End Times
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Date: 07 September 2018 2018
Volume 01: Week No. 11
POPE’s HISTORIC VISIT & The End of Days
His predictions are taken seriously by Catholics and are said to be spot-on, despite being disapproved by the Magisterium (Authority on teachings) of the Catholic Church. Christians should not lean towards prophecies that are outside the bible for spiritual guidance. However, one can’t help but to ask: Is there any significance to be found in the role of the Pope during the end times? Can we reasonably place him in any of the figures mentioned in the bible? For starters, it should be mentioned, the Pope oversees a sect that is failing to slow-down in heresy.
Daily Star N 26 August 2018, Pope Francis arrived in Dublin for a 36-hour trip in Ireland in an effort to clean a stained sheet of sexual child abuse that has long haunted sheet of sexual child abuse that has the Catholic Church. It has been 39 years long haunted the Catholic Churchsince the Papacy (office or authority of the Pope) visited the traditionally Catholic country.
It is believed in Catholic circles that Pope Francis could be the Last Pope before the end of the world, and as such, the visit to Ireland had others dramatically taking to Twitter: “Oh no, is this the end? The visit to Ireland… I don’t feel good about it.” Another one said: “….would hate Saint Malachi’s prophecy to come true.”
The last Pope who visited Ireland was Pope Benedict, in 1979. The Pope humbly took to the stands in apology in front of a crowd of thousands: “I beg the Lord’s forgiveness” for “the scandal and betrayal.” Besides the pontiff’s apology to win over the confidence of the Irish people; a prophecy of the end of the world has resurfaced during his historic visit.
You might be wondering, who is St Malachy? He is a 12th century Archbishop of Armagh, who delivered a vision to Pope Innocent II; which included the names of every future pope in a total of 112 that would rule before the end of time. According to the vision, we are now at the 112th Pope.
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John McArthur explains why: “Praying to Mary, celebrating the Mass, venerating the Pope – you won’t find those doctrines in the bible.” With that being said; falsehood greatly looms the papacy. And where there’s falsehood, evil lurks. The Lord warns that many will be deceived in the last days (Matthew 24). The Papacy has great power and will certainly exist during the reign of the anti-Christ. The dragon and the beast, in partnership with a false prophet, who happens to appear for the first time in John’s Revelation, was summoned to the Battle of Armageddon against the Lord (Rev. 16:12-16). The false prophet is not identified in the bible; one can’t help but to wonder: Could the Papacy be a candidate for the apocalyptic false prophet? Not jumping into conclusions, except that the ingredients for such a making are at the devil’s disposal.
RSA Government May Force Public Servants To Marry Gay-Couples Out of the 1130 Home Affairs staff, 421 refused to officiate gay/lesbian marriages and were exempted on grounds of religious belief or consciousness of belief; which is allowable by RSA Constitution. A new Bill is set out to force these staff members to marry gay/lesbian couples. The purpose of the Bill is to repeal/remove section 6 of the Civil Union Act, which allows a marriage officer to inform the Minister that he or she objects on the ground of conscience, religion, and belief to solemnising a civil union between persons of the same sex. ACDP (Christian Party) slammed the proposal; citing people have a right to choose. The bill will be issued for public comments, and as such, Christians working for government do have a right to object to the proposal by writing to the Home Affairs Minister when issued.
An Overview Do you have courage to preach God’s Truth? Are you being led into holiness and Christ-likeness? Does God’s Spirit lead you into truth? Have you experienced God’s supernatural power in a way that converts sinners and brings glory to Christ? Is your prayer life controlled and directed by the Spirit? Is there evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in your life? Are you being led into deeper worship with God? Are you evangelising the true Gospel of Jesus Christ? Have you been self-appointed or Spirit-led into your ministry? These are amongst the many things you’ll encounter in Biblical Preaching Handbook; riveting, fundamental and challenging questions that hit to the core of one’s motive to ministry; sifting the grain from the chaff, separating the boys from the men, and providing a delicate balance between the diligent study of the Word of God and being led by the Spirit in order to execute an effective message that is God-breathed and transforms the very heart and soul of man. John Clifford, Hunter Combs and David Frew labour in Biblical Preaching Handbook to form the Christ-centred Gospel in the reader; with emphasis on the minister of the Gospel, who above all is God’s instrument to reach the lost and shepherd His flock. The minister is admonished: “When we look at men who achieved great things for God, we should realise that they were committed to a holy life.” And, it does not end there; the minister is given, amongst many tools, practical dos and don’ts to solidify a biblical ministry, namely: Focusing on numbers hinders biblical preaching Understanding what biblical preaching is and is not Know the pros and cons of biblical preaching methods Excellent sermon-prep requires you to consider the scriptural context Five ways in which one should not preach Preach with power through the Holy Spirit The Release of Biblical Preaching Handbook comes during the 500th Celebration of the Switzerland Reformation led by Ulrich Zwingli which began on 1 st January 1519. The Handbook encourages expositional preaching, which has transformative power, going verse-by-verse through the bible in the manner of Reformers such as Ulrich Zwingli. The latter part of the Handbook explores principles of biblical observations, theology and interpretations, sermon preparation, and further exposes pitfalls that can save a minister from making dangerous biblical errors. The Handbook is a resourceful guide for Christians from all walks of life who desire to know God and seek to represent Him competently. This is a must read and a call for all pastors to go back to the bible. In the words of Dr. Peter Hammond (From the Introduction): “May God be pleased to grant us Biblical Reformation and spiritual Revival.”
Rev. John Clifford, his wife, and baby.
The book is co-authored by Hunter Combs (MDiv Phoenix Seminary) and Rev. David Frew. The book may be obtained from: CHRISTIAN LIBERTY BOOKS admin@christianlibertybooks.co.za www.christianlibertybooks.co.za 021-689-7478
The Remnant Shall Be Saved The Prophet Elijah is famously remembered for the words: ‘I am the only one left.” [1 Kings 19:14]. Elijah was speaking to God, and explaining why he was fleeing revengeful Jezebel. Elijah explained that he was the only one left serving God, everyone else in Israel had forsaken God; even worse, Elijah was hunted to be killed. This thought process by Elijah is often called by many ‘The Elijah Complex’. It is often a term used to describe people who think they are the only ones in right standing with God. The man of God, Elijah, was wrong in his assessment of Israel. He was not the only one still serving God. God actually responded that He has reserved 7000 in Israel, who have not bowed to Baal. It is important to understand that Elijah did not say he was ‘the only one’ remaining out of pride, but it was out of the Israel’s spiritual
condition at that time. Israel was under the dominion of Queen Jezebel, through her husband King Ahab. Israel had forsaken God, in exchange for Baal, a false pagan god that was introduced by Jezebel. This was painful to the Prophet Elijah, who sincerely feared the Lord. Today, in 2018, the church has fallen to the charm of false prophets; men who are in the gospel for self-enrichment, not for the true Gospel. These modern false prophets in the pulpit do not preach about God’s holiness because that is not good for ‘Business’. As a result, the church has been infiltrated by rampart sin and worldliness; not many are willing to stand for the truth. But just as in the days of Elijah, God has a plan. The question is whether each person wants to follow the crowd or be part of the Father’s remnant.
The Pearl Harbor Harbinger The term ‘harbinger’ is derived from the Middle English word herbergeour which referred to a person (typically an officer of the English royal household) who was sent in advance to arrange or prepare lodgings. It is essentially a thing or event which foreshadows or foretells the coming another.
On December 7th, 1941; the US naval base at Pearl Harbor (Hawaii) was attacked by the Imperial Japanese Airforce. Days later, the territory of Guam was attacked and captured. These events prompted a retaliation that drew the US into World War II and ultimately resulted in the first and only deployment of nuclear weapons on a. people (to date), at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There are some important observations worth highlighting concerning US-Japan relations at the time. First, there was a gradual deterioration in diplomacy resulting in economic sanctions and warnings from the US against Japanese aggression towards US allies the EastAsia region. Second, there was a false belief (or fear) by Japan that a preventative strike against US military capabilities in the Pacific was the only way to prevent US interference in the East-Asia region. Finally, while the US was aware of the threat of attack, there was an underestimation of the Japanese military capabilities and downplaying of the likelihood of attack.
Associated Press
Whilst US-North Korea relations have improved under the Trump presidency in recent months, an impasse in denuclearization talks further threatens to derail the peace process. It is clear that the Kim regime seeks a sense of security above all else. In the absence of such security guarantees, fear could yet push the regime to drastic measures. Whilst there is debate around North Korea’s capability to strike the US mainland, the general consensus is that
Guam and Hawaii are well within reach… bear in mind that a strike on US soil would certainly prompt retaliation with exceeding nuclear force, and turn US focus away from the Middle East to the Far East, which would set-up prime conditions for a Gog invasion (Ezek. 38)…were these too occur in the same period it would sure seem like a World War III… Let all believers not cease in praying for peace in the world as we speed the coming of Christ.
What Christians Should Know About Comprehensive Sexuality Education “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it”, says a biblical Proverb [22:6]. God has entrusted parents to be stewards towards the young ones, hence parents need to know about what their children are learning at school. The Department of Education intends to roll-out Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) programmes in public schools, probably starting in the 2019 academic year. What is CSE?: Generally speaking, CSE takes on different forms and is sometimes referred to as “education, information or counselling on human sexuality”, “sexual and reproductive health training, education or information”, “HIV/Aids prevention education”, “life skills programs”, “rights-based sexuality education”, etc. [FORSA]. As such, CSE may seem normal and even a good idea. In countries where CSE has already been implemented (including the USA, the UK, Australia, Sweden, etc),
it has become clear that CSE has a different and a more sinister agenda, namely the radical sexualisation of our children. In this regard, the following statement by the American College of Paediatricians is insightful: “Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) goes far beyond sex education, and is a dangerous assault on the health and innocence of children.” The South African government is increasingly under United Nations (UN) pressure to implement CSE under the guise that it will reduce teenage pregnancy, HIV/Aids and STD infection. [FORSA]. However, is this worth compromising the innocence of young minds? The Bible teaches us that we are not fighting flesh and blood, but our fight is a spiritual one. The UN is clearly an institution under the control of the enemy, and it is rapidly achieving its antichrist agenda. Christians must be alert, especially as the enemy targets poisoning our children’s minds.
Jewish New Year
Rosh Hashanah (literally meaning “beginning of the year”) is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah, literally “day [of] shouting or blasting”. The Jews are entering year 5779. It is amongst the most important holidays for Jews, beginning in the evening of Sunday, 9th September 2018 to the evening of Tuesday, 11 September 2018. The day is celebrated by blowing the Shofar and eating symbolic sweet foods such as apples dipped in honey, in the hope to evoke a sweet new year. It is known to the Jews to be the day God created Adam and Eve. Days leading to Rosh Hashanah, Jews pray and repent of their sins, and much of the day is spent in the temple (morning and evening). If you meet a Jew during these days, it would be nice to greet by saying “Shanah Tovah”, meaning “have a good year”.
The Dajjals of Islam Dajjal is an Arabic word meaning “deceiver”. According to the Hadiths in Islam, there are up to 30 Dajjals who will appear before the last days; the last of which will appear during the rule of the Mahdi (anointed one) and their appearance will trigger the descent of Isa (Jesus) from heaven. These Dajjals will claim to be messengers of Allah.In Islam, it is believed that there is only one God (Allah), who has no son, and the prophet Muhammad was his final messenger. Isa is regarded a prophet, who will return to earth (East of Damascus) in the last days during the seven year rule of the Mahdi. He will join the Mahdi, who will then lead the sunrise prayer (likely from his headquarters in Jerusalem) and open a gate to the west.
Credit: Vanityfair
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One of them will go on to pursue and kill the last Dajjal (in the city of Lod, which is 50km west of Jerusalem). Isa will later denounce the ‘deception’ of the cross and lead the whole world to Islam… The Christian Bible teaches that for three and a half years (likely during the seven year tribulation), God will send two witnesses to the earth who will prophesy and do signs and wonders. One of the beasts (i.e. the Anti-Christ or the false prophet) will pursue them and kill them and their dead bodies shall be lain openly in the streets of Jerusalem, and after three and a half days, they will resurrect and ascend to heaven (Zech. 4:3; Rev. 11:3-12) … One cannot help but notice the striking similarities between the Mahdi and the Anti-Christ, Isa and the false prophet and the Dajjals and the two witnesses… Islam is the second largest religion in the world (by number of adherents), behind Christianity, and has been rapidly growing; making it a prime candidate for a global religion offered as an alternative to Christianity (and all other religions) in the coming rule of the AntiChrist.