Greetings in the Lord!
Today, I bring you an urgent message. We are now at the end of the church age. We are short on time, friends, as our blessed Saviour is at the door, ready to come in the clouds of glory to receive His bride, the church's you, I, and all His saints!
''Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He has purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in Heaven, and which are on Earth; even in Him.''. Ephesians 1:9-10
''If ye have heard of the dispensation of grace of God, which is given me you ward. How that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery (as I wrote afore in few words).''. Ephesians 3:2-3
While there are those who agree and others who do not, I consider myself a ''dispensationalist''. Scripture, as we just read in Paul's letter to the Ephesians, confirms the idea of dispensations, or ages. First, I think it would serve this sermon best to describe what is meant by dispensation. While some list seven, I break it into five. Dispensations break the while of time, from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22 into divisions. Here are the dispensations:
INNOCENCE - Adam and the pre-sin age. Length of time is unknown.
CONSCIENCE - Adams fall to the law. Period of time, approx. 2424 years.
LAW - Moses' law to John the baptist. Period of time, approx. 1500 years.
Grace - From Christ to the present. Period of time, 2000 years.
MILLENIAL KINGDOM - Christ's second coming to the end of the
millennial reign. Period of time, 1000 years.
Notice, the age or dispensation of Innocence has an undetermined time length. This is because archaeology hasn't found enough evidence to support a definitive frame of time. Perhaps the people of Adam's time didn't leave much by means of physical evidence nor the introduction if all things by the heavenly Creator. Things have been discovered, however, going all the way back to Noah's ark! Recently, a chariot wheel was fond in the ocean floor from the exodus of the Jews from Egyptian bondage!!
Why doesn't Jesus just show up, and set up His kingdom now (as post-tribulationists believe, erroneously so)? We need to move from age to age, as God has preordained from the beginning. We need to shift from the age of grace (also known as ''the church age'') to the Millennial Kingdom, at which time the King of Kings will rule and reign for a thousand years! The shift will be sudden, and will begin at the very instant the church is raptured (see 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; 1 Corinthians 15:51). Take a moment to read 1 Thessalonians 5:9; Romans 1:18; Nahum 1:2; John 3:36; Revelation 6:16-17; Revelation 11:18. Second, He will usher in the marriage supper of the lamb! Third, God has to turn His focus toward the salvation of Israel. (Romans 11:23). While the 144,000 in revelation are converted Jews whose eyes will be opened after the tribulation has begun. Lastly, He is completing His heavenly work, preparing for His reign, kingdom, and supper!
What can you do? First, if you are not yet saved, in a personal relationship with Christ, you need to pray right now (see Romans 10:9-10; John 3). Actts 3:19 states, ''Repent therefore, and be converted, that your sins may blotted out. when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of theLord.''
Matthew 24:14, ''The gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come.'' (See also Acts 3:20; Matt 28:18-20) Also, preach to all, Jew and Gentile, the grace of God. Interestingly, scripture tells the message was preached, to the jews by peter and to the greek by paul (ga2; Eph 3). There's not much time left, as I will show you in my next sermon. The only thing left, then, is to get right with God and preach the word, getting everyone you can to come into relationship with our Father. An additional thing I'd suggest is to get a prayer partner. Someone you can fellowship with, encourage one another, be accountable to one another, pray for one another, and study the word together.
Find out your assignment, your call or purpose, from God and do it! We are not here to say a two minute prayer to be sealed (Ephesians 1:14) and coast through this life, entering the kingdom by the skin of our teeth. We are here to be salt and light, working as ambassadors for Christ, preparing the world for the rapture, that they may be counted worthy to escape!
''Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.''. Matthew 24:44
Read my message on the last days and you will undoubtedly see we are in the last days, just waiting for Christ to appear in the clouds. It is the time Paul called the dispensation of grace, the end of the church age. The next event on Gods calendar is gathering His saints. This could happen before I complete this sentence! Are you ready? Are your friends And family?
I pray this sermon (this is Sunday's message to my church) has blessed you. I pray for all of you and hope God is working in your life.
In His Service,
Pastor Aaron
Friday, May 16, 2014
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Blessed Are The Persecuted.....
''Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.''
2 Timothy 3:13
''Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake, fortheirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets which were before you.''. Matthew 5:10-12
How have Americans experienced persecution?
In 1962, prayer was taken out of public schools.
Christian holidays and festivals associated with them have been reclassif-
ied, and given secular names.
Because of steps to intimidate and control pastors to incorporate and en-
courage seemingly harmless pagan worship while churches are
being discouraged from preaching the true gospel message.Many
pastors fear losing their 501 c3 status if they don't comply.
Biblical views are being classified as ''hate speech'', and such is prohibited
from being expressed in media, such as radio, TV, newspapers.
Today, in 2014, many of the largest mainstream ''christian'' churches are
promoting and practicing the removal of the cross symbol so as not to
offend anyone.
Evolution, a theory, is taught as truth and fact, while no mention of cre-
ationism is taught in schools or universities.
How should you handle being persecuted against?
As a Christian, you should examine persecution and expect it. While no one wants to be hurt or upset, it is important that you know what persecution is and expect that, if you are walking right, you will be persecuted. Paul reminds us in 1Peter 2:21 that if Christ, being God and our saviour, was persecuted, why shouldn't we expect to be? John 15:19-20 has a message from Jesus, where He tells us if you were of the world the world would love its own, but you are not of the world, and so the world hates you. In fact, ....''the time will come when they will think its a good thing when they kill you..'' (John 16:2).
Before I continue tell you about surviving persecution, I need to address the idea of avoidance. Remember peter said if we are living godly lives we will suffer persecution? If you are not experiencing persecution, either you are not sharing the fact that you are a christian (hiding it to avoid persecution) or you are not living godly lives. If you live like unbelievers, you won't experience any persecution. You need to examine yourself to see where you fit, and pray and change it.
God tells the believer to confront the world. This will undoubtedly bring persecution, but He promises to both give us the words that we are to use and to be with us! ''I will never leave you nor forsake you.''
I encourage you to read acts 3. You will see how Peter and John healed a man and were loved. When they began preaching the gospel people became offended and angry at them. We see this today. Sch responses from offended [convicted] people include: ''The Christian is incompetent''. ''You are ulearned''. ''You're ignorant''. ''You're spreading hate instead of love.''. Why does this happen? Because, at the core of it, people don't want to be accountable to a creator. People, through secular humanism, have become little ''gods'', in control of ones own destiny. Padding self esteem is top priority. Today in competitions, everyone gets a trophy, noones a loser. No one left behind. Kids can't be disciplined, and are not exposed to Gods word. T has gotten to where a large number of churches have eliminated the words ''sin'', ''lost'', ''hell'', and replaced with ''churched vs. unchurched'' ''love''. These churches have removed crosses from buildings and pulpits, as someone's feelings were hurt. We as Christians must never be ashamed of the gospel, reading it as is, believing, and evangelizing.
Persecution brings growth. As you learn to respond, giving a defense of the faith, you learn more in the scriptures and you get ''thicker skin''. The more you suffer for Christ the stronger of a soldier you become in the cause of the cross. Matthew 13:24-26 tells a parable of the wheat and tares. The wheat is strong, enduring and carrying the church through boldly preaching the word and suffering for doing so. The tares, on the other hand, stay out of things, lay quiet, keeping the peace. Ultimately, they suffer little or not at all. In essence, they are dead weight while the wheat carries the church. James 1:2 tells us to count it all joy when you are persecuted.
1 Peter 1:6-7 tells gold is tested by fire, so, then, or faith is tested by persecution. Stay strong. Don't let the world engage you in battle, where you end up sinning in your anger. You will be strengthened through persecution.
Friends, persecution is nothing new. The early Christians were jailed, or tortured, often unto death. As Christians in America, we are being pushed down and being silenced. We are legislated against, claiming [only the] Christian bible is hate speech, punishable by fines and or jail time. There was a minister in Florida, for example who was arrested in his pulpit for preaching about the sin of homosexuality. What should you do? Fellowship with other believers. Read and study your bible. Pray each day for strength in trials. Don't use anything but scripture in defense and confronting. Don't fight the world using its tactics, you are a child of the most high, as saint, a soldier for Christ. Be strong and courageous. We are the church. We are blessed! We house the Holy Spirit. If you need help, encouragement,, prayer, advice, contact a fellow Christian you trust. You may contact me as well. I am continuously being persecuted for preaching the word and confronting the world. I am happy, that means I'm living a godly life!
In closing, I invite you to share your persecution experiences, post in comments below. I pray you are well, blessed and growing in Christ.
In His Service,
Pastor Aaron
2 Timothy 3:13
''Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake, fortheirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets which were before you.''. Matthew 5:10-12
How have Americans experienced persecution?
In 1962, prayer was taken out of public schools.
Christian holidays and festivals associated with them have been reclassif-
ied, and given secular names.
Because of steps to intimidate and control pastors to incorporate and en-
courage seemingly harmless pagan worship while churches are
being discouraged from preaching the true gospel message.Many
pastors fear losing their 501 c3 status if they don't comply.
Biblical views are being classified as ''hate speech'', and such is prohibited
from being expressed in media, such as radio, TV, newspapers.
Today, in 2014, many of the largest mainstream ''christian'' churches are
promoting and practicing the removal of the cross symbol so as not to
offend anyone.
Evolution, a theory, is taught as truth and fact, while no mention of cre-
ationism is taught in schools or universities.
How should you handle being persecuted against?
As a Christian, you should examine persecution and expect it. While no one wants to be hurt or upset, it is important that you know what persecution is and expect that, if you are walking right, you will be persecuted. Paul reminds us in 1Peter 2:21 that if Christ, being God and our saviour, was persecuted, why shouldn't we expect to be? John 15:19-20 has a message from Jesus, where He tells us if you were of the world the world would love its own, but you are not of the world, and so the world hates you. In fact, ....''the time will come when they will think its a good thing when they kill you..'' (John 16:2).
Before I continue tell you about surviving persecution, I need to address the idea of avoidance. Remember peter said if we are living godly lives we will suffer persecution? If you are not experiencing persecution, either you are not sharing the fact that you are a christian (hiding it to avoid persecution) or you are not living godly lives. If you live like unbelievers, you won't experience any persecution. You need to examine yourself to see where you fit, and pray and change it.
God tells the believer to confront the world. This will undoubtedly bring persecution, but He promises to both give us the words that we are to use and to be with us! ''I will never leave you nor forsake you.''
I encourage you to read acts 3. You will see how Peter and John healed a man and were loved. When they began preaching the gospel people became offended and angry at them. We see this today. Sch responses from offended [convicted] people include: ''The Christian is incompetent''. ''You are ulearned''. ''You're ignorant''. ''You're spreading hate instead of love.''. Why does this happen? Because, at the core of it, people don't want to be accountable to a creator. People, through secular humanism, have become little ''gods'', in control of ones own destiny. Padding self esteem is top priority. Today in competitions, everyone gets a trophy, noones a loser. No one left behind. Kids can't be disciplined, and are not exposed to Gods word. T has gotten to where a large number of churches have eliminated the words ''sin'', ''lost'', ''hell'', and replaced with ''churched vs. unchurched'' ''love''. These churches have removed crosses from buildings and pulpits, as someone's feelings were hurt. We as Christians must never be ashamed of the gospel, reading it as is, believing, and evangelizing.
Persecution brings growth. As you learn to respond, giving a defense of the faith, you learn more in the scriptures and you get ''thicker skin''. The more you suffer for Christ the stronger of a soldier you become in the cause of the cross. Matthew 13:24-26 tells a parable of the wheat and tares. The wheat is strong, enduring and carrying the church through boldly preaching the word and suffering for doing so. The tares, on the other hand, stay out of things, lay quiet, keeping the peace. Ultimately, they suffer little or not at all. In essence, they are dead weight while the wheat carries the church. James 1:2 tells us to count it all joy when you are persecuted.
1 Peter 1:6-7 tells gold is tested by fire, so, then, or faith is tested by persecution. Stay strong. Don't let the world engage you in battle, where you end up sinning in your anger. You will be strengthened through persecution.
Friends, persecution is nothing new. The early Christians were jailed, or tortured, often unto death. As Christians in America, we are being pushed down and being silenced. We are legislated against, claiming [only the] Christian bible is hate speech, punishable by fines and or jail time. There was a minister in Florida, for example who was arrested in his pulpit for preaching about the sin of homosexuality. What should you do? Fellowship with other believers. Read and study your bible. Pray each day for strength in trials. Don't use anything but scripture in defense and confronting. Don't fight the world using its tactics, you are a child of the most high, as saint, a soldier for Christ. Be strong and courageous. We are the church. We are blessed! We house the Holy Spirit. If you need help, encouragement,, prayer, advice, contact a fellow Christian you trust. You may contact me as well. I am continuously being persecuted for preaching the word and confronting the world. I am happy, that means I'm living a godly life!
In closing, I invite you to share your persecution experiences, post in comments below. I pray you are well, blessed and growing in Christ.
In His Service,
Pastor Aaron
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Before Gog-Magog......
Whether your pastor has preached it, you heard a TV preacher speak on it, or you read in your bible, the Ezekiel 38-39 account of a huge war. Remember there are three major end time and post rapture wars that will take place. If you haven't heard, here's the compact version: first, Russia will join forces with Iran, Iraq, Germany, and other nations in Europe. The nations will come in and attack Israel. Then, after a ''break'' in the war, after things have settled, China will join in and there will be a second campaign. The third, and final, war will be the biggest, bloodiest, war EVER - the battle of Armegiddon. Those will be a man and spirit war, where Christ and His saints will gather to fight Satan and his demons. But, we'll look at these more in depth later.
What I am going to share with you, friends, is an event occurring before the Gog-Magog war. Scripture leads us to believe the three campaigns I mentioned in the last paragraph occur at the onset and ending at the end of the tribulation period. There is something no one reaches about, I call it the ''Pre-Gog-Magog War''. This will be taking place (as can be observed today).
So then, what is this ''Pre-Gog-Magog'' event? Grab a cup of coffee and your bible, get comfy, and let's dig in. Ready? (I'll try to make this as concise and understandable as possible).
Let me begin with a note on Magog. The Scythians are a group of people included in the peoples of Magog. After being repulsed from Media the Scythians settled in the fertile area of the Ukraine, north of the Black Sea and to the west of the Caspian Sea. (Colossians 3:11 shows the Scythians not outside of Gods salvation). Elam is believed to be the area of Iran.
Important to note, Russia supplies weapons to nations in the biblical end time nations, for example in Ezekiel 38-39.
Next, let's compare Genesis 16:12 with Ezekiel 38:21. Because Israel has not returned to God, He will allow armies to come against them. In Genesis 16, scripture tells us Hagar is with child, and his name was Ishmael. He was a wild man. He was the father of the Muslim nations and people, as Jacob was the father of the Jewish people. As the Ezekiel account tells, these role shall come to take a spoil, or to take advantage of them and rob them. The Jewish people will return to God later, as we'll see in another study. i will say, however, that the way this can happen is Israel will dwell in the land carelessly (or belach, sp. Hebrew for ''false confidence).
There will be a huge earthquake in Israel at the time of this great invasion (see Ez 38:19-20).
Read throgh Ezekiel 38 and 39. You will notte that these nations do not border israel directly. Now, turn with me to Psalm 83. These are nations that do border Israel. What else can we see in this psalm? These people do not merely wish to take a spoil, they hate Israel and the Jews, and want to wipe them off the map, forever! I bellieve the psalm descrbes this prelude, the ''Pre-Gog-Magog Battle''. Ezekiel tells its a God hating people. Before this as Ezekiel 37 tells us, Israel was not a nation, then in 1948 they became a great nation!
Psalm 83, verses 4-5, show a Muslim coalition. A people under Islam. Edom are the Palestinians and the south Jordanians (the tenants of From are the Palestinian refugees). Remember Esau? He is. The father of the Edom people (Ge32:5;; Ge 36:8; Ro9:10-11;De2:4-5;Josh24:4). The land of Seir was occupied by Esau's descendants.
Edom refused Israelites passage via the King's Highway (Nu20:14-21;Nu21:4;Judg11;17-18).
Ammon consists of Palestinian refugees.
The Edomites (Ps137:7-9) like in the Babylonian times, watched and encouraged as Israel was invaded and attacked. (Sidebar - The Rockefeller'sand Rothschild's , meaning ''red shield'', are descendants of the Edomites). Edom became Idumea, the name on the maps until Rome changed it to Palestine, choosing the name as it would be most offensive to Israel. Note, the judgment of Edom is mentioned more than any other in scripture (is 11:14;Is34:5-17;Is63:1-6;Jer9:25-26;Jer25:17-26;Jer45:7-22;Lam4:21-22;Ez25:12-14;Ez35:15;Joel:19;Amos 1:11-12;Amos:11-12;Obadiah 1:1-21;Mal1:4).
Let's look at some more nations. Psalm 83:6-8. Moab is a descendant of Of, today are Palestinian refugees and central Jordan. Hagarenes are the Egyptians. Gebal is northern Lebanon. We mentioned Ammon above, did you know the capital of Jordan is Ammon? Amalek consists of the Arabs south of Israel. Philistines are modern day Palestinians/refugees, and the games oof the Gaza Strip. Tyre is the Hezbollah and the southern Lebanon. Assur was Assyria, today is Syria and into northern Iraq. Sissera, Ps83:9-10;Jud4-5. Then, ndor is the northern slope of little Hermon, about seven miles from Jezreel.
Next, I refer you to Ezekiel 25-32. Throughout these texts you will see Am on,Moab, Edom, Phillistia, Tyre, Sidon, Egypt. All are muslim nations.
Let's posit a set of events:
Israel regathered in the land. (Ez 37:12;Is11:11-12; Due 30:3-5)
Ancient cities rebuilt and inhabited. (Ez 36:1-5, 8-10)
They meet Arab (Muslim) resistance. (Her 44:16; Zeph 2:8; Ez 25:12;
Ez 32:5; Ez 36:2; Ob 1:10)
Israel establishes an army for defense. (Ez 36:6-7; Ez 38:8)
Adjacent Muslim nations confederate. (PS 83:1-8)
The confederacy is committed to the destruction of Israel. (PS 83:1-5,10)
War starts between the confederacy and Israel. (Jer 49:2, 8,19)
''My people Israel'' title is regained. (Ho 1:8-10; Ro 9:25-26; Ez 36:8-12)
Israel defeats the confederacy. (Ob 1:9,16; Ez 25:13-14; Jer. 49:10, 20-21;
Is 11:12-14; Is 17:1; Is 19:16-25)
Israel has become an exceedingly great army. (Ez 37:10; Jer 49:21)
Israel takes prisoners of war. (Jer 48:46-47; Jer 49:3-6; Zeph 2:1-11)
The region is reshaped. (Is 49:2,10; Zeph 2:4)
israel expands its borders. (Ob 1:19; Jer 49:2; Is 19:18-19)
Israel dwells securely in the land. (Ez 38:10-12)
What does all this mean? Well, look at the list I made, and ask yourself at each point, ''Has this happened/Is this happening?" This whole thing leads up to the events that take place in the Gog-Magog War. If you've been following the news, you can't have missed the situation in the middle east. It took off, for america, when Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice (under the Bush administration) began devising, revising and implementing her ''Roadmap to Peace''. Israel would give up land in exchange for peace. She stated in an interview that israel must not interfere with palestine's becoming a state. The sympathy was for palestine. Today, Israel given up over a third of its land and there is no more peace resulting. Recall Joel 3:2, where God gives a direct warning against anyone coming against Israel and dividing its land.
In very brief overview of Daniel's 70 weeks of years, there are 68 weeks, a 69th week of ''waiting'', and then the 70th week, ushered in with the rapture. The church age, where we are now, is when the theory I posited in this post, will occur. The interval of the 69th week (Dan 9:26) is a time of preparation and setting up for the rapture of the church and the onset of the tribulation. Recall, the next thing to occur is the "Pre-Gog-Magog Battle'', then the rapture, then revealing of Antichrist, the 3rd temple/peace treaty (Dan 9:27), and the tribulation begins. I will post more on this in time, but feel free to read my blog on ''what's next??"
Blessings until next time. As always please feel free to leave comments, and share these posts with your friends and family.
In His Service
Pastor Aaron
All bible verses from the KJV
Sources of additional information from C. Missler, and the Department of the State archives.
What I am going to share with you, friends, is an event occurring before the Gog-Magog war. Scripture leads us to believe the three campaigns I mentioned in the last paragraph occur at the onset and ending at the end of the tribulation period. There is something no one reaches about, I call it the ''Pre-Gog-Magog War''. This will be taking place (as can be observed today).
So then, what is this ''Pre-Gog-Magog'' event? Grab a cup of coffee and your bible, get comfy, and let's dig in. Ready? (I'll try to make this as concise and understandable as possible).
Let me begin with a note on Magog. The Scythians are a group of people included in the peoples of Magog. After being repulsed from Media the Scythians settled in the fertile area of the Ukraine, north of the Black Sea and to the west of the Caspian Sea. (Colossians 3:11 shows the Scythians not outside of Gods salvation). Elam is believed to be the area of Iran.
Important to note, Russia supplies weapons to nations in the biblical end time nations, for example in Ezekiel 38-39.
Next, let's compare Genesis 16:12 with Ezekiel 38:21. Because Israel has not returned to God, He will allow armies to come against them. In Genesis 16, scripture tells us Hagar is with child, and his name was Ishmael. He was a wild man. He was the father of the Muslim nations and people, as Jacob was the father of the Jewish people. As the Ezekiel account tells, these role shall come to take a spoil, or to take advantage of them and rob them. The Jewish people will return to God later, as we'll see in another study. i will say, however, that the way this can happen is Israel will dwell in the land carelessly (or belach, sp. Hebrew for ''false confidence).
There will be a huge earthquake in Israel at the time of this great invasion (see Ez 38:19-20).
Read throgh Ezekiel 38 and 39. You will notte that these nations do not border israel directly. Now, turn with me to Psalm 83. These are nations that do border Israel. What else can we see in this psalm? These people do not merely wish to take a spoil, they hate Israel and the Jews, and want to wipe them off the map, forever! I bellieve the psalm descrbes this prelude, the ''Pre-Gog-Magog Battle''. Ezekiel tells its a God hating people. Before this as Ezekiel 37 tells us, Israel was not a nation, then in 1948 they became a great nation!
Psalm 83, verses 4-5, show a Muslim coalition. A people under Islam. Edom are the Palestinians and the south Jordanians (the tenants of From are the Palestinian refugees). Remember Esau? He is. The father of the Edom people (Ge32:5;; Ge 36:8; Ro9:10-11;De2:4-5;Josh24:4). The land of Seir was occupied by Esau's descendants.
Edom refused Israelites passage via the King's Highway (Nu20:14-21;Nu21:4;Judg11;17-18).
Ammon consists of Palestinian refugees.
The Edomites (Ps137:7-9) like in the Babylonian times, watched and encouraged as Israel was invaded and attacked. (Sidebar - The Rockefeller'sand Rothschild's , meaning ''red shield'', are descendants of the Edomites). Edom became Idumea, the name on the maps until Rome changed it to Palestine, choosing the name as it would be most offensive to Israel. Note, the judgment of Edom is mentioned more than any other in scripture (is 11:14;Is34:5-17;Is63:1-6;Jer9:25-26;Jer25:17-26;Jer45:7-22;Lam4:21-22;Ez25:12-14;Ez35:15;Joel:19;Amos 1:11-12;Amos:11-12;Obadiah 1:1-21;Mal1:4).
Let's look at some more nations. Psalm 83:6-8. Moab is a descendant of Of, today are Palestinian refugees and central Jordan. Hagarenes are the Egyptians. Gebal is northern Lebanon. We mentioned Ammon above, did you know the capital of Jordan is Ammon? Amalek consists of the Arabs south of Israel. Philistines are modern day Palestinians/refugees, and the games oof the Gaza Strip. Tyre is the Hezbollah and the southern Lebanon. Assur was Assyria, today is Syria and into northern Iraq. Sissera, Ps83:9-10;Jud4-5. Then, ndor is the northern slope of little Hermon, about seven miles from Jezreel.
Next, I refer you to Ezekiel 25-32. Throughout these texts you will see Am on,Moab, Edom, Phillistia, Tyre, Sidon, Egypt. All are muslim nations.
Let's posit a set of events:
Israel regathered in the land. (Ez 37:12;Is11:11-12; Due 30:3-5)
Ancient cities rebuilt and inhabited. (Ez 36:1-5, 8-10)
They meet Arab (Muslim) resistance. (Her 44:16; Zeph 2:8; Ez 25:12;
Ez 32:5; Ez 36:2; Ob 1:10)
Israel establishes an army for defense. (Ez 36:6-7; Ez 38:8)
Adjacent Muslim nations confederate. (PS 83:1-8)
The confederacy is committed to the destruction of Israel. (PS 83:1-5,10)
War starts between the confederacy and Israel. (Jer 49:2, 8,19)
''My people Israel'' title is regained. (Ho 1:8-10; Ro 9:25-26; Ez 36:8-12)
Israel defeats the confederacy. (Ob 1:9,16; Ez 25:13-14; Jer. 49:10, 20-21;
Is 11:12-14; Is 17:1; Is 19:16-25)
Israel has become an exceedingly great army. (Ez 37:10; Jer 49:21)
Israel takes prisoners of war. (Jer 48:46-47; Jer 49:3-6; Zeph 2:1-11)
The region is reshaped. (Is 49:2,10; Zeph 2:4)
israel expands its borders. (Ob 1:19; Jer 49:2; Is 19:18-19)
Israel dwells securely in the land. (Ez 38:10-12)
What does all this mean? Well, look at the list I made, and ask yourself at each point, ''Has this happened/Is this happening?" This whole thing leads up to the events that take place in the Gog-Magog War. If you've been following the news, you can't have missed the situation in the middle east. It took off, for america, when Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice (under the Bush administration) began devising, revising and implementing her ''Roadmap to Peace''. Israel would give up land in exchange for peace. She stated in an interview that israel must not interfere with palestine's becoming a state. The sympathy was for palestine. Today, Israel given up over a third of its land and there is no more peace resulting. Recall Joel 3:2, where God gives a direct warning against anyone coming against Israel and dividing its land.
In very brief overview of Daniel's 70 weeks of years, there are 68 weeks, a 69th week of ''waiting'', and then the 70th week, ushered in with the rapture. The church age, where we are now, is when the theory I posited in this post, will occur. The interval of the 69th week (Dan 9:26) is a time of preparation and setting up for the rapture of the church and the onset of the tribulation. Recall, the next thing to occur is the "Pre-Gog-Magog Battle'', then the rapture, then revealing of Antichrist, the 3rd temple/peace treaty (Dan 9:27), and the tribulation begins. I will post more on this in time, but feel free to read my blog on ''what's next??"
Blessings until next time. As always please feel free to leave comments, and share these posts with your friends and family.
In His Service
Pastor Aaron
All bible verses from the KJV
Sources of additional information from C. Missler, and the Department of the State archives.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
In The Last Days....
Friends, it is important for me to write to you daily, if possible, to bring you to scripture showing you where we are in these last days. The biblle tells what the signs of the end, the last days are (read in your bible Matthew 24; Mark. 13; Luke 17 and 21). Jesus commands His followers to discern, or know, the signs, that we may prepare and be ready for the next event on God's timeline - The RAPTURE!!! I will be leading you, guiding you through the time we are living, and helping you to be ready when our Saviour comes to claim His bride (the church, saints).
Before we get into today's entry, I encourage you to read, study, the bible verses I include and refer to, daily. Share this with your friends and unbelievers, that we all are informed, that none shall perish, NOONE GETS LEFT BEHIND!! I will be your pastor as you may (and please do!) respond, like, pass on these posts. Ready? Let's begin by first discerning these times, shall we?
''This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come, for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof, from such turn away.'' 2 Timothy 3:1-5
''Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves. Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections, for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature. And likewise, also, the men leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust, one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly; and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to dothose tthings which are not convenient. Being filled with all unrighteousness, unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, spiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, unplacable, unmerciful, . Who, knowing the judgement of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.''. Romans 1:24-32
''Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortionists, shall inherit the kingdom of God.''. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Perilous is defined as difficult, threatening, or dangerous. We live in a society, a world, whereby people are determined toward unrighteousness (eph 4:22; Dan 12:10). We are surrounded by every form of media, radio, TV, internet (accessible anytime anywhere, via cell phones, computers/tablets, etc.) newspapers, and so on. These sources of connecting to the world around us, and the world connecting to us, are saturated with vulgarity, perversion, violence. As we read above, not only are people chasing and enjoying such sinfulness, they are trying to pull Christ's saints into that way of living. When we don't approve of or refuse such we are pressured, attacked, persecuted. We are hated, despised, for doing what is good.
As God's chosen, sealed (eph 1:14) children, we are to influence children to be good, decent people so that they may grow in Christ and become good and responsible, respectful adults. Rather, children are growing up in a society where doing so would negatively affect their self esteem (pride). We are not to esteem ourselves, we are called to esteem others. The bible states clearly that disciplining children (spanking, scolding, etc.) will neither hurt nor kill them, rather they will learn to do what is right. Teaching them the word is part of growing kids too. No discipline at home --> no respect at home --> no respect in society. Bad kids with no discipline, instruction, boundaries, control grow to be adults behaving as such. Remember, by withholding a proper upbringing your doingg. More harm than good to your child[ren].
Just a few clarifying terms to help you better understand these mentioned sins, which are separating you from God if unrepented of.
Unholy and Wicked - Profane, no regard for decency or shame.
Without natural affection - Homosexuality
Truce breakers - Do not keep promises.
False accusers - Slanderers.
Incontinent - Without self control, ability to discipline oneself; ''if it feels
good, do it!"
Fierce - Untamed, savage, brutal.
Traitors - Betraying others for ones own gain.
Heady - Reckless, rash, acting without rational thought.
High minded - Puffed up, thinking too much of oneself.
Friends, see 2 For 5:17 regarding having a form of godliness. This is the Christian who professes God with their mouth yet does nothing with it, not acknowledging Christ. As a believer, you will stumble and sin at times (1 In 1:8-10) but if one is truly saved, s/he won't seek to or wallow in sin as they had in their ''former'' life (1 Jn 3:9). As saints, we are commanded to avoid, or turn away from such people turn away (matt 7:21). Ask yourself if each person in your life is building you up (in the faith) or creating stumbling blocks (1 Cor 15:33). You must, if you are going to be counted worthy at His coming, separate from all wickedness/wicked people (2 Cor 6:17; Ro 17:17; Phil 3:14-15). While there is but a short time before he arrives to rule (rev 6:1-2) you must honestly understand and declare Antichrist is coming (1 Jn 2:18). There are many antichrists in the world today, but the one who reigns throughout the seven years of Tribulation, is about to appear.
What can we do? Meet here daily for wisdom, instruction, guidance and biblical teaching. We, as believers, shall meet here in fellowship, to encourage, grow, and prepare for life in the last days and beyond, one another in Christ Jesus. Preach the gospel unto all the earth, and then the end shall come (Matt 24:14). ALWAYS be looking up and watching for Jesus, He is coming soon in the clouds to gather His church (1 Thess 4:16-18;1 Cor 15:51-52).
So, I leave you for today with a picture of next events- (1) A Pre-Gog/Magog Battle, (2) The Rapture (3) Antichrist Rule/Tribulation. It is important that you understand, by reading above, that as the bible describes the last days, we are in those times. We need to establish a relationship with our Heavenly Father (if you're not a believer - see Romans 10:9-10,13; John 3) and walk ever closer with Him if you are a Christian. The time is short, we are the FINA generation on earth before Christ comes. We will see the return of Christ! Are you ready?
Thank you for visiting The Times. Please visit and subscribe. I'm here for my people. Blessings!
Pastor Aaron Mathews
reverendamathews@yahoo.com
Before we get into today's entry, I encourage you to read, study, the bible verses I include and refer to, daily. Share this with your friends and unbelievers, that we all are informed, that none shall perish, NOONE GETS LEFT BEHIND!! I will be your pastor as you may (and please do!) respond, like, pass on these posts. Ready? Let's begin by first discerning these times, shall we?
''This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come, for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof, from such turn away.'' 2 Timothy 3:1-5
''Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves. Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections, for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature. And likewise, also, the men leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust, one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly; and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to dothose tthings which are not convenient. Being filled with all unrighteousness, unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, spiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, unplacable, unmerciful, . Who, knowing the judgement of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.''. Romans 1:24-32
''Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortionists, shall inherit the kingdom of God.''. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Perilous is defined as difficult, threatening, or dangerous. We live in a society, a world, whereby people are determined toward unrighteousness (eph 4:22; Dan 12:10). We are surrounded by every form of media, radio, TV, internet (accessible anytime anywhere, via cell phones, computers/tablets, etc.) newspapers, and so on. These sources of connecting to the world around us, and the world connecting to us, are saturated with vulgarity, perversion, violence. As we read above, not only are people chasing and enjoying such sinfulness, they are trying to pull Christ's saints into that way of living. When we don't approve of or refuse such we are pressured, attacked, persecuted. We are hated, despised, for doing what is good.
As God's chosen, sealed (eph 1:14) children, we are to influence children to be good, decent people so that they may grow in Christ and become good and responsible, respectful adults. Rather, children are growing up in a society where doing so would negatively affect their self esteem (pride). We are not to esteem ourselves, we are called to esteem others. The bible states clearly that disciplining children (spanking, scolding, etc.) will neither hurt nor kill them, rather they will learn to do what is right. Teaching them the word is part of growing kids too. No discipline at home --> no respect at home --> no respect in society. Bad kids with no discipline, instruction, boundaries, control grow to be adults behaving as such. Remember, by withholding a proper upbringing your doingg. More harm than good to your child[ren].
Just a few clarifying terms to help you better understand these mentioned sins, which are separating you from God if unrepented of.
Unholy and Wicked - Profane, no regard for decency or shame.
Without natural affection - Homosexuality
Truce breakers - Do not keep promises.
False accusers - Slanderers.
Incontinent - Without self control, ability to discipline oneself; ''if it feels
good, do it!"
Fierce - Untamed, savage, brutal.
Traitors - Betraying others for ones own gain.
Heady - Reckless, rash, acting without rational thought.
High minded - Puffed up, thinking too much of oneself.
Friends, see 2 For 5:17 regarding having a form of godliness. This is the Christian who professes God with their mouth yet does nothing with it, not acknowledging Christ. As a believer, you will stumble and sin at times (1 In 1:8-10) but if one is truly saved, s/he won't seek to or wallow in sin as they had in their ''former'' life (1 Jn 3:9). As saints, we are commanded to avoid, or turn away from such people turn away (matt 7:21). Ask yourself if each person in your life is building you up (in the faith) or creating stumbling blocks (1 Cor 15:33). You must, if you are going to be counted worthy at His coming, separate from all wickedness/wicked people (2 Cor 6:17; Ro 17:17; Phil 3:14-15). While there is but a short time before he arrives to rule (rev 6:1-2) you must honestly understand and declare Antichrist is coming (1 Jn 2:18). There are many antichrists in the world today, but the one who reigns throughout the seven years of Tribulation, is about to appear.
What can we do? Meet here daily for wisdom, instruction, guidance and biblical teaching. We, as believers, shall meet here in fellowship, to encourage, grow, and prepare for life in the last days and beyond, one another in Christ Jesus. Preach the gospel unto all the earth, and then the end shall come (Matt 24:14). ALWAYS be looking up and watching for Jesus, He is coming soon in the clouds to gather His church (1 Thess 4:16-18;1 Cor 15:51-52).
So, I leave you for today with a picture of next events- (1) A Pre-Gog/Magog Battle, (2) The Rapture (3) Antichrist Rule/Tribulation. It is important that you understand, by reading above, that as the bible describes the last days, we are in those times. We need to establish a relationship with our Heavenly Father (if you're not a believer - see Romans 10:9-10,13; John 3) and walk ever closer with Him if you are a Christian. The time is short, we are the FINA generation on earth before Christ comes. We will see the return of Christ! Are you ready?
Thank you for visiting The Times. Please visit and subscribe. I'm here for my people. Blessings!
Pastor Aaron Mathews
reverendamathews@yahoo.com
Monday, December 30, 2013
The Great Music Debate
I am often asked the question, ''Can I listen to secular music as a Christian?" Then the dilemma spirals into what styles, or genres, are safe? Is only ''Christian'' music the safe choice? Is listening to any style of music joining with the world? I have talked at great lengths with believers about music. While there is no straightforward black and white answer, there is a ''test'' you can use in evaluating this for your life. Let's use seven areas to assess music in our life.
First, there is ''message''. I believe this to be the most important aspect to assessing if a song is okay for us. I need to address the idea that music is ''secular'' or ''christian''. Music in and of itself is neither, its the lyrics that determine this. In my pre-Christ days, I listened to satanic (actually about demonic and evil concepts)and hate-filled songs. Today such messages are literally physically nauseating and mentally troubling to hear. All words are theologically neutral, it's what is being said, the message that guides the appropriateness of a song. Pay attention to the message, if it is contrary to Scripture, the message is bad. I think something of importance ought to be stressed here. Christian family bookstores have declared a couple bands I enjoy to have a ''negative'' message. What is that message? The content has to be pretty bad to be banished from such a godly enterprise, right? Well, the first band deals with the books of Daniel and Revelation exclusively. The other band states Islam, Hollywood, homosexuality, even the current state of the church is morally and spiritually corrupt. Then, there are acts that are approved, because they encourage raising our handed to thee God of love who loves us no matter how we live, though the artist is mormon!
Second, ''purpose''. What purpose does the music/song serve in one's life? Why was the song written and, furthermore, what is it trying to promote or encourage? A song that speaks of ,for example, sexuaal immorality in a bad context has a good purpose whereby one portraying a lascivious lifestyle is obviously antibiblical and thus, bad for the believer.
Third, what does the music bring to the heart (mind) of the believer, what ''association'' does the song/music hold for thhe believer? I read a great example of this when researching the topic, using my least favorite style of music-rap. I may associate rap with being violent and degrading to women, while you might associate it with anger toward sin.
Memories. What does the music bring to us in terms of our past? If we have repented about something and the song brings us back then we may opt to iisten to something else. Never allow a song to take you back to a place in time when things were not so good. While memories rarely are completely eradicated from our mind, don't allow a song or band the opportunity to take you to a pre-repented of event in life. You see, there's a ''seccular'' band I listened to a lot, because the content spoke frequently of death of loved ones, past failures, etc. Sometimes, listening to the band takes me back, and I relive the painful experiences of that period in my life.then, there's another band that discusses life's bad luck. I like the stance, though. If I may, the band I'm referring to has a track entitled ''I was wrong'', in which the lyricist speaks of the bad luck, but thinks about his part in the way bad things came to be in his life. It makes me think f the terrible things I have experienced a and faced in my life, but from the perspective of, ''what part did I play in their coming to be?", ''what role did I play in the way thins played out, my behavior during the events and a a result of them?"
Next, does the music stir emotions I in negative or positive ways? While goth music may bring about depressing or ''dark'' feelings in you it might make me feel happy inside. It might touch upon things I feel or am experiencing and thus, bringing contentment inside me.
Understanding, or interpretation. Do I understand, door relate, to the style of music. While some may feel more at ease, or peaceful, listening to classical versus country, or rock versus blues. It is important to note that your dislike of a style should not be the criteria by which we determine whether the music is ''safe'' for other believers, as people often do. Remember, it is important to always judge a righteous judgment. This very important message read in Jn7:14 reminds us to use Yahweh's perfect Word to judge the world around us and not our imperfect, biased opinions.
Finally, is the music ''singable''? When I listen to a song, and find myself singing along, can I ''rejoice'' in the content? Going back to the band I referred to earlier, the song, ''Jesus Christ'' is a graphic portrait of a saviour who died a brutal death to redeem a lost sinner that I may one day have access to the throne of God. I sing along to this more comfortably than most hymns.
I recently got into a heated discussion with the daughter of a seminary professor over the damning result of rock music. The prof believes country and classical music to be ''safe'' as it is their music of choice. I reminded them the. Psalmist discusses various musical instruments. Nowhere does the bible state one genre is more holy than another. The hymns were written by men. It comes back to message, lyric over style of music. Anything else is purely legalistic.
I would love to hear from you. Who are your favorite artists? What is your genre of choice?
Pastor Aaron
First, there is ''message''. I believe this to be the most important aspect to assessing if a song is okay for us. I need to address the idea that music is ''secular'' or ''christian''. Music in and of itself is neither, its the lyrics that determine this. In my pre-Christ days, I listened to satanic (actually about demonic and evil concepts)and hate-filled songs. Today such messages are literally physically nauseating and mentally troubling to hear. All words are theologically neutral, it's what is being said, the message that guides the appropriateness of a song. Pay attention to the message, if it is contrary to Scripture, the message is bad. I think something of importance ought to be stressed here. Christian family bookstores have declared a couple bands I enjoy to have a ''negative'' message. What is that message? The content has to be pretty bad to be banished from such a godly enterprise, right? Well, the first band deals with the books of Daniel and Revelation exclusively. The other band states Islam, Hollywood, homosexuality, even the current state of the church is morally and spiritually corrupt. Then, there are acts that are approved, because they encourage raising our handed to thee God of love who loves us no matter how we live, though the artist is mormon!
Second, ''purpose''. What purpose does the music/song serve in one's life? Why was the song written and, furthermore, what is it trying to promote or encourage? A song that speaks of ,for example, sexuaal immorality in a bad context has a good purpose whereby one portraying a lascivious lifestyle is obviously antibiblical and thus, bad for the believer.
Third, what does the music bring to the heart (mind) of the believer, what ''association'' does the song/music hold for thhe believer? I read a great example of this when researching the topic, using my least favorite style of music-rap. I may associate rap with being violent and degrading to women, while you might associate it with anger toward sin.
Memories. What does the music bring to us in terms of our past? If we have repented about something and the song brings us back then we may opt to iisten to something else. Never allow a song to take you back to a place in time when things were not so good. While memories rarely are completely eradicated from our mind, don't allow a song or band the opportunity to take you to a pre-repented of event in life. You see, there's a ''seccular'' band I listened to a lot, because the content spoke frequently of death of loved ones, past failures, etc. Sometimes, listening to the band takes me back, and I relive the painful experiences of that period in my life.then, there's another band that discusses life's bad luck. I like the stance, though. If I may, the band I'm referring to has a track entitled ''I was wrong'', in which the lyricist speaks of the bad luck, but thinks about his part in the way bad things came to be in his life. It makes me think f the terrible things I have experienced a and faced in my life, but from the perspective of, ''what part did I play in their coming to be?", ''what role did I play in the way thins played out, my behavior during the events and a a result of them?"
Next, does the music stir emotions I in negative or positive ways? While goth music may bring about depressing or ''dark'' feelings in you it might make me feel happy inside. It might touch upon things I feel or am experiencing and thus, bringing contentment inside me.
Understanding, or interpretation. Do I understand, door relate, to the style of music. While some may feel more at ease, or peaceful, listening to classical versus country, or rock versus blues. It is important to note that your dislike of a style should not be the criteria by which we determine whether the music is ''safe'' for other believers, as people often do. Remember, it is important to always judge a righteous judgment. This very important message read in Jn7:14 reminds us to use Yahweh's perfect Word to judge the world around us and not our imperfect, biased opinions.
Finally, is the music ''singable''? When I listen to a song, and find myself singing along, can I ''rejoice'' in the content? Going back to the band I referred to earlier, the song, ''Jesus Christ'' is a graphic portrait of a saviour who died a brutal death to redeem a lost sinner that I may one day have access to the throne of God. I sing along to this more comfortably than most hymns.
I recently got into a heated discussion with the daughter of a seminary professor over the damning result of rock music. The prof believes country and classical music to be ''safe'' as it is their music of choice. I reminded them the. Psalmist discusses various musical instruments. Nowhere does the bible state one genre is more holy than another. The hymns were written by men. It comes back to message, lyric over style of music. Anything else is purely legalistic.
I would love to hear from you. Who are your favorite artists? What is your genre of choice?
Pastor Aaron
Ministry In 2014!
Well, I am back! In the months since I posted last, much has happened. As y know, I had become sick in 2009. Though there's no explanation for what had caused it, I am at the end of the road, at last! I lost my right leg in June. I admit I was quite scared of going into that operating room, but I had a good prayer buddy with me, before and after the surgery. After the surgery, she was waiting to pray over me. My wife stayed with me, at my side, through the whole process. I've had infections, many hospitalizations, treatments, weekly trips to the wound center. It has been a grueling four years, to say the very least. I really struggled, though, after surgery. I believed my life would not be the same again, and not for the better. Well, .ife has changed, and drastically, but I am okay. The Lord has brought me through! I think a big part of my struggle had to do with my already being wheelchair dependent, since childhood. Ministry is a blessing and a challenge. Unfortunately, like every other part of life, image is important, yes even in the church! It was tough enough with two legs, now I look very different! As it was, I had been a tattooed, mohawked, jeans and tees kind of guy before entering the ministry.
All this being said, iI had a phenomenal church and counseling practice for the seven years before the illness began. I have been working with a woman for about a year, and active online in a ''web-pulpit''. I teach people in the building, those who contact me on line,people I meet in the community, etc. I receivers an inbox message in July from a girl I had been talking to in Nigeria. She said that when she had been contacting ministers in the U.S., they either blew her off or simply didn't respond at all. She told me that my kindness and honesty had brought her to a crucial, dangerous, blessed decision --she renounced Islam and accepted Christ! Amen, I led a devout Muslim to the Lord! Though I moved and much has changed in my life, it seems Yahweh has been using me all allong!
Things have been a challenge, but, things are moving in a mighty way! I have renewed my accreditation with the American Association of Christian Counselors, renewed my confirmation of communion with my licensing and ordaining body.. I will also be completing my last two and a half finals to earn my doctorate in theology, Biblical Counseling. I am going to be rebuilding the church in my community and reaching out to people as a counselor. There is so much work to be done, which leads me into a sort of ''deep'' area....
As I look around both in my community and into the world, I see there is much to be done. The church is in trouble. Christ's return is near, very near, and the church neither speaks of it nnor warns unbelievers of this blessed event. The rapture (1Thess4:16-18) is about to happen and many, too many, are completely oblivious. I am going to press even harder the message of biblical pprophecy. Anyone who has been to my church services know very well where we (both the church and unbelievers alike) are in the prophetic timeline and what is to come. The message of love is awesome, as the apostle John tells us God is love. However, raising our hands while singing happy songs, hearing prosperity, ''I'm OK you're OK'' messages, in our fluffy pews is damning to the church. We exalt ''famous'' preachers so high that they become idols. We attack each other for the way we look, books we read, movies we watch, etc. and don't abide in the Word, teaching, correcting, guiding our lives and helping each other when we see others fall. The churchis in trouble and ''cChristians'' are to blame.
This is a personal post, but also a sort of ''letter of intent''. I'm going to get deeper in the Word in 2014, and lead others accordingly. I want the church and the world to know where we are on Gods timeline. I don't have all the answers on everything, but see where we, the church, has gone astray.
If you have questions, observations, etc. ask me anytimeanytime. I am at the pulpit 24/7, contact me.
Email : reverendamathews@yahoo.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/Aaron.mathews1
I'm back, healthy and ready to serve! May God bless you in 2014 as you serve Him and each other.
God be with you,
Pastor Aaron
All this being said, iI had a phenomenal church and counseling practice for the seven years before the illness began. I have been working with a woman for about a year, and active online in a ''web-pulpit''. I teach people in the building, those who contact me on line,people I meet in the community, etc. I receivers an inbox message in July from a girl I had been talking to in Nigeria. She said that when she had been contacting ministers in the U.S., they either blew her off or simply didn't respond at all. She told me that my kindness and honesty had brought her to a crucial, dangerous, blessed decision --she renounced Islam and accepted Christ! Amen, I led a devout Muslim to the Lord! Though I moved and much has changed in my life, it seems Yahweh has been using me all allong!
Things have been a challenge, but, things are moving in a mighty way! I have renewed my accreditation with the American Association of Christian Counselors, renewed my confirmation of communion with my licensing and ordaining body.. I will also be completing my last two and a half finals to earn my doctorate in theology, Biblical Counseling. I am going to be rebuilding the church in my community and reaching out to people as a counselor. There is so much work to be done, which leads me into a sort of ''deep'' area....
As I look around both in my community and into the world, I see there is much to be done. The church is in trouble. Christ's return is near, very near, and the church neither speaks of it nnor warns unbelievers of this blessed event. The rapture (1Thess4:16-18) is about to happen and many, too many, are completely oblivious. I am going to press even harder the message of biblical pprophecy. Anyone who has been to my church services know very well where we (both the church and unbelievers alike) are in the prophetic timeline and what is to come. The message of love is awesome, as the apostle John tells us God is love. However, raising our hands while singing happy songs, hearing prosperity, ''I'm OK you're OK'' messages, in our fluffy pews is damning to the church. We exalt ''famous'' preachers so high that they become idols. We attack each other for the way we look, books we read, movies we watch, etc. and don't abide in the Word, teaching, correcting, guiding our lives and helping each other when we see others fall. The churchis in trouble and ''cChristians'' are to blame.
This is a personal post, but also a sort of ''letter of intent''. I'm going to get deeper in the Word in 2014, and lead others accordingly. I want the church and the world to know where we are on Gods timeline. I don't have all the answers on everything, but see where we, the church, has gone astray.
If you have questions, observations, etc. ask me anytimeanytime. I am at the pulpit 24/7, contact me.
Email : reverendamathews@yahoo.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/Aaron.mathews1
I'm back, healthy and ready to serve! May God bless you in 2014 as you serve Him and each other.
God be with you,
Pastor Aaron
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Liberal vs. Conservative Christianity
Liberal vs.
Conservative Christianity
Rev. Aaron
M. Mathews, Th/M, D.D.
Pression; favorable to in accord with concepts of maximum
individual freedom possible, especially as guaranteed by law and secured by
governmental protection of civil liberties.
“Conservative” is defined as being “disposed to preserve
existing conditions, institutions, etc. or to restore traditional ones and to
limit change traditional in style or manner , avoiding novelty or showiness.
As American Philosopher, Dallas Willard, states, “Toxic
faith such as this can eventually lead to chaos, cults, and all manner of abuse
and evil—destroying the redemptive message of Christ.” The extreme end of conservative Christianity
implements legalistic dictates and detracts from the free gift of grace. The result, then, is that Christians are
“controlled” through the obedience to rules and laws rather than acceptance and
living within God’s grace. This extreme
lends itself to dangerous theology, as can be seen in such members of the
pastorate as Fred Phelps, pastor of Westboro
Baptist Church
On the extreme end of liberal Christianity, believers often
rely on the automatic covering of grace and an avoidance of Biblical
truth. The danger in this end of the
spectrum is that Christians refuse to take a stand for anything. While grace is, in fact, truly sufficient for
each believer, there is such great emphasis on a relationship with Jesus and
“social justice”, the essential integration of repentance, obedience,
discipleship, and righteousness into Christian living is all too often
overlooked and merely unmentioned. As
warned against in Jude’s epistle, the absence of recognizing the absolute
authority of God’s Word (2Timothy 3:16) creates a complete “free for all”
approach to living in the faith. Some
refer to this as “cafeteria-style faith”.
Thus, “the resulting mindset is I am free to do and behave as I see fit
and understand the way of Jesus…and don’t you dare judge me!” Matthew 7:1 states, “ Judge not, that ye be
not judged“, which Christians remember and throw around frequently, I redirect
them to John 7:24, which I believe completes the concept in stating, “ Judge
not according to the appearance, but judge a righteous judgment“. Using judging in matters of outward
appearance, the inward heart, etc. are often misused rather making a judgment
call, then implementing correction [in love] via a good grasp of in depth,
solid Biblical teaching.
The key aspect of liberal Christianity is “Tolerance”. When tolerance becomes the rule, the
foundational tenets of the Christian faith are gradually (and sometimes
quickly) dissolved and abandoned. This,
then, leaves a “religion” based upon one’s own personal preference. Emotional “truths” replace Biblical truths
and sin is done away with.
One additional topic is worth noting, that is a conservative
versus liberal approach to the reading and “interpretation” of scripture. I will do my best to keep this concise yet
definitive. Christians will take one of
two views of the Bible – literal or figurative.
If you hold the Bible in your hands, open it, and take what you read
literally, then you are on the conservative side. If you turn the pages and read, and take it
apart, interpreting it for yourself, then you hold a liberal approach It is
of great importance to state that the Bible does contain allegorical texts, but
Scripture interprets itself, thus, letting the reader know when it is doing
so.
A liberalist reader will hold a historical-critical, or Higher Criticism
method of interpretation. In short,
historical criticism sets out to ascertain the text’s original or primitive
meaning in it’s original historical context and its literal sense, or sensus
literalis historicus. Furthermore, it
seeks to establish a reconstruction of the historical situation of the author
and recipients of the text.
Biblical Literalism, Biblicism, or Biblical Fundamentalism
are terms for the interpretation or translation of the explicit and primary
sense of words in the Bible. These
terms describe the conservative method of Biblical interpretation often held by
fundamentalists and evangelicals.
Interestingly, a 2011 Gallup
The study of Biblical interpretation is, in itself, a topic
in which I could write an entire volume on, so I won’t do that to you here (you
may sigh in relief, it’s ok!)! You have
to know for yourself which method of interpretation you use in study and
sharing the Gospel. If you do, in fact,
hold a liberal view of Scripture, be very careful so as not to misinterpret or
mislead those who you will be responsible for teaching
I offer you a middle
of the road approach to living and approaching the faith. John best sums this up in the first chapter
of his gospel, in verse 14, where he states, Jesus is “full of grace and
truth” Jesus was loving, yet He acted
boldly and spoke directly and with authority.
He was compassionate and experienced a human range of feelings and
emotions, yet He was righteous and true, without sin. Recall when He saw the synagogue being used
by the moneychangers, He became angry and admonished them, and threw them out
with force. He said “my house is a house
of prayer and you have turned it into a den of thieves!” (Matt. 21:13I
paraphrased). Notice Jesus did not say, “You guys have
turned my house into a shamble, but that’s just my opinion…” He took a stand against evil with authority,
passion, and confidence. Jesus did not
turn a blind eye to the woman caught in the act of adultery, no He said get up,
go home, and sin no more (see John chapter 8). You see, we are to take a stand, be bold,
while exercising compassion and grace.
We, as believers, are called to be like Him. Christian means “Christ-Like”. If one is to truly be a Christian believer,
s/he is to become just that, Christ like.
Dr. Tim Clinton states, “Will we advocate for our beliefs and actively
influence others? Or are we doomed to
silence – to accept our Christian faith as a completely private matter that has
no impact on our lives in the public square?”
If you or I get wrapped up in going through life tiptoeing around so as
to not offend anyone, we embrace and present a weak and inaccurate, incomplete
Gospel.
In closing, I ask you, the reader, where are you on the spectrum? Once you answered this question, I further
inquire, are you comfortable in your position?
As believers, it is crucial that we be salt and light. Jesus tells us to share the Gospel and be
examples, bodily representations of Him on the Earth, just as He Himself was a
human representation of His Father (and ours), God.
For more information,
further discussion, or any reason at all, you may contact Pastor Aaron M.
Mathews at reverendamathews@yahoo.com
Beyond Biblical Literalism and Inerrancy: Conservative
Protestants and the Hermeneutic Interpretation of
Scripture, John Bartkowski, Sociology of Religion, 57, 1996.
conservative.
(n.d.). The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Retrieved April 30,
2013, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/conservative
Elwell, Walter A (1984). Evangelical
Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids
King James Version, Genesis Bible Co.
liberal.
(n.d.). © Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.. Retrieved April 30, 2013,
from Dictionary.com website: ictionary.reference.com/browse/liberal
Willard,
Dallas. Early Writings in the Philosophy of Logic
and
Mathematics (Edmund Husserl Collected Works, Vol
5)
(Dordrecht/Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1993) 548 pp.,
ISBN:
0792322622. Edited under the auspices of the Husserl-
Archives, Louvain , Belgium
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