Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | May 27, 2015

Why is All This Happening Now?

What’s Going on in the World?

Hardly a day goes by that some new jarring headline announces something that flies in the face of decency and order. A headline recently came to my attention:

“Girl Scouts Reverse Stance and Accept Little Boy Who Wants to Join!”

The little boy in question is seven years old, has an older sister, and likes to play with girl toys at this point in his life; to use this as an opportunity to start him on such a destructive path is irresponsible to say the very least. The article mentions no father so it would appear a single mom, who has a different last name, is permitting, if not encouraging, her son to follow a path which is not likely to be sustainable. As one male observer pointed out once this seven year old boy reaches puberty his interest in girls and girl things will likely take a big shift.

Demographic and Other Forms of Decline

According to demographic studies a national birth rate below 2.1 births per woman will result in a steadily shrinking population. The birth rate for caucasian women in the United States is 1.9 births per woman which is well below the replacement rate of 2.1.  The only thing that has given the United States a demographic edge is immigration, which is sustaining the overall population at a marginal level of growth.

Back to the original question, “Why is All This Happening Now?” I believe there is a simple answer to that question; we are living in the last days as described in the Bible and watching the problems associated with that era unfold before our eyes.

In 2 Timothy 3:1-5 the Apostle Paul cautioned Timothy about the last days that would come when he wrote:

“3 But know this: Difficult times will come in the last days. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, 4 traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people!”

Exposure to these kinds of thoughts can come in many forms including personal contact, TV, reading materials, and movies; it is important that Christians use discernment in what they do and watch. What we must also do is to recognize these symptoms as the signs of the times and not let them cause us to lose hope.

Establishing Our Priorities

I think many of us have deep feelings of sadness as we watch the United States slide down the slippery slope of moral decline. In the eyes of many, Christianity and Christ have become politically unacceptable because of the absolute moral standards insisted on by the Christian faith which tells us everything is not acceptable, everything is not OK and actions must be measured according to the moral standards established in the Bible.

To say that only by faith in Christ can one escape eternal damnation is to condemn every other so-called faith as false and becomes very politically incorrect by contemporary standards. The very mention of God has become offensive to many who feel any such reference is offensive and hurtful to them.

As we watch this change in national attitude we are called upon to re-evaluate the placement of our priorities. Can it be the extent of our sadness is in direct proportion to the degree of misplacement we’ve allowed in our lives? To what extent have we seen the United States as home as opposed to our heavenly home? To what extent have we seen ourselves as citizens of the United States rather than ambassadors for Christ in a land that is not really our own? That is a hard question to ask and an even harder question to answer.

I love Texas and I love the United States but is that a love for my home or a love for my mission field? Intellectually there is a clear answer to that question; emotionally I’m not quite so sure.

Change Seems Inevitable

Like it or not there is change in the air; the winds of change are blowing and it is only in the Bible that we find some clues as to what the nature of that change may be. The United States is conspicuously absent from Bible prophecy; how can it be that the preeminent world power will be gone during the last days described in the Bible?

Despite the widespread efforts to attack Christ and Christianity there are an extremely large number of Christians in the United States. What if all of those people were suddenly removed simultaneously in an instant? The chaos in this country would be unimaginable throwing it into an extreme crisis.

The rapture of the church will accomplish exactly that and will leave this country in a shambles. Those of you who have heard me teach on unfulfilled prophecy know I believe the rapture can be the catalyst that triggers the Battle of Psalm 83. Although Israel will have God’s protection no such protection is promised to the United States and I believe attacks on the United States, triggered by the rapture, will reduce the United States to the level of a third world country. It would be naive to think there are no Muslim sleeper cells awaiting orders to attack.

The destructive impact of an EMP burst a few hundred miles above the United States could wipe out the electrical and electronic infrastructure upon which so much in this country depends throwing us back into a 19th century economy. There are several nations with the ability and willingness to do that if they thought they could get away with it; the rapture could be seen as the opportunity for which they so earnestly seek.

Uncertain Timing

While the certainty of these events is clearly stated in the Bible, the timing is not clear at all. I have no idea whether I will go home to the Lord by death or by the rapture; only the Lord knows. Fortunately I have complete peace with that arrangement; I’m delighted to leave that sort of thing to the Lord Jesus Christ.

“20 He who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.”

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.” Rev. 22:20-21

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | May 13, 2015

Living on the Plus Side of Life

The Magic Transition Point!

I would like to take the liberty of announcing that I am now living on the plus side of life!

The truth dawned on me gradually; it took time for me to finally realize what had happened to me. Over a period of time though, the reality of my new existence finally hit me; I was now living on the plus side of life, I had finally arrived!

As I look back on this voyage of discovery it also became apparent that my actual transition to plus living had taken place several years before without my even realizing it. Over those years I had observed certain signs, certain changes that should have provided important clues that something was in the works but I hadn’t put it all together yet.

It has only been within the last two weeks that all the pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place; I have been living on the plus side of life for over twelve years without realizing it. Twelve wasted years during which I failed to enjoy the full benefits of plus living; what a shame!

What is Plus Living?

I thought you would never ask; all kinds of wonderful and amazing things happen when you enter the plus living phase of your life. For one thing you stop getting older, your age is forever frozen at 65+; once you’re 65 or over age is no longer a factor; you are now 65+ for the remainder of your life regardless of how long or short that may be.

The moment I realized that I was only 65+ I immediately felt more youthful and invigorated. That moment of elation, coupled with the realization that I would always remain 65+ was exhilarating; my 82 calendar years no longer counted, I was only 65+.

The source of my recognition of this discovery was a website which offers a series of product surveys to members. When the member signs up for a survey most often the survey will ask the age of the participant. It will carefully break down age ranges until age 65 is reached and then one finds only one remaining age range, 65+; anyone over 65 is lumped together into one category, 65+.

When I noticed that omission the first time I was mildly annoyed; after all I had earned the right to be 82 one year at a time and I was proud and grateful that I had made it to 82. Later I began to see the humor in it and decided to have some fun with it, hence the blog.

The Practical Reality of Plus Side Living

I retired in September, 2004 and my wife and I have had a wonderful time enjoying my retirement. God has blessed us with a deep love for each other and we take great pleasure in just being together. I think we both agree this has been one of the most enjoyable phases of our life.

I think often of a few lines from a poem by Robert Browning which appear below. The truth of those lines has certainly rung true in our lives and may they ring true in yours.

Rabbi Ben Ezra

By Robert Browning

Grow old along with me!

The best is yet to be,

The last of life, for which the first was made:

Our times are in His hand

Who saith “A whole I planned,

Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!”

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | May 8, 2015

The Destruction of the Fourth Kingdom

Early Evidence of the Coming Destruction

Headlines today are filled with news of disasters, wars and rumors of war. Attacks on Christians are increasing all over the world as world events begin to conform to Bible prophecy for the End Times. Although the Bible lays out an end time scenario it does not mention the specific timing of these end time events with one notable exception, the Tribulation which is divided into two three and one-half year periods.

At the time of the First Advent of our Lord, he spoke harshly to those who refused to see the signs that were given; let us take care that we do not ignore the signs being given concerning His Second Advent.

God’s Plan and the Times of the Gentiles

In Luke 21:24 the Lord tells His disciples, “They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” The big question now is how close are we to the fulfillment of the times of the Gentiles?

We are introduced to the times of the Gentiles in Daniel 2; King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and demanded his astrologers tell him the dream and its interpretation. Had it not been for Daniel’s God all would have been killed. God, in His grace to Daniel, revealed the king’s dream and its interpretation to Daniel so he could tell the king the meaning of his dream.

The dream involved a large statue with a head of gold, arms and shoulders of silver, a belly and thighs of bronze, and legs of iron with feet and toes of a mix of iron and clay. In Daniel 2:

“31 “In your vision, Your Majesty, you saw standing before you a huge, shining statue of a man. It was a frightening sight. 32 The head of the statue was made of fine gold (Babylon). Its chest and arms were silver (Medo-Persia), its belly and thighs were bronze (Greece), 33 its legs were iron (Rome), and its feet were a combination of iron and baked clay (European Union?). 34 As you watched, a rock was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands. It struck the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits. 35 The whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Then the wind blew them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor. But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth.”

Illustration by Stephen Bower Used by permission of the artist Copyright © 2015

Illustration by Stephen Bower – Used by permission of the artist – Copyright © 2015

The above illustration shows the beginning of the destruction described in verse 34 where it is written, “34 As you watched, a rock was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands. It struck the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits.” While we are not yet to that point in history I believe it is very close.

The times of the Gentiles will finally come to a close at the Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ when Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, will return and finally bring peace to Jerusalem.

The End of the Church Age, the Age of Grace

Israel was set aside, for an unspecified number of years, but still has seven years to accomplish the things described in Daniel 9:24 where it is written:

“A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.”

The seventy sets of seven refer to 70 periods of 7 years each which totals 490 prophetic years. In verse 25a we are told, “25 Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One—comes.” Sixty nine periods of seven years each totals 483 years and came to a close the very day the Lord Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem.

At the time of Jesus “Triumphal Entry” Israel was being set aside with seven of their promised years unrealized. It was only after Israel had been set aside that the church was brought into existence at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit indwelt believers for the first time. Israel’s remaining seven years will not start until the church is taken out of the way by the Rapture, the removal of the church from earth. The Rapture is the very next unfulfilled event on God’s prophetic calendar and could happen at any time. Even so, come Lord Jesus!

While the very next event is the Rapture, there are other unfulfilled prophetic events that will take place in the end times; the Battle of Psalm 83, the Battle of Gog and Magog, and the seven year Tribulation period which will signal the beginning of Israel’s last seven years.

The Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ

The return of the Lord to earth will signal the end of the times of the Gentiles and will be followed shortly afterward by the beginning of the Millennial Reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. At the end of the Millennium unbelievers will be resurrected and judged at the Great White Throne judgment and the present universe will be destroyed and replaced by a new heaven and earth.

The new heaven and earth will be perfect and free of sin; a summary description is given in Revelation 21:1-4

“21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

How Bad will Things Get before the Removal of the Church?

Only God knows how bad things will get before He calls His children home. We can always count on one thing and that is God’s love for us and His grace and mercy to us. Times are already tough for Christians in some countries and things will likely get tougher here too. We need to keep in mind Paul’s words to the church in Rome as they lived under a tyrannical dictator where in Romans 8:18-22:

“18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | April 29, 2015

God Has the Answer to Your Biggest Problem, concluded

How Does That Work?

Last week I compared the fever blister virus with the sin virus and commented on the suppressive effect that lysine has on the fever blister virus. This week we will consider God’s spiritual lysine that can help suppress the effects of the sin virus.

First it might be helpful to identify the symptoms of the sin virus and that can be summed up by the second part of one verse, Romans 14:23b where it is written: “and everything that does not come from faith is sin.” Just think on that a moment, wouldn’t you agree that covers a vast amount of territory? I’m a retired Christian grandfather and I can potentially sin like crazy just sitting at my desk alone. Do you have fears, doubts, concerns, anger, irritation, impatience; do you think these are of faith? The sin virus is much more devious and deadly than the fever blister virus and can manifest its symptoms in ways one might not expect.

The starting point in dealing with any disease is a proper diagnosis; humanity’s diagnosis is very simply explained in the Bible, we are born with the disease of sin and it will never leave us as long as we are in these mortal bodies. The penalty of this disease is death and that has been paid for by the shed blood of Christ so the only remaining problem is dealing with its symptoms during our lives on earth.

In Galatians 5:19-21 some of the most obvious symptoms of the sin virus are described and to those listed you can add everything that is not of faith:

19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

In Galatians 5:22-25 we find a summary of life displaying the symptoms of a Spirit led life:

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

A Spiritual Lysine

God has graciously provided what we need to control and suppress this sin virus if only we will avail ourselves of the therapy He has provided. The reality of our situation is when the Holy Spirit is in control of our lives the sin virus is suppressed, when the sin virus is in control of our lives the power of the Holy Spirit is suppressed.

Both the Holy Spirit and our sin virus are with us as long as we inhabit these mortal, unredeemed bodies; when we are resurrected we will receive new, heavenly bodies that will be free of the sin virus; I long for that time.

God knew our lives would be filled with tactical struggles against sin and gave us a way of winning them. The pattern is described in 1 John 1:8-10 where it is written:

“8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.”

Confession of sin is like spiritual lysine, it is to be used every day to control the sin virus and if we feel sinful thoughts coming into our mind we need to confess them quickly before the thoughts becomes actions. By doing this we can suppress the sin virus and retain the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

God’s word can be trusted, this really works!

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | April 22, 2015

God Has the Answer to Your Biggest Problem

Regardless of Who You are or Where You Are You Have Problems!

Problems are a way of life as we live our lives on this troubled world. We’ve all heard the old saying which goes something like this, “You’re either in the middle of a problem, just emerging from a problem, or getting ready to encounter a problem in your life.” The longer we live the more readily we can see the truth of that statement.

While problems can take many forms there is one problem that we all share and that is the problem of sin; when we are born of human fathers we inherit a racial virus called sin.

Have You Been Infected?

The short answer is yes, you have the virus and although the symptoms can be controlled, you will have this virus as long as you live in the mortal body you now occupy. The virus of which I speak is called the sin nature, a plague on humanity that we have inherited as a part of being a member of a fallen race.

We have previously discussed the removal of the sin barrier by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Although sin is no longer the same barrier it was before the cross, the problem with personal sin and quality of life remains. Salvation is resolved by faith in Jesus Christ as Savior, the Christian’s daily life, led by the Holy Spirit is another matter. Although the Christian’s salvation is secured by the power of God, the Christian’s moment by moment fellowship with God is totally dependent on a daily Spirit-led life.

I have noted many times before, as regular readers of this blog may recall, that all mankind born of human fathers are born spiritually dead. There are no other options, we died in Adam when Adam disobeyed the one commandment God had given to him; this is referred to as “the Federal Headship of Adam.”

Spiritual life comes when each individual receives Christ as Savior but sadly our sin nature remains in us. Our lives have, in effect, become a spiritual battleground between good and evil. We have, in these mortal bodies, the residual sin nature we inherited from Adam, and the Holy Spirit which we received when we were born again. Although the battle has been ultimately won by the Lord there are tactical conflicts involving us which may go well or go badly.

An Example

Like so many others I get fever blisters which means I have the fever blister virus with which I will have to live all my life. Although I know exactly where my sin virus came from I have no idea how I got the fever blister virus. All I do know about it is it is with me all my life and there is nothing I can do to rid myself of that virus.

One thing I have learned is to successfully control the symptoms of that virus. Somewhere along the line I discovered the power of lysine to control the virus. It appears the amino acid arginine promotes the growth of the virus and the amino acid lysine suppresses it. I have learned to limit my intake of foods high in arginine and take a lysine supplement every day. If I get the familiar feel of an oncoming fever blister I drastically increase my dosage of lysine and usually the symptoms go away without ever getting the pesky fever blister.

Now why do I burden you with all of those details? Because the same principle applies to the sin virus; it can be controlled by following God’s instructions on dealing with the sin virus. There is, as it were, a spiritual lysine that can help control the virus of sin which is humanity’s universal problem; personal sins are only symptoms of the basic problem.

Next time, “How Does That Work?”

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | April 15, 2015

How is Your Christian Life Working for You?

Ask Yourself a Question About You

After all, you are the world’s leading authority on you; no one else even comes close when it comes to knowing who you are and what you expect from life. Has your life met your expectations, do you feel your life has gone well or are there some loose ends you would like to address?

As an online missionary for Global Media Outreach I respond to requests for help from Christians all over the world. There often seem to be areas of concern about the nature and quality of their lives that are common to many; concerns about their failure to resist sin, feelings of fear and doubt, concerns that they are wandering away from God and no longer feel the power and joy of His presence in their lives, some even questioning if they’re saved at all.

All of these symptoms are evidence of serious spiritual malnutrition; these people are starved for spiritual food, the word of God.

It might be well to ask ourselves in the privacy of our own minds how are we faring spiritually? How do we measure up to the Biblical standard as set, for example, in Galatians 5:22-25?

“22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

What percentage of your waking hours could you honestly say your life is characterized by these qualities? This is completely between you and the Lord, of course, and no one else need be told. I’m sure we would all like to say these qualities characterize our lives 100% of the time but how true would that be for you?

A Timely and Most Excellent Sermon

This past Sunday, April 12, 2015, our pastor, Barry Jeffries, preached an excellent sermon on 2 Peter 1:1-11:

“1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: 2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

The Big Problem in Many Christian Lives

As you read this passage from 2 Peter you should notice the prominence of one word, knowledge.

2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge

everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge

make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge

For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge

Knowledge of Bible doctrine, and the faithful application of this knowledge to one’s daily life experiences is the secret to a Spirit led life filled with the fruit of the Holy Spirit. There are no substitutes, there are no alternatives that will work!

A Vitally Important Distinction!

As Christian men and women we exist on two levels, our eternal spiritual level and our mortal earthly level. Peter addresses this distinction in verse one where he writes, “To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours“

We have been given the gift of faith which has resulted in our gift of salvation; in Ephesians 2:8-9 it is written:

“8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.“

This gift of salvation is an unconditional gift and will never be taken away from us; we have been justified and forgiven by the shed blood and holy righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ and that will never change. Spiritually we have been blessed beyond measure as is pointed out in Ephesians 2:6-7:

“6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”

The mortal lives we now live on this earth are an entirely different matter; although the Lord might have called each of us home at the point of our salvation; He has chosen instead to leave us on the earth with a mission to perform. While we share certain responsibilities such as soldiers of the cross, ambassadors for Christ, Royal Priests, we each have our own special ministries given to us by our Lord and must find and pursue these ministries as enabled by our Lord.

Our Solid Foundation of Bible Knowledge

Unfortunately a solid foundation of Bible knowledge on which we can base our lives does not come automatically; it is something we must diligently and systematically work to acquire! This is why Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15:

“15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Would you be an effective workman for the Lord? If your answer to that question is yes then there is no substitute for studying, learning and faithfully applying Bible doctrine to your life experience every day!

Bible 006

12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | April 8, 2015

Let’s Face it, you’re Eternal!

Our Earthly Tent

When I look at you, or you look at me all we are actually seeing is the temporary vessel we are occupying at this time. You and I are much more than the physical bodies that we occupy; in fact, as Christians, our physical bodies are the only part of us that have not been redeemed when we received Christ as Savior.

Let’s face it, you’re eternal, after all you were created in the image of God; your body, on the other hand, was originally fashioned from the dust of the ground and to the dust it will return, it has no part in your long-term future.

While we have been born again spiritually and now have a living spirit as well as a living soul, our bodies still labor under the penalty of the curse and can in no way join us in heaven in their present form. The Apostle Paul spoke to us of this in 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 where it is written:

“For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3 For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. 4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. 5 God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.”

I am looking forward to departing this earthly tent and being joined to my heavenly body made for me by God. There will be one generation that will not even see death and that is the generation living at the time the Lord calls His children home; the signs suggest that time may be close. Even so, come Lord Jesus!

But What About that Event Called Death?

Death is nothing more than the time we depart our earthly tent which couldn’t have gone with us anyway; it is the time we begin our journey to bigger and better things. One thing for sure, you will never occupy the inside of a coffin or be placed in a grave! At the point of “death” you will simply depart your earthly tent and as a Christian find yourself face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ. As Paul continues in 2 Corinthians:

“6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”

While it is true our physical bodies may go to the grave, our immaterial, eternal self will never see the inside of a grave. Those who have died in Christ will return with Him at the home-calling of the church and will be rejoined with their resurrection bodies at that time while those of us who are alive will be instantaneously transformed by the power of God.

What about the Lord Jesus Christ?

In Luke 23:36 it is written, “46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.” At this point the eternal spiritual part of the Lord Jesus Christ departed the earthly tent which He had occupied during His life on earth as our Kinsman/Redeemer. Although the Bible does not state specifically where he went, I believe he returned to the Father in Heaven.

His earthly tent was later buried in the tomb and remained there until sometime Sunday morning. It was then that our Lord entered the tomb and was rejoined to a transformed, resurrected body. He then left the tomb and would return later to visit the tomb; all of this without disturbing the stone over the entrance.

The story continues in Luke 24:1-8:

“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his words.”

The stone had been rolled back to let witnesses see the tomb was empty, not to let the Lord in or out.

What about You?

There is a possibility that you will never see death; one generation will not see death but we do not know for certain whether it is ours or not. Should the Lord tarry then some or all of us will experience death; we do not know in advance what form our death will take but we can know with confidence that once it has taken place we will be home with the Lord for all eternity.

Our Death is a Doorway to Christ!

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | April 3, 2015

Easter Sunday, the Beginning of the End

The End of What?

Easter Sunday is the occasion we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. A historic change in man’s relationship to God had occurred; by God’s grace the barrier between God and man that had been created by Adam’s deliberate sin of disobedience had been removed by the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Second Adam from above.

You may recall in Genesis 2:15-17

“15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

Unfortunately Adam choose to disobey God and when he ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he, and all of humanity present and future died in Adam. As I’ve explained before, that means that you and I and every human born of a human father are born spiritually dead. It is the sin of Adam that created the barrier between God and man and the primary reason the Lord Jesus Christ suffered death as our kinsman-redeemer.

The Tearing of the Curtain

God gave us a symbol of the removal of this barrier when, at the time of the crucifixion, the curtain between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies in Herod’s temple was torn from the top to the bottom; signifying that access to God was now open to mankind through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

By his death and resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ had paid the penalty for all human sin for all time; sin had been removed as a barrier between God and man. As hard as it may be to imagine, personal sin is no longer the issue; the only remaining issue requiring resolution is receiving the forgiveness of God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and God.

The Good News

Because of the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, the end had come for sin as a barrier between God and man. The church can now proclaim a message of hope, a message of reconciliation and good news for a suffering humanity:

BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND YOU WILL BE SAVED!

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | March 28, 2015

Palm Sunday 2015 and its Enormous Significance!

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday

Tomorrow we celebrate the entry of the Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem where He had come to die. This week was to be a terrible time of testing for the Jewish nation although they had no idea of the great significance of what was to happen from that point onward.

The exact date for this momentous event had been prophesied by the Prophet Daniel and that prophecy, among many others, was being perfectly fulfilled by our Lord as He rode into the city. I would say it was certain that among the tens of thousands present that day only the Lord understood the staggeringly wondrous truths that were being put into place.

Four hundred and eighty three years had passed since the beginning of the third and final group of three 490 year periods that had been given to Israel by God. The second group had ended with the Babylonian captivity and now the third group of 490 years had been put on hold at year 483 as also predicted by Daniel.

Israel was being set aside for an unspecified number of years while a mystery was revealed, the mystery of the church and the age of grace, the age in which we now live. The remaining 7 years promised to Israel would resume at a point yet future when Israel would sign a covenant with the Antichrist.

The Entry into Jerusalem

Contrary to what we customarily celebrate, the entry was on a Monday, not a Sunday and it was not triumphal for our Lord; it was a time of great sadness as evidenced by Luke 19:41-42 where it is written, “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.”

 The particular Greek word used for wept means a loud wracking sob; our Lord’s body was shaken by His sobs as He entered Jerusalem. He is likely the only one who understood the enormity of what was happening; the Jewish nation was being set aside, their final rejection of their Messiah was going to yield great suffering for centuries to come. Their judgment would be severe and is still in force today.

It is likely, in His omniscience, that Jesus saw the Jerusalem of 70 AD as destroyed by Titus and could also see the bodies of some of those welcoming Him as they lay silent in death. This was a momentous, tragic moment that was being recognized only by the Lord and the thought of what was going to befall Jerusalem and His people reduced Him to wracking sobs. I suspect His disciples were totally confused by His reaction to the sight of Jerusalem and the excited crowds.

There is another extremely touching aspect of our Lord’s entering Jerusalem on Nisan 10. If we examine Exodus 12:3 we read, “Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month (Nisan) each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.” This was part of the instructions given to Israel on the occasion of the first Passover in Egypt. The family would select a perfect lamb and place it on display in front of their dwelling so all could see they were offering the Lord their very best.

 God’s Passover Lamb put on display

 On March 30, AD33, the 10th of Nisan, the Father put His Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, on display for all Jerusalem to see that the Father was offering them His very best.

 After the passing of that day Israel had been set aside for an undetermined number of years. Today we are at year 1,982 and still counting as Israel continues to suffer judgments until the return of the Lord they rejected.

 The countdown clock on Israel’s last 490 years will recommence when Israel signs a covenant agreement with the Antichrist; this event and not the rapture of the church will be the trigger that starts their final countdown.

While this was an amazing week, filled with suffering and anguish for our Lord and judgment for Israel, it was the reason our Lord took on human form; that was necessary that He might die for our sins. The moment of triumph was coming soon, the following week our Lord would rise from the dead having perfectly paid the price of our redemption.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.          Romans 8:1-4

 

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | March 24, 2015

What are the Signs Telling Us?

The Signs of the Times

Today we are seeing a remarkable increase in signs that were predicted for the end times in both the Old and New Testaments. What is surprising to me is the vast difference in response to these signs by various Christian churches.

Last Sunday night we had the opportunity to attend a service at a Baptist church that was exclusively focused on the signs of the times as they signal the coming changes that will impact this world. I believe the world is being warned by these signs that dramatic changes are coming soon and time is growing short to make your peace with God.

The Bible reveals that a number of significant signs were predicted for both the First and Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. The New Testament reveals the accuracy with which those signs were fulfilled by the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ at the time of the First Advent and there is no reason to think the signs of the Second Advent will not be fulfilled with equal precision.

Failure to See and Understand the Signs Given by God

Our Lord was exceedingly careful to fulfill all of the signs of the First Advent that were planned by God and revealed in the Old Testament. He was also angry with those who refused to see the signs ordained by God and wanted to see signs of their own choosing. In Matthew 16:1-3 it is written:

16 The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ 3 and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.”

In their hardness of heart, the Pharisees and Sadducees rejected the miracles performed by the Lord including the raising of Lazarus and even rejected the resurrection of the Lord, totally refusing to see the signs God had given to them. Let us be careful not to fall into that same trap.

The Signs of the Second Advent

Today we are inundated by signs of the Second Advent. The world situation as described in the Bible for the last days is startlingly similar to the world situation we are now experiencing. Sadly there are many segments of the Christian community which choose to ignore these signs; it seems that regardless of what God does to reveal His plans these revelations can be ignored by those who simply choose not to see the signs.

It is always difficult to imagine life-changing events happening to us; those are things that happen to someone else, certainly not to us. This has undoubtedly been the experience of everyone who has lived through a catastrophic event in their lives. Up until the time the catastrophe strikes it is life as usual, then without warning something happens and things are never again the same.

What’s Coming Next?

The Bible tells us the next event that will take place is the removal of the true church from this earth; for the record, the true church is all people who have received Christ as Savior since the formation of the church on Pentecost, May 25, AD 33. This event is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18:

“13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

While only God knows the timing for the removal of the church, for those who love the Lord as Savior this will begin a time of indescribable joy and excitement; for those who have rejected Christ it will begin a time of devastation as they realize their lives are forever changed in ways they cannot even imagine.

It is important to recognize the event described in 1 Thessalonians 5:13-18, the removal of the church, is not the Second Advent but precedes it by an absolute minimum of seven years and more likely by closer to around 12 years. There are two major events that have been prophesied that will occur, the Battle of Psalm 83 and the Battle of Gog and Magog. My estimation on the time involved for those two events would add an additional five to six years to the seven year tribulation period.

How Bad Will Things Get?

We know that the last three and one-half years before the return of the Lord to earth will be so bad that if the Lord had not returned as planned no one would survive. We also know that there will be wars and rumors of war and many natural disasters leading up to the return of the Lord.

What we do not know is exactly how bad things will get before the church is removed. We are already seeing signs of the rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ and the people who are called by His name all over the world including the United States. Watching these signs develop and understanding the significance of their meaning can be a source of comfort as we are reminded of the Lord’s return.

Watching the beginning of the destruction of things we have valued is also hard; I’ll admit I’m saddened by what I see happening in the United States. The country which I have loved and has been my home is changing before my eyes and that is hard to watch.

The Lord is being remarkably gracious as He permits many to preach and teach on the signs now being put in place. The number of websites, books, DVD’s and sermons on the meaning and significance of these signs leaves no room for ignorance if one wants to know and understand. It is our responsibility to take advantage of this time of God’s grace and mercy and seek to be informed by looking for God’s message in the signs.

 

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