult time NOT worrying about something. They take their burdens to the altar and tell the Lord about them, then get up, swing their bag of burdens back on their shoulders, and walk off -- to worry about them some more. I guess I've been blessed because I never seem to worry. I've found it's so much more beneficial to trust the Lord. In the process of thinking this through, I wrote this song to challenge believers to cast their cares upon the Lord. He knows far better than we, how to work our problems and concerns out to the betterment of our salvation. Editor's Note: The music for the lyrics above can be obtained by contacting, Dale E. Strand 6817 Cedar Lane Dublin, CA 94568 Chef's Corner Chef's Corner PEACHES - sometimes called "THE QUEEN OF FRUITS," deserve their popularity throughout the world. Traced back to China, the peach made its way to Europe through Persia and was first known as the "Persian apple." The Spanish planted peach seeds in America in the 15th century, and 500 years later we are still enjoying this sweet, succulent fruit. SPICED PEACHES: Combine 2 cups water, 1 1/4 cups sugar, and 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Add 3 1/2 pounds, ripe peaches, peeled, cut in half and pitted; return to a boil. Remove from heat. Place 1 cinnamon stick and 1 whole clove in each of four hot wide mouth pint jars. Immediately ladle peaches and syrup into each jar, leaving 1/2-inch headspace at the top. Carefully run a non-metallic spatula down inside of jars to remove air bubbles. Wipe jar tops and threads clean. Place hot lids on jars; screw bands on firmly. Process in boiling water canner for 20 minutes. (For quart jars, double ingredients and increase processing time by 5 minutes.) Yield 4 pint jars. PEACH BUTTER: In blender or food processor container, puree 10 cups peeled, pitted, sliced ripe peaches (about 5 pounds). In 6 to 8 quart saucepot over medium-high heat, heat 1/3 cup bottled lemon juice for 1 minute. Add peaches and 4 cups sugar; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium; cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is the consistency of thick applesauce (about 20 minutes). Immediately ladle into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace at the top. Wipe jar tops and threads clean. Place hot lids on jar; screw bands on firmly. Process in boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Yield: 7 half-pint jars or 3 to 4 pint jars. FRESH PEACH SORBET: In blender or food processor container, puree 4 cups peeled, pitted, sliced ripe peaches ( about 2 pounds). In large saucepan, combine 2 1/4 cups sugar, 2/3 cup orange juice, and 1/3 cup bottled lemon juice. Over medium heat, cook and stir until sugar dissolves; remove from heat. Stir in pureed peaches. Pour peach mixture into 13x9-inch baking pan; freeze until firm. In blender or food processor container, blend half of frozen peach mixture until light and fluffy, approximately 1 minute. Repeat with remaining peach mixture. Spoon mixture into half-pint decorated jelly jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace at the top. Wipe jar tops and threads clean. Place lids on jars; screw bands on firmly. Freeze until firm. Yield: 7 half-pint jars. MICROWAVE: Puree peaches as above. In 4-quart microwave-safe dish, combine sugar, orange juice and bottled lemon juice. Cook on 100% power (HIGH) 5 to 8 minutes, or until sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. Proceed as above. Microwave ovens vary in wattage and power output; cooking times may need to be adjusted. PEACH-PINEAPPLE CONSERVE: In 6 to 8 quart saucepot, combine the following: 4 cups peeled, pitted, thinly sliced ripe peaches (about 2 pounds), 4 cups sugar, 1 (20-ounce) can crushed juice-pack pineapple, undrained, 1 (10-ounce) jar maraschino cherries and juice, optional, 1 cup raisins, 1/2 cup chopped nuts, and 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice. Over high heat, bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium; continue boiling, stirring constantly until mixture thickens (about 20 minutes). Immediately ladle into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace at the top. Wipe jar tops and threads clean. Place hot lids on jars; screw bands on firmly. Process in boiling water canner for 15 minutes. Yield: 7 half-pint jars or 3 to 4 pint jars. PEACH JAM: In 6 to 8 quart saucepot, stir together 4 cups peeled, pitted, finely chopped ripe peaches (about 2 pounds), 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice, and 1 (1 3/4-ounce) package fruit pectin. Over high heat, bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Quickly add 5 1/2 cups sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil; boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; skim foam if necessary. Immediately ladle into hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace at the top. Wipe jar tops and threads clean. Place hot lids on jars; screw bands on firmly. Process in boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Yield: 7 half-pint jars. Praise and Prayer Praise and Prayer PRAISE AND PRAYER is our international prayer link column. Send your praise report or prayer request to MORNING STAR for publication in our next issue. Call on your brothers and sisters worldwide and together we will call on God! PRAISE REPORTS: MORNING STAR magazine is now available on the DELPHI network! Dominic from California praises God that after 14 months, he got a job teaching, which is his first love. Bruce from Texas was promoted to District Manager in his company and is being transferred back to his home town of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Praise the Lord! Philip in Arkansas thanks the Lord that his mom, Marie, is home from the hospital. She is weak and needs help walking, but her progress after surgery is very good. Thank the Lord that Don in Florida is fully recovered from an operation. Thank the Lord that Gail in Washington has recovered from her surgery. Chuck from Massachusetts praises God that a small but respected book publisher is considering a book he is writing. Continue to pray that the publisher shows an interest and gives him an advance to live on while the book is being written. Spencer from New York will be leaving the Marine Corps and wants to enroll in a seminary. Pray that the Lord will direct his path for the future. Steven in California thanks the Lord for his new home and church. Dale in Maryland praises the Lord for the protection of his wife during a fire in a building where she works. Dennis in Kansas praises the Lord for blessing his family with a third son weighing 9 pounds 13 oz. Pastor Geoff Kragen in California thanks the Lord for solving a difficult situation at his Church. Continue to pray for Sepher Counseling Ministries as the case load continues to grow both in numbers and difficulty. Also pray for the ministry's financial needs. PRAYER REQUESTS: Pray for brother Steve Paulovich in New Hampshire who has very high blood pressure. Pray for Danny from Texas who is getting his MA and looking for a different job. Pray for his financial needs too. Pray that the Lord will help Don in Pennsylvania to get a new start in life. He has just been acquitted at a murder trial. Paul in Michigan asks for prayer for his back pain. He was hurt on his job. Bill, a high school teacher in Vermont asks for prayer for all the students who will graduate this year, their families and teachers. After a long and difficult year, Bill is candidating for a new job and covets our "prayerful" support. David in Virginia asks for prayer for his Aunt Alice in Washington D.C. Pray for her and for the right time to minister the Lord to her. Pray for Mae in Florida who is having several health problems. Pray for Spencer's friend's wife in New York who is currently under treatment for heart disease. Pray for Crystal who is dying of diabetes induced infection in the bones of her leg. She refuses amputation and will die very soon if God does not intervene. Pray for her salvation most of all. Dale in Maryland will be attending an intensive 3 day schooling for Network and systems administration in NYC. Pray for him. He also asks for prayer for their music ministry at church as there is tension between the Pastor and members of this ministry. Pray for a gentleman in Virginia who has sponsored a black-citizen's initiation into the Vienna Moose Lodge and is receiving death threats. Pray for the Governor of Connecticut. He would not sign a National Prayer Day proclamation. Pray for David in Virginia who needs the Lord to send some Christian friends into his life at this time for support. Denise in Florida asks prayer for her husband who was just laid off from work. Cheryl in Indiana asks us to pray for N.K. who has an unspecified cancer and is undergoing testing with possible surgery in the near future. Also pray for Cheryl regarding additional job opportunities. Yosh in Texas is seeking the Lord's direction concerning a personal relationship. He also asks prayer for his college Christian organization and a decision concerning his church membership. Lyman in Mississippi asks for prayer as his brother Cary is going on tour on a naval vessel that will be in the Persian Gulf. Deanne in Texas asks us to pray for one of her students, Rosalie, who attempted suicide. Pray for the entire family. Continue to pray for Kenny and Peg in Pennsylvania who need the Lord's help with problem situations involving their two teenage daughters. Kevin in Texas asks us to pray for his friend Carol who he is witnessing to. Ray asks for prayer for a friend Bill, his wife Kim, and their family. About 9 months ago Kim was told she had cancer in the brain and the tumor was inoperable. All prayed as she had radiation treaments and the cancer became dormant! She is now facing cancer in her legs so let's all pray for this situation. Eleven people from Las Vegas are on a mission trip for the next 10 days to Alma Ata, Kazakhstan in former USSR. Please pray for them as they witness the love of Jesus to Muslims and also encourage the believers there. Brother Ron Elkin of AMMI Ministry in Pennsylvania asks prayer for a three city witnessing campaign; Philadelphia (June 7-11), Atlantic City (June 14-18), and Pittsburgh (June 19-26). Anyone interested in helping should call AMMI's office at 1-800-922-AMMI (2664) for more information. Pray also for the new branch office in Pittsburgh. Pray for salvation for the following unsaved Jewish people: Sam S., Ellen B.,Boris B., Marie B., Nate R., and Norma R. Mark in Richmond, Virginia needs the Lord's help in getting a job. Patrick in California asks prayer for a physical on Friday. Pray for Bill in Vermont, who is going for an interview this week for a job and expects another interview in a week. Pray that the Lord will have His way in Bill's life. Karen from Virginia asks for prayer for T.L., a 16 year old girl in Oklahoma. She went back to the youth group and church, but needs to ask Jesus into her heart. Pray for Bill in California, who needs peace and guidance from the Lord. Kerry in Washington asks for prayer for her friend Don. He needs salvation and to turn all his problems over to the Lord. Chuck in Pekin, Illinois asks for prayer for Pastor Gene Gilmore, who is reaching out to unsaved youth in the city. Pray for Dominic in California who is starting a new teaching job and asks the Lord to lead him in all that he does. Rick in California asks us to pray for his consulting business which is having difficulties. Donna in New York also needs prayer for her business. Dee in Texas asks prayer for wisdom as she has been made leader of a care group ministry, at her church. Anita in New York asks prayer as she takes on a second job to meet financial needs. She is concerned about having enough time with her daughter, Amanda. John in California asks prayer for his friend Pat and his girl friend Lisa who are planning to get married. Lisa's mother is a medium and a witch. Pray for the mother's salvation and for protection, wisdom and discernment for Pat and Lisa. Denise in Florida asks us to pray for a friend Lucy who has an 18 year son, Tim, who is failing almost every subject in school. Mike in New Jersey asks for prayer for guidance as he embarks on a change of career after 14 years with his last job. Antonio in New Jersey asks for continued prayer for his sister Lucy and her husband in Tampa, Florida. They are in need of income as they are both out of jobs. REQUESTS FROM FOREIGN LANDS ... Mehdi Dibaj has suffered torture and hardship in prison for his faith in Christ in Iran. Please pray for his swift release, that he will be a good witness for Christ while imprisoned, and for his children Isa, Yousef, Maryam, and Fereshteh. Pastor Matta Boush is imprisoned for preaching Christ to SPLA (Sudanese People's Liberation Army) guerrillas in his home. Pray that he will be strengthened, for his church, his family and for an early release. Five Christian businessmen are in jail in Egypt for answering a simple question about their faith in Jesus Christ: Robert Cunningham from Massachusetts, Brain Eckheart from Iowa, Richard Dugan from Indiana, Thomas Martin from New Zealand and Abdel Hamid Adel Masab from Egypt. Keep our missionary brother in Egypt, arrested for preaching the Gospel, in prayer. The Egyptian Government has not filed charges and the old trial date of April has as a result been postponed. President Clinton was asked to request that this issue be addressed in his recent meeting with Egyptian President Mubarik. He did not follow thru on the request but Secretary of State Warren Christopher did address the issue with the ambassador of Egypt. Fifteen Senators also have signed and forwarded a letter stating their request that this issue be resolved. Christian leaders are hoping that the house committee covering foreign appropriations will stipulate the favorable resolve of this issue as a contingency for future funding from the United States of America. Continued prayer is needed. The muslim nations are one of the last major strongholds which need the light of the gospel. The ability of missionaries to share the good news in these areas is something which will require God's intervention. Christian believers in China had a meeting broken up by police. Many were beaten severely. This was on the evening of 27 March 1993. Pray for the family of a 22-year old man, Lai Manping, who was severely beaten and died from his injuries. Subsequently during April approximately 90 Christians have been detained by police in the area. Please pray for their protection as they are in danger of further ill-treatment and torture. May they be good witnesses for our Lord Jesus. Pray for these bible distributors in China: David, Aaron, Ko, Dorcas and Timothy. Pray for these believers imprisoned in China due to faith in Christ: Ding Hai, Xu Guoxing, Song Yude, Pei Zhongxun, Zhu Mei, Caleb, and Rebecca. Pray also for Aaron Longwe and James WilkieIn in Malawi who are in prison for faith in Jesus and for these people imprisoned due to uncompromising faith in Christ in Vietnam: Tran Mai, Tran Dinh Ai, Ri Mamloan, Dinh Thien Tu, Ne Then Phuog, Dan Van Sung, r'Han Boi, Tran Xuan Tu, Ha Wan, and Ha Hak. Remember the three Messianic Jewish families in Israel facing deportation (the Kendalls, Beresfords and Speakmans). Believers all around the world are interceding and fasting for them. Join them in prayer for the Lord's will to be done in this situation! Sha'alu Shalom Yerushalayim! - Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem. (Psalm 122:6a) Potpourri Potpourri THE HILL By Bob Anderson March 4, 1986 While walking down this rocky road, I'd often slip and fall, Because the way was rough and steep, And burdens were not small. You see, the load I carried then, Grew much greater every day. But this was just my lot in life - I knew no other way. A man came and walked beside me, Who said there is a place - To lay all of life burdens down, And taste of peace and grace. "Where is this fabled wonderland, And how might I get there?" I scoffed at this poor dreamer's tale - While tasting of life's fare. "You have to walk another path", Was all he'd ever say. "You turn around and climb the hill, There is no other way." I viewed the hill he pointed to, And felt a sudden dread. It was a steep and cruel hill; It was a hill of death. "No, there must be a better way, Than climbing up that hill. I'll seek my fortune downward, In the valley find my fill." The valley looked far better, Than that dreadful, deadly hill. Its streams and flowers called me, As I stumbled towards its fill. But my burden grew more heavy, As I dwelt in that low land. The streams all turned to bitter, And the flowers turned to sand. "I'll seek my solace elsewhere, In the forest, on the shore." But the forest could not hide me - And the sea soon became lorn. "Alas, is there no comfort , For a weak and weary man? Is there no place that I can turn , To find a helping hand?" And then I thought about that man , That pointed out the way. And turning 'round I viewed the hill, And felt a brief dismay. The hill was cruel and dark and steep, But straining at my load, I open'd the gate and climbed the hill, Along a narrow road. I reached the top and raised my eyes, And then I saw the Man - Who spoke to me along the way, And told to me the plan. He hung upon a cruel cross, And as I gazed at Him, He said "I'll bear your burden now, I've paid for all your sin." And as I fell down to my knees, I felt a sweet release. My burden tumbled from me, And there was a sudden peace. The road still is not easy, As I live from day to day, But I have found a freedom, As I walk along the way. And when I meet a traveller, Who bears his burden still, I point them to a cross, That stands upon a rugged hill. No man is poor who has had a godly mother. - Abraham Lincoln Man's impossibilities are simple errands for God. God loves you and me - Let's love each other. Be life long or short, Its completeness depends on what it is lived for. Unless one drinks now of the "Water of Life", He will thirst forever! If you aim for nothing, You're sure to hit it. The Christian's future is as bright as the promises of God. Circumstances do not make a man, They reveal what he's made of. When God saves us, All our sins are forgiven, forgotten, forever! International Mission field Mission Field MOSCOW INSTEAD OF MIAMI! By: Joseph A. Nigro Straight Path Ministries I leaned back into my chair and asked the Lord to show me His will. All my mission plans to Miami were going down the drain very quickly and I decided that instead of getting frustrated, I would wait for God's direction. The Lord impressed upon my heart once again, "Cease striving and know that I AM God" (Psalm 46:10). I knew that He had other things in store for me, but I was not so sure what they were. I had been invited to eat dinner at Steve and Sophia Schmalz's house and I went anticipating to hear of their plans to go to Russia with Revival Fires Ministries. When they asked me to go, I hesitated at first. I thought, "Go to Russia?... The same Russia that I grew up fearing because they were America's enemies... The same Russia that made me jump under my school desk once a week because of bomb scares?... But Lord, it's still winter in Russia, and You know that winter and I don't get along too well. No Lord,... not Russia, maybe Mexico City again, but not Russia. Besides, I have only two weeks to plan out the trip to Russia, and I know that nothing gets done in two weeks..." Saying No to God! Do you remember when Peter told Jesus, "No Lord" in Acts 10:14? That is the way many of us live our Christian lives today. We cannot say "no" to God and then call Him Lord, because our "no" just told Him that He's not Lord of our lives. So I submitted all my plans to Him concerning Russia and I asked Him to guide me in the way that I should go, because I wanted His will and His peace. I asked Him for direction through the Word of God and He gave me Mark 4:29, "As soon as the grain is ripe, He put the sickle to it, because the harvest has come." God was telling me that the harvest was ripe in Russia and that His sickle (one of the symbols of Russia for agriculture) was ready to be used to reap the harvest. "Alright Lord, Russia it is," and the plans fell into place in days. I'm starting to learn some very valuable lessons from traveling around so much. God cannot use someone who is fearful of everything. There are many Christians who should be out on the mission field, but they are fearful of the unknown. They don't trust God enough for His provision. We can be so caught up in earning a living, going to church, and enjoying our activities, that we get distracted from fulfilling the Great Commission. Can you allow yourself to be challenged with the question, "Am I doing everything that God is calling me to?" Only God can answer that question for each individual, but we must ask the question with a surrendered heart, ready to receive and obey the answer. My first impressions of Moscow, as we traveled from the airport to the hotel, were colored by the grey drabness of the city. The buildings seemed colorless, the streets muddy, and the grey skies really darkened everything. I had actually started to count the days when I would be going home! I tried to work on messages but nothing was coming to me, and I started getting fearful that I made a mistake. Russia is the last country that I would want to make a mistake in going to. Yet God calmed my fears and encouraged me with the verse, Psalm 32:6-76, "Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance." After reading this passage, I turned over my fears to the One who controls the future, and I had perfect peace during the rest of the trip. When we arrived at the hotel to meet the rest of the group from Revival Fires Ministries, we were told that the group of 125 would be split into teams. Each team would then go to a different part of Russia to minister. My team consisted of 8 people, which included Steve and Sophia, and in addition, two interpreters. Our team was to go to the town of Serpukhov. Most teams stayed in a hotel, but our team stayed in a sanitarium! I must confess that once again, my mind played tricks on me when I heard I was going to be staying in a sanitarium. This was not the right time for my mind to be playing tricks, now was the time to keep it stable!! Reaching out with the Gospel of Christ The days which followed were unlike anything I expected. In my twenty years as a Christian, I have never before experienced what took place during those seven days in the small town of Serpukhov. We started off the day by going to high schools in the morning and giving out the gospel message. Steve and Sophia would minister in song and then show visual charts while explaining the gospel. Various team members would give a testimony, or preach, and then we would give the invitation to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. When the invitation was given the WHOLE CLASS would stand, including the teachers!! After the class was over, the administrators would invite us back to talk to the students in the other classes! It took every ounce of strength in me to not burst out crying when I saw all the students standing. But the day was only beginning. We now had other schools and orphanages to visit in the afternoon. The result was always the same - everyone was standing to receive Christ as Lord and Savior! This was a new message to them, that Christ came to set them free from their sins. After the day schedule, we would have night services in a local auditorium. We ministered in song and the Word, and once again, all of the people in the auditorium would stand to receive Christ. It got to the point where I was telling the people to sit down unless they really meant business with God, and that this was not religion, but a relationship with the Lord of Lords... and they continued to stand! Steve and I wanted to go to the market place to give out Bibles. Even though we were warned that we would be harassed, we chose to go anyway, and we openly preached in the market place. Steve and I took turns preaching the gospel and crowds surrounded us. We then gave an invitation to receive Christ, and handed out Bibles until a new crowd approached, and then we started preaching all over again. By the end of the week, we had preached to many different crowds and we had seen over several hundred people commit their lives to Christ. It started to dawn on me that I was now experiencing the book of Acts literally, as hundreds wanted to receive the Lord. I sensed that these were God's sheep and I Peter 2:25 became a reality... "For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." On another day, our group had gone to the square, which was a park, to give out Bibles. We had been to this square several times to hand out Bibles because it was a good central location. What made this square unique was a very large statue of Stalin overlooking the square. Wedding parties would go and get their pictures in front of the statue. One day I interrupted a photographer taking pictures of a wedding party to tell the newlyweds I had a gift for them. I handed the newly married couple a Bible and told them it was a gift. Then the whole wedding party asked for one! During another outreach in the park, there seemed to be a heavy military presence there, and we also encountered some minor hostility, when a man started yelling at us. Steve and Sophia kept on preaching and we continued to hand out over 300 Bibles. As we were boarding the bus we found out that we had interrupted a communist meeting with the Gospel!! The Numbers of Lives Changed for Christ When all the numbers were tallied, our group of 8 men and women and 2 interpreters brought 750 people (a conservative count!) to a relationship with Jesus Christ in 7 days!! We gave out over 7000 Bibles before we ran out. The total group of 125 people from Revival Fires Ministries had led 17,530 people to the Lord and gave out 164,500 Bibles! It was just one week and it seemed to happen so fast that I didn't want to go back home! Suddenly, it hit me that God's light was shining on these people, and His joy was transforming the grey skies and surroundings into something beautiful. God had answered all my fears and concerns. Even my expectations of the bitter Russian winter were met with spring weather. Jesus said, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." I tried to extend my visa, for I found the "fishing" to be too good, and I totally lost track of time. Events in the world and concerns at home faded, as I became caught up in the joy of seeing people come into a relationship with Christ. God had even made my stay at the sanitarium to be fruitful for Him. We had shown the Jesus Film (in the Russian language) to the residents during dinner and 30 came to know Christ! Never in my wildest expectations would I have ever imagined that people would almost be fighting over the Bibles because we told them these are the words of eternal life. I had old women hugging me and crying, old men kissing my hands for the Bibles, and young people thanking us with grateful hearts. The image of hands reaching out for Bibles has been embedded by the Holy Spirit into my mind and heart. I will NEVER be able to get that image out. I can now see how Jesus looks over a city and weeps for His lost sheep. Asking Yourself the Hard Questions I must now ask myself the hard question: Am I concerned enough for the people of Russia who never heard the gospel, to go back and tell them about the Lord? "Now that I've seen people begging for Bibles, will I use God's money to meet that need in a country that soon will be closed behind the iron curtain again, as stated in Ezekiel 38? We need to follow Jesus' example and truly seek the will of our Father in heaven above all else. "My food," said Jesus, is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work. Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest" (John 4:34-35). The Scriptures tell us that "the harvest is great, but the laborers are few." Won't you join me in asking God the hard question... ask Him if He wants you to Go! Special Thanks to the team of Sergey, Gerold, Steve and Sophia, Hal and Diane, Doug and Rosemary, and Dennis. May God bless you all richly as you seek to serve Him. Come Help Harvest the Fields of Russia Experience the book of ACTS literally as thousands come to Christ daily!!! Your life will never be the same as you reach out to a people starving for the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is truly a ripe harvest field waiting for workers to come and work the land. Last month, our small team of just 8 people led over 750 people to new life in Christ in only 7 days! They also passed out 7000 Bibles. The unique part is that there were no pastors on the team, just simple laymen obeying the call of Jesus' final commandment: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." Come and be a part of this end times harvest! June 21 to July 8. The approximate cost is $2600 [$2100 for June 21 to June 30] and includes airfare, hotels, 3 meals per day, interpreters, transportation in Russia, and Russian Bibles for distribution. *Other dates possible. Please call Straight Path Ministries for details: (201) 261-7654. You Can Be a Missionary at Home! The Russian people are starving for the Word of God. On our last missionary trip to Russia, we distributed 168,500 Bibles in only seven days! Those who received the Bibles expressed their gratitude with emotional embraces, even kissing our hands. Yet there are so many more who have not been reached. God has opened the door for His Word to go forth among a people trapped for decades behind the iron curtain of Communism and spiritual darkness. But this door could close at any moment. We must reach out now before it's too late. You can be a missionary from home by helping to provide Russian Bibles to be distributed during our next missionary outreach to Russia. Absolutely 100% of funds received will go strictly for the purchase of Russian Bibles. One Bible costs only .45 cents each. Please indicate on the offering: "Bibles for Russia." All gifts are tax deductible. The Purpose of Straight Path Ministries Our motives are to advance the Kingdom of God for His glory and purpose. Our desire is to make you aware of the harvest of Christ and to fulfill your calling in Christ Jesus. We ask for your prayers, feedback and support as we seek to help usher in the soon return of our Lord Jesus. We have several missionary trips in the works where we will need help with the costs of Gospel materials (Bibles, tracts, "Jesus" films, Gospel coloring books, etc.) Straight Path Ministries is a non-profit organization, and the staff is completely volunteer. ALL funds received go strictly for Bibles, tracts, and gospel supplies. Mailing Address: Straight Path Ministries 297-101 Kinderkamack Rd. #278 Oradell, NJ 07649 Phone: (201) 261-7654 Fax: (201) 261-4954 Prodigy: KGFS78A Compuserve: 70762,3412 America Online: StraitPath Internet: straitpath@aol.com CFI Reports CFI Reports CFI REPORTS is our monthly column dedicated to the ministries of CHRISTIAN FRIENDS OF ISRAEL in Jerusalem. Our October 1991 issue of MORNING STAR (Volume 1.1) presented a summary of the various CFI ministries and explained the foundational principles and objectives of CFI. In this month's column we present the May 1993 "Watchman's Prayer Letter", and a special edition WATCHMAN's LETTER called "Spots and Wrinkles", direct from Jerusalem. WATCHMANS PRAYER LETTER - May 1993 "Therefore be ye also ready: take ye heed lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping. What I say unto you, I say unto all. Watch!". (Mark 13:37) As intercessors for Israel, the Jewish nation, Christians should be spiritually alert and watching the visible signs of the Lord's soon return. Israel becoming a nation is one of the greatest miracles of modern times. At the time of this writing, we have just finished celebrating Israel's 45th birthday. As we continue to keep prayerful watch over her, we need to always guard against spiritual pride which is very prevalent in many parts of the Church today. We also need to be eagle-eyed in seeing the calling of the Jewish nation and remain grateful in remembering that they have given us the Bible and the Messiah, Yeshua. As our witness is seen in our attitudes toward the Jewish people, let us continue to watch in prayer faithfully for the Lord's sake. Never let us think we can watch in prayer too much. This is no time to be casual onlookers. May God help us to be I wholehearted warriors of prayer for the Jewish nation in these end-times. The bid for who will be the Mayor of the City of Jerusalem is on. Minister of the Knesset Ehud Olmert is the most serious challenge to Mayor Teddy Kolleck's 28 years in office. It was recently reported that at 83 years of age, Jerusalem's beloved Mayor may not be able to serve out the remainder of his current term. PRAY that all will go well with the election of the next Mayor. May the Lord's will clearly be seen u in the appointment of this key position. "When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth ...". (Proverbs 11:10). "By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth". (Proverbs 8 :16). CALL UPON THE LORD for His blessing to be upon the City of Jerusalem, which will be exalted above all nations when the Lord returns . "By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted ...". (Proverbs 11:11). Intercede for difficulties the new Mayor will face in governing. He will deal with such issues as housing and high tech industry problems, improving the transportation and educational systems and making Jerusalem into the premier city prophesied in Isaiah. "... give Him no rest ... till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth." (Isaiah 62:7). BESEECH THE LORD for the new Mayor to have understanding and insight into creating environments for different inhabitants of the City to be able to live together peaceably . "And seek the peace of the city ... and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace." (Jeremiah 29: 7 ) . BELIEVE for recovery for the 1,094 companies who went bankrupt, that they be able to be revitalized and functioning businesses (in Jerusalem and throughout Israel). EARNESTLY PRAY especially for many Israeli companies involved in construction and building which are reportedly on the verge of collapse. There is a time to every purpose under the sun . We believe that according to Isaiah 58:12 we are in the time of rebuilding and restoring Jerusalem and the nation of Israel ... a "time to be built up". (Ecclesiastes 3:3). "... have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favor her... is come" (Psalm 102 :13). LIFT UP IN PRAYER the work on construction sites in Israel which have all but reached complete paralysis. Pray that construction will not grind to a complete halt but that the Lord will help them to find a way to continue. The sealing of the territories, a measure taken only for reasons of security, has prompted a PLO demand that the closure be lifted as a precondition for the resumption of the "peace talks". PRAY that the usual world arena of bias and distorted views against the Jewish state will see that if the Palestinian leadership really cared for the fate and welfare of the Arab population, it would have done its utmost to uproot terrorism. May the nations be given understanding and discernment regarding the controversy over Zion as the Lord will compensate the nations in regard to their conflict and dispute over her. "For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompense for the controversy of Zion." (Isaiah 34:8). Syria's Jewish community is still being used as a leverage in the "peace" negotiations. Since January 16th, two or three Jewish immigrants have been permitted to leave Syria and then only when severe restrictions were placed upon them, such as the dividing up of families. INTERCEDE for the 1,000 Syrian Jews still in Syria, that they will be allowed to travel together out of Syrian territory. We need to pray and beseech the Lord for the "trickle" of Jews coming out to become a "steady stream". THANK THE LORD for the manifold inquiries of North American olim who are asking about making immigration to Israel. May they be as in the days when those who escaped the sword (survivors) when they "remembered the Lord and allowed Jerusalem to come into their minds." (Jeremiah 51: 50). PRAY that additional immigration personnel will be raised up to be able to cope with the magnitude of interest beginning to be shown for aliyah from the West. A recent photograph in the Jerusalem Post showed a Golani Brigade Israeli soldier handing out candy to Arab children at the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip while on a search for terrorists. The Israeli soldier was kindly kneeling over to the children offering them a piece of candy. The expressions on those little faces were ones of apprehensiveness and bewilderment as they saw the "enemy" being so kind. PRAY that Arab children who are caught in a web of deception not grow up to believe that "hatred towards Jews is sacred". Pray that there be some, especially Arab Christian parents, who will "train up" their children in the ways they should go: so that when they are older they will not depart from it". (Proverbs 22: 6). While terrorist assaults raise the national blood pressure and attention has been on Arab violence, it is impossible not to be sorrowful of heart over the reports of death caused by family strife in Israel. Pray that violent husbands will become aware of their behavior as being wrong in the eyes of God. May they seek to "please the Lord". (Proverbs 16:7) and walk the way of Godly love towards their mates for "better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith." (Proverbs 15 :17). May the Lord protect you from all evil and keep your soul anchored in Him (Psalm 121:7) as you continue in the ministry of prayer for Israel ... "tis the highest form of service." (See "The Ministry of Prayer" below). THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER There's a holy high vocation Needing workers everywhere; 'Tis the highest form of service- 'Tis the ministry of prayer. None need stand idly longing For a place in which to share Active service for the Master- There's always room in prayer. In these days of tribulation, Wickedness pervades the air; And the battles we engage in Must be won by fervent prayer. There's no weapon half so mighty As what the intercessors bear; Nor a broader field of service Than the ministry of prayer. A.S. Woolworth SPECIAL EDITION WATCHMAN'S PRAYER LETTER "Spots and Wrinkles" The Lord is preparing a Bride for His Coming ... a Bride without "spot or wrinkle." (Ephesians 5:27) Perhaps one of the biggest problems in the Body of Messiah today is that our garments are more spotted and wrinkled than we realize. I am convinced that one of the darkest spots on our garments is the blood-stained spot of Jewish suffering at the hands of historical Christianity. The terrible pain which was caused is heart breaking. I wish we could say that only an apostate church branded Jewish people the way they did and that Christians today have only Christ like love towards Israel. However, church leaders today are often anti-Semitic or indifferent to the survival of the Jewish people, the right to their God-given homeland and God's plans and purposes for their future. Christian repentance for the Church's past (and present) sins is needed. "It is the Church's tears of repentance that will wash away the stain of blood on our lands," says Michael L. Brown, author of "Our Hands Are Stained With Blood!" This prayer material has been developed to encourage intercessors for Israel to seek the Lord for sins against the Jewish people. Even though you personally may not be guilty, when praying it is suggested that we need to acknowledge corporate guilt. You may want to use the term "we" as the prophets of old, who took intercessory and prayerful responsibility for the majority. AREAS FOR REPENTANT PRAYER PRAY that the Lord "search our hearts" to reveal if there are seeds of anti-Semitism within. "I, the Lord, search the hear, 1 try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings (Jeremiah 17:1()). Ask for forgiveness where we/ you have sinned against the "apple of His eye." (Zechariah 2:8) ASK THE LORD if there is lack of compassion for the Jewish people in their past suffering or present difficulties, i.e. "they get what they deserve." (Ezekiel 16:5 ) ASK SINCERELY for the Lord to reveal indifference or lack of interest in showing kindness to the People of Israel. Reading in the book of Samuel and Genesis, people's lives were spared because they "showed kindness" to the children of Israel. "And Saul said unto the Kenites, 'go, depart... from among the Amalekites... for ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel..."' (I Samuel 15:6). "...the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house and in the field." (Genesis 39:5) ASK THE LORD to show areas of spiritual pride where one might feel threatened by the fact that the Lord still calls the Jewish people His "chosen." "Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee... for if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He also spare not thee." (Romans 11:18. 21) PREVAIL for seeds of anti-semitism being sown in Christian circles today, that they would not fall upon fertile ground but that hearts would reject them immediately to avoid taking root. ASK FORGIVENESS for hypocrisy in the Church which claims to be the Lord's brothers after the spirit and yet criticizes and attacks His brothers after the flesh. "Wherefore laying aside ... hypocrisies ... and all evil speakings...'' (1st Peter 2:1). "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure ... and without hypocrisy." (James 3:17) IT'S TIME TO REALLY PRAY! International pressure will continue to mount against the regathered Jewish state. Her enemies are many, but real friends are few. We must awaken followers of the Lord Yeshua to be willing to repent of past sins of Christianity and ask for cleansing and purging of anti-Semitic strains in the Church today. Unconditional love is extremely important! If we have a family member or a friend who does not believe in complete yieldedness to the Lord, we do not stop loving that person ...we love him or her and we go on praying. Should it be any different with the Lord's brethren in the flesh? They have been "blinded in part until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in." (Romans 11:25) REJOICE IN THE LORD for the continuous stream of praise and thanksgiving which ascends to Heaven in more than 2,500 languages on earth today as believers around the world praise the One True God of Israel. (Romans 11:12) PRAISE THE LORD that He is a "covenant-keeping" God. As He keeps covenant with Israel throughout the generations, He will also keep His covenant of salvation with us. "... I beseech thee 0 Lord God of Heaven ... that keepeth covenant ..." (Nehemiah 1:5) "...He hath remembered His covenant forever, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations." (Psalm 105:8). INTERCEDE for the Church to "provoke to jealousy" the Jewish people. "... and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people ..." (Deuteronomy 32:21) "... first Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people ..." (Romans 10:19) "... salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy." (Romans 11:11) THANK THE LORD that through the Jewish people, the Word of God was preserved throughout the centuries. Synagogues burned during the holocaust but the Holy Scriptures were hidden for preservation. During the Gulf War, the Jewish people hid the Scrolls of Isaiah underground for preservation. "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." (Matthew 24:35) PRAISE HIM for the willingness of the Jewish prophets, psalmists and apostles to proclaim Messiah to the Gentiles. They were willing to be slain, sawn asunder and shipwrecked for their testimony. "Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck ..." (2 Corinthians 11:25) THANK THE LORD for those in the Church today who are willing to speak up on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people. May their numbers increase. "For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth." (Isaiah 62:1) PRAISE GOD that Israel is a "sign" to the nations that Almighty God is still on His throne. His promises to Israel of returning them to the Land, is taking place. This return heralds the coming of the Lord. "And He shall set up an "ensign" for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed ... from the four corners of the earth." (Isaiah 11:12) "When the Lord shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His glory." (Psalm 102:16) We rejoice to serve the One True God. He is the God of history, the present and the future. The world is in His Hands and Israel still has purposes to fulfill according to His Word. Let us thank Him that we can come in humility of heart, asking forgiveness for the past (and present) and work toward expanding the Kingdom of God by being a blessing to the Jewish people. Pray for the real meaning of love ... love as Yeshua lived it, to be understood by Christians toward the Jewish people. Sharon Sanders CFI - Jerusalem Newsdesk Newsdesk PRAYER NEEDED FOR MESSIANIC FAMILIES IN ISRAEL Three Israeli Knesset members have taken a stand in favor of the three Messianic Jewish families wishing to live permanently in Israel. They have introduced a bill to the Knesset that would give first degree relatives of Israeli citizens automatic permanent residency in Israel. A committee has been formed to continue the effort on behalf of the families (the Beresfords, Kendalls and Speakmans). The committee is asking for all those who love Israel to intercede with prayer and fasting for six months, from April through Yom Kippur in September. (JEWISH VOICE PROPHETIC MAGAZINE - 5/93) AN INTERESTING RELATED ITEM FROM AFRICA Israel is to ask Ethiopia to waive normal emigration procedures and allow the immediate departure of several hundred Falas Mora (Christians who claim Jewish decent). Israel has said it will take in those members of the group who have immediate family members in Israel. Ethiopian leaders have stated that while they will not permit mass emigration, they have no objection to the Falas Mora emigrating through regular channels, which generally takes up to a year. Prime Minister Rabin wants the procedure speeded up for the sake of those Ethiopian Jews separated from their spouses, parents or children. Sources close to Rabin say he is considering including first cousins of Ethiopian Jewish immigrants, which could mean another 4,000-8,000 Falas Mora coming to Israel. (THE JERUSALEM REPORT 4/22/93) PEACE SEEKING ARTICULATIONS "We still have not reached the height of the Intifada. We are now in the sixth stage of the uprising, and the seventh stage - full of bad surprises - is still ahead of us." - PLO chief Yasir Arafat, on Radio Monte Carlo. (THE JERUSALEM REPORT 4/22/93) JAPANESE BUSINESSES CONTINUE TO FEEL ANTI-ISRAEL PRESSURE The Arab boycott of companies who do business with Israel still worries Japanese firms, the visiting head of the most important business organization in Japan said in a visit to Israel last week. Keidanren president and director-general, Masaya Miyoshi, told the Trade and Industry Ministry that the group hopes to obtain first-hand information on the Israeli economy, political situation, culture, science and technology in order to attract Japanese businesses. "Manufacturers say that when they make purchases of strategic importance from Israel, those actions are listed in the Arab blacklist," Miyoshi said. "Arab businessmen or lawyers try to exploit the situation and threaten the companies." (JERUSALEM POST INTERNATIONAL 5/8/93) MOVING CLOSER TO REVELATION 13 IBM Vice-President, Lucie Fjeldstad, who heads up a multimedia venture for her company, is pushing for new "packet-switching" technologies that she says could help unite many of today's disparate networks into a "single gigabit national multimedia network. If her dream is realized, it will pave the way for what Fjeldstad terms "the coming interactive age in which anyone will be able to get any information they need at any time from anyplace." She says that certain key elements have fallen into place during the last few years that could bring high-bandwidth multimedia applications to the business world sometime in the next two years and to the home in the next three to five years. One key element is the increasing percentage of homes that are hooked into the broadband cable network, which has the potential to provide the bandwidth needed to carry multimedia applications into the home. If broadband cable becomes the standard link the world will not have to wait for phone companies to install fiber lines to homes which would cost billions of dollars. "Five years ago when people thought of about how to realize this dream, they thought they would have to rewire America. The new and big news is that you don't have to change a wire to make this happen. All you have to do is add hardware and software to what is out there to bring it up to gigabit capabilities. Rewiring has been made unnecessary by the widespread installation of broadband cable into homes by cable companies over the last few years. Portions of Fjeldstad's vision are already being tested. In 1992, IBM announced plans to put its new switching and routing technology to a commercial test in Toronto, Canada. IBM, partnering with Rogers Cable T.V., Ltd., began installing a new generation of switches, dubbed PARIS, on top of Rogers Cable T.V.'s existing fiber-optic lines. So far, two of 20 banks slated to be connected have been linked to one another using PARIS and fiber. (NETWORK WORLD) UPDATE AS WE GO TO PRESS ... REUTERS NEWS, NEW YORK May 21, 1993 - In one of the biggest marriages yet in the exploding multimedia field, U.S. West Inc., is pumping $2.5 billion into Time Warner Inc., in a venture that will help turn the television into a new communications device. U.S. West, a large regional phone company, will invest $2.5 billion in the venture that would allow consumers to tap into data banks of information and interactive shopping services by cable TV. Time Warner is the largest media company in the world and the second-largest cable-TV operator in the United States with 7.1 million subscribers. "All this works to the benefit of the consumer. You can put all the enhanced technologies of these two industries into one system and it's much more efficient," said Oren Cohen, an analyst for Salomon Bros. EVEN UNTO THOSE IN THE BIG APPLE JEWISH VOICE BROADCASTS new television program on TV 47 in New York City is reaching many Jewish (and gentile) people in and around the city. Many letters and phone calls are being received at the ministry's headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. Very few people in New York City have heard of Jewish people believing in Jesus. It is a revelation to them to hear Jewish people confess Jesus as the Messiah and the Gentiles are convinced that they need to believe in Jesus, because the Jewish people who hated Jesus for centuries are now accepting Him. (JEWISH VOICE PROPHETIC MAGAZINE - 5/93) Ministry Information Ministry Information MINISTRY INFORMATION GUIDE - June 1993 The MINISTRY INFORMATION guide is for the benefit of all believers. MORNING STAR does not charge for these advertisements. AMMI MINISTRY (Bringing the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles) Director: Ron Elkin P.O. Box 27576 Philadelphia PA. 19118 (215) 843-7964 INTERNET: rone2@aol.com BILL RUDGE MINISTRIES (An international outreach challenging believers to reach their maximum potential in Christ.) 220 North Buhl Farm Drive Hermitage, PA 16148-1718 (412) 983-1223 CAMPUS CRUSADE FOR CHRIST INTERNATIONAL Arrowhead Springs San Bernardino, CA 92414 (714) 886-5224 CHI ALPHA CAMPUS MINISTRY (Reaching the college campuses of this nation" Division of Home Missions 1445 Boonville Avenue Springfield, MO 65802-1894 INTERNET: yoshua@aol.com CHOSEN PEOPLE MINISTRIES Inc. 1300 Cross Beam Drive - Charlotte, NC 28217-2834 (704) 357-9000 CANADA: Box 4400, Sta. D - Hamilton, Ont. L8V4L8 (416) 545-9066 CHRISTIAN FRIENDS OF ISRAEL P.O. Box 1813 Jerusalem 91015 Israel tel: 972-2-894-172 / 894-187 fax: 972-2-894-955 NOTE: The Editor in Chief of MORNING STAR is a U.S. distributor of material for CFI. Write to MORNING STAR for more information. INTERNET: mstarmac@aol.com CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE ENRICHMENT 17821 17th St. Suite 290 Tustin, CA 92680 tel: (800) 875-7560 fax: (714) 544-8153 DAVID'S MIGHTY MEN, INC. (A Bible Study Group) P.O. Box 5093 Beaumont, TX 77726 (409) 755-3015 INTERNET: rayreed1@aol.com DEREK PRINCE MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL (Reaching the unreached and teaching the untaught through radio, books, audio and video cassettes.) P.O. Box 300 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33302 (305) 763-5202 CANADA: DPM-Canada P.O. Box 8354 Halifax, Nova Scotia B3K 5M1 EXODUS INTERNATIONAL (Global ex-gay Ministry - Write for free information) PO Box 2121 San Rafael, CA 94912 (415) 454-1017 FAMILY LIFE MINISTRY 3900 North Rodney Parham - Suite 100 Little Rock, AR 72212 (501) 223-8663 FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN PEACE OFFICERS, USA P.O. Box 11547 Chattanooga, Tennessee 3740l-2547 (615) 622-1234 FRIENDS OF ISRAEL GOSPEL MINISTRY (Publishers of "Israel My Glory" magazine - $8 per year. Sponsor of the Institute of Biblical Studies.) PO BOX 908 Bellwawr, NJ 08099 1-800-257-7843 INTERNATIONAL PRISON MINISTRY P.O. BOX 63 Dallas TX 75221 JESUS CARES MINISTRIES (Ministering to those in crisis pregnancy) P.O. Box 371 Chandler, Arizona 85244 (602) 831-1737 JESUS FILM PROJECT 30012 Ivy Glenn Drive Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 FAX: 714/495-7383 JESUS PEOPLE USA (An excellent resource for tips and techniques on witnessing and ministering to specific groups of people.) 4707 N. Malden Chicago, IL 60640 Editorial office: (312) 989-2080 JEWISH VOICE BROADCASTS INC. (Publishers of "Jewish Voice Prophetic Magazine". Annual cost $20, published monthly) P.O. Box 6 Phoenix, Arizona 85001 JEWS FOR JESUS (Publishers of "The Jews for Jesus Newsletter" - no charge) 60 Haight St. San Francisco CA. 94102-5895 Canadian Office: P.O Box 487, Station Z Toronto, ON M5N2Z6 INTERNET: mitymo@aol.com JOHN ANKERBERG MINISTRY P.O. Box 8977 Chattanooga, TN 37441 LEDERER MESSIANIC MINISTRIES (Publishers of the "Jewish New Testament" by David Stern) 6204 Park Heights Ave. Baltimore MD 21215 MESSIANIC JEWISH ALLIANCE OF AMERICA (MJAA) (Serving American Messianic Jewry since 1915. A main resource for ministering and witnessing to Jewish people everywhere. Call for more information.) P.O. Box 417 Wynnewood, PA 19096 (215) 896-5812 INTERNET: zevchik@aol.com MINIRTH-MEIER COUNSELING CLINICS (Christian Mental Health Professionals) Western Region 1-800-877-HOPE Eastern Region 1-800-486-4673 Midwest Region 1-800-848-8872 Southern Region 1-800-229-3000 INTERNET: pastor1@aol.com MOMS IN TOUCH INTERNATIONAL (Calling moms to pray for our public schools) P.O. Box 1120 Poway, CA 92074-1120 (619) 486-4065 NITELITE MINISTRIES (Building the faith of the youth through the Gospel of Jesus Christ using music) 16 Crockett Street Irvine, CA 92720 (714) 559-0894 INTERNET: peterjac@aol.com PARDONED MINISTRIES (Ministry to jails and prisons) PO BOX 50746-433 Phoenix AZ 85076 PARTNERS INTERNATIONAL 1470 N. 4th St. SanJose, CA 95112 Tel: (408) 453-3800 FAX: (408) 437-9708 POINT MAN INTERNATIONAL (Christian outreach for veterans by veterans) 820 Wayne St. Washington PA 15301 (412) 228-5081 PRISON FELLOWSHIP PO BOX 17500 Washington DC 20041-0500 (703) 478-0100 PROMISE KEEPERS Christian men who wants to make a serious impact for Christ in America. P.O. Box 18376 Boulder, CO 80308-9806 INTERNET: markc88@aol.com PROJECT LETTERS OF LOVE (Building bonds of friendship between Christians and Israelis via letter-writing) P.O. Box 1813 Jerusalem, 91015 Israel Phone 972-2-384-406 RESOURCES FOR CHRISTIAN COUNSELLING Word DMS - PO Box 10853 Des Moines IA 50336-0853 SEPHER MINISTRIES (A church-based counseling/discipleship ministry) C/O Foothill Bible Church P. O. Box 236 Lincoln, CA 95648 INTERNET: pastor1@aol.com STRAIGHT PATH MINISTRIES "Jesus touching people so that they can touch others" 297-101 Kinderkamack Rd. #278 Oradell, NJ 07649 Phone: (201) 261-7654 Fax: (201) 261-4954 Prodigy: KGFS78A INTERNET: straitpath@aol.com TEEN CHALLENGE TRAINING CENTER INC. P.O. Box 98 Rehrersburg, PA 19550 (717) 933-4181 TRANSPORT FOR CHRIST INTERNATIONAL (Winning truck drivers to Jesus Christ and establishing them in their faith) P.O. Box 303 Denver, Pennsylvania 17517-0303 Phone (215) 267-2444 FAX (215) 267-4181 Canadian Address: Box 2321 Clearbrook, BC V2T 4X2 Phone (Canada) (604) 856-8024 WHOLE COUNSEL MINISTRIES INC. 6113 River Road Matoaca, VA 23803-8047 INTERNET: listener1@aol.com ZION'S TRUMPET (A FAX-on-demand system) A FAX-ministry dedicated to bringing accurate news reports and prayer needs from Israel to Christians around the world. For more information contact Larry Baker Home FAX: 907-766-3342 Address: P.O. Box 1033 - Haines, Alaska, 99827. INTERNET: 76570.671@cis ZOLA LEVITT MINISTRIES INC. P.O. Box 12268 Dallas Texas 75225 (Publishers of the "Levitt Letter" (no charge) Producers of "Zola Levitt Presents" television show)