The New Year and also a new decade, not only heralded the much anticipated 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, but we also watched severe and totally unexpected floods batter Australia, Sri Lanka and Brazil, resulting in many fatalities; dead birds falling out of the sky and cattle dying by the roadside; a very near assassination of an American politician; the people of Tunisia rising up and forcing their president into exile; thousands of Egyptians also demonstrating against their president and another terrorist attack in Moscow, Russia, which saw dozens of people killed.

(Incidentally, this attack occurred the same week as the annual Bilderberg meeting at Davos (World Economic Forum).

For the record, the people of Tunisia and Egypt are not only predominantly Muslims but have lived for decades under a brutal police state, which thinks nothing of torturing and killing its own citizens, for daring to question their tyrannical reign. Just look at any Islamic country, and you can see what happens when Muslims are in government: their people are enslaved, either under Sharia law or under a corrupt capitalist system.

What we are now seeing in Egypt was mirrored back in 1989, when the Soviet-run eastern block, tried desperately in vain to put their people down. Had the internet been around then, they too would have copied the Egyptians and shut down all telecommunications. If communism/Islam is so good, why not allow people the chance to vote them back in?

Now millions of other middle-eastern nations are looking on nervously, wondering with anticipation, whether or not they too may one day be free from their dictatorship governments and enjoy some of the blessings that those in the historical Christian west have long experienced; free speech, freedom of religion and a democratic society. However many Islamic fundamentalist groups would love to take over such countries and this type of agenda was witnessed at Moscow’s main airport just days ago.

If there’s one thing that all Bible-believing Christians will know, is that not only is it paramount for Israel to enjoy a safe and stable ally in the Middle East, but that she is desperate to avoid any more conflicts with her Islamic neighbours. (I believe Israel and Egypt share a waterline, so this is one area that they cannot afford to fall out over).

Some Bible teachers consider Russia playing a large part in the final Armageddon. With Russia becoming more and more circled by Islamic neighbours and with over 40% of her army expected to be Islamic in the next decade, one doesn’t need to look too hard at a possible motive, when the armies of the north march against Israel.

One mustn’t underestimate the might and rapid growth of China either and her possible role in the last days.

When people start making predictions or even prophecies, just switch them off (Deut. 18:20-22). However, Scripture does encourage us to look for the signs and always be ready for His imminent return (Mrk. 13:37; Rev. 1:7).

I’d like to make the following points about my favourite subject of eschatology:

The word of God tells us that when freak weather or chaos lashes a country and people die, it’s normally down to the Lord’s righteous anger against their sin.

“The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left” (Is. 24:4-6).

Now, this piece of Scripture is very interesting. First, it’s aimed at those living during the Tribulation, not our present church age. However, we can still cite this as evidence of God’s fury over unrepentant sin, regardless of its generation and use it spiritually to understand what we are seeing every day.

It must also be stated that God is very merciful and will save anyone that truly calls on Him. However, this doesn’t mean they will be escape judgment (like the above) when it comes. Parts of the Old Testament clearly show saved people dying with unsaved people. There are many reasons for this, but the main one is because of sin. Perhaps they didn’t rebuke sin in their own neighbourhoods or failed to deal with their own personal sins, so God judged them all simultaneously.

God is no respecter of persons (Deut. 34:5-8; Jud. 16:28-31).

Also keep in mind that the Old Testament is God’s record of how He dealt with nations. The New Testament is how He deals with individuals. Now saying that let me say this: one needs to carefully distinguish how God once dealt with theocratic Israel and how He now deals in general with man.

The only way to adequately achieve this is serious Bible study, something all saved people must endeavour to do (Hos. 4:6; 2 Tim. 2:15).

My other point that needs to be made is this: Matt. 24, like Is. 24, is normally cited when things such as the above occur, to suggest we are seeing Scripture fulfilled in our current lifetime. But this part of Scripture, like Is. 24, is aimed primarily at the Jews in 70 AD, with a final fulfilment in the Great Tribulation, after the true church has been raptured. As we are still living in the Church age, one needs to be very careful not to fall into the error of reading the paper in one hand, and the word of God in the other. Also be careful not to adopt historicalism either.

Finally, not everything that goes wrong in this world is directly the fault of God. Chernobyl, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and other deadly events were down to man. Mankind is more than capable of killing rare animals, polluting the environment and contaminating pretty much everything he gets his hands on, so don’t be so quick to point the finger at God when things go wrong. He may allow things to occur, but that doesn’t mean He is responsible for them.

What’s In The News?

The Vatican again, according to the Belfast Telegraph, claims the pope was quoted as saying, that female prostitute, as well as male sex workers, can uses condoms but only for hygiene reasons, if you please! Thing is how do you know when it’s for “pleasure” or “hygiene” we have to ask when you are committing and paying for the act with either sex? And isn’t all sex outside of marriage a sin, according to the word of God. One Jesuit priest remarked: “This is a game changer.” But wait till the Lord returns, then you will see some game changers! As we have remarked before to the boys in the Vatican, you need to get down on your knees, get saved and then preach the true gospel to your millions of lost followers. Oh and keep out of the bedroom as well guys!

So the pope’s own private bank is hit by another scandal-again! We have in the past highlighted the problems with the Vatican’s bank, Roberto Calvi and the mystery of his death on the creepy Blackfriars Bridge in London in 1982.  We have visited this bridge where he was found hanging with rocks in his pockets. And only this week we received an email from a lady in Arizona who had known the late Archbishop Paul Marcinkus.  And according to her he was the character in Dan Brown’s book Angels and Demons. (And no I haven’t read it.) Marcinkus, she claims, was also involved in that sordid chapter of the Vatican bank, under the reign of pope John Paul II, when Calvi and Sindona were associated with its near collapse. And we have no reason to doubt what this lady has shared with us. Today dodgy Vatican deals, with perhaps the Mafia, have caused Italian police to put it under the financial microscope-seems assets are to be seized-so we watch with interest from this ministry.

Also seen in the Belfast Telegraph recently, a headline that read: “Pope child porn ‘normal’ sparks outrage.” You bet it does! But we’re not surprised by this latest cry of innocence from the Vatican. The pope also foolishly claims that paedophilia wasn’t considered as “absolute evil” as recently as the 1970s. What planet is this man living on! Some years ago a BBC programme highlighted the shocking sexual and physical abuse cases that it had uncovered.  Today the pope sometimes talks about this as if it was nothing to do with him, in other words, a minor diocesan problem that got out of hand. Rape is rape in any law-the innocent being corrupted by the abusers. The sooner Ratzinger wakes up to this the better for all those victims, still after all these years grieving and weeping quietly within themselves. Joseph Ratzinger will one day have to answer for these and others sins that his church has committed against so many.

Only God can create a saint, well isn’t that right? Well not so say the Vatican because before pope John Paul could be called a “saint,” some thing has to happen, like a miracle perhaps? And in his case, a French nun, blighted with Parkinson’s, prayed to….wait for it, a dead pope! And not to Jesus Christ. And apparently was healed. Why? Because the Vatican removes Jesus from the initiation and claims a dead pope healed her-not Jesus. Utter Blasphemy I say. Well, Marie, I believe that the dead pope had nothing to do with your welcomed recovery (if indeed you were even healed) he’s got his own problems, but might not the Saviour of the World, who hung on a cross and for you and me, just be responsible for your healing? Now have you thought about that? So never give the glory to anyone else. And remember the saving Lord and the terrible price He paid. He is the Light of the World. It has nothing to do with the pope. This method the Vatican uses simply denigrates the Lord and I resent it.

Talking about the late pope, we now learn a glass vial of blood that was in the possession of  Cardinal Dziwisz (his longtime secretary), is about to be donated to a church in Poland. But why? There are questions we need answering, such as what’s the cardinal doing with this item anyway? Why did he want it in the first place? Where did he keep it before this announcement to the press? Was it in the fridge, on his desk or in a drawer, and do you know anyone else that keeps blood in a bottle (well maybe Dracula-but then he’s not a cardinal) and what’s the point of putting it on display anyway? This is sick and it reminds me of the bones of Theresa of Lisieux that were up for display some years ago or should I say three tiny items from the skeleton of the poor woman and goodness knows where the rest of her is? Being stored-maybe in another cardinal’s desk and what’s with all this hoarding of people’s dead bodies and tissues? All very unhealthy I have to suggest, well don’t you? But seriously it seems to us they are trying to delete the healing/saving precious blood of Jesus Christ and implant a dead pope’s claret as a substitute. Sorry but this irreverence only denies His lasting glory and the Vatican should be ashamed of themselves in this sensitive matter.

Cherie Blair “wore a pendant to ward off evil spirits,” during her time at No. 10. We seem to write about the Blairs more often than not. So when Tony Blair’s former chief communications officer (spin-doctor) Alastair Campbell released his latest diaries, this story needed to be covered. One has every right to wonder if Cherie confessed this occultist superstition to her parish priest? Of course not, I hear you say. And you’re probably right. This goes to show once again how liberal and apostate the church of Rome is. More tragic of course is the absence of the Gospel ever being preached from any Catholic pulpit in the land. When I was a Catholic, I never once heard repentance, Heaven, Hell or holiness preached. The fact is being a Catholic is a very easy religion to hold to. “Officially” you have to believe in everything they dictate, but “unofficially” you can pick and choose what you like. This is more than evident when we see practically nobody in the pews in the west, obey the papacy on birth control. The average Catholic family in the UK is mum, dad and two kids. 100 years ago, the number of kids was more than doubled. Need I say any more? If you know of a Catholic, please give them the Gospel. 

Anglican bishops treacherous move to Rome. This month saw three Anglican bishops, officially “ordained” into the church of Rome. Their official reason for doing this is due to their objection to female bishops entering “the ministry” within the church of England. One would do well to remember that to join the church of Rome, one has to believe everything they teach. These apostate Anglicans were obviously closet Catholics all along and used the latest compromise to feminist “clergy” as an excuse to make the switch. However, I would like to say that when Vatican III comes, and the mess that is now witnessed in the Anglican church and most of Protestantism is repeated in the Catholic church, where will these new “priests” go then? Maybe they’ll set up a new church. Either way, this is organized religion at its worst and one also wonders what financial packages were agreed before they jumped ship? Do they retain their index-linked pensions and will their kids enjoy private education, like the first batch of Anglican vicars, did, when they went over to Rome in the late 1990s? Where is any of this paid priestcraft system found in the New Testament I ask? Nowhere of course!

 

JGB

January 2011

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