June 2023 – Are You Ready for the Rapture?

Are You Ready for the Rapture?

Therefore, be ye also ready: for in such an hour as

ye think not the Son of man cometh.” Matthew 24:44

By Mike Wingfield

Do you believe the Rapture could happen today? If you answered this question with a “yes,” then you should already be spiritually preparing yourself for the moment you will be ushered into the presence of the Lord.

The sudden Rapture of the church, and the subsequent time of Tribulation, will be like the shocking appearance of “a thief in the night” to the world (1 Thessalonians 5:2). It will be an abrupt and unwanted intrusion into people’s lives. They do not know Him and do not want to be with Him. They do not want Him to come. They are comfortable living in their own selfish and sinful lifestyle. Jesus said that this time will be “as a snare [that will] come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth” (Luke 21:35).

In total contrast to the world of unbelievers, those who know the Lord should not be surprised when He comes for His church. Unlike the world, believers are not living in spiritual darkness (1 Thessalonians 5:1-10). Those who know the Scriptures are looking at the signs of His coming. They are eagerly anticipating His promised coming at any moment. While they do not know the exact time of His coming, they know that it is getting closer with every passing moment. Due to their faith, His coming will be a welcome blessing to them and not an intrusion into their earthly lives!

The promised coming of our Lord and the anticipation of it, should flood our hearts with “comfort” (1 Thessalonians 4:18; 5:11). The prophetic declarations of the end times should not scare us but prepare us for His coming! If the words of His coming cause fear, it is because our faith is weak and incomplete. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19). Those who are frightened by the preaching and teaching of the prophetic Word of God are in love with a faith that is anchored in this present world. They are so in love with this world that they do not want to think about leaving it behind. How sad!

The prophetic Scriptures are the very foundation of our faith. True believers are people with a great passion for what lies ahead. True Christianity does not focus upon what is seen and temporary. Our faith looks at the uns een and the eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). The spiritual sight of the believer is not anchored in this world, but in heaven (2 Corinthians 5:1-7). This is the very stuff that biblical prophecy focuses upon! All of this is true because our faith is all about the promise of being with Jesus someday (Colossians 3:1-4).

The Bible exhorts us to be looking, watching, and longing for the coming of the Lord. The Rapture of the church should be a burning passion and a “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13) that drives us to daily cry out “even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).

When Jesus spoke to His disciples about His coming, He commanded them, “Therefore, be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 24:44). Jesus told them they should be focused upon preparing for His coming. Notice that He was not saying this to a crowd of unbelievers. He was speaking to His disciples who had been with Him for several years. Therefore, preparing for His coming is more than just get-ting saved and becoming a believer. Jesus intended for His disciples to understand that they should have a deep and insatiable desire to be spiritually prepared for His coming. I am convinced that He is essentially telling us that we need to prepare our souls for the very moment we shall see Him face to face for the very first time.

The aged Apostle John, the last living apostle, was thinking about this when he wrote, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:2-3). The thought of seeing Jesus and being with our holy Lord should transform our lives today.

When we do see Him, we will instantly receive a new body and mind that will be fashioned by Him for living in His presence. For the first time in our lives, we will have the perfect mind of Christ. We will be like Him (Philippians 3:20-21). We will not be thinking about ourselves. Our minds and bodies will be made for eternal heavenly worship and service. That is exactly what we need to focus upon now. We can be confident “that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform [direct it to completion] it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

Each time we see the church (symbolically referred to as the 24 elders) in the book of Revelation 4-19, they are in heaven worshipping the Lord. We were created to be worshippers of God. It is what the true believer will do for all eternity. Our worship will glorify Him and thrill us forever!

Our expectation of the end time events should be preparing us for these moments of worship, and creating a longing for the day it happens. This is at the heart of preparing for the Rapture.

The life of Enoch gives us a perfect example of how the knowledge of what God is about to do should impact our soul. Genesis 5:21-24 informs us that when Enoch’s son was born, it transformed his life. Apparently, God told Enoch that when his son was born, he was to be named “Methuselah.” This name means “when he dies it shall come.” The Lord told Enoch that when his son would die the great flood of judgment would come upon the earth and all the wicked would perish. Enoch had no idea how long his son would live. This meant the massive global flood God had warned him about could be imminent. Therefore, Enoch was impacted by the fact that at any moment life on this earth would cease and millions of sinners would perish. This truth changed his life.

The Bible tells us that from of the time of Methuselah’s birth, Enoch began to walk with God (Genesis 5:22-24). This means that Enoch was daily seeking the face of God. His personal daily times of worship became a priority. After receiving this special revelation from God, Enoch began to preach about the judgment of God and the Lord’s coming (Jude 14-15). Enoch walked with God for the next 300 years. His walk with the Lord became very intense. The Bible tells us that Enoch was known as a man of God and “that he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5). Therefore, one day, God supernaturally translated this special man into His presence. He did not see death, “for God took him” (Genesis 5:24).

I believe those who are expecting Jesus to come at any moment should be following the example of Enoch. This is the very core of what it means to prepare for our Lord’s coming. Adam and Eve were created as worshippers. They were created in the image of God with the full po-tential to know God and worship Him. Genesis 3:8 indi-cates that from the time of their creation, the Lord visited them in the cool of the day [the morning] and they had a physical and spiritual encounter with God. When they sinned, they spiritually died and the unique time of wor-ship with God ceased. At that point they became spiritual-ly dead. They were dead toward the spiritual world and all the things that mattered to God. In their spiritual deadness, they became the “enemies” of God (Romans 5:10).

When all the children of Adam and Eve were conceived, the spiritual DNA to naturally be sinful was transmitted to them, and ultimately throughout the entire human race (Psalm 51:5). People have no spiritual capacity to know and worship God until they are born-again. When a person is saved, they become spiritually alive and they have the divine capacity to know, worship, and serve God once again. At the heart of being born-again is the renewed daily experience of worshipping God. This must become the priority of the Christian life. This is what a true believer will do for all eternity.

This is the passion of my life. The greatest moments of my life are those spent in the presence of my Lord.Psalm 16:11says, “Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” All men of God make worship and being in God’s presence the passion of their life. King David, known as a man of God, wrote, “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?” (Psalm 42:1-2). Notice that David’s worship compelled him to be in the presence of God. Do you experience a deep and abiding joy while being in the presence of God? Are you longing for the day when you will stand in His presence the moment the Rapture takes place?

I have been in ministry for more than 50 years and I have learned that such a lifestyle is very rare among professing born-again Christians. The lifestyle of a born-again believer does not revolve around religion. The Bible says a true believer bases his life on a relationship with God.Eternal life is not a possession, it is a person! “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:11-12).

As the Christian grows in his relationship with God, his walk with God becomes deeper and purer than any other relationship. My wife and I have been married for 54 years. Our relationship is deep and rich, but it pales in comparison to our relationship with God. I cherish my wife dearly, but I do not worship her. Worship is reserved for God, and God alone. God knows me better than my wife. He is always with me. He died for me. I will be one with Him for eternity. My relationship with God is on another level that cannot be experienced on the human level with anyone else!

Our relationship with God was created by Him. He chose me and called me into a relationship with Him. However, it is my responsibility to maintain and grow that relationship with Him. Knowing God and walking with Him daily requires two life changing habits. Let us examine them.

Life Changing Habit #1

Being Alone with God

I ntimacy with God requires that we spend time alone with Him. God’s time with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before they sinned, was a quiet and intimate experience. I am sure that Enoch spent many hours alone with God. The expression that Enoch “walked with God” carries the idea of fellowship and obedience. Enoch shared life with God. He knew that God was his Creator and Redeemer. He praised God for His mercy and goodness. His worship created a natural and normal passion to serve God and obey Him. It was this combination of worship and service that pleased God (Hebrews 11:5).

I have noted that in the Bible, godly people were alone with God when He spoke to them. Think about Jacob (Genesis 28:10-22), Moses (Exodus 3), Elijah (1 Kings 19:8-18), and Jonah (Jonah 2:1-9). In the New Testa-ment, God spoke to Zechariah, the father of John the Bap-tist (Luke 1:8-20), and Mary, the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:26-28) when they were alone in His presence. I have noted that it was Jesus’ frequent experience to find a place to be alone with His Father (Matthew 14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12; John 6:15). When I am in Israel and I look at the mountains around the Sea of Galilee, I think of how Jesus spent time alone with His Father on those mountains. I have thought, “If Jesus needed to do this, how much more do I as a sinner saved by God’s grace need to seek His face in solitude!”

My friend, is this a habit in your life? Do you spend time alone with God on a regular basis? If so, when, and where? I have discovered that these times alone with Him must be accompanied by times of a spiritual longing to hear Him speak to me through His Word. How rewarding and precious are those times when I am alone with Him! Sometimes, I am on a mountain, in a car, or simply in a room at my house in the early hours of the morning.

I have found that this must be the longing of my heart. These times must be the highlights of my day. I must seek Him. I must want to be in His presence. Like King David, I must thirst to be with Him (Psalm 42:1-3). By His grace, I expect Him to meet with me. I want Him to be in me and around me, manifesting His glorious presence. This is the real stuff that life is made of!

Do not ever think you are too busy to daily take time to be alone with God. Who controls your schedule? He does! If we put Him first, He will orchestrate the details of our schedule for His glory and our good. Jesus demands, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things [life matters] shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).

If you are not willing to sacrifice the time to be alone with God, you really do not love Him! I have observed that people do what they want to do. They willingly sacrifice things to do what really matters to them. Does God really matter to you?

Life Changing Habit #2

Be Still and Focus Upon Him

God commands us, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). The Hebrew word that is translated “be still” is an imperative. God commands us to put down our hands and cease from any activity. God commands us to stop working and seek His face. We are to take time out of our busy work schedule and give that time solely to Him.

Being still or quiet before God is a big problem for us in our culture. In the last 100 years, this planet has become a very noisy and hurried place. We fill our ears, minds, and souls with the meaningless chatter of those who are far away from God. We have become totally occupied with work, pleasure, entertainment, sports, and hobbies, while chasing our dreams and desires. Many have become so busy that they do not have time for God or their family. It is all about pleasing self.

We fill our ears, eyes, and mind with the gadgets and words of this world. We watch television, but do not have time for God. We immerse our minds into computer games or flood our thoughts with overwhelming knowledge to satisfy our desires. We endlessly talk or text our friends while we never give God a moment of our time. Americans are addicted to their cell phones! They have become a hindrance to the work and worship of God in our lives. As the Bible says, we have become those who are “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7).

At the heart of worship is to force our hands and minds to stop all mental and physical activity. With great intensity, we are to meditate upon the person and work of God. We must desire that our lives would be filled with a time that is completely devoted to God.

We live in a world full of tantalizing things that demand our attention. More than any other generation we are completely preoccupied with those things that are eternally worthless. Many of the devices and gratifications that capture our attention are not godless or immoral, but they are of lesser value than the Lord and His eternal work. Psalm 10:4says, “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.” God is looking “down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God” (Psalm 53:2).

If you know God, there is only one place to go to have the thirsting of your soul quenched. David, the man after God’s own heart, wrote, “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is” (Psalm 63:1). The stuff of this world cannot satisfy the spiritual longing of our soul. The things of this world do not bring real joy and pleasure.

We walk about in a world that is a spiritual desert. There is nothing this world has to offer that will satisfy the longing of our soul. Our time alone with God as we seek His face should be like an oasis that we crave to visit often as we move across the desert sands of this world.

No one can take the place of Jesus. He is our Rock, Redeemer, and Friend. He is the Shepherd of our soul and our High Priest. He is our life! We must set our minds upon Him! “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:1-4).

Living in this 21st century, pastors and church attendees think that we have arrived at a special spiritual pinnacle of the age. The mega church has created a false impression of our spirituality. However, our spiritual barometer is broken. The average believer today is a spiritual midget when compared to the believers of more than 100-200 years ago. People living several generations ago lived in a very slow-paced culture. They did not have electricity, cars, television, computers, or cell phones. They were not immersed in sports, traveling, shopping, or entertainment. They did not have the temptations we have to distract them from spending time with God. Their minds were not cluttered with the stuff of this world. They were content with the simple way of life. Read 1 Timothy 6:6-10.

We probably think of our current lifestyle as being a blessing. However, our modern way of life is more like a curse. We must work harder at not being distracted from spending time alone with God, while we cease from our busy schedules.

God is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5). He demands that we have no other idols or gods before Him. He commands first place in our heart and life. Jesus said that the first and greatest commandment is, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:37).

There is coming a day when God is going to take away all our toys and distractions. During the Tribulation Period, the Lord will decimate our current lifestyle. Speaking of that day, Isaiah wrote, “And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly abolish. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth” (Isaiah 2:17-19).

The judgments of God in this age and in the Tribulation Period, are aimed at bringing us to repentance. He wants us to come to Him, love Him, and serve Him. When He takes away our earthly treasures, I can hear Him say, “Will you now give Me your full attention? Will you now look to Me and discover the path of life? Will you now give Me first place in your life?”

Some of our greatest hymns of worship were written hundreds of years ago by godly men and women who lived alone with God. For example, Katharina Von Schlegel was a German hymn writer that lived in the mid-1700s. She never married and lived a life of complete devotion to God, living in a Lutheran convent. One of the great hymns she wrote is “Be Still my Soul.” This hymn is a great testimony to this godly saint. In light of this challenge to prepare our souls for the Rapture, please meditate upon the following lines of this great hymn.

“Be still, my soul: the hour is hast’ning on

When we shall be forever with the Lord.

When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,

Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.

Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past,

All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.”

If the Lord is speaking to your heart about preparing your soul for the Rapture, you need to find a quiet place and get alone with God. I suggest reading and meditating upon the Psalms. Quiet your soul and seek His presence.

If you need a reminder to make this a priority, I suggest that you write the following words on a piece of paper and put it in a place where you will see this during the day and be reminded of getting alone with God. Write these words, “Be Still My Soul.”

Be ready for the shout that will take us out!

Our July Newsletter

In all the years I have been following the events in our world in the light of biblical prophecy, I have never seen anything that is more disturbing or deceptive than what the master minds are creating in the name of Artificial Intelligence. I believe this is the work of the devil that will deceive the entire world to prepare the way of the Antichrist. I have entitled this message, “The Final Rebellion.” Pray for the impact this message will have on all who will hear it and read it. This will be the subject of the July newsletter.

January 2023 – There is No “Mother Nature!”

       Proclaiming the Prophetic Word for 31 years!

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January 2023

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There is No “Mother Nature!”

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, … [changing] the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the [creation] more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” Romans 1:22, 25

By Mike Wingfield

Worshipping “Mother Nature” will not rescue the nations of the world from the tragic and dangerous time in which we live. As our world tumbles deeper into spiritual darkness, the world’s leaders stubbornly refuse to give God His rightful place. They continually reject Him as Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, Judge, and King. They ignore His presence and power! They have chosen to pretend that He does not exist. They are defiant against God’s creative order, commandments, and eternal promises. In their pride and arrogance, they foolishly plan how they might thwart the prescribed judgment of God that is coming upon the earth and all creation at the approaching end of this age.

In his quest to lie and deceive, man has created the theory of evolution to mask the reality that God created everything as described in Genesis 1-3. Evolution makes chance and fate the explanation for the existence of creation. From man’s perspective, there is no design or designer of creation. Man foolishly believes everything from the atom to the galaxies came together through random evolution of cosmic forces. Mimicking the demonic deception of many ancient cultures, our world has chosen to worship “Mother Nature.” When people refer to everyday events in the weather or the catastrophic forces of creation, they point to this as an act of “Mother Nature”. This designation of the world’s god is a term that views the earth as a woman. In their sinful way of thinking, the earth is the source and controlling power over all creation. Just like a mother who gives birth and nurtures her children, the world believes that earth, in the evolutionary process, gave birth to all life. They believe that earth, not God, provides us with all that we need to sustain life. Consequently, climate change proponents are demanding a radical shift in our lifestyles to avert what they believe will lead to a catastrophic end to life on earth.

This is nothing new (Ecclesiastes 1:10). The Bible gives several references to a pagan goddess that was being worshipped in Israel and all the other cultures that preceded and followed Israel’s tragic worship of a demonically created goddess. This goddess was called “the queen of heaven” (Jeremiah 7:18). The ancient prophet of God, Jeremiah, rebuked the people of Israel and warned them that they were incurring the wrath of God if they continued to worship idols rather than the living God. However, the men of Israel refused to heed Jeremiah’s warning, stating that they were following the advice of their wives, since they believed that it was “The Queen of Heaven” who had blessed them (Jeremiah 44:15-19). This goddess was a fertility god. They believed that her worship would improve their way of life. They imagined that this goddess would provide them with bountiful food, prosperity, and keep them safe and secure. Like today, the worship of this goddess was filled with lustful sensuality.

Tragically, Israel refused to heed Jeremiah’s warning. Consequently, God destroyed its culture, including the Temple in Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Those who survived became the slaves of Babylon for 70 years.

Today, in a similar fashion, our pagan global culture views “Mother Nature” as a goddess who is providing and protecting us with many blessings. This is a religion that is sweeping across the world. This is the demonic force behind all the hype concerning climate change. In November, more than 40,000 people attended a summit in the Sinai near the mountain where many believe God gave Israel and the world the Ten Commandments. They gathered to create the “Climate Justice Ten Commandments” (Israel 365 News, November 7, 2022).

America, and the world are traveling down the same path of apostasy and disobedience as nations that were destroyed before us. We are defiantly rejecting the One and only God of the universe. In our foolish and sinful pride, we have elevated man and God’s creation above the worship of the God of glory.

This gathering, which had the blessing of the United Nations, included leaders in business, banking, education, and politics. Among its participants were Christian, Muslim, and Jewish religious leaders. This gathering held “Climate Repentance Ceremonies and put forth a prophetic inter-religious call to action” (Israel 365 News, November 7, 2022). Clearly, the entire world, including Israel, has been duped into the deception of worshipping the creation, rather than the Creator.

Friends, the worship of “Mother Earth” is creating a response of wrathful judgment in the heart of our holy God. He is the One and only God! The first and most important of all the commandments is, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). God has demanded that we not worship or serve any other god. If we do, He has promised, “I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me” (Exodus 20:5). The priority for all mankind is to worship God, and God alone!

Several decades before Jeremiah, the prophet Isaiah was called to warn Israel to turn from its sinful and idolatrous ways. At the heart of God’s plea was for His people, Israel, to recognize that He was the One and only God. Through Isaiah, God repeatedly said, “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me” (Isaiah 45:5). See also Isaiah 45:6, 18, 21, 22; 46:9. In Isaiah 42:8, the Lord said, “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.”

Friends, America, and the world are traveling down the same path of apostasy and disobedience as nations that were destroyed before us. We are defiantly rejecting the One and only God of the universe. In our foolish and sinful pride, we have elevated man and God’s creation above the worship of the God of glory.

The universe and all that is in it has been created by God for His glory. The chief aim of man is to glorify God. In the beginning of creation, God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:26). The entire testimony of the Bible is that only man has been created as the image bearer of God. That simply means that it is God’s desire for mankind to be reflectors of the infinite glory of God. We are to live, speak, think, act, and plan in such a way that we display the glory of God. What does that mean?

Perhaps one of the most difficult things for the depraved, finite mind of man to grasp is the glory of God. The term “glory of God” points to the collective conception of all that God is. It is the shining forth of His infinite attributes or character. When we delve into the depths of the infinite mind and character of God our intellectual abilities fall short of being able to grasp the fullness of all that God is and has done. While exploring the infinite knowledge and presence of God, the psalmist declared, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it” (Psalm 139:6). After exploring God’s eternal purposes for Israel, Paul exclaimed, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counsellor” (Romans 11:33-34)?

God has created us in such a way that we should be in awe of the creation of human life. The birth of a baby should move us to be in awe of God and to see His divine plan and purposes for the creation of man. This is made clear in Psalm 8. “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! Who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of mouth of babes and [newborn infants] hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger” (Psalm 8:1-2). The Psalmist is simply saying that even the enemies of God should be silenced when they look at the life of a new-born baby. They should be in awe of the divine process of the creation of life in the womb (Psalm 139:13-18). Babies are a gift from God (Psalm 127:3).

Abortion and the abuse and neglect of children are other indictments against our godless culture. Every year, millions of babies are killed in the womb. Furthermore, children are the target of unimaginable violence and wickedness. The message of the Bible is clear. How we treat children, and all other people, is a testimony to what we think about God and who God is. The first four of the Ten Commandments deal with man’s response to God. The last six of the Ten Commandments deal with man’s response to man – who has been created in the image of God. We do not know God and cannot glorify Him when we kill human beings. “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murdered hath eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15).

Man is not the only part of God’s creation that reflects His glory. All the heavens and the earth were created for His glory – to lead us to adore, worship, and serve Him, and Him alone! As the Psalmist in Psalm 8 continued to speak of God’s glory, he spoke of God’s creation of the heavens as “the work of [God’s] fingers” (Psalm 8:3). The vastness of the splendor of God’s creation is to cause man to be in awe of the God who spoke them all into existence (Psalm 33:6) out of nothing (Hebrews 11:3).

King David of Israel, 3,000 years ago, exclaimed, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament [shows] his handywork” (Psalm 19:1). The word “declare” in Hebrew could be translated as “continually count.” The idea is that the vastness of the heavens, and the innumerable stars contained therein, should cause the human mind to be in awe of the One who created them.

Compared to the knowledge of David’s time, our comprehension of the universe today is amazing. David’s generation only observed the vastness of the starry heavens with the naked eye. In our generation, we have powerful telescopes on earth and in space that aid us in visually exploring the galaxies. Our faith ought to be greater than the faith of David. We ought to be more in awe of the heavens and therefore, we should seek to glorify God in a greater way. How sad that this is not true. Instead, we have rejected God and His revelation. Due to man’s pride, man has chosen to ignore God’s written revelation, the Bible, and God’s general revelation written in the heavens. According to Romans 1:18-32, this is always the beginning of man’s tragic journey away from God. Read this passage and reflect upon the truth of Paul’s message.

The field of science, in many cases, began as an exploration of creation for the glory of God. For example, Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), was a German scientist who studied the heavens. He discovered and wrote about many of the observations and facts still used today by astronomers and NASA. Kepler, by his own writings and testimony, was a committed believer who held the Scriptures as his rock-solid foundation for all truth. He dedicated himself at an early age to serve God.

How sad that today, most of those who work in the field of science have been blinded by the lie of evolution. The theory of evolution began with the work of Charles Darwin (1809-1882), who followed almost 300 years after Kepler. There is a debate concerning whether Darwin was an atheist. We cannot be sure. However, at one point in his life he said that he did not believe Jesus Christ is God. He also stated that he did not believe the Bible is the Word of God.

Today, we should be stunned by the vastness of the universe and the tiny speck called earth. God told Isaiah, “The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool” (Isaiah 66:1). In light of what we now know, this is truly an amazing revelation given to God’s servant more than 2,700 years ago!

First, the heavens, the universe, are viewed in the Bible as the dwelling place of God. Yet, God, who is everywhere present at the same time, cannot be contained by the vastness of space. At the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem, King Solomon acknowledged, “Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded” (1 Kings 8:27)?

Just how immense is the universe? The answer to this question is unknown. Even with our most powerful telescopes we have only viewed about 1.25 percent of all that God created by His spoken Word thousands of years ago. Scientists tell us that the expanse of the universe is so stunning that if you could travel across the known outreaches of space, traveling at the speed of light – 186,000 miles per second – it would take you more than 40 billion years to do so. Within this space are believed to be more than 100 billion galaxies! This is stunning! Unimaginable! Our home, the Milky Way, is only a small galaxy when compared to others.

Within each of these galaxies there are hundreds of billions of stars. The number of stars created by the sudden breath of God in the beginning is beyond our human comprehension! Someone has surmised that the number of stars is more than the number of words spoken by man since the beginning of time. Another scientist has estimated that the number of stars would probably be equal to roughly 10,000 stars for each grain of sand on every beach on earth! Let that sink in for a moment!

The Bible tells us that all of God’s creation, including the stars, planets, moons, comets, and asteroids, and all of creation are the servants of God (Psalm 119:91). This means that God is the Creator, Ruler, and Sustainer of every aspect of His creation (Colossians 1:16-17). Jesus proved this when He came to earth. He controlled food, winds, water, diseases, and even demons. He made the blind see and raised the dead!

God is sovereign over every atom and galaxy! Listen to what Psalm 147:4-5 tells us about how infinite God is, “He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.” God not only knows how many stars He created, but He has also named them all!

When we think about stars, we need to remember that our sun is one of them. The sun and stars are simply great balls of fire. They have been created with immense amounts of fuel so that they can fulfill His purposes to shine for His glory. Our sun is huge to the human eye. It is estimated that the sun is 1,300,000 times bigger than the earth. Scientists estimate that it would take about 1.3 million earths to fill up the space taken up by the sun. Yet, the sun is one of the smaller stars in our universe. One star, Antares, is calculated to be 700 times bigger than our sun. Amazing! Stunning!

Think about this. This universe is so infinite in the mind of man – yet the heavens cannot contain God! God has described Himself as the One who “[stretched] forth the heavens, and [laid] the foundation of the earth, and [formed] the spirit of man within him” (Zechariah 12:1).

The finite, depraved mind of man struggles to understand who God is. We tend to think of God in such a way that we make Him like man. And tragically, we foolishly think of man, making him like God. The Bible repeatedly declares that God is holy. That simply means that God is infinitely set apart from all His creation. All creation is finite. Only God is infinite!

In Isaiah 40:25, God asked, “To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal.” Then, He answered His question by demanding that man look up into the heavens, “Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth” (Isaiah 40:26).

Another testimony of God’s greatness is His comparison to earth itself. To those who were worshipping the Queen of Heaven, He reminded them that He could hold the oceans of the earth in the palm of His hand. He knows the exact weight of planet earth. (See Isaiah 40:12.) In this little speck in the universe there are nations. These nations and their leaders think they are so powerful. Compared to God, they are nothing! The Bible declares, “Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. … All nations before him as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity” (Isaiah 40:15, 17).

The Bible tells us that “The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life” (Proverbs 14:27). Also, “The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honor is humility” (Proverbs 15:33). The word fear speaks of man being in awe of God. When we think of God in terms of His glory, we will be greatly humbled. This is where great faith begins – humility! When we see God in His glory and mankind in his utterly helpless state of foolishness and sin, then we can be humble and wise.

When I was a little boy, my mother would say to me, “Son you are getting too big for your britches.” This was her kind way of saying that I was acting foolishly, thinking that I was older and wiser, instead of realizing I was still a little boy in need of my parents. This is where we are as a world. We have gotten too big for our britches! The world thinks it doesn’t need God. He has been replaced with a demonic idol called “Mother Nature.”

We need to be reminded that earth is a speck in this enormous universe – only the lowly footstool of God. The heavens are His dwelling place. Isaiah wrote, “It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in” (Isaiah 40:22). God says that man is like a grasshopper before Him. That is a humbling thought. All of mankind needs to remember that we are at the mercy of the Almighty! All that we have and are, is nothing in His sight!

Pride is the hallmark cornerstone of depravity. It was pride that triggered the beginning of sin in the heart of Lucifer when he thought he could replace God. Satan appealed to the pride of Eve in the Garden of Eden by tempting her with the idea that she could be like God.

The scientific achievements of man in the last 150 years have been amazing. Yet, they are nothing compared to God who made the heavens and the earth in six days (Exodus 20:11). Prideful people think that scientists are so intelligent. However, when they fail to give God His rightful place and see Him as the God of glory, they are acting like fools. “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Psalm 14:1).

According to the Bible, God will deal a death blow to the pride of man at the end of this age. As in the days of Noah, God will use His creation to bring a massive upheaval upon this earth. God told Noah thousands of years ago that He would destroy His creation “with the earth” (Genesis 6:13). In Noah’s day, God spoke to the earth and caused a massive global earthquake, allowing the subterranean waters to flood the earth (Genesis 7:11). He also emptied the massive translucent water canopy over the earth (Genesis 1:6-7), eventually covering the entire earth with water for 150 days (Genesis 7:24).

For seven long years during the Tribulation, mankind will be judged by God with climate change, and catastrophic events such as global earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. Diseases, demons, and darkness will plague all the earth’s inhabitants. All of this will be used by God to humble mankind and exalt Himself. Isaiah wrote about that day and warned that God will “[arise] to shake terribly the earth” (Isaiah 2:19, 21). God will do this “for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty” (Isaiah 2:19, 21). Why? “The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day” (Isaiah 2:11, 17).

When that day comes, man will realize how foolish his worship of idols and the ideas of godless men has been. They will cast aside their idols and be stricken with their foolishness (Isaiah 40:2-21). Scientists will be helpless. Everyone will know there is no “Mother Nature.” They will know that earth is not a god or a provider.

Scientists look at the immense universe and conclude there must be life on other planets. However, according to the Bible, God created life only on earth (Isaiah 45:18). Why such an awesome display of billions of galaxies and innumerable stars? It is not about us! It is about Him – the God of Glory! In the beginning, God created the heavens with the earth and man in mind. Earth is mentioned 21 times in Genesis 1. The lights of the heavens were for those living on earth (Genesis 1:14-19). God intended that they would look up and see His glory (Psalm 19:1). The Spirit of God caused the Apostle Paul to notice that God has revealed Himself to us. He wrote, “That which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath [showed] it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20).

No Bible believer should ever use the term “Mother Nature.” I must personally confess that when I hear that term I cringe. I am struck to the heart that the Lord God is being rejected. I am awestruck at the blindness of our world and even many in the professing church. We want God to fix our marriages, families, and broken world. However, we are not concerned about giving Him, and Him alone, the glory that is due to Him.

Are you guilty of using that term “Mother Earth”? If so, repent of it now! The use of this pagan term is an insult to the God of glory! Those who do believe and speak of the earth as a goddess are guilty of worshipping the creation instead of the Creator (Romans 1:25). The kind of world that does this is described in detail in Romans 1:21-32. We are living at such an hour!

Is the glory of God the chief aim of your life? Do you live to please Him? Glorify Him? Praise Him? Worship Him? This is the chief aim of man. We were created to have fellowship with God. We were made to know Him and worship Him. If your life’s focus is not upon Him, and Him alone, you are miserable. God inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). According to the Bible this is “the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11).

Only seconds after we have received our new body and mind and are in the presence of our Lord, we will have a clear understanding of all of this. Then we will say, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11).

“Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).

Be ready for the shout that will take us out! What a day that will be!

December 2022 – The Jewish Roots of our Faith

       Proclaiming the Prophetic Word for 31 years!

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December 2022

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(Examining Current Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy)

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The Jewish Roots of our Faith

What advantage then hath the Jew? … Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.” Romans 3:1-2

By Mike Wingfield

Very soon, people in many nations around the world will celebrate Christmas. Sadly, most people who celebrate Christmas view it as a holiday that focuses on secular traditions. Christmas has become a part of a growing trend that captures the world’s attention in a way that is far away from God. Only a small remnant of true believers will wake up quietly on Christmas morning and give reverence to its true meaning. We know that Jesus Christ was not born on December 25th. From a Biblical perspective, we should celebrate Christ’s birth every day of the year.

The finite mind of man continues to struggle with grasping the fact that God Almighty became flesh in Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago! Jesus fulfilled the hope of a coming Redeemer and King who is eternal, and yet born among men. Jewish believers were anticipating the fulfillment of the coming Messiah since the time of Abraham. For the two millennia preceding the birth of Jesus, God had spoken through His Jewish prophets to declare that He would come as a suffering Messiah, and then in the last days as a conquering Messiah. These precious, yet complex prophecies, have continued to perplex the Jewish people and the entire world for more than 4,000 years.

While rejecting these profound prophecies, most people live in utter confusion and some refuse to accept the Jewish connection of God’s Messiah, our Savior, and the Head of the church (Colossians 1:18). According to the Scriptures, the Messiah would be Jewish. He is a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Matthew 1:1-2). He is a descendant of Israel’s two greatest kings – David, and Solomon (Matthew 1:6).

Isaiah spoke of the coming Messiah, and wrote, “For unto us a child is born…” (Isaiah 9:6). The pronoun “us” in this context makes direct reference to the Jewish people. The promise of the coming Messiah was given exclusively to the Jewish people. God gave this promise to an unbelieving Jewish king, Ahaz, “Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). The name Immanuel means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). In essence, God told this wicked Jewish king that God would become a man and be born of a Jewish virgin. This sign, a supernatural event, would demonstrate to this wicked king that the God of Israel keeps His promises.

Both Joseph, the legal father of Jesus (Matthew 1:16) and Mary, the physical mother of Jesus (Luke 3:23-38), were Jewish descendants of King David of Israel. This means that Jesus has both the legal and physical rights to the throne of David as the Messianic King. It was this connection to the lineage of David that brought Joseph and Mary more than 2,000 years ago to the little Jewish town of Bethlehem, where Jesus would be born (Luke 2:1-7). In an amazing prophecy, 700 years before Jesus was born, God revealed to the prophet Micah that the future “ruler in Israel: whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2), would be born in Bethlehem.

Clearly, the Scriptures demand that Jesus was conceived as a Jew; born as a Jew; lived as a Jew; died as a Jew; arose as a Jew; and will return as a Jew. I emphasize this because the world rejects the fact that Jesus is Jewish. Some Christians naively think Jesus is a Christian because the Bible declares Him as Head of the church. And they wrongly concur that since He is the Head of the Christian faith, He must be a Christian and not a Jew.

We must remember that the church did not exist when Jesus was on earth during His first coming. Jesus always referred to the church in the future tense (Matthew 16:18). Jesus never preached in a church. He preached and taught in synagogues throughout Israel (Matthew 9:35). He never preached the gospel that is preached in churches today. The gospel is about His death, burial, and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Obviously, that message had to follow His ascension to heaven (Acts 1:9).

Let’s clarify this confusion. First, the term “Jew” is the designation of ethnic identity. It is a term that defines the ethnic identity of a group of people who can trace their lineage back to one of the 12 tribes of Jacob. Jews also can be identified by a nationalistic term. For example, they can be an American Jew or an Israeli Jew. An American Jew is a person who has a Jewish ethnicity, but lives in America. An Israeli Jew is a Jewish person who lives in Israel.

The term “Christian” is not a term of ethnicity or nationality. According to the Bible, a person cannot be born a Christian. A true Christian is one who has made the personal commitment to repent of his sins, believe the gospel, and receive Jesus Christ [“Christ” means Messiah] as their personal Lord and Savior. A true Christian believes Jesus is both God and man. They believe Jesus is the eternal Son of God. In other words, the term “Christian” is about a person’s spiritual standing with God.

Christians are from many different ethnicities and nationalities. The Bible speaks clearly about the distinction between a person’s ethnicity and spiritual standing. In the Bible there are two major ethnicities – Jews and Gentiles. The term “Gentile” refers to all other ethnic groups that are not Jewish. The Bible also refers to the nation of Israel, in contrast to “the nations” [all the other nations in the world]. So, in the Bible it clearly distinguishes between a person’s ethnicity and general nationality.

A person’s ethnicity and national status is not to be confused with their spiritual standing. All true believers are a part of the one body of Christ [Messiah] – the church (Ephesians 4:4). They can be a Jew or Gentile. They can be of any nationality. God only has one plan of salvation, and it is for all people (John 3:16).

When a person becomes a Christian, it does not change their ethnic or national identity. For example, they could be a Jewish Christian living in Germany. They are ethnically a Jew. They remain a citizen of Germany, but spiritually they are a member of the body of Christ – the church.

When Paul wrote to the Corinthian church about not being offensive to people while practicing their faith, he wrote that they were not to offend people of any ethnicity – Jew or Gentile. He also concluded that they were not to offend a brother of sister in Christ. He wrote, “Give none offense, neither to the Jews nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God” (1 Corinthians 10:32).

The confusion about the Jewish identity of the Christian faith [the church] has been in existence since the time of the first century. CAUTION: THIS MAY NOT BE IMPORTANT TO YOU, BUT IT IS HIGHLY IMPORTANT TO GOD! Jesus will judge the world based on how they have treated the Jewish people (Genesis 12:3; Matthew 25:31-46).

In this article, I would like to address two biblical facts about the Jewish identity of the true church.

Biblical Fact #1- The Jewish Origins of the Church

The church began in 30 A.D. at the Jewish feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem (Acts 2). The believers in the church on that day and for the next seven years were exclusively Jewish. Their focus, as commanded by their Lord, was on Jerusalem and Judea (Acts 1:8). Jerusalem continued to be the hub of the infant church for the first 14 years (30-44 A.D.). It was not until Acts 10 [44 A.D.] that the first Gentile was saved and became a part of the church. For the next four years, the number of Gentile believers began to increase. Due to opposition from the Jews who rejected the gospel, the Jewish Christians were forced to flee from Jerusalem. Acts 8:4 says, “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.”

According to Acts 13, it was not until 48 A.D. (18 years after the birth of the church) that the predominantly Gentile church in Antioch began to be a prevailing voice in the early church.

During the early years of the church, the believers gathered in the Temple in Jerusalem, synagogues, or homes. Church buildings did not come into existence until the latter part of the second century.

A study of Romans 11 reveals that the church was grafted into the true historical Jewish faith, which had roots grounded in the faith of Abraham and the Old Testament saints and prophets. In Romans 11, the Apostle Paul makes it adamantly clear that the spiritual life of the church comes out of the faith of the Old Testament believers. The faith of the church is the grafted extension of the faith of the Old Testament believers! Therefore, the faith and message of the church grows out of the faith and message about Jesus the Messiah as presented in the Old Testament Scriptures.

Biblical Fact #2- The Jewish Message of the Church

For the first 15 years of the church, they had no New Testament Scriptures. All they had were the 39 Old Testament books. James was the first New Testament book, written about 45 A.D. (15 years after the beginning of the church). The other 26 New Testament books were written over the next 50 years and they were passed around the churches as individual scrolls, while individual copies were made. The recognition of all 27 books as the New Testament did not take place until 300 years later at the end of the 4th century.

The Bible is a Jewish book. With Luke as the only exception, all the writers of the Bible were Jewish. The Apostle Paul declared, “unto them [the Jews] were committed the oracles of God” (Romans 3:2). God’s Word, which is eternal, is also a historical book set in time. God’s written revelation to man is immersed in the language, customs, geography, and history of the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. To ignore or reject this is to depart from the Word, will, and way of God! It is a defiant act of sinful pride. It becomes compliant with Satan’s scheme to reject God’s chosen people (Revelation 11). Attempting to remove the Jewish foundation and source of the true church is like removing the heart and brain of a body – it means sudden spiritual death!

The Bible demands that the message of the church must be an extension of the written message of the Jewish apostles! The teaching of the Jewish apostles is the foundation of the doctrine of the church (Ephesians 2:11-22). If a message that someone proclaims does not agree with the teaching of the apostles, then it is not of God. The apostle John wrote, “We are of God: for he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God [does not hear] us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error” (1 John 4:6). While facing false teachers in the first century, the Apostle Peter admonished the church to remember the teaching of the apostles (2 Peter 3:1-3). The Apostle Paul clearly warned that anyone who attempts to change the message of the apostles, “let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8).

At the heart of the apostle’s doctrine are the following six core teachings:

  1. Jesus is the predicted Messiah of the Old Testament

  2. The triunity of God- three persons & one God

  3. The sacrificial death of Jesus Christ

  4. The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ

  5. Salvation is based upon faith alone in Christ

  6. The Messianic hope – including the prophetic end-times

A careful study of Matthew 16:13-18 shows that Christ is building His church upon the testimony of the apostle Peter at Caesarea Philippi. Peter declared, “Thou art the Christ [Messiah], the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). This means that Christ must be recognized as the physical Jewish descendant of King David – the Jewish Messiah. It furthermore demands that Jesus must be recognized as the spiritual eternal Son of God.

Many professing churches fail to accept these core teachings that are demanded of all true believers. Many churches and professing Christians ignore the Jewishness of Jesus. They reject His people [Israel] and their renewed settlement of the Promised Land. They refuse to believe and teach the doctrines of the Messianic hope. They do not believe in a literal future tribulation on earth. They also reject a physical millennial kingdom when Christ will rule over all nations [which was the core teaching of Jesus in His earthly ministry].

Most churches today refuse to proclaim the prophetic Jesus because He doesn’t fit their mold of expectation. They view this Jesus as offensive, and to them, He does not appeal to the godless, rebellious, self-centered, materialistic, and morally bankrupt society that they want to lure into their assemblies. Our world today doesn’t want to hear about judgment. Instead, they want to hear about how they can feel good about themselves, and how they can appeal to God and have Him bless them where they are in their sinful pride.

The confusion of the Jewish identity of the true church has existed almost since the very beginning of the church. The Spirit of God caused the Apostle Paul to clearly teach about this in Romans 9-11.

Those in the true church must accept the divine role of Jesus’ Jewish brethren. Our efforts of evangelism should be “to the Jew first” (Romans 1:16). We should also “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6). The Lord expects us to assist, protect, and support “His brethren” (Matthew 25:31-46).

As we celebrate Christmas this year, let our minds go back to Bethlehem, where Christ was born. Let us also remember that it was outside the walls of Jerusalem where the Messiah was crucified for our salvation according to the Scriptures (Isaiah 52:13-53:12).

The Changing Face of Bethlehem

Almost all Christians know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:4). What they do not know is that the city of Bethlehem is now under the authority of the Palestinian government, which is totally controlled by the tenants and traditions of Islam.

Many decades ago, when I took tours into Bethlehem, the city had a very strong Christian community. However, when the Israeli government was forced by the international community in 1993 to surrender the “West Bank” to the Palestinians, this included the city of Bethlehem. Consequently, the Arab Christians in Bethlehem were persecuted and murdered by Islamic terrorists. For the last 30 years, the Palestinian government has done nothing to stop or curb the attacks upon the Christians in the West Bank, including the city of Bethlehem. Because of this, most of the Arab Christian community has left the West Bank and moved into areas controlled by Israel. They know that the Israeli government provides equal protection for Christians and Muslims in the territories under their control. Only a small remnant of the Arab Christians has chosen to remain in Bethlehem and suffer the threats of persecution or death.

But amazingly, many American Christians have been deceived into making Israel the aggressor in the conflict in the Holy Land. This is simply not the truth. I know! I have personally interviewed Arabs and Jews living in Israel and I know the real facts! Our media and the liberal church leaders in America are anti-Semitic. They are ignorantly supporting the side of the conflict that is openly killing Jews and Christians. They also ignore that the “West Bank” is the same territory known in the Bible as ancient Judea and Samaria. Most of the events mentioned in the Bible took place in what is now called “the West Bank.”

Bethlehem is a Jewish Biblical city. Rachel, the wife of Jacob died near Bethlehem and is buried there (Genesis 35:19). King David was born in Bethlehem and was anointed there by Samuel (1 Samuel 16-17). Hence, Bethlehem became known as “the city of David” (Luke 2:4). The story of Ruth took place in the fields of Bethlehem (Ruth 1-4).

Seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Micah declared that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2). When Herod was inquired of the Magi where the Messiah would be born, the chief priests and scribes pointed to Micah’s prophecy as the place of the birth of Messiah (Matthew 2:1-6).

Many people in the world listen to the Palestinians’ propaganda about their historical ownership of the land. The Palestinians say the Jews never lived in the land. Their lies totally ignore the Biblical history of this significant Biblical city. They even claim that Jesus was a Palestinian martyr. It is amazing to me how many liberal and Biblically illiterate so-called professing Christians agree with the enemies of Jesus and hate His people, Israel.

The hatred of the Jewish people has permeated the nations, and even the liberal churches of the world. These same people have created another religion that is totally foreign to the true Biblical church that was founded and established by Jesus and His Jewish apostles (Ephesians 2:19-22).

What to do When Surrounded by Evil (Part 3)

For the righteous child of God, this is a very difficult time to maintain our joy if we allow the sin around us to smother our strength in the Lord. If we, like the world, think only in terms of the physical world around us, then it can be very depressing. America is collapsing before our eyes and is facing the wrathful judgment of God. The hope of what has been called “the American Dream” is rapidly vanishing by the day. The church is in a state of decline. There seem to be so few professing Christians who are genuinely interested in spiritual things. The Psalmist said it so well, “The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted” (Psalm 12:8).

What should we do? How do we live in the face of evil? In the October and November 2022 newsletters, I wrote about five of eight spiritual realities to cling to when you feel overwhelmed by an avalanche of evil. Let us now turn our attention to the final three spiritual realities that will help us to rejoice during the onslaught of evil and its deadly effects.

Reality #6- Refrain from the Presence of Evil and those who Practice Evil

The Bible teaches that victory over evil always accompanies those who desire to be holy. God has called us to live in a world of great spiritual darkness. He has demanded, “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). The only way this can be accomplished is for the child of God to continually set himself apart from the spiritual filth around him. We have been called into a relationship with a holy God. In order to maintain fellowship with God we must strive for holiness and continually confess our sins. This will always be accompanied by a hunger for the Word of God (Psalm 1:2; 119:11; 1 John 1:8, 10).

Our lifestyle must be different. Our speech, our attitudes, our actions, and interests must not be like those who are in love with the world (1 John 2:15-16). Psalm 26:5 says, “I have hated the congregation of evil doers: and will not sit with the wicked.” Proverbs 4:14 warns us, “Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.” A holy God will not bless those who want to mimic the lifestyles of sinners (Psalm 1:1).

This simply means that the child of God will not continually entertain himself with sin. He will guard his eyes, ears, and thoughts from wicked things (Proverbs 4:23-27)! He will not listen to ungodly music. He will not watch violent or lustful forms of entertainment on television or anywhere else. He will be careful about the friendships he develops. His heart belongs to a holy God. Therefore, he runs from everything that is offensive to God!

Reality #7- God’s Promises of Salvation are more Important

in the Day of Evil, Rather than my Riches!

If we are honest with ourselves, we tend to be too concerned about the loss of our comfortable way of life. The child of God must not fall into the trap of loving material prosperity more than spiritual prosperity. His focus must be upon eternal things (Colossians 3:1-4). The true child of God may be living in this temporal world, but his heart and soul will be longing for his spiritual and eternal home in heaven. He understands that “weeping may endure for a night, but joy [comes] in the morning” (Psalm 30:5).

Abraham was said to have a great faith because he was looking “for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10). While these eternal promises were in the distant future, these great men of faith “embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13).

When difficult times come, physical riches cannot calm the soul or bring contentment and joy. The godly man in Psalm 49 said, “Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, … They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: for the redemption of their soul is precious…” (Psalm 49:5-8). A relationship with God in a time of evil is far more important than the false security provided by physical possessions. The evil culture in which we live may rob us of our wealth, but it cannot take away our faith and hope in the Lord! Nothing can separate us from the love of our Savior (Romans 8:35-39).

Reality #8- Remember the End of the Wicked!

According to the testimony of the godly in the Bible, the child of God seems tempted to wonder why the ungodly seem to flourish in the hour of evil, while the righteous suffer. (See Psalm 37; 52; 73.) The psalmist said that the prosperity of the wicked at times is very difficult to understand (Psalm 73:12-16). However, we can see the goodness of God when we consider the eternal destiny of the wicked (Psalm 73:17-19). God allows the wicked to prosper in this life because this is their heaven. For the righteous, this is hell. For the sinner, it will never get any better. For the child of God, there is a better day coming.

Sinful men live as if there is no God. God in His patience does not immediately judge them for their sin. However, there is a day for them in the righteous courts of God!

When the child of God keeps these eight spiritual realities in focus, he can have joy in the midst of the storms of evil around him. As our world approaches the Tribulation Period, we must remember that at any moment, we will be rescued by the Lord and taken into His arms where we will never suffer the rejection, torments, or hatred of the wicked anymore.

I love the testimony of Revelation 7:14-17 which tells us of the love of our Savior that will be poured out upon the martyrs of the tribulation saints when they enter His presence.

Real joy in this life comes from serving the Lord who purchased our salvation. The world cannot begin to touch the rewards that come from being in His presence and the center of His will. “For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Psalm 84:10).