Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | September 4, 2014

Noah, the Movie, by David Bower

Noah, the Movie, an Exercise in Ridiculous Fantasy and Fiction

I had heard enough about the movie, Noah, to avoid spending any money on a disc so I waited until it was available on Netflix. We watched it for the first and last time the other afternoon and I was delighted I could ship the disc back to Netflix and try and forget it as soon as possible.

As an Amazon Vine Voice reviewer I usually review items I’ve used or seen on the Amazon.com website. I’ve attached my review below.

Mostly Fantasy and Fiction with Just a Sprinkling of Fact., August 1, 2014
By David Bower (Houston, Texas, USA)

This review is from: Noah (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD) (Blu-ray)
In all fairness I’ll admit to being a serious student of the first six chapters of Genesis. I’ve spent countless hours reading, studying, and researching the world before the flood with a particular emphasis on the flood and its cataclysmic impact on the earth.

While there were small parts of the movie I felt reflected the Biblical account with some degree of accuracy; the bulk of the movie was a hodge-podge of fantasy and fiction which, at times, I found extremely annoying. Fortunately I rented the movie and watched it for my first and last times this afternoon.

I was fortunate in that I had a very low level of expectations concerning the movie and was therefore not particularly disappointed by what I saw. There were some scenes, not intended to be humorous, at which I laughed out loud at the very silliness of what was happening.

I felt compelled to watch it once, now that’s out of the way I shall try to forget it.

I deliberately kept my review short as there was entirely too much I wanted to say and I felt that I needed to focus more on the bottom line for any who might take the time to read my review.

The World Before the Flood

Some of you may recall the extended series of articles I wrote on the first six chapters of Genesis; for those of you not familiar with that series it starts with this blog; The Creation Story and completes with my blog on May 18, 2012. There are other related articles which can be located using the search feature for example, the word Nephilim.

The world of the movie, Noah, is only vaguely similar to the world before the flood as described in the Bible. The account of Noah and his family is largely fantasy and again bears little or no resemblance to the Biblical account which is fact. In summary, the movie failed to live up to even my lowered level of expectations in spite of the fact I had been warned to not expect very much. This was a rich opportunity totally wasted.

I encourage any of you who have not read my series on the pre-flood world and the flood to look them up and get a much better insight into what the Bible actually says about that amazing time.

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | August 21, 2014

God’s Prophetic Calendar, by David Bower

 What is Left in God’s Prophetic Calendar?

The Bible is reasonably clear on what has yet to happen but not so clear on the timing and the order of events. Listed in the chronological order I believe to be the most consistent with the revelation of Scripture, I would order events as follows:

  1. The Rapture of the Church
  2. The Battle of Psalm 83
  3. The Battle of Gog and Magog
  4. The signing of the covenant agreement between Israel and the Antichrist
  5. The beginning of the Tribulation
  6. The Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ
  7. The beginning of the Millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ
  8. The second battle of Gog and Magog at the end of the Millennium.
  9. The destruction of the present heavens and earth and the Great White Throne Judgment.
  10. The creation of the new heaven and earth and the beginning of eternity.

The first three events are the subject of much debate and discussion as to their order and timing; events four through eight are clearly ordered and timed in Scripture. The order of events nine and ten is reasonably certain but the timing is not specified in Scripture. In the remainder of this article I will provide brief comments on events 1-6.

  1. The Rapture of the Church

There is nothing prophetic that remains to be done before the church is taken home; the rapture could occur at any second at a time known only to God. The rapture will have a very disruptive impact on the United States and to lesser degrees in other countries as the percentage of Christians in those countries is far lower. It is impossible to determine in advance exactly how devastating the removal of the Christian population in the United States will be for our nation. I believe it will produce sufficient chaos to encourage Islamic groups to attack both the United States and Israel. The “Big Satan,” the United States will be in chaos so how could there be a more opportune time to attack both the “Big Satan” and the “Little Satan,” Israel.

  1. The Battle of Psalm 83

While Israel will be under the protection of God, there will be no comparable protection for the United States; this explains why the United States is absent from the world stage in the end times, it is only a shell of its former self. Israel survives this attack but the United States suffers a devastating blow. God’s hand in the protection of Israel will be clear enough to grant Israel a time of peace. It will become, under God’s protective hand, a nation finally at peace.

  1. The Battle of Gog and Magog

How long that peace will last is not revealed in the Bible. We are told in Ezekiel 38:8 where Gog is being warned, 8 After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety.

In Ezekiel 38:11, and again speaking to Gog, “11 You will say, “I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars.” I believe it will be the decisive victory in the Battle of Psalm 83 which sets the stage for this time of peace.

This battle will be ended decisively by the intervention of God in such a powerful display that Israel will again enjoy a time of peace. You may recall from a previous blog that earthquakes will be a part of God’s judgment on the attacking forces. I think it is these earthquakes that will clear the ground for the rebuilding of the temple. This time there will be no serious objections to the rebuilding.

  1. The signing of the covenant agreement between Israel and the Antichrist

Although the dry bones have been returned to the land and God has demonstrated His care for Israel, they have not yet received spiritual life from God as a nation; Israel, in its historic perversity, finds itself looking for a protector to replace the United States and what do you know, they find a volunteer, the Antichrist. It is the signing of this covenant agreement between Israel and the Antichrist that is the actual beginning of the Tribulation. With the signing of this document, Israel has pushed the start button on a time so terrible that if it were not cut short no flesh should survive.

  1. The beginning of the Tribulation

The Tribulation is the last seven years of the last 490 years promised to Israel by God. The 490 years was brought to an abrupt close on March 30, 33 AD, the day the Lord Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem on the week of His crucifixion. The divine clock had stopped but will start again with the signing of the covenant with the Antichrist. God does not mix Israel and the church, Israel’s countdown clock stopped at year 483 at the entry of the Lord into Jerusalem; the church did not have its beginning for another 57 days when the Holy Spirit indwelt Christians at Pentecost on May 25, 33 AD

The Tribulation will be divided into two parts, the Tribulation and the Great Tribulation; as the name suggests, the second half will be very severe. Initially the Antichrist will appear as a messianic figure who promises to cure all the world’s ills. At mid-point, Satan is cast out of heaven and indwells the Antichrist and things take a dramatic turn for the worse.

  1. The Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ

As Israel’s last seven years draws to a close a terrible battle will take place in the vicinity of the Valley of Megiddo, the battle is called the Battle of Armageddon and will cost hundreds of thousands of lives. At the peak of this battle the Lord Jesus Christ will return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords and bring the battle to an end. The church will return with the Lord as observers.

Those who have survived the Tribulation will be divided into two groups, those who have been faithful believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and those who have not. Those who have not will be thrown into the Lake of Fire with the Antichrist and the false prophet while those who have been faithful will join the Lord as mortal believers during the Millennium.

Next The Millennial and Eternal reigns of the Lord Jesus Christ and events 7 through 10 see “What Does the Future Hold for Us?

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | August 14, 2014

The Miracle of the Missile, by David Bower

A Miracle, the Missile That Flies Into the Sea!

There is much being written about the “Iron Dome” over Israel and its success in protecting Israel from rocket attacks by Hamas. There may be some interesting clues that God’s divine dome is beginning to harden as well.

Following are some excerpts from a recent article on the Hamas attacks by the Israel Today Staff: Aug 4, 2014: Israel Today:

“One would think that the 10 percent or so of Hamas rockets predicted by Iron Dome’s radars to hit populated areas that are not intercepted would still cause significant Israeli casualties. But somehow, they don’t.
An earlier, unconfirmed report floating around the Internet had a Gaza resident attributing the lack of Hamas accuracy to Israel’s God moving the rockets off-course to protect His people.
“We do aim [our rockets], but their God changes their path in mid-air,” a Hamas commander was said to have told someone who wondered why Gaza-based militants can’t seem to hit their targets.
Whether or not that report is [true], an Iron Dome operator whose battery failed three times to down an incoming missile headed toward Tel Aviv last week, said the overall assessment is [accurate].
In remarks relayed to an Israel news site (Hebrew), the Iron Dome battery commander recalled:
“A missile was fired from Gaza. Iron Dome precisely calculated [its trajectory]. We know where these missiles are going to land down to a radius of 200 meters. This particular missile was going to hit either the Azrieli Towers, the Kirya (Israel’s equivalent of the Pentagon) or [a central Tel Aviv railway station]. Hundreds could have died.
“We fired the first [interceptor]. It missed. Second [interceptor]. It missed. This is very rare. I was in shock. At this point we had just four seconds until the missile lands. We had already notified emergency services to converge on the target location and had warned of a mass-casualty incident.
“Suddenly, Iron Dome (which calculates wind speeds, among other things) shows a major wind coming from the east, a strong wind that…sends the missile into the sea. We were all stunned. I stood up and shouted, ‘There is a God!’
“I witnessed this miracle with my own eyes. It was not told or reported to me. I saw the hand of God send that missile into the sea.” The complete report can be found here:http://www.breakingchristiannews.com/articles/display_art_pf.html?ID=14315.

I was touched and excited by this article, to me it is an encouraging sign that the Lord is beginning to make His presence increasingly known among men. During Old Testament times and during the End Times, God’s presence was and will again be manifested among men in a manner with which we are totally unfamiliar.

The Battle of Gog and Magog

God’s clear and direct intervention on earth will characterize the end times. An example of this kind of intervention is given in the description of the Battle of Gog and Magog. Although I do not believe this event is next on God’s prophetic calendar, it does graphically illustrate how divine intervention will look.

In Ezekiel 38:17-23, referencing the Battle of Gog and Magog, it is written:
17 “‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: You are the one I spoke of in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel. At that time they prophesied for years that I would bring you against them. 18 This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign LORD. 19 In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground. 21 I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign LORD. Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 I will execute judgment on him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. 23 And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’

Then in Ezekiel 39:1-6 we read:

39 “Son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshek and Tubal. 2 I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north and send you against the mountains of Israel. 3 Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand. 4 On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals. 5 You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. 6 I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in safety in the coastlands, and they will know that I am the Lord.”

From that last sentence it appears that judgment will not only fall on the armies attacking Israel but on their homelands as well. After the church is removed, the world is going to become a vastly different sort of place; conditions will continue to deteriorate until the final Battle of Armageddon at which point the Lord Jesus Christ will return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Nest week we will review a summary of what the Bible tells us is left to happen before the end of this age.

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | August 8, 2014

What Does the Future Hold for Us? by David Bower

The Amazing Future that Awaits Us!

I am convinced that the words in our vocabulary cannot begin to express the grandeur and scope of the world and the universe God has planned for those who love Him. As we reflect on things to come, we should not be surprised so little is revealed in the Bible; our minds and experiences have not equipped us to understand the wonders of what will be.

The remainder of this article will provide a brief summary of what the Bible reveals about the future.

7 – The Millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ

This will be the third time mankind has been given a fresh start; the first time it began with Adam and Eve and ended in failure, the second time it began with Noah and his family and ended in failure, the third time will this pattern be repeated?

The earth will have been restored and the environment will be perfect but in spite of perfect environment many will reject Christ as Savior.

At the end of the Tribulation the only mortal humans left to repopulate the earth will be those who have received Christ as Savior; they will be saved but still have the sin nature they received from Adam. Their children and their children’s children will be born, some to receive Christ as Savior and others to reject Christ.

8 – The second battle of Gog and Magog at the end of the Millennium.

During this period Christ will reign and Satan will be bound but then at the end of the 1,000 years Satan will be released from his confinement and will go out and deceive those who have rejected Christ as Savior; despite perfect environment many will reject Christ. Under Satan’s leadership, those who follow Satan will attack. This is briefly described in Revelation 20:7-10,

“7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

9 – The destruction of the present heavens and earth and the Great White Throne Judgment.

In Revelation 20:11-15 we read,

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”

In verse 11 we read “the heavens and earth fled from his presence,” I believe this is a reference to the destruction mentioned by Peter in 2 Peter 3:10 where it is written, “10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.” All in which unbelieving man had placed his trust will be gone, their reality will consist of the Great White Throne and empty blackness to be followed by eternal torment in the Lake of Fire.

10 – The creation of the new heaven and earth and the beginning of eternity.

The Bible does not provide a great deal of information about eternity and the new heavens and earth. If I were to guess I would explain that omission by comparing it with efforts to describe a major world city to a young boy who only knew of mud huts and jungle trails; there would be no standard for reference or even words in the boy’s vocabulary to try and help him understand what it was like. I’m convinced that the differences between what we know and what will be are infinitely greater than that; we will simply have to wait and see what God has planned for His children.

The Bible’s revelations of the new heavens and earth are largely contained in Revelation, chapters 21 and 22. Chapter 21 begins with these words:

21 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Chapter 22 ends with these words,

20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.”

“4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | August 7, 2014

Under The Dome, by David Bower

God’s Version

There is a recent TV series called “Under the Dome” which tells the story of the small fictional community of Chester’s Mill after it is covered by an impenetrable transparent dome. The TV series is a highly sanitized adaptation of the novel of the same name written by Stephen King. In all fairness I’ll confess that I have not encountered this sort of plot in any other science or fantasy fiction that I’ve read. However a different version of being under the dome came to mind as I’ve reflected on the story.

As we examine the Bible, especially the Old Testament, we can see a protective dome over Israel both as a people and a land. A major distinction of God’s dome is it can be penetrated and has been on many occasions. I have no doubt that each of those historic penetrations have been part of God’s larger plan for Israel.

My wife and I have discussed the results on the various nations through history that God has used to discipline His people; history shows that being used as an instrument of judgment against Israel has proven disastrous for those nations  so used. Prophecy suggests no change in this pattern either so I recommend the United States move very carefully in its dealings with Israel.

History is littered with the carcasses of nations who fought against Israel while today, the nation Israel still exists and continues to fight for its life.  A time is coming when, with God’s help, a final victory will be won and Israel will prevail over all her enemies!

That Tiny Spec of a Nation Called Israel Has Become a Focus of World Attention

Any rational observer might well wonder how is it that a nation as small in area and population as Israel could manage to garner such a disproportionate share of the world’s headlines. The land area of Israel is 8,019 square miles; by way of comparison the land area of New Jersey is 7,787 square miles and that is not very big. The 2014 estimated population of Israel is 8,146,300 whereas the estimated population of New York City in 2013 was 8,405,837.

There is clearly more going on here than meets the eye; there has to be a reasonable explanation for the incredible emphasis such a small nation is being given by the world. Can we find any clues as to why this is happening? May I suggest there are a considerable number of clues provided in the pages of Scripture which are available for examination.

Some of the saddest words to fall from the lips of our Lord Jesus Christ involved His lament over Jerusalem; in Luke 13:34-35 he said:

34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’

Again as He approached Jerusalem on His way to die it is recorded in Luke 19:41-44:

“41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 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. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

This was fulfilled by the Roman army in 70 AD with the destruction of the Temple and the City of Jerusalem, sadly, for Israel this was only the beginning of the judgments that would continue to this day.

A Glimmer of Hope

While God’s judgments on Israel for their rejection and crucifixion of their Messiah have been severe, God has given them a message of hope. The dry bones are being drawn back together and after almost 2,000 years there is again a nation of Israel. A promise of restoration was given in Ezekiel 37:21-23, “21 and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. 23 They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.”

This process began in 1948 and despite fierce opposition from adjacent nations has continued to this day. Although spiritual life has not yet entered them nationally, they are in the land and the nation has begun its restoration.

Next, The Miracle of the Missle

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | July 31, 2014

The Peter Pan Christian and the Church, by David Bower

The Baby Christian is Under Attack and in Danger!

Any Christian who has not specifically and intentionally made the effort to study and learn the doctrines of the Bible and then taken the additional steps to put Bible doctrine into practice in their lives each day has failed to develop into a mature Christian adult! They are at best a spiritual child and at worst a spiritual baby who is vulnerable to attack and injury in the spiritual war into which we have all been thrust.

While the message of salvation by faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ is still preached by many churches this is not the end of their responsibility to the born again believer, but only the beginning.

One who has received Christ as Savior has been born again and can be considered a baby in Christ, an infant in need of all the kinds of care associated with an infant. It is the responsibility of older Christians to help this baby grow into a mature Christian adult who is prepared to face the realities of life and the spiritual warfare which has been in progress for thousands of years.

Without the proper care and guidance the baby Christian can stumble around looking for answers in all of the wrong places. The truly disturbing reality is the baby Christian can fail to grow and mature into an adult Christian. Although salvation is eternal and secure, Christian growth is not automatic.

The Peter Pan Syndrome

While I have compared the baby Christian with a normal human baby there is one dramatic distinction and that has to do with life and growth. In order to survive, the human baby requires the proper nutrition and if that is denied, the baby dies. The Christian baby will survive even if proper spiritual nutrition is withheld but will not grow into spiritual maturity and therein lays a great danger. While the baby Christian’s place in the family of God is secured by the power of God, the baby’s growth is totally dependent upon receiving the proper spiritual nutrition and this is provided by the Bible, the spiritual food provided by God in His written word.

It is true the baby Christian may mature physically and grow into adulthood as a human being but this does not automatically mean the baby’s physical growth is being matched by corresponding spiritual growth. It can happen that physically adult Christian’s are in fact spiritual Peter Pan’s; they have never grown up into spiritually mature Christian men and women.

In Hebrews 5:11-14 the writer warned of this as he was trying to teach on the Melchizedek priesthood of Christ:

“11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

In 2 Timothy 2:15 the Apostle Paul cautioned Timothy, “15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Notice the references to trying to understand, to study, to being a workman that does not need to be ashamed, and rightly dividing the word of truth; all of these indicate that dedicated effort is required if one is to grow in the faith. The truth of the matter is if you are to grow and mature into a spiritual adult it will require study and hard work on your part.

How Does the Church Fit in to the Feeding and Care of Baby Christians?

While the primary responsibility for Christian growth lies with the individual Christian, I believe the church has a responsibility to help the baby Christian discover the rich spiritual resources to be found in the Bible. I can remember the time when a church in Houston helped me and my wife discover the wonders of the Bible; this was a time of incredible excitement as the Bible was opened to us and we began to discover the glory and beauty of the Word of God.

By God’s grace we both developed an insatiable desire for the spiritual food provided in Scripture and became faithful attendees at every Bible study we could possibly make. We had been given God’s second greatest gift, a hungering and thirsting for the word of God. Thanks to God’s continued grace that hungering and thirsting has never gone away, we still delight in the discovery of the new truths He reveals to us every day from His word.

While we have remained hungry and thirsty for the word of God, it was a church that first opened the door to the blessings and opportunities for growth available to those who will study to show themselves approved unto God. I see this as the ministry of the church to the baby Christian; to open the door to God’s spiritual food pantry, the Bible.

The Bible is not primarily a medicine cabinet, a place to go when you need spiritual first aid; it is a spiritual food pantry where you go each day to find the spiritual food you need to grow and mature into the mature Christian adult God wants you to become.

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

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | July 24, 2014

The Unforgivable Sin and the Mission of the Church to the World, by David Bower

What is the Church’s Mission to the World?

Last time we reviewed the true nature of the sin barrier between God and man and saw it was failure to receive Christ as Savior. We saw that Christ had died for the sins of the world and personal sin and the fallen nature were no longer the barrier; the only remaining, unforgivable sin was failure to receive Christ as Savior.

Considering the true nature of the sin barrier; what then should be the mission of the church?

First of all I will tell you what the mission of the church to the world is not; it is not the condemnation of personal sin in any form. The mission of the church to the unsaved is the proclamation of the gospel, the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ; beating the unsaved over their heads with their personal sin is very much like beating a dead horse.

They are dead and cannot respond; by God’s grace they can be brought back to spiritual life by faith in Jesus Christ as Savior but until then focusing on their personal sin is an exercise in futility; after all, they have been forgiven of those sins by God in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and their personal sins and their fallen Adamic sin nature are no longer the primary issue.

The only barrier that remains between the unsaved and God is their reception of the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior; introducing other issues only muddies the water. The church can plant the seeds of the gospel and water them but only God can give the increase; the church cannot save, only God can save the lost sinner but the church can see that the seeds of the gospel are planted and watered.

But What about Personal Sin?

It is the evidence of personal sin and Satanic activity that we see plastered all over the news; it is personal sin along with the Satanic forces of evil that are alive and well on planet earth and although personal sin is no longer the same barrier between God and man it was before the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is still a plague and pestilence to mankind’s quality of life.

The Apostle Paul described in considerable detail the problem of the fallen sin nature of man in Romans 5-8 and God’s solution to that problem; those four chapters are widely considered to be the most profound statement on the Christian life to be found in scripture.

The Christian, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, is given the power to control and suppress the sin nature which is in every human being whereas the unbeliever does not have that ability and is constantly under the influence of their spiritually dead fallen nature. It is only God that can give the increase; it is only God that can bring them back to life by faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

For the Christian, personal sin is a daily challenge, for the unbeliever, it is the only way of life they know because they are spiritually dead. God knew the Christian would struggle with personal sin and provided the tools needed to control and suppress the power of personal sin.

In 1 John 1:8-10 the Christian is given the answer to successfully dealing with personal sin: “8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

And What about the Unbeliever?

The only critical issue facing the unbeliever is the issue of personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior; nothing else really counts. Starting or stopping sinful acts is irrelevant compared to the only important issue and that is one’s relationship to Christ as Savior. The message of the church, if it is to be relevant, is the message of salvation in Jesus Christ.

It is past time for the church to join the Holy Spirit in convicting the world: “of sin, because they do not believe in Me”.

Next, the church’s mission to the Christian

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | July 17, 2014

In Search of Truth Part 1, the Nature of Sin, by David Bower

The Devil Made Me Do It!

The devil made me do it was a phrase popularized by Flip Wilson in the early 1970’s. It picked up perfectly on the victim mentality that has continued to serve as a fallback position on sin. There was certainly no shortage of bad things happening in the 1970’s and it seems likely that the pace of bad things, which could be classified as sin, has even increased since then; a casual examination of any of the many forms of media communication reveal a staggering amount of what may be viewed as sin.

The local evening news is referred to by my wife as the evening police report as the stories of murders, attempted murders and assorted mayhem are discussed in way too much detail. The national television news channels are filled with stories of corruption at all levels of government as well as more murders, attempted murders and more assorted mayhem; does it make you wonder where all this is taking us?

Listening to accounts of similar events happening all over the world it is easy to see that the events described in the United States are rather typical of what is happening in other nations as well; the observer may be inclined to think sin is alive and well on planet earth.

A Restraint on Sin?

In my last blog I wrote of the restraining ministry of God, the Holy Spirit; in other words, as bad as things are they could be worse. This ministry is referenced in John 16:7-11 where Jesus is speaking to His disciples:

“7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”

Please notice verse 9, “of sin, because they do not believe in Me;” doesn’t that surprise you, even a little? When thinking of sin in the world wouldn’t it be logical to think of all of the terrible things that go on each day, all of those horrible murders, attempted murders, assorted mayhem and corruption that we hear about on a daily basis?

Why then would God direct the Apostle John to write down the purpose of the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit regarding sin as He did; what is involved when believing in Jesus is the sole objective of this particular phase of the Holy Spirit’s ministry of conviction?

The Cross Changes Everything!

We know from many sections of Scripture that the Lord Jesus Christ came to earth at His First Advent to take on human form and to die on the cross as our substitute. We know He came to serve as our Kinsman Redeemer and was the only one qualified and willing to pay the price for our redemption. His authority to do this was confirmed by His rising from the dead after three days and later ascending back into heaven to serve as our intercessor.

We also know that the work He was sent to do on the cross was finished to perfection and it is this work I would like to consider next. When Christ said in John 19:30, “30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” What was finished, what had been accomplished at that point in time?

One important fact is revealed in 1 John 2:1-2 where it is written, “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”

That would tell us that Christ’s death on the cross paid the penalty for all of the sins in the whole world; mankind was no longer guilty before God as before the cross, the fallen nature and the ongoing presence of personal sin was no longer a barrier between God and man. The barrier of sin had been removed between mankind and God by the perfect work of Christ on the cross.  

This is why the only sin mentioned as part of the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit was the sin of not believing on Jesus Christ as Savior; all remaining sin had been paid for by the death of Christ on the cross! The only remaining sin barrier between God and man is rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and that one is unforgivable!

Next time, the mission of the church.

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | July 10, 2014

The Last War in Heaven, by David Bower

The Coming War in Heaven

In the recent series on the spiritual war I mentioned that although Satan had lost his position in heaven, he still had access to heaven and referenced his conversation with God concerning Job in Job 1:6-12.

There is a time coming when that will all be changed; Satan will be forced out of heaven never to return. That last war in heaven will take place at the mid-point of the Tribulation and serve as the catalyst for the time known as The Great Tribulation.” This amazing event is described in Revelation 12:7-12.

7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

In verse 10 we see that Satan had been busy all this time accusing the brethren before God day and night. It would appear from that statement that most of the “satanic” activity on earth was the work of Satan’s demons and the fallen, sinful nature of man, and not Satan himself. Satan is not omnipresent, he can only be in one place at a time.

The Church in Heaven

At the point this last war in heaven starts, the church will have been there for an unspecified amount of time. The Bible does not reveal if we, as part of the church, will have much, if any, contact with Satan and the fallen angels during this time. From the wording of those verses it would appear that the church has no active part in that war and the Bible does not tell us if we will be spectators to the war itself.

Since we will return with the Lord Jesus Christ at the time of His Second Advent and observe the Battle of Armageddon, I think it reasonable to assume we shall also watch the last war in heaven; we will, after our resurrection, have become a higher form of creation than the angels.

The Great Tribulation

The casting out of Satan has very bad consequences for the inhabitants of earth, “Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” It is at this point we believe Satan indwells the antichrist and declares himself to be god. (2 Thessalonians 2:4)

Satan’s day of reckoning is coming soon and he knows it; he just wants to take as many with him as he can; this has been his mission since his fall described in Isaiah 14:12f and Ezekiel 28:11f and will continue until he is thrown into the Lake of Fire where he will remain forever. “10 And the devil (Satan), who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Revelation 20:10

The Choice

As human beings, descendants of Adam and Eve, we have been given a choice and there is no straddling the fence in this matter; we can either choose Christ and life, or Satan and death. The choice is yours, I urge you to choose Christ and life! The Bible is very clear on this matter.

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. John 3:16-18

36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them. John 3:36

The Consequences of Rejecting Christ

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:11-15

These are profoundly serious matters with eternal consequences; make sure you wind up on God’s side of that fence by receiving Jesus Christ as Savior!

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Posted by: davidbowerkingwood | June 30, 2014

To the Soldiers in the Spiritual War Concluded, by David Bower

 The Visible and the Invisible

It is important to recognize that the spiritual war is being fought in both the visible and strictly spiritual realms at the same time. I suspect that if mortal human beings should catch a glimpse of the battles at the spiritual level we would probably faint dead away.

One example of the war at the spiritual level is given in Daniel 10:12-13, “12 Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.”

The prince of the kingdom of Persia must be a very powerful demon to delay a messenger from God for 21 days; what is of particular interest to me is very likely it is this same demon that is influencing affairs in Persia today which is called Iran. While all of this is still going on, God’s clock is counting down toward the final events in the spiritual war.

The Church is Removed from the Earth

A time is coming, it is inevitable, when the true Church will be called home; the final chapter of the Church on earth will have fully played out. This is most specifically not a reference to organized religion as religion will, for at least a short time, prosper under the new regime.

The removal of the Church will have devastating consequences for the earth; not only the disappearance of millions of people from all over the world, but the removal of the restraining ministry of God, the Holy Spirit. For those who love sin, this will be sin on steroids! This is described in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12:

“2 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

He who now restrains is the Holy Spirit and He will be taken out of the way at the Rapture of the Church.

The Tribulation

Although the Rapture of the Church is not the catalyst that starts the Tribulation, it is likely the Tribulation will start within a few years of the Rapture. The second half of the Tribulation will get very bad as God’s judgments rain down on an angry and rebellious world. The Lord points out in Matthew 24:21-22, ” 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”

Unlike the Genesis flood where only 8 were saved, at the end of the Tribulation there will be thousands of believers who will have survived to begin life again during the Millennial reign of Christ.

The Millennium

Although there will be something of a cease fire in the spiritual war it is not really over yet. For the moment, sin will have been dealt a devastating blow, but it is not finally disposed of. The Millennial reign of Christ will start with only believers who have survived the Tribulation; the Church who returned with Christ at the Second Advent; the Old Testament saints and the angels of God.

Unbelievers who survive the Tribulation will be cast into the Lake of Fire along with the beast and the false prophet to await the arrival of those who are condemned to go there at the Great White Throne judgment. 41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels, Matthew 25:41

In a way this will be a second chance at perfect environment on earth with only one flaw, the presence of the fallen sin nature in the mortal believers who survived the Tribulation and those who will be born to them during these 1,000 years. The descendants of those believers who survived the Tribulation will still be born with the fallen nature inherited from Adam. It seems that perfect environment is still not the answer to man’s sin problem, it didn’t work in the Garden of Eden and it’s not going to work during the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ either.

Over the years, as children are born, some of those children receive Christ as Savior but others do not. The Bible reveals that Satan, who had been confined, would be freed to exert his influence on mankind at the end of the Millennium with predictable results as described in Revelation 20:7-10, “7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

The Great White Throne Judgment

By this time, the earth and the entire universe that we have always known will have been destroyed by fire. The great white throne judgment will finally bring the spiritual war to an end. This fearful event is described in Revelation 20:14-15, ” 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” The spiritual war is now over.

The New Heaven and the New Earth

Finally, the creation that God wanted for us all along is fully realized; a place of unimaginable beauty and great joy. “3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” Revelation 21:3-5

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

 

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