The World's Greatest Challenge

     The Bible is very clear in defining the greatest challenges, facing not only America, but all nations on earth.

     Let’s review several indisputable Scripture passages leading up to the title statement.

     “…I am God, and there is no other…and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand…’”  Isaiah 46:9b-10

     God has consistently proclaimed His sovereignty and His total transparency by declaring future events millennia before bringing them to pass.  All His proclamations will become reality in His timing.

     “For the Father…has committed all judgment to the Son…”  John 5:22

     Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Redeemer of mankind, has been given all power and judgment over the earth.  However, not all mankind will accept God’s gracious gift of redemption and will consequently experience God’s required wrath and judgment.  Therefore, Jesus must be honored, or feared, equally as the Father, inasmuch as the Son and Father are one.

     “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven.  And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, ‘Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.’”  Revelation 4:1

     The same John who announced that the Father had committed all judgment to the Son wrote the above words in the final book in the Bible.  John was told that he would see and hear ‘things which must take place after this.’ 

     The word ‘must’ means ‘of necessity’ and/or ‘needful.’  The words ‘after this’ mean events to take place after the removal of the Church from judgment.  Judgment for those who transgressed God’s commands and rejected redemption was/is required due to God’s very nature, i.e. holy, righteous and just.

     Many times this column has presented the Scripture passage that describes the return to earth of Jesus Christ to judge the world.

   

     “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse.  And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war…Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations.  And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron.  And He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”  Revelation 19:1, 15

      After Jesus destroys the enemy at the end of the tribulation He will establish His kingdom centered right in present day Jerusalem.  He will henceforth rule the surviving remnants from all nations with a rod of iron.

     Therefore, for all who place their trust in God’s immutable word, one would think their greatest priority would be to align their priorities to match known future history.

     America’s president has consistently stated that he considers the greatest threat/challenge facing not only America but the whole world is climate change. 

     The president’s thinking parallels that of the Pharisees.

     “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith…Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”  Matthew 23:23-24

     The major issue in this passage is that pharisaical priorities were totally incongruent with Scriptural teachings.

     When a nation’s divinely appointed leader addresses the people proposing non-Scriptural issues and ends the speech with the words ‘…and may God bless America,’ one is reminded of Jesus’ words to the Pharisees quoting the words of Isaiah hundreds of years earlier.

     “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.”  Matthew 15:8

     This passage coined the popular contemporary phrase ‘lip service.’

     America’s president has stated repeatedly that the best thing this nation could do for the benefit of the next generation is to reduce carbon emissions. 

     The Bible states the best thing America could for the next generation is to humbly return to God’s revealed standard of righteousness and justice.  That appears to be excellent advice seeing that judgment by those standards is inevitable.

     Let’s be candid, do are leaders really believe the Bible?

     Share your thoughts walt.thrun@gmail.com

Should Christ be limited to the Church?

     The word ‘Christmas’ is not found in the Bible.  The word means ‘Mass of Christ’ from the early English phrase Cristes Maesse.  The holiday known as Christmas acknowledges and celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God.

     The exact date of Jesus’ birth is not recorded; however:

     “…when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman…”  Galatians 4:4

     That means that Jesus Christ was born on the exact pre-appointed day established by the Father before the foundation of the world.

     The announcement of Jesus’ birth was made centuries before He was born.

     “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given…”  Isaiah 9:6

     These words are found on many Christmas cards, as is the actual place of His birth.

     “But you, Bethlehem…though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are…from everlasting.”  Micah 5:2

    

     The New Testament confirms the deity of Christ and His position as Head of the Church.

     “He (Christ) is the image of the invisible God…For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily…And He is the head of the…church…”  Colossians 1:15, 18, 2:9

     But the world still asks the question: should Jesus be involved beyond the ‘church,’ i.e. in the ‘state,’ or government?

     To answer that basic question we need to go back and read the words following Isaiah’s prophecy announcing the birth of the promised Son.

     “…And the government will be upon His shoulder…Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever…”  Isaiah 9:6b-7

     The Bible succinctly states that the governments of all nations will rest on the shoulder of Christ.  It is also revealed that endless peace can only follow judgment and justice. 

     But some will ask, ‘how is that possible considering America is the most exceptional nation in the world, and our success is due in part to our three independent branches of government, i.e. executive, legislative, and judicial.’

     Isaiah also addressed that issue.  After the nations are judged according to God’s standard, Christ will establish His kingdom and rule all nations with a ‘rod of iron’ from Jerusalem.

     “Your eyes will see the King in His beauty…For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our Lawgiver, the LORD is our King…”  Isaiah 33:17, 22

     There, you have it.  All functions of government will be under the sovereign rule of Jesus Christ alone.  There will be no need to worry about veto proof legislation, or anti-Biblical Supreme Court rulings; however, look for many executive orders.

     Matthew confirmed Jesus’ authority.

     “And Jesus came and spoke to them (disciples), saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.’”  Matthew 28:18

     The Bible couldn’t be clearer relative to the absolute sovereignty of Jesus Christ in all of man’s affairs.

     Satan, however, is really exercising his granted authority attempting to convince the world that Jesus has no place in government.

     How many times do we see where any mention of Jesus Christ offends someone?  How often are complaints registered because someone prays at a football game in the name of Jesus?

     There are organizations such as the ‘Freedom from Religion Foundation’ whose purpose is to remove Christ from daily life.

     A small number saw Jesus in the manger, many more witnessed His death on the cross, a limited number saw Him after His resurrection, and fewer witnessed His ascension.

     But the whole world will witness His return to judge the nations and exercise His sovereign authority over all aspects of all nations.

     “For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”  Matthew 24:27

     Any government official that denies the fullness of the Son of God will shortly find themselves under His sovereign rule.

     Separation of church and state?  Bah! Humbug!

     Merry Christmas!   

     Share your thoughts walt.thrun@gmail.com

    

Political Rhetoric or Scripture

     The political climate gearing up for the November 2016 presidential election is very divisive.  Such divisiveness confirms Jesus’ words to the multitude.

     “Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division.”  Luke 12:51

     Not only are the political parties vastly divided, there is extreme division within each party.

     Several colorful terms the candidates are using to describe their competitors include backbiters, proud, boasters, and untrustworthy.

     The ‘boasters’ present themselves to be above the others while the ‘proud’ profess they can provide cures for the nation’s ills.

     The ‘backbiters’ slander their competitors while the ‘untrustworthy’ simply do not abide in the truth, i.e. they will blatantly misrepresent the facts, or their position on issues will ‘evolve’ based on current polls.

     The four descriptive terms listed do have one significant thing in common, i.e. they are all found in a single passage in Scripture.

     “...they are…backbiters…proud, boasters…untrustworthy…who knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”  Romans 1:29b-32

     Three points:  First, there are more characteristics included in these verses; however, those listed are more subtle and are not recognized as sin by many.  The verses should be read in total in order to grasp more of God’s standard of righteousness.

     Secondly, the phrase ‘those who practice such things’ describe those who do such things as a way of life with no intention of abandoning them.  And ‘deserving of death’ means simply to miss the kingdom of God and spending eternity apart from Him.

     Third, it is equally significant that those who do such things also approve of those who practice them.

     One of the practices included in the above verses, but not mentioned in this current column is ‘murder,’ defined as slaughter, or cutting to pieces.  That practice was covered in a recent column relative to the slaying of unborn children and selling their body parts for profit.

     Nearly all of the candidates are involved with pride which, as has been defined, is claiming to have answers to cure this nation’s woes.

     Every candidate has a plan to ‘make America great again,’ or to make the American dream available to everyone, or bring equality to every citizen.

     Several are claiming the government should provide everything free to every citizen.  That, they say, will provide equality and save America.

     Very seldom is the real, and only, solution mentioned that will have any lasting effect, and that, according to the Bible, is to return to God’s standard of righteousness and justice.

     There are candidates who claim that with the proper leadership America’s best days lie right around the corner.  Those candidates like to use the term ‘I will’ profusely. 

     Granted, many have good intentions; however, there are few absolutes the citizenry can rely on.  One such absolute follows:

     “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained…”  Acts 17:30-31

     God has been gracious not to judge the world up to this time, giving the world an opportunity to repent, i.e. return to His standard of righteousness.  Such is not happening so judgment is inevitable and imminent.

     Many ideological issues are not even recognized as sin with this nation’s progressive viewpoint.  Only three of the original 10 commandments are part of our judicial system.

     The following commandments are not part of our judicial system. 

     “You shall have no other gods before Me.”

    

     “You shall not commit adultery.”

     “You shall not covet…”

    

     Breaking these is an accepted way of life for the majority. 

     And then consider those commandments that are part of our legal system, but are subject to quick abuse.

     “You shall not murder.”

     “You shall not bear false witness…”

     Abortion has been legalized and has accounted for more than 57 million murders since Roe v. Wade.

     A person needn’t worry about bearing false witness by legally invoking the 5^th amendment.

     You decide, is America still a Christian nation?    

     Share your thoughts walt.thrun@gmail.com

America is in travail

     The curse God pronounced on the woman after the original sin in the Garden of Eden would affect all women from that time forward.

     “To the woman He said: ‘I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children…’”  Genesis 3:16a

     The above verse is very clear.  God would cause childbirth to be a very painful experience.  ‘Sorrow’ in the present context does in fact mean ‘birth pangs’ and ‘toil’ while ‘bring forth’ means to ‘deliver’ the child.

     As the Bible unfolded God made it very clear in numerous passages that once birth pangs had begun, they would increase until the birth of the child.

     “‘Shall I bring to the time of birth and not cause delivery?’ says the LORD.  ‘Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?’ says your God.”  Isaiah 66:9

     As stated, ‘delivery’ means to ‘bring forth.’  God says that He would not bring to the time of delivery and then shut up the womb.

     In the New Testament John also refers to the miracle of child birth and its inherent pain.  He used the example of the sadness the disciples would experience at the time of Jesus’ death, but then reminded them their pain would turn into great joy after His resurrection.

     “A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.”  John 16:21

     The Greek is very similar to the Hebrew, i.e. ‘sorrow’ means ‘birth pangs’ while ‘anguish’ means ‘distress of a woman in travail.’

     The Apostle Paul used the example of childbirth to illustrate the suddenness and surety of Christ’s return in judgment referred to as ‘the day of the Lord.’

     “But you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.  For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman…”  1 Thessalonians 5:2-3

     Men will think all is well.  The last thought in most minds today is that the world is on a collision course with inescapable judgment.

     In His Olivet Discourse Jesus was explaining to His disciples events that would occur prior to His return to judge the earth.

     “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.”  Matthew 24:6-7

     Recall ‘sorrows’ is synonymous with travail and anguish.

     In other words, the world is presently going into labor and the pains will increase until the birth which will be the return of Christ.  The labor pains have begun, nothing can stop them.

     The approaching great tribulation is described thusly in the Bible:

     “Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble…”  Jeremiah 30:7

     The Hebrew for ‘trouble’ in the above has meaning similar to ‘sorrow,’ i.e. pain and travail.

     During the present presidential election season, several candidates are boasting that America’s greatest days will be experienced in the near future when ‘we take our nation back’ following the election. 

     The Bible states we are presently in the final age that will usher in the great tribulation prior to Christ’s return to judge the earth.  Recall that Israel’s history was to be a lesson for the current age.

     “Now all these things happened to them (Israelites) as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”  1 Corinthians 10:11

     Paul’s revelations were confirmed by John.

     “…it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Anti-christ is coming, even now many anti-christs have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.”  1 John 2:18

     It appears that America is in travail, and is totally oblivious to the outcome.

     Share your thoughts walt.thrun@gmail.com