If you were of the impression that social justice is simply caring for the disadvantaged, then you need to upgrade your thinking on it or you will risk being deceived by today’s definition of the term. After all, who among us who claims to know God would ever be against reaching out to the poor and alleviating suffering however we could?  Case in point, Haiti. A healthy church will naturally care for “the least of these”. But Wallis takes any collective sense of moral responsibility we may have for the disadvantaged and redefines and manipulates it for his own agenda.

This is the manipulation, and this is important – keep this in mind when you watch the extreme changes going on in our country today – Wallis’ Social Justice turns all the political hot button issues of the day into moral issues with a divine, biblical mandate. Everything from the economy, jobs and education, to healthcare, global warming, race issues and immigration – now carries with it the moral imperative of fairness, equity, and validity – and that mindset is responsible for our current administration’s frenzy to push through legislation on all the above.

And if you question this new global village moral imperative, I have no doubt your Christianity will be called into question as well at some point. This “new morality” is radically changing our country as we speak, and has been for some time via organizations like ACORN.  But you might be asking, what does this have to do with the church?

Social Justice turns on something called  the Social Gospel. What is the Social Gospel? And did Glenn Beck realize he was signing up for an endless war of words with Wallis when he recently called him on his evil mix of Marxism and the bible?

Here’s the comment that got Glenn into hot water with Wallis last month:  “This (social justice) is a complete per-version of the gospel…I beg you, look for the words, ‘social justice’ on your church’s website. If you find it, run as fast as you can”. [1] Now, Glenn and I part ways quite a bit theologically, but I have to give him credit for seeing this new religion of works and collective guilt and collective-ism for what it is. He is one of the few who actually does.

The roots of the social gospel go back to the 19^th and 20^th centuries. That was when many Protestant denominations took on liberal theology, which includes  the post-millennial view that Jesus cannot return until mankind has brought justice to the earth by ridding itself of all social evils. At that time slavery, temperance, women’s rights, child labor, and equity for the working stiffs who were caught in the industrial revolution’s 12 hour work days were the new causes of the liberal churches.

Wallis believes he was born in the wrong century and says so in his book – and is longing for those early days of social justice awareness, or ‘Great Awakenings’ as they were called – and puts them on a par with true Holy Spirit – led revivals;  hence the name of his book, “The Great Awakening”- the one he is calling for today.

TA McMahon, in his article called, “The Shameful Social Gospel”, warns of a gospel that is being tinkered with by some who call themselves evangelicals but in reality are ashamed of the true gospel, presenting one to the world that is more palatable, political, and ecumenical. This has been the primary gospel of the mainline Protestant denominations throughout the 20^th century, and still is today. It’s popularity rose and fell with the times; if you are old enough you experienced a wave of it during the civil rights era of Martin Luther King and Vietnam. Just listen to the oldies channel long enough, and you will hear of the many social and moral causes of the ‘60s.

Heretic Emergent guru Brian McLaren says this: “I think our future will require us to join humbly and charitably with people of other faiths – Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, and secularists in pursuit of peace, environmental stewardship and justice for all people, things that matter greatly to the heart of God.” TA says this: “No, what matters to the heart of God is that all should come to repentance and believe the true Gospel. God’s Word gives no commission to the church to fix the problems of the world.” [2]

Rick Warren took the social gospel to new levels, by hobnobbing with world leaders and presenting his global PEACE plan to mobilize churches to address poverty and disease and telling us not to bother with prophecy. Remember too, when Rick Warren interviewed the 2008 Presidential candidates? Ever wonder how he got that job? I sure have. Now Jim Wallis is carrying this very same agenda to the highest levels of our government as an appointee of the president.

Wallis’ has also found a kindred spirit in Willow Creek. Pastor Bill Hybels’ wife Lynne is a major contributor to Sojourner’s. Willow Creek offers classes on social justice. The Willow Creek Association offers churches of any denomination anywhere an opportunity to align themselves with their main campus for a yearly fee, giving those churches access to their annual summits, leadership training and sermon ideas – in effect creating a denomination via the back door. They claim there are 13,000 Willow Creek Association member churches throughout the world. Do the math on this one – look at the potential influence a Jim Wallis could have on the church if even half of them choose to emulate Willow Creek in their growing emphasis on the social gospel?

There is a movie coming out soon entitled, “With God on Our Side”. I want to pre-warn you about this film – Jan Markell (www.olivetreeviews.org) tells us that “it is aimed at changing the end-time views of evangelicals and the theology that says the Jews are God’s chosen people and have a divine right to the land.”

The producer of this film announces that there is “a biblical alternative for Christians who want to love and support Israel – a “new” theology that doesn’t favor one people group over another but instead promotes peace and reconciliation for both Jew and Palestinian” instead of endless Middle East violence.

The only problem with that pie-in-the-sky thinking, is that the Palestinian leadership does not WANT peace with Israel. They want a one-state solution, they want the destruction of Israel. The film’s  message to evangelicals is that the US’ old pro-Israel foreign policy was based on end-time theology and has created great suffering among the Palestinians. But today’s more socially aware and compassionate Christians will reject that old policy and realize that the Palestinians are the victim group most in need of Christian compassion. Wallis, McLaren and Campolo are promoting the film. I tell you all this because when you hear about this movie, which you likely will, in light of our subject here, you will be able to cut through the propaganda and see it for what it is, another vehicle for social justice – social gospel indoctrination, and an unbiblical spin on the clear teachings about Israel presented throughout the Scriptures.

Now, Marxism is nothing new to this old world and will pass away. What Wallis is promoting is nothing new either.  But let’s take the wood, hay, and stubble of Wallis’ dry old social justice gospel and throw some last days fuel on it: like the Emergent church’s mix of Catholicism and liberal Protestantism; add Rick Warren’s global PEACE plan, and Willow Creek’s annual leadership summits featuring speakers like Bono, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Tony Blair and Rick Warren, and before long things are burning out of control in the church. Throw in the fact that the forward to Wallis’ book is written by Jimmy Carter, an anti-Israel leftist; other endorsers are Bill Hybels, Bono, and Brian McLaren, who is also on the Sojourners’ board of directors and a regular contributor on it’s blog, and a picture of a last days lukewarm church really comes into focus.

Let’s look at some current quotes by Wallis on key biblical issues to give you a fuller picture of this man. Remember, he calls himself an evangelical pastor.

On being born again: Jesus proclaimed, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand…He is saying that a whole new order is about to enter history, and if you want to be a part of it, you will need a change so fundamental that the Gospel of John would later refer to it as a “new birth”. Being born again was not meant to be a private religious experience that is hard to communicate…but rather the prerequisite for joining a new and very public movement – the Jesus and kingdom of God movement.”The Great Awakening, p.60

On Israel: “The completely one-sided support for Israel from conservative evangelicals rests on 2 things: one, a very dubious interpretation (and I’m being generous here) of biblical prophecy…in which the modern state of Israel is still equated with the Old Testament notion of ‘God’s Chosen People’, and a complete  denial of the existence of Palestinian Christians.” Jim Wallis, “Politics Pushes Uneven Policies”, September 17, 2007

On Gay Rights: ”Abomination is a pretty strong word…there is a debate and questions over the meaning of the word “abomination.”(Referring to Leviticus 18:22) As heard on Moody Christian Radio Network, in Chicago, Feb.19, 2008, when asked about government sanctions on civil unions for gays. www.americansfortruth.com

On the Kingdom: “The kingdom of God, which Jesus came to inaugurate, is meant to create an alternate reality in this world, and ultimately to transform the kingdoms of this world” The Great Awakening, p. 56

On Repentance: “We are all familiar with the famous pop culture image of a street evangelist holding up a sign reading, “Repent, for the end is near!” But repentance is…often misunderstood. This week, one could imagine a group of pastors, priests, rabbis, and imams holding up a sign on Wall Street for the titans of the financial industry to see, reading, “Repent, or the end could be near again….let’s have some sermons on the repentance of Wall Street.” (read that, “capitalism” – ed. – Wall St. Repent, by Jim Wallis, 4.29.10

Sojourners On Bible Prophecy: “It’s all too easy to make fun of the extreme examples of prophecy belief that we encounter on bumper stickers and best-seller lists. When people talk breathlessly of the dangers of Universal Product Codes and automated teller machines as signs of the impending Tribulation, giggles and head shaking are hard to repress…when we ridicule apocalyptic interpretations of bar codes and the European Common Market, we are …properly rejecting an interpretive method that (suggests a) correspondence between biblical events and symbols, and our own lives. Ought Revelation to be included within the family of Christian texts, or should it be thrown on the fire of apocalyptic excesses? “ Wes Howard-Brook, “Apocalypse Soon? Sojourners January 1999

On the Imminent Return of Jesus: Not a word could I find on our blessed hope. But then, I don’t see any kind of genuine hope in anything he espouses, nor do I get a hint of a biblical relationship with God. If we are not going to be fruit inspectors on this guy, then the church is totally abdicating its responsibility regarding truth. Period.

Equating biblical care of the downtrodden with the welfare state is rapidly changing the face of the evangelical church. This “pseudo-Christian” morality-based religion for the last days is infiltrating every corner of American society and the church seems to have either lost the will to identify and counteract it’s influence, or feels so guilty about it’s mega-excesses that it is operating out of a sense of works not in keeping with repentance. Wallis’ book is the most preachy, shaming, finger-pointing rant I have ever read; I suppose in the absence of Christ’s righteousness in a person’s life, all that’s left is self-righteousness, which utterly lacks the sweet savor of having been in the presence of Jesus.

But I believe this is a preview of an even deeper level of apostasy, a marriage of religion and politics that will ultimately come together under the dictatorial reign of Antichrist, who “causeth all, both small and great,  rich and poor, free and slave…” to receive his mark – is this the “level playing field” Wallis and others are working toward? If that’s true, then this is deception of the highest possible caliber, and I find it thoroughly sobering in light of the lateness of the hour.

So, just how late is it?

Allow me to ask one more time, why is this man a keynote speaker at a huge local Christian festival aimed primarily at our youth?

Some closing comments: Social reformers deceptively blur the lines between two kingdoms, seeking to turn houses of worship into distribution centers for their causes. What they choose to ignore is that all the ills of society are merely symptoms – the root cause is sin. They reject the cure for sin through the cross of Christ and instead treat symptoms – but in removing the cross, they are conveniently free to affirm anyone’s beliefs, and the result is a broad road, inclusive global social justice revolution, or what I call, “The Theory of Revolution”. We have been watching this take place right under the church’s nose for the last few years, and it’s becoming clearer by the day who is aligning themselves with whom, and what kind of agenda is being promoted.

Wallis says in his book that the majority of his audience is under 30 and half of those are under 25. He speaks frequently at major universities, some secular, and more and more at conservative Christian colleges. This is how it was done back in the 60s when Wallis was young; today’s liberal thinkers got their worldview from the counterculture agendas of America’s universities. But lest you think Wallis himself is just another counterculture hippie type out there on the fringes of the establishment -

Note this picture:

“World Economic Forum”. This is the annual invitation-only event in Davos Switzerland that brings together the world’s most influential politicians and economists as they work to bring the world under a global authority.

Consider also, that Sojourners’ receives a portion of its considerable funding from the Open Society Institute,[3] this is billionaire leftist George Soros’ organization. In  my next update we will look much closer at him and other revolutionaries like him, so stay tuned for that.

Also, back in 2007, the National Association of Evangelicals hosted a dinner gathering called, “A Global Leaders Forum”. That alone should raise a red flag. The keynote: Ban Ki Moon, current head of the UN. What is he doing at the NAE event, you ask yourself? (Every Christian should be asking themselves about this.)  Wallis himself says of the event, that some Christians today, those who read books like “Left Behind”, might say he had dinner with the Antichrist (that night).

He goes on to say: “Last night, the supposed Antichrist was listening to gospel music, speaking of his own faith, quoting scripture, celebrating a new alliance with “the evangelical church” on the critical issues of poverty and global warming, and bringing the conservative Christian crowd to its feet in smiling agreement with the UN secretary’s agenda. Indeed, leader after Christian leader insisted this was a biblical agenda.[4]

I don’t know about you, but in light of the times, that sends a bit of a chill up my spine. How gullible can one be, who hears the head of the UN quote a bible verse and then jumps to the outrageous conclusion that the UN has a biblical agenda? To me this defies comprehension but then so much today does, and this of course is the heart of deception.

My challenge is this: to those who may receive this information, to be open and teachable regarding the times. The bible commands us to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints! This applies to all who call themselves believers, not just a few.

Now is not the time to hang on to any “sacred cows” of personality but to be so in love with truth in our innermost being that nothing matters except to make sure we are on the side of truth. After all, if there is no such thing as absolute truth, is such a thing as a lie? If we don’t know the real thing, how can we spot a counterfeit?

It is our prayer that the Lord would direct and guide you regarding this matter and all matters of faith, earnestly seeking His mind and heart in all things as laid out in the Word.

Mary Danielsen

[2] The Shameful Social Gospel, TA McMahon. http://www.thebereancall.org/node/7062

[3] http://theothermccain.com/2010/03/13/surprise-sandinista-stooge-jim-wallis-endorses-socialist-obamacare-bill/

[4] Dinner with the Antichrist” by Jim Wallis.

http://blog.beliefnet.com/godspolitics/2007/10/dinner-with-the-antichrist-by.html

I want to introduce you to someone I briefly mentioned in 2 earlier prophecy updates, regarding trends today in the evangelical church. I would say that this person is one of the top “change agents” today, and the timing of his surge in popularity is very interesting, considering

1) the ideology of our current administration,  2) the advance of liberal theology via the emerging church and church growth movements, and 3)the current state of doctrinal apostasy the church finds itself in today. Are all these connected? Through this man, they are indeed.

Now, I take no pleasure in going after the rising stars of the church movement of the hour, and to be honest, just reading about their exploits and agenda tends to steal my peace. My experience has been, however, that unbiblical trends in the church tend to snowball, producing even worse trends; that each heretical book or teaching that comes along seems to lead to a worse one down the road; the bible says in 2Timothy 3:13 that in the last days, “evil men and seducers (imposters) shall wax worse and worse deceiving and being deceived”, suggesting to me a progressive pattern of deception  that we really need to stay on top of.

So, I feel compelled to bring you this information so that you will be better equipped to discern and observe a progression that I have been following for a long time, and that you would understand how people like this man want to influence your kids and your thinking about what our worldview as believers should be.

There is so much information overload out there, that unless you knew the proverbial frog before he jumped into the proverbial pot, you might be overwhelmed in keeping up, and so  I am going to take a few minutes to help you sort out the latest trend blowing through the church.

For those who remember the old “Dragnet” TV show, allow me to “reinvent” Joe Friday: “The story you are about to hear is true. None of the names have been changed – and the only thing I’m interested in protecting is the gospel of Jesus Christ”.  Let’s dive in.

I am speaking of Jim Wallis, who will be one of the keynote speakers at Lifest this July. (Lifest is a large music fest that takes place in Oshkosh, Wisconsin every summer, featuring the latest artists from the Christian community, as well as various speakers. On it’s own website, it says it expects up to 70,000 attendees over the course of the  weekend, which in this area, covers a considerable section of the population.)

If we are going to do any critical thinking at all on this subject, we really need to get a kodak moment of “the big picture”.

So, in my desire to be thorough on this subject, I read nearly 50 different articles about him and his activities over the last 4 decades, by many different writers -some by himself and his associates, others by both Christian and secular observers. I also read his book, The Great Awakening, because I  don’t want anyone who might be in the sound of my voice to think that I have not taken the time myself to get inside our subject’s head. In reality, anyone with internet access could probably have all the info they need on him within 10 minutes – he is not shy about his agenda.

So who is Jim Wallis?

For nearly 40 years, he has expressed himself through an organization called, “Sojourners”. He was raised in an evangelical family in Detroit, and attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity school, but his radical political views made it impossible for him to finish there. [1]

At that time, he also founded an anti-capitalist magazine called, “The Post-American” in which he called for the redistribution of wealth and an economy managed by the government. He also experimented for a season with communal living in search of a utopian lifestyle.

In 1975, he moved his work to Washington DC and renamed it Sojourners. He wasn’t just against the Vietnam war, he rejoiced in America’s defeat there – there is a big difference – showing his leftist sympathies by publicly criticizing the Vietnamese and Hmong refugees who fled that communist regime (we called them “boat people” back then), by claiming they were leaving to support their consumer habit in other lands…that being greedy capitalists made it just too hard to live under a dictatorship. [2] Where is the “liberal compassion” in those sentiments?

He supported the Sandinista Communists in their attempt to take over Nicaragua in the 80s, actively participating in resistance against the American military – AND working side by side in this cause with none other than Jeremiah Wright, the radical anti-American Chicago preacher who was our president’s pastor for 20 years.

Wallis also supported the FMLN, a communist terror group from El Salvador itching to spread their Marxist revolution throughout South America. The word “traitor” does come to mind at this point. [3]

In 1983, the organization, “Accuracy in Media” published a lengthy book on the far left policies of Wallis and his organization, documenting 53 political positions of Sojourners on such issues as Israel’s right to exist, terrorism, socialism, capitalism, human rights, etc  – and compared their positions on these subjects with those of the Soviet Union. In all 53 position statements, it was found that Sojourners’ views were completely in line with the views of hardline Soviets.

Joan Harris, who did the reporting on this, observed, “Sojourners never criticizes a Marxist state. The US and the West are the only violators of human rights to them because they are capitalist. Marxists, by Sojourners’ own definition, cannot violate human rights.”  Wallis calls himself a “Progressive” – but keep in mind that “progressive” is as far left as you can go politically without actually taking a right turn in the process.[4]

Wallis believes that Castro’s Cuba, Chavez’s Venezuela, and Ortega’s Nicaragua are the Marxist paradises the US should emulate. It is not extreme at all to say, that one of his goals is the end of the US as we have known it — “Post-Americanism” finally realized. So, after being arrested by the US government 22 times in 40 years, where has he soft-landed? As spiritual advisor to President Obama.[5] Now, with the help of our own government, he hopes to turn mere ideology into policy. He is a living, breathing advocate for total government control, complete socialism, or “totalitarian socialism”.

Wallis has known Obama for over 20 years, and during the “Reverend Wright” damage control days, he was right there advising him on how to spin it, and helping him draft many “faith based initiatives”, to make the far left appear to have some form of religion, to sell the church the idea that here is a spiritual alternative to the now defunct Religious Right, which Wallis eulogizes endlessly in his book.

So, in light of all this, allow me to ask a question at this point: why is this man speaking at a local Christian festival aimed primarily at our youth?

In their own words, Sojourners’ Mission statement is this: “founded in 1971, our mission is to articulate the biblical call to social justice, inspiring hope and building a movement to transform individuals, communities, the church and the world.”

What this is Social Justice that is supposed to transform our churches, even us as individuals? Doesn’t the Holy Spirit do the transforming work in all things? The dictionary defines it as, “The equitable distribution of advantages, assets, and benefits among all members of a society.” Without turning this into political science 101, I’ll keep it simple by saying that this is also the definition for “social-ism”: a  government-controlled economy and the redistribution of wealth.

[2] http://www.traditionalvalues.org/pdf_files/jim_wallis.pdf

[3] ibid

[4] ibid

[5] Frontpage Magazine, March 17, 2009. http://97.74.65.51/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=34385

In my last post I mentioned taking the temperature of the church from time to time. Today I got a worse reading than yesterday’s rant would indicate.

It’s “festival” and conference season in the body.  There are myriad conferences and music fests that have proliferated on the Christian scene and everyone is getting into the act. Yeah, kinda like a circus circuit. When we’re done with one town, we move on to the next one and on and on it goes. We get more flyers at our church for summits and other venues than I can ever remember getting or even caring about. But I just cannot read them mindlessly – I take them seriously because someone took the time to organize, compose, publish and send, and so I will have a complete thought on them. Isn’t that what they are expecting of the receiver? But I admit that in reality, these flyers are a great thermometer – I get to take the temperature of the church and measure the depth of the apostasy. It’s not good. It’s getting, well, “deep” out there, if you get my drift.

First, a disclaimer: these events that proliferate like rabbits are not to be confused with genuine, godly, bible-based conferences that bring in solid teachers and exhort and refresh those who are on the front lines in bringing the gospel to those who need it, to minister to those God has put into our sphere of influence. No, not the excellent leadership and prophecy conferences put on by legitimate ministries, such as the Calvary Chapels and other light-bearers. What I am addressing is the “relevant” change agents that want you to believe that the body of Christ is just some random club that is entitled to do it’s own thing with no regard whatsoever for sound doctrine, contending for the faith, or having a right fear of God. And never the tween shall meet if I read my prophecy passages correctly.

Just today, I received yet another obnoxious invitation to some “relevant” conference. I was completely offended by this one, as opposed to simply mildly annoyed. This Minnesota area event says in its flyer, “Let’s face it: there’s an elephant in the church. Actually, the elephant IS the church, and you need it to move. Working together, you can harness the energy of your church to accomplish big things. Relevance is not a leadership conference; it’s a practical, how-do-you-do-it conference.” And just how do-you-do-what? Lead reverent worship, teach verse by verse through the bible,  hold the hand of someone who is dying, answer a mulititude of questions on dating, cohabitating, marriage, child-rearing, tongues, warfare, emergent garbage…what’s the question? How to get saved? Live the spirit filled life?  I have no doubt that most churches today can’t answer even those questions, let alone make sure things are done decently and in order by actually letting the Holy Spirit add, purify, direct, exhort, reprove, etc.   As bad as this is, the real offense to me hidden in this marketing ploy is this part:

“Let’s face it: there’s an elephant in the church. Actually, the elephant IS the church, and you need it to move.”

Let me say this just once: the church is not an elephant. It is the precious body of Christ, His bride, for whom He shed His blood and gave His life. Jesus is the head of the Church. If the body is not functioning as it should, perhaps it has ceased to allow Him to be the head, ceased to obey His word, and instead is looking to be its own entity with its own will, winking at carnality and flaunting baseness.  And no amount of relevance or emergent foolishness will right it. Only by knowing Him, being led by Him, and being daily filled with His Spirit can the church EVER expect to function as it should. In these last days, instead of warning of His soon coming, the church is one big sideshow. And don’t even think about telling me I am too old to understand the new stuff. I understand plenty, and all too well.

The other flyer I received is for a music fest. We have one of those in our backyard, in Oshkosh, each year. This one is in Minnesota. In marketing this shindig, the first selling point/promise to the attendee is: “Experience Deeper Worship”. Well, what soul who loves God wouldn’t want that? But let’s deconstruct this in context: first of all, they make it a selling point. If you pay the admission and attend, we will give you this in return. I didn’t know they could offer that unconditionally! If I don’t experience this, do I get my money back, like at JC Penney? Secondly, they are taking responsibility for me having that experience, as if it were all up to them and their manipulations to make sure I have that experience. I did not know that “deeper worship” could be sold at a festival.  I thought it was interaction between the believer and the Spirit of God. Now that I know where to find it, how could I not seek it out at this event? But once the event is over, where o where will I find it then? Hint: your local body of believers, your prayer closet, or maybe in the middle of an open field. And it’s free.

The church needs desperately to stop running to and fro looking for the latest and greatest speaker they can elevate to prophet; the biggest best-seller they can elevate to inerrancy; and stop whining about what the church is not doing for the most narcissistic generation that ever lived.

If you want to seek out solid biblical events, we have 3 coming up this year, and there are other good ones around the nation as well:  our 22nd annual Great Lakes Pastors and Leadership Conference (April 23-25), our 1st annual Great Lakes Worship Conference (June 18, 19) and our 11th Annual Great Lakes Prophecy Conference (Sept 10-12). All are welcome to come for edifying, Scripturally sound teaching and exhortation. Watch our website! www.ccappleton.org.

The longer I go between posts the longer I go between posts.

I admit I am conflicted. I am frustrated with myself. I could use this site to simply re-post others’ articles that are of significance to prophecy students. That would of itself be edifying and fruitful and this site would be updated more regularly.  But I have never been into that, it makes me feel like I have not accomplished anything, and I like to contribute to the base of biblical understanding of those who read this.  From time to time I just might repost good stuff.  But  I feel God has asked me to speak from my own perspective, even though I read lots of good stuff by others with similar perspective. There are some very articulate and discerning believers out there, and for this I am thankful and I learn a lot.

But one of the real reasons I get a mental block regarding this site is because I always feel as though no matter what I post it will understate the obvious: meaning, there are so many signs of His soon coming that I won’t  even make a dent in your knowledge base and I can hardly keep up myself. I know, boo hoo. I just returned from a great prophecy conference in Lafayette, Indiana. There was a superb mix of speakers including some Sr. Pastors, and some watchmen. I like that because the Pastors keep the main thing the main thing (watching, witnessing, loving the brethren) by expositing the Scriptures. The “watchmen” among us keep one eye on the headlines and one eye and the skies.  Pastor Jack Hibbs exposed the amazing encroachment of Islam in America. Some of it was quite shocking actually.  Pastor Lloyd Pulley and Pastor Bill Gallatin gave great exhortative teachings;  Bill Koenig (www.watch.org) gave an Israel update, always necessary at these events. Tommy Ice was positively ablaze with zeal about the imminency of the rapture, and his sense of humor drove it all home in spades.

Why do these men take their time to travel and prepare and labor in the Word for the listener? Why did 6 of us take the time – 6 hours of road time each way -  to take in what they have to say? Because the hour is really really late. If those who know little or nothing about prophecy would stop listening to the prophecy scoffers who want them to invest in this temporal age, and pay more heed to those who have been studying this and shouting out the time for decades, the church would be in a different mood and her effectiveness in this world would actually skyrocket. Today’s postmoderns think the church would be more effective if it attempted to do God’s will at the polls, or ran a soup kitchen in lieu of warning about the hour. Sorry, that is plain wrong. So we give a politician a paycheck, or pass more laws to take money out of my pocket and put it into someone else’s for a few months. Then the money runs out, the jobs are gone, the politician is in jail, and those we “helped” are still eternally lost. Come on, church, let’s get back to our true calling.  Preach the Word, be in season and out, exhort, reprove, rebuke, correct with longsuffering and patience. Nothing else matters. I don’t care what the latest bestseller says to the contrary. They are wrong.

What do we have for proof of the hour? RFID  tracking chips that can be implanted into humans and RFID ink tattoo capabilities. A European powerhouse flexing it’s muscle in the world. Talk of the third temple. Global socialism pointing to a global leader. Apostate churches breeding like rabbits via New Age practices; the death of discernment.  The decline of the US. A global economy just around the corner. Middle East peace talks and our president bowing to a Saudi Prince but blowing off Israel. A generation of global citizens being prepped for delusion. These are just the highlights, and I have been warning about all this since 1988.

Who are we to be allowed to be alive during the time that Jesus Christ Himself will likely return to earth and exact judgment? Do we live like we believe this?  If we allow ourselves to do so, what will we do with it? Just a few questions I ask myself following a great conference. The more we know, the more we are accountable for it, and I wrestle with such things every day.

Last week I watched a PBS special on the Dust Bowl years, chronicling a season of several years in the Midwest/Southern Plains States when dust and dirt were the about the only things produced in the breadbasket area of the US.

Even though it seems that the farmer of the day did not understand how best to till his land to maintain the integrity of the topsoil and duly respect the local geography and weather, and even though they struck me as the most stubborn of the species in ’sticking it out’ (must have been Germans – yes, I am one too, so no letters please), the amount of hardship they endured is still quite amazing.  Many of  those who settled the Plains states between 1860-1940, seemingly wired in such a way as to be convinced they could subdue and master the elements, found out quickly that man is not always the master of all he surveys, particularly when driven largely by greed or the promises of heretofore unimagined monetary gain, bypassing the inbred reasoning capacity in favor of a perceived want or need.  In this case, not only did years of prevailing westerly dust prevent life from going on as usual, it also did not rain for a stretch of some 8 years and the locusts were particularly demonically inspired,  destroying anything that remained, even pitchfork handles. All in  all, there seemed to be a particular kind of hardship in play in those days that I don’t recall our nation enduring either in one geographical area or the nation as a whole in my lifetime since.

Factor in, in the same season, the Great Depression; the imminent invasion of Poland by Hitler and subsequent drawing of the US into WW2; the rise of Germany as the “superior race”, the holocaust, the rationing of the most basic needs on the homefront, and the loss of life of many Americans.  Just prior to this historic time frame, another World War was waged on the fields of Europe, and as a side note, 6 million died of the flu in the same season, including my paternal Grandfather. Now by comparison, again, my lifetime has been pretty peaceful, and if I vicariously place myself into the first half of the 20th century, I wonder 2 things: ) how would I, born into the most prosperous and leisurely placemarker in US history, have held up under such circumstances, and 2) if I were a believer with my current interest in prophecy, what would I have thought was going on in the world? These are things I ponder as soon as the lights go out on another day.

As we see the signs of the times, we at this juncture anticipate similar times and far worse. But still,  it strikes me  that I have never read any account of the  mid-20th century era, just before my time,  in which a godly man or woman actually pondered whether or not they were in the last days, let alone the tribulation.  I’m sure some did – but I cannot recall personally reading any overriding concerns of the day about the lateness of the hour and for the life of me cannot  understand why, as I interpose my own deep longings into this past scenario. Is this a sign of the times in itself? I believe so. I believe it validates the importance of modern Israel,  the preponderance of other biblical signs, and also validates the sense that so many have worldwide that we are on the verge of incredible global events – including the rapture of the church.

Think this through with me: in the same way that it seems like so many people today do sense that we are on the verge of the coming of Jesus, it would appear the exact opposite mindset was true at a time when you might think they SHOULD have expected it.  The difference? two things: Israel is a nation as a result of the previous events and is the ultimate sign of the times, and secondly, I believe it is none other than the Lord Himself Who is telling us what time it is. Whether we live in quiet times, anxious times, violent times, or peaceful times, it is HIS timetable that matters, not ours.  Why else would the bible say that the church would be snatched away during a time of life as usual, in a season we expect not, as a thief who comes under the cover of night when no one is watching? Sure, the times looked grim 60 years ago but if the people of God weren’t  reading the Word and watching the skies – if they weren’t thinking “perhaps today” on a  daily basis, how could they discern the times? Sure, our parents were part of the greatest generation, God bless them- but where did the voice of the Lord fit into their lives, the love of the Word, a single-minded longing to see His face?

And so we acknowledge His great grace toward us: I can clearly see why He raised up a subsequent generation to know and understand the times, beginning with a great move of the Spirit in the late 60s and early 70s, among a generation that seemed to have it all but what they needed most: a personal relationship with the God of the universe, coupled with a revival of the study of eschatology. Isn’t He good, to move in such a way in our lifetime, to do for us what we could not do for ourselves? And here I am, fruit of that generation, ever mindful of it, and so grateful beyond words for His sovereignty and for those who spoke truth to me when I least wanted to hear it.

Coincidence? Oh dear no. It is the Lord Himself Who has put it into our hearts to watch and wait, and we would do well to heed His warnings.  We are without excuse, if we should be found asleep, lethargic, neglecting so great a salvation. “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.”  (Romans 13:11).

So bring on hard times that lead to redemption.

Pray to be counted worthy.

Heed the watchman on the wall.

Keep yourselves in the love of Christ.

A year is birthed. We smack it’s backside and it cries. Born to trouble as sure as sparks fly upward, we humans are.

What else  can we expect of a holiday that claims to mark the passage of something so ethereal as time? I got up this morning as always, same routine. The world still looks and feels the same as yesterday did at this same time. It’s  all vanity, as Solomon says, this going out and coming in and all the trappings. Only those of us still biding time on earth care a bit about it.  If you go to a cemetary and listen in on all the conversations going on there, no one seems too concerned about health care, terrorism, stimulus packages or how they spent the passage of the new year. In fact, the worldometer website told me yesterday that 92,000+ humans went into their eternity on December 31, 2009.   I don’t think they were too concerned with what time it was, considering their time was up. And someday all of our time will be up. We are all in line to meet our Maker sooner or later. Why don’t people live like this is true?  I firmly believe that God hard-wires in us the will to live and survive. If He didn’t, we wouldn’t give a thought to jumping in front of a bus or taking poison. So, the will to live is a gift. But it must be balanced with the awareness of our mortality and an accountability to a holy God.

The Lord gives us many chances in each 24-hour period to look up, to acknowledge something greater than ourselves, something beyond our control. He allows us to feel pain and longing, wonder and humility. It’s just that so many suppress those truths by giving themselves to foolish pursuits via an over-developed obsession with self. Romans 1 tells us that we all know that there is a Creator, we just prefer to go our own way and drag as many along as possible with us. Even the believer can fall into the trap of getting caught up in this life to the point where they refuse to acknowledge that time is short. Bible prophecy is so maligned today and left out of most churches because Christians are calling the shots in the church – tell us what we want to hear, give us what we want in a church – and not allowing the pastor to teach hard things, things that may rock our world.

Reality check: the signs of the times are here.  All around. Jesus is coming soon. Does that rock your world?  It should, by golly. God gave us signs because we so easily lose our way in this life. Everything I have expected in the last 30 years of prophecy watching is here.  The sign of Israel, the EU powerhouse, global government, electronic global money system, the great falling from the faith, phenomenal increase in knowledge – and I may be leaving something off. But no matter, it’s time to wake up from our slumber, throw off those things that trip us up, and run this race to win. His appearing is closer than it was yesterday.

Today is not a holiday. The news stories today are just a carry over from yesterday. People’s problems are the same when they wake up on January 1.  There are no real fresh starts outside of becoming born again by the Spirit of the Living God. His mercies are new every morning, that’s the great news. Walk in the Spirit today, tell someone about the love of Jesus. Then, tomorrow, get up and do it all over again.  Maranatha.

This morning I was thinking about all the things that blind humans to the truth. This is just the start of what will likely be a longer list ultimately.  I hope to add more as the days go by and they bubble to the surface of my conscious mind.  Satan loves to distract us and send delusions that make us think we are interacting with the truth when in reality they offer just enough philosophical mumbo jumbo to make us think we have latched on to some answers but only those that keep us dwelling numbly in our chosen comfort zones. They not only keep us from the knowledge of our sin but they invite us to comfort our pathetic and perishing souls with the notion that we at least believe in something. Whether they are true or not doesn’t seem to matter. Special.

1. Psychology.This humanistic philosophy pretends to offer answers to all of our problems when in fact it is simply making things up as it goes. Psychology is a blatant counterfeit to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. A psychologist cannot truly see into our hearts, only God can. Therefore, a psychologist cannot diagnose our ills. Period. How in the world could a pop science take the place of God’s cleansing power? And yet this is what people, including Christians choose to believe.

Psychology teaches us to blame our problems on others’ actions or a lack of pharmaceuticals in our lives. God says our problems are spiritual and we are to be filled with the Spirit of God, not the latest fad drug. Psychology exists to keep our minds on ourselves all through the day and night; the bible says we are to focus on the finished work of Christ and our home in heaven. Psychology makes us impatient and demanding of life, that we must find answers to everything right now; the process of sanctification in Christ takes a lifetime. Forgiveness comes only by repenting of our sins and trusting Jesus. Christians everywhere are tainted and poisoned by the cult of psychology and think it is a medical science, when the truth is there are no tests for brain issues, you can’t just get a CAT scan and see a brain problem like you can obtain from a genuine disease. No matter, the notion of the reality of disease is negotiable. Reality check: these pseudo-scientist/doctors are just guessing. Christians should run for their lives from anything psychological and see it for what it is – a ruse of the enemy, a vain philosophy of men.

2. Political Correctness. The Fort Hood tragedy is a prime example of this. No one is calling this a home grown terrorist attack in America because no one wants to offend anyone.  Is this justice in any way? How will this serve the victims? Political correctness in this or any other area covers for the truth, keeping us from observing, naming, and protecting ourselves from the enemy in our midst. Many will die and suffer because of this cover up of the truth. The reason they give for the shooter’s actions? He was “mentally ill”. So there are lies #1 AND #2 in action here. Question: are our troops who are fighting terrorism all over the globe simply fighting random cases of “mental illness”? The idiocy is confounding.

3. Global Warming. Here we have people who would never claim to believe in anything they cannot see trusting in the “hard facts” of science to guide their every purchase and philosophy.  It would never occur to them that GW is a religion but that is exactly what it is, and to put one’s faith in the temperature of the planet which is unmeasurable at any given time is the height of absurdity. The planet does not have a fever but the faith it takes to believe that is way beyond anything the Bible presents. Such foolishness I cannot comprehend.

4. Evolution. Another in a growing list of things that take such great faith that one has to wonder how anyone  can claim it is not a religion.  The enemy is truly working overtime to convince humans that there is no God, He has no claims on our lives, and that there was nothing then it blew up. Of course, if you ask today’s savvy consumer if someone created their iPod, their PC, or their hybrid auto, they will look at you and say, ‘of course’. But something as complex as the universe, not so much.  Today’s fleshly natured souls are so distracted by what they can see that they completely discount what they can’t. Unless it is Lie #3.
Go Figure.