Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

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March 2010 Issue

Come As You Are
Mar 1st, 2010
A. W Tozer (1897- 1963)
Uncategorized

Let me say this to any of you who are still trying to add up your human merits - look away in faith to the Lord of abundant mercy!

Fixing yourself over and trying to straighten yourself out will never be sufficient - you must come to Jesus as you are!

Our Lord told about two men who went up into the temple to pray. One said, "God, here I am - all fixed up. Every hair is in place!" The other said, "Oh God, I just crawled in off Skid Row. Have mercy on me!"

God forgave the Skid Row bum, but sent the other man away, hardened, unrepentant and unforgiven.

We come to Him just as we are but in humble repentance. When the human spirit comes to God knowing that anything it receives will be out of God's mercy, then repentance has done its proper work!

God promises to forgive and forget and to take that man into His heart and teach him that all of God's kindnesses are due to His mercy. What more can a sinner ask?             

Earth - Man's Home
Mar 1st, 2010
Art Sadlier
Uncategorized

Scripture tells us that God created earth as a beautiful home for man.  We also know that when man sinned the earth was cursed. (Genesis 3:19, Romans 8:19-23)  God does not intend that man should go on in his sin and enjoy the blessing of God on his life.

For man to enjoy the blessing of God he must repent and turn from his sin. The curse of God is upon men who do not repent.

There is a principle in scripture which tells us that God sends all kinds of disasters and difficulties upon men to warn them to repent. A classic text in this regard is Amos 4:10 “I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt:  your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet ye have not returned unto me, saith the Lord.”

Further examples in scripture of this principle are the flood and the fire that fell on Sodom. I believe that today such things as hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes are further warnings of God to our generation to repent. I do not necessarily believe that those who come directly under such disasters are necessarily more sinful than others around them. The message to all men is to repent.

These things have always been in the world since the fall of man. Jesus warned that in the last days these things would greatly increase in intensity and frequency.

In Matthew 24:3 the Disciples asked the Lord a question, “What shall be the sign of thy coming and the end of the age (world).”

Jesus listed signs which would precede His return to the earth. The signs were in two categories; the first category was called the beginning signs. Concerning the beginning signs we read, “and there shall be famines, and pestilence, and earthquakes in divers (various) places.” The clear implication is, when you see these things multiplying and happening in an unusual way, wake up, the Day of the Lord is at hand.

They tell us that there are now a million earthquakes a year, many of them quite small, however the USGS recorded 112 major earthquakes in a recent span of five days.

More recently we have seen the devastating earthquake in Haiti as well as a heavy earthquake in Japan. On February 28, 2010 there was a major earthquake in Chile.

Weather-related disasters and earthquakes made 2008 the second most costly year for insurers after 2005, when Hurricane Katrina struck the United States, according to a leading insurer. Losses in 2008 were around $160 billion (US); it was surpassed only by 2005, when Katrina contributed to losses of $220 billion (US).

The world around us may be oblivious to these things, but as believers we can interpret what they mean.  “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.  Ye are all the children of the light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.”  1 Thess. 5:4, 5.  God has a purpose in revealing prophecy to us; we must not miss that purpose!  Here is a major purpose!  “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”

 Someday soon Christ will return to the earth and the pristine world that God created and intended for man will be restored.

The Coming War
Mar 1st, 2010
Art Sadlier
Uncategorized

The leaders of Iran have boasted that they will wipe Israel off the map.  They have been working to develop missiles and nuclear weapons to carry out their threats. Recently, the leaders of Iran stated that they are now a “nuclear power”. We do not know exactly how close they are to sending nuclear missiles to wipe Israel off the map. We do know that the day when they can accomplish their boast is approaching quickly.

At some point in the future Israel will attempt to bomb Iran's nuclear sites. It is not an “if” but a "when".  The consequences of such an attack are awesome to consider, however, for Israel the failure to do something will be terminal.  Many Israelis realize that the Iranian nuclear threat, for them, is a matter of life and death.

Iran is preparing for the coming war on another front. It has been revealed that Iran has smuggled, through Syria, to Hezbollah, the new Fatah, 110 missiles with a range of 250 km, well able to reach Israeli cities. Israel has reacted to this development by warning Syria that any war with Hezbollah will bring a devastating attack on Syria. Hezbollah has its own arsenal of other missiles and rockets. They have the SA-2, the SA-3 and as many as 4,000 to 6,000 Iranian Fair 3 and Fair 5 rockets which have a range of 75 to 80 kilometers. The IDF estimates that Hezbollah has about 40,000 rockets of different types and sizes and that the stockpile is growing daily. They also have a growing inventory of conventional weapons. It seems that Syria, Hezbollah and Iran are preparing for the inevitable conflict with Israel. Iran and Syria are insisting that Israel is about to attack them. This seems to be a propaganda ploy to cause the world to blame Israel if and when a war breaks out.

Ahmadinejad and Bashur Assad have mocked and threatened Israel saying that they envisioned a New Middle East free of Zionists. Ahmadinejad went on to say, “The new Middle East will be a Middle East without Zionists and without Imperialists. With Allah’s help, this will happen.”

We have reliable information indicating that Syria has been attempting to obtain both nuclear and biological weapons. In 2007 Israel bombed, what was evidently a nuclear weapons facility in Syria, consisting of materials obtained from North Korea. Just this last week the Israeli foreign minister warned that Israel would deliver a devastating blow to Syria if they or Hezbollah attacked Israel.

There seems to be a potential scenario in which Syria, Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas would launch an all out assault on Israel.  This could be an assault involving thousands of missiles, possibly with chemical and/or biological weapons and even, perhaps, involving nuclear warheads.  If Israel were to bomb Iran, which seems inevitable, this war would almost certainly be triggered. Israel’s very existence would be threatened.

Israel has a plan called the “Samson Option.” It is named after Samson who sacrificed himself to destroy his enemies. In the event of Israel’s imminent destruction, it would launch its nuclear weapons to destroy its enemies.
It is now obvious that Syria is totally committed to utterly destroying Israel. The capital of Syria is Damascus; the Bible has some ominous words for Damascus.

Isaiah says, “The burden of Damascus. Behold Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.” Isaiah 17: 1.

Damascus is the oldest city on earth, and though it has been conquered many times, it has never been destroyed, but has remained intact until this day.

This timing of the destruction of Damascus is revealed in verse 4, at a time when Israel is greatly threatened and is reduced to a state of peril and fear.

Another indication of the timing of this attack is implied in Ezekiel 38 & 39. The fact is that although Syria is now closely allied with Russia and Iran, they are not mentioned as being a part of that war, implying that the destruction of Damascus may well be imminent.

It is obvious that Syria, with the help of Iran, Russia and North Korea, is preparing an arsenal of biological and possibly nuclear weapons to destroy Israel. I believe the moment Israeli Intelligence is alerted that an attack is imminent they will exercise the “Samson Option”. Israel has low yield weapons which give off minimum radioactive fallout. These weapons could be used with pinpoint accuracy.

The whole scenario is falling into place. It is amazing how after 2800 years Isaiah’s prophecy seems about to be fulfilled.

A full scale nuclear war by Iran does not seem to fit into the end time Biblical scenario, nevertheless the whole Mid-east crisis is rushing toward some kind of cataclysmic event which would finally set up the world for a Peace Treaty, even though it will be a false peace, by a false Messiah.

Isaiah 17:14 may well be a description of the fate of Damascus. “And behold at eventide trouble, and before the morning, he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us and the lot of them that rob us” (seek to take the Golan Heights).  These are awesome, momentous days in which we live!                                                                                                  

The Promised Land
Mar 1st, 2010
Art Sadlier
Uncategorized

In Jeremiah 2:7, the Lord called the Promised Land, “My Land”.  God promised this land of Canaan to Israel as an everlasting possession (Genesis 17:8).  He repeated the same promise to Isaac and Jacob and He repeated it many times.

In Ezekiel 36, the enemies of God and of Israel claim possession of the Land that God has stated is ‘His’ land.  “....Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession”, verse 2.  There is evidence to indicate that the Palestinians (PA) are descendants of the Edomites, (also called Idumeans). In speaking of the end times, Ezekiel referred to these same Palestinians. “Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey,” Verse 5.  We have been witnessing for some time now this attempt by the Palestinians to claim and possess Israel’s land and to drive them off the heritage God has promised to them.

This week Israel has designated a number of places as heritage sites. Among those sites are ‘Rachel’s Tomb’ and the ‘Patriarch’s Cave’.  

The following news item appeared this week.  “The Prime Minister announced earlier this week that the ancient tomb, located immediately south of Jerusalem, and the Patriarchs’ Cave (Me'arat HaMachpelah) in Hebron, are Jewish heritage sites that will be refurbished. Genesis Chapter 23 describes the purchase of the Patriarch's Cave by Abraham in order to bury his wife Sarah, and Genesis 35: 19 describes that Rachel "died and was buried on the road to Ephrata which is Bethlehem...the sign of her grave stands until today."

Noam Arnon stated that the Patriarch’s Cave “Was a Jewish site thousands of years before Islam ever existed.”

In response to this announcement we have the following news item. “The entire Muslim world has protested Israel’s initiative, and the United Nations has expressed “concerns.” Hezbollah, Iran, Egypt, Syria and Jordan warned that the move is a provocation, and Hamas out rightly called for violence. Abbas, visiting in Brussels, told the Belgian parliament in Brussels that the move is a “serious provocation which may lead to a religious war.”

Such audacity, that the enemies of Israel should make themselves the enemies of God and defy the living God. We are reminded of the audacity of Satan himself as he dares to claim that which is God’s in Isaiah 14:13-14, “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north.  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”

Perhaps the most shocking of all is the response of the Obama Administration.  On Wednesday the US added its voice to those harshly condemning Israel over its official recognition of the Cave of the Patriarch and Rachel's Tomb as national heritage sites.

America has made itself the enemy of God and has joined with those who determined to drive Israel off the land that the living God has promised to her.

Another news item this week further indicates the extent of America’s betrayal of Israel,    “Recent meetings between the Obama administration and the Palestinian Authority revealed the White House is on board to support a Palestinian threat to unilaterally ask the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state outside of negotiations with Israel,” a senior PA negotiator told WND. 

It is amazing how this whole scenario is playing out.  America has been travelling down this road for some time now.  All the while the decline of America is progressing in sync with their betrayal of Israel and so very few seem to comprehend what is taking place

The World is Changing
Mar 1st, 2010
Art Sadlier
Uncategorized

The world as we have known it is rapidly passing away.

Did you know that:

** China is soon to become the largest English speaking nation on the planet?

** 25% of India's population with the highest IQ is greater than the entire population of the USA? India has more honour students than America has kids.

** The top in demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004? We are now preparing students for jobs that do not yet exist.**  By 2013 there is expected to be a super computer which will exceed the computational capabilities of the human brain. Sometime after that there will be a super computer, which will sell for as little as thousand dollars, which will exceed the computational capabilities of the entire human race. This will be available to millions of people.

**  During the last 5 minutes:

    67 babies were born in America, 274 babies were born in China 395 babies were born in India? 

**  100% of the college graduates in India speak English?

**  The first commercial text message was sent in December of 1992 and that today the number of text messages sent every day exceeds the total population of the planet?

Our world is changing at lightning speed. The Word of God is filled with the message that one day the world as we know it will pass away. Daniel used the terminology, "The time of the end". Jesus said, "Then will the end come". Paul said, "In the last days". The Bible is filled with the message that someday the world as we have known it will be terminated and the world will be restored to the pristine condition which God originally intended.

Fulfilled prophecy is absolute proof that the Bible is the Word of God and that God knows the end from the beginning. Over 2500 years ago the Spirit of God, speaking through the prophet Daniel, foretold events which would transpire in our day. Daniel 12:4 "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words of the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." 

Notice the phrase "The time of the end", there is an end coming to this present world. That end time is near. Daniel proceeds to verify this. He says "Many shall run to and fro", in Daniel’s day a camel travelled at the speed of 8 miles per hour. By the 1880’s locomotives reached the speed of 100 mph. It took the world 6000 years to reach that speed, in just 60 more years aircraft reached the speed of 400 mph. In 20 years more, military aircraft were travelling at the speed of 4000 mph. In 20 more years men were orbiting the earth at 24,000 MPH.

Daniel also says, "Many shall run to and fro".  In the forty period between 1950 and 1990, the number of US air passengers increased from 2 million to 200 million per year. Today at any given time of the day there are between 5 and 10 million people in the world's airspace travelling at high speed around the globe.

Daniel goes on to foretell, "In the time of the end knowledge shall be increased". That has been fulfilled in our day. After almost 6000 years, by the 1800's the sum total of man's knowledge had doubled once. By the 1990's man's knowledge was doubling every 18 months. Today more than 3000 books are published every day. It is estimated that more bits of unique information will be generated this year than in the previous 5000 years. Let me ask the honest heart, is the Bible the Word of the living God?

The Bible has much to say about a coming climactic end to the present age. We are seeing exponential growth in many areas which indicate that this present age is running out of time.

Exponential growth in:

---  Military Power. In early times one man could kill one man with the sword. Today one man can kill millions with a nuclear device. Jesus said, "Except those days should be shortened, there should be no flesh saved". Time is running out.

---  Medicine and Science. They tell us that 90 % of all the scientists that ever lived are alive in the earth today. 90% of medications used today were unknown ten years ago.                    

---  Population.  In the days of the Roman Empire there were approximately 250 million people in the world.  By 1800  1 billion  -  By 1950  2 billion -  By 1975  3 billion - In the decade of the 1990's the population increased by 1 billion - By the time this decade is over the population will have increased  2 billion more, to 7 billion. That is exponential growth.

---  Construction. From 1970 to 2000 there was more construction than in the previous 5,000 years.

--- Technology. It is estimated that the sum of technological knowledge doubles every 9-10 months.

---  Evil. Through Television, Videos and the Internet evil has increased and spread exponentially. Paul foretold this in    2 Timothy 3:13.

We are living in the last days of the last days. The world as we have known it is about to be terminated. Jesus Christ is about to come and take His Bride, the Church, home to heaven to dwell with Him forever.

Are you ready for Christ’s return?  Are you a part of the bride of Christ?  Have you been born again?  Jesus said plainly, "...Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3.  Later in the same discourse He said, "He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.