Please see the following reliable sources for reliable information on the world at the end of 2022.
Pastors' Point of View (PPOV) no. 237. Prophecy Update. Dr. Andy Woods. 12-23-22.
3. Christmas 2020 and 2011
Reports by Lambert Dolphin
I thought I would summarize that discussion in this magazine format. Please understand that not every church in a particular denomination or stream of theology holds to some of this aberrant theology! A good illustration of this is many in the Assemblies of God are pushing back against Kingdom Now/ Dominion Theology, so prevalent in some Charismatic churches today. I’ll explain in a moment.
So, here’s a short list of theologies you might want to understand, and particularly if you are looking for a new church. I suggest you avoid any church that embraces:
Tragically, almost all major denominations embrace this today. The Millennium is not literal, in spite of the fact that Revelation 20 says it is a thousand years multiple times. It’s not that they deny a Millennium; rather, they don’t believe it is literal. They believe that Jesus is sitting on the Throne of David in heaven, and that this present Church Age is the kingdom referred to, over which Christ reigns.
To the Amillennialist, nothing is taken literally. Jesus is never going to rule from Jerusalem. There is no special role for modern-day Israel. Her rebirth is of no significance. The Church is the new Israel (Replacement Theology.)
To embrace this is to call into question God’s desire and/or ability to keep His promises, and this opens up a host of other theological problems. For example, if God would renege on His promises to Israel after proclaiming those promises to be “everlasting,” how could we be sure of anything He promises, including the promises of salvation to believers in Christ?
Mankind does not have the ability to improve a decaying, sinful planet! But try to convince people who embrace any of the above theologies because they believe the Church can, indeed, bring Heaven to earth. Is this delusional? Perhaps. Jesus Christ cannot even return until we clean up the planet physically, spiritually, and politically, they teach!
The command in Genesis 1:28, to take dominion over all things, has nothing to do with creating perfection on a stained planet!
We cannot bring Heaven down to earth even though that is the message that is screaming at those who visit the website of Bethel Church, Redding, CA. The Bible says everything will deteriorate as we move further into the end-times, and apostasy will rage in the church. The love of many will grow cold (Matthew. 24:12). People will primarily focus on self and money (II Timothy 3).
Many, but certainly not all Pentecostals embrace one of these similar theologies. Thanks to the church, things will keep getting better! Glory days are ahead!
Instead, society will so decline that a “man with a plan” known as the Antichrist, will have to step up to the plate and try to save everything.
These theologies are not really interested in the nation of Israel as their single focus is using the Church to perfect the world. Those caught up in any of these belief systems will never be able to understand the times!
This is one of the strangest theologies ever! All prophecy is history. It happened in 70 A.D. The Tribulation was the sacking of Rome and Nero was the Antichrist. There is no relevance to the rebirth of modern Israel. Some branches of Preterism even believe Christ returned “in spirit” in 70 A.D. and that’s it. It’s all over. A Partial Preterist would believe in a Second Coming.
Two prominent Preterists include Hank Hanegraaff and R.C. Sproul. Hanegraaff has misled millions who listen to his call-in radio program. He seems to constantly be at war with popular Dispensationalists like Dr. Tim LaHaye and Hal Lindsey. His belief system causes him to make inflammatory remarks that come close to anti-Semitism.
No Preterist can possibly understand our crazy days!
There are many popular teachers today who embrace Reformed Theology but very few of them will be able to make sense of our times. Reformed scholar Dr. John Piper says, “The promises made to Abraham, including the promise of the Land, will be inherited as an everlasting gift only by true, spiritual Israel, not disobedient, unbelieving Israel.”
His Replacement Theology, or the Church is the new Israel, will blind many of his followers to the truth of what is happening on a daily basis! This kind of teaching causes evangelicals to abandon Israel and become pro-Palestine and even pro-Hamas. After all, they conclude, Israel has no right to the land!
Reformed blogger, Tim Challies, says he rejects the concept of the Rapture and says he will always hold to the fact that Satan is bound right now so he will cling to his Amillennialism. There is no coming Millennial Kingdom.
The Reformers got a lot of things right but they collectively got eschatology (Bible prophecy) very wrong!
Some ten years ago, Dr. John MacArthur scolded his Reformed brethren at his annual conference and asked them if they had ever met a Hittite? He reminded them that today there are several million Israelites and please adjust your glasses to see that this has huge significance for the believer trying to understand the times! Without MacArthur’s perspective, nobody embracing Reformed Theology will properly understand our times.
Though it’s mocked and scorned, it is the biblical truth and the only theology that will allow you to understand the times, contend for the faith, and become a watchman on the wall! Some just call this “Left Behind” theology, based on the Tim LaHaye book series of 15-20 years ago.
The key word here is “literal.” It teaches a literal Rapture, Tribulation, Antichrist, and Millennium. It fully understands the important role of Israel and her miraculous rebirth in 1948. It predicts that the church, right before the Rapture, will be Laodicea—riddled with heresy. It does not promote an end-time revival other than during the Tribulation, at which time untold millions will come to salvation through the 144,000 Jewish evangelists and the Two Witnesses.
Jesus Christ will return at the Second Coming to save mankind and to save the earth. He will install one thousand years of perfect government. This will be followed by the New Heavens and New Earth.
Because space is limited, I had to limit this discussion, but I hope this helps. If you are church shopping, all of these issues are relevant for you! Today, many churches and denominations will lead you astray thanks to these flawed theologies.
Thankfully, there are some who refuse to buckle to false theology and reject the aberrant, having a love for the truth! May their number increase! Our times will continue to get crazier and people will desperately search for some answers. But because so few churches actually embrace theological truth, the sheep just wander from church to church trying to find one that will help them cope during these last days.
by Matt Slick | November 27, 2014 |
The true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus, who lived in Israel 2000 years ago, never did anything wrong (1 Peter 2:24), and died on the cross for our sins (1 Corinthians15 1-4; 1 Peter 2:24). Christmas is when we reflect on and celebrate His birth. He entered our world and become one of us so that He could die on the cross to save us from our sins. Jesus is not just any man. He is God in flesh (John 1:1, 14; Colossians 2:9). He is the second person of the Trinity who, by being born of the Virgin Mary, was made under the law (Galatians 4:4) and subject to the same temptations that we are – though He never succumbed to those temptations. So, Christmas is the celebration of the historical event of where God entered into our world so that He might display the perfection and holiness of His Being and that through His work of living perfectly and also dying on the cross for our sins, that all who trust in him would be saved from the righteous judgment of God.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:16-17).
Unfortunately, Christmas has become a commercial holiday rather than a religious celebration. It is now a time for businesses to make money, for people to give gifts, for children to be excited, and for time off from work. The “reason for the season” is supposed to be Jesus, not gifts, not parties, and not watching “the big game.” Of course, having celebrations, attending parties, and watching the big game are not wrong. It’s just that the meaning of Christmas is supposed to be the recognition and appreciation of the birth of the One who loves us and died in our place.
Jesus’ birthplace was prophesied in the Old Testament, 500 years before He was born.
Jesus’ being born of a virgin was prophesied in the Old Testament over 600 years earlier.
Jesus, being God in the flesh was prophesied in the Old Testament.
Jesus would be preceded by a great prophet who was prophesied in the Old Testament.
Jesus gives meaning to Christmas. Jesus, who was God in the flesh, perfect, pure, holy, and who died on the cross and rose from the dead, is the one who gives the true meaning to Christmas.
The reason Jesus was born was so that you could be forgiven of your sins. Jesus became one of us to do what we could not – live perfectly. But not only that, He allowed Himself to be nailed to the cross by godless men so that He could bear our sin in His body (1 Peter 2:24). Jesus did everything right in His life and then took away everything you did wrong on the cross in His death – Then He rose from the dead, three days later, proving that what He did was acceptable to God the Father! By trusting in what Jesus did, you are accepting God’s work on your behalf. Only then can you be guaranteed forgiveness of all of your lust, pride, lying, cheating, stealing, fornication, abortion, sexual immorality, coveting, hating, and more. Trust what He did on the cross. Turn from your sins. Receive Jesus as the means by which your sins are forgiven. Ask Jesus to forgive you. Trust Him and lean not on your own ability. Ask Him to forgive you. He will.
Then, be ready to live for Him as He lives in you.
DECEMBER 21, 2022
The word “world-view” has been overused in recent years. But we shouldn’t discard it, because our world-view is extremely relevant when it comes to our concern for the lost. Take, for instance, the issue of Christmas. If our world-view has little or no concern for the lost, the reason for the season will be a time to come apart from the world because it’s a pagan festival rather than something rooted in Holy Scripture.
Let me share the world-view that determines my attitude toward all worldly holidays—to Christmas, Easter, Halloween, July 4th, etc.
“We have become so accustomed to the celebration of Christmas that we’ve forgotten that this is when the sinful world celebrates the birth of our Savior.”
I see those within the Christian Church as survivors of the Titanic. We are in a lifeboat, and all around us people are quietly groaning in terror because they know that they are about to drown. What am I going to do as I look at such a sight? Perhaps I could polish the brass on the boat. Or maybe I could get a deck of cards out of my pocket and play a game of solitaire to fill in time. These are insane thoughts in such a scenario. If I am any sort of human being, I will, in every way, try and pull those dying people into the safety of the lifeboat. If I can grab an oar, reach out to some, and pull them into the boat, I will do it. If I can find a rope to throw out and pull in multiple people, I’ll do that with all my might. God forbid that I should be distracted from the sobering task that is before me—to pull precious human beings into safety. That’s my world-view, and that is what shapes my convictions when it comes to the season of Christmas.
Instead of it being a pagan festival that should be ignored, I see it as a huge chunk of rope that I can throw to those who are perishing. We have become so accustomed to the celebration of Christmas that we’ve forgotten that this is when the sinful world celebrates the birth of our Savior. It’s when they sing that He was born that man no more may die—born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth. In the light of that, how could I withdraw and play solitaire?
If you study our ministry’s materials, you will find that every item that we have produced is designed to reach out to the lost. Whether it is books on insomniaor panic attacks, devotionals (like Wisdom for Life), or even humorous books (such as 101 of the Dumbest Things People Have Done and 101 Things Husbands Do to Annoy Their Wives), all of them contain the gospel—because we are horrified that human beings are sinking into Hell. Even The Evidence Study Bible—which is written primarily to equip Christians to share their faith—is filled with gospel presentations. And, of course, we have dozens of gospel tracts that can be used to reach the unsaved.
“Even though Christmas is seen by some as being a time of pagan worship, we can still use it as a time to show our loved ones, our friends, our neighbors, and boozing sinners that we care about them by giving gifts at a time when gifts are expected.”
Many years ago, when I was a youth pastor back in New Zealand, I organized a Christmas outreach to the local booze drinkers that filled pubs. We took a flat deck truck and one rotund brother in Christ—upon whom we put a Santa Claus suit—and then we stopped outside of these pubs and sang Christmas carols. And guess what? Those who heard the carols came outside to listen to us sing, and then some stayed for a quick gospel presentation that explained the meaning behind the celebration—that Jesus came to destroy death and bring life and immortality to light through the gospel (2 Timothy 1:10).
Even though Christmas is seen by some as being a time of pagan worship, we can still use it as a time to show our loved ones, our friends, our neighbors, and boozing sinners that we care about them by giving gifts at a time when gifts are expected. You might even consider getting our books in bulk and blanketing your neighborhood or getting the gold Ten Commandments Keychain and giving these as gifts to the unsaved. It’s no time for solitaire. Please use Christmas as an oar to pull the lost into the safety of the Savior. We exist as a ministry to serve you for this purpose.
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December 24, 2022
