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Bad Friedrichshall, Germany – Apr 8, 2012

jhilbun — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 17:41:27 +0000

Sunday:

This morning Bro. Ray took us in our minds to the very sobering moment of
“One hour before the return of Christ”.
We don’t know when the Lord is coming back, but there will come a time when it will be only 60 more minutes, and it could be that we are in that very last hour.
Lu 21:34 “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your heart be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life and so that day come upon you unawares.”
The writer does not talk about people that are in sins like shooting someone but about a heart that is just full with all kinds of things of life itself.
One of the biggest effects that sin has on people is that it makes them careless.
We are all on a high speed train, which is life, and time is running faster the older you get, until this train comes to a sudden stop when the Lord comes back.
Who will be the last one that will backslide in that hour? Who will be the last one that gets saved?
If you, as a saint, are in a severe trial, think about it, “Could this be the last 60 minutes; surely I can resist one more hour!” One day the Lord will lift you out of your trial as never before!
On the other side there will be those that will be on the way to do the right thing, as the five foolish virgins, but time will run out. People will eat and drink and get married as in Noah’s time, legitimate things, until the first raindrop falls on them and they start to fear. Let the sinner have fun, as much as he can, because that is all that he will get.
If we want to see a smile on the Lord’s face at His return, we have to live every moment as if it would be this last hour. If we want to be found fighting when He returns, we need to fight all the time!

In the evening service Bro. Johnny O’Shea preached a wonderful message for a true saint about “The song of restoration”. The Saints rejoiced much during this message.
Rev 14:1-3 This new song that is sung here is not sung anywhere but before the throne of God which is in the church of God. It can only be sung by those that have the experience.
Unsaved people try to sing this song but they can’t hit the notes. You might not be a good singer in the physical sense, might not get the words in your testimony all together just right but if you have the experience you know how to sing this song.
Rev 15:2-3 They that have overcome and have the victory are standing on the sea of glass singing the song of Moses (Ex 15), the song of deliverance.
Don’t allow the enemy to take away the song from you! Tell each other: Keep singing!
The devil wants to stifle the song, “Don’t be so bold about it…”, but sing until the day you die!

Sis. Hariet Rampelt

In Six (Literal) Days the Lord Made Heaven and Earth

ronwiebe — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 21:49:48 +0000

Satan’s attempt to negate God’s Word in Eden caused the fall of Adam and, subsequently, the entire human race. He attacked their faith–successfully. He’s doing the same today with multitudes and having the same success. Many of such profess to be Christians, yet their faith in the Bible, which is God’s Word to man, has been seriously undermined.

“Christian” theologians debate whether the Genesis record of creation is allegorical or historical. Were Adam and Eve even real people? Was it speaking of six literal days in creating this world, or were these but symbolic terms which could mean millions of years? After all, the former does not fit into the scientific scheme of things in this evolutionary-minded age.

Long ages are the foundation of evolutionary theory. Without billions of years, their theory falls, hence the battle to sway minds away from the “young,” 6,000-year-old earth. Someone out there, bewitched by bad science, and casting their faith thitherward, has caused school textbooks to be filled with “thus saith the scientists.” Their hypothesis, though unproven scientifically, is written as fact in black and white. Creation by God is not mentioned.

Truly, this is a godless age, and they love to have it so! Evolution is not merely a thought conjectured by the human mind. It is the product of Satan’s insidious working to undermine belief in God and His revealed will, as declared in the Bible. Evolutionists will not believe in the God of the Bible who made all things out of nothing, but insist on believing that all matter spontaneously came into existence out of nothing! What “faith”!

So insidious is Satan’s craft, that professing Christians are under the spell, finding a “compatible” mix for faith and science–“theistic evolution,” or “old earth” version of creation. Blinded minds (2 Cor. 4:4)!

So, does day in the first chapter of Genesis refer to a twenty-four hour day, or a long period of time, even millions of years? To me, there is no debate on the matter. It is six literal days, amen. The Bible has not changed. Science has–new discoveries revealing its own past errors. The Bible is the authority, not fallible man, and it declares, “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day.” Exo. 20:11. (Hence our week of seven days.)

Interesting that the pressure is on to change the meaning of the word day in Genesis chapter one. Why not in Genesis 5:5, where it states Adam lived to be 930 years? Perhaps they would also have us believe year doesn’t mean a literal year in this context. Maybe it means he lived millions of years! Where does this thinking end? What is left to believe in the Bible–the virgin birth of Jesus? The resurrection? Heaven and hell? Maybe it’s all just allegorical. Negate its truth in one place, and you discredit the whole. And that is exactly what Satan is after!

Those who resist the idea of six literal creation days love to quote the following two scriptures to suggest those days can be accounted for a long period of time: “For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.” Psa. 90:4. “One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” 2 Pet. 3:8. Neither of these texts are in the context of the creation, as is Genesis chapter one. Psa. 90:4 is simply meaning that the Eternal God does not view time as we do and expresses this in language we can relate to. A thousand years to Him being “like” yesterday, and “as” a watch in the night. This is not saying a thousand years is literally such.

The reference in 2 Peter takes us to the context of the end of the world, not the beginning. It addresses the scoffers saying, “Where is the promise of his coming?” and explains that the delay was not slackness on the part of God, but rather shows the nature of His mercy and longsuffering. God is not limited by time. Nothing can connect the expressions used here to the days of creation.

It is important to note that each of the six days in creation is defined by “the evening” and “the morning,” clearly defining literal, consecutive twenty-four hour days.

I concur with the writer that stated, “God created the mature, fully functioning creation in six literal days about 6,000 years ago.” And I might add, He created it ex nihilo–out of nothing. This destroys Darwinism, the Bible chronology being too brief to allow for long ages of evolutionary processes.

This generation is experiencing a violent attack on the authority and inerrancy of the scriptures. One of the devil’s methods is in using strong undercurrents of evolutionary error. With the help of such “Christian” institutes as the BioLogos Foundation, doctrines of devils are infiltrating mainstream evangelical circles. Established in 2007, it promotes the harmony of modern science and the Bible. They uphold the “theistic evolution” theory, which is the belief that God used the evolutionary method in creation over eons of time. Of course, they negate the literal six days of creation. Neither do they believe that Adam and Eve were the first humans and the progenitors of the entire human race, but state, “All science can say is that there was never a time when only two people existed on the earth.” “Science also makes it very clear that humans developed through an evolutionary process.”

Now the apostle Paul definitely believed that God created Adam as the first man. Evolutionists are saying that Paul was wrong. What other teachings of Paul will follow?

Oh, dear readers, how little out there today calling itself Christian, is indeed Christian! One heresy leads to another. The next step–the fall of man? Original sin?

It should not be surprising that the BioLogos foundation has a mission to “impact the next generation.” They provide professional development opportunities for Christian schools and school science teachers, as well as plans to work on a curriculum for use in Christian high schools. Propagators of Satan’s work, they are!

June’s issue of Christianity Today magazine reports that authors Os Guinness and Philip Yancey are among the evangelical figures accepting these heresies. One “scholar” reportedly stated that “if the data is overwhelming in favor of evolution, to deny that reality will make us a cult”! (O Science, he adores thee!)

Just a little wind from the huff and puff of godless scientists is blowing many away from biblical orthodoxy. I marvel that such give more credence to scientists than to the Bible. It is not the Bible that should be questioned or reinterpreted, it is science.

The Bible is supreme truth. Science needs to catch up with the Word of God, for when “heaven and earth shall pass away,” along with all the pomp and folly of man, then all will know that His words were all true and “shall not pass away.” Scientists, now “professing themselves to be wise” will realize in the end that they were in fact “fools.”

Sis. Susan Mutch

The Sign of His Coming

jhilbun — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 19:30:06 +0000

Approximately two millennia have passed since God-incarnate ascended from this earth to be seated at the right hand of the Father. The messengers in white apparel proclaimed the wonderful tidings: “Jesus…shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:10-11). The promise of His coming stands unshaken and true, in spite of all scoffers. Jesus Christ will most certainly appear the second time to take vengeance in flaming fire on all sinners (2 Thess. 1:7-8) and to dissolve the universe. The occasion of the second and final advent of Christ will irrevocably seal the eternal fate of every living person. The import of the last great day cannot be over-estimated.

The scriptures plainly state that no man knows the day nor the hour of His coming. All who predict such, do so in direct opposition to the Word of God. However, the scriptures speak of “knowing the time,” and knowing that His coming is nigh. God is not willing that any should perish. In tender mercy, He has not “left Himself without witness.” With deep concern for the eternal well-being of His creation, God gives a sign of His coming. The object of this sign, like that of many physical signs, is to proclaim that which succeeds it and to alert of its imminent appearance.

A true exegesis of Matthew 24 necessitates the understanding that in verse 3 of this chapter, the disciples of Christ asked three distinct questions. One of these is, “What shall be the sign of thy coming?” Jesus then proceeds to answer all three of these questions throughout the course of the chapter. In verse 30, He begins to address the sign of His coming and predicts the actual coming and appearing of Himself on the last great day. Then in verse 31, He tells in explicit detail the substance of the sign itself, “Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven.” This does not denote the aerial heavens, nor yet the celestial abode of God, but rather the spiritual realm where spiritual events transpire. This “heaven” is synonymous with the “high places” of Eph. 6:12 and the “heavenly places” of Eph. 2:6 and 3:10. Being that this sign will appear in heaven, it is implied that its nature is spiritual and not discernible by men of fleshly minds.

“He [Christ] shall send his angels [Greek: messengers] with a great sound of a trumpet”–the gospel message of awakening, warning, and alarm (Isa. 58:1). These God-sent messengers (His ministers) will then proceed to gather together in one (Jn. 11:52) the elect of God, namely all His redeemed children. In that the scripture says, “from one end of [the spiritual] heaven to the other,” it indicates the universality of this gathering (Eph. 1:10).

God could have allowed this wicked world “wrapped in slumber” to continue in sinful sleep, to be only awakened in horror by the sound of the last trump. At that point, however, all hope of repentance will be absolutely precluded. God intended that by the means of the piercing blast of true preaching and the resulting unification of all saints, the listless masses should perceive that His awful coming is “near, even at the doors.” With this realization impressed upon them, through the convicting power of the Holy Ghost, they are to fall on their knees and plead for forgiveness of sins, ere that day overtake them in their iniquity and pronounce their doom.

The grave fact is that we are presently living in and witnessing the direct fulfillment of Matt. 24:31. God has provided Himself a heavenly ministry that is divinely commissioned to go forth and proclaim God’s judgments on all unrighteousness, including the sin of religious sectism. It seems nothing has done more to dishonor the name of God than so-called churches–divided and splintered, and not even remotely similar to the one “glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing” (Eph. 5:27). With burdened heart, Christ prayed the Father in fervent accents, “that they all may be one…that the world may believe” (Jn. 17:21). Oh, what a moving plea! Jesus knew that the world needed to see the gathering/unity of God’s people in order to repent of their sins.

We stand in awe as we see God, through the instrumentality of His messengers, “take one of a city, and two of a family, and bring them to Zion” (Jer. 3:14)! Our hearts thrill with joy at the sound of the great trumpet which has shattered the ghastly stillness of apostasy and compromise. With solemn conviction, we realize that God is coming, yea, quickly coming. We observe the sign of His coming with mounting urgency, as the sign is clear evidence that we live in the very end of the end. The message of the hour is, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh!” Whatever we are aspiring to do for our own souls or the souls of others must be done quickly, because the sign proclaims Him near.

This sign must precede God’s coming, as there will be no opportunity for its fulfillment on the last great day. On that day, the messengers will not have to locate and assemble the saints, as they will be “caught up” from wherever they are “to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:17). At Christ’s return, the aerial heavens and planet Earth will burst into flames, thus obliterating time and place for a gathering on that day (2 Pet. 3:12). The gathering is NOW!

We witness a massive array of misconceptions and errant expectations concerning signs. Even when Jesus walked this earth, carnally-minded men–though very religious–required signs of Him who Himself was the “Sign which shall be spoken against.” It is astounding that in the chapter directly succeeding the account of the feeding of four thousand, the Pharisees and Sadducees asked for a sign (Matt. 16:1)! What evidence of tremendous spiritual dullness–willful dullness. Before Jesus walked away, leaving them “signless,” He promised one sign–that of Jonas. The sign God gave the Ninevites was that of a man walking their streets, preaching the judgment of God (Matt. 12:41; Lk. 11:30). For the Jews who required a sign, Paul had one response–preaching (1 Cor. 1:22-23). Similarly, the preaching of the everlasting gospel and its effects are the sign by which God now chooses to convict men of the reality of His soon coming. Those who discontentedly look for “other” signs would not believe “though one rose from the dead” (Lk. 16:31). Jesus called those that rejected the obvious sign and demanded another, wicked and adulterous hypocrites.

Dear reader, can you not discern the signs of the times? Could anything possibly be more spectacular than the present working of God, namely the gathering of His people and restoring of His church? Even if for no other reason, we beseech you, believe “for the very works’ sake.” 

Bro. Benjamin Tovstiga